CELEX: 
Language: en
Date: 2022-05-10 00:00:00
Title: COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION amending Commission Implementing Decision C(2021)1940 on the adoption of the work programme for 2021-2022 within the framework of the Specific Programme implementing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation and on its financing as regards the 2022 budget

EUROPEAN
                         COMMISSION
                                                   Brussels, 10.5.2022
                                                   C(2022) 2975 final
                    COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION
                                       of 10.5.2022
   amending Commission Implementing Decision C(2021)1940 on the adoption of the work
        programme for 2021-2022 within the framework of the Specific Programme
      implementing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and
               Innovation and on its financing as regards the 2022 budget
EN                                                                                   EN
 ---pagebreak---                            COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION
                                               of 10.5.2022
   amending Commission Implementing Decision C(2021)1940 on the adoption of the work
          programme for 2021-2022 within the framework of the Specific Programme
         implementing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and
                     Innovation and on its financing as regards the 2022 budget
   THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
   Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
   Having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the
   Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union,
   amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU)
   No 1304/2013, (EU) 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014,
   and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 966/20121, and in
   particular Article 110 thereof,
   Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/695 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
   28 April 2021 establishing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and
   Innovation, laying down its rules for participation and dissemination, and repealing
   Regulations (EU) No 1290/2013 and (EU) No 1291/20132, and in particular Article 8 thereof,
   Having regard to Council Decision (EU) 2021/764/EU of 10 May 2021 establishing the
   Specific Programme implementing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for
   Research and Innovation, and repealing Decision 2013/743/EU3 (‘Council Decision
   2021/764/EU,’), and in particular Article 13(2), point (b), thereof,
   Whereas:
   (1)     Decision C(2021)1940 final4, as amended by Decision C(2021)42005 as rectified by
           corrigendum C(2021)60966, Decision C(2021)78047 and Decision C(2021)91288, sets
   1
           OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1.
   2
           OJ L 170, 12.5.2021, p. 1.
   3
           OJ L 167, 12.5.2021, p. 1.
   4
           Commission Implementing Decision C(2021)1940 of 31 March 2021 on the adoption of the work
           programme for 2021-2022 within the framework of the Specific Programme implementing Horizon
           Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation and on its financing.
   5
           Commission Implementing Decision C(2021)4200 of 15 June 2021 amending Implementing Decision
           C(2021)1940 on the adoption of the work programme for 2021-2022 within the framework of the
           Specific Programme implementing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and
           Innovation and on its financing.
   6
           Corrigendum C(2021)6096 of 23 August 2021 to Commission Implementing Decision C(2021)4200 of
           15 June 2021 amending Implementing Decision C(2021)1940 on the adoption of the work programme
           for 2021-2022 within the framework of the Specific Programme implementing Horizon Europe – the
           Framework Programme for Research and Innovation and on its financing.
EN                                                    1                                                   EN
 ---pagebreak---        out the work programme for 2021 and 2022, within the Specific Programme
       implementing Horizon Europe, for the programme parts ‘General Introduction’,
       ‘Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions’, ‘Research infrastructures’, ‘Health’, ‘Culture,
       creativity and inclusive society’, ‘Civil security for society’, ‘Digital, industry and
       space’, ‘Climate, energy and mobility’, ‘Food, bioeconomy, natural resources,
       agriculture and environment’, ‘European innovation ecosystems’, ‘Widening
       participation and strengthening the European Research Area’, ‘Missions’ and ‘General
       Annexes’.
   (2) Annex XII to Decision C(2021)1940 final includes actions to support the five
       missions9, namely ‘Adaptation to Climate Change’, ‘Cancer’, ‘Restore our Ocean,
       Seas and Waters by 2030’, ‘Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities’ and ‘Soil Health and
       Food’, in accordance with the implementation plans developed for each mission. With
       the exception of the mission ‘Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities’, those actions only
       harnessed the 2021 budget.
   (3) In the light of changed circumstances, it is necessary to add a number of specific
       actions, and it is also necessary to designate resources from the 2022 budget to the
       ‘Missions’ work programme part and to adjust the budgetary overview tables in the
       work programme.
   (4) In the light of the experience gained during the first Horizon Europe calls for ‘Marie
       Skłodowska-Curie Actions’, it is necessary to modify for 2022 the conditions for
       implementing the MSCA Special Needs Allowance and to clarify the duration of
       European Postdoctoral Fellowships and Global Postdoctoral Fellowships and the
       requirements with respect to letters of commitment.
   (5) As regards the ‘Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions’, ‘Research infrastructures’,
       ‘Health’, ‘Culture, creativity and inclusive society’, ‘Civil security for society’,
       ‘Digital, industry and space’, ‘Climate, energy and mobility’, ‘Food, bioeconomy,
       natural resources, agriculture and environment’, ‘European Innovation Ecosystems’
       and ‘Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area’ work
       programme parts, adjustments should be made to allow for the monitoring of actions
       also funded under previous programmes.
   (6) As regards ‘Culture, creativity and inclusive society’, it is necessary to add actions to
       promote a culture and creativity driven European innovation ecosystem, the social
       impact assessment of green transition policies, and the innovative solutions for the
       future of democracy.
   7
       Commission Implementing Decision C(2021)7804 of 28 October 2021 amending Implementing
       Decision C(2021)1940 on the adoption of the work programme for 2021-2022 within the framework of
       the Specific Programme implementing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and
       Innovation and on its financing with regards to 21 actions for ‘Digital, Industry and Space’.
   8
       Commission Implementing Decision C(2021)9128 of 15 December 2021 amending Implementing
       Decision C(2021)1940 final on the adoption of the work programme for 2021-2022 within the
       framework of the Specific Programme implementing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for
       Research and Innovation and on its financing, as regards Missions.
   9
       Annex XII was added by Decision C(2021)4200. The mission areas are set out in Annex VI p. I to
       Regulation (EU) 2021/695 (Missions Area 1: Adaptation to Climate Change, including Societal
       Transformation; Mission Area 2: Cancer; Mission Area 3: Healthy Oceans, Seas, Coastal and Inland
       Waters; Mission Area 4: Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities; Mission Area 5: Soil Health and Food), and
       are developed further in the Commission’s Communication on European missions COM(2021)609 of
       29 September 2021.
EN                                                    2                                                     EN
 ---pagebreak---    (7)   In order to simplify the implementation of the programme, the use of lump sum
         funding is introduced in some topics under ‘Civil security for society’, ‘Digital,
         industry and space’, ‘Climate, energy and mobility’ and ‘European innovation
         ecosystems’.
   (8)   For the ‘European innovation ecosystems’ work programme part, there is also a need
         in 2022 to fund highly innovative start-ups founded, or co-founded by women, via the
         Women TechEU action.
   (9)   As regards ‘Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area’,
         following the conclusions of a study on how best to boost interoperability of careers
         and employability of research and innovation talent across sectors with a particular
         focus on ‘Widening’ countries, there is a need to complete the outcomes and
         conditions of the ERA-Talents action for 2022.
   (10)  Moreover, given the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the involvement of
         Belarus, the ‘General Annexes’ should set out that legal entities established in Russia,
         Belarus or in non-government controlled territories of Ukraine are not eligible to
         participate in any capacity (or receive, as third parties, financial support from grant
         beneficiaries). Exceptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis for justified reasons.
   (11)  To reflect all the changes, Annex I (‘General Introduction’), Annex II (‘Marie
         Skłodowska-Curie Actions’), Annex III (‘Research infrastructures’), Annex IV
         (‘Health’), Annex V (‘Culture, creativity and inclusive society’), Annex VI (‘Civil
         security for society’), Annex VII (‘Digital, industry and space’), Annex VIII
         (‘Climate, energy and mobility’), Annex IX (‘Food, bioeconomy, natural resources,
         agriculture and environment’), Annex X (‘European Innovation Ecosystems’), Annex
         XI (‘Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area’), Annex
         XII (‘Missions’), and Annex XIII (‘General Annexes’) to Decision C(2021)1940 final
         should be amended accordingly.
   (12)  Decision C(2021)1940 final allocates to the work programme for 2021-2022 a total of
         EUR 7 865 263 196.77 from the 2021 budget and a total of EUR 7 553 080 964.35
         from the 2022 budget.
   (13)  In view of the requirement for timely and comprehensive implementation and the need
         for additional funding, the total amount allocated to the 2021-2022 work programme
         should be decreased by an amount of EUR 1 300 000 from the 2021 budget allocated
         and should be increased by an amount of EUR 561 767 765 from the 2022 budget. The
         new total amount from the 2021 budget should therefore be set at EUR 7 863 963 197
         and a total of EUR 8 114 848 729 should be allocated from the 2022 budget.
   (14)  Decision C(2021)1940 final should be amended accordingly.
   (15)  The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the
         Programme Committee established by Article 14 of Council Decision 2021/764/EU,
   HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
                                             Sole Article
   Implementing Decision C(2021)1940 final is amended as follows:
   (1)     In Article 2, paragraph 1 relating to the 2021 budget is replaced by the following:
EN                                                 3                                              EN
 ---pagebreak---             ‘1. The maximum Union contribution for the implementation of the actions in the
                   framework of the Specific Programme implementing Horizon Europe for 2021
                   is set at EUR 7 863 963 197 and shall be financed from the appropriations
                   entered in the following lines of the general budget of the Union:
                   - budget line 01.020240:       EUR 1 813 450 895 of which EUR 440 331 901
                   from NGEU appropriations;
                   The appropriations provided for in the first subparagraph may also cover
                   interest due for late payment.
                   The implementation of this Decision for 2021 is subject to the availability of
                   the appropriations provided for in the general budget of the Union for 2021.’;
   (2) In Article 2, paragraph 2 relating to the 2022 budget is replaced by the following:
            ‘2. The maximum Union contribution for the implementation of the actions in the
                   framework of the Specific Programme implementing Horizon Europe for 2022
                   is set at EUR 8 114 848 729, and shall be financed from the appropriations
                   entered in the following lines of the general budget of the Union:
                   - budget line 01.020102:       EUR 899 726 125;
                   - budget line 01.020103:       EUR 318 500 000;
                   - budget line 01.020210:       EUR 1 046 635 621, of which EUR 441 157 083
                   from NGEU appropriations;
                   - budget line 01.020220:       EUR 291 662 064;
                   - budget line 01.020230:       EUR 204 018 519;
                   - budget line 01.020240:       EUR 1 857 218 594 , of which EUR 440 827
                   081 from NGEU appropriations;
                   - budget line 01.020250:       EUR 1 873 795 736, of which EUR 440 044 081
                   from NGEU appropriations;
                   - budget line 01.020260:       EUR 1 063 450 665;
                   - budget line 01.020302:       EUR 81 491 405;
                   - budget line 01.020401:       EUR 391 500 000;
EN                                                  4                                             EN
 ---pagebreak---                  - budget line 01.020402:       EUR 86 850 000.
                 The appropriations provided for in the first subparagraph may also cover
                 interest due for late payment.
                 The implementation of this Decision for 2022 is subject to the availability of
                 the appropriations provided for in the draft general budget of the Union for
                 2022.’;
   (3)     Annexes I to XIII are replaced by the text set out in Annexes I to XIII to this
           Decision.
   Done at Brussels, 10.5.2022
                                                For the Commission
                                                Mariya GABRIEL
                                                Member of the Commission
EN                                                5                                             EN
 ---documentbreak---            EN
        ANNEX I
        “Annex I
     Horizon Europe
Work Programme 2021-2022
 1. General Introduction
        ”
 ---pagebreak---                                 Horizon Europe - Work programme 2021-2022
                                            General Introduction
General introduction
Welcome to the Horizon Europe work programme 2021 - 2022
Horizon Europe is the EU flagship programme for research and innovation. It sets the best minds in
Europe and the rest of the world to work on delivering excellent solutions to the key issues of our
time, supporting the EU’s policy priorities and building a better future for the next generation in
Europe.
This work programme will cover the years 2021-2022. It will foster excellence in research and
support fellowships, training and exchanges for researchers through Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Actions, build more connected and efficient European innovation ecosystems, create world-class
research infrastructures, and support the green and digital transitions and target global challenges
while supporting European industrial competitiveness, not least through the introduction of EU
missions. Finally, it will widen participation in the programme and strengthen the European Research
Area.
This introduction describes how these actions will underpin EU policy priorities, and presents the
main features of this work programme, which are aimed in particular at enhancing its impact and
delivering results.
                                                 Page 2 of 22
 ---pagebreak---                               Horizon Europe - Work programme 2021-2022
                                         General Introduction
                                About the Horizon Europe work programmes
Horizon Europe supports research and innovation especially through work programmes, which set out
funding opportunities for research and innovation activities.
This introduction relates to the work programme which covers the following components of Horizon
Europe (highlighted in light blue in the graphic below) for 2021-2022: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
and research infrastructures (Pillar I); all clusters (Pillar II); European innovation ecosystems (Pillar III);
widening participation and spreading excellence, and reforming and enhancing the European R&I
system (Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area part).
The work programme at hand is made up of 13 parts: this introduction; 11 parts covering the
components mentioned above (including one on missions); and one on the general annexes, which
set out rules which apply across the work programme such as the standard admissibility conditions
and eligibility criteria, selection and award criteria, etc.
The graphic below depicts all components of one of the two Specific Programmes implementing
Horizon Europe as well as the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). Separate work
programmes cover the European Research Council (ERC), the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the
European Innovation Council (EIC). The activities of the EIT are set out in separate programming
documents. In addition, a significant part of Pillar II of Horizon Europe will be implemented through
institutionalised partnerships, particularly in the areas of Mobility, Energy, Digital and Bio-based
economy, which will have their separate work programmes.
In addition to what is shown in the graphic, Horizon Europe is also implemented through the other
Specific Programme (the European Defence Fund) and is complemented by the Euratom Research and
Training Programme (each having a separate work programme).
                                              Page 3 of 22
 ---pagebreak---                                    Horizon Europe - Work programme 2021-2022
                                                General Introduction
Horizon Europe is the most ambitious EU research and innovation programme ever
With Horizon Europe, the EU will invest €95.5 billion in research and innovation that will shape the
future of Europe, making it the most ambitious research and innovation programme ever introduced
by the EU.
A substantial part of this funding will be dedicated to targeted actions that support the green and
digital transitions for our societies and economies as well as our security and resilience, and a
sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of Horizon Europe in general, and this
work programme in particular, is to create opportunities for the EU and the world of tomorrow from
the challenges of today.
Actions for Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, Russia launched an unjustified invasion of Ukraine. Within the area of research
and innovation, the European Commission has taken a number of actions in support of Ukraine-
based researchers and others fleeing the war of aggression.
These actions include:
         The ERA4Ukraine portal1 has been established to collect and publicise initiatives at European
          and national levels to support Ukrainian- and other researchers fleeing the invasion of
          Ukraine.
         Legal entities established in Ukraine are eligible for EU funding under Horizon Europe, and
          the Commission is implementing a flexible approach to continued participation of Ukrainian
          entities in ongoing activities, e.g. in terms of implementation deadlines.
         The European Research Council has asked its grantees to provide temporary employment to
          refugee researchers and support staff from Ukraine 2 and all ongoing Horizon Europe
          beneficiaries have been encouraged to do the same.
         Researchers affiliated to Ukrainian legal entities, irrespective of their physical location, are
          eligible to receive COST funding for short-term research stays, virtual networking tools
          and/or join any of the actions’ working group3.
Within this work programme, the European Commission encourages all potential participants in
actions in this work programme to create, where possible, opportunities for the affected persons and
entities, in particular researchers and innovators previously active in Ukraine as well as Ukrainian
researchers and innovators who are unable to return to Ukraine in the given circumstances4.
1
  See further information here.
2
  See further information here.
3
  See further information here.
4
  Please note that the criteria for evaluation of proposals remain unchanged.The creation of such opportunities is
voluntary and does not affect the ranking of proposals.
                                                     Page 4 of 22
 ---pagebreak---                               Horizon Europe - Work programme 2021-2022
                                          General Introduction
In addition, support has been earmarked for the displaced researchers of Ukraine to enable them to
continue their work at an academic or non-academic host organisation in EU Member States or
Horizon Europe Associated Countries. This support will be implemented in the context of the ongoing
‘InspirEurope’ project (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions work programme part). Hundreds of
Ukrainian scientists will also be able to benefit from an increased budget to the Human Frontier
Science Program for the initiative of “scientists help scientists” (Cluster 1 ‘Health’ work programme
part).
Legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government controlled territories of Ukraine
are not eligible to participate in actions supported by Horizon Europe in any capacity. Exceptions
may be granted on a case-by-case basis for justified reasons.
Horizon Europe delivers on key EU policy priorities
This work programme introduces five EU missions to target some of the greatest societal challenges
with coordinated effort in order to create deep societal transformations and social impact.
In order to support our commitment to make EU the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050,
Horizon Europe will direct a minimum of 35 % of the funding available to climate objectives. These
funds will be used for projects that advance the science of climate change, develop solutions to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to adapt to the changing climate. For example, activities will
accelerate the transition towards clean energy and mobility in a sustainable and fair way, help adapt
food systems and support the circular and bio-economy, maintain and enhance natural carbon sinks
in ecosystems, and foster adaptation to climate change. Jointly such activities will be fundamental to
create the new products, services and business models needed to sustain or enable EU industrial
leadership and competitiveness, and to create new markets for climate neutral and circular products.
The New European Bauhaus is an initiative in the wider context of the European Green Deal, which
aims to show the benefits of the green transition in people’s daily lives and living spaces. Research
and innovation policy is an integral part of the New European Bauhaus’s enabling framework and
Horizon Europe contributes in many areas, notably across the Clusters 2, 4, 5 and 6 work programme
parts. The EU Missions can also develop strong links and a mutually beneficial relationship with the
New European Bauhaus. The €25 million pilot call for New European Bauhaus ‘lighthouse
demonstrators’ under the Missions work programme 2021-2022 is an example of this in practice.
Investing in the green transition, climate action and biodiversity
The green transition guides significant parts of Horizon Europe’s investments. The commitment to
spend at least 35% of resources on climate action and strengthen investments in biodiversity applies
to the entirety of Horizon Europe including the European Research Council (ERC), the European
Innovation Council (EIC) and institutional partnerships. These are not included in this work
                                              Page 5 of 22
 ---pagebreak---                                    Horizon Europe - Work programme 2021-2022
                                                General Introduction
programme.
Taking into account all work programmes and planning documents for Horizon Europe 2021-20225 it
is estimated that overall 37.2% of funds will contribute to climate action; and 7.9% to biodiversity
related policy objectives.
The parts of the present work programme dedicated to the six clusters, research infrastructures,
widening participation & strengthening the European research area, European innovation
ecosystems and the EU missions together contribute €7 billion to climate action, equal to 44.4%of
the present work programme budget. Furthermore, these parts will contribute €1.7 billion to
biodiversity, equal to 10.7% of the present work programme budget. €316 million of the
contributions to biodiversity are from the activities described in the EU missions. The investment in
climate action is a good approximation of investments in the green transitions, monitoring of
expenditure will provide more precise data also on other aspects like investments in ‘clean air’ or
specific SDGs.
Contributions to climate action are made by [87% of the budget of cluster ‘Climate, energy,
transport’ (€2.72 billion), 73% of the cluster ‘Agriculture, environment’ (€1.38 billion), 41% of the
cluster ‘Industry and digital technologies’ (€1.40 billion) and 17% of the cluster ‘Health’ (€332
million). The actions described in the work programme part on EU missions allocate €747 million,
equal to 62% of the missions’ allocated budget, to climate action.
To ensure a contribution over 35% in the lifetime of the Horizon Europe programme the expenditure
estimates will be updated continuously. The methodology to generate these estimates is based on
the ‘EU-markers’ methodology6.
In support of the digital transition, this work programme will foster research and innovation to make
this decade Europe’s digital decade, and lay the ground work for new digital enterprises even further
into the future. For instance, actions supported by this work programme will help to maximise the
full potential of digital tools and data-enabled research and innovation in a wide range of sectors,
such as healthcare, media, energy and mobility as well as food production, and support the deep
transformations required for the modernisation of traditional industrial models. Using an EU-marker
type calculation systems it is estimated that 31.5% of funds in the presented work programme, and
33.9%] of funds across all parts of Horizon Europe contribute to the digital transition. This equals
overall investments of €9.06 billion during 2021/22. The overall investment into main digital
activities, i.e. the development of core digital technologies, is estimated at €4.2 billion in 2021/22.
5
  The Horizon Europe components European Research Council, Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions, the European
Innovation Council, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, as well as the institutionalised
partnerships based on Articles 185/187 TFEU and the direct actions by the Joint Research Centre have a
combined budget of 12.043 billion equal to 46.81% of Horizon Europe total.
6
  EU-markers are based on the internationally recognized Rio-markers methods originally developed by OECD
(see further information here.) The EU markers assigns 0-40-100% markers to actions and their budgets
depending on climate action having a major impact (100%), a significant impact (40%) or a marginal impact
(0%) of an activity. In this work programme the - markers are applied to every topic described for climate action,
biodiversity, clean air, digital transition and artificial intelligence. For other parts of Horizon Europe they are
applied to larger groups of actions and in general to awarded projects for expenditure monitoring and
documentation. Actions can be assigned more than one marker if they contribute substantially to more than one
of the related objectives.
                                                     Page 6 of 22
 ---pagebreak---                                  Horizon Europe - Work programme 2021-2022
                                               General Introduction
In line with the commitment made in the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response
Authority (HERA) Incubator Communication7, this work programme contains focused action to target
Covid-19 variants, securing the safety and effectiveness of our vaccines. In March 2021, €123
million was devoted to bring an additional concerted EU effort to further speed up the process of
understanding the occurrence and spread of variants and their effect on disease severity and vaccine
effectiveness.8
Finally, this work programme will direct investments to build the NextGeneration EU helping repair
the immediate economic and social damage brought about by the coronavirus pandemic and to
create a post-COVID-19 Europe that is greener, more digital, more resilient and better fit for the
current and forthcoming challenges. This includes topics contributing to a green, digitally-enabled
recovery through modernising health systems, topics contributing to research capacities, in particular
for vaccine development, and the European Health Data Space, and supporting a new potential
Pandemic Preparedness Partnership.
In order to achieve these and other targets, Horizon Europe introduces a new level of ambition to
maximise the impact of EU research and innovation investments for the benefit of European science,
economy and the wider society, in line with EU values and in adherence with the highest ethics and
integrity standards. Horizon Europe marks a paradigm change in the design of the EU research and
innovation programmes by moving from an activity-driven to an impact-driven approach, which
allows it to make targeted interventions, based on mutually agreed priorities. This is, for instance,
reflected in the so-called destinations and topics of this work programme, which put forward the
impacts we want to achieve and the outcomes we expect, but leave the manner of achieving them to
the imagination and skills of the applicant.
As such, the impact-driven design of Horizon Europe aims at maximising the effects of its research
and innovation investments, ensuring that they truly deliver on the EU’s policy priorities. It is about
making sure that priorities are effectively met and translated into concrete action, including by
creating strategic synergies with other EU policies and programmes, while giving applicants
maximum flexibility on how to achieve these goals.
Horizon Europe delivers on the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2021-2022
This work programme for 2021-2022 is the first step in delivering on the priorities set out in the first
Strategic Plan for Horizon Europe for 2021-20249. Based on the overarching EU policy priorities, the
Strategic Plan sets out four key strategic orientations and 15 impact areas, which are based on 32
7
  COM(2021) 78: “HERA Incubator: Anticipating together the threat of COVID-19 variants”. Read the
Communication here.
8
  As part of the EU response to the COVID-19 pandemic, for activities specifically linked to COVID-19, grants
may be awarded without a call for proposals since that pandemic constitutes an exceptional emergency within
the meaning of Article 195(b) of the Financial Regulation 2018/1046. Further conditions may be set out in the
different work programme parts. Specific derogations and additional conditions may be also announced or
communicated to the potential applicants. Such conditions that are set out in the different work programme parts
may include additional exploitation obligations to ensure that the resulting products will be available and
accessible as soon as possible, additional dissemination obligations, such as open access for research data needed
to address the public health emergency, and justified derogations from the standard limits to financial support to
third parties. The Commission will assess how the applicants propose to fulfil these conditions. The
implementation of these conditions will be appropriately monitored. Where applicable, the relevant grant
agreement options will be applied.
9
  C(2021)1602: COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION adopting the 2021-2024 strategic research and
innovation plan in the framework of the specific programme implementing Horizon Europe – the Framework
Programme for Research and Innovation. The Strategic Plan 2021 – 2024 can be found here.
                                                   Page 7 of 22
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                                                General Introduction
expected impacts that have been defined in an inclusive and ambitious strategic planning process.
Each expected impact is targeted via dedicated packages of actions in the work programme. These
are termed ‘destinations’, because they indicate both the specific direction and the ultimate point of
arrival of the projects to be supported through Horizon Europe. An overview of all expected impacts
of the Strategic Plan and the corresponding destinations in the work programme parts for clusters 1
to 6 can be found in the appendix to this introduction.
From EU priorities to work programme destinations
The four key strategic orientations in the Strategic Plan for Horizon Europe each define a set of
higher-level objectives where research and innovation investments are expected to make a
difference. The four key strategic orientations are:
               Key Strategic Orientation A                               Key Strategic Orientation B
      Promoting an open strategic autonomy by
        leading the development of key digital,                     Restoring Europe’s ecosystems and
     enabling and emerging technologies, sectors                  biodiversity, and managing sustainably
     and value chains to accelerate and steer the              natural resources to ensure food security and
     digital and green transitions through human-                     a clean and healthy environment
         centred technologies and innovations
               Key Strategic Orientation C                               Key Strategic Orientation D
                                                                  Creating a more resilient, inclusive and
       Making Europe the first digitally enabled
                                                                democratic European society, prepared and
       circular, climate-neutral and sustainable
                                                              responsive to threats and disasters, addressing
      economy through the transformation of its
                                                               inequalities and providing high-quality health
    mobility, energy, construction and production
                                                               care, and empowering all citizens to act in the
                          systems
                                                                         green and digital transitions
Below, each key strategic orientation is presented along with its impact areas. For each impact area,
some examples are given to illustrate the activities in the work programme that will implement it.
                                                   Page 8 of 22
 ---pagebreak---                                   Horizon Europe - Work programme 2021-2022
                                              General Introduction
A - Promoting an open strategic autonomy10 by leading the development of key digital,
enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of digitalisation across all areas of EU society
and economy. New technologies have kept our businesses and public services running and our family
and social bonds afloat. Already today, the data economy lies at the heart of innovation and job
creation, and the European Union has the ambition of empowering European citizens with digital
solutions rooted in our common values and enriching the lives of all of us. This work programme will
help shape innovative technologies and solutions in a wide range of applications. It will also underpin
the open strategic autonomy of Europe and its global leadership in digital and emerging enabling
technologies.
A total number of eleven expected impacts contribute to this key strategic objective and its four
impact areas, all of which are being put into effect through this work programme. The following
examples provide an illustration of how this is achieved:
      To promote industrial leadership in key and emerging technologies that work for people,
         the co-programmed Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, Data and Robotics will drive the
         development of trustworthy, safe and robust technologies that will boost new markets and
         applications and that are compatible with Europe’s ethical standards and values.
      In order to attain secure and cybersecure digital technology, this work programme supports
         research and innovation on cybersecure technology and its consequences. It includes topics
         such as ‘Secure and resilient digital infrastructures and interconnected systems’, ‘Artificial
         Intelligence for cybersecurity reinforcement’ and ‘Human-centric security, privacy and
         ethics’.
      With a view to supporting a competitive and secure data-economy, this work programme
         paves the way for a digitised, resource efficient and resilient industry, for example through
         research and innovation on earth-observation, remote sensing and digital platforms for the
         small-scale extractive industry.
      To make available high quality digital services for all, it fosters research and innovation on
         health-supporting technologies, for example on ‘Smart medical devices and their surgical
         implantation’ and ‘Innovative tools for use and re-use of health data’.
B - Restoring Europe’s ecosystems and biodiversity, and managing sustainably natural
resources
Human activities create pressures on natural resources that go far beyond sustainable levels. This is
affecting ecosystems and their capacity to provide multiple services for human well-being, while
natural resources are being further degraded because of the impacts of climate change. The
European Union has the ambition to halt biodiversity decline, protect and preserve ecosystems,
manage natural resources on land and sea in a sustainable way, thereby ensuring food and nutrition
security as well as a clean and healthy environment for all. Horizon Europe will thus advance
knowledge, build capacities and provide innovative technologies and solutions to support the state
and functioning of ecosystems, to ensure a clean and healthy environment and sustainable
management of natural resources that provides for our needs and contributes to climate neutrality
and adaptation.
10
   ‘Open strategic autonomy’ refers to the term ‘strategic autonomy while preserving an open economy’, as
reflected in the conclusions of the European Council 1–2 October 2020.
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The following examples give an idea of how the three impact areas under this orientation are being
implemented through this work programme:
     With a view to developing sustainable food systems from farm to fork on land and sea, this
        work programme supports research and innovation on sustainable farming, fisheries and
        aquaculture as well as the transformation of food systems. It does so through topics such as
        ‘Agroecological approaches for sustainable weed management’, ‘Digital transition supporting
        inspection and control for sustainable fisheries’ and ‘Transition to healthy and sustainable
        dietary behaviour.
     As a contribution to clean and healthy air, water and soil, this work programme will support
        research and innovation to prevent environmental contamination, for example with the
        topics ‘Regional nitrogen and phosphorus load reduction approach within safe ecological
        boundaries’ and ‘Increasing the circularity in textiles, plastics and/or electronics value chains’
     To enhance ecosystems and biodiversity on land and in waters, the European Partnership
        ‘Rescuing Biodiversity to Safeguard Life on Earth’ will provide a powerful platform to help
        bring biodiversity back on its path to recovery. With topics such as ‘Natural capital
        accounting: Measuring the biodiversity footprint of products and organizations’, the work
        programme will also support research and innovation to take into account better the value of
        biodiversity and ecosystem services in economic activities.
C - Making Europe the first digitally enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable
economy
The European Union has the ambition to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55 % in
2030, to become climate neutral by 2050 and turn into a more sustainable, bio-based, climate-
neutral, circular, non- toxic and competitive economy. This requires unprecedented changes in the
way we produce, trade, build, move around and consume, which will spur our technological,
economic and societal transformation and contribute to a green recovery. This work programme will
help transform the EU into a provider of green solutions for the benefit of all, and position Europe as
a technological and industrial leader in the green transition industry, in order to make the EU climate
neutral by transitioning all economic sectors.
This work programme contributes significantly to achieving the four impact areas under this
orientation through seven expected impacts, as shown by the following examples:
     To promote climate change mitigation and adaptation, this work programme supports
        climate sciences and responses and cross-sectoral solutions for the climate transition
        through dedicated destinations.
     With a view to affordable and clean energy, it supports a broad portfolio of clean and
        efficient demand side technologies as well as renewable energy technologies – helping to
        improve the competitiveness of more mature technologies, and nurturing emerging
        technology solutions – and their smart integration into the overall energy system, thus
        boosting the energy transition in all its dimensions. For instance, it partners with Invest EU
        and Breakthrough Catalyst to help build demonstration projects for clean technologies on a
        scale that would not have been possible through Horizon Europe alone – bringing to life
        ideas at a lower cost and an accelerated rate of deployment to deliver significant reductions
        in CO2 emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.
     To further advance smart and sustainable transport, research and innovation activities will
        pave the way for zero-emission, safe, resilient transport and Smart Mobility services for
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         passengers and goods, for example in the field of Connected, Cooperative and Automated
         Mobility (CCAM).
      As a considerable contribution to circular and clean economy, this work programme will
         advance research and innovation on climate neutral, circular and digitised production and
         support a Partnership for Clean Steel, which will demonstrate EU leadership in the
         transformation of the steel industry into a carbon-neutral sector.
D - Creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society
Social cohesion and inclusiveness and the health, well-being, rights and security of its citizens are
central aims of the EU’s policies and programmes. To uphold such objectives, the EU needs to tackle
the negative consequences of manifold challenges, such as those arising from demographic change,
globalisation, climate changes, evolving security threats and rapid technological change. These are
putting the well-being of citizens and communities under strain, thereby challenging business
models, public services, as well as the foundations of the Single Market and Social Rights.
Investments under Horizon Europe will be instrumental for the EU to develop stronger health
systems, improve health technologies and develop the knowledge and innovations that underpin the
health and well-being of all its citizens. Furthermore, Horizon Europe will develop innovations,
policies and institutions to safeguard democratic governance, foster civic participation and enhance
trust in democratic institutions, tackling polarisation and extremism. These will safeguard and
promote Europe’s common values and cultural heritage, and support creative ways of cultivating
independent critical thinking and inclusive debates. It will support innovative solutions for connecting
education and training to emerging social and labour market needs while improving societal
adaptation and citizens’ engagement in the green and digital transitions. It will also reinforce disaster
risk management, border management and law enforcement while mitigating the negative effects of
acute crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
This key strategic objective and four impact areas encompasses ten expected impacts, all of which
become operative through the Horizon Europe work programme, as these examples illustrate:
      To secure good health and high-quality accessible healthcare, this work programme will
         contribute to research and innovation on tackling diseases and reducing their burden,
         through topics such as ‘Personalised medicine and infectious diseases’ and ‘Vaccines 2.0’.
      To promote a secure, open and democratic EU society, it will foster research on how to
         protect, nurture and reshape democracies, through topics such as ‘The impact of
         inequalities on democracy’, ‘The future of democracy and civic participation’ and ‘Politics and
         the impact of online social networks and new media’.
      To create a resilient EU prepared for emerging threats, research and innovation will
         enhance Europe’s disaster-resilience, through topics such as ‘Improved impact forecasting
         and early warning’ and ‘Disaster Risk Management and Governance’.
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      Finally, to foster inclusive growth and new job opportunities, research and innovation under
         this work programme will examine integration of emerging new technologies into education
         and training and inclusive labour markets and their impact on inequalities through specific
         topics.
Introducing EU missions
Horizon Europe introduces EU missions as a new concept for the EU framework programmes. EU
missions address some of the greatest global challenges that affect our daily lives. They have
ambitious, clear and targeted objectives that are time-bound, realistic and measurable. They are
rooted in research and innovation and they will employ a portfolio approach to tackle these
challenges using instruments across diverse disciplines and policy areas in a joined-up way.
With this work programme, the Commission launches the first fully-fledged research and innovation
actions that will form the basis for the first years of the missions with an investment of more than
€1.2 billion for 2021-2022. The investment is expected to result in, for example, better prepared
local and regional authorities to face climate-related risks, restoration of at least 25 000 km of free-
flowing rivers, Climate City Contracts with 100 cities, roll-out of robust soil monitoring programmes
or the setting up of the UNCAN.eu (European Initiative to Understand Cancer) platform to help
identify individuals at high risk from common cancers. The actions included directly support key
overarching EU priorities such as the European Green Deal, a Europe fit for the Digital Age, the
Beating Cancer action plan and an Economy that works for people.
The Commission invites researchers and innovators as well as citizens and all interested
stakeholders to take part in the five missions:
Adaptation to Climate Change: support at least 150 European regions and communities to
become climate resilient by 2030.
This mission will turn the urgent challenge of adapting to climate change into an opportunity to
make Europe resilient, fair and prepared to deal with climate disruptions, such as extreme weather,
wildfires and infectious diseases. The mission will support European regions to be prepared for the
inevitable changes and extreme events and share experiences and solutions to prevent loss of lives
and livelihoods.
Cancer: improving the lives of more than 3 million people by 2030 through prevention, cure and
for those affected by cancer including their families, to live longer and better.
The mission will support Member States, regions and communities on cancer control even more so
in light of the disruptive effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will enhance understanding of cancer,
boost prevention, optimise diagnosis and treatment, improve quality of lives of patients and their
families and ensure equitable access to care across Europe. The mission will put citizens, including
patients, at the centre of research and innovation, and research and innovation at the centre of
policy development.
Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030
Man-made and climate-driven changes are putting our ocean and waters and consequently our
societies at a serious risk. The mission’s new, systemic approach will address the ocean and waters
as one and play a key role in achieving climate neutrality and restoring nature. The mission will
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preserve aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity by protecting 30% of the EUs sea area as well as
restoring marine eco-systems and 25.000 km of free flowing rivers, prevent and eliminate pollution
by reducing plastic litter at sea, nutrient losses and use of chemical pesticides by 50% and make the
blue economy climate-neutral and circular with net-zero maritime emissions.
100 Climate neutral and smart cities by 2030
Producing more than 70% of global CO2 emissions, cities play a pivotal role in achieving climate
neutrality by 2050. Through Climate City Contracts that closely involve citizens, at least 100 cities
will be supported in their ambition to become climate-neutral by 2030. They will lead in climate and
digital innovation and they will demonstrate solutions that will enable all other cities to follow suit
by 2050.
A Soil Deal for Europe: 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition towards healthy soils
by 2030
Life on Earth depends on healthy soils, but they are under threat, making us more vulnerable to
food insecurity and extreme weather events. The mission will engage with people, create effective
partnerships across sectors and territories to protect and restore soils. It will contribute to Green
Deal targets relating to sustainable farming, climate resilience, biodiversity and zero-pollution.
Supporting priorities through international cooperation
International cooperation in research and innovation is essential for tackling global challenges more
effectively and underpins all the key strategic orientations of the Strategic Plan for Horizon Europe. It
also enables Europe to access resources, know-how, scientific excellence, value chains and markets
that are developing outside the EU.
In line with the EU global approach to research and innovation11, this work programme will tap into
the opportunities offered by international cooperation in order to maximise the impact of its actions.
It includes dedicated actions to support and strengthen cooperation through multilateral initiatives in
areas such as biodiversity and climate protection, environmental observations, ocean research or
global health. It also includes targeted actions with key third-country partners, including the first
ever ambitious and comprehensive ‘Africa Initiative’ that will draw on topics across the six clusters of
Pillar II.
The openness of the work programme to international cooperation will be balanced with the need to
safeguard EU interests in strategic areas, in particular to promote the EU’s open strategic autonomy
and its technological leadership and competitiveness. In a limited number of cases for actions related
to Union strategic assets, interests, autonomy or security, actions will be limited to cooperation
between legal entities established in Member States only, Member States and Associated Countries,
and/or certain third countries. For duly justified and exceptional reasons participation can also be
limited to legal entities established in the Union or in Associated Countries that are not directly or
indirectly controlled by non-associated third countries or by legal entities of non-associated third
countries, or make the participation of the controlled entities subject to conditions set out in the
work programme.
The EU is a front-runner of international openness in R&I, at the same time, international
cooperation can involve risks and challenges that must be taken into account. To support R&I actors
11
   COM(2021) 252. Read the Communication here.
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in mitigating such risks, the Commission has published a toolkit for tackling foreign interference in
R&I12. Participants in Horizon Europe actions are strongly recommended to familiarise themselves
with this publication and to consider its relevance for the proposals they intend to submit.
Strengthening framework conditions for research and innovation
The four key strategic orientations identified in the Strategic Plan apply first and foremost to Pillar II
of Horizon Europe, ‘Global challenges and European industrial competitiveness’, but due to their
overarching relevance, they extend to other parts of Horizon Europe as well. Thanks to this
integrated approach, synergies between different programme parts, even across pillars, are greatly
facilitated. While other programme components will contribute greatly to the key strategic
orientations, they will also address a number of other priorities described below. Overall, they will
contribute to a stronger European research and innovation ecosystem through wider participation,
greater mobility for researchers and world class research infrastructures.
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) respond to Europe’s continuing need for a highly-
skilled and resilient human capital base in research and innovation that can easily adapt to, and find
sustainable solutions for, current and future challenges. The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted once
more that the EU relies on talents who are experts in their field but able to think across disciplines,
while naturally regarding cross-border and international cooperation as a fundamental part of their
work. The MSCA make an important contribution by equipping researchers with new knowledge and
skills and providing them with international and inter-sectoral exposure. This is achieved by
supporting researchers’ training and mobility through bottom-up and excellence-driven research in
the framework of doctoral networks, postdoctoral fellowships 13 , staff exchanges and citizen
outreach. The MSCA also have a structuring impact on higher education institutions and other R&I
entities way beyond academia by widely spreading excellence and setting standards for high-quality
researcher education and training, not only across the European Research Area (ERA) but also
worldwide.
Europe’s research and innovation system depends on world-class research infrastructures that are
open and accessible to all researchers in Europe and beyond. To fully tap their potential for ground-
breaking research and innovation, it is important to reduce fragmentation, avoid duplication of
effort, and better coordinate the design, development, accessibility and use of research
infrastructures. This includes supporting open access for all European researchers and stimulating
the up-take of open science and open data practices. The destinations of the work programme part
on European research infrastructures cater exactly to these needs and will guide concrete action
towards filling knowledge gaps and addressing emerging needs and science breakthroughs, notably
in the field of health and in support of the green and digital transitions. In addition, efforts for further
development and consolidation of research infrastructures will provide the ERA with a more
effective, accessible, interlinked and well-functioning Research Infrastructure landscape. Being
important enablers of research and technological innovation, research infrastructures can
substantially contribute to the objectives of Horizon Europe clusters, EU missions and European
Partnerships as well as to support its innovation dimension. The use of research infrastructures
across the Horizon Europe pillars is strongly encouraged.
12
   European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Tackling R&I foreign interference :
staff working document, 2022, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/513746
13
   Aiming to enhance nuclear expertise and excellence as well as synergies between Horizon Europe and the
Euratom Programme, nuclear researchers are eligible to participate in MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships
supported by an annual financial contribution from the Euratom Programme.
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Innovation ecosystems provide a stimulating environment within which innovation can flourish.
Well-functioning innovation ecosystems provide a flow of ideas and knowledge, and they motivate a
broad range of actors to join forces and develop innovative solutions. The work programme part on
European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE) supports concrete actions to facilitate the extension and
strengthening of these ecosystems. By pulling in new and under-represented actors and territories
and reinforcing connectivity within and between ecosystems on a national, regional or local level, it
aims at achieving collective ambitions for the benefit of society and sustainable business growth. The
work programme encourages synergies with related EU funds and programmes and will act in
complement with the European Innovation Council (EIC) and the European Institute for Innovation &
Technology (EIT). In particular, the EIC Forum will promote coordination and dialogue on the
development of the EU's innovation ecosystem, connecting the existing ecosystems with the EIC.
Synergies also include the European Partnership on Innovative SMEs, which will help innovative SMEs
to increase their research and innovation (R&I) capacity and productivity and to become embedded
in global value chains and new markets.
The innovation ecosystems created by the EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) can in
particular contribute to building communities or platforms for coordination and support actions,
sharing knowledge or disseminating and fostering the exploitation of project results. Where relevant,
it is encouraged to explore possible forms and means of service provisions distinct to the EIT KICs,
that can be complementary to proposals and their activities. The collaboration with other innovation
communities that can support project implementation and impact is also encouraged.
Despite much progress in developing the European Research Area, Europe still has a fragmented
research and innovation landscape, and Member States face bottlenecks in their research and
innovation systems, which require policy reforms. Similarly, the level of research and innovation
investment in Europe is still far below the policy objective of 3% of GDP and continues to grow
slowly. Hence, it is necessary to fully exploit the research and innovation potential of the ERA. The
work programme part on Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area
contributes to the expected impacts of Horizon Europe by reducing the research and innovation
divide and geographical disparities in research and innovation performance. Through its ‘Widening’-
component, it supports less performing R&I Member States in building the necessary capacities that
allow them to successfully participate in research and innovation processes and, eventually, translate
the results into the society and the economy. The component strengthening the European Research
Area sets out to reform and enhance the EU R&I system in line with four of the objectives of the ERA
Communication. Investments and reforms will be prioritised, access to excellence will be improved
and R&I results will be translated into the economy. These actions will result in deepening the ERA.
The principle of excellence, meaning that the best researchers with the best ideas obtain funding,
remains the cornerstone for all investments under the ERA.
Horizon Europe ensures continuity and brings in new features
The Horizon Europe work programme for 2021-2022 is shaped around the successes of and lessons
learned from the EU’s previous research and innovation framework programmes. It continues and
builds on a number of key elements, such as open access to research data and results, which have
proven their worth and relevance. It also features a number of important novelties to further
streamline and enhance the programme:
Gender equality – Gender equality is a cross-cutting priority in Horizon Europe and concerns all
programme parts. The appropriate consideration of the gender dimension in research and innovation
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content14 is mandatory for all applicants across the whole programme, unless the non-relevance of
sex and/or gender analysis is indicated at topic level. Furthermore, Horizon Europe is promoting
gender equality through sustainable institutional change by requesting that applicants (public bodies,
research organisations and higher education establishments) have in place a gender equality plan as
an eligibility criterion.
Widening participation - While keeping excellence as the main feature, a wide spectrum of measures
will foster participation in the work programme actions and facilitate collaborative links. For instance,
the ex-post ‘Hop on’ feature will allow existing project consortia to expand by including participants
from so-called ‘low R&I performing countries’, in order to build collaborative links and reduce the
research and innovation divide across Europe.
A new generation of European Partnerships: Horizon Europe rationalises the number of partnerships
that the EU co-programmes or co-funds involving a wide range of public and private partners,
including national governments, industry, civil society organisations and funding organisations. This
new approach ensures that the partnerships instrument of Horizon 2020 can continue in a simplified
and more transparent form, reaching a broader set of stakeholders and creating stronger links with
EU and national policies.
Making it easier for applicants – Horizon Europe will increase legal certainty and reduce
administrative burden for beneficiaries and programme administrators. The aim is to provide a
strong measure of continuity from Horizon 2020 while incorporating improvements across the
project life cycle, from submission to efficient reporting and exploitation of results, as set out in the
Implementation Strategy for Horizon Europe.
Synergies by design – The deployment and uptake of research results and innovative solutions
developed in this work programme, and Horizon Europe in general, will be facilitated in cooperation
with EU funding programmes. To foster synergies between Horizon Europe and other EU
programmes and policies, they are considered in the design when designing the work programmes,
level, as well as throughout all relevant implementation steps, such as project selection,
management, communication, dissemination and exploitation of results.
Making sustainable investments – Horizon Europe’s objective is to support research and innovation
activities that fully respect climate and environmental standards and priorities of the Union and
cause no significant harm to any of them. The adoption of the EU Taxonomy Regulation15 creates a
common science-based classification system defining under which conditions economic activities in a
given sector can be considered as environmentally sustainable. Horizon Europe projects will play an
important role in helping economic operators reach or go beyond the standards and thresholds set
up in the Regulation as technical screening criteria and to keep them up-to-date. This includes setting
the bases for systemic changes over time delivering greater environmental benefits in the sector as
compared to improving the environmental performance of individual economic activities. Most
importantly, research and innovation activities’ compliance with the ‘do no significant harm’
14
   Integrating the gender dimension in research and innovation content is an umbrella term for integrating sex
and/or gender analysis, that is, ensuring that the biological characteristics and the social/cultural features of both
women and men, as well as gender equality objectives, are taken into account as relevant in the content of
research and innovation projects. For more information see: https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/gendered-
innovations-2-2020-nov-24_en
15
   Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2020 on the
establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment, and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/2088
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principle16 will ensure consistency with the European Green Deal objectives and promote the
transition to a safe, climate-neutral, climate-resilient, more resource-efficient and circular economy.
Social innovation – i.e. innovation for societal impact and innovation with citizens, academics,
entrepreneurs, and public administrators as co-designers, co-developers, and co-implementers is a
cross-cutting priority in Horizon Europe. Social innovation recognises the sociotechnical nature of all
innovations, benefits the need for society to own innovation, and serves the profound changes in
social practices required, inter alia, to achieve, the digital and energy transition, climate-neutrality,
sustainable management of natural resources, and greater societal resilience in the face of health,
climatic and other hazards.
Trustworthy technologies - All projects supported by this work programme will be in line with EU
values and adhere to the highest ethics and integrity standards. Horizon Europe is spearheading the
artificial intelligence ethics by design agenda. Due diligence will be required to make sure all AI-based
systems or techniques used or developed will be trustworthy: ethical, lawful and robust, with
particular attention to safety, accuracy, reliability and explainability.
Stakeholder involvement - The work programme for 2021 – 2022 is based on the Horizon Europe
Strategic Plan, which has been designed with and for stakeholders. In an ambitious co-design
process, involving Member States of the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA), the European
Parliament and stakeholders from all over Europe and beyond, more than 8 000 contributions from a
broad range of stakeholders have been synthesised into the first Strategic Plan for Horizon Europe
that guides the first work programmes and ensures they focus on the issues that matter most to
Europeans.
16
   As defined in Articles 17 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 18 June 2020 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment, and
amending Regulation (EU) 2019/2088
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What you will find in this work programme
Each part of this work programme, except for this Introduction, the MSCA part and the General
Annexes, is designed around a series of coherent packages of calls for proposals and impact-driven
destinations and topics.
Each destination describes socio-economic challenges to be addressed and the related expected
impacts that R&I activities will contribute to.
In many cases, destinations correspond directly to an expected impact identified in the Horizon
Europe Strategic Plan 2021-2024, as shown in the overview below. Together, the destinations of this
work programme cover the 32 expected impacts in the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan.
Under each destination, one or more topics describe the expected outcomes and the scope of the
research and innovation activities to be supported. The expected outcomes are the desired effects
of the project in the medium term such as the uptake, diffusion, use and/or deployment of the
project’s results by direct target groups. The scope describes the area of research/innovation that
needs to be tackled if the expected outcomes are to be successfully addressed, without prescribing
the method to achieve them. It is therefore up to the creativity and skill of the applicants to design a
project that will generate results and substantially contribute to the expected outcomes and impacts.
Each topic also sets out the general conditions, deadlines, budget, and any specific conditions that
may apply. The topics are grouped under calls for proposals, which is a technical term for a number
of topics that share the deadline for the opening of the topic for submission of applications.
The graphic below gives an overview of the relationship between policy priorities and project results
and explains the various terms used in this context.
                        Horizon Europe implementation logic – overview
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Getting started
Are you interested in applying for funding through Horizon Europe? On the Funding and Tenders
Portal you can see which topics are currently open for applications. The network of National Contact
Points stands ready to answer any questions you might have on the application process in your own
language.
You can also find more about the Horizon Europe programme at the Horizon Europe web page.
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Overview of Strategic Plan’s key strategic orientations, expected
impacts and corresponding work programme destinations
                                   Page 20 of 22
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                                                                                                                                                                 17
1: Full title: Democratic governance is reinvigorated by improving the accountability, transparency, effectiveness and trustworthiness of rule-of-law based institutions and
policies
2: Full title: Inclusive growth through evidence-based policies for employment, education, social fairness and inequalities, including in response to the socio-economic
challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic
                                                                           Page 22 of 22
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            ANNEX II
            “Annex II
         Horizon Europe
   Work Programme 2021-2022
2. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
                ”
 ---pagebreak--- Table of contents
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 4
MSCA Doctoral Networks: ................................................................................ 9
Call - MSCA Doctoral Networks 2021 ................................................................................. 10
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 10
  HORIZON-MSCA-2021-DN-01-01: MSCA Doctoral Networks 2021 .............................. 11
Call - MSCA Doctoral Networks 2022 ................................................................................. 14
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 14
  HORIZON-MSCA-2022-DN-01-01: MSCA Doctoral Networks 2022 .............................. 15
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships: .................................................................... 18
Call - MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2021 ....................................................................... 20
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 20
  HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01-01: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2021 ...................... 21
Call - MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 ....................................................................... 24
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 24
  HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01-01: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 ...................... 25
MSCA Staff Exchanges: ................................................................................... 30
Call - MSCA Staff Exchanges 2021 ...................................................................................... 31
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 31
  HORIZON-MSCA-2021-SE-01-01: MSCA Staff Exchanges 2021 .................................... 32
Call - MSCA Staff Exchanges 2022 ...................................................................................... 33
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 33
  HORIZON-MSCA-2022-SE-01-01: MSCA Staff Exchanges 2022 .................................... 35
MSCA Co-funding of regional, national and international programmes: .. 37
Call - MSCA COFUND 2021................................................................................................. 39
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 39
  HORIZON-MSCA-2021-COFUND-01-01: MSCA COFUND 2021 .................................. 40
Call - MSCA COFUND 2022................................................................................................. 42
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 42
  HORIZON-MSCA-2022-COFUND-01-01: MSCA COFUND 2022 .................................. 44
                                                   Page 2 of 109
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Call - MSCA and Citizens 2022 ............................................................................................ 49
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 49
  HORIZON-MSCA-2022-CITIZENS-01-01: European Researchers' Night 2022-2023 ..... 50
MSCA Support: ................................................................................................. 53
Call - Trans-national cooperation among Marie Skłodowska-Curie National Contact
Points (NCP) ........................................................................................................................... 54
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 54
  HORIZON-MSCA-2021-NCP-01-01: Trans-national cooperation among Marie
  Skłodowska-Curie National Contact Points (NCP) 2021 .................................................... 55
Call - MSCA International Cooperation 2021 ..................................................................... 57
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 57
  HORIZON-MSCA-2021-INCO-01-01: MSCA International Cooperation 2021 ............... 58
Call - MSCA for Researchers at Risk 2021 .......................................................................... 60
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 60
  HORIZON-MSCA-2021-RR-01-01: MSCA Researchers at Risk 2021.............................. 61
Other Actions not subject to calls for proposals ............................................ 63
Grants not subject to calls for proposals .............................................................................. 63
  1. Presidency event: MSCA Conference under Slovenian Presidency ................................ 63
  2. Presidency event: MSCA Conference under French Presidency ..................................... 63
  3. MSCA Special Needs Allowance to Horizon 2020 legacy projects ................................ 64
  4. Support to the Marie Curie Alumni Association .............................................................. 66
  5. MSCA4Ukraine Fellowships ........................................................................................... 68
Procurements .......................................................................................................................... 71
  1. Public Procurement for Studies ........................................................................................ 71
  2. Public Procurement for Events and Outreach .................................................................. 72
Other budget implementation instruments .......................................................................... 72
  1. External Expertise ............................................................................................................ 72
Budget ................................................................................................................. 73
                                                        Page 3 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Introduction
The European Union needs a strong, resilient, flexible and creative human resource base, with
the right combination of skills to match the future needs of the labour market, to innovate and
to convert knowledge and ideas into products and services for economic and social benefit.
The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted once more the importance of the Union’s reliance on a
highly skilled research-based human capital that is able to detect and tackle upcoming
challenges, to communicate scientific evidence to policy-makers and the public at large, and
to work across disciplines.
In this context, the Union must reinforce its efforts to encourage more young women and men
to make a career in research, promote its attractiveness for top talents from around the world,
retain its own researchers and reintegrate those working elsewhere. The Marie Skłodowska-
Curie Actions (MSCA) are the main instrument at Union-level to do so. Since their launch in
1996, they have become the Union’s reference programme for doctoral education and
postdoctoral training. Between 2014 and 2020, in the context of Horizon 2020, the MSCA
have supported 65 000 researchers in Europe and beyond, both doctoral candidates and more
experienced researchers, and have funded over 1 000 excellent international doctoral
networks.
The MSCA strongly contribute to excellent research, boosting jobs, growth and investment by
equipping researchers with new knowledge and skills and providing them with an
international as well as inter-sectoral exposure (including through academia-business
collaboration), to fill the top positions of tomorrow.
The MSCA do not only have a positive impact on individual researchers, they also contribute
to the development of excellent doctoral programmes, postdoctoral training programmes
and collaborative research projects. They have a structuring impact on higher education
institutions and other entities way beyond academia by widely spreading excellence and
setting standards for high-quality researcher education and training, not only across the
European Research Area (ERA), but also worldwide. Positive structuring effects on
organisations include:
   increasing the quality of researchers’ training and supervision offered;
   strengthening research capacity (e.g. ability to attract funding);
   improving human resources practices and procedures, and providing fairer and more
      attractive working conditions for researchers, including through career guidance and
      development;
   building new and sustainable international and inter-sectoral partnerships and networks;
      better transfer of knowledge between sectors and disciplines, enhancing their global
      reputation and visibility.
Main principles applying to the MSCA
                                             Page 4 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Excellence
The MSCA focus on excellence in various aspects: excellence does not only apply to the
individual fellows supported or the collaborations fostered and knowledge transferred, but
also to the R&I methodologies applied, the research conducted as well as the training,
supervision and career guidance provided. Long-term investment in people pays off, as
indicated inter alia by the number of Nobel Prize winners who have been either former
MSCA fellows or supervisors.
Mobility
The MSCA are based on the principle of physical mobility: researchers who receive funding
have to move from one country to another to acquire new knowledge, skills and competences,
and develop their research career. Researchers are also strongly encouraged to move between
sectors and disciplines.
While virtual mobility does not have the same multifaceted impact on the development of
individuals and sustainable cooperation among organisations as physical mobility, it can
however complement it, facilitate long-distance collaboration and be an effective means to
faster achieving research and training objectives. In this regard, all MSCA proposals are
encouraged to explore opportunities offered by e-infrastructures and related services, in
particular those provided through GEANT 1 , the pan-European research and education
network.
Bottom-up and open to the world
The MSCA are open to all domains of research and innovation, chosen freely by the
applicants in a fully bottom-up manner, addressed under the Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union. In addition, Postdoctoral Fellowships can also address domains covered by
the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom Research and
Training Programme 2021-2025). All MSCA will complement top-down collaborative
research activities, notably contributing to the Horizon Europe Missions.
The MSCA have also a strong international dimension: international cooperation is
particularly encouraged as it allows institutions to set-up strategic collaborations worldwide,
attracts foreign talents to Europe and provides European researchers with access to unique
expertise, facilities, testing environments or data available only outside Europe.
Recruitment, working/employment conditions and inclusiveness
The principles of the European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for the
Recruitment of Researchers (Charter and Code) promoting open, merit-based and
transparent recruitment and attractive working and employment conditions are a cornerstone
of the MSCA and all funded host organisations must put effort into applying them. The
MSCA pay particular attention to equal opportunities and inclusiveness. In line with the
1
        http://www.geant.org
                                            Page 5 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Charter and Code, all MSCA-funded projects are encouraged to embrace diversity and take
measures to facilitate mobility and counter-act gender and disability-related barriers to it.
MSCA projects are also encouraged to facilitate access by researchers at risk 2 , through
tailored support and career services, including job search assistance in the researcher’s new
geographical area.
Supervision
The MSCA promote effective supervision, which contribute to creating a supportive
environment for the researchers to conduct their work. In line with the principles set out in the
Charter and Code, MSCA beneficiaries must ensure adequately supervision or mentoring
and appropriate career guidance. Supervision is one of the crucial elements of successful
research. Guiding, supporting, directing, advising and mentoring are key factors for a
researcher to pursue his/her career path. In this context, all MSCA-funded projects are
encouraged to follow the recommendations outlined in the MSCA Guidelines for
supervision3.
Open Science and Responsible Research and Innovation
The MSCA endorse Open Science and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI)
through engaging society at large, integrating the gender and ethical dimensions, promoting
Open Science practices through targeted training activities, ensuring open access to research
outcomes, including FAIR4 data handling, encouraging formal and informal science education
and feeding back research results into teaching and education.
European Green Deal
The MSCA support bottom-up and frontier/applied research contributing directly to the
European Commission’s commitment to tackling climate and environmental-related
challenges. Under Horizon Europe, the MSCA will significantly contribute to promote
sustainable research in line with the European Green Deal, the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda
and the Sustainable Development Goals. All MSCA-funded projects are encouraged to
address the principles of the MSCA Green Charter5 and implement measures to minimise
the environmental footprint of their activities.
Synergies
2
        The term ‘researcher at risk’ refers to researchers at all stages of their career who are experiencing
        threats to their life, liberty, or research career, and those who are forced or have been forced to flee
        because of such threats.
3
        https://ec.europa.eu/msca/supervision. While the MSCA Guidelines for supervision are non-binding,
        funded-projects are strongly encouraged to take them into account.
4
        FAIR = Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable.
5
        https://ec.europa.eu/msca/green_charter. While the MSCA Green Charter is non-binding, funded-
        projects are strongly encouraged to take into account the principles it sets out.
                                                    Page 6 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- The MSCA promote the creation of strong links with the Cohesion policy funds and the
Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF)6, notably by creating synergies through its COFUND
action and enabling complementarities via awarding a Seal of Excellence certificate to
proposals submitted to mono-beneficiary MSCA calls. The Seal is awarded to proposals that
exceed all of the evaluation thresholds set out in this work programme, but cannot be funded
due to lack of budget.
MSCA Intervention areas
There are five main MSCA intervention areas as set out in the Council Decision establishing
the specific programme implementing Horizon Europe (Annex 1, page 11-13). All individual
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions contribute to these intervention areas to one extent or the
other:
  1. Nurturing Excellence through Mobility of Researchers across Borders, Sectors and
     Disciplines;
  2. Fostering new Skills through Excellent Training of Researchers;
  3. Strengthening Human Capital and Skills Development across the European Research
     Area;
  4. Improving and Facilitating Synergies;
  5. Promoting Public Outreach.
The following Actions within the MSCA are implementing these intervention areas:
Action                   Main Objective
MSCA Doctoral The MSCA Doctoral Networks aim to train creative, entrepreneurial,
Networks                 innovative and resilient doctoral candidates, able to face current and
                         future challenges and to convert knowledge and ideas into products and
                         services for economic and social benefit. The MSCA Doctoral Networks
                         will raise the attractiveness and excellence of doctoral training in
                         Europe. They will equip researchers with the right combination of
                         research-related and transferable competences and provide them with
                         enhanced career perspectives in both the academic7 and non-academic
                         sectors through international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral
                         mobility combined with an innovation-oriented mind-set.
MSCA                     The goal of MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships is to enhance the creative
Postdoctoral             and innovative potential of researchers holding a PhD, wishing to
6
        The Recovery and Resilience Facility supports reforms and investments undertaken by Member States.
        The aim is to mitigate the economic and social impact of the coronavirus pandemic and make European
        economies and societies more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the challenges and
        opportunities of the green and digital transitions.
7
        See definitions at the end of the Work Programme part
                                                  Page 7 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Fellowships       acquire new skills through advanced training, international,
                  interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral mobility. MSCA Postdoctoral
                  Fellowships are open to excellent researchers of any nationality,
                  including researchers wishing to reintegrate in Europe, researchers who
                  are displaced by conflict as well as researchers with high potential
                  aiming for a career restart in research. The scheme also encourages
                  researchers to work on research and innovation projects in the non-
                  academic sector.
MSCA        Staff MSCA Staff Exchanges promote innovative international, inter-sectoral
Exchanges         and interdisciplinary collaboration in research and innovation through
                  exchanging staff and sharing knowledge and ideas at all stages of the
                  innovation chain. The scheme fosters a shared culture of research and
                  innovation that welcomes and rewards creativity and entrepreneurship
                  and helps turn ideas into innovative products, services or processes. It is
                  open to research, technical, administrative and managerial staff.
MSCA COFUND       MSCA COFUND co-finances new or existing doctoral programmes
                  and postdoctoral fellowship schemes at national, regional or
                  international level with the aim to spread the best practices of the MSCA
                  including international, inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary research
                  training, as well as international and cross-sectoral mobility of
                  researchers at all stages of their career.
MSCA         and MSCA and Citizens, through the European Researchers’ Night, aims to
Citizens          bring research and researchers closer to the public at large, to increase
                  awareness of research and innovation activities and to boost public
                  recognition of science and research education. It will also show the role
                  of the researcher for the society and economy, as well as the impact of
                  researchers’ work on citizens’ daily lives, and aim at raising young
                  people’s interest for research and scientific careers.
                                        Page 8 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- MSCA Doctoral Networks:
The MSCA Doctoral Networks aim to train creative, entrepreneurial, innovative and resilient
doctoral candidates, able to face current and future challenges and to convert knowledge and
ideas into products and services for economic and social benefit.
The MSCA Doctoral Networks will raise the attractiveness and excellence of doctoral training
in Europe. They will equip researchers with the right combination of research-related and
transferable competences and provide them with enhanced career perspectives in both the
academic and non-academic sectors through international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral
mobility combined with an innovation-oriented mind-set.
Expected impact
Proposals under this Action should contribute to the following expected impacts:
    Strengthen Europe's human capital base in R&I by training highly-skilled doctoral
     candidates,
    Improve the attractiveness of researchers’ careers notably through better working and
     employment conditions of doctoral candidates in Europe
    Enhance talent and knowledge circulation across the R&I landscape, through inter-
     sectoral, interdisciplinary and international mobility
    Increase Europe's attractiveness as a leading research destination
    Enhance the quality of R&I contributing to Europe's sustainable competitiveness
    Establish sustainable collaboration between academic and non-academic organisations
    Foster the culture of open science, innovation and entrepreneurship
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this Action:
               Call                          Budgets (EUR million)           Deadline(s)
                                            2021                2022
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-DN-01 402.95                                              16 Nov 2021
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-DN-01                                   428.28            15 Nov 2022
Overall indicative budget            402.95               428.28
                                           Page 9 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Call - MSCA Doctoral Networks 2021
                                                                       HORIZON-MSCA-2021-DN-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)8
          Topics                         Type of Action             Budgets       Expected       Number
                                                                     (EUR            EU         of projects
                                                                    million) contribution expected
                                                                                 per project       to be
                                                                      2021          (EUR          funded
                                                                                  million)
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 16 Nov 2021
HORIZON-MSCA-                   TMA Doctoral Networks               402.95                      Not
2021-DN-01-01                                                                                   relevant
HORIZON-MSCA-                   TMA Doctoral Networks -                                         Not
2021-DN-01-01                   Industrial Doctorates                                           relevant
HORIZON-MSCA-                   TMA Doctoral Networks -                                         Not
2021-DN-01-01                   Joint Doctorates                                                relevant
Overall          indicative                                         402.95
budget
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions            The conditions are described in General Annex A.
Eligibility conditions              The general conditions are described in General Annex B. See
                                    exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this work
                                    programme part.
Financial and operational           The criteria are described in General Annex C.
capacity and exclusion
8
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
                                                 Page 10 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Award criteria                 For application of the general award criteria, including
                               weighting and thresholds, see the specific conditions at the end
                               of this Work Programme part.
Documents                      The documents are described in General Annex E.
Procedure                      The general procedure is described in General Annex F. See
                               exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this work
                               programme part.
Expected EU contribution       The expected EU contribution depends on the number of
per project                    person-months requested.
                               For the applicable unit contributions, see specific conditions for
                               MSCA at the end of this Work Programme part
Legal and financial set-up     The general conditions are described in General Annex G. See
of the Grant Agreements        exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this Work
                               Programme part.
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-DN-01-01: MSCA Doctoral Networks 2021
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
For supported doctoral candidates
   New research and transferable skills and competences, leading to improved
      employability and career prospects within and outside academia;
   New knowledge allowing the conversion of ideas into products and services, where
      relevant;
   Enhanced networking and communication capacities with scientific peers, as well as
      with the general public that will increase and broaden the research and innovation
      impact.
For participating organisations
   Improved quality, relevance and sustainability of doctoral training programmes and
      supervision arrangements;
   Enhanced cooperation and transfer of knowledge between sectors and disciplines;
   Increased integration of training and research activities between participating
      organisations;
                                          Page 11 of 109
 ---pagebreak---     Boosted R&I capacity;
    Increased internationalisation and attractiveness;
    Regular feedback of research results into teaching and education at participating
      organisations.
Scope: MSCA Doctoral Networks will implement doctoral programmes, by partnerships of
universities, research institutions and research infrastructures, businesses including SMEs,
and other socio-economic actors from different countries across Europe and beyond. MSCA
Doctoral Networks are indeed open to the participation of organisations from third countries,
in view of fostering strategic international partnerships for the training and exchange of
researchers.
These doctoral programmes will respond to well-identified needs in various R&I areas,
expose the researchers to the academic and non-academic sectors, and offer training in
research-related, as well as transferable skills9 and competences relevant for innovation and
long-term employability (e.g. entrepreneurship, commercialisation of results, Intellectual
Property Rights, communication). Proposals for doctoral networks can reflect existing or
planned research partnerships among the participating organisations.
The selection procedure for doctoral candidates must be open, transparent and merit-based, in
line with the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. The vacancy notice (to be
widely advertised internationally, including on the EURAXESS10 website) must include the
gross salary (not including employer’s social contributions) offered to the researcher.
MSCA Doctoral Networks are encouraged to lead to Industrial or Joint Doctorates.
Industrial Doctorates
Through Industrial Doctorates, doctoral candidates will step outside academia and develop
skills in industry and business by being jointly supervised by academic and non-academic
organisations, both of which can be established in the same EU Member State or Horizon
Europe Associated Country.
Joint Doctorates
Joint Doctorates represent a highly integrated type of international, inter-sectoral and
multi/interdisciplinary collaboration in doctoral training. They lead to the delivery of joint,
double or multiple doctoral degrees11 recognised in at least two EU Member States or Horizon
Europe Associated Countries.
Steering Board
9
        As an illustration, Eurodoc published a list of such transferable skills at: http://eurodoc.net/skills-report-
        2018.pdf
10
        https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/
11
        Every time this Work Programme part refers to doctoral degrees, this means that the degrees have to be
        recognised as such by the relevant authorities of the country or countries concerned.
                                                 Page 12 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Each MSCA Doctoral Network should have a clearly identified steering board co-ordinating
network-wide training and research activities and establishing continuous communication and
exchange of best practice among the participating organisations to maximise the benefits of
the partnership.
Training activities
MSCA Doctoral Networks should exploit complementarities between participating
organisations and foster sharing of knowledge and networking activities for example through
the organisation of workshops and conferences. Proposed training activities should respond to
well identified needs in various R&I areas, with appropriate references to inter- and
multidisciplinary fields and follow the EU Principles for Innovative Doctoral Training12. They
should be primarily focused on developing new scientific knowledge through original
research on personalised projects.
Inter-sectoral secondments of researchers to other participating organisations, including in
third countries, are encouraged when relevant, feasible and beneficial for the researchers and
in line with the project objectives. This will increase the employability of the researchers
outside academia.
Doctoral Networks should develop substantial training modules, including digital ones,
addressing key transferable skills and competences common to all fields and fostering the
culture of Open Science, innovation and entrepreneurship. In particular, Doctoral Networks
should adequately prepare doctoral candidates for increased research collaboration and
information-sharing made possible by new (digital) technologies (e.g. collaborative tools,
opening access to publications and to research data, FAIR data management, public
engagement and citizen science, etc.).
Supervision
Particular attention is paid to the quality of supervision and mentoring arrangements as well
as career guidance. Joint supervision of the researchers is mandatory for Industrial and Joint
Doctorates.
Career Development Plan
A Career Development Plan must be established jointly by the supervisor and each recruited
doctoral candidate. In case of joint supervision, such a plan should be established involving
all supervisors. In addition to research objectives, this plan comprises the researcher's training
and career needs, including training on transferable skills, teaching, planning for publications
and participation in conferences and events aiming at opening science and research to
citizens. The plan, established at the beginning of the recruitment, should be revised (and
updated where needed) within 18 months.
12
                  https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/policy_library/principles_for_innovative_docto
        ral_training.pdf
                                                  Page 13 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Call - MSCA Doctoral Networks 2022
                                                                       HORIZON-MSCA-2022-DN-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)13
          Topics                         Type of Action             Budgets       Expected       Number
                                                                     (EUR            EU         of projects
                                                                    million) contribution expected
                                                                                 per project       to be
                                                                      2022          (EUR          funded
                                                                                  million)
                                          Opening: 12 May 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 15 Nov 2022
HORIZON-MSCA-                   TMA Doctoral Networks               428.28                      Not
2022-DN-01-01                                                                                   relevant
HORIZON-MSCA-                   TMA Doctoral Networks -                                         Not
2022-DN-01-01                   Industrial Doctorates                                           relevant
HORIZON-MSCA-                   TMA Doctoral Networks -                                         Not
2022-DN-01-01                   Joint Doctorates                                                relevant
Overall          indicative                                         428.28
budget
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions            The conditions are described in General Annex A.
Eligibility conditions              The general conditions are described in General Annex B. See
                                    exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this work
                                    programme part.
Financial and operational           The criteria are described in General Annex C.
capacity and exclusion
Award criteria                      For application of the general award criteria, including
13
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
                                                 Page 14 of 109
 ---pagebreak---                                weighting and thresholds, see the specific conditions at the end
                               of this Work Programme part.
Documents                      The documents are described in General Annex E.
Procedure                      The general procedure is described in General Annex F. See
                               exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this work
                               programme part.
Expected EU contribution       The expected EU contribution depends on the number of
per project                    person-months requested.
                               For the applicable unit contributions, see specific conditions for
                               MSCA at the end of this Work Programme part
Legal and financial set-up     The general conditions are described in General Annex G. See
of the Grant Agreements        exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this Work
                               Programme part.
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-DN-01-01: MSCA Doctoral Networks 2022
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
For supported doctoral candidates
   New research and transferable skills and competences, leading to improved
      employability and career prospects within and outside academia;
   New knowledge allowing the conversion of ideas into products and services, where
      relevant;
   Enhanced networking and communication capacities with scientific peers, as well as
      with the general public that will increase and broaden the research and innovation
      impact.
For participating organisations
   Improved quality, relevance and sustainability of doctoral training programmes and
      supervision arrangements;
   Enhanced cooperation and transfer of knowledge between sectors and disciplines;
   Increased integration of training and research activities between participating
      organisations;
   Boosted R&I capacity;
                                          Page 15 of 109
 ---pagebreak---     Increased internationalisation and attractiveness;
    Regular feedback of research results into teaching and education at participating
      organisations.
Scope: MSCA Doctoral Networks will implement doctoral programmes, by partnerships of
universities, research institutions and research infrastructures, businesses including SMEs,
and other socio-economic actors from different countries across Europe and beyond. MSCA
Doctoral Networks are indeed open to the participation of organisations from third countries,
in view of fostering strategic international partnerships for the training and exchange of
researchers.
These doctoral programmes will respond to well-identified needs in various R&I areas,
expose the researchers to the academic and non-academic sectors, and offer training in
research-related, as well as transferable skills14 and competences relevant for innovation and
long-term employability (e.g. entrepreneurship, commercialisation of results, Intellectual
Property Rights, communication). Proposals for doctoral networks can reflect existing or
planned research partnerships among the participating organisations.
The selection procedure for doctoral candidates must be open, transparent and merit-based, in
line with the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. The vacancy notice (to be
widely advertised internationally, including on the EURAXESS15 website) must include the
gross salary (not including employer’s social contributions) offered to the researcher.
MSCA Doctoral Networks are encouraged to lead to Industrial or Joint Doctorates.
Industrial Doctorates
Through Industrial Doctorates, doctoral candidates will step outside academia and develop
skills in industry and business by being jointly supervised by academic and non-academic
organisations, both of which can be established in the same EU Member State or Horizon
Europe Associated Country.
Joint Doctorates
Joint Doctorates represent a highly integrated type of international, inter-sectoral and
multi/interdisciplinary collaboration in doctoral training. They lead to the delivery of joint,
double or multiple doctoral degrees16 recognised in at least two EU Member States or Horizon
Europe Associated Countries.
Supervisory Board
14
        As an illustration, Eurodoc published a list of such transferable skills at: http://eurodoc.net/skills-report-
        2018.pdf
15
        https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/
16
        Every time this Work Programme part refers to doctoral degrees, this means that the degrees have to be
        recognised as such by the relevant authorities of the country or countries concerned.
                                                 Page 16 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Each MSCA Doctoral Network should have a clearly identified supervisory board co-
ordinating network-wide training, research and in particular supervision activities in line with
the MSCA Guidelines for supervision, while establishing continuous communication and
exchange of best practice among the participating organisations to maximise the benefits of
the partnership.
Training activities
MSCA Doctoral Networks should exploit complementarities between participating
organisations and foster sharing of knowledge and networking activities for example through
the organisation of workshops and conferences. Proposed training activities should respond to
well identified needs in various R&I areas, with appropriate references to inter- and
multidisciplinary fields and follow the EU Principles for Innovative Doctoral Training17. They
should be primarily focused on developing new scientific knowledge through original
research on personalised projects.
Inter-sectoral secondments of researchers to other participating organisations, including in
third countries, are encouraged when relevant, feasible and beneficial for the researchers and
in line with the project objectives. This will increase the employability of the researchers
outside academia.
Doctoral Networks should develop substantial training modules, including digital ones,
addressing key transferable skills and competences common to all fields and fostering the
culture of Open Science, innovation and entrepreneurship. In particular, Doctoral Networks
should adequately prepare doctoral candidates for increased research collaboration and
information-sharing made possible by new (digital) technologies (e.g. collaborative tools,
opening access to publications and to research data, FAIR data management, public
engagement and citizen science, etc.).
Supervision
Particular attention is paid to the quality of supervision and mentoring arrangements as well
as career guidance. Joint supervision of the researchers is mandatory for Industrial and Joint
Doctorates.
Career Development Plan
A Career Development Plan must be established jointly by the supervisor and each recruited
doctoral candidate. In case of joint supervision, such a plan should be established involving
all supervisors. In addition to research objectives, this plan comprises the researcher's training
and career needs, including training on transferable skills, teaching, planning for publications
and participation in conferences and events aiming at opening science and research to
citizens. The plan, established at the beginning of the recruitment, should be revised (and
updated where needed) within 18 months.
17
                  https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/policy_library/principles_for_innovative_docto
        ral_training.pdf
                                                  Page 17 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships:
The goal of MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships is to enhance the creative and innovative
potential of researchers holding a PhD and who wish to acquire new skills through advanced
training, international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral mobility. MSCA Postdoctoral
Fellowships will be open to excellent researchers of any nationality. The scheme also
encourages researchers to work on research and innovation projects in the non-academic
sector and is open to researchers wishing to reintegrate in Europe, to those who are displaced
by conflict, as well as to researchers with high potential who are seeking to restart their
careers in research.
Through the implementation of an original and personalised research project, MSCA
Postdoctoral Fellowships aim to foster excellence through training and mobility and to equip
researchers with new skills and competences in order to identify solutions to current and
future challenges. Postdoctoral researchers are encouraged to reach out to society at large to
make the results of their research visible to citizens.
Expected impact
Proposals under this Action should contribute to the following expected impacts:
    Enhance the creative and innovative potential of researchers holding a PhD and wishing
      to diversify their individual competences and skills through advanced training,
      international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral mobility while implementing excellent
      research projects across all sectors of research;
    Strengthen Europe's human capital base in R&I with better trained, innovative and
      entrepreneurial researchers;
    Enhance the quality of R&I contributing to Europe's competitiveness and growth;
    Contribute to Europe's attractiveness as a leading destination for R&I and for good
      working conditions of researchers;
    Facilitate knowledge transfer and brain circulation across the ERA;
    Foster the culture of open science, innovation and entrepreneurship.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this Action:
               Call                          Budgets (EUR million)            Deadline(s)
                                            2021                2022
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01 242.00                                                12 Oct 2021
                                            Page 18 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01                        257.00 14 Sep 2022
Overall indicative budget 242.00               257.00
                                Page 19 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Call - MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2021
                                                                       HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)18
        Topics                          Type of Action              Budgets       Expected       Number
                                                                     (EUR            EU              of
                                                                    million) contribution         projects
                                                                                 per project     expected
                                                                      2021          (EUR           to be
                                                                                   million)       funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 12 Oct 2021
HORIZON-MSCA-                 TMA Postdoctoral Fellowships 205.70                               Not
2021-PF-01-01                 - European Fellowships                                            relevant
HORIZON-MSCA-                 TMA Postdoctoral Fellowships 36.30                                Not
2021-PF-01-01                 - Global Fellowships                                              relevant
Overall        indicative                                           242.00
budget
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions            The conditions are described in General Annex A.
Eligibility conditions              The general conditions are described in General Annex B. See
                                    exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this work
                                    programme part.
Financial and operational           The criteria are described in General Annex C.
capacity and exclusion
Award criteria                      For application of the general award criteria, including
                                    weighting and thresholds, see the specific conditions at the end
18
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
                                                 Page 20 of 109
 ---pagebreak---                                of this Work Programme part.
Documents                      The documents are described in General Annex E.
Procedure                      The general procedure is described in General Annex F. See
                               exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this work
                               programme part.
Expected EU contribution       The expected EU contribution depends on the number of
per project                    person-months requested.
                               For the applicable unit contributions, see specific conditions for
                               MSCA at the end of this Work Programme part
Legal and financial set-up     The general conditions are described in General Annex G. See
of the Grant Agreements        exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this Work
                               Programme part.
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01-01: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2021
Specific conditions
Indicative budget The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 205.70 million.
Type of Action       TMA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Indicative budget The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 36.30 million.
Type of Action       TMA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
For supported postdoctoral fellows
   Increased set of research and transferable skills and competences, leading to improved
      employability and career prospects of MSCA postdoctoral fellows within academia and
      beyond;
   New mind-sets and approaches to R&I work forged through interdisciplinary, inter-
      sectoral and international experience;
   Enhanced networking and communication capacities with scientific peers, as well as
      with the general public that will increase and broaden the research and innovation
      impact.
                                          Page 21 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- For participating organisations
    Increased alignment of working conditions for researchers in accordance with the
     principles set out in the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for
     the Recruitment of Researchers;
    Enhanced quality and sustainability of research training and supervision;
    Increased global attractiveness, visibility and reputation of the participating
     organisation(s);
    Stronger R&I capacity and output among participating organisations; better transfer of
     knowledge;
    Regular feedback of research results into teaching and education at participating
     organisations.
Scope: Fellowships will be provided to excellent researchers, undertaking international
mobility either to or between EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries, as
well as to non-associated Third Countries. Applications will be made jointly by the researcher
and a beneficiary in the academic or non-academic sector.
Postdoctoral Fellowships either can take place in Europe (i.e. in an EU Member State or a
Horizon Europe Associated Country) or in a Third Country not associated to Horizon Europe:
    European Postdoctoral Fellowships are open to researchers of any nationality who wish
     to engage in R&I projects by either coming to Europe from any country in the world or
     moving within Europe. The standard duration of these fellowships must be between 12
     and 24 months.
    Global Postdoctoral Fellowships are open to European nationals or long-term residents19
     who wish to engage in R&I projects with organisations outside EU Member States and
     Horizon Europe Associated Countries. These fellowships require an outgoing phase of
     minimum 12 and maximum 24 months in a non-associated Third Country, and a
     mandatory 12-month return phase to a host organisation based in an EU Member State or
     a Horizon Europe Associated Country.
Specific eligibility conditions apply to MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships in the research areas
covered by the Euratom Research and Training Programme 2021-202520.
Secondments
Researchers receiving a Postdoctoral Fellowship may opt to include a secondment phase,
within the overall duration of their fellowship in any country worldwide. The secondment
phase can be a single period or be divided into shorter mobility periods.
19
        See eligibility conditions at the end of this Work Programme part.
20
        See eligibility conditions at the end of this Work Programme part.
                                                   Page 22 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- For European Postdoctoral Fellowships, secondments cannot exceed one third of the standard
fellowship duration and should be in line with the project objectives, adding significant value
and impact to the fellowship.
For Global Postdoctoral Fellowships, optional secondments are permitted for up to one third
of the outgoing phase. A maximum of three months can be spent at the start of the project at
the beneficiary (or any other organisation mentioned in the description of the action),
allowing the researcher to spend time there before going to the associated partner in the Third
Country. Secondments cannot take place during the mandatory twelve-month return period to
the host organisation in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country.
Placements in the non-academic sector
Postdoctoral Fellowships can provide an additional period of up to six months to support
researchers seeking a placement at the end of the project to work on R&I projects in an
organisation from the non-academic sector established in an EU Member State or Horizon
Europe Associated Country21. While this possibility is also available to fellows recruited in
the non-academic sector, such a placement must be implemented at a different non-academic
host organisation established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated
Country 22 . The request for such a placement must be an integral part of the proposal,
explaining the added-value for the project and for the career development of the researcher,
and will be subject to evaluation. It must be substantiated by a letter of commitment from the
European non-academic organisation where the placement takes place23. This incentive aims
at promoting career moves between sectors and organisations and thereby stimulate
innovation and knowledge transfer while expanding career opportunities for researchers.
Training activities
The training activities implemented under the Postdoctoral Fellowships should include
training for key transferable skills 24 , foster innovation and entrepreneurship, (e.g.
commercialisation of results, Intellectual Property Rights, communication, public engagement
and citizen science) and promote Open Science practices (open access to publications and to
research data, FAIR data management, etc.).
Career Development Plan
In order to equip MSCA postdoctoral fellows with skills that enhance and expand their career
opportunities inside and outside academia, a Career Development Plan should be established
jointly by the supervisor(s) and the researcher. In addition to research objectives, this plan
should comprise the researcher's training and career needs, including training on transferable
21
        For proposals in the research areas covered by the Euratom Research and Training Programme, the
        organisation from the non-academic sector must be established in an EU Member State or a country
        associated to the Euratom Research and Training Programme 2021-2025
22
        idem
23
        In the grant agreement, these non-academic organisations must be identified as associated partners.
24
        As an illustration, Eurodoc published a list of such transferable skills at: http://eurodoc.net/skills-report-
        2018.pdf
                                                 Page 23 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- skills, teaching, planning for publications and participation in conferences and events aiming
at opening science and research to citizens. The Plan will have to be submitted as a project
deliverable at the beginning of the action and can be updated when needed.
Euratom
Aiming to enhance nuclear expertise and excellence as well as synergies between
Programmes, organisations active in nuclear research established in one of EU Member States
or countries associated to the Euratom Research and Training programme 2021-202525 , are
eligible to participate. MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships in this area of research will be
supported by the Euratom Research and Training Programme 2021-2025 through an
indicative annual financial contribution of EUR 1 million to the MSCA Postdoctoral
Fellowships call26.
ERA Fellowships
The ERA Fellowships implemented through Work Programme Annex 11, Widening
Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area, provide specific support to
researchers to undertake their fellowship in a widening country 27 . This will help spread
excellence and contribute to fostering balanced brain circulation in widening countries.
Call - MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022
                                                                          HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)28
         Topics                           Type of Action              Budgets      Expected       Number
                                                                       (EUR           EU              of
                                                                      million) contribution        projects
                                                                                  per project     expected
                                                                        2022         (EUR           to be
                                                                                    million)       funded
                                             Opening: 12 May 2022
                                            Deadline(s): 14 Sep 2022
25
         See eligibility conditions at the end of this Work Programme part
26
         As indicated in the Euratom Work Programme
27
         These countries are aligned with Work Programme part 11, Widening Participation and Strengthening
         the European Research Area
28
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
                                                    Page 24 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- HORIZON-MSCA-            TMA Postdoctoral Fellowships 218.45                          Not
2022-PF-01-01            - European Fellowships                                       relevant
HORIZON-MSCA-            TMA Postdoctoral Fellowships 38.55                           Not
2022-PF-01-01            - Global Fellowships                                         relevant
Overall       indicative                                     257.00
budget
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions       The conditions are described in General Annex A.
Eligibility conditions         The general conditions are described in General Annex B. See
                               exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this work
                               programme part.
Financial and operational      The criteria are described in General Annex C.
capacity and exclusion
Award criteria                 For application of the general award criteria, including
                               weighting and thresholds, see the specific conditions at the end
                               of this Work Programme part.
Documents                      The documents are described in General Annex E.
Procedure                      The general procedure is described in General Annex F. See
                               exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this work
                               programme part.
Expected EU contribution       The expected EU contribution depends on the number of
per project                    person-months requested.
                               For the applicable unit contributions, see specific conditions for
                               MSCA at the end of this Work Programme part
Legal and financial set-up     The general conditions are described in General Annex G. See
of the Grant Agreements        exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this Work
                               Programme part.
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01-01: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022
Specific conditions
Indicative budget The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 218.45 million.
                                           Page 25 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Type of Action       TMA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Indicative budget The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 38.55 million.
Type of Action       TMA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
For supported postdoctoral fellows
   Increased set of research and transferable skills and competences, leading to improved
     employability and career prospects of MSCA postdoctoral fellows within academia and
     beyond;
   New mind-sets and approaches to R&I work forged through interdisciplinary, inter-
     sectoral and international experience;
   Enhanced networking and communication capacities with scientific peers, as well as
     with the general public that will increase and broaden the research and innovation
     impact.
For participating organisations
   Increased alignment of working conditions for researchers in accordance with the
     principles set out in the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for
     the Recruitment of Researchers;
   Enhanced quality and sustainability of research training and supervision;
   Increased global attractiveness, visibility and reputation of the participating
     organisation(s);
   Stronger R&I capacity and output among participating organisations; better transfer of
     knowledge;
   Regular feedback of research results into teaching and education at participating
     organisations.
Scope: Fellowships will be provided to excellent researchers, undertaking international
mobility either to or between EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries, as
well as to non-associated Third Countries. Applications will be made jointly by the researcher
and a beneficiary in the academic or non-academic sector.
Postdoctoral Fellowships either can take place in Europe (i.e. in an EU Member State or a
Horizon Europe Associated Country) or in a Third Country not associated to Horizon Europe:
                                          Page 26 of 109
 ---pagebreak---     European Postdoctoral Fellowships are open to researchers of any nationality who wish
     to engage in R&I projects by either coming to Europe from any country in the world or
     moving within Europe. The standard duration of these fellowships must be between 12
     and 24 months.
    Global Postdoctoral Fellowships are open to European nationals or long-term residents29
     who wish to engage in R&I projects with organisations outside EU Member States and
     Horizon Europe Associated Countries. These fellowships require an outgoing phase of
     minimum 12 and maximum 24 months in a non-associated Third Country, and a
     mandatory 12-month return phase to a host organisation based in an EU Member State or
     a Horizon Europe Associated Country.
Specific eligibility conditions apply to MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships in the research areas
covered by the Euratom Research and Training Programme 2021-202530.
Secondments
Researchers receiving a Postdoctoral Fellowship may opt to include a secondment phase,
within the overall duration of their fellowship in any country worldwide. The secondment
phase can be a single period or be divided into shorter mobility periods.
For European Postdoctoral Fellowships, secondments cannot exceed one third of the
requested duration of the action (excluding from the duration of the action any additional
period for a non-academic placement) and should be in line with the project objectives,
adding significant value and impact to the fellowship.
For Global Postdoctoral Fellowships, optional secondments are permitted for up to one third
of the outgoing phase. A maximum of three months can be spent at the start of the project at
the beneficiary (or associated partners linked to the beneficiary), allowing the researcher to
spend time there before going to the associated partner in the Third Country. This period of
maximum three months will be considered as part of the outgoing phase.
Secondments cannot take place during the mandatory twelve-month return period to the host
organisation in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country.
Placements in the non-academic sector
Postdoctoral Fellowships can provide an additional period of up to six months to support
researchers seeking a placement at the end of the project to work on R&I projects in an
organisation from the non-academic sector established in an EU Member State or Horizon
Europe Associated Country31. While this possibility is also available to fellows recruited in
the non-academic sector, such a placement must be implemented at a different non-academic
29
        See eligibility conditions at the end of this Work Programme part.
30
        See eligibility conditions at the end of this Work Programme part.
31
        For proposals in the research areas covered by the Euratom Research and Training Programme, the
        organisation from the non-academic sector must be established in an EU Member State or a country
        associated to the Euratom Research and Training Programme 2021-2025
                                                   Page 27 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- host organisation established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated
Country 32 . The request for such a placement must be an integral part of the proposal,
explaining the added-value for the project and for the career development of the researcher,
and will be subject to evaluation. It must be substantiated by a letter of commitment from the
European non-academic organisation where the placement takes place33. This incentive aims
at promoting career moves between sectors and organisations and thereby stimulate
innovation and knowledge transfer while expanding career opportunities for researchers.
If the placement does not meet the requirements (missing letter of commitment or taking
place in an academic organisation or in a Third Country), the proposal will be evaluated
without taking into account the placement. This might affect the final score.
Training activities
The training activities implemented under the Postdoctoral Fellowships should include
training for key transferable skills 34 , foster innovation and entrepreneurship, (e.g.
commercialisation of results, Intellectual Property Rights, communication, public engagement
and citizen science) and promote Open Science practices (open access to publications and to
research data, FAIR data management, etc.).
Career Development Plan
In order to equip MSCA postdoctoral fellows with skills that enhance and expand their career
opportunities inside and outside academia, a Career Development Plan should be established
jointly by the supervisor(s) and the researcher. In addition to research objectives, this plan
should comprise the researcher's training and career needs, including training on transferable
skills, teaching, planning for publications and participation in conferences and events aiming
at opening science and research to citizens. The Plan will have to be submitted as a project
deliverable at the beginning of the action and can be updated when needed.
Euratom
Aiming to enhance nuclear expertise and excellence as well as synergies between
Programmes, organisations active in nuclear research established in one of EU Member States
or countries associated to the Euratom Research and Training programme 2021-202535 , are
eligible to participate. MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships in this area of research will be
supported by the Euratom Research and Training Programme 2021-2025 through an
indicative annual financial contribution of EUR 1 million to the MSCA Postdoctoral
Fellowships call36.
ERA Fellowships
32
         idem
33
         In the grant agreement, these non-academic organisations must be identified as associated partners.
34
         As an illustration, Eurodoc published a list of such transferable skills at: http://eurodoc.net/skills-report-
         2018.pdf
35
         See eligibility conditions at the end of this Work Programme part
36
         As indicated in the Euratom Work Programme
                                                    Page 28 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- The ERA Fellowships implemented through Work Programme Annex 11, Widening
Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area, provide specific support to
researchers to undertake their fellowship in a widening country 37 . This will help spread
excellence and contribute to fostering balanced brain circulation in widening countries.
37
        These countries are aligned with Work Programme part 11, Widening Participation and Strengthening
        the European Research Area
                                              Page 29 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- MSCA Staff Exchanges:
MSCA Staff Exchanges promote innovative international, inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary
collaboration in research and innovation through exchanging staff and sharing knowledge and
ideas at all stages of the innovation chain. The scheme fosters a shared culture of research and
innovation that welcomes and rewards creativity and entrepreneurship and helps turn ideas
into innovative products, services or processes. It is open to research, technical, administrative
and managerial staff supporting R&I activities.
Expected impact
Proposals under this Action should contribute to the following expected impacts:
   Increase international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral mobility of research staff
      within Europe and beyond through collaborative research networks and activities;
   Strengthen the R&I human capital base in Europe and beyond;
   Increase Europe's attractiveness as a leading destination for R&I;
   Contribute to Europe's competitiveness and growth through high-quality R&I;
   Foster the culture of open science, innovation and entrepreneurship.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this Action:
                Call                         Budgets (EUR million)              Deadline(s)
                                           2021                  2022
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-SE-01 72.50                                                  09 Mar 2022
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-SE-01                                   77.50                08 Mar 2023
Overall indicative budget           72.50                 77.50
                                           Page 30 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Call - MSCA Staff Exchanges 2021
                                                                        HORIZON-MSCA-2021-SE-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)38
                Topics                          Type of Action        Budgets       Expected      Number
                                                                       (EUR            EU             of
                                                                      million) contribution projects
                                                                                   per project expected
                                                                        2021          (EUR          to be
                                                                                    million)       funded
                                           Opening: 07 Oct 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 09 Mar 2022
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-SE-01-                   TMA                 Staff 72.50
01                                         Exchanges
Overall indicative budget                                             72.50
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions            The conditions are described in General Annex A.
Eligibility conditions              The general conditions are described in General Annex B. See
                                    exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this work
                                    programme part.
Financial and operational           The criteria are described in General Annex C.
capacity and exclusion
Award criteria                      For application of the general award criteria, including
                                    weighting and thresholds, see the specific conditions at the end
                                    of this Work Programme part.
Documents                           The documents are described in General Annex E.
38
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
                                                 Page 31 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Procedure                      The general procedure is described in General Annex F. See
                               exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this work
                               programme part.
Expected EU contribution       The expected EU contribution depends on the number of
per project                    person-months requested.
                               For the applicable unit contributions, see specific conditions for
                               MSCA at the end of this Work Programme part
Legal and financial set-up     The general conditions are described in General Annex G. See
of the Grant Agreements        exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this Work
                               Programme part.
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-SE-01-01: MSCA Staff Exchanges 2021
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
For staff members
   Increased set of research and transferable skills and competences, leading to improved
      employability and career prospects within and outside academia;
   More knowledge and innovative ideas converted into products, processes and services;
   More entrepreneurial mind-sets, testing new and innovative ideas;
   Increased international exposure leading to extended networks and opportunities;
   Enhanced networking and communication capacities with scientific peers, as well as
      with the general public that will increase and broaden the research and innovation
      impact.
For participating organisations
   Innovative ways of cooperation and transfer of knowledge between sectors and
      disciplines;
   Strengthened and broader international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral collaborative
      networks;
   Boosted R&I capacity.
Scope: MSCA Staff Exchanges involve organisations from the academic and non-academic
sectors (including SMEs) from across the globe.
                                          Page 32 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Support is provided for international, inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary mobility of R&I staff
leading to knowledge transfer between participating organisations.
Mobility through secondments
The organisations constituting the partnership contribute directly to the implementation of a
joint R&I project by seconding and/or hosting eligible staff members. Such a project must
explore activities that can be based on previous work but should go beyond and generate or
strengthen long-term collaborations. Secondments must always take place between legal
entities independent from each other.
MSCA Staff Exchanges can address three dimensions of mobility: inter-sectoral, international
and interdisciplinary39. While exchanges between organisations within EU Member States and
Horizon Europe Associated Countries should mainly be inter-sectoral, same-sector
exchanges 40 are also possible under the condition that they are interdisciplinary.
Interdisciplinarity is not required for same-sector exchanges with non-associated Third
Countries.
Secondments between institutions established in non-associated Third Countries or within the
same EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country are not eligible.
The collaborative approach of MSCA Staff Exchanges should exploit complementary
competences of the participating organisations and create synergies between them. The
secondments should be essential to achieve the joint project’s R&I activities. The project
should inter alia enable networking activities and the organisation of workshops and
conferences, to facilitate sharing of knowledge and testing of innovative approaches for
specific R&I topics.
Skills’ development
For participating staff members, the project should offer new skills acquisition and career
development perspectives. Participating organisations must ensure that the seconded staff are
adequately mentored.
Call - MSCA Staff Exchanges 2022
                                                                            HORIZON-MSCA-2022-SE-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)41
39
         Interdisciplinarity means the integration of information, data, techniques, tools, perspectives, concepts
         or theories from two or more scientific disciplines. These aspects will be assessed during the evaluation.
40
         See specific conditions at the end of this Work Programme part.
41
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
                                                   Page 33 of 109
 ---pagebreak---                Topics                        Type of Action         Budgets        Expected       Number
                                                                      (EUR            EU              of
                                                                    million) contribution projects
                                                                                  per project expected
                                                                       2022         (EUR            to be
                                                                                   million)        funded
                                         Opening: 06 Oct 2022
                                        Deadline(s): 08 Mar 2023
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-SE-01-                  TMA                Staff 77.50
01                                        Exchanges
Overall indicative budget                                           77.50
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions          The conditions are described in General Annex A.
Eligibility conditions            The general conditions are described in General Annex B. See
                                  exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this work
                                  programme part.
Financial and operational         The criteria are described in General Annex C.
capacity and exclusion
Award criteria                    For application of the general award criteria, including
                                  weighting and thresholds, see the specific conditions at the end
                                  of this Work Programme part.
Documents                         The documents are described in General Annex E.
Procedure                         The general procedure is described in General Annex F. See
                                  exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this work
                                  programme part.
Expected EU contribution          The expected EU contribution depends on the number of
per project                       person-months requested.
                                  For the applicable unit contributions, see specific conditions for
                                  MSCA at the end of this Work Programme part
Legal and financial set-up        The general conditions are described in General Annex G. See
of the Grant Agreements           exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this Work
                                  Programme part.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
                                               Page 34 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-SE-01-01: MSCA Staff Exchanges 2022
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
For staff members
    Increased set of research and transferable skills and competences, leading to improved
      employability and career prospects within and outside academia;
    More knowledge and innovative ideas converted into products, processes and services;
    More entrepreneurial mind-sets, testing new and innovative ideas;
    Increased international exposure leading to extended networks and opportunities;
    Enhanced networking and communication capacities with scientific peers, as well as
      with the general public that will increase and broaden the research and innovation
      impact.
For participating organisations
    Innovative ways of cooperation and transfer of knowledge between sectors and
      disciplines;
    Strengthened and broader international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral collaborative
      networks;
    Boosted R&I capacity.
Scope: MSCA Staff Exchanges involve organisations from the academic and non-academic
sectors (including SMEs) from across the globe.
Support is provided for international, inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary mobility of R&I staff
leading to knowledge transfer between participating organisations.
Mobility through secondments
The organisations constituting the partnership contribute directly to the implementation of a
joint R&I project by seconding and/or hosting eligible staff members. Such a project must
explore activities that can be based on previous work but should go beyond and generate or
strengthen long-term collaborations. Secondments must always take place between legal
entities independent from each other.
                                          Page 35 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- MSCA Staff Exchanges can address three dimensions of mobility: inter-sectoral, international
and interdisciplinary42. While exchanges between organisations within EU Member States and
Horizon Europe Associated Countries should mainly be inter-sectoral, same-sector
exchanges 43 are also possible under the condition that they are interdisciplinary.
Interdisciplinarity is not required for same-sector exchanges with non-associated Third
Countries.
Secondments between institutions established in non-associated Third Countries or within the
same EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country are not eligible.
The collaborative approach of MSCA Staff Exchanges should exploit complementary
competences of the participating organisations and create synergies between them. The
secondments should be essential to achieve the joint project’s R&I activities. The project
should inter alia enable networking activities and the organisation of workshops and
conferences, to facilitate sharing of knowledge and testing of innovative approaches for
specific R&I topics.
Skills’ development
For participating staff members, the project should offer new skills acquisition and career
development perspectives. Participating organisations must ensure that the seconded staff are
adequately mentored.
42
         Interdisciplinarity means the integration of information, data, techniques, tools, perspectives, concepts
         or theories from two or more scientific disciplines (see definitions at the end of this Work Programme
         part).
43
         See specific conditions at the end of this Work Programme part.
                                                   Page 36 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- MSCA Co-funding of regional, national and international programmes:
MSCA COFUND co-finances new or existing doctoral programmes and postdoctoral
fellowship schemes with the aim of spreading the best practices of the MSCA including
international, inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary research training, as well as international and
cross-sectoral mobility of researchers at all stages of their career.
In practice, MSCA COFUND provides complementary funding for doctoral or postdoctoral
programmes managed by entities established in EU Member States or Horizon Europe
Associated Countries. Those co-funded programmes must follow MSCA’s good practice in
terms of international recruitment and minimum standard of employment for the recruited
fellows as described in the European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for the
Recruitment of Researchers.
Expected impact
Proposals under this Action should contribute to the following expected impacts:
   Enhance talent and knowledge circulation across the R&I landscape, through inter-
     sectoral, interdisciplinary and international mobility, including by supporting regional or
     national smart specialisation strategies when appropriate;
   Align practices with MSCA policies based on the European Charter for Researchers and
     the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers;
   Improve the attractiveness of researchers’ careers notably through better working and
     employment conditions;
   Strengthen Europe's human capital base in R&I by training highly-skilled researchers;
   Increase Europe's attractiveness as a leading R&I destination;
   Enhance the quality of R&I contributing to Europe's sustainable competitiveness;
   Establish sustainable collaboration between academic and non-academic organisations;
   Foster the culture of open science, innovation and entrepreneurship.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this Action:
                  Call                              Budgets (EUR million)              Deadline(s)
                                                  2021                  2022
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-COFUND-                  89.00                                       10       Feb
01                                                                                     2022
                                            Page 37 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- HORIZON-MSCA-2022-COFUND-                95.00 09   Feb
01                                             2023
Overall indicative budget 89.00          95.00
                          Page 38 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Call - MSCA COFUND 2021
                                                                HORIZON-MSCA-2021-COFUND-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)44
               Topics                       Type of Action         Budgets       Expected      Number of
                                                                    (EUR            EU           projects
                                                                   million) contribution         expected
                                                                                per project        to be
                                                                     2021          (EUR           funded
                                                                                  million)
                                           Opening: 12 Oct 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 10 Feb 2022
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-                       TMA-Cofund-               89.00                       Not
COFUND-01-01                             Doctoral                                              relevant
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-                       TMA-Cofund-                                           Not
COFUND-01-01                             Postdoctoral                                          relevant
Overall indicative budget                                          89.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions            The conditions are described in General Annex A.
Eligibility conditions              The general conditions are described in General Annex B. See
                                    exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this work
                                    programme part.
Financial and operational           The criteria are described in General Annex C.
capacity and exclusion
Award criteria                      For application of the general award criteria, including
                                    weighting and thresholds, see the specific conditions at the end
                                    of this Work Programme part.
44
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
                                                 Page 39 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Documents                      The documents are described in General Annex E.
Procedure                      The general procedure is described in General Annex F. See
                               exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this work
                               programme part.
Expected EU contribution       The expected EU contribution depends on the number of
per project                    person-months requested.
                               For the applicable unit contributions, see specific conditions for
                               MSCA at the end of this Work Programme part
Legal and financial set-up     The general conditions are described in General Annex G. See
of the Grant Agreements        exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this Work
                               Programme part.
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-COFUND-01-01: MSCA COFUND 2021
Expected Outcome:
Projects results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
For supported doctoral candidates or postdoctoral researchers
   Deeper and more diverse set of research-related and transferable skills and competences;
   Improved employability and career prospects both within academia and beyond;
   New mind-sets and approaches to R&I work forged through interdisciplinary and inter-
      sectoral experience;
   Enhanced networking and communication capacities with scientific peers, as well as
      with the general public that will increase and broaden the research and innovation
      impact.
For participating organisations
   Enhanced quality and sustainability of research training;
   Increased global attractiveness, visibility and reputation of the participating
      organisation(s);
   Stronger R&I capacity and output among participating organisations;
   Increased contribution of the participating organisations to the local, regional and/or
      national socio-economic ecosystems;
                                          Page 40 of 109
 ---pagebreak---     Regular feedback of research results into teaching and education at participating
      organisations.
Scope: Applicants submit proposals for new or existing doctoral or postdoctoral programmes
with an impact on the enhancement of human resources in R&I at regional, national or
international level. These programmes will be co-funded by MSCA COFUND.
Proposed programmes can cover any research disciplines ("bottom-up"), but exceptionally
can also focus on specific disciplines, notably when they are based on national or regional
Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3 strategies). In this case, the
range of covered disciplines should allow reasonable flexibility for the researchers to define
their topic.
Funding synergies with Cohesion policy funds and the Recovery and Resilience Facility
(RRF) are strongly encouraged45,46.
A Career Development Plan must be jointly established by the supervisor and each recruited
researcher upon recruitment. In addition to research objectives, this Plan comprises the
researcher's training and career needs, including training on transferable skills, teaching,
planning for publications and participation in conferences and events aimed at opening
science and research to citizens. The Plan must be established at the beginning of the
recruitment and should be revised (and updated where needed) within 18 months.
COFUND takes the form of:
A) Doctoral programmes
Doctoral programmes offer research training activities to allow doctoral candidates to develop
and broaden their skills and competences. They will lead to the award of a doctoral degree in
at least one EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. The training activities
should be based on the EU Principles on Innovative Doctoral Training.
Substantial training modules, including digital ones, addressing key transferable skills and
competences common to all fields and fostering the culture of Open Science, innovation and
entrepreneurship will be supported. They will include, inter alia, training on the use of
collaborative tools, opening access to publications and to research data, FAIR data
management, public engagement and citizen science.
On top of compulsory international mobility, applicants are encouraged to include elements of
cross-sectoral mobility and interdisciplinarity into their programmes. Collaboration with a
wider set of associated partners, including from the non-academic sector, will be positively
taken into account during the evaluation. These organisations may provide hosting or
secondment opportunities or training modules in research or transferable skills.
45
         https://ec.europa.eu/research/regions/index.cfm?pg=synergies
46       The Recovery and Resilience Facility supports reforms and investments undertaken by Member States. The aim is to mitigate the economic and social impact of
         the coronavirus pandemic and make European economies and societies more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of
         the green and digital transitions.
                                                                     Page 41 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Particular attention is paid to the quality of supervision and mentoring arrangements as well
as career guidance. The selection procedure for doctoral candidates must be open, transparent
and merit-based, in line with the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. The
vacancy notice (to be widely advertised internationally, including on the EURAXESS 47
website) must include the minimum gross salary (not including employer’s social
contributions) offered to the researcher.
B) Postdoctoral Programmes
Postdoctoral Programmes fund individual advanced research training and career development
fellowships for postdoctoral researchers. The programmes should offer training to develop
key transferable skills and competences common to all fields, foster innovation and
entrepreneurship and promote and (where appropriate) reward Open Science practices (open
access to publications and to research data, FAIR data management, public engagement and
citizen science, etc.).
Postdoctoral Programmes should have regular selection rounds following fixed deadlines or
regular cut-off dates, allowing fair competition between researchers. The selections should be
open, widely advertised internationally (including on the EURAXESS website), competitive,
merit-based and with a transparent international peer review, in line with the Code of Conduct
for the Recruitment of Researchers. The vacancy notice must include the minimum gross
salary (not including employer’s social contributions) offered to the postdoctoral researcher.
On top of compulsory international mobility, applicants are encouraged to include elements of
cross-sectoral mobility and interdisciplinarity into their programmes. Researchers will be able
to freely choose a research topic and the appropriate organisation to host them, fitting their
individual needs.
Call - MSCA COFUND 2022
                                                                HORIZON-MSCA-2022-COFUND-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)48
               Topics                       Type of Action         Budgets       Expected      Number of
                                                                    (EUR            EU           projects
                                                                   million) contribution         expected
                                                                                per project        to be
                                                                     2022
47
        https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/
48
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
                                                 Page 42 of 109
 ---pagebreak---                                                                           (EUR         funded
                                                                         million)
                                      Opening: 11 Oct 2022
                                    Deadline(s): 09 Feb 2023
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-                 TMA-Cofund-              95.00                    Not
COFUND-01-01                       Doctoral                                          relevant
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-                 TMA-Cofund-                                       Not
COFUND-01-01                       Postdoctoral                                      relevant
Overall indicative budget                                   95.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions       The conditions are described in General Annex A.
Eligibility conditions         The general conditions are described in General Annex B. See
                               exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this work
                               programme part.
Financial and operational      The criteria are described in General Annex C.
capacity and exclusion
Award criteria                 For application of the general award criteria, including
                               weighting and thresholds, see the specific conditions at the end
                               of this Work Programme part.
Documents                      The documents are described in General Annex E.
Procedure                      The general procedure is described in General Annex F. See
                               exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this work
                               programme part.
Expected EU contribution       The expected EU contribution depends on the number of
per project                    person-months requested.
                               For the applicable unit contributions, see specific conditions for
                               MSCA at the end of this Work Programme part
Legal and financial set-up     The general conditions are described in General Annex G. See
of the Grant Agreements        exceptions and specific conditions at the end of this Work
                               Programme part.
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
                                           Page 43 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- HORIZON-MSCA-2022-COFUND-01-01: MSCA COFUND 2022
Expected Outcome:
Projects results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
For supported doctoral candidates or postdoctoral researchers
    Deeper and more diverse set of research-related and transferable skills and competences;
    Improved employability and career prospects both within academia and beyond;
    New mind-sets and approaches to R&I work forged through interdisciplinary and inter-
      sectoral experience;
    Enhanced networking and communication capacities with scientific peers, as well as
      with the general public that will increase and broaden the research and innovation
      impact.
For participating organisations
    Enhanced quality and sustainability of research training;
    Increased global attractiveness, visibility and reputation of the participating
      organisation(s);
    Stronger R&I capacity and output among participating organisations;
    Increased contribution of the participating organisations to the local, regional and/or
      national socio-economic ecosystems;
    Regular feedback of research results into teaching and education at participating
      organisations.
Scope: Applicants submit proposals for new or existing doctoral or postdoctoral programmes
with an impact on the enhancement of human resources in R&I at regional, national or
international level. These programmes will be co-funded by MSCA COFUND.
Proposed programmes can cover any research disciplines ("bottom-up"), but exceptionally
can also focus on specific disciplines, notably when they are based on national or regional
Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3 strategies). In this case, the
range of covered disciplines should allow reasonable flexibility for the researchers to define
their topic.
Funding synergies with Cohesion policy funds and the Recovery and Resilience Facility
(RRF) are strongly encouraged49,50.
49
        https://ec.europa.eu/research/regions/index.cfm?pg=synergies
                                                 Page 44 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- A Career Development Plan must be jointly established by the supervisor and each recruited
researcher upon recruitment. In addition to research objectives, this Plan comprises the
researcher's training and career needs, including training on transferable skills, teaching,
planning for publications and participation in conferences and events aimed at opening
science and research to citizens. The Plan must be established at the beginning of the
recruitment and should be revised (and updated where needed) within 18 months.
COFUND takes the form of:
A) Doctoral programmes
Doctoral programmes offer research training activities to allow doctoral candidates to develop
and broaden their skills and competences. They will lead to the award of a doctoral degree in
at least one EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. The training activities
should be based on the EU Principles on Innovative Doctoral Training.
Substantial training modules, including digital ones, addressing key transferable skills and
competences common to all fields and fostering the culture of Open Science, innovation and
entrepreneurship will be supported. They will include, inter alia, training on the use of
collaborative tools, opening access to publications and to research data, FAIR data
management, public engagement and citizen science.
On top of compulsory international mobility, applicants are encouraged to include elements of
cross-sectoral mobility and interdisciplinarity into their programmes. Collaboration with a
wider set of associated partners, including from the non-academic sector, will be positively
taken into account during the evaluation. These organisations may provide hosting or
secondment opportunities or training modules in research or transferable skills.
Particular attention is paid to the quality of supervision and mentoring arrangements as well
as career guidance. The selection procedure for doctoral candidates must be open, transparent
and merit-based, in line with the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. The
vacancy notice (to be widely advertised internationally, including on the EURAXESS 51
website) must include the minimum gross salary (not including employer’s social
contributions) offered to the researcher.
B) Postdoctoral Programmes
Postdoctoral Programmes fund individual advanced research training and career development
fellowships for postdoctoral researchers. The programmes should offer training to develop
key transferable skills and competences common to all fields, foster innovation and
entrepreneurship and promote and (where appropriate) reward Open Science practices (open
access to publications and to research data, FAIR data management, public engagement and
citizen science, etc.).
50        The Recovery and Resilience Facility supports reforms and investments undertaken by Member States. The aim is to mitigate the economic and social impact
         of the coronavirus pandemic and make European economies and societies more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of
         the green and digital transitions.
51
         https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/
                                                                     Page 45 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Postdoctoral Programmes should have regular selection rounds following fixed deadlines or
regular cut-off dates, allowing fair competition between researchers. The selections should be
open, widely advertised (including on the EURAXESS website), competitive, merit-based and
with a transparent international peer review, in line with the Code of Conduct for the
Recruitment of Researchers. The vacancy notice must include the minimum gross salary (not
including employer’s social contributions) offered to the postdoctoral researcher.
On top of compulsory international mobility, applicants are encouraged to include elements of
cross-sectoral mobility and interdisciplinarity into their programmes. Researchers will be able
to freely choose a research topic and the appropriate organisation to host them, fitting their
individual needs.
                                          Page 46 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- MSCA and Citizens:
MSCA and Citizens aims to bring research and researchers closer to the public at large, to
increase awareness of research and innovation activities and to boost public recognition of
science and research education. It will show the role of the researcher for the society and
economy, as well as the impact of researchers’ work on citizens’ daily lives. It also aims to
raise the interest of young people in research and scientific careers.
MSCA and Citizens will address the general public, attracting people regardless of the level
of their scientific background, with a specific focus on families, pupils, students, and notably
those who do not have easy access to, and thus are less inclined to engage in, STEAM fields
(science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) or research activities. Inclusiveness
should be key, in view of broadening access to science and research to all.
MSCA and Citizens should also promote gender balance and inclusiveness in science, Open
Science, and Responsible Research and Innovation.
These objectives will be pursued through the organisation of the European Researchers’
Night, the largest research communication and promotion event taking place across EU
Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries.
The European Researchers’ Night will include the Researchers at Schools initiative which
aims to strengthen the connection between research and education, by bringing researchers to
schools to encourage interaction with pupils at all levels of primary and secondary education.
Researchers and school pupils will meet to talk about current and future challenges of our
societies and the related key role of research. Pupils will learn directly about research projects
and activities addressing the EU priorities and main orientations.
Expected impact
Proposals under this Action should contribute to the following expected impacts:
   Enhance engagement with citizens on R&I;
   Increase awareness among the general public of the importance and benefits of R&I and
      its concrete impact on citizens’ daily life;
   Contribute to the diffusion and the promotion of excellence research projects across
      Europe and beyond;
   Raise the interest of young people in science and research careers;
   Contribute to a better understanding of the European Union policies and programmes
      among the general public;
   Support school teachers in developing a scientific approach around priority topics and
      creating a learning opportunity for pupils through a direct interaction with researchers.
                                           Page 47 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this Action:
                  Call                       Budgets (EUR       Deadline(s)
                                                million)
                                                  2022
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-CITIZENS-01 15.50                            07 Oct 2021
Overall indicative budget                  15.50
                                         Page 48 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Call - MSCA and Citizens 2022
                                                                HORIZON-MSCA-2022-CITIZENS-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)52
                      Topics                            Type      Budgets      Expected EU        Number
                                                           of       (EUR        contribution          of
                                                       Action     million)       per project       projects
                                                                                   (EUR           expected
                                                                    2022
                                                                                 million)53         to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 07 Oct 2021
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-CITIZENS-01-01 CSA                             15.50        0.05 to 0.15        50
Overall indicative budget                                        15.50
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                      The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                      The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                   C.
Award criteria                                              The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                            D.
Documents                                                   The documents are described in General
                                                            Annex E.
52
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
53
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
                                                 Page 49 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Procedure                                           The procedure is described in General
                                                    Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant             The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-CITIZENS-01-01: European Researchers' Night 2022-2023
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         0.05 and 0.15 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.50 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               Eligible costs will take the form of lump sum contributions as
                         stipulated in Decision of 11 March 2021 authorising the use of lump
                         sum contributions and unit contributions for Marie Skłodowska-Curie
                         actions under the Horizon Europe Programme.
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
For researchers
   Enhanced opportunities to interact with citizens and local, regional and national
     authorities;
   Improved communication skills and competences to interact with a non-research
     audience, notably with pupils and students.
For organisations
   Increased reputation and visibility of participating organisations in terms of hosting
     excellence research projects towards the general public and possible future students;
   Researchers’ work made more tangible, concrete, accessible, and thus opening research
     and science to all;
                                           Page 50 of 109
 ---pagebreak---     Improved outreach to all audiences, and notably those who do not have an easy access to
      science and research activities;
    Better communication of R&I results and activities to society, increased and
      strengthened opportunities for citizens’ engagement.
Scope: The European Researchers' Night takes place every year, on the last Friday of
September54. It supports events that can last up to two days: they can start on Friday and
continue the following day. Pre-events, prior to the main event, and related post-events, such
as wrap-up meetings or small-scale follow-up events, can also be organised.
It is the occasion for a Europe-wide public and media event for the promotion of research
careers, in particular focused on young people and their families.
The European Researchers’ Night targets the general public, addressing and attracting people
regardless of the level of their scientific background, with a special focus on families, pupils
and students, and notably those who do not have easy access to, and thus are less inclined to
engage in STEAM fields (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) or research
activities.
The European Researchers’ Night will also bring researchers to schools to interact with pupils
at any time during the project duration. The Researchers at Schools activities will allow
researchers and pupils to interact on societal challenges and on the key role of research to
address them. Pupils will thus also learn directly about research projects and initiatives related
to EU main priorities.
Types of activities
Activities can combine education with entertainment, especially when addressing young
audiences. They can take various forms, such as exhibitions, hands-on experiments, science
shows, simulations, debates, games, competitions, quizzes, etc. Where appropriate,
engagement with educational institutions should be sought in order to encourage formal and
informal science education with the aim of improving the scientific knowledge base. This will
be particularly relevant for Researchers at Schools activities, which will allow researchers to
showcase their work and interact with pupils. Researchers will engage with teachers and
pupils on challenges related to climate change, sustainable development, health and other
issues related to the European Commission priorities and main orientations, such as the
European Green Deal or the EU Research and Innovation Missions. The Researchers at
Schools activities should take place throughout the year and should be subject to a dedicated
promotion, particularly towards schools.
The European Researchers’ Night should be highlighted as a European (and Europe-wide)
event, and each proposal should promote the European Union and its impact on citizens’ daily
54
         Except for countries which for strong cultural reasons would be prevented from organising any action
         addressing the public at large on such a date.
                                                  Page 51 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- life in the most appropriate way, according to the set-up and the configuration of the event, its
location and its activities.
Involvement of researchers funded by Horizon Europe or previous Framework Programmes,
notably by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, is highly encouraged.
The European Researchers’ Night promotes gender balance, diversity and inclusiveness in
science in terms of planned activities and researchers involved.
The European Commission has defined priorities, notably through the Horizon Europe
Missions, which aim to tackle challenges faced by our societies.
For the 2022 call, applicants are encouraged to focus on, and include activities relating to,
priorities identified by the Missions in their events.
Partnerships and coordination at regional, national or cross-border levels will be strongly
encouraged aiming at a good geographical spread and avoiding overlaps. Activities carried-
out in non-associated third countries are not eligible for funding.
Applicants are encouraged to submit proposals covering two successive editions (2022 and
2023) of the European Researcher’s Night.
High-quality applications not retained due to lack of funding may be granted the status of
associated events.
Eligible costs will take the form of lump sum contributions as stipulated in Decision of 11
March 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions and unit contributions for Marie
Skłodowska-Curie actions under the Horizon Europe Programme.
The expected EU contribution per project, mentioned in the indicative budget and specific
conditions above, are for a single55 annual edition of the European Researchers' Night.
55
         The expected contribution for projects covering two editions of the European Researchers’ Night is
         between EUR 0.1 and 0.3 million, but this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
         requesting different amounts.
                                               Page 52 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- MSCA Support:
MSCA Support includes a set of activities organised through calls for proposals to promote,
support and complement the MSCA implementation. They will cover:
   the facilitation of cooperation between MSCA National Contact Points (NCPs);
   the promotion of the MSCA at international level;
   the support to European and national initiatives and programmes in support of
     researchers at risk.
Expected impact
Proposals under MSCA Support should contribute to some of the following expected impacts:
   Improve and further professionalise MSCA NCP services allowing a wider diffusion of
     the programme, lowering entry barriers for newcomers and increasing the overall quality
     of submitted proposals;
   Contribute to a more strategic international cooperation in MSCA in line with R&I
     mutual interests and EU external policies;
   Strengthen co-operation between European and national initiatives and programmes in
     support of researchers who are experiencing threats to their life, liberty, or research
     career, and those who are forced or have been forced to flee because of such threats.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this Action:
                Call                    Budgets (EUR       Deadline(s)
                                           million)
                                            2021
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-NCP-01              2.00                31 Aug 2021
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-INCO-01 2.00                            05 Oct 2021
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-RR-01               1.50                06 Jan 2022
Overall indicative budget             5.50
                                         Page 53 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Call - Trans-national cooperation among Marie Skłodowska-Curie National Contact
Points (NCP)
                                                                      HORIZON-MSCA-2021-NCP-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)56
                  Topics                         Type       Budgets          Expected EU          Number
                                                  of          (EUR         contribution per           of
                                                Action       million)        project (EUR          projects
                                                                               million)57         expected
                                                              2021                                  to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 31 Aug 2021
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-NCP-01-01 CSA                            2.00          1.50 to 2.00             1
Overall indicative budget                                  2.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
56
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
57
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
                                                 Page 54 of 109
 ---pagebreak---                                                    Annex E.
Procedure                                          The procedure is described in General
                                                   Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant            The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-NCP-01-01: Trans-national                     cooperation      among     Marie
Skłodowska-Curie National Contact Points (NCP) 2021
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 1.50
contribution per     and 2.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action       Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                     Applicants must be Horizon Europe national support structures (e.g.
                     NCP) responsible for MSCA and officially nominated to the
                     Commission, from a Member State or Associated Country.
                     Only in case and as long as Horizon Europe structures would not yet be
                     officially nominated, national support structures responsible for MSCA
                     nominated for Horizon 2020 would be eligible
                     Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                     exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
                     Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in non-associated
                     third countries are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
Procedure            The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                     exceptions apply:
                     The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
                     The evaluation committee will be composed partially or fully by
                     representatives of EU institutions.
                                          Page 55 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Expected Outcome:
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    An improved and professionalised NCP service across Europe, thereby helping simplify
      access to Horizon Europe calls, lowering the entry barriers for newcomers, and raising
      the average quality of proposals submitted;
    Harmonised and improved trans-national cooperation between NCPs;
    More consistent level of NCP support services across Europe and beyond, notably in
      widening countries;
    Increased participation of third-country NCPs in the activities of the action.
Scope: The objective is to facilitate the trans-national co-operation between National Contact
Points (NCPs) for the MSCA, including those established in Third Countries, with a view to
identifying and sharing good practices and raising the general standard of support to
applicants, taking into account the diversity of actors and experiences.
Support will be given to a consortium of formally nominated MSCA NCPs. The activities will
be tailor-made to the needs and priorities of the NCPs concerned and may include
benchmarking, joint workshops, enhanced cross-border brokerage events, training sessions
linked to the MSCA and wider R&I priorities and tools, twinning and mentoring schemes.
Special attention will be given to enhancing the competence of MSCA NCPs, including
helping newcomers and less experienced NCPs to rapidly acquire the know-how accumulated
by their peers. Cooperation with other EU networks such as Euraxess Worldwide, Enterprise
Europe Network, COST, will be encouraged to increase the visibility to potential
beneficiaries, especially in the non-academic sector.
Addressing the R&I gap
There still is a research and innovation gap across Europe and discrepancies remain between
European countries in their capacity to attract funding and researchers. This gap is observed in
the MSCA as well. Particular emphasis on continuing the efforts to close this gap will mark
the first years of the MSCA under Horizon Europe. Therefore, specific measures to support
the NCPs in “widening countries,” such as training and mentorship schemes, should be
organised to stimulate more high-quality applications with beneficiaries in these countries and
increase their success rate in MSCA.
Attract researchers from third countries
The MSCA are the main EU instrument to attract researchers from Third Countries to Europe.
Specific measures to encourage Third-Country NCPs to create contacts and participate in the
activities of the project (e.g. training, twinning, mentoring, and other capacity building and
networking activities) should be foreseen.
                                           Page 56 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- The focus throughout should be on issues specific to the MSCA and should not duplicate
actions foreseen in the NCP network under “Widening participation and strengthening the
European Research Area”.
The consortium should have a good representation of experienced and less experienced NCPs
and include NCPs from widening countries.
Submission of a single proposal is encouraged. NCPs choosing not to participate as a member
of the consortium are nevertheless invited and encouraged to participate in the project
activities (e.g. workshops).
The expected duration of the action will be 36 months.
Call - MSCA International Cooperation 2021
                                                                      HORIZON-MSCA-2021-INCO-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)58
                    Topics                         Type       Budgets          Expected EU         Number
                                                     of         (EUR         contribution per          of
                                                  Action      million)         project (EUR         projects
                                                                                 million)59        expected
                                                                 2021                                to be
                                                                                                    funded
                                            Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                          Deadline(s): 05 Oct 2021
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-INCO-01-01 CSA                             2.00          1.50 to 2.00            1
Overall indicative budget                                    2.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex A.
58
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
59
         Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
         amounts.
                                                  Page 57 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Eligibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                    Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and              The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                           C.
Award criteria                                      The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                    D.
Documents                                           The documents are described in General
                                                    Annex E.
Procedure                                           The procedure is described in General
                                                    Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant             The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-INCO-01-01: MSCA International Cooperation 2021
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 1.50
contribution per      and 2.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Procedure             The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
                      The evaluation committee will be composed partially or fully by
                      representatives of EU institutions.
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Broader and more strategic promotion of international cooperation opportunities offered
     through MSCA;
   Monitoring progress, opportunities and challenges in MSCA bilateral and bi-regional
     cooperation with main international partner countries and regions;
                                           Page 58 of 109
 ---pagebreak---     Strengthening complementarities with other relevant promotion and cooperation
      initiatives funded through Horizon Europe or other EU programmes.
Scope: The objective is to foster international cooperation in MSCA in Horizon Europe,
through a dedicated support action to complement and ensure coordination between existing
promotion channels at local level, and ensure consistency with formal R&I policy dialogues at
bilateral and regional levels. Focus should be given:
    At bilateral level on countries having concluded bilateral Science and Technology
      Agreements with the EU (Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China,
      Egypt, India, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Russia, South
      Africa, Tunisia, Ukraine and the United States).
    At regional level, on bi-regional research and innovation policy dialogues, established
      notably with the African Union, ASEAN, LAC, Mediterranean partner countries, Eastern
      Partnership countries and Western Balkans.
Based on the outcomes of a study60 on the MSCA international dimension in Horizon 2020,
activities to be implemented should include:
    Policy support to bilateral/bi-regional cooperation: assessing main cooperation trends,
      opportunities and challenges related to local developments in the R&I/higher education
      domain; identifying possible gaps versus joint priorities and participation of prominent
      local stakeholders; reviewing existing cooperation mechanisms (info relays, training, co-
      funding schemes) relevance and efficiency for MSCA; identifying main existing or
      planned cooperation initiatives to build upon, as well as major local players, networks
      and associations to be prioritized; qualitative monitoring of the participation in the
      different MSCA calls; preparing background reports ahead of joint committee meetings
      and regional dialogues; providing contributions to newsletters and periodic reports from
      existing information relays, e.g. Euraxess Worldwide, EU Delegations.
    Promotion of MSCA cooperation opportunities: identifying main local/bilateral or bi-
      regional events to target for MSCA promotion and opportunities for ad-hoc events co-
      located with bilateral/regional policy dialogues; liaising with local MSCA info relays,
      including local NCPs, Euraxess Worldwide offices, EU Delegations/S&T Counsellors,
      National        Erasmus+        Offices,        Enterprise      Europe      Network  and other
      stakeholders/association representatives to identify coordinated promotion plans;
      organising MSCA promotion and training sessions (including through the physical
      participation of EU trainers when relevant); liaising with the EU NCP coordination
      platform to coordinate promotion activities with MSCA NCPs
    Cross cutting activities: analysing consistency with EU R&I bilateral and bi-regional,
      cooperation roadmaps and action plans, people-to-people dialogues, synergies with
60
         https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/b15de047-216e-11ea-95ab-
         01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF/source-112180987
                                                  Page 59 of 109
 ---pagebreak---      promotion events and activities related to Horizon Europe, including ERC or COST and
     other EU programmes (in particular Erasmus+).
The expected duration of the action is 36 months.
Call - MSCA for Researchers at Risk 2021
                                                                        HORIZON-MSCA-2021-RR-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)61
                 Topics                       Type         Budgets           Expected EU          Number
                                                 of         (EUR           contribution per           of
                                             Action        million)          project (EUR          projects
                                                                               million)62         expected
                                                            2021                                    to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 02 Sep 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 06 Jan 2022
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-RR-01-01 CSA                           1.50           1.00 to 1.50              1
Overall indicative budget                                1.50
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
61
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
62
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
                                                 Page 60 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Documents                                           The documents are described in General
                                                    Annex E.
Procedure                                           The procedure is described in General
                                                    Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant             The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-RR-01-01: MSCA Researchers at Risk 2021
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 1.00
contribution per      and 1.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.50 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Procedure             The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
                      The evaluation committee will be composed partially or fully by
                      representatives of EU institutions.
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   A more consistent and sustained level of coordination and preparedness for supporting
     researchers at risk at European, national and institutional level;
   Improved support to researchers at risk through the provision of policy
     recommendations, as well as advice and assistance on their implementation;
   A more sustainable and professionalised support network/structure/system for
     researchers at risk across Europe, facilitating access to funding and networking
     opportunities, creating level playing field for applicants to European and national R&I
     programmes, and raising the quality of submitted proposals;
   More synergies between initiatives supporting researchers at risk funded by EU
     programmes (such as Horizon Europe and Erasmus+) and national or institutional actors;
                                           Page 61 of 109
 ---pagebreak---    Increased exposure of researchers at risk to the industry and to the non-academic sector;
   Greater awareness in Europe and beyond on why researchers are at risk and ways to
      support them.
Scope: To build on the results of the Researchers at Risk initiative “InSPIREurope” launched
under the MSCA in 2019, further support is envisaged towards national and international
organisations working with researchers at risk and aiming to enhance and professionalise their
activities. The support action should take into consideration existing work and new challenges
for researchers at risk, such as the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. It should further
facilitate and strengthen cooperation and linkages between European, national and
institutional initiatives and programmes, increasing awareness on why researchers are at risk,
as well as identifying and delivering the best possible solutions.
The support action should be aligned with the general objectives of the MSCA, in particular
scientific excellence, skills and career development, inter-sectoral mobility, equal
opportunities and inclusiveness, attractive working conditions, work/life balance, while
fostering open science, innovation and entrepreneurship. It should not duplicate other actions
foreseen under Horizon Europe or other EU-funded programmes such as Erasmus+, but rather
build synergies between these programmes. The activities carried out under this support
action should complement actions in Member States and third countries associated to Horizon
Europe.
The expected duration of the action is 36 months.
                                           Page 62 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Other Actions not subject to calls for proposals
Grants not subject to calls for proposals
1. Presidency event: MSCA Conference under Slovenian Presidency
Expected Outcome:
The project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes
   More focused policy orientations to foster brain circulation in the EU;
   Preparation of new tools and instruments for better, stable, less precarious and more
      long-term working perspectives for younger MSCA fellows in line with their career
      development plans.
Scope:
The Conference will focus on MSCA fellows’ mobility patterns, especially on researchers’
outgoing mobility processes from national perspectives and their reintegration after they have
concluded their research training.
The evaluation committee will be composed fully by representatives of EU institutions.
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Legal entities:
Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, Masarykova cesta 16, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
Indicative timetable: Fourth Quarter 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.15 million from the 2021 budget
2. Presidency event: MSCA Conference under French Presidency
Expected Outcome:
The project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
                                          Page 63 of 109
 ---pagebreak---      reinforcing the MSCA instrumental role in bridging the European Research Area and the
      European Education Area
     contributing to policy orientations in different areas covered in MSCA, such as: doctoral
      training, attractiveness of scientific careers, international and inter-sectoral mobility of
      researchers
Scope:
The MSCA Presidency Conference 2022 will target the three following priorities of the
French Presidency, carried by the French Ministry for Higher Education, Research and
Innovation :
   1. Synergies between the four components of the “knowledge square” : education, research,
      innovation and citizen engagement;
   2. The advancement of the European universities project;
   3. International cooperation through researchers’ mobility worldwide
The evaluation committee will be composed fully by representatives of EU institutions.
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Legal entities:
Université Paris Sciences & Lettres (PSL), 60 Rue Mazarine, 75006 Paris, France
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
Indicative timetable: Second quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.15 million from the 2022 budget
3. MSCA Special Needs Allowance to Horizon 2020 legacy projects
The MSCA pay particular attention to accessibility and inclusiveness and foresee financial
support for the additional costs entailed by recruited or seconded researchers/staff members
with disabilities whose long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments 63 are
as such that their participation in MSCA would not be possible without extra financial
support.
63
         See Article 1 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
                                                Page 64 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Beneficiaries of Horizon 2020 ITN, IF, RISE and COFUND grants can continue to apply for a
dedicated special needs grant. This grant, which takes the form of a Coordination and Support
Action (CSA), will cover the additional costs that researchers/staff members with disabilities
face due to the increased costs of their mobility. It can also be used to ensure necessary
assistance by third persons or for adapting their work environment 64. It cannot cover costs
which are already covered by another source, such as social security or health insurance.
A request for such an allowance can only be made by the Horizon 2020 MSCA
beneficiaries 65 . The request must include an estimated budget and explain the specific
participation need(s) of the researcher/staff member concerned. The granting authority will
evaluate the request and decide on the basis of the needs of the researcher/staff member and
budget availability.
The page limit of the application is 3 pages (excluding annexes).
In view of the particular nature of this CSA, applications must not include a plan for the
exploitation and dissemination of the results, including communication activities.
The Horizon 2020 special needs allowance will take the form of a lump sum awarded in the
form of a low value grant to an identified beneficiary and will cover up to 100% of eligible
costs. It will be limited to a maximum of EUR 60 000 per researcher/staff member.
Only researchers/staff members with disabilities who are eligible researchers/staff members
under a Horizon 2020 MSCA grant are eligible for the special needs grant.
Given the specific nature of this action, the proposals will be evaluated and ranked against the
following award criteria:
MSCA Special Needs Allowance
Excellence                                               Impact                        Quality         and
                                                                                       efficiency of the
                                                                                       implementation
Appropriateness and relevance of the                     Effectiveness of the Appropriateness of
proposed measures [or special needs items                proposed measures with the               resources
or services] that are necessary for the                  respect to the work in deployed
researcher/staff member to carry out the                 the linked MSCA action
work in the linked MSCA action
As from 2022, the support will be granted based on the request submitted by the coordinator
of the MSCA grant to the granting authority. The request can be submitted at any moment
during the implementation of the MSCA grant, when the need arises. The request should
64
         See Article 5 of the Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general
         framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation.
65
         Horizon Europe MSCA beneficiaries can claim the special needs allowance through the main MSCA
         grant (see applicable unit contributions at the end of this Work Programme part).
                                                   Page 65 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- contain a description of the special needs, the type of support and the budget requested. The
request will be evaluated by the granting authority and, if needed, an assistance by external
experts may be requested.
Once agreed, the MSCA grant agreement will be formally amended and the requested amount
for the special needs will be covered by the increase of the budget in the Management cost
category. This extra amount will be paid together with the payment of the balance. Like in
2021, the support will be limited to a maximum of EUR 60 000 per researcher/staff member.
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
Indicative timetable: Throughout 2021 and 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 1.00 million from the 2021 budget
4. Support to the Marie Curie Alumni Association
Expected Outcome: This coordination and support action is expected to contribute to the
following outcomes:
   A well-functioning MCAA, providing useful services to its members;
   Relevant policy feedback to the European Commission;
   An expanded network of MSCA alumni;
   Improved networking and cooperation among MSCA alumni;
   Improved visibility, sustainability, reach, relevance and impact of the MSCA.
Expected Impact:
   Increase the impact of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions through greater networking
      and cooperation between MSCA fellows (current and past);
   Promote the outreach and visibility of the MSCA at European and Global level;
   Promote Europe as an excellent research destination;
   Enhance the policy feedback to the European Commission on the MSCA and EU
      policies more broadly.
Scope:
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195(e) of the
Financial Regulation and Article 20 of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and Rules
for Participation. The use of a grant to identified beneficiary is justified by the particular role
                                           Page 66 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- and purpose of the MCAA, its unique nature and the fact that the association gathers around
20.000 MSCA alumni.
This action should support the MCAA in achieving the following objectives:
   Supporting the functioning of the MCAA, foster its expansion and growth on the
     European and international stage;
   Facilitating professional networking and career development of former and current
     MSCA fellows;
   Encouraging networking and cooperation among members from different countries,
     sectors of the economy and across scientific disciplines;
   Enabling alumni to act as MSCA ambassadors and promoters within the global research
     and innovation community, but also for the European Commission and EU Delegations
     throughout the world;
   Provide feedback to the European Commission on the MSCA to constantly improve its
     success, relevance and impact; and provide feedback on relevant EU policies.
The beneficiary may provide financial support to third parties (individual members of the
MCAA as well as Working Groups and Chapters). The support to third parties can be
provided in the form grants, prizes or similar forms of support. The maximum amount to be
granted to each third party is EUR 10 000. The conditions for financial support to third parties
defined in General Annex B do not apply.
Eligible activities include inter alia:
   Organisation of physical and virtual MCAA governance body meetings according to the
     need of the MCAA;
   Organisation of General Assembly meetings of the MCAA and annual MCAA
     Conference;
   Support for Alumni, Chapters and Working groups;
   Maintenance and continuous development of the MCAA’s IT infrastructure and website,
     including the membership database;
   Data collection and provision of structured feedback on the MSCA, including online
     surveys, in agreement with the Commission, to obtain feedback on EU policy topics, on
     the MSCA, on the development of the network or any other topic of interest to both
     parties.
The following deliverables will have to be submitted:
   Yearly work plans on the functioning and growth of the MCAA submitted at month 6
     and updated at month 18;
                                         Page 67 of 109
 ---pagebreak---     A long-term plan for the evolution of the MCAA submitted at month 6, and updated at
      month 18;
    A communication plan to be submitted 6 months after the beginning of the grant;
    A progress report at month 6 and month 18.
The expected duration of the action is 24 months.
The evaluation committee will be composed fully by representatives of EU institutions. The
evaluation committee can be assisted by external experts if required.
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: Fourth quarter 2021
Legal entities:
Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA), Kunstlaan 24, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
Indicative budget: EUR 2.50 million from the 2021 budget
5. MSCA4Ukraine Fellowships
As part of the EU’s response to the war in Ukraine and the need for rapid action, this grant
will be awarded without a call for proposals in accordance with Article 195(b) 66 of the
Financial Regulation. The use of a grant awarded without a call for proposals is justified by
the exceptional emergency faced by displaced researchers from Ukraine and the specific
expertise of the beneficiaries, which are key players with extensive experience in supporting
researchers at risk. The grant will ensure support to displaced researchers (both doctoral
candidates and postdoctoral researchers) from Ukraine through dedicated fellowships, putting
into practice the EU’s core principles of academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.
Expected outcomes:
Through the provision of fellowships to displaced researchers from Ukraine, the grant is
expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
66
         Article 195(b) of the Financial Regulation 2018/1046 “Grants may be awarded without a call for
         proposals only in the following cases: […] (b) in other exceptional and duly substantiated
         emergencies”.
                                              Page 68 of 109
 ---pagebreak---     Protection of displaced researchers from Ukraine to continue their research in academic
     or non-academic organisations67 in EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated
     Countries through dedicated fellowships and facilitate their reintegration to Ukraine
     when safe conditions for return are met.
    Strengthened integration between the EU and Ukrainian research and innovation
     communities.
At the level of individual researchers to be supported, the following outcomes are expected:
    New research and transferable skills and competences, leading to improved
     employability and career prospects within and outside academia.
    New knowledge allowing the conversion of ideas into products and services, where
     relevant.
    Enhanced networking and communication capacities with scientific peers, as well as
     with the general public that will increase and broaden the research and innovation
     impact.
Expected impact
    Allow the EU to respond to the emergency faced by displaced researchers from Ukraine
     in line with its core values, and academic freedom in particular.
    Sustain Ukrainian research and innovation capacities by allowing displaced researchers
     from Ukraine to continue their research activities.
    Reinforcement of the EU research and innovation cooperation with Ukraine.
Scope
The objective of the grant is to provide rapid support in the form of fellowships to displaced
researchers from Ukraine to resume their research activities at host organisations established
in EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries
Requests for support from displaced researchers from Ukraine are expected to increase in the
coming months. With the view to responding to this inflow of requests, the grant will be
awarded to legal entities that are beneficiaries in grants awarded under the calls H2020-
MSCA-RR-2018 or HORIZON-MSCA-2021-RR-01.
A consortium of 10 organisations68 is currently funded through a Coordination and Support
Action under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions in Horizon2020 69 , with the aim to
67
        See definitions at the end of this Work Programme
68
        Scholars at Risk Europe, hosted at Maynooth University, Ireland (Project Coordinator); Alexander von
        Humboldt-Stiftung, Germany; European University Association; Jagiellonian University, Poland;
        University of Oslo, Norway; University of Gothenburg, Sweden; French national PAUSE programme,
        hosted by the Collège de France; Stichting voor Vluchteling-Studenten UAF, Netherlands; Aristotle
        University of Thessaloniki, Greece; Scholz CTC GmbH, Germany.
                                                 Page 69 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- facilitate transnational cooperation across Europe in support of researchers at risk. The partner
organisations involved are all key institutions gathering collectively a unique experience in
assisting researchers at risk. This includes providing direct financial support to researchers,
giving them access to a large network of host organisations in Europe and direct insights into
the administrative and legal procedures linked to this type of situation.
Support to individual researchers should be open to all domains of research and innovation
and aligned with the general objectives and principles of the MSCA, including scientific
excellence, skills and career development, inter-sectoral mobility, equal opportunities and
inclusiveness, attractive working conditions, work/life balance, while fostering open science,
innovation and entrepreneurship.
Support will include training activities that should respond to well identified needs in various
research and innovation areas, with appropriate references to inter- and multidisciplinary
fields. They should be primarily focused on developing new scientific knowledge through
original research on personalised projects. Complementary training should also be provided to
develop key transferable skills and competences common to all fields, foster innovation and
entrepreneurship, and promote and (where appropriate) reward Open Science practices (open
access to publications and to research data, FAIR data management, public engagement and
citizen science, etc.).
Short-term secondments of researchers to other organisations than those recruiting them,
including in third countries non-associated to Horizon Europe, are encouraged when relevant,
feasible and beneficial for the researchers and in line with the research objectives. Inter-
sectoral secondments are encouraged in particular to increase the employability of the
researchers outside academia.
Particular attention will be paid to the quality of supervision and mentoring arrangements as
well as career guidance.
Supported researchers can be either doctoral candidates (i.e. enrolled in a doctoral programme
leading to the award of a doctoral degree) or postdoctoral researchers (i.e. in possession of a
doctoral degree). They must be either Ukrainian nationals, stateless persons, or nationals from
third countries other than Ukraine, residing in Ukraine, who have been displaced on or after
24 February 2022, or who are ready to be displaced.
The beneficiaries will provide financial support to third parties in the form of unit
contributions, as stipulated in Decision of 11 March 2021 authorising the use of lump sum
contributions and unit contributions for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions under the
Horizon Europe programme. The same unit contributions as in MSCA Doctoral Networks and
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships, under the same conditions, will be applied for doctoral
candidates and postdoctoral researchers respectively. Eligible third parties that will recruit
researchers include any academic or non-academic organisations established in an EU
69
         Inspireurope | Maynooth University
                                            Page 70 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. Other organisations, including those
established in non-associated third countries can host researchers for short-term secondments.
The invitation and the conditions for third parties to apply for funding will be published on
the Funding & Tenders Portal and on the beneficiaries' websites. The beneficiaries will ensure
the calls and their evaluation adhere to Horizon Europe standards with respect to
transparency, equal treatment, conflict of interest and confidentiality.
The duration of each individual fellowship is to be determined by the beneficiaries in
agreement with the recruiting organisations, with a maximum duration of 2 years. The
maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 2.00 million (covering the
recruitment of several researchers). This amount is justified by the need to act rapidly in the
context of the emergency caused by the war in Ukraine and the uncertainty related to its
resolution.
Secondments to other organisations are eligible for up to one third of the fellowship duration.
The fellowship should allow supporting a reintegration phase in Ukraine for researchers
wishing to return if safe conditions for such a return are met.
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes. The evaluation committee will be composed partially or fully by representatives of
EU institutions.
Legal entities:
Beneficiaries of grants awarded under the calls H2020-MSCA-RR-2018 or HORIZON-
MSCA-2021-RR-01
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant awarded without call for proposals according to Financial Regulation
Article 195 (b)
Indicative timetable: second quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 25.00 million from the 2022 budget
Procurements
1. Public Procurement for Studies
A study will be conducted in 2021 to provide an in-depth analysis of researchers’ mobility
flows and the reasons behind their choice for a host country/region. The study will in
particular look at measures that are needed and circumstances that are necessary to encourage
researchers to return to their country of origin.
Form of Funding: Procurement
                                           Page 71 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Third quarter of 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.20 million from the 2021 budget
2. Public Procurement for Events and Outreach
During 2021 and 2022, the Commission will organise several events (conferences and
workshops) dedicated to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and to contribute to leading
research conferences. Moreover, a dedicated campaign will be organised to ensure the
visibility of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and funded projects to the general public.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Second, third and fourth quarters of 2021 and thoughout 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.50 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 0.50 million from the
2022 budget
Other budget implementation instruments
1. External Expertise
This action will support the use of appointed independent experts for the monitoring of
ongoing actions (grant agreements, grant decisions, public procurement actions, financial
instruments) funded under Horizon Europe and previous Framework Programmes for
Research and Innovation and where appropriate include ethics checks.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative budget: EUR 0.80 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 0.80 million from the
2022 budget
                                          Page 72 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Budget70
                                                      Budget               2021               2022
                                                      line(s)        Budget (EUR        Budget (EUR
                                                                         million)           million)
Calls
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-DN-01                                                         402.95
                                                   from                         402.95
                                                   01.020102
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-DN-01                                                                           428.28
                                                   from                                           428.28
                                                   01.020102
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01                                                         242.00
                                                   from                         242.00
                                                   01.020102
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01                                                                           257.00
                                                   from                                           257.00
                                                   01.020102
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-SE-01                                                          72.50
                                                   from                          72.50
                                                   01.020102
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-SE-01                                                                            77.50
                                                   from                                            77.50
                                                   01.020102
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-COFUND-01                                                      89.00
                                                   from                          89.00
                                                   01.020102
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-COFUND-01                                                                        95.00
                                                   from                                            95.00
70
      The budget figures given in this table are rounded to two decimal places.
      The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
      budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
                                               Page 73 of 109
 ---pagebreak---                                             01.020102
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-CITIZENS-01                                   15.50
                                            from                15.50
                                            01.020102
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-NCP-01                                  2.00
                                            from          2.00
                                            01.020102
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-INCO-01                                 2.00
                                            from          2.00
                                            01.020102
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-RR-01                                   1.50
                                            from          1.50
                                            01.020102
Other actions
Grant to identified beneficiary according                 3.65   0.15
to Financial Regulation Article 195(e)
                                            from          3.65   0.15
                                            01.020102
Grant awarded without a call for                                25.00
proposals according to Financial
                                            from                25.00
Regulation Article 195
                                            01.020102
Public procurement                                        0.70   0.50
                                            from          0.70   0.50
                                            01.020102
Expert contract action                                    0.80   0.80
                                            from          0.80   0.80
                                            01.020102
Estimated total budget                                  817.10 899.73
                                         Page 74 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Specific conditions for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
DEFINITIONS
The following definitions apply:
'Academic sector' means public or private higher education establishments awarding
academic degrees, public or private non-profit research organisations 71 and International
European Research Organisations (IERO)72.
'Non-academic sector' means any socio-economic actor not included in the academic sector
and fulfilling the requirements of the Horizon Europe Rules for Participation.
'Associated partners' are entities which participate in the action, but without the right to
charge costs or claim contributions. They contribute to the implementation of the action, but
do not sign the grant agreement. Associated partners may not employ the researchers under
the action73.
'Associated partners linked to a beneficiary' are organisations with an established capital or
legal link with the beneficiary, which is not limited to the action nor specifically created for
its implementation. These entities implement action tasks described in Annex 1 of the grant
agreement, i.e. hosting and training of researchers in Doctoral Networks and Postdoctoral
Fellowships and hosting and seconding staff in Staff Exchanges. The associated partners
linked to a beneficiary do not have the right to claim unit contributions and may not employ
the researcher under the action. In addition, they must fulfil the eligibility conditions 74 for
participation and funding applicable to the beneficiary they are linked to. The type of link and
involvement of such entities must be clearly described in the proposal and will be assessed as
part of the evaluation.
'Beneficiaries' are the legal entities that sign the grant agreement (either directly or through
an accession form) and have the responsibility for the proper implementation of the action.
They contribute directly to the implementation of the research, transfer of knowledge and
training activities. Depending on the type of MSCA action, this involves recruiting,
supervising, hosting, training or seconding researchers/research staff or managing and/or
funding programmes.
71
         If requested by the granting authority, institutions with self-declared research organisations status must
provide evidence that their main objective is to carry out research and/or technological development. An
assessment will be made on the basis of indicators such as share of research budget, volume of scientific
publications and/or registered patents.
72
         'International European Research Organisation' (IERO) means an international organisation, the
         majority of whose members are EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries, and
         whose principal objective is to promote scientific and technological cooperation in Europe (see Article
         2(14) of the Regulation establishing Horizon Europe - the Framework Programme for Research and
         Innovation, laying down its rules for participation and dissemination.
73
         For Global Postdoctoral Fellowships outgoing phase, this restriction does not apply. The associated
         partner hosting the outgoing phase can conclude an additional employment contract with the researcher
         to ensure adequate medical/social insurance in the outgoing country.
74
         See specific conditions at the end of this Work Programme part.
                                                   Page 75 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- ‘Implementing partners’ means third parties receiving financial support from the
beneficiary and implementing the MSCA COFUND Doctoral or Postdoctoral programmes.
Implementing partners can employ the researchers.
Implementing partners that are identified in the proposal must include a letter of commitment
in the proposal to ensure their active participation in the action. The involvement of any
implementing partner for which no such evidence of commitment is submitted will not be
taken into account during evaluation.
‘Interdisciplinarity’ means the integration of information, data, techniques, tools,
perspectives, concepts or theories from two or more scientific disciplines. The term discipline
refers to the first level of MSCA keywords75.
1. MSCA DOCTORAL NETWORKS
    1.1. Applicable unit contributions
The EU contribution for MSCA Doctoral Networks will take the form of unit contributions, as
stipulated in Decision of 11 March 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions and
unit contributions for Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions under the Horizon Europe Programme.
The following budget categories apply:
MSCA                     Contributions for recruited researchers              Institutional unit contributions
Doctoral
Networks                            per person-month                                 per person-month
            Living         Mobility    Family        Long-       Special     Research,         Management
            allowance      allowance   allowance     term leave  needs       training and      and     indirect
                                       (if           allowance   allowance   networking        contribution
                                       applicable)   (if         (if         contribution
                                                     applicable) applicable)
                                                     EUR 4 000   requested
                                                     x        %  unit76
            EUR                                      covered by
                           EUR 600     EUR 660                   x           EUR 1 600         EUR 1 200
            3 400                                    the
                                                     beneficiary (1/number
                                                                 of months)
A country correction coefficient applies to the living allowance in order to ensure equal
treatment and purchasing power parity for all researchers. This coefficient is the one
applicable to the country of the recruiting beneficiary (see Table 1 at the end of this Work
Programme part). The living allowance is a gross amount, including compulsory deductions
under national law, such as employer and employee social security contributions and direct
taxes. The beneficiary must recruit each eligible doctoral candidate under an employment
75
        https://rea.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2021-10/MSCA%20Keywords.pdf
76
        The pre-defined categories are as follows: EUR 3 000, EUR 4 500, EUR 6 000, EUR 9 500, EUR 13
        000, EUR 18 500, EUR 27 500, EUR 35 500, EUR 47 500 and EUR 60 000.
                                                 Page 76 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- contract or equivalent direct contract with full social security coverage (including sickness,
parental, unemployment and invalidity benefits, pension rights, benefits in respect of
accidents at work and occupational diseases). An exemption from this rule can be accepted
only in cases where national legislation or the equivalent internal regulations of International
European Research Organisations (IERO), entities created under Union law, or an
international organisation, prohibit this possibility and subject to the prior agreement of the
granting authority.
When an employment contract cannot be provided, the beneficiary may exceptionally recruit
the doctoral candidate under a 'fixed-amount fellowship'. In this case, the living allowance
will be halved and the beneficiary must ensure that the doctoral candidate enjoys minimum
social security coverage (including sickness, parental and invalidity benefits, and benefits for
accidents at work and occupational diseases).
The beneficiary must pay to the doctoral candidates at least the amount of the living
allowance (minus all compulsory deductions under national legislation). A top-up may be
paid to the researchers in order to complement this contribution. In addition to the living
allowance, all doctoral candidates must receive a mobility allowance. This allowance covers
their additional, private mobility-related costs (e.g. travel and accommodation costs), not their
professional costs under the action, which are covered by the research, training and
networking contribution.
If the recruited doctoral candidate has or acquires family obligations during the action
duration, i.e. persons linked to him/her by (i) marriage, or (ii) a relationship with equivalent
status to a marriage recognised by the legislation of the country or region where this
relationship was formalised; or (iii) dependent children who are actually being maintained by
the researcher, the family allowance must be paid to him/her as well.
The long-term leave allowance contributes to the personnel costs incurred by the
beneficiaries in case of the researchers’ leave, including maternity, paternity, parental, sick or
special leave, longer than 30 consecutive days. The special needs allowance contributes to
the additional costs for the acquisition of special needs items and services for researchers with
disabilities, whose long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments 77 are
certified by a competent national authority, and of such nature that their participation in the
action may not be possible without them (e.g. assistance by third persons, adaptation of work
environment, additional travel/transportation costs). These special needs items or services
must not have been funded from another source (e.g. social security or health insurance). Both
long-term leave and special needs allowances should be requested when the need arises. The
research, training and networking contribution should cover, for example, costs for
training and networking activities that contribute directly to the researchers’ career
development (e.g. participation in conferences, trips related to work on the action, training,
language courses, seminars, lab material, books, library records, publication costs), research
expenses, visa-related fees and travel expenses, additional costs arising from each secondment
77
        See Article 1 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
                                               Page 77 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- of six months or less, which require mobility from the place of residence (e.g. travel and
accommodation costs).
The management and indirect contribution should cover the beneficiary’s additional costs
in connection with the action (e.g. personnel costs for project management/coordination,
indirect costs).
The above rates apply to doctoral candidates devoting themselves to their project on a full-
time basis. Researchers may, in agreement with the supervisor and beneficiary and with prior
approval by the granting authority, implement their project on a part-time basis. Such a
request is limited to personal or family reasons. In cases of part-time work, the doctoral
candidates must dedicate at least 50% of their working time to the action funded by the
MSCA. The recruiting beneficiary should report costs as pro rata of the applicable full-time
unit contributions.
    1.2. Admissibility
The following exception to the General Annex A applies:
       The page limit of the application is 30 pages (excluding annexes).
    1.3. Eligibility
Given the specific nature of MSCA Doctoral Networks, the following exceptions and
additional eligibility criteria apply. This section also contains eligibility conditions, which
apply during action implementation but cannot be verified at proposal stage.
       All proposals must indicate if they are resubmitted from the previous MSCA Doctoral
        Networks call under Horizon Europe.
       Proposals submitted to the previous call of MSCA Doctoral Networks under Horizon
        Europe and having received a score of less than 80% must not be resubmitted the
        following year.
        1.3.1. Participating organisations
       Applications must be submitted by a consortium including at least three independent
        legal entities, each established in a different EU Member State or Horizon Europe
        Associated Country and with at least one of them established in an EU Member State.
        Should none of them be entitled to award a doctoral degree, a university or a
        consortium/grouping of academic/research institutions entitled to award a doctoral
        degree must be added to the project as an associated partner or an associated partner
        linked to a beneficiary.
       Not more than 40.0% of the EU contribution may be allocated to beneficiaries in the
       same country or to a single International European Research Organisation (IERO) or
        international organisation.
                                          Page 78 of 109
 ---pagebreak---         International organisations with headquarters in an EU Member State or Horizon
         Europe Associated Country will be deemed to be established in this Member State or
         Associated Country.
        Affiliated entities are not allowed to participate as they cannot claim costs in MSCA
         Doctoral Networks.
        All beneficiaries must recruit at least one doctoral candidate. They are required to host
         at their premises and supervise recruited researchers, or use associated partners linked
         to them to do so78.
        In order to reach the objectives of Joint Doctorates, at least three independent legal
         entities must be entitled to award doctoral degrees. At least two of the institutions
         conferring a joint, double or multiple doctoral degree must be established in an EU
         Member State and/or Horizon Europe Associated Country. An applicant from the
         academic sector, which has transferred the right of awarding a doctoral degree to a
         consortium/grouping of academic/research institutions to which it belongs to, is also
         eligible. Applicants must provide, at the time of the submission of the proposal, a pre-
         agreement to award a joint, double or multiple degree to the doctoral candidate(s). The
         proposal should indicate from which institutions a researcher is expected to receive the
         degree(s).
        Joint Doctorates must set up a joint governance structure with joint admission,
         selection, supervision, monitoring and assessment procedures.
         1.3.2. Recruited researchers
        Supported researchers must be doctoral candidates, i.e. not already in possession79 of
         a doctoral degree at the date of the recruitment.
        Researchers must be enrolled in a doctoral programme leading to the award of a
         doctoral degree in at least one EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated
         Country, and for Joint Doctorates in at least two.
        Recruited researchers can be of any nationality and must comply with the following
         mobility rule: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work,
         studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting beneficiary for more than 12 months in
         the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date.
78
   In exceptional cases, where a beneficiary is established in a country different from the place where the
recruited researcher is hosted, the country correction coefficient of the hosting entity is taken into account during
the grant agreement preparation process, in order to ensure the correct budget calculation.
     79
        Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been
     awarded the doctoral degree will not be considered eligible.
                                                  Page 79 of 109
 ---pagebreak---         For 'International European Research Organisations' (IERO), 'international
        organisations', or entities created under Union law, the researchers must not have spent
        more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their recruitment in the
        same appointing organisation.
        Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays and time spent by the
        researcher as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva
        Convention80 are not taken into account.
       Secondments are eligible for up to one third of the actual months spent implementing
        the research training activities under the action. This limitation does not apply in the
        case of Industrial Doctorates and Joint Doctorates.
       In case of industrial doctorates, doctoral candidates must spend at least 50% of their
        fellowship duration in the non-academic sector.
        1.3.3. Duration of the action
       The duration of the action must not exceed 48 months from the starting date set out in
        the grant agreement (including the time needed to recruit and select the doctoral
        candidates).
       The duration of each fellowship (on the basis of full-time employment) is minimum 3
        and maximum 36 months.
       The overall EU contribution for MSCA Doctoral Networks actions is limited to a
        maximum of 360 person-months.
       For industrial or joint doctoral programmes, the EU contribution can go up to a
        maximum of 540 person-months to further incentivise the development of these
        schemes.
    1.4. Award criteria
       Proposals will be evaluated by experts on the basis of the award criteria 'excellence',
        'impact' and 'quality and efficiency of the implementation'.
       Evaluation scores will be awarded for each of these criteria, and not for the different
        aspects listed in the table below. Each criterion will be scored out of 5. Scores will be
        awarded with a resolution of one decimal place and will be subject to a weighting
        factor as indicated in the table below.
       Proposals scoring equal to or above 70% will be considered for funding — within the
        limits of the available call budget. Other proposals will be rejected.
80
   1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol.
                                             Page 80 of 109
 ---pagebreak---           Excellence                          Impact                    Quality and efficiency
                                                                        of the implementation
Quality and pertinence of       Contribution to structuring         Quality and effectiveness of
the project’s research and      doctoral training at the            the work plan, assessment of
innovation objectives (and      European       level     and     to risks and appropriateness of
the extent to which they are    strengthening            European   the effort assigned to work
ambitious, and go beyond        innovation capacity, including      packages
the state of the art)           the potential for:
                                a) meaningful contribution of
                                the non-academic sector to the
                                doctoral training, as appropriate
                                to the implementation mode
                                and research field
                                b)     developing       sustainable
                                elements         of        doctoral
                                programmes
Soundness of the proposed       Credibility of the measures to      Quality, capacity and role of
methodology          (including enhance the career perspectives     each
interdisciplinary               and        employability         of participant, including hosting
approaches, consideration of    researchers and contribution to     arrangements and extent to
                                                                    which the consortium as a
the gender dimension and        their skills development
                                                                    whole brings together the
other diversity aspects if                                          necessary expertise
relevant for the research
project, and the quality of
open science practices)
Quality and credibility of      Suitability and quality of the
the training programme          measures to maximise expected
(including         transferable outcomes and impacts, as set
skills,                         out in the dissemination and
inter/multidisciplinary,        exploitation plan, including
inter-sectoral and gender as    communication activities
well as other diversity
aspects)
Quality of the supervision      The magnitude and importance
(including mandatory joint      of the project’s contribution to
supervision for industrial      the expected scientific, societal
                                and economic impacts
and joint doctorate projects)
                                            Page 81 of 109
 ---pagebreak---           Excellence                               Impact                           Quality and efficiency
                                                                                    of the implementation
             50%                                    30%                                       20%
                                                 Weighting
    1.5. Procedure
        Proposals must be submitted to only one of eight 'main evaluation panels': Chemistry
         (CHE), Social Sciences and Humanities (SOC), Economic Sciences (ECO),
         Information Science and Engineering (ENG), Environment and Geosciences (ENV),
         Life Sciences (LIF), Mathematics (MAT), Physics (PHY). Industrial and joint
         doctorates will be ranked in the scientific panel of submission. Each panel will
         establish a ranked list.
        The distribution of the indicative budget of the call will be proportional to the number
         of eligible proposals received in each panel. If the budget allocated to any panel
         exceeds the requirements of all proposals positively evaluated 81 in that panel, the
         excess budget will be reallocated to the other panels based on the distribution
         described above. Equally, if the allocated funding to a panel is insufficient to fund the
         highest ranked proposal in that panel, the necessary budget will be transferred from
         the other panels based on the distribution described above, in order to ensure that the
         highest ranked proposal can be funded. In order to ensure budget optimisation and an
         equitable success rate across panels, the excess budget remaining after the initial
         allocation of funding to the proposals in the panels may be transferred between panels.
    Ex-aequo Proposals
        When the total scores of two or more proposals are equal (ex-aequo cases), the priority
         order will be established as follows:
             1) The proposals will be prioritised according to the scores they have been
                  awarded for the criterion ‘Excellence’. When these scores are equal, priority
                  will be based on scores for the criterion ‘Impact’.
             2) If necessary, the gender balance among the supervisors named in the proposal
                  will be used as a factor for prioritisation.
             3) If a distinction still cannot be made, the panel may decide to further prioritise
                  by considering other factors such as gender and other diversity aspects in the
                  research activities, participation of the non-academic sector (including
                  involvement of SMEs), geographical diversity 82 , international cooperation,
                  favourable employment and working conditions or relationship to the Horizon
81
   Measured as proposals having passed all relevant evaluation thresholds.
82
   Defined as the number of EU Member States or Associated Countries represented in the proposals, not
otherwise receiving funds from projects higher up the ranking list (and if equal in number, then by budget).
                                                Page 82 of 109
 ---pagebreak---                Europe objectives in general. These factors will be documented in the panel
               report.
   1.6. Legal and financial set-up of the Grant Agreements
The following exceptions and additional conditions apply:
      Eligible costs must take the form of unit contributions, as stipulated in Decision of 11
       March 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions and unit contributions for
       Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions under the Horizon Europe Programme.
      When associated partners are involved, beneficiaries are encouraged to sign a
       partnership agreement with them to regulate the internal relationship between all
       participating organisations. The partnership agreement(s) must comply with the grant
       agreement.
      Beneficiaries must ensure full access — on a royalty-free basis — for the recruited
       researchers to background and results needed for their activities under the action.
      The following deliverables will have to be submitted for grants awarded under this
       topic:
        establishment of a supervisory board of the network;
        progress report submitted within 30 days after one year from the starting date of
           the action;
        mid-term meeting organised between the participants and the granting authority;
        mobility declaration submitted within 20 days after the recruitment of each
           researcher and updated (if needed) via the Funding & Tenders Portal Continuous
           Reporting tool;
        career development plan: a document describing how the individual Career
           Development Plans have been established (listing also the researchers for whom
           such plans have been put in place), submitted before the mid-term meeting;
        evaluation questionnaire completed by each recruited researcher and submitted at
           the end of the research training activity; a follow-up questionnaire submitted two
           years later;
        data management plan submitted at mid-term and an update towards the end of
           the project if needed;
        plan for the dissemination and exploitation of results, including
           communication activities, submitted at mid-term and an update towards the end
           of the project.
2. MSCA POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS
                                          Page 83 of 109
 ---pagebreak---      2.1. Applicable unit contributions
The EU contribution for MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships will take the form of unit
contributions, as stipulated in Decision of 11 March 2021 authorising the use of lump sum
contributions and unit contributions for Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions under the Horizon
Europe Programme.
The following budget categories apply:
MSCA                       Contributions for the recruited researcher                          Institutional unit
Postdoctoral                                                                                     contributions
Fellowships                              per person-month
                                                                                               per person-month
                 Living       Mobility      Family        Long-          Special        Research,        Management
                 allowance    allowance     allowance     term leave     needs          training and     and indirect
                                            (if           allowance      allowance      networking       contribution
                                            applicable)   (if            (if            contribution
                                                          applicable)    applicable)
                                                          EUR 5 680      requested
                                                          x         %    unit83
                 EUR                                      covered by
                              EUR 600       EUR 660                      x              EUR 1 000        EUR 650
                 5 080                                    the
                                                          beneficiary    (1/number
                                                                         of months)
A country correction coefficient applies to the living allowance in order to ensure equal
treatment and purchasing power parity for all researchers 84 . For European Postdoctoral
Fellowships, this coefficient is the one applicable to the country of the beneficiary. For the
Global Postdoctoral Fellowships two different country correction coefficients apply:
     -   For the outgoing phase: the coefficient of the country where the postdoctoral
         researcher is hosted (i.e. the country of the associated partner hosting the outgoing
         phase);
     -   For the return phase: the coefficient of the country where the postdoctoral researcher
         returns to (i.e. the country of the beneficiary).
83
   The pre-defined categories are as follows: EUR 3 000, EUR 4 500, EUR 6 000, EUR 9 500, EUR 13 000, EUR
18 500, EUR 27 500, EUR 35 500, EUR 47 500 and EUR 60 000.
84
   In exceptional cases, where a beneficiary is established in a country different from the place where the
recruited researcher is hosted, the country correction coefficient of the hosting entity is taken into account during
the grant agreement preparation process, in order to ensure the correct budget calculation.
                                                   Page 84 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- The country correction coefficients are listed in Table 1 at the end of this Work Programme
part. The living allowance is a gross amount, including compulsory deductions under national
law, such as employer and employee social security contributions and direct taxes.
The beneficiary must recruit the postdoctoral researcher under an employment contract or
equivalent direct contract with full social security coverage (including sickness, parental,
unemployment and invalidity benefits, pension rights, benefits in respect of accidents at work
and occupational diseases). An exemption from this rule can be accepted only in cases where
national legislation or the equivalent internal regulations of International European Research
Organisations (IERO), entities created under Union law, or an international organisation,
prohibit this possibility and subject to the prior agreement of the granting authority.
When an employment contract cannot be provided, the beneficiary may exceptionally recruit
the postdoctoral researcher under a 'fixed-amount fellowship'. In this case, the living
allowance will be halved and the beneficiary must ensure that the postdoctoral researcher
enjoys minimum social security coverage (including sickness, parental and invalidity benefits,
and benefits for accidents at work and occupational diseases).
The beneficiary must pay to the postdoctoral researcher at least the amount of the living
allowance (minus all compulsory deductions under national legislation). A top-up may be
paid to the researcher in order to complement this contribution. In addition to the living
allowance, the postdoctoral researcher must receive a mobility allowance. This allowance
covers his/her additional, private mobility-related costs (e.g. travel and accommodation costs),
not professional costs under the action, which are covered by the research, training and
networking contribution.
If the postdoctoral researcher has or acquires family obligations during the action duration,
i.e. has persons linked to him/her by (i) marriage, or (ii) a relationship with equivalent status
to a marriage recognised by the legislation of the country or region where this relationship
was formalised; or (iii) dependent children who are actually being maintained by the
researcher, the family allowance must be paid to him/her as well.
The long-term leave allowance contributes to the personnel costs incurred by the beneficiary
in case of the researcher’s leave, including maternity, paternity, parental, sick or special leave,
longer than 30 consecutive days. The special needs allowance contributes to the additional
costs for the acquisition of special needs items and services for researchers with disabilities,
whose long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments 85 are certified by a
competent national authority, and of such nature that their participation in the action may not
be possible without them (e.g. assistance by third persons, adaptation of work environment,
additional travel/transportation costs). These special needs items or services must not have
been funded from another source (e.g. social security or health insurance). Both long-term
leave and special needs allowances should be requested when the need arises.
85
   See Article 1 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
                                                Page 85 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- The research, training and networking contribution should cover, for example, costs for
training and networking activities that contribute directly to the researchers’ career
development (e.g. participation in conferences, trips related to work on the action, training,
language courses, seminars, lab material, books, library records, publication costs), research
expenses, visa-related fees and travel expenses, additional costs arising from optional
secondments (e.g. travel and accommodation costs).
The management and indirect contribution should cover the beneficiary’s additional costs
in connection with the action (e.g. personnel costs for project management, indirect costs).
The above rates apply to postdoctoral researchers devoting themselves to their project on a
full-time basis. Researchers may, in agreement with the supervisor and beneficiary and with
prior approval by the granting authority, implement their project on a part-time basis. In
addition to the possibility to request part-time work for personal or family reasons,
postdoctoral fellows may opt to work part-time in order to pursue supplementary activities.
These might include creating a company, pursuing another research project 86, or engaging in
advanced studies not related to the MSCA grant. Part-time arrangements are not allowed
during the outgoing phase of the Global Postdoctoral Fellowships. Any supplementary
activities carried out part-time in parallel with the MSCA action must be agreed upon by the
researcher and the beneficiary and approved by the granting authority.
If the action is implemented on a part-time basis, the researcher must dedicate at least 50% of
his/her working time to the action funded by the MSCA. The beneficiary should report costs
as pro rata of the applicable full-time unit contributions.
     2.2. Admissibility
The following exceptions to the General Annex A apply:
         The page limit of the application is 10 pages (excluding annexes).
     2.3. Eligibility
Given the specific nature of MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships, the following exceptions and
additional eligibility criteria apply. This section also contains eligibility conditions, which
apply during action implementation but cannot be verified at proposal stage.
         All domains of research and technological development are eligible for funding
          (including areas of research covered by the Euratom Research and Training
          Programme 2021-2025).
         Proposals involving the same recruiting organisation (and for Global Postdoctoral
          Fellowships also the associated partner hosting the outgoing phase) and individual
          researcher submitted to the previous call of MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships under
          Horizon Europe and having received a score of less than 70% must not be resubmitted
          the following year.
86
   Part-time work cannot be requested in order to participate in another MSCA grant at the same time.
                                                  Page 86 of 109
 ---pagebreak---          Only one proposal per individual researcher can be submitted. In case of several
          proposals involving the same individual researcher, only the last submitted one will be
          considered eligible.
         If proposals with the same research objectives and work plan are submitted for
          different researchers, only the first submitted one will be considered eligible.
          2.3.1. Participating organisations
         Applications must be submitted by a single independent legal entity, established in an
          EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. This is a mono-beneficiary
          action.
         The associated partner hosting the outgoing phase in Global Postdoctoral Fellowships
          must include a letter of commitment in the proposal to ensure their active participation
          in the action.
         Applications in the research areas of research covered by the Euratom Research and
          Training Programme 2021-2025 must be submitted by a single independent legal
          entity, established in an EU Member State or a country associated to the Euratom
          Research and Training Programme 2021-2025. Nuclear-related proposals submitted by
          entities established in other countries will be ineligible87.
         Affiliated entities are not allowed to participate as they cannot claim costs in MSCA
          Postdoctoral Fellowships.
         International organisations with headquarters in an EU Member State or Horizon
          Europe Associated Country will be deemed to be established in this Member State or
          Associated Country.
         The beneficiary must employ and supervise the researcher during the action.
          2.3.2. Recruited researchers
         Supported fellows must be postdoctoral researchers at the date of the call deadline,
          i.e. in a possession of a doctoral degree88. Applicants who have successfully defended
          their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree
          will also be considered as postdoctoral researchers and will be considered eligible to
          apply.
87
   See Euratom Work Programme 2021-2025 and the Horizon Europe Programme guide available on the
Funding           and        Tender          Opportunities          Portal       (https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-
tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/how-to-participate/reference-documents;programCode=HORIZON ) for up-
to-date information on the current list of countries associated to the Euratom Programme’’
88
   A medical doctor degree will be accepted only when it corresponds to a doctoral degree or if the researcher
can demonstrate his/her appointment in a position that requires doctoral equivalency (e.g. professorship
appointment). Medical doctor degrees corresponding to basic medical training as defined in Annex V of
Directive 2005/36/EC will not be considered a doctoral degree
                                                   Page 87 of 109
 ---pagebreak---         At the call deadline, supported researchers must have a maximum of 8 years full-
         time equivalent experience in research, measured from the date of award of the
         doctoral degree. Years of experience outside research and career breaks (e.g. due to
         parental leave 89 ), will not count towards the amount of research experience. For
         nationals or long-term residents of EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated
         Countries who wish to reintegrate to pursue their research career in EU Member States
         or Horizon Europe Associated Countries, years of experience in research in third
         countries will not be considered in the above maximum.
        Recruited researchers must comply with the following mobility rule: they must not
         have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the
         beneficiary (for European Postdoctoral Fellowships), or the host organisation for the
         outgoing phase (for Global Postdoctoral Fellowships) for more than 12 months in the
         36 months immediately before the call deadline.
         Researchers wishing to reintegrate from a third country must either be based in a third
         country at the call deadline, or have moved directly from a third country to an EU
         Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country within the last 12 months before
         the call deadline.
         For 'International European Research Organisations' (IERO), 'international
         organisations', or entities created under Union law, the researchers must not have spent
         more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline, in the
         same appointing organisation.
         Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays and time spent as part of a
         procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention90 are not taken
         into account.
        Supported researchers can be of any nationality. However, researchers going to a
         third country (‘Global Postdoctoral Fellowship) or researchers who wish to reintegrate
         to Europe, must be nationals or long-term residents of EU Member States or Horizon
         Europe Associated Countries. Long-term residence means a period of legal and
         continuous residence within EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated
         Countries of at least five consecutive years. Periods of absence from the territory of
         the EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country will be taken into
         account for the calculation of this period where they are shorter than six consecutive
         months and do not exceed in total ten months within this period.
         Researchers who are refugees in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated
         Country according to the Geneva Convention may also apply to both European and
89
   Maternity: for each child born within the above mentioned eligibility period of 8 years, 18 months will be
deducted from the experience in research unless the applicant can document a longer parental leave prior to the
call deadline. Paternity: for each child born within the above mentioned eligibility period of 8 years, the
documented time of parental leave taken until the call deadline will be deducted from the experience in research.
90
   1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol.
                                                 Page 88 of 109
 ---pagebreak---          Global Postdoctoral Fellowships, irrespective of whether they are long-term residents
         or not, if they fulfil the other eligibility conditions.
        Applicants in the research areas covered by the Euratom Research and Training
         Programme 2021-2025 must recruit nationals or long-term residents of an EU
         Member State or a country associated to the Euratom Research and Training
         Programme 2021-2025
         2.3.3. Duration of the action
        European Postdoctoral Fellowships should last between 12 and 24 months. Global
         Postdoctoral Fellowships should last between 24 and 36 months, consisting of 12 to 24
         months for the outgoing phase and 12 months for the return phase.
        If requested and justified in the proposal, an additional period of up to six months at
         the end of the project can be awarded to researchers who will spend that period in a
         non-academic organisation established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe
         Associated Country.
     2.4. Award criteria
        Proposals will be evaluated by experts on the basis of the award criteria 'excellence',
         'impact' and 'quality and efficiency of the implementation'.
        Evaluation scores will be awarded for each of these criteria, and not for the different
         aspects listed in the table below. Each criterion will be scored out of 5. Scores will be
         awarded with a resolution of one decimal place and will be subject to a weighting
         factor as indicated in the table below.
        Proposals scoring equal to or above 70% will be considered for funding — within the
         limits of the available call budget. Other proposals will be rejected.
           Excellence                              Impact                 Quality and efficiency
                                                                          of the implementation
Quality and pertinence of the        Credibility of the measures to    Quality and effectiveness
project’s      research       and    enhance the career perspectives   of     the      work     plan,
innovation objectives (and           and employability of the          assessment of risks and
the extent to which they are         researcher and contribution to    appropriateness of the
ambitious, and go beyond the         his/her skills development        effort assigned to work
state of the art)                                                      packages
Soundness of the proposed            Suitability and quality of the    Quality and capacity of the
methodology           (including     measures to maximise expected     host      institutions    and
interdisciplinary approaches,        outcomes and impacts, as set out  participating organisations,
consideration of the gender          in the dissemination and          including              hosting
dimension and other diversity        exploitation plan, including
                                               Page 89 of 109
 ---pagebreak---            Excellence                                 Impact                  Quality and efficiency
                                                                              of the implementation
aspects if relevant for the communication activities                        arrangements
research project, and the
quality of open science
practices)
Quality of the supervision,          The magnitude and importance
training and of the two-way          of the project’s contribution to
transfer      of     knowledge       the expected scientific, societal
between the researcher and           and economic impacts
the host
Quality and appropriateness
of        the       researcher’s
professional         experience,
competences and skills
              50%                                      30%                             20%
                                                  Weighting
     2.5. Procedure
 In Postdoctoral Fellowships, proposals will be evaluated by one of eight 'main evaluation
 panels': Chemistry (CHE), Social Sciences and Humanities (SOC), Economic Sciences
 (ECO), Information Science and Engineering (ENG), Environment and Geosciences (ENV),
 Life Sciences (LIF), Mathematics (MAT), Physics (PHY). Each panel will establish two
 ranked lists, one for European and one for Global Postdoctoral Fellowships.
 European and Global Postdoctoral Fellowships will have separate budgets. The distribution of
 respective available funds will be proportional to the number of eligible proposals received in
 each main evaluation panel. If the budget allocated to any panel exceeds the requirements of
 all proposals positively evaluated91 in that panel, the excess budget will be reallocated to the
 other panels based on the distribution as above. Equally, if the allocated funding to a panel is
 insufficient to fund the highest ranked proposal in that panel, the necessary budget will be
 transferred from the other panels based on the distribution as above, in order to ensure that the
 highest ranked proposal can be funded. In order to ensure budget optimisation and an
 equitable success rate across panels, the excess budget remaining after the initial allocation of
 funding to the proposals in the panels may be transferred between panels.
 Ex-aequo Proposals
 91
    Measured as proposals having passed all relevant evaluation thresholds.
                                                 Page 90 of 109
 ---pagebreak---        When the total scores of two or more proposals are equal (ex-aequo cases), the priority
        order will be established as follows:
             1)    The proposals will be prioritised according to the scores they have been
                  awarded for the criterion ‘Excellence’. When these scores are equal, priority
                  will be based on scores for the criterion ‘Impact’.
             2) If necessary, the gender balance among successful applicant researchers will be
                  used as a factor for prioritisation.
             3) If a distinction still cannot be made, the panel may decide to further prioritise
                  by considering other factors such as gender and other diversity aspects in the
                  research activities, participation of the non-academic sector (including
                  involvement of SMEs), geographical diversity92, favourable employment and
                  working conditions or relationship to the Horizon Europe objectives in general.
                  These factors will be documented in the panel report.
Seal of Excellence
       Seals of Excellence will be awarded to applications with a total score equal to or
        higher than 85%, but which cannot be funded due to lack of budget available to the
        call.
    2.6. Legal and Financial set-up of the Grant Agreements
The following exceptions and additional conditions apply:
       Eligible costs must take the form of unit contributions, as stipulated in Decision of 11
        March 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions and unit contributions for
        Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions under the Horizon Europe Programme.
       When associated partners are involved, the beneficiary is encouraged to sign a
        partnership agreement with them to regulate the internal relationship between all
        participating organisations. The partnership agreement(s) must comply with the grant
        agreement.
       The beneficiary must ensure full access — on a royalty-free basis — for the recruited
        researcher to background and results needed for his/her activities under the action.
       The following deliverables will have to be submitted for grants awarded under this
        topic:
         mobility declaration submitted within 20 days of the start of the research training
             activities and updated (if needed) via the Funding & Tenders Portal Continuous
             Reporting tool;
         career development plan of the recruited researcher, submitted at the beginning
             of the action (not later than 6 months after its start) and updated if needed
             throughout the project;
92
   Defined as the number of EU Member States or Associated Countries represented in the proposal, not
otherwise receiving funds from projects higher up the ranking list (and if equal in number, then by budget).
                                                Page 91 of 109
 ---pagebreak---           evaluation questionnaire completed by the recruited researcher and submitted at
              the end of the research training activity; a follow-up questionnaire submitted two
              years later;
          data management plan submitted within the first 6 months of the project;
          plan for the dissemination and exploitation of results submitted towards the end
              of the project.
3. MSCA STAFF EXCHANGES
     3.1. Applicable unit contributions
The EU contribution for MSCA Staff Exchanges will take the form of unit contributions, as
stipulated in Decision of 11 March 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions and
unit contributions for Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions under the Horizon Europe Programme.
The following budget categories apply:
MSCA Staff             Contributions for seconded staff members                 Institutional contributions
Exchanges
                                   per person-month                                 per person-month
                           Top-up allowance                  Special          Research,        Management and
                                                              needs         training and           indirect
                                                           allowance         networking          contribution
                                                                (if         contribution
                                                           applicable)
                                                          requested
                                                          unit93
                  EUR 2 300                                              EUR 1 300             EUR 1 000
                                                          x (1/number
                                                          of months)
The top-up allowance for the seconded staff member contributes to travel, accommodation
and subsistence costs related to the secondment.
The special needs allowance contributes to the additional costs for the acquisition of special
needs items and services for staff members with disabilities, whose long-term physical,
mental, intellectual or sensory impairments94 are certified by a competent national authority,
and of such nature that their participation in the action may not be possible without them (e.g.
assistance by third persons, adaptation of work environment, additional travel/transportation
costs). These special needs items or services must not have been funded from another source
93
   The pre-defined categories are as follows: EUR 3 000, EUR 4 500, EUR 6 000, EUR 9 500, EUR 13 000, EUR
18 500, EUR 27 500, EUR 35 500, EUR 47 500 and EUR 60 000.
94
   See Article 1 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
                                                 Page 92 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- (e.g. social security or health insurance). The special needs allowance should be requested
when the need arises.
The research, training and networking contribution should cover costs for training,
transfer of knowledge and networking activities, as well as research expenses.
The management and indirect contribution should cover the beneficiary’s additional costs
in connection with the action (e.g. personnel costs for project management/coordination,
indirect costs).
    3.2. Admissibility
The following exception to the General Annex A applies:
        The page limit of the application is 30 pages (excluding annexes).
    3.3. Eligibility
Given the specific nature of MSCA Staff Exchanges, the following exceptions and additional
eligibility criteria apply. This section also contains eligibility conditions, which apply during
action implementation but cannot be verified at proposal stage.
         3.3.1. Participating organisations
        Applications must be submitted by a consortium including at least three independent
         legal entities in three different countries, two of which established in a different EU
         Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country.
        International organisations with headquarters in an EU Member State or Horizon
         Europe Associated Country will be deemed to be established in this Member State or
         Associated Country.
        The European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of
         the consortium selected for funding.
        Affiliated entities are not allowed to participate as they cannot claim costs in MSCA
         Staff Exchanges.
        Only legal entities that are established in EU Member States or Horizon Europe
         Associated Countries can be beneficiaries.
        If all participating organisations are from the same sector (i.e. either only academic or
         only non-academic), there must be at least one organisation from a non-associated
         Third Country. Above this minimum, the participation of organisations from any
         country is possible under the conditions provided by the Horizon Europe Rules for
         Participation and Dissemination.
        Secondments within EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries must
         be between different sectors (academic and non-academic), except for
                                            Page 93 of 109
 ---pagebreak---          interdisciplinary secondments, which must be limited to a maximum of one third of
         the total months spent under the action.
        For secondments from associated partners linked to a beneficiary, only the sector
         (academic or non-academic) of the beneficiary counts; the linked associated partners
         will be considered to belong to the same sector as their beneficiary.
        Secondments must be between different countries; secondments between non-
         associated third countries are not eligible.
        Secondments must be performed on a full-time basis.
        Associated partners must include a letter of commitment in the proposal to ensure their
         active participation in the action. The involvement of any associated partner for which
         no such evidence of commitment is submitted will not be taken into account during
         evaluation.
         3.3.2. Seconded staff members
        Secondments are open for researchers at any career stage (from doctoral candidates to
         postdoctoral researchers95), as well as administrative, managerial and technical staff
         supporting R&I activities under the action.
        Supported staff members must be actively engaged in or linked to R&I activities for at
         least one month (full-time equivalent) at the sending institution before the first period
         of secondment.
        After the period of secondment, seconded staff should return to their sending
         institution, thus maximising the impact of the action for knowledge sharing and long-
         term collaboration.
         3.3.3. Duration of the action
        The maximum duration of the project is 48 months from the starting date set out in the
         grant agreement.
        The overall EU contribution for MSCA Staff Exchanges amounts to a maximum of
         360 person-months per project.
        Secondments must last at least one month and cannot be longer than 12 months for the
         same staff member (independently of the number of organisations the staff is seconded
         to).
        The secondment of a staff member may be split into several stays with one or several
         beneficiaries or associated partners.
95
   In possession of a doctoral degree. Possession of a doctoral degree is defined as a successfully defended
doctoral thesis, even if the doctoral degree has yet to be awarded.
                                                   Page 94 of 109
 ---pagebreak---         Secondments beyond the project duration cannot be funded.
     3.4. Award criteria
        Proposals will be evaluated by experts on the basis of the award criteria 'excellence',
         'impact' and 'quality and efficiency of the implementation'.
        Evaluation scores will be awarded for each of these criteria, and not for the different
         aspects listed in the table below. Each criterion will be scored out of 5. Scores will be
         awarded with a resolution of one decimal place and will be subject to a weighting
         factor as indicated in the table below.
        Proposals scoring equal to or above 70% will be considered for funding — within the
         limits of the available call budget. Other proposals will be rejected.
           Excellence                          Impact                    Quality and efficiency
                                                                         of the implementation
Quality and pertinence of the     Developing new and lasting          Quality and effectiveness of
project’s research/innovation     research            collaborations, the work plan, assessment of
objectives (and the extent to     achieving transfer of knowledge     risks, and appropriateness of
which they are ambitious,         between               participating the effort assigned to work
and go beyond the state of        organisations and contributing      packages
the art)                          to improving research and
                                  innovation potential at the
                                  European and global level
Soundness of the proposed         Credibility of the measures to      Quality, capacity and role of
methodology          (including   enhance the career perspectives     each
international,                    of     staff     members       and  participant, including hosting
                                                                      arrangements and extent to
interdisciplinary and inter-      contribution to their skills
                                                                      which the consortium as a
sectoral           approaches,    development                         whole brings together the
consideration of the gender                                           necessary expertise
dimension        and      other
diversity aspects if relevant
for the research project, and
the quality of open science
practices)
Quality of the proposed           Suitability and quality of the
interaction between the           measures to maximise expected
participating organisations in    outcomes and impacts, as set
light of the research and         out in the dissemination and
innovation objectives.            exploitation plan, including
                                             Page 95 of 109
 ---pagebreak---          Excellence                                Impact                  Quality and efficiency
                                                                           of the implementation
                                   communication activities
                                   The magnitude and importance
                                   of the project’s contribution to
                                   the expected scientific, societal
                                   and economic impacts.
            50%                                      30%                            20%
                                                 Weighting
    3.5. Procedure
       Proposals will be evaluated by one of eight 'main evaluation panels': Chemistry
        (CHE), Social Sciences and Humanities (SOC), Economic Sciences (ECO),
        Information Science and Engineering (ENG), Environment and Geosciences (ENV),
        Life Sciences (LIF), Mathematics (MAT), Physics (PHY). Each panel establishes a
        ranked list.
       The distribution of the indicative budget of the call will be proportional to the number
        of eligible proposals received in each panel. If the budget allocated to any panel
        exceeds the requirements of all proposals positively evaluated 96 in that panel, the
        excess budget will be reallocated to the other panels based on the distribution as
        above. Equally, if the allocated funding to a panel is insufficient to fund the highest
        ranked proposal in that panel, the necessary budget will be transferred from the other
        panels based on the distribution as above, in order to ensure that the highest ranked
        proposal can be funded. In order to ensure budget optimisation and an equitable
        success rate across panels, the excess budget remaining after the initial allocation of
        funding to the proposals in the panels may be transferred between panels.
    Ex-aequo Proposals
       When the total scores of two or more proposals are equal (ex-aequo cases), the priority
        order will be established as follows:
            1)    The proposals will be prioritised according to the scores they have been
                 awarded for the criterion ‘Excellence’. When these scores are equal, priority
                 will be based on scores for the criterion ‘Impact’.
96
   Measured as proposals having passed all relevant evaluation thresholds.
                                                Page 96 of 109
 ---pagebreak---              2) If a distinction still cannot be made, the panel may decide to further prioritise
                  by considering other factors such as gender and other diversity aspects in the
                  research activities, participation of the non-academic sector (including
                  involvement of SMEs), geographical diversity 97 , international cooperation,
                  favourable working/secondment conditions or relationship to the Horizon
                  Europe objectives in general. These factors will be documented in the panel
                  report.
    3.6. Legal and financial set-up of the Grant Agreements
    The following exceptions and additional conditions apply:
        Eligible costs must take the form of unit contributions, as stipulated in Decision of 11
         March 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions and unit contributions for
         Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions under the Horizon Europe Programme.
        When associated partners are involved, beneficiaries are encouraged to sign a
         partnership agreement with them to regulate the internal relationship between all
         participating organisations. The partnership agreement(s) must comply with the grant
         agreement.
        Grants awarded under this topic might be linked to other actions funded by Horizon
         2020 or Horizon Europe.
        Beneficiaries must ensure full access — on a royalty-free basis — for the staff
         members to background and results needed for their activities under the action.
        The following deliverables will have to be submitted for grants awarded under this
         topic:
         –   mid-term meeting organised between the participants and the granting authority;
         –   progress report submitted within 30 days after one year from the starting date of
             the action;
         –   mobility declaration submitted within 20 days of the secondment of each
             seconded staff member, and updated (if needed) via the Funding & Tenders Portal
             Continuous Reporting tool;
         –   evaluation questionnaire completed by the seconded staff members and
             submitted at the end of their secondments; a follow-up questionnaire submitted
             two years later;
         –   data management plan submitted at mid-term and an update towards the end of
             the project if needed;
97
   Defined as the number of EU Member States or Associated Countries represented in the proposal, not
otherwise receiving funds from projects higher up the ranking list (and if equal in number, then by budget).
                                                Page 97 of 109
 ---pagebreak---          –   plan for the dissemination and exploitation of results, including
             communication activities submitted at mid-term and an update towards the end of
             the project.
4. MSCA COFUND
     4.1. Applicable unit contributions
The EU contribution for MSCA COFUND will take the form of unit contributions, as
stipulated in Decision of 11 March 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions and
unit contributions for Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions under the Horizon Europe Programme.
The following budget categories apply:
MSCA                      Contributions for recruited researchers and institutional contributions
COFUND
                                                     per person-month
                         COFUND allowance                    Long-term leave       Special needs allowance
                                                               allowance (if            (if applicable)
                                                                applicable)
                Doctoral                 EUR 2 800        EUR 2 800 x %
                programmes                                covered      by    the
                                                          beneficiary             requested unit98
                Postdoctoral             EUR 3 980        EUR 3 980 x %           x (1/number of months)
                programmes                                covered      by    the
                                                          beneficiary
The COFUND allowance contributes to:
     -   costs of the researchers including the remuneration payable to the individual doctoral
         or postdoctoral researchers recruited under an employment contract/equivalent direct
         contract with full social security coverage and complying with the applicable social
         security legislation, as well as the mobility costs and, if applicable, the family costs,
         and/or
     -   costs related to the training, research expenses, transfer of knowledge and networking
         activities of researchers, costs of managing the action and indirect costs.
The long-term leave allowance contributes to the personnel costs incurred by the employer
in case of the researchers’ leave, including maternity, paternity, parental, sick or special leave,
longer than 30 consecutive days. The special needs allowance contributes to the additional
costs for the acquisition of special needs items and services for researchers with disabilities,
98
   The pre-defined categories are as follows: EUR 3 000, EUR 4 500, EUR 6 000, EUR 9 500, EUR 13 000,
EUR 18 500, EUR 27 500, EUR 35 500, EUR 47 500 and EUR 60 000.
                                                Page 98 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- whose long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments 99 are certified by a
competent national authority, and of such nature that their participation in the action may not
be possible without them (e.g. assistance by third persons, adaptation of work environment,
additional travel/transportation costs). These special needs items or services must not have
been funded from another source (e.g. social security or health insurance). Both long-term
leave and special needs allowances should be requested when the need arises.
The beneficiary or implementing partner must recruit each eligible researcher under an
employment contract or 'equivalent direct contract' with full social security coverage
(including sickness, parental, unemployment and invalidity benefits, pension rights, benefits
in respect of accidents at work and occupational diseases). An exemption from this rule can
be accepted only in cases where national legislation or the equivalent internal regulations of
International European Research Organisations (IERO), entities created under Union law, or
an international organisation, prohibit this possibility and subject to the prior agreement of the
granting authority.
When an employment contract cannot be provided, the beneficiary or the implementing
partner may exceptionally recruit the researcher under a 'fixed-amount fellowship'. In this
case, the COFUND allowance will be halved and the beneficiary must ensure that the
researcher enjoys minimum social security coverage (including sickness, parental and
invalidity benefits, and benefits for accidents at work and occupational diseases).
In principle, researchers should be employed full-time. The above rates apply to researchers
devoting themselves to their project on a full-time basis. Researchers may, in agreement with
the supervisor and beneficiary and with prior approval by the granting authority, implement
their project on a part-time basis. Part-time work due to professional reasons can be requested
by Cofund postdoctoral researchers only.
In cases of part-time work, researchers must dedicate at least 50% of their working time to the
MSCA action, whether they are working part-time for family or other reasons. The
beneficiary should report costs as pro rata of the applicable full-time unit contributions.
The EU contribution is limited to EUR 10 million per beneficiary per call. If an applicant
submits two or more successful applications totalling more than EUR 10 million within one
call, the applicant will be required to decide which of these proposals to implement.
The table above specifies the unit contributions for the co-funding of regional, national and
international programmes. The EU contribution can be used to support any cost items of the
programme (remuneration costs, mobility costs, family costs, research, training and
networking costs, management and indirect costs). Individual cost items may be fully or
partially funded through other resources including EU programmes other than Horizon 2020
or Horizon Europe, such as the Cohesion policy funds, provided that double-funding is
avoided.
99
   See Article 1 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
                                                Page 99 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Applicants must specify in their proposal the total cost of their proposed programme and in
particular the amounts that will be provided for the benefit of the researchers and for the
organisation(s) that will implement the programme. This information will be needed to
evaluate the adequateness of employment and working conditions of the researchers. The
monthly gross remuneration, i.e. salaries, social security contributions, taxes and other costs
or compulsory deductions under national legislation linked to in the remuneration, and the
mobility costs for the benefit of the researchers must be:
    -    For researchers recruited under an employment contract: not lower than EUR 2800
         (for doctoral candidates) and EUR 3980 (for postdoctoral researchers);
    -    For researchers recruited under a fixed-amount fellowship: not lower than EUR 1400
         (for doctoral candidates) and EUR 1990 (for postdoctoral researchers).
    4.2. Admissibility
The following exceptions to the General Annex A apply:
            The page limit of the application is 30 pages (excluding annexes).
            Where doctoral or postdoctoral programmes are implemented as financial support
             to third parties through implementing partners, applications must not include a
             plan for the exploitation and dissemination of results, including communication
             activities, because the scope of these activities will not be known at application
             stage.
    4.3. Eligibility
Given the specific nature of MSCA COFUND, the following exceptions and additional
eligibility criteria apply. This section also contains eligibility conditions, which apply during
action implementation but cannot be verified at proposal stage.
         4.3.1. Participating organisations
        Applications must be submitted by a single entity established in an EU Member State
         or Horizon Europe Associated Country.
        Affiliated entities are not allowed to participate as they cannot claim costs in MSCA
         COFUND.
        The conditions for financial support to third parties defined in General Annex B do not
         apply.
        International organisations with headquarters in an EU Member State or Horizon
         Europe Associated Country will be deemed to be established in this Member State or
         Associated Country.
        The beneficiary will be responsible for the availability of the necessary
         complementary funds to implement the proposal.
                                            Page 100 of 109
 ---pagebreak---          In each COFUND action, a minimum of three researchers must be recruited.
          COFUND proposals foreseeing research training for fewer than three researchers will
          be deemed ineligible.
         Associated partners must include a letter of commitment in the proposal to ensure their
          active participation in the action. The involvement of any associated partner for which
          no such evidence of commitment is submitted will not be taken into account during
          evaluation.
          4.3.2. Recruited researchers
         Recruited researchers can be of any nationality (see also specific condition for
          COFUND Postdoctoral Programmes below) and must comply with the following
          mobility rule100: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work,
          studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting beneficiary or implementing partner for
          more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the deadline of the co-
          funded programme's call.
          For International European Research Organisations’ (IERO), 'international
          organisations' or entities created under Union law, the researchers must not have spent
          more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the deadline of the co-
          funded programme's call, in the same appointing organisation.
          Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays and time spent as part of a
          procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention101 are not taken
          into account.
         Supported researchers must be either doctoral candidates or postdoctoral researchers,
          depending on the action:
                o For COFUND Doctoral Programmes, researchers must be doctoral candidates,
                     i.e. not already in possession102 of a doctoral degree at the deadline of the co-
                     funded programme's call.
                     Researchers must be enrolled in a doctoral programme leading to the award of
                     a doctoral degree in at least one EU Member State or Horizon Europe
                     Associated Country.
                o For COFUND Postdoctoral Programmes, researchers must be in possession of
                     a doctoral degree 103 at the deadline of the co-funded programme's call.
100
    Existing programmes with international mobility applying for COFUND can deviate from this rule if duly
justified in the proposal by the applicant. The existing mobility rule will be evaluated by the independent experts
to judge if it is in the spirit of the MSCA mobility rule.
101
    1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol.
102
     Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been
awarded the doctoral degree will not be considered eligible.
                                                   Page 101 of 109
 ---pagebreak---                   Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have
                  not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will also be considered as
                  postdoctoral researchers and will be considered eligible to apply.
        For COFUND Postdoctoral Programmes: researchers must be nationals or long-term
         residents of an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country, in case the
         main part of the research training activities is carried out in a country other than an EU
         Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country.
        Limitations regarding the researchers' origin and destination should be avoided.
         Researchers who are already permanently employed by the organisation hosting them
         cannot be funded by COFUND.
         4.3.3. Duration of the action
        The maximum duration of the action must be 60 months from the starting date set out
         in the grant agreement. It also includes the time that is needed to select and recruit the
         researchers.
        The minimum duration of each fellowship (on the basis of full-time employment)
         must be three months.
        For Postdoctoral Programmes where the main part of the research training activity
         does not take place in an EU Member State or a Horizon Europe Associated Country
         (i.e. outgoing phase), the researcher should carry out a mandatory return period of 12
         months at the premises of the beneficiary or the recruiting implementing partner. A
         maximum of three months can be spent at the start of the action at the beneficiary (or
         any other organisation mentioned in the description of the action), allowing the
         researcher to spend time there before the outgoing phase. Secondments cannot take
         place during the mandatory twelve-month return period to the host organisation in an
         EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country.
        The duration of the secondments should be limited to a maximum of one third of the
         actual months spent implementing the research training activities under the action or,
         if applicable, of the duration of the outgoing phase for Postdoctoral Programmes.
     4.4. Award criteria
        Proposals will be evaluated by experts on the basis of the award criteria 'excellence',
         'impact' and 'quality and efficiency of the implementation'.
        Evaluation scores will be awarded for each of these criteria, and not for the different
         aspects listed in the table below. Each criterion will be scored out of 5. Scores will be
103
    A medical doctor degree will be accepted only when it corresponds to a doctoral degree or if the researcher
can demonstrate his/her appointment in a position that requires doctoral equivalency (e.g. professorship
appointment). Medical doctor degrees corresponding to basic medical training as defined in Annex V of
Directive 2005/36/EC will not be considered a doctoral degree.
                                               Page 102 of 109
 ---pagebreak---          awarded with a resolution of one decimal place and will be subject to a weighting
         factor as indicated in the table below.
        Proposals scoring equal to or above 70% will be considered for funding — within the
         limits of the available call budget. Other proposals will be rejected.
          Excellence                           Impact                   Quality and efficiency
                                                                        of the implementation
Quality and novelty of the       Strengthening human resources      Quality and effectiveness of
selection / recruitment          good practices at institutional,   the work plan, management
process for the researchers      regional,        national       or structures, assessment of risks
(transparency, composition       international level, in particular and appropriateness of the
and       organisation       of  through aligning the practices     effort assigned to work
selection         committees,    of participating organisations     packages
evaluation criteria, equal       with the principles set out by
opportunities, the gender        the EU for human resources
dimension        and     other   development in research and
diversity     aspects)     and   innovation
quality and attractiveness of
the appointment conditions,
including competitiveness
of the salary for the
standards of the hosting
countries
Quality and novelty of the       Credibility of the proposed        Quality and capacity of the
research options offered by      measures to enhance the career     host      institution(s)     and
the programme in terms of        perspectives and employability     participating      organisations
science, interdisciplinarity,    of researchers and contribution    (where
                                                                    appropriate), including hosting
inter-sectorality and level of   to their skills development
                                                                    arrangements and extent to
international        mobility.                                      which they bring together the
Quality of open science                                             necessary       expertise     to
practices                                                           successfully implement the
                                                                    research training programme
Quality,      novelty      and   Suitability and quality of the
pertinence of the research       measures to maximise the
training           programme     expected        outcomes      and
(including        transferable   impacts, as set out in the
skills,                          dissemination and exploitation
                                            Page 103 of 109
 ---pagebreak---            Excellence                              Impact                           Quality and efficiency
                                                                                    of the implementation
inter/multidisciplinary,            plan, including communication
inter-sectoral and gender as activities
well as other diversity
aspects)
Quality,       novelty        and
pertinence          of         the
supervision, career guidance
and career development
arrangements
              50%                                    30%                                       20%
                                                  Weighting
      4.5. Procedure
         In COFUND, the evaluation will be organised in two different panels, Doctoral
          Programmes and Postdoctoral Programmes, but a single ranking list will be produced.
      Ex-aequo Proposals
         When the total scores of two or more proposals are equal (ex-aequo cases), the priority
          order will be established as follows:
              1)    The proposals will be prioritised according to the scores they have been
                   awarded for the criterion ‘Excellence’. When these scores are equal, priority
                   will be based on scores for the criterion ‘Impact’.
              2) If a distinction still cannot be made, the panel may decide to further prioritise
                   by considering other factors such as gender and other diversity aspects in the
                   research activities, participation of the non-academic sector (including
                   involvement of SMEs), geographical diversity 104 , synergies with Cohesion
                   policy funds, support to Smart Specialisation Strategies, or relationship to the
                   Horizon Europe objectives in general. These factors will be documented in the
                   panel report.
      Seal of Excellence
 104
     Defined as the number of EU Member States or Associated Countries represented in the proposal, not
 otherwise receiving funds from projects higher up the ranking list (and if equal in number, then by budget).
                                                 Page 104 of 109
 ---pagebreak---       Seals of Excellence will be awarded to applications with a total score equal to or
       higher than 85%, but which cannot be funded due to lack of budget available to the
       call.
   4.6. Legal and financial set-up of the Grant Agreements
The following exceptions and additional conditions apply:
      Eligible costs must take the form of unit contributions, as stipulated in Decision of 11
       March 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions and unit contributions for
       Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions under the Horizon Europe Programme.
      When associated partners are involved, the beneficiary is encouraged to sign a
       partnership agreement with them to regulate the internal relationship between all
       participating organisations. The partnership agreement(s) must comply with the grant
       agreement.
      The beneficiary may provide financial support to third parties. The support to third
       parties can only be provided in the form of grants, based on the MSCA unit
       contributions.
      Grants awarded under this topic may be linked to actions funded under the Cohesion
       policy funds, i.e. synergy actions.
      The beneficiary must ensure full access — on a royalty-free basis — for the recruited
       researchers to background and results needed for their activities under the action.
      The following deliverables will have to be submitted for grants awarded under this
       topic:
       –   mid-term meeting organised between the participants and the granting authority;
       –   mobility declaration submitted within 20 days of the start of the research training
           activities, for each researcher, and updated (if needed) via the Funding & Tenders
           Portal Continuous Reporting tool;
        career development plan: a document describing how the individual Career
           Development Plans have been established (listing also the researchers for whom
           such plans have been put in place), submitted towards the end of the project;
       –   evaluation questionnaire completed by each recruited researcher and submitted at
           the end of the research training activity; a follow-up questionnaire submitted two
           years later;
       –   data management plan submitted at mid-term and an update towards the end of
           the project if needed;
                                          Page 105 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- – plan for the dissemination and exploitation of results, including
  communication activities submitted at mid-term and an update towards the end of
  the project.
                             Page 106 of 109
 ---pagebreak---                                       Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022Marie Skłodowska
                                                              -Curie Actions
                                       ES                 91,3%                   AU           100,9% DJ  87,2%
      Table 1: Country correction
                                       FI               119,5%                    AZ            82,1% DO  61,4%
      coefficients     (CCC)      for
                                       FR               116,4%                    BA            63,9% DZ  67,9%
      Doctoral      Networks     and
      Postdoctoral       Fellowships   HR                 75,5%                   BB           112,8% EC  79,4%
      living allowances                HU                 72,0%                   BD            81,2% EG  67,4%
      For countries where the          IE               119,5%                    BF            95,0% ER 120,4%
      correction coefficient is not    IT                 97,4%                   BI            81,3% ET  81,9%
      indicated, the Commission will
                                       LT                 72,8%                   BJ            91,9% FJ  73,5%
      decide on a case-by-case basis.
                                       LU               100,0%                    BO            83,9% FO 132,0%
          Country                      LV                 76,0%                   BR            84,7% GA 107,9%
          Code105           CCC        MT                 88,1%                   BW            62,9% GE  62,2%
                                       NL               109,6%                    BY            66,8% GH  73,9%
          EU Member States
                                       PL                 70,5%                   BZ            79,9% GM  68,8%
          AT                 106,3%    PT                 84,3%                   CA            95,2% GN  84,2%
          BE                 100,0%    RO                 65,4%                   CD           151,9% GT  87,3%
          BG                  54,8%    SE               125,4%                    CF           109,3% GW  81,9%
          CY                  77,5%    SI                 83,3%                   CG           117,3% GY  71,7%
          CZ                  79,1%    SK                 78,1%                   CH           128,6% HK 115,4%
          DE                  98,3%                                               CI            94,6% HN  77,4%
          DK                 132,0%                                               CL            69,5% HT  85,0%
                                       Third Countries
          EE                  80,3%                                               CM            87,8% ID  73,0%
          EL                  81,6%    AE                 94,0%                   CN            90,0% IL 107,2%
                                       AL                 59,0%                   CO            67,6% IN  73,8%
105                                    AM                 77,7%                   CR            77,6% IS 130,5%
    ISO 3166 alpha-2, except for
    Greece and the United Kingdom      AO               130,0%                    CU            82,5% JM  84,4%
    (EL and UK used respectively       AR                 62,5%                   CV            69,6% JO  98,8%
    instead of GR and GB).
                                                         Part 2 - Page 107 of 109
 ---pagebreak---           Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022Marie Skłodowska
                                  -Curie Actions
JP 103,3%  NE                 80,0%                                  58,4%
KE  85,6%  NG                 85,2%                   TL             88,7%
KG  73,7% NI                  67,3%                   TM             82,9%
KH  78,6%  NO               128,7%                    TN             67,4%
KM  75,7%  NP                 87,8%                   TR             64,5%
KR  95,5%  NZ                 98,9%                   TT             81,8%
KZ  71,9%  PA                 76,8%                   TW             84,7%
LA  89,8%  PE                 88,0%                   TZ             67,9%
LB 116,2%  PG                 99,8%                   UA             68,5%
LI 128,6%  PH                 81,3%                   UG             67,2%
LK  77,4%  PK                 54,8%                   UK           136,9%
LR 149,6%  PS               112,5%                    US           102,3%
LS  56,2%  PY                 63,0%                   UY             89,7%
MA  72,6%  RS                 57,7%                   UZ             68,0%
MD  63,2%  RU                 97,3%                   VE           139,2%
ME  61,6%  RW                 81,6%                   VN             61,3%
MG  85,6%  SA                 83,4%                   VU           104,8%
MK  50,7%  SB               112,7%                    WS             82,2%
ML  90,0%  SD               107,8%                    XK             70,2%
MM  67,0%  SG               124,4%                    YE           104,4%
MR  68,1%  SL               107,1%                    ZA             55,3%
MU  73,3%  SN                 98,4%                   ZM            74,8%,
MW  60,9%  SR                 69,1%                   ZW             98,3%
MX  60,3%  SV                 72,2%
MY  67,2%  SZ                 61,3%
MZ  71,7%  TD               100,1%
NA  66,9%  TG                 82,8%
NC 107,4%  TH                 78,8%
                             Part 2 - Page 108 of 109
 ---pagebreak--- Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
      Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
          Part 2 - Page 109 of 109
 ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak---             EN
        ANNEX III
         “Annex III
      Horizon Europe
Work Programme 2021-2022
 3. Research Infrastructures
              ”
 ---pagebreak---                                        Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                                      Research Infrastructures
Table of contents
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 6
DESTINATION – DEVELOPING, CONSOLIDATING AND
OPTIMISING THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURES
LANDSCAPE, MAINTAINING GLOBAL LEADERSHIP (INFRADEV) 10
Call - Developing, consolidating and optimising the European research infrastructures
landscape, maintaining global leadership (2021) ................................................................ 12
   Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 12
   HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-01-01: Support to the European Strategy Forum on
   Research Infrastructures ....................................................................................................... 13
   HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-01-02: Strengthen the bilateral cooperation on research
   infrastructures with Africa: improving the knowledge base on climate change in Africa ... 14
   HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-01-03: Transition to digital/remote research infrastructure
   service provision: lessons learnt, needs and best practices .................................................. 16
   HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-01-04: Support to National Contact Points (NCPs) for
   Research Infrastructures ....................................................................................................... 17
   HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-01-05: Support to the e-Infrastructure Reflection Group (e-
   IRG) ...................................................................................................................................... 18
Call - Developing and consolidating the European research infrastructures landscape,
maintaining global leadership (2021) ................................................................................... 19
   Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 20
   HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-02-01: Preparatory phase of new ESFRI research
   infrastructure projects ........................................................................................................... 21
   HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-02-02: Consolidation of the research infrastructure
   landscape – Individual support for ESFRI projects ............................................................. 23
Call - Developing the European research infrastructures landscape, maintaining global
leadership (2022) .................................................................................................................... 24
   Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 24
   HORIZON-INFRA-2022-DEV-01-01: Research infrastructure concept development ....... 25
   HORIZON-INFRA-2022-DEV-01-02: Cooperation, synergies and networking between
   research infrastructures and technology infrastructures ....................................................... 27
DESTINATION – ENABLING AN OPERATIONAL, OPEN AND FAIR
EOSC ECOSYSTEM (INFRAEOSC)............................................................. 31
Call - Enabling an operational, open and FAIR EOSC ecosystem (2021) ........................ 33
   Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 33
                                                         Part 3 - Page 2 of 136
 ---pagebreak---                                      Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                                    Research Infrastructures
  Open Science practices and a digitally-skilled workforce ................................................... 34
  HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-01: Supporting an EOSC-ready digitally skilled
  workforce ............................................................................................................................. 34
  HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-02: Supporting the development and coordination of
  activities of the EOSC Partnership ....................................................................................... 36
  Supporting EOSC-Core: Enabling access to the Web of FAIR data and services ............... 39
  HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-03: Deploying EOSC-Core components for FAIR.... 39
  HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-04: Innovative and customizable services for EOSC 41
  Building with the scientific community a Web of FAIR data for open science .................. 43
  HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-05: Enabling discovery and interoperability of
  federated research objects across scientific communities .................................................... 43
  HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-06: FAIR and open data sharing in support of cancer
  research ................................................................................................................................. 47
Call - Enabling an operational, open and FAIR EOSC ecosystem (2022) ........................ 50
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 50
  Open Science practices and a digitally-skilled workforce ................................................... 51
  HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01-01: Services and tools to underpin a research
  assessment system that incentivises open science practices ................................................ 51
  HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01-02: Improving and coordinating technical
  infrastructure for institutional open access publishing across Europe ................................. 53
  Building with the scientific community a Web of FAIR data for open science .................. 56
  HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01-03: FAIR and open data sharing in support of healthy
  oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters ................................................................................ 56
  HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01-04: Support for initiatives helping to generate global
  standards, specifications and recommendations for open sharing of FAIR research data,
  publications and software ..................................................................................................... 59
DESTINATION – RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES TO
SUPPORT HEALTH RESEARCH, ACCELERATE THE GREEN AND
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION, AND ADVANCE FRONTIER
KNOWLEDGE (INFRASERV) ....................................................................... 61
Call - Research infrastructure services to support health research, accelerate the green
and digital transformation, and advance frontier knowledge (2021) ................................ 63
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 63
  A challenge-driven provision of research infrastructure services ........................................ 64
  HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-01: Research infrastructures services to support
  research addressing cancer ................................................................................................... 64
  HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-02: Research infrastructures services for a sustainable
  and resilient agriculture and agro-ecological transitions...................................................... 68
  HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-03: Research infrastructures services for responding to
  climate-related risks on the environment ............................................................................. 72
                                                       Part 3 - Page 3 of 136
 ---pagebreak---                               Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                             Research Infrastructures
  HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-04: Research infrastructures services enabling the
  development of materials for a circular economy ................................................................ 76
  HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-05: Research infrastructures services for sustainable
  and inclusive Global Value Chain and Europe recovery from socio-economic crises ........ 79
  HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-06: Enabling research infrastructure services for better
  use of imaging data to address challenges in thematic research areas ................................. 83
  Research infrastructures services advancing frontier knowledge ........................................ 84
  HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-07: Research infrastructures services advancing
  frontier knowledge ............................................................................................................... 85
Call - Research infrastructure services to support health research and accelerate the
digital transformation (2022) ................................................................................................ 88
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 88
  HORIZON-INFRA-2022-SERV-01-01: Implementing digital services to empower
  neuroscience research for health and brain inspired technology via EBRAINS .................. 90
DESTINATION – NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENTIFIC
INSTRUMENTATION, TOOLS AND METHODS AND ADVANCED
DIGITAL SOLUTIONS (INFRATECH) ....................................................... 93
Call - Next generation of scientific instrumentation, tools and methods (2021) ............... 95
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 95
  HORIZON-INFRA-2021-TECH-01-01: Interdisciplinary digital twins for modelling and
  simulating complex phenomena at the service of research infrastructure communities ...... 96
Call - Next generation of scientific instrumentation, tools and methods (2022) ............... 98
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 98
  HORIZON-INFRA-2022-TECH-01-01: R&D for the next generation of scientific
  instrumentation, tools and methods ...................................................................................... 99
DESTINATION – NETWORK CONNECTIVITY IN RESEARCH AND
EDUCATION - ENABLING COLLABORATION WITHOUT
BOUNDARIES (INFRANET) ........................................................................ 102
Call - Network connectivity in Research and Education - Enabling collaboration without
boundaries (2021) ................................................................................................................. 103
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 103
  HORIZON-INFRA-2021-NET-01-01-FPA: Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) for
  Research and Education Networks ..................................................................................... 104
Other Actions not subject to calls for proposals .......................................... 108
Grants to identified beneficiaries ........................................................................................ 108
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  1. Conference on European Research Infrastructures: 20 years of ESFRI, achievements and
  future insights ..................................................................................................................... 108
  2. International Conference on Research Infrastructures – ICRI 2022 .............................. 109
Specific Grant Agreements to the FPA for Research and Education Networks ............ 110
  1. SGA for networking and collaboration services and investments in long-term capacity
  for Research and Education Networks in Europe .............................................................. 110
  2. SGA for investments on International connectivity and collaboration .......................... 114
Other grants awarded without a call for proposals .......................................................... 115
  1. FAIR and open data sharing in support to European preparedness for COVID-19 and
  other infectious diseases ..................................................................................................... 115
  2. Research infrastructure services for rapid research responses to COVID-19 and other
  infectious disease epidemics .............................................................................................. 120
Public procurement .............................................................................................................. 125
  1. Delivering the EOSC core infrastructure and services ................................................... 125
Expert contract actions ........................................................................................................ 129
  1. External expertise 2021 .................................................................................................. 129
  2. External expertise 2022 .................................................................................................. 130
Budget ............................................................................................................... 132
Specific Features for Research Infrastructure ............................................. 134
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Introduction
The overall objective of the Research Infrastructures Programme under Horizon Europe is to
empower Europe through world-class and accessible research infrastructures, as part of an
integrated European research and technology infrastructures landscape.
Research infrastructures (RIs) 1, including the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), and
technology infrastructures (TIs) are crucial enablers of research and technological innovation
and drivers of multidisciplinary and data-intensive science.
Europe will benefit from an integrated, inter-operable and effective ecosystem of RIs and TIs
that helps covering the continuum of needs from fundamental knowledge creation to
technology deployment and supports the implementation of Open Science policies as well as
European technology leadership.
Previous European Framework Programmes have made a significant contribution towards a
more efficient, open and effective use of national research infrastructures and have developed,
with the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI), a coherent and
strategy-led approach to policy making and national investments on pan-European research
infrastructures. The work with ESFRI triggered, so far, the development of 55 European
research infrastructures, of which 37 have already been implemented, across all fields of
science, mobilising close to €20 billion in investments2.
Twenty-one of these research infrastructures have been established as European Research
Infrastructure Consortia (ERIC) – a legal form enshrined in EU law and the only EU
regulation in the European Research Area (ERA) framework – that enables joint funding and
integration of resources from Member States (MSs) and Associated Countries (ACs) and
secures their commitment to continuing support. The EU, its MSs and the ACs invest together
in the research infrastructures also through the Cohesion Policy, building research capacities
at regional/national level with a view to deploy research results into markets.
Europe has a rich landscape of research infrastructures. For the future, smart investments will
be required to drive the development of new research infrastructures to fill knowledge gaps,
support emerging needs and scientific breakthroughs, and respond to new challenges, notably
in the field of health and in the context of the green and digital transitions. At the same time,
efforts to optimise and consolidate the existing capacities, avoiding fragmentation and
unnecessary duplications, will provide the ERA with a more effective and interlinked and
well-functioning research infrastructure landscape. Such RIs landscape and its continuous
evolution and upgrade will make the ERA increasingly attractive for researchers and talents
from all over the world. It is therefore necessary to foster synergies between RI funding
1
        Research infrastructures (RIs) are facilities that provide resources and services for the research
        communities to conduct research and foster innovation in their fields. Their definition is given in art. 2
        of the EU Regulation 2021/695 of 28 April 2021 establishing Horizon Europe.
2
        See http://roadmap2018.esfri.eu/.
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instruments (European and national) to align R&I investments, ensure access to excellence
and translate research results for the benefit of the society and the economy.
The recently published ESFRI White Paper also puts a new emphasis on the consolidation of
a European research infrastructure ecosystem underpinning the ERA, on the role the existing
facilities at European and national level can play to address the EU’s broad policy priorities
and on the needs to integrate new research infrastructures in strategic areas to enhance R&I
capacities in Europe. RIs, as highlighted in the ESFRI White Paper, have the potential to
contribute to local and regional socio-economic development by triggering the creation of and
playing a central role in knowledge innovation hubs. In this context, closely interacting with
local businesses and industry, RIs support regional research priorities and the implementation
of the Smart Specialization Strategies (S3), thus contributing to the alignment of priorities at
EU level.
In the RI landscape, the EOSC offers a horizontal, pan-European, inter-operable, federated
ecosystem of standards, technologies and services, along with rules of engagement, which
will enable and enhance seamless access to and reliable re-use of research outputs, i.e. data,
software and other digital objects, included those generated or collected by other research
infrastructures, supporting the whole research data life-cycle from discovery and mining to
analysis, storage and management. High-speed connectivity (GÉANT) underpins the
development of EOSC and provides fast, trusted and reliable connectivity for researchers in
Europe and beyond. Activities to deliver the EOSC as a trusted virtual environment
supporting Open Science and data and service-driven research will be co-designed with
MS/ACs and stakeholders in the framework of the proposed EOSC European partnership.
This will allow Europe to seize data-intensive research and innovation opportunities and
enable breakthroughs at the crossroads of different disciplines by a broad interdisciplinary
user community. The deployment of an EOSC will be ensured through a platform based on a
federated core, enabling access to a wider ecosystem of data and services, as well as use of
integrated High-Performance Computing (HPC), Cloud, data, networks and Artificial
Intelligence (AI) resources.
EU Framework Programmes have so far fostered the opening at EU level of RIs to trans-
national users, enabling all researchers in Europe and beyond to have access to the best RIs
they need for their research. These efforts have radically transformed the availability of state-
of-the-art facilities for researchers, reinforcing Europe’s strong research performance and its
ability to react rapidly, for example in providing reference materials worldwide to respond to
the coronavirus outbreak. Up to now, this approach has been mainly science driven.
As European RIs have the potential to enhance society’s long term and consistent problem-
solving capacity, new efforts are now needed to maintain Europe at the forefront of science
and to ensure the provision of customised, multidisciplinary, impact-oriented and integrated
RI services and resources to accelerate the transition towards a socially inclusive green and
digital future and to support an effective and responsive health system as well as evidence-
based policy-making. In this regard, Research Infrastructures can substantially contribute to
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the objectives of Horizon Europe clusters, missions and partnerships in Pillar II as well as to
support its innovation dimension.
The Research Infrastructures work programme under Horizon Europe will address the global
environmental, social and economic challenges, in line with the renewed ERA, which requires
an explicit contribution of research and technology infrastructures to Europe’s wider policy
objectives, thus maximizing the contribution of science and technology to the needs of the
society and increasing Europe’s competitiveness.
To cope with new challenges and ensure leadership of Europe in frontier research, RIs need to
be maintained at the forefront of science and technological developments. To this extent, the
Research Infrastructures work programme will support the development of innovative cutting-
edge scientific instrumentation, software and methods. These developments, carried out in
cooperation and co-creation with industry, will advance the industrial technological level in
Europe and lead to breakthrough technological and societal innovation.
Training for RI users, as well as strengthening the RI scientific, technical and managerial
competencies of staff, will underpin all the activities implemented under the Research
Infrastructures work programme, thus contributing to the education and employment
opportunities of the next generation of researchers, technologists and high level science
managers. A well-functioning RIs landscape and its continuous evolution and upgrade will
make the ERA attractive for researchers and talents from all over the world.
The Research Infrastructures work programme is structured around the following five
destinations:
   Destination - Developing, consolidating and optimising the European research
     infrastructures landscape, maintaining global leadership (INFRADEV), to
     contribute to a strong, excellent and impactful European Research Area, by reinforcing
     RI capacities in Europe, their role at the global level and the policy-making in this field;
   Destination - Enabling an operational, open and FAIR EOSC ecosystem
     (INFRAEOSC), aiming at delivering a “Web of FAIR Data and Services” for Science: a
     trusted virtual environment supporting Open Science, based on key horizontal core
     functions, with their corresponding e-infrastructures, and service layers accessible to
     researchers across disciplines throughout Europe;
   Destination - RI services to support health research, accelerate the green and
     digital transformation, and advance frontier knowledge (INFRASERV), with a
     focus on the provision of integrated RI services to enable R&I addressing major societal
     challenges, notably in health, in support of the green and digital transformation and
     ensuring resilience to crises as well as to support curiosity-driven research and
     advancement of frontier knowledge in broad scientific domains;
   Destination - Next generation of scientific instrumentation, tools and methods and
     advanced digital solutions (INFRATECH), to enable new discoveries and keep
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      Europe’s RIs at the highest level of excellence, while paving the way to innovative
      solutions to societal challenges and new industrial applications, products and services;
    Destination - Network connectivity in Research and Education – Enabling
      collaboration without boundaries (INFRANET), providing high-bandwidth networks
      and network services to interconnect researchers, data and computing resources in a non-
      discriminatory way regardless of the location of the users and the resources to allow
      scientists to conduct excellent research.
Horizon Europe is the research and innovation support programme in a system of European
and national funding programmes that shares policy objectives. Applicants should consider
and actively seek synergies with, and where appropriate possibilities for further funding from,
other R&I-relevant EU, national or regional programmes (such as ERDF 3 , ESF+ 4 , JTF 5 ,
EMFF6, EAFRD7 and InvestEU8), where appropriate, as well as private funds or financial
instruments. The ERDF focuses amongst others on the development and strengthening of
regional and local research and innovation ecosystems and smart economic transformation, in
line with regional/national smart specialisation strategies. It can support building research and
innovation capacities and uptake of advanced technologies and roll-out of innovative
solutions from the Framework Programmes for research and innovation through the ERDF.
3
        European Regional Development Fund; https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/erdf/
4
        European Social Fund; https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/social-fund/
5
        Just     Transition     Fund;    https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-
        deal/actions-being-taken-eu/just-transition-mechanism/just-transition-funding-sources_en
6
        European Maritime and Fisheries Fund; https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/emff_en
7
        European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development; https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-
        fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-policy/rural-development_en
8
        InvestEU             Programme;              https://ec.europa.eu/commission/priorities/jobs-growth-and-
        investment/investment-plan-europe-juncker-plan/whats-next-investeu-programme-2021-2027_en
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DESTINATION                –      DEVELOPING,                  CONSOLIDATING              AND
OPTIMISING THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURES
LANDSCAPE, MAINTAINING GLOBAL LEADERSHIP (INFRADEV)
Over recent years, the European Commission, Member States (MS) and Associated Countries
(AC) have been closely collaborating, in particular within the European Strategy Forum on
Research Infrastructures (ESFRI), to develop an integrated and efficient ecosystem of
research infrastructures (RIs) in Europe, which encompasses single-sited facilities, distributed
facilities integrating resources across the European Research Area, as well as networks of
national facilities and which serves researchers and engineers in all S&T fields, from basic to
applied research. To facilitate integration and pooling of resources for the development of
new capacities, a legal instrument has also been developed at European level, the European
Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) that provides favourable conditions for the
establishment and operation of large European infrastructures supported jointly by several
MSs and ACs as well as by third countries. While Member States remain central in the
development and financing of public RIs, the Union and ESFRI play a catalysing and
leveraging role in driving the integration between national efforts.
The challenges for the near future are to consolidate and optimise the European Research
Infrastructure landscape and enhance its capacity to support frontier research and address the
emerging and new scientific and societal objectives associated with the transition towards a
sustainable and resilient Europe. In addition, there is the need to define and implement an
effective and sound RI strategy in Europe, in close cooperation with ESFRI, MSs and ACs,
which is complemented by and interlocks with the long-term ambition of creating an
integrated Technology Infrastructure (TI) landscape, the latter is supported in Pillar II of
Horizon Europe Programme (HE). Such a strategy would also help in exploiting synergies
between RI and TI financed from Horizon and massive investments in infrastructures from
ERDF.
This destination aims to create a world-leading coherent, agile and attractive RI landscape in
Europe, by reducing its fragmentation at European, national and regional level, ensuring
coordination of efforts and fostering alignment of priorities among MSs and ACs, connecting
RIs to the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), and which is able to support national and
regional R&I ecosystems. The support to a European strategy for Research Infrastructures as
well as activities to enhance the role of RIs for international cooperation and science
diplomacy will also be covered under this destination.
Expected impact
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to
one or several of the following impacts:
   Disruptive research and breakthrough science and innovation through cutting-edge,
      interconnected and sustainable Research Infrastructures;
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   Strengthened scientific excellence and performance and efficiency of the European
     Research Area, increasing its attractiveness to researchers from all over the world;
   Coordinated research infrastructure capacity among countries and regions, also by
     exploiting possibilities given by the smart specialisation processes;
   Reinforced R&I capacities enabling systemic changes needed for a truly transformative
     societal and economic recovery and a strengthened resilience of critical sectors, as
     outlined in the Recovery Plan;
   Improved European response, in cooperation with international players, to emerging
     socio-economic and related scientific and technological challenges at global level.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                Call                             Budgets (EUR million)           Deadline(s)
                                               2021                  2022
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-01 7.80                                                   23 Sep 2021
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-02 33.50                                10.00             20 Jan 2022
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-DEV-01                                      21.80             20 Apr 2022
Overall indicative budget             41.30                    31.80
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Call - Developing, consolidating and optimising the European research infrastructures
landscape, maintaining global leadership (2021)
                                                                     HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)9
                   Topics                         Type       Budgets         Expected EU          Number
                                                   of          (EUR         contribution per          of
                                                Action       million)        project (EUR          projects
                                                                               million)10         expected
                                                                2021                                to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 23 Sep 2021
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-01-01 CSA                            2.50         1.50 to 2.50             1
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-01-02 CSA                            1.50         0.80 to 1.50             1
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-01-03 CSA                            1.50         0.80 to 1.50             1
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-01-04 CSA                            2.00         1.50 to 2.00             1
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-01-05 CSA                            0.30         Around 0.30              1
Overall indicative budget                                   7.80
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
9
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
10
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Financial and operational capacity and               The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                            C.
Award criteria                                       The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                     D.
Documents                                            The documents are described in General
                                                     Annex E.
Procedure                                            The procedure is described in General
                                                     Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant              The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-01-01: Support to the European Strategy Forum on
Research Infrastructures
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per     1.50 and 2.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.50 million.
Type of Action       Coordination and Support Actions
Procedure            The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                     exceptions apply:
                     The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
   enhanced efficiency, impact and visibility of ESFRI strategy and actions;
   better structured and strengthened European research infrastructure ecosystem;
   reinforced global competitiveness of the European Research Area;
   coordination and alignment of EU and national priorities for RIs.
Scope: The European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) brings together
policy makers, funding bodies and the scientific community to identify joint investment
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priorities for pan-European research infrastructures as well as foster their implementation,
sustainability and impact. A comprehensive and efficient support structure is essential for the
effective execution of ESFRI tasks and activities.
In this respect, proposals should support ESFRI in carrying out the following activities:
   development and publishing of the ESFRI Roadmap;
   development and execution of the ESFRI communication and outreach strategy,
      including organisation of ESFRI-led conferences and outreach events;
   strengthen ESFRI analytical capacity, including through the use of external expertise in
      support of ESFRI policy and the ESFRI Roadmap processes;
   effective evaluation and monitoring of research infrastructures on the ESFRI Roadmap
      through appropriate ICT and analytical tools;
   fostering cooperation, exchange of experiences and good practices between the research
      infrastructures, their managers and stakeholders, as well as the funding bodies, including
      managing authorities of Cohesion policy programmes and policy makers;
   ensuring cooperation of ESFRI with the EOSC as well as with any other relevant bodies
      and stakeholders at European or international level.
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-01-02: Strengthen the bilateral cooperation on research
infrastructures with Africa: improving the knowledge base on climate change in Africa
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       0.80 and 1.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.50 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                       exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
                       Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                       states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply: in order to achieve the
                       expected objectives of the action, the consortium must include, as a
                       beneficiary or as an associated partner, at least one legal entity
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                         established in an African country.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
    contribution to the new Commission strategy with Africa, notably to the following
     specific objectives: maximise the benefits of the green transition and minimise threats to
     the environment in full compliance with the Paris Agreement; rapidly enhance learning,
     knowledge and skills, research and innovation capacities (with attention to female and
     young researchers);
    enhanced research capacities in Africa for climate change observation;
    enhanced Euro-African cooperation in R&I on measurements for climate change
     observation.
Scope: This topic aims at fostering EU-Africa cooperation to enhance climate (including
Green House Gas and Short Lived Climate Forcers – GHG and SLCF) observation capacity
across Africa. EU-Africa cooperation in the field of GHG observation will also include
sharing of good practices and experiences to facilitate the development of a strategic approach
for structuring R&I capacities at pan-African level. Particular attention should be given to
tropical and sub-tropical Africa, which are currently the least covered regions in terms of
climate observation. The participation of African partners is mandatory.
Proposals should address all following aspects:
    establish a concept for a Pan-African climate observation RI including the underlying
     data infrastructure and the related digital transformation;; attention should be paid to
     open and FAIR principles in data management policies.
    support the exchange of staff between several African countries and European research
     infrastructures to create expertise for the design, the governance and the operation of an
     integrated Pan-African RI for climate observation;
Proposals should build on existing cooperation activities between African and European
countries and take into account the outcomes of previous and ongoing initiatives. The
potential contribution to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) should be
taken into account.
Proposals are encouraged to take advantage of Copernicus11, its Data and Information Access
Services (DIAS), the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) infrastructure, the
European Commission Atmospheric Observatory for Greenhouse Gases 12 of the Joint
Research Centre (JRC), as well as of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
11
        Under the Copernicus administrative arrangement with the African Union Commission, Copernicus
        data is made available to African stakeholders via dedicated regional centres in Africa. Copernicus data
        and services are available free, full and open and should be exploited.
12
        https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/research-facility/greenhouse-gas-monitoring
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observation systems and networks13, or other existing data access solutions to optimise use of
resources.
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-01-03:                        Transition      to      digital/remote       research
infrastructure service provision: lessons learnt, needs and best practices
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        0.80 and 1.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.50 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
    increased resilience of research infrastructures during crisis;
    reduced ecological footprint of research infrastructure activities;
    wider access to research infrastructures and enlargement of their user base;
Scope: The provision of digital and remote research infrastructure services has proved its
effectiveness during the COVID-19 emergency/lockdown. Such an approach would also
contribute to a sustainable and effective ecosystem of research infrastructures, and, more in
general, to a more sustainable society.
Building on the resilience strategies and approaches developed during the COVID-19
emergency by research infrastructures in Europe, proposals under this topic should adopt a
broad approach, covering a wide range of different research infrastructures in many fields and
address the following aspects:
    investigate good practices, strategies and lessons learned as well as needs, risks and
     threats and further technological developments necessary to support the transition to
     digital/remote research infrastructure service provision;
    identify solutions, technologies and software enabling secure remote control of
     instrumentation and measurement as well as strategies for providing support to remote
     users;
    develop guidelines to foster the transition to a digital/remote provision of research
     infrastructure services.
13
        https://public.wmo.int/en/about-us/vision-and-mission/wmo-integrated-global-observing-system;
        https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/new-global-basic-observing-network-gets-go-ahead
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HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-01-04: Support to National Contact Points (NCPs) for
Research Infrastructures
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      1.50 and 2.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                      Applicants must be Horizon Europe national support structures (e.g.
                      NCP) responsible for Research Infrastructures and officially nominated
                      to the Commission, from a Member State or Associated Country.
                      Only in case and as long as Horizon Europe structures would not yet be
                      officially nominated, national support structures responsible for Research
                      Infrastructures nominated for Horizon 2020 would be eligible.
Procedure             The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
   improved professionalisation/skills of NCPs across Europe, helping to simplify access to
     Horizon Europe calls, lowering the entry barriers for newcomers, and raising the average
     quality of proposals submitted;
   harmonised and improved trans-national cooperation between NCPs;
   increased awareness across the research communities about the opportunities for access
     to research infrastructures offered by the Horizon Europe;
   strengthen the links between research infrastructures and smart specialisation strategies;
   seek complementarities between ERDF funded research infrastructures and research
     infrastructures funded under the Framework Programme.
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Scope: Proposals should aim to facilitate trans-national co-operation between National
Contact Points (NCPs) with a view to identifying and sharing good practices and raising the
general standard of support to programme applicants.
Proposals should address issues specific to research infrastructures, such as the promotion of
trans-national and virtual access opportunities, including specific activities targeting widening
countries, and the awareness of the access provision rules. Cooperation with other policy and
international cooperation oriented measures for research infrastructures (such as financed by
ERDF) and synergies with other NCPs networks is encouraged. Proposals should build on the
past experience and achievements gained in the Horizon 2020 grants.
The consortium should have a good representation of experienced and less experienced NCPs.
Special attention should be given to enhancing the competence of NCPs, including helping
less experienced NCPs rapidly acquire the know-how built up in other countries.
Proposals should cover the whole duration of Horizon Europe
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-01-05: Support to the e-Infrastructure Reflection Group
(e-IRG)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per        0.30 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 0.30 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Award criteria          The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        The following application of the general award criteria including any
                        weighting and thresholds applies:
                        Additional sub-criterion for Impact:
                           The extent to which the proposed work incorporates the
                             necessary coordination efforts and resources with other relevant
                             projects and the EOSC governance structure in the context of the
                             EOSC Partnership.
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Legal and financial     The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
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                                       Research Infrastructures
set-up of the Grant      apply:
Agreements               Beneficiaries will be subject to the additional access rights: Each
                         beneficiary must — under fair and reasonable conditions — grant
                         access to its results to the EOSC Association and its members for
                         developing, implementing and monitoring the European Open Science
                         Cloud.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following outcomes:
    cross-disciplinary and independent policy advice on digital matters related to EOSC and
      the digital transformation of the European Research Area;
    a more inclusive e-Infrastructure ecosystem, well coordinated with the ESFRI thematic
      clusters;
    improved coordination among National Open Science Clouds (NOSCs), National
      Research and Education Networks (NRENs), National HTC/Grid Infrastructures (NGIs)
      and all other national actors with national/pan-European links;
Scope: The e-Infrastructure Reflection Group (e-IRG) brings together representatives from
policy makers, funding bodies and the scientific community from the Member States and
Associated Countries to provide advice on policy-making towards inclusive, federated, user-
driven and resilient e-Infrastructures and connected services.
Proposals should support e-IRG members in carrying out the following activities:
    strengthen e-IRG analytical capacity, including through the use of external expertise in
      support of e-IRG policy documents;
    developing and publishing policy papers, providing complementary advice and
      recommendations in the development of the e-Infrastructure area;
    developing and implementing the e-IRG communication and outreach strategy, and
      disseminating the results throughout the European Research Area;
    liaising with ESFRI to jointly underpin the interworking of e-Infrastructures with the
      ESFRI thematic clusters;
Following the setup of new constructs in the European landscape, notably the EOSC
Association and the EOSC European Partnership, the e-IRG will conclude its work in the
transitional period of 2021-2022 whereafter its expertise should assimilate to the relevant
operational entities in Europe.
Call - Developing and consolidating the European research infrastructures landscape,
maintaining global leadership (2021)
                                                                HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-02
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Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)14
                   Topics                         Type         Budgets          Expected EU       Number
                                                   of       (EUR million)     contribution per        of
                                                Action                          project (EUR       projects
                                                             2021 2022
                                                                                  million)15      expected
                                                                                                    to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 30 Sep 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 20 Jan 2022
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-02-                      CSA         26.00    10.00    1.50 to 3.00        12
01
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-02-                      CSA         7.50              1.00 to 1.50        5
02
Overall indicative budget                                   33.50    10.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
                                                           Annex E.
Procedure                                                  The procedure is described in General
14
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
15
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-02-01: Preparatory phase of new ESFRI research
infrastructure projects
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      1.50 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 36.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                      exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to several of the following
expected outcomes:
   structuring effect on ERA;
   the scientific excellence of the European landscape of sustainable RI enhances problem-
     solving capacities to address challenges in science, industry and society;
   solid ground for the decision making on new research infrastructures, is available to
     MS/ACs, their funding bodies and other relevant stakeholders (e.g.: international
     organisations, third countries; foundations; etc.);
   long-term perspective for RI investments;
   consistent and well-functioning European research infrastructures ecosystem through the
     development of synergies and complementarities between new and existing research
     infrastructures, including technology infrastructures and infrastructures financed by
     ERDF.
Scope: This topic supports the preparatory phase of new ESFRI research infrastructure
projects identified in the 2021 update of the ESFRI Roadmap. These ESFRI projects have
been selected for the excellence of their scientific case and for their strategic importance for
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the European Research Area and the structuring of the European research infrastructure
ecosystem.
Proposal consortia should involve all the stakeholders necessary to move the project forward,
to take the decisions, and to make financial commitments, before construction can start
(including, but not limited to, national/regional ministries/governments, research councils or
funding agencies from the countries that have already declared their commitment in the
application to ESFRI). Operators of research facilities, research centres, universities, and
industry may also be involved whenever appropriate.
Proposals for research infrastructure preparatory phases will tackle all key questions
concerning legal, financial and technical issues leading to the establishment of a new research
infrastructure and ensuring commitment of Member States/Associated Countries to their long-
term operation and use in all fields of science.
In this respect, proposals should address all following aspects:
    the development of legal and financial frameworks/plans relating to the setting-up,
      construction and/or integration of national resources, operation and decommissioning of
      the research infrastructure as well as its Governance structure; the complementarities
      between national and EU instruments (such as the European Structural and Investment
      Funds or the European Investment Bank) and/or innovative financing solutions (e.g.:
      pre-commercial procurement; public-private partnerships);
    the preparation of legal and financial agreements, including site, governance, internal
      rules, financing of the new research infrastructures. These are deliverables that should be
      finalised before the end of the project (e.g.: through a Memorandum of Understanding; a
      'signature-ready' document for the setting-up and the actual implementation of the
      research infrastructure);
    the establishment of plans for logistics and human resources management, in relation to
      the construction/integration and future operation, including RI service provision as well
      as for an efficient data curation and preservation and for the provision of access to data
      collected or produced by the future infrastructure, in line with the FAIR principles;
    the technical challenges concerning the joint development, transfer of knowledge and
      implementation of key RI technologies and the completion of the final technical design
      of the infrastructure;
    the development of plans for the provision of RI services to identified scientific user
      communities;
    the relevance of the RI for science and society, including its socio-economic impacts at
      local/regional level and links with the smart specialisation strategies at regional level.
Environmental (including climate-related) impacts as well as the optimisation of resource and
energy use should be integrated in the Preparatory phase of new research infrastructures.
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Proposals should explain any synergies and complementarities with previous or current EU
grants.
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-02-02: Consolidation of the research infrastructure
landscape – Individual support for ESFRI projects
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      1.00 and 1.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 7.50 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                      exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to several of the following
expected outcomes:
   enhanced ERA excellence and attractiveness;
   consistent and well-structured research infrastructures ecosystem in Europe;
   solid Member States/Associated Country engagement in fully-fledged pan-European
     research infrastructures;
   long-term perspective for investments in research infrastructures;
   synergies and complementarities between new and existing research infrastructures,
     including technology infrastructures and infrastructures financed by ERDF.
Scope: This topic targets the research infrastructure projects retained in the 2016 ESFRI
Roadmap, for the excellence of their scientific case and for their strategic importance for the
European Research Area and the structuring of the European research infrastructure
ecosystem.
The recent ESFRI Monitoring exercise carried out for the update of the ESFRI Roadmap 2021
assessed the overall progress towards implementation of these 2016 ESFRI projects and
highlighted a number of key aspects that could hamper their implementation and start of the
operation phase.
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Although these ESFRI projects have received EU funding for their preparatory phase and
initial commitment from Member States/Associated Countries, the early stages of the research
infrastructure life-cycle are particularly challenging, also considering additional difficulties
linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. These ESFRI projects may suffer from the transition to
the Horizon Europe new framework programme and the possible lack of opportunities for
supporting their development as fully-fledged pan-European research infrastructures.
Proposals are expected to specifically address the bottlenecks identified in the ESFRI
Monitoring report and in the Report16 of the Commission High Level Expert Group, and allow
these ESFRI projects to enter into the implementation phase. The extent to which these
critical issues are addressed will be considered in evaluating proposals.
Based on the recommendations stemming from these monitoring exercises, support can be
provided for activities, such as enlargement of the membership; establishment of the
governance structure; securing the funding; finalisation of the distributed architecture;
development of ICT and data management solutions (including possible open access to data);
development of access policies and users’ strategies; consolidation of the international
dimension; addressing staff and procurement related issues.
Proposal consortia should involve all stakeholders necessary to move the project forward and
ensure financial commitments (including national/regional ministries/governments, research
councils or funding agencies).
Proposals should explain any synergies and complementarities with previous or current EU
grants. ESFRI projects currently benefitting from individual support under Horizon 2020
cannot apply to this topic.
Call - Developing the European research infrastructures landscape, maintaining global
leadership (2022)
                                                                      HORIZON-INFRA-2022-DEV-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)17
                    Topics                         Type       Budgets         Expected EU          Number
                                                    of          (EUR         contribution per          of
16
         Report of the High-Level Expert Group to Assess the Progress of ESFRI and Other World Class
         Research Infrastructures Towards Implementation and Long-Term Sustainability
17
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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                                        Research Infrastructures
                                            Action       million)        project (EUR        projects
                                                                           million)18        expected
                                                           2022                                to be
                                                                                              funded
                                       Opening: 19 Jan 2022
                                     Deadline(s): 20 Apr 2022
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-DEV-01-01 RIA                        20.30        1.00 to 3.00            7
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-DEV-01-02 CSA                        1.50         Around 1.50             1
Overall indicative budget                               21.80
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-DEV-01-01: Research infrastructure concept development
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       1.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
18
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.30 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
    sound science cases for new research infrastructures, including expected scientific
      breakthrough, gap analysis and feasibility/design studies to support planning and
      decision making at the national level (e.g. funding bodies, governments) and at European
      level (e.g. ESFRI);
    a better alignment of the development of the research infrastructure landscape with the
      advancement of excellent science and frontier research;
    new services and access opportunities available to the research community, allowing to
      better tackle scientific and societal challenges.
Scope: This topic aims at supporting the development of new concepts for the next generation
of research infrastructures of European interest19, single/multi sited, distributed or virtual, that
none or few countries might individually be able to afford. All fields of research can be
considered.
Major upgrades of existing infrastructures may also be considered if the end result is
significantly transformative and equivalent to a new infrastructure concept.
Proposals for RI concept development will tackle all key questions concerning the technical
and conceptual feasibility of new or upgraded fully fledged user facilities.
In this respect, proposals should address all following aspects:
    demonstrate relevance in relation to ERA, including to the existing landscape, and the
      advancement with respect to the state-of-art of the new infrastructure;
    highlight the research challenges the new research infrastructures will make possible to
      address, including at global level;
    indicate the gaps in the research infrastructure landscape the new infrastructure will
      cover and the synergies with existing infrastructures at European and global level,
      including those co-financed from other EU instruments (e.g.: Cohesion policy);
    indicate, when relevant, the potential impact of the new research infrastructure at
      regional level.
19
         A research infrastructure is of European interest when is able to attract users from EU or associated
         countries other than the country where the infrastructure is located.
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Proposals should also provide evidence that the project will effectively:
   identify technologies and develop research infrastructure architecture (e.g. single site or
      distributed, …);
   identify scientific user communities (and their related needs) that will benefit from
      access to RI services, including scientific data and instrumentation, and develop the
      planning of research services to users;
   identify governance options and strategic approaches for institutional/stakeholders’
      commitment and engagement;
   develop initial financial plans for the RI construction (or major upgrades) and operation
      as well as preliminary ideas for long-term sustainability, including synergies with other
      funds and programmes (e.g.: ERDF);
   develop plans for an efficient data curation and preservation and for the provision of
      access to data collected or produced by the future infrastructure, in line with the FAIR
      principles.
Proposals considering just a new component of a research infrastructure are not in scope of
this topic.
When relevant, environmental (including climate-related) impacts as well as the optimisation
of resource and energy use should be integrated in the concept development of new research
infrastructures. In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis)
in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-DEV-01-02: Cooperation, synergies and networking between
research infrastructures and technology infrastructures
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.50
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.50 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                       exceptions apply:
                       The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
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    strengthened collaboration between research infrastructures and technology
      infrastructures, leading to better identification and integration of services available to
      industrial users;
    enhanced visibility and accessibility of research infrastructures and technology
      infrastructures for industry and SMEs;
    better structured and strengthened European technology infrastructure landscape and its
      governance;
    alignment and connection of research and technology infrastructure actions with other
      relevant actions in the European Research Area, in industrial policies, and other policies;
    stronger synergies between public and private investment plans for technology
      infrastructures and for research infrastructures;
    reinforced global competitiveness of the European Research Area.
Scope: Research infrastructures and technology infrastructures are among the key elements in
the successful establishment of innovation ecosystems. Ranging from exploratory research
facilities to testing, validation, and upscaling platforms, they enable technology development
and innovation, providing SMEs and industry with the essential services that are needed to
accelerate the entry into the market of innovative solutions supporting the twin green and
digital transition and other socio-economic challenges. Research infrastructures and
technology infrastructures provide important complementary activities in this respect.
However, they are often developing services in isolation from each other, not fully taking into
account the needs of industrial users along the entire innovation cycle.
Prior to the formulation of a specific European Research Area action 20 and the Council
conclusion 21 mentioning the development of a European strategy on technology
infrastructures, a Commission staff working document22 took stock of existing, though un-
coordinated, initiatives at regional, national and European level and identified key challenges
that need to be addressed to create a well functioning technology infrastructures landscape.
The development of the research infrastructure landscape as well as access to research
infrastructure services is significantly more advanced due to both the strategic priority setting
process, through the Roadmap of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures,
and the significant effort at the EU level to open up national facilities and laboratories to
international users. It is important to draw relevant lessons from these processes in order to
further develop and implement the governance of technology infrastructures at European
level.
20
         COM(2020) 628 final,
         https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2020%3A628%3AFIN
21
         Council conclusions on the New European Research Area from 1 December 2020,
         https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-13567-2020-INIT/en/pdf
22
         SWD(2019) 158 final,
         https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/documents-register/detail?ref=SWD(2019)158&lang=en
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In this respect, activities proposed should support policy development in the following main
areas:
Mapping and prioritisation
   Consolidation and integration of existing technology infrastructure mappings to increase
      visibility of technology infrastructures and facilitate gap analyses.
   Gap analysis and prioritisation at EU and Member States' level towards high priority
      areas in synergy with the common industrial technology roadmaps, industrial alliances,
      partnerships, and industrial ecosystems under the EU industrial strategy.
   Identification of good practices (with focus on services) to improve linkages and
      complementarity between research infrastructures and technology infrastructures in
      specific priority areas and ecosystems.
Operations and guidelines
   Preparation of pilot strategic action plans for technology infrastructures in selected
      priority areas, for instance linked with the green and digital transition, in partnership
      with relevant actors and including options for their long-term sustainability, taking into
      account private and public investments and networking with relevant pan-European
      research infrastructures.
   Development of an investment agenda for technology infrastructures taking into account
      private and public investments, as well as investments in relevant research
      infrastructures.
   Development of guidelines and recommendations to help networks of technology
      infrastructures connecting with other existing research infrastructures and technology
      infrastructures to facilitate access and to integrate services for specific technology areas
      or industrial ecosystems.
Governance
   Identification of best practices of the European Strategy Forum on Research
      Infrastructures, in order to further develop and implement the governance of technology
      infrastructures at European level, adapted to their specificities (i.e. ecosystem and value
      chain approach, different stakeholders involved including industry, SMEs and research
      performing organisations).
   Networking of relevant actors and infrastructures including for the identified priority
      areas.
   Analysis of how technology infrastructures and research infrastructures could be better
      integrated in relevant existing frameworks and instruments, such as industrial technology
      roadmaps, Partnerships, Industrial Alliances, or IPCEIs.
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Outreach and communication
  Identification and liaising with relevant stakeholders related to research infrastructures
    and technology infrastructures in general, as well as to specific priority areas, and
    collecting stakeholder input through targeted surveys and workshops.
  Development and execution of communication and outreach activities, including
    organisation of workshops and outreach events.
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DESTINATION – ENABLING AN OPERATIONAL, OPEN AND FAIR
EOSC ECOSYSTEM (INFRAEOSC)
The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) is an ecosystem of research data and related
services. It encompasses rules of engagement, standards, abstractions, technologies, and
services, which will enable and enhance seamless access to and reliable re-use of FAIR23
research outputs (i.e. data and other digital objects), including those generated or collected by
other research infrastructures, and covering the whole research data life cycle from generation
or discovery and mining to storage, processing, management, analysis, and re-use. The EOSC
will contribute to the European Strategy for Data, including its thematic common
interoperable data spaces, and the provision of secure and FAIR-enabling European cloud
services.
EOSC development has been supported through a series of Horizon 2020 projects and an
interim EOSC governance structure preparing the next stage of EOSC development for the
period after 2020. These projects have contributed to the creation of a pan-European access
mechanism; coordination of national activities for EOSC on-boarding; connection of
European research infrastructures (e.g. ERIC and other world-class RIs) and existing e-
infrastructures; initial development and operationalisation of the FAIR principles and a FAIR-
compliant certification scheme for research data; the EOSC portal providing access to a range
of services, guidelines and training; and the development and provision of a number of
research-enabling value-added services, including distributed data processing and
management (both public and commercial). From 2021, the EOSC partnership will help
ensuring directionality (common vision and objectives) and additionality (complementary
commitments and contributions) of the stakeholders involved.
Building on this progress, the INFRAEOSC destination aims to continue to develop the
EOSC in a more cohesive and structured manner so that it becomes a fully operational
enabling ecosystem for the whole research data lifecycle. This ecosystem includes FAIR
research data commons (e.g. data, services, tools), based on key horizontal core functions,
with corresponding e-infrastructures and service layers accessible to researchers across
disciplines throughout Europe, leading to a “Web of FAIR Data and Services” for Science.
The EOSC ecosystem will contribute a data space for science, research and innovation
articulated with the other data spaces described in the European Strategy for Data.
Expected impact
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to
one or several of the following impacts:
    Transforming the way researchers as well as the public and private sectors create, share
      and exploit research outputs (data, publications, protocols, methodologies, software,
23
        Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable, https://www.go-fair.org/fair-principles/
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     code, etc.) within and across research disciplines, leading to better quality, validation,
     more innovation and higher productivity of research;
    Facilitating scientific multi-disciplinary cooperation, leading to discoveries in basic
     research and solutions in key application areas;
    Seamless access to and management of increasing volumes of research data following
     FAIR principles (that are open as possible) and other research outputs stimulating the
     development and uptake of a wide range of new innovative and value-added services
     from public and commercial providers
    Improving trust in science through increased FAIRness, openness and quality of
     scientific research in Europe, supported by more meaningful monitoring and better
     facilitators for reproducibility, validation and re-use of research results, and by
     improving pathways for the communication of science to the public.
All software developed under this destination should be open source, licensed under a CC0
public domain dedication or under an open source licence as recommended by the Free
Software Foundation24 and the Open Source Initiative25.
All projects that will be financed under this destination are expected to participate in
concertation activities in the framework of the EOSC Partnership.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                   Call                               Budgets (EUR million)     Deadline(s)
                                                     2021                2022
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01 59.00                                                23 Sep 2021
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01                                         30.00        20 Apr 2022
Overall indicative budget                   59.00                  30.00
24
        https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list#SoftwareLicenses
25
        https://opensource.org/licenses
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Call - Enabling an operational, open and FAIR EOSC ecosystem (2021)
                                                                     HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)26
                   Topics                          Type        Budgets        Expected EU         Number
                                                      of        (EUR         contribution per         of
                                                  Action       million)       project (EUR         projects
                                                                                million)27        expected
                                                                 2021                               to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 23 Sep 2021
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-01 CSA                            7.00         Around 7.00             1
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-02 CSA                            4.00         Around 4.00             1
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-03 RIA                            10.00        Around 10.00            1
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-04 RIA                            20.00        3.00 to 5.00            4
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-05 CSA                            10.00        Around 10.00            1
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-06 RIA                            8.00         Around 8.00             1
Overall indicative budget                                    59.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
26
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
27
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Financial and operational capacity and               The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                            C.
Award criteria                                       The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                     D.
Documents                                            The documents are described in General
                                                     Annex E.
Procedure                                            The procedure is described in General
                                                     Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant              The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Open Science practices and a digitally-skilled workforce
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-01: Supporting an EOSC-ready digitally skilled
workforce
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 7.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Award criteria        The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      The following application of the general award criteria including any
                      weighting and thresholds applies:
                      Additional sub-criterion for Impact:
                         The extent to which the proposed work incorporates the necessary
                           coordination efforts and resources with other relevant projects and
                           the EOSC governance structure in the context of the EOSC
                           Partnership.
Procedure             The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                      exceptions apply:
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                        The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Legal and               The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of     apply:
the Grant               Beneficiaries will be subject to the additional access rights: Each
Agreements              beneficiary must grant royalty-free access to its results to the EOSC
                        Association for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for
                        the European Open Science Cloud. Each beneficiary must also provide
                        directly to the EOSC Association the information the beneficiary deems
                        necessary for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for the
                        European Open Science Cloud.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
    availability of highly and appropriately skilled professionals enabling the practice of
      Open Science with adequate knowledge of standards, applications and tools and best
      practices for delivering, managing, re-using, sharing and analysing FAIR data, as well as
      other digital research objects;
    researchers are able to transform the way they carry out research and exploit research
      outputs, leading to better quality and more productivity of research;
    contribute to the Horizon Europe EOSC Partnership.
Scope: Development of new support material, curricula and learning pathways for
researchers, data curators, and data stewards and new types of professionals. To ensure an
efficient uptake and exploitation of data by Public Authorities (e.g. for evidence-based policy
making), policy makers should also become skilled in data acquisition, management and
analysis. Proposals should therefore cover the following activities:
    Engage with the relevant stakeholders at national and institutional level in order to co-
      create, promote, broker and ensure the recognition of digital career profiles specifically
      related to Open Science. This includes the development of quality assurance mechanisms
      for professional training and qualifications.
    Promote existing and develop new curricula (at undergraduate, PhD and professional
      level) that meet the demands of open and data-intensive science, and the establishment
      of advanced learning environments, in order to train the next generation of scientists,
      librarians and infrastructure professionals on topics such as the management and
      integration of diverse data flows and artificial intelligence for FAIR data management.
    Foster the development of a distributed pan-European user support network, supporting
      the collaboration of existing networks of competence and data curation centres, in order
      to provide expertise on storing, sharing and reusing digital outputs, as well as on the
      onboarding of EOSC services and the provision of open science resources.
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                                             Research Infrastructures
    Support the development of a quality assurance and certification framework for learning
      material taking into account the life cycle of materials to ensure that training is up to date
      with technology and policy changes, as part of lifelong learning programmes.
    Promote the training of civil servants, policy makers and agencies, as well as their
      engagement with researchers, in order to foster the efficient uptake of relevant scientific
      data by public administration and encourage its use for evidence-based policy making,
      building on best practices where appropriate28.
Proposals should take into account and collaborate with the resulting project/s from the topic
H2020-INFRAEOSC-03-202029 and building on the results of the projects funded under the
topic H2020-INFRAEOSC-05-202030 on training, earmarking the necessary resources to do
so. In addition, similar collaboration should be envisaged with the resulting grant/s from the
topic HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-05. They should establish synergies with national
and regional programmes on digital skills and training as well as with other parts of Horizon
Europe (e.g. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, activities of EIT KICs 31 ) and other EU
funding sources (e.g. Digital Europe Programme (DEP), Erasmus+), and policies (e.g.
European Higher Education Area (EHEA)). They should be credible in that the necessary
funds for hiring or continuing the employment of staff, such as “data curators and stewards”
in universities and research performing institutions, have been ensured at institutional,
regional or national level, as these funds are not to be provided by the Commission.
To ensure complementarity of outcomes, proposals are expected to cooperate and align with
activities of the EOSC Partnership and to coordinate with relevant initiatives and projects
contributing to the development of EOSC.
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-02: Supporting the development and coordination of
activities of the EOSC Partnership
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per           million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                    Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                           proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action             Coordination and Support Actions
Award criteria             The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
28
         e.g. Scientific Advice to European Policy in a Complex World
29
         https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/wp/2018-2020/main/h2020-wp1820-
         infrastructures_en.pdf
30
         https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/wp/2018-2020/main/h2020-wp1820-
         infrastructures_en.pdf
31
         Knowledge and Innovation Communities of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology
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                        exceptions apply:
                        The following application of the general award criteria including any
                        weighting and thresholds applies:
                        Additional sub-criterion for Impact:
                           The extent to which the proposed work incorporates the necessary
                             coordination efforts and resources with other relevant projects and
                             the EOSC governance structure in the context of the EOSC
                             Partnership.
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Legal and               The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of     apply:
the Grant               Beneficiaries will be subject to the additional access rights: Each
Agreements              beneficiary must grant royalty-free access to its results to the EOSC
                        Association for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for
                        the European Open Science Cloud. Each beneficiary must also provide
                        directly to the EOSC Association the information the beneficiary deems
                        necessary for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for the
                        European Open Science Cloud.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
    EOSC has a consolidated and engaged community across the European Research Area
      with an increasing number of users and service providers able to offer and consume
      resources based on the EOSC rules of participation;
    well-coordinated activities underpinned by a consistent monitoring framework contribute
      to the achievement of the EOSC Partnership objectives;
    effective business models are defined to guarantee future sustainability and development
      of EOSC as a key element of open science;
    facilitated access to information to and from all EOSC stakeholders across countries,
      institutions, networks and initiatives.
Scope: Support the development of an effective pan-European cooperation framework and a
thriving EOSC ecosystem in which stakeholders from all parts of the European Research Area
pull together in a strategic and coordinated manner to ensure the achievement of the EOSC
Partnership objectives. Proposals should support the EOSC community at large by engaging
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and interacting with a large number of users and stakeholder communities, to monitor the
uptake and (re)use of EOSC resources.
Proposals are expected to cover the following activities:
   1. Further develop and update the Strategic Research and Innovation agenda (SRIA) for
      EOSC and corresponding detailed roadmaps in early consultation with the wider
      research community in Europe in full transparency and openness. The agenda should
      cover all aspects required for the development of the EOSC-Core, Minimum Viable
      EOSC and the future widening to the public and private sector as well as support the
      alignment of the contributions to EOSC at national, regional, institutional and scientific
      community level.
   2. Facilitate an effective cooperation between and organise the concertation of EOSC-
      relevant projects, monitoring their results and ensuring that relevant outcomes are
      identified and serve as a baseline for future developments. Beyond EOSC-relevant
      projects, proposals should engage with the community through the organisation of a
      Stakeholders forum targeting research communities across disciplines and countries,
      including the ESFRI clusters, national and regional infrastructures and the long tail of
      science.
   3. Based on the work already undertaken in the context of the EOSC Partnership and of the
      EOSC Landscape Working Group 32 , consolidate, continuously update and monitor
      EOSC key performance indicators (KPI's), investments and FAIR data production and
      management, in order to assess the success of EOSC and its implementation at the
      different levels (national, regional, institutional and scientific community). The
      monitoring activities should also consider the results of the European Research Data
      Landscape study launched by the European Commission33 in order to provide a living
      picture of the research data ecosystem in Europe.
   4. Develop a cooperation framework to implement the EOSC rules of participation.
   5. Effectively cooperate and establish links with other selected Horizon Europe
      Partnerships as well as with other relevant initiatives, including sectoral data spaces.
      Participate and represent EOSC Partnership stakeholders in international cooperation
      activities to foster global Open Science commons avoiding any overlap with existing
      efforts by the communities.
   6. Develop and test cost models and future business models for a lasting long-term
      sustainability framework, building on the work performed by the EOSC Sustainability
32
         https://www.eoscsecretariat.eu/working-groups/landscape-working-group
33
         RTD/2020/SC/018 – “European research data landscape”, study procured via the Framework Contract
         2018/RTD/A2/OP/PP-07001-2018 “Impact Assessments, Evaluations, foresight and Strategic Analyses
         of Research and Innovation policies and programmes”: https://etendering.ted.europa.eu/cft/cft-
         display.html?cftId=3490. Results of the study will be published openly in the first quarter of 2022 and
         interim reports will be shared with the EOSC Association.
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      Working Group34 and the studies already conducted as well as on the findings in this
      area of EOSC related projects.
The selected project will be expected to align with the EOSC Partnership. Proposals should
involve and be driven by one or more representatives of the relevant actors of the field, in
particular those directly involved in the EOSC Partnership.
Supporting EOSC-Core: Enabling access to the Web of FAIR data and services
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-03: Deploying EOSC-Core components for FAIR
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per        10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Award criteria          The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        The following application of the general award criteria including any
                        weighting and thresholds applies:
                        Additional sub-criterion for Impact:
                           The extent to which the proposed work incorporates the necessary
                              coordination efforts and resources with other relevant projects and
                              the EOSC governance structure in the context of the EOSC
                              Partnership.
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Legal and               The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of     apply:
the Grant               Beneficiaries will be subject to the additional access rights: Each
Agreements              beneficiary must grant royalty-free access to its results to the EOSC
                        Association for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for
34
        https://www.eoscsecretariat.eu/working-groups/sustainability-working-group
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                         the European Open Science Cloud. Each beneficiary must also provide
                         directly to the EOSC Association the information the beneficiary deems
                         necessary for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for the
                         European Open Science Cloud.
                         Beneficiaries will be subject to the additional access rights: Each
                         beneficiary must grant royalty-free access to its intellectual property
                         rights which are part of the results and are needed for further developing
                         the European Open Science Cloud to legal entities identified by the
                         granting authority and established in Member States or countries
                         associated to the Horizon Europe Framework Programme. Such access
                         rights are limited to non-commercial use.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
    European researchers can find, access and re-use an increasing amount of research
     outputs across borders and disciplines through state-of-the-art technologies underpinning
     discoverability and interoperability of research outputs;
    contribute to the Horizon Europe EOSC Partnership.
Scope: Enable the enforcement and implementation of the EOSC Persistent Identifier (PID)
policy35 by developing tools, processes and additional infrastructure required to support use of
PIDs to a maximal extent, for both the management and analysis of data, and also the
publication, curation and tracking of research outputs. This should include a PID ‘meta
resolver’ for EOSC or tools to support the alignment of PID infrastructure with the EOSC PID
Policy. In addition, and building on community efforts on metadata and ontologies and on the
work developed under topic HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-05, this topic aims at
ensuring the adoption and use of coherent metadata frameworks and deploying a common
dataset search to enhance discovery via EOSC. Proposals under this topic should also cover
other research outputs, such as software, developing services based on open standards and
common practices adopted by the different disciplines.
Proposals should address all of the following activities:
    Contribute to the consolidation of an interoperable ecosystem of PID Infrastructures
     based on open specification and standards to support machine actionability and offer
     sufficient flexibility and capacity e.g. by developing a common PID ‘meta resolver’ and
     standardised interfaces and open protocols for exchanging information on PIDs to
     support the creation and use of a PID Graph36.
35
        https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/35c5ca10-1417-11eb-b57e-
        01aa75ed71a1/language-en
36
        The details of this will be further defined as part of the outcomes of the EOSC Architecture Working
        Group and the recommendations of the RDA Working Groups on PID Information Types and PID
        Kernel Information.
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    Develop EOSC PID services to address a wide variety of applications appropriate to
      community needs.
    Develop schemas and APIs based on open specifications and metadata framework as
      well as related crosswalks for improved discovery and interoperability.
    Develop and deploy a flexible and scalable federated search service across the EOSC
      repositories, exploiting the aforementioned building blocks (PIDs resolution, APIs and
      metadata schemas). Such service should ensure customisability of querying (e.g.
      interfaces, APIs and scripts) and, when possible, ranking of queries results according to
      FAIRness of data and other prioritisations responding to the users’ needs.
    Develop services and tools to archive, reference, describe and cite research software,
      based on standards and common practices of the different disciplines.
    Develop services that build on metadata registries, starting from those that support
      communities in the uptake of metadata schemas and crosswalks and facilitate their
      maintenance; services to validate data sources against metadata schemes and to monitor
      data sharing, notably across communities and disciplines, are also expected.
To ensure complementarity of outcomes, proposals are expected to cooperate and align with
activities of the EOSC Partnership and to coordinate with relevant initiatives and projects
contributing to the development of EOSC. In particular, projects should take into account and
coordinate the technical work with the ongoing grants under topic HORIZON-INFRA-2021-
EOSC-01-05, earmarking the necessary resources to do so. They should build on the EOSC
PID policy from the PID Task force of the EB Architecture WG37 and FAIR WG38 and should
coordinate with the awarded grants under the topic H2020-INFRAEOSC-03-202039 and the
future procurement activity under Other Actions40. In this topic the integration of the gender
dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory
requirement.
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-04: Innovative and customizable services for EOSC
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per           3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                    appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                           selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
37
         https://www.eoscsecretariat.eu/working-groups/architecture-working-group
38
         https://www.eoscsecretariat.eu/working-groups/fair-working-group
39
         https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/wp/2018-2020/main/h2020-wp1820-
         infrastructures_en.pdf
40
         See Public Procurement 1.Delivering the EOSC core infrastructure and services
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Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            The focus is on technologies aiming to reach TRL7 or higher by the end
Readiness Level       of the project – see General Annex B.
Award criteria        The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      The following application of the general award criteria including any
                      weighting and thresholds applies:
                      Additional sub-criterion for Impact:
                         The extent to which the proposed work incorporates the necessary
                            coordination efforts and resources with other relevant projects and
                            the EOSC governance structure in the context of the EOSC
                            Partnership.
Legal and             The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of   apply:
the Grant             Beneficiaries will be subject to the additional access rights: Each
Agreements            beneficiary must grant royalty-free access to its results to the EOSC
                      Association for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for
                      the European Open Science Cloud. Each beneficiary must also provide
                      directly to the EOSC Association the information the beneficiary deems
                      necessary for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for the
                      European Open Science Cloud.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
    increased service offer and capabilities beyond the present landscape in addressing the
     current and anticipated needs of the research community at large;
    increased availability of (pre)operational services that can be customised and integrated
     in the existing workflows of researchers across different disciplines, facilitating the
     cross-disciplinary collaboration, reducing the time to results and increasing productivity.
Scope: The aim is to provide researchers with a set of highly innovative new services that
would exploit, in a structural way, cloud-based EOSC technologies and European compute
and data management capacities.
Proposals should cover the following activities:
    Development and improvement of existing pre-operational software, tools and open
     source services, aiming to be integrated to the service-based architecture offered through
     the EOSC;
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    Iterative and inclusive development in close cooperation/co-design with the relevant user
      communities;
    Improving the TRL of the components and adding new features based on requirements
      from research communities, use of open source software and tools for wide availability
      and uptake;
The application range of these services for data intensive science is wide (e.g. automated
extraction of information from scientific literature, experimentation, optimising experimental
design, collection and analysis of heterogeneous and/or large-scale data, validation of data
quality, repeatability and reproducibility in science, discovery and on-demand provisioning of
open science resources and their reuse; storing, sharing and reusing research data, enabling
secure data use and transactions, workflow management) making use of various enabling
technologies, e.g. artificial intelligence and machine learning, natural language processing,
automation, simulation, big data analytics or blockchain.
To be robust, customizable and scalable, all developments should be tested against 2-3 real
life use cases from a variety of scientific domains. The projects should cooperate with other
relevant and related projects and e-Infrastructures and large user communities. Joint use cases
and testing across individual project boundaries are encouraged.
The services should be integrated in the EOSC core service platform 41 and proposals should
include sufficient provisions to address the integration, including, appropriate IPR and licence
agreements. The resources that the services will offer should be clearly identified in the
proposals. The sustainability model for the long-term availability of services can rely on
EOSC. Participation of industry players, including SMEs, is recommended for both the
development and further exploitation of the project results.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Building with the scientific community a Web of FAIR data for open science
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-05: Enabling discovery and interoperability of
federated research objects across scientific communities
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per         10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
41
         See Public Procurement 1. Delivering the EOSC core infrastructure and services, under Other Actions
                                            Part 3 - Page 43 of 136
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                                       Research Infrastructures
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Award criteria         The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                       exceptions apply:
                       The following application of the general award criteria including any
                       weighting and thresholds applies:
                       Additional sub-criterion for Impact:
                           The extent to which the proposed work incorporates the necessary
                             coordination efforts and resources with other relevant projects and
                             the EOSC governance structure in the context of the EOSC
                             Partnership.
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                       exceptions apply:
                       The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Legal and              The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of    apply:
the Grant              Beneficiaries will be subject to the additional access rights: Each
Agreements             beneficiary must grant royalty-free access to its results to the EOSC
                       Association for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for
                       the European Open Science Cloud. Each beneficiary must also provide
                       directly to the EOSC Association the information the beneficiary deems
                       necessary for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for the
                       European Open Science Cloud.
                       Beneficiaries will be subject to the additional access rights: Each
                       beneficiary must grant royalty-free access to its intellectual property
                       rights which are part of the results and are needed for further developing
                       the European Open Science Cloud to legal entities identified by the
                       granting authority and established in Member States or countries
                       associated to the Horizon Europe Framework Programme. Such access
                       rights are limited to non-commercial use.
                       Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The support
                       to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. The
                       maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000.
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
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   improved findability, accessibility, interoperability and re-usability (“FAIRness”) of data
     and other research outputs by coordinating the implementation of frameworks and the
     alignment of FAIR data practices on metadata, persistent identifiers, etc.;
   wide uptake of and compliance with FAIR data principles and practices by national and
     European research data and metadata providers and repositories, leading to the
     development of the Web of FAIR data and related services;
   contribute to the Horizon Europe EOSC Partnership.
Scope: Align and support the development and implementation of common EOSC
methodologies, open standards and frameworks to ensure wide uptake and coherent
implementation of the FAIR principles, to support the FAIRness of the research digital
objects made accessible through EOSC.
Proposals should cover all of the following areas and activities:
a) Persistent identifiers:
   Support the creation of a coordination mechanism of EOSC PID Service Providers to
     respond to the needs of research and Open Science, in a way that ensures sustainability,
     continuity of services and innovation.
   Promote the alignment of PID infrastructures in line with the EOSC PID Policy.
   Support the continuous standardisation of resource types and promotion of new practices
     to expand the range of identifiable objects e.g. instruments, services, organisations and
     software.
b) Metadata and ontologies:
   Support the development of governance structures at discipline level for coordinating the
     work on metadata and ontologies and ensure overall coordination within EOSC.
   Develop EOSC guidelines for a minimum metadata description for data discovery and
     metadata exchange, based on existing or emerging metadata schemas and tools.
   Develop EOSC guidelines for common standards to archive, run, reference, describe and
     cite research software.
   Collect information about existing metadata schemas, ontologies, crosswalks, and tools
     for metadata management and disseminate best practices amongst EOSC-relevant
     repository operators.
   Support all research communities to develop and adopt disciplinary standards, to
     generate clear and precise definitions for the terms they use, and to consolidate common
     metadata and data schemata for use in the EOSC context. Provide support to make these
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      definitions publicly available and referenceable by persistent identifiers for machine
      actionability.
    In carrying out the previous actions, proposals should take into account, and build
      collaboratively on, existing actions by established initiatives and organisations.
c) Metrics, certification and guidelines for FAIR:
    Support research communities to implement existing or emerging metrics and make use
      of the FAIR data maturity model42 to develop assessment methods or to assess FAIR
      digital objects and iterate based on testing. Building on previous and current
      developments, for instance, by the ESFRI clusters, proposals should engage with new
      communities to accelerate the uptake of these best practices broadly.
    Translate FAIR guidelines and frameworks to make them applicable to other digital
      objects, such as software, code, data management plans, protocols, etc.
d) Interoperability:
    Agree and implement a common set of rules to ensure data and services within EOSC
      support interoperability.
    Promoting the use of already existing common technical specifications, standards or
      infrastructure, endorsed by the various scientific communities.
    Foster alignments with existing frameworks and standards from non-scientific large data
      sources of interest for research and, where appropriate, promote in such context the
      implementation of the FAIR principles as means to improve interoperability.
The research communities can be additionally supported through financial support to third
parties in the form of grants to carry out or contribute to some of the actions under the areas
and activities listed above.
To ensure complementarity of outcomes, proposals are expected to cooperate and align with
activities of the EOSC Partnership and to coordinate with relevant initiatives and projects
contributing to the development of EOSC. In particular, proposals should build on the work
developed by the FAIRsFAIR project 43 and by the FAIR Working Group 44 of the EOSC
Executive Board. In addition, they should map and incorporate all relevant outputs, services
and results produced by the ESFRI Cluster projects, e-Infrastructures and the national
initiatives in the above mentioned areas, as well as establish the necessary coordination and
bidirectional feedback mechanism with the projects resulting from the Horizon Europe topics
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-06, HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01-03 and the Other
action "FAIR and open data sharing in support of European preparedness for COVID-19 and
other infectious diseases" under this Work Programme, that will incorporate FAIR to
42
         FAIR Data Maturity Model specification and guidelines: 10.15497/RDA0050
43
         https://www.fairsfair.eu/
44
         https://www.eoscsecretariat.eu/working-groups/fair-working-group
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challenge driven use cases. In addition, this topic should aim to develop concrete proposals
for the cross-linking of EOSC with the other envisioned European data spaces foreseen in the
European strategy for data (COM/20202/66 final). Finally, projects will need to be flexible in
order to take into account and coordinate the technical work with the ongoing grant/s under
topic HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-03, earmarking the necessary resources to do so.
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-06: FAIR and open data sharing in support of
cancer research
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Award criteria         The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                       exceptions apply:
                       The following application of the general award criteria including any
                       weighting and thresholds applies:
                       Additional sub-criterion for Impact:
                          The extent to which the proposed work incorporates the necessary
                            coordination efforts and resources with other relevant projects and
                            the EOSC governance structure in the context of the EOSC
                            Partnership.
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                       exceptions apply:
                       The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Legal and              The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of    apply:
the Grant              Beneficiaries will be subject to the additional access rights: Each
Agreements             beneficiary must grant royalty-free access to its results to the EOSC
                       Association for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for
                       the European Open Science Cloud. Each beneficiary must also provide
                       directly to the EOSC Association the information the beneficiary deems
                       necessary for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for the
                       European Open Science Cloud.
                       Beneficiaries must deposit the digital research data generated in the
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                       action in a trusted repository federated in the European Open Science
                       Cloud (EOSC) in compliance with EOSC requirements.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
    researchers, healthcare professionals, cancer patients and survivors contributing to
      cancer research regularly interact with EOSC to store, share, access, analyse and process
      research data and other research digital objects from their own discipline, across
      disciplines and national borders;
    open and FAIR data are the new norm for research conducted under this mission area;
    EU-wide sharing of research data relevant to this area is shown to be a critical
      mechanism to facilitate cancer research across Member States and Associated Countries;
    contribute to guaranteeing safety of patients’ data while at the same time contributing to
      research advancement. Engaging with patients/survivors in the sharing, access and use of
      data;
    EOSC grows into a trusted research and innovation data space and service platform in
      Europe that supports the interdisciplinary community involved in this mission area;
    contribute to the Horizon Europe EOSC Partnership and other relevant partnerships
      related to cancer research.
Scope: Reuse of research, clinical, epidemiological and socio-economic data within and
across disciplines and borders require openness, infrastructure capacity, better handling,
careful management, machine actionability and seamless access to services all along the data
life cycle. The Horizon Europe mission areas recognise upfront that providing access to data,
knowledge and digital services through federated infrastructures is a key enabling condition
for success. In addition, European Partnerships tackling complex societal challenges through
multi-disciplinary approaches are facing important challenges in the European R&I systems,
including poor data interoperability. In recent years, different scientific communities have
started developing ‘thematic clouds’ or ‘data spaces’ within their domain of research and
innovation. The EOSC provides the enabling framework to share, connect and upscale best
practices and services by the communities to implement FAIR principles for (open, when
possible) data sharing and management. The development of this framework is advancing
rapidly as EOSC enters its second phase of implementation. Access to an initial EOSC
federation of research infrastructures and their services is being consolidated and concepts
such as FAIR data management and FAIR-by-design digital research outputs (data,
publications, software, code, protocols, etc.) become more prominent.
The overall objective of this topic is to accelerate research and innovation under this mission
area through better access, management, interoperability and reuse of digital information, to
be achieved by using and integrating EOSC resources ranging from EOSC federated
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infrastructures, services and data to guidelines, best practices, tools and metrics for the
management of FAIR and open data. This should be achieved through cross-domain, strategic
use cases of direct relevance to the mission areas and the European Partnerships supporting
this mission area on cancer.
The use cases should demonstrate the value of sharing FAIR and open research data, help to
establish data sharing and management practices within the involved communities and across
the Member States and Associated Countries, leveraging European research infrastructures
and e-infrastructures. The use cases should provide feedback to the EOSC Partnership on the
desired future evolution of EOSC. Special attention shall be put on aspects of data
harmonisation, integration of data collection, data quality assurance, data privacy and
security, big-data analysis and machine learning methods, as well as on the socio-economic
dimension of the use case. Proposals should also foster the creation of user environments that
researchers in this field can then use in order to seamlessly interact with digital information in
the framework of the EOSC ecosystem.
Proposals should provide for activities to collaborate with relevant European Partnerships.
Synergies with Horizon Europe Cluster 1 activities and other relevant initiatives, including
actions stemming from Cohesion policy programmes are welcome. The activities should
contribute to the consolidation of a European Health Data Space which is well articulated
with the EOSC. They should build on results of relevant Horizon 2020 projects, including
those providing pilots/models for linking clinical data and samples to cancer research, on
initiatives for cancer such as the European Cancer Information System with the European
Network of Cancer Registries, the European Reference Networks, the Innovative Partnership
for Action Against Cancer (iPAAC) Joint Action and on the lessons learned from the ongoing
European COVID-19 Data Platform, the EU Platform for Rare Diseases’ Registration and
other initiatives in other disease areas. Proposers should consider already established ESFRI
research infrastructures and efforts by relevant ESFRI cluster projects.
To ensure complementarity of outcomes, proposals are expected to cooperate and align with
activities of the EOSC Partnership and to coordinate with relevant initiatives and projects
contributing to the development of EOSC. In particular, in areas such as data interoperability,
metadata and vocabularies, the use of persistent identifiers or Authentication and
Authorisation Infrastructure (AAI), proposals should coordinate and establish a feedback
mechanism with the awarded proposal/s from the topic HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-
05 in order to ensure alignment with EOSC policies and to identify common useful tools and
resources as well as relevant data repositories that comply with EOSC guidelines. Proposals
are also expected to engage and/or align where appropriate with projects funded under the
Other action "FAIR and open data sharing in support of European preparedness for COVID-
19 and other infectious diseases" in this Work Programme, for a synergetic development of
the area of Health within EOSC.
Grants awarded under this topic should also cooperate with the actions awarded under topic
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-01 to identify and better exploit related synergies, share
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results and to avoid overlaps. To this extent, proposals should provide for dedicated activities
and earmark appropriate resources.
Call - Enabling an operational, open and FAIR EOSC ecosystem (2022)
                                                                     HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)45
                   Topics                          Type        Budgets        Expected EU         Number
                                                      of        (EUR         contribution per         of
                                                  Action       million)       project (EUR         projects
                                                                                million)46        expected
                                                                 2022                               to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 19 Jan 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 20 Apr 2022
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01-01 RIA                            6.00         2.00 to 3.00            3
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01-02 RIA                            5.00         Around 5.00             1
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01-03 RIA                            16.00        6.00 to 8.00            2
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01-04 CSA                            3.00         Around 3.00             1
Overall indicative budget                                    30.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
45
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
46
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Award criteria                                       The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                     D.
Documents                                            The documents are described in General
                                                     Annex E.
Procedure                                            The procedure is described in General
                                                     Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant              The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Open Science practices and a digitally-skilled workforce
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01-01: Services and tools to underpin a research
assessment system that incentivises open science practices
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Award criteria        The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      The following application of the general award criteria including any
                      weighting and thresholds applies:
                      Additional sub-criterion for Impact:
                         The extent to which the proposed work incorporates the necessary
                           coordination efforts and resources with other relevant projects and
                           the EOSC governance structure in the context of the EOSC
                           Partnership.
Legal and             The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of   apply:
the Grant             Beneficiaries will be subject to the additional access rights: Each
Agreements            beneficiary must grant royalty-free access to its results to the EOSC
                      Association for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for
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                         the European Open Science Cloud. Each beneficiary must also provide
                         directly to the EOSC Association the information the beneficiary deems
                         necessary for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for the
                         European Open Science Cloud.
                         Beneficiaries will be subject to the additional access rights: Each
                         beneficiary must grant royalty-free access to its intellectual property
                         rights which are part of the results and are needed for further developing
                         the European Open Science Cloud to legal entities identified by the
                         granting authority and established in Member States or countries
                         associated to the Horizon Europe Framework Programme. Such access
                         rights are limited to non-commercial use.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
    enable a rewards and recognition system based on a new generation of (qualitative or
     quantitative) metrics and indicators 47 , leading to a culture and system change that
     increases the quality and impact, the creativity and the transparency of and trust in
     science;
    establish a system of qualitative information based on community-led curation and
     annotations of research outcomes that feeds into a revamped rewards and recognition
     system;
    contribute to the Horizon Europe EOSC Partnership.
Scope: A coherent corpus of reports and recommendations48shows a broad consensus among
researchers and policy makers that changes in the evaluation of research and researchers’
performance are necessary in order to incentivise higher quality research, collaboration and
open science practices.
This topic supports the development of EOSC-federated services and tools that allow the
gathering and monitoring of information and data on the use and uptake of research outputs
and of open science practices across borders and disciplines. Such tools and services are
47
       Indicator frameworks for fostering open knowledge practices in science and scholarship:
       https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/b69944d4-01f3-11ea-8c1f-
       01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF/source-108756824
48
       For example, 2017 Commission report “Evaluation of research careers fully acknowledging Open
       Science practices” https://doi.org/10.2777/75255; 2018 “Open Science Policy Platform
       recommendations” https://doi.org/10.2777/958647; 2019 Commission report “Indicator frameworks for
       fostering open knowledge practices in science and scholarship” https://doi.org/10.2777/445286; 2018
       LERU report “Open Science and its role in Universities” https://www.leru.org/files/LERU-AP24-Open-
       Science-full-paper.pdf; 2020 Final Report of the Open Science Policy Platform
       https://ec.europa.eu/research/openscience/pdf/ec_rtd_ospp-final-report.pdf.
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essential to collect the information to be used for next generation metrics49, together with
qualitative indicators, in an assessment system that valorises open science.
Services and tools should collect data on the different usages of research outputs such as data
sets, models, software, etc., on the usage of EOSC services, research infrastructures, data
platforms, etc., and on open science practices such as those identified in the context of the
Open Science Policy Platform registry of pilots and implementations of responsible metrics50
and the RDA Interest Group on Open Science Graphs for FAIR Data51.
Proposals should also aim to promote the adoption of community-led curation and annotation
systems to foster qualitative aspects of a new generation research assessment system. Related
services should be developed, considering for example FAIRness evaluation and the use of
machine learning algorithms and AI, to provide qualitative information that will enrich the
meta-information of all research outputs.
The tools and services may support research-performing and/or research-funding
organisations in measuring the usage, relevance, quality and impact of research outputs,
research infrastructures and open science practices, thereby providing the necessary data and
information for next-generation metrics and indicators for the implementation of a new
research assessment system.
In developing the services and the tools, it is important to integrate a level of flexibility that
allows research-performing and research-funding organisations to set their own recruitment
and evaluation policies, respecting also the differences among scientific disciplines, taking
into account the specificities of the different career stages and allowing for diversity in
practices.
Proposals should take into account existing services, tools and infrastructures in order not to
duplicate efforts, e.g. on data collection, on discipline based metadata schemas, on AAI and
on Persistent Identifiers developed by projects resulting from the topic HORIZON-INFRA-
2021-EOSC-01-03.
To ensure complementarity of outcomes, proposals are expected to cooperate and align with
activities of the EOSC Partnership and to coordinate with relevant initiatives and projects
contributing to the development of EOSC.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01-02: Improving and coordinating                              technical
infrastructure for institutional open access publishing across Europe
Specific conditions
49
         https://ec.europa.eu/research/openscience/pdf/report.pdf
50
         https://ec.europa.eu/research/openscience/pdf/ec_rtd_ospp-final-report.pdf
51
         https://www.rd-alliance.org/groups/open-science-graphs-fair-data-ig
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Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Award criteria           The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                         exceptions apply:
                         The following application of the general award criteria including any
                         weighting and thresholds applies:
                         Additional sub-criterion for Impact:
                             The extent to which the proposed work incorporates the necessary
                               coordination efforts and resources with other relevant projects and
                               the EOSC governance structure in the context of the EOSC
                               Partnership.
Procedure                The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                         exceptions apply:
                         The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Legal and                The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of      apply:
the Grant                Beneficiaries will be subject to the additional access rights: Each
Agreements               beneficiary must grant royalty-free access to its results to the EOSC
                         Association for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for
                         the European Open Science Cloud. Each beneficiary must also provide
                         directly to the EOSC Association the information the beneficiary deems
                         necessary for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for the
                         European Open Science Cloud.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
    a robust pan-European network of infrastructures, with all necessary relevant service-
     provision, that brings together already existing not-for-profit and no APC 52 -based
     (‘diamond’) open access publishing initiatives in order to become an integral part of
     EOSC – in particular through effective support to the FAIR principles and sharing
     common technical infrastructure standards;
52
        Article processing charges
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    a comprehensive toolbox to implement common standards for technical infrastructure
      and service provision available in open source repositories and adopted within the
      network and beyond;
    interoperable data exchange and crosslinking among the network and with FAIR-
      compliant data repositories and other open access infrastructures already used by the
      research community in order to foster the concept of ”single-point of access to services
      and content”;
    contribute to the Horizon Europe EOSC Partnership.
Scope: This topic is addressed to not-for-profit institutions (such as universities, research
centres, funders and other institutions supporting research and the dissemination of research
outputs within national remits, e.g. national libraries) that run open access publishing
initiatives for the public interest (non-commercial), in particular, publishing activities of
journals and/or publishing platforms, and which do not levy article processing charges
(APCs). Recent years have witnessed a sharp increase in open access publishing activities.
Alongside commercial publishers who are in the business for publishing for profit, technology
advances have enabled research-performing and other related organisations working for
research to develop scholarly publishing infrastructures and services in the new digital
environment, either continuing existing activities in print or in an entirely digitally-born
environment. Such open access services operate in most European countries, in some cases
with a national remit.
This topic aims to improve efficiency, coordination and technological alignment among the
network of institutional open access publishing infrastructures and to develop and provide the
technical specifications to ensure interoperability, interconnection and improved quality of
services to researchers. Proposals shall build on already existing and operational publishing
services across Europe and embed the open access publishing network into the EOSC
ecosystem.
Proposals should cover each of the following activities:
  1. improve the understanding of technologies and services in such institutional not-for
      profit services across Europe and provide recommendations for further alignment and
      interoperability;
  2. coordinate the development and adoption of common technical solutions for
      interoperability, cross-referencing, cross-linking, and sharing metadata across the
      European Research Area and beyond;
  3. support the implementation of technical specifications required to provide services
      through the EOSC, and the adoption of the essential solutions and standards (e.g. APIs,
      PIDs, metadata frameworks, ontologies, AAI etc.) to improve findability, accessibility,
      interoperability and re-usability of digital objects within the network of publishing
      infrastructures and in the EOSC federation.
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Projects under this topic should liaise with Horizon Europe funded initiatives in the Work
Programme Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area which
address the non-technological aspects of institutional publishing under topics HORIZON-
WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-43: Capacity-building for institutional open access publishing across
Europe and HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-42: Supporting the development of aligned
policies for open access books and monographs.
To ensure complementarity of outcomes, proposals are expected to cooperate and align with
activities of the EOSC Partnership and to coordinate with relevant initiatives and projects
contributing to the development of EOSC.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Building with the scientific community a Web of FAIR data for open science
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01-03: FAIR and open data sharing in support of
healthy oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       6.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 16.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Award criteria         The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                       exceptions apply:
                       The following application of the general award criteria including any
                       weighting and thresholds applies:
                       Additional sub-criterion for Impact:
                           The extent to which the proposed work incorporates the necessary
                             coordination efforts and resources with other relevant projects and
                             the EOSC governance structure in the context of the EOSC
                             Partnership.
Legal and              The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of    apply:
the Grant              Beneficiaries will be subject to the additional access rights: Each
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Agreements              beneficiary must grant royalty-free access to its results to the EOSC
                        Association for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for
                        the European Open Science Cloud. Each beneficiary must also provide
                        directly to the EOSC Association the information the beneficiary deems
                        necessary for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for the
                        European Open Science Cloud.
                        Beneficiaries must deposit the digital research data generated in the
                        action in a trusted repository federated in the European Open Science
                        Cloud (EOSC) in compliance with EOSC requirements.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
    seamless interactions between EOSC, operational dataspaces or environments (e.g.
      EMODnet, Copernicus Marine Service, Global Ocean Observation System (GOOS),
      etc.), researchers and other stakeholders contributing to restoring healthy oceans, seas,
      coastal and inland waters to store, share, access, analyse and process research data and
      other research digital objects from their own discipline, across research infrastructures,
      disciplines and national borders;
    open and FAIR data is the new norm for research contributing to restoring healthy
      oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters;
    EU-wide sharing of research data relevant to this area is shown to be a critical
      mechanism to facilitate ocean and water restoration across Member States and
      Associated Countries;
    EOSC grows into a trusted research and innovation data space and service platform in
      Europe that supports the interdisciplinary research community involved in this mission
      area;
    contribute to the Horizon Europe EOSC Partnership and other relevant partnerships
      related to restoring healthy oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters.
Scope: Reuse of research data within and across disciplines and borders require openness,
infrastructure capacity, better handling, careful management, machine actionability and
seamless access to services all along the data life cycle. The Horizon Europe mission areas
recognise upfront that providing access to data, knowledge and digital services through
federated infrastructures is a key enabling condition for success. In addition, European
Partnerships tackling complex societal challenges through multi-disciplinary approaches are
facing important challenges in the European R&I systems, including poor data
interoperability. In recent years, different scientific communities have started developing
‘thematic clouds’ or ‘data spaces’ within their domain of research and innovation. The EOSC
provides the enabling framework to share, connect and upscale best practices and services by
the communities to implement FAIR principles for (open, where possible) data sharing and
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management. The development of this framework is advancing rapidly as EOSC enters its
second phase of implementation. Access to an initial EOSC federation of research
infrastructures and their services is being consolidated and concepts such as FAIR data
management and FAIR-by-design digital research outputs (data, publications, software, code,
protocols, etc.) become more prominent.
The overall objective of this topic is to accelerate research and innovation under this mission
area through better access, management, interoperability, reuse and citation of digital
information, to be achieved by using and integrating EOSC resources ranging from EOSC
federated infrastructures, services and data to guidelines, best practices, tools and metrics for
the management of FAIR and open data, and to extend these resources to the relevant marine
and maritime domains that are less familiar with EOSC.
This should be achieved through cross-domain, strategic use cases of direct relevance to the
Digital Twin of the Ocean53, the mission areas and the European Partnerships supporting this
mission area on healthy oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters.
The use cases should demonstrate the value of sharing FAIR and open research data, help to
establish data sharing and management practices within the involved communities and across
the Member States and Associated Countries, leveraging European research infrastructures
and e-Infrastructures. The use cases should provide feedback to the EOSC Partnership on the
desired future evolution of EOSC. Special attention shall be put on aspects of data
harmonisation, data quality assurance, integration of data collection, data privacy and
security, big-data analysis and machine learning methods, data and model validation, as well
as on the socio-economic dimension of the use. Proposals should also foster the creation of
user environments that researchers in this field can then use in order to seamlessly interact
with digital information in the framework of the EOSC ecosystem.
Proposals should provide for activities to collaborate with relevant European Partnerships.
Synergies with Horizon Europe Cluster 6 activities and other relevant initiatives, including
actions stemming from Cohesion policy programmes, are welcome. Research and innovation
should build on results of Horizon 2020 (e.g. the Blue Cloud project, the Odyssea project) and
support the development of the Digital Twin of the Ocean. Proposers should consider already
established ESFRI research infrastructures and efforts by relevant ESFRI cluster projects.
To ensure complementarity of outcomes, proposals are expected to cooperate and align with
activities of the EOSC Partnership and to coordinate with relevant initiatives and projects
contributing to the development of EOSC. In particular, in areas such as data interoperability,
metadata and vocabularies, the use of persistent identifiers or AAI, proposals should
coordinate and establish a feedback mechanism with the awarded proposal/s from the topic
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-05 in order to ensure alignment with EOSC policies and
to identify common useful tools and resources as well as relevant data repositories that
53
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/lc-gd-9-
         3-2020
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comply with EOSC guidelines. In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and
gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01-04: Support for initiatives helping to generate global
standards, specifications and recommendations for open sharing of FAIR research data,
publications and software
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Award criteria        The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      The following application of the general award criteria including any
                      weighting and thresholds applies:
                      Additional sub-criterion for Impact:
                         The extent to which the proposed work incorporates the necessary
                           coordination efforts and resources with other relevant projects and
                           the EOSC governance structure in the context of the EOSC
                           Partnership.
Procedure             The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Legal and             The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of   apply:
the Grant             Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The support
Agreements            to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. The
                      maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000.
                      Beneficiaries will be subject to the additional access rights: Each
                      beneficiary must grant royalty-free access to its results to the EOSC
                      Association for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for
                      the European Open Science Cloud. Each beneficiary must also provide
                      directly to the EOSC Association the information the beneficiary deems
                      necessary for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for the
                      European Open Science Cloud.
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Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
    standards, recommendations and methodologies essential for putting FAIR principles
      into practice and supporting the development of the EOSC ecosystem are developed in
      alignment with international efforts and practices;
    contribute to the Horizon Europe EOSC Partnership.
Scope: Support, directly or in combination with financial support to third parties, the
community-driven processes that involve the research community and other stakeholders
from across the world to foster the development, adoption and maintenance of generic and/or
domain specific research data solutions suited to the EOSC context as well as to similar
initiatives being built by other international partners. Proposals should facilitate and promote
the participation of European stakeholders in such international processes.
To ensure complementarity of outcomes, proposals are expected to cooperate and align with
activities of the EOSC Partnership and to coordinate with relevant initiatives and projects
contributing to the development of EOSC. In particular, actions funded under this topic
should coordinate with the awarded grant/s under the topic HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-
01-05 and the future procurement activity under Other Actions54.
54
         See Public procurement 1. Delivering the EOSC core infrastructure and services
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DESTINATION – RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES TO
SUPPORT HEALTH RESEARCH, ACCELERATE THE GREEN AND
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION, AND ADVANCE FRONTIER
KNOWLEDGE (INFRASERV)
Inclusive access to the services provided by research infrastructures in the European Research
Area is essential both for the quality of the research produced and for the training of
researchers. Easy access to high-quality resources, based on clear conditions and with
appropriate funding, is an important and attractive feature of the EU research and innovation
system, allowing researchers to move within or from outside Europe to perform their research.
An open landscape of RIs in Europe contributes to the circulation of skills and attraction of
talents and promotes European cohesion.
The support under past Framework Programmes of trans-national and virtual access to RIs has
opened to research communities across Europe state-of-the-art services and resources for their
scientific activities. RIs are key players in the generation of knowledge and drivers of
scientific excellence in Europe. In conjunction with the European Open Science Cloud and
Technology Infrastructures, they are crucial enablers of research and innovation. The
provision of services at EU level has been so far mainly organised per types of infrastructures
or disciplines. The complexity and urgency of the socio-economic and environmental
transition that Europe is facing requires interdisciplinary approaches and a new challenge-
driven provision of customised services able to accelerate the pace of the research cycle and
the delivery of solutions.
Actions under this destination will provide efficient and customised research infrastructure
services to drive and enable the transition toward a sustainable Europe and a prosperous
economy. RI services (e.g. access to unique scientific tools and facilities, samples provision,
processing and analysis, data and modelling services) will be directed to support an effective
and responsive health system and to accelerate the transition towards a green and digital
future. Specific alignments and synergies with priorities in Pillar 2 will be developed and
research infrastructure support will duly contribute to the identified missions and partnerships
under Horizon Europe. At the same time, research infrastructures, which are key players in
the generation of fundamental knowledge and drivers of scientific excellence in Europe, will
also continue enabling the advancement of frontier knowledge in areas complementary to
those addressed through a challenge-driven approach.
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to
several of the following impacts:
    Reinforced research infrastructures capacity to provide at scale and across the EU
      services to support excellent research to address societal challenges, and Horizon Europe
      missions and partnerships’ objectives;
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   Enhanced and increased society’s long-term and consistent problem-solving capacity
     and evidence-based policy making in areas linked to health, and the green and digital
     transition, including a better understanding of socio-economic implications, through the
     provision of innovative, customised and efficient RI services;
   New discoveries and knowledge breakthroughs enabled by access provision to the best
     and in some cases unique state-of-the-art RIs;
   A new generation of researchers trained to optimally exploit all the essential and
     advanced tools for their research;
   Cross-fertilisation and a wider sharing of knowledge and technologies across disciplines
     and between academia and industry and businesses.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                 Call                             Budgets (EUR million)        Deadline(s)
                                                 2021                2022
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01 112.20                              10.30           23 Sep 2021
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-SERV-01                                     38.00           21 Sep 2022
Overall indicative budget               112.20                 48.30
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                                           Research Infrastructures
Call - Research infrastructure services to support health research, accelerate the green
and digital transformation, and advance frontier knowledge (2021)
                                                                     HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)55
                   Topics                          Type       Budgets (EUR       Expected EU      Number
                                                      of          million)       contribution         of
                                                  Action                          per project      projects
                                                              2021      2022        (EUR          expected
                                                                                  million)56        to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 23 Sep 2021
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-01 RIA                            70.00              10.00 to 15.00 1
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-02 RIA                                               10.00 to 15.00 1
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-03 RIA                                               10.00 to 15.00 1
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-04 RIA                                               10.00 to 15.00 1
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-05 RIA                                               7.00 to 10.00     1
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-06 RIA                            9.00               2.50 to 4.50      3
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-07 RIA                            33.20      10.30   10.00 to 14.50 3
Overall indicative budget                                    112.20     10.30
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
55
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
56
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Topics under this call bring together several complementary and interdisciplinary research
infrastructures to provide trans-national access (in-person, when the user visits the
infrastructure to make use of it or remote access) and/or virtual access to integrated and
customised research infrastructures services for challenge-driven research and innovation or
advancing frontier knowledge. Access also includes ad hoc users’ training and scientific and
technical support. Harmonisation, customisation and virtualisation of research infrastructures
services will also be supported.
A challenge-driven provision of research infrastructure services
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-01: Research infrastructures services to support
research addressing cancer
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        10.00 and 15.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 70.00 million.57
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Admissibility           The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
57
        This budget is shared with topic HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-02, HORIZON-INFRA-2021-
        SERV-01-03, HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-04, HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-05
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conditions     exceptions apply:
               Applicants are not required to submit a plan for the exploitation and
               dissemination of the results, as the main objective of these actions is the
               service provision.
               As proposals need to give information on the research infrastructures
               providing access, the page limit of the application is 100 pages.
Eligibility    The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions     exceptions apply:
               The following additional eligibility criteria apply: given the specific
               nature of this topic, access provision activities must be included in the
               proposal. Please read carefully the provisions under the section
               “Specific features for Research Infrastructures” at the end of this work
               programme part before preparing your application.
               Considering the Union’s interest to make accessible to its researchers
               the most advanced research infrastructures, wherever they are in the
               world, legal entities established in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China,
               India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia,
               Singapore and USA, which provide, under the grant, access to their
               research infrastructures to researchers from Member States and
               Associated Countries, are exceptionally eligible for funding from the
               Union under this topic.
Award criteria The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
               exceptions apply:
               The following application of the general award criteria including any
               weighting and thresholds applies:
               For the 'Excellence' criterion, in addition to its standard sub-criteria, the
               following aspects will also be taken into account:
                  The extent to which the access activities (trans-national and/or
                    virtual access) will offer access to the state-of-the-art
                    infrastructures of European interest in the field, high quality
                    services, and will enable users to conduct excellent research.
                  The extent to which the project will contribute to facilitating and
                    integrating the access procedures, to improve the services the
                    infrastructures provide and to further develop their on-line
                    services.
Procedure      The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
               exceptions apply:
               To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications
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                        not only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                        ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                        thresholds.
Legal and financial     The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant     apply:
Agreements              Eligible costs may take form of unit costs for trans-national and virtual
                        access to research infrastructures as defined in the Decision authorising
                        the use of unit costs for the actions involving trans-national and virtual
                        access (see Annex 2 of the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement).
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
   provision of innovative, customised and efficient RI services enhancing and increasing
      society’s long-term and consistent problem-solving capacity and evidence-based policy
      making in the health areas, including a better understanding of socio-economic
      implications;
   advancement of knowledge for personalised cancer prevention strategies and treatments;
   accelerated availability of solutions and products to patients in need;
   wider access to specialised R&I services to underpin the competitiveness of the
      European industry and of biotech SMEs developing new personalised cancer prevention
      strategies and treatments.
Scope: Proposals under this topic aim at integrating at EU level and providing access to a
wide and inclusive portfolio of complementary research infrastructure services, including data
services, and customised workflows supporting R&I projects along the development pipeline
from discovery research to personalised treatment of cancer. Services should also support
activities addressing the socio-economic dimension of cancer, the development of evidence-
based public health measures and patient-centred approaches, as well as regulatory aspects of
novel biomedical products or relevant biomarkers.
Proposals will support the provision of trans-national and/or virtual access to researchers as
well as training for using the infrastructures, and activities to improve, customise and combine
the services the infrastructures provide, so as to facilitate and integrate the access procedures
and to further develop the remote or virtual provision of services.
In order to facilitate user access, different interfaces could be developed, offering tailored
resources and services for different types of cancer or different classes of users.
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Proposals should adhere to the guidelines and principles of the European Charter for Access
to Research Infrastructures58.
Proposals could foster cross-fertilisation by offering technologies involved in cancer
advanced therapies to research projects targeting other major chronic disease.
Data management (and related ethics issues), interoperability, as well as the connection of
digital services (e.g. data services) to the European Open Science Cloud, should be duly
addressed.
Appropriate links and complementarities will be ensured with the Horizon Europe Mission on
cancer59. Other major European or international initiatives, including the EU Beating Cancer
Plan and the new EU biomedical research agency recently announced by the European
Commission, should be duly taken into account. Whenever appropriate, proposals should
foster the use and deployment of (open) global standards.
Proposals should make available to researchers the widest and most comprehensive portfolio
of research infrastructures services which are relevant for the scope. To this extent, they
should involve, as beneficiaries or as third parties, the necessary interdisciplinary set of
research infrastructures of European interest60 that provide such services. The inclusiveness of
the proposal will be taken into account in the Excellence score. Proposals including only few
of the research infrastructures services relevant to the scope will be scored lower.
Proposals should also look to establish active collaboration with clinical centres to facilitate
translation of research results into clinical practice.
Research infrastructures from third countries 61 may be involved when appropriate, in
particular when they offer complementary or more advanced services than those available in
Europe.
Proposals should consider the inclusion of infrastructures that can facilitate a rapid transition
of research findings to innovations and therefore, to society.
Proposals should include an outreach and engagement plan to actively advertise its services to
targeted research communities and, if applicable, to relevant industries, including SMEs.
To identify and better exploit related synergies, share results and avoid overlaps, grants
awarded under this topic should cooperate with those awarded under topic HORIZON-
INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-06. To this extent, proposals should provide for dedicated activities
and earmark appropriate resources.
58
        https://ec.europa.eu/research/infrastructures/pdf/2016_charterforaccessto-ris.pdf
59
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/horizon-europe/missions-horizon-europe/cancer_en
60
        A research infrastructure is of European interest when is able to attract users from EU or associated
        countries other than the country where the infrastructure is located. This includes ESFRI and ERIC
        infrastructures.
61
        See the Eligibility conditions for this topic.
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Proposals are expected to exploit synergies and to ensure complementarity and coherence
with other EU grants supporting access provision.
Proposals will include the list of services/installations62 opened by research infrastructures for
trans-national or virtual access and the amounts of units of access made available for users.
Further conditions and requirements relating to access provisions that applicants should fulfil
when drafting a proposal are given in the “Specific features for Research Infrastructures”
section of this Work Programme. Compliance with these provisions will be taken into account
during evaluation.
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-02: Research infrastructures                                      services    for    a
sustainable and resilient agriculture and agro-ecological transitions
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per           10.00 and 15.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                    appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                           selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 70.00 million.63
Type of Action             Research and Innovation Actions
Admissibility              The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                 exceptions apply:
                           Applicants are not required to submit a plan for the exploitation and
                           dissemination of the results, as the main objective of these actions is the
                           service provision.
                           As proposals need to give information on the research infrastructures
                           providing access, the page limit of the application is 100 pages.
Eligibility                The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                 exceptions apply:
                           The following additional eligibility criteria apply: given the specific
                           nature of this topic, access provision activities must be included in the
                           proposal. Please read carefully the provisions under the section
                           “Specific features for Research Infrastructures” at the end of this work
                           programme part before preparing your application.
                           Considering the Union’s interest to make accessible to its researchers
                           the most advanced research infrastructures, wherever they are in the
62
        “Installation” means a part or a service of a research infrastructure that can be used independently from
        the rest. A research infrastructure consists of one or more installations.
63
        This budget is shared with topic HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-01, HORIZON-INFRA-2021-
        SERV-01-03, HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-04, HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-05
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                      world, legal entities established in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China,
                      India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia,
                      Singapore and USA, which provide, under the grant, access to their
                      research infrastructures to researchers from Member States and
                      Associated Countries, are exceptionally eligible for funding from the
                      Union under this topic.
Award criteria        The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      The following application of the general award criteria including any
                      weighting and thresholds applies:
                      For the 'Excellence' criterion, in addition to its standard sub-criteria, the
                      following aspects will also be taken into account:
                         The extent to which the access activities (trans-national and/or
                           virtual access) will offer access to the state-of-the-art
                           infrastructures of European interest in the field, high quality
                           services, and will enable users to conduct excellent research.
                         The extent to which the project will contribute to facilitating and
                           integrating the access procedures, to improve the services the
                           infrastructures provide and to further develop their on-line
                           services.
Procedure             The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications
                      not only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                      ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                      thresholds.
Legal and financial   The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant   apply:
Agreements            Eligible costs may take form of unit costs for trans-national and virtual
                      access to research infrastructures as defined in the Decision authorising
                      the use of unit costs for the actions involving trans-national and virtual
                      access (see Annex 2 of the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement).
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
   provision of innovative, customised and efficient RI services enhancing and increasing
     society’s long-term and consistent problem-solving capacity and evidence-based policy
     making for resilient and sustainable agriculture systems and its nexus with environment,
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      health and food security, including a better understanding of socio-economic
      implications;
    wider understanding of the main threats (e.g.: emerging pests and diseases, antimicrobial
      resistance, climate change;) and socio-economic benefits (e.g.: high quality, safe,
      accessible and affordable food; improved human and animal wellbeing; resilience of
      local communities;) of a systemic approach to sustainable and resilient agriculture and
      agroecological transition;
    higher levels of integration between RIs services to better support the development of
      sustainable agroecological systems for a healthy planet as well as the protection and
      preservation of natural resources and biodiversity under changing climate conditions;
    wider catalogues of RI services and capacities enabling researchers to access, generate,
      share, analyse and interpret various and heterogeneous factors influencing agro-
      ecological systems and thus paving the way to ambitious and sustainable advancements
      in the field and foster trans-disciplinarity;
    strengthened climate-change resilience, sustainability and the development of smart
      innovation in agriculture for sustainable rural transformation;
    effective support to the Green Deal objectives, the One Planet Summit’s commitments,
      the implementation of the Farm to Fork strategy and enhanced contribution to related
      SDGs, notably poverty, hunger, ecosystems’ sustainability and climate action.
Scope: This topic aims at integrating and providing trans-national and/or virtual access to a
complementary and interdisciplinary research infrastructures services to support R&I in view
of achieving a sustainable and resilient agriculture and support agro-ecological transitions, in
line with the One-Health approach. This approach appears to be particularly relevant to
provide evidence to restore biodiversity, increase efficiency in the use of resources and
prevent future crises. Research infrastructures should integrate, customise and offer a wide
range of services to support agricultural research also in relation with agroforestry,
aquaculture, horticulture, husbandry and pastoralism, taking into account the value chain,
social and behavioural aspects and possibly human and animal nutrition dimensions.
Appropriate links and complementarities will be ensured with Horizon Europe Missions, in
particular the one on Soil health and food 64 , on Adaptation to climate change including
societal transformation65 and with the relevant Horizon Europe partnerships identified in the
Horizon Europe strategic plan, in particular the ones on “accelerating farming systems
transitions: agroecology living labs and research infrastructures”, “animal health and welfare”
and “agriculture of data66”. Other major European or international initiatives relevant for the
64
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/horizon-europe/missions-horizon-europe/soil-health-and-food_en
65
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/horizon-europe/missions-horizon-europe/adaptation-climate-change-including-
         societal-transformation_en
66
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/research-area/agriculture-forestry-and-rural-
         areas/partnership-agroecology_en
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scope should be taken into account. Whenever appropriate, proposals should foster the use
and deployment of global standards.
Proposals will support access provision to researchers as well as training for using the
infrastructures, and activities to improve, customise and integrate the services the
infrastructures provide, so as to facilitate and integrate the access procedures and to further
develop the remote or virtual provision of services.
Proposals should adhere to the guidelines and principles of the European Charter for Access
to Research Infrastructures67.
RIs services will include access to agricultural data, tools and models relevant for human,
plants and animal health and wellbeing; tools for rapid and precise analysis of agronomic and
husbandry practices’ performance and main threats on agriculture (i.e. emerging pests and
diseases, climate change, including drought, soil health, pollution and contaminants, etc.);
methods to assess socio-economic impact of moving to more sustainable and resilient
agriculture including agroecological transition (e.g. quality and safe food, health and
wellbeing of people, animals and plants, farm and rural resilience). RI services will also
support the development of mitigation and adaptation strategies and policy frameworks for a
more resilient and sustainable agriculture.
Data management (and related ethics issues), interoperability, as well as the connection of
digital services (e.g. data services) to the European Open Science Cloud, should be addressed
where relevant. Appropriate links and complementarities will be ensured with the relevant
data spaces.
Proposals should make available to researchers the widest and most comprehensive portfolio
of research infrastructures services which are relevant for the scope. To this extent, they
should involve, as beneficiaries or as third parties, the necessary interdisciplinary set of
research infrastructures of European interest68 that provide such services. The inclusiveness of
the proposal will be taken into account in the Excellence score. Proposals including only few
of the research infrastructures services relevant to the scope will be scored lower.
Research infrastructures from third countries 69 may be involved when appropriate, in
particular when they offer complementary or more advanced services than those available in
Europe.
Proposals should include an outreach plan to actively advertise its services to targeted
research communities and, if applicable, to relevant industries, including SMEs.
Proposals are expected to exploit synergies and to ensure complementarity and coherence
with other EU grants supporting access provision.
67
        https://ec.europa.eu/research/infrastructures/pdf/2016_charterforaccessto-ris.pdf
68
        A research infrastructure is of European interest when is able to attract users from EU or associated
        countries other than the country where the infrastructure is located. This includes ESFRI and ERIC
        infrastructures.
69
        See the Eligibility conditions for this topic.
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Proposals will include the list of services/installations70 opened by research infrastructures for
trans-national or virtual access and the amounts of units of access made available for users.
Further conditions and requirements relating to access provisions that applicants should fulfil
when drafting a proposal are given in the “Specific features for Research Infrastructures”
section of this Work Programme. Compliance with these provisions will be taken into account
during evaluation. In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender
analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-03: Research infrastructures services for responding
to climate-related risks on the environment
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per           10.00 and 15.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                    appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                           selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 70.00 million.71
Type of Action             Research and Innovation Actions
Admissibility              The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                 exceptions apply:
                           Applicants are not required to submit a plan for the exploitation and
                           dissemination of the results, as the main objective of these actions is the
                           service provision.
                           As proposals need to give information on the research infrastructures
                           providing access, the page limit of the application is 100 pages.
Eligibility                The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                 exceptions apply:
                           The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                           consortium selected for funding.
                           The following additional eligibility criteria apply: given the specific
                           nature of this topic, access provision activities must be included in the
                           proposal. Please read carefully the provisions under the section
                           “Specific features for Research Infrastructures” at the end of this work
                           programme part before preparing your application.
                           Considering the Union’s interest to make accessible to its researchers
                           the most advanced research infrastructures, wherever they are in the
70
        “Installation” means a part or a service of a research infrastructure that can be used independently from
        the rest. A research infrastructure consists of one or more installations.
71
        This budget is shared with topic HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-01, HORIZON-INFRA-2021-
        SERV-01-02, HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-04, HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-05
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                     world, legal entities established in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China,
                     India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia,
                     Singapore and USA, which provide, under the grant, access to their
                     research infrastructures to researchers from Member States and
                     Associated Countries, are exceptionally eligible for funding from the
                     Union under this topic.
Award criteria       The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                     exceptions apply:
                     The following application of the general award criteria including any
                     weighting and thresholds applies:
                     For the 'Excellence' criterion, in addition to its standard sub-criteria, the
                     following aspects will also be taken into account:
                         The extent to which the access activities (trans-national and/or
                           virtual access) will offer access to the state-of-the-art
                           infrastructures of European interest in the field, high quality
                           services, and will enable users to conduct excellent research.
                         The extent to which the project will contribute to facilitating and
                           integrating the access procedures, to improve the services the
                           infrastructures provide and to further develop their on-line
                           services.
Procedure            The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                     exceptions apply:
                     To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications
                     not only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                     ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                     thresholds.
Legal and financial  The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant  apply:
Agreements           Eligible costs may take form of unit costs for trans-national and virtual
                     access to research infrastructures as defined in the Decision authorising
                     the use of unit costs for the actions involving trans-national and virtual
                     access (see Annex 2 of the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement).
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   enhanced and increased society’s long-term and consistent problem-solving capacity and
     evidence-based policy making in areas of climate-related risks, risk management, health
     and green transition, including a better understanding of socio-economic implications,
     through the provision of innovative, customised and efficient RI services;
                                      Part 3 - Page 73 of 136
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                                             Research Infrastructures
    enhanced and integrated cross-disciplinary R&I capacities addressing climate related-
      risks in Europe and in particular support relevant R&I objectives of Horizon Europe
      clusters, missions or partnerships;
    harmonisation of data policies and management of IPRs and ethical issues;
      interoperability across disciplines and with risk management platforms;
    researchers in the environment and climate change able to optimally exploit the research
      infrastructure services relevant for their research.
Scope:
Climate change and land use are increasing the occurrence and severity of natural hazards
notably floods, storm surges, landslides, droughts, desertification, cryosphere melting and
fires in Europe and their negative impacts. Research to understand the interlinked processes
and to develop new knowledge and tools necessary to better predict, mitigate and adapt to
these risks requires an integrated and strongly cross-disciplinary approach and access to very
diverse research infrastructures (such as observatories, experimental facilities, modelling
capacities or data infrastructures). However, necessary research infrastructures, including
those prioritised by ESFRI, are often targeting primarily one or few disciplines, scientific
communities or risks and cannot, individually, sufficiently serve a truly integrated and cross-
disciplinary approach.
Proposals will bring together key complementary and possibly heterogeneous national and
European research infrastructures to provide effective access to an integrated wide range of RI
services (e.g.: observations, models and experimental platforms) necessary for highly cross-
disciplinary research and innovation addressing climate-related multi-hazards risks in Europe
including their social dimension. Actions will in particular offer, when appropriate, fit-for-
purpose access modalities facilitating the joint selection and or coherent scheduling of cross-
disciplinary user project(s) by several research infrastructures, ad-hoc support and training of
(new) users, customised RI data, data products, scientific services including joint services by
complementary infrastructures. Actions will develop interoperability among the research
infrastructures as well as with relevant initiatives and programmes and facilitate the use of
external data and services, such as Copernicus services, to further develop their portfolio of
multi- and cross-disciplinary scientific services.
Proposals aim at supporting the provision of trans-national and/or virtual access to researchers
as well as training for using the infrastructures, and activities to improve, customise and
integrate the services the infrastructures provide, so as to facilitate and integrate the access
procedures and to further develop the remote or virtual provision of services.
Proposals should adhere to the guidelines and principles of the European Charter for Access
to Research Infrastructures72.
72
         https://ec.europa.eu/research/infrastructures/pdf/2016_charterforaccessto-ris.pdf
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Data management (and related ethics issues), interoperability, as well as the connection of
digital services (e.g. data services) to the European Open Science Cloud, should be addressed
where relevant.
Proposals should duly take into account major European or international initiatives relevant in
the field/for the scope. Whenever appropriate, they should foster the use and deployment of
global standards.
Proposals should make available to researchers the widest and most comprehensive portfolio
of research infrastructures services which are relevant for the scope. To this extent, they
should involve, as beneficiaries or as third parties, the necessary interdisciplinary set of
research infrastructures of European interest73 that provide such services. The inclusiveness of
the proposal will be taken into account in the Excellence score. Proposals including only few
of the research infrastructures services relevant to the scope will be scored lower.
Research infrastructures from third countries 74 may be involved when appropriate, in
particular when they offer complementary or more advanced services than those available in
Europe.
Proposals should include an outreach plan to actively advertise its services to targeted
research communities and, if applicable, to relevant industries, including SMEs.
Proposals are expected to exploit synergies and to ensure complementarity and coherence
with other EU grants supporting access provision.
Actions should design customised and/or new RI services taking into account the needs of
ongoing research in the field and of existing disaster risk management knowledge platforms
and networks (e.g. the JRC Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre). Due attention to
the latest development of Horizon Europe priorities, its Missions and Partnerships will ensure
appropriate links and complementarities. Actions should provide for a flexible approach to
address ad-hoc R&I specific requests and to respond to long-term or recurrent needs.
Proposals could consider, for their inclusion in the service portfolio, relevant services and
expertise offered by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), and in
particular by its Molecular Ecotoxicology and Microbiology laboratory 75, for the detection of
antimicrobial resistance genes, viral RNA in water by quantitative PCR, metagenomics
analysis of water samples, as well as in-house bioassays systems for detection of chemical
pollutants’ mixture analysis.
Proposals will include the list of services/installations76 opened by research infrastructures for
trans-national or virtual access and the amounts of units of access made available for users.
73
        A research infrastructure is of European interest when is able to attract users from EU or associated
        countries other than the country where the infrastructure is located. This includes ESFRI and ERIC
        infrastructures.
74
        See the Eligibility conditions for this topic.
75
        For the participation of the JRC see General Annex B.
76
        “Installation” means a part or a service of a research infrastructure that can be used independently from
        the rest. A research infrastructure consists of one or more installations.
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                                       Research Infrastructures
Further conditions and requirements relating to access provisions that applicants should fulfil
when drafting a proposal are given in the “Specific features for Research Infrastructures”
section of this Work Programme. Compliance with these provisions will be taken into account
during evaluation. In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender
analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-04: Research infrastructures services enabling the
development of materials for a circular economy
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        10.00 and 15.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 70.00 million.77
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Admissibility           The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        Applicants are not required to submit a plan for the exploitation and
                        dissemination of the results, as the main objective of these actions is the
                        service provision.
                        As proposals need to give information on the research infrastructures
                        providing access, the page limit of the application is 100 pages.
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The following additional eligibility criteria apply: given the specific
                        nature of this topic, access provision activities must be included in the
                        proposal. Please read carefully the provisions under the section
                        “Specific features for Research Infrastructures” at the end of this work
                        programme part before preparing your application.
                        Considering the Union’s interest to make accessible to its researchers
                        the most advanced research infrastructures, wherever they are in the
                        world, legal entities established in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China,
                        India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia,
                        Singapore and USA, which provide, under the grant, access to their
                        research infrastructures to researchers from Member States and
                        Associated Countries, are exceptionally eligible for funding from the
77
        This budget is shared with topic HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-01, HORIZON-INFRA-2021-
        SERV-01-02, HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-03, HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-05
                                        Part 3 - Page 76 of 136
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                                     Research Infrastructures
                      Union under this topic.
Award criteria        The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      The following application of the general award criteria including any
                      weighting and thresholds applies:
                      For the 'Excellence' criterion, in addition to its standard sub-criteria, the
                      following aspects will also be taken into account:
                         The extent to which the access activities (trans-national and/or
                           virtual access) will offer access to the state-of-the-art
                           infrastructures of European interest in the field, high quality
                           services, and will enable users to conduct excellent research.
                         The extent to which the project will contribute to facilitating and
                           integrating the access procedures, to improve the services the
                           infrastructures provide and to further develop their on-line
                           services.
Procedure             The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications
                      not only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                      ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                      thresholds.
Legal and financial   The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant   apply:
Agreements            Eligible costs may take form of unit costs for trans-national and virtual
                      access to research infrastructures as defined in the Decision authorising
                      the use of unit costs for the actions involving trans-national and virtual
                      access (see Annex 2 of the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement).
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
   enhanced and increased society’s long-term and consistent problem-solving capacity and
     evidence-based policy making in areas of sustainable materials and green transition,
     including a better understanding of socio-economic implications, through the provision
     of innovative, customised and efficient RI services;
   development of a world-class European research and technology ecosystem
     underpinning the development of materials and materials processing and the related
     value chains;
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                                             Research Infrastructures
    optimum exploitation of R&I services relevant for materials research for a circular
      economy;
    enhanced competitiveness of current and emerging industries through the availability of
      the most advanced research and technology infrastructures R&I services;
    breakthrough research and innovation in materials development and materials
      processing;
    materials enabling products with increased durability and/or reusability78;
    cross-fertilisation and a wider sharing of knowledge and technologies across the various
      disciplines that contribute to materials for a circular economy;
    enhanced socio-economic impact of investments in research infrastructures from EU
      countries and from the European Structural and Investment Funds.
Scope: This action brings together several complementary and interdisciplinary key research
infrastructures relevant for materials research and innovation for a circular economy. The
facilities will provide coordinated and integrated transnational and/or virtual access to
technically advanced instrumentation and scientific methods in a user-friendly way. The
facilities will also jointly develop and provide specific service workflows that are relevant for
the R&I activities. The services should address different TRLs and they should be relevant for
stakeholders along the whole value chain and in view of possible industrial applications. The
facilities will provide training for their use including for services such as materials modelling,
data mining, and experiment design.
Proposals aim at supporting the provision of trans-national and/or virtual access to researchers
as well as training for using the infrastructures, and activities to improve, customise and
integrate the services the infrastructures provide, so as to facilitate and integrate the access
procedures and to further develop the remote or virtual provision of services.
Access provision activities will also contribute to address the objectives of European
initiatives, such as the Circular Economy Action Plan and the EU Strategy for Plastics in the
Circular Economy, to tackle critical issues such as materials design, processing, recycling,
and recovery in a cradle-to-cradle cycle.
Proposals should adhere to the guidelines and principles of the European Charter for Access
to Research Infrastructures79.
Proposals should clearly identify research communities and potential industrial users, which
can benefit from this pan-European open access to research services and advanced
instrumentations offered by internationally renowned facilities and strengthen the cooperation
among academic and industrial researchers.
78
         In line with the Circular Economy Action Plan
79
         https://ec.europa.eu/research/infrastructures/pdf/2016_charterforaccessto-ris.pdf
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                                             Research Infrastructures
Proposals are expected to take into account relevant major European initiatives, such as the
Open Innovation Test Beds, to exploit synergies or to build partnerships. Whenever
appropriate, they should foster the use and deployment of global standards.
Data management (and related ethics issues), interoperability, as well as the connection of
digital services (e.g. data services) to the European Open Science Cloud, should be addressed
where relevant.
Proposals should make available to researchers the widest and most comprehensive portfolio
of research infrastructures services which are relevant for the scope. To this extent, they
should involve, as beneficiaries or as third parties, the necessary interdisciplinary set of
research infrastructures of European interest80 that provide such services. The inclusiveness of
the proposal will be taken into account in the Excellence score. Proposals including only few
of the research infrastructures services relevant to the scope will be scored lower.
Research infrastructures from third countries 81 may be involved when appropriate, in
particular when they offer complementary or more advanced services than those available in
Europe.
Proposals should include an outreach plan to actively advertise its services to targeted
research communities and, if applicable, to relevant industries, including SMEs.
Proposals are expected to exploit synergies and to ensure complementarity and coherence
with other EU grants supporting access provision.
Proposals will include the list of services/installations82 opened by research infrastructures for
trans-national or virtual access and the amounts of units of access made available for users.
Further conditions and requirements relating to access provisions that applicants should fulfil
when drafting a proposal are given in the “Specific features for Research Infrastructures”
section of this Work Programme. Compliance with these provisions will be taken into account
during evaluation. In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender
analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-05: Research infrastructures services for sustainable
and inclusive Global Value Chain and Europe recovery from socio-economic crises
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per           7.00 and 10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                    appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
80
        A research infrastructure is of European interest when is able to attract users from EU or associated
        countries other than the country where the infrastructure is located. This includes ESFRI and ERIC
        infrastructures.
81
        See the Eligibility conditions for this topic.
82
        “Installation” means a part or a service of a research infrastructure that can be used independently from
        the rest. A research infrastructure consists of one or more installations.
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                                       Research Infrastructures
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 70.00 million.83
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Admissibility           The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        Applicants are not required to submit a plan for the exploitation and
                        dissemination of the results, as the main objective of these actions is the
                        service provision.
                        As proposals need to give information on the research infrastructures
                        providing access, the page limit of the application is 100 pages.
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The following additional eligibility criteria apply: given the specific
                        nature of this topic, access provision activities must be included in the
                        proposal. Please read carefully the provisions under the section
                        “Specific features for Research Infrastructures” at the end of this work
                        programme part before preparing your application.
                        Considering the Union’s interest to make accessible to its researchers
                        the most advanced research infrastructures, wherever they are in the
                        world, legal entities established in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China,
                        India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia,
                        Singapore and USA, which provide, under the grant, access to their
                        research infrastructures to researchers from Member States and
                        Associated Countries, are exceptionally eligible for funding from the
                        Union under this topic.
Award criteria          The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        The following application of the general award criteria including any
                        weighting and thresholds applies:
                        For the 'Excellence' criterion, in addition to its standard sub-criteria, the
                        following aspects will also be taken into account:
                           The extent to which the access activities (trans-national and/or
                             virtual access) will offer access to the state-of-the-art
                             infrastructures of European interest in the field, high quality
                             services, and will enable users to conduct excellent research.
83
        This budget is shared with topic HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-01, HORIZON-INFRA-2021-
        SERV-01-02, HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-03, HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-04
                                        Part 3 - Page 80 of 136
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                                       Research Infrastructures
                           The extent to which the project will contribute to facilitating and
                             integrating the access procedures, to improve the services the
                             infrastructures provide and to further develop their on-line
                             services.
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications
                        not only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                        ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                        thresholds.
Legal and financial     The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant     apply:
Agreements              Eligible costs may take form of unit costs for trans-national and virtual
                        access to research infrastructures as defined in the Decision authorising
                        the use of unit costs for the actions involving trans-national and virtual
                        access (see Annex 2 of the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement).
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
    scientific evidence for developing the European Recovery Plan and the design of
     European policies for trade, production, employment and investments in relation to
     Global Value Chain;
    enhanced society’s long-term and consistent problem-solving capacities to recover from
     socio-economic crises;
    strengthened EU position on the global market;
    contribution to the definition of standards in evolving markets;
    provision of evidence on labour market patterns and needed skills.
Scope: Global value chains (GVCs) nowadays account for almost half of all international
trade. In this age of global value chains, and especially at a time when the world economy and
supply chains are challenged by the COVID-19 crisis, GVCs and their role in international
trade and economic growth across the world as well as their impact on employment and skill
are more important than ever.
Proposals will bring together complementary and possibly heterogeneous national and
European research infrastructures to provide effective access to an integrated wide range of RI
services providing insights into the functioning, characteristics and impacts of Global Value
Chains. Research infrastructures services will allow to assess to what extent the configuration
of value chains helps to reinforce the resilience of production processes, investments and
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                                             Research Infrastructures
employment. They will also enable research in and analysis of the consequences of the
international fragmentation of production.
Proposals will support the provision of trans-national and/or virtual access to researchers as
well as training for using the infrastructures, and activities to improve, customise and
integrate the services the infrastructures provide, so as to facilitate and integrate the access
procedures, and to further develop the remote or virtual provision of services. Proposals
should adhere to the guidelines and principles of the European Charter for Access to Research
Infrastructures84.
Data management (and related ethics issues), interoperability, as well as the connection of
digital services (e.g. data services) to the European Open Science Cloud, should be addressed
where relevant.
Proposals should duly take into account major European or international initiatives relevant in
the field/for the scope. Whenever appropriate, they should foster the use and deployment of
global standards.
Proposals should make available to researchers the widest and most comprehensive portfolio
of research infrastructures services which are relevant for the scope. To this extent, they
should involve, as beneficiaries or as third parties, the necessary interdisciplinary set of
research infrastructures of European interest85 that provide such services. The inclusiveness of
the proposal will be taken into account in the Excellence score. Proposals including only few
of the research infrastructures services relevant to the scope will be scored lower.
Research infrastructures from third countries 86 may be involved when appropriate, in
particular when they offer complementary or more advanced services than those available in
Europe.
Proposals should include an outreach plan to actively advertise its services to targeted
research communities and, if applicable, to relevant industries, including SMEs.
Proposals are expected to exploit synergies and to ensure complementarity and coherence
with other EU grants supporting access provision.
Proposals will include the list of services/installations87 opened by research infrastructures for
trans-national or virtual access and the amounts of units of access made available for users.
Further conditions and requirements relating to access provisions that applicants should fulfil
when drafting a proposal are given in the “Specific features for Research Infrastructures”
section of this Work Programme. Compliance with these provisions will be taken into account
during evaluation.
84
        https://ec.europa.eu/research/infrastructures/pdf/2016_charterforaccessto-ris.pdf
85
        A research infrastructure is of European interest when is able to attract users from EU or associated
        countries other than the country where the infrastructure is located. This includes ESFRI and ERIC
        infrastructures.
86
        See the Eligibility conditions for this topic.
87
        “Installation” means a part or a service of a research infrastructure that can be used independently from
        the rest. A research infrastructure consists of one or more installations.
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                                    Research Infrastructures
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-06: Enabling research infrastructure services for
better use of imaging data to address challenges in thematic research areas
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per     2.50 and 4.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Admissibility        The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     As proposals need to give information on the research infrastructures
                     providing access, the page limit of the application is 100 pages.
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     The following additional eligibility criteria apply: given the specific
                     nature of this topic, access provision activities must be included in the
                     proposal. Please read carefully the provisions under the section
                     “Specific features for Research Infrastructures” at the end of this work
                     programme part before preparing your application.
Award criteria       The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                     exceptions apply:
                     The following application of the general award criteria including any
                     weighting and thresholds applies:
                     For the 'Excellence' criterion, in addition to its standard sub-criteria, the
                     following aspects will also be taken into account:
                        The extent to which the access activities (trans-national and/or
                          virtual access) will offer access to the state-of-the-art
                          infrastructures of European interest in the field, high quality
                          services, and will enable users to conduct excellent research.
                        The extent to which the project will contribute to facilitating and
                          integrating the access procedures, to improve the services the
                          infrastructures provide and to further develop their on-line
                          services.
Legal and financial  The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant  apply:
                                     Part 3 - Page 83 of 136
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                                         Research Infrastructures
Agreements               Eligible costs may take form of unit costs for trans-national and virtual
                         access to research infrastructures as defined in the Decision authorising
                         the use of unit costs for the actions involving trans-national and virtual
                         access (see Annex 2 of the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement).
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following expected outcomes:
    improved acquisition, quality, interoperability and analysis of imaging data from
      different disciplines (e.g.: health & food, climate and environmental research, digital
      transformation);
    wider use of image analysis services based on AI in different scientific areas.
Scope: The availability of high-performance image analysis tools, including those based on
AI, through the provision of RI services, has a great potential to improve the use of image
data for research purposes. These services enable better use of imaging data by aligning data
formats, ensuring better data quality and noise reduction, improving interoperability, applying
advanced data analysis, interpretation and potentially visualisation, as well as by integrating
imaging data with other data sets of different types.
Use of artificial intelligence as enabler for better exploitation of data sets for research queries
will be an important contribution from research infrastructures to the Commission’s AI
strategy proposed in the Commission’s White Paper On Artificial Intelligence - A European
approach to excellence and trust (COM(2020) 65 final). Proposals under this topic bring
together several complementary and interdisciplinary RIs to provide trans-national access (in-
person, when the user visits the infrastructure to make use of it or remote access) and/or
virtual access to integrated and customised RI services for challenge-driven research and
innovation. Access also includes ad hoc users’ training and scientific and technical support.
Harmonisation, customisation and virtualisation of RI services will also be supported.
Successful proposals will offer services, including AI-based services for improved analysis of
imaging data in different thematic areas (e.g. environmental monitoring, life sciences,
chemistry, physics,...). Appropriate links and complementarities must be ensured with the
existing AI4EU platform88 and relevant activities under Pillar II of Horizon Europe.
AI-based tools and services will make use of the EOSC commons as working environment
where these tools, services and relevant data sets will be made findable and accessible for use,
thus making EOSC operational for the delivery of research infrastructure data services for
thematic research challenges.
Research infrastructures services advancing frontier knowledge
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
88
         https://www.ai4eu.eu/
                                          Part 3 - Page 84 of 136
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                                   Research Infrastructures
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01-07: Research infrastructures services advancing
frontier knowledge
Specific conditions
Expected EU         The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per    10.00 and 14.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project             appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                    selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget   The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 43.50 million.
Type of Action      Research and Innovation Actions
Admissibility       The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    Applicants are not required to submit a plan for the exploitation and
                    dissemination of the results, as the main objective of these actions is the
                    service provision.
                    As proposals need to give information on the research infrastructures
                    providing access, the page limit of the application is 100 pages.
Eligibility         The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                    consortium selected for funding.
                    The following additional eligibility criteria apply: given the specific
                    nature of this topic, access provision activities must be included in the
                    proposal. Please read carefully the provisions under the section
                    “Specific features for Research Infrastructures” at the end of this work
                    programme part before preparing your application.
                    Considering the Union’s interest to make accessible to its researchers
                    the most advanced research infrastructures, wherever they are in the
                    world, legal entities established in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China,
                    India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia,
                    Singapore and USA, which provide, under the grant, access to their
                    research infrastructures to researchers from Member States and
                    Associated Countries, are exceptionally eligible for funding from the
                    Union under this topic.
Award criteria      The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                    exceptions apply:
                    The following application of the general award criteria including any
                    weighting and thresholds applies:
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                       For the 'Excellence' criterion, in addition to its standard sub-criteria, the
                       following aspects will also be taken into account:
                          The extent to which the access activities (trans-national and/or
                             virtual access) will offer access to the state-of-the-art
                             infrastructures of European interest in the field, high quality
                             services, and will enable users to conduct excellent research.
                          The extent to which the project will contribute to facilitating and
                             integrating the access procedures, to improve the services the
                             infrastructures provide and to further develop their on-line
                             services.
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                       exceptions apply:
                       To ensure a balanced portfolio covering different scientific domains,
                       grants will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but
                       at least also to those projects that are the highest ranked within each
                       scientific domain, provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
Legal and financial    The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant    apply:
Agreements             Eligible costs may take form of unit costs for trans-national and virtual
                       access to research infrastructures as defined in the Decision authorising
                       the use of unit costs for the actions involving trans-national and virtual
                       access (see Annex 2 of the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement).
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
   wider, simplified, and more efficient access to the best research infrastructures available
     to researchers to conduct curiosity-driven research, irrespective of location;
   breakthrough and leading-edge research enabled by advanced research infrastructure
     services made available to a wider user community;
     improved and harmonised RI services and broader use of RI resources across Europe
     deriving from the exploitation of synergies and complementarities;
   a new generation of researchers trained to optimally exploit all the essential tools for
     their research;
   cross-disciplinary fertilisations and a wider sharing of information, knowledge and
     technologies across scientific fields fostered by closer interactions between researchers
     active in and around research infrastructures;
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    better management, including implementing FAIR data principle, of the continuous flow
      of data collected or produced by research infrastructures.
Scope: This topic aims at providing trans-national access (on-site or remote) and/or virtual
access to integrated and customised RI services for curiosity-driven research in wide scientific
domains, offered by a wide range of complementary and interdisciplinary top level research
infrastructures. Scientific domains are identified on the basis of a Multi-Annual Priority
Setting (MAPS) exercise aiming at achieving a balanced coverage of scientific disciplines
addressed under the INFRASERV destination as well as complementarities with Horizon
2020 ongoing grants offering access provision. Within identified domains, emerging areas of
research can also be served. The MAPS follows the taxonomy used in the ESFRI Roadmap.
In 2021, the scientific domains called under this topic are:
    Geosphere, including geo-hazards and geo-resources;
    Biosphere: terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystems, including Arctic and forest;
    Particle and nuclear physics.
Training for using the infrastructures, and activities to improve, customise and harmonise the
services the infrastructures provide, so as to facilitate and integrate the access procedures, and
to further develop the remote or virtual provision of services may also be supported.
Proposals should adhere to the guidelines and principles of the European Charter for Access
to Research Infrastructures89.
Data management (and related ethics issues), interoperability, as well as the connection of
digital services (e.g. data services) to the European Open Science Cloud, should be addressed
where relevant.
Proposals should duly take into account major European or international initiatives relevant in
the domain. Whenever appropriate, they should foster the use and deployment of (open)
global standards.
Proposals should make available to researchers the widest and most comprehensive portfolio
of research infrastructures services which are relevant for frontier research in the domain. To
this extent, they should involve, as beneficiaries or as third parties, the necessary
interdisciplinary set of research infrastructures of European interest 90 that provide such
services. The inclusiveness of the proposal will be taken into account in the Excellence score.
Proposals including only few of the research infrastructures services relevant to the scope will
be scored lower.
89
        https://ec.europa.eu/research/infrastructures/pdf/2016_charterforaccessto-ris.pdf
90
        A research infrastructure is of European interest when is able to attract users from EU or associated
        countries other than the country where the infrastructure is located. This includes ESFRI and ERIC
        infrastructures.
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Proposals in the Geosphere domain could consider, for their inclusion in the service portfolio,
relevant services and expertise offered by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre
(JRC), and in particular by its European Laboratory for Structural Assessment (ELSA) 91, for
testing full-scale large structures under earthquakes and other threats to structural stability.
The unique dimensions and testing capabilities of the ELSA Reaction Wall permit bi-
directional testing of real size multi-storey buildings and critical elements of even larger
structures, such as bridges.
Research infrastructures from third countries 92 may be involved when appropriate, in
particular when they offer complementary or more advanced services than those available in
Europe.
Proposals are expected to exploit synergies and to ensure complementarity and coherence
with other EU grants supporting access provision.
Proposals will include the list of services/installations93 opened by research infrastructures for
trans-national or virtual access and the amounts of units of access made available for users.
Further conditions and requirements relating to access provisions that applicants should fulfil
when drafting a proposal are given in the “Specific features for Research Infrastructures”
section of this Work Programme. Compliance with these provisions will be taken into account
during evaluation. In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender
analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Call - Research infrastructure services to support health research and accelerate the
digital transformation (2022)
                                                                       HORIZON-INFRA-2022-SERV-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)94
                    Topics                           Type       Budgets            Expected EU         Number
                                                       of        (EUR            contribution per          of
                                                    Action      million)           project (EUR        projects
91
        For the participation of the JRC see General Annex B.
92
        See the Eligibility conditions for this topic.
93
        “Installation” means a part or a service of a research infrastructure that can be used independently from
        the rest. A research infrastructure consists of one or more installations.
94
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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                                                             2022          million)95        expected
                                                                                               to be
                                                                                              funded
                                        Opening: 01 Jun 2022
                                      Deadline(s): 21 Sep 2022
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-SERV-01-01 RIA                        38.00        Around 38.00           1
Overall indicative budget                                38.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
EBRAINS96 is an integrative, distributed digital research infrastructure (RI) of pan-European
relevance, designed and prepared as part of the Human Brain Project 97 (HBP) during Horizon
2020 to cross-fertilise progress in neuroscience, medicine and advanced computing including
AI.
While EBRAINS is a candidate ESFRI RI, the topic below is to support the RI
implementation and enrichment to ensure the delivery of a cloud-based wide-range of
integrated facilities and distributed specialised competence centres, for comprehensively
serving the European communities for neuroscience and research in brain medicine, including
95
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
96
        https://ebrains.eu
97
        https://www.humanbrainproject.eu
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for dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions, and brain-inspired cognitive
technologies.
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-SERV-01-01: Implementing digital services to empower
neuroscience research for health and brain inspired technology via EBRAINS
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       38.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 38.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Legal and financial    The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant    apply:
Agreements             Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The
                       support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. The
                       maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000
                       except for the actual development of the new services where it can be
                       up to EUR 200 000 for each third party.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following outcomes:
   integrated multi-disciplinary collaborative tools and services widely serving the
     European neuroscientific community, providing them with FAIR data indexing and
     archival, multilevel data mining and modelling/simulation of brain functions, and
     empowering workflows for reproducible research;
   a rich collection of multilevel human brain models, atlases and workflows, directly
     supporting the research and development for personalised brain medical treatments e.g.
     target binding drugs, precise neuro-stimulation positioning and guided surgery,
     regarding brain diseases such as epilepsy, Parkinson, consciousness disorders, or rare or
     multi-factor diseases;
   a comprehensive set of cognitive brain model scaffolds and associated modular / large-
     size neuromorphic and neurorobotic facilities for assisting the design and validation of
     applicative cognitive technologies benefitting from neurosciences latest knowledge, as
     enablers for autonomous and adaptive robotics approaches that use fast sensory
     processing and decision-making capabilities;
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    supplementary population of EBRAINS facilities with multidisciplinary
     services/applications that answer well-identified new neuroscience related S&T needs, in
     correlation with national and European research priorities for neuroscience, brain
     medicine and cognitive-technologies;
    integration of EBRAINS with EOSC and linkage with common European data spaces in
     the life science and health sector;
    better-aligned national investments in neuroscience across Europe, building on the
     Member States’ and Associated Countries’ specialised competence centres, which in
     turn will help creating additional synergies and enabling further research activities
     around the EBRAINS services.
Scope: Building on the EBRAINS architecture and base facilities developed under Horizon
2020, the scope of this action is to:
1. To implement a user-friendly service infrastructure along the principles of Infrastructure as
a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) to widely serve the research communities in
neurosciences, brain medicine and brain-inspired cognitive technologies. This includes the
following dimensions:
    Enabling the EBRAINS research infrastructure digital facilities supporting neuroscience
     dedicated tools and services, with a high quality of service including robustness,
     security, scalability, flexibility, usability and user-centricity. This includes a sustainable
     system for allocation and management of data capacities and of simulation and
     computing service resources.
    Establishing in-depth collaboration with teams from other European research and testing
     infrastructures and of EOSC, in order to ensure efficiency and harmonisation, e.g.
     regarding Authorisation, Authentication and Identification (AAI), Persistent Identifiers
     (PID), discovery ontologies and API for both services and data.
    Directly interfacing with the European HPC capacities towards exascale, deployed in
     EuroHPC and capitalising on the FENIX 98 developments for big-data integration and
     interactive use.
    Delivering an efficient Europe-wide service to researchers, based on promoting
     excellence and innovation, and supporting users’ digital experiments with the assistance
     of high-level support teams and feedback mechanisms, and guiding communities in
     developing novel software solutions that build on the EBRAINS base offering.
    Deploying an open metrics framework to assess the EBRAINS performances reached,
     the efficiency of the facilities offered in particular regarding the human-based services,
     and the uptake especially regarding the enabled science excellence and related results
     and the medical and technological innovation empowerment.
98
        https://fenix-ri.eu
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2. To develop, integrate in EBRAINS, and operate:
   Constantly improving open science services/applications that respond to up-to-date and
     upcoming identified needs of the neuroscientific community, with a co-design approach
     and in-depth engagement with scientific, medical and industrial stakeholders and the
     establishment of an appropriate and transparent prioritisation mechanism. This includes
     ensuring openness to other research groups and new applications; reaching out to
     scientific and industrial communities, including with tailored training and skills
     development programmes.
   The deployment of complementary S&T services from regional or national competence
     nodes, supporting and enriching the cloud-based deliveries and facilitating the sharing of
     produced data and use of national resources.
In addition to the above, EBRAINS should open its approaches to other communities, going
beyond neuroscience, for example by supporting compute-intensive simulation to identify
candidate drugs addressing new disease targets in other explicit medical domains where this
approach is justified.
The financial support to third parties mechanism (see specific call conditions) can be used to
design and develop new services (under item 2) and/or to facilitate the co-design approaches
and/or the targeted involvement of broader stakeholders, user communities and competence
nodes.
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DESTINATION                –     NEXT            GENERATION            OF      SCIENTIFIC
INSTRUMENTATION, TOOLS AND METHODS AND ADVANCED
DIGITAL SOLUTIONS (INFRATECH)
Scientific communities cannot adequately respond to current research challenges without
having access to state-of-the-art scientific instruments and tools. Their constant adaptation,
upgrading and innovation, as the underlying technologies develop at a very rapid pace, is
critical for providing the optimal conditions for scientific advancements and discoveries in
Europe.
The aim of this destination is the development of ground-breaking RI technologies, including
scientific instruments, tools, methods, and advanced digital solutions, to enable new
discoveries and keep Europe’s RIs at the highest level of excellence in science, while paving
the way to innovative solutions to societal challenges and new industrial applications,
products and services. New instruments and tools (such as advanced sensors, imaging devices,
light source detectors, high-tech developments for accelerators, robots/automated solutions)
and advanced digital solutions (e.g. digital twins, data analytics and AI tools, etc.) for RI
upgrade, will enable solutions to be found even for the most demanding scientific and societal
challenges.
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to
one or several of the following impacts:
    Enhanced global competitiveness and technological excellence of Europe in an
      extremely fast-moving environment through investments into the development, of
      forward-looking technical instruments and tools for European RIs.
    Enhanced competitiveness of European industry through co-development with industrial
      actors of advanced RI technologies and technology transfer;
    Opening up of new areas of research and development of new industrial
      applications/products;
    Development of skills of RI staff aligned with the advancements of the RI technologies;
    Transdisciplinarity, cross-fertilisation and a wider sharing of knowledge and
      technologies between academia and industry;
    Wider use of AI in research and enhanced data-based research across Europe.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                 Call                              Budgets (EUR million)          Deadline(s)
                                                  2021               2022
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HORIZON-INFRA-2021-TECH-01 28.00                             8.00   23 Sep 2021
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-TECH-01                                   110.00 20 Apr 2022
Overall indicative budget             28.00                  118.00
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Call - Next generation of scientific instrumentation, tools and methods (2021)
                                                                     HORIZON-INFRA-2021-TECH-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)99
                   Topics                          Type          Budgets        Expected EU       Number
                                                      of          (EUR          contribution          of
                                                  Action         million)        per project       projects
                                                                                   (EUR           expected
                                                              2021     2022
                                                                                 million)100        to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 23 Sep 2021
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-TECH-01-01 RIA                            28.00     8.00   9.00 to 12.00       4
Overall indicative budget                                    28.00     8.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
                                                           Annex E.
99
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
100
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Procedure                                                    The procedure is described in General
                                                             Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                      The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-TECH-01-01: Interdisciplinary digital twins for modelling and
simulating complex phenomena at the service of research infrastructure communities
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       9.00 and 12.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 36.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       Co-design approach with the intended user communities is required due
                       to the specific nature of this topic.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6 or higher by the end of the
Readiness Level        project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Research infrastructures are not only thematically very diverse but also in
terms of size, ranging from the long tail of science, often characterised by individual
laboratories or small groups of researchers, to large, “big science” collaborations. Scientists
and researchers, including the long-tail of science, lack capabilities enabling complex
simulations, combining simulations with observations and dealing with very large volumes of
diverse data from various and distributed sources. The availability of high-quality Digital
Twins101 across a wide range of thematic applications could fill this gap.
Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
     availability of a pre-operational prototype of an interdisciplinary Digital Twin, using a
      combination of the latest digital technologies, relevant to addressing challenges where
      multi-disciplinarity is the defining element of complexity;
101
        A Digital Twin is defined as a digital replica of a living or a non-living physical entity.
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    availability of latest modelling and prediction technologies in a number of different areas
      widely serving research communities and supporting interoperability of data and
      software, integration and collaboration across different scientific domains, disciplines
      and across the different research infrastructures involved;
    a robust framework enabling Researchers to ensure the quality, reliability, verifiability of
      the data, information and outputs of such Digital Twins and to exploit to the maximum
      the existing and new data made available through the Common European Data Spaces
      and the European Open Science Cloud.
Scope: Actions should develop digital twins that provide advanced modelling, simulation and
prediction capabilities to RIs and their research communities through a convergent use of
advanced digital technologies such as high performance computing, software, AI methods and
big data analytics.
With the advent of big data analytics and supercomputing, AI methods have the potential to
allow exploiting the full potential of simulations and observations at significantly enhanced
scales and to substantially increase the value, which can be extracted from investments into
digital infrastructures and hardware. This fusion of models and real-time data is of crucial
importance in many scientific areas, which – due to the complexity of the underlying
phenomena – are heavily dependent on converging traditional modelling with the increasing
amount of real-time data in order to arrive at more accurate present-state assessments and
predictions (e.g. high energy physics, astrophysics, environmental research, security
applications, materials research, resource efficiency, econometrics, population dynamics and
related global changes).
Achieving this will require a co-design approach with user communities. Target should be the
development of more integrated systems and a consistent set of standard methods and
protocols in the areas of (a) model and data fusion for optimal synergy between observations
and models, including provisions to include information from the entire digital continuum
(from smart sensors, IoT, big data to citizen science type of information, high-performance
computing; and (b) visualisation and artificial intelligence based knowledge generation from
spatio-temporal information.
Given the emerging nature of the Digital Twin concept as applied to more complex
phenomena, work should also cover the development of quality measures and trust,
development of standard quality mapping and indicators for appropriately communicating
differences in qualities of inputs and outputs from digital twins, addressing issues such as data
and model pedigree, accuracy and lack of knowledge.
In addition to addressing pertinent priority areas in an interdisciplinary manner, proposals
should also demonstrate the following:
    Deliver a breakthrough in terms of accuracy and realism
    Optimally fuse observations and models
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     Integrate downstream sectors at the source of data production (adjacent science sectors)
     Include a rigorous handling of quality and confidence of information
     Develop capabilities of the new digital continuum enabling research communities to
      continuously learn and update themselves from data and information originating from
      different sources
Work under this topic should reach a sufficiently high TRL level (6-7) to be considered for
integration into operational activities of for example existing research infrastructures, the
EOSC platform, and undertaken in related fields.
Work under this topic should link to relevant actions, when appropriate, under Digital Europe
Programme (e.g. Destination Earth).
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Call - Next generation of scientific instrumentation, tools and methods (2022)
                                                                      HORIZON-INFRA-2022-TECH-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)102
                    Topics                          Type        Budgets        Expected EU         Number
                                                       of        (EUR         contribution per         of
                                                   Action       million)       project (EUR         projects
                                                                                million)103        expected
                                                                  2022                               to be
                                                                                                    funded
                                            Opening: 19 Jan 2022
                                          Deadline(s): 20 Apr 2022
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-TECH-01-01 RIA                             110.00       5.00 to 10.00           11
Overall indicative budget                                     110.00
102
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
103
         Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
         amounts.
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General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-TECH-01-01: R&D for the next generation of scientific
instrumentation, tools and methods
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       5.00 and 10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 110.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply: consortia must
                       include at least 3 different research infrastructures, each of them being
                       an ESFRI infrastructure, and/or a European Research Infrastructures
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                           Consortium (ERIC) or another research infrastructure of European
                           interest (i.e. a research infrastructure 104 which is able to attract users
                           from EU or associated countries other than the country where the
                           infrastructure is located).
Legal and                  The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of        apply:
the Grant                  The specific conditions are described in General Annex H.
Agreements
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to several of the following
expected outcomes:
     enhanced scientific competitiveness of European research infrastructures
     foundations for the development of innovative companies;
     increase of the technological level of industries through the co-development of advanced
      technologies for research infrastructures and creation of potential new markets;
     integration of research infrastructures into local, regional and global innovation systems.
Scope: The aim of this topic is to deliver innovative scientific instrumentation, tools and
methods, which advance the state-of-art of European RIs, and show transformative potential
in RIs operation. The related developments, which underpin the provision of improved and
advanced services, should lead research infrastructures to support new areas of research
and/or a wider community of users, including industrial users.
Cutting-edge technologies will also enhance the potential of RIs to contribute addressing EU
policy objectives and socio-economic challenges.
Proposals should address all following aspects:
     Research and development of new scientific instrumentation, tools and methods for
      research infrastructures taking into due account resource efficiency (e.g. energy
      consumption) and environmental (including climate-related) impacts;
     their technology validation and prototyping;
     training of RI staff for the operation and use of these new solutions;
     the innovative potential for industrial exploitation of the solutions and/or for the benefits
      of the society.
Consortia must be built around a leading core of at least 3 world-class research
infrastructures, being ESFRI infrastructures, European Research Infrastructures Consortia
104
         See definition in footnote 1 of this Work Programme part.
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(ERICs) and/or other world-class research infrastructures of European interest 105 and can
include a wider set of RIs. Other technological partners, including industry and SMEs, should
also be involved, thus promoting innovation and knowledge sharing through co-development
of new technical solutions for research infrastructures.
Proposals may include PCP106 subcontracting activities as described in part H of the General
Annexes of the Work Programme. This option encourages the use of public procurements for
the competitive development of new specific solutions, whilst opening market opportunities
for industry and researchers active in Europe. By establishing the procurement process in
consecutive phases, the PCP activity can support the development of competing designs,
prototypes, and solution testing. This ensures that investment risks do not prevent tackling
specific scientific and technological issues, and allows to approach a problem from different
angles and to test different solutions.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
105
         A research infrastructure is of European interest when is able to attract users from EU or associated
         countries other than the country where the infrastructure is located.
106
          'Pre-commercial procurement' is defined as procurement of R&D services involving risk-benefit
         sharing under market conditions and competitive development in phases. PCP focuses on the R&D
         phase before wide commercialisation.
         'Risk-benefit sharing under market conditions' refers to the PCP approach in which procurers share with
         suppliers at market price the risks and the benefits related to the IPR resulting from the R&D.
         'Competitive development in phases' refers to the competitive approach to buy the R&D from several
         competing R&D providers in parallel and to compare and identify the best value for money solutions on
         the market to address the PCP challenge. To reduce the investment risk for the procurer, reward the
         most competitive solutions and facilitate the participation of smaller innovative companies, the R&D is
         also split into phases (solution design, prototyping, original development and validation / testing of the
         first products), with the number of competing R&D providers being reduced after each phase.
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DESTINATION – NETWORK CONNECTIVITY IN RESEARCH AND
EDUCATION               -     ENABLING              COLLABORATION                WITHOUT
BOUNDARIES (INFRANET)
The way scientific research is conducted has dramatically changed over the last years.
Network, storage and computing services provide the foundation to conduct modern scientific
research. Today the data for research is generated from countless sources and large
instruments across the globe (e.g. CERN/Copernicus/Galileo/ESO107/SKA108) and stored in
data repositories. Allowing scientists to conduct excellent research requires high-bandwidth
networks and network services to interconnect researchers, data and computing resources in a
non-discriminatory way regardless of the location of the users and the resources.
The federation of National Research and Education Networks shape a fundamental building-
block of Europe’s e-infrastructure landscape, delivering a pan-European network for scientific
excellence, research, education and innovation by providing an integrated catalogue of
services for connectivity, collaboration, security and trust-and-identity that ensure Europe
remains at the forefront of research.
This community has the potential to develop a new pan-European investment programme to
reach Terabit capacity and meet the huge growth in network capacity and demand for
advanced services for Research and Education. This programme will set the basis for a
paradigm shift in the digital science and computational infrastructures planned for research
and education over the next 10 years.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                   Call                     Budgets (EUR million)     Deadline(s)
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-NET-01-FPA                                         02 Sep 2021
Overall indicative budget
107
       European Southern Observatory
108
       Square Kilometer Array
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Call - Network connectivity in Research and Education - Enabling collaboration without
boundaries (2021)
                                                                HORIZON-INFRA-2021-NET-01-FPA
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)109
                      Topics                            Type      Budgets      Expected EU        Number
                                                         of        (EUR       contribution per        of
                                                       Action     million)     project (EUR        projects
                                                                                  million)        expected
                                                                                                    to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 02 Sep 2021
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-NET-01-01-FPA FPA                                                              1
Overall indicative budget
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
                                                           Annex E.
109
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-NET-01-01-FPA: Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA)
for Research and Education Networks
Specific conditions
Type of          Framework Partnership Agreement
Action
Procedure        The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                 apply:
                 The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
   very high-bandwidth, end-to-end connectivity among research and education users all
     over Europe, and cross-border collaboration services that are reliable and secure,
     enabling Europe to overcome the remaining Digital Divide and to be at the forefront of
     global Research and Education, attracting data and talent;
   secure access to computing facilities and data repositories for European and International
     research infrastructures (RIs) and paving the way for widespread access to common
     European Data Spaces;
   an integrated portfolio of services for connectivity, collaboration, security, trust and
     identity;
   collaboration with international partners, to foster global RI connectivity in line with
     Europe’s international cooperation policy objectives.
Scope: Building on the successful former partnership in this field and the achievements
delivered under the Horizon 2020 framework programme, and considering the need for
continuing the provision of critical services for the scientific and research community without
disruption, the Commission calls for a new partnership with the National Research and
Education Networks that would cover the whole duration of Horizon Europe, with the
following general objectives:
   Provide faster, resilient, agile and secure connectivity services for enabling scientists,
     researchers and students to access near real-time applications that support development
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      of solutions and evidence-based decision-making for society and a worldwide effective
      collaboration of virtual research communities. The aim is to provide connectivity in the
      European Research Area (ERA) in multiples of 100 Gbps, paving the way for Terabit
      connectivity in certain areas where higher bandwidth is required for both disciplinary
      and interdisciplinary research collaboration amongst the researchers and scientists across
      Europe and beyond. Both the cross-European educational dimension and providing ERA
      scientists and researchers with optimal and secure access to research infrastructures (RI)
      and data resources worldwide are within the scope of the FPA.
The scope of the partnership activities should be to deliver an action plan on basis of jointly
agreed objectives, covering the next 7 years of work. The action plan should cover the
following areas of activity:
1. High quality connectivity and collaboration services for excellence in Research and
Education
     Provide operational excellence by delivering and developing high quality, secure,
      trusted, interoperable and cost-effective services, connectivity and collaboration services
      for both Research and Education sectors and align service offering for supporting the
      policy agenda of ERA110, EEA111 and EHEA112: to enable borderless collaboration, and
      attract talent from anywhere in the world to cooperate and exchange data with their
      peers.
     Provide core services on security and identity federation, in coordination with other e-
      infrastructure and heterogeneous identity providers to enable service interoperability and
      a trusted and seamless user experience. National and European regulation in electronic
      identity (e.g., such e-IDAS) should be considered in particular for the development of
      Trust & Identity service in order to maximise societal impact beyond the research and
      scientific community.
     Innovation of the service portfolio, including possible activities at lower TRL levels, in
      order to support researchers working on new network and added-value services such as
      super high transfer speeds, quantum network testing, etc.
     Stimulating the development of consortium partners’ human capital (including training,
      secondment and exchange schemes) will be an important pillar in fostering service
      innovation and assuring expertise in all Member States and Associated Countries.
2. State-of-the-art connectivity for the wider European Digital Infrastructure
     Push the boundaries of the state-of-the-art of the communication commons by constant
      development of both innovative multi-domain services and their use, and by translating
      this innovation into a competitive European ICT sector. This can include interconnection
110
         See COM(2020)628, "A new ERA for Research and Innovation"
111
         European Economic Area
112
         European Higher Education Area
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      with key European data spaces and data repositories, including the Common European
      data spaces 113 and with a wide spectrum of actors, e.g. industry and SMEs in
      collaboration with commercial operators.
     Adapt to the changing environment by the continuous development of the service
      portfolio of the European communications commons while maintaining the high level of
      accountability, security, measurability, transparency and sustainability. Actions should
      align with and contribute to the regulatory, standardisation and policy framework in
      order to enable full exploitation of the communications commons.
     Progressive upgrade from a Gigabit to a Terabit network as a critical part of the main
      public digital infrastructures in the EU.
3. International connectivity and collaboration
     Services and network architecture shall enable European driven researchers and
      scientists unconstrained access to data and resources worldwide while attracting data and
      talent. Activities in the international realm shall clearly foster international cooperation
      among researchers, contribute to the objectives of other relevant EU programmes and
      policies, and leverage the existing resources to maximise impact. Capacity building
      activities will be a crosscutting element in international cooperation.
Wherever necessary in implementing the action plan, the partnership should make recourse to
procurement as a fundamental tool for maximising the utility of available resources and
broadening the offer of state-of-the-art digital services to scientific, research and education
communities. The action plan should specify the main areas where procurement is expected to
take place. Whenever the partnership makes recourse to procurement activities, it should
explore broader scenarios and business models (including the participation in innovative
procurement actions) for the benefit of the research and education community and potentially
the wider user base.
The partnership should also develop close synergies with EU Policy and EU Programmes,
wherever these are relevant for its activities, for instance with Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Actions (MSCA) or the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and its KICs,
for activities related to human capital development, training, and international collaboration.
It may also seek synergies with other programmes and funding lines of the EU that
demonstrate greater impact potential and or better efficiency in the use of resources in the
implementation of the action plan.
The long-term cooperation between the Commission and the selected partners will be
formalised within a Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) covering the entire duration of
Horizon Europe. The extended duration of the partnership is justified by the need to provide a
stable environment for the implementation of a European communications commons and
uninterrupted provisioning of digital services.
113
         A European strategy for data, COM(2020)66 final
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Through the Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA), the Commission intends to award
specific grants to implement the action plan agreed in the FPA, in accordance with the
procedures laid down in the FPA (see also section on "Other actions").
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Other Actions not subject to calls for proposals
Grants to identified beneficiaries
1. Conference on European Research Infrastructures: 20 years of ESFRI, achievements
and future insights
Expected outcomes:
The conference will contribute to the following outcomes:
   Valorisation of the impact of ESFRI on European R&I system over the 20 years
   Reinforcement of the role of ESFRI and the European RIs in the renewed ERA
   Increased awareness of the research and innovation actors of the opportunities provided
      by European RIs
Scope:
The conference is planned in France, under the French Presidency of the European Union, in
the first semester of 2022.
The conference will focus on the following issues: (1) presentation of main achievements of
ESFRI over the 20 years, (2) ESFRI process as catalyst for alignment of national RI priorities
and funding, (3) changing landscape of R&I in Europe – challenges and opportunities for RIs,
(4) ESFRI as a model for effective governance of R&I policy.
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals, according to Article 195(e) of the
Financial Regulation and Article 20(4) of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and
Rules for Participation, to the legal entity identified below, as this is the ministry responsible
for the event designated by France.
Legal entities:
Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche et de l'Innovation, Rue Descartes 1 -
75005 Paris, France
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: Second quarter of 2021
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Indicative budget: EUR 0.10 million from the 2021 budget
2. International Conference on Research Infrastructures – ICRI 2022
Expected outcomes: Projects are expected to contribute to all the following outcomes:
   Contribution to address global challenges with a global dimension;
   Increased capacity of Europe to respond, in cooperation with international players, to
      emerging challenges at global level;
   Development of further cooperation with ongoing key international partners for research
      infrastructures;
   Enhanced role of the Union in international organisations and multilateral fora;
   Progress towards the development of global research infrastructures.
Scope:
The International Conference on Research Infrastructures (ICRI) is organised alternatively in
EU and in a Third Country, in cooperation with the European Commission. ICRI 2022 will
contribute to the objectives of the INFRADEV destination.
The next ICRI Conference is planned in the Czech Republic, under the Czech Presidency, in
the second semester 2022.
The objectives of the conference are (1) to provide an international forum for the discussion
on the development of global research infrastructures, in particular, on issues of common
interest such as the long-term sustainability of research infrastructures and their innovation
potential; (2) to facilitate strategic international cooperation between European research
infrastructures and their International counterparts; (3) to address the role of RIs to tackle
global challenges and to contribute to the SDGs; (4) to analyse the resilience and adaptability
of RIs in times of crisis.
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195(e) of the
Financial Regulation and Article 20(4) of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and
Rules for Participation to the legal entities identified below, as they have been designated by
the Czech Republic and include the ministry responsible for the event.
Legal entities:
Ministerstvo školství, mládeže a tělovýchovy (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports),
Karmelitska 7, 11812 Prague, Czechia
Masarykova univerzita (MU), Zerotinovo namesti 9, 60177 Brno Stred, Czechia
Vysoké učení technické v Brně (Brno University of Technology), Antoninska 548/1, 60190
Brno Stred, Czechia
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Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: Second quarter of 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.30 million from the 2021 budget
Specific Grant Agreements to the FPA for Research and Education Networks
The consortium of the selected Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) for Research and
Education Networks, is invited to submit proposals for two Specific Grant Agreements (SGA)
for the first period of the partnership (2021-2023). The expected outcomes of the SGAs
should be in line with the objectives defined in the Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA)
action plan. The proposals will be assessed according to the evaluation criteria described in
the specific conditions of the action and the requirements listed in the invitation letter from
the Commission.
Two separate proposals for SGAs should be submitted, one addressing the first and second
areas of activity of the FPA (namely, “High quality connectivity and collaboration services
for excellence in Research and Education” and “State-of-the-art connectivity for the wider
European Digital Infrastructure”) and another one addressing the third area of activity of the
FPA (“International connectivity and collaboration”).
1. SGA for networking and collaboration services and investments in long-term capacity
for Research and Education Networks in Europe
(1.a) This part of the action aims at implementing the first period of the FPA action plan, and
in particular related to the action related to (1) high quality connectivity for excellence in
Research and Education and (2) state-of-the-art connectivity for the wider European Digital
Infrastructure114.
The scope will be further defined once the FPA is in place. The possible activities, in line with
the final action plan, may include:
     Maintenance, operation and upgrade of the production network infrastructure by
      pursuing a cost-effective approach in advance of demand growth and progressing quality
      requirements.
114
         Subject to modifications following the final scope of the FPA action plan.
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   Pan-European innovative procurement efforts to assure access for researchers and
      students to state-of-the-art commercial services.
   Operations of core network services (TRL8) and development of new ones (minimum
      TRL6) to cater for the new needs of institutions, research centres and end users
   Support the current (TRL8) and development and prototyping (TRL6+) of added-value
      services (such as security services) and collaborative tools on top of core connectivity
      required by scientists, researchers and higher education students.
   Support researchers by developing new network and added-value services (including
      those based on lower TRLs) such as super high transfer speeds, quantum network
      testing, high precision time distribution, and other metrology services for example.
   Service level metrics, baseline and targets on quality of service for every service
      (connectivity and collaboration) in production stage.
   Expansion of the agreements with operators and service providers (public and private)
      that enable scientists and researchers access to a broader set of data sources (including
      European Data spaces) and digital tools, and facilitate collaboration with SME’s and
      industry.
   Maintain and evolve the current core operations on identity federations and ensuring
      support of more complex services.
   Alignment of the AAI systems across various communities and RIs in Europe and
      assistance in deployment of community AAIs, including synergies with EU policies
      beyond the scientific and research domains, such as e-IDAS or ERASMUS+.
   Effective communication and dissemination activities across domains and target
      audiences across Europe
   Collaboration activities with other NRENs and RRNEs (National/Regional Research and
      Education Networks) outside the EU not covered in this or other programmes and that
      will contribute to the objectives of the action, including capacity development for
      researchers and scientists.
The aim is to provide faster, resilient, agile and secure connectivity and collaboration
services for enabling scientists, researchers and students access to near real-time applications
that support evidence-based decision-making in society and worldwide effective collaboration
of virtual research communities.
The network infrastructure must offer state-of-the-art services for extracting the full potential
and maximise value from the investments in data sources, research infrastructures and
computing resources. The network services have to cater for virtual research teams from
different domains and affiliations, providing trusted and secure access to heterogeneous
digital resources and allowing collaboration with the private sector and SME’s, when
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necessary. The provision should cover overall connectivity within the ERA, including HPC
connectivity.
Expected Outcomes of the activities under part 1.a:
     pan-European unconstrained and non-discriminatory secure and trusted access to data
      sources, storage and computing services, allowing scientists to conduct excellent
      research regardless of their location and the location of data and computing resources;
     evolved existing services and newly developed services to assure State-of-the art trusted
      and secure connectivity and collaboration services within Europe across the full
      spectrum of research and education networks in Europe;
     high quality, cost-effective, secure and resilient connectivity services providing
      unconstrained capacity ahead of demand in the backbone network and NREN115 access
      in multiples of 100Gbps, paving the way for Terabit connectivity;
     exchange points for users beyond the traditional scientific and research communities
      within the remit of NRENs mandate, enabling data interoperability with for example
      SMEs and industry;
     networking and access facilities to the European open Data Spaces;
     authentication and authorisation Infrastructure (AAI) services and interoperability
      mechanisms with other well-accepted authentication systems and e-ID standards (in
      particular e-IDAS and its future evolution);
     access for researchers and students to commercial services required for Open Science
      under European data requirements and at a good value;
     support to training, dissemination for consolidating and expanding the cooperation and
      community building and for alignment with EU policy and participation with
      standardisation bodies.
(1.b) The activities in this part of the SGA should follow the action plan developed under the
FPA for Research and Education Networks.
They should cover upfront investments for long-term acquisitions of capacity and associated
equipment (excluding operating costs) for covering connectivity within Europe for new
research technologies that have requirements beyond existing networking. These activities
follow the successful models (e.g. BELLA-S1 & GN4-3N projects) with a dedicated action
for covering full costs of equipment and acquisition of links (e.g. through IRU).
Activities within this part should be restricted to the procurement and launch into service of
digital links. The selection of these should be fully aligned with the overall connectivity
approach, which is developed and operated in part 1.a of the SGA.
115
         National Research and Education Networks.
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Expected Outcomes of the activities under part 1.b:
   procurement of new long-term network capacity in the most suitable contractual form
      (e.g., IRU, Indefeasible Rights of Use, for spectrum, dark fibre, etc.). The duration of the
      IRUs or participation/contract agreement shall minimise the TCO (Total Cost of
      Ownership) of links and provide for a minimum service of 7-10 years;
   procurement of necessary equipment to operate and exploit the capacity acquired under
      the action;
   a resilient topology that contributes in preserving European leadership in Research and
      education networking and aligns with EU principles on digital autonomy and
      sovereignty. The action will veil in particular avoiding systemic dependencies from non-
      associated countries.
Specific conditions:
7-years Framework Partnership Agreement for Research and Education Networks with
identified beneficiary and specific grants awarded to identified beneficiary for Research and
Innovation Action under the Framework Partnership Agreement.
In this action the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research
and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Purchases of equipment, infrastructure, services or other assets used for the action under
activities covering part 1.a should be declared as depreciation costs.
Equipment, infrastructure, services or other assets (such as IRUs) purchased specifically for
the activities covered under part 1.b may be declared as full capitalised costs taking into
account that their life span may extend after the duration of the action and beyond the FPA
coverage.
The standard evaluation criteria, thresholds, weighting for award criteria and the maximum
rate of co-financing for this type of action are provided in parts D and G of the General
Annexes with the following exceptions for the evaluation criteria:
For the criterion Excellence the following sub-criteria apply:
   Clarity and pertinence of the project’s objectives, including their relevance to the
      overarching goals of the FPA. Extent to which the proposed work is ambitious, and goes
      beyond the state-of-the-art.
   Soundness of the proposed methodology, including the business model approach on
      service delivery and provision of innovative services and the related metrics.
   Effectiveness and agility in developing new services according to the needs of a wide
      user base across multiple disciplines for excellent science and research.
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
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Type of Action: Specific grant agreement awarded without call for proposals in relation to a
Framework Partnership Agreement
Indicative timetable: Second quarter of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 55.00 million from the 2022 budget
2. SGA for investments on International connectivity and collaboration
The activities under this SGA should follow the action plan developed under the FPA for
Research and Education Networks.
The action should mainly cover upfront investments for long-term acquisitions of capacity
and associated equipment (excluding operating costs) for covering connectivity outside
Europe. This action follows the successful models (e.g. BELLA-S1 & GN4-3N projects) with
a dedicated action for covering full costs of equipment and acquisition of links (e.g. through
IRU). It should be carried out in close partnership with key Regional European and
International Partners and collaborations in Mediterranean, North and Latin American, Asian
or other world regions where the EU and the Member States and Associated Countries have
significant collaboration for research activities and/or investments in research infrastructures.
Activities within this action should be restricted to the procurement and launch into service of
digital links. The selection of these should be fully aligned with the overall connectivity
approach, which is developed and operated under the FPA.
Expected Outcomes of the action:
   Maintenance, operation and upgrade of the existing production intercontinental network
      infrastructure by pursuing a cost-effective approach in advance of demand growth and
      progressing requirements from international research infrastructures (such as SKA etc.).
   Procurement of new long-term network capacity in the most suitable contractual form
      (e.g., IRU, Indefeasible Rights of Use, for spectrum, dark fibre, etc.). The duration of the
      IRUs or participation/contract agreement shall minimise the TCO (Total Cost of
      Ownership) of links and provide for a minimum service of 7 years.
   Procurement of necessary equipment to operate and exploit the capacity acquired under
      the action.
   A resilient topology that contributes in preserving European digital autonomy and
      sovereignty, in particular avoiding systemic dependencies from non-associated countries,
      based on reciprocity and the international cooperation rules of Horizon Europe.
Specific conditions:
7-years Framework Partnership Agreement for Research and Education Networks with
identified beneficiary and specific grants awarded to identified beneficiary for Research and
Innovation Action under the Framework Partnership Agreement.
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In this action the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research
and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
This action should cover full-cost of procurement of goods and services that are not covered
already by the SGA.1. Equipment, infrastructure, services or other assets (such as IRUs)
purchased specifically for the activities covered under SGA.2 must be declared as full
capitalised costs taking into account that their life span may extend after the duration of the
action and beyond the FPA coverage. As a transitory measure, recurrent costs of existing links
or depreciation cost of existing equipment will be eligible under this action.
The standard evaluation criteria, thresholds, weighting for award criteria and the maximum
rate of co-financing for this type of action are provided in parts D and G of the General
Annexes with the following exceptions for the evaluation criteria:
For the criterion Excellence the following sub-criteria apply:
   Clarity and pertinence of the project’s objectives, including their relevance to the
      overarching goals of the FPA. Extent to which the proposed work is ambitious, and goes
      beyond the state-of-the-art.
   Soundness of the proposed methodology, including the approach on service delivery and
      provision of innovative services and the related metrics.
   Extent to which the project proposes or makes use of innovative business models and
      optimises the utility of available resources on a global scale.
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Specific grant agreement awarded without call for proposals in relation to a
Framework Partnership Agreement
Indicative timetable: Fourth quarter of 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 15.00 million from the 2021 budget
Other grants awarded without a call for proposals
1. FAIR and open data sharing in support to European preparedness for COVID-19 and
other infectious diseases
As part of the EU response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to the rising spread of SARS-
CoV-2 variants, grants will be awarded without a call for proposal in accordance with Article
195 (b) of the Financial Regulation 2018/1046 to address this exceptional emergency. An
invitation to apply for funding will be published on the Funding & Tenders Portal that will
open a dedicated section where proposals can be submitted. This will be communicated to the
National Contact Points. The invitation to apply for funding will be open to all eligible
entities or limited to targeted entities, taking into account the need to achieve the underlying
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objectives in a quick and efficient manner considering the exceptional circumstances
(‘extreme urgency’ due the COVID-19 pandemic).
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
   European researchers and public health actors fighting the spread of infectious diseases,
      e.g. COVID-19 and emerging infectious diseases are able to store, share, access, analyse,
      process and cite research and clinical data and other research digital objects across
      disciplines and national borders and to collaborate with global partners;
   federation of viral and human infectious disease data from national and international
      centres enables pan-European and global sharing and combination of research and
      clinical data, thereby catalysing and accelerating research advances to combat the
      COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for future outbreaks;
   development of digital tools and data analytics for pandemic and outbreak preparedness,
      including tracking genomic variations of SARS-CoV-2, linking genomic and clinical
      data to support timely identification of variants of concern, and subsequent rapid
      characterisation of such strains to inform public health action;
   linking of FAIR data and metadata on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, on other related
      viruses and diseases, and on socio-economic consequences, across research fields, from
      omics, clinical, and epidemiological research, to Social Sciences and Humanities
      accelerate infectious disease research, surveillance and outbreak investigation;
   contribute to the Horizon Europe European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) Partnership
      and to the development of the European Health Data Space (EHDS).
Expected impact
Proposals should set out a credible pathway to contributing to one or several of the following
impacts:
   transforming the way researchers as well as relevant actors in the public and private
      sectors create, share and exploit research outputs (data, publications, protocols,
      methodologies, software, code, etc.) within and across research disciplines, and with the
      public health sector, leading to improved timeliness, better quality, more innovation,
      higher productivity of research and a better integration between research outputs and
      public health policy;
   seamless access to and management of increasing volumes of research data following
      FAIR principles (and that are as open as possible, as closed as necessary) and other
      research outputs stimulating the development and uptake of a wide range of new
      innovative and value-added services from public and commercial providers;
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     improving trust in science through increased FAIRness, openness and quality of
      scientific research in Europe, supported by more meaningful monitoring and better
      facilitators for reproducibility, validation and re-use of research results, and by
      improving pathways for the communication of science to the public.
Scope: This action responds to the need to enable researchers, health care professionals and
society at large to share, access, analyse, link and process research data and other research
digital objects across disciplines and national borders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As seen with other infectious disease outbreaks, such as haemorrhagic fevers, COVID-19 will
likely remain a societal challenge beyond the immediate outbreak, considering its destructive
and disruptive impact on healthcare systems and the economy. In addition to the ongoing
health threat from SARS-CoV-2, the risk from other emerging pathogens also persists, which
will also require similar concerted action to identify and characterise infections with
pandemic potential, and enable rapid public health action to mitigate health and societal
impact. Provision of comprehensive open data on infectious agents and diseases during
outbreaks support evidence-based quality assessment - across scientific, medical, public
health and policy domains and promotes reproducibility of research outcomes. Particular
importance should be placed on mobilising raw viral sequences and identifying and
monitoring the spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants. European readiness for future pandemics is
of utmost importance and should be addressed to ensure the preparedness of infrastructure
building on already existing frameworks for broader use such as the EOSC.
Proposals should facilitate and accelerate the access to, and the linking of data and metadata
on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, including through the European COVID-19 Data Portal116,
the Versatile Emerging infectious disease Observatory117 (VEO) and other relevant initiatives,
with the emphasis on identifying and tracking of new SARS-CoV-2 variants and creating
appropriate links with serology and other host data. The scope of the initiative should further
expand to other relevant infectious diseases, and incorporate epidemiological, clinical
(including Real World Data), and socio-economic data, spanning from molecular biology to
other disciplines, including Social Sciences and Humanities. A One-Health approach building
on the latest technological advances, covering epidemics and epizootics is encouraged.
Particular importance should be given to the need of federating data between national centres
to effectively manage data protection.
To ensure the interoperability of the data, community best practices including the use of
community-endorsed standards and community metadata schemas should be encouraged.
Newly implemented domain specific research data solutions from the project should feed into
the work of established international initiatives. Particular attention should be given to the
harmonisation and management of meta-data and sample- identifiers to ensure interoperability
of national and regional efforts into the EOSC and the long-term cataloguing of data resources
within the EOSC.
116
        https://www.covid19dataportal.org
117
        https://www.veo-europe.eu/
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A strong focus should be placed on exploiting and contributing to EOSC capabilities for data
access and federation as well as relevant standards and policies for managing, sharing and
reusing research data from different disciplines. As such, the proposals should demonstrate
the value of sharing FAIR research data that is as open as possible through EOSC, help
consolidating data-sharing and data management practices across the Member States,
Associated Countries and beyond, and provide feedback to the EOSC Partnership for the
future evolution of EOSC.
Proposals should build on the European COVID-19 Data Platform118 and support, directly or
in combination with financial support to third parties, the creation of national and regional
structures to coordinate and promote in-country actions, such as to further enhance genomic
surveillance and rapid-response capabilities.
Cooperation with the grant awarded under the Other action “Research infrastructure services
for rapid research responses to COVID-19 and other infectious disease epidemics” should be
developed from the outset to identify and better exploit related synergies, share results, avoid
overlaps and ensure that data generated from access to infectious disease services can be
available for re-use through the EOSC. To this extent, proposals should provide for dedicated
activities and earmark appropriate resources. Proposals should consider already established
national and European infrastructures and build on existing efforts, including actions
stemming from Cohesion policy programmes. Proposals should seek to establish synergies
with the European Health Data Space as well as relevant initiatives under Digital Europe.
To ensure complementarity of outcomes, alignment with EOSC policies, and a synergetic
development of different thematic areas within EOSC, proposals are expected to cooperate
and align with activities of the EOSC Partnership and to coordinate with relevant initiatives
and projects contributing to the development of EOSC, particularly in the areas of data
interoperability.
All software developed under this action should be open source, licensed under a CC0 public
domain dedication or under an open source license as recommended by the Free Software
Foundation and the Open Source Initiative.
This action seeks to address the challenges linked to the COVID-19 variants. As such, the
granting authority hereby requests activation of the public emergency provisions, meaning
that the beneficiaries must comply with the public emergency related provisions listed in the
General Annexes concerning the project implementation under - Intellectual Property Rights
(IPR), background and results, access rights and rights of use (article 16 and Annex 5) for the
duration of the pandemic; and under Communication, dissemination, open science and
visibility (article 17 and Annex 5) during the entire duration of the action and for four years
after the end of the action.
Specific Conditions
118
         https://www.covid19dataportal.org
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The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes. The following topic specific conditions apply:
Eligibility conditions
Due to the urgency and geographical relevance of this action, and considering the Union’s
interest to retain, in principle, relations with the countries associated to Horizon 2020 and
other third countries in the process of association to Horizon Europe, legal entities established
in Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel,
Kosovo119, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland,
Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom are eligible for funding from the Union even if
the Horizon Europe association agreement with the third country concerned does not apply at
the time of signature of the grant agreement.
The consortium must include at least one independent legal entity established in a Member
State and at least two other independent legal entities each established in different Member
States or countries listed above.
Award criteria
Additional sub-criterion for Impact:
     The extent to which the proposed work incorporates the necessary resources and efforts
      to coordinate with other relevant projects and the EOSC governance structure in the
      context of the EOSC Partnership.
Procedure
The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant Agreements
Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The support to third parties can
only be provided in the form of grants.
Beneficiaries must deposit the digital research data generated in the action in a trusted
repository federated in the EOSC in compliance with EOSC requirements.
Beneficiaries will be subject to the additional access rights: each beneficiary must grant
royalty-free access to its results to the EOSC Association for monitoring and developing
policies and strategies for the European Open Science Cloud.
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
119
         This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and
         the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
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Type of Action: Research and Innovation Actions - Grant awarded without call for proposals
in accordance with Article 195 (b) of the Financial Regulation
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: Second quarter 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 12.00 million from the 2021 budget
2. Research infrastructure services for rapid research responses to COVID-19 and other
infectious disease epidemics
As part of the EU response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to the rising spread of SARS-
CoV-2 variants, grants will be awarded without a call for proposal in accordance with Article
195 (b) of the Financial Regulation 2018/1046 to address this exceptional emergency. An
invitation to apply for funding will be published on the Funding & Tenders Portal that will
open a dedicated section where proposals can be submitted. This will be communicated to the
National Contact Points. The invitation to apply for funding will be open to all eligible
entities or limited to targeted entities, taking into account the need to achieve the underlying
objectives in a quick and efficient manner considering the exceptional circumstances
(‘extreme urgency’ due the COVID-19 pandemic).
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
   comprehensive catalogue of research infrastructure services relevant to tackle infectious
      diseases epidemics is available, including services supporting pertinent social sciences
      research;
   fast assembly and provision of innovative, customised and efficient research
      infrastructure services to support research linked to detecting, assessing and combatting
      newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants;
   challenge driven integration of research infrastructures to better support research
      addressing infectious diseases and face epidemics, including for use by epidemics risk
      assessment and risk management bodies (such as the European Centre for Disease
      prevention and Control (ECDC), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the World
      Organisation of Animal Health (OIE) and national epidemics management bodies);
   rapid response to epidemics outbreaks through research infrastructure services
      underpinning and supporting research aiming to understand causes and development of
      the epidemic;
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    development of novel/adapted epidemics intervention tools and measures enabled by
      relevant research infrastructure (RI) services;
    availability of research data emerging from access provision activities for re-use on
      common data platforms and registries, according to FAIR principles and compliant with
      legal provisions under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Expected Impact: Proposals should set out a credible pathway to contributing to several of the
following impacts
    enhancement of EU capacity to identify, characterise and mitigate the effects of COVID-
      19 virus variants of concern, and future emerging pathogens of public health concern;
    reinforced research infrastructures capacity to provide at scale and across the EU
      services to support excellent research to address societal challenges, and Horizon Europe
      objectives;
    enhanced and increased society’s long-term and consistent problem-solving capacity and
      evidence-based policy making in areas linked to health, including a better understanding
      of socio-economic implications, through the provision of innovative, customised and
      efficient RI services;
    new discoveries and knowledge breakthroughs enabled by access provision to the best
      and in some cases unique state-of-the-art RIs;
    a new generation of researchers trained to optimally exploit all the essential and
      advanced tools for their research.
Scope: Proposals under this action, will integrate research infrastructure services to form a
comprehensive and inclusive portfolio to support research in response to infectious disease
epidemics or underpinning respective forefront research in the field. As a first immediate
challenge, the delivered services should support research targeting newly emerging SARS-
Cov-2 variants and addressing the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.
Proposals will support the provision of trans-national and/or virtual access to researchers as
well as training for using the infrastructures, and activities to improve, customise and
integrate the services the infrastructures provide, so as to facilitate and integrate the access
procedures and to further develop the remote or virtual provision of services.
Access to research infrastructure services will be provided to users to support their research
projects targeting the development of new or adapted prevention and/or intervention tools and
measures, such as new or adapted diagnostic procedures and therapies, drugs, vaccines,
clinical disease management or disease vector control, or evidence-based public health, socio-
behavioural and socio-economic measures. Priority should be given to supporting research
projects targeting newly emerging virus variants, focusing on their detection, characterisation,
surveillance and assessment (changes in transmissibility and disease manifestation) and on the
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adaptation of intervention and prevention measures (medication, vaccines, public health
measures) which likely also requires additional regulatory and clinical trials support.
Following the One-Health concept, services supporting research on transmission of pathogens
from animals to humans (or vice versa animals as host reservoir), including vector-borne
transmission, should be covered. Research infrastructures dealing with social science should
be involved to enable data acquisition enhancing understanding of individual and population
perceptions and behaviours in an epidemic setting, including public response to intervention
measures such as social distancing, vaccine campaigns, etc., over the course of an epidemic.
Flexibility in the provision of services should be properly demonstrated to ensure fast re-
orientation and expansion of the portfolio in response to unexpected epidemics situations,
including emerging threats posed by new SARS-CoV-2 variants. Effective operational links
to epidemics risk assessment and management bodies like ECDC, WHO, OIE, a possible
future EU Health Emergency preparedness and Response Authority (EU-HERA) and national
authorities are essential. Global standards, relevant data platforms and registries should be
used to make user project results openly available and usable, thus enabling further research
on pathogens, disease manifestation, behavioural research and other epidemics related social
science research.
Appropriate links should be ensured with the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), the
European COVID-19 Data Platform and the newly established Population Health Information
Research Infrastructure for COVID-19 (PHIRI). Data management (and related ethics issues)
and interoperability should be addressed.
To identify and better exploit related synergies, share results and avoid overlaps, grants
awarded under this action should cooperate with those awarded under the Other action “FAIR
and open data sharing in support of European preparedness for COVID-19 and other
infectious diseases”. To this extent, proposals should provide for dedicated activities and
earmark appropriate resources.
Pandemics are global challenges and collaboration with relevant international partners should
be envisaged.
Proposals should adhere to the guidelines and principles of the European Charter for Access
to Research Infrastructures120.
Proposals should make available to researchers the widest and most comprehensive portfolio
of research infrastructures services which are relevant for the scope. To this extent, they
should involve, as beneficiaries or as third parties, the necessary interdisciplinary set of
research infrastructures of European interest121 that provide such services. The inclusiveness
of the proposal will be taken into account in the Excellence score.
120
        https://ec.europa.eu/research/infrastructures/pdf/2016_charterforaccessto-ris.pdf
121
        A research infrastructure is of European interest when is able to attract users from EU or associated
        countries other than the country where the infrastructure is located. This includes ESFRI and ERIC
        infrastructures.
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Research infrastructures from third countries 122 may be involved when appropriate, in
particular when they offer complementary or more advanced services, including data, than
those available in Europe.
Proposals could consider, for their inclusion in the service portfolio, relevant services and
expertise offered by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), and in
particular by its Nanobiotechnology laboratories 123 , on high-end characterisation of
therapeutics against pandemics, including antibodies, viral antigens, vaccine nanocarriers,
and, more in general, on characterisation of nanomaterials, nanomedicines and advanced
materials.
Grants awarded under this action are expected to duly contribute to any future Partnership for
Pandemic Preparedness that might be established under Horizon Europe.
Proposals should include an outreach plan to actively advertise its services to targeted
research communities and, if applicable, to relevant industries, including SMEs.
Proposals are expected to exploit synergies and to ensure complementarity and coherence
with other EU grants supporting access provision.
Proposals will include the list of services/installations124 opened by research infrastructures
for trans-national or virtual access and the amounts of units of access made available for
users.
Further conditions and requirements relating to access provisions that applicants should fulfil
when drafting a proposal are given in the “Specific features for Research Infrastructures”
section of this Work Programme. Compliance with these provisions will be taken into account
during evaluation.
Specific Conditions
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes. The following topic specific conditions apply:
Admissibility conditions
Applicants are not required to submit a plan for the exploitation and dissemination of the
results, as the main objective of these actions is the service provision.
As proposals need to give information on the research infrastructures providing access, the
page limit of the application is 100 pages.
122
         See the Eligibility conditions for this action.
123
         For the participation of the JRC see General Annex B.
124
         ‘Installation’ means a part or a service of a research infrastructure that can be used independently from
         the rest. A research infrastructure consists of one or more installations.
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Eligibility conditions
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the consortium selected for
funding.
Given the specific nature of this action, access provision activities must be included in the
proposal. Please read carefully the provisions under the section “Specific features for
Research Infrastructures” at the end of this work programme part before preparing your
application.
Due to the urgency and geographical relevance of this action and considering the Union’s
interest to retain, in principle, relations with the countries associated to Horizon 2020 and
other third countries in the process of association to Horizon Europe, legal entities established
in Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel,
Kosovo125, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland,
Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom are eligible for funding from the Union even if
the Horizon Europe association agreement with the third country concerned does not apply at
the time of signature of the grant agreement.
The consortium must include at least one independent legal entity established in a Member
State and at least two other independent legal entities each established in different Member
States or countries listed above.
Considering the Union’s interest to make accessible to its researchers the most advanced
research infrastructures, wherever they are in the world, legal entities established in Australia,
Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia,
Singapore and USA, which provide, under the grant, access to their research infrastructures to
researchers from Member States and Associated Countries, are exceptionally eligible for
funding from the Union under this topic.
Award criteria
For the ‘Excellence’ criterion, in addition to its standard sub-criteria, the following aspects
will also be taken into account:
     The extent to which the access activities (trans-national and/or virtual access) will offer
      access to the state-of-the-art infrastructures of European interest in the field, high quality
      services, and will enable users to conduct excellent research.
     The extent to which the project will contribute to facilitating and integrating the access
      procedures, to improve the services the infrastructures provide and to further develop
      their on-line services.
Procedure
125
        This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and
        the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
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The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant Agreements
Eligible costs may take form of unit costs for trans-national and virtual access to research
infrastructures as defined in the Decision authorising the use of unit costs for the actions
involving trans-national and virtual access (see Annex 2 of the Horizon Europe Model Grant
Agreement).
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Research and Innovation Actions - Grant awarded without call for proposals
in accordance with Article 195 (b) of the Financial Regulation
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: Second quarter 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 21.00 million from the 2021 budget
Public procurement
1. Delivering the EOSC core infrastructure and services
Expected Results:
     A fully operational, secure cloud-based EOSC infrastructure, including a federated core
      platform and the EOSC Exchange 126 , offering high quality professional services and
      providing for a superior user experience, usability and ease of use for a very large
      number of users, with the functionalities available 24/7.
     Population of EOSC with a rich set of innovative, modular, customisable and
      composable services for a wide variety of users from the research communities and
      beyond.
     A large number of data and service communities aligned in terms of standards and
      consolidated at subdomain, domain and interdisciplinary levels.
     Established links with common European data spaces in crucial sectors, such as green
      deal or health, and synergies with the work on the European cloud federation as
126
         “EOSC-Exchange” builds on the EOSC-Core and comprises Common (horizontal) and Thematic
         services that enable researchers to exploit FAIR data. Service providers that participate in EOSC-
         Exchange are required to conform to predefined Rules of Participation.
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      described in the Member States’ joint declaration on building the next generation of
      cloud in Europe127.
     Increased discovery and reuse of European research output as a result of FAIR data and
      services provided through EOSC, and cross-fertilisation and a wider sharing of
      knowledge and technologies.
Scope:
This action should build and deploy a fully operational enabling infrastructure for EOSC,
providing access to a rich portfolio of FAIR data and professional quality FAIR services in all
relevant domains from data handling to computing, processing, analysis and storing.
The infrastructure should be robust, secure, scalable, flexible and user-centric. It is constantly
improved and upgraded following user feedback and the state-of-the-art of the underlying
core technologies. It offers high quality of service management compliant with industrial
standards, providing for a superior user experience, usability and ease of use for a very large
number of users (i.e. hundreds of parallel user sessions per day), with the functionalities
available 24/7. It offers seamless access to data, software and services through customised
user interfaces, allowing users to navigate with built-in guidance tools and analytics for
(re)use and service composition. It builds on the key concept of federation, standards and
processes for Open Science, such as the EOSC Interoperability Framework and FAIR-by-
design data and services.
The objective:
The infrastructure should build closely on the outcome of the H2020-INFRAEOSC-03-2020
call and will cover at least128 the following elements:
a) Deployment and operationalisation of the EOSC infrastructure for access to and
exploitation of FAIR data and services
The EOSC infrastructure should be based on a cloud-based core platform that will serve as a
point of access to the EOSC resources, enabling the federation of existing and planned
research data infrastructures and allowing cross-border and cross-sectoral discovery of
resources in the EOSC ecosystem. The platform should interface with a large number of data
and service communities, including with thematic portals created by the ESFRI and national
clusters, to allow users to benefit from EOSC in a customised manner.
To ensure scalability and effective federation of e-Infrastructures, data and services and use of
the resources, the core platform should utilise an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and
Platform as a Service (PaaS) approach.
The main features and functions of the core platform will include at least the following:
127
        https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/towards-next-generation-cloud-europe
128
        The final scope of the call for tender will be defined in 2022 taking into account the level of progress
        achieved through the selected project of the H2020-INFRAEOSC-03-2020 call.
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 Authorisation, Authentication and Identification (AAI) standards and services, ensuring
  security and privacy;
 Persistent Identifier services, compatible with the EOSC PID policy, and mechanisms
  for resolution of different PID types;
 Advanced discoverability, service catalogue management and orchestration services for
  all types of resources, metadata services and ontologies for discovery of and access to
  data and services across the federated EOSC ecosystem;
 Efficient workflow management, mechanisms allowing data inter-linking and
  application of data sharing policies;
 Standardised Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), including the development of
  new ones if needed, for machine-actionable and interoperable data, for interfacing with a
  large number of data and service communities, at subdomain, domain and
  interdisciplinary levels;
 User-friendly, responsive and easy to use visualisation services, data analytics and
  downloading tools designed for improved user experience;
 Thorough testing and reporting procedures;
 Auditing and reporting processes and services;
 Service quality management, monitoring and accounting, performance management;
 Helpdesk for data/service providers and users, including advice on data ownership,
  licensing and privacy issues;
 Services to ensure scalability and availability, allowing simultaneous use by hundreds of
  individual concurrent user sections per day with a standard response time;
 Services, processes and policies for availability and capacity management to ensure
  business continuity and disaster recovery;
 Application of firm cybersecurity policies and measures for systems’ hardening and
  regular assessments regarding potential threats and the infrastructure’s vulnerabilities
  and overall attack surface, and well defined procedures for incident reporting and
  notification;
 Support for an open metrics framework to assess the EOSC uptake (usage, performance,
  value for money, user satisfaction, etc.) through the platform;
 Feedback mechanism to allow users to comment on the EOSC-core and EOSC-
  Exchange functionalities.
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b) Provision of innovative, modular, customisable and composable services to serve a wide
variety of users
The service provision of the EOSC infrastructure should be provided through two main
service modalities (to be identified according to the specific needs, users and service areas):
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
The EOSC platform should provide secure, cloud-based access to the required resources
(computing power, data, storage, programming tools and libraries, operating systems etc.) for
the various user groups to exploit these resources, develop their own services, tools and
applications of added value, and make them available to the wider EOSC community, across
disciplines and countries.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Under this service provisioning model, the users will be able to use, directly and on-demand,
the whole range of available services provided by the EOSC Exchange. This service layer
should make an extensive use of appropriate interfaces and the service workflow and
catalogue management components of the core platform.
To ensure a rich set of services, applications and tools, covering both generic and thematic
research needs, the EOSC Infrastructure should include at least the following functions:
   Assistance to data and service providers to comply with the EOSC Rules of
     Participation, align with its interoperability and FAIR standards, and prepare high
     quality datasets and services for reuse through EOSC;
   Validation and certification schemes for FAIR data;
   Onboarding and management services for the EOSC Exchange;
   Mechanism to link EOSC with the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking for high performance
     computing services;
   Mechanism to link EOSC with the European cloud federation;
   Procurement mechanism for e-infrastructures services, like computing, storage, and
     processing;
   Tools and services to allow researchers to find, access, reuse and combine their data with
     non-research data and resources, like the European Common Data Spaces.
The contractor will ensure continuity and professionalisation of the outcomes of the projects
selected from the H2020-INFRAEOSC-03-2020 call and improve the service offering model
through a close cooperation approach with the users. All necessary baseline information will
be made available in the tender specifications.
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The contractor will also work closely with the EOSC Association, the EOSC community
under the EOSC co-programmed Partnership, including eInfrastructures, and the
representatives of the Member States and Associated Countries in the governance of EOSC,
to ensure engagement of the community, involvement of the users and alignment with
national initiatives.
The European Commission will oversee the operations of the infrastructure.
The use of common Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) is required, in line with both the
open source strategy of the European Commission and the recommendation of the European
Interoperability Framework.
Following the service contract, the final EOSC-core infrastructure and service platform will
be property of the European Union, and it will be made available for its Member States and
Associated Countries.
The duration of the performance of the contract should not exceed 36 months (including 2
months for approval of deliverables and payment).
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Third quarter of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 35.00 million from the 2022 budget
Expert contract actions
1. External expertise 2021
This action will support:
  1. The use of appointed independent experts for the monitoring of actions (grant
     agreement, grant decision, public procurement actions, financial instruments) and where
     appropriate include ethics checks.
  2. The use of individual experts to advise on, or support, the design and implementation of
     EU policies on research infrastructures. The activities carried out by the experts will be
     essential to the development and monitoring of the Union policy and initiatives in this
     area. The individual experts' tasks will include attending bilateral meetings with
     Commission services, remote drafting and possible preparatory work. The experts will
     be highly qualified, specialised, independent experts selected on the basis of their
     competence and knowledge of the field. A special allowance of EUR 450/day will be
     paid to the experts appointed in their personal capacity who act independently and in the
     public interest. This amount is considered to be proportionate to the specific tasks to be
     assigned to the experts, including the number of meetings to be attended and possible
     preparatory work.
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                                         Research Infrastructures
  3. The use of individual experts for the assessment of ERIC applications, as required under
     the ERIC Regulation 129 . The experts will be highly qualified independent experts
     selected on the basis of their specific competence. The experts will provide a report for
     each of the assessed ERIC application. A special allowance of EUR 450/day will be paid
     to the experts appointed in their personal capacity who act independently and in the
     public interest. This amount is considered to be proportionate to the specific tasks to be
     assigned to the experts.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative budget: EUR 0.34 million from the 2021 budget
2. External expertise 2022
This action will support:
  1. The use of appointed independent experts for the monitoring of running actions (grant
     agreement, grant decision, public procurement actions, financial instruments) funded
     under Horizon Europe and previous Framework Programmes for Research and
     Innovation, and where appropriate including ethics checks.
  2. The use of individual experts to advise on, or support, the design and implementation of
     EU policies on research infrastructures. The activities carried out by the experts will be
     essential to the development and monitoring of the Union policy and initiatives in this
     area. The individual experts' tasks will include attending bilateral meetings with
     Commission services, remote drafting and possible preparatory work. The experts will
     be highly qualified, specialised, independent experts selected on the basis of their
     competence and knowledge of the field. A special allowance of EUR 450/day will be
     paid to the experts appointed in their personal capacity who act independently and in the
     public interest. This amount is considered to be proportionate to the specific tasks to be
     assigned to the experts, including the number of meetings to be attended and possible
     preparatory work.
  3. The use of individual experts for the assessment of ERIC applications, as required under
     the ERIC Regulation 130 . The experts will be highly qualified independent experts
     selected on the basis of their specific competence. The experts will provide a report for
     each of the assessed ERIC application. A special allowance of EUR 450/day will be paid
     to the experts appointed in their personal capacity who act independently and in the
     public interest. This amount is considered to be proportionate to the specific tasks to be
     assigned to the experts.
129
        Council Regulation (EC) No 723/2009 of 25 June 2009 on the Community Legal Framework for a
        European Research Infrastructure Consortium.
130
        Council Regulation (EC) No 723/2009 of 25 June 2009 on the Community Legal Framework for a
        European Research Infrastructure Consortium.
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                                    Research Infrastructures
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative budget: EUR 0.40 million from the 2022 budget
                                     Part 3 - Page 131 of 136
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                                         Research Infrastructures
Budget131
                                                      Budget               2021               2022
                                                      line(s)        Budget (EUR        Budget (EUR
                                                                         million)           million)
Calls
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-01                                                         7.80
                                                   from                           7.80
                                                   01.020103
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-DEV-02                                                        33.50             10.00
                                                   from                          33.50             10.00
                                                   01.020103
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-DEV-01                                                                          21.80
                                                   from                                            21.80
                                                   01.020103
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01                                                       59.00
                                                   from                          59.00
                                                   01.020103
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01                                                                         30.00
                                                   from                                            30.00
                                                   01.020103
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-SERV-01                                                      112.20             10.30
                                                   from                         112.20             10.30
                                                   01.020103
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-SERV-01                                                                         38.00
                                                   from                                            38.00
                                                   01.020103
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-TECH-01                                                       28.00               8.00
                                                   from                          28.00               8.00
131
      The budget figures given in this table are rounded to two decimal places.
      The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
      budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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                                     Research Infrastructures
                                              01.020103
HORIZON-INFRA-2022-TECH-01                                                  110.00
                                              from                          110.00
                                              01.020103
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-NET-01-FPA
Other actions
Grant to identified beneficiary according                              0.40
to Financial Regulation Article 195(e)
                                              from                     0.40
                                              01.020103
Specific grant agreement                                              15.00  55.00
                                              from                    15.00  55.00
                                              01.020103
Grant awarded without a call for                                      33.00
proposals according to Financial
                                              from                    33.00
Regulation Article 195
                                              01.020103
Public procurement                                                           35.00
                                              from                           35.00
                                              01.020103
Expert contract action                                                 0.34   0.40
                                              from                     0.34   0.40
                                              01.020103
Estimated total budget                                               289.24 318.50
                                     Part 3 - Page 133 of 136
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                                             Research Infrastructures
Specific Features for Research Infrastructure
This section provides further conditions and requirements on access provision that applicants
must comply with, for different topics under the INFRASERV destination and for the
‘Research Infrastructure services for rapid research responses to COVID-19 and other
infectious disease epidemics’ action of the Research Infrastructures Work Programme.
Compliance with these provisions will also be taken into account during evaluation.
Trans-national and/or virtual access132 activities.
Trans-national access activities
Trans-national access provision must be implemented as follows:
Trans-national access to infrastructure services offered under the grant is provided 'free of
charge' to selected researchers or research teams (user-groups) including from industry.
Access activities should be implemented in a coordinated way so as to improve the overall
service provision to the research community. Access may be made available to external users,
either in person (‘hands-on’), when the user visits the infrastructure to make use of it, or
through the provision to the user of remote scientific services, such as the provision of
reference materials or samples, the remote access to a high-performance computing facility,
the performance of sample analysis or sample deposition.
The research infrastructures must publicise widely the access offered under the grant
agreement to ensure that researchers who might wish to have access to the infrastructures are
made aware of the possibilities open to them. They must open specific calls to invite
researchers to apply for access. The research infrastructures must promote equal opportunities
in advertising the access and take into account gender issues when defining the support
provided to visitors. They must maintain appropriate documentation to support and justify the
amount of access reported. This documentation must include records of the names,
nationalities, and home institutions of the users within the research teams, as well as the
nature and quantity of access provided to them. To this extent, a unit of access to each
infrastructure service/installation 133 needs to be identified and precisely defined in the
proposal.
The selection of researchers or research teams must be carried out through an independent
peer-review evaluation of the research projects (user projects) they wish to carry out at the
infrastructure. The research team, or its majority, must work in countries other than the
country(ies) where the infrastructure is located (when the infrastructure is composed of
several research facilities, operated by different legal entities, this condition must apply to
each facility) except when access is provided by an International organisation, the Joint
Research Centre (JRC), an ERIC or similar legal entities with international membership. User
132
        See Annex 5 (Article 18) of Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement
133
        “Installation” means a part or a service of a research infrastructure that can be used independently from
        the rest. A research infrastructure consists of one or more installations.
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teams where all or the majority of users work in third countries can be supported as long as
the cumulative access provided to them is below 20% of the total amount of units of access
provided under the grant. In exceptional and well justified cases a higher percentage of access
to third-country user teams can be set out in the proposal.
Only user groups that are allowed to disseminate the results they have generated under the
action may be eligible for access (unless the users are working for SMEs).
The duration of stay at a research infrastructure must normally be limited to three months,
unless otherwise provided for in the proposal.
The EU financial support to trans-national access will cover the access costs134 incurred by
the access provider in providing access to the selected researchers, as well as the travel and
subsistence costs incurred in supporting visits to the infrastructure of these researchers.
The access costs charged to the grant will not include capital investments (including
depreciation costs of equipment, infrastructure or other assets) nor internally invoiced goods
and services, unless otherwise specified in the Work Programme, while they may cover the
running costs of the infrastructure as well as the cost for the logistical, technological and
scientific support for users’ access. This includes costs for ad-hoc training users need to use
the infrastructure and for preparatory and closing activities that may be necessary to carry out
users’ work on the infrastructure.
Virtual access activities
Virtual access provision must be implemented as follows:
Virtual access to research infrastructure is provided through communication networks to users
complying with the RI’s access policy, without selecting them. Examples of virtual access
activities are provision of access to databases available via Internet, or data deposition
services.
The research infrastructures must publicise widely the access offered under the grant
agreement to ensure that researchers who might wish to have access to the infrastructures are
made aware of the possibilities open to them.
The EU financial support to virtual access will cover the access costs 135 incurred by the
infrastructure in providing access under the project, including the technological and scientific
134
         Access costs will be supported through the reimbursement of the eligible costs specifically incurred by
         a research infrastructure for providing access to the research teams selected for support under the
         project, or on the basis of unit costs calculated according to the methodology indicated in the Decision
         authorising the use of unit costs for the costs of providing trans-national and virtual access in Research
         Infrastructures actions under the Horizon Europe Programme. In the latter case the access costs will be
         calculated multiplying the unit cost by the quantity of access provided under the grant. The cost of the
         unit of access to the infrastructure, i.e. the unit cost, must then be indicated in the proposal. A
         combination of the two methods mentioned above will also be possible.
135
         Access costs will be supported through the reimbursement of the eligible actual costs specifically
         incurred by a research infrastructure for providing virtual access to identified users under the project, or
         on the basis of unit costs calculated according to the methodology indicated in the Decision authorising
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support researchers need to effectively use the services. Capital investments (including
depreciation costs of equipment, infrastructure or other assets) as well as internally invoiced
goods and services will not be eligible costs unless otherwise specified under the specific call
or topic, in which case only the portion used to provide virtual access under the project can be
eligible. A unit of access to each research infrastructure service must be identified and
precisely defined in the proposal. The provision of virtual access during the project lifetime
will be measured through the units of access defined in the grant agreement and must be
periodically assessed by an external board. Eligibility criteria (e.g. affiliation to a research or
academic institution) for users can be defined in the proposal, to take into account the access
policies of the different RIs.
        the use of unit costs for the costs of providing trans-national and virtual access in Research
        Infrastructures actions under the Horizon Europe Programme. In the latter case, the access costs will be
        calculated multiplying the unit cost by the quantity of access provided under the grant. The cost of the
        unit of access to the research infrastructure, i.e. the unit cost, must then be indicated in the proposal. A
        combination of the two methods mentioned above will also be possible.
                                             Part 3 - Page 136 of 136
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       ANNEX IV
       “Annex IV
     Horizon Europe
Work Programme 2021-2022
        4. Health
            ”
 ---pagebreak---                                       Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                                                 Health
Table of contents
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 7
Destination 1 – Staying healthy in a rapidly changing society...................... 12
Call - Staying Healthy (2021) ................................................................................................ 15
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 15
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-STAYHLTH-01-02: Towards a molecular and neurobiological
  understanding of mental health and mental illness for the benefit of citizens and patients . 16
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-STAYHLTH-01-03: Healthy Citizens 2.0 - Supporting digital
  empowerment and health literacy of citizens ....................................................................... 19
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-STAYHLTH-01-04: A roadmap for personalised prevention ..... 21
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-STAYHLTH-01-05: Mobilising a network of National Contact
  Points (NCPs) for the Health Cluster ................................................................................... 22
Call - Staying healthy (Two stage - 2022) ............................................................................. 24
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 24
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-01-01-two-stage: Boosting mental health in Europe
  in times of change ................................................................................................................ 26
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-01-04-two-stage: Trustworthy artificial intelligence
  (AI) tools to predict the risk of chronic non-communicable diseases and/or their
  progression ........................................................................................................................... 29
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-01-05-two-stage: Prevention of obesity throughout
  the life course ....................................................................................................................... 32
Call - Staying healthy (Single stage, 2022) ........................................................................... 35
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 35
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-02-01: Personalised blueprint of chronic
  inflammation in health-to-disease transition ........................................................................ 36
Destination 2. Living and working in a health-promoting environment ..... 39
Call - Environment and health (2021) .................................................................................. 42
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 42
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-ENVHLTH-02-01: Exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) and
  health .................................................................................................................................... 43
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-ENVHLTH-02-02: Indoor air quality and health ........................ 45
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-ENVHLTH-02-03: Health impacts of climate change, costs and
  benefits of action and inaction ............................................................................................. 48
Call - Partnerships in Health (2021) ..................................................................................... 50
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 51
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                                                            Health
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-ENVHLTH-03-01: European partnership for the assessment of
  risks from chemicals (PARC) .............................................................................................. 52
Call - Environment and health (Single Stage - 2022) .......................................................... 57
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 57
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-ENVHLTH-04-01: Methods for assessing health-related costs of
  environmental stressors ........................................................................................................ 58
Destination 3. Tackling diseases and reducing disease burden .................... 61
Call - Tackling diseases (2021) .............................................................................................. 65
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 65
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-01: Improved supportive, palliative, survivorship
  and end-of-life care of cancer patients ................................................................................. 66
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-02: Building a European innovation platform for
  the repurposing of medicinal products ................................................................................. 69
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-03: Innovative approaches to enhance poverty-
  related diseases research in sub-Saharan Africa .................................................................. 71
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-04: Clinical validation of artificial intelligence (AI)
  solutions for treatment and care ........................................................................................... 73
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-07: Personalised medicine and infectious diseases:
  understanding the individual host response to viruses (e.g. SARS-CoV-2) ........................ 75
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-05: A roadmap towards the creation of the
  European partnership on One Health antimicrobial resistance (OH AMR) ......................... 77
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-06: Building a European partnership for pandemic
  preparedness ......................................................................................................................... 80
Call - Tackling diseases (Two Stage - 2022) ......................................................................... 82
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 82
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-06-02-two-stage: Pre-clinical development of the next
  generation of immunotherapies for diseases or disorders with unmet medical needs ......... 83
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-06-03-two-stage: Vaccines 2.0 - developing the next
  generation of vaccines .......................................................................................................... 85
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-06-04-two-stage: Development of new effective
  therapies for rare diseases .................................................................................................... 87
Call - Tackling diseases (Single Stage - 2022) ...................................................................... 90
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 90
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-07-02: Pandemic preparedness .................................. 91
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-07-03: Non-communicable diseases risk reduction in
  adolescence and youth (Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases - GACD) ........................... 92
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-07-01: Support for the functioning of the Global
  Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness (GloPID-R) .......................... 95
Call - Partnerships in Health (2022) ..................................................................................... 96
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                                                               Health
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 97
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-03-01: European partnership fostering a European
  Research Area (ERA) for health research ............................................................................ 98
Destination 4. Ensuring access to innovative, sustainable and high-quality
health care ........................................................................................................ 105
Call - Ensuring access to innovative, sustainable and high-quality health care (2021) . 109
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 109
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-CARE-05-01: Enhancing quality of care and patient safety ..... 110
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-CARE-05-02: Data-driven decision-support tools for better health
  care delivery and policy-making with a focus on cancer ................................................... 112
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-CARE-05-04: Health care innovation procurement network .... 115
Call - Ensuring access to innovative, sustainable and high-quality health care (Single
Stage - 2022) .......................................................................................................................... 119
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 119
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-CARE-08-02: Pre-commercial research and innovation
  procurement (PCP) for building the resilience of health care systems in the context of
  recovery .............................................................................................................................. 120
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-CARE-08-03: Public procurement of innovative solutions (PPI)
  for building the resilience of health care systems in the context of recovery .................... 122
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-CARE-08-04: Better financing models for health systems ....... 124
Call - Partnerships in Health (2022) ................................................................................... 127
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 127
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-CARE-10-01: European partnership on transforming health and
  care systems ........................................................................................................................ 128
Destination 5. Unlocking the full potential of new tools, technologies and
digital solutions for a healthy society ............................................................ 134
Call - Tools and technologies for a healthy society (2021) ................................................ 137
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 137
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-TOOL-06-01: Smart medical devices and their surgical
  implantation for use in resource-constrained settings ........................................................ 138
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-TOOL-06-02: Next generation advanced therapies to treat highly
  prevalent and high burden diseases with unmet medical needs ......................................... 139
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-TOOL-06-03: Innovative tools for use and re-use of health data
  (in particular of electronic health records and/or patient registries) .................................. 141
Call - Tools and technologies for a healthy society (Single Stage - 2022) ........................ 143
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 143
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                                                                    Health
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-TOOL-11-01: Optimising effectiveness in patients of existing
  prescription drugs for major diseases (except cancer) with the use of biomarkers ............ 144
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-TOOL-11-02: New methods for the effective use of real-world
  data and/or synthetic data in regulatory decision-making and/or in health technology
  assessment .......................................................................................................................... 145
Call - Tools and technologies for a healthy society (two-stages - 2022) ........................... 148
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 148
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-TOOL-12-01-two-stage: Computational models for new patient
  stratification strategies ........................................................................................................ 149
Destination 6. Maintaining an innovative, sustainable and globally
competitive health industry ............................................................................ 152
Call - A competitive health-related industry (2021) .......................................................... 155
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 155
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-IND-07-01: Green pharmaceuticals........................................... 156
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-IND-07-02: Development, procurement and responsible
  management of new antimicrobials.................................................................................... 158
  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-IND-07-03: Promoting a trusted mHealth label in Europe: uptake
  of technical specifications for quality and reliability of health and wellness apps ............ 159
Call - A competitive health-related industry (2022) .......................................................... 161
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 161
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13-01: Enhancing cybersecurity of connected medical
  devices ................................................................................................................................ 163
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13-02: Scaling up multi-party computation, data
  anonymisation techniques, and synthetic data generation ................................................. 164
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13-03: New pricing and payment models for cost-effective
  and affordable health innovations ...................................................................................... 166
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13-04: Setting up a European Smart Health Innovation Hub
  ............................................................................................................................................ 168
  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13-05: Setting up a European Electronic Health Record
  Exchange Format (EEHRxF) Ecosystem ........................................................................... 170
Other Actions not subject to calls for proposals .......................................... 173
Grants to identified beneficiaries ........................................................................................ 173
  1. Grant to the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD) ......................................... 173
  2. European registry for human pluripotent stem cell lines ............................................... 174
  3. CEPI 3 - Contribution to the Coalition for Epidemics Preparedness Initiative.............. 175
  4. CEPI 4 - Contribution to the Coalition for Epidemics Preparedness Initiative.............. 176
Other Instruments ................................................................................................................ 178
                                                           Part 4 - Page 5 of 191
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                                                        Health
 1. Mobilisation of Research funds in case of Public Health Emergencies: COVID-19,
 second quarter of 2021 ....................................................................................................... 178
 2. Studies, conferences, events and outreach activities ...................................................... 181
 3. Mobilisation of research funds in case of Public Health Emergencies .......................... 181
 4. Subscription to the Human Frontier Science Program Organization ............................. 183
 5. External expertise ........................................................................................................... 183
 6. Implement, expand and improve the Global Observatory on Health R&D ................... 184
Budget ............................................................................................................... 186
                                               Part 4 - Page 6 of 191
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                                                 Health
Introduction
The Union and the world are challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic. While it has uncovered
vulnerabilities in our social and economic systems, it has also provided new impetus,
visibility and recognition of the critical role that health care systems and health professionals
play in responding to the needs of people, serving society and underpinning the economy. It
also underlined the power of research and innovation in uncovering the knowledge and
developing the technologies to respond rapidly and effectively to public health emergencies.
In addition to the direct suffering that COVID-19 is causing to symptomatic patients and their
families, including long-term COVID-19 symptoms in survivors, the social distancing
measures and lockdowns are causing major disruptions in social and economic life
aggravating inequalities, loneliness and neglect, but also increasing existential fears, anxieties
and distress, with serious negative impact on mental health and well-being. Population groups
who are at risk of COVID-19, such as people suffering from co-morbidities and the elderly,
are affected by these measures disproportionately but also young people entering and
establishing their adult life. There is thus an urgent need for research and innovation to
understand the long-term effects of both COVID-19 and the social distancing measures on
people’s health and well-being, and in turn develop effective responses for a solid recovery of
the Union. Research conducted during the pandemic and following its sequels is pivotal to
inform preparedness for potential similar events in the future. The pandemic has also
demonstrated the downside of globalisation in which the dependence on global value chains
can quickly result in shortages of critical supplies, such as essential medicines or other health
technologies.
To help repair the economic and social damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the
European Commission, the European Parliament and EU Member States leaders have agreed
on a Recovery Plan for Europe that will lead the way out of the crisis and lay the foundations
for a modern and more sustainable Union. The Health cluster will put the focus of this work
programme mainly to this endeavour, which will benefit from financial resources from this
Multiannual Financial Framework and from NextGenerationEU (NGEU), the Union’s
financing instrument to boost the recovery. It requires research and innovation supporting the
recovery of people and communities from COVID-19 but also for making society more
resilient and national health systems better prepared to any future public health emergency.
The Recovery Plan aims the Union to building back better, which also entails supporting the
twin digital and green transitions by unlocking the full potential of data-enabled research and
innovation for digitised health systems and a competitive and secure data-economy, including
on the basis of European Electronic Health Records as well as the establishment of the
European Health Data Space. The digital transformation of health and care will certainly help
to increase the capacity of health care systems to deliver more personalised and effective
health care with less resource wasting. It will contribute but is not sufficient for making the
Union the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, with zero pollution and zero waste.
Additional efforts are needed to make also the delivery of health care, the design of health
technologies and their manufacturing more sustainable by reducing energy consumption,
                                         Part 4 - Page 7 of 191
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                                                      Health
waste, pollution and the release of harmful substances, including pharmaceuticals, into the
environment.
Even though research and innovation has the power to uncovering the knowledge and
developing the technologies to serve societal well-being, economic prosperity and
environmental sustainability, it only can succeed through cooperation of the best research
teams with the prospective users of such knowledge and technologies. It is thus of outmost
importance to involve those users - like patients and healthy citizens, health care professionals
providers and payers, public health authorities and regulators, researchers or innovators from
academia and industry - early in the knowledge generation or technology development
process, including through patient/citizen engagement, community involvement or other
forms of social innovation approaches, such that research and innovation activities are
adjusted to the users’ particular expectations, needs, constraints and potential. Any
cooperation would benefit from adequate intellectual property management strategies.
Beyond cooperating along the value chain of knowledge and know-how production and
valorisation or within the knowledge triangle (research-education-innovation), it is in the
EU’s strategic interest to also reach out and cooperate with other countries outside the EU and
on other continents. This applies in particular for multi-lateral cooperation on (global) health
issues with countries associated to Horizon Europe but also with other partner countries and
regions in the world. In recognition of the opening of the US National Institutes of Health’s
programmes to European researchers, any legal entity established in the United States of
America is eligible to receive Union funding to support its participation in projects funded
under the Health cluster.
Nevertheless, the pandemic shows also the importance of effective coordination among EU
Member States in the area of health. The European Commission is building a strong European
Health Union, in which all EU Member States prepare and respond together to health crises,
in synergy with national activities in the area of crisis preparedness and response; medical
supplies are available, affordable and innovative, and countries work together to improve
prevention, diagnosis, treatment and aftercare for any diseases, including cancer. Stronger
common preparedness and response will rely on greater input from the Union’s agencies and
bodies, including any future EU Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority
(EU-HERA) for which the HERA incubator foresees preparatory actions 1. Likewise, some
research and innovation actions under the Health Cluster should deliver relevant
complementary inputs to the announced “Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan”2 , contributing to
actions covering the entire cancer care pathway, including prevention, early detection,
diagnosis, treatment, cancer data monitoring, as well as quality of life of cancer patients and
survivors.
Horizon Europe is the research and innovation support programme in a system of European
and national funding programmes that share policy objectives. Through the programme,
1
        HERA Incubator: Anticipating together the threat of COVID-19 variants, COM (2021) 78 Final,
        17.2.2021
2
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12154-Europe-s-Beating-
        Cancer-Plan
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special attention is given to ensuring cooperation between universities, scientific communities
and industry, including small and medium-sized enterprises, and citizens and their
representatives, in order to bridge gaps between territories, generations and regional cultures,
especially caring for the needs of the young in shaping Europe’s future. Moreover,
accelerating the performance and boosting the use and impact of research and innovation also
requires it to make use of complementary capacities, such as European research, innovation
and space infrastructures and services, or to develop complementary activities in synergy with
other European Union funding programmes. Applicants could consider and actively seek
complementarities and synergies with, and where appropriate possibilities for further funding
of additional activities not covered by their proposal from EU, national or regional
programmes such as: EU4Health, Digital Europe Programme, European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF), European Social Fund (ESF+), Structural Reform Support
Programme (SRSP), Just Transition Fund (JTF), European Maritime and Fisheries Fund
(EMFF), European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) or InvestEU. This
could involve dedicated calls (EU synergies calls), meaning that actions that have been
awarded a grant under such a call could have the possibility to also receive funding under
other EU programmes, including relevant shared management funds. Additionally, to
encourage multi-actors approaches and to be more effective in achieving impact, applicants
could consider synergies with other relevant initiatives funded under the Horizon Europe
programme, including the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) of the European
Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). The innovation ecosystems created and
nurtured by the EIT-KICs can in particular contribute to building communities or platforms
for coordination and support actions, sharing knowledge or disseminating and fostering the
exploitation of the project results (the proposals are also encouraged to explore other forms
and means of service provisions distinct to the EIT-KICs, in particular EIT-KIC Health and
EIT-KIC Digital).
All could help to support the development of skills and capacities in research or health
systems, as well as accelerating the take-up and use of scientific evidences, new technologies
and best practices in health care and by health systems, industries and markets, at national or
regional level.
As examples, the EU4Health programme could help to ensure that the best use is made of
research results and facilitate the uptake, scaling-up and deployment of health innovations in
healthcare systems and clinical practice. Thereby unlocking the potential of innovation in
health, and improving efficiency by avoiding the duplication of activities and optimising the
use of financial resources.
The ERDF focuses, amongst others, on the development and strengthening of regional and
local research and innovation ecosystems and smart economic transformation, in line with
regional/national smart specialisation strategies. It can support investment in research
infrastructure, activities for applied research and innovation, including industrial research,
experimental development and feasibility studies, building research and innovation capacities
and uptake of advanced technologies and roll-out of innovative solutions from the Framework
Programmes for research and innovation through the ERDF.
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The EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) offers support to Member States in
financing reforms and investments that improve their resilience and their growth potential,
mitigate the economic and social impacts from the COVID-19 crisis, including in the area of
health, and support the green and digital transition. For project ideas that go beyond the remits
of an R&I proposal and directly contribute to the objectives of the RRF it is advisable to
check access to funding available at national level in line with the Member States’ recovery
and resilience plans for a fast and targeted support.
Notwithstanding the synergies mentioned above, the work programme 2021-2022 of cluster 1
‘Health’ captures synergies with other clusters based on the challenges and areas of
intervention of each destination. Further synergies are encouraged with regard to
complementary funding opportunities provided by topics in other clusters and other pillars of
Horizon Europe, notably in the European Research Infrastructure work programme (under
pillar I)3 and the European Innovation Council work programme (under pillar III) 4. Additional
synergies could also be explored at project-level, i.e. between the portfolio of projects funded
either under the same topic or by establishing a portfolio of projects funded under different
topics (of the health cluster, of the other clusters 2-6, or of the pillars I/III of Horizon Europe).
In particular, applicants to calls of the health cluster are encouraged to consider, where
relevant, the services offered by the current and future EU-funded European Research
Infrastructures, including the European Open Science Cloud. 5 , 6 Moreover, if projects use
satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and
services, they must make use of European space technologies and services provided by
Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).7
3
         The work programme 2021-2022 of the European Research Infrastructure programme includes the
         following calls supporting European research infrastructures and services that are or may be relevant for
         health research and innovation: FAIR and open data sharing in support of European preparedness for
         infectious diseases; FAIR and open data sharing in support of cancer research; Research Infrastructure
         services for rapid research responses to infectious disease epidemics; Research Infrastructures services
         to support research addressing cancer; Enabling research infrastructure services for better use of
         imaging data to address challenges in thematic research areas; Implementing digital services to
         empower neuroscience research for health and brain inspired technology via EBRAINS; Research
         Infrastructures services for sustainable and inclusive Global Value Chain and Europe recovery from
         socio-economic crises.
4
         The work programme 2021-2022 of the European Innovation Council (EIC) includes the following calls
         focused on strategic challenges aimed at supporting breakthrough technologies and innovations with the
         potential to scale up internationally and for European companies to become market leaders: EIC
         Pathfinder Challenges: Awareness inside, Tools to measure and stimulate activity in brain tissue,
         Emerging technologies in cell and gene therapy, Engineered living materials; EIC Transition
         Challenges: Medical technology and devices: from lab to patient; EIC Accelerator Challenges: Strategic
         digital and health technologies.
5
         2018 Roadmap of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) with the ESFRI
         research                         infrastructures                   list                (pp                 15-17),
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/research_and_innovation/esfri-roadmap-2018.pdf;               European
         Research           Infrastructures,         Commission        website:     https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-
         innovation/strategy/european-research-infrastructures_en; List of entities legally established as
         European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) https://www.eric-forum.eu/the-eric-landscape/.
6        European Open Science Cloud (EOSC)
                                            https://www.eosc-portal.eu/; European COVID-19 Data Platform / COVID-19 Data
         Portal
                https://www.covid19dataportal.org/.
7
         European space technology based earth observation, positioning, navigation and timing services
         provided         by:       Copernicus,       the     European      Union's   Earth     observation     programme
                                                       Part 4 - Page 10 of 191
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The work programme 2021-2022 of cluster 1 ‘Health’ is directed towards two Key Strategic
Orientations (KSOs) for research and innovation set by Horizon Europe’s strategic plan 2021-
2024, notably to creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society (KSO-
D) and promoting an open strategic autonomy by leading the development of key digital,
enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains (KSO-A). It aims to mainly
contribute to four impact areas of the strategic plan: Good health and high-quality accessible
health care; A resilient EU prepared for emerging threats; High quality digital services for all;
and A competitive and secure data-economy. More specifically, cluster 1 aims to contribute to
six expected impacts as set out by the strategic plan, which are the following six destinations
of this work programme:
Destination 1 - Staying healthy in a rapidly changing society: Citizens of all ages stay
healthy and independent in a rapidly changing society thanks to healthier lifestyles and
behaviours, healthier diets, healthier environments, improved evidence-based health policies,
and more effective solutions for health promotion and disease prevention.
Destination 2 - Living and working in a health-promoting environment: Living and
working environments are health-promoting and sustainable thanks to better understanding of
environmental, occupational, social and economic determinants of health.
Destination 3 - Tackling diseases and reducing disease burden: Health care providers are
able to better tackle and manage diseases (infectious diseases, including poverty-related and
neglected diseases, non-communicable and rare diseases) and reduce the disease burden on
patients effectively thanks to better understanding and treatment of diseases, more effective
and innovative health technologies, better ability and preparedness to manage epidemic
outbreaks and improved patient safety.
Destination 4 - Ensuring access to innovative, sustainable and high-quality health care:
Health care systems provide equal access to innovative, sustainable and high-quality health
care thanks to the development and uptake of safe, cost-effective and people-centred
solutions, with a focus on population health, health systems resilience, as well as improved
evidence-based health policies.
Destination 5 - Unlocking the full potential of new tools, technologies and digital
solutions for a healthy society: Health technologies, new tools and digital solutions are
applied effectively thanks to their inclusive, secure and ethical development, delivery,
integration and deployment in health policies and health care systems.
Destination 6 - Maintaining an innovative, sustainable and globally competitive health-
related industry: EU health industry is innovative, sustainable and globally competitive
thanks to improved up-take of breakthrough technologies and innovations, which makes the
EU with its Member States more resilient and less dependent from imports with regard to the
access to and supply of critical health technologies.
        https://www.copernicus.eu/en/copernicus-services; Galileo, the European Global Satellite Navigation
        System (GNSS) https://www.gsc-europa.eu/galileo/services/galileo-initial-services; and the European
        Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) https://www.gsa.europa.eu/egnos/services.
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Destination 1 – Staying healthy in a rapidly changing society
Calls for proposals under this destination are directed towards the Key Strategic Orientation
KSO-D ‘Creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society’ of Horizon
Europe’s Strategic Plan 2021-2024. Research and innovation supported under this destination
should contribute to the impact area ‘Good health and high-quality accessible health care’
and in particular to the following expected impact, set out in the Strategic Plan for the health
cluster: ‘citizens of all ages stay healthy and independent in a rapidly changing society thanks
to healthier lifestyles and behaviours, healthier diets, healthier environments, improved
evidence-based health policies, and more effective solutions for health promotion and disease
prevention’. In addition, research and innovation supported under this destination could also
contribute to the following impact areas: ‘High quality digital services for all’, ‘Sustainable
food systems from farm to fork on land and sea’, and ‘Climate change mitigation and
adaptation’.
People´s health care needs are different, depending on their age, stage of life and socio-
economic background. Their physical and mental health and well-being can be influenced by
their individual situation as well as the broader societal context they are living in.
Furthermore, health education and behaviour are important factors. Currently, more than 790
000 deaths per year in Europe are due to risk factors such as smoking, drinking, physical
inactivity, and obesity. Upbringing, income, education levels, social and gender aspects also
have an impact on health risks and how disease can be prevented. Moreover, people´s health
can be impacted by a rapidly changing society, making it challenging to keep pace and find its
way through new technological tools and societal changes, which both are increasing
demands on the individual´s resilience. In order to leave no one behind, to reduce health
inequalities and to support healthy and active lives for all, it is crucial to provide suitable and
tailor-made solutions, including for people with specific needs.
In this work programme, destination 1 will focus on major societal challenges that are part of
the European Commission’s political priorities, notably diet and health (obesity), ageing and
demographic change, mental health, digital empowerment in health literacy, and personalised
prevention. Research and innovation supported under this destination will provide new
evidences, methodologies and tools for understanding the transition from health to disease.
This will allow designing better strategies and personalised tools for preventing diseases and
promoting health, including through social innovation approaches. Specific measures will also
be developed to educate and empower citizens of all ages and throughout their life, to play an
active role in the self-management of their own health and self-care, to the benefit of an active
and healthy ageing. In 2022, it will also call for proposals for improving the availability and
use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to predict the risk for onset and progression of chronic
diseases. Key to achieving the expected impacts is the availability and accessibility of health
data from multiple sources, including real-world health data, which will require appropriate
support by research and data infrastructures, AI-based solutions, and robust and transparent
methodologies for analysis and reporting.
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Dialogue and coordination between stakeholders and policy makers as well as integration
across different settings will be needed to develop more effective cross-sectoral solutions for
health promotion and disease prevention and deliver improved evidence-based health for all.
In view of increasing the impact of EU investments under Horizon Europe, the European
Commission welcomes and supports cooperation between EU-funded projects to enable
cross-fertilisation and other synergies. This could range from networking to joint activities
such as the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. Opportunities for potential
synergies exist between projects funded under the same topic but also between other projects
funded under another topic, cluster or pillar of Horizon Europe (but also with ongoing
projects funded under Horizon 2020). In particular, this could involve projects related to
European health research infrastructures (under pillar I of Horizon Europe), the EIC strategic
challenges on health and EIT-KIC Health (under pillar III of Horizon Europe), or in areas
cutting across the health and other clusters (under pillar II of Horizon Europe). For instance,
with cluster 2 “Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society” such as on health inequalities, on
other inequalities affecting health, or on citizens’ behaviour and engagement; with cluster 4
“Digital, Industry and Space” such as on digital tools, telemedicine or smart homes; with
cluster 5 “Climate, Energy and Mobility” such as on urban health or on mitigating the impact
of road traffic accidents and related injuries; with cluster 6 “Food, Bioeconomy, Natural
Resources, Agriculture and Environment” such as on the role of nutrition for health (incl.
human microbiome, mal- and over-nutrition, safe food), personalised diets (incl. food habits
in general and childhood obesity in particular) and the impact of food-related environmental
stressors on human health (incl. marketing and consumer habits).8
Expected impacts:
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to
staying healthy in a rapidly changing society, and more specifically to one or several of the
following impacts:
    Citizens adopt healthier lifestyles and behaviours, make healthier choices and maintain
      longer a healthy, independent and active life with a reduced disease burden, including at
      old ages or in other vulnerable stages of life.
    Citizens are able and empowered to manage better their own physical and mental health
      and well-being, monitor their health, and interact with their doctors and health care
      providers.
    Citizens´ trust in knowledge-based health interventions and in guidance from health
      authorities is strengthened, including through improved health literacy (including at
      young ages), resulting in increased engagement in and adherence to effective strategies
      for health promotion, diseases prevention and treatment, including increased vaccination
      rates and patient safety.
8
         Strategic Plan 2021-2024 of Horizon Europe, Annex I, Table 2.
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Health policies and actions for health promotion and disease prevention are knowledge-based,
people-centred and thus targeted and tailored to citizens' needs, and designed to reduce health
inequalities.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
              Call                          Budgets (EUR million)               Deadline(s)
                                          2021                    2022
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-                 69.00                                    21 Sep 2021
STAYHLTH-01
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-                                          170.00          01 Feb 2022 (First
STAYHLTH-01-two-stage                                                       Stage)
                                                                            06     Sep    2022
                                                                            (Second Stage)
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-                                          50.00           21 Apr 2022
STAYHLTH-02
Overall indicative budget          69.00                    220.00
                                       Part 4 - Page 14 of 191
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                                                      Health
Call - Staying Healthy (2021)
                                                               HORIZON-HLTH-2021-STAYHLTH-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)9
                       Topics                              Type      Budgets    Expected EU       Number
                                                            of         (EUR     contribution          of
                                                         Action      million)    per project       projects
                                                                                    (EUR          expected
                                                                       2021
                                                                                  million)10        to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 21 Sep 2021
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-STAYHLTH-01-02 RIA                                 60.00 11  Around 10.00       6
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-STAYHLTH-01-03 CSA                                 3.00      Around 3.00        1
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-STAYHLTH-01-04 CSA                                 3.00      Around 3.00        1
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-STAYHLTH-01-05 CSA                                 3.00      Around 3.00        1
Overall indicative budget                                            69.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
9
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
10
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
11
        Of which EUR 36.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
                                             Part 4 - Page 15 of 191
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Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-STAYHLTH-01-02: Towards a molecular and neurobiological
understanding of mental health and mental illness for the benefit of citizens and patients
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 60.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several impacts of destination 1 “Staying healthy in a rapidly changing society”. To
that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are directed, tailored
towards and contributing to one or several of the following expected outcomes:
   Researchers, health care professionals and developers of medical interventions have a
      much better understanding of how genetic, epigenetic and environmental risk and
      resilience factors interact to drive or prevent the transition from mental health to mental
      illness throughout the life course. Developers of medical interventions make use of this
      understanding to develop novel classes of medications and non-pharmaceutical
      interventions for the prevention and treatment of mental illnesses (including relapse
      prevention).
   Mental health professionals have access to different types of validated biomarkers for
      making more accurate diagnoses (beyond current symptom-based criteria) and for
      optimising and personalising preventive and therapeutic treatment decisions. As a result,
      patients receive more targeted therapies and relapse less frequently. They experience less
      stigma due to more accurate and objective diagnoses and increased public awareness
      about the molecular and neurobiological basis of mental health and mental illness.
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    Citizens have the possibility to undergo laboratory testing for assessing their mental
      health and their predisposition to mental illnesses, and are given timely evidence-based
      guidance on personalised preventive measures that underpin their active engagement and
      adherence to effective strategies for promoting their mental health.
    Public health authorities and policy makers have access to comprehensive clinical trial
      data on the effectiveness of different types of pharmacological and non-pharmacological
      strategies for the promotion of mental health and prevention of mental illnesses, helping
      them draft evidence-based clinical guidelines and best practices as well as design tailor-
      made prevention policies and campaigns.
Scope: Mental illnesses represent a huge and growing burden for Europe, both at individual
and societal level. There is an enormous stigma and they often remain undetected as
diagnoses largely depend on symptom-based criteria without any biological markers linked to
causative mechanisms. Currently available medications are primarily used by trial and error
(rather than in a targeted and personalised manner) and they are all very similar in their
mechanisms of action with rather little breakthrough innovation in the last few decades. There
is further a lack of evidence base on the optimal use of different pharmacological and non-
pharmacological prevention strategies. A deeper molecular and neurobiological understanding
of the interplay between genetic, epigenetic and environmental risk and resilience factors,
including neural circuit alterations, is critical for the development of objective biomarkers and
evidence-based interventions that will significantly improve mental health outcomes.
Accordingly, the proposed research is expected to deliver on several of the following:
    Significantly advance the molecular and neurobiological understanding of how genetic,
      epigenetic and environmental risk and resilience factors (such as psychosocial
      experiences, diet, sleep, natural and artificial light, use or abuse of drugs, infections and
      other exposures) interact to drive or prevent the transition from mental health to mental
      illness12 throughout the life course as well as how such molecular and neurobiological
      changes could be reversed. The use of computational modelling and/or artificial
      intelligence tools is encouraged for the analysis of big, complex and heterogeneous
      data13.
    Develop relevant predictive models through federated analysis of large European cohorts
      of psychiatric disorders and investigate the biological and neural basis of pathogenetic
      mechanisms and symptoms shared by different disorders. If relevant to the disorders
      studied, develop neurobiologically-grounded models of cognition and social behaviour
      and apply these models and their simulation potential to the understanding and improved
12
         This may include any mental and behavioural disorder(s) according to ICD-10 Chapter V
         (https://icd.who.int/browse10/2019/en#/V) except dementia. Neurological disorders are outside the
         scope of this topic. Psychiatric disorders to be studied may be acute, chronic or relapsing-remitting in
         nature and applicants are encouraged to also study the molecular/neurobiological changes brought about
         by interventions and associated with remission.
13
         Data needs to meet the FAIR principles: findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable.
                                              Part 4 - Page 17 of 191
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      management of mental health conditions associated with behavioural or emotional
      dysfunction.
    Identify, validate and document different types or combinations of biomarkers for all of
      the following purposes:
          development of robust quantitative, clinical measures of mental health;
          identification of signatures, for example genetic and epigenetic blueprints,
             conferring susceptibility to and protection against mental illnesses;
          establishment of more objective diagnostic and monitoring criteria (complementing
             current symptom-based criteria) to improve patient outcomes and reduce the stigma
             associated with mental illness;
          prediction of treatment response and risk of relapse for better, more scientifically-
             guided and targeted use of currently available preventive and therapeutic
             interventions for different population groups.
For biomarker discovery, applicants are encouraged to take stock of advances in disciplines
such as for instance neuropsychology, neurophysiology, neuroendocrinology, neuroimaging,
electrophysiological monitoring, e-health/m-health, -omics (genomics, epigenomics,
transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, exposomics, microbiomics including
the role of the microbiota-gut-brain axis), optogenetics, nanomedicine, stem cell biology,
neuroimmunology and immunopsychiatry.
    Discover new disease pathways and drug targets (including pathways involved in
      maintaining mental health) to boost the development of new (or repurposed) classes of
      safer and more effective medications 14 for the prevention and treatment of mental
      illnesses (including relapse prevention).
    Establish the molecular and neurobiological effects as well as cognitive and
      psychological consequences of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological
      prevention strategies (for example: neurostimulation, neurofeedback, psychotherapy and
      other psychological/behavioural interventions, light therapy, diet, exercise, lifestyle,
      mindfulness or a combination of them) and assess their efficacy and side effects as part
      of clinical trials (also determining windows of opportunity when preventive actions are
      most effective throughout the life course).
Proposals may cover different stages in the continuum of the innovation cycle (from basic and
translational research to the validation of findings in real-world settings) and should ensure
strong involvement of end-users, including citizens and patients. Sex and gender differences
and the effects of age should be duly taken into account. International cooperation is
encouraged and the proposed research is expected to be multidisciplinary, including through
14
         Going beyond monoaminergic neurotransmitter systems by targeting novel pathways and addressing
         also the challenge of getting drugs pass through the blood-brain barrier.
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the involvement of medical sciences, psychological sciences, social sciences and the
humanities.
All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and
joint activities, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for example,
involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also involve
networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate. Therefore, proposals are expected
to include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and may consider to cover the
costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite to detail concrete joint
activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be defined during the grant
agreement preparation phase. In this regard, the Commission may take on the role of
facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with relevant stakeholders, if appropriate.
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-STAYHLTH-01-03: Healthy Citizens 2.0 - Supporting digital
empowerment and health literacy of citizens
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several impacts of destination 1 “Staying healthy in a rapidly changing society”. To
that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are directed, tailored
towards and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes:
   European citizens are educated, motivated and empowered to use digital tools for
      monitoring and managing their own physical, mental and social health and well-being.
      As a result, they take on a more active role in achieving their health potential and in
      adopting healthy lifestyles at home, in the community and at work, and they also interact
      better with their doctors and carers (receiving and providing feedback). Citizens are
      more health literate, are more autonomous and active, participate more in social life,
      have better employment opportunities, take on a more active role in achieving their
      health potential and in turn have a higher quality of life.
   Member States actively contribute to health literacy efforts, monitor and evaluate them.
   Health care and social services are better integrated, affordable, open to diversity and
      inclusion: they comply with precautionary protections concerning sensitive health data,
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      consider the needs of end users (citizens, formal and informal carers) and innovation
      carriers (SMEs, hospitals) and favour tools of social innovation.
    Health promotion and disease prevention are enhanced by the awareness of healthier
      lifestyle behaviours, and overall there are better health outcomes throughout the life-
      course. There is a greater involvement of non-health sectors (including environment,
      food, safety and occupational health) and this has a direct impact on the determinants of
      health. Overall, there is a boost in the transition from treatment to prevention and this
      contributes to the reengineering of prevention into health care.
Scope: Digital technologies are a driving force for empowering citizens in taking on an active
role in the management of their own health and well-being as well as for supporting
innovations for coordinated person-centred care models.
There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating the value of digital health interventions
and solutions for health promotion, disease prevention and treatment. However, in parallel, it
is vital to ensure that online-based patient-centred programmes do not leave behind the very
people they are primarily designed to empower. Moreover, citizen’s digital health literacy is
essential for the successful transformation of health care systems.
Accordingly, the proposed activities should address all of the following:
    Map health literacy research in the EU (and beyond).
    Develop a comprehensive and inclusive European strategy in improving (digital) health
      literacy for the benefit of all citizens focusing on health promotion, disease prevention,
      treatment and (self-)care as well as on monitoring its impact on the quality of life,
      wellbeing, productivity and the economy, taking into account geographic, social and
      economic determinants of inequities in digital health literacy.
    Help patients navigate the health care systems, interact with their doctors and carers as
      well as better manage their own health at home, in the community and at work.
    Create a network of champions in digital health literacy across the EU (and beyond) to
      foster exchange and uptake of best practices.
    Set concrete targets as well as areas for improvement on health literacy levels across
      Europe.
    Develop monitoring mechanisms and indicators to assess health literacy levels and their
      evolution across Member States.
    Include stakeholders from all relevant sectors (including but not limited to education,
      innovation, health care, Medtech, media) and involve also citizens in the co-creation,
      design, planning, implementation and evaluation of the strategy, including through social
      innovation tools and approaches.
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In all instances, gender as well as demographic, geographic and socio-economic aspects
should be duly taken into account.
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-STAYHLTH-01-04: A roadmap for personalised prevention
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several impacts of destination 1 “Staying healthy in a rapidly changing society”. To
that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are directed, tailored
towards and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Researchers, research funders and policy-makers implement a Strategic Research and
      Innovation Agenda.
   Policy makers, public health services, industrial stakeholders and citizen associations
      across Europe work together with a coordinated, harmonised and comprehensive
      research approach towards personalised prevention for all.
   Public health services, health systems and citizen associations are aware and adopt
      personalised prevention strategies.
   Insurers and public authorities take evidence-based policy decisions for implementing
      personalised prevention strategies for all.
Scope: The progress in medicine over the past decades has been impressive. Nevertheless,
many promising advancements have not yet been taken up in health care. Thanks to
personalised approaches and the development of targeted interventions, several health
conditions that were until recently very serious or even fatal, can now be cured, attenuated or
turned into a chronic health condition. However, more could be achieved if we could identify
individuals at higher risk of developing a particular condition early on and before symptoms
occur. In this regard, it is worth noting that two thirds of chronic diseases are thought to be
preventable.
Personalised prevention therefore holds many promises and would allow for a paradigm shift
in the provision and management of health care if efforts are co-ordinated and concentrated at
the European and global levels. A number of successful individual preventive approaches are
already deployed, for example in the field of cancer. However, more insight is needed on the
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underlying human biology, taking stock of the rich data accumulated from the biomedical
sciences. Furthermore, successful strategies will require holistic approaches, taking into
account behavioural and life style factors. Most importantly, better co-ordination is essential
to foster and accelerate the development and adoption of personalised prevention strategies
for the years to come. It will also be important to assess the value of prevention in terms of
savings in the health system.
Proposals should address all of the following:
   Identification and networking of key stakeholders for the co-creation of strategies for
      personalised prevention.
   Literature mapping, research gap analysis and mapping of existing research programmes
      for personalised prevention in Europe and beyond.
   Identification of existing bottlenecks, analysis of evidences and examples of successful
      implementation of personalised prevention approaches and assessment of their
      transferability.
   Analysis of how personalised prevention can be delivered most effectively, efficiently
      and cost-effective.
   Robust, professional communication strategy to maximise the impact of the findings and
      the uptake of personalised prevention strategies.
   A Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda on personalised prevention throughout the
      life course to inform research funders and other prospective partners of the expected
      future European partnership on personalised medicine.
Proposals should engage with related research initiatives (e.g. ICPerMed) and provide input to
prospective partners of the expected future European partnership on personalised medicine.
Proposals should encourage a patient-centred approach that empowers patients, promotes a
culture of dialogue and openness between health professionals, patients and their families, and
unleashes the potential of social innovation.
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-STAYHLTH-01-05: Mobilising a network of National Contact
Points (NCPs) for the Health Cluster
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
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Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The following additional eligibility criteria apply: Applicants must be
                          Horizon Europe national support structures (e.g. NCP) responsible for
                          Health and officially nominated to the Commission, from a Member
                          State or Associated Country.
                          Only in case and as long as Horizon Europe structures would not yet be
                          officially nominated, national support structures responsible for Health
                          (SC1) nominated for Horizon 2020 would be eligible.
Procedure                 The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                          exceptions apply:
                          The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to all of the expected impacts of destination 1 “Staying healthy in a rapidly changing society”,
as well as the expected impacts of all other destinations of the health cluster. To that end,
proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are directed, tailored towards
and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes:
    An improved and professionalised NCP service across Europe, thereby helping simplify
      access to Horizon Europe calls, lowering the entry barriers for newcomers, and raising
      the average quality of proposals submitted.
    A more consistent level of NCP support services across Europe.
    The network of National Focal Points (NFPs)15 supporting the implementation of the EU
      Health programmes and the Enterprise Europe Network (EENs)16 providing support for
      small and medium-sized enterprises will be closely collaborating with the network of
      National Contact Points (NCPs) for the Health Cluster based on identified
      complementarities and synergies.
Scope: Proposals should aim to facilitate trans-national co-operation between National
Contact Points (NCPs) with a view to identifying and sharing good practices and raising the
general standard of support to programme applicants.
The network will organise NCP Information Days, NCP trainings, brokerage events for
potential participants and provide appropriate tools and instruments to support NCPs and
researchers. Activities will support researchers of the social sciences and humanities to
connect into all Clusters of Horizon Europe. To achieve its expected outcomes and objectives,
15
         https://ec.europa.eu/chafea/health/national-focal-points/index_en.htm
16
         https://een.ec.europa.eu/
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the NCP network could cooperate with but should not duplicate actions foreseen in other
thematic and horizontal Horizon Europe NCP networks.
Proposals should include a work package to implement matchmaking activities to link up
potential participants from widening countries with emerging consortia in the domain of the
Health Cluster. Matchmaking should take place by means of online tools, brokerage events,
info days and bilateral meetings between project initiators and candidate participants from
widening countries. Other matchmaking instruments may be used as appropriate. Where
relevant, synergies should be sought with the Enterprise Europe Network to organise
matchmaking activities in accordance with Annex IV of the NCP Minimum Standards and
Guiding Principles.
The proposed structure and activities of the HE Health NCP network, should be closely
interlinked with and associated to (at national and regional level) with those of the National
Focal Points (NFPs) supporting the EU Health programmes. It is important to facilitate
cooperation, identify and use synergies between the work of these two NCP and NFP
networks - but also with other NCPs/NFPs responsible for different EU programmes
providing funding available for health-related actions. This cooperation would not only
improve the quality of the relevant actions funded by Horizon Europe and EU4Health but also
the overall EU-level public health impact of all health-related actions using any EU funding.
Special attention should be given to enhancing the competence of NCPs, including helping
less experienced NCPs rapidly acquire the know-how built up in other countries.
The consortium should have a good representation of experienced and less experienced NCPs.
The proposal should cover the whole duration of Horizon Europe plus one year.
Call - Staying healthy (Two stage - 2022)
                                                  HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-01-two-stage
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)17
                         Topics                                Type Budgets         Expected      Number
                                                                 of    (EUR            EU             of
                                                             Action million)      contribution     projects
                                                                                   per project expected
                                                                        2022
17
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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                                                                                (EUR           to be
                                                                              million)18      funded
                                       Opening: 06 Oct 2021
              Deadline(s): 01 Feb 2022 (First Stage), 06 Sep 2022 (Second Stage)
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-01-01-                        RIA      50.00 19   Around          7
two-stage                                                                    7.00
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-01-04-                        RIA      60.00 20   Around          10
two-stage                                                                    6.00
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-01-05-                        RIA      60.00 21   Around          6
two-stage                                                                    10.00
Overall indicative budget                                         170.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
18
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
19
        Of which EUR 32.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
20
        Of which EUR 39.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
21
        Of which EUR 39.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-01-01-two-stage: Boosting mental health in
Europe in times of change
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 50.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several impacts of destination 1 “Staying healthy in a rapidly changing society”. To
that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are directed, tailored
towards and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Health care professionals, national/regional public authorities and other relevant actors
      in key settings (e.g. schools, workplaces, etc.):
         Have access to and apply evidence-based, innovative, cost-effective/cost-neutral,
           large-scale, comprehensive strategies and interventions for the promotion of mental
           health and the prevention of mental ill health, targeting the most vulnerable
           populations;
         Adopt clinical guidelines, best practices, implementation strategies and policy
           recommendations (as applicable to them) to mitigate the mental health burden and
           help cope with the (combined) effects of a transforming Europe (e.g. the socio-
           economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change,
           environmental degradation, energy transition, demographic and migration factors,
           digitalisation, and exponential technological advancements);
   The scientific community together with the public authorities anticipate new and
      emerging risks to mental health associated with a transforming Europe, contributing to
      better and inclusive public mental health preparedness.
   Citizens have access to and make use of new tools and services to take informed
      decisions about their wellbeing and mental health care needs (including for self-
      management and self-care).
   Citizens feel less stigmatised and marginalised due to their mental ill health.
Scope: Against the backdrop of a transforming Europe and in the midst of a global pandemic,
the EU is committed to lead the transition to a healthier planet and a new digital world. The
health and wellbeing of its citizens is a prerequisite to achieve this aspiration.
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On the one hand, extreme weather and environmental disasters have risen dramatically over
the last decade. Links between these events and serious mental health problems, including
anxiety, depression, post-traumatic disorder and suicide, have been reported. Moreover,
several new words such as “eco-anxiety”, “ecoparalysis” and “ecological grief” have been
coined to express the acute and/or chronic effects on mental health caused by climate and
environmental changes.
On the other hand, digital technologies and the achievement of the Digital Single Market –
one of the EU’s key priorities – are transforming our economy, our industries as well as our
culture and lifestyle. Digitalisation, including digitally-enabled technologies such as robotics
and artificial intelligence, are penetrating much faster into societies than in the past and affect
us all. Accordingly, the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”’ is changing the way we work (e.g.
workplaces, working practices and patterns, the workforce and its skills, and how we perceive
work) as well as the way we live. The exponential incorporation of digital technologies in our
daily lives has already caused profound changes in the way we communicate and is likely to
have significant impact (both positive and negative) on mental health and
intellectual/cognitive ability, in particular of the youth. Digital platforms can provide mental
health support as well as increase social inclusiveness. However, digital technologies also
introduce new risks, such as continuous connectivity, cyberbullying and exposure to
inappropriate or fake content.
Accordingly, the proposed research should aim to deliver in all three dimensions listed below,
focusing on one or several of the (combined) effects of a transforming Europe highlighted in
the “Expected Outcomes”22.
   1. Provide a comprehensive knowledge base of how a transforming Europe can influence
      mental health in a fast-evolving society, especially in the most vulnerable populations,
      by consolidating data from relevant sources and/or acquiring new data, and by reviewing
      existing methodologies.
   2. Develop and implement (pilot and/or scale-up) interventions, which promote wellbeing
      and prevent mental illness to help cope with and mitigate the stress of a changing
      society, including digitalisation, climate change and/or other factors highlighted in the
      “Expected Outcomes”.8 The interventions should target relevant settings (e.g.
      workplaces, schools) and the most vulnerable populations (e.g. children and adolescents,
      the elderly, people with pre-existing health conditions and co-morbidities and other high-
      risk groups such as socio-economic disadvantaged groups, migrants, etc.). Integration of
      care and coordination among different settings from communities to health care is
      desirable. The effectiveness of the interventions should be evaluated, inter alia, in terms
      of health outcomes, (comparative) cost-effectiveness, implementation facilitators and
      barriers. Depending on the aspects covered by the proposed research, desired outputs
      may include, but are not limited to:
22
         For instance, the socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change,
         environmental degradation, energy transition, demographic and migration factors, digitalisation, and
         exponential technological advancements.
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        Evidence-based guidelines for health care professionals on the promotion of mental
           wellbeing and prevention of mental illness related to ICT and climate and
           environment change (including screening methods).
        Evidenced-based pedagogical practices for education professionals to foster mental
           health promotion in schools (including higher education) and/or via eLearning.
        Consultation during school time to educate students (e.g. on coping with change)
           and to detect early students at risk.
        Educational material and campaigns targeting the most vulnerable groups, (e.g.
           children and the elderly), disseminated via the most appropriate and effective media
           and communication channels, to improve health literacy, skills, attitudes and self-
           awareness leading to a better (self-)management of wellbeing and/or mental ill
           health.
        Studies on occupational mental health in the workplace, in particular in small and
           medium-sized enterprises, e.g.: i) understanding the impact of a 24-hour digital
           economy on workers’ well-being, also in terms of managerial control mechanisms,
           work-life balance and privacy and developing/piloting new methods to protect and
           support workers’ well-being in this respect; ii) designing information and training
           campaigns for workers to integrate the already visible impacts of digitalisation-
           induced changes into the professional risk assessment processes; iii) developing
           return-to-work programmes, also exploring innovative collaboration between
           mental health services, (life-long) education, and employment sectors. This will
           ensure appropriate support to better integrate individuals affected by mental ill
           health in the workforce and the society.
  3. Inform policy-makers and regulators on: i) the prevalence and burden of mental ill health
     related to a transforming European society (e.g. digital technologies, climate change,
     etc); and/or ii) the effects of a transforming European society (e.g. digitalisation, climate
     change and transition to “green jobs”) on occupational mental health; and/or iii) the
     (comparative) cost-effectiveness of public mental health interventions/policy choices.
Research should be multidisciplinary, including medical sciences, social sciences, the
humanities, and the arts, if relevant. It is important to consider aspects such as (associated)
behavioural patterns, stigma and novel social dynamics as well as different socioeconomic,
cultural and geographical contexts. In all instances, sex and gender-related issues must be
taken into account. All data should be disaggregated by sex, age and other relevant variables,
such as by measures of socioeconomic status (i.e. take into account the socioeconomic
gradient in mental health). International collaboration is encouraged.
Proposals should involve end-users (including civil society organisations) and/or strategic
partners in the design and during the course of the project. Possible end-users and strategic
partners could include local or regional authorities, community services, employers,
schools/universities, cultural institutions, insurance companies, civil society organisations,
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communities, among others. Proposals should adopt a patient-centred approach that
empowers patients, promotes a culture of dialogue and openness between health
professionals, patients and their families, and unleashes the potential of social innovation.
All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and
joint activities, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for example,
involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also involve
networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate. Therefore, proposals are expected
to include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and may consider to cover the
costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite to detail concrete joint
activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be defined during the grant
agreement preparation phase. In this regard, the Commission may take on the role of
facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with relevant stakeholders, if appropriate.
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-01-04-two-stage:                          Trustworthy        artificial
intelligence (AI) tools to predict the risk of chronic non-communicable diseases and/or
their progression
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 60.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 1 “Staying healthy in a rapidly changing
society”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are
directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes.
   Clinicians, medical professionals and citizens have access to and use validated AI tools
      for disease risk assessment. Hence, citizens are better informed for managing their own
      health.
   Health care professionals utilise robust, trustworthy and privacy-preserving AI tools that
      help them to assess and predict the risk for and/or progression of chronic non-
      communicable diseases. Hence, citizens benefit from improved health outcomes.
   Health care professionals develop evidence-based recommendations and guidelines for
      the implementation of AI-based personalised prevention strategies. Hence, citizens
      benefit from optimized health care measures superior to the standard-of-care.
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    Health care professionals employ quantitative indicators in order to identify and follow-
      up on individuals with high risk for the development and/or risk for the progression of
      chronic non-communicable diseases.
Scope: It is widely recognised that health systems must put more emphasis on prevention and
adopt a person-centred approach. Artificial intelligence (AI) along with the increased
availability of health data hold great potential to pave the way for personalised prevention and
enable progress towards risk prediction and early detection of chronic non-communicable
diseases.
This topic will support multidisciplinary research, build on broad stakeholder engagement and
support proposals developing novel robust and trustworthy 23 AI tools to enable timely
personalised prevention approaches for chronic non-communicable diseases/disorders. The
topic does not exclude any diseases/disorders.
Proposals are expected to develop and test AI tools for assessing and predicting the risk of
developing a disease and/or the risk of disease progression once it is diagnosed, taking into
account      the      individuals’         (or      groups)       genotypes,        phenotypes,        life-style,
occupational/environmental stressors and/or socio-economic and behavioural characteristics,
as necessary. Sex and gender aspects should be considered, wherever relevant.
The AI tools may include a broad range of technological solutions on their own and/or in
combination with other relevant state-of-the-art technologies (i.e. AI algorithms, mobile apps
and sensors, robotics, e-health tools, telemedicine etc.)
Proposals should implement proof-of-concept studies to test and validate the performance of
their AI tools in the real-world setting and compare their performance to the established
practice.
The applicants should ensure that the AI tools developed are driven by relevant end-
users/citizens/health care professionals needs. Therefore, the proposals are expected to
introduce concrete measures for the involvement of the end-users throughout the AI
development process and not only in the last phases of development. SME(s) participation is
encouraged with the aim to strengthen the scientific and technological basis of SME(s) and
valorise their innovations for the people’s benefit.
Proposals should address all of the following:
    Leverage existing high-quality health-relevant data from multiple sources (i.e. cohorts,
      electronic health records and registries, taking into account the individual’s
      genotypic/phenotypic, medical, life-style, socio-economic, behavioural data etc.) and/or
      generation of new high-quality health data necessary for the rigorous development of the
      AI disease-risk tools.
23
        Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI, published by the European Commission’s High Level Expert
        Group         on        Artificial        Intelligence,       https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/ai-alliance-
        consultation/guidelines#Top.
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    Develop the adequate performance metrics to assess the technical robustness of the
      developed AI tools for risk assessment of disease and/or disease progression and in
      particular their accuracy, reliability, reproducibility and generalisability. Proposals
      should assess the possible inherent bias introduced to the AI tools originating from the
      data quality used for their development.
    Develop the criteria to assess the effectiveness of the AI tools for disease risk assessment
      in terms of improving health outcomes and enabling personalised prevention strategies.
    Implement proof of concept and/or feasibility studies to validate the AI tools for risk
      assessment of disease and/or disease progression in a relevant end-users environment
      and/or real-world setting and assess their performance in comparison to the standard-of-
      care.
Proposals should adhere to the FAIR24 data principles and apply good practices for GDPR-
compliant personal data protection. Proposals are encouraged to implement international
standards and best practices used in the development of AI solutions.
Integration of ethics and health humanities perspectives to ensure an ethical approach to the
development of AI solutions. In relation to the use and interpretation of data, special attention
should be paid to systematically assess for gender and ethnic bias and/or discrimination when
developing and using data-driven AI tools.
To ensure citizens’ trust, wide uptake by user communities and scalability of the solutions
across clinical contexts, actions should promote the highest standards of transparency and
openness of the AI tool, going well beyond documentation and extending to aspects such as
assumptions, architecture, code and underlying data.
Applicants are highly encouraged to deliver a plan for the regulatory acceptability of their
technologies and to interact at an early stage with the regulatory bodies, whenever relevant.
All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and
joint activities, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for example,
involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also involve
networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate. Therefore, proposals are expected
to include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and may consider to cover the
costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite to detail concrete joint
activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be defined during the grant
agreement preparation phase. In this regard, the Commission may take on the role of
facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with relevant stakeholders, if appropriate.
24
         FAIR data are data, which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.
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HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-01-05-two-stage:                         Prevention     of     obesity
throughout the life course
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 60.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                       consortium selected for funding.
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several impacts of destination 1 “Staying healthy in a rapidly changing society”. To
that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are directed, tailored
towards and contributing to some of the following expected outcomes:
   Researchers, developers of medical interventions, and health care professionals have a
      much better understanding of basic biological pathways (genetic and epigenetic
      blueprints) conferring susceptibility to and protecting against overweight/obesity, i.e.
      how genetic, epigenetic, environmental, socio-economic and lifestyle factors interact to
      drive or prevent the transition from normal weight to overweight/obesity throughout the
      life course.
   Health care professionals, national/regional/local public authorities and other relevant
      actors (e.g. schools, canteens, hospitals, work places, shopping malls, sport centres):
          Have access to, adopt and implement evidence-based clinical guidelines, best
            practices, coordinated, pan-European, multidisciplinary preventive strategies,
            policy recommendations and/or new policies to fight overweight/obesity and their
            co-morbidities throughout the life course.
          Have access to and make use of a robust outcomes framework and tool-kit for
            standardised collection of economic and cost data related to the prevention and
            treatment of overweight/obesity and its co-morbidities at population level across
            European regions and countries.
          Adopt and implement tailor-made prevention campaigns to tackle
            overweight/obesity, including campaigns for improving integration of health
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            education into academic learning and raising awareness of health care providers
            and citizens.
    Citizens have access to and make use of new tools and services to make informed
      decisions about lifestyle choices that will prevent them from becoming
      overweight/obese.
Scope: Obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century.
Although health has improved in the EU over the last decades, the prevalence of obesity has
tripled in many countries of the EU. It is known that once individuals become overweight or
obese, they are at risk of developing related diseases (diabetes, cardiovascular diseases,
cancer). Overweight and obesity are largely preventable. In the current pandemic, the issue of
overweight/obesity has become even more prominent, highlighting the need for prevention of
overweight/obesity.
Increased efforts in research and innovation are critical for developing and testing the impact
of tools, initiatives, interventions, strategies, programmes, policies and their implementation
to prevent overweight/obesity. The use of best practices, harmonisation guidelines and/or
standard operating procedures, developed at various levels (from local to national) in the EU
and beyond, will be the foundation for new research.
Cultural diversity, urban/rural dichotomy, socio-economic status, age groups, sex and gender
differences should be investigated, where relevant. Strong collaborations across sectors and
with other European projects dealing with issues such as agriculture, aquaculture, food,
environment, etc. are welcome. Proposals should engage citizens, civil society organisations
(e.g. employers/employee organisations, charities), authorities (e.g. municipalities and health
authorities) and institutions (schools, canteens, hospitals, work places, shopping malls, sport
centres), local producers, etc. in the development of their actions to ensure acceptability and
deployment. Proposals should aim to develop scientifically robust and transparent
methodologies, building on achievements from previous research activities.
Proposals should address several of the following research bottlenecks:
    A comprehensive understanding of biological pathways (genetic, epigenetic, molecular,
      microbiome, and/or neuroimmune) conferring susceptibility to and protecting against
      uncontrolled “weight gain".
    Identification of socio-economic and lifestyle factors influencing consumer behaviour
      and their association to overweight/obesity prevention.
    Identification of pre-obesity biomarkers (genetic, laboratory, imaging, etc.) and their
      association to lifestyle and environmental interventions aiming at obesity prevention and
      tailored to specific target populations.
    Mapping existing implementation research activities to prevent overweight/obesity,
      outcome analyses and identification of best practices.
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   Conducting a thorough meta-review of information from available scientific literature
      and identification of the relationship between the risk for overweight/obesity and the
      biology of obesity, lifestyle habits, exposures, susceptibility to co-morbidities and/or all
      of their combinations.
   Developing recommendations and guidelines for what constitutes an appropriate healthy
      diet for different age and health groups.
   Understanding the causal links between overweight/obesity and sedentary behaviour,
      quality and quantity and types of food/drinks, physical activity, and personality traits.
   Designing a creative and engaging programme to reach the optimal balance between
      diets and physical activity for the prevention of overweight/obesity.
   Analysing obesity stigma, stress and work-life balance, circadian rhythm disruption,
      mental health (including psychological problems), screen-time dependency, drugs and
      side effect of drugs, for the prevention of overweight/obesity.
   Addressing inequality aspects of overweight/obesity at multiple levels, taking into
      account vulnerable groups, gender and socio-economic factors.
   Setting up pilots to assess the effectiveness of obesity management strategies, including
      cost-effectiveness, and analyse the impact of inactions, taking into account co-
      morbidities and value-based care system.
   Developing a system for monitoring population indicators relevant to overweight/obesity
      by extending European Core Health Indicators.
Proposals should adopt a patient-centred approach that empowers patients, promotes a culture
of dialogue and openness between health professionals, patients and their families, and
unleashes the potential of social innovation.
Proposals could consider the involvement of the European Commission's Joint Research
Centre (JRC) whose contribution could consists of providing added-value regarding aspects of
healthier school environments, effectiveness of policies influencing food preferences as well
as improving the food offer and food environment.
All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and
joint activities, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for example,
involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also involve
networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate. Therefore, proposals are expected
to include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and may consider to cover the
costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite to detail concrete joint
activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be defined during the grant
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agreement preparation phase. In this regard, the Commission may take on the role of
facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with relevant stakeholders, if appropriate.
Call - Staying healthy (Single stage, 2022)
                                                                HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)25
                        Topics                              Type      Budgets    Expected EU       Number
                                                             of        (EUR      contribution          of
                                                          Action      million)    per project       projects
                                                                                     (EUR          expected
                                                                        2022
                                                                                   million)26        to be
                                                                                                    funded
                                            Opening: 06 Oct 2021
                                          Deadline(s): 21 Apr 2022
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-02-01 RIA                                  50.00     Around 7.00        7
Overall indicative budget                                             50.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                      The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                      The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                   C.
Award criteria                                              The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                            D.
Documents                                                   The documents are described in General
25
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
26
         Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
         amounts.
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                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-02-01:                        Personalised    blueprint   of   chronic
inflammation in health-to-disease transition
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 50.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 1 “Staying healthy in a rapidly changing
society”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are
directed, tailored towards and contributing to several of the following expected outcomes:
   Researchers and medical professionals understand the chronic inflammation factors
     triggering the health-to-disease transition and subsequently provide optimal counselling
     to citizens for improving their health.
   Health care professionals have access to and employ objective health indicators of
     chronic inflammation for monitoring the health status, establishing personalised
     prevention measures and improving the health outcomes for citizens.
   Health care professionals have the scientific evidence and understanding of health-to-
     disease transition to develop and use improved guidelines for personalised prevention
     strategies to tackle chronic diseases.
   Citizens are better informed to actively manage their own health, have the tools to
     maintain their healthy status, improve their health and reduce their risk for developing
     chronic diseases.
Scope: Personalised approaches for disease prevention seek to determine the predisposition to
disease and deliver timely and targeted prevention measures. Understanding the risk factors
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that trigger the health-to-disease transition is essential for delivering personalized prevention
measures or reducing the burden of chronic diseases.
A large body of clinical evidence has accumulated over the past decade demonstrating that
chronic inflammation is a process implicated in chronic diseases/disorders. Inflammatory
response is a physiological process helping the body to heal against harmful entities, but when
dysregulated it could lead to unresolved chronic local or systemic inflammation. The later in
combination with the person’s genotype, phenotype, medical history, nutritional and well-
being status, life-style and/or occupational/environmental/life stressors is likely to be involved
in driving the health-to-disease transition, leading to the onset of chronic diseases.
Proposals should be of multidisciplinary nature involving all relevant stakeholders and may
cover several different stages in the continuum of the innovation path (from translational
research to validation of the findings in human studies etc.), as relevant.
Proposals are expected to develop and implement data-driven, personalised approaches to
identify the drivers of chronic inflammation that may determine the transition from health to
pre-symptomatic and early stages of chronic diseases/disorders. The topic does not exclude
any diseases/disorders. The human studies and human data utilised/generated should be
compatible to an age range as representative as possible to the pre-disease phase and onset of
the disease to be studied, in order to boost the fast translation of the research results into
proof-of-concept studies.
Proposals should develop personalised diagnosis and/or prevention strategies linked to
chronic systemic/local inflammation and assess the effects of different types of interventions
and/or their combinations i.e. pharmacological, non-pharmacological, nutritional
supplements, diet and life-style modifications, as relevant. Sex and gender differences should
be investigated, wherever relevant.
The proposals should address several of the following areas:
   Integrate state-of-the-art knowledge and data from suitable human studies (i.e.
      medical/clinical, well-being, life-style etc.) to identify actionable factors linking chronic
      systemic and/or local inflammation to the health-to-disease transition. Take stock of
      omics (i.e. genomics, metabolomics, nutrigenomics, microbiomics etc.), of dynamic
      measurements of the health and well-being status, and of data-driven analytical tools in
      order to identify biomarkers and other health indicators linked to the health-to-disease
      transition.
   Understand at the systems-level the human biology and physiology underlying chronic
      inflammation in connection to the tissues/organ dysregulation, organ cross-talk and
      homeostasis breakdown triggering the health-to-disease transition, taking into account
      the person’s genotype, phenotype, medical history, nutritional and well-being status, life-
      style and/or occupational/environmental/life stressors.
   Develop and deploy robust sensors, devices and/or mobile apps and other innovative
      technologies to monitor dynamically the individual’s health status and to identify
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      objective indicators of chronic inflammation correlative to the health-to-disease
      transition.
    Implement proof-of-concept human studies to assess the beneficial effect of diverse
      prevention and/or interventions strategies with the aim to demonstrate improved health
      outcomes.
    Test suitable interventions with the aim to demonstrate the reduction and/or reversion of
      the pre-disease state linked to chronic systemic and/or local inflammation.
Proposals should adopt a patient-centred approach to inform and empower patients, promote a
culture of dialogue and openness between health professionals, patients and their families, and
unleash the potential for social innovation.
The proposals should adhere to the FAIR27 data principles and adopt wherever relevant, data
standards and data sharing/access good practices developed by existing European health
research infrastructures.
All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and
joint activities, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for example,
involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also involve
networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate. Therefore, proposals are expected
to include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and may consider to cover the
costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite to detail concrete joint
activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be defined during the grant
agreement preparation phase. In this regard, the Commission may take on the role of
facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with relevant stakeholders, if appropriate.
27
         FAIR data are data, which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.
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Destination 2. Living and working in a health-promoting environment
Calls for proposals under this destination are directed towards the Key Strategic Orientation
KSO-D ‘Creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society’ of Horizon
Europe’s Strategic Plan 2021-2024. Research and innovation supported under this destination
should contribute to the impact area ‘A resilient EU prepared for emerging threats’ and in
particular to the following expected impact, set out in the Strategic Plan for the health cluster:
‘living and working environments are health-promoting and sustainable thanks to better
understanding of environmental, occupational, social and economic determinants of health’.
In addition, research and innovation supported under this destination could also contribute to
the following impact areas: ‘Good health and high quality accessible health care’, ‘Climate
change mitigation and adaptation’, and ‘Clean and healthy air, water and soil’.
The environment we live and work in is a major determinant of our health and well-being. It
has direct or indirect beneficial or adverse impact on our health and well-being.
Environmental factors are estimated to account for almost 20% of all deaths in Europe.
Opinion surveys have shown that European citizens are concerned about the impact of
pollution on their health. The impacting factors on both physical and mental health and well-
being are not all identified nor their effects comprehensively understood and accounted for to
support evidence-based policy- and decision-making. Furthermore, agreed methodologies to
estimate health-related costs of exposure to environmental stressors are lacking.
Therefore, Destination 2 aims at filling knowledge gaps in the understanding of the impacts
on our health and well-being of those environmental, occupational and socio-economic risk
factors that have the most significant or widespread societal impacts. In this work programme,
Destination 2 focuses on indoor and outdoor air pollution, chemicals, non-ionizing radiation
(electromagnetic fields), urbanisation, climate and other environmental changes, socio-
economic inequalities, and changing working environments. Furthermore, under this work
programme a topic is dedicated to the creation of a European partnership for the assessment of
risks from chemicals, which should establish the EU as an internationally recognised driver of
innovative chemical risk assessment for an optimal protection of human health and the
environment. The results will support the EU’s environment and health policies and
overarching policy frameworks such as the European Green Deal, the Chemical Strategy for
Sustainability, the 8th Environment Action Programme, the EU Strategic Framework on
Health and Safety at Work as well as the WHO European Environment and Health Process
(EHP).
Strong collaborations across sectors and with other Horizon Europe clusters dealing with
issues such as agriculture, food, environment, climate, mobility, security, urban planning,
social inclusion and gender will be needed to ensure that maximal societal benefits are
reached. Thus, in view of increasing the impact of EU investments under Horizon Europe, the
European Commission welcomes and supports cooperation between EU-funded projects to
enable cross-fertilisation and other synergies. This could range from networking to joint
activities such as the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the
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development and adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. Opportunities
for potential synergies exist between projects funded under the same topic but also between
other projects funded under another topic, cluster or pillar of Horizon Europe (but also with
ongoing projects funded under Horizon 2020). In particular, this could involve projects
related to European health research infrastructures (under pillar I of Horizon Europe), the EIC
strategic challenges on health and EIT-KIC Health (under pillar III of Horizon Europe), or in
areas cutting across the health and other clusters (under pillar II of Horizon Europe).
All topics are open to international collaboration to address global environment and health
challenges.
Expected impacts:
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to
living and working in a health-promoting environment, and more specifically to one or
several of the following impacts:
    Policy-makers and regulators are aware and well informed about environmental, socio-
      economic and occupational risk factors as well as health-promoting factors across
      society;
    Environmental, occupational, social, economic, fiscal and health policies and practices at
      the EU, national and regional level are sustainable and based on solid scientific
      evidence. These include overarching policy frameworks such as the European Green
      Deal, the Chemical Strategy for Sustainability, the 8th Environment Action Programme,
      the EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work and the European
      Environment and Health Process led by the World Health Organization;
    The upstream determinants of disease - related to choices in energy generation,
      agricultural practices, industrial production, land use planning, built environment and
      construction - are known, understood and reduced;
    The health threats and burden resulting from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil
      pollution and contamination is reduced, so that the related number of deaths and illnesses
      is substantially reduced by 2030;
    Living and working environments in European cities and regions are healthier, more
      inclusive, safer, resilient and sustainable;
    The adaptive capacity and resilience of populations and health systems in the EU to
      climate and environmental change-related health risks is strengthened;
    Citizens’ health and well-being is protected and promoted, and premature deaths,
      diseases and inequalities related to environmental pollution and degradation are
      prevented;
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   Citizens understand better complex environment and health issues, and effective
     measures to address them and support related policies and regulations.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                 Call                               Budgets (EUR million)    Deadline(s)
                                                   2021               2022
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-                        130.00                             21 Sep 2021
ENVHLTH-02
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-                        200.00                             21 Sep 2021
ENVHLTH-03
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-                                             20.00         21      Apr
ENVHLTH-04                                                                   2022
Overall indicative budget                 330.00               20.00
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Call - Environment and health (2021)
                                                                HORIZON-HLTH-2021-ENVHLTH-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)28
                      Topics                             Type       Budgets     Expected EU       Number
                                                           of        (EUR       contribution          of
                                                        Action      million)     per project       projects
                                                                                   (EUR           expected
                                                                      2021
                                                                                 million)29         to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 21 Sep 2021
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-ENVHLTH-02-01 RIA                                30.00 30   Around 8.00         4
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-ENVHLTH-02-02 RIA                                40.00 31   Around 8.00         5
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-ENVHLTH-02-03 RIA                                60.00 32   Around 10.00        6
Overall indicative budget                                          130.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
28
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
29
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
30
        Of which EUR 18.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
31
        Of which EUR 24.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
32
        Of which EUR 36.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Award criteria                                           The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                         D.
Documents                                                The documents are described in General
                                                         Annex E.
Procedure                                                The procedure is described in General
                                                         Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                  The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-ENVHLTH-02-01: Exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF)
and health
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 30.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 2 ‘Living and working in a health-promoting
environment’. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are
directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Public authorities and regulators are supported with scientific evidence to implement the
     Council Recommendation 1999/519/EC on the limitation of exposure of the general
     public to electromagnetic fields (0 Hz to 300 GHz) as well as Directive 2013/35/EU on
     the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the
     risks arising from physical agents (electromagnetic fields), in particular the
     implementation of article 1.4 of the Directive, as well as the most recent ICNIRP
     guidelines33 for limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields;
    Public authorities improve their risk assessment, management and communication
     through access to FAIR34 data and robust evidence on the exposure to EMF, in particular
     for the new generation radio-communication networks (e.g. 5G networks), and on the
     causal links between level and duration of exposures and health effects;
33
        HEALTH PHYS 118(5): 483–524; 2020
34
        FAIR data are data, which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.
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    Public authorities and the scientific community take advantage of novel and robust
      methodologies, including models, for the assessment of health impact of exposures;
    Stakeholders consistently use quality criteria and standards (CEN/ISO 35 ) for the
      analytical methodologies in the assessment of exposure to EMF, including 5G, and their
      impact on human health and on the environment;
    Public authorities, employers and citizens rely on practical guidelines for exposure
      prevention and reduction;
    Citizens are effectively engaged and informed about the health impact of EMF exposures
      and risk-preventing behaviours.
Scope: Digital technologies and electronic communication services are a critical enabler for
attaining the sustainability goals of the European Green Deal in many different sectors. The
use of the new generation radio-communication networks, e.g. 5G (the fifth generation of
mobile phone technology), promise higher data transfer rates and increased network capacity
compared with previous generations. While digitalisation presents new opportunities, e.g.
distance monitoring of air and water pollution and health outcomes, it also presents potential
health risks. Europe needs a digital sector that puts sustainability at its heart: when deploying
new technologies, the potential risks related to human health should also be assessed, in
addition to the significant benefits.
There has been an exponential increase in the use of wireless personal communication devices
(mobile phones, WiFi or Bluetooth-enabled devices etc.) by almost all citizens in private and
professional settings and in the supporting infrastructures. The number of other applications
using EMF has also increased such as security scanners, smart meters and medical equipment.
This has resulted in an increase in man-made electromagnetic radiation in our surroundings.
The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) issues
guidelines for limiting exposure to electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields. EU member
states are subject to Council Recommendation 1999/519/EC and the Directive 2013/35/EU,
which follow basic rules on EMF exposure evaluation provided by ICNIRP guidelines.
Nevertheless, there is some concern over the possible impact on health and safety from
potentially higher exposure to EMF, e.g. arising from the deployment of 5G technology.
Increased exposure may result from, for instance, the additional use of higher frequencies, and
from the potential aggregation of different signals, especially in cities.
Research actions under this topic should provide forward-looking information on potential
hazards and risks of existing and emerging EMF exposures through innovative monitoring
techniques, experimental evidence and modelling and should include all of the following
activities:
    Monitoring of exposures of the general population and specific groups at risk such as
      children and workers using innovative technologies;
35
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    Establishment of potentially new exposure patterns and comparison with existing
      patterns, e.g. those generated by the use of previous generations of mobile phone
      technologies. It should be documented how exposures to EMF changes over time due to
      the introduction of new technologies, including 5G, supporting infrastructure,
      radiofrequency bands, modulation techniques and applications;
    Investigating evidence of local and systemic biological effects and health impacts across
      the lifecycle using in vitro and in vivo approaches, respecting the 3Rs36 principle, and
      taking into account combined exposures and changing patterns of device use;
    Delivering FAIR37 data on the causal links between level and duration of exposures and
      potential health (biological) effects, including potential mechanisms, in living and
      working environments, considering also vulnerable groups, particularly children;
    Proposing new quality criteria and standards (CEN/ISO 38 ) for the analytical
      methodologies used for the assessment of exposure to EMF and their impact on human
      health and on the environment;
    Undertaking case studies on solutions for exposure reduction based on acquired evidence
      and deliver practical guidelines for exposure prevention along the stakeholder chain;
    Proposing and testing efficient communication methods and tools for engaging citizens
      in preventive actions and addressing their concerns.
Aspects such as gender, age, regional variations, socio-economics and culture should be
considered, where appropriate.
All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and
joint activities, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for example,
involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also involve
networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate. Therefore, proposals are expected
to include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and may consider to cover the
costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite to detail concrete joint
activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be defined during the grant
agreement preparation phase. In this regard, the Commission may take on the role of
facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with relevant stakeholders, if appropriate.
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-ENVHLTH-02-02: Indoor air quality and health
Specific conditions
36
         Replacement, reduction and refinement
37
         FAIR data are data, which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.
38
         https://www.cencenelec.eu/news/brief_news/Pages/TN-2017-057.aspx
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Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 40.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 2 ‘Living and working in a health-promoting
environment’. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are
directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Public authorities, consumer protection entities and patient associations have access to
     FAIR39 data on air pollutants, including both chemical and microbiological determinants,
     and their main sources for relevant and representative indoor environments and settings
     in Europe;
    Society has access to user-friendly solutions to monitor indoor air quality, a knowledge
     base of risk factors associated to human health impacts related to the main indoor air
     determinants and guidelines for interventions to improve air quality;
    Policy-makers are provided with proposals for revised indoor air quality standards for
     the main determinants identified to support regulatory measures and improve regulatory
     monitoring;
    The Zero-Pollution Action Plan of the European Green Deal is supported by science-
     based evidence.
Scope: Air quality is primarily monitored in outdoor locations, often for regulatory targets
compliance purposes. However, people spend the majority of their lives in indoor
environments: e.g. at home, in the workplace, in schools and inside transport vehicles.
Whereas improving outdoor air quality leads to general improvements of indoor air quality as
well, certain sources of air pollution not covered by ambient air quality standards can
dominate in some indoor environments. In the current pandemic situation, the issue of good
indoor air quality has become even more prominent, encompassing issues such as the need of
good ventilation of indoor spaces.
In addition to identifying determinants for indoor air quality, it is important to assess their
health impacts in the levels reached indoors to facilitate setting of purposeful indoor air
quality standards. The mere presence of a determinant may not mean harmful health effects
and some (biological) determinants may even have beneficial health effects.
39
        FAIR data are data, which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.
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Applicants should propose research actions that advance the understanding of the indoor air
quality and related health and safety issues and should include all of the following activities:
    Identification and characterisation of sources and routes of exposure and dispersion of
     chemical and biological indoor air pollution, e.g. indoor air microbiome and allergens,
     viral pathogens, household chemicals, biocides in building materials, particulate matter,
     radon as well as emerging pollutants;
    Identification of differences and modes of interaction between indoor and outdoor air
     quality at relevant and representative locations;
    Development and deployment of technologies enabling cost-effective monitoring of
     indoor air quality (e.g. air quality sensors) and user-friendly alert systems;
    Development and deployment of effect-based test systems for the detection of
     synergistic effects of different biogenic particles and substances as well as additional
     chemical substances such as volatile organic compounds, including in vitro and in vivo
     approaches with respect to 3Rs40;
    Identification of body burdens resulting from multipollutant (real-life scenario) indoor
     exposures and associated health effects, with specific focus on vulnerable population
     groups and sensitive life stages;
    Conducting dose-response studies to facilitate the setting of purposeful quality standards;
    Development of cost-effective, environment-friendly and scalable technologies to
     improve indoor air quality to reduce disease burdens;
    Preparation of guidelines and training materials for interventions, supporting health
     promotion and disease prevention in various sectors, e.g. construction and transport, and
     in various socio-economic settings;
    Delivery of FAIR 41 data and databases structured to allow user-friendly access to
     information about exposures, sources and risk factors.
Aspects such as gender, regional variations, socio-economics and culture should be
considered, where appropriate.
Proposals should ensure that chemical monitoring data are shared in IPCHEM 42 through
involvement with the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC).
All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and
joint activities, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for example,
involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also involve
40
        Replacement, reduction and refinement
41
        FAIR data are data, which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.
42
        https://ipchem.jrc.ec.europa.eu/RDSIdiscovery/ipchem/index.html
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networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate. Therefore, proposals are expected
to include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and may consider to cover the
costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite to detail concrete joint
activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be defined during the grant
agreement preparation phase. In this regard, the Commission may take on the role of
facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with relevant stakeholders, if appropriate.
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-ENVHLTH-02-03: Health impacts of climate change, costs and
benefits of action and inaction
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 60.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 2 ‘Living and working in a health-promoting
environment’. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are
directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Global and EU climate policies43, the EU Observatory for Climate and Health44, and the
      Green Deal activities are supported with up-to-date scientific evidence;
    Public authorities and surveillance organisations have access to predictive and early
      warning systems for direct and indirect health impacts caused by climate-change induced
      events and dispose of indicators for improved monitoring of policy actions;
    Public authorities, employers and risk managers draw benefit from user-friendly tools for
      integrated risk assessments and cost-benefit analysis of climate change mitigation and
      adaptation actions to support decisions across policy sectors;
    Public and private health authorities and care providers use guidelines and training
      materials produced to adapt and innovate health systems and practices to prevent and
      mitigate climate change related health risks in cost-efficient and effective ways.
Scope: The European Green Deal refocused the European Commission’s commitment of
tackling climate and environment-related challenges. It also aims to protect, conserve and
enhance the EU's natural capital, and protect the health and well-being of citizens from
43
         New EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change adopted on 24 February 2021 (COM(2021)82)
44
         https://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/observatory
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environment-related risks and impacts. In addition to aiming for climate neutrality by 2050,
the Commission adopted a more ambitious EU strategy on adaptation to climate change on 24
February 2021. This is essential, as climate change will continue to create significant stress in
Europe in spite of the mitigation efforts.
The World Health Organization estimates that climate change will cause at least 250 000
additional deaths per year globally between 2030 and 205045. Climate change, together with
other natural and man-made health stressors, can influence human health and disease patterns
in numerous ways. Some existing health threats will intensify and new health threats will
emerge, with variable impact on different socio-economic groups. Climate changes induce
events such as changes in biodiversity, disruption of ecosystems, habitats and land use, global
warming and heat waves, changes in UV exposure or flooding. These events are influencing
globally the incidence and spread of infectious diseases and increasing pollution, thereby
causing new threats to human health.
The aim of this topic is the identification, monitoring and quantification of direct and indirect
impacts on human health, including in occupational settings, and related risk factors
correlated to climate change, especially in vulnerable population groups such as children or in
groups at risk such as workers. Innovative surveillance tools are further required to ensure a
timely response to emerging threats, to feed and strengthen early warning systems, and to
enable the design, monitoring and evaluation of interventions. This may include mathematical
modelling with big data and artificial intelligence (AI), remote sensing, citizen science and
biomarkers of exposure or virulence.
Proposals must choose and address one of the following areas of research:
    Research on the relationships between changes in environmental hazards caused by
     climate change, the impacts on interrelated ecosystems and their influence on human
     health;
    Climate induced emergence and transmission of pathogens and spread of zoonotic
     pathogens using Eco-health46 and One Health47 approaches.
Proposals should include all of the following activities:
    Development of suitable indicators and monitoring mechanisms to assess the health-
     relevant outcomes of climate policies and actions;
    Development of predictive models and early warning systems for exposure and health
     impacts of climate change based on transparent assumptions and architecture;
45
        https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health
46
        Ecohealth is a field of research, education, and practice that adopts systems approaches to promote the
        health of people, animals, and ecosystems in the context of social and ecological interactions.
47
        The One Health concept recognises that human health is tightly connected to the health of animals and
        the environment, for example that animal feed, human food, animal and human health, and
        environmental contamination are closely linked.
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    Development of tools for health impact and cost-benefit assessment of climate-change
      adaptation and mitigation measures;
    Investigation of health co-benefits of adaptation and mitigation policy measures outside
      the health sector;
    Demonstration of the validity of tools and methods developed in the above listed
      activities in policy-relevant case studies;
    Determination of the societal implications of climate change on health systems,
      including occupational health, and development of adaptation measures;
    Development of training materials and guidelines to educate relevant actors in citizens’
      daily life on climate change health impacts and to facilitate adaptation of health systems
      and practices;
    Delivery of FAIR 48 data on positive and negative health impacts of climate change,
      including impact on groups at higher risk or vulnerability.
International cooperation is encouraged with the specific aim to support international climate
policies. If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or
related timing data and services, they must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS
(other data and services may additionally be used).49.
Aspects such as gender, age, regional variations, socio-economics and culture should be
considered, where appropriate.
All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and
joint activities, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for example,
involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also involve
networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate. Therefore, proposals are expected
to include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and may consider to cover the
costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite to detail concrete joint
activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be defined during the grant
agreement preparation phase. In this regard, the Commission may take on the role of
facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with relevant stakeholders, if appropriate.
Call - Partnerships in Health (2021)
                                                               HORIZON-HLTH-2021-ENVHLTH-03
48
         FAIR data are data, which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.
         This can include data from European data infrastructures and programmes such as Copernicus,
         European Space Agency and the GEO initiative.
49
         E.g. data and products provided by the Copernicus Climate Change Service
         https://www.copernicus.eu/en.
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Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)50
                      Topics                             Type of     Budgets     Expected EU Number
                                                          Action       (EUR      contribution         of
                                                                     million)     per project      projects
                                                                                     (EUR         expected
                                                                        2021                51
                                                                                   million)         to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 21 Sep 2021
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-ENVHLTH-03-01 COFUND 200.00                                    Around           1
                                                                     52
                                                                                 200.00
Overall indicative budget                                            200.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
                                                           Annex E.
Procedure                                                  The procedure is described in General
                                                           Annex F.
50
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
51
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
52
        Of which EUR 40.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                   The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-ENVHLTH-03-01: European partnership for the assessment of
risks from chemicals (PARC)
Specific conditions
Expected EU                  The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per             200.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                      appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                             selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget            The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 200.00 million.
Type of Action               Programme Co-fund Action
Procedure                    The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                             exceptions apply:
                             The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Legal and financial          The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant          exceptions apply:
Agreements                   Funding rate will be 50%. This is justified by the pooling of
                             proposers' in-kind contributions and in-house activities.
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 2 ‘Living and working in a health-promoting
environment’. To that end, the proposal under this topic should aim for delivering results that
are directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes:
    The EU is reinforced as an internationally recognised driver of innovation in chemicals
     risk assessment and thereby substantially contributing to the achievement of the
     Sustainable Development Goals related to chemicals;
    EU and national chemicals risk assessment and management authorities rely on a
     sustainable Europe-wide research and innovation platform for chemicals risk assessment,
     as identified in the Council Conclusions 53 of June 2019 ‘Towards a Sustainable
     Chemicals Policy Strategy of the Union’ and in the ‘Chemicals Strategy for
     Sustainability’ 54 , to provide joint new knowledge and innovate risk assessment
     processes;
53
        https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2019/06/26/council-conclusions-on-chemicals/
54
        https://ec.europa.eu/environment/strategy/chemicals-strategy_en
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    EU and national chemical risk assessment agencies and the scientific community
      enhance their collaboration and move towards ‘one substance – one assessment’ with
      shared evidence, tools and methodologies cutting across sectors;
    The Common European Green Deal Data Space is empowered, by providing it with
      reliable, relevant, curated and FAIR 55 data on chemicals in line with the European
      Strategy for Data56;
    Synergies are established with relevant activities derived from other European Green
      Deal policy areas, such as the ‘Farm to Fork strategy’, the ‘Biodiversity Strategy for
      2030’, the ‘8th Environment Action Programme’ and the ‘Zero Pollution Action Plan for
      Air, Water and Soil’, to understand and address their needs for research and innovation
      in chemicals risk assessment and ensure a better protection of the environment and
      human health from hazardous chemical exposures;
    Public authorities and industry engaged in developing a circular economy, including
      better waste management, as defined in the EU’s ‘Industrial Strategy’ 57 and the ‘New
      Circular Economy Action Plan’ 58 , are supported with innovation in chemicals risk
      assessment.
    Workers are better protected from chemical risks as set out in the ‘EU Strategic
      Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2014-2020’ 59 through better insight into
      exposures and health impacts and improved safety measures.
Scope: Chemicals risk assessors and managers are faced with data and knowledge gaps and
lack of tools and methods, to speed up and prioritise risk assessments and capture risks from
existing and emerging substances across regulatory domains. The lack of available or
accessible information increases the risk of ‘regrettable’ substitutions and slows down the
design of safer chemicals. A diverse landscape of regulatory frameworks and actors carrying
out risk assessment of chemicals for their specific purpose has resulted in a fragmented
approach. Risks to human and environmental health are still in certain cases considered
separately, while in most cases they are inherently interrelated.
To enable risk assessors and risk managers to respond to current and future challenges, the
Partnership 60 should stimulate research and innovation in chemicals risk assessment by
developing a collaborative network with public research entities. A common research and
innovation programme should be established by national and EU risk assessors and risk
managers in consultation with relevant stakeholders (academia, industry, associations and
others).
55
         FAIR data are data, which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.
56
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/communication-european-strategy-data-19feb2020_en.pdf
57
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/european-industrial-
         strategy_en
58
         https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/
59
         https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=151
60
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/files/european-partnership-chemicals-risk-assessment_en
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Activities of the Partnership should be complementary and subsidiary to obligations under
existing regulatory frameworks, and should coordinate with these as relevant. The Partnership
should become a reference centre for research questions related to chemicals risk assessment,
including those emerging from other Horizon Europe partnerships or missions. The
Partnership is expected to establish relevant collaborations with other Horizon Europe
partnerships and missions as set out in the working document on ‘Coherence and Synergies of
candidate European partnerships under Horizon Europe’61 as well as to explore collaborations
with other relevant activities at EU and international level. The Partnership should align with
EU-wide initiatives on open access and FAIR data62.
The Partnership’s governance structure should engage upfront risk managers and risk
assessors to coordinate, steer and frame the research and innovation activities, facilitate the
use and uptake of the results in a regulatory context and contribute to a science based
communication of the risk of chemicals. The Partnership’s governance and operational
structures should also foster a dialogue on sustainability, beyond funding from EU research
and innovation framework programmes, with political decision-makers and risk assessors.
Main blocks of activity:
1. Set-up and operate an EU-wide cross-disciplinary network to identify and agree on
research and innovation needs and support research uptake into regulatory chemical
risk assessment.
A dialogue and priority-setting process should be established, bringing together European
regulatory entities and risk assessment agencies to develop a strategic research and innovation
agenda for chemicals risk assessment in collaboration with the scientific community. This
process should also facilitate access and uptake of new scientific knowledge that can
contribute to regulatory science by policy-makers and risk assessors.
Relevant synergies should be fostered with other initiatives at national, EU or international
level and targeted communication and dissemination should be implemented to ensure
openness and transparency of this Partnership towards all concerned stakeholders. The
Partnership should build on and extend the concept of National Hubs developed under the
European Joint Programme on Human Biomonitoring, HBM4EU63. Targeted citizen actions
should be envisaged to increase their understanding of risks related to exposure to chemicals
and reinforce their trust in risk assessment and risk management processes.
2. Carry out joint EU research and innovation activities on identified priorities to
support the current regulatory risk assessment processes and respond to emerging
challenges.
The Partnership should drive innovation in environmental and human exposure assessment. .
New tools and methods for environmental and human exposure monitoring, including in
61
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/horizon-europe/european-partnerships-horizon-europe_en#synergies
62
        FAIR data are data, which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.
63
        www.hbm4eu.eu
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occupational settings, and to gather data on lifestyle and consumption behaviour, should be
developed, validated and their harmonised use promoted. Biomarkers of effects in
environment and in human should be developed as a proxy of environmental and health
outcomes. Collaborations with existing programmes should be fostered; however, when
required and relevant, the partnership can carry out monitoring and exposure assessment
activities. This could entail monitoring of environmental media and human exposure to
chemicals from various sources and exposure routes. For human biomonitoring, the
Partnership should build on the results of HBM4EU and further exploit these as well as
perform new studies for prioritised chemicals and regulatory questions. Moreover, human
biomonitoring activities should be integrated in the wider exposure assessment and risk
assessment contexts.
Toxicological or eco-toxicological studies to generate new data for chemical substances and
mixtures relevant to public health (mechanistic, in silico, in vitro or in vivo), beyond the data
required from industry under REACH or by other regulations, should be designed and
performed, taking into account the Reduce-Refine-Replace (3Rs) principle and any regulatory
requirements for their relevance. Novel methods for toxicological hazard assessment aligned
with identified needs should be developed, and existing methods improved, including
methods that can reliably screen (groups of) substances allowing to select the substances for
which a full safety assessment is required. New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) should be
integrated with classical experimental designs to improve hazard characterization and their
regulatory acceptance promoted through validation or applicability studies.
The performance of current methodologies employed in regulatory risk assessment should be
assessed to identify methodological knowledge gaps and R&I needs. Validation and
standardisation of results and methods of the Partnership or from collaborating projects
should be pursued, e.g. development of OECD Test Guidelines, to encourage their use in
regulatory risk assessment. Integrated Approaches to Testing and Assessment (IATA),
integrative exposure and exposure reconstruction models and practical approaches for
regulatory risk assessment of single, aggregated or combined exposure should be developed
and their regulatory uptake fostered. Causal associations between (combined) exposures to
chemicals and health outcomes should be investigated.
3. Strengthen existing capacities and build EU-wide, transdisciplinary research and
innovation platforms to support chemical risk assessment
A data policy in line with FAIR data principles, taking into account General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR) related challenges, should be developed and implemented in the
Partnership for data management, harmonisation, interoperability and exchange. Building on
accepted data formats and existing data platforms64, solutions to collect, store, manage and
permit access to new data generated by R&I activities in the partnership should be proposed.
Access and linkage to existing data collections should be facilitated. Innovative methods for
64
         Examples of relevant EC data platforms:
         IPCHEM https://ipchem.jrc.ec.europa.eu/RDSIdiscovery/ipchem/index.html,
         eChemPortal: https://www.echemportal.org/echemportal/.
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data analysis should be pursued, including uncertainty analysis, data mining, and machine
learning.
Innovative approaches in chemical risk assessment should be investigated and, if validated,
promoted including at least the following: 1) supporting the European Commission’s work on
defining the Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design concept and implementation criteria and
proposing a toolbox to support the application of these criteria; 2) investigating how to further
support the initial pilot study on an EU Early Warning System launched by the European
Commission in 2019; and 3) making models and modelling approaches accessible and
compliant with FAIR principles via an open source repository.
The Partnership should, in cooperation with appropriate EU and National reference laboratory
networks, identify, and, when needed, enhance existing networks and develop new networks.
These networks should aim at standardising methods, making available Quality
Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) schemes and promoting the uptake of new methods and
tools through training and peer-to-peer learning. In addition, specific training should be
undertaken for different groups of stakeholders, including own partners, to ensure a wide use
of data, methods, tools and models promoted by the Partnership.
Partner composition, geographical coverage and funding conditions:
The Partnership is open to all EU Member States as well as countries associated to Horizon
Europe and will remain open to those wanting to join during the Partnership’s lifetime.
Beneficiaries should preferably be:
   National institutions in charge of chemical risk assessment and carrying out related
      research and innovation activities.
   Exceptionally, if the national risk assessors prefer not to participate as beneficiaries and
      manage a network of affiliated entities, other solutions can be envisaged but must be
      duly justified and, when to conditions for participating as affiliated entities exists, the
      national risk assessor may participate under such status.
To encourage national coordination, participation as beneficiary should be limited to two
entities per country; the use of affiliated entities is thus strongly encouraged, when the
conditions for participating as affiliated entity exist.
Affiliated entities are defined under the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement and, in this
specific topic, should be:
   Academia and research organisations that are part of the national networks on research
      for chemicals risk assessment and have established links to the risk-assessing
      institutions.
   National risk assessors or government agencies in the exceptional case they will not be
      beneficiaries as mentioned above.
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Depending on their individual legal and operational frameworks and in agreement with the
relevant services of the European Commission (partner DGs), EU Agencies involved in
chemicals risk assessment and/or producing knowledge on chemicals’ safety may also join the
Partnership, e.g. as beneficiaries.
Collaboration with the European            Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) should be
considered to facilitate the sharing       of chemical monitoring data in IPCHEM65, and in other
areas of mutual interest, such as           (bio)monitoring, novel approaches for risk assessment
including non-animal approaches,           safe and sustainable design of chemicals, training and
capacity building.
The expected duration of the partnership is seven years.
The Horizon Europe contribution will be limited to a maximum of 50% of the total eligible
costs of the action with a maximum of EUR 200 million of EU contribution.
Call - Environment and health (Single Stage - 2022)
                                                                HORIZON-HLTH-2022-ENVHLTH-04
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)66
                      Topics                             Type       Budgets    Expected EU        Number
                                                           of        (EUR       contribution          of
                                                        Action      million)     per project       projects
                                                                                   (EUR           expected
                                                                      2022
                                                                                 million)67         to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 06 Oct 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 21 Apr 2022
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-ENVHLTH-04-01 RIA                                20.00 68   Around 4.00         5
Overall indicative budget                                          20.00
65
        https://ipchem.jrc.ec.europa.eu/RDSIdiscovery/ipchem/index.html
66
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
67
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
68
        Of which EUR 12.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-ENVHLTH-04-01: Methods for assessing health-related costs
of environmental stressors
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                       consortium selected for funding.
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 2 ‘Living and working in a health-promoting
environment’. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are
directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes:
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    EU and national public authorities regularly use economic and health modelling in
     policy impact assessments and policy evaluation, and promote the use of these to other
     stakeholders;
    Stakeholders agree on the most relevant population health and quality of life metrics,
     including DALYs (Disability Adjusted Life Years) or QALYs (Quality Adjusted Life
     Years)69, and economic metrics;
    The stakeholder community follows common guidelines and methodologies for
     integrative socio-economic assessments and cost-benefit analysis of environmental
     pollution in Europe.
Scope: Policy-makers face challenges when devising pollution mitigation measures and
having to assess the health costs emerging from life-long exposures to environmental stressors
or the benefits from clean environments. Deaths and disabilities resulting from pollution carry
a quantifiable economic cost to society, but there are significant uncertainties in the cost
estimates methodologies. There is also paucity of data to evaluate the economic benefits of
clean environments.
Impact Pathway Analysis70 and Health Impact Assessment (HIA)71 are methodologies, which
can be useful in linking scientific knowledge with environmental economics for informing
policy action in diverse sectors such as transport, energy, chemicals, occupational health etc.
Proposed research activities should mainly aim to improve the calculation of the socio-
economic costs (and/or benefits) of health impacts during the life-course associated to
environmental stressors, or combinations of these, advance methodological approaches and
foster their acceptance as common good practice.
Proposals should consider all of the following activities:
    Systematic review and exploitation of latest evidence of exposure-response functions
     and causation resulting from published medical and scientific research accumulated data
     from the past 10-20 years, including results published based on EU-funded research
     projects;
    Identification of data gaps as regards environment and health risk factors and health-
     related tangible and intangible costs and recommendations on priorities for new data
     collections;
    Advancement of methodological rigor and consistency in accounting for morbidity and
     mortality, disabilities, linking valuation of statistical life and/or life-years with quality
69
        While introducing relevant changes, it should be ensured that metrics respect the UN Convention on the
        Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
70
        http://arirabl.org/untitled/
71
        Health Impact Assessment (HIA) has been defined by WHO European Centre for Health Policy as a
        combination of procedures or methods by which a policy, programme or project may be judged as to
        the effects it may have on the health of a population.
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      adjustments within a unified framework, based on the most recent data available and
      adapted to the needs and circumstances in Europe;
    Application of experimental approaches addressing the potential link of quality of life
      and the burden of disease indicators with more integrative impact indicators (e.g.
      reflecting subjective well-being, health, work-life balance, education, housing, etc.) and
      identification of how national contexts can impact on health-related costs of the same
      environmental and occupational exposure;
    Enhancement of the understanding of the role of discounting and other methods for
      weighing present and future costs and benefits;
    Development of innovative tools, methods and models, and associated guidelines for
      health impact assessments and related cost-benefit analysis;
    Consultation of experts and stakeholders on tools, models, methods and assessments
      developed towards a shared agreement of these;
    Development of case studies involving public authorities comparing the costs of action
      and non-action in at least three EU or associated countries;
    Delivery of FAIR72 data and a user-friendly access to an open knowledge base including
      results, methodologies and data appropriate for use in public policies and budget
      allocations.
Projects could consider the involvement of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre
(JRC) in the field of health impacts of environmental stressors.
All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and
joint activities, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for example,
involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also involve
networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate. Therefore, proposals are expected
to include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and may consider to cover the
costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite to detail concrete joint
activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be defined during the grant
agreement preparation phase. In this regard, the Commission may take on the role of
facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with relevant stakeholders, if appropriate.
Whenever appropriate, the use of environmental data and products coming from the
Copernicus 73 programme, specifically the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service
(CAMS) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), is encouraged.
72
         FAIR data are data, which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.
73
         https://www.copernicus.eu/en
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Destination 3. Tackling diseases and reducing disease burden
Calls for proposals under this destination are directed towards the Key Strategic Orientation
KSO-D ‘Creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society’ of Horizon
Europe’s Strategic Plan 2021-2024. Research and innovation supported under this destination
should contribute to the impact area ‘Good health and high-quality accessible healthcare’ and
in particular to the following expected impact, set out in the Strategic Plan for the health
cluster: ‘health care providers are able to better tackle and manage diseases (infectious
diseases, including poverty-related and neglected diseases, non-communicable and rare
diseases) and reduce the disease burden on patients effectively thanks to better understanding
and treatment of diseases, more effective and innovative health technologies, better ability
and preparedness to manage epidemic outbreaks and improved patient safety’. In addition,
research and innovation supported under this destination could also contribute to the
following impact areas: ‘A resilient EU prepared for emerging threats’, ‘Climate change
mitigation and adaptation’, and ‘High quality digital services for all’.
Communicable and non-communicable diseases cause the greatest amounts of premature
death and disability in the EU and worldwide. They pose a major health, societal and
economic threat and burden. Many people are still suffering from these diseases and too often
dying prematurely. Non-communicable diseases, including mental illnesses and
neurodegenerative diseases, are responsible for up to 80% of EU health care costs 74. These
costs are spent on the treatment of such diseases that to a large extent are preventable.
Furthermore, only around 3% of the health care budgets are currently spent on preventive
measures although there is a huge potential for prevention. Infectious diseases, including
infections resistant to antimicrobials, remain a major threat to public health in the EU but also
to global health security. Deaths caused by antimicrobial resistance (AMR) could exceed 10
million per year worldwide according to some predictions75.
To further advance, there is an urgent need for research and innovation to develop new
prevention measures, public health interventions, diagnostics, vaccines, therapies, alternatives
to antimicrobials, as well as to improve existing prevention strategies to create tangible
impacts, taking into account sex/gender-related issues. This will require international
cooperation to pool the best expertise and know-how available worldwide, to access world-
class research infrastructures and to leverage critical scales of investments on priority needs
through a better alignment with other funders of international cooperation in health research
and innovation. The continuation of international partnerships and cooperation with
international organisations is particularly needed to combat infectious diseases, to address
antimicrobial resistances, to respond to major unmet medical needs for global health security,
including the global burden of non-communicable diseases, and to strengthen patient safety.
74
        Currently, around 50 million people in the EU are estimated to suffer from two or more chronic
        conditions, and most of these people are over 65. Every day, 22 500 people die in Europe from those
        diseases, counting of 87% of all deaths. They account for 550 000 premature deaths of people of
        working age with an estimated €115 billion economic loss per year (0.8% of GDP).
75
        AMR is estimated to be responsible for 25 000 deaths per year in the EU alone and 700 000 deaths per
        year globally. It has been estimated that AMR might cause more deaths than cancer by 2050.
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In this work programme, destination 3 will focus on major societal challenges linked to the
Commission’s political priorities such as the fight against cancer and other non-
communicable diseases, better diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases, preparedness and
response to and surveillance of health threats and epidemics, reduction of the number of
antimicrobial-resistant infections, improving vaccination rates, demographic change, mental
health and digital empowerment in health literacy. In particular, the topics under this
destination will support activities aiming at: i) better understanding of diseases, their drivers
and consequences, including pain and the causative links between health determinants and
diseases, and better evidence-base for policy-making; ii) better methodologies and diagnostics
that allow timely and accurate diagnosis, identification of personalised treatment options and
assessment of health outcomes, including for patients with a rare disease; iii) development
and validation of effective intervention for better surveillance, prevention, detection,
treatment and crisis management of infectious disease threats; iv) innovative health
technologies developed and tested in clinical practice, including personalised medicine
approaches and use of digital tools to optimise clinical workflows; v) new and advanced
therapies for non-communicable diseases, including rare diseases developed in particular for
those without approved options, supported by strategies to make them affordable for the
public payer; and vi) scientific evidence for improved/tailored policies and legal frameworks
and to inform major policy initiatives at global level (e.g. WHO Framework Convention on
Tobacco Control; UNEA Pollution Implementation Plan).
In view of increasing the impact of EU investments under Horizon Europe, the European
Commission welcomes and supports cooperation between EU-funded projects to enable
cross-fertilisation and other synergies. This could range from networking to joint activities
such as the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. Opportunities for potential
synergies exist between projects funded under the same topic but also between other projects
funded under another topic, cluster or pillar of Horizon Europe (but also with ongoing
projects funded under Horizon 2020). In particular, this could involve projects related to
European health research infrastructures (under pillar I of Horizon Europe), the EIC strategic
challenges on health and EIT-KIC Health (under pillar III of Horizon Europe), or in areas
cutting across the health and other clusters (under pillar II of Horizon Europe). For instance,
with cluster 3 “Civil security for society” such as on health security/emergencies
(preparedness and response, medical counter measures, epidemic outbreaks/pandemics,
natural disasters and technological incidents, bioterrorism); with cluster 4 “Digital, Industry
and Space” such as on decision-support systems or on geo-observation and monitoring (e.g.
of disease vectors, epidemics); or with cluster 6 “Food, bioeconomy, natural resources,
agriculture and environment” such as on health security and AMR (one-health:
human/animal/plant/soil/water health).
Some research and innovation actions under Destination 3 should deliver relevant
complementary inputs to the announced “Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan”76, contributing to
76
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12154-Europe-s-Beating-
        Cancer-Plan
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actions covering the entire cancer care pathway, including prevention, early detection,
diagnosis, treatment, cancer data monitoring, as well as quality of life of cancer patients and
survivors. Furthermore, synergies and complementarities will be sought between Destination
3 and the implementation of the EU4Health Programme (2021-2027)77. These synergies and
complementarities could be achieved, notably through mechanisms based on feedback loops,
enabling on the one hand to identify policy needs that should be prioritised in research and
innovation actions and facilitating on the other hand the implementation of research results
into policy actions and clinical practice, thereby providing an integrated response across
sectors and policy fields.
Expected impacts:
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to
tackling diseases and reducing disease burden, and more specifically to several of the
following impacts:
    Health burden of diseases in the EU and worldwide is reduced through effective disease
      management, including through the development and integration of innovative
      diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, personalised medicine approaches, digital and
      other people-centred solutions for health care. In particular, patients are diagnosed early
      and accurately and receive effective, cost-efficient and affordable treatment, including
      patients with a rare disease, due to effective translation of research results into new
      diagnostic tools and therapies.
    Premature mortality from non-communicable diseases is reduced by one third (by 2030),
      mental health and well-being is promoted, and the voluntary targets of the WHO Global
      Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs 2013-2020 are attained (by 2025),
      with an immediate impact on the related disease burden (DALYs)78,79,80.
    Health care systems benefit from strengthened research and innovation expertise, human
      capacities and know-how for combatting communicable and non-communicable
      diseases, including through international cooperation. In particular, they are better
      prepared to respond rapidly and effectively to health emergencies and are able to prevent
      and manage communicable diseases transmissions epidemics, including within
      healthcare settings.
    Citizens benefit from reduced (cross-border) health threat of epidemics and AMR
      pathogens, in the EU and worldwide 81 , 82 . In particular, the epidemics of AIDS,
77
        https://ec.europa.eu/health/funding/eu4health_en
78
        WHO Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs 2013-2020 (resolution WHA66.10),
        https://www.who.int/nmh/events/ncd_action_plan/en.
79      Including for instance the following voluntary targets (against the 2010 baseline): A 25% relative reduction in the overall mortality from cardiovascular
        diseases, cancer, diabetes, or chronic respiratory diseases; Halt the rise in diabetes and obesity; An 80% availability of the affordable basic technologies and
        essential medicines, including generics, required to treat major non-communicable diseases in both public and private facilities.
80      Disability-adjusted life year (DALY) is a quantitative indicator of overall disease burden, expressed as the number of years lost due to ill-health, disability or
        early death.
81
        WHO global action plan on antimicrobial resistance, 2015.
82      EU One Health Action Plan against AMR, 2017.
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     tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases are contained and hepatitis, water-
     borne diseases and other communicable diseases are being combated83.
    Patients and citizens are knowledgeable of disease threats, involved and empowered to
     make and shape decisions for their health, and better adhere to knowledge-based disease
     management strategies and policies (especially for controlling outbreaks and
     emergencies).
The EU benefits from high visibility, leadership and standing in international fora on global
health and global health security, especially in partnership with Africa.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
              Call                             Budgets (EUR million)           Deadline(s)
                                             2021                    2022
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-                    263.00                               21 Sep 2021
DISEASE-04
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-                                             160.00      01 Feb 2022 (First
DISEASE-06-two-stage                                                       Stage)
                                                                           06     Sep    2022
                                                                           (Second Stage)
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-                                             37.00       21 Apr 2022
DISEASE-07
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-                                             30.00       21 Apr 2022
DISEASE-03
Overall indicative budget             263.00                   227.00
83
        Target 3.3 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, 2015.
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Call - Tackling diseases (2021)
                                                                  HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)84
                     Topics                            Type       Budgets      Expected EU        Number
                                                         of        (EUR       contribution per        of
                                                      Action      million)     project (EUR        projects
                                                                                 million)85       expected
                                                                    2021                            to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 21 Sep 2021
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-01 RIA                              50.00 86    Around 6.00          8
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-02 RIA                              50.00 87    Around 25.00         2
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-03 RIA                              40.00 88    Around 8.00          5
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-04 RIA                              60.00 89    Around 6.00          10
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-05 CSA                              1.00        Around 1.00          1
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-06 CSA                              2.00        Around 2.00          1
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-07 RIA                              60.00 90    Around 7.00          9
Overall indicative budget                                        263.00
General conditions relating to this call
84
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
85
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
86
        Of which EUR 30.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
87
        Of which EUR 30.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
88
        Of which EUR 24.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
89
        Of which EUR 36.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
90
        Of which EUR 36.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-01: Improved supportive, palliative, survivorship
and end-of-life care of cancer patients
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 50.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 3 “Tackling diseases and reducing disease
burden”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are
directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Reduced health-related suffering and improved well-being and quality of life for cancer
     patients in need of supportive, palliative, survivorship or end-of-life care as well as for
     their professional and family caregivers.
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    Cancer patients (independently of their age) have early and better access to supportive,
      palliative, survivorship or end-of-life care services of higher quality and
      (cost)effectiveness.
    Reduced societal, healthcare and economic burden associated with increasing demands
      of supportive, palliative, survivorship or end-of-life care services that is beneficial for
      citizens and preserves the sustainability of the health care systems.
    Health care providers and health policy makers have access to and use improved clinical
      guidelines and policies with respect to pain management, psychological and/or spiritual
      support, and supportive, palliative, survivorship or end-of-life care for cancer patients.
    Cancer patients and their professional and family caregivers use the improved evidence-
      based and information-driven palliative care decision-making process.
Scope: The complexity of health conditions related to cancer and late or long-term side effects
as consequences of its treatments affect the quality of life of cancer patients and their families
and pose a significant societal and economic burden. Palliative91, supportive92, survivorship
and end-of-life care approaches improve the quality of life for cancer patients and
professional and family caregivers through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of
early identification, assessment and treatment of pain and other problems such as physical,
psychosocial and spiritual problems. Although a variety of interventions are in use, they are
often insufficiently validated or adapted to the specific needs of cancer patients and cancer
survivors, often affected by co- or multi-morbidities. Thus, there is a need to strengthen the
evidence base for patient-centred, effective interventions improving the quality of life and
outcomes of cancer patients and cancer survivors of all ages in the domains of supportive,
palliative, survivorship and end-of-life care.
Proposals should address all of the following activities:
    Demonstrate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of newly proposed or specifically
      adapted pharmacological and/or non-pharmacological interventions to improve well-
      being and the quality of life of cancer patients. Serious late and long-term side effects of
      cancer treatments or symptoms that occur at the end of life of those patients as well as of
      cancer survivors should be considered. The legal and ethical aspects of the proposed
      interventions should be taken into consideration and be fully addressed.
    Prove the feasibility of integrating the proposed interventions in current pain
      management, palliative, supportive, survivorship and/or end-of-life care regimes and
      healthcare systems across Europe. The complex human, social, cultural and ethical
      aspects that are necessarily managed by those care regimes and healthcare systems
      should be reflected from the patients’ perspectives as well as those of their professional
      and family caregivers. The views and values of patients and their caregivers (including
91
         https://www.who.int/cancer/palliative/definition/en/
92
         https://www.mascc.org/about-mascc
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      families, volunteers, nurses and others) should also be appropriately taken into account
      in patient-centred care decisions.
    Identify and analyse relationships between sex, gender, age, disabilities and socio-
      economic factors in health and any other relevant factors (e.g. ethical, familial, cultural
      considerations, including personal beliefs and religious perspectives, etc.) that could
      affect health equity93 of the proposed interventions, including equitable access.
    Analyse the barriers and opportunities to re-invigorating and enhancing timely social
      inclusion and active engagement of cancer patients in need of supportive, palliative,
      survivorship and end-of-life care and their caregivers.
    Provide guidelines for patient-centred communication as well as standards for evidence-
      based communication trainings for caregivers, considering the potential of social
      innovation approaches or tools.
    When relevant, provide policy recommendations for pain management, psychological
      and/or spiritual support, and supportive, palliative, survivorship or end-of-life care of
      cancer patients afflicted by late and long-term side effects of cancer treatments.
Randomised clinical trials and observational studies, targeting children or adults or elderly,
should be considered for this topic. Proposals should give a sound feasibility assessment,
provide details of the methodology, including an appropriate patient selection and realistic
recruitment plans, justified by available publications and/or preliminary results.
This topic requires effective contributions from the social sciences and humanities (SSH)
through the involvement of SSH experts and institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant
SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal
impact of the related research activities. Proposals should consider a patient-centred approach
that empowers patients, promotes a culture of dialogue and openness between health
professionals, patients and their families, and unleashes the potential for social innovation.
All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and
joint activities, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for example,
involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also involve
networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate. Therefore, proposals are expected
to include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and may consider to cover the
costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite to detail concrete joint
activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be defined during the grant
agreement preparation phase. In this regard, the Commission may take on the role of
facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with relevant stakeholders, if appropriate.
93
         https://www.who.int/topics/health_equity/en/
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HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-02: Building a European innovation platform for
the repurposing of medicinal products
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per         25.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 50.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 3 “Tackling diseases and reducing disease
burden”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are
directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Researchers continue to use the platform as an effective and sustained approach to
      coordinate and manage their efforts on the repurposing of medicines, making the best
      use of scientific knowledge and resources.
    Patients have new and effective therapeutic options addressing unmet medical needs,
      both for communicable and non-communicable diseases.
    Health care systems and payers have available more cost-effective treatments that reduce
      the financial burden in the medium- to long-term.
    The public sector and the pharmaceutical industry engage in new models of sustainable
      collaboration, at European level and beyond.
    Policy-makers adjust the EU’s regulatory landscape for pharmaceuticals towards further
      harmonisation and increased fitness for purpose.
Scope: Development of therapeutics is a lengthy process that requires a large amount of
efforts, time and financial resources. It is often burdened by delays and barriers that account
for an average of almost 15 years until a promising candidate molecule becomes an approved
medicine. It is therefore of paramount importance to define strategies that facilitate the
reduction of timeframes, decrease costs and improve the success rate of this complex and
lengthy process. One efficient strategy towards this direction is the repurposing of already
approved medicinal products 94 and repositioning of investigational products 95 beyond their
94
        Medicinal products with a market authorisation in the EU.
95
        Investigational products without a market authorisation in the EU.
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original indication. This approach has already proved successful 96 in several instances but its
potential is far from having been fully exploited.
Proposals should address all of the following:
    Set up a platform97 supporting an innovative repurposing model with a harmonized and
      sustainable dimension in the EU, attracting investments and taking a position of
      leadership at global level. This model should integrate the scientific, methodological,
      financial, legal, regulatory, and intellectual property aspects of the repurposing approach.
    Provide robust and transparent selection mechanisms for prioritising already approved
      medicinal products or investigational products for repurposing, based on recognized
      unmet medical needs and sound preliminary data, and identify research priorities for the
      better understanding of mechanisms of action.
    Leverage, pool and share existing high quality data assets in the European repurposing
      landscape, also by using pharmacogenomics, in silico, and artificial intelligence (AI)
      approaches, innovative preclinical human in vitro cellular/multi-organ validation
      methods, and deliver new computational tools.
    Resolve the fragmentation and lack of ownership of the repurposing approach that
      greatly impedes the efficient exploitation of its potential, networking existing projects 98
      and initiatives in the field. Particular attention should be given in supporting and
      strengthening academic driven research.
    Devise and test a European innovation platform to enhance the collaboration among
      relevant European stakeholders, including academia, non-profit organisations, patients,
      health-care professionals, regulators, health technology assessment bodies, payers,
      industry, and European Research Infrastructures.
All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and
joint activities, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for example,
involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also involve
networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate. Therefore, proposals are expected
to include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and may consider to cover the
costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite to detail concrete joint
activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be defined during the grant
agreement preparation phase. In this regard, the Commission may take on the role of
facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with relevant stakeholders, if appropriate.
96
         Notable examples are thalidomide and sildenafil.
97
         Platform built around innovative concepts and comprising the components and expertise necessary to
         create a solid foundation on which to build a sustainable EU infrastructure to overcome the bottlenecks
         and fragmentation in the field of medicine repurposing.
98
         Particular attention should be given to already EC funded repurposing projects and regulators initiatives
         in the field.
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                                                 Health
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is encouraged.
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-03: Innovative approaches to enhance poverty-
related diseases research in sub-Saharan Africa
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                     requesting different amounts.
Indicative           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 40.00 million.
budget
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                     states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
                     The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                     In order to achieve the expected objectives, namely that more clinicians
                     and researchers in sub-Saharan Africa have the capacity to develop and
                     design large-scale studies, the consortium must include at least one legal
                     entity established in a sub-Saharan African country.*
                     *Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape
                     Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Democratic
                     People’s Republic), Congo (Republic), Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Eritrea,
                     Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-
                     Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania,
                     Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé
                     and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa,
                     South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia,
                     Zimbabwe.
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 3 “Tackling diseases and reducing disease
burden”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are
directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Health care providers and professionals in sub-Saharan Africa have a better
     understanding of poverty-related infectious diseases affecting these countries and use
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      new evidences and advanced innovative health technologies or concepts to prevent, treat
      or diagnose poverty-related infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.
     Health authorities and health care systems have access to health data and evidences to
      better develop and implement informed health policies and improved clinical guidelines
      for health care in sub-Saharan Africa.
     Health care systems, clinicians and researchers have access to improved clinical research
      capacities and strengthened infrastructures for clinical research, development and
      implementation in sub-Saharan Africa, enabling in particular an accelerated development
      of new, low-cost, easy-to-implement solutions for improved delivery of medical
      interventions for vulnerable populations in low-resource settings.
     More researchers at the early stages of their career (e.g. Master’s, PhD or post-doctoral
      level) are able to develop their own scientific career in sub-Saharan Africa and/or
      establish themselves as scientific leaders in sub-Saharan Africa.
     More clinicians and researchers in sub-Saharan Africa have the capacity to develop and
      design large-scale studies.
Scope: The European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) has
established itself as the focal point of cooperation in clinical research on infectious disease
between the EU and sub-Saharan Africa. To continue these investments after the last calls of
the EDCTP2 programme, there is a need to further support research on the major infectious
disease threats facing sub-Saharan Africa. Despite large-scale investments in product
development for poverty-related infectious diseases (PRDs), progress in achieving public
health gain is slow, while sub-Saharan Africa bears the highest burden of these diseases.
There is a need to support product development and to encourage the use of new, innovative
approaches and emerging technologies in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve rapid progress and
impact. The COVID-19 pandemic is generating novel knowledge that could also advance
prevention, treatment or diagnosis of PRDs in this part of the world.
Proposals should address all of the following:
     Any PRD disease or group of PRDs affecting sub-Saharan Africa (within the scope of
      EDCTP2 99 or the proposed EDCTP3 and its draft strategic research and innovation
      agenda100).
     Combine health technologies with other scientific areas such as mobile technologies and
      digital technologies (mHealth and eHealth), big data processing, and other emerging
      technologies.
99
         https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014D0556&from=GA
100
                   https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/edctp3_d
         raft_proposal_14_august_2020.pdf
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   Implement one or more medium-scale clinical trials and/or clinical research studies that
     can deliver the proof-of-concept or validate smart, highly innovative health technologies
     or concepts to prevent, treat or diagnose PRDs in sub-Saharan Africa, drawing lessons
     from the COVID-19 experience.
   Increase collaboration with investors in development cooperation and international
     partnerships to create solutions for improved development or delivery of medical
     interventions for vulnerable populations in low-resource settings.
   Proposals involving pharmaceutical companies and small- or medium-sized enterprises
     (SMEs) are encouraged.
   Develop solutions that are easily integrated or linked to existing electronic or digital
     systems that are used in the implementation of clinical research and health systems’
     patient management.
   Include activities that promote collaboration with ongoing and future EDCTP projects.
     In this context the granting authority may share project-relevant information with the
     EDCTP Association and the future EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking.
   Promote the integration of research work and health care service delivery.
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-04: Clinical validation of artificial intelligence
(AI) solutions for treatment and care
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 60.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 3 “Tackling diseases and reducing disease
burden”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are
directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Health care professionals employ safer and evidence-based clinical decision support
     systems for affordable treatment, including home-based care.
   Health care professionals better predict patients’ (long-term) response, including adverse
     side effects of a specific personalised treatment.
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     Patients and carers have access to disease-specific communication packages informing
      about a disease and the proposed treatment.
     Clinical guidelines are enhanced thanks to novel, clinically validated and (cost-)
      effective AI solutions.
Scope: Applying trustworthy-AI101 in healthcare contexts generate a multitude of benefits,
including more effective disease management by optimised personalised treatments and
assessment of health outcomes.
Based on existing (pre)clinical evidence, proposals should focus on implementing clinical
studies to validate AI-based solutions comparing their benefits versus standard-of-care
treatments in non-communicable diseases. Proposals should pay special attention to the
usability, performance and safety of the AI-based solutions developed, and above all to their
clinical evaluation and (cost-)effectiveness in view of their inclusion into current clinical
guidelines for personalised treatments following current EU regulatory framework.
Proposals should address all of the following:
     Supporting the clinical development, testing and validation of AI-assisted treatment and
      care options, hereby assisting in clinical decision-making;
     Timely end-user inclusion (e.g. patient, caregiver and health care professional) along the
      clinical development of the AI-based solutions and the clinical validation process,
      considering the potential of social innovation approaches to support inclusion and
      dialogue between patients, carers and health care professionals;
     Enhancing accurate prognosis for and response to a specific personalised treatment,
      hereby providing a solid risk assessment (e.g. potential adverse events, side effects,
      expected treatment compliance and adherence over the time compared to standard care);
     Inclusion of sex and gender aspects, age, socio-economic, lifestyle and behavioural
      factors and other social determinants of health, as soon as possible considering also early
      stages/phases of development;
     Assessing potential manual or automated biases for large uptake;
     Integration of an extensive information and communication package about AI-assisted
      treatment options;, highlighting their relevance for the patients and carers;
     Measuring the (cost-)effectiveness of AI-assisted development of therapeutic strategies
      and its implementation in clinical practice.
Proposals should describe a pathway for establishing standard operating procedures for the
integration of AI in health care (e.g. for supporting clinical decision-making in treatment and
101
         High Level Group on Artificial Intelligence, set up by the European Commission, Ethics Guidelines for
         Trustworthy AI, document made public on 8 April 2019.
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care). Proposals are encouraged to consider multidisciplinary approaches and allow for
intersectoral representation. Proposals have to ensure that resulting data comply with the
FAIR102 principles and data generated by the AI-based solutions are in line with established
international standards.
Integration of ethics and health humanities perspectives are essential to ensure an ethical
approach to the development of robust, fair and trustworthy AI solutions in health care, taking
into account underrepresented patient populations. In relation to the use and interpretation of
data, special attention should be paid to systematic discrimination or bias (e.g. due to gender
or ethnicity) when developing and using AI solutions. Proposals should also focus on
traceability, transparency, and auditability of AI algorithms in health. The international
perspective should be taken into account, preferably through international collaboration, to
ensure the comprehensiveness, interoperability and transferability of the developed solutions.
Where relevant, applicants are highly encouraged to deliver a plan for the regulatory
acceptability of their technologies and to interact at an early stage with the relevant regulatory
bodies. SME(s) participation is encouraged.
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-07: Personalised medicine and infectious
diseases: understanding the individual host response to viruses (e.g. SARS-CoV-2)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 60.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                        consortium selected for funding.
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 3 “Tackling diseases and reducing disease
burden”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are
directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes:
     All stakeholders along the health care value chain dispose of enhanced knowledge of
      risk factors, symptoms expression, disease progression and clinical outcomes in relation
102
         FAIR data are data, which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.
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      to host and viral characteristics, and host-pathogen interaction (i.e., the mechanistic
      understanding of the interplay between host and virus).
     Clinicians, regulators and other stakeholders along the health care value chain have
      access to decision support based on characterized diversity of host response at the level
      of genetic patterns, molecular pathways and physiological mechanisms, in relation to a
      large number of variables that inform disease predisposition, disease progression,
      symptoms expression and clinical outcomes.
     Clinicians and researchers use information on the deep characterization of the dynamics
      of the immune responses to the chosen virus(es), identifying factors critical for viral
      control and immune protection. This will provide a robust and common evidence base
      for the development of personalised therapeutic interventions and vaccines in the future.
     Clinicians use biomarkers103 in the broad sense for personalised patient management.
     Clinicians and other stakeholders along the healthcare value chain have access to and use
      guidance on preventive measures and for the early identification of patients at risk of
      developing severe symptoms.
Scope: Proposals are expected to characterize the host response and host-pathogen interaction
to a virus (or viruses) at the level of genetic patterns, physiological mechanisms and
molecular pathways involving different organs and systems to identify factors that predispose
to different clinical symptoms, different progression of the viral disease and different clinical
outcomes. The study should include patient follow-up to identify conditions (including long-
term ones) that may appear after the patient has recovered from the viral disease.
In all cases, actions should cover deep immunological phenotyping of the host response,
including the use of animal models or in-vitro models if relevant. The latter should cover the
dynamics of the innate and adaptive immune responses to the chosen virus(es) (comprising
immunity duration, the effect of potential subsequent infections, etc.) including, if relevant,
the association of HLA assets of patients with protective or harmful immune responses.
Ultimately, this research should inform disease progression and the development of
personalised prophylactic and therapeutic strategies.
The analysis should address the effect of differences in age, sex, gender, ethnicity, chronic
conditions, co-morbidities, treatments offered and other relevant characteristics. The sample
should be geographically representative for Europe. Where relevant, the sample could also
include the data of subjects from outside Europe.
The data used should be standardized following the best available international practices and
standards. Equally, sample collection and processing should be done following recognised
103
         A biomarker has been defined as a characteristic that is objectively measured and evaluated as indicator
         of normal biologic processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacologic responses to therapeutic
         interventions (NIH working group (Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. Vol. 38 n°.3 (2001))
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standard operating procedures. All data should be treated in accordance with GDPR and
ethical principles.
Proposals that focus on COVID-19 are strongly encouraged to build links with the EU-funded
project ORCHESTRA 104 . Proposals should pay special attention and link to the newly
established European COVID-19 data sharing platform105 and collaborate with the existing
network of COVID-19 projects106 funded under Horizon 2020.
Proposals could consider the involvement of the European Commission's Joint Research
Centre (JRC) on modelling the pathogenesis of COVID-19 using Adverse Outcome
Pathways.
Collaboration with other relevant initiatives, such as the International Consortium for
Personalised Medicine (ICPerMed) 107 , the 1+ Million Genomes initiative 108 and the
EBrains109 research infrastructure is encouraged, where relevant. Whenever the proposed data
sources or fields of application include genomics, the proposals should consider the data
standards, and legal, ethical and technical interoperability requirements and guidelines agreed
within the 1+ Million Genomes initiative where relevant.
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-05: A roadmap towards the creation of the
European partnership on One Health antimicrobial resistance (OH AMR)
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.00
contribution per           million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                    Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                           proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.00 million.
Type of Action             Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 3 “Tackling diseases and reducing disease
burden”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are
directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Research funders, policy makers, relevant agencies and authorities, and the research
      community have a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) to be implemented
104
        https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101016167
105
        https://www.covid19dataportal.org/
106
        https://cordis.europa.eu/programme/id/H2020_SC1-PHE-CORONAVIRUS-2020
107
        https://www.icpermed.eu/
108
        https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/1-million-genomes
109
        https://ebrains.eu
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      by the expected future European partnership on One Health antimicrobial resistance (OH
      AMR).
     Research funders, policy makers, relevant agencies and authorities, and the research
      community profit from a strengthened coordination and collaboration among different
      fields of research and innovation with relevance to antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
      maintaining Europe's leading role in combating AMR.
     Academics, innovators, end-users, researchers, public health authorities and citizens
      form a strong ecosystem that improves the implementation of the European One Health
      AMR strategy and its contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals.
     Research funders, policy makers, relevant agencies and authorities, and the research
      community are in a position to close the current gaps and break existing silos on AMR in
      accordance with the European One Health Action Plan against AMR110.
Scope: The increasing levels of AMR present a major threat to human health with serious
consequences also to animal and environmental health. Tackling AMR in bacteria, fungi,
viruses and parasites requires a strong and coordinated response to protect citizens in Europe
and beyond, as indicated in the European One Health Action Plan against AMR. This action
plan provides the framework within which actions should be taken against this threat. It is
recognised that combatting AMR requires a One Health approach, recognizing that human
and animal health and the environment are interconnected. Many diseases affected by AMR
are transmitted from animals to humans and vice versa, encompassing the environment as a
link between humans and animals and as a reservoir of resistant microorganisms. Tackling
AMR has also become a key priority as part of the Green Deal, including through the Farm to
Fork Strategy111. Of importance are also the socio-economic drivers that affect the use of
antimicrobials in human and animal healthcare veterinary medicine. However, the challenge
in the current situation is that the AMR research and innovation landscape is still too
fragmented addressing human health, animal health, feed, food safety and environment in
silos, and it is also fragmented across Member States. Therefore, there is the need to move
towards the integration of the various disciplines to overcome this fragmentation, thus
tackling the problem of AMR with a comprehensive One Health approach bringing the
diverse actors together.
Importantly, better co-ordination is essential to foster and accelerate the development and
adoption of solutions to reverse the rising levels of AMR. This should allow generating the
capacity and the ecosystem to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of drug-
resistant infections in humans.
Accordingly, proposals should cover all of the following activities:
110
         https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/health/files/antimicrobial_resistance/docs/amr_2017_action-plan.pdf
111
         https://ec.europa.eu/food/farm2fork_en
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     Development of a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) for a
      comprehensive approach to inform the expected future European partnership on One
      Health antimicrobial resistance (OH AMR).
     Integration of key actors for AMR encompassing the field of human, veterinary and
      environmental disciplines and the broad spectrum of pathogens, including fungi and
      viruses.
     Robust communication and effective information exchange between diverse scientific
      disciplines and among multiple sectors of the society that are implicated such as patients,
      clinicians, veterinarians, pharmacists, food producers, pharmaceutical industry, policy
      makers and researchers (including those working in the social sciences and humanities).
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation, including with low- and
middle-income countries where AMR is highly prevalent and prone to spread to Europe, is
strongly encouraged. Proposals should build on, be complementary to and go beyond existing
initiatives such as the JPIAMR112[1], the One Health EJP113 [2] and ICARS114[3]. It should
also implement collaborative activities with International organisations such as the World
Health Organization, the World Animal Health Organisation (OIE), the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), and the G7 and G20 fora, with the aim to avoid duplication of efforts.
As regards integration and coordination activities, the proposal should be ambitious in its
inclusiveness, encompassing the broad spectrum of pathogens, and mobilise experts from
diverse disciplines, including from the social sciences and humanities, to address
understanding, prevention, monitoring, epidemiology (e.g. emergence, spread, persistence),
treatments and detection of AMR. It should also be a pan-European consortium with a large
geographical coverage of European countries.
Proposals are expected to explore links with the following expected future European
partnership of Horizon Europe: Pandemic preparedness; Innovative Health Initiative; EU-
Africa Global Health; Personalised Medicine; Animals and Health; Safe and Sustainable Food
Systems for People; Planet and Climate; Biodiversity, Towards more Sustainable Farming:
Agro-ecology Living Labs and Research Infrastructures; Water4All – Water Security for the
Planet.
The project selected for funding is expected to inform the expected future European
partnership on OH AMR. To that end, the proposal selected for funding is also expected to
interact with other relevant projects funded under other topics and other clusters to ensure
synergies on cross-cutting challenges of common interest such as those from the health
cluster’s destination 2 “Living and working in a health-promoting environment”.
112
         https://www.jpiamr.eu/
113
         https://onehealthejp.eu/
114
         https://www.icars-global.org/
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HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-06:                    Building    a  European   partnership  for
pandemic preparedness
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 3 “Tackling diseases and reducing disease
burden”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are
directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Research funders, policy-makers and the research community have established a
      consolidated research and innovation framework that provides the foundation of the
      expected future European partnership for pandemic preparedness, including the
      Partnership’s scope, objectives, governance and ways of working/operationalisation;
   Research funders, policy-makers and the research community are aligned towards
      common objectives and have a common understanding of the long-term Strategic
      Research and Innovation Agenda for the Partnership, developed in consultation with
      future partners and relevant stakeholders;
   Healthcare providers, European and international stakeholders engage with the
      appropriate partners through the research and innovation framework for the partnership
Scope: The COVID-19 pandemic illustrated how unilateral research initiatives may lead to a
fragmented research landscape, with substantial room for efficiency gains in the development
of the highly needed evidence to guide policy actions when facing an emergency. The
expected future European partnership for pandemic preparedness should aim to improve the
EU’s preparedness to predict and respond to emerging infectious health threats by better
coordinating funding for research and innovation at EU, national (and regional) level towards
common objectives and an agreed Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda.
Such a partnership should contribute to building a coherent European Research Area (ERA),
enabling Member States, Associated Countries and the European Commission to rapidly and
jointly support research and innovation in pandemic preparedness. Aligned around a multi-
annual Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda with common objectives for research and
innovation in pandemic preparedness, the prospective partners – in close collaboration with
ECDC, EMA and other relevant actors – will define research needs in the medium- to long-
term. The Partnership is expected to build on existing pandemic preparedness networks, and
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work in synergy with the future Health Emergency Response Authority (HERA) 115 .
Collaboration with the private sector is anticipated.
The specifics of the European partnership for pandemic preparedness are being discussed with
Member States and Associated Countries, and will be shared as they become available. It is
anticipated that in its initial phase, the Partnership will primarily focus on
epidemics/pandemics preparedness, although its scope may be revised to include further
health threats that would be in scope of the activities of the future HERA. As relevant, the
Partnership will apply a cross-cutting, interdisciplinary One Health approach.
Proposals should foresee the establishment of a secretariat to coordinate the creation the
expected future European partnership for pandemic preparedness, with a strong involvement
of public authorities (policy makers, research funders).
Proposals should include all of the following activities:
     Perform the preparatory groundwork to inform an innovative and visionary Strategic
      Research and Innovation Agenda for pandemic preparedness;
      Actively engage with all prospective partners of the expected future Partnership to
      support alignment on its scope, common objectives, governance and ways of
      working/operationalisation;
      Actively engage with relevant stakeholders and initiatives in the area of pandemic
      preparedness, ensuring collaboration and coordination, and avoiding duplication; e.g.
      GloPID-R, WHO R&D blueprint, ACT-Accelerator, etc.
      Implement strong communication and dissemination activities on the purpose, foreseen
      activities and outputs of the expected future European partnership for pandemic
      preparedness, both outside and during epidemic/pandemic episodes.
      Establish coordination and collaboration with relevant initiatives related to pandemic
      preparedness such as the future HERA to ensure complementarity and avoid overlaps.
      As relevant, apply a cross-cutting, interdisciplinary One Health approach.
      Communication activities at EU level and in Member States and Associated Countries
      to raise and maintain awareness of the importance of increased pandemic preparedness.
The proposal selected for funding is expected to engage with other relevant research and
innovation initiatives, such as the expected future European partnerships on Transforming
Health and Care Systems, One Health antimicrobial resistance, ERA for Health research and
Animal Health and Welfare, or other relevant projects funded under Horizon 2020 or Horizon
Europe.
115
         COM(2020) 724 - A dedicated European authority that will strengthen the EU’s preparedness and
         response capability for new and emerging cross-border threats to human health.
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Call - Tackling diseases (Two Stage - 2022)
                                                      HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-06-two-stage
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)116
                         Topics                                Type Budgets         Expected      Number
                                                                 of     (EUR           EU             of
                                                             Action million) contribution projects
                                                                                   per project expected
                                                                         2022         (EUR          to be
                                                                                            117
                                                                                   million)        funded
                                           Opening: 06 Oct 2021
                Deadline(s): 01 Feb 2022 (First Stage), 06 Sep 2022 (Second Stage)
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-06-02-two-                         RIA      60.00       Around          10
                                                                      118
stage                                                                             6.00
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-06-03-two-                         RIA      40.00       Around          5
                                                                      119
stage                                                                             8.00
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-06-04-two-                         RIA      60.00       Around          8
                                                                      120
stage                                                                             8.00
Overall indicative budget                                             160.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
116
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
117
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
118
        Of which EUR 39.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
119
        Of which EUR 25.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
120
        Of which EUR 39.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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exclusion                                            C.
Award criteria                                       The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                     D.
Documents                                            The documents are described in General
                                                     Annex E.
Procedure                                            The procedure is described in General
                                                     Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant              The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-06-02-two-stage: Pre-clinical development of the
next generation of immunotherapies for diseases or disorders with unmet medical needs
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 60.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 3 “Tackling diseases and reducing disease
burden”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are
directed, tailored towards and contributing to some of the following expected outcomes:
   The scientific and clinical communities make effective use of the pre-clinical validation
     of new immunotherapies for high burden diseases or disorders with unmet medical
     needs.
   The scientific and clinical communities have access to new knowledge allowing for a
     better understanding of the mode of action of the next generation of immunotherapies
     and/or combinatorial treatments, which enables further development and optimisation of
     treatments.
   The scientific and clinical communities have access to and use new personalized models
     (in vitro and in vivo) for high burden diseases or disorders as well as protocols for the
     next generation of immunotherapies.
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     Health care professionals have access to and use new evidence-based safety and efficacy
      guidelines for immunotherapies. Proof-of-clinical concept, when applicable, as single or
      combinatorial treatment, should be compared to existing approaches.
Scope: Immunotherapy is defined as a treatment able to stimulate or restore the ability of the
immune (defence) system to fight infection, disease or disorder. It has proved to be a valuable
medical treatment notably when preventive interventions are not available. Passive and active
immunotherapies (such as antibody-based, RNA-based and cell-based therapies, respectively)
are covered by this topic, which is aiming at the pre-clinical to first-in human development of
next generation immunotherapies for unmet needs.
Proposals should build on existing knowledge in the field, when available, in order to save
time and to avoid spilling resources, and could build on the knowledge of the interaction
between the immune system (innate and adaptive arms) and the microbiota, or take advantage
of key enabling technologies such as biotechnology and nanotechnology, advanced
manufacturing, imaging, 5G, internet of things, artificial intelligence and existing databases.
The next generation of immunotherapies are needed in order to improve and diversify the
capabilities of health care for several communicable and non-communicable diseases121 that
cannot be effectively tackled with the currently available treatments.
Proposals are expected to address some of the following research gaps for the development of
the next generation of effective and safe immunotherapies:
     Preclinical development and study of new immunotherapeutic agents in vitro and in
      relevant animal model(s) of the disease(s). This includes understanding of the therapy’s
      agent(s) mode of action, its toxicity, the development of related potency assay(s), and
      its/their validation in vitro and in vivo. A robust regulatory and Health Technology
      Assessment (HTA) strategy should be in place at the start of the proposal.
     Off-the-shelf therapies, including the cell-based therapies, will be considered as assets
      during the evaluation.
     Proposals could include proof-of-concept (PoC)/first-in-human studies for testing the
      new therapies, with a clear regulatory and clinical pathway 122 and should address as
      appropriate the therapy-related potential for adverse side effects. PoC and clinical studies
      in humans should take sex, gender, age and socio-economic factors into account, where
      relevant. Phase II studies or later phase trials will not be supported.
     Development of a standardised framework for assays and data usage to enable a robust
      assessment of the safety and efficacy.
121
         Excluded from the scope are the preventive vaccines, the immunotherapies for rare diseases and the
         repurposing of drugs as they are covered by other topics in the HE research programme 2021-2022.
         Research on cancer immunotherapies is excluded as it will be covered by the Mission on Cancer.
122
         In case proposals are involving clinical studies, please use the document on essential information for
         clinical studies provided on the portal.
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   In case treatments are already available for the proposed targeted disease(s), a
      justification of the need for development of a new immunotherapy treatment is
      requested.
   The proposed action should include a pathway of the necessary steps to ensure
      sustainable therapeutic agent production (considering intellectual property management
      if relevant) and uptake by health systems and rapid access to patients.
Projects may consider the use of the nanobiotechnology infrastructure platform of the
European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, in particular for the accurate physicochemical
characterization of therapeutic proteins and antibodies.
All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and
joint activities, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for example,
involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also involve
networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate. Therefore, proposals are expected
to include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and may consider to cover the
costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite to detail concrete joint
activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be defined during the grant
agreement preparation phase. In this regard, the Commission may take on the role of
facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with relevant stakeholders, if appropriate.
Projects could consider the use of the Nanobiotechnology infrastructure platform of the
European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, in particular for the accurate physicochemical
characterization of therapeutic proteins and antibodies.
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-06-03-two-stage: Vaccines 2.0 - developing the next
generation of vaccines
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 40.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 3 “Tackling diseases and reducing disease
burden”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are
directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes:
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   The scientific and clinical communities use the increased knowledge on pathogens and
      better understanding of the immune system’s role in infectious diseases to develop
      vaccines with improved efficacy.
   Vaccine manufacturers use more innovative and sustainable manufacturing technologies
      and improved GMP manufacturing know-how for producing the next generation of
      vaccines.
   A diversified portfolio of vaccine candidates ready for testing in clinical trials help
      policy makers and funders to make informed decisions about support to vaccine
      development.
   New innovative and improved design of preclinical/clinical studies that match the
      features of the next generation of vaccines is available for clinical community and
      regulators, and will shorten vaccine development time.
Scope: Infectious diseases, including antimicrobial resistant (AMR) infections, remain a
major threat to health and health security in the EU and globally. The availability of more
effective, accessible and affordable vaccines would provide the most cost-effective preventive
measure against the health threat of epidemics and AMR pathogens. Vaccines against
diseases, such as AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), malaria, neglected tropical diseases, hepatitis C
and water-borne diseases are essential to achieve the WHO targets to control the spread of
infectious diseases. The first generation of vaccines against some of the pathogens have
proven to be suboptimal and not effective enough to protect the population. Many viruses of
pandemic potential are variable in their surface antigen composition, and novel technologies
are required to develop efficient vaccines against each new variant efficiently and in a short
timeframe. To ensure that more effective, accessible and affordable vaccines against all major
infectious diseases become a reality, it is essential to sustain a diverse and modernised vaccine
development pipeline.
Proposals should aim to diversify and accelerate the global vaccine research and development
pipeline, and to strengthen the current leading role of the EU in vaccine research and
development. Proposals should cover those pathogens, which still lack vaccines of sufficient
efficacy, but where earlier efforts have already produced promising vaccine candidates.
The proposals should address several of the following areas:
   Innovation and integration of expertise and capabilities, including alignment of
      preclinical and clinical models, biomarker studies and new vaccine approaches from
      discovery to late stage development, from bench-based research to clinical development
      of promising preventive candidates.
   Application of iterative processes (including cross-learning, back-translation steps,
      integrative analysis of data) to allow exploitation and integration of novel findings
      between clinical, preclinical and discovery research and development.
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   Deciphering mechanisms of protection of candidates, new approaches to antigen
     discovery and immunogen engineering, reverse vaccinology, evaluation of vaccines in
     novel platforms and technologies, novel adjuvants, innovative vaccine manufacturing
     approaches, relevant animal models, evaluation of alternative vaccine delivery routes.
   Effective, evidence-based decision-making for progression of vaccine candidates in the
     pipeline based on transparent and objective portfolio management. Regulatory
     requirements be considered. Sex, gender, age and socio-economic factors should be
     taken into account.
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-06-04-two-stage: Development of new effective
therapies for rare diseases
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 60.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                      consortium selected for funding.
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 3 “Tackling diseases and reducing disease
burden”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are
directed, tailored towards and contributing to some of the following expected outcomes:
   Researchers and developers make the best use of the state-of-the-art knowledge and
     resources for a fast and effective development of new therapies for rare diseases.
   Researchers and developers increase the development success rate of therapies for rare
     diseases by employing robust preclinical models, methods, technologies, validated
     biomarkers, reliable patient reported outcomes and/or innovative clinical trials designs.
   Developers and regulators move faster towards market approval of new therapies for rare
     diseases (with currently no approved treatment option) due to an increased number of
     interventions successfully tested in late stages of clinical development.
   Healthcare professionals and people living with a rare disease get access to new
     therapeutic interventions and/or orphan medicinal products.
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Scope: Despite the considerable amount of knowledge that has been accumulated and the new
orphan medicines developed in recent years, the number of available therapies for rare
diseases remains low, as fewer than 6% of rare diseases have an approved treatment option.
The joint evaluation 123 of the regulations on orphan medicinal products and paediatric
medicines concluded that those regulations have boosted the development for new therapies
for rare diseases but have not yet adequately managed to direct research and innovation in
areas of greatest unmet medical need. Actually, there is an urgent unmet medical need for the
development of therapies for rare diseases, where there is still no approved therapeutic option
available.
Therefore, proposals should aim to develop therapies for rare diseases with no approved
therapeutic option. Proposals should focus on group(s) of rare diseases with commonalities,
such as shared biological features, possibly within the same and/or across different medical
areas within the rare diseases landscape 124 . Thus, proposals should not address a single
disease only (for example with an Orphacode representing a single disease).
The therapies to be developed may include a broad family of therapeutic interventions such as
small molecule(s), advanced therapy medicinal products, repurposing of existing medicinal
products, including non-pharmacological interventions and/or their combinations, as relevant.
Sex and gender aspects should be considered, where relevant. To ensure that the needs of
people living with a rare disease are adequately addressed, the involvement of patient
representatives in all phases of the research and development process is strongly encouraged.
Rare infectious diseases and rare cancers are excluded from this topic and will not be
considered.
The topic will support proposals covering several different stages in the continuum of the
innovation pathway (i.e. translational, preclinical, clinical research, validation in the clinical
and/or real-world setting etc.), as relevant. SME(s) participation is encouraged with the aim to
strengthen the scientific and technological basis of SME(s) and valorise their innovations for
the benefit of people living with a rare disease.
The proposals should address most of the following research activities:
     Establish multidisciplinary collaborations between all relevant stakeholders by
      integrating disciplines, technological developments and existing knowledge. Integrate
      harmonised data from multiple sources (i.e. natural history studies/clinical trials, multi-
      omics, medical imaging, registries etc.) by utilising data analytics and/or other suitable
      methods, with the aim to understand the pathophysiology/heterogeneity of the rare
      diseases concerned and to identify therapeutically actionable mechanisms.
123
         https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/health/files/files/paediatrics/docs/orphan-regulation_eval_swd_2020-
         163_part-3.pdf
124
         Medical areas such as: neurology, immunology, dermatology, endocrinology-metabolism etc. - see
         EMA therapeutic areas: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/human-regulatory/research-development/prime-
         priority-medicines
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     Develop and utilise relevant preclinical models and/or innovative tools/technologies to:
      verify molecular/cellular pathways/genes that can be therapeutically targeted, increase
      the confidence in the targets selection and/or perform toxicity studies. When using
      disease models the applicants should describe how well the model replicates the
      pathology or the human condition.
     Develop and/or execute innovative clinical trials designs for small populations and novel
      approaches to assess and monitor the safety and efficacy of the proposed interventions.
      Such approaches may include but are not limited to: biomarkers defining robust
      surrogate and clinical endpoints; artificial intelligence tools/medical devices/biosensors/
      companion/ complementary diagnostics for defining reliable patient reported outcomes;
      modelling and simulation and in-silico trials methodologies.
     Carry out preclinical proof-of-concept (PoC) studies and/or multinational interventional
      clinical studies125 to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the therapeutic interventions
      under study. Preclinical PoC studies should include late-stage preclinical studies (i.e.
      toxicological properties, adverse effects etc.). Clinical studies may cover all necessary
      development stages. Applicants should propose a clear exploitation pathway through the
      different necessary steps (research, manufacturing, regulatory approvals and licensing,
      IP management etc.) in order to accelerate marketing authorisation and uptake by the
      health systems.
Proposals should involve group(s) of rare diseases (i.e. a rare disease being individually
defined in the European Union as affecting not more than five in 10.000 persons). Proposals
that plan to run clinical trials should demonstrate that they have already taken into account
scientific advice126 or protocol assistance from EMA. In particular, proposals planning the
clinical development of orphan medicinal products should demonstrate that they have been
granted approval for an orphan designation at the latest on the date of the call deadline.
Proposals should adhere to the FAIR127 data principles and take stock, wherever relevant, of
data standards, harmonisation guidelines and good practices for data sharing/access developed
by existing European health research infrastructures (i.e. ESFRI infrastructures128). Proposals
should take stock, where relevant, of the FAIR guidance, of good practices for analytical
methods and preclinical models and of good exploitation strategies for the translation of
research results into high impact interventions, developed by the European Joint Programme
on Rare Diseases129 (EJP RD) and other relevant EU-funded projects. Whenever the proposed
data sources or fields of application include genomics, the proposals should take into account,
125
         Template for providing essential information in proposals involving clinical studies
         https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/other/legal/templ/h2020_tmpl-clinical-
         studies_2018-2020_en.pdf
126
         https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/human-regulatory/research-development/scientific-advice-protocol-
         assistance
127
         FAIR data are data, which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.
128
         2018 Roadmap of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) with list of ESFRI
         research                          infrastructures                       (pp                         15-17),
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/research_and_innovation/esfri-roadmap-2018.pdf.
129
         https://www.ejprarediseases.org/
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where relevant, the data standards, and legal, ethical and technical interoperability
requirements and guidelines agreed within the 1+ Million Genomes initiative 130 . Data-
intensive proposals, particularly those using data from patient registries, could consider the
involvement of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) and take stock of the
tools and services provided by the European Platform on Rare Disease Registration (EU RD
Platform), including the adoption, where relevant, of the European standards such as the "set
of common data elements” 131 . In addition, synergies should be sought with the European
Reference Networks132, where relevant.
Projects funded under this topic will contribute towards the goals of the International Rare
Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) that supports the development of 1000 new
therapies for rare diseases by 2027 and may take stock of the IRDiRC Orphan Drug
Development Guidebook133, where relevant.
Call - Tackling diseases (Single Stage - 2022)
                                                                   HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-07
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)134
                      Topics                            Type       Budgets     Expected EU        Number
                                                          of        (EUR      contribution per        of
                                                       Action      million)    project (EUR        projects
                                                                                million)135       expected
                                                                     2022                           to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                            Opening: 12 Jan 2022
                                          Deadline(s): 21 Apr 2022
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-07-01 CSA                               2.00       Around 2.00          1
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-07-02 RIA                               10.00      Around 3.00          3
130
        https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/1-million-genomes
131
        https://eu-rd-platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/set-of-common-data-elements_en
132
        https://ec.europa.eu/health/ern_en
133
        https://irdirc.org/orphan-drug-development-guidebook-materials/
134
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
135
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-07-03 RIA                          25.00 136  Around 3.00        8
Overall indicative budget                                    37.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-07-02: Pandemic preparedness
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 3 “Tackling diseases and reducing disease
burden”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are
directed, tailored towards and contributing to some of the following expected outcomes:
136
        Of which EUR 15.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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     The scientific community has better understanding of the biology of the pathogens
      (virus, bacteria etc.), its transmission, its interaction with humans, animals and plants, in
      particular in view of emerging threats to human health, such as infectious diseases and
      anti-microbial resistance.
     Health care providers and practitioners have access to and use appropriate medical
      countermeasures, e.g. vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics and digital solutions.
     Health authorities have the evidence-base and tools for better public health measures.
Scope: The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed weaknesses in the ability of the Union and its
Member States to respond quickly and effectively to such an unprecedented health
emergency. Therefore, the Commission is stepping up its efforts in supporting the Union’s
ability to respond to serious cross-border threats.
Member States agreed to step up their coordination in the area of pandemic preparedness
research and aim to establish a European partnership on pandemic preparedness. A dedicated
coordination support action137 will help develop a common long-term Strategic Research and
Innovation Agenda for such a partnership.
A key component for the European Health Union will be the establishment of the Health
Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) for which the Commission will
put forward a legislative proposal by the end of 2021. It should build on experiences dealing
with COVID-19, SARS and influenza, and consider emerging biological threats to human
health, e.g. in the context of climate change, deforestation and biodiversity loss.
This topic aims to contribute and complement both of these initiatives, notably by addressing
priority research and innovation gaps also identified by Member States and that would
contribute and support the establishment and work of a potential future Health Emergency
Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA).
Research focussing on ‘pathogen X’ from threat assessment, horizon scanning for the
identification of potential medical countermeasures and innovative technologies, including the
development of standardised research protocols would be in the scope of this topic.
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-07-03: Non-communicable diseases risk reduction in
adolescence and youth (Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases - GACD)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
137
         HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-06: Building a European partnership for pandemic preparedness
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Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 25.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 3 “Tackling diseases and reducing disease
burden”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are
directed, tailored towards and contributing to some of the following expected outcomes:
   Health care practitioners and providers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)
      and those in high-income countries (HICs) serving vulnerable populations have access to
      and use specific guidelines to implement prevention interventions able to support
      adolescents and young people to decrease future risks of developing NCDs.
   Public health managers and authorities have access to improved insights and evidences
      on the NCDs related to behaviours and conditions in youth and adolescence. They
      establish improved health policies to diminish these risks, including to facilitate the
      deployment of effective public health interventions.
   Researchers, clinicians and authorities have an improved understanding of the factors
      that influence the implementation of preventive actions that address risk behaviours in
      youth and adolescence.
   Communities and local stakeholders and authorities are fully engaged in implementing
      and taking up health interventions and thus contribute to deliver better health.
Scope: The European Commission is a member of the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases
(GACD), an alliance of international funding agencies representing over 80% of the world’s
public health research funding and the first collaboration of its kind to specifically address
non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The GACD supports implementation science to improve
health outcomes. This topic is launched in concertation with the other GACD members
funding agencies and aligned with the GACD call 2021.
The topic is focused on implementation research about common risk prevention interventions
targeting adolescents and youth to reduce the impact of non-communicable diseases (NCDs)
in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and vulnerable populations in high-income
countries (HICs). Proposals should focus on implementation science around evidence-based
interventions that promote healthy behaviours, and that have the potential to profoundly
reduce the risk of chronic diseases and multimorbidity.
The GACD Alliance is particularly interested in funding projects that focus on interventions
that reduce health risk and/or enhance a healthy lifestyle in young people, which the WHO
defines as the period from ages 10-24 and includes adolescence (ages 10-19) and youth (15-
24). Adolescence and youth mark a period of emerging independence and an important time
for laying the foundations of good health. Adolescence and youth is a period in life where
patterns of behaviour are established around diet, physical activity, substance use and sexual
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activity, which can affect their health in the present; in their future adult lives; and even in the
next generation. In the transition from childhood to adulthood, young people become
increasingly exposed to harmful products such as tobacco, alcohol and drugs, and can
experience devastating mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, self-harm, substance
abuse and addictions, as well as eating disorders and suicide. Over 150 million young people
smoke; 81% adolescents do not meet physical activity guidelines; 11.7% of adolescents
partake in heavy episodic drinking; and suicide has emerged as a leading cause of death in
young people globally.
All proposals must make the case for why their selected life stage is a critical period for the
reduction of NCD risk in the communities where the research will be undertaken. There are a
range of evidence-based interventions, including the WHO Best Buys, which aim to reduce
the health risks associated with common NCD risk factors. Implementation research is
necessary to understand the uptake, accessibility, acceptability, adaption, sustainability and
costs of known interventions for use in young adults and adolescents. Applicants are invited
to consider interventions at the individual, family, community (e.g., work or school) or
population level. Multi-sectoral approaches and a combination of different types of
interventions, including biomedical, digital (such as artificial intelligence and big data), socio-
behavioural, and/or structural 138 are encouraged. Projects will be expected to build on
evidence-based interventions that focus on prevention interventions and strategies that reduce
common risk factors for chronic non-communicable diseases, or that promote healthy
behaviours. Such interventions/strategies might include, but are not limited to, those in the
following three areas: nutrition, physical activity, and/or sleep; tobacco, substance abuse
and/or alcohol use; social wellbeing and loneliness . Proposals should be gender-responsive
and consider socioeconomic, racial or other factors that relate to equitable impacts of the
intervention or barriers to equitable implementation.
Proposals should include implementation research outcomes (e.g. feasibility, fidelity and/or
adaptation, spread and/or penetration, acceptability, sustainability, uptake, and cost
effectiveness) and where relevant, include service outcomes (e.g. efficiency, safety,
effectiveness, patient-centeredness, timeliness). The aim is to harmonise the research common
goals and the outcomes assessment of GACD-funded projects in order to maximise the
potential for learning across the network and the impact of the initiative as a whole. To this
end, all funded teams are expected to use explicit indicators and measures of project context,
reach, outcomes evaluation and scale-up potential in their plans and protocols. In this topic,
the use of the following measures is encouraged: evidence of uptake of promoted healthy
behaviours; evidence of reduction in harmful behaviours; and proxy mental and/or physical
health outcomes, if appropriate (pre- and post- intervention PHQ-9 scores, blood pressure,
HbA1C, etc.).
138
        Structural interventions are defined as interventions that attempt to change the social, physical,
        economic, or political environments in order to improve health behaviours and outcomes, altering the
        larger social context by which health disparities emerge and persist. They can include policy-driven
        fiscal or legislative changes focused on social and/or commercial determinants of health.
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Proposals should include a strategy to include policy makers and local authorities, as well as
other relevant stakeholders such as community groups. Such engagement should inform the
conception and development of the project and should continue throughout the duration of
project and afterwards during the knowledge translation phase. Participants that are local
stakeholders can be powerful assets to the projects indeed. Their contributions should be
nurtured through meaningful engagement throughout all phases of the project, not only as
participants in the research undertaken.
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-07-01: Support for the functioning of the Global
Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness (GloPID-R)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 3 “Tackling diseases and reducing disease
burden”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are
directed, tailored towards and contributing to some of the following expected outcomes:
     International research funders are supported by a dynamic and efficient secretariat in
      their coordination efforts for a rapid research response when a pandemic or a severe
      epidemic strikes.
     International research funders can rely on a tested framework underpinning a rapid and
      effective research response, and as such ensure stronger research preparedness and
      response for public health emergencies, including in cross-cutting areas such as data
      sharing, social science, clinical trial networks and others.
     Research funders, policy makers and the research community are well informed of the
      activities of GloPID-R members, both as a group and individually.
Scope: The COVID-19 pandemic has been a confronting reality-check of the potential extent
of threats posed by new or emerging infectious diseases. The pandemic overwhelmingly
confirmed that to fight such international challenges, global collaboration and coordination is
crucial. The Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness (GloPID-
R)139 was established in 2013 for this reason, in response to a request for coordination by the
Heads of International Research Organisations. Years on, GloPID-R now provides a widely
139
        https://www.glopid-r.org/
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recognised platform for infectious disease research funders to work together to better tackle
severe epidemics such as Ebola or Zika, as well as global pandemics such as COVID-19.
The COVID-19 pandemic response illustrated the value added by GloPID-R, by enabling
coordination between funders and with relevant global actors such as the World Health
Organization (WHO) or the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI); or by
promoting exchanges and synergies between funded researchers. Ongoing efforts with the
network include reflections on improved data sharing during outbreaks, creating links
between clinical trial networks, addressing specificities of research in low and middle-income
countries, and the inclusion of social sciences into the research response to public health
emergencies.
Proposals should foresee administrative and technical support through a secretariat to
maintain, but above all to support GloPID-R’s continuous evolution for an optimal value
added.
Proposals are expected to cover all of the following activities:
   Provide administrative and organisational support to the Chair and Vice Chairs of
     GloPID-R, in close collaboration with the European Commission;
   Provide strong scientific support on topics requested by the GloPID-R Chairs, scientific
     advisors or (working) groups;
   Facilitate the work of the scientific advisors, ISG and GloPID-R working groups, using
     earlier experience in research preparedness and response to infectious disease outbreaks;
   Manage information dissemination and communication between the Chairs, Members,
     Scientific Advisors, Industry Stakeholder Group (ISG), working groups, enquiries, and
     outside stakeholders;
   Reinforce GloPID-R’s external communications activities, such as the website and
     newsletter, as requested by the Chairs;
   Submit an annual work plan to the Commission each year following the annual meeting
     of GloPID-R, taking into account the conclusions of the annual meeting.
   Ensure a high level of adaptability to respond to rapidly evolving situations, following
     the guidance of the Chairs of GloPID-R.
Call - Partnerships in Health (2022)
                                                            HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-03
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Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)140
                     Topics                             Type of      Budgets    Expected EU       Number
                                                        Action        (EUR       contribution         of
                                                                     million)     per project      projects
                                                                                    (EUR          expected
                                                                       2022
                                                                                  million)141       to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 12 Jan 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 21 Apr 2022
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-03-01 COFUND 30.00 142                                Around 30.00      1
Overall indicative budget                                            30.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
                                                           Annex E.
Procedure                                                  The procedure is described in General
                                                           Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                    The rules are described in General Annex G.
140
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
141
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
142
        Of which EUR 18.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-03-01: European partnership fostering a European
Research Area (ERA) for health research
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per         30.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 30.00 million.
Type of Action           Programme Co-fund Action
Procedure                The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                         exceptions apply:
                         The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant      apply:
Agreements               Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The
                         support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                         Financial support provided by the participants to third parties is one of
                         the primary activities of the action in order to be able to achieve its
                         objectives. The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is
                         EUR 10 million. The funding rate is 30 % of the eligible costs.
Total indicative         The total indicative budget for the duration of this co-funded European
budget                   Partnership is EUR 110 million, of which EUR 30 million from the
                         2022 budget.
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 3 “Tackling diseases and reducing disease
burden” and destination 1 “Staying healthy in a rapidly changing society”. To that end,
proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are contributing to all of the
following expected outcomes:
   Based on a trusted governance and effective working modalities, research funders, health
     policy-makers and the research community work together in order to identify and
     prioritise topics of common interest and European benefit;
   Research funders and policy-makers:
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         support the generation of knowledge related, but not limited, to cardiovascular
            diseases, diet related diseases and nano medical technologies, and have access to
            and make use of the evidence on the benefits and drawbacks of health
            interventions, in particular for optimising clinical management, personalised
            medicine (coordinating with the future Partnership on Personalised Medicine) and
            avoiding overtreatment;
            overcome the main obstacles to test health interventions at European level.
            Therefore, the research community, independently from private interest, can
            conduct large-scale Investigator-Initiated Clinical Studies (IICSs) 143 of various
            health interventions addressing important public health needs in a seamless way,
            effectively addressing known challenges related to, for example, appropriate study
            design, ethics (including special patient groups 144 ), regulatory and institutional
            approvals, patient recruitment, management of informed consent, as well as, bio
            banking of human samples;
     Public health research systems in the ERA are more effective and integrated. Utilization
      of health services, preventative measures, technologies, tools and digital solutions are
      more cost-effective;
     Health and care authorities, policymakers and other stakeholders use the research results
      to develop evidence-based strategies and policies, and deploy good practices to
      European countries and regions;
     Patients and citizens are more knowledgeable about disease threats and contribute to a
      patient-centred decision-making process, assuring better adherence to knowledge-based
      disease management strategies and policies (including for controlling outbreaks and
      emergencies);
     Countries cooperate better and use context-specific knowledge and evidence to make
      their health and care systems more sustainable and resilient with respect to upcoming
      needs and crises (Complementary with the Co-Funded Partnership on Transforming
      Health and Care Systems with which strong links will be established).
Scope: The “ERA for Health” Partnership will be a leading European initiative for the flexible
joint programming of health related research and innovation programmes, effectively
involving a wide variety of European funding organisations.
This Partnership will be open in particular to public funders of Health research at both
national and regional level in the Member States, countries associated to Horizon Europe and
143
        In this text, IICS means a clinical study in which a health technology (e.g. a medicinal product, a
        medical device, an in-vitro diagnostic medical device, a surgical or other medical intervention) is tested
        in humans, independently from commercial interest and for public health benefits.
144
        The Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe refers to including representative participation of population
        groups, for example gender and age groups, that are likely to use the medicinal product investigated in
        the clinical trials to ensure appropriate safety and efficacy.
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to other funders such as philanthropic organisations. Special attention will be placed on
engaging with and including many research funders with relatively small budgets.
The Partnership will integrate research and innovation areas covered by previous ERANET
co-fund actions, Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs), as well as IICSs. It will be composed of
two phases.
Phase 1 will integrate European initiatives selected as most relevant by the partners 145 and
initially implement joint calls on nutrition- and lifestyle-related diseases, cardiovascular
diseases and nano-medicine. In parallel, it will test the possibility to carry out joint calls for
proposals for R&I activities on IICSs. Phase 1 will last for 2 years. After this period, the
Horizon Europe Health Programme Committee will decide whether to extend and intensify
the focus on IICSs. This decision will be based on objective criteria to be specified in the final
proposals. They will only affect the focus area and budget of the partnership, not its existence
over the 7 years.
Phase 1 will start by co-creating an accepted and effective governance mechanism to achieve
the following objectives:
1. To jointly identify and implement a common good/best practice funding strategy in priority
areas of common interest and European benefit to advance health research and develop
innovation. Partners will implement jointly calls to be funded each year. These will prioritize
areas that are not adequately covered by (or can complement) existing programmes (i.e.
Horizon Europe Work Programmes, other existing or planned partnerships and other actions).
2. To define and have a first measure of coordinated investment in Public Health Research for
the European Research Area (EU and Associated countries). This entails agreeing towards the
end of Phase 1, on (i) boundaries (what is and what is not “Health research”), (ii) a taxonomy
(which programmes are in or out) and (iii) a methodology according to the JOREP146 data,
JRC and EUROSTAT standards for measuring the baseline of this Key Performance
Indicator.
3. To develop new approaches that overcome known bottlenecks and challenges to implement
multinational IICS. This will be achieved in close collaboration with ongoing initiatives147 to
support the conduct of multinational non-commercial studies. This would result in
establishing appropriate mechanism(s) to identify topics, pool-funding sources, and to launch
145
         Horizon 2020 ERA-NETs addressing Cardiovascular Diseases (ERA-CVD), Nano Medical
         Technologies (EuroNanoMed), and the JPI A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life (HDHL, Diet related
         diseases)
146
         Handbook on data collection on joint and open research programmes (JOREP) - Publications Office of
         the EU (europa.eu)
147
         Examples are the European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (ECRIN) and the EU wide
         clinical trial networks set up for COVID19 vaccines https://www.vaccelerate.eu/ and therapeutics
         https://www.recover-europe.eu/coordination-of-european-covid-19-adaptive-platform-trials/Handbook
         on data collection on joint and open research programmes (JOREP) - Publications Office of the EU
         (europa.eu)
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(joint) calls for EU wide multinational IICSs on various health interventions 148 addressing
important public health needs.
By the end of Phase 1, all necessary procedures and support should be operational to launch a
first call for IICSs involving several countries on selected health interventions that address
important public health needs.
During Phase 2, additional multinational calls for IICSs and joint calls for other priority areas
will be launched in accordance with the decision of the Health Programme Committee taken
at the end of Phase 1 on the focus of the Partnership and the distribution of the budget
between IICSs and other areas.
The Clinical Trials Regulation (EU) 536/2014 will become applicable in January 2022. The
overall aim of the new Regulation is to make Europe more attractive for clinical trials. With
these changes, the Regulation intends to provide additional support to multinational trials. As
a new concept, it also introduces low-interventional trials (e.g. pragmatic trials to optimise
treatment) with risk-proportionate regulatory requirements. This type of trials can also be
supported by actions of this partnership.
The continuously growing arsenal of health interventions, whether it is a new pharmaceutical
product, a medical device, a surgical intervention, or other measures utilised during health and
care provision, reflecting the increasing demand for better quality of care by citizens, force
decision makers of public health systems to optimally allocate limited resources in a well-
informed manner. Large-scale IICSs generate data on safety and effectiveness of a health
intervention, often in real-world settings, and thus provide evidence to answer questions that
clinicians face in their day-to-day practice in order to optimise the clinical management of
patients beyond the context of marketing authorisation application for medicinal products.
Such studies deal with potential diagnostic and therapeutic interventions that do not attract, or
could go counter commercial interest. These clinical studies are critical to support
endorsement of healthcare strategies (repurposing, comparative effectiveness, treatment
combination or optimisation studies, personalised medicine trials).
By pooling existing resources, eliminating redundancies and reducing fragmentation, the
implementation of multinational IICSs covered by this Partnership will benefit from better
access to high number of study participants/patients, medical expertise and facilities,
enhanced methodological standards; and shared costs, tools and procedures. All these aspects
will contribute to generate robust and reliable clinical evidence, increase the potential for
broad implementation of research outcomes; prevent duplication of research efforts and allow
broad uptake by health systems.
148
        Wide definition of health intervention: medicinal products, medical devices, surgical or other invasive
        procedures, other medical interventions including preventative measures
        Examples are the European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (ECRIN) and the EU wide
        clinical trial networks set up for COVID19 vaccines https://www.vaccelerate.eu/ and therapeutics
        https://www.recover-europe.eu/coordination-of-european-covid-19-adaptive-platform-trials/
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IICSs supported by this partnership should i) establish new indications of a given existing
health intervention for a condition where alternative solutions do not exist or are sub-optimal;
ii) optimise or develop new, personalised care pathways including for high-priced medical
interventions/treatment modalities; iii) introduce new health interventions with clear relative
clinical efficacy/effectiveness compared to existing alternatives (including preventative
measures); iv) accelerate the uptake of new interventions by health care systems.
Support by European research infrastructures, required to perform multinational clinical
studies at scale, will, in particular, build on the asset of existing research infrastructures, such
as the European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (ECRIN)149 for sponsor-delegated
study responsibilities, and Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure
(BBMRI)150 for the management of biosamples and linked data that are generated under the
studies.
The partnership should bring together a broad range of actors with a common vision of future.
Through the objectives of Horizon Europe, the partnership should contribute to achieving the
following European Commission priorities:
     Promoting our European way of life
     An economy that works for people
     A Europe fit for the digital age
The Partnership should contribute to priorities of the “Communication on effective, accessible
and resilient health systems” (COM(2014) 215 final), the “Communication on enabling the
digital transformation of health and care in the Digital Single Market; empowering citizens
and building a healthier society” (COM(2018) 233 final) and support the objectives of the
Commission proposal for the new EU4Health Programme (COM(2020) 405 final).
This partnership should also contribute to achieving the objectives of the Pharmaceutical
Strategy for Europe 151 , in terms of fulfilling unmet medical needs and ensuring that the
benefits of innovation reach patients in the EU.
Thanks to its capacity to bring together different stakeholders (e.g. research funders, health
authorities, health and care institutions, innovators, policy makers), to create a critical mass of
resources and to implement a long-term Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA),
the partnership will address the following objectives:
     Improve the utilisation of existing health technologies in clinical practice
     Support research in relevant medical fields and intervention areas (prevention, diagnosis,
      treatment)
149
         Facilitating European Clinical Research | ECRIN
150
         Home | BBMRI-ERIC: Making New Treatments Possible
151
         COM(2020) 761 final
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     Implement and develop Responsible Research & Innovation (RRI) in multiple ways (in
      partnership operationalization, in calls and in project evaluation and monitoring)
         Engage society through citizens and patients
         Promote formal and informal science education
         Ensure gender equality, in both the research process and research content
     Provide support and build capacity, in particular in conducting IICSs at European scale
     Promote open access and data sharing152
     Communicate and disseminate research outcomes, in particular to decision makers
This Partnership should be implemented through a joint programme of activities ranging from
research to coordination and networking activities, including training, demonstration, piloting
and dissemination activities, to be structured along the following main building blocks:
     Joint implementation of the SRIA;
     Joint annual calls for R&I activities;
     Framework to overcome challenges in conducting IICSs
     Capacity building activities;
The Partnership is open to all EU Member States, as well as to countries associated to
Horizon Europe and will remain open to those countries wishing to join. The Partnership
should include or engage with the following actors:
     Ministries in charge of R&I policy, as well as national and regional R&I and technology
      funding agencies and foundations;
     Ministries in charge of health and care policy, as well as national and regional health and
      care authorities, organisations and providers.
The Partnership may also encourage engagement with other relevant Ministries and research
funders. It will involve other key actors from civil society and end-users, research and
innovation community, innovation owners, health and care systems owners/organisers and
health and care agencies.
The Partnership’s governance structure should enable an upfront strategic steering, effective
management and coordination, daily implementation of activities and ensure the use and
uptake of the results. The governance should involve key stakeholders, including but not
limited to the research and innovation community, patients and citizens, health and care
professionals, formal and informal care organisations, and innovation owners.
152
        Also adhering to the FAIR (findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability) data principles
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To ensure coherence and complementarity of activities and leverage knowledge and
investment possibilities, the Partnership is expected to establish relevant collaborations with
other Horizon Europe partnerships (institutionalized and co-funded) and missions as set out in
the working document on ‘Coherence and Synergies of candidate European partnerships
under Horizon Europe’153 as well as to explore collaborations with other relevant activities at
EU and international level. On top of this, the proposal should consider synergies with EU
programmes, including but not limited to EU4Health 154 , the Digital Europe Programme
(DIGITAL) 155 , the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) 156 , the European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF)157, InvestEU158, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF)159
and the Technical Support Instrument (TSI)160.
Cooperation with international organisations, and non-European institutions and experts may
be considered. Participation of third countries is encouraged. Their commitments to the
Partnership would not be eligible for the calculation of EU funding. Applicants should
describe in their proposal the methodology for their collaboration and the aims they want to
achieve with this kind of collaboration.
Proposals should pool the necessary financial resources from the participating national (or
regional) research programmes with a view to implementing joint calls for transnational
proposals resulting in grants to third parties. Financial support provided by the participants to
third parties is one of the primary activities of this action in order to be able to achieve its
objectives.
The expected duration of the partnership is seven years.
For Phase 1 (2 years) the EU contribution will be limited to a maximum of 30% of the total
eligible costs of the action with a maximum of EUR 30 million. The total EU contribution for
the overall duration (2 years of Phase 1 + 5 years of Phase 2) is expected to be EUR 110
million (EUR 30 million for Phase 1 and EUR 80 million for Phase 2, provided Member State
commit matching funds).
153
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/horizon-europe/european-partnerships-horizon-europe_en#synergies
154
        EU4Health 2021-2027 – a vision for a healthier European Union | Public Health (europa.eu)
        EU4Health Programme (COM(2020) 405 final) Regulation (EU) 2021/522 of the European Parliament
        and of the Council of 24 March 2021 establishing a Programme for the Union’s action in the field of
        health (‘EU4Health Programme’) for the period 2021-2027, and repealing Regulation (EU) No
        282/2014 (OJ L 107, 26.3.2021, p. 1).
155
        Digital Programme | Shaping Europe’s digital future (europa.eu)
156
        Home | European Social Fund Plus (europa.eu)
157
        European Regional Development Fund - Regional Policy - European Commission (europa.eu)
158
        InvestEU | InvestEU (europa.eu)
159
        Recovery and Resilience Facility | European Commission (europa.eu)
160
        Technical Support Instrument (TSI) | European Commission (europa.eu)
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Destination 4. Ensuring access to innovative, sustainable and high-quality
health care
Calls for proposals under this destination are directed towards the Key Strategic Orientation
KSO-D ‘Creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society’ of Horizon
Europe’s Strategic Plan 2021-2024. Research and innovation supported under this destination
should contribute to the impact areas ‘Good health and high-quality accessible health care’
and ‘A resilient EU prepared for emerging threats’, and in particular to the following
expected impact, set out in the Strategic Plan for the health cluster: ‘Health care systems
provide equal access to innovative, sustainable and high-quality health care thanks to the
development and uptake of safe, cost-effective and people-centred solutions, with a focus on
population health, health systems resilience, as well as improved evidence-based health
policies’. In addition, research and innovation supported under this destination could also
contribute to the following impact areas: ‘Climate change mitigation and adaptation’, ‘High
quality digital services for all’ and ‘A Competitive and secure data economy’.
Health systems are affected by limitations in sustainability and resilience, challenges which
have been reinforced by the COVID-19 crisis that has also revealed inequalities in access to
high-quality health care services. Our health systems need to become more effective, efficient,
accessible, fiscally and environmentally sustainable, and resilient in order to cope with public
health emergencies, to adapt to environmental challenges like climate change and to
contribute to social justice and cohesion. Therefore, the transformation and modernisation of
our health systems will be one of the biggest challenges in the economic recovery-bound
future, but it will also be a time of opportunity for generating evidence, taking advantage of
digital and data-driven innovation and developing more flexible and equitable health systems.
Under this destination, research and innovation aims at supporting health care systems in their
transformation to ensure fair access to sustainable health care services of high quality for all
citizens. Funded activities should support the development of innovative, feasible,
implementable, financially sound and scalable solutions in the various dimensions of health
care systems (e.g. governance, financing, human and physical resources, health service
provision, and patient empowerment). Ultimately, these activities should provide decision-
makers with new evidence, methods, tools and technologies for uptake into their health care
systems and, consequently, allow improving governance of the European health care systems,
supporting health care professionals and providers and allocating resources according to
citizens’ health needs and preferences, while ensuring fiscal and environmental sustainability
to assure those needs can be met on the long-term. Funded activities should adopt a patient-
centred approach that empowers patients, promotes a culture of dialogue and openness
between citizens, patients, caregivers, health care providers and other relevant stakeholders,
and unleashes the potential for social innovation.
In this work programme, destination 4 will focus on the following issues:
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   Modernising health care systems in the EU, especially through a European public-public
      partnership on transforming health and care systems;
   Improving the quality of health care along the entire health care continuum and being
      people-centred;
   Supporting evidence-based health care decisions both for health care providers and
      policy-makers, fostering improved foresight and enabling sound planning of health care
      resources;
   Enhancing development and uptake of innovative health care services and solutions,
      including environmentally sustainable ones that contribute to the European Green Deal.
In view of increasing the impact of EU investments under Horizon Europe, the European
Commission welcomes and supports cooperation between EU-funded projects to enable
cross-fertilisation and other synergies. This could range from networking to joint activities
such as the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. Opportunities for potential
synergies exist between projects funded under the same topic but also between other projects
funded under another topic, cluster or pillar of Horizon Europe (but also with ongoing
projects funded under Horizon 2020). In particular, this could involve projects related to
European health research infrastructures (under pillar I of Horizon Europe), the EIC strategic
challenges on health and EIT-KIC Health (under pillar III of Horizon Europe), or in areas
cutting across the health and other clusters (under pillar II of Horizon Europe). For instance,
with cluster 2 “Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society” such as on health economics and
economic models, on cost-effectiveness, fiscal sustainability and accessibility of health care,
or on adaptation of public health systems to societal challenges (climate change,
environmental degradation, migration, demographic change, emerging epidemics and One
Health AMR) thereby contributing to building resilience; with cluster 3 “Civil Security for
Society” such as on security of health care infrastructures, incl. digital health infrastructures,
health systems preparedness and response to disasters and other emergencies, and quality and
safety of medicine (counterfeit and substandard medicine, illicit drugs, One Health AMR);
with cluster 4 “Digital, Industry and Space” such as on cybersecurity of (public) health
systems, products and infrastructures of digitalised health and care, or on health impact
assessment (e.g. related to consumer products, working place innovation).
Expected impacts:
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to
ensuring access to innovative, sustainable and high-quality health care, and more specifically
to one or several of the following impacts:
   Health and social care services and systems have improved governance mechanisms and
      are more effective, efficient, accessible, resilient, trusted and sustainable, both fiscally
      and environmentally. Health promotion and disease prevention will be at their heart, by
      shifting from hospital-centred to community-based, people-centred and integrated health
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     care structures and successfully embedding technological innovations that meet public
     health needs, while patient safety and quality of services is increased.
   Health care providers are trained and equipped with the skills and competences suited
     for the future needs of health care systems that are modernised, digitally transformed and
     equipped with innovative tools, technologies and digital solutions for health care. They
     save time and resources by integrating and applying innovative technologies, which
     better involve patients in their own care, by reorganising workflows and redistributing
     tasks and responsibilities throughout the health care system, and by monitoring and
     analysing corresponding health care activities.
   Citizens are supported to play a key role in managing their own health care, informal
     carers (including unpaid carers) are fully supported (e.g. by preventing overburdening
     and economic stress) and specific needs of more vulnerable groups are recognised and
     addressed. They benefit from improved access to health care services, including
     financial risk protection, timely access to quality essential health care services, including
     safe, effective, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines.
   Health policy and systems adopt a holistic approach (individuals, communities,
     organisations, society) for the evaluation of health outcomes and value of public health
     interventions, the organisation of health care, and decision-making.
   The actions resulting from the calls under this destination will also create strong
     opportunities for synergies with the EU4Health programme and in particular to
     contribute to the goals under general objectives 1a “protecting people in the Union from
     serious cross-border threats to health and strengthening the responsiveness of health
     systems and coordination among the Member States to cope with those threats” and 3
     “strengthening health systems by improving their resilience and resource efficiency, in
     particular through: i) supporting integrated and coordinated work between Member
     States; ii) promoting the implementation of best practices on data sharing; iii) reinforcing
     the healthcare workforce; iv) tackling the implications of demographic challenges; and
     v) advancing digital transformation”.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                 Call                            Budgets (EUR million)             Deadline(s)
                                                2021                 2022
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-CARE-05 70.00                                                    21 Sep 2021
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-CARE-08                                      70.00               21 Apr 2022
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-CARE-10                                      100.00              21 Apr 2022
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Overall indicative budget            70.00                   170.00
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Call - Ensuring access to innovative, sustainable and high-quality health care (2021)
                                                                     HORIZON-HLTH-2021-CARE-05
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)161
                   Topics                         Type        Budgets         Expected EU         Number
                                                    of         (EUR         contribution per          of
                                                 Action       million)        project (EUR         projects
                                                                               million)162        expected
                                                                2021                                to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 21 Sep 2021
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-CARE-05-01 RIA                            25.00 163     Around 5.00             5
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-CARE-05-02 RIA                            40.00 164     Around 10.00            4
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-CARE-05-04 CSA                            5.00          Around 5.00             1
Overall indicative budget                                   70.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
161
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
162
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
163
        Of which EUR 15.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
164
        Of which EUR 24.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-CARE-05-01: Enhancing quality of care and patient safety
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 25.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 4 “Ensuring access to innovative,
sustainable and high-quality health care”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim
for delivering results that are directed, tailored towards and contributing to some of the
following expected outcomes:
   Health policymakers use context specific knowledge and evidence to develop inclusive,
     effective and affordable interventions ensuring patient safety;
   Health care professionals know how to prevent, identify, evaluate and address risks for
     patient safety, and use harmonised or standardised patient-centred procedures and
     practice guidelines for improving patient safety developed in partnership with
     empowered patients;
   Health care providers integrate harmonised and standardised practices with personalised
     treatment schemes;
   Health care providers use quality assured processes to bridge inter-sectorial gaps in the
     clinical pathways of patients to improve patient safety;
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     An increased number of health care professionals and patients/citizens adhere to
      recommendations for improved patient safety.
Scope: Patient safety remains an issue of increasing concern for EU health systems. The
Commission estimates that between 8% and 12% of patients admitted to hospitals in the EU
suffer from adverse effects of health care165.
Overall, the most common types of in-hospital adverse effects are operative/surgical related,
medication or drug related, and health care associated infections, half of them being
preventable166. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD), more than 7 million admissions in the OECD countries result from safety lapses in
primary and ambulatory care167. Diagnostic errors persist throughout all settings of care and
contribute to increased risks and harms from the treatment168. Therefore, it is necessary to
develop and implement coherent quality improvement and patient safety strategies in Europe.
Harmonisation and standardisation of health care processes (Guidelines and Standard
Operating Procedures) along the continuum of care contribute to improve quality and safety
of health services, minimise the risk of errors and at the same time ensure the quality and
comparability of health data. It is also a mean to address inequities in health care delivery.
The proposals should take into consideration the already existing EU-funded initiatives in this
area and must address in a coherent manner at least three of the following items, but may also
contain other research and innovations activities for improving patient safety:
     Fill knowledge and practice gaps in quality of care and patient safety, including through
      harmonisation and standardisation of health care delivery, optimizing inter-sectoral
      clinical pathways and decision-making processes and tools across regions and countries.
     Development and piloting of harmonised evidence-based interventions in a uniform and
      structured way in health care institutions of different EU regions and countries. This
      should be addressed in case studies at hospital, primary and outpatient care levels, and it
      should also take into consideration the diverse health care landscape across European
      Union and Associated Countries.
     Research on translation of international standards and clinical guidelines into national
      practice for improved quality of care and patient safety.
     Provide context-specific evidence on facilitators and barriers for transferring identified
      good practices across regions and countries.
     Comprehensive comparison of practices related to clinical guidelines in European Union
      and Associated Countries, including the regulatory basis underpinning guidelines in each
165
         Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on patient safety,
         including the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections (COM (2008) 836).
166
         Schwendimann et al., The occurrence, types, consequences and preventability of in-hospital adverse
         events – a scoping review (BMC Health Services Research (2018) 18:521).
167
         The Economics of Patient Safety in Primary and Ambulatory Care: Flying blind (OECD, 2018).
168
         Erin P. Balogh et al., Improving Diagnosis in Health Care (The National Academy of Sciences, 2015).
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      health system, the guideline development process, mechanisms of quality control,
      implementation modalities, and evaluation of produced recommendations.
    Development of innovative approaches for the integration of harmonised and
      standardised practices with personalised treatment plans.
Proposals should consider a patient-centred approach that empowers patients/citizens,
promotes a culture of dialogue and openness between health professionals and citizens/
patients, and unleashes the potential for social innovation.
The proposals should contribute to improved patient safety along the continuum of care in
European Union and Associated Countries. The proposal should present a clear strategy for
empowering and involving patients and caregivers in addressing the selected item(s), giving
attention to both PROMs (Patient-Reported Outcome Measures) and PREMs (Patient-
Reported Experience Measures). The research design, including the expected results, should
carefully analyse and tackle the sex and gender dimension. The proposed evidence-based
interventions, including clinical guidelines and standards, should meet health care providers’
needs and goals to increase patient safety and health care quality.
All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and
joint activities, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for example,
involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also involve
networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate. Therefore, proposals are expected
to include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and may consider to cover the
costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite to detail concrete joint
activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be defined during the grant
agreement preparation phase. In this regard, the Commission may take on the role of
facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with relevant stakeholders, if appropriate.
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-CARE-05-02: Data-driven decision-support tools for better
health care delivery and policy-making with a focus on cancer
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 40.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 4 “Ensuring access to innovative,
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sustainable and high-quality health care”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim
for delivering results that are directed at, tailored towards and contributing to some of the
following expected outcomes:
     Health care organisations and policymakers adopt robust and transparent modelling
      (including data collection, storage and analysis), planning algorithms and artificial
      intelligence (AI) solutions in support of health care decision-making processes;
     Health care providers, caregivers (formal and informal), citizens, and other relevant
      stakeholders take better informed decisions about their health or the health of persons
      they are responsible for and/or about the organisation of the health care service or system
      they are involved in or in charge of;
     Health system owners are provided with evidence-based participative decision-making
      processes that take into consideration all relevant values, needs and perspectives,
      enabling to deliver health care services to patients in the most suitable and efficient
      manner;
     Policymakers access evidence-based, interoperable decision support tools for public
      health policy-making and health care delivery.
Scope: This call topic will contribute to Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan activities169 and other
relevant initiatives such as the European Cancer Information System 170 . For this reason,
proposals must focus on one or more phases of the cycle of the disease, starting from
prevention and early diagnosis to treatment and quality of life of patients and survivors.
An ever-increasing amount of data is at the disposal of decision- and policy-makers, which, if
analysed, pooled and used, could lead to novel data-driven approaches in health care delivery
and policy-making, thus improving quality of life, health equity and producing better health
outcomes. The collection, access, processing, and (primary and secondary) use of data is still
very fragmented across national health systems. The availability and use of structured and
unstructured health data represents an opportunity for the implementation of data-driven
innovation and it provides new opportunities for developing, monitoring and evaluating
decisions, and providing feedback into decision-making processes and policy strategies.
In this topic, research and innovation actions should aim at optimising and/or transforming
health care delivery decision-making processes, supporting policy-making, and/or
empowering citizens and cancer patients. The development of innovations, including tools,
processes and services, should be done together with end-users (i.e. citizens, health
professionals and policymakers), and represent both a support-base and scientific evidence for
data-driven innovation. Design thinking and other relevant design methodologies should be
considered.
169
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12154-Europe-s-Beating-
         Cancer-Plan
170
         European Cancer Information System https://ecis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/
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The proposals should adhere to the FAIR data171 principles and adopt data quality standards,
data integration operating procedures and GDPR-compliant data sharing/access best practices
developed by the European research infrastructures, if relevant. In addition, the proposals are
encouraged to adopt best practices of international standards used in the development of
computational models.
Data-driven algorithms should be explainable, unbiased and inclusive. Caution needs to be
paid to systematically control for gender and racial bias and/or discrimination bias, when
developing and using data and algorithms. The actions should ensure that the novel ideas are
accompanied by frameworks/guidelines for new forms of collaboration and incentivising
mechanisms/tools in order to support implementation of the innovations in the public sector.
The tools should aim to improve health outcomes and quality of life, not only to lower health
care costs.
Actions should pursue a multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder approach to integrate health
care research, health services research, innovation, health economics, implementation science,
operations management/research, data science and other relevant disciplines (i.e. sociology
and anthropology) to ensure more equitable, innovative and sustainable health care systems.
Applicants should propose activities underpinned by health care data in one or more of the
following areas:
     The development of data-driven, interactive policy and visualisation tools (i.e. through
      creation of digital twins/virtual models) bringing novel insights on populations, systems
      and services as a whole, to help policymakers make data-driven decisions. These can be
      foreseen to be used solely for health care decisions or constitute health-relevant inputs
      for other sectorial approaches, and promote multi-disciplinary knowledge exchange;
     The development of data-driven solutions (i.e scenario-building tools and models)
      helping health care organisations take evidence-informed decisions on cancer care
      delivery processes such as logistics planning and management, capacity, utilisation of
      health services and allocation of resources and infrastructures (i.e. human resources,
      health goods, etc.), and availability of and access to health care technologies (i.e.
      pharmaceuticals, vaccines, medical devices, etc.) and interventions;
     The development of data-driven solutions empowering citizens' and cancer patients'
      interaction with the health care systems, including feedback mechanisms, guidance on
      health care pathways and on managing health care data, supporting patients in making
      health care decisions and treatment adherence;
     The development of digital toolkits and indicators to improve the reporting and
      assessment of outputs from end-user involvements, including those of patient-reported
      outcomes measures (PROMs) and patient-reported experience measures (PREMs), and
      help gauge the actual impact in health care (including interaction between patients and
      health care providers).
171
         FAIR data are data, which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.
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Applicants are encouraged to establish dynamic relations and synergies with the following
areas, where applicable:
     Decision-making processes and tools, including social innovation;
     Monitoring and evaluating the budgetary impact of health care interventions (i.e.
      innovative solutions, digital services and health care models);
     Health technology assessment and cost-effectiveness analysis;
     Artificial intelligence/deep learning tools in social medicine to determine causal factors
      of disease/conditions and develop interventions;
     Data sharing between different institutions;
     European Health Data Space (EHDS);
     Open source and/or common building blocks used in Connecting Europe Facility (CEF)
      (e.g. eDelivery, eID);
     Standards and mechanisms to allow for interoperability between primary and secondary
      use of data;
     Privacy-preserving protocols for secondary use of data for public health policy-making
      and research;
     Federated/distributed access or data processing protocols for data-driven decision-
      support tools for better health care delivery and policy-making.
Proposals should adopt a patient-centred approach that empowers patients, promotes a culture
of dialogue and openness between citizens/patients, caregivers, health care providers and
other relevant stakeholders, and unleashes the potential for social innovation.
Whenever the data sources proposed to be used by the applicants include genomics data, the
proposals should consider the data standards and legal, ethical and technical interoperability
requirements and guidelines agreed under the 1+ Million Genomes Initiative 172 where
relevant.
If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing
data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other
data and services may additionally be used).
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-CARE-05-04: Health care innovation procurement network
Specific conditions
Expected EU                     The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
172
         https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/1-million-genomes
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contribution per             5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                      appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                             selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget            The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action               Coordination and Support Actions
Legal and financial          The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant          exceptions apply:
Agreements                   Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The
                             support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                             The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60
                             000.
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 4 “Ensuring access to innovative,
sustainable and high-quality health care”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim
for delivering results that are directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following
expected outcomes:
     Stakeholders involved in the demand side of health and social care innovations (such as
      procurement agencies, health care providers, payers/health insurers, public authorities,
      health care professionals, citizens) reach a common understanding that reflects their key
      clinical, procurement/supply, organisational and coordination priorities.
     Public/private procurers and decision makers at a local, regional, national and EU level
      collectively develop and adopt optimal, cost-efficient and flexible innovation
      procurement strategies, taking into account the ongoing changes in the organisational
      procedures of health care structures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
     Procurers and decision makers in procurement organisations mainstream health care-
      related Innovation Procurement best practices in their respective policy and investment
      strategies.
     Health care procurers from participating Member States and associated countries scale
      up cross-border collaborations in research and deployment of innovative solutions,
      thereby minimising investment risks.
Scope: This call aims to support the creation of a network of public173 and private procurers
that are responsible for deploying health care innovations across the EU, in order to identify
potential areas of interest for innovation procurement.
173
         Public procurers are organisations that are contracting authorities or contracting entities according to the
         definition of those terms in the EU public procurement directives 2014/24/EU, 2004/25/EU,
         2009/81/EC.
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Health care stakeholders on the demand side can address their clinical or organisational
challenges through networking and the coordinated use of innovation procurement tools and
policies. A network’s scale, internal transfer of knowledge and engagement with external
stakeholders in health, research and industry would facilitate the development of a holistic
approach in innovation procurement and an increased collective capacity to procure solutions,
which improve health outcomes for patients in inclusive, flexible and fiscally sustainable
ways.
This network should assemble a critical mass of European procurers with a strong track
record, processes and resources for deploying innovative solutions in health and social care,
as well as less experienced ones (due, for example, to budget constraints, lack of expertise or
language barriers) who are interested to venture into this area. Through collaboration,
experience sharing and in particular through twinning activities, the network should offer the
opportunity to less experienced procurers in health innovation to build up capacity on
innovation procurement. To this aim, beneficiaries may provide financial support to third
parties. This support can only be given in the form of grants and the maximum amount to be
granted to each third party is EUR 60 000. The respective options of the Model Grant
Agreement will apply. Beneficiaries should refer to General Annex B of the Work
Programme for further information and guidance.
These goals are particularly relevant in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlighted
issues such as the timing, financing and coordination of cross-border/emergency procurement
in the EU, supply chain diversity and security, as well as the benefits of digital solutions for
patients, health professionals and citizens. The ongoing pandemic has demonstrated that new
critical challenges for health care systems may arise in the future, which will need to be
addressed properly and swiftly, sometimes with innovative tools and flexible approaches.
The proposals should present a credible plan for a network, which will:
    Create a sustainable mechanism for decision-makers in the health and social care sector
      to enable and facilitate the use of Innovation Procurement as a tool to tackle current and
      future challenges faced by the procurers involved;
    Develop a holistic innovation procurement action plan for key health care challenges
      ahead, that is adaptable to the procurement strategies of most public organizations in the
      health care sector in Europe and covering all stages of Innovation Procurement
      implementation (from the identification of a need and pre-tender market consultation,
      until evaluation of the procurement’s impact);
    Set the ground for mainstreaming (cross-border) Innovation Procurement
      implementation in Europe’s health sector (EU-funded or not), by engaging, in an
      appropriate way, other key stakeholders, such as patients, industry (including
      SMEs/start-ups), policymakers (local, regional and/or national authorities) or investors
      (e.g. private investors, National Promotional Banks and Economic Development
      Agencies etc.).
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Applicant consortia should be composed primarily of public and/or private procurers, dealing
with or interested in the purchase of health care innovations. Consortia may also include
health authorities or innovation procurement competence centres, which support these health
care procurers in implementing innovation procurement174. The composition of the applicant
consortia should ensure a broad and balanced geographical representation of Member States
and Associated Countries.
Proposals should not promote a silo mentality but should interconnect different types of
procurers with their counterparts in other countries across Europe and with the wider
healthcare/eHealth ecosystem and an enlarged group of stakeholders critical to the success of
Innovation Procurement activities. Applicants should demonstrate that they have the mandate
and capacity to procure and can engage key decision-makers from their organisation (e.g.
procurement departments, clinical, academic and research departments) who would provide
the backbone for such an innovation procurement policy and coordination mechanism to
operate effectively (e.g. leverage funds and external expertise, recruit stakeholders,
develop/adapt strategies, provide policy recommendations, facilitate emergency procurement
procedures).
Proposals should include all of the following aspects:
     Hold an open market consultation with the industry across Europe on the current state of
      the art for the shared unmet needs for innovative solutions identified by the procurers,
      including on technical and service readiness;
     Develop capacity and cooperation models for implementing Innovation Procurement (in
      the form of Innovation Partnerships, PCP/PPI or other relevant instruments), which
      overcome potential differences among the legal public procurement frameworks of the
      participating procurers in health and social care;
     Conduct a user analysis of Innovation Procurement, identify barriers and propose
      solutions to overcome these barriers (e.g.: standardisation, certification, regulatory
      requirements, intellectual property rights, contracting models, payment/reimbursement
      models) and facilitate uptake of such solutions;
     Plan for procurement(s) based on identified common needs;
     Take measures ensuring the sustainability of outcomes beyond the lifespan of the
      proposed project and their integration into the procurement strategies of participating
      organisations, taking into account acceptance with users and professionals as well as
      health economics considerations.
174
        Innovation procurement competence centres are organisations/organisational structures that have been
        assigned the task by their government and have a mandate according to national law to encourage wider
        use of pre-commercial procurement (PCP) and public procurement of innovation (PPI) that includes
        among others providing practical and/or financial assistance to public procurers in the preparation
        and/or implementation of PCP and PPI procurements.
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Call - Ensuring access to innovative, sustainable and high-quality health care (Single
Stage - 2022)
                                                                     HORIZON-HLTH-2022-CARE-08
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)175
                   Topics                         Type        Budgets         Expected EU         Number
                                                    of         (EUR         contribution per          of
                                                 Action       million)        project (EUR         projects
                                                                               million)176        expected
                                                                2022                                to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 06 Oct 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 21 Apr 2022
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-CARE-08-02 PCP                            25.00         Around 5.00             5
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-CARE-08-03 PPI                            15.00         Around 5.00             3
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-CARE-08-04 RIA                            30.00         Around 5.00             6
Overall indicative budget                                   70.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
175
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
176
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-CARE-08-02: Pre-commercial research and innovation
procurement (PCP) for building the resilience of health care systems in the context of
recovery
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 25.00 million.
Type of Action        Pre-commercial Procurement
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply: Specific conditions for
                      actions implementing pre-commercial procurement or procurement of
                      innovative solutions (see General Annex H).
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 4 “Ensuring access to innovative,
sustainable and high-quality health care”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim
for delivering results that are directed, tailored towards and contributing to some of the
following expected outcomes:
   Public and private procurers in the area of health care procure the competitive
     development of market-ready, sustainable, innovative solutions (materials, equipment,
     technologies and systems/practices) which are made in Europe and can improve the
     preparedness and resilience of health care systems in the context of the recovery;
   European health and technology industry actors (including start-ups/SMEs) bring to the
     market secure, interoperable digital health care solutions (complying with relevant
     ethical and privacy protection standards) which are proven to improve health outcomes
     and access to care for patients;
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     Procurers facilitate the commercialisation of innovative solutions at a large scale
      (EU/international) by their successful suppliers through providing them with first
      customer references for the validation and first pilot deployment in multiple countries
      and health care settings;
     Policymakers, health care providers and professionals, patients and their carers – each in
      their respective areas – exchange and adopt good practices and the best solutions the
      market can deliver to improve the resilience of health care systems.
Scope: Pre-commercial procurement (PCP) can boost innovation in health care systems, while
building the capacity of providers and increasing resilience and preparedness in the context of
cross-border public health emergencies. Through the competitive development of a range of
breakthrough innovations for a concrete health care challenge, PCP can strengthen the
security of the supply chain in the health care sector. At the same time, these instruments can
support the economic recovery of the EU by providing incentives to the EU health and
technology industry (especially spin-offs, start-ups and SMEs) to innovate and commercialise
their products or services at a larger scale than they normally would. Fostering the
development of such innovative solutions in Europe can reinforce EU strategic autonomy in
strategic health technologies and lead to the creation of new markets for the EU industry,
thereby contributing to EU growth, employment and competitiveness. At the same time,
joint/collaborative demand-side initiatives can help create economies of scale and early
adoption of innovations by the health sector. Advances in this area can help EU health care
systems build resilience and respond to public health threats better than if they would act
individually.
Pre-commercial procurement actions in the area of health care gather relevant public and
private procurers to address a common, unmet need through the cross-border public and
private procurement of research and development for demand-driven innovative solutions.
Specific guidance on PCP actions and minimum eligibility requirements can be found in
General Annex H177 of the Horizon Europe work programme.
Proposals should therefore be based on clearly identified user needs and well-structured work
plans, explaining how the procured research and development will contribute to the expected
outcomes. In addition, proposals should clearly state the expected health benefits of the
solutions that will be developed during the course of the action. In this context, applicants
should also consider aspects of accessibility and affordability of the solution, efficiency of the
technology when implemented in the relevant contexts and how it contributes to health
systems resilience.
This topic prioritises areas of health care such as health promotion, preparedness, prevention,
surveillance and rapid response to cross-border health threats. Promoting coordination,
cooperation and common standards in the procurement of innovation in health care (including
emergency procurement) should be at the heart of any proposal submitted as well as
facilitating the digital and green transition of EU health systems.
177
         Link not yet available.
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A wide variety of settings are potentially relevant for the implementation of such innovative
solutions, such as: primary health care settings, ambulatory care, hospitals, specialised
centres, and long-term health care facilities. The involvement of end-users and the use of
cross-sectorial approaches are essential in the area of health. They can lead to more impactful
proposals, especially if combined with cost-effectiveness/cost-benefit analyses in comparison
with the status quo.
Within this topic, it is possible to provide for the transfer and adaptation of solutions and/or
interventions from other sectors to health care. It is open both to proposals requiring: i)
improvements mainly based on one specific solution/technology field; and ii) end-to-end
solutions that need combinations of different types of innovation.
Proposals should demonstrate the potential and any future plans for the sustainability of good
practices developed or implemented during the action, beyond its life. Such good practices
could include cooperation with policy makers to reinforce relevant national policy
frameworks, relevant actions to improve the skills of health professionals, patients or carers in
the use of the solutions and collaboration with stakeholders for standardisation purposes or in
order to leverage additional national funds or private investment for procuring solutions.
Synergies with the Technical Support Instrument 178 and the European Structural and
Investment Fund are encouraged.
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-CARE-08-03: Public procurement of innovative solutions (PPI)
for building the resilience of health care systems in the context of recovery
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action          Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The following additional eligibility criteria apply: Specific conditions for
                        actions implementing pre-commercial procurement or procurement of
                        innovative solutions (see General Annex H).
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 4 “Ensuring access to innovative,
178
        Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 May 2020 on the
        establishment of the Technical Support Instrument, COM(2020) 409 final.
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sustainable and high-quality health care”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim
for delivering results that are directed, tailored towards and contributing to some of the
following expected outcomes specified below:
    Public and private procurers in the area of health care deploy at a critical scale,
      innovative, market-ready solutions (materials, technologies and systems/practices), that
      are relevant to the preparedness and resilience of health care systems;
    European health and technology industry actors (including start-ups/SMEs) bring to the
      market secure, interoperable digital health care solutions (complying with relevant
      ethical and privacy protection standards) which are proven to improve health outcomes
      and access to care for patients;
    Procurers facilitate the commercialisation of innovative solutions at a large scale
      (EU/international) by their successful suppliers through providing them with customer
      references for the validation and first pilot deployment in multiple countries and health
      care settings;
    Policymakers, health care providers and professionals, patients and their carers – each in
      their respective areas – exchange and adopt good practices and the best solutions the
      market can deliver to improve the resilience of health care systems.
Scope: Public procurement of innovative solutions (PPI) can boost the wider market uptake of
high impact innovations in health care systems, while building the capacity of providers and
increasing resilience and preparedness in the context of cross-border public health
emergencies. This can support the economic recovery of the EU by providing incentives to
the EU health and technology industry (especially spin-offs, start-ups and SMEs) to innovate
and by providing business opportunities to commercialise innovative products or services at a
larger scale than they would normally have. By acting as early adopters of such innovative
solutions, procurers can open up new growth markets for the EU industry, thereby
contributing to EU growth, employment and competitiveness. At the same time,
joint/collaborative demand-side initiatives can help create economies of scale and scale up the
wider adoption of innovations by the health sector. Advances in this area can help EU health
care systems build resilience and respond to public health threats better than if they would act
individually.
The actions supported will target critical-scale deployment of relevant health care solutions
across different regions in Europe by engaging public and/or private procurers from each
participating country (at national, regional or local level) that have deployment
responsibilities and budget control in the relevant area of care or supply of services. Procurers
will specify, purchase and deploy solutions addressing their relevant, shared unmet needs,
while engaging together in a supply and demand side dialogue, in order for the deployed
solutions to deliver sustainable, new or improved health care services and outcomes, always
taking into account patient feedback. Specific guidance on PPI actions and minimum
eligibility requirements can be found in General Annex Hof the Horizon Europe work
programme.
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Proposals should therefore be based on clearly identified user needs and well-structured work
plans, explaining how the procurement of the innovative solutions will contribute to the
expected outcomes. In addition, proposals should clearly state the benefits of the solutions
that will be developed during the course of the project. In this context, applicants should
consider aspects of accessibility and affordability of the solution, efficiency of the technology
when implemented in the relevant contexts and how it contributes to health systems
resilience.
This topic prioritises areas of health care such as health promotion, preparedness, prevention,
surveillance and rapid response to cross-border health threats. Promoting coordination,
cooperation and common standards in the procurement of innovation in health care (including
emergency procurement) should be at the heart of any proposal submitted as well as
facilitating the digital and green transition of EU health systems.
Activities covered should include cooperation with policymakers to reinforce the national
policy frameworks and mobilise substantial additional national budgets for the PPI, searching
support and collaborating with respective coordination and networking projects. Likewise,
awareness raising, technical assistance and/or capacity building beyond the project to
mainstream PPI implementation and removing obstacles for introducing the innovative
solutions to be procured into the market could be included.
A wide variety of settings are potentially relevant for the implementation of such innovative
solutions, for example primary health care settings, hospitals, specialised centres, and long-
term health care facilities. The involvement of end-users and the use of cross-sectorial
approaches are necessary in the area of health. They can lead to more impactful proposals,
especially if combined with cost-effectiveness analyses in comparison with the status quo.
Within this topic, it is possible to foresee the transfer and adaptation of solutions and/or
interventions from other sectors to health care. It is open both to proposals requiring
improvements mainly based on one specific solution/technology field, as well as to proposals
requiring end-to-end solutions that need combinations of different types of innovation.
Synergies with the Technical Support Instrument 179 and the European Structural and
Investment Fund are encouraged.
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-CARE-08-04: Better financing models for health systems
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
179
         Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 May 2020 on the
         establishment of the Technical Support Instrument, COM(2020) 409 final.
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Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 30.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 4 “Ensuring access to innovative,
sustainable and high-quality health care”. More specifically, this topic aims at supporting
activities that are contributing to some of the following expected impacts:
     Health and social care services and systems have improved governance mechanisms and
      are more effective, efficient, accessible, resilient, trusted and sustainable, both fiscally
      and environmentally. Health promotion and disease prevention will be at their heart, by
      shifting from hospital-centred to community-based, people-centred and integrated health
      care structures and successfully embedding technological innovations that meet public
      health needs, while patient safety and quality of services is increased.
     Health policy and systems adopt a holistic approach (individuals, communities,
      organisations, society) for the evaluation of health outcomes and value of public health
      interventions, the organisation of health care, and decision-making.
To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are directed,
tailored towards and contributing to some of the following expected outcomes:
     Decision and policymakers in the field of health care avail of new approaches to
      financial planning and financing mechanisms that provide flexibility to stretched health
      budgets, including alternative procurement and contractual methods;
     Decision and policymakers in the field of health care apply cost-effective spending
      strategies based on the optimisation of the use of resources, while maintaining or
      improving health outcomes in an equitable way;
     Decision and policymakers in the field of health care access tools that enable them to
      better remunerate, contract and incentivise health care professionals and providers;
     Decision and policymakers in the field of health care take evidence-based and socially
      equitable health care financial decisions.
Scope: In 2017, spending on health care in the EU stood at 9.6% of gross domestic product,
ranging from over 11% in France and Germany to less than 6% in Romania. In most
countries, in-patient care services made up the bulk of health spending, while spending on
pharmaceuticals also accounted for a large share of health expenditure in some countries.180
Due to demographic changes in the EU with a population projected to continue ageing and
higher expectations regarding provision of health care services, public health threats with
relevant repercussions for society and the introduction of innovative and digital solutions to
180
         Health at a Glance: Europe 2018.
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improve health care systems’ functioning, the demand for health care services as well as the
budgetary pressures on health care systems are and will keep increasing.
Future models of care delivery will have to take into account both the systemic and multi-
dimensional performance perspective and to look at relevant outcome and quality indicators,
structure of care delivery, and knowledge base regarding optimal care delivery systems,
Therefore, research and innovation should tackle the challenges of financing health care
services in the EU by addressing one or more of the following:
    Financing of health care – development of new cost-effective models for financing and
      reimbursement, including incentive mechanisms and outcome-based financing in order
      to promote good performance of the health care systems.
    Financing of preventive health care – novel models and appropriate structure of financial
      incentives for effective health promotion and disease prevention, financial incentives for
      stronger co-operation between primary care and public health services, long-term
      sustainable financing mechanism for local- and municipality-run promotion programmes
      and the assessment of personal health risk behaviour and its potential impact on health
      costs.
    Innovative purchasing and contract methods – new strategies for contracting provision of
      health care services (public sector hired services) as well as solutions to better assess
      provision capacity and quality, to assess markets, and cost-effectiveness as well as equal
      access of contracting-out services. This can help align the incentives of providers with
      those of patients and the public good.
    New and improved tools for better design of incentives for health care professionals –
      incentives that minimise differentiation between services and “cream-skimming” by
      patients, fostering better health care planning, optimized use of health care services and
      avoidance of resources’ overconsumption and -waste.
Value-based pricing- and payment models for health technologies are not in the scope of this
topic; such models are covered by topic “New pricing and payment models for cost-effective
and affordable health innovation” (HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13-03) under destination 6.
Research and innovation in these areas should take into account the potential impact of public
health emergencies and threats on the sustainability, financing, as well as the effective and
efficient functioning of EU health care systems.
To ensure wide uptake by user communities and scalability of the models and methods across
health systems, actions should promote the highest standards of transparency and openness,
going well beyond documentation and extending to aspects such as assumptions, architecture,
code and any underlying data.
Applicants are highly encouraged to actively involve public authorities (i.e. ministries of
finances and health, procurement agencies/procurers and agencies responsible for the
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management of health services contracts, public health and health-policy institutes, health
administrations, among other) in the proposals.
Projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and joint
activities, as appropriate, and in particular they are expected to liaise with successful
applicants under topic “New pricing and payment models for cost-effective and affordable
health innovation” (HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13-03) and the consortium to be created
under the planned “European Partnership on Transforming Health and Care Systems”
(HORIZON-HLTH-CARE-2022-IND-10-01). These networking and joint activities could, for
example, involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the
development and adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also
involve networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate. Therefore, proposals are expected
to include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and may consider to cover the
costs of any other potential joint activity without the prerequisite to detail concrete joint
activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be defined during the grant
agreement preparation phase. In this regard, the Commission may take the role of facilitator
for networking and exchanges, including with relevant stakeholders, if appropriate.
Call - Partnerships in Health (2022)
                                                                      HORIZON-HLTH-2022-CARE-10
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)181
                    Topics                          Type of       Budgets       Expected EU        Number
                                                    Action          (EUR       contribution per        of
                                                                  million)      project (EUR        projects
                                                                                 million)182       expected
                                                                    2022                             to be
                                                                                                    funded
                                            Opening: 06 Oct 2021
                                          Deadline(s): 21 Apr 2022
181
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
182
         Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
         amounts.
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HORIZON-HLTH-2022-CARE-10-01 COFUND 100.00                               Around 100.00      1
                                                             183
Overall indicative budget                                    100.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                  The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                               C.
Award criteria                                          The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                        D.
Documents                                               The documents are described in General
                                                        Annex E.
Procedure                                               The procedure is described in General
                                                        Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                 The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-CARE-10-01: European partnership on transforming health
and care systems
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per        100.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 100.00 million.
Type of Action          Programme Co-fund Action
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                        exceptions apply:
183
        Of which EUR 60.28 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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                            The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Legal and financial         The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant         apply:
Agreements                  Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The
                            support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                            Financial support provided by the participants to third parties is one of
                            the primary activities of the action in order to be able to achieve its
                            objectives. The EUR 60 000 threshold provided for in Article 204(a)
                            of the Financial Regulation No 2018/1046184 does not apply.
                            The funding rate is 30 % of the eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 4, notably “Ensuring access to innovative,
sustainable and high-quality health care”, “A resilient EU prepared for emerging threats” and
“High-quality digital services for all”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for
delivering results that are directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following
expected outcomes:
     Researchers across European countries and regions are engaged in enhanced
      collaborative research on transforming health and care systems;
     Health and care authorities, policymakers and other stakeholders use the research results
      to develop evidence-based strategies and policies on transforming health care systems
      and learn from good practices of European countries and regions;
     Health and care providers and professionals implement innovative ways of delivering
      care and maintaining population health;
     Health and care authorities, policymakers and other stakeholders plan and carry out
      efficient investments in health and care systems at national/regional level to use
      innovative solutions and care models;
     An increased number of innovators and stronger local/regional ecosystems of
      stakeholders are in place and facilitate uptake of successful innovations for health and
      care;
     Citizens and health and care professionals have increased digital and health literacy;
184
         Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on
         the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No
         1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU)
         No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing
         Regulation        (EU,       Euratom)         No        966/2012;    https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
         content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32018R1046
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    Countries cooperate better and use context-specific knowledge and evidence to make
      their health and care systems more resilient with respect to upcoming needs and crises.
Scope: For many reasons (demographic changes, technological progress, fiscal constraints,
public health emergencies etc.) the European health and care systems are expected to be
subject to severe stress. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted existing
structural weaknesses in health and care systems, and emphasised areas where not enough
effort, planning and resources had been directed to. In addition, rapid technological and
societal evolutions call for urgent responses to increasing demands and expectations from
citizens. There is a need to accelerate the transition towards more efficient, sustainable,
resilient, innovative and accessible health and care systems in Europe. To this end, the
creation of a research and innovation (R&I) partnership with a focus on health and care
systems’ transformation represents a unique strategic opportunity to bring together
stakeholders, create synergies, coordinate R&I actions, facilitate the digitization of health and
care services and support the transformation of health and care systems with innovative
solutions driven by knowledge and evidence. The partnership should build on knowledge
gained from initiatives taken under Horizon 2020 (TO-REACH, Active and Assisted Living
programme (AAL), Joint Programming Initiative More Years, Better, Lives (JPI MYBL),
European Innovation partnership (EIP-AHA), ICPerMed, etc.). In order to increase the
likelihood of successful system transformation, the partnership will facilitate exchange of
information and good practices among countries, provide robust guidance and tools, network
institutional stakeholders and involve regional ecosystems. It will stimulate service, policy
and organisational innovations, as well as the integration of biomedical and technological
innovations for the benefit of the European citizens and the European industry. Development
of new products is beyond the scope of this Partnership. By laying the ground for the
transformation of the health and care systems, the partnership will contribute to the transition
of Europe to a more sustainable development and address emerging threats raised by
environmental changes and globalisation.
The partnership should bring together a broad range of actors with a common vision of future
health and care systems. Through the objectives of Horizon Europe, the partnership should
contribute to achieving the following European Commission priorities:
    Promoting our European way of life
    An economy that works for people
    A Europe fit for the digital age
    A European green deal
The partnership will contribute to priorities of the “Communication on effective, accessible
and resilient health systems” (COM(2014) 215 final), the “Communication on enabling the
digital transformation of health and care in the Digital Single Market; empowering citizens
and building a healthier society” (COM(2018) 233 final) and support the objectives of the
Commission proposal for the new EU4Health Programme (COM(2020) 405 final).
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Thanks to its capacity to bring together different stakeholders (e.g. research funders, health
authorities, health and care institutions, innovators, policy makers), to create a critical mass of
resources and to implement a long-term Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA),
the partnership will address the following objectives:
     Supporting multidisciplinary R&I to fill knowledge gaps, produce evidence and develop
      guidance and tools in priority areas for the transformation of health and care systems,
     Supporting the interdisciplinary development of service, policy and organisational
      innovations for health and care systems,
     Strengthening the R&I community in the field of health and care systems,
     Improving the capability of health and care actors to take up innovative solutions,
     Gathering stakeholders to develop the ecosystems needed for a swift uptake of
      innovations by health and care systems.
The European Partnership on transforming health and care systems185 should be implemented
through a joint programme of activities ranging from research to coordination and networking
activities, including training, demonstration, piloting and dissemination activities, to be
structured along the following main building blocks:
     Joint implementation of the SRIA;
     Joint annual calls for R&I activities, applied R&I, pilots, twinning projects;
     Joint annual calls for experimental development and innovation funding, co-creation,
      involvement of end-users, new concepts of care and innovative solutions for supporting
      health according to WHO definition; development of ecosystems, business models;
     Capacity building activities;
     Activities to increase health and digital literacy among citizens and health care
      practitioners;
     Flanking measures.
The Partnership is open to all EU Member States, as well as to countries associated to
Horizon Europe and will remain open to those countries wanting to join. It should include the
following actors:
     Ministries in charge of R&I policy, as well as national and regional R&I and technology
      funding agencies and foundations;
185
         More information on the planned European Partnerships is available on the Horizon Europe Webpage:
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/horizon-europe-next-research-and-innovation-framework-
         programme/european-partnerships-horizon-europe_en#partnership-candidates-and-contact-details.
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     Ministries in charge of health and care policy, as well as national and regional health and
      care authorities, organisations and providers.
The Partnership may also encourage engagement with other relevant Ministries and will
involve other key actors from civil society and end-users, research and innovation
community, innovation owners, health and care systems owners/organisers and health and
care agencies.
The Partnership’s governance structure should enable an upfront strategic steering, effective
management and coordination, daily implementation of activities and ensure the use and
uptake of the results. The governance should leave sufficient space for involving the key
stakeholders, including but not limited to R&I community, patients and citizens, health and
care professionals, formal and informal care organisations, and innovation owners.
Financial commitments and in-kind contributions are expected to be provided for the
governance structure, the joint calls and other dedicated implementation actions and efforts
for national coordination.
To encourage national coordination and avoid an excess of grant signatories it is
recommended to limit their number to two per country. However, in duly justified cases this
number could differ, including for countries with decentralised administration to allow for
participation of regional authorities in charge of R&I policy and health and care policy.
To ensure coherence and complementarity of activities and leverage knowledge and
investment possibilities, the Partnership is expected to establish relevant collaborations with
other Horizon Europe partnerships (institutionalized and co-funded) and missions as set out in
the working document on ‘Coherence and Synergies of candidate European partnerships
under Horizon Europe’186 as well as to explore collaborations with other relevant activities at
EU and international level. On top of this, the proposal should consider synergies with EU
programmes, including but not limited to EU4Health, DEP, ESF+, ERDF, InvestEU, RRF and
TSI.
The Partnership should align with EU-wide initiatives on open access and FAIR data187.
Although this Partnership will focus on the transformation of European health and care
systems, cooperation with international organisations, and non-European institutions and
experts may be considered. Applicants should describe in their proposal the methodology for
their collaboration and the aims they want to achieve with this kind of collaboration.
Proposals should pool the necessary financial resources from the participating national (or
regional) research programmes with a view to implementing joint calls for transnational
proposals resulting in grants to third parties. Financial support provided by the participants to
third parties is one of the primary activities of this action in order to be able to achieve its
186
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/horizon-europe/european-partnerships-horizon-europe_en#synergies
187
        FAIR data are data, which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.
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objectives. The EUR 60 000 threshold provided for in Article 204(a) of the Financial
Regulation No 2018/1046188 does not apply.
The expected duration of the partnership is seven years.
Horizon Europe contribution will be limited to a maximum of 30% of the total eligible costs
of the action with a maximum of EUR 100 million of EU contribution
188
        Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on
        the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No
        1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU)
        No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing
        Regulation        (EU,       Euratom)         No        966/2012;    https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
        content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32018R1046
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Destination 5. Unlocking the full potential of new tools, technologies and
digital solutions for a healthy society
Calls for proposals under this destination are directed towards the Key Strategic Orientation
KSO-A ‘Promoting an open strategic autonomy by leading the development of key digital,
enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains’ of Horizon Europe’s Strategic
Plan 2021-2024. Research and innovation supported under this destination should contribute
to the impact area ‘High quality digital services for all’ and in particular to the following
expected impact, set out in the Strategic Plan for the health cluster: ‘Health technologies, new
tools and digital solutions are applied effectively thanks to their inclusive, secure and ethical
development, delivery, integration and deployment in health policies and health and care
systems’. In addition, research and innovation supported under this destination could also
contribute to the following impact areas: ‘A competitive and secure data-economy’,
‘Industrial leadership in key and emerging technologies that work for people’, and ‘Good
health and high-quality accessible health care’.
Technology is a key driver for innovation in the health care sector. It can provide better and
more cost-efficient solutions with high societal impact, tailored to the specific health care
needs of the individual. However, novel tools, therapies, technologies and digital approaches
face specific barriers and hurdles in piloting, implementing and scaling-up before reaching the
patient, encountering additional challenges such as public acceptance and trust. Emerging and
disruptive technologies offer big opportunities for transforming health care, thereby
promoting the health and well-being of citizens. Unlocking this potential and harnessing the
opportunities depends on the capacity to collect, integrate and interpret large amounts of data,
as well as ensure compatibility with appropriate regulatory frameworks and infrastructures
that will both safeguard the rights of the individual and of society and stimulate innovation to
develop impactful solutions. In addition to existing European Research Infrastructures, the
European Health Data Space will promote health-data exchange and facilitate cross-border
research activities. This destination aims to promote the development of tools, technologies
and digital solutions for treatments, medicines, medical devices and improved health
outcomes, taking into consideration safety, effectiveness, appropriateness, accessibility,
comparative value-added and fiscal sustainability as well as issues of ethical, legal and
regulatory nature.
In view of increasing the impact of EU investments under Horizon Europe, the European
Commission welcomes and supports cooperation between EU-funded projects to enable
cross-fertilisation and other synergies. This could range from networking to joint activities
such as the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. Opportunities for potential
synergies exist between projects funded under the same topic but also between other projects
funded under another topic, cluster or pillar of Horizon Europe (but also with ongoing
projects funded under Horizon 2020). In particular, this could involve projects related to
European health research infrastructures (under pillar I of Horizon Europe), the EIC strategic
challenges on health and EIT-KIC Health (under pillar III of Horizon Europe) or in areas
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cutting across the health and other clusters (under pillar II of Horizon Europe). For instance,
with cluster 4 “Digital, Industry and Space” such as on digitalisation of the health sector,
incl. health technologies, medical devices and key enabling technologies; assisted,
autonomous, independent and empowered living; smart homes; decision support systems;
health impact assessment (e.g. related to consumer products, working place innovation).
Expected Impacts
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway towards
unlocking the full potential of new tools, technologies and digital solutions for a healthy
society, and more specifically to several of the following expected impacts:
     Europe’s scientific and technological expertise and know-how, its capabilities for
      innovation in new tools, technologies and digital solutions, and its ability to take-up,
      scale-up and integrate innovation in health care is world-class.
     Citizens benefit from targeted and faster research resulting in safer, more efficient, cost-
      effective and affordable tools, technologies and digital solutions for improved
      (personalised) disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring for better patient
      outcome and well-being, in particular through increasingly shared health resources
      (interoperable data, infrastructure, expertise, citizen/patient driven co-creation).189
     The EU gains high visibility and leadership in terms of health technology development,
      including through international cooperation.
     The burden of diseases in the EU and worldwide is reduced through the development
      and integration of innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, personalised
      medicine approaches, digital and other people-centred solutions for health care.
     Both the productivity of health research and innovation, and the quality and outcome of
      health care is improved thanks to the use of health data and innovative analytical tools,
      such as artificial intelligence (AI) supported decision-making, in a secure and ethical
      manner, respecting individual integrity and underpinned with public acceptance and
      trust.
Citizens trust and support the opportunities offered by innovative technologies for health care,
based on expected health outcomes and potential risks involved.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
              Call                          Budgets (EUR million)                        Deadline(s)
                                          2021                      2022
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-                 115.00                                            21 Sep 2021
TOOL-06
189
         Commission Communication on the digital transformation of health and care; COM(2018) 233 final.
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HORIZON-HLTH-2022-                                     95.00        21 Apr 2022
TOOL-11
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-                                     60.00        01 Feb 2022 (First
TOOL-12-two-stage                                                   Stage)
                                                                    06     Sep     2022
                                                                    (Second Stage)
Overall indicative budget       115.00                 155.00
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Call - Tools and technologies for a healthy society (2021)
                                                                     HORIZON-HLTH-2021-TOOL-06
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)190
                   Topics                         Type        Budgets         Expected EU         Number
                                                    of         (EUR         contribution per          of
                                                 Action       million)        project (EUR         projects
                                                                               million)191        expected
                                                                2021                                to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 21 Sep 2021
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-TOOL-06-01 IA                             25.00 192     Around 6.00             4
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-TOOL-06-02 RIA                            60.00 193     Around 6.00             10
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-TOOL-06-03 RIA                            30.00 194     Around 8.00             4
Overall indicative budget                                   115.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
190
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
191
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
192
        Of which EUR 15.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
193
        Of which EUR 36.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
194
        Of which EUR 18.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-TOOL-06-01: Smart medical devices and their surgical
implantation for use in resource-constrained settings
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 25.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 5 “Unlocking the full potential of new tools,
technologies and digital solutions for a healthy society”. To that end, proposals under this
topic should aim for delivering results that are directed, tailored towards and contributing to
all of the following expected outcomes.
    Medical device developers provide sustainable and affordable smart active implants
      validated in the operational environment.
    Medical professionals in resource-constrained clinical settings use sustainable and
      affordable surgical procedures for smart active implants.
    Patients have access to sustainable and affordable smart medical devices suitable for
      minimally invasive surgical implantation through further clinical studies.
Scope: “Smart” technologies, i.e. micro-electronic sensor/actuator systems provide novel
functionalities to surgically-implanted active medical devices. “Smart” active implants
involve microelectronic components and are placed inside the body of the patient to achieve
the desired physiological response. They open up therapeutic avenues for a wide range of
medical handicaps, complex chronic conditions and lesions, thanks to their integrated
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diagnostic capabilities, and may help addressing hitherto unmet medical needs. Challenges
involved in the development of these devices include but are not limited to miniaturization,
sensor robustness, wireless power supply, etc. Such devices require specific surgical
implantation procedures, dependant on the type of device and on the intended use, with the
successful surgical implantation and activation of such smart medical implants, being crucial
steps for their functioning. The device targeted and its intended use is open for applicants to
choose (e.g. orthopaedic, neural, cardiovascular, metabolic, etc.), but should at the start of the
proposed work be at a TRL of minimum four and will necessitate appropriate tailored surgical
procedures and interventions. Surgical conditions account for approximately 30% of the
global burden of disease and have a huge social and economic impact. However, of the 300
million surgical interventions undertaken globally every year only around 6% occur in low-
income countries, where a third of the world’s population lives. There is therefore a strong
need for high-quality, affordable surgical interventions for implanting “smart” active medical
devices suitable for resource-limited or -constrained clinical settings. Resource-constrained
settings are clinical environments that are affected by limitations such as lack of medical staff,
scarcity of medical equipment or medicines supply, etc. To address this gap, the sustainability
of both the medical device and the applied surgical intervention, including the necessary
equipment and operating skills, are essential elements. Implantation procedures should be
fully compatible with resource-constrained environments and minimally invasive approaches
should be favoured. Hence, research and innovation activities should comprise medical device
design, regulatory work, clinical stages and developmental iterations, reaching a TRL of at
least seven, and involve key medical specialists (e.g. surgeons) and/or other health care
professionals, developers, patients and relevant regulatory bodies as appropriate. The work
proposed should take into account the new EU legal framework on medical devices with the
targeted implants meeting all the essential requirements as defined therein.
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-TOOL-06-02: Next generation advanced therapies to treat
highly prevalent and high burden diseases with unmet medical needs
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 60.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 5 “Unlocking the full potential of new tools,
technologies and digital solutions for a healthy society”. To that end, proposals under this
topic should aim for delivering results that are directed, tailored and contributing to all of the
following expected outcomes:
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     Competent authorities, researchers and developers use assays for the valorisation and/or
      assessment of efficiency, delivery, safety, potency or mode of action of novel advanced
      therapeutic interventions based on either pluripotent stem cells, genome editing or RNA,
      that are aligned with regulatory standards.
     Clinicians, researchers and developers test several new advanced therapies based on
      pluripotent stem cells, gene editing or RNA ready through clinical trials meeting the
      regulatory requirements.
Scope: The recent development of advanced therapies has been hampered by the lack of
robust research on certain key parameters e.g. safety, upscaling, immunity, potency assays,
cost-effectiveness, and early on in development. This topic aims to ensure that the next wave
of advanced therapies, based on either pluripotent stem cells, gene editing or RNA, are
established in a timely fashion and in accordance with the appropriate regulatory standards for
further clinical testing. It will support preclinical research platforms for disorders with high
prevalence and burden 195 that tackle the bottlenecks currently encountered in the field,
ensuring that promising advanced therapies can reach the market within the next decade.
Applicants should justify the disease or disorder to be targeted with its prevalence level, the
related burden and unmet needs. Applicants could propose activities in one or several of the
following areas, and should take into consideration the Oviedo Convention, eligible actions
and ethical principles as defined by the Horizon Europe Framework Programme 196:
     Method development for the production and differentiation of pluripotent stem cells197
      (defined as cells that can give rise to cells from all three embryonic germ layers), to
      include defining appropriate potency assays. Complementary activities to assess mode of
      action, safety, in vivo validation or upscaling procedures could be considered.
     Development and validation of biological assays and methods that can demonstrate
      efficacy, delivery, specificity, and safety (including off-target effects) of genome editing
      products in targeted cells and tissues (e.g. base editing, prime editing, transcription
      activator-like effector nucleases, zinc-finger nucleases, clustered regularly interspaced
      short palindromic repeats). Complementary activities to assess in vivo validation or
      upscaling procedures could be considered.
     Development and validation of novel RNA-based therapeutics targeting non-
      communicable diseases. Complementary activities to assess mode of action, delivery,
      safety, in vivo validation and/or upscaling procedures could be considered.
     Study, analysis and tackling of different immune responses, taking into account factors
      like sex and age, generated by any of the above-mentioned advanced therapies in vivo,
      facilitating regulatory approval for next phase of research and development.
195
         As defined by www.who.int/medicines/areas/priority_medicines/en/
196
         https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-6692-2021-ADD-3/en/pdf
197
         Definition: Embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells are pluripotent stem cells.
         www.nature.com/subjects/pluripotent-stem-cells.
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HORIZON-HLTH-2021-TOOL-06-03: Innovative tools for use and re-use of health data
(in particular of electronic health records and/or patient registries)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 30.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 5 “Unlocking the full potential of new tools,
technologies and digital solutions for a healthy society”. To that end, proposals under this
topic should aim for delivering results that are directed, tailored and contributing to all of the
following expected outcomes:
     Novel solutions improve quality, ensure interoperability and enable re-use of health data,
      data analytics and metadata from different repositories across countries by health
      professionals, researchers and health authorities, in compliance with FAIR data 198
      management principles as well as national and EU legal and ethical requirements (in
      particular with regard to personal data protection).
     Health professionals, researchers and health authorities make effective use of tools
      enabling them to exploit unstructured and heterogeneous data from different sources to
      improve the delivery of care and advance health research.
     Increased use and valorisation of health data by patients, researchers and clinicians
      thanks to better data portability due to the standardization of meta knowledge (meta data,
      ontologies and reference repositories) and clinical data, especially health data coming
      from different clinical services and sites, and/or from multiple countries.
     Health care professionals use more efficient and cost-effective health care procedures
      and workflows that contribute to improved disease prevention, early detection/diagnosis
      and more effective treatment.
Scope: Health data exists in many forms and multiple fragmented repositories; there is still
significant room for improvement in the way both structured and unstructured health data is
stored, analysed and interpreted. Sharing and analysing data from multiple countries in a safe
and legally compliant manner (in particular with regard to personal data protection) remains a
challenge. Powerful analytic tools are already helping providers to use structured data in
increasingly impactful ways. On the other hand, the heterogeneity, diversity of sources,
198
         FAIR data are data, which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.
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quality of data and various representations of unstructured data in health care increase the
number of challenges as compared to structured data.
Advances in AI and machine learning, however, have the potential to transform the way
clinicians, providers and researchers use unstructured data. Furthermore, developing data
interoperability standards, trust and harmonization of GDPR’s interpretation across the EU for
the sharing and processing of personal health data will support establishing a sound health
data culture in view of the European Health Data Space.
Proposals should address all of the following aspects:
     Developing robust novel solutions compliant with legal requirements (in particular
      concerning personal data protection) that will improve the quality, interoperability,
      machine-readability and re-use of health data and metadata in compliance with FAIR
      data management principles, making these data more accessible to clinicians, researchers
      and citizens. The focus should be on data in electronic health records (EHRs) and/or
      patient registries, taking into account the Commission Recommendation on a European
      Electronic Health Record exchange format199.
     Developing innovative natural language processing tools, including computational
      semantics, ontologies, text mining, associated machine learning and deep learning, to
      improve accessibility, interoperability, translation, transcription, and analysis of health
      data (e.g. to predict risks). Tools should extract health information from unstructured
      data in different clinical and medical sources, and bring that data into EHRs/patient
      registries in a structured form. The innovative solutions should also address missing data
      in EHRs and/or patient registries and their related metadata, to reduce bias and improve
      the quality of conclusions.
     Developing and piloting AI-powered virtual assistants that will utilise the tools and
      solutions developed (as mentioned above) in order to demonstrate improved usability of
      health data for end-users.
Proposals are expected to build on and contribute to existing European and international data
standards, specifications and schemas for health data. The use of open standards should be
considered and interactions with relevant ongoing research infrastructure efforts are
encouraged. Applicants should focus on health data coming from a number of EU Member
States and EEA countries, constituting as much as possible a representative sample of the
European healthcare landscape, so as to contribute to the work on the creation of the
European Health Data Space.
To guarantee their adoption, the developed solutions should be quick and easy to use by
researchers and clinicians. Therefore active involvement of end-users from the onset is
encouraged. In particular, patient advocacy groups and citizens should be involved to ensure
adequate consideration of diverse patient needs, with respect to their gender, ethnicity, age,
199
        https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/recommendation-european-electronic-health-record-
        exchange-format
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ability, and socio-economic background, to underpin acceptance by patients and other data
subjects. SMEs participation is also encouraged.
The proposals should duly take into account requirements stipulated in the relevant European
regulations (Data protection, in vitro diagnostics and medical devices) and must meet
appropriate ethical standards.
Call - Tools and technologies for a healthy society (Single Stage - 2022)
                                                                      HORIZON-HLTH-2022-TOOL-11
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)200
                    Topics                         Type       Budgets          Expected EU         Number
                                                     of         (EUR         contribution per          of
                                                  Action      million)         project (EUR         projects
                                                                                million)201        expected
                                                                 2022                                to be
                                                                                                    funded
                                            Opening: 06 Oct 2021
                                          Deadline(s): 21 Apr 2022
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-TOOL-11-01 RIA                             60.00 202     Around 10.00            6
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-TOOL-11-02 RIA                             35.00 203     Around 7.00             5
Overall indicative budget                                    95.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                      The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex B.
200
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
201
         Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
         amounts.
202
         Of which EUR 36.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
203
         Of which EUR 21.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-TOOL-11-01: Optimising effectiveness in patients of existing
prescription drugs for major diseases (except cancer) with the use of biomarkers
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per      10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 60.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 5 “Unlocking the full potential of new tools,
technologies and digital solutions for a healthy society”. To that end, proposals under this
topic should aim for delivering results that are directed, tailored and contributing to all of the
following expected outcomes:
   Diagnostics industries move towards market approval for companion diagnostics.
   Regulatory authorities approve companion diagnostics and make recommendations for
     the prescription of existing drugs.
   Health care providers use biomarkers with existing pharmaceuticals to treat more
     efficiently and cost-effectively patients, with less adverse effects.
Scope: The applicants should perform the clinical validation of qualified biomarkers (not
limited to molecular biomarkers) that will enable the identification of appropriate patients to
ensure an effective and efficient use of existing pharmaceuticals in the treatment of major
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diseases and conditions. The relevant biomarkers should allow providing the right medicinal
product, at the right dose and the right time, according to the concept of personalised
medicine, taking into account, among others, differences of sex, age, ethnicity and gender
identity. This topic refers to medicines that are already on the market and not to the validation
of biomarkers for the development of new medicinal products. It addresses broadly prescribed
medicines for major diseases and conditions, including but not limited to cardiovascular
diseases. A condition is that preliminary studies or publications have demonstrated that the
pharmaceuticals considered are efficient in less than 50% of the population treated. This topic
excludes cancer and rare disease treatments. The applicants should consider existing
guidelines, standards and regulations, as appropriate. Synergies with relevant European
Research Infrastructures are encouraged.
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-TOOL-11-02: New methods for the effective use of real-world
data and/or synthetic data in regulatory decision-making and/or in health technology
assessment
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 35.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                          consortium selected for funding.
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 5 “Unlocking the full potential of new tools,
technologies and digital solutions for a healthy society”. To that end, proposals under this
topic should aim for delivering results that are directed, tailored towards and contributing to
all of the following expected outcomes:
     Health regulatory bodies and/or Health Technology Assessment (HTA) bodies adopt
      optimised data-driven methodologies for the effective use of real-world data (including
      omics data) 204 , and/or synthetic data derived from digital twins and advanced
204
         Real world data is an umbrella term for data regarding the effects of health interventions that are not
         collected in the context of highly-controlled RCTs. Instead, RWD can either be primary research data
         collected in a manner which reflects how interventions would be used in routine clinical practice or
         secondary        research       data        derived       from     routinely       collected       data
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      computational methods (such as modelling and simulation or approaches based on
      machine learning/AI), for the assessment of medicinal products and/or digital health
      innovations.
     Health regulatory authorities and bodies (e.g. medicines agencies, HTA bodies, notified
      bodies for medical devices) use optimised guidelines for the development and
      assessment of medicinal products and/or medical devices including digital health
      innovations.
     Health regulatory authorities and bodies across Europe are trained in data-driven
      decision making using emerging data types.
Scope: With the emerging use of real-world data (RWD) and synthetic data by the
pharmaceutical industry and medical devices industry, regulators and HTA bodies need to
perform targeted validation of claims through independent analysis. The principal aim of this
topic is to address the data needs of health regulatory bodies and HTA bodies across the EU,
as outlined in the recently published “HMA-EMA Joint Big Data Taskforce Phase II report:
‘Evolving Data-Driven Regulation’”205 and its associated DARWIN (Data Analysis and Real
World Interrogation Network) project206.
To harness the potential of RWD and synthetic data from digital twins and advanced
analytical models, and make them actionable for health regulatory decision-making and for
health technology assessment, targeted research is needed on the evidentiary value of these
data for a number of relevant use cases. In addition, methods need to be developed to increase
the usability of such data by different stakeholder groups. Doing so will contribute to the
European Health Data Space and maximise the positive impact of DARWIN in driving up the
quality of evidence and decisions on the development and use of medicines and digital health
innovations.
Access to and analysis of RWD and synthetic data can inform regulatory decision-making
throughout the product lifecycle, namely: 1) support product development (e.g. scientific
advice, PRIME 207 ),); 2) support authorisation of new medicines and digital health
innovations; and 3) monitor the performance of medicines and digital health innovations on
the market (effectiveness and safety). Eventually, this will put in place methods and processes
that will enable continuous learning from pre-authorisation procedures and authorisation
applications on the use of RWD and/or synthetic data.
Proposals should address all of the following areas:
        (https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/presentation/presentation-session-1-use-real-world-data-pre-
        authorisation-what-can-it-answer-peter-mol_en.pdf)
205
        https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/other/hma-ema-joint-big-data-taskforce-phase-ii-report-
        evolving-data-driven-regulation_en.pdf
206
        https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/presentation/presentation-proposal-darwin-eu-data-analytics-
        real-world-interrogation-network-parlett-ema_en.pdf
207
        https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/human-regulatory/research-development/prime-priority-medicines
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   Develop a set of evidentiary standards to be pre-specified and used in the analysis of
      real-word evidence and/or synthetic data applied to different types of regulatory advice
      and/or health technology assessment and decisions on the safety and
      efficacy/effectiveness of medicines and digital health innovations (e.g. in complement to
      clinical trial data in an authorisation application, or for extension of indications, post
      marketing surveillance, amendment of product information or regulatory actions on the
      marketing authorisation due to safety concerns). This includes validating the use of
      advanced analytical methods for regulatory decision-making and/or health technology
      assessment.
   Address aspects that would enable moving towards a standard data quality framework
      reproducible across different types of RWD and/or synthetic data sources for regulatory
      decision-making and/or health technology assessment, with a characterisation of the data
      collection, management and reporting and an empirical data quality validation. In this
      regard, it will be important that successful proposals liaise with and closely monitor the
      work carried out in the context of the European Health Data Space.
   Enhance the performance and efficiency of large randomised clinical trials and new
      models of clinical trials by developing standardised processes and methods to access
      RWD and/or synthetic data (e.g., facilitating the detection of various types of health
      outcomes during the treatment period of a double-blinded trial by linkage to appropriate
      electronic health care record databases, etc.), for regulatory decision-making and/or
      health technology assessment.
   Define methodological standards for the regulatory acceptability of RWD, and/or
      synthetic data in the context of clinical trials augmented with RWD, and/or synthetic
      data, for regulatory decision making and/or health technology assessment.
   Test the ability of machine learning methods to help identify relevant RWD, and/or
      synthetic data to match with and to interpret clinical trials, for regulatory
      decision‑making and/or health technology assessment.
   Assess and validate how machine learning methods can be systematically harnessed to
      screen a large amount of data, including unstructured data, in many electronic databases
      to identify factors affecting efficacy and safety of treatments and/or digital health
      innovations, for regulatory decision-making and/or health technology assessment. The
      cross-border interoperability dimension should be taken into account.
Proposals should involve researchers who are specialised in the use of real-world data and/or
synthetic data to evaluate medicinal products and/or health care digital innovation products
and services. Proposals should involve national competent authorities (national health care
product regulatory bodies and/or medical device notified bodies) and could involve citizens
and patients’ representatives where relevant. Proposals should include capacity-building
efforts to address inequalities of health regulatory processes across Europe. This should
comprise education and training activities and sharing of best practices.
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In addition to national competent authorities, proposals could consider the involvement of the
European Medicines Agency (EMA) for an added value in order to provide an effective
interface between the research activities and regulatory aspects and/or to translate the research
results into validated test methods and strategies that would be fit for regulatory purpose.
Proposals could also consider the involvement of the European Commission's Joint Research
Centre (JRC) to provide added-value regarding health registry data, interoperability,
harmonisation and quality and linking with other data.
Call - Tools and technologies for a healthy society (two-stages - 2022)
                                                          HORIZON-HLTH-2022-TOOL-12-two-stage
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)208
                          Topics                               Type Budgets          Expected      Number
                                                                 of     (EUR            EU             of
                                                              Action million) contribution projects
                                                                                    per project expected
                                                                         2022          (EUR          to be
                                                                                             209
                                                                                    million)        funded
                                            Opening: 06 Oct 2021
                 Deadline(s): 01 Feb 2022 (First Stage), 06 Sep 2022 (Second Stage)
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-TOOL-12-01-two-                             RIA      60.00       Around          10
                                                                       210
stage                                                                              6.00
Overall indicative budget                                              60.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                      The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex B.
208
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
209
         Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
         amounts.
210
         Of which EUR 26.88 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-TOOL-12-01-two-stage: Computational models for new patient
stratification strategies
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 60.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 5 “Unlocking the full potential of new tools,
technologies and digital solutions for a healthy society”. To that end, proposals under this
topic should aim for delivering results that are directed, tailored and contributing to some of
the following expected outcomes:
   Clinical researchers use effective health data integration solutions for the classification
      of the clinical phenotypes.
   Researchers and/or health care professionals use robust and validated data-driven
      computational tools to successfully stratify patients.
   Regulatory bodies approve computer-aided patient stratification strategies to enable
      personalised diagnosis and/or personalised therapy strategies.
   Health care professionals adopt evidence-based guidelines for stratification-based patient
      management superior to the standard-of-care.
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Scope: In the era of big and complex data, the challenge remains to make sense of the huge
amount of health care research data. Computational approaches hold great potential to enable
superior patient stratification strategies to the established clinical practice, which in turn are a
prerequisite for the development of effective personalised medicine approaches.
The proposals may include a broad range of solutions, such as computational disease models,
computational systems medicine approaches, machine-learning algorithms, Virtual
Physiological Human, digital twin technologies and/or their combinations, as relevant. The
topic covers different stages in the continuum of the innovation path (i.e. translational, pre-
clinical, clinical research, validation in the clinical and real-world setting, etc.), as relevant to
the objectives of the proposals.
The topic will support the development of the computational models driven by the end users'
needs.
Proposals should address several of the following areas:
     Establish interdisciplinary research by bridging disciplines and technologies (disease
      biology, clinical research, data science, -omics tools, computational and mathematical
      modelling of diseases, advanced statistical and/or AI/machine learning methods, Virtual
      Physiological Human and/or digital twin technologies).
     Develop new computational models for the integration of complex health data from
      multiples sources, including structured and unstructured data.
     Develop and optimise robust, transparent and accurate computational models to guide
      patient stratification strategies for improving clinical outcomes.
     Demonstrate, test and clinically validate such models with respect to their utility to
      realistically stratify patients with the aim of improving the standard-of-care.
     The development of new patient stratification strategies guided by computational models
      and the validation of the new concepts of stratification in pre-clinical and/or clinical
      studies.
The proposals should adhere to the FAIR data211 principles, adopt data quality standards, data
integration operating procedures and GDPR-compliant data sharing/access good practices
developed by the European research infrastructures, wherever relevant. In addition, proposals
are encouraged to adopt good practices of international standards used in the development of
computational models, and make available the tools and solutions developed early. Proposals
aiming to develop computational models of high technology readiness level are encouraged to
deliver a plan for the regulatory acceptability of their technologies. Early interaction with the
relevant regulatory bodies is recommended (i.e. the EMA qualification advice for new
technologies, etc.) for the proposals contributing to the development of new medicinal
products, improvement of the effectiveness of marketed products and the development of
211
         FAIR data are data, which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.
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medical devices. The proposals aiming to validate their models as high-risk medical devices
in the relevant clinical environment are encouraged to deliver a certification implementation
plan.
All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and
joint activities, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for example,
involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also involve
networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate. Therefore, proposals are expected
to include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and may consider to cover the
costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite to detail concrete joint
activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be defined during the grant
agreement preparation phase. In this regard, the Commission may take on the role of
facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with relevant stakeholders, if appropriate.
In addition, the proposals will be encouraged to exchange with other successful proposals
developing AI algorithms and in silico models under other relevant topics.
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Destination 6. Maintaining an innovative, sustainable and globally
competitive health industry
Calls for proposals under this destination are directed towards the Key Strategic Orientation
KSO-A ‘Promoting an open strategic autonomy by leading the development of key digital,
enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains’ of Horizon Europe’s Strategic
Plan 2021-2024. Research and innovation supported under this destination should contribute
to the impact area ‘A competitive and secure data-economy’ and in particular to the following
expected impact, set out in the Strategic Plan for the health cluster: ‘EU health industry is
innovative, sustainable and globally competitive thanks to improved up-take of breakthrough
technologies and innovations, which makes the EU with its Member States more resilient and
less dependent from imports with regard to the access to and supply of critical health
technologies’. In addition, research and innovation supported under this destination could also
contribute to the following impact areas: ‘Industrial leadership in key and emerging
technologies that work for people’, ‘High quality digital services for all’, and ‘Good health
and high-quality accessible health care’.
The health industry is a key driver for growth and has the capacity to provide health
technologies to the benefit of patients and providers of health care services. The relevant
value chains involve a broad variety of key players from supply, demand and regulatory sides.
In addition, the path of innovation in health is long and complex. The development of novel
health technologies is generally associated with uncertainties and market barriers due to
expensive and risky development (e.g. attrition rate in pharmaceutical development), high
quality and security requirements (e.g. clinical performance, safety, data privacy and
cybersecurity) and market specificities (e.g. strong regulation, pricing and reimbursement
issues). In addition, the growing concern about environmental issues is putting more pressure
on this industry. Therefore, there is a need for research and innovation integrating various
stakeholders to facilitate market access of innovative health technologies (medical
technologies, pharmaceuticals, biotechnologies, digital health technologies).
In order to address these challenges, in particular green and digital transitions and proper
supply of health technologies and products, destination 6 will focus on research and
innovation activities that aim at:
    Production of pharmaceuticals in compliance with the objectives of the European Green
      Deal.
    Methodologies, guidelines and standards, assessment studies, and structuring activities
      adapted to digital solutions and interventions for GDPR compliant translation into health
      care practice, including inter-operability, cyber-security and data confidentiality.
    Public authorities supported with better methodologies and interdisciplinary approaches
      to assess and value new health technologies and interventions.
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   Development of pharmaceutical products meeting unmet medical needs in the context of
      market failures.
In view of increasing the impact of EU investments under Horizon Europe, the European
Commission welcomes and supports cooperation between EU-funded projects to enable
cross-fertilisation and other synergies. This could range from networking to joint activities
such as the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. Opportunities for potential
synergies exist between projects funded under the same topic but also between other projects
funded under another topic, cluster or pillar of Horizon Europe (but also with ongoing
projects funded under Horizon 2020). In particular, this could involve projects related to
European health research infrastructures (under pillar I of Horizon Europe), the EIC strategic
challenges on health and EIT-KIC Health (under pillar III of Horizon Europe), or in areas
cutting across the health and other clusters (under pillar II of Horizon Europe). For instance,
with cluster 4 “Digital, Industry and Space” such as on industrial research and innovation
infrastructures (pilot plants, testing and simulation facilities, open innovation hubs); additive
manufacturing (3D/4D printing) and other production technologies (incl. bio manufacturing);
safe, smart and sustainable materials.
Expected Impacts:
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to
maintaining an innovative, sustainable and globally competitive health industry, and more
specifically to one or several of the following expected impacts:
   Health industry in the EU is more competitive and sustainable, assuring European
      leadership in breakthrough health technologies and strategic autonomy in essential
      medical supplies and digital technologies, contributing to job creation and economic
      growth, in particular with small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
   Health industry is working more efficiently along the value chain from the identification
      of needs to the scale-up and take-up of solutions at national, regional or local level,
      including through early engagement with patients, health care providers, health
      authorities and regulators ensuring suitability and acceptance of solutions.
   European standards, including for operations involving health data, ensure patient safety
      and quality of healthcare services as well as effectiveness and interoperability of health
      innovation and productivity of innovators.
   Citizens, health care providers and health systems benefit from a swift uptake of
      innovative health technologies and services offering significant improvements in health
      outcomes, while health industry in the EU benefits from decreased time-to-market.
   Health security in the EU benefits from reliable access to key manufacturing capacity,
      including timely provision of essential medical supplies of particularly complex or
      critical supply and distribution chains, such as regards vaccines or medical radioisotopes.
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The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
              Call                             Budgets (EUR million)         Deadline(s)
                                            2021                   2022
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-IND-07 44.00                                               21 Sep 2021
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13                                     69.00           21 Apr 2022
Overall indicative budget            44.00                   69.00
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Call - A competitive health-related industry (2021)
                                                                       HORIZON-HLTH-2021-IND-07
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)212
                  Topics                        Type        Budgets          Expected EU          Number
                                                 of          (EUR          contribution per           of
                                              Action        million)         project (EUR          projects
                                                                              million)213         expected
                                                              2021                                  to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 21 Sep 2021
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-IND-07-01 RIA                           40.00 214     Around 8.00               5
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-IND-07-02 CSA                           2.00          Around 2.00               1
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-IND-07-03 CSA                           2.00          Around 2.00               1
Overall indicative budget                                 44.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
212
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
213
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
214
        Of which EUR 13.08 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-IND-07-01: Green pharmaceuticals
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 40.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                      consortium selected for funding.
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 6 “Maintaining an innovative, sustainable
and globally competitive health industry”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim
for delivering results that are directed, tailored towards and contributing to some of the
following expected outcomes:
   Researchers and regulators understand the environmental impact of pharmaceuticals.
   Public authorities inform pharmaceutical strategies and polices based on scientific
     evidences.
   Researchers, innovators and pharmaceutical industries develop and produce greener
     pharmaceuticals that are either greener by design, intrinsically less harmful for the
     environment, and/or use greener and economically more sustainable manufacturing
     processes for the production of pharmaceuticals.
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Scope: The EU needs to address the increasing problem of environmental pollution due to
pharmaceuticals throughout their life cycle. This encompass both, the industry need to tackle
the pollution due to their manufacturing as well as pollution resulting from the use and
disposal of their pharmaceuticals. This topic is part of an EU strategic approach to
pharmaceuticals in the environment215 and the Pharmaceutical strategy for Europe 216 called
for diversifying and secure supply chains and environmentally sustainable pharmaceuticals217.
The purpose of this topic is twofold.
One of the purposes is to encourage taking into account the environmental aspects of
pharmaceuticals as regards their use and disposal. The action intends to promote the
development of pharmaceuticals intrinsically less harmful to environment. As regards the
pharmaceuticals already in use, more understanding is needed concerning their environmental
concentration and resulting levels of risk. In particular, the solid knowledge of the impact of
molecules on the environment through the eco-toxicity studies will contribute to management
of environmental risk and may be taken into account for designing of new molecules.
The second purpose is to promote the green innovation in the pharmaceutical manufacturing
of marketed medicinal products, in particular manufacturing of their active pharmaceutical
ingredients (APIs). It will contribute to ensuring supplies of medicinal products and prevent
shortages as well as crisis preparedness. The difficulties in ensuring compliance with the high
environmental standards in the EU and high costs of such compliance are considered one of
the main reason for pharmaceutical manufacturing leaving the EU. This in turn results in
vulnerabilities of the supply chains (reduced number of suppliers of critical inputs, lack of
geographical diversification of the suppliers, lack of critical manufacturing capacity in the
EU). The new, greener and sustainable manufacturing methods, which would for the reason of
lowering the environmental impact rely on recycled solvents, would need at the same time to
address the risk of impurities.
Applicants should propose activities linked to several of the following elements:
     Research and innovation to support the development of “greener” pharmaceuticals that
      degrade more readily to harmless substances in waste water treatment plants and the
      environment;
     Research on the eco-toxicity and environmental fate of pharmaceuticals, in particular
      those that are not yet subject to environmental risk assessment;
     Propose innovative manufacturing technology that are greener, low in energy
      consumption and emissions, using less solvent or recycling solvents;
     Propose methods for eliminating carcinogenic impurities in pharmaceuticals (e.g.
      nitrosamines) process and medicinal products, in particular as complementary
      technologies to the manufacturing methods relying on recycled solvents;
215
         COM(2019) 128 final; Section 5.2
216
         COM(2020) 761
217
         https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0761&from=EN
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     Explore innovative uses of digital transformation or robotic for competitive and scalable
      methods of production.
The projects should favour a multi-stakeholders approach. They should address the industry
needs, taking account of SMEs’ specificities, and offer deployable technical solutions and/or
relevant data. They should also integrate at the same time the academic and public health
perspective.
Proposals could consider the involvement of the European Commission's Joint Research
Centre (JRC) in the field of new approach methodologies for ecotoxicity assessment.
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-IND-07-02:                      Development,       procurement and    responsible
management of new antimicrobials
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 6 “Maintaining an innovative, sustainable
and globally competitive health industry”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim
for delivering results that are directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following
expected outcomes:
     Health authorities and healthcare providers have identified the needs and potential
      procurers;
     Potential procurers are ready to establishing an innovation partnership for the
      development and the procurement of new antimicrobials;
     Potential procurers are able to engage and commit financially in view of the
      establishment of an innovation partnership.
Scope: The aim of this topic is to prepare for the establishment of a pull incentive for new
antimicrobials where there is an unmet public health need and a market failure. In line with
the Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe that was published in November 2020218 innovative
approaches at EU level should be developed for supporting research, development and public
procurement of antimicrobials to address the issue of antimicrobial resistance. These
approaches could make use of European legislation, such as the possibility of an innovation
218
        https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0761&from=EN
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partnership219 that would allow for the combination of development of new antimicrobials and
procurement elements and should be tailored to public health needs.
To that end, a preparatory phase is necessary. Proposers are expected to create the conditions
for the establishment of a future innovation partnership. They should take advantage of the
latest developments such as experiences gained within Europe on the advance purchase
agreements for COVID-19 vaccines. With the help of experts, potential procurers of new
antimicrobials in the Member States have to set out the requirements and conditions for the
final product(s) to be developed and purchased. This will needs to be guided by public health
needs and should be based on priority pathogens such as those identified by WHO 220. These
requirements and conditions needed to guide development will have to be developed with
input of scientific experts and in close collaboration with Commission services, and need to
be agreed upon with a view of EU Member States’ and Associated States commitments to
purchase the new antimicrobials. Proposers should also develop a broad communication
strategy towards stakeholders and other potential procurers.
Proposals are expected to address all of the following:
     Emerging health threats, particularly those resulting from antimicrobial resistance
      (AMR), and identification of relevant public health needs in the development of new
      antibiotics.
     Design of a feasible option for a pull incentive that combines EU support for late stage
      development of antimicrobials with procurement by Member States and Associated
      Countries (implementation of the pull incentive will be beyond the scope of this CSA).
     Readiness and interest of potential developers/suppliers of antimicrobials
     Market failures and the challenges of availability and accessibility of therapeutics.
     Conditions for development and purchase of new antimicrobials.
     Requirements for financing.
     Conditions for prudent use of new antimicrobials.
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-IND-07-03: Promoting a trusted mHealth label in Europe:
uptake of technical specifications for quality and reliability of health and wellness apps
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
219
        https://ec.europa.eu/growth/content/8699-innovation-partnerships-keep-public-services-date_en
220
        https://www.who.int/medicines/areas/rational_use/prioritization-of-pathogens/en/
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Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 6 “Maintaining an innovative, sustainable
and globally competitive health industry”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim
for delivering results that are directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following
expected outcomes:
     European suppliers of health technology and services benefit from enhanced single
      market conditions for mHealth that facilitate economies of scale.
     Health care systems and authorities are able to integrate mHealth solutions more rapidly
      thanks to a European ‘mHealth label’.
     Citizens, patients and health care professionals make more use of trusted mHealth
      solutions for promoting their health and self-managing their health care needs.
     European mHealth stakeholders build upon a digital ecosystem around a trusted mHealth
      label, an EU-wide promotion and uptake of technical specifications for health and
      wellness apps.
     Health systems and citizens benefit from the supply and use of health innovations
      facilitated by the promotion of common pan-European principles for validation and
      certification.
Scope: Europe is experiencing a fast growing market for health and wellness apps. At the
same time, concerns about the quality and reliability of apps have risen (for example, many
health and wellness apps are being published on app stores without clinical evidence
supporting the claimed benefits that they will deliver)221. CEN222, together with CEN/TC 251,
ISO and IEC, developed a new technical specification for ‘Quality and Reliability of Health
and Wellness Apps’ together with a CEN/ISO 82304-2 health app quality label (capturing
medical safety, usability, safety of personal data and technical quality of health apps).
The objective of the technical specification is to define quality and reliability criteria, which
support app developers to design and users of apps to select better apps.
The specification is intended for use by manufacturers of health apps as well as by app
checkers in order to communicate the quality and reliability of a health app.
Applicants should propose activities that bring together app developers, health care system
representatives, a diverse range of users (citizens/patients, health care providers), and
certification bodies in order to promote and stimulate the use and up-take of the health app
221
        https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/green-paper-mobile-health-mhealth
222
        http://www.ehealth-standards.eu/quality-reliability-for-health-and-wellness-apps/ due to be completed
        in 2020
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quality label, building a digital ecosystem around a trusted mHealth label to support the
integration and use of health and wellness apps in the health care system. Proposals should
encourage a people-centred approach that empowers citizens and patients, promotes a culture
of dialogue and openness between health professionals, citizens, patients and their families,
and unleashes the potential of social innovation.
The proposals are expected to address all of the following:
     Set up a structured dialogue on the uptake of the technical specifications between app
      developers, health care system representatives, app stores, medical societies, patient
      organisations, users (including health care professionals) and certification bodies,
      building a digital ecosystem around a trustable mHealth label.
     Co-create, develop and implement an action plan on the promotion of the mHealth label
      in the health care system.
     Implement concrete actions on the integration and use of secure and qualitative health
      and wellness apps, using the new label, in specific health care settings, covering the
      entire EU.
     Ensure that the promoted health and wellness apps are bias-free and adequately address
      the needs of different social groups, considering gender, age, ability and ethnicity, where
      relevant.
     Support and set-up an inclusive dissemination strategy to promote the use of the
      mHealth app quality label (cfr. EU energy labels and EU Nutri-Score nutrition label)
      taking into account the different levels of digital health literacy among the actors
      involved.
     Interests of different age groups, sex and gender, as well as other categories like persons
      with disability, ethnicity and the LGBTI+ community should be considered, where
      relevant.
Call - A competitive health-related industry (2022)
                                                                       HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)223
                   Topics                        Type       Budgets           Expected EU          Number
223
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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                                              of          (EUR          contribution per         of
                                           Action        million)        project (EUR        projects
                                                                          million)224        expected
                                                           2022                                to be
                                                                                              funded
                                        Opening: 06 Oct 2021
                                      Deadline(s): 21 Apr 2022
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13-01 RIA                        20.00 225     Around 6.00             3
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13-02 RIA                        30.00 226     Around 7.00             4
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13-03 RIA                        15.00 227     Around 5.00             3
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13-04 CSA                        2.00          Around 2.00             1
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13-05 CSA                        2.00          Around 2.00             1
Overall indicative budget                              69.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                  The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                               C.
Award criteria                                          The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                        D.
Documents                                               The documents are described in General
                                                        Annex E.
Procedure                                               The procedure is described in General
                                                        Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                 The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
224
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
225
        Of which EUR 12.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
226
        Of which EUR 18.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
227
        Of which EUR 9.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13-01: Enhancing cybersecurity of connected medical
devices
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 6 “Maintaining an innovative, sustainable
and globally competitive health industry”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim
for delivering results that are directed, tailored towards and contributing to some of the
following expected outcomes:
     Stakeholders (e.g. manufacturers, suppliers, health care providers, integrators, operators)
      apply measures to identify and address cybersecurity risks and gaps in connected
      medical devices.
     Stakeholders adopt and use newly developed risk benefit analysis schemes and
      capabilities for cybersecurity of connected medical devices.
     Stakeholders adopt and use newly developed methodologies and toolboxes for ensuring
      cybersecurity of connected medical devices by design.
     Stakeholders adopt and use fit for purpose guidance covering challenges posed by
      connected medical devices, including software.
Scope: The proposals are expected to help strengthening cybersecurity maintaining the
performance of medical devices while preserving or enhancing safety, security and data
confidentiality, integrity and availability. The applicants should tackle the cybersecurity issue
of connected medical devices and in vitro diagnostic medical devices, in particular those that
are connected to the internet, allow remote access to data and exchange private or proprietary
data. They should also consider the implications of Regulation (EU) 2017/745228 on medical
devices and Regulation (EU) 2017/746229 on in vitro diagnostic medical devices regarding
qualification and classification of software. In their proposals, applicants should consider to
maximise synergies with relevant initiatives, activities and programmes.
228
        OJ L 117, 5.5.2017, p. 1
229
        OJ L 117, 5.5.2017, p. 176
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Proposals are expected to address some or all of the following:
     Systematic review of current standards/guidelines/best practices applied to cybersecurity
      of connected medical devices, with the final objective to identify and specify gaps and
      requirements based on evidence.
     Propose risk benefit analysis schemes for cybersecurity of connected medical devices,
      taking into account several novel technological developments (e.g. 5G networks, big
      data, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, augmented reality, blockchain) and
      interconnection architectures.
     Explore, develop and validate novel methodologies and toolboxes for ensuring
      cybersecurity of connected medical devices by design.
     Identify representative case studies, evaluate the applicability of existing guidance
      MDCG 2019-16 (guidance on cybersecurity for medical devices 230 ) and make
      recommendations to (better) address specificities of the connected medical device,
      including software, of different risk classes.
     Assessment of the applicability (and revision) of current guidance, the MDCG 2019-16
      (guidance on cybersecurity for medical devices), to connected medical device, including
      software.
All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and
joint activities, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for example,
involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also involve
networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate. Therefore, proposals are expected
to include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and may consider to cover the
costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite to detail concrete joint
activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be defined during the grant
agreement preparation phase. In this regard, the Commission may take on the role of
facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with relevant stakeholders, if appropriate.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13-02: Scaling up multi-party                         computation,   data
anonymisation techniques, and synthetic data generation
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
230
         https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/41863
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project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 30.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 6 “Maintaining an innovative, sustainable
and globally competitive health industry”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim
for delivering results that are directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following
expected outcomes:
   The EU contributes strongly to global standards for health data through enhancement of
      common European standards for health data (including medical imaging data) by
      researchers and innovators. Researchers and innovators contribute to GDPR compliant
      guidelines and rules for data anonymisation.
   Innovators have access to advanced secure data processing tools to test and develop
      robust data-driven digital solutions and services in response to the needs of researchers,
      clinicians and health systems at large.
   Cross-border health data hubs further facilitate the innovation process by providing
      secure, trustable testing environments for innovators.
   Clinicians, patients and individuals use a larger variety of high quality data tools and
      services for wellbeing, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of care.
   Researchers and innovators have more opportunities for testing and developing GDPR
      compliant data driven solutions based on actual needs of the health care environments.
Scope: It is essential to speed up and facilitate innovations in the field of data-driven tools and
services for wellbeing, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of care, among others.
However, limited access by developers to health data and secure testing environments hinder
the development of innovative data-driven digital health products and services.
Therefore, the proposals are expected to scale up multi-party computation, data
anonymisation techniques and synthetic data generation. To ensure privacy, the data analytics
should be conducted in a distributed way among processors that grant third parties access to
analysis outcomes but not to the underlying data. The developers should have access to
distributed testing data sources and cloud and computing resources at large scale, with a view
to improving the speed and robustness of multi-party computation solutions for innovators.
The aim is to allow secure GDPR-compliant data processing for research, and clinical
purposes.
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The proposals should consider the use of synthetic, i.e. artificially generated, data as they
allow researchers and developers to test, verify and fine-tune algorithms in large-scale data
experimentations without re-identifiable personal data.
In addition, the proposed anonymisation techniques will have to be sophisticated and robust
enough to tackle the challenge of anonymised data sets that still make it possible to trace back
to individuals.
The proposals are expected to foster the development of secure, interoperable, transparent -
and therefore trustable - cross-border health data hubs that can facilitate the provision of the
required testing environments for innovators. This will support the uptake of new data tools,
technologies and digital solutions for health care.
To this end, integration of national/regional health data hubs/repositories/research
infrastructures is appropriate to achieve the scope of the topic. The proposals are expected to
address all of the following areas:
    Consolidate and scale up multi-party computation and data anonymisation techniques
      and synthetic data generation to support health technology providers, in particular SMEs.
    Support the development of innovative unbiased AI based and distributed tools,
      technologies and digital solutions for the benefit of researchers, patients and providers of
      health services, while maintaining a high level of data privacy.
    Advance the state-of-the-art of de-identification techniques, to tackle the challenge of
      anonymised datasets that can be traced back to individuals.
    Develop innovative anonymisation techniques demonstrating that effective data quality
      and usefulness can be preserved without compromising privacy.
    Explore and develop further the techniques of creating synthetic data, also dynamically
      on demand for specific use cases.
    Widen the basis for GDPR-compliant research and innovation on health data.
    Ensure wide uptake and scalability of the methodologies and tools developed, promote
      high standards of transparency and openness, going well beyond documentation and
      extending to aspects such as assumptions, architecture, code and any underlying data.
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13-03: New pricing and payment models for cost-effective
and affordable health innovations
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
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                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 6 “Maintaining an innovative, sustainable
and globally competitive health industry”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim
for delivering results that are directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following
expected outcomes:
   Health authorities and insurers adopt new payment models for health technologies,
      including pharmaceuticals.
   Health industries anticipate better the marketing conditions for innovative health
      technologies. Patients and health care providers have faster access to innovative health
      technologies.
   Health authorities, insurers and health care providers have affordable innovative health
      technologies both on short and longer terms.
Scope: Applicants are requested to propose new value-based pricing and reimbursement
models that can help ensure equitable access to effective, efficient, affordable, and sustainable
health technologies, including medicines, while supporting innovation and industrial
competitiveness. The research should tackle the issue globally and be based on a
multidisciplinary approach combining economic science, political science and sociology. The
proposals should not be limited to the study of cost-effectiveness analyses and thresholds in
decision-making. They should also address long term intended and unintended consequences
of pricing and reimbursement decisions. Moreover, they should consider the potential
limitation of no-coverage decision for products with high budgetary impact. Applicant
consortia should include regulators and public entities that are in charge of attributing value
tags to health technologies, negotiating with health technology manufacturers and/or
reimbursing medical costs. Differences between public and private sectors could be
considered, as appropriate. Proposals should also consider citizens engagement and dialogue,
for seeking wider input and support, and could encourage other social innovation approaches.
Applicants should propose activities in all of the following areas:
   Affordability of health innovations.
   Variety of pricing/payment schemes in the EU.
   Cost-effectiveness and budget impact (including life-time indirect medical costs).
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   Impact of payment schemes (e.g. pay-for-performance/multi-annual instalments) on
     long-term competition in health technology markets, in particular the pharmaceutical
     market.
   Potential influence of post-launch evidence-generation plans agreed with regulators and
     downstream decision makers (HTAs, payers) on the payment models.
   Transparent and comprehensive assessment of technology and medicine development
     costs, taking into account public investments and incremental character of some
     innovations (e.g. new indications).
   Development, integration and harmonisation of tools that allow for validation and
     revision of clinical evidence and cost-effectiveness, and long-term financial planning for
     effective and transparent decision-making.
   New methods for definition of cost-effectiveness thresholds, integration of greener
     production and environmental impact, rational applications in real world contexts,
     comparative analysis of influence in decision-making and influence in the formulation of
     prices of technologies.
   Potential equity issues derived by payment models and the measures for their mitigation.
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13-04: Setting up a European Smart Health Innovation
Hub
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 6 “Maintaining an innovative, sustainable
and globally competitive health industry”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim
for delivering results that are directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following
expected outcomes:
   Empowered patients and citizens of all ages, gender, social and economic background
     adopt and use digital tools to monitor their health status independently.
   A strong European ecosystem is created by innovators in the health domain, including,
     but not limited to SMEs, Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs), accelerators,
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      incubators, (European) Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH)231, European Reference Sites of
      the EIP-AHA232 and Knowledge Hubs, involving end-users.
     Public and private entities adopt the innovations of European digital health companies,
      especially SMEs and mid-caps, enhancing their sustainability and resilience.
     Citizens, patients, health practitioners and facilities, public and private actors access and
      make use of sustainable EU-wide reference repository of digitally-enabled innovative
      solutions addressing all health related sectors, areas and segments, with particular focus
      on self-management and prevention.
Scope: The EU has supported innovation of digital tools for better and more personalised
treatments and self-monitoring of citizens and patients throughout Europe. However, adoption
and deployment of digital health solutions in practice, both in the public health system and by
private players remains low.
Building on the recommendations from the report of the Strategic Forum for Important
Projects of Common European Interest233, coordination and support is needed to: i) create a
pan-European operational network as a mechanism (a European Smart Health Innovation
Hub) that can assess and promote Smart Health initiatives; ii) stimulate the demand-side and
the uptake of Smart Health products and services; and iii) support the development of Smart
Health products and services.
Applicants should propose activities addressing the need to bring together different actors,
working on innovative digital health solutions and to reinforce their collaboration, exchange
and efforts on scaling-up digital health solutions across Europe. Proposals should encourage a
people-centred approach that empowers citizens and patients, promotes a culture of dialogue
and openness between citizens, patients, health practitioners and providers, and other public
and private actors, and unleashes the potential of social innovation.
Applicants should link various existing repositories of digital health solutions, which are
already deployable as part of different EU projects and initiatives. It is necessary to integrate
them into a European Digital Health Smart Innovation Hub, which will serve as a European
reference platform for scalable digital health solutions, both for public organisations and
private actors, connecting supply and demand side.
Applicants should propose activities in several of the following areas:
     Promote transfer and exchange of knowledge and best practices (such as twinnings)
      between different actors, such as SMEs, mid-caps, accelerators, incubators, RTOs,
      EDIHs234, Reference Sites of the EIP-AHA235 and Knowledge Hubs, such as EIT KIC
231
        https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/digital-innovation-hubs
232
        https://ec.europa.eu/eip/ageing/reference-sites_en
233
        https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/37824
234
        https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/digital-innovation-hubs
235
        https://ec.europa.eu/eip/ageing/reference-sites_en
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      Health236, eHealth Hub237 or mHealth Hub238 – working on innovation of digital health
      solutions, including training to end-users, e.g. citizens, patients, health care providers,
      and deployment strategies.
     Promote scalability of digital innovation solutions by organising market places and
      pitching events to public health organisations and private entities and by involving
      industry and Member States representatives.
     Integrating existing repositories into a sustainable European repository, serving as a
      reference of ready to market solutions (supply side) and public and private organisations
      adopting them (demand side), as well as best practices.
     Reinforce the European Digital Health ecosystem by enhancing collaboration and
      networking between the different actors working on digital health innovation across
      Europe. Synergies with other relevant initiatives, like the Digital Transformation
      Accelerator that will manage the network of European Digital Innovation Hubs are
      encouraged, as well as with relevant initiatives in AI, Data and Robotics in Horizon
      2020, Horizon Europe, Digital Europe and other programmes.
     The Digital Health solutions that would be part of the European Smart Health Innovation
      Hub should match the needs of all citizens and patients, regardless of their age, gender,
      social or economic background.
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13-05: Setting up a European Electronic Health Record
Exchange Format (EEHRxF) Ecosystem
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per           million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                    Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                           proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action             Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to one or several expected impacts of destination 6 “Maintaining an innovative, sustainable
and globally competitive health industry”. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim
for delivering results that are directed, tailored towards and contributing to all of the following
expected outcomes:
236
         https://eithealth.eu
237
         https://www.ehealth-hub.eu/
238
         https://mhealth-hub.org/
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     Individuals, researchers, health services and the workforce across borders in the EU
      Digital Single Market use significantly improved and interoperable cross-border digital
      health solutions thanks to sophisticated ICT toolbox, representative use case
      applications, a Pan-European ecosystem of early adopters, and a framework for
      sustainability and exploitation. These will also contribute to the European Health Data
      Space.
     Individuals have an improved level of accessibility, control and portability of health
      data, including donation for research across Europe and jurisdictions.
     Policy makers and members of the eHealth Network239 are better informed and advised
      regarding potential evolutions of the EEHRxF and its extension to other uses cases.
     Different target populations such as designers, developers, health care professionals, and
      individuals have access to exploitation and capacity building support, such as training
      material, dedicated tools, guidelines, mentorship and collaboration programs.
Scope: Interoperability of Electronic Health Record is key for the exchange and the portability
of health data in view of better health outcomes and treatments. The EU has supported
projects to ensure cross-border sharing of health data and, in 2019, adopted a
Recommendation on EEHRxF240. There is a need to continue supporting the uptake of new
use cases (i.e. laboratory results, medical imaging and reports, and hospital discharge reports)
and take on board possible new requirements, and ultimately to bring together policy actors
and stakeholders.
Applicants should propose activities in all of the following areas:
     Building on the outcomes of activities and projects 241 related to the EEHRxF
      Recommendation, establishing and sustaining a scalable public infrastructure for digital
      health innovation based on the EEHRxF principles and the functional and technical
      specifications of its information domains (i.e. medical imaging, discharge letters,
      laboratory results, etc.). This infrastructure must provide a REST API242 to third-party
      developers, which should comprise a coherent set of functionality that significantly
      improve the development and deployment of interoperable cross-border digital health
      solutions. It should specifically allow individuals accessing and providing their own
      (electronic) health records across national borders. The infrastructure must ensure
      compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation 243 , the Network and
      Information Systems Directive244 and the operation in a European Digital Single Market.
239
         https://ec.europa.eu/health/ehealth/policy/network_en
240
         https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/recommendation-european-electronic-health-record-
         exchange-format
241
         E.g. from the H2020 topics PHC 34 – 2014, HCO-14-2016, HCO-15-2016, SC1-DTH-08-2018, SC1-
         HCC-07-2020.
242
         https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/api4dt
243
         Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the
         protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of
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     Demonstrating feasibility of real-life interoperable digital solutions for use by
      individuals, researchers, health services and the workforce across borders in the EU
      Digital Single Market by leveraging the above EEHRxF-based infrastructure. Emphasis
      should be given to specific fields of high societal relevance and high prevalence. Omics
      type of information associated to the use and exchange of health datasets and artificial
      intelligence should be strongly considered with special regard to analysis and
      corresponding further health-related data. Integration with population-based patient
      registries such as cardiovascular disease, congenital anomalies, diabetes, rare diseases,
      and cancer are highly recommended. Relevant activities of the eHealth Network 245
      should be taken into account. For all relevant data (e.g. from hospitals, doctors or user-
      generated) ethics and legal issues should be considered appropriately. Local, regional,
      national and cross-border aspects (to cover e.g. differences in languages and
      terminologies) should be given adequate consideration.
     Establishing and sustaining a Pan-European ecosystem of digital health stakeholders by
      promoting and ensuring adoption of the EEHRxF-based infrastructure, involving both
      supply and demand sides, reinforcing collaboration and networking between the
      different actors working on digital health innovation across Europe around that
      infrastructure, and more particularly ensuring strong involvement and coordination at the
      governance level with the national authorities and Ministries represented in the eHealth
      Network and the eHealth agencies underneath it. The latter should include innovation
      initiatives related to a coherent selection of the following: clinical research, clinical trial
      integration, outcomes-based research, monitoring or decision aids for individuals, and
      business analytics, as well as application designers and developers, SMEs, innovation
      hubs, professionals networks e.g. rare disease network, health professionals and patient
      associations, and standardisation bodies.
     Creating and validating a framework for enabling further exploitation of the public
      infrastructure for digital health innovation, including its terms of reference, governance
      and operations rules and procedures, as well as support for capacity building such as
      training material, guidelines, mentorship and collaboration/twinning programs for
      designers, developers, health care professionals, policymakers, SMEs, etc.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
         such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation): http://eur-
         lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj
244
         Directive (EU) 2016/1148 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2016 concerning
         measures for a high common level of security of network and information systems across the Union:
         http://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2016/1148/oj
245
         https://ec.europa.eu/health/ehealth/policy/network_en
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Other Actions not subject to calls for proposals
Grants to identified beneficiaries
1. Grant to the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD)
The European Commission will make a contribution towards activities of the Global Alliance
for Chronic Diseases (GACD)246.
Expected Impact. Proposals should set out a credible pathway to contributing to one or several
expected impacts of destination “Tackling diseases and reducing disease burden”.
Expected Outcome. Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcome: This will enable the European Commission to take part in GACD, which brings
together leading health research funding agencies of key countries (currently Argentina,
Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand, UK and
USA) to coordinate research activities addressing on a global scale the prevention and
treatment of chronic, non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes,
mental and neurological diseases, lung diseases and cancer.
Scope
Recommendations of GACD are expected to have a fundamental value for future orientation
of public health research policy. This will also contribute to the implementation of the
Union’s strategy for international cooperation in research and innovation.
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195 (e) of the EU
Financial Regulation and the relevant provisions of the Horizon Europe Regulation to the
legal entity identified below as it manages the GACD (even if located in a third country, its
participation is essential for the implementation of the action – Art. 19(2)b of Horizon Europe
basic act).
Legal entities:
GACD Action, Gibbs Building, 215 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE, United Kingdom
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
246
         https://www.gacd.org/
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Indicative timetable: 4th Quarter 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.70 million from the 2021 budget
2. European registry for human pluripotent stem cell lines
A contribution for 5 years will be made to ensure the continued registration of human
Pluripotent Stem Cell (hPSC) lines in a European registry.
Expected Impact. Proposals should set out a credible pathway to contributing to one or several
expected impacts of destination: “Unlocking the full potential of new tools, technologies and
digital solutions for a healthy society”.
Expected Outcome. Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcome: Allow researchers to be informed on Stem Cell lines.
Scope
The aim is to gather and make available detailed information on the different hPSC lines
derived in Europe and beyond, thereby also avoiding needless creation of new cell lines. This
registry operates through an internet website that will continue to provide high quality data
about the lines (e.g. cell characteristics), details regarding their source and contact information
regarding their location.
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195 (e) of the EU
Financial Regulation and the relevant provisions of the Horizon Europe Regulation to the
legal entity identified below as it manages the European registry
Legal entities:
Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V., Hansastrasse 27C,
80686, Muenchen, Germany
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: 4th Quarter 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 1.50 million from the 2021 budget
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3. CEPI 3 - Contribution to the Coalition for Epidemics Preparedness Initiative
Expected Impact. Proposals should set out a credible pathway to contributing to one or several
expected impacts of destination: “Tackling diseases and reducing disease burden”.
Expected Outcome. Project Results under this action are expected to contribute to all of the
following expected outcomes:
     Health care providers have access to newly developed medical countermeasures against
      prioritised pathogens with epidemic potential.
     Citizens benefit from improvements in prevention and containment of epidemics.
     Research funders, policy makers and the research community will have better tools and
      solutions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 3.3247, “to combat communicable
      diseases" and to implement 3.B “to support the research and development of vaccines for
      the communicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries, and provide
      access to affordable essential vaccines”
Scope:
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195 (e) of the EU
Financial Regulation and the relevant provisions of the Horizon Europe Regulation to the
legal entities identified below as CEPI has been a key partner for implementing the common
Union response to the COVID-19 epidemic. The funding rate will be 70%.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is an international non-profit
association established under Norwegian Law. It was founded by the Governments of
Norway, Germany, Japan, India, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and the
Wellcome Trust, and launched during the World Economic Forum in Davos 2017. Its
objective is to finance and coordinate the development of new medical countermeasures to
prevent and contain infectious diseases that have epidemic potential, before these diseases
become global health emergencies. The Horizon Europe funding will be used to enhance and
expand CEPI’s activities. This action will also contribute to the implementation of the
Union’s strategy for international cooperation in research and innovation and the EU’s
development policy, in particular attention will be given to the constraints national health
systems face in low and middle income countries.
Accordingly, the proposals should cover all of the following activities:
     Vaccine research and development for emerging pathogens to stop future epidemics.
     Research to advance adaptable vaccine technologies that can be used for rapid vaccine
      and immunoprophylactic development against previously unknown pathogens.
247
        https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/sustainabledevelopmentgoals
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     Engagement with relevant stakeholders in the area of epidemic preparedness ensuring
      collaboration and coordination and avoiding duplication.
This action is expected to engage with other relevant initiatives, such as the new Partnership
for Pandemic Preparedness.
With the grant from the European Union, CEPI will be able to award one or several grants to
third parties through competitive calls for proposals. The call(s) will be issued to fund
advanced pre-clinical as well as clinical research on new vaccines for the prevention of
emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, with a view to preventing future epidemics.
For this purpose this action is also expected to engage with the European Health Emergency
Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) The expected recipients of the grant(s) issued
by CEPI include research institutes, universities, SMEs as well as large companies, all active
in research and innovation on new and improved vaccines.
Financial support provided by CEPI to third parties is one of the primary activities of this
action in order to be able to achieve its objectives as CEPI does not have the capacity to
develop new medical countermeasures themselves. The maximum amount to be granted to a
third party is EUR 35 million. This is justified by the high cost of development for new
vaccines, that reach tens of millions of Euros.248
Legal entities:
Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Marcus Thranes gate 2, 0473 Oslo, Norway
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Programme co-fund action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: 4th quarter 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 35.00 million from the 2021 budget
4. CEPI 4 - Contribution to the Coalition for Epidemics Preparedness Initiative
Expected Impact. Proposals should set out a credible pathway to contributing to one or several
expected impacts of destination: “Tackling diseases and reducing disease burden”.
248
         Gouglas, D. et al.: Estimating the cost of vaccine development against epidemic infectious diseases: a
         cost minimisation study. Lancet Global Health Vol. 6 (12) E1386-E1396. . DOI:
         https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(18)30346-2                                                        -
         https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(18)30346-2/fulltext
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Expected Outcome. Project Results under this action are expected to contribute to all of the
following expected outcomes:
     Health care providers have access to newly developed medical countermeasures against
      prioritised pathogens with epidemic potential.
     Citizens benefit from improvements in prevention and containment of epidemics.
     Research funders, policy makers and the research community will have better tools and
      solutions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 3.3249, “to combat communicable
      diseases" and to implement 3.B “to support the research and development of vaccines for
      the communicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries, and provide
      access to affordable essential vaccines”
Scope:
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195 (e) of the EU
Financial Regulation and the relevant provisions of the Horizon Europe Regulation to the
legal entities identified below as CEPI has been a key partner for implementing the common
Union response to the COVID-19 epidemic. The funding rate will be 70%.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is an international non-profit
association established under Norwegian Law. It was founded by the Governments of
Norway, Germany, Japan, India, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and the
Wellcome Trust, and launched during the World Economic Forum in Davos 2017. Its
objective is to finance and coordinate the development of new medical countermeasures to
prevent and contain infectious diseases that have epidemic potential, before these diseases
become global health emergencies. The Horizon Europe funding will be used to enhance and
expand CEPI’s activities. This action will also contribute to the implementation of the
Union’s strategy for international cooperation in research and innovation and the EU’s
development policy, in particular attention will be given to the constraints national health
systems face in low and middle income countries.
Accordingly, the proposals should cover all of the following activities:
     Vaccine research and development for emerging pathogens to stop future epidemics.
     Research to advance adaptable vaccine technologies that can be used for rapid vaccine
      and immunoprophylactic development against previously unknown pathogens.
     Engagement with relevant stakeholders in the area of epidemic preparedness ensuring
      collaboration and coordination and avoiding duplication.
This action is expected to engage with other relevant initiatives, such as the new Partnership
for Pandemic Preparedness.
249
        https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/sustainabledevelopmentgoals
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With the grant from the European Union, CEPI will be able to award one or several grants to
third parties through competitive calls for proposals. The call(s) will be issued to fund
advanced pre-clinical as well as clinical research on new vaccines for the prevention of
emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, with a view to preventing future epidemics.
For this purpose this action is also expected to engage with the European Health Emergency
Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA). The expected recipients of the grant(s) issued
by CEPI include research institutes, universities, SMEs as well as large companies, all active
in research and innovation on new and improved vaccines.
Financial support provided by CEPI to third parties is one of the primary activities of this
action in order to be able to achieve its objectives as CEPI does not have the capacity to
develop new medical countermeasures themselves. The maximum amount to be granted to a
third party is EUR 35 million. This is justified by the high cost of development for new
vaccines, that reach tens of millions of Euros.250
Legal entities:
Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Marcus Thranes gate 2, 0473 Oslo, Norway
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Programme co-fund action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: 4th Quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 35.00 million from the 2022 budget
Other Instruments
1. Mobilisation of Research funds in case of Public Health Emergencies: COVID-19,
second quarter of 2021
As part of the EU response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and because of the raising spread of
SARS-CoV-2 variants, grants will be awarded without a call for proposals in accordance with
Article 195(b) of the Financial Regulation251 to address this exceptional emergency.
250
         Gouglas, D. et al.: Estimating the cost of vaccine development against epidemic infectious diseases: a
         cost minimisation study. Lancet Global Health Vol. 6 (12) E1386-E1396. . DOI:
         https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(18)30346-2                                                        -
         https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(18)30346-2/fulltext
251
         Article 195 (b) of the Financial Regulation 2018/1046 "Grants may be awarded without a call for
         proposals only in the following cases: […] (b) in other exceptional and duly substantiated
         emergencies”.
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An invitation to apply for funding will be published on the Funding & Tenders Portal that will
open a dedicated section where proposals can be submitted. This will be communicated to the
National Contact Points. The invitation to apply for funding will be open to all eligible
entities or limited to targeted entities, taking into account the need to achieve the underlying
objectives in a quick and efficient manner considering the exceptional circumstances
(“extreme urgency” due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Expected Impact: Proposals should set out a credible pathway to contributing to one or
several of the following expected impacts: Health care providers are able to better tackle and
manage diseases (infectious diseases, including poverty-related and neglected diseases, non-
communicable and rare diseases) and reduce the disease burden on patients effectively thanks
to better understanding and treatment of diseases, more effective and innovative health
technologies, better ability and preparedness to manage epidemic outbreaks and improved
patient safety.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcome: Allow the Union to respond to public health emergencies.
Scope:
On 30 January 2020, WHO declared the COVID 19 outbreak a public health emergency of
international concern. One year later, the pandemic is still not under control.
While vaccines are now becoming available and being used, COVID 19 variants are
increasingly of concern – because of their potential to affect transmissibility, severity of
disease and vaccine effectiveness.
An additional concerted EU effort is needed to further speed up the process of understanding
the occurrence and spread of variants and their effect on disease severity and vaccine
effectiveness.
For this reason, in 2021, this Cluster will include two different specific actions:
     Support for the development of large scale, COVID19-related cohorts and networks
      beyond Europe’s borders, forging links with European initiatives as a global response to
      the pandemic;
     Conduct of vaccine & therapeutic trials to boost prevention and further inform public
      health policy and clinical management
It is expected that quality-controlled data are shared in accordance with the FAIR 252
principles. The use of harmonised protocols in collaboration with other actors is
recommended for this purpose.
252
        FAIR data are data, which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.
        https://www.openaire.eu/how-to-make-your-data-fair
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The standard eligibility and admissibility criteria, evaluation criteria, thresholds, weighting for
award criteria, maximum funding rate and conditions for providing financial support to third
parties, are provided in the General Annexes.
This action seeks to address the challenges linked to the COVID-19 variants. As such, the
granting authority hereby requests activation of the public emergency provisions, meaning
that the beneficiaries must comply with the public emergency related provisions listed in the
General Annexes concerning the project implementation under - Intellectual Property Rights
(IPR), background and results, access rights and rights of use (article 16 and Annex 5) for the
duration of the pandemic; and under Communication, dissemination, open science and
visibility (article 17 and Annex 5) during the entire duration of the action and for four years
after the end of the action.
The following derogations to the evaluation procedure described in General Annexes D and F
apply to open invitations to submit applications:
In order to ensure a balanced portfolio covering responses to different aspects of the public
health emergency under the specific actions above, and within each specific action, grants will
be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking, but also to those projects that enhance
the quality of the project portfolio through synergies between projects and avoidance of
overlaps, provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
Seeing the need to cooperate across borders beyond the Union to better tackle the pandemic,
the following topic specific conditions to the eligibility conditions contained in the General
Annexes apply.
Due to the urgency of this action and geographical relevance of this action and considering
the Union’s interest to retain, in principle, relations with the countries associated to Horizon
2020, and other third countries in the process of association to Horizon Europe, legal entities
established in Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland,
Israel, Kosovo 253 , Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia,
Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom are eligible for funding from the
Union; even if the Horizon Europe association agreement with the third country concerned
does not apply at the time of signature of the grant agreement.
The consortium must include at least one independent legal entity established in a Member
State and at least two other independent legal entities each established in different Member
States or countries listed above.
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Research and Innovation Actions - Grant awarded without call for proposals
in accordance with Article 195 (b) of the Financial Regulation
253
         This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and
         the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
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The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: Second Quarter 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 90.00 million from the 2021 budget
2. Studies, conferences, events and outreach activities
A number of specific contracts will be signed under existing framework contracts in order to:
(i) support the dissemination and exploitation of project results; (ii) contribute to the
definition of future challenge priorities; (iii) undertake citizen surveys such as
Eurobarometers, (iv) carry out specific evaluations of programme parts; and (v) organise
conferences, events and outreach activities. Should existing framework contracts prove
unsuitable or insufficient to support the abovementioned activities, one or more calls for
tender may be launched as appropriate.
Subject matter of the contracts envisaged: studies, technical assistance, conferences, events
and outreach activities.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative budget: EUR 3.00 million from the 2021 budget (Some 10 contracts expected for
2021 (indicative)) and EUR 3.00 million from the 2022 budget (Some 10 contracts expected
for 2022 (indicative))
3. Mobilisation of research funds in case of Public Health Emergencies
Expected Impact. Proposals should set out a credible pathway to contributing to one or several
expected impacts of destination: “Tackling diseases and reducing disease burden”.
Expected Outcome. Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcome: Allow the Union to respond to Public Health Emergencies
Scope:
In case of a public health emergency254 (such as a Public Health Emergency of International
Concern (PHEIC) according to the World Health Organization, a public health emergency
under Decision 1082/2013/EU or under applicable national frameworks and regulations),
funding will be mobilised for :
254
         Should there be no Public Health Emergency in 2021 or 2022, the indicative budget may be reallocated.
                                           Part 4 - Page 181 of 191
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  1. The award of grants without a call for proposals according to Article 195 (b) of the EU
      Financial Regulation255 in exceptional and duly substantiated emergencies. At that time,
      the Funding & Tenders Portal will open a dedicated section where proposals can be
      submitted. This will be communicated to the National Contact Points. The invitation to
      apply for funding will be open to all eligible entities or be limited to targeted entities,
      taking into account the need to achieve the underlying objectives in a quick and efficient
      manner considering the exceptional circumstances; and/or
  2. The award of additional funding for ongoing grant agreements to cover additional
      activities specifically linked to the public health emergency, in exceptional and duly
      substantiated emergencies. Providing such additional funding to ongoing grants that can
      support pertinent short- and mid-term research efforts to confront the public health
      emergency will save valuable time and allow addressing the situation with the
      appropriate urgency. Restricted calls for expression of interest or proposals will develop
      such additional activities or add additional partners to existing actions.
It is expected that quality-controlled data are shared in accordance with the FAIR 256
principles. The use of harmonised protocols in collaboration with other actors is
recommended for this purpose.
The standard eligibility and admissibility criteria, evaluation criteria, thresholds, weighting for
award criteria, maximum funding rate and conditions for providing financial support to third
parties, are provided in the General Annexes.
The beneficiaries must comply with the public emergency related provisions listed in the
General Annexes concerning the project implementation under - Intellectual Property Rights
(IPR), background and results, access rights and rights of use (article 16 and Annex 5) for the
duration of the Public Health Emergency; and under Communication, dissemination, open
science and visibility (article 17 and Annex 5) during the entire duration of the action and for
four years after the end of the action.
The following derogations to the evaluation procedure described in General Annexes D and F
apply to open invitations to submit applications:
In order to ensure a balanced portfolio covering responses to different aspects of the public
health emergency, grants will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking, but also
to those projects that enhance the quality of the project portfolio through synergies between
projects and avoidance of overlaps, provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
The action may also include justified derogations from the standard limits to financial support
to third parties. Where applicable, the relevant grant agreement options will be applied.
255
        Article 195 (b) of the Financial Regulation 2018/1046 "Grants may be awarded without a call for
        proposals only in the following cases: […] (b) in other exceptional and duly substantiated
        emergencies;”.
256
        FAIR data are data, which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.
        https://www.openaire.eu/how-to-make-your-data-fair
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Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant awarded without call for proposals according to Financial Regulation
Article 195 (b)
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: Will depend on the Public Health Emergency
Indicative budget: EUR 1.00 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 30.00 million from the
2022 budget
4. Subscription to the Human Frontier Science Program Organization
An annual subscription to the international Human Frontier Science Program Organization
(HFSPO)257 will allow researchers from EU non-G7 Member States to fully benefit from the
Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) and contribute to the implementation of the
Union’s strategy for international cooperation in research and innovation.
In 2022, the budget is increased by EUR 1 Million to enable initiatives to help the affected
scientific community in and from Ukraine.
Type of Action: Subscription action
Indicative timetable: 2021 and 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 5.30 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 6.30 million from the
2022 budget
5. External expertise
This action will support the use of appointed independent experts for the monitoring of
running actions (grant agreement, grant decision, procurements, financial instruments) funded
under Horizon Europe and previous Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation, for
ethics checks, and for the evaluation of large actions annual work plans. A special allowance
of EUR 450/day will be paid to the experts appointed in their personal capacity who act
independently and in the public interest.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative timetable: 2021 and 2022
257
         The European Commission is a member of the HFSP Organization (HFSPO) and has funded HFSP
         under previous Framework Programmes
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                                                Health
Indicative budget: EUR 2.00 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 2.00 million from the
2022 budget
6. Implement, expand and improve the Global Observatory on Health R&D
Effective research policymaking and financing of health research requires strong evidence-
base. There are persistent inequities or ‘gaps’ in the health R&D landscape. These gaps exist
because of a combination of underinvestment by the public sector and market failures
(meaning that there is also underinvestment in R&D in these areas by the private sector
because they are not profitable). Identifying those ‘gaps’ requires analysis of harmonised and
validated data in the specific areas of action.
The aim of this Contribution Agreement is to support data collection, data interoperability,
data analysis and the development of two reports and research papers, one describing the
status of health R&D for Cancer and a second one describing the status of Health R&D for
Infectious Diseases in the EU and worldwide. These reports and research papers will provide
an evidence-based analysis of the actual situation and gaps in research and funding in the
areas of Cancer and Infectious Diseases. It will contribute to the priorities of the new
European Commission to “promote health-data exchange and support research on new
preventive strategies, as well as on treatments, medicines, medical devices and outcomes” and
on the “European plan to fight Cancer”.
The Contribution Agreement will support the work of the Global Observatory on Health
R&D, an initiative welcomed by European Union Member States with support for European
Commission action. This Contribution Agreement will help expand the focus of the
Observatory to other diseases, specifically Cancer and Infectious Diseases globally, as well as
all types of health research to strengthen health system and improve overall health systems
performance and population health.
The Global Observatory on Health R&D is a unique global-level initiative that aims to
contribute to the identification of gaps and opportunities for health R&D. The Observatory
does so by collating and analysing various types of information on health R&D, with a view
to contribute to the identification of gaps and opportunities for new investments in health
R&D based on public health needs. Its objective is to provide a centralized and
comprehensive source of data on what, where, by whom and how health R&D is being
conducted globally, and it brings together information from a wide range of data sources to
provide this overview.
Expected outputs:
    Expansion and improvement of the Observatory online portal, addition of data elements
      and sources; development of improved functions for automated data analysis; and
      development of cross-country and cross-disease analyses for research on Cancer and
      Infectious Diseases.
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   Development of two independent reports and research papers describing the status of
     health R&D for Cancer and for Infectious Diseases in the EU and worldwide
Legal entities:
World Health Organisation, Avenue Appia, 20, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
Form of Funding: Indirectly managed actions
Type of Action: Indirectly managed action
Indicative timetable: Last Quarter 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.50 million from the 2021 budget
                                     Part 4 - Page 185 of 191
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                                                    Health
Budget258
                                                        Budget               2021              2022
                                                         line(s)       Budget (EUR       Budget (EUR
                                                                            million)         million)
Calls
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-STAYHLTH-01                                                     69.00
                                                     from                         33.00
                                                     01.020210
                                                     from                         36.00
                                                     01.020210 -
                                                     NGEU
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-                                                                        170.00
01-two-stage
                                                     from                                            60.00
                                                     01.020210
                                                     from                                          110.00
                                                     01.020210 -
                                                     NGEU
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-02                                                                        50.00
                                                     from                                            50.00
                                                     01.020210
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-ENVHLTH-02                                                     130.00
                                                     from                         52.00
                                                     01.020210
                                                     from                         78.00
                                                     01.020210 -
                                                     NGEU
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-ENVHLTH-03                                                     200.00
                                                     from                        160.00
                                                     01.020210
258
       The budget figures given in this table are rounded to two decimal places.
       The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
       budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
                                           Part 4 - Page 186 of 191
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                                      Health
                                       from                   40.00
                                       01.020210 -
                                       NGEU
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-ENVHLTH-04                                         20.00
                                       from                           8.00
                                       01.020210
                                       from                          12.00
                                       01.020210 -
                                       NGEU
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04                                 263.00
                                       from                  107.00
                                       01.020210
                                       from                  156.00
                                       01.020210 -
                                       NGEU
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-06-                                       160.00
two-stage
                                       from                          57.00
                                       01.020210
                                       from                         103.00
                                       01.020210 -
                                       NGEU
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-07                                         37.00
                                       from                          22.00
                                       01.020210
                                       from                          15.00
                                       01.020210 -
                                       NGEU
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-03                                         30.00
                                       from                          12.00
                                       01.020210
                                       from                          18.00
                                       01.020210 -
                                       NGEU
                             Part 4 - Page 187 of 191
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                                      Health
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-CARE-05                                     70.00
                                       from                   31.00
                                       01.020210
                                       from                   39.00
                                       01.020210 -
                                       NGEU
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-CARE-08                                            70.00
                                       from                          70.00
                                       01.020210
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-CARE-10                                           100.00
                                       from                          39.72
                                       01.020210
                                       from                          60.28
                                       01.020210 -
                                       NGEU
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-TOOL-06                                    115.00
                                       from                   46.00
                                       01.020210
                                       from                   69.00
                                       01.020210 -
                                       NGEU
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-TOOL-11                                            95.00
                                       from                          38.00
                                       01.020210
                                       from                          57.00
                                       01.020210 -
                                       NGEU
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-TOOL-12-two-                                       60.00
stage
                                       from                          33.12
                                       01.020210
                                       from                          26.88
                                       01.020210 -
                                       NGEU
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                                              Health
HORIZON-HLTH-2021-IND-07                                             44.00
                                               from                  30.92
                                               01.020210
                                               from                  13.08
                                               01.020210 -
                                               NGEU
HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13                                                    69.00
                                               from                         30.00
                                               01.020210
                                               from                         39.00
                                               01.020210 -
                                               NGEU
Contribution from this part to call                                   3.00
HORIZON-MISS-2021-UNCAN-01
                                               from                   3.00
under Part 12 of the work programme
                                               01.020210
Contribution from this part to call                                   0.29
HORIZON-MISS-2021-COOR-01 under
                                               from                   0.29
Part 12 of the work programme
                                               01.020210
Contribution from this part to call                                        100.44
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-01
                                               from                        100.44
under Part 12 of the work programme
                                               01.020210
Contribution from this part to call                                   3.67
HORIZON-MISS-2021-NEB-01 under
                                               from                   3.67
Part 12 of the work programme
                                               01.020210
Contribution from this part to call                                  92.35
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CANCER-02
                                               from                  92.35
under Part 12 of the work programme
                                               01.020210
Contribution from this part to call                                          5.44
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOCIALCAT-01
                                               from                          5.44
under Part 12 of the work programme
                                               01.020210
Contribution from this part to call                                          0.27
                                     Part 4 - Page 189 of 191
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                                              Health
HORIZON-MISS-2022-NCP-01             under from                             0.27
Part 12 of the work programme                  01.020210
Other actions
Grant to identified beneficiary according                            37.20 35.00
to Financial Regulation Article 195(e)
                                               from                  37.20 35.00
                                               01.020210
Grant awarded without a call for                                     91.00 30.00
proposals     according    to    Financial
                                               from                  91.00 30.00
Regulation Article 195
                                               01.020210
Public procurement                                                    3.00  3.00
                                               from                   3.00  3.00
                                               01.020210
Subscription action                                                   5.30  6.30
                                               from                   5.30  6.30
                                               01.020210
Expert contract action                                                2.00  2.00
                                               from                   2.00  2.00
                                               01.020210
Indirectly managed action                                             0.50
                                               from                   0.50
                                               01.020210
Contribution from this part to Public                                 2.29  2.04
procurement under Part 12 of the work
                                               from                   2.29  2.04
programme
                                               01.020210
Contribution from this part to Expert                                 0.22  0.35
contract action under Part 12 of the work
                                               from                   0.22  0.35
programme
                                               01.020210
Contribution from this part to Grant to                               0.02  0.80
identified beneficiary according to
                                               from                   0.02  0.80
Financial Regulation Article 195(e) under
                                               01.020210
Part 12 of the work programme
                                     Part 4 - Page 190 of 191
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                                             Health
Contribution from this part to Indirectly                             0.29
managed action under Part 12 of the work
                                              from                    0.29
programme
                                              01.020210
Estimated total budget                                             1132.15 1046.64
                                    Part 4 - Page 191 of 191
 ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak---                      EN
                ANNEX V
                “Annex V
             Horizon Europe
     Work Programme 2021-2022
5. Culture, creativity and inclusive society
                      ”
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                                              Culture, creativity and inclusive society
Table of contents
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 6
DESTINATION: INNOVATIVE RESEARCH on DEMOCRACY and
GOVERNANCE ................................................................................................ 11
Call - Protecting and nurturing democracies ...................................................................... 13
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 13
  HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-01: The future of liberal democracy in Europe 14
  HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-02: Economic models and modern democracies
  .............................................................................................................................................. 15
  HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-03: Feminisms for a new age of democracy ... 17
  HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-04: Democratic politics in the EU’s
  neighbourhood ...................................................................................................................... 18
  HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-05: Politics and governance in a post-pandemic
  world..................................................................................................................................... 19
Call - Reshaping democracies ............................................................................................... 21
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 21
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-01: Artificial intelligence, big data and
  democracy ............................................................................................................................ 22
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-02: The future of democracy and civic
  participation .......................................................................................................................... 24
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-03: The impact of inequalities on democracy . 26
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-04: Education for democracy .......................... 27
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-05: Evolution of political extremism and its
  influence on contemporary social and political dialogue ..................................................... 29
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-06: Media for democracy – democratic media 30
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-07: Politics and the impact of online social
  networks and new media ...................................................................................................... 32
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-08: Representative democracy in flux............. 33
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-09: Global governance for a world in transition:
  Norms, institutions, actors .................................................................................................... 34
Call - Reshaping democracies II ........................................................................................... 36
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 36
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-02-01: Network for innovative solutions for the
  future of democracy ............................................................................................................. 37
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DESTINATION: INNOVATIVE RESEARCH on the EUROPEAN
CULTURAL HERITAGE and the CULTURAL and CREATIVE
INDUSTRIES..................................................................................................... 42
Call - Research and innovation on cultural heritage and CCIs - 2021.............................. 45
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 45
  HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-01-01: Green technologies and materials for cultural
  heritage ................................................................................................................................. 46
  HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-01-02: New ways of participatory management and
  sustainable financing of museums and other cultural institutions........................................ 47
  HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-01-03: Cultural and creative industries as a driver of
  innovation and competitiveness ........................................................................................... 49
  HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-01-04: Preserving and enhancing cultural heritage with
  advanced digital technologies .............................................................................................. 51
Call - Engagement with stakeholders ................................................................................... 53
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 53
  HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-02-01: Mobilising the network of National Contact
  Points in Cluster 2 ................................................................................................................ 54
  HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-02-02: Coordination of European cultural heritage
  research and innovation among Member States ................................................................... 56
Call - Research and innovation on cultural heritage and CCIs - 2022.............................. 58
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 58
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-01: Safeguarding endangered languages in Europe
  .............................................................................................................................................. 59
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-02: Europe’s cultural heritage and arts - promoting
  our values at home and abroad ............................................................................................. 61
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-03: The role of perceptions, formed by traditions,
  values and beliefs, in shaping European societies and politics in the 21st century ............. 62
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-04: Traditional crafts for the future: a new approach
  .............................................................................................................................................. 63
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-05: Towards a competitive, fair and sustainable
  European music ecosystem .................................................................................................. 65
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-06: Increase the potential of the international
  competitiveness of the European filmmaking industry ........................................................ 67
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-07: Protection of artefacts and cultural goods from
  anthropogenic threats ........................................................................................................... 68
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-08: Effects of climate change and natural hazards
  on cultural heritage and remediation .................................................................................... 70
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-09: Games and culture shaping our society .......... 71
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-10: The New European Bauhaus – shaping a
  greener and fairer way of life in creative and inclusive societies through Architecture,
  Design and Arts .................................................................................................................... 72
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Call - Research and innovation on cultural heritage and CCIs II- 2022 .......................... 74
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 74
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-02-01: A culture and creativity driven European
  innovation ecosystem – a collaborative platform ................................................................. 75
DESTINATION: INNOVATIVE RESEARCH on SOCIAL and
ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATIONS ............................................................ 79
Call - Inclusiveness in times of change ................................................................................. 82
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 82
  HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-01: Estimates of irregular migrants in
  Europe - stakeholder network .............................................................................................. 83
  HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-02: Providing support in a changing
  world of work and social protection ..................................................................................... 84
  HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-03: Determining key drivers of
  inequality trends ................................................................................................................... 86
  HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-04: Addressing poor learning outcomes
  in basic skills and early school leaving at national, regional and local level in Europe ...... 87
  HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-05: Integration of emerging new
  technologies into education and training .............................................................................. 89
  HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-06: Towards a new normal?
  Employment and social impacts of changing supply chains and declining trade intensities 91
  HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-07: Upgrading Independent Knowledge
  on Contemporary China in Europe ....................................................................................... 92
Call - A sustainable future for Europe ................................................................................. 95
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 95
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-01: Public policies and indicators for
  well-being and sustainable development .............................................................................. 96
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-02: The impact of spatial mobility on
  European demographics, society, welfare system and labour market .................................. 98
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-03: Conditions of irregular migrants in
  Europe .................................................................................................................................. 99
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-04: Decision-making processes of
  (aspiring) migrants ............................................................................................................. 101
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-05: Gender and social, economic and
  cultural empowerment ........................................................................................................ 102
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-06: Overcoming discrimination for an
  inclusive labour market ...................................................................................................... 103
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-07: Conditions for the successful
  development of skills matched to needs ............................................................................. 105
  HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-08: Strengthening racial, ethnic and
  religious equality ................................................................................................................ 106
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   HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-09: Return and readmission of irregular
   migrants in the EU .............................................................................................................. 108
   HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-10: Socio-economic effects of ageing
   societies .............................................................................................................................. 109
Call - A sustainable future for Europe II ........................................................................... 111
   Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 111
   HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-02-01: Knowledge platform and network
   for social impact assessment of green transition policies................................................... 112
Other Actions not subject to calls for proposals .......................................... 115
Grants to identified beneficiaries ........................................................................................ 115
   1. Presidency event - Conference 'Cultural Heritage, a chance for Europe'....................... 115
• Other budget implementation instruments ..................................................................... 116
   1. Expertise for the design, implementation and evaluation of Cluster 2, Culture, Creativity
   and Inclusive Society ......................................................................................................... 116
   2. Expertise for the design, implementation and evaluation of Cluster 2, Culture, Creativity
   and Inclusive Society ......................................................................................................... 117
   3. External expertise ........................................................................................................... 118
   4. Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OPSI) ........................................................... 119
Budget ............................................................................................................... 122
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Introduction
Cluster 2, ‘Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society’ aims to meet EU goals and priorities on
enhancing democratic governance and citizens participation, on the safeguarding and
promotion of cultural heritage, and to respond to and shape multifaceted social, economic,
technological and cultural transformations. Cluster 2 mobilises multidisciplinary expertise of
European social sciences and humanities for understanding fundamental contemporary
transformations of society, economy, politics and culture. It aims to provide evidence-based
policy options for a socially just and inclusive European green and digital transition and
recovery.
The EU is strongly committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), many of
which have an important impact on culture, creativity, and inclusive society, notably: SDG 1
(No poverty), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5
(Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 10 (Reduced
Inequalities), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 12 (Responsible
Consumption and Production), SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions), with their
specific targets to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.
Proposals are invited against the following three (3) destinations:
Activities contributing to the destination "Innovative Research on Democracy and
Governance", will provide knowledge, data, scientifically robust recommendations to
reinvigorate democratic governance and improve trust in democratic institutions. In the long-
term, this will contribute to help safeguard fundamental rights to empower active and
inclusive citizenship. By doing so, they will also strengthen accountability, transparency,
effectiveness and trustworthiness of rule of law-based institutions and policies. Activities will
develop recommendations to protect liberties and the rule of law, and shield democracy from
multidimensional threats. They will aim to expand political participation, social dialogue and
social inclusion, civic engagement and gender equality.
Activities contributing to the destination "Innovative Research on the European Cultural
Heritage and the Cultural and Creative Industries", will promote better access and
engagement with cultural heritage and improve its protection, enhancement and restoration.
Research and innovation will support sustainable growth and job creation through the cultural
and creative industries and contribute to integrate them into the European industrial policy as
drivers for innovation and competitiveness.
At the same time, through destination "Innovative Research on Social and Economic
Transformations", actions will help tackle social, economic and political inequalities,
support human capital development and contribute to a comprehensive European strategy for
inclusive growth. This also involves understanding and responding to the impacts of
technological advancements and economic interconnectedness with a view to social
resilience.
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The Cluster will support EU migration and mobility policies, both internal and external, while
aiming to promote integration. Finally and equally importantly, the Cluster will address
societal impacts of the coronavirus pandemic in all its Destinations with the objective to better
understand and overcome the current crisis, increase societal resilience and counter future
crises of the kind.
Horizon Europe is the research and innovation support programme in a system of European
and national funding programmes that shares policy objectives. Through the programme,
special attention will be given to ensuring cooperation between universities, scientific
communities and industry, including small and medium enterprises, and citizens and their
representatives, in order to bridge gaps between territories, generations and regional cultures,
especially caring for the needs of the young in shaping Europe’s future. Calls could be EU
Synergies calls, meaning that projects that have been awarded a grant under the call could
have the possibility to also receive funding under other EU programmes, including relevant
shared management funds. In this context, project proposers should consider and actively seek
synergies with, and where appropriate possibilities for further funding from, other R&I-
relevant EU, national or regional programmes (such as ERDF , ESF+ , JTF , EMFF , EAFRD
and InvestEU ), where appropriate, as well as private funds or financial instruments.
The EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) aims at financing projects that directly
tackle the economic and social impacts from the Coronavirus crisis and support the green and
digital transition. For project ideas that directly contribute to these objectives and that have a
strong focus in one Member State it is advisable to check access to the RRF for a fast and
targeted support.
Complementarities and synergies with other relevant Union programmes will be sought, for
Cluster 2 in particular with regard to the take-up of research results and innovative solutions
developed under Horizon Europe via the following programmes:
    Creative Europe: it improves the safeguarding and valorisation of cultural heritage and
      further support the cultural and creative sector. Creative Europe can improve sectorial
      networking and Member States’ cooperation in order to apply the latest technologies,
      stimulate new scientific approaches and boost innovation potential stemming from
      Horizon Europe.
    Erasmus+: it supports efforts to efficiently use the potential of Europe’s talent and social
      assets in a lifelong learning perspective throughout the education, training and youth
      fields. It promotes measures for the inclusion of people with disadvantaged backgrounds,
      including newly arrived migrants, and supports skills development and active
      citizenship, encouraging young people to engage and learn to participate in civic society
      and democratic life, raising awareness about EU values, including via online platforms
      and tools for virtual cooperation. As regards Cluster 2, Erasmus+ could benefit for
      instance from the use of innovative practices for migrant integration in education, up-
      take of innovative methods for citizen engagement and education for fostering EU values
      and democracy stemming from Horizon Europe.
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 Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument: it supports and
  consolidates democracy, rule of law and human rights, supports civil society
  organisations outside the EU, further stability and peace and addresses other global
  challenges including migration and mobility. The actions can benefit from drawing on
  the findings in H2020 and Horizon Europe projects regarding trust in governance,
  tackling disinformation and active citizenship.
 Digital Europe Programme (DEP): while Horizon Europe supports research and
  development of digital technologies, DEP supports the wide uptake and deployment of
  innovative digital solutions, areas of public interest (including public administration,
  justice and education), by setting up and making accessible Europe-wide data spaces and
  platforms and providing SMEs and public administrations access to the latest digital
  technologies, for example via Digital Innovation Hubs. Priority actions for the first two
  years of DEP include “Safer internet for kids”, a “Platform for combating
  disinformation”, support the EU language technology industry in developing and
  deploying latest AI-based technologies in all EU languages and the EU digital platform
  for cultural heritage, Europeana, supporting digital transformation of cultural heritage
  institutions.
 Reform Support Programme: when supporting the efforts of the national authorities in
  improving their administrative capacity to design, develop and implement reforms, the
  technical support instrument of the Reform Support Programme can benefit from the
  good practices, innovative processes and methodologies identified or developed in
  H2020 and Horizon Europe projects, and get access to the expertise in research bodies in
  H2020 and Horizon Europe projects.
 Justice, Rights and Values Fund: the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme
  can, in its support to civil society organisations for encouraging and facilitating active
  participation in the construction of a more democratic Union and awareness rising of EU
  rights and values, draw on the results of H2020 and Horizon Europe projects in the field
  of citizens’ engagement.
 European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) aims to promote social cohesion and equip people
  with the skills needed for the evolving demands of the labour market. Member States
  and regions can use the ESF+ to mainstream and upscale innovative technologies and
  solutions in the areas of employment, social inclusion, education and training, including
  successful models and practices developed under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe. In
  addition, the ESF+ can support operations and researchers granted a Seal of Excellence
  under Horizon Europe.
 European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) focuses amongst others on the
  development and strengthening of regional and local research and innovation ecosystems
  and smart economic transformation, in line with regional/national smart specialisation
  strategies. It can support investment in research infrastructure, activities for applied
  research and innovation, including industrial research, experimental development and
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      feasibility studies, building research and innovation capacities and uptake of advanced
      technologies and roll-out of innovative solutions from the Framework Programmes for
      research and innovation through the ERDF. It helps governments reap the benefits of
      digitisation and also encourages investments in social and cultural infrastructure, the
      development of cultural services and the conservation of cultural heritage.
    European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) can also benefit from the
      dissemination and take-up of R&I results in the field of cultural heritage, in particular in
      rural and remote areas.
    The InvestEU Programme could also fund the up-take of R&I results related to Cultural
      and Creative Industries (CCI) and cultural heritage.
    The Asylum and Migration Fund (AMF) supports the EU migration policy to ensure that
      the obligations to provide international protection are met. It facilitates returning those
      persons who have no right to stay and supports solutions that replace irregular and
      uncontrolled flows with safe and well managed pathways, and supports effective
      integration policies. Horizon Europe contributes to the implementation of the AMF
      providing an evidence base for policies and projects, as regards asylum protection, legal
      and irregular migration management and migrant integration.
Complementarities and synergies with other parts of Horizon Europe will be ensured, in
particular regarding cluster 3, 4, 5 and 6. Cluster 3 will fund actions supporting security for
society, including security for cultural heritage from the operational point of view and R&I to
develop tools for enhanced criminal investigation capabilities for law enforcement agencies to
prevent criminal acts and mitigate their impacts, including cybercrime and violent
radicalisation. Cluster 2 will invest on the preventive aspect of protecting cultural heritage and
in analyses of drivers behind violent political transformations, developing recommendations
on how to address radicalisation from the angle of education and the functioning of and trust
in democratic processes and institutions. Cluster 4 will fund actions focusing on developing
and testing digital and industrial technologies, while Cluster 2 will focus on using existing
digital technologies for R&I in areas supporting the expected impacts for Cluster 2
(reinvigorate democratic governance, help unfold the full potential of cultural heritage, arts
and cultural and creative sectors, foster social and economic resilience and sustainability, and
inclusive growth). Cluster 5 aims at delivering a just transition to a climate-neutral, resource-
efficient, fair and resilient society and economy based on advanced climate science, pathways
and responses to climate change (both in terms of mitigation and adaptation) and behavioural
transformations. Cluster 2 will also contribute evidence on how to reach these results, based
on the study of societies and economies we live in, in terms of socio-economic
transformations and related democratic processes and governance, education and training
policies, social investment and welfare. Cluster 6, among others, will foster a sustainable,
balanced and inclusive development of rural, coastal and urban areas, providing opportunities
for synergies with Cluster 2 actions on cultural landscapes, cultural heritage protection, spatial
inequalities, migration, demography and well-being.
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The cross-cluster complementarities are set out in detail in the Strategic Plan of Horizon
Europe for 2021-2024.
The topics in this cluster require the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the
involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in
order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the
related research activities.
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DESTINATION: INNOVATIVE RESEARCH on DEMOCRACY and
GOVERNANCE
Democracies are more fragile and more vulnerable than in the past. The Freedom in the
World Report (2020) shows that democracies across the globe are in crisis1. At the same time,
various European surveys show declining levels of trust in the political institutions of
democracy.2 In terms of legitimacy, there are signs of a potential shift from governance based
on expertise, multilateralism and consensual policymaking towards majoritarianism,
unilateralism, nationalism, populism and polarization. Research on the past and present
challenges and tensions in democracy can help to better understand and strengthen
democracy, its resilience and stability. It will foster democracy’s further development with a
view to enhancing representation, participation, openness, pluralism, tolerance, the
effectiveness of public policy, non-discrimination, civic engagement, the protection of
fundamental rights and the rule of law. These reflect the European Union’s values as defined
in Article 2 of the EU Treaty3.
Expected impact:
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
to the following expected impacts of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan:
   Democratic governance is reinvigorated by improving the accountability, transparency,
      effectiveness and trustworthiness of rule-of-law based institutions and policies and
      through the expansion of active and inclusive citizenship empowered by the
      safeguarding of fundamental rights.
The implementation of the research activities of the destination will assist in the re-
invigoration and modernisation of democratic governance. The aim is to develop evidence-
based innovations, policies and policy recommendations, as well as institutional frameworks
that expand political participation, social dialogue, civic engagement, gender equality and
inclusiveness. Activities will also contribute to enhancing the transparency, effectiveness,
accountability and legitimacy of public policy-making. They will help improving trust in
democratic institutions, safeguarding liberties and the rule of law and protecting democracy
from multidimensional threats. Rich historical, cultural and philosophical perspectives,
including a comparative dimension, will set the frame for soundly understanding present
developments and help to map future pathways. In the medium to long term, the knowledge,
data, scientifically robust recommendations and innovations generated will enhance decision
1
        https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2020/leaderless-struggle-democracy
2
        W. Merkel, Past, Present and Future of Democracy - Policy Review, 2019:
        https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/4bebf83d-60ba-11e9-b6eb-
        01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF/source-94807842
3
        Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union, Title 1 “Common Provisions”, Article 2: “The
        Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of
        law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values
        are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance,
        justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail”.
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making on all aspects relevant to democratic governance. As the Destination aims directly at
citizen engagement and at producing lasting change, it is of particular importance that the
research and innovation actions promote the highest standards of transparency and openness.
When applicable, it is encouraged to open up the process, criteria, methodologies and data to
civil society in the course of the research.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                   Call                                Budgets (EUR million)     Deadline(s)
                                                      2021                  2022
HORIZON-CL2-2021-                            49.50                               07 Oct 2021
DEMOCRACY-01
HORIZON-CL2-2022-                                                     81.00      20      Apr
DEMOCRACY-01                                                                     2022
HORIZON-CL2-2022-                                                     3.00       21      Sep
DEMOCRACY-02                                                                     2022
Overall indicative budget                    49.50                    84.00
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Call - Protecting and nurturing democracies
                                                              HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)4
                       Topics                              Type      Budgets    Expected EU       Number
                                                             of        (EUR      contribution         of
                                                          Action     million)     per project      projects
                                                                                    (EUR          expected
                                                                        2021
                                                                                   million)5        to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 07 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-01 RIA                                 9.90       2.00 to 3.00      3
HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-02 RIA                                 9.90       2.00 to 3.00      3
HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-03 RIA                                 9.90       2.00 to 3.00      3
HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-04 RIA                                 9.90       2.00 to 3.00      3
HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-05 RIA                                 9.90       2.00 to 3.00      3
Overall indicative budget                                            49.50
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
4
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
5
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-01: The future of liberal democracy in
Europe
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.90 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Produce theoretically and empirically robust visions for the future of liberal democratic
      institutions.
    Reflect upon and actualise what liberal democracy means in the 21st century in Europe.
    Develop recommendations, toolkits, narratives and methodologies to reinstate the
      legitimacy and effectiveness of liberal democracies.
Scope: European societies are traversed by a multiplicity of identities, attitudes, cultural
backgrounds and constitutional traditions. In the face of increasing complexity, certain
political forces have promoted a vision of homogeneity, hierarchical control and order. Some
extremist and some populist discourses, while not necessarily overlapping, have promoted
strict majoritarian and nativist interpretations of democratic governance. Some have been
challenging key tenets of liberal democracy like the protection of the rule of law, the
separation of powers, women’s and minorities’ rights, etc. altogether or with some variation,
providing visions that often conflict with EU priorities. These narratives figure prominently in
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public discourse and inform public opinion. They influence public views on pluralism and
fundamental rights, but also inspire counter discourses and resistance. In addition, populist
rhetoric also tends to crystallise in debates about borders and border control, where a tension
emerges between the liberal policies of states and the actions called for. Together with the
strengthening of the powers of executives, these developments could potentially undermine
the stability of democracies. Furthermore, the liberal democratic model is challenged by non-
liberal global players, such as China and Russia, and other external factors such as the
COVID-19 pandemic and climate crisis. These external challenges paint a poor picture of
democracies’ ability to solve collective problems in comparison to other actors, while
disconnecting economic and political power from democracy on the global stage. A
philosophic, sociological, legal, economic, historical and political reflection is needed on the
foundations of liberal democratic governance in order to establish a viable conception of
liberal democracy for the future.
Proposals are expected to address some of the following points: To examine the internal
(within nation-states) and external challenges to liberal democracy and the discourses, social
structures and institutions that underpin them. They should illustrate how such discourses
depict social and political subjects as well as the structure of modern societies and institutions.
How do these counter basic tenets of liberal democracy? When and why are they successful,
or not? Long-term trends in the functioning of key elements of European liberal democracies
(fundamental and human rights of individuals – such as freedom of expression, of assembly,
of non-discrimination –, the rule of law, pluralism, separation of powers, access to justice, the
independence of the judiciary and the media, protection of minorities, right to asylum, etc.)
and their public legitimacy should be analysed and compared. Proposals may want to relate
these to the impacts of major political and economic challenges of the past decades (e.g. the
Great Recession, Cold War, dislocation of empires, “war on terror”, large inflows of mixed
migration, the recent pandemic, etc.). The potential tension between liberal, egalitarian and
other ideals held by citizens or promoted by political movements can also be examined.
Proposals should analyse how institutional and political mechanisms built into European
liberal democracies have functioned as limits and as a response to illiberal developments (e.g.
checks and balances, enforcement of the rule of law). They should also examine how these
mechanisms have evolved in recent years as a response to new threats. Research may provide
theoretically rigorous and normatively informed reflections on how political liberalism can be
actualised in order to take on the discourses that challenge liberal democracy. Finally,
proposals should show the corresponding implications for the institutions of democratic
governance.
HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-02:                          Economic       models  and     modern
democracies
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
                      appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
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project               selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.90 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcome:
    Theoretically and empirically robust recommendations aiming to instil greater
      democratic accountability and inclusion in economic processes.
Scope: Since WWII, substantial progress has been made in Europe in terms of economic
development, improving life conditions and allowing (and enabling) the consolidation of
liberal democracies. However, in recent decades the intensification of economic globalisation,
market de-regulation and the financialisation of economies have posed new challenges to
democratic governance. Global corporatised and financialised capitalism has created dynamic
economic systems that produce material wealth but at the same time pose challenges to
democracy, fundamental rights, social inclusion, reversing inequalities (including gender
inequality), welfare, as well as the sustainability of our ecological system and climate change.
On the other hand, alternative business models (e.g. social economy organisations and social
enterprises) have emerged in reaction to this evolution. They operate on the basis of
democratic and participatory principles and prioritise their societal mission over their profits.
Proposals are expected to address some of the following points: To study the interrelationship
between politics, people’s participation, culture and economics in modern European
democracies across time. In this vein, to comparatively analyse the role of various democratic
institutional configurations and actors in mitigating the negative effects of economic activity
on society and on democratic processes, while promoting inclusive and sustainable growth.
How can democratic politics exercise control over the economic logic? How can re-
embedding democracy and (the various forms of) capitalism be envisaged? How do economic
actors, such as corporations, influence the democratic process? Through what channels
(political parties, media, sponsorship, etc.)? What is the real impact of corporate lobbying on
the democratic process? Research may study trends in capital accumulation and distribution,
especially in new digital and creative industries, and the impacts they have on the functioning
of democracies. Proposals should examine legal, social, economic, organisational and
financial innovations that could make corporations more inclusive, accountable and conducive
to social fairness and environmental sustainability, while preserving their innovation and
flexibility. What would be the legitimate level of democratic governance over the economy
(local, national, supranational)? In which ways can business corporations be held responsible
to respect human rights? What kind of institutional mechanisms could guide the interaction of
the various governance levels? Alternative economic models (including social economy
organisations and social enterprises) and new models of corporate governance can be studied,
in which case their success in fostering inclusive economic growth, enhancing democratic
participation and improving environmental sustainability should be evaluated. Finally,
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proposal are encouraged to identify social innovation policies that would support such new
governance models.
HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-03: Feminisms for a new age of democracy
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.90 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to both of the following expected
outcomes:
    Promote gender equality theoretically and practically through policy recommendations,
      tools, and solutions for civil society organisations and other stakeholders. As a result,
      support the quality of democratic governance in more inclusive European societies.
    Understand how feminism and gender are used in extreme populist discourses, and
      counter gender-equality repressive strategies and policies.
Scope: Gender equality is a fundamental value of the European Union and lies at the core of
European democracy. This is reinforced by the Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, adopted
by the European Commission, which recognises that much remains to be done to ensure true
gender equality in our democratic processes. Recent developments, such as the #MeToo
movement, have given new impetus to feminist discourses and politics. At the same time,
however, there has been a societal and political backlash against feminism centred around
traditionalist, masculinist and authoritarian discourses. Research is needed on the theory and
practice of feminism(s), in the face of a changed and changing reality in the EU and beyond,
including in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Projects are expected to address some of the following points: To examine the contribution of
modern theoretical frameworks of feminist thought and gender analysis – including, e.g., care
ethics, ecofeminism, intersectional theory and inclusive feminism, queer theory, masculinity
studies –, as well as activism and political practices, to the renewal of fundamental political
concepts like equality, identity, solidarity, order, security, individual and collective rights,
participation, dialogue, etc. in modern democratic contexts across the EU and beyond.
Research should investigate the strategies and effects of anti-gender and anti-feminist
mobilisations in the EU and beyond – including, e.g., the use of traditional and social media,
online hate speech and harassment, demonstrations, as well as restrictions to academic
freedom – and their connections with the positioning of extreme populist discourses, political
actors and traditionalist religious movements.
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Based on the evidence collected and analysed, proposals should develop approaches and
methods to effectively ‘engender’ democracy and spaces of democratic participation and
governance, taking into account intersections between gender and other social categories such
social class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion etc. in European societies
(intersectionality), and practically counteract anti-gender equality and anti-feminist discursive
strategies and backlash tactics.
HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-04:                           Democratic      politics in the EU’s
neighbourhood
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.90 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                       states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to at least two of the following expected
outcomes:
    Comprehensive stocktaking of developments over the last decade, so that the European
      Union’s democracy support efforts can both regain traction and be revamped where
      necessary.
    Development of an improved policy toolkit for supporting liberal democracy in the
      European Union’s neighbourhood, paving the way for more stability and cooperation.
    Evidence base for the mid-term review of the implementation of the Action Plan for
      Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024.
    Reflection on the European Union’s aspiration and role in supporting democracy in its
      neighbourhood.
Scope: Since the EU Council conclusions of 2009, EU democracy support has evolved and
has been fine-tuned, with advances and setbacks. Following the adoption of the EU strategic
framework on human rights and democracy in 2012, the EU adopted three Action Plans6 in
6
        (2012-2014 ; 2015-2019 ; 2020-2024)
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order to implement its commitments and reach its goals. The current Action Plan covers years
2020-20247.
Despite the hopes raised by the ‘colour revolutions’ in Eastern Europe in the 2000s and the
Arab Spring in 2011 as boosters of democratisation in the European neighbourhood, a more
troubling reality persists: some democratic advances coexist with the continued persistence of
authoritarian rule in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North African countries. Research
should assess the EU’s actual role in promoting democracy. It should examine the EU’s
influence on political governance in the neighbourhood, its capacity to react and address
potential gaps between the declared intentions, and the results and consequences of its
democracy support policies. Critical reflection should facilitate understanding of the
dynamics, including opposition to the EU’s democratic efforts in the neighbourhood. Such an
overarching assessment should contribute to innovations in democratisation policies
corresponding to the realities on the ground.
Proposals are expected to address some of the following points: To take stock of
developments in democracy building or failure in the EU’s neighbourhood countries.
Research should draw lessons as regards success factors and barriers (political, economic,
social, cultural, etc.) in the different regional, national and supranational contexts. The role of
third country actors like the United States of America, China, Russia and their impact on
democratisation processes or the entrenchment of authoritarianism should be examined.
Similarly, the interplay of security and stability considerations and democratisation support in
the EU’s agenda and actions should be analysed. Proposals should also assess the mechanisms
the EU uses to support political change, as well as examine the discourses and narratives it
employs and the actors it targets. They are expected to collect reliable and comparable data on
funding for democracy, human rights, gender equality, the rule of law and good governance
support, in order to build an account of the outcomes of a decade’s efforts, and thus facilitate
learning and improvement. International cooperation with partners from countries in the EU’s
neighbourhood is strongly encouraged.
HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-05: Politics and governance in a post-
pandemic world
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.90 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
7
        https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=JOIN:2020:5:FIN
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Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to both of the following expected outcomes:
    Comparative and historical analysis of the multilevel political impacts of the COVID-19
      pandemic crisis, including governance responses.
    Recommendations, based on normative and empirical approaches, to enhance the
      capacity of the EU and other democratic institutions, governments and
      intergovernmental bodies to build responses to global catastrophes based on international
      collaboration, solidarity, the rule of law and respect of fundamental values and human
      rights.
Scope: The COVID-19 crisis affects our societies in profound and multifaceted ways. Far
beyond the public health threat, the crisis causes economic dislocations, social disruptions and
information disorder that test political processes and institutions. In particular, certain
measures taken by national governments in the context of states of emergency to contain the
virus as fast and effectively as possible represent fundamental challenges to democracy, the
rule of law and fundamental rights, including women’s rights. In addition, the crisis also
opens opportunities for positive change and innovative new solutions that research actions
will help to identify and grasp.
Even if allegedly temporary, derogations from fundamental constitutional checks and
balances, individual rights and civil liberties might render liberal democracies permeable to
illiberal attitudes and mind frames. In this vein, research should examine the impact of the
pandemic on populist and extremist discourses and proposals, and assess whether it has
bolstered polarisation and the appeal of authoritarianism or whether, on the contrary, it has
provided impetus and momentum for an effective uphold of democratic accountability and
judicial control.
Moreover, a stocktaking exercise should allow identifying whether the political trend
emerging from the crisis is a demand for greater and improved collaboration and concerted
action amongst EU Member States and Associated Countries or, on the contrary, an overall
“renationalisation” of the EU and international spheres.
Proposals are expected to address the following: Examine the impacts of the different
“exceptional or crisis politics”, including the invocation of emergency clauses under human
rights law, on the constitutional and democratic polity (rule of law, political institutions,
political participation, human rights and freedoms). A comparative and historical analysis,
taking into account the varying approaches followed by the different governments, including
the digitalisation of political participation and the respect for human rights and freedoms in
the digital sphere, is encouraged. Take stock of the reconfiguration of the geopolitical
landscape following the responses and policies put forward by the different actors of the
international order. Identify and propose changes and reforms required by the global
governance in order to enhance the capacity to cope with and react to similar future crises. In
particular, examine and propose “circuit-breaker” mechanisms that could isolate systemic
risks early on and prevent them from spreading. Build evidence, including based on past
crises, on how international cooperation, at both European and global levels, is a vital tool for
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national governments to overcome contemporary large-scale crises. Propose ways for the EU
and the multilateral system to demonstrate that they can complement and lead national
governments’ efforts in contexts of security and health threats. In this respect, the impact on
the legitimacy of the EU following on its role and actions during the crisis is of particular
interest. Study how governmental and societal responses to the pandemic, including the
digitalisation of government and society, have affected trust in public authorities and among
groups and individuals in society. This includes research on pandemic-related disinformation
and mechanisms to cope with. A comparative analysis of the information flow between
science, politics and civil society is encouraged. Proposals should actively engage with a
range of stakeholders, such as social partners, civil society, citizens, research practitioners,
industry and public authorities. International cooperation is encouraged in order to better
achieve the expected outcomes.8
Call - Reshaping democracies
                                                                HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)9
                        Topics                               Type      Budgets  Expected EU       Number
                                                               of        (EUR    contribution         of
                                                            Action     million)   per project      projects
                                                                                    (EUR          expected
                                                                         2022
                                                                                  million)10        to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                             Opening: 20 Jan 2022
                                           Deadline(s): 20 Apr 2022
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-01 RIA                                   9.00     2.00 to 3.00      3
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-02 RIA                                   9.00     2.00 to 3.00      3
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-03 RIA                                   9.00     2.00 to 3.00      3
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-04 RIA                                   9.00     2.00 to 3.00      3
8
        Synergies with successful proposals from topic “Disinformation and fake news are combated and trust
        in the digital world is raised” of Cluster 3 are encouraged. (HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-03)
9
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
10
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-05 RIA                             9.00      2.00 to 3.00    3
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-06 RIA                             9.00      2.00 to 3.00    3
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-07 RIA                             9.00      2.00 to 3.00    3
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-08 RIA                             9.00      2.00 to 3.00    3
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-09 RIA                             9.00      2.00 to 3.00    3
Overall indicative budget                                        81.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-01: Artificial intelligence, big data and
democracy
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
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Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to at least two of the following expected
outcomes:
    Protect fundamental rights and European values from possible threats stemming from
      unregulated use of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data applications.
    Explore the potential of AI and big data to reinforce fundamental rights and European
      values. Examine the effectiveness of monitoring and control protocols of established
      legislation and non-regulatory measures over AI and big data development and
      implementations.
    Introduction of values-based frameworks to inform data governance and regulate the use
      of AI and big data.
    Innovative uses of AI and big data to enhance citizen engagement and democracy.
Scope: Big data and AI are shaping our societies at an unprecedented rate. We produce an
ever-increasing amount of data revealing people’s attitudes, preferences, views and opinions.
Public and private actors collect it and use it in multiple ways: e.g. companies “privatise” data
to augment commercial returns while, on the other hand, state actors can use it for safety and
security applications and the public sector to provide better, tailored services to citizens.
AI and big data open great opportunities in many fields of public interest: education, training,
health, safety and security, public services, as well as for democratic processes and civic
participation. However, both private and public uses contain some risks at the expense of
citizens’ rights. These technologies, being at the forefront of datafication processes, pose new
challenges both to core individual values such as privacy, freedom and equality, as well as to
European collective values, such as fairness, security, inclusiveness, accountability and
democratic control.
Proposals should analyse challenges and opportunities for society brought about by AI and
big data. They should explore how to protect citizens from potential abuse enabled by these
technologies both in the private and public domains. New and established regulations to
control platforms using these technologies (beyond GDPR) should be examined. Strategies
and policy recommendations on how to ensure that philosophical, legal and ethical values are
embedded in the development of these technologies as outlined in the White Paper on
Artificial Intelligence – a European approach to excellence and trust11, are sought.
Examination should lead to solutions protecting from the possible negative impacts of these
technologies on fundamental rights and democracy. Equally, it should lead to strategies that
leverage them for enhancing civic participation and democracy.
11
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/excellence-trust-artificial-
        intelligence#documents
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Issues at stake include, inter alia: data ownership and/or inalienability; regulation of data
flows; neutrality and explainability of algorithms and machine learning; value-centric,
decentralised and/or open source designs for data processing platforms; counter-powers to
dominant platforms; sensitive applications such as face recognition; etc.
Proposals are expected to address some of the following points: To build evidence, to review
and to analyse threats to and opportunities for democracy, personal and collective European
values stemming from AI and big data. This should involve a specific focus on gender issues
and vulnerable populations, including persons with disabilities and people at risk of
discrimination. They should propose ethical standards enforced through regulatory and
governance frameworks. Supported with operational guidance, they should help protect
citizens, uphold European values and ensure public trust in AI and the processing of big data.
Innovative, inclusive and participative uses of AI and big data for civic engagement and
democracy, including through experimental approaches, should be explored. Research is
expected to design ways to educate European citizens about these technologies to enable
informed civic participation in shaping them. Projects should build on existing results,
findings and good practices, for instance those focused on Responsible Research and
Innovation, and relevant projects supported under Horizon 2020’s Science with and for
Society programme.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-02: The future of democracy and civic
participation
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to both of the following expected outcomes:
    Enhance and expand the implementation of civic participation as well as co-creation in
      democratic life at scale, including the least engaged communities and categories of the
      population, at all levels from local to European.
    Improve the articulation between deliberative processes and representative institutions in
      liberal democracies, including through experimental approaches. Research should
      elucidate how to open up traditional institutions of representative democracy and
      increase trust in democratic governance through direct participatory processes as well as
      clear and transparent feedback mechanisms to citizens.
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Scope: Civic participation is researched through a significant number and variety of projects
under Horizon 2020, including research on co-creation of digital public services with citizens,
on which further research and innovation can build. At the same time, this is a fast moving
field as spontaneous forms of participation continue to emerge, such as youth movements for
climate and sustainability, movements for racial justices and innovative forms of participation
such as citizens’ assemblies. The COVID-19 pandemic crisis is continuously demonstrating
the extent to which science and innovation policy needs to be at the core of exchanges
between citizens and government through a participatory political process. This also includes
the need to use digital means to engage citizens as societies are urged to move online and the
need to engage citizens in the rapid digitalisation of governments as a reaction to the COVID-
19 crisis. Social entrepreneurship is another significant trend attempting to achieve societal or
political impact through individual initiative. More digital and organised participatory and
deliberative processes are also being tested and implemented in many local, national and even
European and global contexts.
The interface between these movements and processes and the representative institutions of
liberal democracies has often been chaotic or conflictual. However, attempts are also made to
improve these interactions and embed them in formal mechanisms. The digitalisation of
societies and their governments poses an opportunity to reinforce civic participation.
Major challenges to civic participation include engaging the disenfranchised, structurally
marginalised, or less spontaneously engaged parts of society, and channelling protest into
non-conflictual, constructive engagement. Reaching out to them and ensuring that their voices
are heard and listened to in the democratic debate, is key to guarantee the fairness and
inclusiveness of our political systems.
Proposals are expected to address some of the following points: To review available historical
evidence and more recent experience with various forms of civic participation in Europe:
from spontaneous forms of engagement to organised participatory and deliberative processes;
from traditional types such as participation to political parties and organised civil society to
newer ones such as social entrepreneurship and digital tools of civic participation; the role of
formal and informal grassroots initiatives; the role of social media and new technology in
civic engagement; the use of public spaces. It is strongly encouraged to cover different scales
of participation, from local to national, European and even global. Analysis is expected to
review and compare the forms, depth and effectiveness of civic engagement on different
topics of political life and different stages of the policy-making process, ranging from local
issues such as spatial planning to international policy matters and issues traditionally
considered as ‘reserved’ to experts or policy professionals, such as agenda setting in research
and innovation policy making. Research should apply foresight methodologies to study how
civic participation could be impacted by future changes in global governance and the
increased digitalisation of societies and their governments. How different types of civic
engagement can complement and reinforce each other may be explored. Consider as well how
the educational system can support inclusive citizenship, with a view to ensure as extensive,
inclusive and impactful participation in all aspects of democratic life.
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Proposals should include a specific focus on inequalities in civic participation, including
ethnicity, gender, intersectionalities and digital divides, and explore and propose remedies.
They should examine how civic participation and co-creation in its various forms, including
social activism and social innovation, articulates with the traditional mechanisms and
institutions of representative democracy, including acting outside them. Proposals should
reflect on the potential of digitalisation and new ICT for enhancing citizen participation,
including for public policy making processes. They should propose ways to improve the
interaction between policymakers and citizens to enhance the public sphere, including robust
and transparent mutual feedback between policymakers and citizens. Proposals are
encouraged to include experimental research and design thinking to test the insights gathered
and to deploy innovative solutions to demonstrate the solutions proposed. Social innovation
might be also considered by proposals if solutions require social change, new social practices
or social ownerships.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-03: The impact of inequalities on democracy
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Comprehensive evidence base to explain the long-term impact of various inequalities
      (socio-economic, gender, disability, spatial, ethnic, etc.) on political participation,
      democratic quality and stability.
    Development, validation and piloting of strategies, policies and action plans for tackling
      inequalities while boosting trust and resilience at different levels of governance,
      including at the local level.
    Strategies, regulations and policies to support the inclusion of marginalised groups in the
      democratic and participatory process.
Scope: Citizens, especially in certain social groups, have been experiencing an erosion in
living standards over the past decades. This process has persisted during the financial
recovery and is likely to worsen following the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, social
mobility stalled and the impact of inequalities increased. This has reinforced sentiments of
public distrust towards the political institutions of democracy. European research suggests
that a shrinking of private and public resources due to economic downturns can lead to
disenchantment from politics, and even to a general deterioration of the rule of law.
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Moreover, persistent inequality has lifelong effects for children and undermines the ability of
the more socially vulnerable and excluded to participate meaningfully in the political process,
while economically powerful actors gain a greater influence. Social, economic, spatial, ethnic
or gender inequalities often translate into political inequalities, especially if different areas of
inequality (e.g. in economic opportunities, access to education, health and social security) are
overlapping. There is a danger of having a long-lasting fissure in the egalitarian ethos of
democracy produced by the almost permanent political exclusion of wide social groups.
Particular attention should be paid to children and youth, who are particularly vulnerable to
the effects of recession, and for whom the structuring effects of inequality and unequal
opportunities may have lasting consequences in terms of education, work and life chances.
Proposals are expected to address some of the following points: To take stock of long-term
trends in and types of inequalities (socio-economic, gender, age, spatial, digital gaps, ethnic,
linguistic, etc.), as well as to identify the sources of these inequalities and the way they
intersect. Proposals should model the relation between inequalities and levels of political trust
in European societies and the emergence of protest movements and populist discourses,
including in their national, transnational and spatial dimensions. What set of policy actions
can enhance equality and political engagement amongst the socially excluded and vulnerable,
including children and youth? The processes that allow or prevent these groups’ interests and
demands from entering the political agenda should be examined. Research should relate
different kinds of policies (economic, access to education, housing, employment, etc.) and the
role of public services, including digital ones, to levels of democratic legitimacy and trust
among different social groups, including with a spatial perspective (e.g. rural vs urban). It
should also relate the structure of political representation (e.g. how much are governments,
parties, parliaments, etc. representative of different social categories; the discourses of major
political agents and their social relevance) to levels of political engagement and democratic
legitimacy.
Based on the evidence collected and analysed, proposals should develop validation and
piloting of strategies, policies and actions to tackle inequalities and to reinforce the inclusion
of marginalised groups in the democratic and participatory process, including increased
involvement of marginalised groups in the creation of digital public services. Active
involvement of citizens and socially innovative approaches are strongly encouraged.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-04: Education for democracy
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
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Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Build robust evidence base for redesigning curricula in support of democracy, with an
      emphasis on students’ active participation and engagement in this process.
   Toolkits for enhancing the humanistic and civic aspects of education with a view to
      promoting active democratic citizenship and empowerment, including through
      experimental approaches.
   Strengthened democratic processes in education through the involvement of citizens in
      defining educational contents, learning environments and goals.
Scope: Education, from early childhood to lifelong learning, plays an important role in
bolstering democratic citizenship and strengthening the resilience of democratic societies. It
can play an essential role in the promotion of core values like human rights and the rule of
law, as well as in the prevention of human rights violations. It can also help promote gender
equality, disability inclusiveness, a culture of peace and non-violence, environmental
awareness, appreciation of linguistic, ethnic, cultural and religious diversity. Education can
contribute to tackle radicalisation and successfully integrate migrants and refugees.
Research shows that voters with more extreme attitudes are overrepresented among citizens
with low formal education and a below-average household income. Populist discourses and
extremist groups find more support among citizens who benefit less from cultural
modernisation, economic liberalisation and internationalisation.
Involvement of citizens and young people, including through NGOs, social partners and
grassroots organisations, and cooperation with cultural and creative sectors are strongly
encouraged to ensure the achievement of expected outcomes.
Proposals are expected to show how educational material and innovative pedagogical
practices in different settings (including lifelong learning), can mediate or inform current
debates about European identity, as well as key issues such as sustainable development,
migration, tolerance and understanding of ethnocultural and linguistic diversity, international
solidarity and global citizenship, inequality, disability, hate speech, polarisation and
extremisms, ethnicity/race, religion and gender, etc. They should examine how education can
be mobilised in terms of producing informed historical and cultural consciousness by
contributing to cultural and textual literacy, critical and analytic historical learning,
responsible historical consciousness and critical thinking of the future citizens of democratic
societies. Research should highlight the competences needed by students for boosting their
capacity to actively engage in democratic politics, to understand and reflect on global
interconnections, unequal power relations, depletion of natural resources and climate change,
and to contribute to the promotion of sustainable development, inclusion, anti-racism,
equality, justice and peace. Corresponding methods to guide teaching and assessment of those
competences should be investigated, gathered and analysed. Research should propose avenues
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for updating and developing novel curricula and learning environment. It should also propose
ways to support teaching staff, with a view to bolstering democratic values, critical thinking
skills and positive social engagement in a holistic way. Provide comprehensive evidence from
European countries on the links between economic, social, cultural capital and educational
inequalities and levels of political engagement, social trust, participation and inter-cultural
tolerance. Experimental participatory research to test educational and training tools and to
demonstrate the impact of the tools proposed, including students’ and teachers’ feedback,
should be included. In particular, proposals should examine new (including blended)
education and training formats that incorporate creative approaches such as gamification,
design of virtual classrooms and virtual co-working spaces, and other cultural expressions like
literacy interpretation, creative writing or theatre, in order to reach target groups in an
effective and innovative way.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-05: Evolution of political extremism and its
influence on contemporary social and political dialogue
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to both of the following expected outcomes:
    In-depth understanding of the major factors contributing to the present rise of extremist
      narratives and of their influence on mainstream worldviews, discourses and policies
      across European countries in their local and global context.
    Formulation of multi-level policy recommendations to help counter these extremist
      narratives while limiting their spread and impact.
Scope: The COVID-19 crisis risks further strengthening extreme political narratives that have
already been rising starkly across Europe. These narratives fuel the demand for more
protectionism, nation-state localisation of production and tougher frontier controls, while
depicting foreigners as a threat to national wellbeing. On an ideological plane, political
extremists often show disdain for the rights and liberties of others but resent the limitations of
their own activities. More extreme forms embrace engagement in ideologically driven
criminal activity and violence.
Some of the greater impacts of extreme narratives on society stem from their influence on
mainstream political discourses and policies. This phenomenon is notably reflected by
alarming outcomes in national and European opinion polls and elections. Therefore, the
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phenomenon seems to belong to a wider trend and should be analysed in its local and global
contexts, including in connection with the strengthening of authoritarian, populist and
extremist discourses in some countries. Certain anti-democratic sentiments also seem to be
connected to and nurtured by conspiracy theories, possible bonds that could be flagged and
examined for comprehensive understanding of all interacting factors.
Proposals are expected to address the following: Analyse the various forms of extremist
discourses and narratives, their dynamics and disruptive potential. Take into account national
specificities – embedded in their historical, social and cultural contexts – and transnational
influences, within Europe and globally. Provide psychological, sociological and
anthropological analyses of drivers behind violent political transformations. Explore the
tension between tackling political extremism and human rights law on freedom of speech.
Map the penetration of extremist ideology and argumentation into general media, social and
political discourses. Proposals should analyse the drivers of such discourses, including the
respective roles of the media, political spheres and popular sentiment and their interplay. They
should propose evidence-based strategies to counter extremist discourses, prevent the spread
of political extremism and limit its short and long- term impact. The action should develop
corresponding policy recommendations.12
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-06: Media for democracy – democratic media
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Demonstrate how citizens and policymakers can contribute to a healthy and
      reinvigorated democracy through media.
    Improved quality, accountability and transparency of media production and distribution
      processes, and contribution to a more resilient democratic institutional framework.
    Enhanced citizen’s participation and decision-making through enlightened access to
      pluralistic media content.
Scope: A robust, independent and transparent media landscape ensuring a plurality of views is
an essential part of a functioning democracy. Through control and criticism, offering a stage
12
         Exploitation of synergies with successful proposals from topic “Enhanced fight against the abuse of
         online gaming culture by extremists” of Cluster 3 is encouraged. (HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-03)
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for the competition of ideas and interests and promoting political participation, inclusion and
responsible action of citizens, the media can be a powerful source of legitimation and external
check on incumbent authorities. As recalled by the recent European Democracy Action Plan
adopted by the European Commission13, media plays a central role as the “fourth pillar of
democracy” by informing citizens and holding public institutions and businesses to account as
well as by enhancing democratic values such as pluralism and tolerance.
Media accountability (enacted by mechanisms such as press and media councils,
ombudspersons, etc.) and professional journalism have a key role in democratic societies for
safeguarding a free and responsible media. In light of an increased economization of media
communication, increased market concentration, and the accelerated technological changes
including automatised content selection and sharing processes, the established system of
media accountability seems to be at a crossroads that requires innovative ideas for
improvement. Research should thus examine the political role of traditional and new digital
media in performing key democratic functions and reaching out to all segments of society,
including women as well as minorities and disadvantaged groups. The cultural and creative
sectors may be actively involved in the research.
Proposals are expected to address some of the following: they should examine under what
conditions, including training, career and working conditions, traditional and new media
organizations and journalism operate in modern European societies. Research should analyse
whether and how they serve the public interest, and how this could be improved through
better training, reinforcing ethical standards and competences (including those related to
journalists' professional dilemmas), media regulation and rules, and cooperation between
stakeholders (including professional training institutions, media houses, industry). Proposals
should focus on the implications of modern, technologically mediated configurations for the
political agency of citizens. Relevant foci could be media participation and civic engagement,
journalists’ professional and ethical standards, the role of education and training in fostering
critical media literacy, persuasive technology, inequality (including gender inequality) and
exclusion, institutional politics and activism, and populism. Changes in media markets and the
role of economic, commercial, technological as well as political forces in shaping current
changes in the role of media should be analysed. Proposals should bring together, in a holistic
manner, academic research, practitioners’ reflection, and citizens’ views on the relationship
between media and democracy. They should analyse how recent transformations in
journalism and media technology have affected individuals and communities concerning
participation and democratic discourses and, conversely, how a shifting political landscape,
with increased polarisation as a major trait, have affected the media. Research should propose
digital media design improvements that effectively increase transparency and accountability
of media and contribute to reinvigorating democracy.
13
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/new-push-european-democracy/european-
         democracy-action-plan_en
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HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-07: Politics and the impact of online social
networks and new media
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Understand the changes wrought on democratic processes by new technologies.
    Produce evidence-based recommendations to address the opportunities and challenges
      for political behaviour and democratic engagement presented by social platforms and
      new media.
    Enhance capacities for digital citizenship.
Scope: Social media and other internet-based platforms are intertwined with political life.
They play an important role in allowing people to design, consume and share political news,
seek political information and discuss, make decisions, donate money, or engage with
political parties and other organisations. Furthermore, these platforms and media are supposed
to open new avenues to political engagement and democratic participation. However,
developments in the recent past have created anxieties about their capacity to protect citizens
from disinformation and to serve as balanced and open public fora for democratic debates.
Social platforms and new media are increasingly perceived as conducive to the creation of
ideological “echo-chambers” eroding the space for public dialogue. They are seen as fostering
polarisation, radicalisation, depoliticisation, spreading misinformation and subject to
manipulation. At the same time, they have been used in attempts to covertly influence the
political choices of citizens, thus sapping their democratic credentials.
Proposals are expected to address some of the following: they should build Europe-wide
evidence on the extent to which political opportunities and information offered by platforms
and new media – and resulting impacts, such as the “echo-chambers” effect – affects political
attitudes in European states and at the level of the EU and its neighbourhood. Whether and
how new media functions as a new level of news selection and study the resulting perception
biases with citizens should be assessed. Research should examine the extent to which
platforms and new media actually help democratise political systems and offer avenues of
active engagement, or hinder participation for some. The effects of the replacement of media
consumption with content consumption should also be examined. Proposals should
investigate how audiences of different ages, different genders and different socio-economic
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and ethnolinguistic groups receive and assess information on digital platforms, and how
political actors use these platforms to shape political behaviour. They should propose and
design regulatory innovations in response to the covert use of social platforms for political
goals. Evidence-based approaches and methods for enhancing capacities for digital
citizenship, including media education, media competences, and digital literacy should be
developed. Insight about the effects of social media on social behaviour should be attained.
Citizen science and other innovative and participatory forms of research could be appropriate
for this action.14
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-08: Representative democracy in flux
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to both of the following expected outcomes:
    Comprehensive evidence on the mid- to long-term impacts of current political and social
      developments on European representative democracies.
    Develop policy recommendations, toolkits, narratives and methodologies for enhancing
      trust in political institutions, and boosting transparency, representativeness, and
      inclusiveness of representative systems at local, regional, national and EU level.
Scope: The last decades have witnessed significant changes in the electoral behaviour of
citizens. Turnout has been steadily declining in most countries while European research and
statistical data show that there is more electoral volatility, together with an increase in
radicalisation of voter attitudes and greater polarisation. From 1994 to 2017 (according to
Eurobarometer data 15 ) trust in parliaments, political parties and governments declined
significantly. On the other hand, paradoxically, non-elected institutions (e.g. military, police,
and judiciary) enjoyed high and relatively stable levels of trust, higher than the democratically
elected ones. As societies have become more connected and individualistic, with an ever fast-
paced development of digital technologies, new political forces, discourses and voting
preferences have emerged. While many of the identities and certainties of the past are
eroding, new cleavages have marked the political landscape of representative democracies.
14
         Synergies with successful proposals from topic “Disinformation and fake news are combated and trust
         in the digital world is raised” of Cluster 3 is encouraged. (HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-03)
15
         https://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion/index.cfm/General/index
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This apparent state of flux brings multiple challenges but also opportunities for the future of
our democracies.
Proposals are expected to address some of the following: to create a robust and
comprehensive knowledge base on long-term developments in terms of trust in, and
trustworthiness of, the political institutions of representative democracy – parties, executives,
parliaments, judiciary, social partners, institutionalised social dialogue, etc. – and their
legitimacy. Proposals should relate changing voting attitudes at the individual level to wider
political and cultural discourses, where feelings and emotions can compete and overrule facts
and reasons, and to the emergence of new social movements and parties. They should analyse
key drivers of such changes, taking into consideration socio-economic variables (including
transformation in the world of work), as well as cultural variables linked to identity,
generational differences, gender, ethnic diversity, security, migration and the material forms
of discourse such as education and media. The political cleavages that shape current political
phenomena and trace their connection to historical legacies as well as their foreseeable
negative and positive long-term impacts on democratic systems should be analysed.
Based on the evidence collected and analysed, proposals should develop new approaches to
understand the evolution of political parties in the context of intense digitalisation (including
of the public space and public institutions) and individualism. They should examine the
barriers and opportunities to re-invigorating and enhancing representative democratic
systems. Strategies to address the demands and needs of citizens expressed in other, non-
electoral forms of political participation, with a view to active engagement and inclusion,
including the use of digital tools for citizen engagement should be provided. Research should
develop a comprehensive and transparent toolbox of possible policy interventions including
but not limited to recommendations, toolkits and methodologies for enhancing trust in
political institutions, boosting transparency, representativeness and inclusiveness of
representative systems. In all cases, comparative approaches at EU level, taking also into
consideration the changing demographic composition of populations, should be developed.
The actions should strive to include citizens and civil society at all stages of the research
activities, by means of consultation, structured dialogue, action research, social
experimentation and/or other active methodologies that the proponents consider as most
effective.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01-09: Global governance for a world in
transition: Norms, institutions, actors
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
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Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                      states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to the both of following expected outcomes:
    Support the European Union’s role in leading the transformation and defence of
      multilateralism by identifying and analysing policy avenues for a more robust,
      democratic and effective global governance.
    Develop policy recommendations, institutional frames, toolboxes, narratives and
      methodologies for supporting action towards transnational democracy.
Scope: Political developments across the world over the last years have posed serious
challenges to global multilateralism and its aspirations for global order, peace and
cooperation. Even if the need for international collective action is greater than it has ever been
(climate and digital transitions, rise of inequalities – including gender inequalities –, ageing
and disabilities, migrations, health pandemics, information disorder), the obstacles it
encounters are no less redoubtable. The emerging multipolar system is characterised by the
prevalence of diverging, and often antagonistic, state preferences, outdated and often ill-
equipped global governance institutional architecture, nationalist populism, unilateralist
trends, the influence of multinational corporations, as well as neo-mercantilist conflicts.
The European Union has an important global role to play in terms of defending
multilateralism, through its enhancement and transformation, as a crucial component of global
governance. However, its capacity and influence in shaping globalisation are being shaken by
major geopolitical factors, such as the rise of new or re-emerging powers (China, India,
Russia) and the United States’ foreign policy shifts.
Taking stock of recent developments, research should propose ways of redesigning, renewing
and re-invigorating global and European traditions of cooperation with a view to greater
accountability, openness and legitimacy. This should include new reflections on the norms,
institutions and actors that can support a more robust and effective multilateralism, as well as
a stocktaking and assessment of the modalities and possibilities of multileveled participation
in cross-border governance, ranging from the local to the global level. Research should also
account for differences between fields and areas of governance, corresponding to diverse
levels and modalities of multilateral cooperation. It should analyse whether and how such
differences may hamper the governance of intersecting global challenges, e.g. health and
mobility in relation to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, sustainability and climate change, and
propose ways forward.
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Proposals are expected to address some of the following: to identify barriers and opportunities
for re-invigorating and enhancing the formal legal and institutional architecture of the rules-
based global system. They should analyse, through a mix of normative and empirical
methodologies, ways to reinforce the institutions that work, ways to replace those that do not,
and propose those that are missing, with the aim of spurring the transformation of global
governance. Proposals should relate the capacity of the populist and nationalist actors to feed
on sovereigntist claims and narratives about the challenges confronted by supranational
integration projects. Comparative approaches at European and global levels should be
developed, taking into consideration historical and cultural contexts. Research should identify
new actors, norms and processes of participation and representation (such as the participation
of local authorities, community-based organisations, trade unions, youth, women’s rights and
civil society organisations in general, or citizens themselves through digital means for
instance), which can boost the legitimacy, transparency, representativeness and effectiveness
of multilateral institutions. Interests and strategies of other international powers, such as the
United States, China, India, Russia or of other regional groupings (e.g. Mercosur, ASEAN,
African Union) in disseminating new collective norms for global governance, including the
related relevant historical roots, should be analysed. Proposals should identify where these
interests, strategies and norms are incompatible with EU values and long-term interests and
recommend policy action for the European Union to counter them. They should reflect on the
changing role of state sovereignty in times of globalisation and global governance and
consider different ways of reconceptualising multilateralism in the emerging multipolar global
system. International cooperation with partners from third countries of interest is encouraged
in order to better achieve the expected outcomes.
Call - Reshaping democracies II
                                                              HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)16
                       Topics                              Type      Budgets    Expected EU       Number
                                                             of        (EUR      contribution         of
                                                          Action     million)     per project      projects
                                                                                    (EUR          expected
                                                                       2022
                                                                                  million)17        to be
                                                                                                   funded
16
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
17
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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                                     Opening: 12 May 2022
                                    Deadline(s): 21 Sep 2022
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-02-01 CSA                             3.00      2.00 to 3.00    1
Overall indicative budget                                        3.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-02-01: Network for innovative solutions for the
future of democracy
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
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                          The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                          consortium selected for funding.
Procedure                 The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                          exceptions apply:
                          The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements                Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the
                          Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions
                          under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for
                          Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the
                          Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy
                          Community (2021-2025)18.
Expected Outcome: The project should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    The establishment and development of a European network of practitioners and
     researchers in the field of democracy and civic deliberation and participation and
     citizenship education.
    Prioritised recommendations for European policy on strengthening and renewing
     European democracy across a broad range of areas, including digital democracy,
     education programmes, civic education and awareness raising, including via cultural and
     creative approaches, enhancing diversity and inclusion in democratic processes, and
     participatory and deliberative democracy.
    Support to policy makers in the EU and associated countries through networking events,
     and platforms, databases, knowledge repositories, advice and capacity building on
     enhancing diversity, civic participation, civic and citizenship education and innovative
     and experimental deliberation processes in a broad range of policy areas, including EU
     level decision making.
    Strengthen and structure cooperation between researchers in democratic theory,
     including rule of law, and practitioners in civic participation and deliberation, and
     between European policy-makers at all levels of government and legislative bodies,
     resulting in an ongoing mechanism for knowledge-sharing and linking up to relevant
     piloting and testing actions under Horizon Europe, Horizon 2020 and other EU
     programmes, such as the Citizen, Equality, Rights, and Values programme, in view of
     establishing innovative open democratic practices.
18
        This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for
        Horizon      Europe,     under     ‘Simplified     costs    decisions’  or    through     this link:
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-
        decision_he_en.pdf
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    Facilitate and strengthen the impact of democracy and governance related research and
      innovation on EU policies through contemporary innovative formats and promote their
      systematic accessibility to EU policy makers and other interested stakeholders.
The goal is to establish a network of researchers in democracy together with practitioners of
civic participation and deliberation and of citizenship education across Europe, bringing
together a critical mass of such actors in Europe, from Member States and Associated
Countries representing the different parts of Europe with their diverse policy contexts,
challenges as well as historical and cultural backgrounds. Such a network should contribute to
Europe’s future policy to strengthen and renew democracy in Europe, in line with the
Commission’s priority “A new push for European democracy” 19 and the follow-up to the
Conference on the future of Europe20.
The project should have a minimum duration of 36 months.
Scope: Democracy is not a constant in human history, but rather an exception to various
forms of autocracy across space and time. We know that it thrives in the presence of
representation, the protection of fundamental rights and the rule of law, participation,
openness, pluralism, tolerance, the effectiveness of public policy, non-discrimination, and
civic engagement. All of these reflect the European Union’s values as defined in Article 2 of
the EU Treaty21. But a drift towards majoritarianism, unilateralism, nationalism, populism and
polarisation is in effect in Europe and the world. Such challenges are addressed in the
European Democracy Action Plan22, which will be supported by the proposal funded under
this topic.
Researchers in democratic theory and empirical democracy studies and practitioners in
democratic innovation and civic participation all bring different bricks to the edifice of
democracy strengthening and renewal: from the fundamental values to the subtleties of the
legislative process and public policy actions. In terms of democratic innovations, deliberative
democracy in particular appears as an antidote to polarization of societies, while broader use
of civic participation can build dialogue and close a gap of mistrust between populations and
governments.
Horizon 2020 supported over 300 projects, some still ongoing, with more than 1700
participants for research, innovation and experimentation relevant to safeguarding and
fostering our democracies. This represents only a small fraction of the research and
innovation in Europe on such issues. Many national and private funding bodies, foundations,
think-tanks, NGOs, etc. are also active in this field and have developed extensive knowledge
and data in this area, however, the access to this knowledge and expertise remains
fragmented.
19
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/new-push-european-democracy_en
20
        https://futureu.europa.eu/?locale=en
21
        https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:12012M002&from=FR
22
        https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2020:790:FIN
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Thus, creating a network for researchers, policy makers and civil society organisations to
collaborate together to formulate policy recommendations and to create knowledge-sharing
opportunities is a necessary tool to strengthen and renew European democracy. EU bodies and
services active in the field of research and innovation on and support for democracy should be
associated to the network to avoid overlaps with other EU studies and initiatives and to
facilitate the relevance of the activities and outputs of the network for EU policy
development.23
The basis of such a system is a strong network, with a commons-based approach, and a focus
on policy support, which sparks cooperation across levels of the executive and legislative
structures, democratic theorists, empirical researchers and practitioners. Such a system should
produce strong network effects, through outreach with relevant EU-funded projects, and other
relevant projects at the national, regional, and local levels.
The challenge is to ensure that the most adapted policy actions and public sector innovations
are recommended to European policy makers, in order to strengthen and renew their
democratic practices to meet current challenges.
Proposals should establish an innovative network of democracy research organisations and
practitioners of democratic innovation, which will:
    Connect the dots of the current fragmented landscape of research, platforms, databases,
      knowledge repositories and research infrastructures into new models and practices of
      democracy and suggested paths for innovation of democratic practices, assessing their
      impact to ensure a match with the needs of policy makers and facilitate broad
      dissemination of these models.
    Produce policy recommendations to strengthen and renew democracy in all governance
      levels and democratic debate in Europe, drawing on the existing body of knowledge.
      These recommendations must be accessible, publicly available, and well disseminated
      including through a central open access repository.
    Analyse ex post the dynamics and patterns in terms of citizen participation in the
      Conference on the Future of Europe and evaluate how they could translate into an
      infrastructure for inclusive participatory and deliberative democracy in the EU24.
    Help policy makers in the EU and Associated Countries to design civic participation
      strategies for relevant policy areas, in conjunction with the European Commission’s
      Competence Centre on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy.
    Organise 2 retreats per year for policy makers from EU Member States and Associated
      Countries and EU institutions, targeting high-level officials, to learn and exchange from
      experts and peers on democratic strengthening and renewal, and encourage exchange on
23
         In particular DG RTD, DG JUST, JRC, EEAS
24
         As stated in the European Democracy Action Plan https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-
         2024/new-push-european-democracy/european-democracy-action-plan_en
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      emerging or persisting challenges and threats to democracy, participation and civic
      engagement.
    Design capacity building activities on inclusive participatory and deliberative forms of
      democracy at different governance levels, including training and knowledge sharing.
Proposals should also contribute to raise awareness of potential policy actions that they
recommend to strengthen and renew democracy at all levels of the government and legislative
bodies in Europe, through information and dissemination activities.
When developing the activities, proposals should build on and further develop existing
knowledge, activities, networks and structures25, notably the ones funded by the European
Union. Such activities, networks and structures may also draw on the ones developed in the
course of the Conference on the Future of Europe but should not be limited to these.
Furthermore, proposals should establish links to and seek synergies with closely related
actions, such as relevant R&I actions funded by Horizon Europe or Horizon 2020. Proposals
are also invited to build links with global communities addressing democracy.
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision authorising the use
of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe26.
25
        for instance the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, or the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency
26
        The decision is published on the Funding and Tenders Portal.
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DESTINATION: INNOVATIVE RESEARCH on the EUROPEAN
CULTURAL HERITAGE and the CULTURAL and CREATIVE
INDUSTRIES
Europe’s rich cultural heritage, with its common values, its wealth of monuments and sites
and its creative diversity of traditions, crafts, arts, architecture, literature, languages, theatre,
films and music, not only reflects our past but also shapes our present and builds our future. It
is a creative way of cultivating independent thinking and dialogue, while promoting our
interests across the world. Access to experience with cultural heritage contributes to social
cohesion and inclusion, by strengthening resilience and the sense of belonging, bringing
people together and improving well-being.
Europe’s common research and innovation (R&I) action to protect, conserve, restore and
repair its important cultural heritage, promote its use as one of the substantial European
resources, boost its traditional and contemporary arts and create wider awareness is still
limited in scope and impact. Moreover, European tangible and intangible cultural heritage is
increasingly facing a number of challenges such as deterioration due to climate change,
pollution, natural or man-made disasters, looting and illicit trafficking, lack of finance or
insufficient valorisation. In addition, Europe’s cultural production (in particular film and
music) lags behind in international competitiveness despite its high quality and quantity.
European R&I27 activities will make a strong contribution in all these areas by strengthening
our common knowledge and expertise, as well as by providing solid evidence for policy-
making. They will promote and valorise our cultural heritage and arts, while increasing their
international competitiveness and firming the social fabric at European, national, regional or
local level. Through a broad co-operation of a wide set of stakeholders and efficient
coordination between EU Member States, R&I activities will be oriented towards
interdisciplinary research and actively involve the cultural and creative industries (CCIs)28.
They will connect cultural heritage with the CCIs by supporting new forms of cultural and
artistic expression that build on existing cultural assets and provide access to both tangible
and intangible heritage. R&I will also promote the competitiveness of cultural and creative
industries. It will provide evidence about their role as innovation drivers in the wider
economy. In line with the Commission priorities, the R&I activities of this Destination will
help promote the European way of life, contribute to achieving the Green Deal goals and
support an economy that works for people. They will also contribute to the New European
Bauhaus29 initiative, to realising the UN Sustainable Development Goals and to building a
27
         In this context, innovation should be understood as any new creative idea, which can take the form of
         products, processes, services, technologies, organisational or business models that are made available to
         markets, governments and society.
28
         CCIs defined as in the European Commission Green Paper ‘Unlocking the Potential of Cultural and
         Creative Industries’:
         https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52010DC0183&from=ENl
29
         The New European Bauhaus initiative was launched by European Commission President von der Leyen
         in her State of the European Union speech autumn 2020. More information here:https://europa.eu/new-
         european-bauhaus/index_en
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stronger crisis-resilient society and economy by taking into account experiences, challenges
and lessons learnt also from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Concretely, R&I activities under this Destination and its calls will support these policy
objectives by monitoring, safeguarding and transmitting cultural heritage, fostering the CCIs
and promoting cultural diversity. They will aim at protecting historical sites and monuments,
artefacts, heritage sites, cultural landscapes, museums and other cultural institutions,
languages, customs, traditions and values. Through new or existing cutting-edge conservation
and restoration technologies and methods, they will help restore and preserve monuments and
artefacts in a green way. They will advance the protection of cultural heritage from natural
hazards and anthropogenic threats, including the looting and illicit trafficking of cultural
goods. Research and innovation across the cultural and creative sectors will foster their inbuilt
innovation potential and will promote transformation in many parts of the economy and social
development across Europe. Through new approaches, R&I will offer innovative, integrated,
sustainable and participative management and business models for museums and other
cultural institutions, with a view to spur inclusive growth, jobs, social cohesion and diversity.
It will also contribute to develop a sustainable and quality-driven intervention on built
environment in line with the New European Bauhaus initiative. Research in old and new
forms of cultural and artistic expression will promote intercultural cooperation, while
engaging citizens and young people. It will valorise traditional skills and the reuse of existing
assets. Exploring the economic role of CCIs and investigating the impact of creative and
artistic intervention into innovation processes will provide capacities to boost Europe’s
competitiveness. European cultural heritage, arts and creativity can be harnessed to further
develop the design and identity of products, and to shape the public image of our countries
and regions. Cultural and intellectual experiences can be marketed at a premium: CCIs are at
the frontline of this action, by investing in knowledge and creativity. Furthermore, the use of
existing and the development of new digital methodologies will offer innovative approaches
to share and increase access to and engagement with cultural heritage. Altogether, these
actions will enable real cooperation and participation of a wide range of communities,
including stakeholders, citizens and industry.
Through all these activities, research and innovation will underpin the European Union’s
leading role in protecting, preserving and enhancing Europe’s cultural heritage and scale-up
the competitiveness of its cultural and creative industries.
Proposals under this destination should consider and promote in a cross-cutting way, and
whenever appropriate and applicable:
    The use of digital and cutting-edge technologies;
    An active and sustainable engagement with stakeholders, social innovators and citizens;
    The active involvement of local, regional or national authorities and sectoral social
      partners, particularly in the uptake and implementation of research results and
      recommendations;
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   A clear strategy for the uptake of research outcomes, recommendations or results, in
      particular where CCIs are participating or are concerned;
   Training and education activities for targeted groups of users and/or stakeholders;
   A robust plan for how projects will use or build on outputs and results from research
      already undertaken and technology already available;
   Increased participation of CCIs, SMEs and industry;
   Lessons learnt from the COVID-19 crisis in view of a sustainable management of the
      post-crisis society;
   Contribution to the European Green Deal, the New European Bauhaus as well as the
      Sustainable Development Goals.
Expected impacts:
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
to the following expected impact of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan:
The full potential of cultural heritage, arts and cultural and creative sectors as a driver of
sustainable innovation and a European sense of belonging is realised through a continuous
engagement with society, citizens and economic sectors as well as through better protection,
restoration and promotion of cultural heritage.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                   Call                              Budgets (EUR million)        Deadline(s)
                                                    2021                  2022
HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-                 45.00                                  07 Oct 2021
01
HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-                 6.50                                   07 Oct 2021
02
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-                                          93.00         20      Apr
01                                                                                2022
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-                                          6.00          21 Sep 2022
02
Overall indicative budget                  51.50                    99.00
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Call - Research and innovation on cultural heritage and CCIs - 2021
                                                                  HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)30
                     Topics                            Type       Budgets       Expected EU       Number
                                                         of        (EUR       contribution per        of
                                                      Action      million)      project (EUR       projects
                                                                                  million)31      expected
                                                                    2021                            to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 07 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-01-01 RIA                              12.00        3.50 to 4.00        3
HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-01-02 RIA                              9.00         2.00 to 3.00        3
HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-01-03 RIA                              12.00        3.50 to 4.00        3
HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-01-04 RIA                              12.00        3.50 to 4.00        3
Overall indicative budget                                        45.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
30
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
31
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Award criteria                                          The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                        D.
Documents                                               The documents are described in General
                                                        Annex E.
Procedure                                               The procedure is described in General
                                                        Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                 The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-01-01: Green technologies and materials for cultural
heritage
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       3.50 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to at least two of the following expected
outcomes:
   Contribute to the objectives of the Green Deal by developing methods to conserve,
     preserve and restore monuments and artefacts with respect to different materials in a
     sustainable, green way.
   Promote research on the quality of conservation, in order to foster a more sustainable
     and green maintenance and restoration of cultural heritage. Ensure higher quality
     standards in conservation and restoration of Europe’s cultural heritage.
   Improve sustainability and energy efficiency in heritage sites, museums and other
     cultural institutions.
   Strengthen citizens’ contribution to safeguarding of their cultural heritage and art.
Scope: Materials and methods for the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage can
often be energy consuming, not environmentally friendly or even harmful for the health of
operators and curators. Moreover, many of these materials and methods prove to be neither
durable nor sustainable, often leading to repetitive and costly restoration of artefacts,
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monuments and heritage sites. Research has already addressed this challenge to a certain
extent; yet, the wide range of materials, types of buildings and monuments, and the specific
needs of artefacts call for further investigation and tailored solutions.
In this context, and in view of achieving the objectives of the Green Deal, proposals under
this topic should provide solutions and explore ways for quality conservation and restoration
in a green and sustainable way. They should adopt and apply a holistic approach in
conservation of art materials through an interdisciplinary network of knowledge and skills
from the perspectives of hard sciences, soft sciences and engineering. Thanks to this, they
should develop effective and sustainable strategies that are feasible, user friendly, affordable
and safe to the operators and the artefacts, in order to ensure the long-term conservation of
and physical access to cultural heritage resources. Monitoring the preservation status of
artefacts, monuments and sites with non-intrusive, green tech solutions should also be
considered. The proposed materials and methods for remedial or preventive conservation and
restoration should be green, durable and sustainable. They should also minimize their
environmental footprint 32 and impact on health of restorers, curators and craftspeople.
Whenever necessary, they should also contribute to energy efficiency and sustainability of
monuments, historic buildings and cultural institutions. Elaboration of traditional methods and
materials, as well as digital and cutting-edge technologies should be developed or further
exploited as necessary.
Taking into account environmental, social and economic impacts, proposals should bring
together basic and applied research, social, cultural and entrepreneurial innovation through the
involvement of cultural and creative sectors to ensure sustainability. Participation of
innovative industry and/or CCIs/SMEs, besides public entities and policy makers, is strongly
advised. Awareness raising and further strengthening of citizens’ and young people’s
involvement in new or traditional preservation and transmission methods should also be
targeted to widen literacy, access to and engagement with cultural heritage.
HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-01-02: New ways of participatory management and
sustainable financing of museums and other cultural institutions
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
32
        Consortia could consider their possible contribution to relevant platforms of the Joint Research Centre
        (JRC) in terms of data, indicators and knowledge. This contribution would increase policy relevance
        and further capitalise on the knowledge developed in projects. On natural capital accounting, life cycle
        assessment (LCA) and the environmental footprint method when applying LCA see
        https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/capital_accounting/index_en.htm.
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Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to at least two of the following expected
outcomes:
   Explore new ways of participatory cultural management and sustainable financing for
      museums and other cultural institutions, in particular during and after times of crises
      such as the coronavirus pandemic.
   Ensure better access to cultural heritage and engagement with local communities, to
      preserve and strengthen social cohesion through inclusive and participatory procedures.
   Strengthen the sense of belonging to a common European space while respecting cultural
      and ethnolinguistic diversity, as well as developing an awareness of cultural pluralism.
   Promote the role of museums and other cultural institutions in well-being, health,
      resilience, social inclusion and society’s dealing with trauma and post-crisis recovery.
   Foster the role of museums and other cultural institutions in sustainable economic
      growth and regional development.
Scope: Museums and other cultural institutions (such as libraries, galleries, archives,
memorial sites, etc.) play a key-role in social inclusion and cohesion. They create the sense of
belonging, build shared identities, promote cultural awareness and historical reflection,
improve people’s well-being and contribute to sustainable development and growth at local,
regional and national level. Nowadays, museums and other cultural institutions are facing
several challenges such as scarce funding, new legal obligations with regard to their
collections (e.g. related to intellectual property rights), insufficient numbers of visitors or, to
the other extreme, massive tourist crowds, which necessitate new and expensive conservation
means and security tools. All these challenges are threatening the existence and efficient work
of museums and other cultural institutions.
Adding to the aforementioned challenges, the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic has
heavily affected museums, other cultural institutions, arts and the entire ecosystem around
them. Museums closed down for months, leaving staff unemployed and putting at risk cultural
goods, as forced closing and absence of curators can severely impact the conservation and
safety of collections.
On the other hand, cultural institutions have demonstrated great resilience and creativity in
communicating with their publics remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Notwithstanding
the general lockdown, the cultural sector, fully aware of the important role of culture,
immediately mobilised itself to maintain activities and ease people’s feeling of isolation.
Using digital technology and artificial intelligence, museums, other cultural institutions and
artists offered new possibilities to access heritage and knowledge by participating in online
cultural events, developed new creative business models and provided new training and
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capacity-building programmes to support cultural circles, and strengthened their presence in
the internet and social media.
In light of the post-COVID era, museums and other cultural institutions will need to be the
agents of a truly holistic and inclusive revival, as well as the developers of the new normality.
They will be called to give people a sense that their life is no longer in abeyance, help to keep
up the morale and be essential markers of people’s re-engagement with their cultural heritage.
Therefore, there is a pressing need to ensure methods of sustainable financing in order to help
museums and other cultural institutions recover quickly, continue operate in a safe and viable
way and widen as much as possible access to citizens. Although the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic as far as economic losses and jobs are concerned cannot be fully predicted yet,
international organisations, such as the UNESCO, ICOM, NeMO and OECD provide already
recommendations for measures to be put in place. Furthermore, national authorities have
started allocating recovery funds that could also benefit the cultural institutions’ sector.
However, these measures are only partial, short-term solutions and do not solve the sector’s
structural financing issues. Signals from the sector indicate that in particular smaller, local
museums without (or with limited) structural governmental funding, suffer disproportionally.
Therefore, R&I proposals under this topic should explore ways to mitigate the challenges that
museums, other cultural institutions and the entire ecosystem around them are facing
nowadays, including the social and economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. They
should provide methods and models to sustainably finance cultural institutions, while
ensuring equal and wide access to culture, heritage and cultural goods. Emphasis should be
put on the role of local museums and new ways of participatory cultural management to help
museums and other cultural institutions become fully embedded in cities’ life, taking also into
account the differences between metropolis and small towns. A digital strategy might be
developed as part of the new management and financing model, including sustainable ways of
sharing knowledge and facilities to communicate through and about objects and collections of
both tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Proposals are encouraged to include close
interaction with local, regional and national communities and authorities, as well as
cooperation with research institutions and the cultural and creative stakeholders (e.g. artists,
actors, interpretation specialists, designers) to attract and engage the public and in particular
young people.
HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-01-03: Cultural and creative industries as a driver
of innovation and competitiveness
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      3.50 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
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Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to at least two of the following expected
outcomes:
    Evidence of the innovation potential of the cultural and creative industries based in the
      EU.
    Evidence of the role of the cultural and creative industries as drivers of innovation in
      other economic sectors such as industry and services.
    Evidence of direct and indirect effects on the EU economy by the cultural and creative
      industries, economic spill-over effects on other sectors and the potential for further
      economic growth and employment in the cultural and creative industries.
    Evidence of how cultural and creative EU industries could benefit from new
      technologies, new business models, skills development, new distribution and/or
      promotion models.
    Proposals for further strengthening the competitiveness and drawing benefit from the
      innovation potential of the sector in the EU and in the international markets.
Scope: The cultural and creative industries (CCI)33 are an important source of growth and job
creation in the European economy. The growth of this sector has raised interest at policy level
for its innovation potential and for contributing to improved competitiveness. The challenge is
to understand how to realise the full potential of CCIs as a driver for innovation 34, create
stronger links with other sectors and contribute to strengthening the European economy,
society and its sustainability.
The cultural and creative industries are as diverse as our cultures. Building on our cultural
heritage and using their creativity, they pursue a wide variety of activities, ranging from
cultural performances to creative design of products and shaping the public image of countries
and regions. The CCI sector counts many self-employed, as well as some very large market
players for example in the audio-visual and music sectors. Markets in this sector are
heterogeneous and there is no comprehensive mapping at EU level. The CCI sector has been
growing rapidly and, in some regions of Europe, it is outperforming more established sectors
in terms of growth and employment.
The cultural and creative industries have been heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic
crisis. The social confinement is likely to have a long-term impact by significantly reducing
33
         CCIs defined as in the European Commission Green Paper ‘Unlocking the Potential of Cultural and
         Creative Industries’:
         https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52010DC0183&from=EN
34
         In this context, innovation should be understood as any new creative idea, which can take the form of
         products, processes, services, technologies, organisational or business models that are made available to
         markets, governments and society.
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incomes and adding to unemployment. These problems will need to be taken into
consideration in research, including proposals for reinvigorating the sector.
Research proposals should explore the innovation potential of the cultural and creative
industries, their role as drivers of innovation in other sectors and the potential for
strengthening competitiveness. This could involve strengthening links between science and
art. The research should involve the CCIs and other creative actors themselves, policy makers
and other stakeholders in order to ensure that the activities are relevant to the end users.
Research should study how cultural and creative EU industries could benefit from new
technologies, new business models, skills development, new distribution and/or promotion
models with the purpose of strengthening their performance. Research should also identify
policy measures for further strengthening the competitiveness and drawing benefit from the
innovation potential of the sector in the EU and the international markets.
HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-01-04: Preserving and enhancing cultural heritage
with advanced digital technologies
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.50
contribution per     and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                     and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                     Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                     additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to at least two of the following expected
outcomes:
    Develop and strengthen the use of digital technologies to protect, preserve, restore and
      safeguard cultural heritage and the arts in complementarity to other research methods.
    Facilitate and widen access to cultural assets through digital and cutting-edge
      technologies and tools, in parallel or as an alternative to physical access to cultural
      heritage.
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    Support comparative analysis with artificial intelligence, including analysis across time,
      and other digital means to improve innovation and knowledge exchange in the cultural
      and creative sectors.
    Increase the competitiveness of cultural and creative industries in the internal market and
      internationally, and provide opportunities for new and sustainable jobs creation.
    Explore the role of digital tools, such as 3D/4D simulations, virtual and augmented
      reality technologies in engaging with cultural heritage during and after the COVID-19
      crisis.
    Use digital tools and other outcomes to provide efficient and global solutions to the real
      needs of accessing, protecting and preserving cultural heritage, including the “born
      digital” one.
Scope: Digital technologies, from 3D simulation to artificial intelligence and
virtual/augmented reality, are being used to ensure preservation and wide access to cultural
heritage and the arts. Extensive research has been already funded to support the digitisation of
libraries and archives, virtual tours of museums and archaeological sites, as well as digital
curation and preservation of cultural goods. However, there is need to expand and further
support the application of digital tools to preserve cultural heritage and to make it widely
accessible. The relation between cultural heritage and its digitised format through the
experience of audiences is of particular interest. Moreover, the “born digital” heritage, in
parallel to the digitised one, is becoming of increased importance, requiring further research
on its intrinsic value and limitations of use.
The role played by digital during the recent COVID-19 pandemic crisis is especially
noteworthy, as it proved to be the most valuable means to access cultural assets during the
extended period of confinement. Museums and libraries offered free access to their
collections, artists were performing live online and theatres where streaming their
performances through the web to help lift up people’s morale and improve their well-being.
Assessing the impact of these activities and drawing lessons in view of future crisis
management requires targeted research.
Taking these points into account, R&I actions under this topic are envisaged to promote
extended digitisation so that collections, artefacts and monuments, including the “born
digital” heritage, can be preserved, restored and safeguarded in a sustainable and user-friendly
way. At the same time, research should prevent any potential negative consequence of doing
so. In addition, digitisation practices have to comply with intellectual property law, in
particular copyright law. They should develop digital facilities that will allow building shared
infrastructures, provide specialised trainings and courses and facilitate knowledge and know-
how exchange to address real needs in the field of cultural heritage. Projects should thus
increase the use of existing tools and cutting-edge technologies, such as virtual and
augmented reality or artificial intelligence, to reduce access and knowledge limitations to
cultural assets. By assessing the role of digitisation in engaging with culture and cultural
heritage during the COVID-19 crisis, they should draw lessons and provide resilient policy
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scenarios or recovery tools for the cultural and creative sectors in a post-crisis era. By creating
new or fostering existing tools, they should aim at boosting the socio-economic sustainability
of cultural and creative industries in the COVID-19 post-crisis period and provide sustainable
applications and solutions to strengthen their innovation potential as well as manage future
crises. This requires collaboration between technological firms, research institutes,
universities and cultural and creative sectors/industries to generate tailor made know-how and
transfer expertise to foster the digital transformation of Cultural Heritage institutions.
Innovative approaches to R&I including user-led innovation could be applicable.
R&I actions funded under this topic are expected to establish the state of the art of digital
methodologies and tools to protect the rich and diverse European cultural heritage, including
the “born digital” heritage, in complementarity with more established conservation and
protection methods. Data and products coming from the Copernicus services, specifically
Copernicus Emergency, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring, Climate Change and
Copernicus Land Monitoring Services can give a great support in preserving cultural and
natural heritage sites.
Call - Engagement with stakeholders
                                                                  HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)35
                     Topics                            Type       Budgets       Expected EU       Number
                                                         of        (EUR       contribution per        of
                                                      Action      million)      project (EUR       projects
                                                                                  million)36      expected
                                                                    2021                            to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 07 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-02-01 CSA                              3.50         2.50 to 3.50        1
HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-02-02 CSA                              3.00         2.50 to 3.00        1
35
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
36
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Overall indicative budget                                    6.50
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-02-01: Mobilising the network of National Contact
Points in Cluster 2
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 2.50
contribution per     and 3.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.50 million.
Type of Action       Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     Applicants must be Horizon Europe national support structures (e.g.
                     NCP) responsible for Cluster 2 ‘Culture, Creativity and Inclusive
                     Society’ and officially nominated by a Member State or Associated
                     Country.
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                     Only if and for as long as Horizon Europe structures have not yet been
                     officially nominated, will national support structures responsible for
                     Societal Challenge 6 (SC6) ‘Europe in a changing world: inclusive,
                     innovative and reflective societies’ nominated for Horizon 2020 be
                     eligible.
                     Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                     exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
Procedure            The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                     exceptions apply:
                     The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
   An improved and professionalised NCP service across Europe, in the areas covered by
     Horizon Europe Cluster 2 ‘Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society’, thereby helping
     simplify access to Horizon Europe calls, lowering the entry barriers for newcomers, and
     raising the average quality of proposals submitted;
   A more consistent level of NCP support services across Europe.
   Widening participation to projects in the areas covered by Horizon Europe Cluster 2
     ‘Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society’ to new stakeholders, such as civil society
     organisations.
   Enhanced integration of the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) as a crosscutting
     issue throughout Horizon Europe.
   Implementation of other horizontal activities of Cluster 2, including the organisation of
     Information Days, NCP trainings, brokerage events and monitoring of SSH integration
     across the research programme.
Scope: Proposals should aim to facilitate trans-national co-operation between National
Contact Points (NCPs) in the areas covered by Horizon Europe Cluster 2 ‘Culture, Creativity
and Inclusive Society’, with a view to identifying and sharing good practices and raising the
general standard of support to programme applicants. In addition, the action will provide
important feedback on issues relating to programme planning, design and evaluation.
In view of the changes brought about by the adoption of Horizon Europe, the network of
NCPs will organise transnational events to communicate with all interested scientific
communities regarding new research actions; to draw lessons from previous research
programmes on best practice for cooperation; to help researchers prepare for new funding
schemes and structures.
The network will organise NCP Information Days, NCP trainings, brokerage events for
potential applicants and provide appropriate tools and instruments to support NCPs and
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researchers. Activities will support researchers of the social sciences and humanities to
connect into all Clusters of Horizon Europe. To achieve its expected outcomes and objectives,
the NCP network could cooperate with but should not duplicate actions foreseen in other
thematic and horizontal Horizon Europe NCP networks.
Proposals should include a work package to implement matchmaking activities to link up
potential participants from widening countries with emerging consortia in the domain of
Cluster 2. Matchmaking should take place by means of online tools, brokerage events, info
days and bilateral meetings between project initiators and candidate participants from
widening countries. Other matchmaking instruments may be used as appropriate. Where
relevant, synergies should be sought with the Enterprise Europe Network to organise
matchmaking activities in accordance with Annex IV of the NCP Minimum Standards and
Guiding Principles.
The action will also contribute to the monitoring of the integration of social sciences and
humanities (SSH) throughout the research programme, in particular through the provision of
the analysis of statistical data necessary for the annual SSH monitoring reports.
Special attention should be given to enhancing the competence of NCPs, including helping
less experienced NCPs rapidly acquire the know-how built up in other countries. This should
contribute to increase the quality of proposals submitted, including those from countries
where success rates in Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge 6 were lower than average.
The consortium should have a good representation of experienced and less experienced NCPs.
Submission of a single proposal is encouraged. NCPs from EU Member States or Associated
Countries choosing not to participate as a member of the consortium should be identified and
the reason explained in the proposal. These NCPs are nevertheless invited and encouraged to
participate in the project activities (e.g. workshops), and the costs incurred by the consortium
for such participation (e.g. travel costs paid by the consortium) may be included in the
estimated budget and be eligible for funding by the Commission.
The proposal should cover the whole duration of Horizon Europe.
HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-02-02: Coordination of European cultural heritage
research and innovation among Member States
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 2.50
contribution per       and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
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Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
Procedure             The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Prepare a ground-breaking and novel coordination network on cultural heritage research
     and innovation policies and activities, including the arts and the cultural and creative
     sectors.
   Identify research and innovation domains with European added value that would justify
     future activities.
   Propose new ways to engage stakeholders, users of cultural heritage and the arts, social
     innovators, civil society and, in particular, the younger generation with cultural heritage
     and its role in shaping the perception of European societies as well as a European sense
     of belonging.
   Develop an open approach to cultural heritage and the arts, fostering curiosity for new
     developments and diversity, as well as emphasising their role in transmitting of
     knowledge and building a bridge from the past over the present to the future.
Scope: The European Union has provided funding through co-funding schemes to coordinate
national R&I activities on cultural heritage and the arts and to increase their impact. Through
ERA-Net Co-funding Joint Research Programmes, H2020 has been topping-up Member
States’ national funding to promote the coordination of national activities and strengthen their
European added value. With the end of H2020, the impact of these co-funding schemes needs
to be assessed in order to agree to further coordination and partnerships with Member States
and Associated Countries in the new Horizon Europe research and innovation framework
programme.
Proposals under this topic are expected to realise a mapping of national activities pertaining to
cultural heritage, provenance research, architecture, as well as programmes and European
ERA-Net Co-funding schemes on cultural heritage R&I. Furthermore, they should evaluate
the European added value, any possible overlap with central EU activities, as well as the
impact of and gaps left by ERA-Net Co-funding schemes in the field of cultural heritage.
Taking stock of the lessons learnt, they should explore and identify objectives for a future,
ground-breaking and wide network that would increase the impact of national funding at
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European level. Proposals should also provide analysis as well as policy scenarios for future
EU-level interventions in this area, including on the role and participation of cultural and
creative sectors. Need for new technologies with a specific reference to Earth Observation
(Copernicus) data and products relevant for cultural heritage might be also considered.
Proposals should provide a novel approach, involve the EU Member States and be open
towards Associated and Neighbourhood Countries, a wide variety of stakeholders, civil
society and young people.
Call - Research and innovation on cultural heritage and CCIs - 2022
                                                                  HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)37
                     Topics                            Type       Budgets       Expected EU       Number
                                                         of        (EUR       contribution per        of
                                                      Action      million)      project (EUR       projects
                                                                                  million)38      expected
                                                                    2022                            to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 20 Jan 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 20 Apr 2022
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-01 CSA                              3.00         2.00 to 3.00        1
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-02 RIA                              9.00         2.00 to 3.00        3
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-03 RIA                              9.00         2.00 to 3.00        3
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-04 RIA                              12.00        3.00 to 4.00        3
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-05 RIA                              9.00         2.00 to 3.00        3
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-06 RIA                              12.00        3.00 to 4.00        3
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-07 RIA                              12.00        3.00 to 4.00        3
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-08 RIA                              12.00        3.00 to 4.00        3
37
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
38
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-09 RIA                          9.00         2.00 to 3.00     3
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-10 RIA                          6.00         Around 3.00      2
Overall indicative budget                                    93.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-01: Safeguarding endangered languages in
Europe
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to at least two of the following expected
outcomes:
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   Enhance cooperation at the European level between key actors and stakeholders within
      endangered languages communities.
   Empower local communities and promote citizens’ engagement in the sustainable
      management of their own linguistic resources, in line with the principles of the Faro
      Convention.
   Suggest strategies to involve young people in the (re)discovery of their linguistic
      heritage and its importance for the development of their identity and community
      building.
   Promote equality and linguistic diversity in line with the EU’s motto ‘United in
      Diversity’ and its work to reinforce the central role of multilingualism in Europe.
   Strengthen the identification, inventory and transmission of regional, minority and local
      languages as vehicles of oral expressions and traditions, in line with the principles of the
      UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Scope: Languages, whether they are internationally used by millions of people or spoken by
only small and remote communities, are the expression of the identity, culture and the way
communities and peoples perceive their world. They are an essential part of the rich fabric of
European culture. When languages disappear, our cultural diversity is impoverished. While
this risk has been recognised internationally (including by UNESCO, the Council of Europe,
the OSCE, etc.), many of the regional, minority and local languages, which are spoken today
in the European Union, Associated and Neighbourhood Countries, are in danger of
disappearing.
Starting from the analysis of the sociolinguistic, legal and economic situation of European
endangered languages, of the reasons behind their endangered status, as well as of past and
present policies, the action should propose ways to promote the reawakening of these
endangered languages. This implies encouraging and supporting their use as well as their
intergenerational transmission. The project should explore measures in different areas such as
the educational, cultural and creative sectors, and link them with regional development. The
use of digital tools is strongly encouraged, as it is the easiest channel to reach and involve
society, and in particular young people, in the (re)discovery of their own linguistic heritage,
including non-written languages.
The creation of a European language preservation ecosystem is at the heart of this topic, in
particular with the establishment of a set of guidelines for revitalizing endangered languages
in Europe and the setting up of a comprehensive website. This also aims at exchanging best
practices and collecting endangered language resources and tools that, with the appropriate
involvement of stakeholders concerned, should be made widely available. A set of identified
guidelines should be validated by the use of existing cases of language revitalization.
Available results of research already undertaken on language revitalisation should be taken
into consideration, while identification of needs for further research in the field should be
promoted. Examples of grass root movements that foster the engagement of local
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communities and, in particular, of young people, to learn and use such languages should be
analysed and their motivating factors examined. These good practices should be taken into
account when developing methodologies, in order to enhance them and to make them
adaptable to local situations. Participation of regional or local communities and/or
administrations, civil society, universities and other research institutions, networks and
platforms working on multilingualism as well as on the promotion of regional and minority
languages are encouraged and will ensure efficient and comprehensive bottom-up solutions.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-02: Europe’s cultural heritage and arts -
promoting our values at home and abroad
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to at least one of the following expected
outcomes:
    Better awareness and understanding of European arts, culture and values39 within the EU
      and internationally by leveraging the creativity of arts and cultural heritage partners in
      Europe.
    Wider exposure to the diversity of European art, culture and values for European and
      international partners, by strengthening links with creative industries and other parts of
      the economy.
    Reinforced common European action to promote Europe’s culture and economic
      interests internationally, hence contributing to strengthen European competitiveness.
Scope: European arts and cultural heritage have an intrinsic value in enriching our lives, but
also reflect our way of life, and contribute to shaping our society and its values. They are
important elements of our creativity and innovation, on which we build economic growth and
social development. They also have a role in shaping the way Europe is perceived from afar,
thus being important assets for our “soft power” and for promoting Europe’s place in the
39
         European values are cornerstones of the EU and are defined in the Treaty on European Union, Title 1
         “Common Provisions”, Article 2: “The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity,
         freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of
         persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which
         pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men
         prevail”.
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world. If Europe wants to maintain its place in a globalised world, it is in our interest to step
up common efforts to promote Europe’s culture, values and interests.
However, we are not necessarily aware of, or appreciate, the diversity of European arts and
cultural heritage and its important role in democratic society. The challenge of research is to
contribute knowledge as well as to identify ways of reinforcing common European action for
the benefit or our society.
New and creative approaches may be required to broaden its attractiveness and reach – e.g.
contemporary art forms, design, modern technology and media. Similarly, exposing
international audiences more widely to European art, culture and values could raise interest,
recognition and potentially lead to increased competitiveness. Cooperation with cultural and
creative stakeholders, e.g. artists, actors and designers is encouraged to attract and engage the
public and in particular young people.
Europe is in global competition for markets and investments, where industrial and service
competitors use every available tool including cultural policy and cultural diplomacy in their
international promotion efforts. European research, in cooperation with cultural and creative
sectors and a wide range of stakeholders, should contribute new knowledge as well as
identifying ways of reinforcing common European action to promote Europe’ s culture, values
and interests for the benefit of our societies and prosperity. Digital solutions and cutting-edge
technologies should be considered. In order to draw lessons for policy, it is important to
assess the actions of competitors, while evaluating the effectiveness of the common European
action and its potential. Research should contribute to identifying ways of more effectively
promoting common European interests at a global level, leveraging resources and forging
closer cooperation between cultural, creative and economic partners.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-03: The role of perceptions, formed by
traditions, values and beliefs, in shaping European societies and politics in the 21st
century
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Analyse the different factors that form and change people’s perceptions, such as beliefs,
      values, traditions, economy, history, culture, age and gender, among others.
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   Understand in which way these factors influence and change people's perceptions, their
      relationship to Europe's historical and cultural past, and how they can contribute to the
      creation of a more inclusive vision of cultures and values, both European and global.
   Apprehend the way perceptions shape European societies’ understanding of and
      responses to the European project.
   Analyse the ways in which perceptions influence society’s response and preparedness
      during times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on post-crisis
      European cohesion.
   Provide recommendations to bring EU policy making closer to people, with an emphasis
      on young people’s values and behaviour when perceiving pressing social, economic and
      environmental challenges.
Scope: Values, norms, traditions, beliefs, our historical past, mentalities, age or gender - to
name just a few - shape our perceptions, the way we see our societies and the role of the
individual, the state and the economy in it. This means that, while speaking of the same
subjects, our underlying understanding of them might vary to a certain degree. This has
caused misunderstandings and frictions in the European integration process over time,
including inter-generational differences. Research should scrutinize the idea of a socially and
culturally coherent Europe. While research has tackled various aspects of this topic, it is
however necessary to further undertake an in-depth investigation of the role of these factors in
and their impact on the European integration process.
Proposals under this topic will identify and examine the factors that influence and change
people’s perceptions of the European project over time, under different geographical, political
or socio-economic circumstances. Changes may also affect how people’s perceptions are
expressed and become visible in different media (e.g. social media, language). Research
should also address the role of values and socio-political behaviour in perceiving and dealing
with emergencies and economic crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Lessons learnt
during the COVID-19 crisis and the recovery period could be used to provide policy scenarios
for facing future crises and building resilient and sustainable post-crisis societies. Finally,
proposals should investigate the role of perceptions in understanding and interacting with
politics and political legitimacy in the EU. They should provide recommendations on how to
address these different perceptions in the policy shaping and implementation of the EU
integration process.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-04: Traditional crafts for the future: a new
approach
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      3.00 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
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                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to at least two of the following expected
outcomes:
    Revive, valorise and foster traditional crafts techniques and combine them with new and
      emerging cutting-edge technologies.
    Bring together the traditional know-how with new and/or digital technologies to develop
      improved and new products, services and professions.
    Set up platforms and develop methodologies, curricula, entrepreneurship skills and
      courses for vocational training, to create jobs and revive enterprises where tradition
      meets the future.
    Create sustainable relationships and networks between research and heritage sites,
      cultural and creative sectors, institutions, universities and other research institutions,
      regional and national authorities, enterprises and other relevant stakeholders, in order to
      promote innovation, jobs and sustainable growth.
Scope: Traditional artefacts and the old crafts techniques are a significant part of our cultural
heritage and arts. They showcase the interpenetrating relationship between material culture
and human beings producing or consuming it. Artefacts and traditional objects are cultural
products as they store social, personal and cultural memory and knowledge, and they enable
the articulation of self-identity in symbolic ways. The transmission and reproduction of
traditional know-how is the “conditio sine qua non” for the safeguarding and valorising of
these cultural products. Still, they need strong interaction with creation in order to strengthen
their impact and attractiveness in society.
The goals of the manufacturing and crafts sector have changed over time. This puts at risk
traditional crafts techniques, which are in danger of disappearing, and with them important
knowledge and know-how of ancient techniques and materials to produce and restore historic
artefacts.
Combining old crafts techniques with cutting-edge new technologies opens up new
dimensions and opportunities for the preservation and restoration of cultural goods, as well as
for new and high quality products and services on the market. For instance, it has been the
case with the cooperation of the traditional north Italian fabrics manufacturing and the
European high-end fashion industry.
Proposals under this topic should address these challenges by understanding the techniques of
traditional artefacts encompassing the full range of materials (stone, ceramic, porcelain, metal,
wood, fabric, paper/papyrus, etc.). R&I actions should aim at reproducing traditional artefacts,
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traditional techniques and know-how by combining them with new, digital and other cutting-
edge technologies. R&I initiatives should identify new areas of application and markets for
professions combining traditional crafts with cutting-edge technologies. They should develop
methodologies to combine these two approaches while bringing together all stakeholders
concerned to set up clusters covering proposals for professional training and platforms
connecting, among others, researchers, craftspeople, enterprises and business innovators, in
order to bring new products and services on the market. Actions should include proposals for
curricula to train in these new technologies, combining traditional skills with new
technologies and entrepreneurship to succeed on the market, including specific business plans.
The participation of enterprises, SMEs and CCIs is strongly encouraged to ensure appropriate
and economically sustainable use of the new products.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-05: Towards a competitive, fair and sustainable
European music ecosystem
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to at least two the following expected
outcomes:
    Provide new/improved methodologies for capturing the economic and societal value of
      music.
    Develop indicators to better detect the performance of the European music sector and its
      contribution to economic and social development, as well as to sustainability. Promote
      standardised data collection about the music (sub-)sector(s) to measure the contribution
      of the EU music sector to the whole economy, the number of employed in the EU music
      sector, and music consumption on live, broadcast and digital platforms.
    Increase the transparency of the music industry, in particular the online/streaming
      business, through better data provision. Provide an estimation of the impact of music
      participation to the society.
    Provide policymakers with effective tools for measuring and enhancing the impact of EU
      policy making, in the context of Music Moves Europe and beyond, on the music sector.
Scope: Music has an important economic value, but also a fundamental societal impact,
contributing to social development and wellbeing. This is particularly relevant in the case of
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big economic and social crisis, such as the recent one provoked by COVID-19. Of all the
cultural and creative sectors, music has also been the one hit the most from the digital
revolution, the reduction of physical sales and the concentration of digital distribution in few
big players. The sector is currently bearing dramatic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis.
Moreover, the music sector is subject to the fast-evolving consumer behaviours related to
cultural content consumption and live performances.
At EU level, support for the music sector comes under the Music Moves Europe initiative
(MME) 40 along different strands (programme funding, policy cooperation, regulatory
measures, dialogue). The lack of reliable and comparable data to develop a competitive, fair
and sustainable European music ecosystem is an underlying issue. Therefore, proposals
should assess and develop appropriate methodologies and perform quantitative, qualitative
and statistical analyses at national and EU level to estimate the economic and the societal
impact of the music sector.
Proposals should aim at improving statistical data and methods for capturing the economic
impact of the music sector. In estimating the economic value of the sector, proposals should
also elaborate on lacking definitions related to national and European repertoire and on
methodologies allowing to include, on one side, the many professionals being micro
enterprises (and therefore completely excluded from official statistics) and, on the other, big
digital platforms, making music available for free via adds or selling of data, that are also not
reflected in official European statistics. The results of this research should also show the
impact of COVID-19 on the music sector, both live and online. In addition, proposals should
further research on the economy of the streaming models: while streaming (for free or via a
subscription) services are becoming a main access point for music and are expected to grow
even further in the years to come, their economic impact on the whole sector in the long term,
in particular on the creators, is still uncertain. Proposals should also include in their analysis
the impact of COVID-19 on music consumption through streaming platforms. In particular,
they should assess whether the catastrophic economic impact of cancelling live music events
has translated into a parallel increase in music consumption and revenues for creators and the
music sector as a whole. Proposals should also estimate the economic impact on the music
sector of the evolution and future trends of social media platforms and new social media
channels, as well as streaming of live music events and new forms of “home-made creation”
production. Proposals should assess and develop appropriate methodologies to estimate the
societal impact of music. They should map the various forms of music participation: playing,
performing, creating and consuming music, and their impact as a source of wellbeing across
population segments. Based on innovative approaches and a representative geographic
coverage across Europe, proposals should also explain how people engage with music in the
age of social media, internet and television across different socio-economic groups.
40
        https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/creative-europe/actions/music-moves-europe_en
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HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-06: Increase the potential of the international
competitiveness of the European filmmaking industry
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      3.00 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to at least two of the following expected
outcomes:
    New knowledge on the needs and developments of the European filmmaking industry,
     including its various sub-sectors of pre-production, production, post-production and
     distribution.
    Provide innovative policy scenarios and tools, including digital ones, for the economic
     recovery of the sub-sectors affected by the economic recession and the COVID-19 crisis,
     as well as ways to prevent unemployment in the sector.
    Increase further the competitiveness of the European filmmaking industry in the
     international arena.
    Provide evidence of the users/viewers preferences on filmmaking, as well as limitations
     to identifying their preferences, in order to widen and diversify audiences.
    Identify a methodology to better understand the users/viewers preferences on
     filmmaking.
    Promote European cultural activity and cultural diversity.
Scope: The European filmmaking industry is a significant sector of the cultural and creative
industries and an important element of European economic growth and wellbeing. The
filmmaking sector encompasses a considerable number of small and medium-size enterprises,
which contribute with sizeable revenues to European GDP. The sector’s presence in the
international arena is dynamic. Although it is in third position on the global market, certain
sub-sectors, such as the European animation sector, have a rapidly increasing capacity.
However, the lack of large and vertically integrated groups able to compete internationally, in
combination with the nationally-based companies that were seriously affected by the COVID-
19 crisis, will make it difficult for several EU companies to remain competitive in the
international filmmaking industry.
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Therefore, research will examine the state of the art of the European filmmaking industry, in
order to analyse limitations, including institutional frameworks that prevent integration and
cause fragmentation. Proposals will assess the needs and developments of the European
filmmaking industry and address potentialities for further development. Proposals should
study the dynamics (e.g. activity, progress) of different sub-sectors of the filmmaking
industry, including the sub-sectors of pre-production, production, post-production and
distribution, and analyse the reasons why some sub-sectors are less advanced than others.
Elements such as geopolitical relationships should also be taken into consideration in the
research. In addition, proposals should address the relevant legal framework that the
filmmaking industry has to comply with, in particular related to intellectual property
protection, and identify the legal challenges that the EU industry might face. A comparative
assessment of the international competitiveness of the European filmmaking industry with
that of main competitors (such as the USA, China, India, etc.) should be developed.
Proposals should identify and pilot innovative, scalable and sustainable business models,
which will enable the creators to make better use of digital and other technologies and further
widen their audience. In addition, they should ensure fair competitiveness and distinctness
within the European film environment. Research should also identify how the COVID-19
pandemic, the counter measures and the economic recession have affected those sub-sectors
and their workforce, including creators and artists, and provide policy scenarios on how the
filmmaking sector could face the impacts of an economic recession/crisis, in a cost efficient
and effective manner, and by providing fair and sustainable working conditions. Proposals
should also investigate the way in which the filmmaking sector can be organised to afford
efficiently future economic recession/crisis and unemployment. This might include the
identification of technologies that use data lakes, AI, block-chain and other technologies to
build new, user-friendly and efficient revenue models around advertising, subscriptions and
IPR protection. In this frame, research might consider collaborative platforms, collaborative
advertising systems, IPR/copyright tracking systems, common metadata standards, solutions
for vertical integration, content aggregation models, common Video on Demand platforms,
etc.
Evidence on the users/viewers preferences on filmmaking and on limitations to identify their
preferences should be provided, while the proposals should identify a methodology, which
will also assess the users/viewers preferences on filmmaking. Proposals should cover the
activity of cinematography, as well as the wide domain of filmmaking, including TV,
documentary, animation, scientific films, etc. Proposals should provide policy scenarios with
recommendations for the increase of the competitiveness of the European filmmaking
industry at the international arena, thus promoting the European cultural activity and cultural
diversity.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-07: Protection of artefacts and cultural goods
from anthropogenic threats
Specific conditions
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Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.00
contribution per        and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                        and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                        Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                        additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to at least two of the following expected
outcomes:
    Develop non-destructive methods and digital tools for the protection, identification and
       traceability of cultural goods.
    Contribute to the protection, tracing, restitution and safeguarding, as well as provenance
       research of European endangered cultural heritage.
    Produce evidence-based research to support the deployment of preventative measures
       against looting and illicit trade of cultural goods.
    Raise awareness, mobilize and further strengthen cooperation among citizens,
       stakeholders, experts, policy makers and all actors involved.
Scope: Cultural goods and artefacts are put at risk through a number of man-made actions.
The underfinancing and neglecting of heritage sites, as well as looting, smuggling and illicit
trade of cultural goods, are major dangers threatening to destroy our cultural heritage. In
particular, illicit trafficking of cultural goods – although not being a new phenomenon – has
expanded dramatically in recent years, especially in areas affected by armed conflicts and
natural disasters. The destruction, theft, looting or smuggling of cultural goods could stem
from lack of awareness, but is mostly motivated by the pursuit of profit. Very often, it is also
linked to a certain ideology that aims to destroy collective memory and dismember people’s
identity. Moreover, the illicit trafficking of cultural property contributes to the funding of
terrorism, organised crime and money laundering. Regulations and legal instruments are put
in place to criminalize the offences and penalize the offenders, but research is needed at the
level of prevention to protect cultural artefacts from falling victims of theft, smuggling or
illicit trade.
To address these challenges, proposals under this topic should explore preventive actions such
as methods or technologies/materials of non-destructive marking and digital detection of
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cultural goods with respect to material and nature of artefacts and ways to identify cultural
objects. The proposed technologies should be sustainable and detectable, preferably without
heavy or expensive equipment41. Building on existing research achievements, networks and
cooperation facilities, projects should contribute to provenance research of cultural heritage,
as well as to further awareness raising and mobilizing the actors involved, such as art dealers,
auction houses, policy makers, law enforcement agents, stakeholders or citizens. Proposals are
encouraged to include interdisciplinary cooperation with local, regional and national
authorities, as well as cultural and creative stakeholders to attract and engage the public, in
particular young people. International cooperation is encouraged as appropriate.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-08: Effects of climate change and natural
hazards on cultural heritage and remediation
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.00
contribution per          and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                          and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                          Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                          additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to both of the following expected outcomes:
    Contribute to safeguarding and protecting Europe’s cultural heritage from the effects of
      climate change and natural hazards, including rural and remote areas, coastal and
      maritime cultural landscapes and underwater heritage.
    Explore innovative and sustainable ways to protect cultural heritage and cultural
      landscapes from climate change, disaster risks and pollutants.
Scope: Climate change, through consequences such as global warming, rising sea levels,
extended dry seasons or floods and heavy storms, is threatening our built heritage and
affecting our cultural landscapes. Acid rain and environmental pollution erode and deface
monuments and historical buildings. Accelerated soil erosion threatens buried archaeological
41
         Data and products coming from the Copernicus services to support monitoring and protection of
         cultural artefacts might be used.
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heritage, while rising sea levels threaten to cover entire cities under water. Solutions provided
by research to this day are not exhaustive and could not always anticipate the worsening or
newly emerging effects of continuous climate change. Thus, there is a pressing need to
explore and test innovative ways to protect monuments, historical buildings and sites from the
effects of climate change and natural hazards.
Proposals under this topic should explore innovative and sustainable ways to protect
monuments, historical buildings, archaeological sites and cultural landscapes from climate
change effects42, natural hazards and environmental pollution, taking into consideration their
environmental footprint 43 as well as users’ comfort. Importance should also be given to
coastal and maritime regions and underwater heritage, addressing, in particular, the need for
research on wetting phenomena and repellence. Proposals can consider cooperation with
European Neighbourhood countries as appropriate for achieving their objectives and
increasing impact.
Active involvement of citizens, including young people and cooperation with the cultural and
creative industries are strongly encouraged to increase citizens’ scientific literacy, raise
awareness and ensure the sustainability of the approach.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-09: Games and culture shaping our society
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to at least two of the following expected
outcomes:
    Evidence of the impact of games on European society, including their cultural value and
      risks.
    Evidence of the innovation potential of games and play (on-line or other).
42
         Copernicus Climate Change Service can be very useful to monitor and forecast the impact of Climate
         Change to cultural heritage sites.
43
         Consortia could consider their possible contribution to relevant platforms of the Joint Research Centre
         (JRC) in terms of data, indicators and knowledge. This contribution would increase policy relevance
         and further capitalise on the knowledge developed in projects. On natural capital accounting, life cycle
         assessment (LCA) and the environmental footprint method when applying LCA see
         https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/capital_accounting/index_en.htm.
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    New knowledge on the role of the games industry and non-commercial creative practices
      in the EU to benefit society.
    Improved knowledge of legal and intellectual property rights issues linked to the gaming
      population and games industry in the international markets.
    Proposals for improving games in terms of positive impact on education, skillsets,
      responsible business models, employment chances, social cohesion and creativity.
Scope: Games are fast growing, fast changing parts of industry known for their advanced role
in ICT. Yet, although millions of Europeans play these games, the impact of games on
European culture and society, as well as on its cohesion and values has not been thoroughly
researched.
Research should address these gaps in knowledge, which include possible differences
between age groups, gender and socioeconomic backgrounds, the current situation in game
literacy or the digital divide. Games are a form of culture where new communication and
languages, as well as new artistic expressions, are being developed in particular by younger
generations. However, there is limited knowledge about the potential benefits and
shortcomings of games in terms of learning and creativity. In today’s ever-expanding market,
games and emerging forms of play are involved in many aspects of our societies. However,
research has neither sufficiently addressed the cultural value, impact, innovation potential, nor
the possible risks for individuals and society that games can present. Proposals should address
the risks brought by the digital game world on phenomena such as social exclusion,
intolerance and harassment, with a view to possible policy options and actions.
Proposals should address the role of games in culture and in shaping European societies, their
cohesion and values, with the objective of developing new knowledge and evidence for
policymaking. Proposals should address legal and IPR issues linked to the gaming population
and its creative work. Relevant stakeholders, including CCIs, other creatives, non-commercial
interests and policy makers, should be involved to ensure the research and results respond
well to the needs. This new knowledge and evidence should provide input for policymaking
and for improved practices.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-10: The New European Bauhaus – shaping a
greener and fairer way of life in creative and inclusive societies through Architecture,
Design and Arts
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
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Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Create innovative architectural and design solutions that emphasise the use of new forms
      and materials in line with the European Green Deal objectives.44
    Leverage the social function of architecture, arts and design, combining functionality
      and sustainability with aesthetics, arts and culture, with the aim of driving social
      inclusion and accessibility, as well as strengthening the contribution of culture to
      sustainability.
    Examine cultural transformations driving sustainability and explore new cooperation
      paths among relevant stakeholders, including cultural and creative industries45, interested
      in designing a new European way of life in line with the New European Bauhaus.46
Scope: The New European Bauhaus (NEB) initiative was launched in the autumn 2020 by
European Commission President von der Leyen to bring the European Green Deal to life in an
attractive, innovative and human-centred way. It is a new cultural project for Europe to lead a
whole systemic change with its own aesthetics, sustainability and inclusiveness. This is why it
will become a co-creation space where architects, artists, students, engineers, designers,
cultural and heritage professionals, and other population groups of society, such as for
example persons with disabilities, children, young and older persons, will work together to
translate the Green Deal objectives into tangible applications, inclusive and accessible
experiences for citizens and stakeholders.
This should be achieved by combining the three dimensions of sustainability, quality (of life,
of human experiences, of architecture47) and social inclusion. The NEB is essentially a project
that aims to be a bridge between the world of science and technology and the world of art and
culture, where citizens shall need to take ownership of the Green Deal. Its potential will
depend on its capacity to leverage the power of creativity and innovation by architects,
designers and artists in contemporary societies to shape a better way of living in line with the
principles of environmental, social, cultural and economic sustainability, paving the way to
inclusion, participation and to the creation of more resilient communities.
Multidisciplinary research and innovation involving relevant professionals, as well as citizen
and stakeholder engagement, are key factors for the success of the New European Bauhaus
initiative, and should characterise proposals under this topic. The NEB is an initiative focused
on achieving societal impact, therefore proposals should critically reflect on and elaborate
44
         Communication from the Commission – “The European Green Deal”
45
         Cultural and creative industries as defined in the European Commission Green Paper ‘Unlocking the
         Potential     of     Cultural     and       Creative     Industries’: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
         content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52010DC0183&from=EN
46
         Link to the New European Bauhaus website https://europa.eu/new-european-bauhaus/index_en
47
         Quality architecture as defined in the follow-up process to the Davos Declaration “Towards a High-
         quality Baukultur for Europe” adopted by European Ministers of Culture and stakeholders in January
         2018.
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practical solutions to apply its principles to the built environment, public spaces, such as
green spaces and living environments that provide space and opportunities for recovery and
social contacts, and cultural-artistic practices, across the many different socio-economic and
cultural settings in Europe. The role of quality architecture, as exemplified by the Architecture
Guide to SDGs48, should be considered by focusing on inclusive architecture and design, as a
means to embrace human diversity and ensure accessibility and safety for all.
NEB solutions should help to increase recognition and visibility of European artists and
creators underpinning emerging talent from Creative Europe platforms.
Proposals should show how they will contribute to developing new applications and new
knowledge about the design of a public and private sustainable, inclusive, functional,
accessible, aesthetically attractive and resilient built environment. The interconnection
between virtual and physical spaces should be taken into consideration, including with a view
to the emerging concept of “hybrid environment”.
Research could for example deal with heritage sites and cultural landscapes, aiming to protect
and enhance their values in order to improve the well-being and sense of belonging of
users/residents, the accessibility for persons with specific fragilities as well as experimenting
CCIs-driven innovation in living spaces.
The proposed solutions should be socially, culturally, economically and politically feasible
across Europe. Their feasibility should be verified in these terms in at least three different
settings and in at least three different Member States/Associated Countries. Practical policy
recommendations and guidance based on the findings should be produced for European,
national, regional and local authorities.
A balanced overall coverage of EU Member States/Associated Countries should be sought.
Citizens and stakeholders should be involved from an early stage. Links should be envisaged
with relevant European programmes and initiatives, in particular Horizon Europe, the New
European Bauhaus, the European Green Deal and the UNESCO Recommendation on the
Historic Urban Landscape 49.
Call - Research and innovation on cultural heritage and CCIs II- 2022
                                                                  HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)50
48
        the                   Architecture                    Guide                to                 SDGs:
        https://issuu.com/kadk/docs/aechitecture_guide_un17_vol.2_web_single_pages
49
        https://whc.unesco.org/uploads/activities/documents/activity-638-98.pdf
50
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
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                    Topics                            Type       Budgets       Expected EU        Number
                                                        of        (EUR       contribution per         of
                                                     Action      million)      project (EUR        projects
                                                                                 million)51       expected
                                                                   2022                             to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                         Opening: 12 May 2022
                                        Deadline(s): 21 Sep 2022
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-02-01 CSA                             6.00         5.00 to 6.00         1
Overall indicative budget                                       6.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                          Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                          Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                    The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                 C.
Award criteria                                            The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                          D.
Documents                                                 The documents are described in General
                                                          Annex E.
Procedure                                                 The procedure is described in General
                                                          Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                   The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-02-01: A culture and creativity driven European
innovation ecosystem – a collaborative platform
Specific conditions
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
51
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per           5.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                    appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                           selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action             Coordination and Support Actions
Procedure                  The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                           exceptions apply:
                           The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements                 Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the
                           Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions
                           under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for
                           Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the
                           Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy
                           Community (2021-2025)52.
Expected Outcome: The project should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    The establishment and development of a network of and for the cultural and creative
     industries (CCIs) 53 in the EU Member States and associated countries, covering the
     diversity of the CCIs in terms of sectors, countries and company size, with particular
     attention to small and medium-sized enterprises54.
    Well-founded and prioritised recommendations for EU policy on R&I and in other key
     areas for the CCIs, including to contribute to the 2030 objectives of the European Green
     Deal 55 , notably in terms of environmental sustainability, while strengthening
     competitiveness and internationalisation.
    Structurally strengthened cooperation between CCIs across sectorial, geographical and
     cultural borders, as well as between CCIs and other economic sectors 56, empowering the
     CCIs to assume a proactive innovation-driving role, resulting in more innovations with a
     cultural and creative base.
52
        This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for
        Horizon      Europe,      under     ‘Simplified     costs    decisions’   or    through    this link:
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-
        decision_he_en.pdf
53
        CCIs as defined in the European Parliament Resolution ‘A coherent EU policy for cultural and creative
        industries’:https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52016IP0486&from=EN
54
        See https://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/sme-definition_en
55
        See further https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
56
        Economic sectors such as industries and services other than the CCIs.
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    European CCIs ready for the green and digital transitions.
Scope: To an ever greater degree, creative and cultural aspects drive innovation 57 and growth.
Successful new digital and physical products and services need to be appealing and attractive,
adapted to cultural traits and market needs. Similarly, societal transformations such as the
green and digital transitions depend on behavioural changes, which are largely based on
changes in culture and perceptions. In such processes, the human is at the centre, and the
cultural and creative industries are key to success.
The goal is to facilitate the establishment of a culture and creativity driven European
innovation ecosystem, with the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) 58 at its heart. Such a
system should contribute decisively to Europe’s future prosperity, wellbeing, social and
cultural cohesion as well as environmental sustainability.
The CCIs are in themselves an important source of growth and job creation in the EU
economy, as well as a strong contributor to exports. Many European CCIs can be considered
global leaders, such as in fashion, high-end and luxury goods, design, games or publishing,
among others, while in other CCIs the EU punches below its weight. The European tangible
and intangible cultural heritage and arts constitute an important source of competitiveness for
the sector.
Thus, favourable conditions for the competitiveness of European CCIs exist. With the right
policy actions, the European CCIs should be able to flourish. If mobilised to form the heart of
an emerging culture and creativity driven innovation ecosystem, thriving European CCIs can
be the foundation of a unique and lasting source of competitive advantage, prosperity,
wellbeing and sustainability for Europe.
The basis of such an ecosystem is strong networks, with a focus on R&I, that foment
cooperation across the CCIs and between the CCIs and other economic sectors. Such a system
will probably experience strong network effects, therefore interoperability and scale are
important aspects at this stage.
The collaborative platform to be established should be the basis to build a strong CCI
innovation ecosystem with all actors working together, also becoming active participants in
EU R&I activities.
The challenge is to contribute to the development of a dynamic culture and creativity driven
innovation ecosystem in Europe. Proposals should show how projects will:
    Establish a strong, inclusive and representative network of and for the CCIs with a focus
     on research and innovation. The network should extend across CCI sectors at EU59 level,
     and establish connections to other important economic sectors. It should be an inclusive
     platform, which taps into the business potential of all CCI actors while supporting the
57
        In this context, innovation should be understood as products, processes, services, technologies,
        organisational or business models that are made available to markets, governments and society.
58
        Idem above
59
        Idem above Including Associated Countries
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     green and digital transitions. The network should have the capacity to strengthen the
     innovation ecosystem, by facilitating cooperation, mutual learning and capacity building
     within R&I for and with the CCIs. Important aspects of the network include
     interoperability and scale. A collaborative platform should be used to this end.
    Contribute to the design and prioritisation of EU policy actions, particularly R&I policy
     actions, that will create favourable conditions for the growth of a dynamic and well-
     functioning CCI-driven innovation ecosystem. This should include at least the following:
        Assess needs for future R&I actions for the CCIs, and set up a priority list per
           sector and company size.
        Map the needs of the CCIs in terms of technology investment, skills, policy and
           regulation, etc. to allow them to contribute to the EU’s 2030 Green Deal goals as
           well as to the digital transition. Assess these needs at national & European levels
           and provide recommendations for EU level action.
        Identify and propose key policy actions, including suitable regulatory innovation
           frameworks, needed to foment the creation of a culture and creativity driven
           European innovation ecosystem.
Proposals should also show how projects will contribute to raise awareness of the social,
economic and job creation capacity of the CCIs, for example by means of demonstrations of
innovations or novelties, along with other information and dissemination activities.
When developing the activities, projects should, where possible, link to, build on and further
develop existing knowledge, activities, networks and structures, notably the ones funded by
the European Union or developed by the CCIs. Such activities, networks and structures may
include initiatives funded by Creative Europe, Digital Europe or platforms such as “Creatives
Unite”.
Furthermore, proposals should show how projects will establish links to and seek synergies
with closely related actions, such as relevant R&I actions funded by Horizon Europe or
Horizon 2020. In particular, projects should establish links with the upcoming Knowledge and
Innovation Community on cultural and creative sectors and industries60.
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision authorising the use
of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe61.
60
        See https://eit.europa.eu/our-activities/call-for-eit-communities/2021
61
        The decision is published on the Funding and Tenders Portal.
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DESTINATION: INNOVATIVE RESEARCH                                          on SOCIAL          and
ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATIONS
Europe is being transformed by changes that impact the livelihoods and wellbeing of its
citizens. Such changes present important opportunities for the EU to innovate and shape
forward looking inclusive societies and economies, while avoiding the mistakes of the past
and promoting an inclusive recovery that strengthens economic and social resilience.
However, demographic changes, digitalisation, automation, environmental degradation, the
transition to a low carbon economy and globalisation all pose multidimensional,
interconnected and complex social and economic challenges. At the same time, there has been
an increase in inequality, poverty and social exclusion, a polarisation of skill needs in the
labour market, and a slowdown in convergence in income and employment in most European
countries. Inequalities threaten social and territorial cohesion, economic growth and
wellbeing. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the pervasive inequalities
across European societies, with significant differences in the way losses and costs of the
COVID-19 pandemic and the crisis that followed are distributed in society. To seize the
opportunities emerging from socio-economic transformations in a strongly connected and
integrated world, these challenges need to be better understood and tackled.
Population ageing increases social protection spending on pensions, health and long-term care
and restricts the capacity of the redistributive system to reduce inequality. Societies also need
to adapt to a new role elderly people may have, with their experience and capacity to remain
productive. Policies need to support a transition towards more environmentally-friendly ways
of producing and providing private and public services, while ensuring all regions and
individuals equally benefit from these transitions and that no one is left behind, in particular
when it comes to access to essential services. Access to social protection for those in need
should be ensured, while making sure that everyone can participate in economic, social,
political and cultural developments. Social protection supports individuals in emergencies that
they can no longer cope with on their own and, in addition, protect them by means of long-
term measures – whether in the event of illness, accident, need for care, unemployment or old
age. Moreover, mitigation and adaptation strategies are essential to make sure population
movements shaped by these transitions are positive for all areas, and do not contribute to
deepening the divide between regions or countries.
Education and training are key long-term factors in preventing and reversing inequalities and
promoting equal opportunities, inclusion and social mobility. However, the educational
outcomes of younger generations are still determined to a large extent by the socio-economic
background of their parents rather than by their own potential. Promoting and ensuring
inclusion and equity in education and training is thus fundamental in breaking these patterns.
In this context, it is important to reflect on the nature of economic growth and the need to
better capture the different dimensions of social progress. It is increasingly important to
distinguish between the different purposes of measurement: economic activity, social and
cultural wellbeing and sustainability, and to develop relevant indicators. This is particularly
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the case as the pervasive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the economic
performance and socio-economic fabric of many countries in Europe.
Migration has been a critical component of the makeup of European societies, one that is
likely to dominate policy and political agendas for many years to come. It is an issue requiring
comprehensive and coordinated European responses in order to ripen its benefits, both inside
and outside the EU, involving Member States, Associated and partner countries, EU actors, as
well as local and regional authorities, civil society organisations, migrants’ representatives –
including migrant organisations – and economic and social partners. Partnerships between
these stakeholders are needed to make the most of the positive consequences of migration, as
well as ensuring that migration occurs in an orderly and dignified manner. The task of
research is to better understand migration in a global and EU context, assist in its governance,
support security and help the socio-economic as well as civil-political inclusion of migrants in
European societies. It can enhance policies by providing evidence on the causes and
consequences of the phenomena and facilitate timely response by identifying trends and
suggesting possible policy solutions.
The implementation of the research activities in the two calls of this Destination will
contribute to a comprehensive and reflective European strategy for inclusive growth,
including social, economic, ecological and historical dimensions. This will strengthen the
resilience of the EU and of its citizens, and will ensure that no one is left behind, including
through the accumulation and preservation of human capital in the face of old and new risks.
It will equally support productivity gains and their fair distribution, as well as boosting social
and economic resilience that is essential to face situations of crisis such as in the case of
COVID-19. Activities will contribute to EU migration and mobility policies, both internal and
external. The overall knowledge generated, including a holistic understanding of societal
wellbeing, will feed into the design of policy strategies in line with the above mentioned
objectives and will facilitate the assessment of policy needs and outcomes in the field of the
societal and economic transformations.
The Destination calls for proposals that may help in reaching these key strategic policy
objectives in the EU. It invites proposals to do so by integrating feedback loops with
stakeholders and policymakers that may help in developing suggestions and recommendations
throughout their lifecycles. These proposals should take into consideration the stakeholders
associated to the decisions that are suggested, and should also account for the context in
which decisions are made. Therefore, in order to maximize and facilitate the uptake of group-
sensitive recommendations in policy, they should include analyses of political and financial
trade-offs associated to the recommendations produced, reflecting also on contextual changes
needed to implement proposals developed. Proposals are also invited to build upon previous
research funded by Horizon 2020, valorising its experience and findings.
Expected impacts:
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
to the following targeted expected impacts of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan:
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   Social and economic resilience and sustainability are strengthened through a better
      understanding of the social, ethical, political and economic impacts of drivers of change
      (such as technology, globalisation, demographics, mobility and migration) and their
      interplay.
Inclusive growth is boosted and vulnerabilities are reduced effectively through evidence-
based policies for protecting and enhancing employment, education, social fairness and
tackling inequalities, including in response to the socio-economic challenges due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                 Call                                Budgets (EUR million)          Deadline(s)
                                                    2021                   2022
HORIZON-CL2-2021-                          57.00                                   07       Oct
TRANSFORMATIONS-01                                                                 2021
HORIZON-CL2-2022-                                                    90.00         20       Apr
TRANSFORMATIONS-01                                                                 2022
HORIZON-CL2-2022-                                                    3.00          21       Sep
TRANSFORMATIONS-02                                                                 2022
Overall indicative budget                  57.00                     93.00
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Call - Inclusiveness in times of change
                                                    HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)62
                         Topics                                Type Budgets         Expected      Number
                                                                 of       (EUR         EU             of
                                                             Action million) contribution projects
                                                                                   per project expected
                                                                           2021       (EUR          to be
                                                                                            63
                                                                                   million)        funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 07 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-                            CSA        3.00      2.00 to 3.00    1
01-01
HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-                            RIA        9.00      2.00 to 3.00    3
01-02
HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-                            RIA        10.00     2.00 to 3.00    3
01-03
HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-                            RIA        9.00      2.00 to 3.00    3
01-04
HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-                            RIA        9.00      2.00 to 3.00    3
01-05
HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-                            RIA        9.00      2.00 to 3.00    3
01-06
HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-                            RIA        8.00      3.00 to 4.00    2
01-07
62
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
63
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Overall indicative budget                                           57.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-01: Estimates of irregular migrants
in Europe - stakeholder network
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Enhance EU migration governance by providing a rigorous review of estimates on
     irregular migrants living in the EU, including those working.
   Enhance statistics and data on migration by developing methodologies to estimate the
     number of irregular migrants across different EU legislative and statistical contexts.
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    Assess viability, costs and economic, socio-demographic and health benefits of
      regularisation programs, including consideration for their possible signalling effect to
      incentivise further migration. Propose EU and context specific policy measures
      accordingly, in articulation with the general EU migration management framework.
Scope: Irregular migrants are, by definition, difficult to capture in population statistics. As
such, it remains unknown how many irregular migrants are in the EU and in the various EU
Member States today. This is a challenge, given that policymakers have limited capacity to
develop policies targeted to a group of people that is ill-defined. This is even more
challenging in situations such as the Covid-19 pandemic, given the difficulties in accounting
for a sizeable part of population ‘in the shadows’.
Proposals should comparatively assess legal frameworks across the EU that determine the
irregular status of migrants (also considering the issue of ‘tolerated status’), and
comprehensively assess their impact. Proposals should also evaluate this against existing
statistics, analysing who is counted as regular, who as irregular and consequent discrepancies
in datasets across Europe resulting from different methodologies and policy frameworks.
Thereby, proposals should determine effective methodologies to address such issues. To the
extent possible, they should also use available datasets to estimate number of irregular
migrants residing in Member States. Project proposals should focus on at least 10 EU
countries with a geographical balance across the EU. Proposals are encouraged to account for
the sustainability of the project building a pan-European network with the potential to sustain
and update estimates through time.
Proposals should also build a network of stakeholders from different national contexts,
including, but not limited to, researchers, policymakers (from both EU institutions and
Member States), civil society and employers. This network should develop an overview and
review of existing knowledge on regularisation schemes for irregular migrants, presenting
policy suggestions by identifying what works and what does not. In doing so, it should
identify what financial and political costs are associated with the options suggested,
considering the relation of this policy with the broader migration management framework.
HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-02: Providing support in a changing
world of work and social protection
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
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Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Better understand the labour market impacts of the arising new forms of work on the
      European welfare systems, cast against a background of demographic changes,
      globalisation, digitalisation and a green transition.
    Propose policy measures for adapting welfare systems to improve their contribution to
      reducing socio-economic inequalities and poverty, to protecting people from various
      forms of hardship and to providing the possibility for atypical workers and the self-
      employed to transition towards more stable work relationships if desired, while acting as
      an important catalyst for economic prosperity.
    Draw lessons from recent policy interventions in a contextual manner and propose
      adjustment measures.
Scope: Welfare states play an integral role in reducing socio-economic inequalities and
lifelong consequences of growing up in poverty, as well as in protecting people from various
forms of hardship (such as unemployment and ill health) and in providing the possibility for
atypical workers and the self-employed to shift towards more stable work relationships, if
desired. They are also an important catalyst for economic prosperity. On the medium term
however, Europe is expected to face intense demographic changes coupled with a
decarbonisation of its economy, globalisation and digitalisation, all of which affect the labour
market and related welfare state. At the same time, new forms of work arise, and these risk
creating jobs that contribute less to and are less protected by the welfare state.
Innovative research that investigates and provides new understanding about the impact of
such changes on the European labour market and related welfare systems is therefore needed,
to ensure that welfare systems adapt accordingly and continue to fulfil the above mentioned
roles.
Research activities may focus on the interaction between welfare policies and labour market
aspects of demographic change (such as ageing, changes in household patterns, evolution of
gender roles, etc.). They may alternatively concentrate on the interaction between welfare
policies and labour market aspects of globalisation (such as trade liberalisation, immigration,
tax competition, etc.), of digitalisation or of the green transition (such as task automation,
increased career heterogeneity, job transitioning, work-home balance, need for reskilling,
upskilling and lifelong learning, etc.). For example, proposals may consider the impact of an
ageing population on public revenues and expenditure, while exploring alternative tax
structures, tax bases and revenue sources to be implemented in an increasingly globalised
economy. Proposals may otherwise investigate the impact of precariousness, unemployment
and increasing job transitions on the psychosocial work environment, on social security
systems, economic competitiveness and the overall mental health and wellbeing of concerned
individuals, including children and youth. Furthermore, they may explore the ways in which
market access and digitalisation should be shaped to enable transitions into decent work and
increased socio-economic security and the role of welfare on stimulating entrepreneurship and
risk-taking.
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Where relevant, activities should build upon existing research, draw lessons from recent
policy interventions in a contextual and transdisciplinary manner and propose adjustment
measures, or test them through social innovation experiments.
HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-03:                              Determining key drivers    of
inequality trends
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Analyse the main drivers of inequality trends, considering both inequality of
      opportunities and inequality of outcomes in terms of conditions of life, economic
      resources and health, analyse the interplay between inequalities in different spheres of
      life, and identify policy factors for tackling them.
   Identify and analyse different drivers of inequalities at the local, regional, national and
      supranational level and identify the governance levels best placed to act.
   Produce research evidence, guidance and recommendations for policy-makers, social
      partners, firms and stakeholders to tackle unsustainable trends and reverse inequalities.
   Understand key drivers of increasing territorial inequalities and identify policy factors at
      different governance levels for tackling urban and rural decline.
   Understand how people perceive these inequalities (depending on culture, age, gender,
      etc.)
Scope: In the light of increasing economic and social inequalities and regional disparities in
terms of both economic and other outcomes and opportunities, research should analyse the
main reasons for the increasing inequalities reported in the last decades worldwide and,
thereby, identify whether this is primarily policy driven and/or the result of different factors
related to globalisation and technological innovations. More specifically, research should
examine whether inequality dynamics are determined by different trends:
   pre-market processes including the transfer of inequalities and resources across
      generations (the role of cultural capital, unequal familial and background factors, paying
      special attention to single-parent families with dependent children; unequal access to
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      education and training of adequate quality and content at all levels, including early
      childhood education and care, digital skills training or to employment counselling)
    in-market processes (labour market dynamics and institutions including employment
      contracts and working conditions, capital and goods market structure; increasing
      relevance of superstar firms; globalized value chains, allocation of labour on a global
      scale, diffusion of innovation across firms)
    post-market processes (tax-benefit policies)
    other processes (public policies, tax evasion, discrimination, digital inequality,
      institutionalised racism, gender gap, effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change,
      etc.)
    the dynamic interplay between different forms of inequalities across different spheres
      and stages of life.
Research should also identify means to attenuate the trends of increasing inequalities. Part of
the reasons for the rising inequalities may come from suboptimal labour market dynamics.
Research should therefore also analyse the main features and institutional set up determining
effective and well-performing labour markets, also with the view to help accelerating labour
market and economic convergence within Member States and across EU Member States.
Research should consider and advise on how current social, cultural, and economic
transformations should be best steered, so that they are fair and socially just, and do not
further increase existing inequalities or create new ones. Research should include a focus on
territorial inequalities and the loss of economic weight of the middle-class and on the
COVID-19 economic crisis, with its unequal distributional effects for those suffering the
most. Local and regional levels seem to gain momentum, but comparative research is needed
in order to understand the roles of local and regional stakeholders in the struggle with
inequalities. Almost everywhere in the European Union, territorial inequalities are producing
what has been recently labelled as “left-behind places” in which “mainstream” development
policies fail to reverse the trends of increasing inequalities. It is therefore important to
compare the capacity of local stakeholders in such declining urban and rural territories to
implement innovative redevelopment policies based on a better understanding of the local
assets of “left-behind places”. Finally, research may assess how the digitalisation of societies
(and in particular the public sector) can contribute to reducing inequalities (e.g. reducing
digital skills gap, engaging vulnerable groups in the policymaking process, more inclusive
digital public services policies).
HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-04: Addressing poor learning
outcomes in basic skills and early school leaving at national, regional and local level in
Europe
Specific conditions
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Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Support research and policy action to address low-achievement in basic skills as well as
     in digital skills, prevent school dropout, thereby increasing social upward mobility in
     Europe.
    Examine the quality of learning outcomes for primary and secondary school pupils and
     their determinants, including the influence of high quality early childhood education and
     care (ECEC).
    Analyse and recommend possible policy approaches to address underachievement,
     evaluate successful and less successful policies and practices based on scientific research
     and evidence, as well as mobilise stakeholders to design innovative policy solutions,
     which can be scalable and replicable by other projects and stakeholders.
    Understand, explain and tackle better the challenge of underachievement in relation to
     school dropout mentioned above, i.e. in the context of early tracking policies, while
     focusing in particular on students belonging to vulnerable populations most affected by
     dropout (socio-economically disadvantaged groups, Roma, migrants, refugees, etc.).
    Explore good practices in school guidance, orientation and tutorial actions in current
     educational contexts, addressing low-achievement in basic skills as well as tackling early
     school leaving, in order to support educational stakeholders and foster school
     inclusiveness.
Scope: Proposals should concentrate on the institutional, socio-economic, cognitive, cultural,
linguistic gender, psycho-emotional and well-being determinants, as well as the root causes of
underachievement and school dropout at primary, secondary and post-secondary levels of
education. They should adopt a general life-long learning (LLL) approach, in which the
development of the key competence of learning to learn is crucial. Proposals should take into
account inequalities and the educational actions to overcome them. In addition, the action
should examine the causes of underachievement related with the availability and quality of
early childhood education and care (ECEC). This should enable the formulation of novel
policy measures and targeted actions aimed at reducing the compounded impact of
underachievement and school dropout on socio-economic fairness and inter-generational
mobility in Europe. The action could also consider experimental research in order to better
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test the tools, the methods and the organisation of education by involving social and civil
society actors, as well as relevant stakeholders.
The proposals should develop a specific diagnosis and targeted methodologies for combatting
persistent low levels and negative trends in learning outcomes in Europe, by devising
strategies and policy recommendations to improve social inclusion, learning and cognitive
skills. The action should focus on student proficiency in reading, mathematics and science,
while also taking into account the importance of supporting and reinforcing the development
of other key competences and basic skills. It should look equally at the effects of tracking
between different educational pathways and the impact on different target groups, especially
vulnerable and marginalised communities. The action should provide a comparative
assessment of existing policies targeting the achievement gap. Proposals should focus
especially on the socio-economic background of multi-disadvantaged learners and their
educational outcomes, as well as on the issue of persons not in education, employment or
training (NEETs). Finally, they should involve relevant educational stakeholders with a
double goal of allowing co-creation and enhancing societal impact in the future.
HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-05: Integration of emerging new
technologies into education and training
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Increase the shared critical understanding of the potential, opportunities, barriers,
      accessibility issues and risks of using emerging technologies for teaching and learning,
      as well considering the framework for the sustainable digitisation of education and
      learning in the future.
    Support education and training systems with research on the adaptation and
      mainstreaming of the use of digitally enhanced pedagogies, in order to augment and
      extend learning, while also maintaining its human dimension and social relevance.
    Share evidence and good practice on equipping teachers, trainers, educational leaders
      and learners with the skills necessary for the use of technology in creative, critical,
      competent and inclusive ways
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   Analyse the needs for adequate teacher training in relation with new educational
      technologies.
Scope: Proposals should support the purposeful and pedagogical use of emerging
technologies, including applications of artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR),
augmented reality (AR) and robotics in education and training, in order to foster 21st century
skills such as communication, collaboration, digital literacy, critical as well as design thinking
and creativity. This in turn should allow for more personalized and flexible ways of learning,
including online and blended delivery. Proposals should also examine the link with big data,
learning analytics and artificial intelligence, to efficiently support distance learning. Research
should focus on how different learners experience and benefit, or are excluded from, digitally
enhanced learning (e.g. male and female students, students of a migrant background, students
with disabilities, and/or learning difficulties, gifted and talented students, urban and rural
populations, young and adult learners, etc.). Proposals should tackle as well the potential
negative effects of using technologies in schools, such as cyber bullying, while also looking at
the positive effects of using such technologies to increase students’ learning opportunities. In
addition, the research should explore the effects of digital technologies on the learning of
basic skills. It should also examine the resilience and the capacity for effective mass-
deployment of e-learning capabilities in cases of crises, major emergencies such as the
COVID-19 pandemic, disruptive events as well as man-made or natural disasters, which can
undermine the human and social dimension of learning. Finally, it should also explore multi-
stakeholder involvement and cooperation patterns in this context. The perspectives of
educators, parents, and students should inform this analysis.
The action should identify barriers, enablers and framework conditions for successfully
embedding emerging technologies in educational practices, including necessary innovation
skills for teachers. It should also look at the positive and negative effects of digital
technologies on learning, educational outcomes and basic skills. This should be done in
sustainable and ecologically responsible ways, addressing accessibility in an inclusive
manner, and providing for the gradual move from small-scale projects and pilots to
mainstream implementation and adoption. The ethical use of data generated by digital
learning platforms and tools should equally be a particular focus. Finally, the proposals should
also assess potential vulnerabilities and negative unforeseen consequences, which might arise
from the use of new technologies.
Proposals should analyse the shifting role of teachers, trainers and educational leaders in the
digital transition affecting education and training as well as their training needs, including
digital and leadership skills, required in an emerging society of permanent and quick
technological change. The action should address the active involvement of educators in
shaping and co-designing education and training technological products and tools. The
proposals should also examine the support necessary for Initial Teacher Education institutions
for the development of innovative training programmes for pre-service teachers, fostering
their future digital competence and confidence.
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HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-06: Towards a new normal?
Employment and social impacts of changing supply chains and declining trade
intensities
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    Develop knowledge on the ongoing and expected changes and disruptions in trade
     patterns, global value chains and production networks.
    Identify innovative ways to maximise the potential and mitigate the adverse social,
     economic and environmental impacts of changes in global value chains and international
     trade patterns in European urban and rural areas. Research should take into consideration
     impacts on employment, job quality, economic growth, income inequalities and on social
     cohesion and well-being.
    Assess the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and related public health crisis on global
     value chains, production networks and security of supplies, and their short- and longer-
     term implications for employment and social resilience in the EU.
    Unfold policy scenarios for future value chain developments, production networks and
     level playing field trade relations, which will ensure security of strategic supplies,
     strengthen the economic resilience of societies, foster sustainable employment creation
     in the EU and mitigate the impacts of future trade and value chains disruptions on EU
     employment.
    Produce new, innovative methodologies and ways for assessing and monitoring the level
     playing field developments in trade and value chains in the EU.
Scope: Globalization has expanded the value and supply chains and shifted trade patterns and
dynamics. On the one hand, the fall of transportation costs, the accelerating digitalisation and
the reduction of obstacles to international trade have facilitated the integration of EU
companies in global value chains and supported job creation. On the other hand, the profound
transformations of global value chains, trade and production networks have raised significant
social, economic and environmental challenges, including increasing divergence in
productivity, labour market effects in the EU, decent work and working conditions in low-cost
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production countries slow progress towards resource-efficiency and decarbonisation, lack of
security of and access to strategic supplies.
Research should first conceptualise the actual global and sectoral trade patterns, value chains,
supply chains and production networks in light of the EU’s long-term policy priorities of
social resilience and competitive sustainability. It should then analyse the impacts of different
trade patterns, value chains and production networks on the EU value added, labour market,
income inequalities, decent work and social cohesion in urban and rural areas, taking into
account gender differences. Research should develop a comparative assessment with the main
strategic partners and provide innovative, forward-looking policy scenarios with
recommendations for future global value chains, trade patterns and trade intensities, which
will ensure security of strategic supplies, promote a high level of employment and tackle
income inequalities in the EU, while safeguarding job quality and social and territorial
cohesion. The policy scenarios should take into consideration analytical approaches, which
will improve the economic and environmental performance of supply chains in the EU. The
policy scenarios and recommendations should focus on EU, national and sectoral strategies,
policy measures and targeted actions aimed at shaping fair, inclusive and sustainable trade
patterns, value and supply chains as well as production networks. They should be coherent
with the EU long-term policy priorities of social and economic resilience, competitive
sustainability and the twin transition (digital and green).
The proposals should take into consideration the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and the
related public health crisis on trade patterns and global value chains as well as the impacts of
international trade disruptions, due to the lockdown measures, on added value, EU
employment, job quality, income inequality and social cohesion.
Proposals will further develop innovative methodologies for assessing and monitoring,
quantitatively and qualitatively, level playing field developments in trade, value chains,
supply chains and employment. The innovative methodologies should also cover level playing
field developments in key policy areas of taxation, competition and social policies.
The research will deploy multi-disciplinary methodologies and target multi-dimensional
aspects, developing cross-sectoral and forward-looking responses, involving external
stakeholders and experts, including European social partners, regional and national authorities
and international trade, labour market and social policy experts.
HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-07:                                 Upgrading  Independent
Knowledge on Contemporary China in Europe
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.00
contribution per     and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
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Indicative               The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
budget
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                         strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security, namely to strengthen the
                         European capacity to create and to foster/bolster the production of
                         independent European knowledge on contemporary China needed to
                         safeguard and advance the Union’s strategic interests going forward
                         through the development of fact-based and unbiased analyses, foresight,
                         and expertise, participation is limited to legal entities established in
                         Member States and Associated Countries. Proposals including legal
                         entities which are not established in these countries will be ineligible.
                         For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph
                         above, in order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the
                         Union and its Member States, entities established in an eligible country
                         listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-
                         eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in
                         the action unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided
                         by their eligible country of establishment, that their participation to the
                         action would not negatively impact the Union’s strategic, assets, interests,
                         autonomy, or security64.
Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    Take stock, identify weaknesses, and advance our knowledge on contemporary China’s
     social, cultural, political, and economic characteristics, on the impact of its foreign
     policy, and on its compliance with international obligations/laws/norms (or lack thereof).
64
        The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
        to ensure that:
        (a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
        to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
        facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
        that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
        (b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
        to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
        security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
        (c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
        recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
        eligible countries or non-eligible country entities, and are not exported outside the eligible countries,
        nor is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
        country in which the legal entity is established
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      Scrutinize new global narratives and how these compare and interact with European
      interests and values and identify possible areas of mutually beneficial cooperation
    Incrementally develop and network independent European knowledge and expertise on
      Contemporary China in order to mainstream knowledge and enhance the European
      capacity to bring forward coherent and fact-based policy-making. This should be done
      by taking into account and building upon existing knowledge and relevant networks
      already being developed and/or strengthened at the level of Member States in order to
      increase knowledge sharing across Europe, create new synergies between knowledge
      nodes, and complement existing knowledge enhancing strategies.
Scope: Europe aims for a realistic, assertive and multi-faceted approach to China (Joint
Communication “EU-China – A Strategic Outlook”, 2019). China and the EU are two of the
three largest economies and traders in the world and in the last few decades, China’s
economic and political dimensions have grown with unprecedented scale and speed. Recent
developments within the international system including, the creation of new global
frameworks and multilateral institutions such as the Belt and Road Initiative, the Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank or the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and
China’s growing presence in key international institutions, have unveiled a newfound Chinese
pro-activeness in the international sphere. Today China is a key global actor and a leading
scientific and technological power. This results in an increase in bilateral and multilateral
engagements on a vast variety of issues such as trade, research/technology, sustainable
development, climate change, foreign direct investment, and human rights. At the same time,
this rise has exposed the weakness Europe faces in its capacity to better understand China in
its various specificities, complexities, and goals and respond to its rapid evolution and new
policy directions. As China becomes ever more prevalent in a wide array of policy areas,
upgrading, supporting, connecting, and mainstreaming knowledge on the topic in Europe has
become a necessity for policy-makers, stakeholders, and civil society at large in order to
better navigate strategic opportunities and challenges with foresight instead of reacting with
delay. Because of China’s increasing relevance, Europe needs to get to know and understand
it on its own terms: not through the lens of other external sources but from its own European
perspective. The upgrade needs to be based on independent European analysis grounded in
facts and insights from science and research carried out in academia and by independent think
thanks as well as surveys and trend analysis on experiences of stakeholders engaged in a
number of areas. At the intersection of science, economics and foreign affairs, Europe should
support an independent understanding of China and its overall defining social, economic, and
political characteristics.
Projects are expected to address the following: further deepen European independent
knowledge/understanding of China’s social, cultural, political, and economic characteristics,
of the impact of its foreign policy, and of its compliance with international
obligations/laws/norms (or lack thereof). Analyse new global narratives and study how these
compare and interact with European interests and values, while acknowledging and reflecting
Europe’s diversity. Enhance the visibility of our independent expertise and mainstream
knowledge on China to increase its appeal in learning/research institutions among students.
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Stimulate and support the creation of independent knowledge on contemporary China to
increase the level of “knowledge autonomy/independence” through the creation of new
connections and synergies between intra-European China knowledge nodes from across all
relevant organizations and joint research projects.
Call - A sustainable future for Europe
                                                    HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)65
                         Topics                                Type Budgets         Expected      Number
                                                                 of       (EUR         EU             of
                                                             Action million) contribution projects
                                                                                   per project expected
                                                                           2022       (EUR          to be
                                                                                            66
                                                                                   million)        funded
                                           Opening: 20 Jan 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 20 Apr 2022
HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-                            RIA        9.00      2.00 to 3.00    3
01-01
HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-                            RIA        9.00      2.00 to 3.00    3
01-02
HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-                            RIA        9.00      2.00 to 3.00    3
01-03
HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-                            RIA        9.00      2.00 to 3.00    3
01-04
HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-                            RIA        9.00      2.00 to 3.00    3
01-05
HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-                            RIA        9.00      2.00 to 3.00    3
01-06
65
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
66
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-                       RIA        9.00     2.00 to 3.00  3
01-07
HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-                       RIA        9.00     2.00 to 3.00  3
01-08
HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-                       RIA        9.00     2.00 to 3.00  3
01-09
HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-                       RIA        9.00     2.00 to 3.00  3
01-10
Overall indicative budget                                          90.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-01: Public policies and indicators for
well-being and sustainable development
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
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                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                     states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   An empirical analysis of different processes of economic growth, identifying the extent
     to which they are inclusive and sustainable (determinants of social, economic inclusion
     and environmental impacts).
   A theoretical assessment of the linkages between the standard economic growth
     paradigm and the dimensions of sustainable development (social, economic, health and
     environmental).
   Pave out possible avenues for the taking up of a novel growth framework to support
     inclusive and sustainable policies.
Scope: The RIA should support the transition towards a “sustainability paradigm”, identifying
the socio-economic inequalities and the distribution of benefits of economic growth between
individuals, also taking into account the environmental impacts and limits of such growth.
The action should use macro and/or micro data to identify the distributive effects of economic
growth in terms of income and wealth, identifying which population groups benefitted or not
and the related determinants. Proposals should cover a broad range of European countries
(also the regional dimension where appropriate), as well as a sufficient number of non-
European countries (e.g. from Africa, Asia, Latin America, North America) for ensuring an
international comparison of the analysis, thus international cooperation is strongly
encouraged. Proposals should include any potential relationship that the transition towards a
“sustainability paradigm” might have with notions of environmental justice and injustice,
seeking out any individuals who might be negatively impacted by the transition and ensure
the inclusion of their perspectives. The analysis may take into account the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
Research efforts should identify and propose indicators to measure well-being and sustainable
development, accounting also for the measurement framework in the “beyond GDP”
approaches. In particular, proposals should reconcile the new sustainable development goals
(no poverty, environmental and climate hazards, societal cohesion and inclusion, good health,
human well-being and gender equality) with the standard framework (productivity and
consumption as the main objectives and metrics of economic growth) improving the critical
understanding of the trade-offs and synergies. Project activities can also include the
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development of indicators for that purpose. The proposals should address the following
questions: Is it possible to reconcile sustainability targets with productivity growth? How is
social and economic inclusion and inequality affected? How can we drive the transition from
a carbon-based linear, not sustainable economy to a carbon-free circular, sustainable well-
being economy? Research may develop a platform in collaboration with relevant stakeholders
to promote integrated thinking by combining financial, social and environmental returns,
including disciplines as finance, economics, sustainability and environmental studies,
strategic management, sociology and law.
Finally, proposals should assess possible ways to adopt such new economic development
framework, identifying policy options and regulatory solutions to address the trade-offs and
synergies for the transition towards a sustainable and competitive development path (i.e.
competitive sustainability), ensuring economic and social inclusion for more resilient
societies.
International cooperation with partners from third countries, e.g. with Africa is encouraged.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-02: The impact of spatial mobility on
European demographics, society, welfare system and labour market
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Analyse the demographic, economic, social and cultural effects of mobility in European
      countries, from a sending and receiving side.
    Envisage policies that counter brain drain and labour exploitation phenomena and
      enhance joint building of human capital across regions and countries.
    Identify effective policies to promote rural development and sustainability and address
      regional inequalities.
Scope: Proposals should analyse drivers and effects of demographically declining and left
behind areas in Europe. They may develop a typology of such areas that would help in
developing policies best aligned with the needs of different areas. Projects should focus in
particular on spatial mobility, including, but not limited to, urban-rural, inter-regional and
intra-EU mobility, and the interactions of different policies affecting these flows, as well as
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linkages to mobility flows of non-European migrants. The proposals should assess, in an
interdisciplinary way, the pros and cons of spatial mobility from an individual, economic,
labour market and administrative perspective in both sending and receiving areas, in order to
provide a new framework to understand these flows. Different temporal forms of mobility,
such as circular, chained, short term and permanent, should be addressed, as well as
differences between labour, student, life style, leisure and retirement motivated mobility.
Proposals should also include considerations on the circulation of workers in the EU and on
the disruption caused by the COVID-19 emergency and its impact on European borders and
freedom of movement.
Proposals should analyse the relation between freedom of movement within or between EU
Member States and Associated Countries and the development of both sending and receiving
areas, taking into account demographic and historical trends, gender, age, social and labour
market characteristics. Research should focus on practices that lead to synergetic benefits for
both areas concerned, going beyond a framework of mobility with winners and losers.
Proposals should include a focus on the return of individuals to their place and/or country of
origin, on the conditions upon which this occurs and to the benefits that this may lead to.
Proposals should also consider determinants of immobility, and study patterns, drivers and
effects of mobility in conjuncture to analyses of those individuals that under the same
circumstances decide not to move. Projects analysing these elements should also consider the
impact of such forms of mobility for the livelihoods of individuals moving and of those who
stay.
Proposals should help policymakers developing policies that contribute harnessing the
positive elements of mobility and may limit the negative effects. They should do so by
considering the different types of areas of origin, and catering for the different needs that
these may have. Proposals should select cases from a wide variety of EU and Associated
Countries, and comparative research across cases is highly encouraged.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-03: Conditions of irregular migrants
in Europe
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per     2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
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    Develop new knowledge on the conditions and vulnerabilities of irregular migrants in
      the EU, their access to basic rights and services in the EU, their activities and their
      impact on the labour market.
    Enhance EU migration governance by appraising policy responses to irregular migration
      management and their effect.
    Propose policy measures to uphold basic rights of irregular migrants and needs of host
      communities.
    Provide tools and options for enhancing the protection of irregular working migrants,
      and identify to what extent sectors of the economy rely on their work.
Scope: Irregular arrivals to the EU have been significant in the past years, often in the context
of mixed migration, including significant numbers of asylum seekers. Adding to existing
populations of irregular migrants, many are not granted asylum, and as return rates also
remain low, it is evident that a sizeable number of migrants remain in irregular status in the
EU. This is problematic for the migrants, who are easily exploitable due to their status. This is
also problematic for the host country, as irregular migrants participate in the black labour
market and largely remain outside of integration pathways. In some cases, this exploitation
also applies to intra EU mobile citizens.
Proposals should analyse the conditions of irregular migrants in the EU Member States and
Associated Countries, and, where relevant, of intra EU mobile citizens in informal or
exploitative conditions. Attention should be paid to conditions for access to basic services and
rights, as well as their activities and participation in (informal) labour markets. In analysing
the activities and work of irregular migrants (and where relevant of intra EU mobile citizens),
proposals should also analyse the reliance of particular sectors of the economy on this
irregular workforce, revealing its causes and consequences. Research should include a focus
on gender issues, and may also analyse the consequences of irregularity for family members
with different status in households. It should develop comparative analyses across the EU
Member States and Associated Countries as regards these conditions and activities. Proposals
may also include an analyses of legislative frameworks aimed to protect the rights of irregular
migrants and/or sanction exploitative employers, as well as their implementation, e.g.
migrants’ access to protection.
Proposals may also consider the role of host communities vis-à-vis the presence and needs of
irregular migrants living without access to basic rights. They should provide options for
enhancing the protection of migrants and those providing assistance to them. These analyses
could be enhanced by including a focus on the socio-economic effects of the COVID-19
pandemic on irregular migrants, their employers and/or those providing assistance to them.
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HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-04: Decision-making processes of
(aspiring) migrants
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                       states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Enhance EU migration policy by shedding light on micro- and meso-level drivers of
      migration.
   Assess how far policies take into account behaviours of migrants when aiming at
      regulating migration.
   Show how migration decisions change along the journey, and at what stage policies are
      more likely to play a role in shaping migration outcomes.
Scope: Studies on macro-level determinants of migration have linked structural factors and a
number of social processes to migration outcomes. However, there is a scarcity of research
that considers the way in which meso-social and micro-individual levels interact with each
other and with macro-level determinants, and play a role in shaping decisions to migrate, or
not.
Proposals should develop analyses of decisions taken by individuals to stay in their place of
origin (village, city, country and region) or to leave. They should therefore consider the
individual micro-level of decision-making, and should also consider the timing of such
decisions and the drivers of the aspiration to migrate or lack thereof. Proposals should also
take into consideration individual perceptions of structural factors (e.g. socio-economic,
political, climate-related) and the way in which they influence such decisions.
Proposals should also combine such micro-level analyses with meso-level considerations of
the context in which such decisions are formed, with due attention for differences across
socio-demographic characteristics (e.g. gender, age, education level, socioeconomic status,
ethnicity). Research may take stock of the available literature on the role family households
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                                 Culture, creativity and inclusive society
play in shaping decisions to migrate, but is encouraged to go beyond, looking at societal
drivers including local, regional and national politics and dynamics, events, narratives,
histories and cultural and diaspora ties.
Proposals should also consider how decisions to migrate are dynamic and adapt to different
contexts in time and place. In such sequence of decisions, different drivers of decision-making
may intervene at the different phases of the migration cycles and journeys, which proposals
should consider. Consideration should be given to the role played by the availability, or lack
of, legal channels for migration, when opting for an irregular alternative, and the information
available on such options. Proposals may also focus, where relevant, on the role of smuggling
and trafficking networks and on past experiences and traditions of return migration.
The analyses developed should shed light on the capacity of migration policies to effectively
shape and/or affect migration journeys, and at what stage this occurs or may occur. Analyses
should also evaluate the extent to which policies implemented consider the behaviours of
migrants. Projects are strongly encouraged to develop innovative and participatory
methodologies, including behavioural approaches to studies of individual decision-making.
International cooperation is strongly advised, in particular with African countries.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-05: Gender and social, economic and
cultural empowerment
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                      states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to both of the following expected outcomes:
   Achieve a better understanding of gendered power relations across the social and
      economic spheres, taking into account intersections between gender and other social
      categories such as ethnicity, social origin, disability and sexual orientation, and the
      cumulative effects of multiple forms of discrimination and disadvantages. Provide
      evidence base about the role of education and the media in perpetuating or breaking
      stereotypes.
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   Help reverse socio-economic and cultural inequalities and promote gender equality, thus
      supporting the realisation of the global 2030 Agenda’s Sustainable Development Goal 5
      on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.
Scope: Full gender equality in the distribution and concentration of power in all political,
social, cultural and economic spheres is far from being realised: in EIGE’s Gender Equality
Index 2020, the domain of Power scores the lowest across all six domains with an EU average
of only 53.5 out of 100. Gendered power relations do not only concern decision-making and
politics, but are also reflected in our everyday lives, including in the workplace, academia,
arts and culture, the private and public spheres, education and early-childhood socialisation.
While there has been much research on inequalities and power relations in these different
areas, this has not always translated into practical, sustainable and structural change on policy
and societal level. In the light of economic crises, pandemics, and the climate emergency, it is
crucial to re-examine these power relations and provide innovative solutions and policy
responses to advance women’s empowerment.
Proposals are expected to address the following: Propose a theoretical framework to
understand the formation of gendered power hierarchies leading to systematic and structural
forms of discriminations, social and economic inequalities and gender-based violence. This
should feed into developing solutions on how to address inequalities and underlying causes
related to society’s perception and construction of gender norms, masculinities, femininities
and gender diverse identities. Consider how intersectionality of gender with, e.g., ethnicity,
social origin, religion, disability, and sexual orientation impacts one’s position and rights in
society and social hierarchy, as well as one’s life and career choices.
Proposals should analyse the interrelations of power and barriers to gender equality between
different social and economic issues including, inter alia: policy- and decision-making, labour
market participation and the gender pay gap, workplace and work-life balance arrangements,
gender-based and domestic violence, reproductive rights, gender roles in education, and
cultural representations, including in art and the media. Particular attention should be paid to
differing cultural contexts across the EU and among Associated and third countries studied, as
well as to specific contexts of economic crises, pandemics, climate change, and the ‘future of
work’. The action should propose concrete, practical solutions, innovative tools and policy
responses to dismantle structural and systematic roots of unequal power distribution between
women and men on all levels and promote women’s social and economic empowerment. To
achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is strongly encouraged, as well as
the development of social innovation approaches, which can foster new social practices,
social ownership or market uptake.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-06: Overcoming discrimination for
an inclusive labour market
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
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contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Identify suitable theoretical and application-oriented concepts that foster inclusion in the
     labour market.
   Develop innovative policy approaches to promote inclusion, inclusiveness and quality
     employment of the considered groups.
   Help develop evidence-based policy responses to fight discrimination and promote
     inclusion and upward convergence in employment.
   Develop practices that facilitate reduction of employment gaps between vulnerable and
     mainstream groups, such as persons with disabilities and those without, women and men,
     migrants and non-migrants, people of different ethnic or racial backgrounds, etc.
   Identify and compare the usefulness of different options for policies and measures.
   Identify relevant actors to achieve effective results (institutions at different scales, civil
     society organizations, etc.) and explore their roles and interaction.
Scope: New and innovative ways of integration into the labour market of the most vulnerable
groups need to be explored and tested with the objective to reduce inequalities and promote
social inclusion. These vulnerable groups include people discriminated on the basis of
disability and health, age, gender, language, racial or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, civil
and family status and religious belonging. As an important basis for this, suitable theoretical
inclusion concepts should be identified and developed, such as e.g. interoperable and
comparative European indicators and standards. Research should identify barriers for
increasing inclusiveness in the labour market, covering elements such as disability and health,
age, gender, language, racial or ethnic origin (exploring for example factors such as accent,
name or looking biases in hiring contexts), sexual orientation, civil and family status
including caring responsibilities (e.g. mothering) and religious belonging, with regard to both
quantity and quality of employment. Research activities should take a holistic approach (e.g.
taking into account increasing accessibility across-the-board; availability of assistive
technologies, the level of provided reasonable accommodation and supported employment for
persons with disabilities; developing collective agreements tackling economic, employment
and welfare inequality by gender and vulnerable group, and considering also causes
originating in the education system).
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Research should address the disadvantages and barriers faced, collect data on measures to
improve the situation, and provide a thorough analysis of the impact and efficacy of existing
policy measures, such as positive discrimination provisions and quotas. For example, in the
case of people with disabilities, research should take stock of the reasonable accommodation
tools and support provided across Member States and Associated Countries to compile a
comprehensive catalogue. Proposals should also include a focus on ethnic/racial
discrimination at times of pandemics such as COVID-19, and longer-term implications.
Proposals may include also a focus on specific segments of labour markets, like domestic
work, care work, courier and delivery services, garbage collection and commercial
employees, highlighted during the COVID-19 crisis.
Research should also involve employers, including SMEs, and address their potential
concerns. Civil society organisations representing those vulnerable groups, as well as trade
unions should also be involved. The role of educational institutions, work integration social
enterprises, the family and family associations, supporting the most vulnerable groups on their
way towards inclusion in the labour market, should be considered. Where relevant, synergies
and complementarities with other projects selected under this topic and under the topic on
“Gender and social, economic and cultural empowerment” should be maximised.
Research is also expected to address the issue of social protection against the hazards of
labour market. For example, proposals could consider the in and out of employment and the
possible compatibility with other benefits, such as disability benefits avoiding the benefit trap.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-07: Conditions for the successful
development of skills matched to needs
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to both of the following expected outcomes:
   Enable policymakers to better understand, measure and reduce skills gaps and
      problematic mismatches between skills and jobs, thereby supporting the diffusion and
      adoption of innovation, the digital and green transitions, inclusive economic growth as
      well as individual wellbeing.
   Support the objectives of the European Skills Agenda for Sustainable Competitiveness,
      Social Fairness and Resilience as regards Vocational Education and Training (VET) and
      Adult Learning (AL).
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Scope: A considerable proportion of businesses in the EU report difficulties finding staff with
adequate skills and consider the lack of skilled workers as one of their biggest challenge. At
the same time, many young workers in the EU are classified as being overqualified and face a
horizontal skills mismatch (i.e. they do not work in an occupation that corresponds to their
field of study). In cases where such gaps and mismatches are not a result of individual choice,
but rather the consequence of a lack of professional opportunities, of information or
coordination, they may hinder the diffusion and adoption of innovation as well as reduce
inclusive economic growth and individual wellbeing.
The European Skills Agenda for Sustainable Competitiveness, Social Fairness and Resilience
recognises the importance played by cooperation, skills intelligence, VET and AL in ensuring
that people – regardless of gender, racial or ethnic origin, disability, religion or belief, age or
sexual orientation, and including low-qualified/skilled adults and people with a migrant
background – have the right skills to access and progress in the labour market throughout life.
To reduce skill gaps, and identify and reduce problematic forms of mismatches in an informed
manner, innovative research activities are needed that focus on understanding them both from
the supply and demand side. Such activities should look into the roles played by individuals,
public and private employers, skills-development institutions and policy frameworks.
For example, research activities carried out under this topic may cover aspects such as the
determinants of the choice of VET or study programme by individuals; the coordination, cost
sharing and financing instruments for skills development, looking into which instruments lead
to which outcomes, and why; the role of employers and work places in the provision of VET
and AL. Other researched aspects may be the involvement of employers in defining curricula
and organising training; the role of personal attitudes and gender stereotypes, information and
structural factors in the decision to seek initial or adult education; the extent to which training
balances the provision of general, job-specific and personal development skills (e.g. the levels
and gaps of digital skills in the public or private sectors). Finally, proposals may look at the
opportunities of informal learning and skills formation provided by workplaces; the
coordination at local level between VET institutions, employers, R&I agencies or other public
institutions; the interaction of skills development systems and institutions with other domains,
in particular innovation and industrial policies, etc.
Where possible and relevant, research should draw lessons from recent policy interventions in
a contextual manner, and propose adjustment measures, or test them through social innovation
experiments.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-08: Strengthening racial, ethnic and
religious equality
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
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                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Map, gather data and knowledge on the presence of structural forms of racism as well as
      episodes of hate crime and discrimination.
   Contribute to tackling inequalities by developing a knowledge and evidence base on how
      racism, xenophobia and discrimination are institutionalised and made structural, and
      impact the security, employment, education, living conditions, health and social care of
      people with minority and migrant background in the EU Member States and Associated
      Countries.
   Enhance anti-racism and anti-discrimination policies and practices by evaluating existing
      policy responses to employment, education, security, living and caring conditions of
      minority and migrant communities in the EU Member States and Associated Countries.
   Document and make visible the contributions, struggles and cultural heritage of minority
      communities.
Scope: High levels of racism, xenophobia, as well as institutionalised or structural
discrimination are linked to inequality and shape social and economic outcomes of individuals
from minority backgrounds. They also have negative effects on security, quality of life and
social cohesion.
Proposals should analyse the working, learning, living, environmental, health and social care
conditions of people from minority or migrant descent in the EU and other countries involved
in the study, with the aim of countering institutional racism in both the provision of and
access to basic services as well as in access to the job market or education. They should
analyse and illustrate examples of the relation between structural inequalities and structural
discrimination. The analysis may include comparisons with other structurally similar groups
within the same and in other countries. An analysis of existing anti-racist and anti-
discrimination legislation is desirable, with a view to identifying ways in which these might
be strengthened.
Proposals should investigate minorities’ experience of discrimination and how the latter is
generated, also by comparative research. Proposals may also document their strategies,
achievements and struggles and how their knowledge can enrich policy and research and
improve public awareness.
Proposals should focus on various manifestations of racism and xenophobia, including one or
more among anti-Black, anti-migrant, anti-Muslim, antisemitism, anti-Gypsyism. In doing so,
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they should take into account national specificities and intersectionality with gender/sexuality,
religion, disability and other dimensions of discrimination. Proposals may also include
analyses of how the COVID-19 pandemic differentially impacted such groups, aggravating
already existing marginalisation.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-09:                               Return and readmission   of
irregular migrants in the EU
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                       states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Support EU migration governance by assessing barriers and enablers of its return and
      readmission policy, and notably as regards obstacles to readmission in the countries of
      origin.
   Suggest avenues for international cooperation on migration between the EU, its Member
      States and countries of origin and transit of migrants.
   Consider alternatives to returning migrants to countries of origin and transit and evaluate
      human-rights related, political and financial trade-offs of these options.
   Develop recommendations based on analyses of stakeholders involved and financial and
      political costs associated to them.
   Develop innovative methodologies to analyse and evaluate negotiation strategies and
      positions of international actors on migration.
Scope: Proposals should appraise and consider the drivers and the evidence base behind the
EU’s return and readmission policies, and consider the outcome of this focus on return.
Research should consider to what extent public attitudes to migration in Europe are
susceptible to change in relation to success or failure in return and readmission policies. It
should also appraise, if any and where relevant, the role played by return policies in deterring
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further irregular migration and their compliance to international law in doing so, and their
consequence for the fundamental rights of migrants.
Proposals should consider negotiations between the EU and countries of origin and transit,
and analyse the barriers and enablers to successful agreements. It may build a typology of
reasons that limit the capacity and willingness of origin and transit countries to cooperate and
engage in return policies. Proposals may also include considerations of different cooperation
outcomes in bilateral relations compared to EU-wide relations on return. In addition, they
should also analyse the role played by diaspora groups in shaping the positions of their
countries of origin, as well as the role played by the local civil society in this process; primary
and participatory research could be relevant in this regard. Proposals may also consider the
trade-offs between remittances and readmission that countries of origin face. Proposals should
therefore analyse the political construction of discourses on return in non-EU countries, and
consider the way these impact on the positions of their governments. These analyses should
shed light on the interdependencies between the different policy domains that are increasingly
integrated in return and readmission policy, such as, but not limited to, development and
trade. To this end, international cooperation is strongly advised, in particular with countries in
Africa, and/or Asia, and/or the Middle East.
Proposals should consider policies implemented for those who cannot be returned, and bring
forward alternatives. Proposals should also consider if and how return and readmission
policies uphold the rights of migrants or contribute to the downgrading of their living
conditions. In bringing forward policy suggestions, proposals should specify actors involved
in their implementation and the financial and political costs associated to this. Multi-
stakeholder and multi-disciplinary approaches should be favoured, to ensure all relevant
perspectives are taken into account in the findings and recommendations.
HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-10: Socio-economic effects of ageing
societies
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Analyse the impacts of ageing societies on productivity, society, employment (by
     gender, sector, occupational group and skills needed), investment, growth, healthcare
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      systems, access to (digital) public services and public finance sustainability in the
      medium and long term, while maintaining service adequacy.
   Propose knowledge-based policy measures to reap the benefits of longer healthy life
      expectancy and explore ageing related phenomena, including (but not limited to) cultural
      factors, fertility, migration, family care, fight against ageism, active ageing, upskilling
      and reskilling policies.
   Counteract the effects of ageism and age segregation, while promoting the benefits of
      experience and knowledge accumulation drawing on inclusive and dialogic approaches,
      including through job design that is appropriate to job holders and that builds on their
      experience.
Scope: Proposals should analyse, with an interdisciplinary approach, the changing
demographic profile of Europe, paying attention to the heterogeneous trends and
developments in the different Member States and Associated countries (ideally at regional
level), taking into account both the ageing of populations and the demographic consequences
of migration. The project should try to assess how this change will affect consumption,
production and opportunities.
Projects should consider the structural changes required to adapt in the medium term to
ageing societies. They should analyse intergenerational solidarity policies as a possible
solution to the major challenges posed by ageing societies.
 Research should analyse the impact of demographic change on skills availability and needs,
assessing the risk of older aged workers to become obsolescent in a fast changing globalised,
individualised, digitalised and automated environment, against the need of investing in them
to lengthen working life and try to maintain high levels of productivity in the EU. Research
may include consideration for the assets older workers have because of their experience, and
the discrimination they may suffer in the labour market. In this context, projects should also
consider how recruiting foreign labour may mitigate the shortages in sectors of the economy,
and assess the sustainability of this against the needs of EU Member States and contribute to
improved dependency ratios. Additional attention should also be paid to the subsequent
influence that this foreign recruitment may have on labour conditions, as well as considering
the age structure of migrants and the consequence this has.
Projects should consider the opportunities of the ‘silver economy’, not only in terms of
consumption of goods, services and innovations directed to the older age population, but also
in terms of production. Proposals should consider potential opportunities arising from
adapting jobs to an ageing workforce, making the most of the available experience. This
entails considering the potential of older people for generating new economic opportunities
through their work, their societal engagement (e.g. in the third and fourth sector of the
economy) and the conditions by which older people are likely to want to work for longer, and
the impact of this on the sustainability of the silver economy.
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Together with considering such medium term dynamics, proposals may also consider the
longer-term implications of ageing societies, and factors mitigating it. Research may consider
gaps, opportunities and best practices regarding inclusive digital public services (including
co-creating digital public services with the elderly), so ageing societies can reap the benefits
of the digitalisation of the public sector. Fertility may be considered by analysing the impact
of labour market policies, family policies, housing policies and conditions under which both
men and women are more likely to have children. Projects may investigate whether the
decline in fertility has structural causes, or if the general attitudes and willingness to have
children have declined. Proposals may also look at the conditions that facilitate having the
number of children desired, and investigate which measures stimulate which groups.
Proposals should develop recommendations on how European societies need to cope with
demographic changes in the short and medium term, with the reforms needed to ripen the
economic benefits and limit the negative consequences, including in relation to societal
values, also with reference to global examples. They should also consider how to do this
while developing a long-term perspective aimed at increasing the EU’s human capital.
Call - A sustainable future for Europe II
                                                    HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)67
                         Topics                               Type Budgets          Expected      Number
                                                                of        (EUR         EU             of
                                                             Action million) contribution projects
                                                                                   per project expected
                                                                           2022       (EUR          to be
                                                                                            68
                                                                                   million)        funded
                                          Opening: 12 May 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 21 Sep 2022
HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-                            CSA        3.00      Around          1
02-01                                                                             3.00
Overall indicative budget                                               3.00
67
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
68
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-02-01: Knowledge platform and network
for social impact assessment of green transition policies
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                       exceptions apply:
                       The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements             Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the
                       Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions
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                          under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for
                          Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the
                          Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy
                          Community (2021-2025)69.
Expected Outcome: The project should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Development of strategic and integrated policies at European and international level,
      with a focus on policies and interventions geared towards just green transitions.
    Formulation of recommendations and action plans for strengthening social and labour
      impact assessments and intervention quality standards, while taking into account the
      social and legal feasibility and costs of policies geared towards the green transition.
    Provision of evidence and assessment of the social acceptability and feasibility and the
      distribution of costs and benefits of different policy instruments geared towards just
      green transitions.
    Support to the exchange, dissemination and uptake of best practices.
Scope: Fairness is one of the key objectives of the European Green Deal, as well as a
precondition for the green transition to gather the necessary support from businesses and
citizens. Yet, there is a lack of common culture, practices, and agreed indicators or
methodologies on how to best assess the social and distributional impacts of the transition
(including on disadvantaged groups). To address this, the Commission recently put forward a
proposal for a Council Recommendation addressing the social and labour aspects of a just
transition towards climate neutrality70, accompanying the Fit for 55 package71.
Proposals under this topic should:
    Contribute towards setting up a knowledge platform and network building on existing
      evidence from assessments of social and distributional impacts of the green transition in
      general, and of climate action, climate change policies and environmental policies more
      specifically.
    Propose theoretically founded practical and operational definitions of social impacts and
      develop social impact assessments/evaluations (covering at least employment, economic,
      distributional, generational, education, health, quality of life, gender and accessibility
      aspects) that are well suited to measure impacts of fair green transition policies both ex
      ante and ex post within and across countries.
69
        This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for
        Horizon      Europe,     under     ‘Simplified     costs    decisions’  or    through     this link:
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-
        decision_he_en.pdf
70
        Proposal for a Council Recommendation on ensuring a fair transition towards climate neutrality,
        COM(2021) 801 final
71
        Communication from the Commission ‘‘Fit for 55’: delivering the EU's 2030 Climate Target on the
        way to climate neutrality’, COM(2021) 550 final.
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The proposed platform should take stock of the existing methodologies to carry out social
impact assessments and/or impact evaluations, and come forward with suitable, practical and
easy to use, possibly new methodologies and indicators for such assessments and evaluations,
which would inform policymakers and help them to gauge the effects of green transition
policies (such as those inspired by the European Green Deal and the Fit for 55 package or
those funded by the Just Transition Fund and the European Social Fund+). The proposed
methodologies and indicators should cover relevant ranges of outcome variables, including
financial and non-financial costs and benefits associated with different policies or policy
options, as well as distributional (regressive or progressive) impacts and perceptions of
fairness and impacts on different regions.
Proposals should also identify shortcomings regarding statistical data and methods for
measuring and assessing environmental and social sustainability and societal value when
appropriate in cooperation with Eurostat and national statistical institutes, relevant
international organisations, networks and social research infrastructures, especially the
European Social Survey. Awareness raising programmes for general public, national
authorities and high interest target groups should be considered.
Furthermore, proposals should build a network of stakeholders from different contexts,
including, but not limited to, researchers, policy makers (at both EU and national level), social
partners and civil society. These should contribute to the activities of the project and
collectively cover social themes, impact assessment and impact evaluation expertise, and
knowledge of climate, energy and environmental policies. Such a network should include
entities from at least 10 different EU Member States or Associated Countries representing
different geographical areas, welfare models and/or transition challenges.
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision authorising the use
of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe72.
72
        The decision is published on the Funding and Tenders Portal.
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Other Actions not subject to calls for proposals
Grants to identified beneficiaries
1. Presidency event - Conference 'Cultural Heritage, a chance for Europe'
Expected Outcome: the project is expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    Discuss contemporary challenges and opportunities for cultural policies, cultural heritage
     protection and the cultural and creative sectors in general, in particular with a view to the
     European Bauhaus initiative;
    Identify research and innovation needs;
    Identify what research can concretely contribute to strengthening democratic access to
     culture, heritage protection and sustainable societal wellbeing.
Expected Impact: the proposal should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the
following impact of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan:
    The full potential of cultural heritage, arts and cultural and creative sectors as a driver of
     sustainable innovation and a European sense of belonging is realised through a
     continuous engagement with society, citizens and economic sectors as well as through
     better protection, restoration and promotion of cultural heritage.
Scope: The conference should highlight the role cultural heritage and heritage science play to
foster and improve societal cohesion, sustainable societal wellbeing and democratic access to
culture and cultural heritage in European societies.
Heritage science is a very broad and totally transdisciplinary field that brings together the
wide range of sciences (social, experimental, engineering, digital, humanities) that participate
in and enable the identification, understanding, conservation, restoration and transmission of
cultural heritage, be it cultural, tangible, intangible, digital or natural. It consists of a highly
collaborative ecosystem of researchers, heritage professionals, non-governmental
organisations and associations that transcends national visions and interests, whilst falling
within the scope of Europe’s open science policy.
A two days conference should be organised around four main topics:
  1. A reflective heritage for a resilient society
  2. Sustainable management of cultural heritage
  3. Cultural heritage in a changing context
  4. Cultural heritage facing climate and environmental change.
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Because it possesses a vast, varied and outstanding cultural heritage and can count on the high
quality and numerous skills of its citizens, Europe is in the right position to become a world
leader in cultural heritage research and innovation. It has the capacity to defend and protect its
own past and to offer technological solutions for the management and planning of cultural
heritage assets in a transparent, ethical and democratic manner to the benefit of all, inside and
outside its boundaries.
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195(e) of the
Financial Regulation and Article 20 of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and Rules
for Participation.
Legal entities:
Fondation des Sciences du Patrimoine, 33 Boulevard du Port MIR de Neuville, F - 95011
Cergy-Pontoise cedex. France.
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: Third quarter of 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.30 million from the 2021 budget
• Other budget implementation instruments
1. Expertise for the design, implementation and evaluation of Cluster 2, Culture,
Creativity and Inclusive Society
This action will support the provision of independent expertise for advising and assisting the
Commission services with the design, implementation and evaluation of EU research and
innovation policies in the thematic areas covered by Cluster 2. Individual experts will work in
the following policy and thematic areas:
   Democracy and governance
   Cultural heritage, cultural and creative sectors and industries
   Social and economic transformations
   Migration, refugee and asylum policies
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   Social sciences and humanities, including their integration in Horizon Europe
      programme parts
   Inter-, multi- and transdisciplinarity; impact assessment
The tasks of individual experts would include:
Portfolio analysis of projects funded under Horizon Europe or previous European research
and innovation programmes; analysis of the state-of-the-art at European and international
level; participation in international symposia organised by Commission services, including the
drafting of reports; assistance for setting-up a research and innovation strategy for selected
domains; policy recommendations and options assisting Commission services in elaborating
evidence-based and scientifically sound policy proposals.
The advice provided by each individual expert will focus on specific areas and policy relevant
projects' results and how results and outcome could be used for policy making and policy
follow-up initiatives. These activities will not duplicate past or ongoing Commission work
and will be essential to enable Commission services to support the policy making process in
the above-mentioned policy areas.
The individual experts' tasks will include attending bilateral meetings with Commission
services, presentations at workshops and symposia, remote drafting and preparatory work.
The experts will be highly qualified and specialised, and will be selected on the basis of their
knowledge and experience.
A special allowance of EUR 450/day will be paid to the experts appointed in their personal
capacity who act independently and in the public interest.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative timetable: in 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.25 million from the 2021 budget
2. Expertise for the design, implementation and evaluation of Cluster 2, Culture,
Creativity and Inclusive Society
This action will support the provision of independent expertise for advising and assisting the
Commission services with the design, implementation and evaluation of EU research and
innovation policies in the thematic areas covered by Cluster 2. Individual experts will work in
the following policy and thematic areas:
   Democracy and governance
   Cultural heritage, cultural and creative sectors and industries
   Social and economic transformations
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   Migration, refugee and asylum policies
   Social sciences and humanities, including their integration in Horizon Europe
      programme parts
   Inter-, multi- and transdisciplinarity; impact assessment
The tasks of individual experts would include:
Portfolio analysis of projects funded under Horizon Europe or previous European research
and innovation programmes; analysis of the state-of-the-art at European and international
level; participation in international symposia organised by Commission services, including the
drafting of reports; assistance for setting-up a research and innovation strategy for selected
domains; policy recommendations and options assisting Commission services in elaborating
evidence-based and scientifically sound policy proposals.
The advice provided by each individual expert will focus on specific areas and policy relevant
projects' results and how results and outcome could be used for policy making and policy
follow-up initiatives. These activities will not duplicate past or ongoing Commission work
and will be essential to enable Commission services to support the policy making process in
the above-mentioned policy areas.
The individual experts' tasks will include attending bilateral meetings with Commission
services, presentations at workshops and symposia, remote drafting and preparatory work.
The experts will be highly qualified and specialised, and will be selected on the basis of their
knowledge and experience.
A special allowance of EUR 450/day will be paid to the experts appointed in their personal
capacity who act independently and in the public interest.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative timetable: in 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.17 million from the 2022 budget
3. External expertise
This action will support the use of appointed independent experts for the monitoring of
running actions (grant agreement, grant decision, public procurement actions, financial
instruments) funded under Horizon Europe and previous Framework Programmes for
Research and Innovation and where appropriate include ethics checks.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
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                                Culture, creativity and inclusive society
Indicative budget: EUR 0.20 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 0.34 million from the
2022 budget
4. Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OPSI)
Expected Outcome: the project is expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Create and share new knowledge within the international context on how governments
      adapt internal working methods, invest in people (e.g. public employment management,
      new competency frameworks, in-service training curricula) and internal innovation
      efforts, and how they create organizational framework conditions (ways of working,
      rules and processes, people, knowledge, coordination) conducive to innovation in
      government administrations.
   Improve innovation capability in government administrations in EU Member States via
      related high-level strategic reflections, strategy development towards government
      innovation plans, experimentation on the path to developing an innovation portfolio
      approach in government, and possible multi-party collaborative projects between
      participating governments;
   Provide tailor-made support to national governments of EU Member States and Horizon
      Europe Associated Countries in their internal innovation efforts towards adopting open
      government practices, new ways of working, systems approach and working with the
      innovation ecosystem for developing better public policy outcomes and co-creating new
      solutions to public sector challenges, especially as regards the challenges identified in
      the respective national recovery and resilience plans;
   Explore with governments new and innovative solutions for democratic governance,
      including multilevel, of the public sector, large-scale engagement with citizens in the
      post-COVID era, building trust in and legitimacy of a modern and innovative
      government.
Scope: There are multiple challenges and changes happening all at the same time for
governments. Governments need to create radical, transformative innovations in the public
sector to be able to ride the waves in the age of disruption marked by fast emerging disruptive
technologies, radical change in climate, geopolitical, economic and societal pressures, to
name but a few. Today’s challenges are so interconnected and interdependent that one actor,
even if it is a powerful government (or economic alliance), cannot deal with them on its own.
Resulting change is faster, more complex and less predictable than ever seen before. This will
in turn greatly impact how government administrations are built, how they work with other
ecosystem players, how they are resourced and managed.
Governments are currently building or reinforcing innovation capabilities for the post-COVID
recovery, and will need to use internal innovation and reform agendas effectively to deal with
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the consequences of the pandemic and the challenges ahead, all the while building trust and
democratic legitimacy within their constituents.
Activities that need to be addressed in order to attain the above expected outcomes are the
following:
    Support governments of EU Member States and Associated Countries that are OECD
     members with their internal innovation/reform agendas based on the knowledge and
     experience developed in the international context through the work of the OECD
     Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OPSI), especially as regards the core business
     of government, i.e. public policy development and public service delivery, and
     democratic governance.
    Further strengthen and intensify the action research approach and related innovation
     actions e.g. experimentation, incubation (full deployment of the Innovation Incubator),
     prototyping, piloting, a demonstrator for innovation in a EU multi-level governance
     setting, and co-developing government strategies and/or structures, including further
     developing the OPSI learning platform and its content (in-service training curricula and
     modules, and new ways of content delivery such as e.g. innovation bootcamps and skills
     labs) with governments and/or relevant schools of public administration.
    Intensify collaborations via common (multi-party) projects and via the OPSI platform,
     consciously extending the reach of the OPSI deeper into national government
     administrations beyond the existing network of OPSI national contact points, expanding
     the public sector innovation community inside governments at EU, national and sub-
     national levels, and towards key stakeholder organizations such as e.g. the European
     Public Administration Network (EUPAN).
    Build on the OECD Declaration on Public Sector Innovation to assist governments in
     assessing and improving current internal innovation capabilities and organizational
     framework conditions conducive to innovation in government administrations.
Facilitate complementarities and synergies with other EU instruments relevant for the work of
OPSI, notably the Innovative Public Services Observatory (IPSO) that focuses on digitally
enabled innovative public service development in EU Member States, the guidance to EU
Member States as regards their Recovery and Resilience Plans that stresses the key role of the
quality of public administration for the effective implementation of reforms and
investments 73 , and the cases submitted for the European Public Sector Award (EPSA)
managed by the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA).
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195(e) of the
Financial Regulation and Article 20 of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and Rules
for Participation.
73
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/recovery-coronavirus/recovery-and-resilience-
        facility_en#national-recovery-and-resilience-plans
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The Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OPSI) was established and managed by the
OECD, co-funded by the Horizon 2020 Programme (and other OECD countries) since 2015.
Based on the results of the work and on the collaborations developed with the network of
OPSI national contact points, the Observatory offers leading edge action research, related
infrastructure and valuable support to governments investing in the development of internal
innovation capabilities, strategies and practices within their government administrations. The
OPSI shares a wealth of new knowledge and experience with OECD governments, including
22 EU Member States signatory to the OECD Declaration on Public Sector Innovation
(2019). There is no other actor with the necessary infrastructure, state-of-the-art analytical
capacity and data in international comparison, political processes and networks in place, and
with access to this large constituent of governments of the world’s leading economies that
could do the work of this scale and scope. This action would enable the OECD OPSI to
intensify, deepen and widen its work with governments in support of their internal innovation
efforts.
Legal entities:
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) , 2, rue André Pascal,
75775 Paris Cedex 16, France
Form of Funding: Indirectly managed actions
Type of Action: Indirectly managed action
Indicative timetable: Second quarter of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 1.50 million from the 2022 budget
                                       Part 5 - Page 121 of 126
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Budget74
                                                         Budget              2021             2022
                                                         line(s)       Budget (EUR      Budget (EUR
                                                                           million)         million)
Calls
HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01                                                    49.50
                                                      from                       49.50
                                                      01.020220
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-01                                                                       81.00
                                                      from                                          81.00
                                                      01.020220
HORIZON-CL2-2022-DEMOCRACY-02                                                                        3.00
                                                      from                                           3.00
                                                      01.020220
HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-01                                                     45.00
                                                      from                       45.00
                                                      01.020220
HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-02                                                      6.50
                                                      from                        6.50
                                                      01.020220
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01                                                                        93.00
                                                      from                                          93.00
                                                      01.020220
HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-02                                                                         6.00
                                                      from                                           6.00
                                                      01.020220
HORIZON-CL2-2021-                                                                57.00
TRANSFORMATIONS-01
                                                      from                       57.00
74
      The budget figures given in this table are rounded to two decimal places.
      The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
      budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
                                          Part 5 - Page 122 of 126
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                                                  01.020220
HORIZON-CL2-2022-                                                           90.00
TRANSFORMATIONS-01
                                                  from                      90.00
                                                  01.020220
HORIZON-CL2-2022-                                                            3.00
TRANSFORMATIONS-02
                                                  from                       3.00
                                                  01.020220
Contribution from this part to call                                    0.09
HORIZON-MISS-2021-COOR-01              under
                                                  from                 0.09
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                  01.020220
Contribution from this part to call                                    1.46
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02 under Part
                                                  from                 1.46
12 of the work programme
                                                  01.020220
Contribution from this part to call                                          0.86
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CIT-01 under Part
                                                  from                       0.86
12 of the work programme
                                                  01.020220
Contribution from this part to call                                    1.33
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02 under
                                                  from                 1.33
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                  01.020220
Contribution from this part to call                                          2.40
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01 under
                                                  from                       2.40
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                  01.020220
Contribution from this part to call                                    1.37
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02 under Part
                                                  from                 1.37
12 of the work programme
                                                  01.020220
Contribution from this part to call                                          2.63
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01 under Part
                                                  from                       2.63
12 of the work programme
                                                  01.020220
Contribution from this part to call                                          2.56
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-01 under
                                                  from                       2.56
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                  01.020220
                                    Part 5 - Page 123 of 126
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Contribution from this part to call                                     0.25
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-04 under
                                                   from                 0.25
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                   01.020220
Contribution from this part to call                                     0.12
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05 under
                                                   from                 0.12
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                   01.020220
Contribution from this part to call                                     1.16
HORIZON-MISS-2021-NEB-01 under Part
                                                   from                 1.16
12 of the work programme
                                                   01.020220
Contribution from this part to call                                     1.48
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CANCER-02 under
                                                   from                 1.48
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                   01.020220
Contribution from this part to call                                     0.74
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02 under
                                                   from                 0.74
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                   01.020220
Contribution from this part to call                                          2.36
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01 under
                                                   from                      2.36
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                   01.020220
Contribution from this part to call                                     0.25
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-03 under
                                                   from                 0.25
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                   01.020220
Contribution from this part to call                                          0.43
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEANCLIMA-
                                                   from                      0.43
01 under Part 12 of the work programme
                                                   01.020220
Contribution from this part to call                                          0.38
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOCIALCAT-01
                                                   from                      0.38
under Part 12 of the work programme
                                                   01.020220
Contribution from this part to call                                          0.02
HORIZON-MISS-2022-NCP-01 under Part
                                                   from                      0.02
12 of the work programme
                                                   01.020220
Other actions
                                     Part 5 - Page 124 of 126
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                               Culture, creativity and inclusive society
Grant to identified beneficiary according to                             0.30
Financial Regulation Article 195(e)
                                                    from                 0.30
                                                    01.020220
Expert contract action                                                   0.45 0.51
                                                    from                 0.45 0.51
                                                    01.020220
Indirectly managed action                                                     1.50
                                                    from                      1.50
                                                    01.020220
Contribution from this part to Expert                                    0.07 0.08
contract action under Part 12 of the work
                                                    from                 0.07 0.08
programme
                                                    01.020220
Contribution from this part to Public                                    0.35 0.09
procurement under Part 12 of the work
                                                    from                 0.35 0.09
programme
                                                    01.020220
Contribution from this part to Provision of                              0.07
technical/scientific services by the Joint
                                                    from                 0.07
Research Centre under Part 12 of the work
                                                    01.020220
programme
Contribution from this part to Grant to                                  0.01 0.02
identified beneficiary according to Financial
                                                    from                 0.01 0.02
Regulation Article 195(e) under Part 12 of
                                                    01.020220
the work programme
Contribution from this part to Grant                                     0.07
awarded without a call for proposals
                                                    from                 0.07
according to Financial Regulation Article
                                                    01.020220
195 under Part 12 of the work programme
Contribution from this part to Indirectly                                0.09
managed action under Part 12 of the work
                                                    from                 0.09
programme
                                                    01.020220
Contribution from this part to Service Level                             0.03 0.02
Agreement under Part 12 of the work
                                                    from                 0.03 0.02
programme
                                                    01.020220
                                      Part 5 - Page 125 of 126
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Contribution from this part to Specific grant                                     1.79
agreement under Part 12 of the work
                                                    from                          1.79
programme
                                                    01.020220
Estimated total budget                                                   167.68 291.66
                                      Part 5 - Page 126 of 126
 ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak---               EN
         ANNEX VI
          “Annex VI
      Horizon Europe
Work Programme 2021-2022
 6. Civil Security for Society
               ”
 ---pagebreak---                                       Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                                     Civil Security for Society
Table of contents
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 8
Better protect the EU and its citizens against Crime and Terrorism .......... 13
Call - Fighting Crime and Terrorism 2021 .......................................................................... 17
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 17
  FCT01 - Modern information analysis for fighting crime and terrorism ............................. 18
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-01: Terrorism and other forms of serious crime countered
  using travel intelligence ....................................................................................................... 18
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-02: Lawful interception using new and emerging
  technologies (5G & beyond, quantum computing and encryption) ..................................... 21
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-03: Disinformation and fake news are combated and trust in
  the digital world is raised ..................................................................................................... 23
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-04: Improved access to fighting crime and terrorism
  research data ......................................................................................................................... 25
  FCT02 - Improved forensics and lawful evidence collection .............................................. 28
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-05: Modern biometrics used in forensic science and by
  police .................................................................................................................................... 28
  FCT03 - Enhanced prevention, detection and deterrence of societal issues related to various
  forms of crime ...................................................................................................................... 30
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-06: Domestic and sexual violence are prevented and
  combated .............................................................................................................................. 30
  FCT04 - Increased security of citizens against terrorism, including in public spaces ......... 34
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-07: Improved preparedness on attacks to public spaces .... 34
  FCT05 - Organised crime prevented and combated............................................................. 37
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-08: Fight against trafficking in cultural goods .................. 37
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-09: Fight against organised environmental crime ............. 40
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-10: Fight against firearms trafficking ................................ 43
  FCT06 – Citizens are protected against cybercrime ............................................................ 45
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-11: Prevention of child sexual exploitation ....................... 45
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-12: Online identity theft is countered ................................ 48
Call - Fighting Crime and Terrorism 2022 .......................................................................... 50
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 50
  FCT02 - Improved forensics and lawful evidence collection .............................................. 51
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-01: Improved crime scene investigations related to transfer,
  persistence and background abundance ............................................................................... 51
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-02: Better understanding the influence of organisational
  cultures and human interactions in the forensic context as well as a common lexicon ....... 54
  FCT03 Enhanced prevention, detection and deterrence of societal issues related to various
  forms of crime ...................................................................................................................... 56
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                                                        Civil Security for Society
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-03: Enhanced fight against the abuse of online gaming
  culture by extremists ............................................................................................................ 56
  FCT04 - Increased security of citizens against terrorism, including in public spaces ......... 58
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-04: Public spaces are protected while respecting privacy
  and avoiding mass surveillance ............................................................................................ 59
  FCT05 - Organised crime prevented and combated............................................................. 61
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-05: Effective fight against corruption ............................... 62
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-06: Effective fight against illicit drugs production and
  trafficking ............................................................................................................................. 64
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-07: Effective fight against trafficking in human beings .... 67
Effective management of EU external borders .............................................. 70
Call - Border Management 2021 ........................................................................................... 74
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 74
  BM01 – Efficient border surveillance and maritime security .............................................. 75
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01-01: Enhanced security and management of borders,
  maritime environment, activities and transport, by increased surveillance capability,
  including high altitude, long endurance aerial support ........................................................ 75
  BM02 - Secured and facilitated crossing of external borders .............................................. 78
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01-02: Increased safety, security, performance of the European
  Border and Coast Guard and of European customs authorities ........................................... 78
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01-03: Improved border checks for travel facilitation across
  external borders and improved experiences for both passengers and border authorities’ staff
  .............................................................................................................................................. 80
  BM03 – Better customs and supply chain security .............................................................. 82
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01-04: Advanced detection of threats and illicit goods in postal
  and express courier flows ..................................................................................................... 82
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01-05: Improved detection of concealed objects on, and within
  the body of, persons ............................................................................................................. 84
Call - Border Management 2022 ........................................................................................... 86
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 86
  BM01 – Efficient border surveillance and maritime security .............................................. 87
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-BM-01-01: Improved underwater detection and control capabilities
  to protect maritime areas and sea harbours .......................................................................... 87
  BM02 - Secured and facilitated crossing of external borders .............................................. 89
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-BM-01-02: Enhanced security of, and combating the frauds on,
  identity management and identity and travel documents ..................................................... 89
  BM03 – Better customs and supply chain security .............................................................. 91
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-BM-01-03: Better, more portable and quicker analysis and detection
  for customs ........................................................................................................................... 91
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-BM-01-04: OPEN TOPIC ............................................................... 93
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-BM-01-05: OPEN TOPIC ............................................................... 94
                                                           Part 6 - Page 3 of 218
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                                                   Civil Security for Society
Resilient Infrastructure .................................................................................... 96
Call - Resilient Infrastructure 2021 .................................................................................... 100
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 100
  INFRA01 – Improved preparedness and response for large-scale disruptions of European
  infrastructures ..................................................................................................................... 101
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-INFRA-01-01: European infrastructures and their autonomy
  safeguarded against systemic risks ..................................................................................... 101
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-INFRA-01-02: Ensured infrastructure resilience in case of
  Pandemics........................................................................................................................... 104
Call - Resilient Infrastructure 2022 .................................................................................... 106
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 107
  INFRA02 - Resilient and secure smart cities ..................................................................... 108
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-INFRA-01-01: Nature-based Solutions integrated to protect local
  infrastructure ...................................................................................................................... 108
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-INFRA-01-02: Autonomous systems used for infrastructure
  protection ............................................................................................................................ 110
Increased Cybersecurity ................................................................................. 114
Call - Increased cybersecurity 2021 .................................................................................... 117
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 117
  CS01 - Secure and resilient digital infrastructures and interconnected systems ................ 118
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-CS-01-01: Dynamic business continuity and recovery
  methodologies based on models and prediction for multi-level Cybersecurity ................. 118
  CS02 - Hardware, software and supply chain security ...................................................... 120
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-CS-01-02: Improved security in open-source and open-specification
  hardware for connected devices ......................................................................................... 120
  CS03 - Cybersecurity and disruptive technologies ............................................................ 122
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-CS-01-03: AI for cybersecurity reinforcement ............................. 122
  CS05 - Human-centric security, privacy and ethics ........................................................... 123
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-CS-01-04: Scalable privacy-preserving technologies for cross-
  border federated computation in Europe involving personal data ..................................... 124
Call - Increased cybersecurity 2022 .................................................................................... 125
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 125
  CS01 - Secure and resilient digital infrastructures and interconnected systems ................ 126
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-CS-01-01: Improved monitoring of threats, intrusion detection and
  response in complex and heterogeneous digital systems and infrastructures .................... 127
  CS02 - Hardware, software and supply chain security ...................................................... 129
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-CS-01-02: Trustworthy methodologies, tools and data security “by
  design” for dynamic testing of potentially vulnerable, insecure hardware and software
  components......................................................................................................................... 129
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  CS03 - Cybersecurity and disruptive technologies ............................................................ 131
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-CS-01-03: Transition towards Quantum-Resistant Cryptography 131
  CS04 - Smart and quantifiable security assurance and certification shared across Europe 134
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-CS-01-04: Development and validation of processes and tools used
  for agile certification of ICT products, ICT services and ICT processes ........................... 134
Disaster-Resilient Society for Europe............................................................ 136
Call - Disaster-Resilient Society 2021 ................................................................................. 140
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 140
  DRS01 - Societal Resilience: Increased risk Awareness and preparedness of citizens ..... 141
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-DRS-01-01: Improved understanding of risk exposure and its public
  awareness in areas exposed to multi-hazards ..................................................................... 141
  DRS02 - Improved Disaster Risk Management and Governance ...................................... 144
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-DRS-01-02: Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction for extreme climate
  events: from early warning systems to long term adaptation and resilience building ....... 144
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-DRS-01-03: Enhanced assessment of disaster risks, adaptive
  capabilities and scenario building based on available historical data and projections ....... 146
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-DRS-01-04: Developing a prioritisation mechanism for research
  programming in standardisation related to natural hazards and/or CBRN-E sectors ........ 149
  DRS03 - Strengthened capacities of first and second responders ...................................... 150
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-DRS-01-05: Fast deployed mobile laboratories to enhance
  situational awareness for pandemics and emerging infectious diseases ............................ 150
Call - Disaster-Resilient Society 2022 ................................................................................. 152
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 152
  DRS01 - Societal Resilience: Increased risk Awareness and preparedness of citizens ..... 153
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-01: Enhanced citizen preparedness in the event of a disaster
  or crisis-related emergency ................................................................................................ 154
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-02: Enhanced preparedness and management of High-
  Impact Low-Probability or unexpected events ................................................................... 156
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-03: Improved quality assurance / quality control of data
  used in decision-making related to risk management of natural hazards, accidents and
  CBRN events ...................................................................................................................... 160
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-04: Better understanding of citizens’ behavioural and
  psychological reactions in the event of a disaster or crisis situation .................................. 162
  DRS02 - Improved Disaster Risk Management and Governance ...................................... 164
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-05: Improved impact forecasting and early warning
  systems supporting the rapid deployment of first responders in vulnerable areas ............. 164
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-06: Improved disaster risk pricing assessment ............... 166
  DRS03 - Strengthened capacities of first and second responders ...................................... 168
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-07: Improved international cooperation addressing first
  responder capability gaps ................................................................................................... 168
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  HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-08: Enhanced situational awareness and preparedness of
  first responders and improved capacities to minimise time-to-react in urban areas in the
  case of CBRN-E-related events .......................................................................................... 170
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-09: Enhanced capacities of first responders more efficient
  rescue operations, including decontamination of infrastructures in the case of a CBRN-E
  event ................................................................................................................................... 173
Strengthened Security Research and Innovation ......................................... 175
Call - Support to Security Research and Innovation 2021 ............................................... 178
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 178
  SSRI 01 - Stronger pillars of security Research and Innovation ........................................ 179
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-SSRI-01-01: A maturity assessment framework for security
  technologies ........................................................................................................................ 179
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-SSRI-01-02: Knowledge Networks for Security Research &
  Innovation........................................................................................................................... 181
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-SSRI-01-03: National Contact Points (NCPs) in the field of security
  and cybersecurity................................................................................................................ 185
  SSRI 02 - Increased Innovation uptake .............................................................................. 189
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-SSRI-01-04: Demand-led innovation for situation awareness in civil
  protection ............................................................................................................................ 189
  SSRI 03 - Cross-cutting knowledge and value for common security solutions ................. 193
  HORIZON-CL3-2021-SSRI-01-05: Security research technologies driven by active civil
  society engagement: transdisciplinary methods for societal impact assessment and impact
  creation ............................................................................................................................... 193
Call - Strengthened Security Research and Innovation 2022 .......................................... 196
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 197
  SSRI 01 - Stronger pillars of security Research and Innovation ........................................ 198
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-SSRI-01-01: Increased foresight capacity for security ................. 198
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-SSRI-01-02: Knowledge Networks for security Research &
  Innovation........................................................................................................................... 201
  SSRI 02 - Increased Innovation uptake .............................................................................. 205
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-SSRI-01-03: Stronger grounds for pre-commercial procurement of
  innovative security technologies ........................................................................................ 205
  SSRI 03 - Cross-cutting knowledge and value for common security solutions ................. 208
  HORIZON-CL3-2022-SSRI-01-04: Social innovations as enablers of security solutions and
  increased security perception ............................................................................................. 209
Other actions not subject to calls for proposals ........................................... 213
  1. External expertise for reviews of projects ...................................................................... 213
  2. Workshops, conferences, experts, communication activities, studies ............................ 213
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Budget ............................................................................................................... 214
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Introduction
Supporting EU policy priorities
This Cluster 3 Work Programme will support the implementation of EU policy priorities
relating to security, including cybersecurity, and disaster risk reduction and resilience. In
addition, it will build on lessons learnt from the COVID-19 crisis in terms of prevention,
mitigation, preparedness and capacity building for crises (including health crises) and in
improving cross-sectoral aspects of such crises. In this respect, this Work Programme will
therefore also ensure synergies and coordination of actions with other parts of Pillar 2.
It will support the European Commission policy priority ‘Promoting the European way of
life’, as well as ‘European Green Deal’ and ‘Europe fit for the digital age’. It will in
particular support the implementation of the Security Union Strategy 1 , the Counter-
Terrorism Agenda2, the border management and security dimensions of the New Pact on
Migration and Asylum 3 , EU Disaster Risk Reduction policies, the new EU Climate
Adaptation Strategy 4 , the EU Maritime Security Strategy and the EU Cybersecurity
Strategy5.
Within the framework of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan, the Cluster 3 expected impacts
will contribute in particular to the impact areas “A resilient EU prepared for emerging
threats” and “A secure, open and democratic EU society” of Key Strategic Orientation D
“Creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society” and to the impact
area “Secure and cybersecure digital technology” of Key Strategic Orientation A “Promoting
an open strategic autonomy by leading the development of key digital, enabling and emerging
technologies, sectors and value chains”.
Meeting capability requirements
Projects will develop new knowledge, technologies and/or other solutions to the identified
requirements. Projects will involve practitioner end-users (usually relevant national
authorities) alongside researchers and industry. Such involvement has shown its worth in
ensuring that the results of R&I are targeted to practitioner needs 6. Relevant requirements are
specified for the different topics.
Projects need to show their contribution to a wider needs-driven capability development cycle
that triggers research, steers its implementation and capitalises on its outcomes. This means
that projects need to show, on the one hand, an understanding of the capability requirement
1
         COM(2020) 605 final.
2
         COM(2020) 795 final.
3
         COM(2020) 609 final.
4
         COM(2021) 82 final.
5
         JOIN(2020) 18 final.
6
         Such as capability gaps identified by IFAFRI – International Forum to Advance First Responder
         Innovation www.internationalresponderforum.org
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that has led to the R&I need, and, on the other hand, a strategy for ensuring the uptake of the
outcomes including opportunities for using relevant EU funds for funding deployment.
Ensuring ethical outcomes that are supported by society
In the field of security research it is particularly important that projects take into account
human factors and the societal context, and ensure the respect of fundamental rights,
including privacy and protection of personal data. Citizens and communities should be
engaged, for example in assessing the societal impact of security technologies, so as to
improve the quality of results and to build public trust. SSH (social sciences and humanities)
disciplines and social innovation need to be better integrated into security research. Again,
relevant requirements are specified for the different topics. Social innovations should also be
considered, notably as new tools, ideas and methods leading to active citizen engagement and
as drivers of social change and social ownership.
The six Destinations
This Work Programme comprises the following six Destinations that (i) build on the structure
of the Horizon 2020 work programmes for security research and (ii) respond to the following
expected impacts of Cluster 3 in the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan:
1. Destination – Better protect the EU and its citizens against Crime and Terrorism
Expected Impact: “Crime and terrorism are more effectively tackled, while respecting
fundamental rights, […] thanks to more powerful prevention, preparedness and response, a
better understanding of related human, societal and technological aspects, and the
development of cutting-edge capabilities for police authorities […] including measures
against cybercrime.”
2.Destination – Effective management of EU external borders
Expected Impact: “Legitimate passengers and shipments travel more easily into the EU, while
illicit trades, trafficking, piracy, terrorist and other criminal acts are prevented, due to
improved air, land and sea border management and maritime security including better
knowledge on social factors.”
3. Destination – Resilient infrastructure
Expected Impact: “[…] resilience and autonomy of physical and digital infrastructures are
enhanced and vital societal functions are ensured, thanks to more powerful prevention,
preparedness and response, a better understanding of related human, societal and
technological aspects, and the development of cutting-edge capabilities for […] infrastructure
operators […]”
4.Destination – Increased Cybersecurity
Expected impact: “Increased cybersecurity and a more secure online environment by
developing and using effectively EU and Member States’ capabilities in digital technologies
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supporting protection of data and networks aspiring to technological sovereignty in this field,
while respecting privacy and other fundamental rights; this should contribute to secure
services, processes and products, as well as to robust digital infrastructures capable to resist
and counter cyber-attacks and hybrid threats.”
5. Destination - A Disaster-Resilient Society for Europe
Expected Impact: “Losses from natural, accidental and man-made disasters are reduced
through enhanced disaster risk reduction based on preventive actions, better societal
preparedness, and resilience and improved disaster risk management in a systemic way.”
6. Destination – SSRI (Strengthened Security Research and Innovation)
In addition, a number of cross-cutting R&I actions will support all of the above expected
impacts:
   “generate knowledge and value in cross-cutting matters in order to avoid sector specific
      bias and to break silos that impede the proliferation of common security solutions;
   strengthen key pillars of the research and innovation cycle to increase the effectiveness
      and efficiency of its contribution to the development of security capabilities;
   support innovation uptake and go-to-market strategies with the aim of paving the way
      towards an increased industrialisation, commercialisation, adoption and deployment of
      successful outcomes of security research, thus contributing to reinforce the
      competitiveness of EU security industry and safeguard the security of supply of EU
      products in key security areas.”
Under each Destination, before the texts of the topics themselves, there is an important
introductory part that explains the relevant policy objectives, that specifies any elements to be
taken into account for all the topics of the Destination -including international cooperation-
and that identifies specific expected impacts. Proposals should set out a credible pathway to
contributing to those specific expected impacts.
International cooperation
Security research under Cluster 3 requires a specific approach towards international
cooperation to achieve the right balance between the need to exchange with key international
partners (including with relevant international organisations) while at the same time ensuring
the protection of the EU security interest and respecting the need for open strategic autonomy
in critical sectors.
Within the Destination ‘A Disaster-Resilient Society for Europe’ there is an established
culture of comprehensive collaboration with third countries under the different security
research programmes, taking due account of the trans-national dimension of different natural
and man-made hazards and their drivers (such as climate change). Therefore, in this
Destination, international cooperation will be strongly encouraged given the value of
cooperating internationally in particular in developing technologies for first responders.
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Cooperation can include sharing knowledge, experiences, expertise and mutual learning on
disaster-risk management.
As for the Destinations relating to protecting against crime and terrorism, to border
management, to infrastructure resilience and to cybersecurity, international cooperation is
explicitly encouraged only where appropriate and specifically supporting ongoing
collaborative activities. Due to the sensitive nature of most projects in those areas and the
obvious interest of the EU to ensure confidentiality of projects results, as well as maintaining
the ability to maintain strategic autonomy in critical domains of security, such explicit
cooperation will need to be assessed at the level of topics and limited to selected international
partners only. In line with the overall strategic approach to Research and Innovation policy,
cooperation would need to be based on reciprocity and contribute to wider strategic goals of
the EU.
Synergies with other funding instruments
In this cluster, the main synergies to be sought are sequential with Horizon Europe funding
R&I activities being followed by final development and market uptake and deployment of
relevant research results for which funding will in particular be sought from:
   Integrated Border Management Fund (IBMF), consisting of the Border Management and
      Visa Instrument (BMVI) and the Customs Control Equipment Instrument – for border
      capabilities.
   Internal Security Fund (ISF) – for law enforcement capabilities.
   Digital Europe Programme – for cybersecurity capabilities and law enforcement digital
      capabilities. The programme will speed up the take-up of R&I projects in the area of
      Artificial Intelligence, High Performance computer and cyber security. The programme
      will also offer infrastructure to the research community.
   Cohesion policy, in particular through the European Regional Development Fund
      (ERDF) – notably managing disaster risks, adapting to climate change, protecting public
      spaces and utilities (including for energy, transport) and cybersecurity, as well as
      interregional cooperation on these issues.
Synergies with other funds should also be articulated in a way that accelerates market uptake
of successful outcomes of R&I actions. To that end, the complementarity of funding
instruments should be considered under a wider capability development cycle.
While actions under Horizon Europe should have an exclusive focus on civilian applications,
synergies should be sought with the activities funded by defence research under the European
Defence Fund while avoiding duplication.
In addition, synergies can be sought with the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM),
including via opportunities such as the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network,
Prevention & Preparedness projects, developing additional reserve capacities under rescEU
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for major and simultaneous disasters, and by co-financing the deployment of Member States’
national response capacities.
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Better protect the EU and its citizens against Crime and Terrorism
One of the main purposes of this Destination is to contribute significantly to the
implementation of the Security Union Strategy7, i.e. to include Research and Innovation as
one of the key building blocks enabling the achievement of the overall policy objectives. As
such, the topics in this Destination aim at fully addressing all the key issues underlined in the
Strategy. In addition, this Destination touches upon the Counter-Terrorism Agenda8 as well
as the security dimension of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum9, notably the issues
related to criminal networks. More specifically, this Destination includes research topics
aiming at fighting crime and terrorism more effectively, particularly through better prevention
of crime and enhanced investigation capabilities concerning both traditional crime and
cybercrime, as well as at better protection of citizens from violent attacks in public spaces,
through more effective prevention, preparedness and response while preserving the open
nature of such spaces. This Destination will develop the knowledge and technologies to be
taken up by the Internal Security Fund, as a complementary instrument that will enable
exploitation of research results and final delivery of the required tools to security
practitioners.
The goal of this Destination is to bring improved prevention, investigation and mitigation of
impacts of crime, including of new/emerging criminal modi operandi (such as those
exploiting digitisation and other technologies). Such an approach needs to be based on a
deeper knowledge of human and social aspects of relevant societal challenges, such as child
sexual exploitation, violent radicalisation, trafficking of human beings, disinformation and
fake news, corruption and cyber criminality, including support to victims. Research can
further help to transpose such knowledge into the operational activities of Police
Authorities10, as well as civil society organisations.
Research and innovation will support Police Authorities and, when applicable, other relevant
end-users in better tackling crime, including cybercrime, and terrorism as well as different
forms of serious and organised crime (such as smuggling, money laundering, identity theft,
counterfeiting of products, trafficking of illicit drugs and of falsified/substandard medicines,
environmental crime or illicit trafficking of cultural goods) by developing new technologies,
tools and systems (including digital tools, e.g. artificial intelligence, interoperability solutions,
etc.). This support refers especially to capabilities to analyse in near-real-time large volumes
of data to forestall criminal activities, or to combat disinformation and fake news with
implications for security.
7
        COM(2020) 605 final.
8
        COM(2020) 795 final.
9
        COM(2020) 609 final.
10
        In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
        national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
        detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
        police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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In addition to improved knowledge, preparedness, prevention and response, projects within
this Destination will deliver operational tools for enhanced criminal investigation capabilities
for Police Authorities and, when applicable, other relevant end-users. Thus, this Destination
covers a broad range of activities from forensics, big data management to the investigation of
cybercriminal activities, improved cross-border cooperation and exchange of evidence.
With regards to CBRN-E (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives) threats,
research and innovation within this Destination allows, among others, to generate knowledge
for counter-terrorism on the continuously evolving methods related to dangerous chemicals,
contaminants and unknown substances, and the development of technologies to counter and
respond to related incidents.
Furthermore, this Destination aims at improved security of public spaces and public safety,
while at the same time preserving the open nature of urban public spaces. All measures to be
explored by research and innovation in this area should ensure that citizens can continue their
daily lives without major intrusions. To achieve higher security for public space, research in
this Destination will identify concepts for prevention, preparedness and response of urban
actors (city authorities, Police Authorities, public/private service providers, first responders
and citizens) in response to threats of terrorist attacks in public spaces. Innovations can be
used to design/improve public spaces to be more secure, also with the help of advanced
vulnerability assessments. They can increase the capacity to protect spaces against attacks
with manned or unmanned vehicles and can help to detect firearms and other weapons, as
well as CBRN-E materials being brought into public spaces. In case attacks cannot be
prevented, enhanced effectiveness of mitigation measures including through strategies to
reduce vulnerability and strengthening the resilience of possible targets have the potential to
reduce the potential impacts of such attacks. Advanced data analysis in real time can critically
reduce the time-to-react for first responders.
This Destination will also promote, whenever appropriate and applicable, the proposals with:
   the involvement of the Police Authorities in their core,
   a clear strategy on how they will adapt to the fast-evolving environment in the area of
     fight against crime and terrorism (evolution of related technologies, evolution of
     criminal modi operandi and business models related to these technologies, etc.),
   a minimum-needed platform, i.e. tools that are modular and can be easily plugged into
     another platform (in order to avoid platform multiplication),
   tools that are developed and validated against practitioners’ needs and requirements,
   a robust plan on how they will build on the relevant predecessor projects,
   the (active) involvement of citizens, voluntary organisations and communities,
   education and training aspects, especially for Police Authorities and other relevant
     practitioners, as well as information sharing and awareness raising of the citizens,
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   a clear strategy on the uptake of the outcomes, defined in consultation with the involved
      stakeholders,
   a well-developed plan both on how research data for training and testing will be
      obtained, in order to reach the requested Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), and on
      how the specific TRL will be measured.
The Destination will also create opportunities for collaboration on research and innovation
among different communities of practitioners operating in the area of fighting crime and
terrorism, such as Police Authorities, border and coast guard authorities, and customs
authorities. International cooperation is also encouraged where appropriate and relevant.
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
to the following expected impact of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2021-2024: “Crime
and terrorism are more effectively tackled, while respecting fundamental rights, […] thanks
to more powerful prevention, preparedness and response, a better understanding of related
human, societal and technological aspects, and the development of cutting-edge capabilities
for police authorities […] including measures against cybercrime.”
More specifically, proposals should contribute to the achievement of one or more of the
following impacts:
   Modern information analysis for Police Authorities, allowing them to efficiently fight
      criminals and terrorists who use novel technologies;
   Improved forensics and lawful evidence collection, increasing the capabilities to
      apprehend criminals and terrorists and bring them to the court;
   Enhanced prevention, detection and deterrence of societal issues related to various forms
      of crime, including cybercrime, and terrorism, such as violent radicalisation, domestic
      and sexual violence, or juvenile offenders;
   Increased security of citizens against terrorism, including in public spaces (while
      preserving their quality and openness);
   Improved intelligence picture and enhanced prevention, detection and deterrence of
      various forms of organised crime;
   More secure cyberspace for citizens, especially children, through a robust prevention,
      detection, and protection from cybercriminal activities.
Furthermore, in order to accomplish the objectives of this Destination, additional eligibility
conditions have been defined. They refer to the active involvement of relevant security
practitioners or end-users.
Proposals involving earth observation are encouraged to primarily make use of Copernicus
data, services and technologies.
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Projects funded under this Destination are invited to closely cooperate with other EC-chaired
or funded initiatives in the relevant domains, such as the Networks of Practitioners projects
funded under H2020 Secure Societies work programmes, the Knowledge Networks for
Security Research & Innovation funded under the Horizon Europe Cluster 3 Work
Programme (”Strengthened Security Research and Innovation” Destination), or the
Community of Users for Secure, Safe and Resilient Societies (future CERIS –Community of
European Research and Innovation for Security).
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
             Call                           Budgets (EUR million)            Deadline(s)
                                          2021                    2022
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01 56.00                                              23 Nov 2021
HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01                                     31.00          23 Nov 2022
Overall indicative budget          56.00                    31.00
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Call - Fighting Crime and Terrorism 2021
                                                                         HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)11
                Topics                       Type         Budgets           Expected EU           Number
                                               of           (EUR          contribution per            of
                                            Action        million)          project (EUR           projects
                                                                              million)12          expected
                                                             2021                                   to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 30 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 23 Nov 2021
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-01 IA                           16.00          Around 5.00                1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-03 IA                                          Around 4.00                1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-04 IA                                          Around 7.00                1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-02 RIA                          5.00           Around 5.00                1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-05 IA                           5.00           Around 5.00                1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-06 IA                           6.00           Around 3.00                2
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-07 IA                           3.00           Around 3.00                1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-08 RIA                          5.00           Around 5.00                1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-09 IA                           10.00          Around 5.00                1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-10 IA                                          Around 5.00                1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-11 RIA                          6.00           Around 3.00                1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-12 RIA                                         Around 3.00                1
11
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
12
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Overall indicative budget                             56.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                          Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                          Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                    The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                 C.
Award criteria                                            The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                          D.
Documents                                                 The documents are described in General
                                                          Annex E.
Procedure                                                 The procedure is described in General
                                                          Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                   The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
FCT01 - Modern information analysis for fighting crime and terrorism
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-01: Terrorism and other forms of serious crime
countered using travel intelligence
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                       requesting different amounts.
Indicative             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 16.00 million.13
budget
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
13
        This budget is shared with topic HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-03, HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-04
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conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                       This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3
                       Police Authorities 14 from at least 3 different EU Member States or
                       Associated countries. For these participants, applicants must fill in the
                       table “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the application form
                       with all the requested information, following the template provided in the
                       submission IT tool.
                       Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                       background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                       SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                       classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                       apply:
                       To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                       only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                       ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                       thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
outcomes:
    European security practitioners benefit from better, modern and validated tools and
     training curricula on the use of travel intelligence to prevent, detect and investigate
     terrorism and other forms of serious crime (e.g., child sexual exploitation, drugs, human
     trafficking);
    European common approaches are made available to policy-makers and security
     practitioners for analysing risks/threats, and identifying and deploying relevant security
     measures while exploiting travel intelligence information, which take into account legal
     and ethical rules of operation, cost-benefit considerations, as well as fundamental rights
     such as privacy, protection of personal data and free movement of persons;
    Improved support in shaping and tuning of regulation on travel intelligence by security
     policy-makers;
14
        In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
        national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
        detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
        police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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    Improved understanding of the capacity and usefulness of travel intelligence in tackling
      terrorism and other forms of serious crime, and of the key challenges related to it.
Scope: Travel intelligence is intended here as all the information available in different
systems and databases related to travellers. In particular, the research should focus on
Passenger Name Record (PNR) and Advance Passenger Information (API) data, but the use of
other data available in the context of the interoperability should also be envisaged.
PNR data are unverified information provided by passengers and collected by air carriers to
enable the reservations and check-in processes. It may contain, for example, dates of travel,
travel itinerary, ticket information, contact details, travel agent, means of payment, seat
number and baggage information. As such, PNR is an important law enforcement tool
allowing to prevent, detect and investigate terrorism and other forms of serious crime, such as
drugs, human trafficking, child sexual exploitation and others.
API is commonly understood as the information of a passenger collected at check-in or at the
time of online check-in. API information includes biographic data of the passenger, ideally
captured from the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) of their travel documents, as well as some
information related to their travel.
Innovation is needed on methods to facilitate the data collection and their quality check as
well as to combine different data sets, to sift through (and learn from) vast amounts of data for
risk analysis, and to streamline the identity management of passengers, while taking care of
the data protection and fundamental rights. Whereas, for instance, the blockchain technology
is already being used in the logistics and supply chain management processes with promising
results, there is little or no knowledge and/or evidence whether this technology could
significantly improve customs/police passenger targeting capacity. The issue of having
representative data sets for training and testing should be addressed as well. Namely,
proposals should take into account the sensitivity of the travel intelligence data and which
competent authorities are entitled to request or receive these data. Some of these authorities,
notably Passenger Information Units (PIU)15, should be actively involved in the consortia.
Activities could be conducted utilizing various technological approaches (such as - but not
limited to - Artificial Intelligence, neural networks, Big Data analysis, blockchain technology,
etc.) as long as the developed solutions deliver the expected improved capabilities. The use of
pseudonymisation techniques, rendering personal data unreadable yet searchable, should also
be envisaged.
Coordination with successful proposals from topic HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-04 (on
training and testing data issue as well as on pseudonymisation techniques) should be
envisaged so as to avoid duplication and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities
for increased impact. Proposed activities that could also link with security research for border
management (for example, border checks) would be an asset. The testing and/or piloting of
the tools and solutions developed in a real setting with one or more Police Authorities and
other relevant authorities is an asset. Applicants should plan to facilitate the uptake and
15
         For more information, see SWD(2020) 128 final
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replication across setting and up-scaling of the capabilities - i.e. solutions, tools, processes et
al. – to be developed by the project.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-02: Lawful interception using new and emerging
technologies (5G & beyond, quantum computing and encryption)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                        requesting different amounts.
Indicative              The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
budget
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                        This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3
                        Police Authorities 16 from at least 3 different EU Member States or
                        Associated countries. For these participants, applicants must fill in the
                        table “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the application form
                        with all the requested information, following the template provided in the
                        submission IT tool.
                        Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                        background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                        SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                        classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level         General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
outcomes:
16
         In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
         national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
         detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
         police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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    European Police Authorities benefit from better, modern and validated tools and training
      curricula to anticipate and cope with new and emerging technologies (notably 5G and
      beyond, as well as application-level communication, quantum computers and potential of
      quantum technology to encrypt communications) and facilitate their (specialised) daily
      work on prevention, detection and investigation of criminal and terrorist offences;
    European common approaches are made available to policy-makers and security
      practitioners for analysing risks/threats, and identifying and deploying relevant security
      measures while performing lawful interception in this new age, which take into account
      legal and ethical rules of operation, cost-benefit considerations, as well as fundamental
      rights such as privacy, protection of personal data and free movement of persons;
    Improved support in shaping and tuning of regulation by security policy-makers on
      lawful interception in case of new communication capabilities abused by criminals and
      terrorists, including on procedures and rules for the exchange of data retrieved from the
      lawful interception between Member States and on international scale, taking into
      account the court-proof nature of the evidence;
    Increased contribution of Police Authorities to standardisation activity in relation with
      lawful interception and access to digital evidences, by fostering a European approach to
      the challenges posed by new technologies in the field of communication for the police
      and the judiciary;
    Improved understanding of the capacity and usefulness of lawful interception in tackling
      terrorism and other forms of crime, and of the key challenges related to its capability to
      cope with new and emerging technologies.
Scope: Software-based communication technologies such as 5G and beyond will bring many
benefits but also pose a number of new challenges for the police and the judiciary. In
particular, lawful interception systems will have to adapt to the increased use of encryption
including end-to-end encryption, to edge computing that might limit the availability and
accessibility to relevant data and to slicing technology that will multiply the number of virtual
operators. In addition, high bandwidth access networks pose the challenge for police and the
judiciary to be able to cope with tremendous amount of data and will accelerate the switch to
application level communication that are commonly used by criminals. Finally, quantum
computers could break current encryption standards, as well as be used to develop new ways
of encrypting communications for illicit purposes, making them impenetrable to interception.
Thus, there is a strong need to adequately tackle challenges for Police Authorities stemming
from all these emerging developments as well as to make sure that lawful interception keeps
track with these evolutions, respecting applicable legislation and fundamental rights such as
personal data protection and privacy. Research activities proposed within this topic should
address lawful interception challenges of Police Authorities related to both software based
technologies of communication including 5G (and beyond) and quantum computers in a
balanced way.
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In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-03: Disinformation and fake news are combated and
trust in the digital world is raised
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                        requesting different amounts.
Indicative              The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 16.00 million.17
budget
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                        This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3
                        Police Authorities 18 from at least 3 different EU Member States or
                        Associated countries. For these participants, applicants must fill in the
                        table “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the application form
                        with all the requested information, following the template provided in the
                        submission IT tool.
                        Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                        background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                        SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                        classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level         General Annex B.
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                        apply:
                        To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                        only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                        ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
17
         This budget is shared with topic HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-01, HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-04
18
         In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
         national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
         detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
         police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
                                               Part 6 - Page 23 of 218
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                     thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
outcomes:
    European Police Authorities, other relevant practitioners and (social) media
      organisations are provided with better, modern and validated tools and training materials
      to tackle those activities related to disinformation and fake news that are considered as
      crime or could lead to a crime and that are supported by advanced digital technologies;
    European common approaches are made available to policy-makers and security
      practitioners for analysing risks/threats, and identifying and deploying relevant security
      measures related to disinformation and fake news, which take into account legal and
      ethical rules of operation, cost-benefit considerations, as well as fundamental rights such
      as privacy and protection of personal data;
    Improved understanding of the cultural and societal aspects of disinformation and fake
      news, as well as on the key challenges related to combating it;
    Strengthened key personnel's knowledge regarding disinformation campaigns;
    Enhanced perception of security thanks to an increased awareness of the citizens about
      the value of verified and trustworthy data sources and their content, obtained through
      education and training materials on trustable sources of information.
Scope: Combating disinformation and fake news with implications for security is an
important aspect where modern information analysis is needed. Bots are increasingly used to
manipulate the public opinion and spread fake news on the internet. Causing a mass panic by
spreading fake news is one example. Dimensions of this problem increase even more in crisis
situations, such as the COVID-19 lockdown, where spreading disinformation and fake news,
by infusing uncertainty and fear, aims at harming people’s life, intensifying the crisis
situations, weakening the European societies and aggravating the divisions. This topic asks
for an interdisciplinary approach based both on societal capabilities to withstand such a threat
(e.g., education on trustable sources of information, research on the impact of uncertainties
caused by disinformation on public crisis management and society overall) and on
technological means of fighting against it. Regarding the latter, for a more effective early
detection of criminal activities, Police Authorities and (social) media organisations need tools
and (forensic) capabilities that, e.g., enable the assessment of the origin, veracity and
trustworthiness of digital content by identifying altered or fake generated information. In the
European context, this also implies that the tools should have various functionalities such as:
identification of non-human originated content via origin and activity, detection of machine-
generated text in various languages, verification of the authenticity of data with a high
accuracy (better than human), fast analysis of large amounts of data to pre-filter for faked
and/or manipulated content, which can be presented to investigators, etc. Activities proposed
within this topic should build on results of previous projects on disinformation and fake news,
such as those funded under Information and Communication Technologies Calls of Horizon
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2020, and should address both technological and societal dimensions of fighting against
disinformation and fake news in a balanced way, including also knowledge about cultural
aspects and perception of disinformation (as well as trustworthiness of sources) among
citizens. Thus, this topic requires the effective contribution of Social Science and Humanities
(SSH) disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of
relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the
societal impact of the related research activities.
Coordination with successful proposals from topics HORIZON-CL2-DEMOCRACY-2021-
01-08 (Politics and governance in a post-pandemic world), HORIZON-CL2-DEMOCRACY-
2022-01-06 (Politics and the impact of online social networks and new media) and
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-27 (AI to fight disinformation) should be envisaged so as
to avoid duplication and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased
impact.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content should be addressed only if the consortium deems it relevant in relation to
the objectives of the research effort.
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-04: Improved access to fighting crime and terrorism
research data
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                        requesting different amounts.
Indicative              The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 16.00 million.19
budget
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                        This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3
                        Police Authorities 20 from at least 3 different EU Member States or
                        Associated countries. For these participants, applicants must fill in the
                        table “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the application form
19
         This budget is shared with topic HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-01, HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-03
20
         In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
         national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
         detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
         police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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                     with all the requested information, following the template provided in the
                     submission IT tool.
                     Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                     background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                     SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                     classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Procedure            The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                     apply:
                     To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                     only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                     ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                     thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to all of the following
outcomes:
   The relevant community (researchers, practitioners, industry, policy makers) is made
     aware of the legal, ethical and technical pre-requisites that a European common research
     training and testing data repository in the area of fighting crime and terrorism should
     fulfil (e.g., by defining how it should be organised or which characteristics it should
     have), which would include latest technology developments and allow for adaptations as
     technologies progress, while taking into account ethical rules of operation and
     fundamental rights (including privacy and data protection) as well as cost-benefit
     considerations that have to be made in the context of proportionality in strict sense (as a
     step to assess the lawfulness of a measure interfering with the fundamental rights);
   The corresponding technical, legal and ethical basis for such a training and testing
     fighting crime and terrorism research data repository is set, that would allow for its
     creation in a subsequent step;
   Security practitioners are provided with an increased interoperability and improved
     (cross-border) exchange of data thanks to harmonised data file formats across Europe,
     which would easily take into account technological evolutions, i.e. be adaptable in time;
   Improved anonymisation and pseudonymisation technologies, including other security
     measures, such as masking and unmasking technologies to facilitate data management in
     this context, ensuring full access to the data actually needed (in line with the necessity
     and proportionality principle), as well as taking into account all applicable legislation
     and fundamental rights.
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Scope: The lack of realistic, up-to-date and sufficient training and testing data for research
purposes has been regularly raised by the projects working in the area of fighting crime and
terrorism (FCT), to the extent that such data are necessary instead of dummy and synthetic
data. Namely, the accuracy of tools, notably (but not only) digital ones, depends heavily on
the quantity and on the quality of the training and testing data, including the quality of their
structure and labelling, and how well these data represent the problem to be tackled.
This issue is generally present in any research area, but it gets more emphasised in the, e.g.,
security, health or defence domain due to the special categories of data involved and the
sensitivity of the domain, which calls for additional requirements to access to real datasets or
the creation of representative datasets at a national level.
In EU-funded projects, in the area of FCT, the problem of having a scientifically satisfactory
amount of up-to-date high-quality and realistic data needed to develop reliable (digital and
non-digital - e.g., detection and/or qualification of explosives, drugs, DNA traces) tools in
support of Police Authorities becomes even more complex. Namely, training and testing data
sets considered legal and used in one Member State have to be shared and accepted in other
Member States, while simultaneously observing fundamental rights and substantial or
procedural safeguards.
In addition, with continuous and fast technological improvements, including but not limited to
the Internet of Things, new data formats and mechanisms for data transfer, storage and
security are and will be developed. In addition, data formats are often not harmonised
amongst similar research projects, thus hampering potential interoperability requirements.
Another problem that is often encountered is a lack of trust between researchers and
practitioners/end-users, as well as between different projects when it comes to data sharing.
To this end, it is important to break down barriers between projects and keep on passing the
message that the projects should not be competing to outperform each other, but working
together to provide the EU with the best possible solutions. As a pre-requisite for all the
above, there is a need to have a common research data repository.
The aim of this topic is to tackle this multi-layered issue and set the basis for such a common
data repository by creating a roadmap consisting of a clear set of rules, conditions and
characteristics that such a repository should have, be it the variety of the data in function of
the type and of the problem at hand, legal issues, avoidance of any bias, accessibility levels
related to the sensitivity of various data sets, harmonisation of data formats, solutions for
annotation as well as for the aging of the data, etc.
As an integral part of proposed activities, apart from the above sets of requirements, technical
solutions should be developed that could help research activities comply with privacy and
data protection requirements when handling data, while being able to extract information if
needed. Namely, as learnt from the previous research activities, standard pseudonymisation
and anonymisation methods are not satisfactory in this domain, as they, e.g., either break the
links between different pieces of evidence or take a lot of time and effort. Thus, new and/or
improved anonymisation and pseudonymisation technologies, including other security
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measures, such as masking and unmasking technologies, should be developed to facilitate
data management ensuring full access to the data actually needed (in line with the necessity
and proportionality principle), in full respect of fundamental rights and applicable legislation.
Although proposed activities should focus on the research data for fighting crime and
terrorism within the remits of Horizon Europe regulation (including ethics), proposals should
take into account the possible application of the identified solutions in different security
research domains, such as infrastructure resilience, border management or disaster resilience.
Coordination with the successful proposals from topic SU-AI02-2020 (on AI research
datasets) and future successful proposals in HORIZON-CL3-FCT-2021-01-01 (on travel
intelligence training and testing data for research purposes as well as on pseudonymisation
techniques), HORIZON-CL3-FCT-2022-01-05 and HORIZON-CL3-FCT-2022-01-01 (on
ground-truth data sets for conventional forensics) as well as HORIZON-CL3-FCT-2022-01-
02 (on common data formats) should be envisaged so as to avoid duplication and to exploit
complementarities as well as opportunities for increased impact. Possibilities of coordination
with related activities in the Digital Europe Programme or European Open Science Cloud
should be analysed too.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
The duration of the proposed activities should not exceed 24 months.
FCT02 - Improved forensics and lawful evidence collection
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-05: Modern biometrics used in forensic science and by
police
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                      requesting different amounts.
Indicative            The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
budget
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                      This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2
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                      Police Authorities 21 and at least 2 forensic institutes from at least 3
                      different EU Member States or Associated countries. For these
                      participants, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information about
                      practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information,
                      following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
                      Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                      background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                      SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                      classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
outcomes:
    Use of modern, robust, validated, easy-to-use and reliable biometric technologies by
     forensic institutes and security practitioners, notably Police Authorities, improving
     European investigation capabilities to fight terrorism and other forms of serious and
     organised crime;
    Shorter court cases due to the availability of more solid (cross-border) forensic evidence
     that is acceptable in court;
    Policy-makers and security practitioners benefit from European common approaches for
     analysing risks/threats, and identifying and deploying relevant security measures while
     exploiting biometric information, which take into account legal and ethical rules of
     operation, the procedural differences in the creation of biometric information
     (considering the gender dimension where relevant), cost-benefit considerations, as well
     as fundamental rights such as privacy, protection of personal data and free movement of
     persons;
    Improved support to policy-making on the use of biometric technologies by forensics
     institutes and Police Authorities;
    Improved understanding of the capacity and usefulness of biometric technologies
     information in tackling terrorism and other forms of serious and organised crime, and of
     the key challenges related to it, such as harmonisation/standardisation of data and
     processes;
21
       In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
       national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
       detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
       police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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   Contribution to the development of European standards for the handling and processing
      of biometrics in the context of judicial investigation;
   Forensic practitioners active in biometrics are provided with modern education and
      training curricula.
Scope: Biometric technologies allow for a person to be recognised to a certain degree based
on a set of features. These features can be more (e.g., fingermarks) or less (e.g., shoemarks)
distinctive. In many cases, biometric technologies provide a crucial support to forensic
investigation and as well as evidence in court. However, the full extent of their potential is not
yet exploited. A wider use of these technologies by forensic institutes and Police Authorities
in the European context and in harmonised way is needed, respecting applicable legislation
and fundamental rights such as personal data protection and privacy. Thus, biometrics
deserves a special innovation attention, which should include some of the following: 1)
automation and scalability of the identification, identity verification, intelligence,
investigation and evaluation processes; 2) robustness and validation of biometrics in forensic
conditions; 3) biometric data protection and privacy; 4) harmonisation/standardisation of data
and processes and conversion of existing biometric tool for use in the judicial system; 5)
usage of biometrics in smartphones and other devices, including the possibility to unlock
criminal’s devices using biometric data; 6) exchange of biometric data and interoperability of
the systems, and risk of direct adoption of existing biometric tool for use in the judicial
system.
One of the key priorities here consists in the need for forensic tools to combat organised crime
and smuggling, with the aim of increasing crime investigation through more efficient
detection, as well as intensifying prosecutions and convictions. The testing and/or piloting of
the tools and solutions developed in a real setting with one or more Police Authorities and
other relevant authorities is an asset; regardless, actions should foresee how they will facilitate
the uptake, replication across setting and up-scaling of the capabilities - i.e. solutions, tools,
processes et al. – to be developed by the project. Cooperation with the European Network of
Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) is welcome. The issue of training and testing data has to
be tackled as well. Thus, coordination with successful proposal in HORIZON-CL3-FCT-
2021-01-04 is encouraged so as to avoid duplication and to exploit complementarities as well
as opportunities for increased impact. Proposed activities that could also link with security
research for border management (for example, border checks) would be an asset.
FCT03 - Enhanced prevention, detection and deterrence of societal issues related to
various forms of crime
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-06: Domestic and sexual violence are prevented and
combated
Specific conditions
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Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                       requesting different amounts.
Indicative             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
budget
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                       This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2
                       Police Authorities 22 and at least 2 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs)
                       from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated countries. For
                       these participants, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information
                       about practitioners” in the application form with all the requested
                       information, following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
                       Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                       background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                       SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                       classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                       apply:
                       To ensure a balanced portfolio covering both domestic and sexual
                       violence, grants will be awarded to applications not only in order of
                       ranking but at least also to one project that is the highest ranked within
                       each of the two options (Option A: Domestic Violence and Option B:
                       Sexual Violence), provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
outcomes:
    Improved prevention, detection and investigation of domestic violence and sexual
     assaults, including collection of court-proof crime evidence, which take into account
     European multicultural dimension, legal and ethical rules of operation, as well as
22
        In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
        national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
        detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
        police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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      fundamental rights such as privacy, protection of personal data and anonymity of
      victims;
    Enriched European common approaches applied by Police Authorities to fight domestic
      and sexual violence relying on the synergy of technology, the latest socio-psychological
      knowledge learned from cases and the field experience of Police Authorities and entities
      dealing with victims;
    Novel, safe, lawful and efficient solutions applied by security practitioners and policy-
      makers to protect victims of domestic or sexual violence, along with a proper assessment
      methodology to validate the approach;
    Increased awareness of citizens regarding domestic and sexual violence;
    Improved support in shaping and tuning of regulation on domestic violence and on
      sexual violence by security policy-makers, which also includes GDPR-compliant IT
      tools in the procedures;
    Increased use, by victims, of automated, interactive tools (e.g., chatbots) to report cases
      of domestic abuse and/or sexual violence to the police;
    Improved skills, tools and training curricula for Police Authorities and Civil Society
      Organisations to prevent and combat domestic and sexual violence;
    Identification and development of new concepts, innovative approaches and pioneering
      practices pertaining to alternatives to imprisonment for offenders to reduce recidivism
      and, therefore, support the fight against crime.
Scope: Domestic violence keeps on being a persistent crime throughout Europe. However, the
ratio of cases that are effectively reported to Police Authorities is very low. One of the causes
of this lack of reporting is the limited protection offered to victims, fear, reluctance of
neighbours to intervene by informing the Police Authorities, lack of awareness whom to turn
to, which mechanisms exist, etc. In addition to domestic violence, women are also exposed to
the threat of sexual abuse and aggression in many situations off-home. Moreover, the increase
of cases of multiple abuse by groups of offenders that record their crimes using mobile
devices and then share them by phone or online is a growing concern with a high social
impact. Furthermore, rates of domestic and sexual violence rise when societies are under
stress, during, e.g., food shortages, economic crisis, natural disasters, and epidemics.
The COVID-19 lockdown showed that in such a crisis situation the problem of domestic
violence gets even more emphasised, both because victims are trapped in their homes with
violent partners who are even more stressed than usually, and because the ability of services
to help becomes even more limited. Similarly, women who are displaced, refugees, and living
in affected areas are particularly vulnerable and exposed to sexual violence; the closure of
establishments offering legal sex work because of e.g., epidemics, brings further dangers.
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Needs from innovation, to be performed in a lawful and ethical manner while protecting
fundamental rights, such as privacy and protection of personal data, are as follows. Firstly,
building on the previous works (such as the H2020 project IMPRODOVA 23 or projects
funded under the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme24), there is a need to improve
current European approaches to fight domestic and sexual violence (prevent, locate, report
and collect evidence) using innovative technological solutions, such as by enriching existing
risk analysis tools with real-time data obtained through technological means, that will reduce
both the amount of human resources to be committed and the response time.
Furthermore, victims of domestic abuse as well as of sexual violence are often reluctant to
contact the police personnel and prefer to speak to chatbots, one of the main reasons being the
fear of being judged. Thus, there is a clear need for innovation regarding further
developments and improvements of automated, interactive tools such as chatbots that would
help and stimulate victims to report cases of domestic abuse and/or sexual violence to the
police.
In addition, specifically related to the cases of multiple abuse by groups of offenders that
share their crimes through mobile devices or via social media, activities are needed to develop
innovative technological solutions aimed at finding the source of these videos, identifying
offenders, and finding victims.
Moreover, modern and effective awareness raising campaigns need to be developed for Police
Authorities and relevant Civil Society Organisations to pass key messages to potential
victims, as well as wide communities, while taking into account European multicultural
dimension.
Last but not the least, modern and novel approaches are needed to support victim assistance
services of Police Authorities and relevant Civil Society Organisations in providing efficient
protection and help to victims. As both technological and societal developments are expected,
the consortia should consist in IT specialists, Police Authorities, relevant Civil Society
Organisations, sociologists, social workers and psychologists. If possible, taking into account
their right to anonymity, their dignity and rights, victims could be involved as well, through
relevant Civil Society Organisations that have the safeguards in place to protect them.
Evolutions in domestic and sexual violence, such as their increase during any type of
emergency, e.g., epidemics, should be taken into account too. Methods for evaluating
proposed solutions should be developed as well. All developed solutions should be
accompanied by corresponding training curricula for Police Authorities and relevant Civil
Society Organisations.
Proposals are expected to address one of the following options:
Option A: Domestic violence
23
        https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/787054
24
        https://ec.europa.eu/justice/grants1/programmes-2014-2020/rec/index_en.htm
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Option B: Sexual violence
Coordination of the successful proposals from the two options is encouraged so as to avoid
duplication and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased impact.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake. This topic
requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts,
institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful
and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities.
The testing and/or piloting of the tools and solutions developed in a real setting with one or
more Police Authorities and other relevant authorities is an asset; regardless, applicants
should plan to facilitate the uptake, replication across setting and up-scaling of the capabilities
- i.e. solutions, tools, processes et al. – to be developed by the project.
FCT04 - Increased security of citizens against terrorism, including in public spaces
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-07: Improved preparedness on attacks to public spaces
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                        requesting different amounts.
Indicative              The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
budget
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                        This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2
                        Police Authorities 25 and at least 2 First Responder organisations (non-
                        Police Authorities), from at least 3 different EU Member States or
                        Associated countries. For these participants, applicants must fill in the
                        table “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the application form
                        with all the requested information, following the template provided in the
25
         In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
         national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
         detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
         police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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                     submission IT tool.
                     If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                     timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                     (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                     for earth observation is encouraged.
                     Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                     background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                     SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                     classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to all of the following
outcomes:
   Improved vulnerability assessments by law enforcement and local managers of public
     spaces with a specific focus on countering and/ or preventing terrorist attacks or other
     forms of severe violence (amok, mass-riots), including attacks with explosives,
     improvised weapons and vehicles;
   Better identification of specific vulnerabilities and elaboration of mitigation strategies by
     security practitioners and policy-makers due to the possibility to simulate attack-
     scenarios in any public space in realistic conditions and to test and train different
     prevention and response measures;
   Improved training of Police Authorities in collaboration with different public and private
     actors (e. g., crisis management and civil protection authorities, fire brigades, regulatory
     agencies, emergency health services, security managers, private security organisations,
     civil society groups etc.) to enhance their preparedness to attacks on public spaces;
   Enhanced planning capabilities of security practitioners and policy-makers due to the
     identification of potential vulnerabilities connected to the design/refurbishment and
     construction/improvement of different public spaces and measures to reduce them by
     implementing a comprehensive security-by-design approach in urban planning (also
     including aspects of social inclusion);
   Enhanced modelling capabilities of security practitioners, policy-makers and research
     institutions due to the identification of potential vulnerabilities connected to the different
     public spaces, analysis of crowd behaviour and possible emergence of various threats to
     security in order to minimise possible threats and vulnerabilities and supporting planning
     of respective resources and activities.
Scope: Public spaces such as squares, sport venues, shopping districts, places of worship or
touristic attractions have been the target of numerous terrorist and other violent attacks
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causing significant loss of lives and causing societal insecurity as well as economic losses.
The means to carry out such attacks from one or several attackers range from sophisticated
and well-planned scenarios including several attackers using explosives and firearms, up to so
called low-cost attacks making use of everyday goods such as cars, axes and kitchen knives.
Such attacks have proven to be very difficult to prevent and quick-reaction and preparedness
to respond are the crucial elements in reducing their impact.
The EU and its Member States have reacted to this challenge in the framework of the Action
plan to support the protection of public spaces and the respective staff working document
"Good practices to support the protection of public spaces" 26 . Vulnerability Assessments
(VA) are an established tool for example in the area of the protection of critical
infrastructures. Their aim is to identify the inherent vulnerabilities of a specific target and thus
to be able to put in place appropriate mitigation measures. Such assessments are used in
public spaces already by Police Authorities in case of large-scale events, official visits or as
part of forward-looking city planning activities. The impact on the quality and openness of
public spaces should however be minimised as much as possible. This topic requires the
effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as
well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant
effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities. The full involvement of
citizens and civil society organisations is crucial to achieve solutions that meet the
requirement of having a balanced approach between security and openness of public spaces.
Fundamental rights (including privacy) aspects should also be taken into account.
What is missing so far is a capability for security managers (public security authorities and/or
private security organisations) and local authorities to conduct VA with the help of most
advanced technological means. Tools for large-scale urban VA should be able to simulate
realistic scenarios in any public space of different urban areas and give the users the
possibility to test different prevention and response measures. They should further give the
possibility for cooperation of the main public and private actors (e. g., crisis management and
civil protection authorities, fire brigades, regulatory agencies, emergency health services,
private security managers, etc.), and the development of tailor-made trainings. Continuing
updates of the tools with the data of new urban areas, new modes of attacks and different
scenarios would ensure that such capability is of long-term use and able to adapt to new
developments. For that reason, it is encouraged to use the expertise and the community of the
Joint Research Centre to disseminate the developed VA solutions to the stakeholders and to
adapt it for long-term use. The Joint Research Centre might also support with its simulation
capabilities concerning blast and vehicle ramming. At the same time, such platforms could
provide support in planning processes of public spaces in case of new constructions, or re-
design in order to avoid creating vulnerabilities and supporting a security-by-design
approach27, similar to what exist already for safety.
26
         SWD(2019) 140 final
27
         The European Commission is enforcing the security-by-design concept to enhance the protection of
         public spaces, see potential approaches https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/guideline-building-
         perimeter-protection. As proposed in the Counterterrorism Agenda (COM(2020) 795 final) the
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Responsible Research and Innovation28 could be a relevant approach for the involvement of
diverse stakeholders, launching debates, and co-developing or even implementing solutions.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content should be addressed only if the consortium deems it relevant in relation to
the objectives of the research effort.
FCT05 - Organised crime prevented and combated
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-08: Fight against trafficking in cultural goods
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                        requesting different amounts.
Indicative              The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
budget
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                        This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2
                        Police Authorities29 and at least 2 Border Guards Authorities from at least
                        3 different EU Member States or Associated countries. For these
                        participants, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information about
                        practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information,
                        following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
                        If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                        timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                        (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
         Commission will also develop a virtual architectural book on urban design, which can serve as
         inspiration for authorities to incorporate security aspects in the design of future and the renovation of
         existing public spaces.
28
         Responsible research and innovation involves multi-actor and public engagement in research and
         innovation, easier access to scientific results, the take up of gender and ethics in the research and
         innovation content and process, and formal and informal science education.
29
         In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
         national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
         detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
         police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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                      for earth observation is encouraged.
                      Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                      background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                      SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                      classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
outcomes:
    Robust research methodologies, improved intelligence picture and understanding of
      mechanisms behind organised crime activities related to trafficking of cultural goods
      both offline and online, modus operandi, possible nexus with terrorist financing;
    Enhanced ability of security practitioners to identify organised crime networks involved
      in trafficking in cultural goods and to detect their illicit business models, including
      financial aspects and money laundering activities in this sector;
    Enhanced ability of security practitioners to detect and prevent the emergence of
      organised crime networks involved in trafficking in cultural goods, and to respond to the
      threat of existing organisations;
    Improved and validated tools, skills and training materials (including the lawful court-
      proof collection of crime evidence) for European Police Authorities, Border Guards and
      Customs Authorities to tackle criminal activities related to trafficking of cultural goods;
    Improved cooperation between European Police Authorities, Border Guards and
      Customs Authorities, as well as with specialised researchers and international actors, in
      tackling this form of crime;
    Improved databases on stolen/trafficked cultural goods;
    Improved evidence-based policy-making against trafficking in cultural goods.
Scope: Trafficking in cultural goods has become one of the most profitable criminal activities
for organised crime groups and the booming art and antiquity market is creating new business
models for organised crime. At the same time, the art and antiquity market is also one of the
least regulated markets in Europe, characterised by a lack of traceability and speculative
pricing of the objects, rendering it an ideal place also for money laundering, tax evasion, etc.
Building on the results of recently completed projects, the nexus between terrorism and
serious and organised crime (including cyber) deserves to be analysed further. The
involvement in serious and organised crime may as well allow terrorists to generate funds to
finance terrorism-related activities, as it is the case in trafficking of cultural goods. "Blood
antiquities" are, unfortunately, nothing new. Works of art and archaeological goods/finds are
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looted in war zones as well as in regions not experiencing conflict, and then sold to wealthy
collectors and antiquities dealers in Europe. Research has shown that crimes related to
cultural goods may be conducted by organised crime groups in order to generate profit or to
launder illegally acquired funds. Despite the seriousness of this issue, fundamental questions
remain: How are these precious items secretly transported and what facilitates their illicit
movement? What are the relations with other types of crime? How much does the trafficking
of cultural goods bring in? What is the role and extension of online markets and social
networks in supporting trafficking (e.g., discussion groups where looters and intermediaries
exchange tips and tricks to circumvent police checks)? How can a stolen work be identified?
How should the information be stored in accessible databases? What are reliable and ethical
ways to gather and share information about this type of crime? What is the relationship
between organised crime and the open market for cultural goods (the “grey” market)? What
roles do museums and other cultural institutions (unwittingly) play in this trade? And - who
defines what is an antiquity and to whom it should belong? Evidence-based research is needed
to answer these questions, and to support the development of targeted and effective anti-
trafficking policy.
The proposals in this topic should shed a light on these issues through robust research
methodologies that prioritise new data collection and analysis, and applications towards the
development of evidence-based policy. Proposals should support the gathering of intelligence
and the development of tools that Police Authorities and other relevant practitioners need to
fight this crime and to collect actionable (cross-border) evidence acceptable in court, with the
ultimate goal of disrupting the illicit trade and of mitigating its harmful effects in Europe and
beyond.
Activities proposed within this topic should address the issue from various angles, combining
both social research with technological development and applications in a logical manner.
Therefore, this topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the
involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in
order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the
related research activities. Proposals should also include research into the international
dimensions of the trafficking of cultural goods, as well an as investigation of the possible
connections between this and other forms of crime. Due to the specific scope of this topic, in
order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is encouraged. Police
Authorities, Border Guards Authorities and Customs Authorities should be involved in the
consortia, in order to tackle effectively all aspects of this crime.
Coordination with successful proposals under topic HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-09,
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-10, HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-05, HORIZON-CL3-
2022-FCT-01-06 and HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-07 as well as with successful proposals
under topic HORIZON-CL2-HERITAGE-2021-01-08 (Preserving and enhancing cultural
heritage with advanced digital technologies) should be envisaged so as to avoid duplication
and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased impact. Proposed
research that could also link with security research for border management (for example,
border checks) would be an asset. If relevant, the proposed activities should attempt to
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complement the objectives and activities of the EU Policy Cycle (EMPACT) – Priority
Organised Property Crime. If applicable and relevant, coordination with related activities in
the Digital Europe Programme should be exploited too.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-09: Fight against organised environmental crime
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                        requesting different amounts.
Indicative              The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.30
budget
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                        This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2
                        Police Authorities31 and at least 2 Border Guards Authorities from at least
                        3 different EU Member States or Associated countries. For these
                        participants, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information about
                        practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information,
                        following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
                        If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                        timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                        (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                        for earth observation is encouraged.
                        Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                        background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                        SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                        classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see
30
         This budget is shared with topic HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-10
31
         In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
         national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
         detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
         police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Procedure            The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                     apply:
                     To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                     only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                     ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                     thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
outcomes:
   Improved intelligence picture of organised environmental crime in Europe, modus
     operandi of such criminal organisations, both offline and online;
   Improved tools and innovative training curricula for European Police Authorities and
     Border Guards Authorities, validated against practitioners' needs and requirements, to
     help them tackle criminal activities related to environmental crime, supported by
     advanced digital technologies and including the lawful court-proof collection of crime
     evidence as well as environmental crime statistics;
   Improved cooperation between European Police Authorities, Border Guards Authorities
     and other national Authorities involved in tackling this form of crime, including on
     goods not released for free circulation (e.g. in transit, warehousing etc.);
   Improved cooperation with third countries and international actors involved in the fight
     against environmental crime;
   Enhanced ability of security practitioners to identify and prevent emergent and existing
     organised crime networks involved in environmental crime;
   Increased ability of public services to detect places of illegal waste storage;
   Improved shaping and tuning of regulation related to the fight against environmental
     crime by security policy.
Scope: Environmental crime breaches environmental legislation and causes significant harm
or risk to the environment, climate and/or human health. Environmental crime is highly
lucrative, but the sanctions are low, and it is often harder to detect than more traditional forms
of organised crime. These factors also make it highly attractive for organised crime groups.
These crimes present a high risk for the environment, climate and health, and are very harmful
to society as a whole. The extent of the problem is clearly demonstrated by waste trafficking,
which is characterised by the clear interconnection between criminal actors and legal
businesses.
Nowadays waste traffickers operate along the entire waste-processing chain, rely on the use of
fraudulent documents and group with other types of organised criminal activities. Police
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Authorities and other relevant security practitioners need new means, both technological and
intelligence-based, to prevent and combat illegal environment-related activities, such as
illegal waste dumping, waste trafficking and the illegal trade of refrigerants including ozone
depleting gases and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Innovative solutions are needed to support
Police Authorities and other relevant security practitioners in finding polluting substances
intentionally dumped in land and water (by, e.g., developing or improving existing
technologies able to differentiate such substances from non-pollutant components, possibly
involving remote sensing approaches), in detecting hazardous waste (e.g., fuel or electronic
equipment), and in having a complete intelligence picture of this type of crime (such as
modus operandi of the crime organisations involved in this type of crime, both offline and
online).
The illegal trade of ozone depleting gases and HFCs also remains a significant obstacle to
international efforts seeking to limit the worst impacts of climate change. Here, smuggling
activities using in particular the custom transit procedures need to be addressed. Furthermore,
one of the main issues with understanding the scale and specific issues are problems in
developing comparable EU crime statistics. Therefore, activities proposed within this topic
should address both the technological and societal dimensions of environmental crime in a
balanced way, as well as the needs of Police Authorities and other relevant security
practitioners. Connections with other forms of crime should be tackled too, as well as with
other forms of environmental crime, which, similarly to illegal waste, pose a risk to health and
society and are also reflected in Commission regulations – illicit wildlife trafficking, forest
fires, illegal timber trade etc.
The international dimension, a crucial element in certain environmental crimes, should be
analysed as well, including but not limited to the smuggling processes of illegal waste and
refrigerants. Thus, both Police and Border Guards Authorities should be involved in the
consortia, in order to tackle effectively all aspects of this crime. A particularity with
environmental crime is the variety of actors involved at national level (inspection authorities,
sanitary bodies etc.), so their participation would be welcome in the consortia.
Coordination with successful proposals under topic HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-08,
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-10, HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-05, HORIZON-CL3-
2022-FCT-01-06 and HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-07 should be envisaged so as to avoid
duplication and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased impact.
Proposed activities that could also link with security research for border management (e.g.,
border checks) would be an asset. If relevant, the proposed activities should attempt to
complement the objectives and activities of the EU Policy Cycle (EMPACT). If applicable
and relevant, coordination with related activities in the Digital Europe Programme should be
exploited too. Due to the specific scope of this topic, in order to achieve the expected
outcomes, international cooperation is encouraged. The testing and/or piloting of the tools and
solutions developed in a real setting with one or more Police Authorities and other relevant
authorities is an asset; regardless, applicants should plan to facilitate the uptake, replication
across setting and up-scaling of the capabilities - i.e. solutions, tools, processes et al. – to be
developed by the project.
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In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-10: Fight against firearms trafficking
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                        requesting different amounts.
Indicative              The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.32
budget
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                        This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2
                        Police Authorities33 and at least 2 Border Guards Authorities from at least
                        3 different EU Member States or Associated countries. For these
                        participants, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information about
                        practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information,
                        following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
                        If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                        timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                        (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                        for earth observation is encouraged.
                        Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                        background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                        SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                        classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level         General Annex B.
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                        apply:
32
         This budget is shared with topic HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-09
33
         In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
         national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
         detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
         police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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                    To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                    only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                    ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                    thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
outcomes:
   Contribution to the implementation of the 2020-2024 EU Action Plan on firearms
     trafficking;
   Improved intelligence picture of firearms trafficking in Europe, modus operandi of such
     criminal organisations, both offline and online;
   European Police Authorities, Customs and Border Guards Authorities, as well as
     forensics specialists and prosecutors benefit from modern and validated tools, skills and
     training curricula (including on the lawful court-proof collection of crime evidence) to
     tackle criminal activities related to firearms trafficking;
   Harmonised procedures in the investigation of trans-border crimes in full compliance
     with applicable legislation on protection of personal data;
   Improved cooperation between European Police and Border Guards Authorities, as well
     as with international actors, in tackling this form of crime;
   Strengthened ability of security practitioners to identify organised crime networks
     involved in firearms trafficking in an early stage;
   Reduced diversion of firearms into criminal hands in Europe;
   Enhanced ability of security practitioners to prevent the emergence of organised crime
     networks involved in firearms trafficking, and respond to the threat of existing
     organisations;
   Improved shaping and tuning of regulation related to the fight against firearms
     trafficking by security policy-makers.
Scope: Firearms are the lifeblood of organised crime in Europe as well as worldwide.
Firearms trafficking is a big enabler of organised crime and terrorism. It is a high-time to fix a
new agenda by:
1) analysing possibilities for safeguarding the legal market and preventing diversion, notably
by developing technological solutions for addressing new threats such as 3D printed firearms,
including distribution of blueprints for 3D printing of firearms, clamping of 3D printing
machines and of blueprints, and their sale both offline and online (including darknet);
2) improving the intelligence picture in firearms trafficking, in particular by developing
technological solutions to enable simultaneous searches/input in the Schengen Information
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System and Interpol’s iArms database, developing solutions to facilitate and approximate a
systematic collection on data on all firearms seizures, and developing a European-level tool
tracking in real-time all firearms-related incidents or shootings and extracting continuously
updated data;
3) increasing knowledge on the legal limitations and room for improvement in police and
judicial cooperation in the field of firearms trafficking, developing tools to enable automated
cross-border exchange of ballistics information, and exploring how new and emerging
approaches (such as, but not limited to, Artificial Intelligence) could help improve automated
detection of firearms and firearms components through scanning of parcels and containers;
4) improving international cooperation by supporting operational cooperation between the
Police Authorities and other relevant security practitioners of the EU and of third countries.
Activities proposed within this topic should address both technological and societal
dimensions of the firearms trafficking. Connections with other forms of crime should be
tackled too. The international dimension should be analysed as well, including but not limited
to the firearms smuggling processes. Thus, both Police and Border Guards/Customs
Authorities should be involved in the consortia, in order to tackle effectively all aspects of this
crime. Coordination with successful proposals under topic HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-08,
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-09, HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-05, HORIZON-CL3-
2022-FCT-01-06 and HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-07 should be envisaged so as to avoid
duplication and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased impact.
Proposed activities that could also link with security research for border management (for
example, border checks or detection of concealed objects) would be an asset. If relevant, the
proposed activities should attempt to complement the objectives and activities of the EU
Policy Cycle (EMPACT) – Firearms. Due to the specific scope of this topic, in order to
achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is encouraged. The testing and/or
piloting of the tools and solutions developed in a real setting with one or more Police
Authorities and other relevant authorities is an asset; regardless, actions should plan to
facilitate the uptake, replication across setting and up-scaling of the capabilities - i.e.
solutions, tools, processes et al. – to be developed by the project.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content should be addressed only if the consortium deems it relevant in relation to
the objectives of the research effort.
FCT06 – Citizens are protected against cybercrime
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-11: Prevention of child sexual exploitation
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
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contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                       requesting different amounts.
Indicative             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.34
budget
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                       This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2
                       Police Authorities 35 and at least 2 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs)
                       from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated countries. For
                       these participants, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information
                       about practitioners” in the application form with all the requested
                       information, following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
                       Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                       background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                       SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                       classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                       apply:
                       To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                       only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                       ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                       thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
outcomes:
    Increased understanding of security practitioners and policy-makers of the prevalence
     and of the process leading to child sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation;
    Enhanced understanding of the characteristics and key differences between offending
     and non-offending Minor Attracted Persons;
34
        This budget is shared with topic HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-12
35
        In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
        national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
        detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
        police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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   Innovative and effective solutions, including training curricula, are validated and
      adopted by European Police Authorities and relevant Civil Society Organisations to
      prevent, detect and effectively act on child sexual exploitation, both offline and online,
      by providing necessary assistance to potential offenders, as well as by providing
      adequate preventative campaigns to reach vulnerable groups;
   Developed cross-culturally validated risk assessment tools for child sexual offenders;
      Enhanced perception by the citizens that Europe is an area of freedom, justice and
      security thanks to increased security of children;
   Improved cooperation between European Police Authorities and relevant Civil Society
      Organisations in preventing this form of crime, taking into account fundamental rights;
   Improved evidence-based policy-making related to the prevention of child sexual
      exploitation.
Scope: Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), including the increasing amount of child sexual
abuse material (CSAM) detected online as well as the online solicitation of children for sexual
purposes, remains a serious threat. During the first wave of the global pandemic of COVID-
19, there was an increased online activity in dedicated forums by offenders exploiting
opportunities to engage with children who were more vulnerable due to isolation, greater
online exposure and less supervision. This further highlighted the importance of CSE
prevention, early detection and effective actions, both online and offline. Research is needed
to better understand the process leading to offending in all its various forms (e.g. from
watching CSAM to sexually abusing a child), i.e. what triggers the behaviour of potential
offenders, which approaches in addressing their behaviour work and which not, which
profiles of offenders can be generated, etc.
Research is also needed to provide a deeper understanding of the prevalence of these crimes
as well as the prevalence of persons with a sexual interest in children. Early or weak signals
should be further researched in combination with effective countermeasures and interventions.
The solutions should be accompanied by corresponding training curricula for Police
Authorities and Civil Society Organisations when necessary (e.g. when they involve
providing assistance to potential offenders or victims). Methods for evaluating proposed
solutions should be developed as well. Special care needs to be given to ethics and
fundamental rights protection throughout the research and the solutions proposed. The
evolving character of the CSE modus operandi should be taken into account in all activities
proposed under this topic. The societal dimension should be in the core of proposed activities.
In addition to the mandatory involvement of Police Authorities, the involvement of other
relevant practitioners in the consortia - e.g. from Civil Society Organisations, health
professionals (psychologists, psychiatrics…), forensic psychologists, criminologists and
sociologists - is strongly encouraged as well. As such, this topic requires the effective
contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as
the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects
enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities. The testing and/or piloting of
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the tools and solutions developed in a real setting with one or more Police Authorities and
other relevant authorities is an asset; regardless, actions should foresee how they will facilitate
the uptake, replication across setting and up-scaling of the capabilities - i.e. solutions, tools,
processes et al. – to be developed by the project.
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-12: Online identity theft is countered
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                       requesting different amounts.
Indicative             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.36
budget
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                       This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3
                       Police Authorities 37 from at least 3 different EU Member States or
                       Associated countries. For these participants, applicants must fill in the
                       table “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the application form
                       with all the requested information, following the template provided in the
                       submission IT tool.
                       Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                       background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                       SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                       classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                       apply:
                       To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                       only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
36
        This budget is shared with topic HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-11
37
        In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
        national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
        detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
        police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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                      ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                      thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
outcomes:
    European Police Authorities are provided with modern, innovative and validated tools
      and training curricula, which take into account legal and ethical rules of operation as
      well as fundamental rights such as privacy and protection of personal data to prevent,
      detect and investigate online identity theft, and lawfully collect crime evidence across
      borders for its use in court proceedings;
    Strengthened ability of security practitioners to identify (new forms of) online identity
      theft at an early stage thanks to improved knowledge on the modus operandi and new
      trends in identity theft, including but not limited to deepfakes, and innovative solutions
      for Police Authorities to tackle them in lawful manner;
    Improved understanding on the societal aspects and impacts of identity theft, as well as
      on the key challenges related to it;
    Enhanced perception by the citizens that Europe is an area of freedom, justice and
      security thanks to innovative awareness-raising campaigns explaining to citizens the key
      and evolving mechanisms of identity theft and how to protect against them;
    Improved shaping and implementation of regulation related to the fight against identity
      theft by security policy-makers.
Scope: The “classical” form of identity theft has been a big business for years and consists in
personal and financial data stolen online, sold in the underground economy and misused by
criminal organisations all over the world, usually for financial gain. With the technological
evolution, identity theft evolves as well. Personal details can be found by hacking computers,
but identity thieves are increasingly getting citizens’ personal information from social media
sites. Furthermore, an on-going improvement of technologies to create deepfake audio and
video material may result in novel forms of identity theft. This relatively new but rapidly
evolving technology superimposes audio, images or videos over another video or creates new
ones. For instance, it can be used, among others, to generate new "personalised" child abuse
material, to create fake social media accounts in the name of the target person (to harness or
stalk them), to place the faces of celebrities on existing pornographic videos, to spread
misinformation about a company (leading to financial losses) or a politician or an expert
(reputational damage).
Research is needed to develop new technological means of detecting deepfakes in support of
the work of Police Authorities, as it may only be a matter of time before deepfakes are used
more often in online identity theft cases. In addition, this can have serious implications for
Police Authorities, since it might complicate investigations and raise questions about the
authenticity of evidence. The issue of collecting (cross-border) evidence for its use in courts
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of law, i.e. in a lawful manner and respecting fundamental rights such as privacy and
protection of personal data, should be tackled in proposed activities as well. Other evolving
modus operandi and new trends in online identity thefts should be analysed too, and
corresponding innovative lawful societal means of preventing as well as innovative lawful
technological means of detecting and investigating them should be developed. Thus, activities
proposed within this topic should address both the technological and societal dimensions of
online identity theft in a balanced way. An analysis of trends (who the victims of identity
thefts are usually, whether gender/age/ICT skills play a role, etc.) would be an asset. Special
care should be given to ethics and fundamental rights protection throughout the research and
the solutions proposed.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities. With the aim of developing effective awareness raising campaigns, involvement of
relevant Civil Society Organisations, sociologists and psychologists who can shed a light on
the phenomenon of identity theft from the side of victims and how to support them, would be
an added value of proposals submitted under this topic. If applicable and relevant,
coordination with related activities in the Digital Europe Programme should be envisaged too.
Call - Fighting Crime and Terrorism 2022
                                                                          HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)38
                 Topics                       Type         Budgets           Expected EU           Number
                                                of           (EUR          contribution per            of
                                             Action        million)          project (EUR           projects
                                                                               million)39          expected
                                                              2022                                   to be
                                                                                                    funded
                                            Opening: 30 Jun 2022
                                          Deadline(s): 23 Nov 2022
HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-01 IA                            7.00           Around 7.00                1
38
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
39
         Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
         amounts.
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HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-02 RIA                    3.00            Around 3.00             1
HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-03 RIA                    3.00            Around 3.00             1
HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-04 CSA                    3.00            Around 3.00             1
HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-05 IA                     15.00           Around 5.00             1
HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-06 IA                                     Around 5.00             1
HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-07 IA                                     Around 5.00             1
Overall indicative budget                         31.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
FCT02 - Improved forensics and lawful evidence collection
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-01: Improved crime scene investigations related to
transfer, persistence and background abundance
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
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project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                       requesting different amounts.
Indicative             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 7.00 million.
budget
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                       This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2
                       Police Authorities 40 and at least 2 forensic institutes from at least 3
                       different EU Member States or Associated countries. For these
                       participants, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information about
                       practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information,
                       following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
                       Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                       background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                       SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                       classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
outcomes:
    Improved European common investigation capabilities thanks to modern, robust,
     validated and reliable solutions, used by forensic institutes and Police Authorities for
     analysing complex crime scenes with various types of trace evidence items;
    Shorter court case thanks to the availability of more solid forensic (cross-border)
     evidence that is acceptable in court, respecting fair trial requirements;
    Common European approaches are made available to policy-makers and security
     practitioners for analysing risks/threats, and identifying and deploying relevant security
     measures while inspecting, gathering and analysing trace substances collected in
     complex crime scenes, which take into account legal and ethical rules of operation, the
     traceability of forensic evidence, cost-benefit considerations, as well as fundamental
     rights such as privacy and protection of personal data;
40
        In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
        national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
        detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
        police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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    Improved shaping and tuning by security policy-makers of regulation on using
      innovative solutions in crime scene investigations by forensic institutes and Police
      Authorities;
    Improved understanding of the underlying phenomena governing the transfer of material
      from a surface to another, persistence of material once transferred, recovery process of
      the material as well as characterisation and expectations regarding the background noise;
    Ground truth datasets accessible to the scientific community to support interpretation at
      the activity level of transfer of microtraces, biological traces, biometric traces and
      chemical traces;
    Enhanced evidence collection on crime scene due to an increased use of novel
      technologies;
    Police Authorities and forensic institutes are provided with innovative methods of
      biological fluid identification for forensic applications;
    Forensic practitioners and Police Authorities active in crime scene investigations are
      provided with modern and innovative training curricula.
Scope: Nowadays, Police Authorities deal with a growing complexity of crime scenes
containing various types of trace evidence items that can also present safety hazards for the
forensic experts and crime scene investigators. Traditional forensic crime scene analysis
typically involves several techniques to inspect, gather and analyse collected trace substances.
There is a need to improve these processes and make them more accurate, effective and
sensitive in such a complex scenario, by employing modern approaches, for instance (but not
limited to) nanotechnology, next generation sequencing or Artificial Intelligence.
A way to modernise forensic science for the professionalisation of crime scene investigations
is through improving the understanding of the underlying phenomena governing the transfer
of material from a surface to another, persistence of material once transferred, recovery
process of the material as well as characterisation and expectations regarding the background
noise.
Regarding transfer, persistence and background abundance, two different types of
developments are needed: 1) of ground truth datasets accessible to the scientific community to
support interpretation at the activity level for transfer of microtraces (paint, glass, soil),
biological traces (body fluids, DNA), biometric traces (fingermarks, shoemarks), chemical
traces (drugs, explosives, ignitable liquids); and 2) of methods of biological fluid (blood,
semen, saliva, urine, etc.) identification for advanced forensic applications. The proposed
activities should take into account the European dimension regarding harmonisation of the
approach and cross-border acceptance of the collected evidence. A special attention has to be
given to applicable legislation, ethics and fundamental rights, as well as to the well-
documented use of scientific method to enhance transparency in the establishing of forensic
evidence. The testing and/or piloting of the tools and solutions developed in a real setting with
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one or more Police Authorities and other relevant authorities is an asset; regardless, actions
should foresee how they will facilitate the uptake, replication across setting and up-scaling of
the capabilities - i.e. solutions, tools, processes et al. – to be developed by the project.
Coordination with successful proposals under topic SU-AI02-2020 (on AI research datasets),
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-04 (on ground-truth data sets for conventional forensics) and
HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-02 (on common data formats) should be envisaged so as to
avoid duplication and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased
impact. Cooperation with the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) is
welcome.
HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-02: Better understanding the influence of organisational
cultures and human interactions in the forensic context as well as a common lexicon
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                       requesting different amounts.
Indicative             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
budget
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                       This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2
                       Police Authorities 41 and at least 2 forensic institutes from at least 3
                       different EU Member States or Associated countries. For these
                       participants, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information about
                       practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information,
                       following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
                       Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                       background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                       SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                       classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
41
        In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
        national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
        detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
        police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to all of the following
outcomes:
   Increased European common forensic investigation capabilities and cross-border
      exchanges thanks to a better understanding of main organisational cultures and of human
      interactions in the forensic context, and of the main causes of biases in interpretation and
      reasoning;
   Strengthened bridges between different actors in an investigative process through an
      improved non-ambiguous communication and enhanced communication mechanisms at
      all levels;
   Improved European common forensics investigation capabilities and cross-border
      exchanges thanks to a common, modern lexicon that is used by forensic institutes and
      Police Authorities, validated against practitioners' needs and requirements, to facilitate
      their (specialised) daily work on investigating terrorism and other forms of serious
      crime;
   Development of safer justice outcomes through an increased understanding of how
      human interactions impacts on decisions at all levels of an investigative process;
   Modern and robust methods of reasoning and of experts’ decision making in forensic
      practice, overcoming various types of biases;
   Forensic institutes and Police Authorities active in crime scene investigations benefit
      from innovation education and training curricula.
Scope: Security research projects related to forensics typically focus only on technologies and
data, while the process by which forensic experts evaluate and interpret the evidence is often
put aside. However, cognitive methods and human judgement play a significant role as
forensic experts observe and interpret the data. By doing this, forensic experts are almost
inevitably exposed to irrelevant contextual information (such as suspect’s criminal record or
ethnicity, a type of the information that can be obtained due to a liaison between a forensic
expert and investigators, police and the prosecution), which can potentially cause bias. In
contexts where digital technologies are involved in creating forensic outcomes, biases and
loss of transparency can also arise from different roles and disciplinary backgrounds of the
different actors working on and with the digital tools. Communication between practitioners
within the same institute can introduce a bias as well. When exchanging the information
cross-border, both organisational cultures and languages can also cause a bias.
Understanding how human interaction, both internally and in the European context, impacts
on decisions at all levels of an investigative process is critical for the development of safe
justice outcomes. In forensic practice, it is crucial to understand the impacts of various types
of biases on interpretation and reasoning, and to develop methods to increase the robustness
of reasoning and of experts’ decision making. Research is needed to evaluate, develop and
enhance methods and cognitive techniques to communicate non-ambiguously in the forensic
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and legal context, as well as to develop, improve and enhance communication mechanisms
between the actors of the criminal justice chain.
That being said, in the European context, a critical enabler for an improved collaboration and
communication between forensic practitioners is the use of a clear, consistent vocabulary.
Such a shared vocabulary would, among others, allow for a common understanding of
forensics, improve structured (cross-border) data sharing, and amplify the (cross-border)
acceptance of evidence in court. There is hence a need for a development of a common
lexicon, able to adapt to the evolving aspect of forensic technologies.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities. Coordination with successful proposals under topic HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-
04 and HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-01 (on common data formats) should be envisaged so
as to avoid duplication and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased
impact. Where relevant, coordination should also be foreseen with actions and results of
projects under Justice Programme (2014-2020) 42 . Operational examples should also be
considered, where relevant in line with activities of the SIRIUS Project 43 . In addition,
cooperation with the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) would be
welcome.
FCT03 Enhanced prevention, detection and deterrence of societal issues related to
various forms of crime
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-03: Enhanced fight against the abuse of online gaming
culture by extremists
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                       requesting different amounts.
Indicative             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
budget
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
42
         Call JUST-AG-2016-01, topic JUST-JCOO-CRIM-AG-2016, including project EVIDENCE2e-
         CODEX and the JUD-IT Project (Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters and Electronic IT Data in
         the EU: Ensuring Efficient Cross-Border Cooperation and Mutual Trust).
43
         SIRIUS has received funding from the European Commission’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments
         (FPI) under grant agreement No PI/2017/391-896.
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Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                       This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3
                       Police Authorities 44 from at least 3 different EU Member States or
                       Associated countries. For these participants, applicants must fill in the
                       table “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the application form
                       with all the requested information, following the template provided in the
                       submission IT tool.
                       Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                       background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                       SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                       classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
outcomes:
    Enhanced knowledge on the use of online gaming culture and structure by violent
     extremists as well as their modus operandi through video game chatrooms, used as their
     recruitment tools;
    European Police Authorities benefit from better, innovative and validated tools and
     training curricula (which take into account legal and ethical rules of operation, as well as
     fundamental rights such as privacy and protection of personal data) to tackle violent
     radicalisation through online gaming culture;
    Increased awareness of citizens about online radicalisation through gaming culture;
    Enhanced protection of youth in the gaming environment against recruitment into violent
     radicalisation;
    Improved shared understanding and cooperation between different actors involved,
     including security practitioners, gaming industry, social media, video game hosting
     services and civil society;
    Improved shaping and tuning by security policy-makers of regulation on preventing
     abuse of online gaming culture by violent extremists.
Scope: A highly increasingly influencing societal issue related to radicalisation is the online
gaming culture. Earlier studies have shown no link between video games and violence.
However, terrorism and gaming experts claim that forums and chatrooms are used as
44
        In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
        national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
        detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
        police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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recruitment tools. Research is needed to analyse the use of online gaming culture and
structure by violent extremists as well as their modus operandi through video game chatrooms
and forums.
Regarding video games themselves, an in-depth analysis is needed on how the type of the
video game, of its theme, design, aesthetics etc. plays a role in the choice of the chatroom to
be used as a recruitment area. As far as video game chatrooms, including social media
platforms discussing video games, are concerned, dissemination strategies of violent
extremists through them as well as their ways of grooming should be analysed.
Based on the results of these analyses, innovative (societal) means of fighting this type of
crime, both online and offline, should be developed. The role of Police Authorities in this
respect should be analysed. Possibilities of detecting and investigating this type of crime
should be discussed as well, with a focus on legal and ethical aspects. Modern and effective
awareness raising campaigns should be developed, that would target young people, parents,
school teachers, video-gaming industry and wide communities, and that take into account the
European multicultural dimension. Methods for evaluating proposed solutions should be
developed as well. Suggestions to gaming industry on which traps to avoid when designing
and upgrading a video game should be provided too.
Proposed activities should take into account the evolving nature of this type of crime and of
technology, and be performed while respecting the applicable legislation and fundamental
rights, such as privacy and protection of personal data. Societal dimension should be in the
core of proposed activities, with a support of technologies. The consortia should consist in
Police Authorities, representatives of gaming industry, gaming experts, IT specialists, (cyber)
psychologists and sociologists. This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH
disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of
relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the
societal impact of the related research activities. Social innovation is recommended when the
solution is at the socio-technical interface and requires social change, new social practices,
social ownership or market uptake. Participation of relevant Civil Society Organisations or
gaming communities would be an added value. Analysis of the possible applications of
research results to other similar problems (e.g. child sexual abuse) is welcome.
Coordination with successful proposals under topic HORIZON-CL2-DEMOCRACY-2022-
01-04 (Evolution of political extremism and its influence on contemporary social and political
dialogue) should be envisaged so as to avoid duplication and to exploit complementarities as
well as opportunities for increased impact.
FCT04 - Increased security of citizens against terrorism, including in public spaces
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-04: Public spaces are protected while respecting privacy
and avoiding mass surveillance
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                          This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3
                          Police Authorities 45 from at least 3 different EU Member States or
                          Associated countries. For these participants, applicants must fill in the
                          table “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the application
                          form with all the requested information, following the template
                          provided in the submission IT tool.
                          If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                          timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                          Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used). The
                          use of Copernicus for earth observation is encouraged.
                          Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                          background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                          SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                          classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Legal and                 The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of       apply:
the Grant                 Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the
Agreements                Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions
                          under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for
                          Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the
45
        In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
        national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
        detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
        police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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                           Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy
                           Community (2021-2025). 46.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to all of the following
outcomes:
    Improved understanding by local authorities, operators and policy makers of the effect of
      large-scale surveillance of public spaces on the behaviour of citizens and possible
      negative effects on local communities;
    Enhanced transparency for citizens on different forms of surveillance by Police
      Authorities 47 , local authorities and private actors in public spaces, and increased
      awareness of applicable rights towards operators of such systems;
    Improved protection of public spaces without the need for 24/7 data collection and
      storage;
    Set of common standards and good practices by local authorities, operators and policy
      makers for internal access restriction, anonymization and data minimization allowing a
      proportionate use of already installed surveillance-systems (such as CCTV) in public
      spaces, reducing the risk of misuse of collected data and respecting fundamental rights,
      especially the protection of personal data.
Scope: In recent years, the number of different tools for the surveillance of public spaces has
been growing at massive pace in most European cities. CCTV-systems in public spaces are
the most evident examples. They have been expanded in terms of quantity (number of CCTV
in public spaces, such as squares, streets or touristic sites), quality (improved solution of
images, possibility of tracking and automatic pattern-recognition) and also scope (CCTV
present in areas like parks, 24/7 recording as standard due to higher data storage capacities).
CCTV-systems are the most evident and visible, although by far not the only ones. Acoustic
sensors, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and in the future possibly widespread
facial recognition add to a system of sensors that cover large parts of public spaces in many
European cities.
While evidence suggests that such tools can help to combat certain forms of crime an increase
the perceived security of citizens, the significant expansion of areas that are monitored risks to
create negative effects for the right for privacy. Scientific studies indicate that also legal forms
of behaviour are adapted by persons, which are aware that they are monitored by surveillance
46
         This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for
         Horizon      Europe,     under      ‘Simplified      costs     decisions’     or    through    this   link:
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-
         decision_he_en.pdf
47
         In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
         national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
         detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
         police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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systems. Furthermore, there is evidence that such systems are often concentrated in socially
deprived districts, creating the risks of stigmatisation of its residents.
In terms of crime prevention there are indications that for many settings, sensors like CCTV
are in the best case only part of a solution and they can create a tendency of reducing
personnel on the ground, thus limiting the possibilities for classical policing and reducing the
direct interaction between local police and public order services and the citizens. Such
interaction is however key to address crime prevention and response to criminal threats in a
holistic manner.
The quantitative growth of both public and private surveillance has led to the fact that
nowadays, citizens are hardly able to keep track of where their data has been captured and
thus not able to make us of their rights as guaranteed by applicable legislation, such as the
GDPR. While citizens as subjects of the surveillance are becoming transparent towards public
and private operators of surveillance, the operators themselves remain in many cases
inaccessible and few technological innovations are used to make sure only relevant data is
stored and processed.
While significant industry and research resources are invested in the design of new and the
upgrading of existing surveillance systems for public spaces, innovation could be stimulated
to look for alternatives. Such alternative could identify means to protect public spaces though
enhanced interaction with local communities, re-design sensors as to ensure they capture data
in the most proportionate way, increase transparency for citizens towards public and private
operators of surveillance systems and finally explore privacy-friendly technological features
to ensure that only relevant data is kept, processed and accessible by authorised actors. This
topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
Responsible Research and Innovation48 could be a relevant approach for the involvement of
diverse stakeholders, launching debates, and co-developing or even implementing solutions.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content should be addressed only if the consortium deems it relevant in relation to
the objectives of the research effort.
FCT05 - Organised crime prevented and combated
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
48
         Responsible research and innovation involves multi-actor and public engagement in research and
         innovation, easier access to scientific results, the take up of gender and ethics in the research and
         innovation content and process, and formal and informal science education.
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HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-05: Effective fight against corruption
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                       requesting different amounts.
Indicative             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.49
budget
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                       This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2
                       Police Authorities50 and at least 2 Border Guards Authorities from at least
                       3 different EU Member States or Associated countries. For these
                       participants, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information about
                       practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information,
                       following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
                       If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                       timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                       (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                       for earth observation is encouraged.
                       Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                       background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                       SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                       classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                       apply:
                       To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                       only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                       ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
49
        This budget is shared with topic HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-06, HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-07
50
        In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
        national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
        detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
        police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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                     thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
outcomes:
   Security practitioners and policy-makers are provided with improved and complete
     intelligence picture of corruption, such as modus operandi, both offline and online,
     including cross-border dimension, new trends, its social and economic impact, its role in
     enabling other types of crime, as well as its close links with money laundering;
   A comprehensive risk analysis is provided to security practitioners and policy makers on
     the new opportunities offered by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of corruptive
     practices, cross-border dimension, its social and economic impact and sectors at high
     risk;
   European Police Authorities, Border Guards and Financial Supervisory Authorities
     benefit from better, modern and validated tools (including the lawful court-proof
     collection of crime evidence) and training materials to tackle criminal activities related
     to corruption and improve resilience for corruption acts;
   Improved strategies of cooperation between European Police and Border Guards
     Authorities in fighting corruption and dismantling related criminal networks;
   Improved policy-making related to the fight against corruption.
Scope: Corruption, a criminal category that ranges from bribery of public officials via sports
to abuse of power and money laundering of proceeds from crime, is a strong enabler for crime
and terrorism, and, as such, it constitutes a threat to security. By creating business uncertainty,
slowing processes, and imposing additional costs, it has a negative impact on economic
growth.
Although the nature and scope of corruption may differ from one Member State to another, it
harms the whole Europe by lowering investment levels, hampering the fair operation of the
Internal Market and reducing public finances.
The points where innovative solutions can help are threefold. Firstly, there is a need to
estimate the impact of corruption. It refers to social impact, factors that promote or hinder it,
impact on vulnerable groups, economic, as well as fiscal and development costs.
Secondly, the role of corruption as an enabler of other crimes deserves analysis as well.
Namely, corruption, increasingly facilitated by online services, is a fertile ground for
organised criminal activities (human trafficking, smuggling…) and terrorism. For some
criminal activities, corruption is an integral part of their modus operandi. Thus, relations with
other types of crime should be explored too. Money laundering, closely linked to corruption,
deserves special attention.
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Thirdly, innovative societal and technological solutions for prevention, detection and
investigation of this type of crime are needed, including also the collection of cross-border
court-proof evidence. Therefore, activities proposed within this topic should address both
societal and technological dimensions of corruption in a balanced way, taking care of the
applicable legislation and fundamental rights. The international dimension should be analysed
as well, hence both Police and Border Guards Authorities should be involved in the consortia,
in order to tackle effectively all aspects of this crime. Due to the specific scope of this topic,
international cooperation is encouraged.
Coordination with successful proposals under topic HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-08,
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-09, HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-10, HORIZON-CL3-
2022-FCT-01-06 and HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-07 should be envisaged so as to avoid
duplication and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased impact.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-06: Effective fight against illicit drugs production and
trafficking
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                        requesting different amounts.
Indicative              The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.51
budget
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                        This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2
                        Police Authorities52 and at least 2 Border Guards Authorities from at least
                        3 different EU Member States or Associated countries. For these
                        participants, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information about
                        practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information,
51
         This budget is shared with topic HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-05, HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-07
52
         In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
         national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
         detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
         police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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                    following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
                    If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                    timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                    (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                    for earth observation is encouraged.
                    Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                    background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                    SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                    classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology          Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level     General Annex B.
Procedure           The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                    apply:
                    To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                    only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                    ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                    thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
outcomes:
   Improved and complete intelligence picture of security practitioners and policy-makers
     on drug production and trafficking, such as modus operandi, both offline and online,
     including the whole chain of trade, cross-border dimension, new trends, prevention of
     illicit drug market, new drugs, internet, including darknet, monitoring of drugs, financial
     flows of the related profits, etc.;
   European Police and Border Guards Authorities benefit from better, modern and
     validated tools (including the lawful court-proof collection of crime evidence) and
     training materials to tackle criminal activities related to drugs, such as monitoring of
     internet, including darknet;
   Enhanced ability of security practitioners to identify organised criminal groups involved
     in drug production and trafficking at an early stage;
   Enhanced ability of security practitioners and policy-makers to prevent the emergence of
     organised crime networks related to drugs, and respond to the threat of existing
     organisations, while respecting fundamental rights;
   Improved monitoring of dual-use chemicals used to drugs production;
   European Police and Border Guards Authorities benefit from improved strategies of
     cooperation in fighting drug trafficking and dismantling related criminal networks;
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    Security policy makers are better supported in analysing the features of the drug trade
      and the business models underlying it, and the policy regulation related to the fight
      against drug production and trafficking is enhanced.
Scope: Drug trafficking and drug production are the most profitable criminal activity of
organised crime groups active in Europe. According to the 2019 EU Drug Markets Report, the
total value of the retail market for illicit drugs in the EU was estimated at EUR 30 billion.
There is a need for a comprehensive complete intelligence picture of this type of crime.
In the following, two main priorities in security research and innovation in this area are
indicated. Firstly, innovative methods are needed to inquire into developments in the illicit
drug market, especially on prevention and new drugs (their production, marketing and
distribution). Secondly, internet, including darknet, monitoring as regards drugs has not been
sufficiently addressed by innovative approaches until now. As stated by the European
Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), it is worth mentioning that
over 100 global darknet markets are known to have existed for varying lengths of time since
2010 when the phenomenon emerged, that illicit drugs have been and continue to be the
backbone of most darknet markets (drugs are important, but they share space with other illicit
goods), and that two thirds of darknet markets content is known to be drug-related.
While vendor and customer interactions are relatively well studied and understood, there is a
need for innovative approaches aimed at improving currently limited knowledge regarding the
actors and mechanisms involved in this trade beyond the distribution/sales phase in the drug
trafficking chain. Knowledge gaps also remain in relation to the extent of involvement of
traditional organised crime in the darknet trade in illicit drugs. Then, gaps exist in the
knowledge of the financial flows related to the profits from darknet market platforms.
Activities proposed within this topic should address both societal and technological
dimensions of drug trafficking and drug production in a balanced way, taking care of the
applicable legislation and fundamental rights. As the organised crime groups involved are
practically fully interconnected, the international dimension should be analysed as well, hence
both Police and Border Guards Authorities should be involved in the consortia, in order to
tackle effectively all aspects of this crime, such as cross-border drugs smuggling.
Coordination with successful proposals under topic HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-08,
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-09, HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-10, HORIZON-CL3-
2022-FCT-01-05 and HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-07 should be envisaged so as to avoid
duplication and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased impact.
Proposed activities that could also link with security research for border management (e.g.,
border checks or detection of concealed objects) would be an asset. Due to the specific scope
of this topic, in order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is
encouraged.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content should be addressed only if the consortium deems it relevant in relation to
the objectives of the research effort.
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HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-07: Effective fight against trafficking in human beings
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                       requesting different amounts.
Indicative             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.53
budget
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                       This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2
                       Police Authorities54 and at least 2 Border Guards Authorities from at least
                       3 different EU Member States or Associated countries. For these
                       participants, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information about
                       practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information,
                       following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
                       If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                       timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                       (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                       for earth observation is encouraged.
                       Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                       background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                       SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                       classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                       apply:
                       To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                       only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                       ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
53
        This budget is shared with topic HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-05, HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-06
54
        In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
        national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
        detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
        police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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                      thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
outcomes:
    Security practitioners and policy makers are provided with an improved and more
      complete intelligence picture of trafficking in human beings, such as modus operandi,
      both offline and online, including the whole trafficking chain, cross-border dimension,
      new trends, relations with other types of crime, financial flows of the related profits, etc.;
    European Police and Border Guards Authorities benefit from better, modern and
      validated tools (including the lawful court-proof collection of crime evidence) and
      training materials to tackle criminal activities related to trafficking in human beings;
    Enhanced ability of security practitioners to detect and identify organised criminal
      groups involved in trafficking in human beings, in collaboration with citizens or NGOs
      when applicable;
    Enhanced ability of security practitioners to detect victims of all forms of exploitation,
      taking into account consistent patterns, and identify victims at an early stage;
    Enhanced ability of security practitioners to prevent the emergence of organised crime
      networks related to trafficking in human beings, to disrupt the trafficking chain at an
      early stage, deter organised crime groups related to trafficking in human beings and
      respond to the threat of existing organisations, as well as their potential expansion via de
      use of social media;
    Improved strategies of cooperation applied by European Police and Border Guards
      Authorities in fighting trafficking in human beings and dismantling related criminal
      networks, while respecting fundamental rights such as the protection of personal data,
      and improved cooperation between European and origin and transit countries authorities;
    Better policy-making related to the fight against trafficking in human beings.
Scope: Trafficking in human beings is a serious and organised form of crime that involves the
criminal exploitation of vulnerable people, the goal of which is the economic gain. This crime
is often cross-border and consistently the vast majority of its victims are women and girls,
around one fourth of all victims being children. Around half of the victims are EU nationals
within the EU.
Trafficking can take place for various exploitation purposes, including sexual exploitation,
forced labour, servitude, removal of organs, forced criminality (e.g., pickpocketing or drug
trafficking). Trafficking in human beings is a grave violation of people’s fundamental rights
and dignity, and is explicitly prohibited by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Understanding the nature, scale and costs of the crime is key to ensuring appropriate action at
the European level to prevent the phenomenon. The 2017 Communication (COM(2017) 728
final) identifies as key priorities: to address the culture of impunity via disrupting the business
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model of criminals and untangling the trafficking chain; to provide a better access to and
realise the rights of victims; to intensify a coordinated and consolidate response within and
outside the EU.
Innovation, reliable and comprehensive statistics are crucial in obtaining a complete
intelligence picture of this crime, the modus operandi of the related criminal groups,
identifying and addressing trends, developing evidence-based policy, and measuring the
impact of individual initiatives. Innovative intelligence-based technological means of
detecting, tracking and disrupting the online activities related to trafficking in human beings
(including darknet) should be developed as well. The proposed activities would also aim to
contribute to countering the culture of impunity by increasing the capacity of Police
Authorities to detect the trafficking crime, the suspected perpetrators and the victims and to
disrupt the business model and/or establish responsibility of all those involved in the
trafficking chain.
Activities proposed within this topic should address both societal and technological
dimensions of trafficking in human beings in a balanced way, taking care of the applicable
EU legal and policy framework including fundamental rights and ethics. Since the
international dimension of this crime should be analysed as well, both Police and Border
Guards Authorities should be involved in the consortia, in order to tackle effectively all
aspects of this crime, such as finding together means of disrupting the human traffickers’
business model. Collaboration with Police Authorities, security practitioners and Border
Guards Authorities from countries of origin or transit of criminal networks would be an added
value.
Coordination with successful proposals under topic HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-08,
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-09, HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-10, HORIZON-CL3-
2022-FCT-01-05 and HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01-06 should be envisaged so as to avoid
duplication and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased impact.
Proposed activities that could also link with security research for border management (e.g.,
border checks or security controls) would be an asset. This topic requires the effective
contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as
the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects
enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities. Due to the specific scope of
this topic, in order to achieve the expected outcome, international cooperation is encouraged.
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Effective management of EU external borders
This Destination addresses, among other, objectives identified by the Security Union
Strategy55 as well as the border management and security dimensions of the New Pact on
Migration and Asylum 56 . As such, topics included under the Destination are aimed at
ensuring strong European land, air and sea external borders. This includes by developing
strong capabilities for checks at external borders hence safeguarding the integrity and
functioning of the Schengen area without controls at the internal borders, by compensating the
absence of intra-EU border checks; being capable to carry out systematic border checks,
including identity, health and security checks as necessary, while facilitating the travel of
bona fide travellers and respecting rights and possible vulnerabilities of individuals; providing
integrated and continuous border surveillance, situational awareness and analysis support;
combating identity and document frauds; supporting future technology for the European
Border and Coast Guard; supporting the interoperability and performance of EU data
exchange and analysis IT systems; supporting better risk detection, incident response and
crime prevention; improving European preparedness to, and management of, future rapidly
evolving changes; and updating our maritime security management including migration,
trafficking as well as search and rescue capabilities.
Taking into account the central role of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency
(Frontex) in defining capability requirements for the European Border and Coast Guard, it
will be closely associated with, and will assist the European Commission in drawing up and
implementing, relevant research and innovation activities. The European Union Agency for
the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and
Justice (eu-LISA) could also assist the European Commission on relevant research and
innovation activities and specific topics. Research should also consider how future
management of borders can develop protection of human rights, and how it can facilitate
protection of refugees.
This research will also contribute to the implementation of the European Border Surveillance
System (EUROSUR) and the development of tools and methods for Integrated Border
Management.
Regarding maritime security, the topics under this Destination will also support the
implementation of the relevant actions under the Capability development, research and
innovation area of the EU Maritime Security Action Plan57. Research activities will therefore
enable better security and management of EU maritime borders, maritime critical
infrastructures, maritime activities and transport, contributing as well to a better performance
and cooperation on coast guard functions. Research and innovation in the area of maritime
security will also support the development of future capabilities for the protection of sea
55
        COM(2020) 795 final.
56
        COM(2020) 609 final.
57
        https://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/sites/maritimeaffairs/files/2018-06-26-eumss-revised-action-
        plan_en.pdf
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harbours and related sea lines of communication including entry/exit routes. The objective of
maritime security research activities in this regard covers prevention, preparedness and
response to expected and unexpected events including, anthropogenic and natural disasters,
accidents, climate change as well as threats such as terrorism and piracy, cyber, hybrid and
chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) ones. The EU Maritime Security
Research Agenda lays down in this regard specific areas to address, including cybersecurity,
interoperability and information sharing, autonomous systems, networking and
communication systems and multi-purpose platforms. Specific EU maritime security
legislation 58 also emphasises maritime passenger transport, and the threats to passengers.
Innovative and more efficient capabilities for the security of maritime passenger transport
could therefore also be a useful area of research.
Regarding security in the movements of goods across external borders, research will address
requirements identified by the European Commission and EU customs authorities and should
contribute to capabilities for detecting illegal activities both at external border crossing points
and through the supply chain. EU customs authorities face increasing volumes of commerce,
trade and traffic of goods, as well as having a range of tasks to fulfil besides security.
International smuggling has the potential to become more sophisticated and/or increase in the
coming years and decades, and could be facilitated by cybercrime. Criminal networks may
exploit potential weaknesses of global supply chains, transport and logistics to pursue illicit
trade and other crimes. At the same time, threats and hazards that may need to be detected in
the flow of goods are very diverse and often need different sensors and technologies to be
detected (from chemical, biological, nuclear, radiological and explosive material to drugs,
firearms, money, waste, trafficked wildlife, cultural goods, etc.). Hence, customs need
innovation to enable detection and to ensure security without at the same time disrupting or
unnecessarily hampering trade flows. Capabilities built through research will contribute to the
implementation of the new EU Customs Union action plan to reinforce customs risk
management and effective controls. Capabilities include those on threat detection in postal
flows; automated controls and detection that reduce the need to open or stop containers,
packages, baggage or cargo; decision support; portability of control solutions; and
technologies to track cross-border illicit trade.
Furthermore, in order to accomplish the objectives of this Destination, additional eligibility
conditions have been defined with regard to the active involvement of relevant security
practitioners or end-users.
Successful proposals under this Destination are invited to cooperate closely with other EC-
chaired or funded initiatives in the relevant domains, such as the Networks of Practitioners
projects funded under H2020 Secure Societies work programmes, the Knowledge Networks
for Security Research & Innovation funded under the Horizon Europe Cluster 3 Work
Programme, the Community of Users for Secure, Safe and Resilient Societies (future CERIS
58
        Regulation (EC) No 725/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on
        enhancing ship and port facility security, Directive 2005/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the
        Council of 26 October 2005 on enhancing port security.
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–Community of European Research and Innovation for Security) or with other security
research and innovation working groups set-up by EU Agencies.
Furthermore, successful proposals under this Destination should be complementary and not
overlap with relevant actions funded by other EU instruments, including projects funded by
the Digital Europe Programme as well as European Defence Fund and the European Defence
Industrial Development Programme, while maintaining a focus on civilian applications only.
Proposals submitted under this Destination should demonstrate how they plan to build on
relevant predecessor projects; to consider the citizens’ and societal perspectives; to include
education, training and awareness raising for practitioners and citizens; to measure the
achieved TRL; and to prepare the uptake of the research outcomes.
Proposals involving earth observation are encouraged to make use primarily of Copernicus
data, services and technologies.
This Destination will develop knowledge and technologies that may be taken up by other
instruments, such as the Integrated Border Management Fund, that will enable exploitation of
research results and final delivery of the required tools to security practitioners.
Expected impact
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
to the following expected impact of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2021-2024:
“Legitimate passengers and shipments travel more easily into the EU, while illicit trades,
trafficking, piracy, terrorist and other criminal acts are prevented, due to improved air, land
and sea border management and maritime security including better knowledge on social
factors.”
More specifically, proposals should contribute to the achievement of one or more of the
following impacts:
   Improved security of EU land and air borders, as well as sea borders and maritime
      environment, infrastructures and activities, against accidents, natural disasters and
      security challenges such as illegal trafficking, piracy and potential terrorist attacks, cyber
      and hybrid threats;
   Improved border crossing experience for travellers and border authorities staff, while
      maintaining security and monitoring of movements across air, land and sea EU external
      borders, supporting the Schengen space, reducing illegal movements of people and
      goods across those borders and protecting fundamental rights of travellers;
   Improved customs and supply chain security though better prevention, detection,
      deterrence and fight of illegal activities involving flows of goods across EU external
      border crossing points and through the supply chain, minimising disruption to trade
      flows.
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The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
             Call                          Budgets (EUR million)            Deadline(s)
                                         2021                    2022
HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01 30.50                                               23 Nov 2021
HORIZON-CL3-2022-BM-01                                     25.00           23 Nov 2022
Overall indicative budget         30.50                    25.00
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Call - Border Management 2021
                                                                           HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)59
                Topics                      Type         Budgets            Expected EU           Number
                                              of           (EUR            contribution per           of
                                           Action        million)           project (EUR           projects
                                                                              million)60          expected
                                                           2021                                     to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 30 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 23 Nov 2021
HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01-01 IA                           20.00           Around 7.00                1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01-03 IA                                           Around 4.00                2
HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01-05 IA                                           Around 5.00                1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01-02 CSA                          2.50            Around 2.50                1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01-04 RIA                          8.00            Around 4.00                2
Overall indicative budget                              30.50
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                      The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                      The criteria are described in General Annex
59
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
60
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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exclusion                                                 C.
Award criteria                                            The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                          D.
Documents                                                 The documents are described in General
                                                          Annex E.
Procedure                                                 The procedure is described in General
                                                          Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                   The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
BM01 – Efficient border surveillance and maritime security
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01-01: Enhanced security and management of borders,
maritime environment, activities and transport, by increased surveillance capability,
including high altitude, long endurance aerial support
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                       requesting different amounts.
Indicative             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.61
budget
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                       This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3
                       Border or Coast Guard Authorities from at least 3 different EU Member
                       States or Associated countries. For these participants, applicants must fill
                       in the table “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the application
                       form with all the requested information, following the template provided
                       in the submission IT tool.
61
        This budget is shared with topic HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01-03, HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01-05
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                    If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                    timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                    (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                    for earth observation is encouraged.
                    Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                    background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                    SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                    classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology          Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level     General Annex B.
Procedure           The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                    apply:
                    To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                    only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                    ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                    thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to some of the following expected
outcomes:
   Increased surveillance capability compared to the state of the art, including longer
     endurance, better reliability, lower maintenance requirements, longer permanence and
     wider coverage;
   Improved performance and/or safety, including better detection, classification and
     tracking capabilities, cyber and physical security, better cost-efficiency, better
     autonomy, lower visual and acoustic signatures;
   Improved multi-tasking capabilities to respond to a variety of needs and situations in the
     surveillance of border and maritime environment, including enhanced multi-authority
     collaboration.
Scope: Border and coast guards, as well as other security practitioners, require capabilities to
monitor wider areas beyond the EU external borders in order to prevent, detect and react to
crime, including that crossing external borders, illegal border crossings and/or smuggling at
the border regions of the EU and of the Schengen area. This applies to all border contexts –
land, sea and air – but it may be specifically useful in the maritime domain, and these
capabilities could also have a strong impact on other maritime security-related tasks beyond
border control and for key dimensions identified by the EU Maritime Security Action Plan,
including the civil-military research agenda. These capabilities should include monitoring for
challenges and threats to maritime activities, including transport, maritime infrastructures and
environments; contributing to measures to support vessels in distress and search and rescue
missions; and scanning of coastal and border areas.
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The solutions proposed by project proposals should reach advanced capability levels
concerning detection, identification and tracking, including long endurance, persistence,
reliability, and wide coverage. These platforms would be expected to have multi-tasking
capabilities and be able to respond to a variety of needs and situations, including but not
limited to environmental incidents, search and rescue needs, irregular migration and cross-
border crimes. Platforms should offer cyber and physical security, be able to operate in
groups/clusters, be highly autonomous, and offer increased endurance, taking into account
better energy efficiency and cost-efficiency (including lower maintenance requirements) for
security practitioners, low visual and acoustic signatures, and/or improved safety compared to
the state of the art.
Solutions should be able to share their information products and integrate with existing and
upcoming border and maritime surveillance systems in the EU, including EUROSUR.
Research and innovation activities could be conducted using a range of technological
approaches (including but not limited to UAVs, balloon, blimps, High Altitude Platforms
(HAPs), Lighter-Than-Air (LTA) solutions, microsatellites, satellite imagery, etc.) as long as
the specific platform delivers the expected improved capabilities.
The specific platform should be brought at least to the level of validation, by European border
and coast guard authorities, in an operational or real environment. Proposals should be
convincing in explaining the frameworks they intend to use for demonstrating, testing and
validating the systems; these frameworks will also include assessments of manufacturability,
cost-effectiveness, efficiency and demonstrated integration with existing systems, and legal
and ethical issues.
While some components studied could be more innovative and brought to mid-TRL, most
components of the envisaged solutions are expected to arrive at high TRL and be
demonstrated by projects in actual environments with operations and exercises for validation
by practitioners. Proposals should also delineate the plans for further uptake (industrialisation,
commercialisation, acquisition and/or deployment) at national and EU level, after the research
project and should it deliver on its goals, of the solutions that they will demonstrate in the
research project. Projects are also recommended to integrate impact assessments, including
leveraging insights from previous research, in investigating and developing the solutions they
propose.
Proposals under this topic are expected to address the priorities of the European Border and
Coast Guard and of its Agency (Frontex) starting from the design of their work, and engage
with the Agency in the development of the project. Proposals should give a key role to
Frontex in validating the project outcomes, with the aim of facilitating future uptake of
innovations for the border and coast guard community.
Research projects should consider, build on (if appropriate) and not duplicate previous
research, including but not limited to research by other Framework Programmes projects.
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Research projects should be complementary and not overlap with relevant actions funded by
other EU instruments, including projects funded by the European Defence Fund and the
European Defence Industrial Development Programme 62 , while maintaining a focus on
civilian applications only.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
BM02 - Secured and facilitated crossing of external borders
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01-02: Increased safety, security, performance of the
European Border and Coast Guard and of European customs authorities
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.50
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                       requesting different amounts.
Indicative             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.50 million.
budget
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                       This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2
                       Border or Coast Guard Authorities and 2 Customs Authorities, from at
                       least 3 different EU Member States or Associated countries. For these
                       participants, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information about
                       practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information,
                       following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
                       If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                       timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                       (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                       for earth observation is encouraged.
                       Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                       background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
62
         With particular care to synergies with projects funded by call EDIDP-ISR-EHAPS-2019 “European
         High Altitude Platform Station (Euro-HAPS) solution for Union defence (surveillance of maritime
         zones, land borders or critical assets)”.
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                     SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                     classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
expected outcomes:
   Improved safety, security, performance and user experience (including personal safety
     and security) of operational staff of European border and coast guards and of customs
     authorities;
   Better situational awareness supporting decision-making systems of European border,
     maritime and customs authorities, including better communication, preparedness and
     preparation.
Scope: Research should investigate and define future capability needs for increasing the
safety, security, performance and user experience of the operational staff of border and coast
guards and of customs authorities. This also in view of the reinforcement of the standing
corps of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. Research should analyse capabilities
to facilitate and/or protect the work of the operational staff, including their safety and
security. Technological components may include security and safety solutions and protective
equipment for deployed staff, advanced communication systems, advanced human interface
devices and sensors. Capability needs and possible solutions should also be explored on
increased situational awareness for border and coast guards and customs, including how to
prepare for and manage changing situations; and/or on analytics support solutions for
managing border and coast guards or customs staff, response and operations, taking into
account legal and ethical, including data protection, requirements.
Complementarity with other security research streams, such as those that developed critical
business continuity and safety and security solutions for security practitioners and first
responders should be explored, while ensuring tailoring to the user needs in the specific
operational context.
Proposals under this topic are expected to address the priorities of the European Border and
Coast Guard and of its Agency (Frontex) starting from the design of their work, and engage
with the Agency in the development of the project. Proposals should give a key role to
Frontex in validating the project outcomes, with the aim of facilitating future uptake of
innovations for the border and coast guard community.
Research projects should consider, build on if appropriate and not duplicate previous research,
including but not limiting to research by other Framework Programmes projects such as those
on human factors and/or on situational awareness capabilities for border security and border
management, as well as European studies on potential applications of technologies to the
improvement of border management capabilities.
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HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01-03: Improved border checks for travel facilitation across
external borders and improved experiences for both passengers and border authorities’
staff
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                       requesting different amounts.
Indicative             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.63
budget
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                       This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3
                       Border Authorities from at least 3 different EU Member States or
                       Associated countries. For these participants, applicants must fill in the
                       table “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the application form
                       with all the requested information, following the template provided in the
                       submission IT tool.
                       If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                       timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                       (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                       for earth observation is encouraged.
                       Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                       background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                       SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                       classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                       apply:
                       To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                       only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                       ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
63
        This budget is shared with topic HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01-01, HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01-05
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                      thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
expected outcomes:
    Validation of innovative solutions for border crossing facilitation systems at European
      level for near-seamless and improved border crossing experience for travellers;
    Increased security and reliability of border checks, including identification of people and
      goods crossing external borders, with stronger protection of people's fundamental rights
      and personal data;
    Better organisation, flexibility and planning of border checks by European border
      authorities, including for handling peaks in cross-border traffic.
Scope: Research should develop and systematically test and validate solutions to speed up and
facilitate the border crossing experience (at land, sea and/or border crossing points for both
travellers and staff of border authorities. Systems for easier border crossings, while
maintaining security and reliability, would further advance one or more capabilities including
the capabilities of border guards to do checks in mobility; of identifying and/or controlling
passengers (and their vehicles and/or luggage) without stopping them; and/or of temporarily
setting up or scaling up the capacity of certain border crossing points within a relatively short
notice. Systems should integrate solutions being able to offer these capabilities in a flexible
way and at the same time process border checks for a range of cases and types of passengers
(for example EU nationals, third-country nationals, ETIAS/non-ETIAS eligible, persons
recorded in a national facilitation programme, etc.).
For one aspect of the border crossing system, mobile or transportable technologies would
enable authorities to quickly react to actual situations at the borders. In some scenarios, border
checks are not only carried out in fixed crossing points, but also exceptionally in temporary
points. New technologies can support authorities on document and information checks and
verification (e.g. scanning passports, biometric verification, customs declarations, etc.),
including health or security checks as necessary, establishing a secure and reliable
communication channel to a backend service and providing immediate feedback to the field
officer. Special considerations should be given to situations where officers operate in limited
space areas (e.g. inside a train, on the road, onboard a ship in a port area). Equipment should
not be heavy or bulky and should not restrict their freedom of movement. Solutions should
have the potential to contribute to a better border crossing experience for travellers, operators
and authorities, improving flows at border crossing points while maintaining or improving
reliability and security of checks.
For another aspect of the border crossing system, research should advance the capabilities to
capture and use biometrics of travellers without them having to stop and in natural contexts
for border checks, in full respect of fundamental rights and considerations to safeguard data
and integrity. Proposed research that could also link with innovation for fighting crime and
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terrorism beyond only the border checks (for example, biometrics capabilities that could help
law enforcement to fight trafficking of human beings) would be an asset.
Projects should address the various components of an integrated system, test and validate it in
real operational environment. Proposals should be convincing in explaining the frameworks
(tools, methods, procedures, resources and criteria) they intend to use for demonstrating,
testing and validating the operational performance of the systems; these frameworks will also
include assessments of manufacturability, cost-effectiveness, efficiency and integration with
existing systems.
While some components studied could be more innovative and brought to mid-TRL, most
components are expected to arrive at high TRL and be demonstrated by projects in relevant,
operational or real environments with operations and exercises for validation by practitioners.
Proposals should also delineate the plans for further uptake (industrialisation,
commercialisation, acquisition and/or deployment) at national and EU level, after the research
project and should it deliver on its goals, of the border crossing facilitation systems that they
will demonstrate in the research project. Projects are also recommended to integrate impact
assessments, including leveraging insights from previous research, in investigating and
developing the solutions they propose.
Proposals under this topic are expected to address the priorities of the European Border and
Coast Guard and of its Agency (Frontex) starting from the design of their work, and engage
with the Agency in the development of the project. Proposals should give a key role to
Frontex in validating the project outcomes, with the aim of facilitating future uptake of
innovations for the border and coast guard community.
Research projects should consider, build on if appropriate and not duplicate previous research,
including but not limiting to research by other Framework Programmes projects such as those
on border checks capabilities, risk-based integrated border control systems, travel facilitation,
biometrics and document security, as well as and EU studies on potential applications of
technologies to the improvement of border management capabilities.
BM03 – Better customs and supply chain security
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01-04: Advanced detection of threats and illicit goods in
postal and express courier flows
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                     requesting different amounts.
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Indicative             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
budget
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                       This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2
                       Customs Authorities and 2 Police Authorities64, from at least 3 different
                       EU Member States or Associated countries. For these participants,
                       applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information about
                       practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information,
                       following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
                       Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                       background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                       SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                       classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    Improved detection of threats and dangerous and illicit goods by practitioners and
     operators within post and parcel flows, without disruption to the flow;
    Improved capacity of practitioners and operators to deny the misuse of the postal and
     parcel service by criminal or terrorist group to move items;
    Improved risk assessment, preparedness and reaction capacities in the postal and parcel
     service.
Scope: Research under this topic will contribute to build capabilities for more effective
detection of threats and of dangerous and illicit goods within postal and express courier flows,
without impeding those flows or disproportionate intrusion into privacy. Currently there is a
lack of technology that allows screening the volumes and at the speed of processing the
parcels, making manual intervention necessary. At the same time, organised crime groups
think they run a relatively low risk in exploiting postal and parcels supply chains to move a
64
        In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
        national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
        detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
        police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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range of illicit and dangerous goods. Successful innovation could hence also have a deterrent
effect on criminal organisations to use such channels.
Examples of threats and dangerous and illicit goods include explosives and explosive
precursors, CBRN material, drugs, cash, contraband or counterfeit items, including counterfeit
identity documents, and fake medicines. Detection capabilities should be built for post and
parcels crossing the external borders of the Union, but also for internal shipping, but without
introducing additional controls that may disrupt free movement of goods. Cooperation with
operators of postal and express courier service in the research project is strongly encouraged.
Solutions that could improve data quality, availability, integration among different steps in the
flow, and interpretability, would also be welcome of projects.
Testing and validation, within the project, of developed tools and solutions in an operational
environment, will be an asset. Proposals should be convincing in explaining the methods they
intend to use for demonstrating, testing and validating the proposed tools and solutions.
Proposals should also delineate the plans to develop possible future uptake and upscaling at
national and EU level for possible next steps after the research project.
Research proposals should consider, build on if appropriate and not duplicate, previous
research, including but not limiting to research by other projects funded by the Framework
Programmes for Research and Innovation. Proposed research that could also link with
innovation for fighting crime and terrorism would be an asset.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is advised.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01-05: Improved detection of concealed objects on, and
within the body of, persons
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                        requesting different amounts.
Indicative              The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.65
budget
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
65
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                     The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                     This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3
                     Customs Authorities from at least 3 different EU Member States or
                     Associated countries. For these participants, applicants must fill in the
                     table “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the application form
                     with all the requested information, following the template provided in the
                     submission IT tool.
                     Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                     background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                     SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                     classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Procedure            The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                     apply:
                     To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                     only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                     ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                     thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
expected outcomes:
   Improved capability of customs and border authorities, at land, sea and/or air border
     crossing points, to detect drugs, illicit goods, weapons, explosive and other threats
     concealed on individuals or within their bodies, in the operational environment of border
     crossing points;
   Safer, more efficient and more easily deployable solutions for detection compared to the
     state of the art are used by customs and border authorities, in particular avoiding ionizing
     radiation and minimizing any safety risk to users and operators and ensuring respect of
     fundamental rights.
Scope: Research under this topic will increase the capabilities to detect objects concealed on
persons, or hidden inside the body of persons. The proposed technology should be able to
detect concealments on moving persons and should be based on non-ionising approaches that
provide necessary safety and privacy. Proposed solutions should be harmless for users and
operators (avoiding ionizing radiation, and include the assessment of the risk of any kind of
toxic substances and/or potentially harmful techniques), provide fast detection and include
easily deployable devices.
They should be able to detect weapons (including non-metallic weapons); explosives
(combined or not with electronics), including homemade explosives (HMEs) and improvised
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explosive devices (IEDs); other threats and illicit goods such as drugs, tobacco or currency,
concealed under or in the clothes or bags of individuals as well as within the individuals’
bodies. The need for such detection capabilities could be increasingly useful especially in
contexts such as airports or ferry terminals where people board on foot or in vehicles, where a
sufficient and efficient detection capacity will have to cope with substantial growth of
passenger volume.
Proposed solutions must maximise respect of fundamental rights, including for dignity and
privacy. In this sense, solutions should avoid explicit formation of images, physical contact or
intrusive techniques. Solutions should also prove their potential to enable the quick scan of
large flows of people, employing a minimum number of operators. Solutions should be
systematically tested and validated in operational or real environments.
Research proposals should consider, build on if appropriate and not duplicate previous
research, including but not limiting to research by other Framework Programmes projects
such as on basic capabilities to detect concealed objects on individuals and in cargo or
containers.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content should be addressed only if the consortium deems it relevant in relation to
the objectives of the research effort.
Call - Border Management 2022
                                                                           HORIZON-CL3-2022-BM-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)66
                 Topics                      Type         Budgets           Expected EU            Number
                                               of           (EUR           contribution per            of
                                            Action        million)          project (EUR            projects
                                                                               million)67          expected
                                                            2022                                     to be
                                                                                                    funded
                                            Opening: 30 Jun 2022
                                          Deadline(s): 23 Nov 2022
66
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
67
         Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
         amounts.
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HORIZON-CL3-2022-BM-01-01 RIA                    6.00            Around 6.00              1
HORIZON-CL3-2022-BM-01-02 IA                     6.00            Around 6.00              1
HORIZON-CL3-2022-BM-01-03 IA                     6.00            Around 3.00              2
HORIZON-CL3-2022-BM-01-04 RIA                    3.50            Around 3.50              1
HORIZON-CL3-2022-BM-01-05 IA                     3.50            Around 3.50              1
Overall indicative budget                        25.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
BM01 – Efficient border surveillance and maritime security
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2022-BM-01-01: Improved underwater                          detection    and    control
capabilities to protect maritime areas and sea harbours
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
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                    requesting different amounts.
Indicative          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
budget
Type of Action      Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility         The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                    This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3
                    Border or Coast Guard from at least 3 different EU Member States or
                    Associated countries. For these participants, applicants must fill in the
                    table “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the application form
                    with all the requested information, following the template provided in the
                    submission IT tool.
                    Consortia may additionally include harbour authorities and operators as
                    well as custom authorities.
                    If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                    timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                    (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                    for earth observation is encouraged.
                    Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                    background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                    SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                    classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology          Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level     General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
expected outcomes:
   Improved security of maritime infrastructures and maritime transport, including sea
     harbours and their entrance routes;
   Improved detection of illicit and dangerous goods and/or of threats hidden below the
     water surface, either threatening infrastructures or vessels, or moving alone or connected
     to vessels.
Scope: Security of maritime infrastructures and transport is key to support the movement of
people and trade to, from, and within Europe. Furthermore, it is important to strengthen
capabilities for security in and of sea harbours and of their entrance routes, and detection,
prevention and response to illicit activities in and near sea harbours, including in the
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underwater sea space. Both legal and illegal activities in the maritime domain increase and
become more sophisticated and this presses on security practitioners to build and improve
their capabilities to keep up and fulfil their tasks in the future.
A particularly critical environment would include the abilities to detect and act below the
water surface. Possible threats concealed below the water surface should be detected.
Criminal organizations for example have the modus operandi of hiding narcotic cargos under
the water surface of large and medium-sized vessels. Detection and response capabilities
against active threats below the surface (such as terrorist attacks against ships or harbour
infrastructures) should also be developed. Security controls and fiscal manifest verifications
on closed containers and cargo should be supported by information gathered below water
surface.
Research could develop solutions to detect and identify anomalies below the water surface
and/or automatically assess for below the water surface threats to a ship at harbour entrance
and/or a pier. Projects should demonstrate, test and validate solutions working from detection
to minimisation of threats from below the water surface. Research and innovation activities
should focus on delivering advanced autonomous or semi-autonomous vessel screening
capabilities (detection of underwater smuggling – for example in cylindrical containers).
Research proposals should consider, build on if appropriate and not duplicate, previous
research, including but not limiting to research by other projects funded by the Framework
Programmes for Research and Innovation.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
BM02 - Secured and facilitated crossing of external borders
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2022-BM-01-02: Enhanced security of, and combating the frauds on,
identity management and identity and travel documents
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                      requesting different amounts.
Indicative            The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
budget
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
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conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                       This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2
                       Border or Coast Guard Authorities and 2 Police Authorities 68 , from at
                       least 3 different EU Member States or Associated countries. For these
                       participants, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information about
                       practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information,
                       following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
                       Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                       background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                       SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                       classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
expected outcomes:
    Improved capabilities of border management and law enforcement practitioners to
     identify citizens and the use of identity and travel documents and credentials in the
     context of border and police checks, for a better, more reliable and more secure
     experience for citizens and security practitioners, including in connection to optimised e-
     Government settings;
    Improved capabilities of border management and law enforcement practitioners to
     defend identity and document/credential management against attacks to their security
     and attempts to falsify biometrics, identity thefts and online frauds;
    Improved knowledge for European approaches to future identity management systems
     and document and credential security, building on and integrating with existing tools and
     respecting the privacy of European citizens.
Scope: Research will build capabilities to prevent, detect and respond to challenges to the
security and reliability of identity management and identity and travel documents, in the
context of border and police checks. Research should also address solutions for integrated
secure identity creation, protection and management in the context of future increasingly
“digitalised” borders; and contribute to improve the performance and the comfort of the
border and police checks experience for both security authorities’ operators and the users.
68
        In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
        national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
        detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
        police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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New challenges for secure identity management and secure identity and travel documents
could emerge in the coming years and decades. Solutions will hence have to enable new
capabilities while at the same time ensuring both privacy and security of identity and identity
documents. Future electronic identification systems will have to safeguard key parameters of
identity management, such as security, efficiency, user friendliness, trust, privacy and
protection of data. Electronic identifications (eIDs) can be carried on mobile devices, to
respond to security requirements, ease of use and range of applications. In addition, it is
necessary to ensure the reliability and link among the information contained on identity
supports and their owner, to avoid the possibility of having authentic documents with false
information. Research can focus on security and privacy enhancing features in new eID
ecosystems and/or on innovative identity lifecycle processes.
Areas of research could include exploring solutions against morphing attacks to the security
of identity and travel documents, including robust algorithms to detect morphing, as well as
against other possible future attempts and techniques to falsify biometrics; methods to
validate and verify identity at borders or police checks; or advanced and privacy-enhanced
technologies for the security of identity, breeder and travel documents. Research should
explore novel solutions for document verification and fraud detection, including Manipulation
Attack Detection (MAD) and Presentation Attack Detection (PAD) at border checks.
The proposed solutions should act not only at technological level, but should also propose
new approaches to the traditional central authority architecture. The solutions should take into
account the management of sensitive information and include an assessment of legal and
ethical issues.
Solutions have the potential to contribute to future evolutions of European identity strategies
based on eIDAS (Electronic Identification, Authentication and Trust Services), and could
explore synergies with tools offered by the eIDAS Regulation.
Research proposals should consider, build on if appropriate and not duplicate previous
research, including but not limiting to research by other Framework Programmes projects
such as those on capabilities for document security, as well as EU studies on potential
applications of technologies to the improvement of border management capabilities.
BM03 – Better customs and supply chain security
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2022-BM-01-03: Better, more portable and quicker analysis and
detection for customs
Specific conditions
Expected EU         The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per    million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project             Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
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                      requesting different amounts.
Indicative            The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
budget
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                      This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3
                      Customs Authorities from at least 3 different EU Member States or
                      Associated countries. For these participants, applicants must fill in the
                      table “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the application form
                      with all the requested information, following the template provided in the
                      submission IT tool.
                      Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                      background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                      SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                      classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
expected outcomes:
   Portable or easily deployable solutions used in customs inspections for detecting threat
     agents such as drugs, including new psychoactive substances;
   Improved capacities of customs authorities to acquire, analyse, share drugs spectra, and
     detect new drugs in the context of customs inspections.
Scope: Research will further develop capabilities for portable and quicker testing, analysis
and detection of threats at customs checks sites. Example of target substances include drugs,
with a focus on new psychoactive substances, but also gems or precious metals and other
threats or illicit goods.
These capabilities would allow customs to deploy detection capacity where and when more
appropriate and efficient and to carry out inspections “on the move” and more quickly. This
would allow detection of threats in the flow of goods directly at the customs inspection site,
without having to divert the scanned object(s) to a different site, like a more distant dedicated
detection laboratory. This would provide better response capability for customs in an ever-
changing operational environment. It would allow for a faster detection and verification
capability in the field.
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The improved capability includes being able to update more easily and quickly the references
for the target goods and substances, and to be able to detect them. This includes updated
spectra of drugs such as new psychoactive substances, which would allow detecting them.
There is room for innovation to improve customs’ access to updated spectra of substances
when they appear; to make spectra easily available to customs’ devices; and to improve data
for spectra libraries.
This technology will also allow for an automatic collection of relevant data on the conditions
and outcomes of the controls, as to allow measuring the efficiency of the measures and
feeding the analysis for risk management and security at the borders.
The involvement of police authorities is encouraged, as well as synergies with relevant topics
of the Fight against Crime and Terrorism Destination, to ensure operational scenarios are best
identified for detection capabilities by customs. Research projects should consider, build on if
appropriate and not duplicate previous research, including but is not limited to research by
other Framework Programmes projects.
Testing and validation, within the project, of developed tools and solutions in an operational
environment, will be an asset. Proposals should be convincing in explaining the methods they
intend to use for demonstrating, testing and validating the proposed tools and solutions.
Proposals should also delineate the plans to develop possible future uptake and upscaling at
national and EU level for possible next steps after the research project.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2022-BM-01-04: OPEN TOPIC
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.50
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                     requesting different amounts.
Indicative           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.50 million.
budget
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                     This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2
                     Border or Coast Guards Authorities and 2 Customs Authorities, from at
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                    least 3 different EU Member States or Associated countries. For these
                    participants, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information about
                    practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information,
                    following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
                    The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                    Proposals that address research themes or challenges already covered by
                    other topics in this Destination in 2021 or 2022 cannot be submitted under
                    this topic.
                    If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                    timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                    (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                    for earth observation is encouraged.
                    Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                    background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                    SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                    classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology          Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level     General Annex B.
Scope: Under the Open topic, proposals are welcome to address new, upcoming or unforeseen
challenges and/or creative or disruptive solutions within this Destination that are not covered
by the other topics, in either Call Border Management 2021 and Call Border Management
2022.
Adapted to the nature, scope and type of proposed projects, proposals should convincingly
explain how they will plan and/or carry out demonstration, testing and validation of
developed tools and solutions. Proposals should be convincing in explaining the methods they
intend to use for demonstrating, testing and validating the proposed tools and solutions.
Proposals should also delineate the plans to develop possible future uptake and upscaling at
national and EU level for possible next steps after the research project.
Research proposals should consider, build on if appropriate and not duplicate previous
research, including but is not limited to research by other Framework Programmes’ projects.
HORIZON-CL3-2022-BM-01-05: OPEN TOPIC
Specific conditions
Expected EU         The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.50
contribution per    million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project             Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                    requesting different amounts.
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Indicative          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.50 million.
budget
Type of Action      Innovation Actions
Eligibility         The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                    This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2
                    Border or Coast Guards Authorities and 2 Customs Authorities, from at
                    least 3 different EU Member States or Associated countries. For these
                    participants, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information about
                    practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information,
                    following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
                    The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                    Proposals that address research themes or challenges already covered by
                    other topics in this Destination in 2021 or 2022 cannot be submitted under
                    this topic.
                    If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                    timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                    (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                    for earth observation is encouraged.
                    Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                    background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                    SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                    classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology          Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level     General Annex B.
Scope: Under the Open topic, proposals are welcome to address new, upcoming or unforeseen
challenges and/or creative or disruptive solutions within this Destination that are not covered
by the other topics, in either of Call Border Management 2021 and Call Border Management
2022.
Adapted to the nature, scope and type of proposed projects, proposals should convincingly
explain how they will plan and/or carry out demonstration, testing and validation of
developed tools and solutions. Proposals should be convincing in explaining the methods they
intend to use for demonstrating, testing and validating the proposed tools and solutions.
Proposals should also delineate the plans to develop possible future uptake and upscaling at
national and EU level for possible next steps after the research project.
Research proposals should consider, build on if appropriate and not duplicate previous
research, including but is not limited to research by other Framework Programmes projects.
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Resilient Infrastructure
The reliable, robust and resilient operation of infrastructures is vital for the security, well-
being and economic prosperity of people in Europe. They provide the basis for our daily lives,
connect people to each other and guarantee different kinds of social and economic
interactions. To be able to allow for such interactions, be it in transport, communications or
services, infrastructures has grown more complex to keep up with the development of modern
societies, while at the same time ensuring their resilience against disasters and the impacts of
climate change and other factors that affect society e.g. demographic changes. Infrastructures
operate and function in a rapidly evolving socio-technological and threat environment with
increasingly interconnected networks highly reliant upon one another, which presents both
risks and opportunities for their protection. They must be resilient towards different expected
and unexpected events, emerging risks, be they natural or man-made, unintentional, accidental
or with malicious intent.
The Security Union Strategy69 identifies the protection of critical infrastructures as one of
the main priorities for the EU and its Member States for the coming years. Specific reference
is established to growing interconnectivity as well as emerging and complex threats:
technological trends like the use of Artificial Intelligence and the rapid development of
sophisticated unmanned vehicles, the impact of natural and man-made disasters, as well as
major crisis scenarios like the COVID-19 pandemic and unexpected events. Infrastructure
preparedness and protection is a technologically complex domain, affected by various global
developments and thus needs to be supported by targeted security research. This Work
Programme aims at supporting the protection of European infrastructures with relevant
projects, enabling public and private actors to meet current and emerging challenges.
Technologically complex applications offer the possibility for better prevention and
preparedness, can enable efficient response to different threats and faster recovery. But at the
same time, they create new vulnerabilities. The potential damage resulting from their
disruption can escalate rapidly and negatively affect wider parts of vital societal functions.
For instance, this is the case of satellite-based positioning and timing systems, which provide
a wealth of high quality Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) services that are exploited
by critical infrastructures such as transport and logistics, energy grids, drinking water
network, dams, telecom networks or financial markets. Global Navigation Satellite System
(GNSS) disruption or denial of services is recognised as an important economic and societal
threat.
Infrastructures in the European Union are a high-value target for terrorist groups as well as
agencies of third countries. With the Directive on identification and designation of European
critical infrastructures and assessment of the need to improve their protection70 the EU and
its Member States have created a basis for a common approach towards protection. Under the
umbrella of the new Security Union Strategy, the regulatory framework for critical
69
        COM(2020) 605 final.
70
        Directive (EU) 2008/114.
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infrastructure protection is currently under revision. The Proposal for a Directive on the
Resilience of Critical Entities 71 is also making use of the significant results that security
research has produced over the last decade.
Especially in the cyber-domain, the risks have been constantly growing in recent years, with
both more frequent and more sophisticated attacks. In addition, criminals, and state-sponsored
entities are utilising different tools for carrying out cyber-attacks on infrastructures with the
help of cyber-tools for personal or political gain (e.g. extortion, blackmailing). The EU has
acknowledged the strong role of the cyber dimension in infrastructure protection, most
notably in the proposal for a revised Directive on Security of Network and Information
Systems (NIS 2 Directive) proposed in December 2020 72 . Large-scale data mining of cross-
sectoral information should be supported by targeted research on appropriate AI techniques
and infrastructure. For instance for mission-critical systems it is essential to be able to react
quickly, efficiently, safely and secure to different and complex scenarios enabling effective
and informed decision-making based on sufficient available and trustworthy data.
Physical attacks are less frequent, but cases in the EUs neighbourhood have shown the
destructive potential of new technologies used for attacks such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
(UAVs), which can also be used for intentional disruptions that pose danger to safe operations
of infrastructures and create significant economic losses.
Hybrid threats are of particular relevance in the overall risk scenarios, since they are designed
to target vulnerabilities and aim in many cases at disrupting infrastructure and its services,
making use of different methods. Hybrid threats, techniques and means encompass a
combination of physical and cyber-attacks or disruptions, diplomatic, military and political as
well as economic means. The effects of cyber-instruments and disinformation are crucial
elements of such malevolent strategies and create the need for comprehensive preparedness to
avoid large scale disruptions. As such, both the Joint Framework on Countering Hybrid
Threats (2016) 73 and the Joint Communication on Increasing Resilience and Bolstering
Capabilities to Address Hybrid Threats (2018) 74 pay special attention to the role of
infrastructures and state that research should provide better means to counter hybrid threats.
Europe is exposed to a wide range of natural hazards and the vulnerabilities of infrastructures
need to be addressed also from that perspective. With certain disasters striking more
frequently and more severely, as well as long-term challenges such as climate change, there is
a need to deploy innovative solutions to ensure the continuous functioning of European
infrastructures exposed to such natural extremes. Security research should in this regard
support the regulatory and cooperation measures at European level, such as the Union Civil
Protection Mechanism 75 and the new EU Adaptation Strategy. On the other hand, new
infrastructures technologies themselves (for example energy production and storages, new
materials, water protection, etc.) can pose a potential risks for society due to accidents.
71
        COM(2020) 829 final.
72
        COM(2020) 823 final.
73
        JOIN/2016/018 final.
74
        JOIN/2018/16 final.
75
        Decision No 1313/2013/EU on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism and subsequent amendments.
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Therefore, the role of civil protection needs to be reflected in targeted research at the same
level as it is the case for different security authorities.
The COVID-19 crisis presents a challenge that is unprecedented in recent European history
and it concerns infrastructures in two main dimensions. Pandemics are an extreme stress-test
for the function of certain infrastructures (most notably: health, transport and supply-chains)
by disrupting established procedures, threatening the function due to infection of workforces
and massively scaling up the need for resources. In addition, infrastructures themselves can
increase pandemic risk if unsuited to different mitigation measures and promoting virus
transmission. This area will build on lessons learnt from the COVID-19 crisis. It will be for
certain topics essential also to ensure synergies and coordination of actions with the Health
Programme 76.
Increased complexity in the area of infrastructure protection is not only related to the
amplified role of the cyber dimension, but also by the mix of man-made and natural hazards
and the growing interdependence. The development of European cities into smart cities has
opened up a new domain in infrastructure protection, expanding the perspective beyond
classical sectors of (critical) infrastructure since more complex, connected and vulnerable
assets are deployed in urban areas. This consideration unveils the still fragile building blocks
of smart cities’ technological features and underlines the need to put a stronger emphasis on
broader societal challenges and needs. Security research can help to make use of the
knowledge acquired in other sectors and to make it usable for local authorities to protect and
empowers people and assets in cities and urban areas.
Furthermore, in order to accomplish the objectives of this Destination, additional eligibility
conditions have been defined with regard to the active involvement of relevant security
practitioners or end-users.
Proposals involving earth observation are encouraged to primarily make use of Copernicus
data, services and technologies.
Expected impact
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
to the following expected impact of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2021-2024:“[…]
resilience and autonomy of physical and digital infrastructures are enhanced and vital
societal functions are ensured, thanks to more powerful prevention, preparedness and
response, a better understanding of related human, societal and technological aspects, and
the development of cutting-edge capabilities for […] infrastructure operators […]”
More specifically, proposals should contribute to the achievement of one or more of the
following impacts:
76
        Regulation (EU) 2021/522 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 March 2021
        establishing a Programme for the Union’s action in the field of health (‘EU4Health Programme’) for the
        period 2021-2027, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 282/2014.
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   Ensured resilience of large-scale interconnected systems infrastructures in case of
     complex attacks, pandemics or natural and man-made disasters;
   Upgraded infrastructure protection systems enable rapid, effective, safe and secure
     response and without substantial human intervention to complex threats and challenges,
     and better assess risks ensuring resilience and strategic autonomy of European
     infrastructures;
   Resilient and secure smart cities are protected using the knowledge derived from the
     protection of critical infrastructures and systems that are characterised by growing
     complexity.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
               Call                             Budgets (EUR million)         Deadline(s)
                                              2021                   2022
HORIZON-CL3-2021-INFRA-01 20.00                                              23 Nov 2021
HORIZON-CL3-2022-INFRA-01                                      11.00         23 Nov 2022
Overall indicative budget             20.00                    11.00
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Call - Resilient Infrastructure 2021
                                                                       HORIZON-CL3-2021-INFRA-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)77
                  Topics                         Type        Budgets         Expected EU          Number
                                                   of          (EUR         contribution per          of
                                                Action       million)        project (EUR          projects
                                                                               million)78         expected
                                                               2021                                 to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 30 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 23 Nov 2021
HORIZON-CL3-2021-INFRA-01-01 IA                            20.00          Around 10.00            1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-INFRA-01-02 IA                                           Around 10.00            1
Overall indicative budget                                  20.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                      The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                      The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                   C.
Award criteria                                              The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                            D.
Documents                                                   The documents are described in General
77
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
78
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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                                                          Annex E.
Procedure                                                 The procedure is described in General
                                                          Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                   The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
INFRA01 – Improved preparedness and response for large-scale disruptions of
European infrastructures
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2021-INFRA-01-01: European infrastructures and their autonomy
safeguarded against systemic risks
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 10.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                       requesting different amounts.
Indicative             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.79
budget
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                       This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3
                       government entities responsible for security, which could include civil
                       protection authorities, at national level from at least 3 different EU
                       Member States or Associated countries. For these participants, applicants
                       must fill in the table “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the
                       application form with all the requested information, following the
                       template provided in the submission IT tool.
                       In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                       strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security, namely the security-
                       sensitive nature of the autonomy of European infrastructures against
                       systemic risks and hybrid threats, participation is limited to legal entities
                       established in Member States and Associated Countries. Proposals
79
        This budget is shared with topic HORIZON-CL3-2021-INFRA-01-02
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                     including legal entities which are not established in these countries will be
                     ineligible.
                     If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                     timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                     (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                     for earth observation is encouraged.
                     Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                     background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                     SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                     classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Procedure            The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                     apply:
                     To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                     only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                     ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                     thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to some of the following expected
outcomes:
   Improved large-scale vulnerability assessments of EU Member States’ (MS) or
     Associated Countries’ (AC) key infrastructures covering one or more types of
     infrastructure (energy, water, communications, transport, finance etc.) in more than two
     MS/AC
   Improved cooperation to counter Hybrid Threats and subsequent large-scale disruptions
     of infrastructures in Europe, allowing for operational testing in real scenarios or realistic
     simulations of scenarios with specific regard to the cross-border dimension (intra-EU as
     well as non-EU)
   Improved concepts and instruments for the anticipation of systemic risks to European
     infrastructure, allowing for comprehensive long-term risk assessments, with regards to
     climate change, technological trends, foreign direct investment (FDI) and dependence on
     critical supplies from non-EU countries
   Improved risk, vulnerability and complexity related assessments for interconnected
     physical-digital European infrastructures aiming to increase security, resilience and
     design effective preventive, mitigating and preparedness measures and protect against
     and respond to cascading effects
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    Terrestrial back-up/alternative PNT solutions to ensure continuous operation of Critical
      Infrastructure in case of the disruption of GNSS services or other essential services
    Enabling the decentralisation of large infrastructure to mitigate vulnerability in case of
      large scale disruptions
    Enhanced preparedness and response by definition of operational procedures of both
      private and public infrastructure operators as well as public authorities considering
      citizens involvement (needs and vulnerabilities) in case of large scale infrastructure
      disruptions also with a view of assessing the combined physical and cyber resilience
Scope: Security research related to infrastructure protection has been traditionally following a
sectorial approach. With more and more infrastructure systems being interconnected, a
stronger focus on the systemic dimension and complexity of attacks and disruptions by cyber
or physical means needs to be applied. As such, not only interdependencies within one type of
infrastructure (or closely related types) can be taken into account, but large-scale disruptions
also with a view of the specific challenges of the cross-border dimension. Also, there is a need
for a comprehensive strategy that takes into account different forms of interdependence (e.g.
physical, geographic, cyber and logical).
In order to raise the awareness and preparedness for emerging risks, research should enhance
the capabilities for foresight and risk management on a systemic level. As such, large-scale
Vulnerability Assessments and risks management capabilities, as well as forecasting of
emerging risks should be developed with a view of preparing for attacks or disruptions on the
whole infrastructure of one or several EU Member States and Associated Countries. To allow
for rapid and adequate response, simulations to prepare for systemic disruption of several key
infrastructures are necessary. Since especially physical attacks on infrastructures in the EU are
less frequent compared to other scenarios there is less empirical data available that can be
used to improve protection. Furthermore, there is a lack of capabilities for testing protective
equipment and training manuals. Security research can help to develop tools for operational
testing in real-scenarios or simulated scenarios. Specific attention should be dedicated to
Hybrid Threat scenarios, as defined by the European Centre of Excellence for Countering
Hybrid Threats. The same is true for extreme natural events, which have the potential to
disrupt several key infrastructures and whose subsequent effects are difficult to predict.
Security research should in this regard support and complement obligations to better prevent
and prepare for crises as set by the Union Civil Protection Mechanism.
Some essential sectors of the economy need uninterrupted access to the high-quality position
and timing information provided for free by satellite navigation systems. Despite the fact that
satellite navigation systems such as Galileo are made ever more robust to withstand risks and
disruptions in terms of ground segments as well as space assets, there remain residual
vulnerabilities that cannot be coped with when facing the emergence of new challenges.
These critical sectors should therefore develop complementary positioning and/or timing
solutions that are able to sustain a sudden disruption of GNSS service. This would make the
vital functions of the society more resilient.
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Infrastructure security research is in many cases transnational. While there has always been a
strong European dimension in the conducted research, there has been less of a focus on cross-
border scenarios with third-countries. Security research should therefore stimulate knowledge
generation and cooperation with relevant third countries, which are vital for the functioning of
European infrastructure. Examples could include energy, but also critical supplies, digital
services or transport.
The means to attack infrastructure on a large scale have been rapidly enhanced by malevolent
actors. Nevertheless, risks do not only emerge from intentional acts or disruptions, they can
also grow over time based on other factors such as climate change, or lack of independence in
critical technologies. Thus, better anticipation of systemic risks including forward-looking
technological risk assessment and advanced screening of private interests related to ownership
and operations (licensing), and FDI should be a key area of security research in the future. On
a constant basis, information about the functioning and vulnerabilities of European
infrastructures is unlawfully gathered for economic reasons, as well as with a view of
preparing possible intentional disruptions. With the aim of safeguarding autonomy, more
sophisticated tools against unlawful gathering of information on infrastructures need to be
developed.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL3-2021-INFRA-01-02: Ensured infrastructure resilience in case of
Pandemics
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 10.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                        requesting different amounts.
Indicative              The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.80
budget
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                        This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 1
                        operator of critical infrastructure, as well as of at least 1 organisation
                        dealing with research on infectious diseases from 2 different EU Member
                        States or Associated countries. For these participants, applicants must fill
80
         This budget is shared with topic HORIZON-CL3-2021-INFRA-01-01
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                      in the table “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the application
                      form with all the requested information, following the template provided
                      in the submission IT tool.
                      Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                      background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                      SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                      classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Procedure             The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                      apply:
                      To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                      only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                      ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                      thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
expected outcomes:
   Strategies for the resilience of infrastructure networks and services, and their interaction
      and vulnerabilities in a context of rapidly changing volumes and patterns of use
   Understanding of inter-dependencies and strategies to overcome disruptions at local –
      regional – national and European (cross-border) level
   Better understanding of the cascading effects of pandemics for different infrastructures
      and the services they provide
   Improved procedures to reduce exposure of workforce to infectious diseases and
      mitigation strategies in case of the infrastructure disruptions or overload caused by the
      absence of critical workforce, surge of patients in the healthcare services, or disruptions
      of critical supplies
Scope: Pandemics such as the COVID-19 crisis and other health risks have the potential to
massively disrupt the functioning of infrastructures and vital societal functions. While this is
most evident for the health system, the negative impacts reach much further. Resilient
infrastructure systems particularly ‘lifeline’ services such as electric power, water and health
care are critical for minimizing the societal impact of extreme events. It is essential to develop
targeted solutions to ensure continuity of operations of different services and supplies, which
are also critical to allow for prevention, preparedness and response to pandemics. This
preparedness must also account for climate change as a “threat multiplier”, for example with
heatwaves, storms, forest fires or flooding either accelerating the spread of a pandemic or
rendering countermeasures like confinement less effective.
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Member States remain the primary actors in preventing and responding to the outbreaks of
infectious diseases. Enhanced European coordination into capacity-building, improved
prevention, preparedness and coordinated response can support their efforts. In order to
improve the EU-wide prevention and response to the specific challenges for the functioning of
infrastructure in case of a severe infectious disease crises requires targeted security research
which can deliver better knowledge, security risk assessment as well preparedness and
response emergency planning tools. Public-private cooperation is absolutely essential in order
to respond to a crisis as far reaching as a pandemic. Any comprehensive European approach
to infrastructure resilience in case of a disruption caused by it, will need to take due account
of this cooperation.
In infrastructure protection research, it is of high importance to understand the impact of the
pandemic beyond the directly affected health system. The availability of specialised work
force and vulnerability assessment of health capacities constitute the essential elements in this
regard, as disruption of infrastructures due to the infection of large parts of a specific work
force poses the immediate risk of cascading effects. The same is the case for integrated
supply-chains for both critical goods, as well as non-essential ones. As such, understanding
interdependencies, reducing vulnerabilities and identifying truly critical activities is key for
enhancing overall societal resilience against pandemics.
A situation like the COVID-19 crisis, also puts the capacities of different infrastructures under
exceptional stress, due to the rapidly increased demand for certain supplies and services and
the ensuring change of load stress of different networks (as for example sudden increase in
communication, decrease in transport, ensuring essential resources). Such changes in use-
patterns open vulnerabilities, as for example increased cyber-risks in the event of teleworking
or less physical protection due to staff contingency measures. Design of some critical
infrastructure components, such as transport networks and critical manufacturing may in
themselves be resilient to the pandemic threat, but put overall societal resilience at risk by
promoting disease transmission and being unsuited to different mitigation measures.
The testing and/or piloting of the strategies developed in a real setting with one or more
relevant public authorities is an asset; regardless, actions should foresee how they will
facilitate the uptake, replication across setting and up-scaling of the capabilities - i.e.
solutions, tools, processes et al. – to be developed by the project.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is advised.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content should be addressed only if the consortium deems it relevant in relation to
the objectives of the research effort.
Call - Resilient Infrastructure 2022
                                                                   HORIZON-CL3-2022-INFRA-01
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Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)81
                  Topics                         Type        Budgets         Expected EU          Number
                                                   of          (EUR         contribution per          of
                                                Action       million)        project (EUR          projects
                                                                               million)82         expected
                                                               2022                                 to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 30 Jun 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 23 Nov 2022
HORIZON-CL3-2022-INFRA-01-01 RIA                           5.00           Around 5.00             1
HORIZON-CL3-2022-INFRA-01-02 IA                            6.00           Around 6.00             1
Overall indicative budget                                  11.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                      The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                      The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                   C.
Award criteria                                              The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                            D.
Documents                                                   The documents are described in General
                                                            Annex E.
Procedure                                                   The procedure is described in General
                                                            Annex F.
81
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
82
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
INFRA02 - Resilient and secure smart cities
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2022-INFRA-01-01: Nature-based Solutions integrated to protect local
infrastructure
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                      This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least
                      two local or regional government authorities from at least 2 different
                      EU Member States or Associated countries. For these participants,
                      applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information about
                      practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information,
                      following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
                      If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                      timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used). The
                      use of Copernicus for earth observation is encouraged.
                      Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                      background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                      SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                      classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Legal and             The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of   apply:
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the Grant                  Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the
Agreements                 Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions
                           under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for
                           Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the
                           Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy
                           Community (2021-2025). 83.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
expected outcomes:
    Integrated Nature-based solutions (NBS) into overall concepts for the protection of
      infrastructures and existing integrated risk management plans for cities and urban areas
      with a view of complementing existing methods for protection and resilience
    Adaptation and mitigation strategies for infrastructure protection applied by local
      authorities and operators, including lessons learned from studying reactions of natural
      eco-systems to different external shocks
    Resilience of local infrastructures enhanced by integrating local knowledge from
      population and historical documents, as well as natural components in their physical
      assets preventing potential damages from different types of hazards, including storms,
      floods and heatwaves.
    Novel construction materials and solutions resulting in more durable and damage
      resistant infrastructure
    Full potential of Nature-based Solutions exploited by local authorities and operators to
      mitigate the risks related to multiple hazards manifesting at the same time, while also
      taking into account social empowerment and environmental co-benefits like leisure,
      clean air, and immunity and response to cyberattacks etc.
Scope: The aim of the topic is to expand the knowledge on Nature-based Solutions (NBS) and
their ability to enhance infrastructure resilience in cities and urban areas against natural and
man-made hazards. Thus complementing other traditional security measures.
Cities are undergoing a rapid transformation most notably due to their digitisation. Besides
this, the need for solutions to make them more sustainable and environmentally friendly has
been addressed in many research projects, mainly from the perspective of climate adaptation.
In this regard, nature-based solutions combined with local knowledge offer a potential also for
security research on infrastructures. Such solutions can help and provide business
opportunities to make cities more resilient against natural disasters and possibly other security
challenges. The European Commission defines NBS as: ‘Solutions that are inspired and
83
         This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for
         Horizon      Europe,     under     ‘Simplified      costs    decisions’ or    through     this link:
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-
         decision_he_en.pdf
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supported by nature, which are cost-effective, simultaneously provide environmental, social
and economic benefits and help build resilience. Such solutions bring more, and more
diverse, nature and natural features and processes into cities, landscapes and seascapes,
through locally adapted, resource-efficient and systemic interventions 84 .’ Nature-based
solutions must therefore benefit biodiversity and support the delivery of a range of ecosystem
services.
EU-funded and national research activities have demonstrated the significant opportunities of
NBS with regard to for example improved resilience, climate adaptation and the reduction of
pollution in cities. What concerns security, projects have been focussing on the effects that
NBS can have for prevention (for example flood-plains and mangroves for flood protection,
natural source water protection, green roofs and pavements for heat and water absorption).
The reduction of disaster risks and the potential for enhanced resilience of cities against
different natural hazards are a priority to be put in place when applying NBS. Besides man-
made hazards, Europe is facing increasingly frequent and intense natural hazards, including
epidemics, droughts, heat waves, storms, floods and wildfires, which trigger needs for
constant innovation when it comes to the protection of people. With the continuing increase of
population concentrated in cities and urban areas and increasing impacts of climate change,
such risks present a significant challenge in this regard.
NBS can offer the tools to address the potential to improve risk management and resilience
using approaches that can provide greater benefit than conventional tools at the same time,
like for example heat waves and wildfires, or storms and floods. The detailed understanding
of ecosystems and how nature responds to different external shocks can help to strengthen
existing strategies for urban resilience and deliver new approaches in protection, for example
by integrating natural components in the different infrastructure assets.
Proposals should include a strong involvement of citizens/civil society, together with
academia/research, industry/SMEs and government/public authorities. The testing and/or
piloting of the tools and solutions developed in a real setting with one or more local
authorities and/or other relevant authorities is an asset; regardless, actions should foresee how
they will facilitate the uptake, replication across setting and up-scaling of the capabilities - i.e.
solutions, tools, processes et al. – to be developed by the project.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation with countries
pioneering the development of NBS is advised.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL3-2022-INFRA-01-02: Autonomous systems used for infrastructure
protection
Specific conditions
84
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/research-area/environment/nature-based-solutions_en
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Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                          This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2
                          operators of critical infrastructure from at least 2 different EU Member
                          States or Associated countries. For these participants, applicants must
                          fill in the table “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the
                          application form with all the requested information, following the
                          template provided in the submission IT tool.
                          If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                          timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                          Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used). The
                          use of Copernicus for earth observation is encouraged.
                          Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                          background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                          SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                          classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Legal and                 The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of       apply:
the Grant                 Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the
Agreements                Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions
                          under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for
                          Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the
                          Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy
                          Community (2021-2025). 85.
85
        This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for
        Horizon      Europe,     under     ‘Simplified      costs    decisions’ or    through     this link:
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-
        decision_he_en.pdf
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Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
expected outcomes:
   Autonomous surveillance, detection and fast and coordinated response based on updated
      integrated contingency plans to threats against different types of infrastructures in order
      to support existing security measures, reduce the risk to human personnel and allowing
      for mitigation in locations that are hard to reach (underwater, underground, high altitude,
      etc.) and without or just limited telecoms-connection
   Long term deployment of autonomous solutions for the decontamination of large scale
      infrastructures (including in public urban areas) in case of the release of CBRN-
      materials, or with specific regard to support efforts to reduce the spread of infectious
      diseases, preventing and responding to pandemics
   Long term deployment of autonomous solutions/systems/devices to detect CBRN threats
      in a fast, secure and forensic way
   Consideration of system performance, interdependencies, new failure modes and
      conditions that need to be in place for this to work as intended
   Concepts for the use of advanced materials, smart technologies and built-in monitoring
      and repair capabilities to reduce the destructive potential of natural disasters and
      (terrorist) attacks on infrastructures
   Improved knowledge and solutions for the protection and response against large-scale
      attacks or intentional disruptions with (fast moving) unmanned vehicles or other moving
      objects reducing critically the time to react also close to residential areas
   Enhanced knowledge on the ethical and legal impact on individuals and society as a
      whole of the use of robotics in order to maintain the vital functions of society
Scope: Time is critical to prepare and react to disruptions of infrastructures. Faster and
coordinated interventions can significantly reduce the impact, avoid negative cascading
effects or in the best case prevent disruptions. The increasing interconnectivity of
infrastructures has also led to bigger complexity in regards to the detection and response to
incidents and certain technologies can be misused to conduct attacks or targeted disruptions of
infrastructures. As underlined in the Security Union Strategy this is for example the case for
scenarios involving unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). It could however also be relevant for
possible incidents with land- or sea borne devices approaching at very high speed.
In order to allow for the best possible detection of threats and quick response and restoration
of performance levels (e. g. through decontamination of the affected material/person;
detection as well as mitigation of a risk), autonomous systems for infrastructure protection are
a promising field of research. Many state-of-the art technologies used in other areas (for
example: advanced robots or other autonomous detection and repair capabilities based on
artificial intelligence) combined with user centred approaches, have the potential to
significantly reduce the reaction time and can provide therefore an added value also for
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security solutions. Besides a reduced reaction time, the use of autonomous systems can reduce
the risk for human responders, which is important for dangerous operations as for example in
gas or chemical plants, or CBRN contaminated areas. At the same time, such systems can
access challenging locations, such as underground cables, underwater pipes or assets in high
altitude. Those features do not only present an advantage in responding to intentional acts, but
also allow for faster and more efficient response to natural disasters and subsequent cascading
effects. On the other hand, automated systems do create new vulnerabilities and its use raises
ethical concerns that would need to be taken into account in any research. Solutions and
measures must take into account legal and ethical rules of operation, as well as fundamental
rights such as privacy and protection of personal data. Cost-benefit analysis not compromising
ethics and privacy should also be considered.
Results achieved so far in the area of robots and autonomous systems (RAS), also under
Horizon 2020, have led to applications making use of Unmanned Vehicles for example in the
area of infrastructure maintenance and the detection and response to safety risks. Other
concepts have been including self-healing materials, smart technologies and built-in tools as
well as associated processes. For security incidents, there are so far less solutions available
which would take into account the specific challenges of intentional disruptions as compared
to accidents or material failure.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
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Increased Cybersecurity
Europe is in the midst of a digital transformation. Digital technologies are profoundly
changing our daily life, our way of working and doing business, and the way people travel,
communicate and relate with each other. Digital communication, social media interaction,
artificial intelligence, e-government, e-commerce and digital enterprises are steadily
transforming our world. They are generating an ever-increasing amount of data, which, if
pooled and used, can lead to a completely new means and levels of value creation. The more
interconnected we are, however, the more we are vulnerable to cyber threats.
Digital disruption, notably caused by malicious cyber activities, not only threaten our
economies but also our way of life, our freedoms and values, and even try to undermine the
cohesion and functioning of our democracy in Europe.
Regardless of the economic, political or personal motivations behind the cyber threats,
securing our future wellbeing, freedoms, democratic governance, and prosperity depend on
improving our capacity to shield the EU from malicious attacks and to address digital security
weaknesses in general. The digital transformation requires improving cybersecurity
substantially, so as to ensure the protection of the increasing number of connected devices and
the safe operation of network and information systems, including the ones used in power
grids, drinking water supply and distribution services, vehicles and transport systems,
hospitals and the overall health system, finances, public institutions, factories, and homes.
Europe must build resilience to cyber-attacks and create effective cyber deterrence, while
making sure that data protection and freedom of citizens are strengthened. These efforts
should include considerations for particularly vulnerable organisations and citizens.
The technological tools of cybersecurity are strategic assets, as well as being key growth
technologies for the future. It is in the EU's strategic interest to ensure that the EU retains and
develops the essential capacities to secure its digital economy, society and democracy, to
protect critical hardware and software and to provide key cybersecurity services.
Cybersecurity research and innovation activities will support a Europe fit for the digital age,
enabling and supporting digital innovation while highly preserving privacy, security, safety
and ethical standards. They will contribute to the implementation of the digital and privacy
policy of the Union, in particular the NIS Directive86, the EU Cybersecurity Act87, the EU
Cybersecurity Strategy88, the GDPR89, and the future e-Privacy Regulation.
86
         Directive (EU) 2016/1148 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2016 concerning
         measures for a high common level of security of network and information systems across the Union
         (NIS Directive).
87
         Regulation (EU) 2019/881 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on ENISA
         (the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) and on information and communications technology
         cybersecurity certification and repealing Regulation (EU) No 526/2013 (Cybersecurity Act).
88
         Joint Communication to the European Parliament and the Council The EU's Cybersecurity Strategy for
         the Digital Decade JOIN/2020/18 final.
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Research and innovation will build on the results of Horizon 2020 such as the pilot projects
funded under SU-ICT-03-201890.and other relevant H2020 topics and cybersecurity activities
(e.g. carried out by ENISA91 or relevant parts of work of the EIT Digital92). The activities will
be aligned as relevant with the objectives of the Cybersecurity Competence Centre and
Network of National Coordination Centres93. They will be complementary to actions under
the Digital Europe Programme, Specific Objectives 3 and 4, which will strengthen EU
cybersecurity capacity by support to deployment of cybersecurity infrastructures and tools
across the EU, for public administrations, businesses, and individuals, and support digital
skills including in cybersecurity. For example support is foreseen to specialised education
programmes or modules in key capacity areas such as cybersecurity. Generally, cybersecurity
is a horizontal challenge and is not be limited to Horizon Europe Cluster 3. In addition to the
calls of the Horizon Europe of Cluster 3 - Civil Security for Society, other activities relevant
for Cybersecurity will be supported in particular in the Work Programme part of Cluster 4 -
Digital, Industry and Space.
Research and innovation results may feed into the operational work on preparedness and
response in the Joint Cyber Unit94.
Expected impact:
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway contributing to
the following impact of the Strategic Plan 2021-2024: "Increased cybersecurity and a more
secure online environment by developing and using effectively EU and Member States’
capabilities in digital technologies supporting protection of data and networks aspiring to
technological sovereignty in this field, while respecting privacy and other fundamental rights;
this should contribute to secure services, processes and products, as well as to robust digital
infrastructures capable to resist and counter cyber-attacks and hybrid threats".
More specifically, proposals should contribute to the achievement of one or more of the
following impacts:
    Strengthened EU cybersecurity capacities and European Union sovereignty in digital
      technologies
    More resilient digital infrastructures, systems and processes
    Increased software, hardware and supply chain security
89
        Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the
        protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of
        such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation).
90
        Establishing and operating a pilot for a Cybersecurity Competence Network to develop and implement
        a common Cybersecurity Research & Innovation Roadmap.
91
        https://www.enisa.europa.eu/
92
        https://www.eitdigital.eu/
93
        Regulation (EU) 2021/887 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2021 establishing
        the European Cybersecurity Industrial, Technology and Research Competence Centre and the Network
        of National Coordination Centres.
94
        Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/1086 of 23 June 2021 on building a Joint Cyber Unit.
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   Secured disruptive technologies
   Smart and quantifiable security assurance and certification shared across the EU
   Reinforced awareness and a common cyber security management and culture
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
             Call                         Budgets (EUR million)            Deadline(s)
                                        2021                     2022
HORIZON-CL3-2021-CS-01 67.50                                              21 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL3-2022-CS-01                                    67.30           16 Nov 2022
Overall indicative budget        67.50                    67.30
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Call - Increased cybersecurity 2021
                                                                            HORIZON-CL3-2021-CS-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)95
                Topics                     Type         Budgets             Expected EU           Number
                                             of           (EUR         contribution per project       of
                                          Action        million)           (EUR million)96         projects
                                                                                                  expected
                                                           2021                                     to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 30 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 21 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL3-2021-CS-01-01 RIA                         21.50            3.00 to 5.00               5
HORIZON-CL3-2021-CS-01-02 RIA                         18.00            3.00 to 5.00               4
HORIZON-CL3-2021-CS-01-03 RIA                         11.00            3.00 to 4.00               3
HORIZON-CL3-2021-CS-01-04 RIA                         17.00            3.00 to 5.00               4
Overall indicative budget                             67.50
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                      The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                      The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                   C.
95
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
96
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
CS01 - Secure and resilient digital infrastructures and interconnected systems
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2021-CS-01-01: Dynamic business continuity and                                recovery
methodologies based on models and prediction for multi-level Cybersecurity
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.00
contribution per     and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 21.50 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                     background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                     SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                     classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Advanced self-healing disaster recovery and effective business continuity in critical
     sectors (e.g. energy, transportation, health);
   Enhanced mechanisms for exchange of information among relevant players;
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    Better disaster preparedness against possible disruptions, attacks and cascading effects;
    Better business continuity covering two or more sectors.
The proposal should provide appropriate indicators to measure its progress and specific
impact.
Scope: This action aims at developing new methodologies, services and tools for accelerating
the self-recovery and possible adaptation of the infrastructures and supply chains after an
attack. In line with the NIS Directive the focus should be on critical sectors (e.g. energy,
transportation, health) as well as telecommunication networks. The proposal should go
beyond the state-of-the-art in developing and validating AI-based self-healing, effective
business continuity and disaster recovery in real-world scenarios covering two or more
business sectors and supporting their private and public actors.
Cyber threat intelligence and situational awareness need to be developed from the current
research level towards strategic considerations, and down to real-time events. This requires
collaboration and data sharing between different security actors and should be based on a
collection of heterogeneous data, models and predictions for multi-level security. Cyber
incidents are likely to require the efforts from a heterogeneous network of organisations or a
network of business units inside a single organisation, both when it comes to prevention,
detection and response. The solutions (technologies, methods, tools, procedures, practices
and/or strategies including escalation and de-escalation) developed must satisfy the needs of
the end-users and support daily tasks, efficient and effective operations and ensure business
continuity. Thus, an organisational perspective should be included. Furthermore, the methods
for exchanging information and the actors considered should build, whenever possible, on the
current practices in line with the NIS Directive.
The proposed solutions should include dynamic execution of disruption recovery and business
continuity processes. They should dynamically extract all relevant digital evidence,
information and digital traces, provide real-time personalised technical assistance, share
information and real-time alerts with relevant stakeholders.
Human factors (e.g. behavioural, psychological, physical, cultural and gender) need to be
considered appropriately in all aspects of the proposed solution. Proposals should build on
existing research and projects97, clearly identify the state-of-the-art and explain the strengths
of the new solution in the context of the chosen sectors.
Research should address the risks and impact of a cyber-incident on the business itself, using
appropriate KPIs, but also possible cascading effects of cyber incidents for critical
infrastructure (including potential cross-sectoral and cross-border impacts) and society
overall.
97
        For example projects funded under the H2020 topic SU-INFRA01-2018-2019-2020: Prevention,
        detection, response and mitigation of combined physical and cyber threats to critical infrastructure in
        Europe.
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The research should include a proof of concept in order to validate the claimed progress and
show the benefits in an adequate testing environment involving real end-users. End-users
should be involved in all steps of the cycle from design to development and testing.
Participation of SMEs is encouraged. This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH
disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of
relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the
societal impact of the related research and innovation activities.
CS02 - Hardware, software and supply chain security
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2021-CS-01-02: Improved                    security  in open-source    and  open-
specification hardware for connected devices
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.00
contribution per     and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 18.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                     background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                     SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                     classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to some of the following expected
outcomes:
   Reduced security threats of open source hardware for connected devices.
   Formal verification of open hardware.
   Effective management of cybersecurity patches for connected devices in restricted
     environments such as IoT devices.
   Effective security audits of open source hardware, embedded software and other
     security-relevant aspects of connected devices.
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    Effective mechanisms for inventory management, detection of insecure components and
     decommissioning.
    Methods for secure authentication and secure communication for connected devices in
     restricted environments such as IoT devices
The proposal should provide appropriate indicators to measure its progress and specific
impact.
Scope: The quality of hardware and software, notably open source, for IoT and connected
devices is improving. However, the restricted environment of many IoT devices does not
allow the deployment of more complex protection schemes (e.g. Trusted Platform Modules,
Sandboxing applications in managed memory partitions) and similar approaches that often
rely on operating system (OS) support to ensure cybersecurity. Open Source designs are
frequently used in IoT technology and become more reliable and efficient with the number of
developers that deploy them. The management of this large collaborative development
environment that Open Source represents is a real cybersecurity challenge.
The aim is to support European trustworthy platforms by methods, tools and technologies that
foster a stronger Cybersecurity, which can serve in a variety of connected devices. The
proposed action should integrate formal security models and verified and scalable
cryptography that can be used in future key system components (operating systems,…).
Proposals should cover one or more of these research activities:
    development of verifiable implementations of cryptographic solutions, authentication
     schemes, and, as relevant, software libraries that implement them securely in operating
     systems;
    develop mechanisms to mitigate hardware-related security vulnerabilities
    development of security auditing for connected devices;
    development and advancing of security testing in restricted environments;
    development and advancing of verification methods for secure firmware updates and
     secure software patching in connected devices;
    development of multi-factor authentication hardware and software solutions.
    development of the security upgrading of the connected devices within the life cycle
     (bootstrapping, commissioning, operational, upgrade etc.)
The participation of SMEs is strongly encouraged. In this topic the integration of the gender
dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory
requirement.
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CS03 - Cybersecurity and disruptive technologies
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2021-CS-01-03: AI for cybersecurity reinforcement
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.00
contribution per     and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 11.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                     background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                     SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                     classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to some of the following expected
outcomes:
    Reinforced cybersecurity using AI technological components and tools in line with
     relevant EU policy, legal and ethical requirements.
    Increased knowledge about how an attacker might use AI technology in order to attack
     IT systems.
    Digital processes, products and systems resilient against AI-powered cyberattacks
The proposal should provide appropriate indicators to measure its progress and specific
impact.
Scope: Artificial intelligence (AI) is present in almost every application area where massive
data are involved. Understanding the implications and possible side effects for cybersecurity
however requires deep analysis, including further research and innovation. On the one hand,
AI can be used to improve response and resilience such us for the early detection of threats
and other malicious activities with the aim to more accurately identify, prevent and stop
attacks. On the other hand, attackers are increasingly powering their tools by using AI or by
manipulating AI systems (including the AI systems used to reinforce cybersecurity).
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The proposed actions should develop AI-based methods and tools in order to address the
following interrelated capabilities: (i) improve systems robustness (i.e. the ability of a system
to maintain its initial stable configuration even when it processes erroneous inputs, thanks to
self-testing and self-healing); (ii) improve systems resilience (i.e. the ability of a system to
resist and tolerate an attack, anticipate, cope and evolve by facilitating threat and anomaly
detection and allowing security analysts to retrieve information about cyber threats); (iii)
improve systems response (i.e. the capacity of a system to respond autonomously to attacks,
thanks to identifying vulnerabilities in other machines and operate strategically by deciding
which vulnerability to attack and at which point, and by deceiving attackers; and to (iv)
counter the ways AI can be used for attacking. Advanced AI-based solutions, including
machine learning tools, as well as defensive mechanisms to ensure data integrity should also
be included in the proposed actions. Proposals should strive to ultimately facilitate the work
of relevant cybersecurity experts (e.g. by reducing the workloads of security operators).
Regarding the manifold links among AI and cybersecurity, privacy and personal data
protection, applicants should demonstrate how their proposed solutions comply with and
support the EU policy actions and guidelines relevant to AI (e.g. Ethics Guidelines for
Trustworthy AI98, the AI Whitepaper99, EU Security Strategy100 and the Data Strategy101).
Proposals should foresee activities to collaborate with projects stemming from relevant topics
included in the Cluster 4 “Digital, Industry and Space” of Horizon Europe. Generally,
proposals should also build on the outcomes of and/or foresee actions to collaborate with
other relevant projects (e.g. funded under Horizon 2020, Digital Europe Programme or
Horizon Europe).
Proposals should strive to use, and contribute to, European relevant data pools (including
federations of national and/or regional ones to render their proposed solutions more effective.
To this end, applicants should crucially strive to ensure data quality and homogeneity of
merged/federated data. Applicants should also identify and document relevant trade-offs
between effectiveness of AI and fundamental rights (such as personal data protection).
Moreover, privacy in big data should also be addressed.
Key performance indicators (KPI), with baseline targets in order to measure success and error
rates, should demonstrate how the proposed work will bring significant progress to the state-
of-the-art. All technologies and tools developed should be appropriately documented, to
support take-up and replicability. Participation of SMEs is encouraged.
CS05 - Human-centric security, privacy and ethics
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
98
        Ihttps://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/ethics-guidelines-trustworthy-ai
99
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/white-paper-artificial-intelligence-european-approach-excellence-
        and-trust_en
100
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/promoting-our-european-way-life/european-
        security-union-strategy_en
101
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/european-data-strategy_en
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HORIZON-CL3-2021-CS-01-04: Scalable privacy-preserving technologies for cross-
border federated computation in Europe involving personal data
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 17.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to some of the following expected
outcomes:
   Improved scalable and reliable privacy-preserving technologies for federated processing
     of personal data and their integration in real-world systems
   More user-friendly solutions for privacy-preserving processing of federated personal
     data registries by researchers
   Improving privacy-preserving technologies for cyber threat intelligence and data sharing
     solution
   Contribution to promotion of GDPR compliant European data spaces for digital services
     and research (in synergy with topic DATA-01-2021 of Horizon Europe Cluster 4)
   Strengthened European ecosystem of open source developers and researchers of privacy-
     preserving solutions
The proposal should provide appropriate indicators to measure its progress and specific
impact.
Scope: Using big data for digital services and scientific research brings about new
opportunities and challenges. For example, machine learning methods process medical and
behavioural data for finding causes and explanations for diseases or health risks. However, a
large amount of this data is personal data. Leakage or abuse of this kind of data and potential
privacy infringement (e.g. attribute disclosure or membership inference) risks are a
cybersecurity threat to individuals, society and economy and an impediment for further
developing data spaces involving personal data. Vice versa, adequate protection of this data
according to the GDPR can also prevent its full utilization for society. Advanced privacy-
preserving computation techniques such as homomorphic encryption, secure multiparty
computation, and differential privacy are being researched and have proven promising to
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address these challenges. However, further research is required to ensure their applicability in
real-world use case scenarios. For example, fully homomorphic encryption is not practically
applicable in many cases and secure multi-party computation often imposes special
infrastructural requirements.
Building on research and innovation in the area of privacy-preserving computation, proposals
should address scalability and reliability of privacy-preserving technologies in realistic
problem areas and take integration with existing infrastructures and traditional security
measures (e.g. access control) into account. They should respond to users’ needs, e.g. for
research and digital services in access and data management for citizens geared towards their
own profiles (incl. dynamic personalised recommendations for improved cybersecurity) or in
personalised medicine, taking into account the gender dimension where relevant. They should
further address the legacy variation in personal data types and data models across different
organisations in the same business sector and/or across different potential application sectors.
A proposed solution should include validation or piloting of privacy-preserving computation
in realistic federated data infrastructures and more specifically European data spaces
involving personal data (e.g. the EU heath data space). It should be guided by the EU’s high
standards concerning the right to privacy, protection of personal data, and the protection of
fundamental rights in the digital age. It should ensure, by-design, compliance with data
regulations and specifically the GDPR. Wherever possible, solutions should be developed as
open source software.
Consortia should bring together interdisciplinary expertise and capacity covering the supply
and the demand side, i.e. industry, service providers and end-users. Participation of SMEs is
strongly encouraged. Legal expertise should also be incorporated to assess and ensure
compliance of the technical project results with data regulations and the GDPR.
Call - Increased cybersecurity 2022
                                                                            HORIZON-CL3-2022-CS-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)102
                Topics                     Type         Budgets             Expected EU           Number
                                             of           (EUR         contribution per project       of
                                          Action        million)          (EUR million)103         projects
102
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
103
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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                                                     2022                                 expected
                                                                                            to be
                                                                                           funded
                                      Opening: 30 Jun 2022
                                   Deadline(s): 16 Nov 2022
HORIZON-CL3-2022-CS-01-01 IA                     21.00           4.00 to 6.00             4
HORIZON-CL3-2022-CS-01-02 RIA                    17.30           3.00 to 5.00             4
HORIZON-CL3-2022-CS-01-03 IA                     11.00           3.50 to 6.00             2
HORIZON-CL3-2022-CS-01-04 IA                     18.00           3.00 to 5.00             4
Overall indicative budget                        67.30
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
CS01 - Secure and resilient digital infrastructures and interconnected systems
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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HORIZON-CL3-2022-CS-01-01: Improved monitoring of threats, intrusion detection
and response in complex and heterogeneous digital systems and infrastructures
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per     4.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 21.00 million.
Type of Action       Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                     background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                     SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                     classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements           Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties in the form
                     of grants. The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is
                     EUR 300 000 to support disruption preparedness and resilience of
                     digital infrastructure in Europe and effective collaboration and/or
                     coordination with other relevant national or EU bodies in charge of
                     Cybersecurity.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to at least three of the following
expected outcomes:
   Improved disruption preparedness and resilience of digital infrastructure in Europe
   Improved capacity building in digital infrastructure security including organisational and
     operational capabilities
   Robust evidence used in cybersecurity decisions and tools
   Better prediction of cybersecurity threats and related risks
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     Improved response capabilities based on effective collaboration and/or coordination with
      other relevant national or EU bodies in charge of Cybersecurity, including holistic
      incident reporting and enabling coordinated cyber-incident response.
The proposal should provide appropriate indicators to measure its progress and specific
impact.
Scope: Digital infrastructures together with their connected devices are characterised by
complex interdependencies involving various physical and logical layers and connecting a
wide range of legacy IT solutions and innovative technologies. Application scenarios include
but are not limited to cybersecurity of communication systems and networks and their
components, e.g. 5G networks, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, medical devices, supervisory
control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, and their services, e.g. cloud-based ICT
solutions. Their availability, controlled performance and reliability need to be guaranteed at
every moment serving the needs, sometimes critical and safety-related e.g. in transportation,
energy, healthcare, of millions of citizens, enterprises and society. Therefore, they need to be
protected in real-time against ever-evolving cybersecurity threats.
Building on research and innovation in the area of cybersecurity of digital infrastructures for
example projects funded from H2020 SU-DS01-2018104, SU-DS04-2018-2020105, SU-DS05-
2018-2019 106 and SU-TDS-02-2018 107 , state of the art technologies should support the
logging, categorisation, data aggregation from different sources, automatic information
extraction and analysis of cybersecurity incidents. This includes advanced methods for cyber
threats intelligence and cyber-incident forensics enabling better prediction of cyber security
threats. Proposals should develop and validate demonstration prototypes of tools and
technologies to monitor and analyse cybersecurity incidents in an operational environment in
line with the NIS directive and the General Data Protection Regulation. They should
contribute to improved penetration testing methods and their automation by using machine
learning and other AI technologies as appropriate. Moreover, proposals should support
effective network traffic analysis applying detection techniques in network operations based
on advanced security information management and threat intelligence. Proposed solutions
should also include validation or piloting of cyber threat intelligence with early-stage
detection, prediction and contributions towards response capability using predictive analytics,
and as relevant, with efficient and user-friendly interaction methods, e.g. visual analytics.
Furthermore, solutions deployed by this action should validate their approach to intrusion
detection and incident monitoring with real end-users and their needs.
For expanding the proposed work in terms of additional pilot sites, additional user groups,
additional applications, and complementary assessment of the acceptability of the use case,
the actions may involve financial support to third parties in line with the conditions set out in
104
        Cybersecurity preparedness - cyber range, simulation and economics
105
        Cybersecurity in the Electrical Power and Energy System (EPES): an armour against cyber and privacy
        attacks and data breaches
106
        Digital security, privacy, data protection and accountability in critical sectors
107
        Toolkit for assessing and reducing cyber risks in hospitals and care centres to protect
        privacy/data/infrastructures
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Part B of the General Annexes. Each consortium will define the selection process of the third
parties for which financial support will be granted (typically in the order of EUR 50 000 to
300 000 per party). Up to 20% of the EU funding requested by the proposal may be allocated
to the purpose of financial support to third parties.
A strong culture awareness of data protection should be fostered. The proposals should also
appropriately address concerns about mass surveillance and protection of personal spaces. All
technologies and tools developed should be appropriately documented, to support take-up and
replicability.
Consortia should bring together interdisciplinary expertise and capacity covering the supply
and the demand side. Participation of SMEs is strongly encouraged. In this topic the
integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation
content is not a mandatory requirement.
CS02 - Hardware, software and supply chain security
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2022-CS-01-02: Trustworthy methodologies, tools and data security
“by design” for dynamic testing of potentially vulnerable, insecure hardware and
software components
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.00
contribution per     and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 17.30 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                     background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                     SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                     classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to some of the following expected
outcomes:
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    Effective access control to system components and management of trustworthy updates
    Modelling of security and privacy properties and frameworks for validating and
      integration on the testing process
    Integrated process for testing, formal verification, validation and consideration of
      certification aspects (including potential synergies with the EU cybersecurity
      certification framework, as established by the EU Cybersecurity Act)
    Tools providing assurance that third-party and open source components are free from
      vulnerabilities, weaknesses and/or malware
    Data security “by design” e.g. via secure crypto building blocks
    Instrumentation and secured communication with system components for dynamic
      testing
    Methods and environments for secured coding by-design and by-default and secure
      hardware and software construction
    Effective audit procedures for cybersecurity testing
    Methods or procedures to make supply chains secure
The proposal should provide appropriate indicators to measure its progress and specific
impact.
Scope: Trustworthy methodologies and tools for advanced analysis and verification, and
dynamic testing of potentially vulnerable, insecure hardware and software components calls
for good practices for system security, with a particular focus on software development tools,
IT security metric and guidelines for secure products and services throughout their lifetime. A
holistic methodology is needed, integrating runtime methods for monitoring and enforcement
as well as design-time methods for static analysis and programme synthesis, which allows for
the construction of secure systems with the strongest possible formal guarantees. The
firmware of devices, implementations of communication protocols and stacks, Operating
Systems (OSs), Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) supporting interoperability and
connectivity of different services, device drivers, backend cloud and virtualisation software,
as well as software implementing different service functionalities, are some examples of how
software provides the essence of systems and smart (networked) objects. Supply chain issues,
including integration of software and hardware, should be considered appropriately.
R&I will be funded to develop hybrid, agile and high-assurance tools capable of automating
evaluation processes, accountability tools for audit results and updates and lightweight,
isolated virtualisation environments capable of securely inspecting and orchestrating
appliances in heterogeneous hardware and software architectures. Moreover, KPIs, metrics,
procedures and tools for dynamic certification of implementation security and scalable
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security, from chip-level to software-level and service-level, should be developed. It may also
include testing methods like coverage guided fuzzing as well as symbolic execution.
The participation of SMEs is strongly encouraged. In this topic the integration of the gender
dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory
requirement.
CS03 - Cybersecurity and disruptive technologies
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2022-CS-01-03: Transition towards Quantum-Resistant Cryptography
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      3.50 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 11.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                      strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security, namely cybersecurity in
                      the field of Quantum-Resistant Cryptography, participation is limited to
                      legal entities established in Member States and associated
                      countries.Proposals including legal entities which are not established in
                      these countries will be ineligible.
                      Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                      background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                      SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                      classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Legal and             The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of   apply:
the Grant             Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties in the form
Agreements            of grants. The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR
                      300 000 to support the expected outcomes of the topic, for example
                      measuring, assessing and standardizing/certifying future-proof
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                      cryptography.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to at least three of the following
expected outcomes:
    Measuring, assessing and standardizing/certifying future-proof cryptography
    Addressing gaps between the theoretical possibilities offered by quantum resistant
      cryptography and its practical implementations
    Quantum resistant cryptographic primitives and protocols encompassed in security
      solutions
    Solutions and methods that could be used to migrate from current cryptography towards
      future-proof cryptography
    Preparedness for secure information exchange and processing in the advent of large-
      scale quantum attacks
The proposal should provide appropriate indicators to measure its progress and specific
impact.
Scope: During the next decades the European Union should seize the opportunities that
quantum technologies will bring. However, quantum technologies will also pose a significant
risk to the security of our society. The advent of large-scale quantum computers will
compromise much of modern cryptography, which is instrumental in ensuring cybersecurity
and privacy of the digital transition. Any cryptographic primitive based on the integer
factorization and/or the discrete logarithm problems will be vulnerable to large-scale
quantum-powered attacks. The digital data/products/systems that derive their security
ultimately from the abovementioned primitives will be compromised and must be upgraded -
including their replacement when needed- to quantum-resistant cryptography. The massive
scale of this foreseen upgrade shows that preparations are needed today in order to widely
implement the relevant mitigations in the future. Many companies and governments cannot
afford to have their protected communications/data decrypted in the future, even if that future
is a few decades away. There is a need to advance in the transition to quantum-resistant
cryptography.
Applicants should propose approaches to tackle the abovementioned challenges, with the goal
to develop cryptographic systems that are secure against attacks using both quantum or/and
classical computers. Proposals may also try to better understand the expected capabilities of
quantum computers (e.g. novel relevant quantum algorithms) and to further assess their
implications to cybersecurity.
The proposed actions responding to this topic should take stock of and build on the relevant
outcomes from other research fields (such as mathematics, physics, electrical engineering)
and actions (e.g. H2020 projects, NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography competition, efforts in
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ETSI), and are encouraged to plan engaging and cooperating with them to the extent possible.
Participation of SMEs is encouraged.
Applicants should demonstrate innovative ways to design, build, and deploy the new
quantum-resistant infrastructures (including relevant hardware, software and IT processes).
This should include switching from nowadays infrastructures to the proposed new ones with
practical migration paths, aiming to efficiently manage the total time needed and the total
costs associated, while also paying attention to affordable energy consumption.
Applicants should look at the implementation of quantum-resistant algorithms on software as
well as specific hardware, such as. resource constrained IoT devices, smart cards, high-speed
field-programmable gate arrays.
Proposals should devise, develop and validate metrics, methodologies, conformity assessment
tests and tools for assessing and quantifying the security and the privacy of the proposed
systems and services. Furthermore, proposals should strive to encompass a thorough
comprehensive security evaluation of the engineering and deploying of efficient and secure
implementations of the proposed solutions. Due consideration should be given to
countermeasures against side channel attacks.
Applicants should strive to use the most promising relevant cryptographic primitives as well
as to adapt the used cryptographic protocols accordingly.
Proposals may analyse how to develop combined quantum-classical 108 cryptographic
solutions in Europe, for those use cases where these hybrid solutions might bring gains to the
overall security. To this end, the analysis should take into account relevant actions in quantum
cryptography (e.g. H2020 OpenQKD project, EuroQCI).
Proposals should validate their concept by exercising and deploying pilot demonstrators in
relevant use cases. The demonstrators should include exercises on executing different
migration strategies for real use cases and applications that would allow their implementation
in large-scale, complex systems. Lessons learned from the exercises should be transformed
into practical, multidisciplinary guidelines that support entities to plan and execute their own
migration, considering the technical, the economical and legal contexts.
For expanding the proposed work in terms of including additional quantum-resistant
infrastructures, additional pilot sites, additional countries and users the actions may involve
financial support to third parties in line with the conditions set out in Part B of the General
Annexes. Each consortium will define the selection process of the third parties for which
financial support will be granted (typically in the order of EUR 50 000 to 300 000 per party).
Up to 20% of the EU funding requested by the proposal may be allocated to the purpose of
financial support to third parties.
108
        Here “classical” is used with the meaning of non-quantum. Hence “post-quantum cryptography” is
        considered as advanced classical cryptography.
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In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
CS04 - Smart and quantifiable security assurance and certification shared across
Europe
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2022-CS-01-04: Development and validation of processes and tools
used for agile certification of ICT products, ICT services and ICT processes
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.00
contribution per       and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 18.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                       background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                       SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                       classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to at least three of the following
outcomes:
   Availability of applicable tools and procedures for partial and continuous assessment and
      lean re-certification of ICT products, ICT services and ICT processes;
   Reduction of time and efforts spent for (re-) certifying ICT products, ICT services and
      ICT processes;
   Improved stakeholder collaboration on cybersecurity certification information, including
      manufacturers and end users from different Member States;
   Efficient (re-)use of information and evidence relevant to certification and in support of
      multi-scheme (re-)use;
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    Integration of certification on the whole system modelling, verification, testing and
      verification process
    Increased comparability of assurance statements arising from certification schemes and
      the standards used therein; avoidance of multi-certification;
    Advancing test and simulation facilities, including incident and threat analysis;
    Increased Digital Twin capabilities for continuous assessment and integration of new
      solutions.
The proposal should provide appropriate indicators to measure its progress and specific
impact.
Scope: In order to foster the application of security standards, agile certification and
continuous assessment of cyber resilience systems, actions will cover the harmonising,
packaging and distributing of certification processes for contemporary ICT products, services,
and processes but to new and disruptive technologies as well, such as AI and High
Performance Computing.
To support cybersecurity autonomy of the EU, approaches concerning a dynamic, real time,
collaborative vulnerability testing and information sharing should be developed and build on
existing resources (including the work carried out in preparation of the EU cybersecurity
certification framework, as established by the EU Cybersecurity Act). The resources may
range from tools, procedures, practices, and information sources, such as checklists, flaw
repositories deployment and configuration guidance, and impact assessments posted by
European industries, manufacturers, developers, CSIRTs, ISACs (Information Sharing and
Analysis Centres), or national and international authorities (e.g. NIST, JVN) and relevant
standards.
The actions should aim at improving certification processes, tools, evidence presentation and
assurance statements, at least in quantifiable terms, where relevant by relying on a suitable IT
security metric and should complement or aid other certifications relevant in other sectors or
risk                                                                                   scenarios.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
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Disaster-Resilient Society for Europe
This Destination supports the implementation of international policy frameworks (e.g. the
Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Paris Agreement, Sustainable
Development Goals), EU disaster risk management policies tackling natural and man-made
threats (either accidental or intentional), European Green Deal priorities including the new
EU Climate Adaptation Strategy COM(2021) 82 final., as well as the Security Union
Strategy109 and the Counter-Terrorism Agenda110 .
The world and our societies are facing growing risks from anthropogenic and natural hazards,
which call for enhanced capacities in risk and resilience management and governance 111 ,
including instruments for better prevention and preparedness, technologies for first and
second responders 112 , and where relevant for citizens, and overall societal resilience. The
increasing severity and frequency of extreme weather events (e.g. floods, heat and cold
waves, storms) and associated events (e.g. forest fires) resulting from climate change
compounded vulnerabilities and exposure require a specific research focus while geological
hazards (e.g. earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions) and slow-onset trends (e.g. sea-level
rise, glacier melt, droughts) also deserve a continuous attention. Anthropogenic threats also
demand strengthened crisis management capacities, as shown by recent industrial accidents
and terrorist attacks associated with chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive
materials (CBRN-E). Finally, the COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated how societies have
become more exposed and vulnerable to pandemic risks and has shown that existing global
inequalities often exacerbate both the exposure and vulnerability of communities,
infrastructures and economies.
Risk reduction of any kind of disasters is regulated by a number of international, EU and
national and local policies and strategies covering various sectors and features such as
awareness raising and communication, prevention, mitigation, preparedness, monitoring and
detection, response, and recovery. Our societies nowadays have to deal with complex and
transboundary crises within which a more systemic approach with strict interconnection
between risk reduction and sustainable development is needed. Complex crises affect
scientific, governance, policy and social areas and require inter-sectoral cooperation. A wide
range of research and technological developments, as well as capacity-building and training
projects, has supported the development and implementation of policies and strategies.
However, integrating further research and innovation needs is often difficult owing to the
109
        COM(2020) 605 final.
110
        COM(2020) 795 final.
111
        Overview of natural and man-made disaster risks the European Union may face, SWD(2020) 330.
112
        A “second responder” is a worker who supports "first responders" such as police, fire, and emergency
        medical personnel. They are involved in preparing, managing, returning services, and cleaning up sites
        during and after an event requiring first responders, including crime scenes and areas damaged by fire,
        storm, wind, floods, earthquakes, or other natural disasters. These types of services may include utility
        services (shutdown or reinstatement of electrical, gas, sewage, and/or water services), wireless or
        wireline communication services, specialty construction (i.e. shelter construction), hazardous waste
        clean-up, road clearing, crowd control, emergency services (i.e. Red Cross), first aid, food services,
        security services, social services (i.e., trauma counsellors), and sanitation.
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complexity of the policy framework and the high level of fragmentation of research and
capacity-building initiatives. In addition, enhanced cooperation and involvement of different
sectors and actors are essential, including policy-makers, scientists, industry/Small and
Medium Enterprises (SMEs), public administration (both at national and regional/local level),
scientists, credit/financial institutions, practitioners, Non-Governmental Organisations
(NGOs), and Civil-Society Organisations (CSOs), notwithstanding the citizen dimension.
In this respect, the implementation of international policy frameworks (e.g. the Sendai
Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Paris Agreement), EU disaster risk management
policies, in particular the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), the European Green
Deal policies such as the new EU Climate Adaptation Strategy, as well as the Security Union
Strategy and the Counter-Terrorism Agenda (in particular for disasters linked to terrorism),
requires cross-border and cross-sectoral cooperation an enhanced collaboration among
different actors and strengthened knowledge covering the whole disaster management cycle,
from prevention and preparedness to response and recovery (and learning). Understanding
and exploiting the existing linkages and synergies among policy frameworks represents in this
sense a global priority for future research and innovation actions in the field of natural hazards
and man-made disasters.
For the response side, international cooperation on research and innovation with key partners
has the potential to identify common solutions and increase the relevance of outcomes. As
such, the International Forum to Advance First Responder Innovation (IFAFRI) and other
Expert Networks involved in UN and/or NATO initiatives have provided overviews of
existing gaps and are in the position to engage in cooperation with partners inside and outside
the EU, the results of which can provide a valuable source for identifying most urgent needs
concerning disaster management (e.g. knowledge, operational, organizational and
technological) of relevance to international cooperation, in particular in support to the
implementation of international policies such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk
Reduction.
Integrated approaches are essential to bridge different policy areas including civil protection,
environment (including water, forestry, biodiversity / nature and Seveso-related policies),
climate adaptation and mitigation, health and consumer protection, and security (in particular
in the CBRN-E area). Common resilience pathways emerging from different scientific and
operational domains still need to be explored in terms of their implementation potential. It
also requires the strengthening of opportunities for transdisciplinary and transboundary joint
efforts in order to organise and structure, a new strategy for the Horizon Europe Framework
with all the relevant actors. In particular, the paradigm shift from managing “disasters” to
managing “risks” and enhancing resilience needs to be supported by research and innovation
actions, including innovative methods and solutions addressed to decision-makers, to support
complementary education and training needed in all the domains of interventions (from public
administration to private companies, citizens, NGOs), complementary procedural and
organisational changes that have impact on the overall society as well as on technologies,
processes, procedures and various tools in support of first and second responders operations.
A huge body of knowledge and technology has been developed in the Seventh Framework
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Programme and Horizon 2020. This forms a strong legacy that will pave the way for future
research in support of an enhanced resilience of European society to disasters of any kind, and
previous findings will need to be fully recognised and used in forthcoming research
developments.
Successful proposals under this Destination are encouraged to closely cooperate with other
EC-chaired or funded initiatives in the relevant domains, such as the Networks of
Practitioners projects funded under H2020 Secure Societies work programmes, the
Knowledge Networks for Security Research & Innovation funded under the Horizon Europe
Cluster 3 Work Programme, the Community of Users for Secure, Safe and Resilient Societies
(future CERIS –Community of European Research and Innovation for Security) or other
Knowledge Networks set-up by European Commission services (e.g. the Union Civil
Protection Knowledge Network113).
Furthermore, in order to accomplish the objectives of this Destination, additional eligibility
conditions have been defined with regard to the active involvement of relevant security
practitioners or end-users.
Proposals involving earth observation are encouraged to primarily make use of Copernicus
data, services and technologies.
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
to the following expected impact of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2021-2024:
“Losses from natural, accidental and man-made disasters are reduced through enhanced
disaster risk reduction based on preventive actions, better societal preparedness and
resilience and improved disaster risk management in a systemic way.”
More specifically, proposals should contribute to the achievement of one or more of the
following impacts:
     Enhanced understanding and improved knowledge and situational awareness of disaster-
      related risks by citizens, empowered to act, thus raising the resilience of European
      society;
     More efficient cross-sectoral, cross-disciplines, cross-border coordination of the disaster
      risk management cycle (from prevention, preparedness to mitigation, response, and
      recovery) from international to local levels.
Enhanced sharing of knowledge and coordination regarding standardisation in the area of
crisis management and CBRN-E.
Strengthened capacities of first responders in all operational phases related to any kind of
(natural and man-made) disasters so that they can better prepare their operations, have access
113
         Article 13 of Decision No 1313/2013/EU on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism and subsequent
         amendments.
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to enhanced situational awareness, have means to respond to events in a faster, safer and more
efficient way, and may more effectively proceed with victim identification, triage and care.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
              Call                           Budgets (EUR million)           Deadline(s)
                                           2021                   2022
HORIZON-CL3-2021-DRS-01 26.00                                               23 Nov 2021
HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01                                     46.00           23 Nov 2022
Overall indicative budget          26.00                    46.00
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Call - Disaster-Resilient Society 2021
                                                                          HORIZON-CL3-2021-DRS-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)114
                 Topics                      Type         Budgets           Expected EU           Number
                                                of          (EUR           contribution per           of
                                            Action        million)          project (EUR           projects
                                                                              million)115         expected
                                                            2021                                    to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 30 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 23 Nov 2021
HORIZON-CL3-2021-DRS-01-01 RIA                          5.00            Around 5.00               1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-DRS-01-02 IA                           6.00            Around 6.00               1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-DRS-01-03 RIA                          5.00            Around 5.00               1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-DRS-01-04 CSA                          2.00            Around 2.00               1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-DRS-01-05 IA                           8.00            Around 4.00               2
Overall indicative budget                               26.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                      The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                      The criteria are described in General Annex
114
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
115
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
DRS01 - Societal Resilience: Increased risk Awareness and preparedness of citizens
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2021-DRS-01-01: Improved understanding of risk exposure and its
public awareness in areas exposed to multi-hazards
Specific conditions
Expected EU         The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per    million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project             Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                    requesting different amounts.
Indicative          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
budget
Type of Action      Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility         The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                    This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3
                    organisations representing citizens or local communities, practitioners
                    (first and/or second responders), and local or regional authorities and
                    private sector from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated
                    countries. For these participants, applicants must fill in the table
                    “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the application form with
                    all the requested information, following the template provided in the
                    submission IT tool.
                    If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
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                    timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                    (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                    for earth observation is encouraged.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some of following
outcomes:
   Advanced disaster / crisis simulations and impact assessments supporting decision-
     making processes based on best available knowledge, adaptive strategies and
     methodologies, including accurate exposure data and adequate vulnerability assessments,
     quantitative hazard information with comparable metrics across different risks
     (especially addressing multi-hazard situations), including disaster loss data and
     qualitative information issued from historical testimonies and case studies.
   Risk and resilience assessment solutions, studies and outputs in support of long-term
     multi-hazard management strategies (e.g. climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction and
     prevention and mitigation strategies) with a focus on vulnerable regions prone to
     multiple hazard occurrences, involving interdisciplinary teams in different scientific and
     technological fields (such as geology, climate, man-made hazards, critical infrastructures
     and assets, history, health sciences, economics and social sciences). This requires novel
     interdisciplinary risk approaches to assessing human-hazard interactions, and reaching
     the most vulnerable segments of the community.
   Advanced data management, information update and forecast / early warning systems
     (including via satellite and in-situ observation) in support of evolving public
     understanding and decision-making needs in the field of multi-hazard preparedness
     policy and planning, taking into account data uncertainties and including the
     determination of baseline scenarios and corresponding risk thresholds, as well as data
     potentially available (e.g. from surveys, earth observations, historic databases, academic
     and business/private sector repositories, climate projections, etc.) and near-real-time
     impact simulations combined with data-farming approaches.
   Communication and dissemination platforms supporting an increased dialogue and
     cooperation between scientific, technological, practitioners, policy-makers, private
     sector (e.g. insurers), NGOs, citizens and community-based organisations for sharing
     and building-up the knowledge of hazards and related risks for a comprehensive
     awareness (and preparedness) of the risk at all levels (risk memory and implementation
     of lessons learnt into policy actions), taking into account various uncertainties that may
     affect decision-making.
Scope: The awareness of multiple hazards and the understanding and the assessment of risks
and their consequences is a critical and fundamental step towards the development of local,
national and international policies and strategies within all phases of the disaster risk
management cycle, in particular preparedness. The availability of reliable scientific data and
information (including historical occurrences and climate projections) to anticipate future
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disaster events or crisis situations, considering uncertainties inherent to natural systems
characterization, and effectively support decision-making processes at all levels represents a
global challenge for both the research community and governance institutions.
Actions at national/local and global/regional levels rely on knowledge of risks in all its
dimension and changeable nature. A strengthened understanding of risks by the population
(and decision-makers) is needed, based on both records of past events and forecasts and
projections (with quantified uncertainties) that reflect consideration of evolving trends and
dynamics over time and space. This is particularly acute in the case of multi-hazard risks, i.e.
occurrences of several disasters either in cascade or at once. Moreover, the work needs to be
complemented with improved knowledge on how risk awareness and actions are influenced
and shaped by diverse aspects such as past events, cultures and traditions.
The understanding of multiple disaster risks (and related awareness) relies on knowledge
gained about historical data and information about past events and related lessons learned as
well as the ability to forecast and assess future risks under uncertainty (including impacts of
pandemics, as well as global change, including climate trends and earth system and
environment dynamics). These complex interactions between human decisions and multiple
hazards require novel risk assessment approaches such as agent-based modelling and systems
dynamics methods. This will result in improved preparedness actions built upon these
analyses (e.g. defining evacuation routes, responsiveness of health services, etc.). Social
media also plays a role in disaster analytics. For example, an increasing number of location-
based social network services can provide time-stamped, geo-located data that opens new
opportunities and solutions to a wide range of challenges by analysing the extracted public
behaviour responses from social media before, during and after disaster events. When using
social media data, the design for data collection and analysis has to respect fundamental
rights, privacy and data protection and analyses have to take related societal effects in online
and offline environments into account as well as possible disinformation and fake news. Also,
risk awareness, understanding and preparedness are unequally distributed along a wide range
of variables (socio-economic, cultural, regional etc.) that may generate drawbacks and
conflicting issues with respect to groups' vulnerability.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities. The involvement of citizens, civil society and other societal stakeholders in co-
design and co-creation should be promoted. In order to achieve the expected outcomes,
international cooperation is encouraged.
Where possible and relevant, synergy-building and clustering initiatives with successful
proposals in the same area should be considered, including the organisation of international
conferences in close coordination with the Community for European Research and Innovation
for Security (CERIS) activities and/or other international events.
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DRS02 - Improved Disaster Risk Management and Governance
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2021-DRS-01-02: Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction for extreme
climate events: from early warning systems to long term adaptation and resilience
building
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                     requesting different amounts.
Indicative           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
budget
Type of Action       Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                     This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3
                     organisations representing citizens or local communities, practitioners
                     (first and/or second responders), and local or regional authorities and
                     private sector from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated
                     countries. For these participants, applicants must fill in the table
                     “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the application form with
                     all the requested information, following the template provided in the
                     submission IT tool.
                     If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                     timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                     (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                     for earth observation is encouraged.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some of the following
outcomes:
    Improved dialogue and cooperation among scientific and technical communities,
     stakeholders, policy-makers and local communities in the field of extreme climate events
     and associated events (e.g. forest fires, droughts, floods, heatwaves and storms) and
     disaster risk reduction.
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   Enhanced community engagement for prevention, preparedness, response, recovery and
      learning to extreme climate events by strengthening knowledge and involvement of
      volunteers linked to recognised organisations into the planning, design and
      implementation of prevention, including building with nature, preparedness and
      emergency response activities.
   Strengthening of disaster risk reduction and resilience building through innovative use of
      media means, namely by examining the potential of new communication tools and apps
      for better preparedness and response.
   Overview of existing knowledge, tools and development of new tools (innovative data
      collection, satellite data, data harmonisation, artificial-intelligence tools, algorithms,
      sensors and decision-aid approaches) for early warning, response and resilience /
      adaptation to be demonstrated in the framework of real-case scenarios designed for
      training addressed to first and second responders, (national, regional, local) authorities
      and populations. The overview should document how legal and ethical rules of operation
      as well as fundamental rights such as privacy and protection of personal data are taken
      into account.
   Based on the demonstrations, development of new governance strategies and robust
      decision-support methodologies for integrated risk reduction and improved adaptation to
      climate extreme events.
   Improved understanding of enablers and barriers to multi-risk governance frameworks
      and multi-risk thinking, by involving interdisciplinary teams in different fields,
      particularly the social and behavioural sciences.
   Cost-benefit or cost-effectiveness analyses of investment and regulatory strategies to
      protect people and nature in vulnerable areas.
   Identification of production/livelihood practices (goods, services, activities etc.) at
      community and national level that contribute to increased local/global climate risks, and
      explore how these can be adapted so that they are both economically and
      environmentally sustainable.
Scope: In contemporary society, the capacity of communities and governments to manage
expected and/or unexpected extreme climate events depends heavily on effective governance
throughout the entire Disaster Risk Management cycle. This covers operational mechanisms
ranging from short-term actions (e.g. early warning and forecast-based actions) to long-term
adaptation strategies and resilience building, including nature-based solutions. A coherent
integration between Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Adaptation policies and Sustainable
Development Goals as fostered by the European Green Deal and major UN initiatives should
result in a comprehensive resilience framework, while improving synergies and coherence
among the institutions and international agencies involved.
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The effective implementation of global and European risk governance and policies to enable
integrated disaster risk reduction for extreme climate events requires a collaborative
involvement in risk assessment and information sharing across involved institutions,
including the civil and private sector and the population.
Cross-regional, cross-border and cross-sector agreements covering all phases of Disaster Risk
Management can improve the knowledge about extreme climate events such as forest fires,
droughts, floods, heatwaves, storms and storm surges. In addition, improving effective
prevention, preparedness and response rely upon specific national or local expertise and
experience. It is important to overcome silos between technical and political authorities at all
levels and advocate integration among involved actors. Multi-risk governance frameworks
related to climate extremes, shifting from single to multi-risk thinking in governmental
agencies, represents the key challenge for the future, considering how measures to improve
the resilience of the built environment and communities may provide effective solutions to
strengthen adaptation measures.
Creating an overview of existing knowledge, integrating tools and developing new ones for
resilience and emergency management should include careful planning for interoperability
amongst many actors. It is important that solutions pay attention to societal side-effects of
integrating data about emergencies, for instance Apps, where persons concerned tend to share
more willingly, but do not reflect consequences of that. Thus, the development of data
management tools for emergencies need to respect fundamental rights, data protection and
avoid function creep.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
Where possible and relevant, synergy-building and clustering initiatives with successful
proposals in the same area should be considered, including the organisation of international
conferences in close coordination with the Community for European Research and Innovation
for Security (CERIS) activities and/or other international events.
HORIZON-CL3-2021-DRS-01-03: Enhanced assessment of disaster risks, adaptive
capabilities and scenario building based on available historical data and projections
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                     proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
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Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                      This topic requires a multidisciplinary consortium involving:
                          representatives of scientific areas that are related to disaster risk
                            management, societal and historical aspects;
                          as well as local or regional communities and authorities, from at
                            least 3 different EU Member States or Associated countries.
                      For all the participants above, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility
                      information about practitioners” in the application form with all the
                      requested information, following the template provided in the submission
                      IT tool.
                      If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                      timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                      (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                      for earth observation is encouraged.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some of the following
outcomes:
   Innovative exposure and vulnerability analysis methods, including those that take a
     systemic perspective by integrating sectoral expertise (e.g. social science, human health,
     cultural heritage, environment and biodiversity, public financial management and key
     economic sectors) and identifying key vulnerable groups and assets.
   Maximising usability through a service-oriented approach, including through the
     optimisation and tailoring recommended practices, scientific models and scenarios for
     the intended users to support technical policy improvements and implementation of
     actions.
   Enhanced exploitation of monitoring data and satellite/remote sensing information as
     well as artificial intelligence to improve high-level assessment from international to local
     levels, identifying the major sources of uncertainty in hazard assessment and ways to
     reduce them.
   Evaluation of existing disaster risk and resilience assessment and scenarios (at national
     and local levels), taking into account historical / geological data, monitoring, risk and
     forecasting data, and based on the evaluation, serious games, modelling of future
     scenarios accounting for current and future impacts of diverse extreme events and
     disasters.
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Scope: The assessment of disaster risks requires different types of actions ranging from soft
measures to technologies. Simulation-based risk and impact assessments represent an
effective approach to make science understandable to decision makers and streamline national
to local mitigation/adaptation actions. This is especially the case if they are integrated with
evaluation tools for cost-benefit/effectiveness and multi-criteria analyses, data-farming
experiments, serious games, and are tailored to meet end-user’s needs, to assess the
effectiveness of alternative options in different phases of the Disaster Risk Management
cycle.
Specific risk assessments should be decision- or demand-driven and informed by scientific
evidence, and there is a clear need to translate the results to ensure they are relevant, usable,
legitimate and credible from the perspectives of the users. Co-design, co-development, co-
dissemination and co-evaluation engaging the intended end users represent in this sense key
features of improved risk, resilience and impact assessments.
In a first place, the acquisition of data is an essential feature and this requires innovative
solutions for faster risk assessment and reduction. This includes the identification of
precursors for different types of threats, supporting the design or improvement of risk-targeted
monitoring programmes. In addition, risk assessments themselves are primarily designed to
predict the likelihood of a specific event, whereas what is of primary concern is the impact of
that event on society, infrastructure, governance, etc. Numerous experiences gathered in the
natural hazards area showed that an enhanced assessment of risks and scenario building may
be improved by taking into account reliable data (both quantitative and qualitative) and
historical occurrences, when available, including disaster loss data (studies of past events in
particular low-probability / long-time recurrence events). This includes for example a higher
completeness of the historical-geological records of volcanic eruptions, major earthquakes,
tsunamis etc.
In the case of extreme climate events such as storms and related storm surges, or health crises
(outbreaks, pandemics) the analysis should draw on the outputs of state-of-the-art climate
projections, including by taking into account the uncertainties brought on by climate change
and our state of knowledge of the key processes underpinning the functioning of the Earth
system.In cases where there are not be enough historical data and a high level of uncertainty,
assessments and decision making will have to rely on qualitative data.
The action should take into account disaster loss databases and risk data repositories in
Member States and relevant hubs. This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH
disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of
relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the
societal impact of the related research activities. In order to achieve the expected outcomes,
international cooperation is encouraged.
Where possible and relevant, synergy-building and clustering initiatives with successful
proposals in the same area should be considered, including the organisation of international
conferences in close coordination with the Community for European Research and Innovation
for Security (CERIS) activities and/or other international events.
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HORIZON-CL3-2021-DRS-01-04: Developing a prioritisation mechanism for research
programming in standardisation related to natural hazards and/or CBRN-E sectors
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                      This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of:
                         at least 2 National standardisation organisations;
                         and representatives of scientific stakeholders involved in
                           standardisation-related research and end-users (both practitioners
                           and policy-makers) in the areas of risk management of natural
                           hazards and CBRN-E.
                      For all the participants above, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility
                      information about practitioners” in the application form with all the
                      requested information, following the template provided in the submission
                      IT tool.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Building up on existing initiatives, development of a consolidated platform gathering
     key actors involved in DRM for natural hazards and/or CBRN-E to identify on-going
     standardisation activities, discuss key features related to them, including classification,
     and prioritise actions (consultation, dissemination, research programming).
   Setting a two-steps mechanism to (1) evaluate standardisation needs, taking into account
     existing and running activities, and establish priorities in close consultation with key
     users (policy-makers and practitioners at all levels, including Commission’s DGs,
     national and regional authorities and relevant actors), and (2) take actions relevant to the
     identified priorities according to their degree of maturity, including research
     programming in the Disaster-resilient Societies part of the Horizon Europe programme.
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    Establish a standardisation roadmap at international (ISO) and European (EN) levels,
      leading to improved coordination of activities at EU and international levels and cross-
      fertilisation among different sectors.
Scope: Increasing resilience to natural disasters or CBRN-E events closely relies on
management procedures, technologies and tools. An important feature supporting Disaster
Risk Management and relevant international and EU policies is standardisation needed to
improve the technical, operational and semantic interoperability of command, control and
communication systems, or the interoperability of detection equipment and tools in the areas
of CBRN-E. A range of actions have been undertaken to identify and prioritise
standardisation activities, from pre-normative (design of new tools and methods) to co-
normative (comparison / validation of existing tools and methods) research to mandate of
mature items to European Standardisation Organisations via the CEN-CENELEC and ETSI.
While some research projects delivered tangible CEN Workshop Agreements (CWAs) and
made progress in standardisation-related research in the areas of natural hazards and CBRN-E
civil protection and crisis management, no mechanism yet exists to ensure that standardisation
is developed in close consultation with key stakeholders such as policy-makers and
practitioners at all levels (European, national, regional and local). There is a need to ensure
that any standardisation activities where a significant contribution to improve the disaster
resilience through standardisation can be expected are developed in close cooperation with
end users and prioritised with them while paying attention to the legal frameworks in place.
In this context it is important to remind that standardisation should support operations and
policy-making to supplement it but should by no means substitute it. While standardisation of
technology may be more straightforward, the right balance does especially have to be sought
for processes. Based on existing or developing platforms, a prioritisation mechanism should
hence be established, taking into account classification aspects (in particular in the CBRN-E
sector), leading to decisions related to on-going or new standardisation items that should be
directed in an organised way to pre- or co-normative research actions, CWAs or mandates, or
to guidelines / Standard Operating Procedures not requiring formal standardisation (corporate
voluntary agreements). This mechanism should have a close connection with future research
programming and ensure close synergies with standardisation activities on European (e.g.
CEN/TC 391) and international level (e.g. ISO/TC 292).
In order to achieve the expected outcomes of this topic, the involvement of chairs of relevant
CEN and/or ISO Technical Committees in an advisory role/function is strongly encouraged.
DRS03 - Strengthened capacities of first and second responders
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2021-DRS-01-05: Fast deployed mobile laboratories to enhance
situational awareness for pandemics and emerging infectious diseases
Specific conditions
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Expected EU         The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per    million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project             Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                    requesting different amounts.
Indicative          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
budget
Type of Action      Innovation Actions
Eligibility         The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                    This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3
                    first responders’ organisations or agencies and representatives of local or
                    regional authorities in charge of managing sanitary crises from at least 3
                    different EU Member States or Associated countries. For these
                    participants, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information about
                    practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information,
                    following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
                    If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                    timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                    (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                    for earth observation is encouraged.
Technology          Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level     General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Inventory and comparison of existing mobile laboratories, including heavy structures
     (both military and civilian) and light self-sustained systems, evaluation of quality
     management systems for maintenance, validation and testing.
    New (mobile laboratory) solutions for the fast, reliable and unambiguous detection and
     identification of infectious agents, diagnostic tests, monitoring and mapping of
     contamination and enhanced field data communication to decision-making authorities.
    Strategies to orchestrate mobile laboratory capacities in the EU, and improvements in the
     management of trained staff in Europe.
Scope: The recent COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated that the ability to rapidly identify
viruses on scene under a proper quality control/assurance regime is crucial to ensure adequate
risk assessment, optimal risk management, and proper counter measures. Consequently, a
determining factor is to bring a rapidly deployable diagnostic capacity as close as possible to
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the crisis area. Considering specific infectious diseases is of paramount importance as also is
the possibility to develop scalable capacities for joint multinational intervention. In the EU
Civil Protection and Health policy framework, mobile laboratories are increasingly becoming
part of crisis responses and recovery plans, and the COVID-19 illustrated the needs for further
developments in this area. Pandemics risk mitigation comprises prevention, preparedness and
post-crisis management, including networking, regional and international partnership,
consolidating, coordinating and optimizing existing capabilities in terms of expertise, training,
technical assistance and equipment. There is a need for building synergies among existing
initiatives to develop an EU capacity building by strengthening the national and regional
capacities and staff training for mobile laboratories operation, long-term sustainability culture
of safety and security.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is encouraged, in
particular with Japan in the framework of the EU-Japan collaboration on pandemics.
Where possible and relevant, synergy-building and clustering initiatives with successful
proposals in the same area should be considered, including the organisation of international
conferences in close coordination with the Community for European Research and Innovation
for Security (CERIS) activities and/or other international events.
Call - Disaster-Resilient Society 2022
                                                                          HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)116
                  Topics                      Type         Budgets           Expected EU           Number
                                                 of          (EUR          contribution per            of
                                             Action        million)          project (EUR           projects
                                                                              million)117          expected
                                                             2022                                    to be
                                                                                                    funded
                                            Opening: 30 Jun 2022
                                          Deadline(s): 23 Nov 2022
HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-01 IA                            10.00          Around 5.00                1
116
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
117
         Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
         amounts.
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HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-03 IA                                     Around 5.00             1
HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-02 RIA                    10.00           Around 5.00             1
HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-04 RIA                                    Around 5.00             1
HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-05 IA                     10.00           Around 5.00             1
HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-06 IA                                     Around 5.00             1
HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-07 RIA                    5.00            Around 5.00             1
HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-08 IA                     11.00           Around 5.00             1
HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-09 IA                                     Around 6.00             1
Overall indicative budget                         46.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
DRS01 - Societal Resilience: Increased risk Awareness and preparedness of citizens
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-01: Enhanced citizen preparedness in the event of a
disaster or crisis-related emergency
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.118
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                        This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of each of the
                        following types of organisation:
                           organisations representing citizens or communities;
                           and organisations representing practitioners (first and/or second
                              responders);
                           as well as local or regional authorities;
                           and private sector entities.
                        For all the participants above, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility
                        information about practitioners” in the application form with all the
                        requested information, following the template provided in the submission
                        IT tool.
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                        only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                        ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                        thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some of the following
outcomes:
     Design of preparedness actions linking together multilevel interventions that need to
      involve citizens, communities, business organisations, public administrations for
118
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      empowering citizens and their communities to act by themselves together with
      emergency services and managing spontaneous volunteers in the case of a disaster or
      crisis-related emergency of any kind (natural hazards, including pandemics, or man-
      made including terrorist threats) in the form of best practices and guidelines exploiting
      local resources (knowledge, networks, tools) developed with practitioners and local
      decision-makers.
   Development of effective means for communication improving inter-organisational
      collaborative processes e.g. early warning systems and communication chains, roles,
      tasks and responsibilities of citizens, communities, local authorities, NGOs, business
      companies and practitioners, taking into account the legal framework, procedures for
      normal operation and organizational boundaries.
   Improved early warning systems, forecasts and strategies to reach different public
      representatives with proper messages in the event of a disaster.
   Demonstration exercises involving citizens, training and educational institutions, local
      decision-makers, employees in public administrations and in business companies, and
      practitioners, to identify practices, test guidelines and communication strategies in near-
      real-case situations in the framework of field exercises, virtual trainings and serious
      gaming, school / university curricula and professional training.
   Building a ‘culture of disaster preparedness’ for citizens, communities, public
      administrations, business companies, practitioners: Development of an effective
      education system and integration of theory and practice of preparedness in school
      curricula; development of an effective integration of multilevel action in public
      administration (at local and regional national and international levels) focusing also on
      responsibility and deliberation issues; development of effective preparedness practices
      for citizens, communities, business organisations and practitioners (and their
      associations).
   Deployment of evidence-based assessment methods/models to monitor and strengthen
      emergency preparedness.
Scope: Improving societal resilience to disasters or crises relies on various features related to
preparedness of citizens, communities, education systems, public administrations, business
companies and practitioners. These concern, in particular, ways to react and informed
decisions to take in case of an event. Individual, public and multi-level actions are needed in
disaster risk management and they have huge implications on potentially reducing losses and
increasing the operational capacity of responders, along with significant impacts on the
emergency planning and management phases and its relation to continuous operations and
existing safety management. In particular, the level of awareness of EU citizens of the risks in
their region is an indicator for measuring progress in increasing public awareness and
preparedness for disasters and in the implementation of the Union Civil Protection
Mechanism legislation.
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Besides the required risk understanding dealt with in topic CL3-2021-DRS-01-01, research is
needed in several domains. With regard to public administrations, it is relevant to
conceptualise how to increase risk awareness by building processes capable of fostering a
long-lasting coalition with citizens around the objective of reducing vulnerability. This
implies the definition of action protocols and models of responsibility that mobilise the
intervention of individual employees of public administrations. With regard to business
companies and practitioners, it is relevant to integrate their emergency activities in the local
context. With regard to citizens and communities, it is necessary to design preparedness
actions enabling an empowerment of citizens (including particularly vulnerable groups), their
communities and NGOs through bottom-up participatory and learning processes. This
includes school/university curricula and professional training and trust building among local
actors, integrating relevant traditional knowledge, incorporating a gender perspective where
relevant, best practices, guidelines, and possible changes of regulations, to allow participatory
actions. Difficulties in communication to the public in preparedness (and response) phases
requires the consideration of legal aspects, along with investigations into innovative practices,
forms and tools that will enable the more effective sharing of information, taking into account
possible risks of disinformation and fake news. These will support citizens in acting
efficiently by themselves, through enhanced collaboration and communication and improving
information exchanges between local authorities (including first and second responders),
vulnerable populations (e.g. socio-economic groups, ethnic groups, persons with disabilities
or illnesses, children, elderly, hospital patients), and the private sector.
Moreover, recent crises have shown that there is a large sense of solidarity among the
population during a disaster or crisis situation. Many citizens that were not involved in
disaster relief organisations before the crisis want to offer support to their fellow citizens and
the broader community in times of crises. These initiatives of “spontaneous volunteers” are
however most efficient if they are informed and trained and if their valuable contributions are
coordinated with the authorities and first and second responders on the ground. Preparedness
plans, tests and continued adaption on how best to manage spontaneous volunteers and
integrate those into the response are needed.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities. In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is encouraged.
HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-02: Enhanced preparedness and management of High-
Impact Low-Probability or unexpected events
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
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Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.119
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                         This topic requires a multidisciplinary consortium involving:
                            representatives of scientific areas that are relevant for this topic;
                            as well as representatives of stakeholders (both practitioners and
                               policy-makers).
                         For all the participants above, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility
                         information about practitioners” in the application form with all the
                         requested information, following the template provided in the submission
                         IT tool.
                         If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                         timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                         (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                         for earth observation is encouraged.
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level          General Annex B.
Procedure                The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                         apply:
                         To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                         only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                         ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                         thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some of the following
outcomes:
     Increased understanding of high impact-low probability events in the short and medium
      term, both from natural and man-made hazards. These perspectives include cultural,
      societal, regional, ethical and historical contexts. This should capture new and emerging
      risks and develop end-user-friendly tools for risk assessors to conceptualise such risks.
     Improved methods/tools for decision-making under uncertainty to prepare for high-
      impact low-probability events. These methods could include the impact of past events,
      communication and linguistic components, and regional specificities. These should be
119
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    developed in close cooperation with end users to maximise application of these tools in
    practice.
   Better preparedness for and management of high-impact low-probability risks that most,
    if not all, experts have difficulty conceptualising (the unexpected events), including by
    developing no-regret options that can address different kinds of impacts irrespective of
    the cause.
   Improved mapping of i) socioeconomic systems’ interdependencies that can be
    negatively affected by high-impact low-probability events, and ii) which systems
    contribute to the materialisation of high-impact low-probability risks by increasing
    societal vulnerability. This would be supported by identification of interventions where
    resilience-building would be most effective. This identification could be based on an in-
    depth understanding of past events, a mapping of the current societies’ cultural
    sensibilities in a geographical space / region context, and/or their ethical and legal
    contexts.
   Improved preparedness at an individual level, at local level and at the governmental
    level, including through clarifying roles and responsibilities around management of
    high-impact low-probability events. An improved understanding of existing risk and
    resilience management capacities across Europe at national and regional levels for
    responding to high-impact low-probability risks that Europe may face.
   Development of appropriate simulation tools to identify areas under higher risk of
    occurrence of HILP events and development of preparedness plans and management
    mechanisms, including communication, to address the effects of such occurrence.
   Combination of qualitative and quantitative approach strategies, which encompass
    practical and probabilistic knowledge to increase the success rate of identifying and
    adequately monitoring fast developing risks into potential high-impact low-probability
    events
   Multi-disciplinary reference library around HILP events and their impacts would allow
    to build up a record of observations that can help quantify the impacts and, by analogy,
    similar risks that might arise in the future.
   Scenario-building exercises and stress-test risk-related practices in critical infrastructure
    sectors (e.g., transport, communications, energy) would enhance preparedness and help
    identify particularly affected social groups while enabling rapid financial and practical
    support where national organizations are unable to cope or where the consequences are
    cross-border in nature. Independent, high-quality hubs (national or regional) for up-to-
    date risk notification and provision of scientific information and communication in a
    crisis – supported by governments, businesses and industry associations.
Scope: The risk landscape has changed significantly over the last decades. With new and
emerging risks and risk magnifiers such as climate change, cyber threats, infectious diseases
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and terrorism, countries need to anticipate and prepare for the unexpected and difficult to
predict.
At European level, there is, however, no agreed definition nor methodology to characterise
HILP and unexpected events, resulting in differing impact scales and a lack of comparability
of risk ratings among National Risk Assessments. High-impact, low-probability risks
(HILP/Hi-Lo) can be understood as “events or occurrences that cannot easily be anticipated,
arise randomly and unexpectedly, and have immediate effects and significant impacts”. They
can manifest themselves not only as one-off high-profile crises and mega-disasters (e.g.,
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident, eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, 9/11 terrorist
attack in the U.S. and COVID-19 pandemic) but also as lower-profile, persistent events with
equally serious impacts such as flooding, droughts and cyclones which, owing to the low
likelihood of occurrence or the high cost of mitigating action, remain un- or under-prepared
for.
High-impact, low-probability events (HILP) and their cascading effects raise many challenges
for governments, businesses and decision-makers, including defining where the
responsibilities lie in preparing for both individual shocks and slow-motion trends (e.g. global
warming, tipping points, sea level rise) that tend to increase their magnitude and frequency. A
2019 revision of Decision 1313/2013/EU on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism has brought
attention to high impact low probability risks and events, now requiring Member States to
take prevention and preparedness measures to address them where appropriate, and the EU
fully financing capacities through rescEU to respond to high impact low probability events.
To get the right balance between planning for specific ‘known’ events and creating generic
responses for events that are rare or unexpected, research should support the anticipation and
management of shock events through improving planning processes, establishing broader
risk-uncertainty frameworks that capture such events, enhancing business resilience and
responses to shocks, and stepping up communications in a crisis.
Preparing for and managing the consequences of a HILP event will benefit firstly from
developing an increased understanding of new and emerging risks, besides the required risk
understanding dealt with in topics CL3-2021-DRS-01-01 and CL3-2021-DRS-01-02, and in
close connection to them. Improved methods should also be sought to support risk assessors
and decision-makers in conceptualising these risks and developing no-regret options to
manage them. A thorough understanding of existing risk management capacities across
Europe at national and regional levels for responding to high-impact low-probability risks that
Europe may face would contribute to improving preparedness at the European level to risks
that can affect multiple countries at once and overwhelm national response capacities. Finally,
enhancing preparedness for and management of high impact low-probability events cannot
happen without an increased resilience of individuals. In close connection to topic CL3-2021-
DRS-01-02, research is also needed on how to prepare citizens for unfamiliar risks and what
information to disseminate, and how to communicate, during the disaster or crisis-related
emergency in order to manage panic, confusion and threats of disinformation.
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Given the practical nature of this topic, co-design, co-development, co-dissemination and co-
evaluation of the research outputs engaging the intended end users will be particularly
important.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-03: Improved quality assurance / quality control of data
used in decision-making related to risk management of natural hazards, accidents and
CBRN events
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                        requesting different amounts.
Indicative              The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.120
budget
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                        This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 5
                        accredited measurement institutes / laboratories in charge of delivering
                        data to risk management decision-making authorities. These participants
                        must come from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated
                        countries. For all the participants above, applicants must fill in the table
                        “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the application form with
                        all the requested information, following the template provided in the
                        submission IT tool.
                        If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                        timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                        (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                        for earth observation is encouraged.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level         General Annex B.
120
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Procedure            The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                     apply:
                     To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                     only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                     ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                     thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Evaluation of Quality Assurance / Quality Control (QA/QC) needs in areas not prone to
      systematic quality checks prior to decision-making in the natural hazards and CBRN-E
      areas, for physical, chemical and biological parameters.
    Based on past experience, organised intercomparisons among laboratories and institutes
      at EU level which are in charge of providing data for risk- and evidence-based decision-
      making in order to evaluate the comparability of data produced worldwide.
Production of reference materials and possible certification schemes for the systematic
checking of laboratory and method’s performance for monitoring data used in risk- and
evidence-based decision-making that are not prone to readily established schemes.
Scope: Risk management of natural hazards and CBRN-E events closely rely on available
data, taking into account uncertainties brought on by climate change and Earth dynamics. The
soundness of decisions is based on quality data, which justifies that continuous efforts are
made to improve their quality assurance / quality control, in particular in the natural hazards
area as well as in the CBRN-E area. In many instances, measurement data used in decision-
making are rarely challenged in the areas of crisis management and/or mechanisms are still
underdeveloped to systematically demonstrate their quality (e.g. in the case of substances of
criminal nature such as biological toxins). Quality assurance / Quality control (QA/QC) are
prone to standardised procedures such as the EN 45000 Series, which includes requirements
related to laboratory settings, analytical techniques, criteria for analytical performances (e.g.
accuracy, repeatability, limits of detection etc.) that are well implemented in sectors such as
the environment (including water), food and health. In other areas requiring monitoring data
of physical, chemical or biological nature related to risk assessment of natural hazards such as
climate threats and pandemics, man-made (accidental) risks (e.g. chemical substances in
Seveso-type environments) or terrorism threats (e.g. chemical or biological toxins used for
criminal purposes), the QA/QC rules are much less known and followed. In particular, the
systematic comparison of measurement techniques related to risk assessment of natural
hazards (including health) and CBRN-E data is not wide-spread and references data or
materials are often lacking. Recent developments have led to the testing of proficiency testing
schemes for biological toxins of potential bioterrorism risk, but a general framework for
checking data quality and controlling laboratory and analytical technique performances
(including from measurement data directly gathered in the field) does not yet exist at
European level. There is hence a need to evaluate the needs for QA/QC developments in
relevant areas for which physical, chemical and biological measurement data are
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insufficiently checked for quality, and to develop an appropriate EU-wide approach to
improve and demonstrate this quality, thus ensuring a traceability and comparability of data
used throughout Europe for sound risk- and evidence-based decision-making.
HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-04: Better understanding of citizens’ behavioural and
psychological reactions in the event of a disaster or crisis situation
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                       requesting different amounts.
Indicative             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.121
budget
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2
                       organisations representing citizens or communities, and at least 2
                       representatives of societal sciences (psychology, history), from at least 3
                       different EU Member States or Associated countries. For these
                       participants, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information about
                       practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information,
                       following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                       apply:
                       To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                       only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                       ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                       thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
     Qualitative and quantitative analyses on the behaviour of diverse society groups affected
      by a natural and man-made disaster or crisis situation, during and after an even occurs,
      based on real cases and testimonies, lessons learned from past disasters or crisis and
      recommendations from citizens and local authorities. Examine how this analysis could
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     be integrated into preparedness plans and processes to include cultural, historical, and
     ethical perspectives on what defines disasters and how they are responded to.
    Analyses of human behaviour as triggering or cascading factors of disasters or crisis
     situations, and transformation of qualitative data into quantitative information to
     improve vulnerability and exposure analyses.
    Development of community-centred (vis-à-vis victim- or patient-centred) approaches
     and corresponding preparedness plans: in view of limited emergency response capacities
     and threat of systems collapses (e.g. health system, food distribution, supply chains) in
     large-scale disaster scenarios, analyse what community practices and communication
     strategies can help mitigate the latter and enable the public to be a capable partner in
     emergency planning and response.
    Specific measures to better address the needs and requirements of most vulnerable
     groups (chronic suffers, persons with disabilities, children, elderly persons, economically
     and socially deprived persons, refugees and irregular migrants in emergency planning
     and recovery measures.
    Analyses of the nature and scope of mental health issues of the affected populations and
     of first-responders arising during and following natural or man-made disasters or crisis
     situations and their implications for response and recovery, and options to address these
     issues, including through social and health services such as emergency psycho-social
     support.
    Analyses of mechanisms and factors that can lead to false alarms and misdirected
     actions, and of the direct consequences on both population and decision-makers.
Scope: Human actions and behaviour may strongly influence the effects and dynamics of a
disaster or crisis situation and on the response, potentially modifying the vulnerability of the
population. For example, inadequate design of technological systems may favour cascading
consequences due to limited consideration of human performance, and insufficient planning.
Linked to this, due to extreme time pressure, crisis managers are often forced to make
decisions on the basis of inadequate information. The behaviour of the general public, mostly
influenced by demographic factors (e.g. gender, age, income, education, risk-tolerance, social
connectivity etc.) and the perception of risks, depends on the availability, form and access to
information about the crisis and management of trade-offs (e.g. efficiency and thoroughness
trade-offs). Social media play an important role here being a means of disinformation and
misinformation.
Recent disasters related either to natural causes (including climate-related and geological
hazards), man-made causes (including industrial accidents or terrorist attacks) or the COVID-
19 pandemic crisis have shown the lack of sufficient knowledge in the way citizens react in
case of disasters or crisis situations, with implications on policy design and implementation
for example in the form of preparedness plans. In this respect, taking into account the
knowledge gathered by projects funded in Horizon 2020 and ensuring complementarity,
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behavioural and psychological research on how citizens behave in the event of a disaster or
crisis situation is needed to better understand how to best raise awareness in the population
and develop tools to facilitate this.
It is hence necessary to better investigate how historical, cultural and emotional factors (e.g.
anxiety, panic etc.) during a disaster or a crisis influence rational actions, evaluations of
options and information seeking. In addition, the impact of disasters on health also requires
looking into the short and long-term consequences of exposure to high stress/threat levels
bears, in particular for mental health.
Where possible and relevant, synergy-building and clustering initiatives with successful
proposals in the same area should be considered, including the organisation of international
conferences in close coordination with the Community for European Research and Innovation
for Security (CERIS) activities and/or other international events.
DRS02 - Improved Disaster Risk Management and Governance
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-05: Improved impact forecasting and early warning
systems supporting the rapid deployment of first responders in vulnerable areas
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.122
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                         states of the Africa Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
                         The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                         This topic requires a multidisciplinary consortium involving:
                            representatives of scientific areas that are relevant for this topic;
                            as well as practitioners (first and second responder);
                            and representatives of local or regional management authorities,
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                           from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated countries.
                     For all the participants above, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility
                     information about practitioners” in the application form with all the
                     requested information, following the template provided in the submission
                     IT tool.
                     If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                     timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                     (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                     for earth observation is encouraged.
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Procedure            The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                     apply:
                     To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                     only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                     ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                     thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute at least three of the following
outcomes:
   Comparison of measures and technologies to enhance the response capacity to extreme
     weather and geological events (including local measures and warning systems) affecting
     the security of people and assets.
   Adjustments of warning and response systems in the light of cross-disciplinary
     cooperation, involving planning authorities and first responders, to better manage the
     rapid deployment of first responders and communication to citizens in vulnerable areas
     in the case of extreme climate events or geological disasters.
   Timely operational forecasts of severe (short-term focus) extreme weather events (e.g.
     floods, hot waves, storms, storm surges) or geological hazards (e.g. volcanic eruption,
     earthquake, tsunami) to aid planning authorities, civil protection agencies and first
     responders in their decision-making.
   European-scale multi-hazard platform to facilitate the identification of expected natural
     hazards with great specificity in time and space and improve science communication for
     boosting interactions between scientists, general media and the public.
   Methodologies to integrate innovative state-of-the art early warning systems into
     existing tools for decision-making and situation reporting already used by civil
     protection authorities from international to local level.
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Scope: Enhanced risk and crisis assessment and preparedness to natural hazards rely on tools
using different types of data, information and forecasts (e.g. meteorological data, physical
data related to geohazards and climate projections etc.) which may enable to anticipate the
occurrence of disasters. Based on the legacy of existing solutions, in particular in the area of
extreme weather events, further developments are required to compare impact forecasting and
early warning approaches at international level. The aim of such comparisons would be to
design EU-wide decision-support and information systems supporting planning authorities
and civil protection agencies in the rapid deployment of first responders and communication
to citizens in vulnerable areas in the case of extreme climate events or geological disasters.
This platform development might be prone to international cooperation, hence supporting the
implementation of both EU policies and the UN Sendai Framework for Action. Innovation
actions should improve measures and technologies that are needed to better plan for extreme
climate events and geological disasters, reduce risks, as well as manage the immediate
consequences of natural disasters, in particular regarding emergency responses. This should
lead to sound and timely operational forecasts of severe (short-term focus) extreme weather
events or geological hazards to aid planning authorities, civil protection agencies and first
responders in their decision-making. Built up on developments from relevant H2020 projects,
a European-scale multi-hazard platform should be designed, taking into account existing
developments at EU level and available space information, in order to facilitate the
identification of expected natural hazards with great specificity in time and space. The aim is
to utilise largely existing capabilities and combine them into a single, user-friendly platform.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is encouraged, in
particular with vulnerable countries, e.g. African and South Mediterranean members of the
Union for the Mediterranean.
Where possible and relevant, synergy-building and clustering initiatives with successful
proposals in the same area should be considered, including the organisation of international
conferences in close coordination with the Community for European Research and Innovation
for Security (CERIS) activities and/or other international events.
HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-06: Improved disaster risk pricing assessment
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                        requesting different amounts.
Indicative              The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.123
budget
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
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Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                     This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2
                     representatives of the financial sector and of insurance companies from at
                     least 2 different EU Member States or Associated countries. For these
                     participants, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information about
                     practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information,
                     following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Procedure            The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                     apply:
                     To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                     only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                     ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                     thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
   Contribute to the public accessibility of fiscal data and information related to disaster
     risks, and available risk transfer mechanisms such as insurance in an easily available and
     understandable way.
   EU-wide or international standard or guidance on how to monetise and account
     intangible values from Climate Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction measures
   Innovative financial instruments and IT-solutions to reduce transaction costs for disaster
     risk finance and insurance products (e.g. earth observation data, artificial intelligence,
     financial technologies)
   Research and testing of novel European, cross-border, national and regional disaster risk
     financing frameworks. This needs to involve a wide range of stakeholders (e.g. disaster
     risk management, finance, communication) from public and private sectors.
   Risk model development for future natural catastrophe events, development of European
     stress-testing scenarios including vulnerable hotspots and uninsurable risks.
Scope: Natural disasters (weather and climate related extremes and geological events) in the
EU have cost on average EUR 17 billion per year the past ten years. Around 35 % of the total
losses from climate and extreme and weather events are insured today in the EU, although the
proportion of the insured losses ranges from 1 % in Romania and Lithuania to about 60 % in
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Belgium. In the near-term future, the European insurance industry and their regulators have
warned that affordability and insurability are likely to become an increasing concern with
climate change. Insurance, in combination with other risk transfer and financing mechanisms,
is an important tool to achieve disaster risk reduction targets. Insurance plays an important
role in financially supporting the recovery of individuals, organisations, businesses and
communities affected by natural disasters. Large disaster losses in recent years have led
insurance companies to re-examine their approach to increase the extent of insurance
coverage and compensation for loss in vulnerable areas. This includes increasing their
investment in assessing and modelling risk, developing advice on risk prevention and
establishing new forms of coverage to support governments in managing the costs they face in
post-disaster recovery. Questions remain about the limits of insurance in tackling fast-rising
threats - not only how people at highest risk and with lower incomes can afford it, but whether
insurance models can cope with much more frequent and destructive. Rethinking insurance
pay-outs, giving homeowners clearer information on potential risks - using simple online
tools, or providing data at the time of house purchases - may also be the way forward more
resilient communities.
DRS03 - Strengthened capacities of first and second responders
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-07: Improved international cooperation addressing first
responder capability gaps
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                     proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                     This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least:
                        3 first responders’ organisations or agencies from at least 3
                          different EU or Associated countries;
                     For all the participants above, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility
                     information about practitioners” in the application form with all the
                     requested information, following the template provided in the
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                        submission IT tool.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
     Improved real-time detection, tracking and analysis of different situations, incidents and
      risks (including the location and well-being of first responders)
     More targeted actionable intelligence and more efficient command operations due to the
      fast analysis of different information sources
     Enhanced European and global interoperability for different types of first responders
      (e.g. firefighters, medical responders, police, civil protection)
     Availability of first responder solutions that are oriented on internationally defined
      requirements and recognised practices, and thus can be used with different national
      systems and equipment
Scope: International cooperation is key to respond to different kind of natural and man-made
disasters, as well as intentional security threats. Besides operational cooperation, there is a
need to find a common understanding on what innovation is needed to able to respond to
different challenges. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 list the
need ‘to strengthen technical and logistical capacities to ensure better response to
emergencies’124as one priority for national and local levels. Such capacities depend to a large
extent on the effectiveness and the specific capabilities of organisations responsible for first
response to incidents.
In order to perform their dangerous tasks, First Responders require the best possible
equipment that is tailor-made for extreme scenarios. As such, tools and gear need to be highly
specialised and adapted to the different specific first responder needs. The market for such
equipment is however fragmented, limiting the availability and affordability.
International cooperation to define common requirements has helped to create a clearer
picture on what gaps remain and cannot be satisfied by existing solutions, thus requiring
targeted research. Global capability gaps have been identified by international expert groups
such as the UNDRR Scientific and Technical Advisory Group and the International Forum to
Advance First Responder Innovation (IFAFRI), involving scientific experts, firefighters,
medical responders and police officers from several EU and non-EU countries.
Proposals under this topic are invited to address one or several of the following capability
gaps that were identified by national first responders within IFAFRI:
     The ability to know the location of responders and their proximity to risks and hazard in
      real time
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     The ability to detect, monitor, and analyse passive and active threats and hazards at
      incident scenes in real time
     The ability to monitor the physiological signs of emergency responders
     The ability to incorporate information from multiple and non-traditional sources into
      incident command operations
     The ability ty to create actionable intelligence based on data and information from
      multiple sources
Proposed solutions should take into account the different specifications as defined within
IFAFRI, most notably the Gap Analysis, Statement of Objectives and Deep Dive Analysis 125
and propose solutions (to the extent possible) that are suitable for different types of
responders.
Proposals can be submitted by any eligible organisation and do not necessarily require the
cooperation with co-applicants from an IFAFRI member country.126 Participation from non-
associated third countries (including the non-EU IFAFRI partners) is however encouraged and
the participation of at least 2 first responders’ organisations from at least 2 different non-EU
countries is strongly encouraged.
Where possible and relevant, synergy-building and clustering initiatives with successful
proposals in the same area should be considered, including the organisation of international
conferences in close coordination with the Community for European Research and Innovation
for Security (CERIS) activities and/or other international events.
HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-08: Enhanced situational awareness and preparedness of
first responders and improved capacities to minimise time-to-react in urban areas in the
case of CBRN-E-related events
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                       requesting different amounts.
Indicative             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 11.00 million.127
budget
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
125
        Resources: https://www.internationalresponderforum.org/resources
126
        List of IFAFRI members: https://www.internationalresponderforum.org/partners
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conditions          exceptions apply:
                    The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                    This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3
                    first responders’ organisations or agencies from at least 3 different EU
                    Member States or Associated countries.For these participants, applicants
                    must fill in the table “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the
                    application form with all the requested information, following the
                    template provided in the submission IT tool.
                    If projects use satellite-based, positioning, navigation and/or related
                    timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Galileo/EGNOS
                    (other data and services may additionally be used). The use of Copernicus
                    for earth observation is encouraged.
                    Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                    background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                    SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                    classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology          Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level     General Annex B.
Procedure           The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                    apply:
                    To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                    only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                    ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                    thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some of the following
outcomes:
   Development of tools and technologies, including novel multiplatform CBRN-E
     systems, to enhance situational awareness to prepare for and rapidly react to CBRN-E
     events both for responders on the ground as well as for dispatch and crisis centres,
     especially in urban areas.
   Support of first responders’ situational awareness via high level processing solution, e.g.
     based on dispersion modelling or threat recognition / prediction solution using sensor
     data fusion and algorithms that combine heterogeneous sensor data in order to reduce the
     likelihood of false alarms and contribute to an improved decision-making process for the
     responders.
   Development of fast, reliable and portable devices for responders to perform an in-situ
     provisional identification of CBRN-E suspicious samples, enabling to decide which
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      personal protective equipment (PPE) is required for first responders, including smart
      wearable equipment.
    Solutions integrating different commercial and experimental sensors/platforms, which
      should improve the state-of-the-art products in terms of communication (e.g. by using
      novel and open communication protocols, pre-processing of data), power consumption
      (e.g. by offering supplemental power source to the existing sensors), interfacing
      capability (e.g. by proposing an open interface specification). The proposals should also
      cover the system transportability, online capability and continuous operation issues.
Scope: Addressing first responders’ needs requires innovative actions resulting in
technological, institutional and capacity-building solutions that are tailored to the risks,
affordable, accepted by citizens, and customised and implemented for the (cross-sectoral)
needs of practitioners. Innovative solutions are required to enable first responders to get a
faster overview of any disaster situation based on the knowledge of past events and
prevention actions. Complementing this, novel technologies and tools are necessary to
enhance situational awareness in the case of disaster-prone events or health-related crises,
especially in the case of cross-border situations, in order for first responders to be better
prepared in emergency operations. In this context, innovative technologies are required for
first responders to rapidly identify hazardous agents and contaminants such as CBRN-E
substances in case of an accident, outbreak/pandemics or terrorist attack and act more
efficiently and rapidly regarding communication. This requires novel rapid and accurate
detection of substances (possibly coupled with unmanned vehicles or drones) and on-line
communication systems to support first responders’ operations and to provide the ability to
conduct on-scene operations remotely without endangering them. Needs cover a broad range
of technologies on top of existing CBRN-E detectors, e.g. samplers, separation systems,
dilution or sample pre-concentrators etc., multiplying their capabilities. Advancements should
take into consideration power consumption of front-end technology, as well as,
transportability, on-line, dynamic sampling, automation, smart samplers, sample preparation,
integration with detectors, standardisation. A focus should be made on experimental or
commercial systems that are not optimised in terms of online, continuous measurements,
power consumption and hyphenation. Other areas of research closely depending upon
enhanced situational awareness and preparedness concern decisions related to the protection
of first responders (e.g. advanced protective gear and smart wearable equipment), in particular
in case of CBRN-related events (infectious diseases, accidental or linked to terrorism), and
ways to minimise their time-to-react in urban areas or to conduct on-scene operations
remotely without endangering responders (e.g. ways through traffic, UAVs etc.).
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is encouraged, in
particular with Japan in the framework of the EU-Japan collaboration.
Where possible and relevant, synergy-building and clustering initiatives with successful
proposals in the same area should be considered, including the organisation of international
conferences in close coordination with the Community for European Research and Innovation
for Security (CERIS) activities and/or other international events.
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HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01-09: Enhanced capacities of first responders more
efficient rescue operations, including decontamination of infrastructures in the case of a
CBRN-E event
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 11.00 million.128
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                          This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3
                          first responders’ organisations or agencies, from at least 3 different EU
                          Member States or Associated countries.
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Procedure                 The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                          exceptions apply:
                          To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications
                          not only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                          ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                          thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Analysis on if and how the specific requirements of operating under CBRN-E conditions
      can be taken into consideration also for teams/capacities that are traditionally not
      operating under CBRN-E conditions (e. g. search and rescue, medical care, shelter,
      firefighting, flood rescue, etc.).
     Development of innovative technologies and/or operating procedures for emergency
      management units that might need to work under CBRN-E (Chemical, biological,
      radiological, nuclear and explosives) conditions such as search and rescue (including
      victim triage procedures), medical care, shelter, firefighting, flood rescue, etc. Develop
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      innovative technology and procedures for mass decontamination but also for the
      decontamination of inanimate material (infrastructure, buildings, vehicles, equipment),
      including identifying standards for determining something as “decontaminated” in close
      collaboration with Topic CL3-2021-DRS-01-05.
Scope: Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN-E) events increasingly target
civilians, with first responders likely to be police officers, firefighters or paramedics. Based
on the legacy of knowledge gathered in H2020 projects, innovative technologies and solutions
are required for first responders to act more efficiently and rapidly in case of CBRN-E
disaster events of any kinds. This includes the ability to rapidly identify hazardous agents and
contaminants and to analyse threats and hazards in real time, the faster search and
identification of victims enabling more efficient rescue operations, platforms for medical care
and site management/shelter for a more efficient the triage of victims and their care, i.e. via
appropriate decontamination chains of victims and infrastructures. Regarding this last point,
links to standardization and Topic CL3-2021-DRS-01-05 are particularly important to be able
to determine thresholds and identify people as well as objects as “decontaminated” or “free of
decontamination”.
Where possible and relevant, synergy-building and clustering initiatives with successful
proposals in the same area should be considered, including the organisation of international
conferences in close coordination with the Community for European Research and Innovation
for Security (CERIS) activities and/or other international events.
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Strengthened Security Research and Innovation
The EU-funded security research and innovation framework was launched with the
Preparatory Action for Security Research 129 . Since then, the programme has contributed
substantially to knowledge and value creation in the field of internal security and to the
consolidation of an ecosystem better equipped to capitalise on research and innovation to
support the EU security priorities.
While the success of the programme has materialised in relevant scientific findings,
maturation of promising technology areas, operational validation of innovative concepts or
support to policy implementation, a key challenge remains in improving the uptake of
innovation.
The extent to which innovative technologies developed thanks to EU R&I investment are
industrialised and commercialised by EU industry, and later acquired and deployed by end-
users, thus contributing to the development of security capabilities130, could give a valuable
measure of the impact achieved with the programme. However, there are factors inherent to
the EU security ecosystem (often attributed to the market) that hinder the full achievement of
this impact. These include market fragmentation, cultural barriers, analytical weaknesses,
programming weaknesses, ethical, legal and societal considerations or lack of synergies
between funding instruments, among others.
It is worth noting that such factors affect all the security domains addressed in Cluster 3; that
there is not one predominant factor with sufficient leverage by itself to change the overall
innovation uptake dynamics; and that they exhibit complex relationships among them which
are difficult to disentangle. It should also be noted that the innovation uptake process starts
before the R&I cycle is triggered, and it is not finalised with the successful termination of a
research project. Therefore, the uptake challenge extends beyond the realm of R&I. However,
from within R&I it is possible, if not to materialise the uptake in every case, at least to pave
the way towards its materialisation.
To that aim, there is a need to create a favourable environment that is designed with the main
purpose of increasing the impact of security R&I, that is visible and recognisable to those
interested in contributing to this aim, and which provides bespoke tools that serve to tackle
the factors that hinder innovation uptake.
The SSRI Destination has therefore been designed with this purpose to serve equally to all the
expected impacts of Cluster 3. Research applied in this domain will contribute to increasing
the impact of the work carried out in the EU security Research and Innovation ecosystem as a
129
        COM(2004) 72
130
        For the purpose of this work programme, the terms “Capability” should be understood as "the ability to
        pursue a particular policy priority or achieve a desired operational effect”. The term “capability” is
        often interchanged with the term “capacity”, but this should be avoided. “Capacity” could refer to an
        amount or volume of which one organisation could have enough or not. On the other hand, “capability”
        refers to an ability, an aptitude or a process that can be developed or improved in consonance with the
        ultimate objective of the organisation.
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whole and to contribute to its core values, namely: i) Ensuring that security R&I maintains the
focus on the potential final use of its outcomes; ii) Contributing to a forward-looking planning
of EU security capabilities; iii) Ensuring the development of security technologies that are
socially acceptable; iv) Paving the way to the industrialisation, commercialisation, acquisition
and deployment of successful R&I outcomes; and v) Safeguarding the open strategic
autonomy and technological sovereignty of the EU in critical security areas by contributing to
a more competitive and resilient EU security technology and industrial base.
While the other Destinations of this Horizon Europe Cluster 3 Work Programme offer
research and innovation activities to develop solutions to address specific security threats or
capability needs, the SSRI Destination will contribute with instruments that will help bringing
these and other developments closer to the market. Such instruments will help developers
(including industry, research organisations and academia) to improve the valorisation of their
research investment. They will also support buyers and users in materialising the uptake of
innovation and further develop their security capabilities.
In addition, the SSRI Destination will offer an open environment to create knowledge and
value through research in matters (including technology, but also social sciences and
humanities) that are not exclusive of only one security area, but cross-cutting to the whole
Cluster. This will contribute to reducing thematic fragmentation, bringing closer together the
actors from different security domains, and expanding the market beyond traditional thematic
silos.
Finally, SSRI will allow the allocation of resources to the development of tools and methods
to reinforce the innovation cycle itself from a process standpoint, thus increasing its
effectiveness, efficiency and impact. This Destination will contribute to the development of
an analytical capacity tailored to the specific needs of security stakeholders for the
materialisation of a structured long-term capability based planning of research and innovation
for security.
In order to accomplish the objectives of this Destination, additional eligibility conditions have
been defined with regard to the active involvement of relevant security practitioners or end-
users.
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
to the following impacts:
    A more effective and efficient evidence-based development of EU civil security
      capabilities built on a stronger, more systematic and analysis-intensive security research
      and innovation cycle;
    Increased industrialisation, commercialisation, adoption and deployment of successful
      outcomes of security research reinforces the competitiveness and resilience of EU
      security technology and industrial base and safeguards the security of supply of EU-
      products in critical security areas;
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   R&I-enabled knowledge and value in cross-cutting matters reduces sector specific bias
     and breaks thematic silos that impede the proliferation of common security solutions.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
              Call                           Budgets (EUR million)            Deadline(s)
                                            2021                  2022
HORIZON-CL3-2021-SSRI-01 16.00                                               23 Nov 2021
HORIZON-CL3-2022-SSRI-01                                     9.50            23 Nov 2022
Overall indicative budget           16.00                    9.50
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Call - Support to Security Research and Innovation 2021
                                                                         HORIZON-CL3-2021-SSRI-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)131
                 Topics                       Type         Budgets           Expected EU          Number
                                                of          (EUR           contribution per           of
                                             Action        million)          project (EUR          projects
                                                                              million)132         expected
                                                             2021                                   to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 30 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 23 Nov 2021
HORIZON-CL3-2021-SSRI-01-01 RIA                         1.50            Around 1.50               1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-SSRI-01-02 CSA                         4.00            Around 2.00               2
HORIZON-CL3-2021-SSRI-01-03 CSA                         2.50            Around 2.50               1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-SSRI-01-04 PCP                         6.00            Around 6.00               1
HORIZON-CL3-2021-SSRI-01-05 RIA                         2.00            Around 2.00               1
Overall indicative budget                               16.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                      The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                      The criteria are described in General Annex
131
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
132
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
SSRI 01 - Stronger pillars of security Research and Innovation
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2021-SSRI-01-01: A maturity assessment framework for security
technologies
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.50
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.50 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Increased literacy on the value and efficient use of maturity assessment frameworks to
     communicate the readiness of technology, synchronise parallel developments, forecast
     implementation and support decision making in the planning of investment in the area of
     security;
   Improved cross-disciplinary assessment of the maturity of innovative technologies based
     on common harmonised frameworks for the security domain;
   Comprehensive and timely updated map of the maturity of the security solutions
     developed through EU-funded security research and innovation programmes enabled by
     widely accessible assessment tools and methods;
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     Evidence-based programming of security research built on a more reliable assessment of
      the state of the art technologies in the field of security.
Scope: Having awareness of the maturity of a system is an invaluable reference to understand
how ready this system is to be deployed on a numeric scale. Given the challenge posed by the
limited uptake of the outcomes of EU-funded security R&I, having the capacity to
characterise the progress achieved by security systems under development basing on readiness
characteristics, and not only from a purely technological perspective, can be a powerful tool
to identify areas that require further work or to provide input to strategic investment decision
making processes.
Scales using metrics such as the Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) are widely used and
have been adapted to different domains. Other scales have been developed, including
Integration Readiness Level (IRL), Commercialisation Readiness Level (CRL),
Manufacturing Readiness Levels (MRL), Security, Privacy and Ethics Readiness Level
(SPRL) or Societal Readiness Level (SRL), among others. These may have been defined for
different purposes and often focusing on non-technological aspects of technology
development. However, problems emerge when readiness levels proliferate and are used
without a commonly agreed definition, when they are not duly adapted to the specific context
of application133 or when they are implemented without the support of adequate tools and
methods to carry out a reliable assessment.
Applicants are invited to submit proposals for the development of a maturity assessment
framework that serves as a reference for the development of civil security technology-based
solutions. The framework should be cross-disciplinary and combine different readiness scales
in an aggregated manner in order to be able to deliver holistic and quantitative maturity
assessments agglutinating different perspectives (e.g. technological, systemic, societal, etc.).
The scales proposed should be robust, repeatable and agile, so they can be trusted, replicated,
and applied to different types of security solutions in the different domains covered by this
Work Programme.
The scales proposed have to rely as much as possible in existing and recognised scales and
methods that show the appropriate quality features to ensure their reliability. Such scales need
to be tailored and adapted to the security context as required in a justified manner.134
Based on the maturity assessment framework proposed, the project is expected to deliver tools
that allow the guided and/or the self-assessment of the maturity of concrete security solutions
being developed under the frame of EU-funded security research work programmes. These
tools will allow an open access to those actors interested in assessing the readiness levels of
concrete technologies, preferably through a web-based environment that allows for a high
degree of automation. It is of particular relevance to allow open access to the online tools to
133
        “The TRL Scale as a Research & Innovation Policy Tool”, European Association of Research and
        Technology Associations (EARTO), 30 April 2014
134
        Proposals exploring Societal Readiness Level scales should avoid overlapping and possibly cooperate
        with actions funded under the topic HORIZON-CL3-2021-SSRI-01-05
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actors participating in EU-funded security research projects so they are able to assess the
progress in the maturation of their technologies throughout the project.
An extensive validation process for the developed assessment tools should be conducted as
part of the project. This validation should be conducted by performing maturity assessments
on different solutions recently delivered or currently under development in H2020 or Horizon
Europe projects. The results of the maturity assessment should be made available to the
projects collaborating with the validation for their own use and in support to their activities.
The results are expected to be made available to other EC-chaired or funded initiatives for
which this information can be of added value, such as the Networks of Practitioners projects
funded under H2020 Secure Societies work programmes, to the Knowledge Networks for
Security Research & Innovation funded under the Horizon Europe Cluster 3 Work
Programme, to the Community of Users for Secure, Safe and Resilient Societies (future
CERIS –Community of European Research and Innovation for Security) or to other security
research and innovation working groups set-up by European Commission Agencies.
The project should explore the options, also from a business perspective, for the exploitation
of the results beyond the project lifetime, including the setting up of formal mechanisms for
the certification of readiness of security solutions by entrusted bodies.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
The project should have a maximum estimated duration of 3 years.
HORIZON-CL3-2021-SSRI-01-02: Knowledge Networks for Security Research &
Innovation
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                         1. Each consortium must commit and propose a plan to contribute,
                            every 6 or fewer months, to working groups chaired by the
                            European Commission and/or EU Agencies supporting the
                            identification of security research needs referred to in the topic
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                               text;
                          2. Each proposal must include a work package to disseminate their
                               findings, including an annual workshop or conference;
                          3. Participation as beneficiaries of end-user authorities with a
                               recognised mandate in the areas addressed by the network from at
                               least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries is
                               mandatory 135 . For these participants, applicants must fill in the
                               table “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the
                               application form with all the requested information, following the
                               template provided in the submission IT tool.
                        Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                        background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                        SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                        classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        To ensure a balanced portfolio covering the different Destinations of this
                        WP part, grants will be awarded to applications not only in order of
                        ranking but at least also to one project that is the highest ranked within
                        each of the two options (Option A "Border Security", Option B
                        "Resilient Infrastructure"), provided that the applications attain all
                        thresholds.
Legal and               The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of     apply:
the Grant               Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
Agreements              The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of prizes.
                        The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Enhanced analytical capacity to support the programming of EU-funded security
      research and capacity building funds through a periodic and timely evidence-based
      policy feedback ;
135
        The applicable definition of end-user authority or practitioner is the same as the one used in this work
        programme under the Destinations corresponding to the type of network addressed by the submitted
        proposal.
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     Periodically aggregated and consolidated view of the capability needs and gaps in the
      thematic areas under consideration136;
     Periodically aggregated and consolidated view of the state-of-the-art technologies,
      techniques, methods and tools that can contribute to fill the identified capability gaps;
     Periodically aggregated and consolidated view of outcomes (including on technological,
      industrial, legal and ethical issues), future trends, lessons learnt and best practices
      derived from past and current security research effort incurred in the thematic areas
      under consideration.
     More systematic assessment and validation of the outcomes of EU-funded security
      research projects with respect to identified capability gaps through harmonised support
      mechanisms;
     Common and updated map of opportunities and constraints for the exploitation of EU
      security research and innovation projects, with special focus on industrialisation,
      commercialisation, adoption and deployment of innovative solutions in response to
      common capability gaps;
     Common and updated map of areas requiring standardised solutions and/or certification
      schemes to foster innovation uptake and market creation, as well as trainings and options
      for the implementation of such schemes.
     Enhanced cooperation between research institutions, smaller private research agencies,
      security practitioners, SMEs and community representatives to support integrated
      participation in requirements determination and analysis, research and validation and
      evaluation of results.
Scope: Innovation uptake is not a linear process, and even less a single-step process that
happens only at the end of a research project and it is not automatically enabled by a
successful research result. The innovation uptake process begins with the identification of a
need and ends with an innovative solution deployed on the field of operations, being R&I
only one of the many contributors to the overall process, but not the first and not the last. In
other words, successful results of research projects are a necessary but not sufficient condition
to guarantee the uptake of innovation.
Investment in security research needs to be designed taking into consideration how and when
it can deliver outcomes that contribute to the development of security capabilities. Therefore,
research will be undertaken, from its very early stages, in a way that addresses real needs
while guaranteeing the impact in the final solutions. It will also ensure to identify and
underpin the factors that could help in the implementation of its results. However, the
programming of research is highly conditioned by the quality, reliability and timeliness of the
evidence that supports its decision making process. This includes the identification and
136
        The thematic areas under consideration are described in the topic and are different for each call. Only
        one network in each area can be funded
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understanding of the contextual elements that can or will influence or be influenced by the
research (process), the research team and the research projects themselves.
The European Commission and the EU Member States carry out this programming exercise
periodically, taking into account a wide variety of inputs. The complexity of the challenge is
notable, considering that the EU security landscape is volatile, uncertain, complex and
ambiguous in what regards the security threats, the capabilities required to face them, the
evolution of modern technologies, and the skillset needed to deploy those. In order to carry
out a sound programming exercise, the European Commission and the EU Member States
strive to consult and involve all actors. With that aim, experts are gathered in different
configurations and their inputs are coordinated at EU and national levels to be factored in by
the decision-making bodies of EU-funded security research.
These experts require high quality, reliable and timely evidence to support their assessments,
but information is often scattered, hardly visible and requires bespoke processing for the
detection of patterns and for the generation of actionable intelligence. In other cases, it is
simply not presented in the right format to unveil its value.
Applicants are invited to submit proposals for the establishment of Knowledge Networks for
Security Research & Innovation. The role of these networks is to collect, aggregate, process,
disseminate and exploit the existing knowledge to directly contribute to the expected
outcomes of this topic.
Networks should engage with the main sources of information in order to have a sound and
updated picture of the aspects mentioned above. This includes interaction with security
experts (beyond the members of the project consortium), organisations, projects or initiatives,
but also an extensive review of available databases, studies, reports or literature (notably all
information generated under the EU-funded security research programmes, and possibly
under other EU or MS funding programmes).
The networks must ensure the dissemination and exploitation of their findings to the different
communities of the security research ecosystem, including policy makers, security authorities,
industry, researchers and citizens. Special emphasis needs to be made on the contribution of
these networks to the work of entities and initiatives established by the European Commission
(e.g. Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network) and the EU Agencies to contribute to the
security research programming effort In this regard, the networks should contribute timely
and intensively to the work of the Thematic Working Groups of the Community of Users for
Secure, Safe and Resilient Societies (future CERIS –Community of European Research and
Innovation for Security) and of other equivalent innovation labs/groups set-up by EU
Agencies (e.g. Frontex). The networks have to contribute to these working groups with the
quantitative and qualitative evidence required to carry out their activities in support to a more
impactful EU-funded Security R&I and to a more frequent and systematic innovation uptake.
Each proposal should include a plan, and a budget amounting at least 25% of the total cost of
the action to carry out activities involving industry, academia and other providers of
innovative solutions outside the consortium, for example with the aim to assessing the
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soundness of their findings, give support in validation processes, promote competitive
development (e.g. via prizes) or dissemination of results, among other options.
The networks must be in a position to deliver findings on the abovementioned challenges
starting from the month 6 of the project and periodically every 6 months or less, in accordance
with the information needs of the entities and initiatives they are contributing to.
Proposals should clearly describe the process and timing for the collection of inputs and the
generation of outcomes. This plan has to go beyond the description of project deliverables and
milestones, and describe in detail how and when the findings will be disseminated and
exploited during the project and in collaboration with the communities described above.
The applicants submitting the proposals have to ensure sufficient representativeness of the
communities of interest (including, but not only, geographical representativeness) and a
balanced coverage in terms of knowledge and skills of the different knowledge domains
required to face the challenge, including security operations, technologies, research &
innovation, industry, market, etc. The applying consortia need to demonstrate that the project
beneficiaries guarantee the expertise required to steer the project activities in all the
knowledge domains to ensure the success of the action. The work of the partners has to be
supported by solid and recognised tools and methods, also accompanied by the required
expertise to put them in practice.
The networks should build to the extent possible on the work initiated by the Networks of
Practitioners funded under H2020 Secure Societies work programmes. Should such networks
be still ongoing, maximum cooperation and minimum overlapping should be ensured and
demonstrated.
Under this call, the applicants are invited to propose networks on the thematic areas of:
Option A: Border Security;
Option B: Resilient Infrastructure.
Only one network in each area can be funded.
The project should have a maximum estimated duration of 3 years.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
HORIZON-CL3-2021-SSRI-01-03: National Contact Points (NCPs) in the field of
security and cybersecurity
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.50
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contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.50 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                      Applicants must be Horizon Europe national support structures (e.g.
                      NCP) responsible for Cluster 3 and officially nominated to the European
                      Commission from an EU Member State or an Associated Country.
                      Only in case and as long as Horizon Europe structures would not yet be
                      officially nominated when the call opens, national support structures
                      responsible for Secure Societies and nominated for Horizon 2020 would
                      be eligible.
Procedure             The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Improved and professionalised NCP service of knowledge, experience and skills,
     consistent across Europe, thereby helping simplify access to Horizon Europe calls,
     lowering the entry barriers for newcomers, and raising the average quality of proposals
     submitted;
   Harmonised and improved trans-national cooperation between NCPs, paying particular
     attention to the engagement of NCPs from associated partners, eventually not directly
     involved in the consortium, with the aim of ensuring the same level of information and
     quality to all National Contact Points, inside and outside the network;
   Periodic and timely evidence-based policy feedback in support to EU-funded security
     research programming enabled by a seamless integration of the national, regional and
     local dimensions of security Research and Innovation into the EU picture;
   A systematic assessment of the needs of the various stakeholders involved in security
     and Cybersecurity research projects and programmes with respect to identified learning
     opportunities through harmonised support mechanisms;
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     Collaboration with other Member States’ organisations providing support to Horizon
      Europe applicants in the domain of Cluster “Civil Security for Society”, for example the
      future National Coordination Centres created through the proposed Cybersecurity
      Competence Centre and Network Regulation137;
     A more reliable measurement of the impact of security research and innovation built,
      inter alia, on a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the participation in the different
      Programme calls and a better awareness of the innovation-uptake success stories
      stemming from the participation of national players in EU-funded security research
      projects;
     Collaboration, including NCPs in third countries, through specific NCP networking
      projects in the different Horizon Europe programme areas to address and advise the
      respective communities better and more specifically.
     Increased cooperation of NCPs with the Enterprise Europe Network.
Scope: National Contact Points (NCPs) are support structures that have become an essential
component in the implementation of successive Framework Programmes. They provide
information and on-the ground advice to potential applicants and beneficiaries, through the
project life cycle, in their own language, in a manner that would be impossible for the
European Commission and its Agencies acting alone.
The NCPs are the main structure for providing practical information and assistance to
potential participants. They are ambassadors for Horizon Europe, perceived as true and
impartial partners of the European Commission Services and its Agencies. The system of
NCPs will be established, operated and financed under the responsibility of the Member
States and Associated Countries.
NCPs can also help to give visibility to different perspectives of all Security Research and
Innovation (R&I) stakeholders and to break geographical silos by aggregating the knowledge
existing in the EU Member States and regions and incorporate it to the European picture. This
should reinforce the development and testing of new security solutions in European Regions,
drawing on their local characteristics, strengths and specialisation and contribute to the push
towards a “Place-based innovation and experimentation” brought by the New Industrial
Strategy for Europe138.
As highly professional support services, NCPs operating nationally will form an essential
component of Horizon Europe implementation. They will have a key role in delivering the
Programme’s objectives and impacts ensuring that it becomes known and readily accessible to
all potential applicants, irrespective of sector or discipline.
A system of NCPs will be established for the Horizon Europe Cluster 3 “Civil Security for
Society”, building on the experience of previous Framework Programmes.
137
         COM(2018) 630 final.
138
         COM(2020) 102 final.
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The Horizon 2020 Secure Societies Work Programme comprehensively addressed the current
security policy framework and key challenges. In specific, it aims at securing the society
against disasters, fighting crime (including cybercrime) and terrorism, securing European
borders, supporting the Union's external security policies in civilian tasks, and last but not
least, increasing digital security.
In Horizon Europe, those challenges are to be addressed through various mechanisms tailored
to the different actors, and by implementing actions at different levels, e.g. Research and
Innovation Actions, Innovation Actions, Coordination and Support Actions and Pre-
commercial Procurement Actions. Complementary actions include boosting communication,
dissemination and exploitation; fostering the testing, validation and demonstration of
innovative technologies; as well as strengthening the links between the R&I community
actors.
NCPs will be called to support and enhance this approach by, inter alia, facilitating access of
all relevant actors to funding opportunities; providing generic and sector specific information
and advice, enabling contacts with strategic actors, organisations and initiatives and
addressing the need to seek and provide consistent coordination among actors.
The activities of the NCP Network should be tailored according to the nature of the area, and
the priorities of the NCPs concerned. Special attention should be given to enhancing the
competence of NCPs, including helping less experienced NCPs rapidly acquire the know-how
built up in other countries.
The successful proposal will contribute to delivering the Programme’s objectives and impacts
and raise awareness of potential applicants for calls under Horizon Europe Cluster 3 – "Civil
Security for Society". Irrespectively of their sector or discipline, project proposals should aim
to facilitate trans-national co-operation between NCPs, with a view to identifying and sharing
good practices and raising the general standard of support to Programme applicants. The
project should also allow for a better flow of information relevant for the implementation of
the Programme from the EU level to the national level and vice-versa, and also across
Member States and Associated Countries. This includes fostering the participation of national
players in EU security research and innovation fora.
The NCP network should explore the possibility to increase the visibility at EU level of the
results and impact achieved by national players following their participation in R&I projects.
Particular attention should be given to results that have led to the deployment of solutions in
the field of operations, or that show a strong potential for uptake because of the interest
expressed by national buyers.
Proposals should include a work package to implement matchmaking activities to link up
potential participants from widening countries with emerging consortia in the domain of the
Cluster “Civil Security for Society”. Matchmaking should take place by means of online
tools, brokerage events, info days and bilateral meetings between project initiators and
candidate participants from widening countries. Other matchmaking instruments may be used
as appropriate. Where relevant, synergies should be sought with the Enterprise Europe
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Network to organise matchmaking activities in accordance with Annex IV of the NCP
Minimum Standards and Guiding Principles.
The project proposal to be funded should cover a wide range of activities related to Horizon
Europe, address issues specific to the Cluster "Civil Security for Society" and may follow up
on the work of SEREN4.
The project consortium should have a good representation of experienced and less
experienced NCPs.
The proposed Cybersecurity Competence Centre and Network Regulation 139 inter alia
establishes a Network of National Coordination Centres. These National Coordination Centres
will be tasked, amongst others, to facilitate the participation of industry and other actors at the
Member State level in cross-border projects and to act as contact point at the national level for
the Cybersecurity Competence Community and the Competence Centre. Therefore, proposals
should also take into account support activities for coordination between the respective
beneficiary (NCP) and the respective National Coordination Centre within the relevant
Member States as applicable once the regulation mentioned above is in force.
The recommended duration of the project is 3 years.
SSRI 02 - Increased Innovation uptake
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2021-SSRI-01-04: Demand-led innovation for situation awareness in
civil protection
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action        Pre-commercial Procurement
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                      This topic requires the participation of at least 3 relevant end-user
                      organisations and 3 public procurers from 3 different EU Member
                      States or Associated Countries. For these participants, applicants must
139
        COM(2018) 630 final.
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                      fill in the table “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the
                      application form with all the requested information, following the
                      template provided in the submission IT tool.
                      One organisation can have the role of end-user and public procurer
                      simultaneously, both counting for the overall number of organisations
                      required for eligibility.
                      The specific conditions for actions with PCP/PPI procurements in
                      section H of the General Annexes apply to grants funded under this
                      topic.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Legal and             The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of   apply:
the Grant             PCP/PPI procurement costs are eligible.
Agreements
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to some or all of the following
expected outcomes:
    An identifiable community of EU first responders with common user/functional needs
      for innovative technology solutions for situation awareness in the field of civil
      protection;
    Tested and validated capacity of EU technology and industrial base to develop and
      produce technology prototypes for situation awareness in the field of civil protection that
      meet the needs of the EU user community;
    Improved delineation of the EU market (including demand and supply) for situation
      awareness systems in the field of civil protection that can articulate alternative options
      for uptake in function of different industrialisation needs, commercialisation needs,
      acquisition needs, deployment needs and additional funding needs (beyond R&I
      funding).
Scope: End-users and public procurers from several countries are invited to send proposals for
launching a Pre-Commercial Procurement action for the acquisition of R&D services for the
development of technology solutions for situation awareness in the field of civil protection.
The proposals should build on the outcomes of the SAYSO project, which followed the call
2016 of H2020 Secure Societies work programme, under the topic SEC-02-DRS-2016 -
Situational awareness systems to support civil protection preparation and operational
decision making. The successfull proposals will therefore give continuity to the works
initiated by the SAYSO project.
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Applicants should note that this project responds not only to the needs of EU stakeholders and
to the policy priorities of the European Commission in the field of civil protection, but also to
the capability needs and gaps identified by the International Forum to Advanced First
Responders Innovation (IFAFRI). Therefore, applicants are encouraged to seek alignment
with the needs of first responders as set out in the respective Gap Analysis, Statement of
Objective and Deep Dive Analysis Documents which IFAFRI has produced140.
The proposals are expected to provide clear evidence on a number of aspects in order to
justify and de-risk the PCP action, including:
     That the challenge is pertinent and that indeed a PCP action is required to complete the
      maturation cycle of certain technologies and to compare different alternatives;
     That there is a consolidated group of end-users and procurers with common needs and
      requirements which are committed to carry out a PCP action in order to be able to take
      an informed decision on a future joint-procurement of innovative solutions;
     That there is a quantifiable and identifiable community of potential buyers (including
      and beyond those proposed as beneficiaries in the proposal) who would share to a wide
      extent the common needs and requirements defined and who could be interested in
      exploring further joint-uptake of solutions similar to those developed under the PCP,
      should these prove to be technologically mature and operationally relevant by the end of
      the project;
     That the state of the art and the market (including research) has been explored and
      mapped to the needs, and that there are different technical alternatives to address the
      proposed challenge;
     That the PCP tendering process is clear, that a draft planning has been proposed and that
      the supporting documentation and administrative procedures will be ready in due time in
      order to launch the call for R&D services according to the PCP rules.
     That there is a commitment to pursue the exploitation of results beyond the end of the
      project through engagement with stakeholders and implementation of exploitation
      strategies towards future uptake.
The open market consultations required prior to launching the PCP call for tenders must have
taken place in at least three EU Member States. Market consultations conducted during the
SAYSO project can be used if this requirement is fulfilled, and if it is justified that: i) their
purpose was enough to guarantee the viability of the procurement and; ii) that the state-of-the-
art has not changed since they were conducted.
In relation with the PCP tendering process, the applicants should clarify how they intend to
guarantee that:
140
         https://www.internationalresponderforum.org/resources
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  The principles of the EU Directive for public procurement and in particular with the
    provisions related to PCP will be duly respected;
  Conflict of interests will be avoided, including through the ineligibility of bids from
    technology providers who are also beneficiaries of the project or who have been
    beneficiaries of the previous SAYSO project;
  The confidentiality of the intellectual property of potential bidders will be protected;
  The technology developments to be conducted in the PCP will be done in compliance
    with European societal values, fundamental rights and applicable legislation, including
    in the area of free movement of persons, privacy and protection of personal data;
  In developing technology solutions, societal aspects (e.g. perception of security, possible
    side effects of technological solutions, societal resilience) will be taken into account in a
    comprehensive and thorough manner;
  All participating public buyers commit to comply with EU data protection legislation in
    the development of innovative, advanced systems to support security and in particular
    the principles of data protection by design and by default;
  The guidance for attracting innovators and innovation, as explained in the European
    Commission Guidance on Innovation Procurement C(2018) 3051, will be duly taken into
    account, in particular those measures oriented to reduce the barriers to high-tech start-
    ups and innovative SMEs.
Applicants should propose an implementation of the project that includes:
  A minimal preparation stage dedicated to finalise the tendering documents package for a
    PCP call for tenders based on the technical input resulting from project SAYSO, and to
    define clear verification and validation procedures, methods and tools for the evaluation
    of the prototypes to be developed throughout the PCP phases.
  Launching the call for tenders for research and development services. The call for
    tenders should envisage a competitive development composed of different phases that
    would lead to at least 2 prototypes from 2 different providers to be validated in real
    operational environment at the end of the PCP cycle;
  Conducting the competitive development of the prototypes following the PCP principles
    including, at least, a design phase, an integration and technical verification phase and a
    validation in real operational environment phase. In evaluating the proposals and the
    results of the PCP phases, the applicants should consider technical merit, feasibility and
    commercial potential of proposed research efforts.
  Consolidating the results of the evaluation of the developed prototypes, extracting
    conclusions and recommendations from the validation process, and defining a strategy
    for a potential uptake of solutions inspired in the PCP outcomes, including a complete
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      technical specification of the envisaged solutions and standardisation needs and/or
      proposals. This strategy should consider joint-cross border procurement schemes and
      exploit synergies with other EU and national non-research funds.
The applicants are expected to maximise the visibility of the project outcomes to the wide
community of potential EU public buyers. Liaison with other communities beyond civil
protection is encouraged (e.g. Border Guard and Police Authorities141) in order to assess the
possible application of the identified solutions in different security research domains, such as
infrastructure resilience, border management or disaster resilience.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
SSRI 03 - Cross-cutting knowledge and value for common security solutions
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2021-SSRI-01-05: Security research technologies driven by active civil
society engagement: transdisciplinary methods for societal impact assessment and
impact creation
Specific conditions
Expected EU                   The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per              2.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                       appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                              selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action                Research and Innovation Actions
Legal and financial           The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant           exceptions apply:
Agreements                    Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                              The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of
                              prizes.
                              The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60
                              000.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
141
         In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by
         national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention,
         detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding
         police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.
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   Promotion of socially and environmentally sustainable products and services through
      stronger civil society engagement;
   Policy-makers, security practitioners and the research community implement security
      technological solutions and policies that fulfil both societal and legal requirements, such
      as inclusiveness, accessibility, universal design, openness, legitimacy, proportionality,
      ethics;
   State and non-state actors base their decision-making on an assessment of any possible
      negative societal impacts of security research outputs, including human rights
      implications and risks of ill-intended use;
   Security practitioners and citizens are provided with technical solutions that are
      transparent, privacy-sensitive, open source, friendly and easy to use;
   Security practitioners and citizens have the necessary skills and knowledge on the use of
      the new technologies being produced, as well as their impact on the society;
   Security practitioners have a broader understanding of the new opportunities offered by
      technological developments, including accessibility and universal design aspect of
      technologies which goes beyond the mere response to security challenges to ensure that
      everyone is included;
   Security practitioners, the research community and policy-makers build upon existing
      knowledge on lessons learned and best practices, as well as recommendations and good
      examples of how the EU is using technology to combat risks to security while respecting
      and promoting fundamental rights.
Scope: Applied research derives its meaning, and therefore, its financial justification from its
relevance to society, to society’s needs, to society’s values, to its aims, needs or ambitions.
Applied research presupposes that a distinct societal need is identified and that a programme
of research is devised to provide the concrete knowledge required to meet that need as well as
to better understand areas related to experience and requirements of technologies regarding
vulnerable groups through universal design and common accessibility principles.
The finality and value of applied research is assessed on the grounds of this relevance, on the
degree to which the results of the research can be applied to one or several problems beyond
or after the research itself. The salience and value of any type of applied research – including
security research – lies outside the research itself and in its impact on society.
In general, research can have an impact on society at two different points: at the level of the
scientific methodology that employs and at the level of the scientific outputs that generates
and communicates. Any action can have desirable and undesirable outcomes. Undesired
results of security research can include both the results of research that does not reach its
intended aims or research that does not reach its aims, but whose aims do not provide the
security it originally set out to provide. Significantly, it can include particular measures that
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have as a secondary effect an increase in insecurity such as the development of technological
solutions.
In innovation processes and advances of technological change, the societal aspect covers all
those areas that influence the citizen, society and the state. This can range from privacy issues
and confidentiality to the use of products and services, the potential for misuse of information
and data, fake news, security marking, secure infrastructure etc.
Technological solutions in the area of civil security for society are often perceived as intrusive
means to intensify and broaden surveillance and control of citizens in a top-down approach.
Security technology is addressed with mistrust as regards to its detrimental effects on civil
liberties and raises questions on fundamental rights and freedoms, privacy and data
protection. Nevertheless, a wide variety of technological tools is available in different
languages for different risk scenarios and with different functionalities. At the same time,
technology can also be applied to increase societal resilience, improve and strengthen
horizontal coordination, raise citizens’ awareness and facilitate exchange of information
among citizens in crisis’ situations, disasters or pandemic risk incidents. Strengthening a co-
productive use of technology to enhance societal resilience requires a better understanding of
inclusive design, crowd-based, and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)-
enabling horizontal communication processes.
A systemic stock of such technologies, including an evidence-based assessment of the number
of users in Europe and an evaluation of their impact in past human life disasters or crisis
management incidents can help to improve the societal acceptability, directionality,
desirability and ethicalness of security research and innovation. A societal development plan
that examines the socio, economic, political context, which might have caused the security
problems, can also help to learn from past-experiences. Demonstrating awareness of the risks
that potentially build biases into automated systems would be important to identify best
solutions for relevant functionalities and pave the way for a coordinated European approach,
which strikes the right balance between practitioners’ technology requirements and privacy-
friendly tools and solutions for the citizens. Furthermore, improved knowledge of relevant
human and societal factors in order to assist, supplement or override human misjudgement,
lack of compliance or understanding through education and training modules can better
achieve the desired impacts on attitude and behaviour change creating resilience to security
threats.
In assessing the impact of security technologies, proposals are expected to examine
methodologies that allow citizens genuine participation, including the vulnerable groups and
people with disabilities in innovation processes. A socio-technical approach can enhance the
ambition and effectiveness of innovations by inspiring socially acceptable design for
systematic change and societal transformation. They should look into methodologies that
measure the impact of technologies on society by addressing issues of: what can be measured
(qualitative and quantitative measurements); why it is important to measure; what is important
to measure both from policy and technology aspects and how societal impact can be measured
(qualitative and quantitative measurements), including evidence about cognitive biases.
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Proposals should also address mitigation measures that could be taken to reduce the impact on
privacy, human rights and fundamental freedoms with the involvement of citizens as co-
designers and beneficiaries in security research. When assessing impact, attention should also
be paid to citizens’ training for reducing negative effects, modelling and simulation of their
behaviour in the event of security threats. This may include virtual assessment of different
protection (prevention, preparedness and response) measures.
Proposals’ consortia should comprehend security practitioners, system developers, public
sector, technology and civil society organisations142, communication specialists on security
research, researchers and Social Sciences and Humanities Experts from a variety of EU
Member States and Associated Countries. In order to ensure a meaningful democratic
oversight of the EU’s security research programme, projects and policies at national and
European level, proposals should ensure a multidisciplinary approach and have the
appropriate balance of industry, citizens’ representatives and social sciences and humanities
experts.
Project proposals’ consortia are encouraged to cooperate closely with the Networks of
Practitioners funded under H2020 Secure Societies work programmes if valuable results on
impact can be obtained, as well as with the Knowledge Networks for Research and Innovation
in Security funded under the Horizon Europe Cluster 3 Work Programme.
As indicated in the introduction of this call, proposals should foresee resources for clustering
activities with other successful proposals in the same or other calls to identify synergies and
best practices.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
Proposals could also be linked to finished or ongoing projects such as the NewHoRRizon
(under the H2020 Research and Innovation Programme) which have developed Societal
Readiness Level Tools. They may also consider using their interactive web tools provided to
help study the societal input and engagement as part of project proposal development and
implementation.
The project should have a maximum estimated duration of 4 years.
Call - Strengthened Security Research and Innovation 2022
                                                                           HORIZON-CL3-2022-SSRI-01
142
         A civil society organisation can be defined: “any legal entity that is non-governmental, non-profit, not
         representing commercial interests and pursuing a common purpose in the public interest”.
         https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/support/reference_terms.html; Check also
         the study “Network Analysis of Civil Society Organisations’ participation in the EU Framework
         Programmes”, December 2016.
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Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)143
                 Topics                       Type         Budgets           Expected EU          Number
                                                of          (EUR           contribution per           of
                                             Action        million)          project (EUR          projects
                                                                              million)144         expected
                                                             2022                                   to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 30 Jun 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 23 Nov 2022
HORIZON-CL3-2022-SSRI-01-01 CSA                         1.50            Around 1.50               1
HORIZON-CL3-2022-SSRI-01-02 CSA                         4.00            Around 2.00               2
HORIZON-CL3-2022-SSRI-01-03 CSA                         2.00            Around 1.00               2
HORIZON-CL3-2022-SSRI-01-04 RIA                         2.00            Around 2.00               1
Overall indicative budget                               9.50
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                      The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                      The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                   C.
Award criteria                                              The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                            D.
Documents                                                   The documents are described in General
                                                            Annex E.
143
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
144
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Procedure                                                   The procedure is described in General
                                                            Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                     The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
SSRI 01 - Stronger pillars of security Research and Innovation
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2022-SSRI-01-01: Increased foresight capacity for security
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.50
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.50 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                          background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                          SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                          classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements                Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the
                          Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions
                          under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for
                          Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the
                          Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy
                          Community (2021-2025). 145.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
145
        This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for
        Horizon      Europe,     under     ‘Simplified      costs    decisions’ or    through     this link:
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-
        decision_he_en.pdf
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   An increased knowledge base on technology foresight, more accessible to the security
      stakeholders, that supports the consolidation of a forward-looking culture in the planning
      and use of resources in the area of security.
   Anticipatory steering of the foreseeable evolution of security-relevant technologies and
      of the challenges and opportunities brought by such evolution on the industrialisation
      and use of future security technologies facilitated by a common foresight framework for
      EU civil security;
   An evidence-based identification, prioritisation and programming of security R&I and
      capacity building investment sustained on an anticipated and consolidated view of how
      future technology, research and industrial trends impact, influence and shape future
      threats and security capabilities;
   A recognised EU-wide definition of critical technological building blocks and
      components for the development of future high-priority capabilities;
Scope: Anticipating the future, both in terms of threats and of opportunities offered by new
emerging technologies is a real challenge. Having the capacity to depict plausible futures, to
identify upcoming threats and to propose early responses can be of invaluable help to decision
makers.
The sound programming of EU-funded security research can also be notably improved if the
analytical capacity required to identify mid to long-term trends in the EU security context is in
place and its outcomes are made available to decision makers through the right channels on a
timely manner. This includes not only the identification of academic research, technology,
innovation and industrial trends, but also of how these can be translated into early warning of
threats and anticipated response. A common EU approach for civil security to address this
need, properly covering the full range of security policy dimensions and acknowledging their
particularities and distinctive features, is therefore needed.
Many organisations, including the European Commission, have developed instruments that
provide timely assessment of technology trends on a regular basis. The broad technology
landscape does not show frequent fluctuations, and a plethora of tools and ready-made
information products unveiling trends in different time horizons are widely available.
However, pure technology watch-based approaches are not helpful for civil security decision
makers unless they are embedded in a qualitative assessment of threats and capabilities. Such
assessment shifts the focus from a purely technological standpoint to the way in which these
technologies are and will be used in a given policy, operational, industrial and societal
context.
Therefore, building on existing technology and research landscaping mechanisms (and
possibly tailoring them to the specificities of the civil security domain), applicants are invited
to submit proposals for the development and operationalisation of a foresight framework for
security including advanced tools, methods, techniques and processes. Such framework
should be accompanied by a solid scientific model that connects future technologies with their
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future use. This should allow to identify how future civil security technology, research,
innovation and industrial trends impact, influence and shape future threats and security
capabilities, taking into account contextual aspects. These may include ethical, legal, societal,
economic, geopolitical, environmental or industrial aspects, with particular emphasis on the
capacity of the EU security technology and industrial base to achieve the desired technology
development objectives, thus safeguarding the EU security technology sovereignty, if and
when this is required. The proposed approach should combine qualitative and quantitative
methods, maximise their automation and allow for qualified inputs through distributed and
collaborative environment/schemes in order to make the most efficient and effective use of
the human and technical resources available.
The proposals should take into account existing foresight approaches implemented by other
EU and international organisations (e.g. JRC, EDA, INTERPOL, UNIDO, etc.). Should these
be used as a reference, the newly proposed approaches should not just replicate the existing
ones, but reference the source accordingly and adapt them to the context of EU civil security.
Proposals should also take into account previous EU-funded research projects addressing
foresight and build strong synergies with ongoing projects, in particular with the Networks of
Practitioners funded under H2020 Secure Societies work programmes and the new
Knowledge Networks for Security Research & Innovation funded under Horizon Europe
Cluster 3.
The proposed foresight framework must be operationalised since the early stages of the
project and deliver information products until its finalisation and beyond. When
operationalising the proposed approach, applicants have to consider that they should deliver
tangible value to the European Commission Strategic Foresight Agenda 146 , supporting
political priorities in the field of civil security, including the programming of the Union´s
investment for the development of security capabilities through research and capacity building
funds. Therefore, the results are expected to be made available at least to all stakeholders
involved in this task, both at EU and national level. In order to allow that the developed
foresight framework works with and for this purpose, the applicants should demonstrate that
the working cycles proposed and the exchanges of information required are duly coordinated
with the work of the Thematic Working Groups of the Community of Users for Secure, Safe
and Resilient societies set-up by the European Commission (future CERIS –Community of
European Research and Innovation for Security) and/or with equivalent innovation labs set-up
by EU Agencies in the different thematic areas addressed (e.g. Frontex). Therefore, the
thematic working groups should not only be a source of information, but also a validator of
the foresight approach proposed and a beneficiary of the information products delivered.
Applicants must show a good understanding of the context where security research and
capacity building programming takes place (mostly at EU level), of who are the main actors
involved and of what are their needs in terms of foresight. The proposal should pay special
attention to the type and format of the outcomes to be delivered, their timeliness and to what
146
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/new-push-european-democracy/strategic-
        foresight/2020-strategic-foresight-report_en#strategic-foresight-agenda
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audience these are addressed. In this sense, outcomes must be delivered periodically every 6
months or less throughout the whole project starting from month 6.
The project has to identify and describe options for the exploitation of the foresight model
proposed beyond the project lifetime, including the setting up of a permanent technology
foresight capacity in support to EU-funded security research and innovation programming, i.e.
under the Research-as-a-service approach.
The project should have a maximum estimated duration of 3 years.
HORIZON-CL3-2022-SSRI-01-02: Knowledge Networks for security Research &
Innovation
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                         1. Each consortium must commit and propose a plan to contribute,
                               every 6 or fewer months, to working groups chaired by the
                               European Commission and/or EU Agencies supporting the
                               identification of security research needs referred to in the topic
                               text;
                         2. Each proposal must include a work package to disseminate their
                               findings, including an annual workshop or conference;
                         3. Participation as beneficiaries of end-user authorities with a
                               recognised mandate in the areas addressed by the network from at
                               least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries is
                               mandatory 147 . For these participants, applicants must fill in the
                               table “Eligibility information about practitioners” in the
                               application form with all the requested information, following the
                               template provided in the submission IT tool.
147
        The applicable definition of end-user authority or practitioner is the same as the one used in this work
        programme under the Destinations corresponding to the type of network addressed by the submitted
        proposal.
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                         Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                         background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                         SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                         classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Procedure                The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                         exceptions apply:
                         To ensure a balanced portfolio covering the different Destinations of this
                         WP part, grants will be awarded to applications not only in order of
                         ranking but at least also to one project that is the highest ranked within
                         each of the two options (Option A "Disaster Resilience", Option B
                         "Fighting Crime and Terrorism"), provided that the applications attain
                         all thresholds.
Legal and                The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of      apply:
the Grant                Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the
Agreements               Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions
                         under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for
                         Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the
                         Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy
                         Community (2021-2025). 148.
                         Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                         The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of prizes.
                         The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Enhanced analytical capacity to support the programming of EU-funded security
      research and capacity building funds through a periodic and timely evidence-based
      policy feedback ;
     Periodically aggregated and consolidated view of the capability needs and gaps in the
      thematic areas under consideration149;
     Periodically aggregated and consolidated view of the state-of-the-art technologies,
      techniques, methods and tools that can contribute to fill the identified capability gaps;
148
        This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for
        Horizon      Europe,     under     ‘Simplified      costs    decisions’ or    through      this    link:
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-
        decision_he_en.pdf
149
        The thematic areas under consideration are described in the topic and are different for each call. Only
        one network in each area can be funded
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    Periodically aggregated and consolidated view of outcomes (including on technological,
      industrial, legal and ethical issues), future trends, lessons learnt and best practices
      derived from past and current security research effort incurred in the thematic areas
      under consideration.
    More systematic assessment and validation of the outcomes of EU-funded security
      research projects with respect to identified capability gaps through harmonised support
      mechanisms;
    Common and updated map of opportunities and constraints for the exploitation of EU
      security research and innovation projects, with special focus on industrialisation,
      commercialisation, adoption and deployment of innovative solutions in response to
      common capability gaps;
    Common and updated map of areas requiring standardised solutions and/or certification
      schemes to foster innovation uptake and market creation, as well as trainings and options
      for the implementation of such schemes.
    Enhanced cooperation between research institutions, smaller private research agencies,
      security practitioners, SMEs and community representatives to support integrated
      participation in requirements determination and analysis, research and validation and
      evaluation of results.
Scope: Innovation uptake is not a linear process, and even less a single-step process that
happens only at the end of a research project and it is not automatically enabled by a
successful research result. The innovation uptake process begins with the identification of a
need and ends with an innovative solution deployed on the field of operations, being R&I
only one of the many contributors to the overall process, but not the first and not the last. In
other words, successful results of research projects are a necessary but not sufficient condition
to guarantee the uptake of innovation.
Investment in security research needs to be designed taking into consideration how and when
it can deliver outcomes that contribute to the development of security capabilities. Therefore,
research needs to be undertaken, from its very early stages, in a way that addresses real needs
while guaranteeing the impact in the final solutions. It should also ensure to identify and
underpin the factors that could help in the implementation of its results. However, the
programming of research is highly conditioned by the quality, reliability and timeliness of the
evidence that supports its decision making process. This includes the identification and
understanding of the contextual elements that can or will influence or be influenced by the
research (process), the research team and the research projects themselves.
The European Commission and the EU Member States carry out this programming exercise
periodically, taking into account a wide variety of inputs. The complexity of the challenge is
notable, considering that the EU security landscape is volatile, uncertain, complex and
ambiguous in what regards the security threats, the capabilities required to face them, the
evolution of modern technologies, and the skillset needed to deploy those. In order to carry
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out a sound programming exercise, the European Commission and the EU Member States
strive to consult and involve all actors. With that aim, experts are gathered in different
configurations and their inputs are coordinated at EU and national levels to be factored in by
the decision-making bodies of EU-funded security research.
These experts require high quality, reliable and timely evidence to support their assessments,
but information is often scattered, hardly visible and requires bespoke processing for the
detection of patterns and for the generation of actionable intelligence. In other cases, it is
simply not presented in the right format to unveil its value.
Applicants are invited to submit proposals for the establishment of Knowledge Networks for
Security Research & Innovation. The role of these networks is to collect, aggregate, process,
disseminate and exploit the existing knowledge to directly contribute to the expected
outcomes of this topic.
Networks must engage with the main sources of information in order to have a sound and
updated picture of the aspects mentioned above. This includes interaction with security
experts (beyond the members of the project consortium), organisations, projects or initiatives,
but also an extensive review of available databases, studies, reports or literature (notably all
information generated under the EU-funded security research programmes, and possibly
under other EU or MS funding programmes).
The networks have to ensure the dissemination and exploitation of their findings to the
different communities of the security research ecosystem, including policy makers, security
authorities, industry, researchers and citizens. Special emphasis needs to be made on the
contribution of these networks to the work of entities and initiatives established by the
European Commission and the EU Agencies (e.g. Union Civil Protection Knowledge
Network) to contribute to the security research programming effort. In this regard, the
networks have to contribute timely and intensively to the work of the Thematic Working
Groups of the Community of Users for Secure, Safe and Resilient Societies (future CERIS –
Community of European Research and Innovation for Security) and of other equivalent
innovation labs/groups set-up by EU Agencies (e.g. EUROPOL). The networks will have to
contribute to these working groups with the quantitative and qualitative evidence required to
carry out their activities in support to a more impactful EU-funded Security R&I and to a
more frequent and systematic innovation uptake.
Each proposal should include a plan, and a budget amounting at least 25% of the total cost of
the action to interact with industry, academia and other providers of innovative solutions
outside the consortium, with a view to assessing the feasibility of their findings, give support
in validation processes, promote competitive development (e.g. via prizes) or dissemination of
results, among other options.
The networks must be in a position to deliver findings on the abovementioned challenges
starting from the month 6 of the project and periodically every 6 months or less, in accordance
with the information needs of the entities and initiatives they are contributing to.
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Proposals should clearly describe the process and timing for the collection of inputs and the
generation of outcomes. This plan should go beyond the description of project deliverables
and milestones, and describe in detail how and when the findings will be disseminated and
exploited during the project and in collaboration with the communities described above.
The consortia submitting the proposals should ensure sufficient representativeness of the
communities of interest (including, but not only, geographical representativeness) and a
balanced coverage in terms of knowledge and skills of the different knowledge domains
required to face the challenge, including security operations, technologies, research &
innovation, industry, market, etc. The applying consortia should demonstrate how the project
beneficiaries guarantee the expertise required to steer the project activities in all the
knowledge domains to ensure the success of the action. The work of the partners should be
supported by solid and recognised tools and methods, also accompanied by the required
expertise to put them in practice.
The networks should build to the extent possible on the work initiated by the Networks of
Practitioners funded under H2020 Secure Societies work programmes. Should such networks
be still ongoing, maximum cooperation and minimum overlapping should be ensured and
demonstrated.
Under this call, the applicants are invited to propose networks on the thematic areas of:
Option A: Disaster Resilience
Option B: Fighting Crime and Terrorism.
The project should have a maximum estimated duration of 3 years.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
SSRI 02 - Increased Innovation uptake
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL3-2022-SSRI-01-03: Stronger grounds for pre-commercial procurement
of innovative security technologies
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
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Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
                          This topic requires the participation of at least 6 relevant end-user
                          organisations as well as at least 3 public procurers from at least 3
                          different EU Member States or Associated Countries. For these
                          participants, applicants must fill in the table “Eligibility information
                          about practitioners” in the application form with all the requested
                          information, following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
                          One organisation can have the role of end-user and public procurer
                          simultaneously, both counting for the overall number of organisations
                          required for eligibility.
                          Open market consultations carried out during this project must take
                          place in at least three EU Member States or Associated Countries.
                          Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                          background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                          SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                          classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Legal and                 The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of       apply:
the Grant                 Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the
Agreements                Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions
                          under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for
                          Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the
                          Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy
                          Community (2021-2025). 150.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Consolidated demand for innovative security technologies built on the aggregation of
      public buyers with a common need expressed in functional and/or operational terms
      without prescribing technical solutions;
150
        This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for
        Horizon      Europe,     under     ‘Simplified      costs    decisions’ or    through     this link:
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-
        decision_he_en.pdf
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     Better informed decision-making related to investment in innovative security
      technologies based on a better understanding of the potential EU-based supply of
      technical alternatives that could address common needs of EU public buyers;
     Better informed decision-making related to investment in innovative security
      technologies based on an improved visibility of the potential demand in the EU market
      for common security technologies;
     Increased capacity of EU public procurers to align requirements with industry and future
      products and to attract innovation and innovators from security and other sectors through
      common validation strategies, rapid innovation, experimentation and pre-commercial
      procurement.
     Increased innovation capacity of EU public procurers through the availability of
      innovative tendering guidance, commonly agreed validation strategies and evidence-
      based prospects of further joint procurement of common security solutions.
Scope: End-users and public procurers from several countries are invited to submit proposals
for a preparatory action that should build the grounds of a future Pre-Commercial
Procurement action. Both this preparatory action and the future PCP action will be oriented to
the acquisition of R&D services for the development of innovative technologies, systems,
tools or techniques to enhance border security, to fight against crime and terrorism, to protect
infrastructure and public spaces, or to make societies more resilient against natural or man-
made disasters.
Projects funded under this topic could also consider submitting a proposal to an open call for
a follow-up PCP action that the Commission may include in the Cluster 3 Work Programme
2023-2024 (subject to budget availability and priorities of the Work Programme 2023-2024).
In preparing the grounds for a possible future PCP action, the outputs of this CSA should take
into consideration:
     The policy priorities described in this Work Programme Part for the security areas
      mentioned above;
     The EU Directive for public procurement and in particular with the provisions related to
      PCP;
     The specific provisions and funding rates of PCP actions and the specific requirements
      for innovation procurement (PCP/PPI) supported by Horizon Europe grants, as stated in
      the General Annex H of the Horizon Europe Work Programme;
     The guidance for attracting innovators and innovation, as explained in the European
      Commission Guidance on Innovation Procurement C(2018) 3051 151, in particular those
      measures oriented to reduce the barriers to high-tech start-ups and innovative SMEs.
151
        Possible future updates of this Commission Guidance should also be considered.
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During the course of the project, the applicants are expected to deliver clear evidence on a
number of aspects in order to justify and de-risk a possible follow-up PCP action, including:
   That the challenge is pertinent and that indeed a PCP action is required to complete the
      maturation cycle of certain technologies and to compare different alternatives;
   That there is a consolidated group of potential buyers with common needs and
      requirements which are committed to carry out a PCP action in order to be able to take
      an informed decision on a future joint-procurement of innovative solutions;
   That there is a quantifiable and identifiable community of potential buyers (including
      and beyond those proposed as beneficiaries in the proposal) who would share to a wide
      extent the common needs and requirements defined and who could be interested in
      exploring further joint-uptake of solutions similar to those developed under the PCP,
      should these prove to be technologically mature and operationally relevant by the end of
      the project;
   That the state of the art and the market (including research) has been explored and
      mapped, and that there are different technical alternatives to address the proposed
      challenge;
   That a future PCP tendering process is clear, that a draft planning has been proposed and
      that the supporting documentation and administrative procedures will be ready on due
      time in order to launch the call for the acquisition of R&D services according to the PCP
      rules.
   That the technology developments to be conducted in the future PCP can be done in
      compliance with European societal values, fundamental rights and applicable legislation,
      including in the area of free movement of persons, privacy and protection of personal
      data.
   That in developing technology solutions, societal aspects (e.g. perception of security,
      possible side effects of technological solutions, societal resilience) can be taken into
      account in a comprehensive and thorough manner.
Should the applicants intend to submit a proposal for a follow-up PCP in a future Horizon
Europe Cluster 3 Work Programme they should ensure that the above evidence is
consolidated in the project deliverables of this CSA.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
The project should have a maximum estimated duration of 1 year.
SSRI 03 - Cross-cutting knowledge and value for common security solutions
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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HORIZON-CL3-2022-SSRI-01-04: Social innovations as enablers of security solutions
and increased security perception
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per           2.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                    appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                           selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action             Research and Innovation Actions
Legal and financial        The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant        exceptions apply:
Agreements                 Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                           The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of
                           prizes.
                           The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60
                           000.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to one or several of the
following outcomes:
     Policy makers, security practitioners and researchers have increased understanding of the
      capabilities and capacities of local communities and citizens to contribute to developing
      security solutions;
     Policy makers, researchers and system developers increase the orientation of security
      solution development towards socially innovative and Responsible Research and
      Innovation approaches;
     The notions of ‘smart citizens’ and ‘smart local communities’ empowered by
      Responsible Research and Innovation and social innovation, where the general public
      co-control safety and security of their environments, are more widely adopted by
      decision makers;
     New benchmarks, standards or other quality criteria are established for developing
      security solutions through Responsible Research and Innovation152;
152
        Responsible research and innovation is a process for better aligning research and innovation with the
        values, needs and expectations of society. It implies close cooperation between all stakeholders in
        various strands comprising science education, definition of research agendas, access to research results
        and the application of new knowledge in full compliance with gender and ethics considerations.
        Outcome of the Council Meeting 3353rd Council meeting Competitiveness (Internal Market, Industry,
        Research and Space) Brussels, 4 and 5 December 2014, p. 13.
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     Increased collaboration across all parts of the quadruple helix (academia/research, public
      authorities, industry/SMEs, civil society/citizens/local communities) to develop
      innovations in line with the needs, values and expectations of society;
     Innovative, transferable and potentially scalable technological solutions co-created with
      citizens and local communities in social labs and innovation living hubs, and citizens
      empowered to act as generators, validators and end-users of the new horizontal
      technologies;
     Societal trust in security research products, their desired usefulness and social
      acceptability153;
Scope: Citizens and local communities are insufficiently involved in the co-creation of
socially innovative processes to develop security solutions and thus conceptions of what
citizens and local communities know and think about security could be predominantly shaped
by media coverage. This might result in bias in the assessment of the seriousness and
probability of different security threats. Nevertheless, social acceptance of security
technology depends on understanding citizens’ awareness of security problems and threats.
Comprehensive discussion that involves citizens from all parts of society directly in co-design
such as through Responsible Research and Innovation and social innovation, alongside other
security technology actors, would integrate public concerns beyond incident-based
interpretations of security threats, thereby increasing social acceptance of security technology
and subjective feelings and perceptions of personal security in daily life. At the same time,
industry would be in a position to identify new business opportunities in producing and
delivering security products and services, which are in line with needs, values and
expectations of citizens and local communities and support their well-being.
Social innovations154 for increasing security and security perception can be manifold and the
scope of application of social innovation is potentially wide-ranging and can address diverse
aspects. For example, apps that help citizens to prevent, detect and respond with first
responders in disaster and crisis situation and to access real-time information about adequate
responses; the formation of networks of parents of children who are considered susceptible to
153
         Social acceptance is seen as the process by which innovation becomes embedded in everyday practices,
         that needs to be supported by good design and creative, inclusive design methods. It enables a focus on
         enhancing the acceptability of solutions. This may imply careful attention to usability and the context of
         appropriation as it may require wider systemic change and will often depend on stakeholder value chain
         mapping, and methods of collaborative design and responsible research and innovation to which
         reference is made.
154
         “Social innovation can be defined as innovations that are social both as to their means and in particular
         those which relate to the development and implementation of new ideas (concerning products, services
         and models), that simultaneously meet social needs and create new social collaborations, thereby
         benefiting society and boosting its capacity to act"; European Commission Bureau of European Policy
         Advisors, BEPA, 2011, p. 9
         The co-legislators adopted the BEPA definition two years later in Regulation (EU) No 1296/2013 of the
         European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on a European Union Programme for
         Employment and Social Innovation ("EaSI") and amending Decision No 283/2010/EU establishing a
         European Progress Microfinance Facility for employment and social inclusion, Article 2, paragraph 5.
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extreme ideologies to establish early warning and early-intervention mechanisms. What these
examples have in common is that they give citizens an active role in co-creation and produce
a practical use value.
Giving more emphasis on a co-creation procedure from the design phase could also overcome
the corresponding lack of knowledge about how socially innovative solutions can contribute
to increased security and security perception. Although citizens and local communities can
successfully support as co-designers and beneficiaries to replicate and upscale best practices
as well as systemic and cross-sectorial solutions that combine technological, digital, social
and nature-based innovation, existing knowledge of such contributions is limited. Therefore,
proposals should develop a societal development plan that builds upon a people-centred
approach and examines how social innovations on security are organised, how they work,
how and why they are adopted or rejected, their direct and indirect benefits and costs,
including in vulnerability assessments, how they sustain, and which interfaces with other
more formal security agents are established.
Proposals should map and analyse a social innovation in one or more distinct social spheres,
in areas such as:
(a) Security disturbance at large (pop-) cultural and sports events;
(b) Security and security behaviour in public places, public transport or mobility;
(c) Radicalisation, dis-integration in local communities and social media;
(d) Digital identity, data portability and data minimisation with an attribute based society in
control;
(e) Safety and security in remote communication, command and control of operation in risk
scenarios;
(f) Mobilisation on human trafficking;
(g) Automatic detections’ use.
Proposals should consider the social relevance of research, social marketing, transferability
and scaling of such social innovations as this is an area where there is limited research and
experimentation, which could help to spread the use of such solutions. They should also
consider education, training and change individual behavioural and social practices by
involving citizens and local communities as generators, validators and end-users of the new
horizontal/advanced technologies.
Proposals which have developed innovative ideas on societal resilience under the Destination
Disaster-Resilient Society and which can transform them into social innovations for disaster
crisis situations engaging citizens and local communities are not pre-empted to participate in
this topic.
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Consortia should give meaningful roles to all research and innovation actors, including
security practitioners, system developers, the public sector, technology development
organisations, civil society organisations155, communication specialists on security research,
researchers and Social Sciences and Humanities Experts from a variety of EU Member States
and Associated Countries. In order to ensure a meaningful democratic oversight of the EU’s
security research programme, projects and policies at national and European level, proposals
should establish a multidisciplinary approach and have the appropriate balance of industry,
representatives of citizens and local communities and social sciences and humanities experts.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
As indicated in the introduction of this call, project proposals should foresee resources for
clustering activities with other successful proposals in the same or other calls, to find
synergies, and identify best practices, and to develop close working relationships with other
Programmes (e.g. the Civil Society Empowerment Programme (CSEP-ISF), Science with and
for Society (SwafS), the Digital Europe Programme).
The project should have a maximum estimated duration of 4 years.
155
         A civil society organisation can be defined: “any legal entity that is non-governmental, non-profit, not
         representing commercial interests and pursuing a common purpose in the public interest”.
         https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/support/reference_terms.html; Check also
         the study “Network Analysis of Civil Society Organisations’ participation in the EU Framework
         Programmes”, December 2016.
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Other actions not subject to calls for proposals
1. External expertise for reviews of projects
This action will support the use of appointed independent experts for the monitoring of
actions (grant agreement, grant decision, public procurement actions, financial instruments)
funded under Horizon Europe and previous Framework Programmes for Research and
Innovation, and where appropriate include ethics checks.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative budget: EUR 0.35 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 0.35 million from the
2022 budget
2. Workshops, conferences, experts, communication activities, studies
   Organisation of the Security Research event 2022;
   Support to workshops, expert groups, communications activities, or studies. Workshops
     are planned to be organised on various topics to involve end-users (e.g. follow-up of the
     Community of Users for Secure, Safe and Resilient Societies); preparation of
     information and communication materials, etc.;
   Organisation of cybersecurity conferences and support to other cybersecurity events;
     socio-economic studies, impact analysis studies and studies to support the monitoring,
     evaluation and strategy definition for cybersecurity and digital privacy policy.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: 2021-2022
Indicative budget: EUR 3.08 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 3.14 million from the
2022 budget
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Budget156
                                                         Budget             2021              2022
                                                          line(s)     Budget (EUR       Budget (EUR
                                                                           million)         million)
Calls
HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01                                                          56.00
                                                      from                       56.00
                                                      01.020230
HORIZON-CL3-2022-FCT-01                                                                             31.00
                                                      from                                          31.00
                                                      01.020230
HORIZON-CL3-2021-BM-01                                                           30.50
                                                      from                       30.50
                                                      01.020230
HORIZON-CL3-2022-BM-01                                                                              25.00
                                                      from                                          25.00
                                                      01.020230
HORIZON-CL3-2021-INFRA-01                                                        20.00
                                                      from                       20.00
                                                      01.020230
HORIZON-CL3-2022-INFRA-01                                                                           11.00
                                                      from                                          11.00
                                                      01.020230
HORIZON-CL3-2021-CS-01                                                           67.50
                                                      from                       67.50
                                                      01.020230
HORIZON-CL3-2022-CS-01                                                                              67.30
                                                      from                                          67.30
156
      The budget figures given in this table are rounded to two decimal places.
      The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
      budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
                                          Part 6 - Page 214 of 218
 ---pagebreak---                           Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                    Civil Security for Society
                                                01.020230
HORIZON-CL3-2021-DRS-01                                             26.00
                                                from                26.00
                                                01.020230
HORIZON-CL3-2022-DRS-01                                                   46.00
                                                from                      46.00
                                                01.020230
HORIZON-CL3-2021-SSRI-01                                            16.00
                                                from                16.00
                                                01.020230
HORIZON-CL3-2022-SSRI-01                                                   9.50
                                                from                       9.50
                                                01.020230
Contribution from this part to call                                  0.07
HORIZON-MISS-2021-COOR-01 under
                                                from                 0.07
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020230
Contribution from this part to call                                  2.83
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02 under Part
                                                from                 2.83
12 of the work programme
                                                01.020230
Contribution from this part to call                                        0.84
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CIT-01 under Part
                                                from                       0.84
12 of the work programme
                                                01.020230
Contribution from this part to call                                  2.60
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02 under
                                                from                 2.60
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020230
Contribution from this part to call                                        2.30
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01 under
                                                from                       2.30
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020230
Contribution from this part to call                                  2.67
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02             under
                                                from                 2.67
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020230
                                    Part 6 - Page 215 of 218
 ---pagebreak---                            Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                     Civil Security for Society
Contribution from this part to call                                       2.51
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01              under
                                                 from                     2.51
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                 01.020230
Contribution from this part to call                                  0.48
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-04 under
                                                 from                0.48
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                 01.020230
Contribution from this part to call                                  0.23
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05 under
                                                 from                0.23
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                 01.020230
Contribution from this part to call                                  0.85
HORIZON-MISS-2021-NEB-01 under Part
                                                 from                0.85
12 of the work programme
                                                 01.020230
Contribution from this part to call                                  1.44
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02 under
                                                 from                1.44
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                 01.020230
Contribution from this part to call                                       2.26
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01 under
                                                 from                     2.26
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                 01.020230
Contribution from this part to call                                  0.48
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-03 under
                                                 from                0.48
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                 01.020230
Contribution from this part to call                                       0.41
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEANCLIMA-
                                                 from                     0.41
01 under Part 12 of the work programme
                                                 01.020230
Contribution from this part to call                                       0.51
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOCIALCAT-01
                                                 from                     0.51
under Part 12 of the work programme
                                                 01.020230
Contribution from this part to call                                       0.03
HORIZON-MISS-2022-NCP-01 under Part
                                                 from                     0.03
12 of the work programme
                                                 01.020230
Other actions
                                     Part 6 - Page 216 of 218
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                                     Civil Security for Society
Expert contract action                                               0.35 0.35
                                                 from                0.35 0.35
                                                 01.020230
Public procurement                                                   3.08 3.14
                                                 from                3.08 3.14
                                                 01.020230
Contribution from this part to Expert                                0.05 0.07
contract action under Part 12 of the work
                                                 from                0.05 0.07
programme
                                                 01.020230
Contribution from this part to Public                                0.58 0.04
procurement under Part 12 of the work
                                                 from                0.58 0.04
programme
                                                 01.020230
Contribution from this part to Provision of                          0.13
technical/scientific services by the Joint
                                                 from                0.13
Research Centre under Part 12 of the work
                                                 01.020230
programme
Contribution from this part to Grant                                 0.14
awarded without a call for proposals
                                                 from                0.14
according to Financial Regulation Article
                                                 01.020230
195 under Part 12 of the work programme
Contribution from this part to Indirectly                            0.07
managed action under Part 12 of the work
                                                 from                0.07
programme
                                                 01.020230
Contribution from this part to Grant to                              0.01
identified    beneficiary    according      to
                                                 from                0.01
Financial Regulation Article 195(e) under
                                                 01.020230
Part 12 of the work programme
Contribution from this part to Service Level                         0.05 0.02
Agreement under Part 12 of the work
                                                 from                0.05 0.02
programme
                                                 01.020230
Contribution from this part to Specific                                   1.75
grant agreement under Part 12 of the work
                                                 from                     1.75
programme
                                                 01.020230
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                                 Civil Security for Society
Estimated total budget                                           232.09 204.02
                                 Part 6 - Page 218 of 218
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         ANNEX VII
         “Annex VII
      Horizon Europe
Work Programme 2021-2022
7. Digital, Industry and Space
               ”
 ---pagebreak---                                          Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                                      Digital, Industry and Space
Table of contents
Introduction ....................................................................................................... 15
DESTINATION – CLIMATE NEUTRAL, CIRCULAR AND DIGITISED
PRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 18
Call - TWIN GREEN AND DIGITAL TRANSITION 2021 .............................................. 23
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 23
  Green, flexible and advanced manufacturing ....................................................................... 25
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-01: AI enhanced robotics systems for
  smart manufacturing (AI, Data and Robotics - Made in Europe Partnerships) (IA)............ 25
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-02: Zero-defect manufacturing towards
  zero-waste (Made in Europe Partnership) (IA) .................................................................... 27
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-03: Laser-based technologies for green
  manufacturing (Photonics - Made in Europe Partnerships) (RIA) ....................................... 28
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-05: Manufacturing technologies for bio-
  based materials (Made in Europe Partnership) (RIA) .......................................................... 30
  Advanced digital technologies for manufacturing ............................................................... 31
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-07: Artificial Intelligence for sustainable,
  agile manufacturing (AI, Data and Robotics - Made in Europe Partnerships) (IA) ............. 32
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-08: Data-driven Distributed Industrial
  Environments (Made in Europe Partnership) (IA) ............................................................... 33
  A new way to build, accelerating disruptive change in construction ................................... 35
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-10: Digital permits and compliance
  checks for buildings and infrastructure (IA) ........................................................................ 36
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-11: Automated tools for the valorisation
  of construction waste (RIA) ................................................................................................. 38
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-12: Breakthrough technologies supporting
  technological sovereignty in construction (RIA) ................................................................. 40
  Hubs for circularity, a stepping stone towards climate neutrality and circularity in industry
  .............................................................................................................................................. 42
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-14: Deploying industrial-urban symbiosis
  solutions for the utilization of energy, water, industrial waste and by-products at regional
  scale (Processes4Planet Partnership) (RIA) ........................................................................ 42
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-16: Hubs for Circularity European
  Community of Practice (ECoP) platform (Processes4Planet Partnership) (CSA) ............... 45
  Enabling circularity of resources in the process industries, including waste and CO2/CO . 48
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-17: Plastic waste as a circular carbon
  feedstock for industry (Processes4Planet Partnership) (IA) ................................................ 48
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-18: Carbon Direct Avoidance in steel:
  Electricity and hydrogen-based metallurgy (Clean Steel Partnership) (IA) ........................ 51
                                                           Part 7 - Page 2 of 512
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                                                      Digital, Industry and Space
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-19: Improvement of the yield of the iron
  and steel making (Clean Steel Partnership) (IA) ................................................................. 52
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-20: Reducing environmental footprint,
  improving circularity in extractive and processing value chains (IA) ................................. 55
  Integration of Renewables and Electrification in process industry ...................................... 57
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-21: Design and optimisation of energy
  flexible industrial processes (Processes4Planet Partnership) (IA) ....................................... 57
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-22: Adjustment of Steel process
  production to prepare for the transition towards climate neutrality (Clean Steel Partnership)
  (IA) ....................................................................................................................................... 60
Call - CLIMATE NEUTRAL, CIRCULAR AND DIGITISED PRODUCTION 2022 ... 61
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 61
  Green, flexible and advanced manufacturing ....................................................................... 63
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-01: Rapid reconfigurable production
  process chains (Made in Europe Partnership) (IA) .............................................................. 63
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-02: Products with complex functional
  surfaces (Made in Europe Partnership) (RIA) ...................................................................... 65
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-03: Excellence in distributed control and
  modular manufacturing (Made in Europe Partnership) (RIA) ............................................. 67
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-04: Intelligent work piece handling in a
  full production line (Made in Europe Partnership) (RIA) .................................................... 68
  Advanced digital technologies for manufacturing ............................................................... 70
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-06: ICT Innovation for Manufacturing
  Sustainability in SMEs (I4MS2) (Made in Europe Partnership) (IA) .................................. 70
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-07: Digital tools to support the
  engineering of a Circular Economy (Made in Europe Partnership) (RIA) .......................... 72
  A new way to build, accelerating disruptive change in construction ................................... 74
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-09: Demonstrate the use of Digital
  Logbook for buildings (IA) .................................................................................................. 74
  Hubs for circularity, a stepping stone towards climate neutrality and circularity in industry
  .............................................................................................................................................. 76
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-10: Circular flows for solid waste in
  urban environment (Processes4Planet Partnership) (IA) ..................................................... 76
  Enabling circularity of resources in the process industries, including waste and CO2/CO . 79
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-11: Valorisation of CO/CO2 streams into
  added-value products of market interest (Processes4Planet Partnership) (IA) .................... 79
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-13: Raw material preparation for clean
  steel production (Clean Steel Partnership) (IA) ................................................................... 81
  Integration of Renewables and Electrification in process industry ...................................... 82
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-15: New electrochemical conversion
  routes for the production of chemicals and materials in process industries (Processes4Planet
  Partnership) (RIA) ................................................................................................................ 83
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                                                 Digital, Industry and Space
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-16: Modular and hybrid heating
  technologies in steel production (Clean Steel Partnership) (IA) ......................................... 85
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-17: Integration of hydrogen for replacing
  fossil fuels in industrial applications (Processes4Planet Partnership) (IA) ......................... 86
DESTINATION – INCREASED AUTONOMY IN KEY STRATEGIC
VALUE CHAINS FOR RESILIENT INDUSTRY ........................................ 89
Call - A DIGITISED, RESOURCE-EFFICIENT AND RESILIENT INDUSTRY 2021 94
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 94
  Novel paradigms to establish resilient and circular value chains ......................................... 96
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-01: Ensuring circularity of composite materials
  (Processes4Planet Partnership) (RIA) .................................................................................. 96
  Raw materials for EU open strategic autonomy and successful transition to a climate-
  neutral and circular economy ............................................................................................... 98
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-03: Identifying future availability of secondary
  raw materials (RIA) .............................................................................................................. 98
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-04: Developing climate-neutral and circular raw
  materials (IA) ..................................................................................................................... 100
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-05: Building EU-Africa partnerships on
  sustainable raw materials value chains (CSA) ................................................................... 102
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-06: Innovation for responsible EU sourcing of
  primary raw materials, the foundation of the Green Deal (RIA) ....................................... 105
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-07: Building innovative value chains from raw
  materials to sustainable products (IA) ................................................................................ 107
  Green and Sustainable Materials ........................................................................................ 109
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-08: Establishing EU led international community
  on safe- and sustainable-by-design materials to support embedding sustainability criteria
  over the life cycle of products and processes (CSA) ......................................................... 109
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-09: Promote Europe's availability, affordability,
  sustainability and security of supply of essential chemicals and materials (IA) ................ 111
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-10: Paving the way to an increased share of
  recycled plastics in added value products (RIA) ................................................................ 113
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-11: Safe- and sustainable-by-design polymeric
  materials (RIA) ................................................................................................................... 114
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-12: Safe- and sustainable-by-design metallic
  coatings and engineered surfaces (RIA) ............................................................................. 116
  Materials for the benefit of society and the environment and materials for climate-neutral
  Industry............................................................................................................................... 118
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-14: Development of more energy efficient
  electrically heated catalytic reactors (IA) ........................................................................... 118
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-16: Creation of an innovation community for
  solar fuels and chemicals (CSA) ........................................................................................ 119
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                                                        Digital, Industry and Space
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-17: Advanced materials for hydrogen storage
    (RIA) .................................................................................................................................. 121
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-20: Antimicrobial, Antiviral, and Antifungal
    Nanocoatings (RIA) ........................................................................................................... 123
    Materials and data cross-cutting actions ............................................................................ 124
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-25: Biomaterials database for Health Applications
    (CSA) ................................................................................................................................. 124
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-26: Sustainable Industry Commons (RIA) ...... 126
    Improving the resilience and preparedness of EU businesses, especially SMEs and Startups
    ............................................................................................................................................ 127
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-27: Innovation Radar, Tech Due Diligence and
    Venture Building for strategic digital technologies (CSA) ................................................ 127
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-28: Re-opening industrial sites preparatory action
    – Promoting a sustainable strategy for Europe’s industrial future (CSA) .......................... 129
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-29: 'Innovate to transform' support for SME's
    sustainability transition (CSA) ........................................................................................... 130
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-31: European Technological and Social
    Innovation Factory (RIA) ................................................................................................... 133
Call - A DIGITISED, RESOURCE-EFFICIENT AND RESILIENT INDUSTRY 2021
................................................................................................................................................ 135
    Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 135
    Improving the resilience and preparedness of EU businesses, especially SMEs and Startups
    ............................................................................................................................................ 136
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-02-32: Social and affordable housing district
    demonstrator (IA) ............................................................................................................... 136
Call - A DIGITISED, RESOURCE-EFFICIENT AND RESILIENT INDUSTRY 2022
................................................................................................................................................ 140
    Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 140
    Novel paradigms to establish resilient and circular value chains ....................................... 142
    HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-01: Circular and low emission value chains
    through digitalisation (Processes4Planet Partnership) (RIA)............................................. 142
    Raw materials for EU open strategic autonomy and successful transition to a climate-
    neutral and circular economy ............................................................................................. 143
    HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-02: Monitoring and supervising system for
    exploration and future exploitation activities in the deep sea (RIA) .................................. 143
    HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-03: Streamlining cross-sectoral policy framework
    throughout the extractive life-cycle in environmentally protected areas (CSA) ................ 145
    HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-04: Developing digital platforms for the small
    scale extractive industry (IA) ............................................................................................. 147
    HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-05: Technological solutions for tracking raw
    material flows in complex supply chains (RIA) ................................................................. 149
                                                             Part 7 - Page 5 of 512
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                                                      Digital, Industry and Space
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-06: Sustainable and innovative mine of the future
  (IA) ..................................................................................................................................... 151
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-07: Innovative solutions for efficient use and
  enhanced recovery of mineral and metal by-products from processing of raw materials (IA)
  ............................................................................................................................................ 154
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-08: Earth observation technologies for the mining
  life cycle in support of EU autonomy and transition to a climate-neutral economy (RIA) 156
  Green and Sustainable Materials ........................................................................................ 158
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-10: Innovative materials for advanced
  (nano)electronic components and systems (RIA) .............................................................. 158
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-11: Advanced lightweight materials for energy
  efficient structures (RIA) ................................................................................................... 160
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-12: Functional multi-material components and
  structures (RIA) .................................................................................................................. 161
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-23: Safe- and sustainable-by-design organic and
  hybrid coatings (RIA) ......................................................................................................... 163
  Materials for the benefit of society and the environment and materials for climate neutral
  Industry............................................................................................................................... 165
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-13: Smart and multifunctional biomaterials for
  health innovations (RIA) .................................................................................................... 165
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-14: Membranes for gas separations - membrane
  distillation (IA) ................................................................................................................... 166
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-16: Building and renovating by exploiting
  advanced materials for energy and resources efficient management (IA) ......................... 168
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-24: Novel materials for supercapacitor energy
  storage (RIA) ...................................................................................................................... 170
  Materials and data cross-cutting actions ............................................................................ 171
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-19: Advanced materials modelling and
  characterisation (RIA) ........................................................................................................ 172
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-20: Climate Neutral and Circular Innovative
  Materials Technologies Open Innovation Test Beds (IA).................................................. 173
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-25: Optimised Industrial Systems and Lines
  through digitalisation (IA) .................................................................................................. 175
  Improving the resilience and preparedness of EU businesses, especially SMEs and Startups
  ............................................................................................................................................ 177
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-21: Leveraging standardisation in Digital
  Technologies (CSA) ........................................................................................................... 177
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-26: 'Innovate to transform' support for SME's
  sustainability transition (CSA) ........................................................................................... 179
Call - A DIGITISED, RESOURCE-EFFICIENT AND RESILIENT INDUSTRY 2021
(PCP) ..................................................................................................................................... 181
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 181
                                                           Part 7 - Page 6 of 512
 ---pagebreak---                                          Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                                      Digital, Industry and Space
  Improving the resilience and preparedness of EU businesses, especially SMEs and Startups
  ............................................................................................................................................ 182
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-02-01-PCP: Boosting green economic recovery and
  open strategic autonomy in Strategic Digital Technologies through pre-commercial
  procurement (PCP action) .................................................................................................. 183
DESTINATION – WORLD LEADING DATA AND COMPUTING
TECHNOLOGIES .......................................................................................... 186
Call - WORLD LEADING DATA AND COMPUTING TECHNOLOGIES 2021 ....... 190
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 190
  Data sharing in the common European data spaces ........................................................... 191
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-DATA-01-01: Technologies and solutions for compliance, privacy
  preservation, green and responsible data operations (AI, Data and Robotics Partnership)
  (RIA) .................................................................................................................................. 191
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-DATA-01-03: Technologies for data management (AI, Data and
  Robotics Partnership) (IA) ................................................................................................. 192
  From Cloud to Edge to IoT for European Data .................................................................. 193
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-DATA-01-05: Future European platforms for the Edge: Meta
  Operating Systems (RIA) ................................................................................................... 194
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-DATA-01-07: Coordination and Support of the ‘Cloud-Edge-IoT’
  domain (CSA) .................................................................................................................... 195
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-DATA-01-08: Roadmap for next generation computing and systems
  technologies (CSA) ............................................................................................................ 196
Call - WORLD LEADING DATA AND COMPUTING TECHNOLOGIES 2022 ....... 197
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 197
  Data sharing in the common European data spaces ........................................................... 198
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01-04: Technologies and solutions for data trading,
  monetizing, exchange and interoperability (AI, Data and Robotics Partnership) (IA) ...... 198
  Strengthening Europe’s data analytics capacity ................................................................. 200
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01-01: Methods for exploiting data and knowledge for
  extremely precise outcomes (analysis, prediction, decision support), reducing complexity
  and presenting insights in understandable way (RIA) ....................................................... 200
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01-05: Extreme data mining, aggregation and analytics
  technologies and solutions (RIA) ....................................................................................... 201
  From Cloud to Edge to IoT for European Data .................................................................. 202
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01-02: Cognitive Cloud: AI-enabled computing continuum
  from Cloud to Edge (RIA) ................................................................................................. 202
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01-03: Programming tools for decentralised intelligence and
  swarms (RIA) ..................................................................................................................... 203
                                                           Part 7 - Page 7 of 512
 ---pagebreak---                                            Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                                        Digital, Industry and Space
DESTINATION – DIGITAL AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR
COMPETITIVENESS AND FIT FOR THE GREEN DEAL .................... 205
Call - Digital and emerging technologies for competitiveness and fit for the green deal
................................................................................................................................................ 213
    Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 213
    Ultra-low power processors ............................................................................................... 215
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-01: Ultra-low-power, secure processors
    for edge computing (RIA) .................................................................................................. 215
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-05: Open Source Hardware for ultra-
    low-power, secure processors (CSA) ................................................................................. 216
    European Innovation Leadership in Electronics ................................................................ 217
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-31: Functional electronics for green and
    circular economy (RIA) ..................................................................................................... 217
    European Innovation Leadership in Photonics ................................................................... 218
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-06: Advanced optical communication
    components (Photonics Partnership) (IA) .......................................................................... 219
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-07: Advanced Photonic Integrated
    Circuits (Photonics Partnership) (RIA) .............................................................................. 220
    6G and foundational connectivity technologies ................................................................. 221
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-26: Coordination of European Smart
    Network actions (CSA) ...................................................................................................... 221
    Innovation in AI, Data and Robotics .................................................................................. 222
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-09: AI, Data and Robotics for the Green
    Deal (AI, Data and Robotics Partnership) (IA) .................................................................. 222
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-10: AI, Data and Robotics at work (AI,
    Data and Robotics Partnership) (IA) .................................................................................. 226
    Tomorrow’s deployable Robots: efficient, robust, safe, adaptive and trusted ................... 229
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-11: Pushing the limit of robotics
    cognition (AI, Data and Robotics Partnership) (RIA) ........................................................ 229
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-12: European Network of Excellence
    Centres in Robotics (RIA) .................................................................................................. 232
    European leadership in Emerging Enabling Technologies ................................................ 236
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-13: Academia-Industry Forum on
    Emerging Enabling Technologies (CSA) ........................................................................... 236
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-14: Advanced spintronics: Unleashing
    spin in the next generation ICs (RIA) ................................................................................ 238
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-27: Development of
    technologies/devices for bio-intelligent manufacturing (RIA) .......................................... 239
    Flagship on Quantum Technologies: a Paradigm Shift ...................................................... 241
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-21: Next generation quantum sensing
    technologies (RIA) ............................................................................................................. 241
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-23: International cooperation with
    Canada (RIA) ..................................................................................................................... 243
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    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-30: Investing in new emerging quantum
    computing technologies (RIA) ........................................................................................... 246
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-32: Support and coordination of the
    Quantum Technologies Flagship Initiative (CSA) ............................................................. 248
Call - Digital and emerging technologies for competitiveness and fit for the green deal
................................................................................................................................................ 252
    Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 252
    Flagship on Quantum Technologies: a Paradigm Shift ...................................................... 253
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-15: Framework Partnership Agreement
    for developing the first large-scale quantum computers (FPA) ......................................... 253
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-16: Basic Science for Quantum
    Technologies (RIA) ............................................................................................................ 256
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-17: Framework Partnership Agreement
    for developing large scale quantum simulation platform technologies (FPA) ................... 258
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-19: Framework Partnership Agreements
    in Quantum Communications (FPA).................................................................................. 260
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-20: Quantum sensing technologies for
    market uptake (IA) ............................................................................................................. 263
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-22: Framework Partnership Agreements
    for open testing and experimentation and for pilot production capabilities for quantum
    technologies (FPA) ............................................................................................................. 265
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-10: Strengthening the quantum software
    ecosystem for quantum computing platforms (RIA).......................................................... 268
Call - Digital and emerging technologies for competitiveness and fit for the green deal
................................................................................................................................................ 270
    Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 270
    Ultra-low power processors ............................................................................................... 272
    HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-26: Open source for cloud-based
    services (RIA) .................................................................................................................... 272
    European Innovation Leadership in Electronics ................................................................ 273
    HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-38: International cooperation in
    semiconductors (CSA) ....................................................................................................... 273
    European Innovation Leadership in Photonics ................................................................... 274
    HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-03: Advanced multi-sensing systems
    (Photonics Partnership) (RIA) ............................................................................................ 274
    6G and foundational connectivity technologies ................................................................. 275
    HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-30: European Enabling technologies for
    Beyond 5G/6G RAN disaggregated architectures (RIA) ................................................... 275
    HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-39: Ultra low energy and secure
    networks (RIA) ................................................................................................................... 277
    European leadership in Emerging Enabling Technologies ................................................ 278
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    HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-35: Advanced characterisation
    methodologies to assess and predict the health and environmental risks of nanomaterials
    (RIA) .................................................................................................................................. 278
Call - Digital and emerging technologies for competitiveness and fit for the green deal
................................................................................................................................................ 280
    Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 280
    Innovation in AI, Data and Robotics .................................................................................. 281
    HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-05: AI, Data and Robotics for Industry
    optimisation (including production and services) (AI, Data and Robotics Partnership) (IA)
    ............................................................................................................................................ 281
    Tomorrow’s deployable Robots: efficient, robust, safe, adaptive and trusted ................... 285
    HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-06: Pushing the limit of physical
    intelligence and performance (RIA) ................................................................................... 285
    HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-07: Increased robotics capabilities
    demonstrated in key sectors (AI, Data and Robotics Partnership) (IA) ............................. 287
    Graphene: Europe in the lead ............................................................................................. 290
    HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-17: New generation of advanced
    electronic and photonic 2D materials-based devices, systems and sensors (RIA)............. 291
    HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-18: 2D materials-based devices and
    systems for energy storage and/or harvesting (RIA) .......................................................... 292
    HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-19: 2D materials-based devices and
    systems for biomedical applications (RIA) ........................................................................ 293
    HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-20: 2D-material-based composites,
    coatings and foams (IA) ..................................................................................................... 294
    HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-22: Supporting the coordination of the
    Graphene Flagship projects (CSA) .................................................................................... 295
DESTINATION – OPEN STRATEGIC AUTONOMY IN DEVELOPING,
DEPLOYING AND USING GLOBAL SPACE-BASED
INFRASTRUCTURES, SERVICES, APPLICATIONS AND DATA ....... 297
Call - STRATEGIC AUTONOMY IN DEVELOPING, DEPLOYING AND USING
GLOBAL SPACE-BASED INFRASTRUCTURES, SERVICES, APPLICATIONS AND
DATA 2021............................................................................................................................ 304
    Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 304
    Foster competitiveness of space systems ........................................................................... 305
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-11: End-to-end satellite communication systems and
    associated services .............................................................................................................. 305
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-12: Future space ecosystems: on-orbit operations, new
    system concepts .................................................................................................................. 309
    Reinforce EU capacity to access and use space ................................................................. 311
    HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-21: Reusability for European strategic space launchers -
    technologies and operation maturation including flight test demonstration ...................... 311
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  HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-22: Low cost high thrust propulsion for European
  strategic space launchers - technologies maturation including ground tests ...................... 314
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-23: New space transportation solutions and services . 317
  Evolution of space and ground infrastructure for Galileo/EGNOS ................................... 320
  Evolution of Copernicus services ....................................................................................... 320
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-41: Copernicus Climate Change Service evolution ... 320
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-42: Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service
  evolution ............................................................................................................................. 322
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-43: Copernicus Security and Emergency Services
  evolution ............................................................................................................................. 324
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-44: Copernicus evolution for cross-services thematic
  domains .............................................................................................................................. 327
  Innovative space capabilities: SSA, GOVSATCOM, Quantum ........................................ 329
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-62: Quantum technologies for space gravimetry ....... 329
  Space entrepreneurship ecosystem (including "New Space" and start-ups) and skills ...... 331
  Targeted and strategic actions supporting the EU space sector ......................................... 331
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-81: Space technologies for European non-dependence
  and competitiveness ........................................................................................................... 331
Call - STRATEGIC AUTONOMY IN DEVELOPING, DEPLOYING AND USING
GLOBAL SPACE-BASED INFRASTRUCTURES, SERVICES, APPLICATIONS AND
DATA 2022............................................................................................................................ 334
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 334
  Foster competitiveness of space systems ........................................................................... 336
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-11: Future space ecosystems: on-orbit operations,
  preparation of orbital demonstration mission..................................................................... 336
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-12: Technologies and generic building blocks for
  Electrical Propulsion .......................................................................................................... 338
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-13: End-to-end Earth observation systems and
  associated services .............................................................................................................. 339
  Reinforce EU capacity to access and use space ................................................................. 341
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-21: Multi sites flexible industrial platform and
  standardised technology for improving interoperability of European access to space ground
  facilities .............................................................................................................................. 341
  Evolution of space and ground infrastructure for Galileo/EGNOS ................................... 345
  Evolution of services of the EU space programme components: Copernicus ................... 345
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-41: Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring
  Service evolution ................................................................................................................ 345
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-42: Copernicus Anthropogenic CO₂ Emissions
  Monitoring & Verification Support (MVS) capacity ......................................................... 347
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-43: Copernicus Land Monitoring Service evolution .. 349
  Innovative space capabilities: SSA, GOVSATCOM, Quantum ........................................ 351
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-62: Space Weather...................................................... 351
  Space entrepreneurship ecosystems (including "New Space" and start-ups) and skills .... 353
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   HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-72: Education and skills for the EU space sector ....... 353
   Targeted and strategic actions supporting the EU space sector ......................................... 355
   HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-81: Space technologies for European non-dependence
   and competitiveness ........................................................................................................... 355
   HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-82: Space science and exploration technologies ........ 358
DESTINATION – A HUMAN-CENTRED AND ETHICAL
DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL AND INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES
........................................................................................................................... 360
Call - A HUMAN-CENTRED AND ETHICAL DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL AND
INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES 2021 ............................................................................ 364
   Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 364
   Leadership in AI based on trust.......................................................................................... 366
   HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-01: Verifiable robustness, energy efficiency and
   transparency for Trustworthy AI: Scientific excellence boosting industrial competitiveness
   (AI, Data and Robotics Partnership) (RIA) ........................................................................ 366
   HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-02: European coordination, awareness, standardisation
   & adoption of trustworthy European AI, Data and Robotics (AI, Data and Robotics
   Partnership) (CSA) ............................................................................................................. 369
   HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-03: European Network of AI Excellence Centres:
   Pillars of the European AI lighthouse (RIA) ...................................................................... 373
   HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-24: Tackling gender, race and other biases in AI (RIA)
   ............................................................................................................................................ 378
   HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-27: AI to fight disinformation (RIA) ....................... 381
   An Internet of Trust ............................................................................................................ 384
   HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-04: Trust & data sovereignty on the Internet (RIA) 384
   HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-05: Trustworthy open search and discovery (RIA) . 386
   HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-07: Next Generation Internet community-building and
   outreach (CSA) ................................................................................................................... 388
   HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-08: NGI International Collaboration - Transatlantic
   fellowship programme (CSA) ............................................................................................ 389
   HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-09: NGI Tech Review (CSA) .................................. 391
   eXtended Reality (XR) ....................................................................................................... 392
   HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-13: eXtended Reality Modelling (RIA) ................... 392
   HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-14: eXtended Reality for All – Haptics (RIA) ........ 394
   HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-25: eXtended Collaborative Telepresence (IA) ....... 395
   HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-06: Innovation for Media, including eXtended Reality
   (IA) ..................................................................................................................................... 397
   HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-28: eXtended Reality Ethics, Interoperability and
   Impact (CSA) ..................................................................................................................... 400
   Systemic approaches to make the most of the technologies within society and industry .. 401
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  HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-17: Awareness raising on Intellectual property (IP)
  management for European R&I (CSA) .............................................................................. 401
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-18: Fostering standardisation to boost European
  industry's competitiveness (CSA) ...................................................................................... 402
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-19: Testing innovative solutions on local communities’
  demand (CSA) .................................................................................................................... 403
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-20: Piloting a new industry-academia knowledge
  exchange focussing on companies’ needs (CSA)............................................................... 404
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-21: Art-driven use experiments and design (RIA) .. 406
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-29: Support for transnational activities of National
  Contact Points in the thematic area of Digital (CSA) ........................................................ 407
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-30: Support for transnational activities of National
  Contact Points in the thematic area of Industry (CSA) ...................................................... 409
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-31: Support for transnational activities of National
  Contact Points in the thematic area of Space (CSA) .......................................................... 410
  HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-26: Workforce skills for industry 5.0 (RIA) ............ 412
Call - A HUMAN-CENTRED AND ETHICAL DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL AND
INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES 2022 ............................................................................ 413
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 414
  An Internet of Trust ............................................................................................................ 415
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-01-03: Internet architecture and decentralised
  technologies (RIA) ............................................................................................................. 415
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-01-05: Next Generation Safer Internet: Technologies to
  identify digital Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) (RIA) ........................................... 418
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-01-07: NGI International Collaboration - USA and
  Canada (RIA) ..................................................................................................................... 419
  eXtended Reality (XR) ....................................................................................................... 421
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-01-14: eXtended Reality Technologies (RIA) .............. 421
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-01-19: eXtended Reality Learning - Engage and Interact
  (IA) ..................................................................................................................................... 422
Call - A HUMAN-CENTRED AND ETHICAL DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL AND
INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES 2022 ............................................................................ 424
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 424
  Leadership in AI based on trust.......................................................................................... 425
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-02-01: AI for human empowerment (AI, Data and
  Robotics Partnership) (RIA) ............................................................................................... 426
  HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-02-02: European Network of AI Excellence Centres:
  Expanding the European AI lighthouse (RIA) ................................................................... 428
OTHER ACTIONS NOT SUBJECT TO CALLS FOR PROPOSALS..... 434
Grants to identified beneficiaries ........................................................................................ 434
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  1. HORIZON-CL4-SSA-SST-MS - New & improved EUSST Missions and Services .... 436
  2. HORIZON-CL4-SSA-SST-STM-AE - SST & STM system architecture and evolutions
  ............................................................................................................................................ 439
  3. HORIZON-CL4-SSA-SST-SB - Space-based SST (mission, system and sensors
  network) ............................................................................................................................. 441
  4. HORIZON-CL4-SSA-SST-SP - SST Sensors and Processing ...................................... 443
  5. HORIZON-CL4-SSA-SST-SD - SST Networking, Security & Data sharing ............... 445
  6. European Startup Nations Standard ............................................................................... 447
  7. Digital Assembly – Presidency Event 2023 ................................................................... 448
  8. Presidency event (conference) in France: Industrial Technologies 2022....................... 449
  9. Presidency event (conference) in Sweden: EuroNanoForum 2023................................ 450
  10. HORIZON-CL4-QUANTUM-01-SGA - Developing the first large-scale quantum
  computers (SGA)................................................................................................................ 451
  11. HORIZON-CL4-QUANTUM-02-SGA - Developing large scale quantum simulation
  platform technologies (SGA) ............................................................................................. 453
  12. HORIZON-CL4-QUANTUM-03-SGA - Building the Quantum Internet (SGA) ....... 456
  13. HORIZON-CL4-QUANTUM-04-SGA - Quantum encryption and future quantum
  network technologies (SGA) .............................................................................................. 458
  14. HORIZON-CL4-QUANTUM-05-SGA - Supporting open testing and experimentation
  for quantum technologies in Europe (SGA) ....................................................................... 460
  15. HORIZON-CL4-QUANTUM-06-SGA - Supporting experimental production
  capabilities for quantum technologies in Europe (SGA).................................................... 462
Public procurement .............................................................................................................. 464
  1. Monitoring and assessment of industrial investments in R&D&I and technologies,
  technology and market assessment for enabling and emerging technologies and green
  technologies, in relation to the Green Deal and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 464
  2. Simulation approaches for complex socio-economic systems ....................................... 466
  3. EGNSS Evolution: Mission and Service related R&D activities ................................... 466
  4. Support European “New Space” entrepreneurship through CASSINI Space
  Entrepreneurship Initiative 2021-2027 ............................................................................... 467
  5. Digital Assembly – Presidency Event 2022 ................................................................... 468
  6. Digital conferences, outreach, studies and other activities ............................................ 468
  7. Space conferences, outreach, studies and other activities .............................................. 469
  8. Procurement on Industrial technology roadmaps and strengthening the links between EU
  R&I policy, the ERA Policy Agenda and the EU Industrial Strategy ................................ 469
  9. Update of the Material System Analyses (MSA) ........................................................... 470
  10. Raw Materials events ................................................................................................... 471
Other budget implementation instruments ........................................................................ 471
  1. Use of individual experts to advise on EU research and innovation policy ................... 471
  2. Use of individual experts to support the raw materials policy ....................................... 472
  3. Project monitoring and use of individual experts (space) .............................................. 473
  4. Project monitoring .......................................................................................................... 473
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  5. Project monitoring (digital) ............................................................................................ 473
Scientific and technical services by the Joint Research Centre ....................................... 474
  1. Scientific and technical services by the Joint Research Centre ..................................... 474
  2. Criteria for Safe and Sustainable-by-Design advanced materials and chemicals .......... 474
  3. Support for the Strategic Implementation Plan of the European Innovation Partnership on
  Raw Materials and the Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials ......................................... 475
Indirectly managed actions ................................................................................................. 475
  1. Indirectly managed actions delegated to ESA ................................................................ 475
  2. Indirectly managed actions delegated to EUSPA........................................................... 479
Budget ............................................................................................................... 505
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Introduction
Progress in digital and industrial technologies, including in space, shape all sectors of the
economy and society. They transform the way industry develops, creates new products and
services, and are central to any sustainable future. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the
necessity to strengthen Europe’s industrial base, enhancing its resilience and flexibility both
in terms of technologies and supply chains to reduce EU dependencies on third countries. It
has also created a new urgency around addressing key societal challenges like sustainability
or inclusiveness. In a globalised world of heightened uncertainties and volatile geopolitical
interests, what is at stake is not only Europe’s prosperity and economic competitiveness, but
also its ability to autonomously source and provide crucial raw materials, technologies and
services that are safe and secure for industry as a whole. This is not about protectionism. This
is about upholding EU’s strategic interests and guaranteeing security of supply.
As Europe gears up for a more resilient, green, and digital recovery, the EU needs to maintain
a strong industrial and technology presence in key parts of digital and other supply chains, in
industrial ecosystems while safeguarding its ability to access and operate safely in space. This
is critical not only to be able to compete globally, but also to protect its citizens, deliver
services and products of the highest quality, and preserve its values and socio-economic
model. Europe must develop and deploy technologies and reshape its industries and services
towards a new reality, ensuring that industry can become the accelerator and enabler of this
necessary change. Therefore the European Commission, in 'Updating the 2020 New Industrial
Strategy: Building a stronger Single Market for Europe's recovery', 1 supported the European
Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan, alongside the digital strategies ‘Shaping
Europe’s Digital Future’, ‘Data’, ‘Artificial Intelligence’ White Paper, Digital Decade
Communication and ‘Space Strategy for Europe’.
The green transition and digital transformation are just at their beginning. Major opportunities
lie ahead to position Europe as a technology and industrial leader of this transition. The
proposed investments under Cluster 4 are targeted to realise the overarching vision a of
Europe that shapes competitive and trusted technologies for a European industry with global
leadership in key areas by enabling production and consumption respecting the boundaries of
our planet, and maximising the benefits for all parts of society in the variety of social,
economic and territorial contexts in Europe.
Horizon Europe is the research and innovation support programme in a system of European
and national funding programmes that shares policy objectives. Through the programme,
special attention will be given to ensuring cooperation between universities, scientific
communities and industry, including small and medium enterprises, and citizens and their
representatives, in order to bridge gaps between territories, generations and regional cultures,
especially caring for the needs of the young in shaping Europe’s future. Calls could be EU
Synergies calls, meaning that projects that have been awarded a grant under the call could
1
         'Updating the 2020 New Industrial Strategy: Building a stronger Single Market for Europe's recovery',
         COM(2021)350 final
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have the possibility to also receive funding under other EU programmes, including relevant
shared management funds. In this context, applicants should consider and actively seek
synergies with, and where appropriate possibilities for further funding from, other R&I-
relevant EU, national or regional programmes (such as ERDF , ESF+ , JTF , EMFF , EAFRD
and InvestEU ), where appropriate, as well as private funds or financial instruments. The
ERDF focuses amongst others on the development and strengthening of regional and local
research and innovation ecosystems and smart economic transformation, in line with
regional/national smart specialisation strategies. It can support investment in research
infrastructure, activities for applied research and innovation, including industrial research,
experimental development and feasibility studies, building research and innovation capacities
and uptake of advanced technologies and roll-out of innovative solutions from the Framework
Programmes for research and innovation through the ERDF.
The EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) aims at financing projects that directly
tackle the economic and social impacts from the Coronavirus crisis and support the green and
digital transition. For project ideas that directly contribute to these objectives and that have a
strong focus in one member state it is advisable to check access to the RRF for a fast and
targeted support.
Actions under this cluster will support key enabling technologies that are strategically
important for Europe’s industrial future, and deliver on the following six expected impacts in
the Strategic Plan, through matching destinations in this Work Programme:
    Global leadership in clean and climate-neutral industrial value chains, circular economy
      and climate-neutral digital systems and infrastructures (networks, data centres), through
      innovative production and manufacturing processes and their digitisation, new business
      models, sustainable-by-design advanced materials and technologies enabling the switch
      to decarbonisation in all major emitting industrial sectors, including green digital
      technologies.
    Industrial leadership and increased autonomy in key strategic value chains with security
      of supply in raw materials, achieved through breakthrough technologies in areas of
      industrial alliances, dynamic industrial innovation ecosystems and advanced solutions
      for substitution, resource and energy efficiency, effective reuse and recycling and clean
      primary production of raw materials, including critical raw materials and leadership in
      circular economy.
    Sovereignty in digital technologies and in future emerging enabling technologies by
      strengthening European capacities in key parts of digital and future supply chains,
      allowing agile responses to urgent needs, and by investing in early discovery and
      industrial uptake of new technologies.
    Globally attractive, secure and dynamic data-agile economy by developing and enabling
      the uptake of the next-generation computing and data technologies and infrastructures
      (including space infrastructure and data), enabling the European single market for data
      with the corresponding data spaces and a trustworthy artificial intelligence ecosystem.
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   Open strategic autonomy in conceiving, developing, deploying and using global space-
     based infrastructures, services, applications and data, including by reinforcing the EU’s
     independent capacity to access space, securing the autonomy of supply for critical
     technologies and equipment, and fostering the EU’s space sector competitiveness.
   A human-centred and ethical development of digital and industrial technologies, through
     a two-way engagement in the development of technologies, empowering end-users and
     workers, and supporting social innovation.
In this Work Programme, a pilot is applied to a number of topics for co-programmed
partnerships, involving a lower funding rate of 60% (except for non-profit legal entities), in
order to enhance industrial contributions. It applies to topics starting above TRL 4 and
reaching TRLs 7 and 8.
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DESTINATION – CLIMATE NEUTRAL, CIRCULAR AND DIGITISED
PRODUCTION
This destination will directly support the following Key Strategic Orientations, as outlined in
the Strategic Plan:
   KSO C, ‘Making Europe the first digitally led circular, climate-neutral and
      sustainable economy through the transformation of its mobility, energy, construction
      and production systems.’
   KSO A, ‘Promoting an open strategic autonomy by leading the development of key
      digital, enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains to accelerate
      and steer the digital and green transitions through human-centred technologies and
      innovations.’
   KSO D, ‘Creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society,
      prepared and responsive to threats and disasters, addressing inequalities and providing
      high-quality health care, and empowering all citizens to act in the green and digital
      transitions.’
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to the following
expected impact of Cluster 4:
   Global leadership in clean and climate-neutral industrial value chains, circular
      economy and climate-neutral digital systems and infrastructures (networks, data
      centres), through innovative production and manufacturing processes and their
      digitisation, new business models, sustainable-by-design advanced materials and
      technologies enabling the switch to decarbonisation in all major emitting industrial
      sectors, including green digital technologies.
Accelerating the twin green and digital transitions will be key to building a lasting and
prosperous growth, in line with the EU’s new growth strategy, the European Green Deal.
Europe’s ability to lead the twin transitions will require new technologies, with investment
and innovation to match. Research and innovation will be fundamental to create the new
products, services and business models needed to sustain or enable EU industrial leadership
and competitiveness, and to create new markets for climate neutral and circular products. The
shift towards a sustainable and inclusive economic model will be further enabled by the
broader diffusion and uptake of digital and clean technologies across key sectors.
As Europe transitions towards climate neutrality, some sectors will have to make bigger and
more transformative changes than others, due to their centrality in a variety of value chains
and their large potential contribution to emissions reductions. Activities under this Destination
focus on the twin green and digital transition providing a green productivity premium to
discrete manufacturing, construction and energy-intensive industries, including process
industries. This will make an essential and significant contribution to achieving climate
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neutrality in the European Union by 2050, and to the achievement of a circular economy. It
will also enhance the Union’s open strategic autonomy with regard to the underlying
technologies. To achieve these goals, the activities in this Destination are complementary to
those in Destination 2, which will enhance open strategic autonomy in key strategic value
chains for a resilient industry.
The gross added value of the European manufacturing sector is EUR 2,076 billion (2019).
The sector employs more than 30 million people in the Union and represents 22% of the
world’s manufacturing output. The Union’s trade surplus in manufactured goods is EUR 421
billion (2019). Similarly, the construction ecosystem (driven mainly by SMEs) offers 22
million jobs and contributes 10.5% of EU-27 global value added 2 . However, the
manufacturing and construction sectors must significantly reduce their pollution and waste,
and increase their recycling. Moreover, the potential of digital technologies is underused in
manufacturing industry, e.g. 12% of EU enterprises use big data technologies and only 1 out
of 5 SMEs is highly digitised, and in construction, which remains one of the least digitised
sectors with a notable underinvestment in R&D.3 A key issue for the manufacturing sector is
that its complex supply and value chains are heavily affected by the current pandemic crisis,
and the sector needs to further develop resilience against financial and technical disruptions.
In addition, the Union’s process industries are important to its economy, its resilience and its
environmental credentials. Process industries are responsible for a turnover of > 2 trillion, 8.5
million direct jobs and 20 million indirect jobs. They represent 0.5 million enterprises and 5
% of the EU27 GDP. The process industry however faces two key challenges: a strong global
competition, and an environmental challenge. In particular, energy-intensive industries are
resource intensive, using extensive amounts of raw materials (often imported and fossil
based). In their operations, they generate large amounts of waste, 20% of global greenhouse
gases (GHG) but also pollutants. The industries need to transform itself to decrease GHG and
pollutant emissions, its resource utilisation and its overall environmental impact. It will have
to achieve climate neutrality, near zero waste, zero pollution and zero landfill by 2050 at the
latest. By 2030, decisive steps need to be taken given the long investment cycles these
industries are facing. As the process industry is transforming primary raw materials into
materials ready for use by the manufacturing industry, it will play a key role in the pathways
toward circularity of materials by transforming industrial and end-of-life waste into secondary
raw materials leading to the same quality output in the newly produced materials.
In the first Work Programme, outcomes of R&I investments in the long-term will focus on the
following impacts:
2
         'Updating the 2020 New Industrial Strategy: Building a stronger Single Market for Europe's recovery',
         COM(2021)350 final and associated Staff Working Documents
3
         The digital intensity of the construction sector is below 10%, meaning that the sector has a very slow
         absorption rate of digital technologies, according to the Digital Transformation Scoreboard 2018,
         https://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/image/document/2018-
         20/4_desi_report_integration_of_digital_technology_B61BEB6B-F21D-9DD7-
         72F1FAA836E36515_52243.pdf
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   Accelerate the twin green and digital transition of the manufacturing and construction
      sectors;
   Create a new green, flexible and digital way to build and produce goods. This will lead
      to sustainable, flexible, responsive and resilient factories and value chains, enabled by
      digitisation, AI, data sharing, advanced robotics and modularity. At the same time it will
      help reduce CO2 emissions and waste in these sectors, and enhance the durability,
      reparability and re-cycling of products/components. It will also ensure better and more
      efficient use of construction-generated data to sustain competitiveness and greening of
      the sector;
   Make the jobs of the humans working in the manufacturing and construction sectors
      more attractive and safer, and point the way to opportunities for upskilling;
   Set out a credible pathway to contributing to climate neutral, circular and digitalised
      energy intensive industries;
   Increase productivity, innovation capacity, resilience, sustainability and global
      competitiveness of European energy intensive industries. This includes as many as
      possible new large hubs for circularity by 2025 (TRL 7 or above); developing
      sustainable ways for circular utilisation of waste streams and CO2/CO streams; and
      electrifying industry to enable and foster a switch to a renewable energy system;
   Contribute to a substantial reduction of waste and CO2 emissions, turning them into
      alternative feedstocks to replace fossil-based raw materials and decrease reliance on
      imports.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, for particular topics international cooperation is
clearly not mandatory but advised with some regions or countries to get internationally
connected and add additional specific expertise and value to the activities.
In line with the European Green Deal objectives, research and innovation activities should
comply with the ‘do no significant harm’ principle4. Compliance needs to be assessed both for
activities carried out during the course of the project as well as the expected life cycle impact
of the innovation at a commercialisation stage (where relevant). The robustness of the
compliance must be customised to the envisaged TRL of the project. In this regard, the
potential harm of Innovation Actions contributing to the European Green Deal will be
monitored throughout the project duration.
To achieve wider effects activities beyond R&I investments will be needed. Three co-
programmed partnerships will enhance dissemination, community building and foster
spillover effects: Made in Europe for the manufacturing sectors, Clean Steel and
Processes4Planet for the energy intensive industries. This destination has strong links to other
clusters in Pillar II, notably Cluster 5 for the activities related to the integration of renewables
4
         as per Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate
         sustainable investment (EU Taxonomy Regulation)
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and thermal energy management in industry, and with the European Innovation Council and
Pillar III of Horizon Europe given the strong role of SMEs in the development of the
innovations planned. Synergies will be sought to access blended funding and finance from
other EU programmes; testing and deployment activities under the Digital Europe Programme
(DEP); links to the EIT (Manufacturing and Digital KICs); and links to the thematic smart
specialisation platform on industrial modernisation.
Much of the research and innovation supported under this Destination may serve as a cradle
for the New European Bauhaus: this is about designing sustainable ways of living, situated at
the crossroads between art, culture, social inclusion, science and technology. This includes
R&I on manufacturing, construction, advanced materials and the circular economy
approaches.
Business cases and exploitation strategies for industrialisation: This section applies only
to those topics in this Destination, for which proposals should demonstrate the expected
impact by including a business case and exploitation strategy for industrialisation.
The business case should demonstrate the expected impact of the proposal in terms of
enhanced market opportunities for the participants and enhanced manufacturing capacities in
the EU, in the short to medium term. It should describe the targeted market(s); estimated
market size in the EU and globally; user and customer needs; and demonstrate that the
solutions will match the market and user needs in a cost-effective manner; and describe the
expected market position and competitive advantage.
The exploitation strategy should identify obstacles, requirements and necessary actions
involved in reaching higher TRLs, for example: matching value chains, enhancing product
robustness; securing industrial integrators; and user acceptance.
For TRLs 7-8, a credible strategy to achieve future full-scale manufacturing in the EU is
expected, indicating the commitments of the industrial partners after the end of the project.
Activities beyond R&I investments will be needed to realise the expected impacts: these
include the further development of skills and competencies (also via the European Institute of
Innovation and Technology, in particular EIT Manufacturing); and the use of financial
products under the InvestEU Fund for further commercialisation of R&I outcomes.
Where relevant, in the context of skills, it is recommended to develop training material to
endow workers with the right skillset in order to support the uptake and deployment of new
innovative products, services, and processes developed in the different projects. This material
should be tested and be scalable, and can potentially be up-scaled through the European
Social Fund Plus (ESF+). This will help the European labour force to close the skill gaps in
the relevant sectors and occupational groups and improve employment and social levels
across the EU and associated countries.
The topics serving these objectives are structured as follows:
   Green, flexible and advanced manufacturing
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   Advanced digital technologies for manufacturing
   A new way to build, accelerating disruptive change in construction
   Hubs for circularity, a stepping stone towards climate neutrality and circularity in
     industry
   Enabling circularity of resources in the process industries, including waste, water and
     CO2/CO
   Integration of Renewables and Electrification in process industry
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
Call                                                    Budgets     (EUR Deadline(s)
                                                        million)
                                                        2021      2022
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01 402.60                                  23 Sep 2021
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01                               321.50    30 Mar 2022
Overall indicative budget                               402.60    321.50
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                 Call                                Budgets (EUR million)          Deadline(s)
                                                   2021                2022
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-                     403.00                                   23 Sep 2021
TRANSITION-01
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-                                           334.50             30      Mar
TRANSITION-01                                                                       2022
Overall indicative budget                  403.00                334.50
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Call - TWIN GREEN AND DIGITAL TRANSITION 2021
                                                       HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)5
                         Topics                                Type Budgets         Expected      Number
                                                                 of    (EUR            EU             of
                                                             Action million) contribution projects
                                                                                   per project expected
                                                                        2021          (EUR          to be
                                                                                             6
                                                                                    million)       funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 23 Sep 2021
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-                            IA       28.00 7     8.00        to 3
01-01                                                                             10.00
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-                            IA       27.00       8.00        to 3
01-02                                                                             10.00
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-                            RIA      26.00       5.00 to 7.00    4
01-03
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-                            RIA      20.00       4.00 to 6.00    4
01-05
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-                            IA       18.00 8     4.00 to 6.00    3
01-07
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-                            IA       24.00 9     4.00 to 8.00    3
01-08
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-                            IA       15.00       Around          3
5
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
6
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
7
        Of which EUR 15.94 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
8
        Of which EUR 10.19 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
9
        Of which EUR 13.52 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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01-10                                                                        5.00
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-                        RIA      21.00      6.00       to 3
01-11                                                                        10.00
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-                        RIA      24.00      8.00       to 3
01-12                                                                        10.00
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-                        RIA      28.00 10   8.00       to 3
01-14                                                                        12.00
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-                        CSA      2.00       Around        1
01-16                                                                        2.00
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-                        IA       39.00 11   12.00      to 3
01-17                                                                        18.00
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-                        IA       28.00 12   6.00 to 8.00  3
01-18
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-                        IA       14.00      4.00 to 5.00  4
01-19
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-                        IA       36.00 13   Around        3
01-20                                                                        12.00
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-                        IA       39.00      12.00      to 3
01-21                                                                        18.00
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-                        IA       14.00 14   4.00 to 5.00  3
01-22
Overall indicative budget                                         403.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
10
        Of which EUR 15.64 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
11
        Of which EUR 19.27 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
12
        Of which EUR 14.94 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
13
        Of which EUR 19.63 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
14
        Of which EUR 7.47 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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exclusion                                            C.
Award criteria                                       The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                     D.
Documents                                            The documents are described in General
                                                     Annex E.
Procedure                                            The procedure is described in General
                                                     Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant              The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Green, flexible and advanced manufacturing
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-01: AI enhanced robotics systems for
smart manufacturing (AI, Data and Robotics - Made in Europe Partnerships) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per     8.00 and 10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 28.00 million.
Type of Action       Innovation Actions
Technology           Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the end
Readiness Level      of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Provide safe, highly flexible, reconfigurable and modular solutions, allowing fast
     response to repurposing changes in production requirements, reducing considerably
     programming effort and configuration time for new products;
   Demonstrate significant improvements towards a meaningful and seamless social
     collaboration in teams of human workers, autonomous agents and robots by exploiting
     the latest advancements in AI, robotics and Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH);
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   Create a network of open-access pilots to allow new users, especially students, start-ups,
     representatives from the makers’ community and SMEs, to experiment new technologies
     and to enable data and knowledge sharing through the European industrial ecosystems.
Scope: EU and Associated countries need to strengthen their capacity to manufacture and re-
manufacture goods in a sustainable and competitive way to be ready to expand into new value
chains. The recent crisis has also shown the importance of resilient, flexible, reconfigurable
and responsive data-driven manufacturing lines.
Projects should seize the opportunities arising from the latest state-of the art-developments in
AI and robotics to deploy intelligent and autonomous systems for flexible production.
Research activities should be multi-disciplinary and address all of the following areas:
   Development of robust, easy to use, explainable and compliant AI tools for
     manufacturing environments that require minimal learning and can be configured
     without highly skilled personnel;
   Implement and integrate the latest research findings on technologies such as sensors,
     actuators, control, edge computing, haptic technologies, mechatronics, robotics and
     autonomous systems to enhance collaborative robotics systems in order to develop
     advanced smart manufacturing human-machine collaborative systems ensuring safe
     physical and social interactions and efficient collaboration with human workers;
   Demonstrate complex, safe and efficient collaboration between multiple agents
     simultaneously, e.g. humans, autonomous agents, industrial machinery, AGVs and
     collaborative robots;
   SSH should provide a variety of human-centric approaches to develop smooth
     collaboration in the human-machine teams; to improve user experience; and increase
     awareness comfort, trust, skill and safety (physical and social) of workers in highly
     automated industrial environments by incorporating a greater understanding of linguistic,
     historic, and cultural concerns of end-users and workers , while taking into consideration
     a gender and intersectional perspective;
   Demonstrate results in at least three large-scale industrial use-cases, targeting sectors and
     tasks typically difficult to automate.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Research must build on existing standards or contribute to standardisation. Interoperability for
data sharing should be addressed. Additionally, a strategy for skills development should be
presented, associating social partners when relevant.
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All projects should build on or seek collaboration with existing projects and develop synergies
with other relevant European, national or regional initiatives, funding programmes and
platforms.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is encouraged, in
particular with Japan and/or South Korea in view of the long cooperation with EU on AI,
robotics and manufacturing.
This topic implements jointly the co-programmed European Partnerships Made in Europe and
AI, Data and Robotics.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-02: Zero-defect manufacturing towards
zero-waste (Made in Europe Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         8.00 and 10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 27.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the
Readiness Level          end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                         applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                         for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                         the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Demonstrate a significant increase of sustainable production through improved control
      systems and non-destructive inspection methods;
   Develop methodologies and tools to prevent the generation of defects at component level
      and its propagation to the system level;
   Create new diagnostic methods for in-situ monitoring of industrial production;
   Ensure efficient use of materials, repair strategies, and reduced production cost and time.
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Scope: The projects must address the full production line or system, with an holistic approach,
with the aim of reducing defects (e.g. rejected components or products) and manufacturing
waste. The defect reduction and the overall quality control should be centred on such defects
that reduce the yield, acceptance, or qualification of the final product, and enable a “first-
time-right” production process.
Projects should target types of waste or discarded material from identified defective products
or components that cannot be easily reworked or recycled without significant effort. This
implies a demonstrable transition to a sustainable production, and should include additional
elements such as life-cycle analyses and environmental assessments.
The system improvements should address the integration of control systems and/or in-line
non-destructive inspection methods in demonstrative use-cases that enable for rapid feedback
and/or feedforward control. In addition the project could consider the use of large data sets
and analysis, stemming from all sorts of production process and material data, possibly
supported by data-sharing between sites, for the creation of comprehensive machine learning
algorithms.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Research must build on existing standards or contribute to standardisation. Interoperability for
data sharing should be addressed. Additionally, a strategy for skills development should be
presented, associating social partners when relevant.
All projects should build on or seek collaboration with existing projects and develop synergies
with other relevant European, national or regional initiatives, funding programmes and
platforms.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership Made in Europe.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-03: Laser-based technologies for green
manufacturing (Photonics - Made in Europe Partnerships) (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       5.00 and 7.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 26.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 3-4 and achieve TRL 6 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
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Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Reinforcing European industry as leader in agile, green manufacturing through the
      application of laser-based technologies;
    Improving the agility of industrial production by making processes more versatile,
      simpler to reconfigure and more efficient to control through data exchange;
    Improving the environmental sustainability of industrial production towards ‘first-time
      right’ processes with 30% lower consumption of resources compared to the state of the
      art.
Scope: Machine tools include various laser-based technologies such as milling, turning,
grinding, laser processing, surface treatment, sintering, forming and additive manufacturing.
Projects funded under this topic should integrate state-of-the-art high-power lasers and
tailored beams together with quality sensors and real time monitoring systems into advanced
manufacturing and re-manufacturing tools.
Known research challenges are amongst others the transmission of very high average and
peak power laser radiation without loss or distortion including in the ultraviolet, mid and far
infrared spectral range, powerful optical fibres, programmable beam guidance, maximum
positional flexibility, free choice of energy distribution, rapid quantitative feedback and beam
distribution systems with sub-micrometre resolution and high performance. A further research
challenge is the integration of quality sensors in laser-based manufacturing. These produce a
vast amount of data with a need for dedicated signal processing. Edge devices with self-
learning algorithms should be developed that can handle the computing requirements in the
time required by the system to react with a feedback control action.
Project consortia should comprise research institutes, technology suppliers and users. They
should demonstrate the benefits to the targeted technologies in at least three use cases.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Research must build on existing standards or contribute to standardisation. Interoperability for
data sharing should be addressed. Additionally, a strategy for skills development should be
presented, associating social partners when relevant.
All projects should build on or seek collaboration with existing projects and develop synergies
with other relevant European, national or regional initiatives, funding programmes and
platforms.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership Made in Europe and
activities proposed by the Photonics Europe Partnership.
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HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-05: Manufacturing technologies for
bio-based materials (Made in Europe Partnership) (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      4.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to start at TRL 4 and achieve TRL 6 by the end
Readiness Level       of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Demonstrate relevant scale production of innovative bio-based products to substitute
      traditional materials with high environmental footprint;
    Develop products with similar or better mechanical, physical and chemical properties,
      while having a substantially lower environmental footprint and being sustainable, non-
      toxic and recyclable when compared to non-bio-based materials;
    Demonstrate disruptive innovation of bio-based materials production in at least three
      different manufacturing value chains;
    Develop sustainable business models for materials sourcing and recycling.
Scope: The 2020 Circular Economy Action Plan aims at making sustainable products the
norm in the EU. Twenty-first century manufacturing requires new materials and new
techniques to produce them. Rapid progress in manufacturing technologies using new and
alternative materials, such as biomaterials, is one of the drivers of this trend. This new frontier
of science is a multidisciplinary research field combining engineering, physics, chemistry,
biology, material science, which allow the production of bio-based products. Particularly
interesting with respect to the green transition of the economy are sustainable products made
from bio-based materials that are easy to reuse and recycle. Also, these materials would
reduce the environmental footprint of waste streams. However, the use of reusable and
recyclable products based on bio-based materials should increase substantially in order to
build a truly sustainable manufacturing industry.
These technologies provide a valid alternative to conventional materials with a substantially
lower environmental impact with a range of applications for example in construction, food,
medical, packaging and textile industries.
Research activities should address the following areas:
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   Optimisation and improvement of smart manufacturing processes, e.g. additive
      manufacturing, injection moulding, extrusion etc., to unlock the full potential of bio-
      based materials, such as carbon-positive bioplastics, biopolymers and other fibre-based
      materials (e.g. cellulose-based components and marine-based components);
   Use of carbon positive bio-based materials, such as composite, rubber, plastics, in
      different products to achieve high technical properties while lowering the environmental
      footprint;
   Combine the use of different bio-based materials to facilitate refurbishing and re-
      manufacturing of products to achieve circularity by design
   Adapt existing or new characterisation methods and quality controls for the bio-based
      materials in different formats and for new and regenerated products;
   Support the creation of a skilled workforce, through training/qualification of personnel,
      capable of using and implementing biomaterial-based manufacturing activities;
   Demonstrations and use cases for transitions towards green manufacturing technologies
      incorporating bio-based materials with a significant reduction in the environmental
      footprint across the entire manufacturing and/or product lifecycle.
   Address standardization activities of bio-based materials and adapted characterisation
      methods and quality controls for bio-based materials in their different formats and
      applications.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Research must build on existing standards or contribute to standardisation. Interoperability for
data sharing should be addressed. Additionally, a strategy for skills development should be
presented, associating social partners when relevant.
All projects should build on or seek collaboration with existing projects and develop synergies
with other relevant European, national or regional initiatives, funding programmes and
platforms.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership Made in Europe.
Advanced digital technologies for manufacturing
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-07:                           Artificial Intelligence     for
sustainable, agile manufacturing (AI, Data and Robotics - Made in Europe
Partnerships) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      4.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 18.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to start at TRL 4 and achieve TRL 7 by the end
Readiness Level       of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Establishing European industry as leader in sustainable manufacturing and process
      industries through the application of trustworthy AI technologies;
    Improving the environmental sustainability of industrial production;
    Improving the agility of European industry and its resiliency to external and internal
      influences;
    Integrating state-of-the-art AI technologies with advanced circular manufacturing and re-
      manufacturing technologies and systems, exploiting their potential across the entire
      product and service lifecycle;
Scope: This topic focuses on manufacturing and process industries, addressing the entire
lifecycle of products and services from design to remanufacturing and including all the
aspects primarily relevant for industrial production. The objective is to exploit the potential of
AI as a transformation tool to support circular production in the entire manufacturing and
process industry, with due consideration for standardisation activities when relevant. AI will
be a strategic instrument to improve sustainability, agility and resilience to external and
internal influences, taking account of the European Green Deal objectives. AI applications
will be capable of optimising their actions based on limited human input, thanks to context
awareness and information sensed from the physical environment, and will have the long
useful lifetime typical of industrial environments.
Projects have to address the need for AI tool sets with simplified interfaces requiring only
easy to acquire skills, and adapted to manufacturing environments without highly skilled
personnel. Methods and tools will be provided to make AI solutions usable also for lower
volume production and shorter time series, guaranteeing the quality of results even while
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using reduced resources for the training of AI algorithms. Generative approaches could be
considered to help designing products and processes improving the sustainability of industrial
solutions. The topic will integrate new or existing technologies to make them practically and
economically viable in the industrial world; this should be demonstrated through at least two
realistic use cases with demonstrable economic return.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Research must build on existing standards or contribute to standardisation. Interoperability for
data sharing should be addressed.
All projects should build on or seek collaboration with existing projects and develop synergies
with other relevant European, national or regional initiatives, funding programmes and
platforms.
This topic implements jointly the co-programmed European Partnerships Made in Europe and
AI, Data and Robotics.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-08: Data-driven Distributed Industrial
Environments (Made in Europe Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       4.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 24.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 4 and achieve TRL 7 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                       exceptions apply:
                       To ensure a balanced portfolio covering all technology areas, grants will
                       be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking
                       but also to at least one project per technology area, provided that the
                       applications attain all thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
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    Establishing European industry as leader in sustainable data-driven manufacturing and
      process industries through efficient data processing and notably at the edge of the
      network, improving the environmental, economic and social sustainability of industrial
      production, and reinforcing European leadership in the deployment and operations of
      industrial network;
    Improving the agility of European manufacturing industry and increase its resiliency to
      external shocks, including with agile, secure and easy-to-implement non-public 5G
      systems, leading to more resilient production processes;
    Demonstrate the use of open systems and qualified open source software tools for data
      monitoring & collection as well as data analytics;
    Foster industrial data and distributed computing standardisation;
    Facilitate the development of technologies requiring only minimal training of the
      industrial workforce.
Scope: Fully reaching the opportunities of sharing and exploiting industrial data, including
deep industrial data15, requires to strike the right balance between storing and handling data
centrally in the cloud or locally at the edge of industrial network. Such a balance has to take
into account not only efficiency but also the real-time requirements and cybersecurity aspects
as well as the ability to systemically integrate and upgrade operational technology to the
innovative developments in (self-) configuration, therefore building a flexible industrial
Internet for distributed control and modular manufacturing while keeping the high-level of
reliability and safety required by the manufacturing sector.
Computing, storage and networking technologies will have to show also flexibility along the
industrial value chains and promote the introduction of new business models, based on the
availability of deep industrial data from different data sources and ontologies, within an
agreed data governance, with mutual trust and adequate distribution of the value created by
sharing data.
Proposals are expected to address one of the following technology areas for data-driven
industrial environments:
    Development of technologies and definition of specifications and standards for data,
      products, and/or business processes, that can be agreed and commonly used by many
      industrial actors, and that have the potential for the emergence of future digital value
      chains, identify promising industrial areas and organisational models that facilitate
      cooperation and collaborative product and service design among industry players
      facilitating industry agreements.
15
         In this context, “deep industrial data” means data available only internally in an industrial process (e.g.,
         data used in a manufacturing machine or a logistic process), and not normally shared across the value
         chain.
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   Quick uptake of advanced 5G technologies by European manufacturing sector to support
      the convergence towards greater exploitation of industrial data and increase resilience
      and cybersecurity by design. Private 5G networks (5G NPN) are exclusive mobile
      networks that manufacturers can use for a defined local production site; they can be
      tailored to the individual needs of the manufacturer and meet future requirements in the
      area of Industry 4.0. Innovative approaches to simplify the deployment and operation of
      such private 5G networks throughout their life cycle are needed. Implementers in
      industrial environments need to take a holistic view, including both the connectivity
      infrastructure (with 5G as a central component) and the actual production system. An
      important element for rapid deployment is also the development and evaluation of new
      business models for private 5G networks. In particular, projects should offer
      opportunities for new players that have their main focus on non-public (campus)
      networks (NGN) for connected industries and in particular automation applications.
      Projects will aim at "Zero-Touch Management", using network automation, AI / ML,
      Self-organizing Networks (SON), etc. and taking into account the specifics of industrial
      environments.
Projects are encouraged to develop toolkits of open hardware, software and toolware, and
qualify the use of these to provide opportunities to SMEs to further automate and digitalise
their manufacturing, through, for example, OPC-UA and Administrative Shell (AAS) as well
as further development on top of these Industrial Internet standards and there inherent cyber
security demands for Operational Technology environment.
The distributed industrial computing environments will be demonstrated effectively in a
minimum of two specific manufacturing applications. The topic will integrate new or existing
technologies to make them practically and economically viable in the industrial world, and
will encompass modern manufacturing technologies such as digital twins.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Research must build on existing standards or contribute to standardisation. Interoperability for
data sharing should be addressed. Additionally, a strategy for skills development should be
presented, associating social partners when relevant.
All projects should build on or seek collaboration with existing projects and develop synergies
with other relevant European, national or regional initiatives, funding programmes and
platforms.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership Made in Europe.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement
A new way to build, accelerating disruptive change in construction
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-10: Digital permits and compliance
checks for buildings and infrastructure (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the end
Readiness Level          of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Efficiency and productivity gains in design and construction processes;
    Fewer errors in planning, design and construction processes;
    Automated, faster, more accurate and more efficient permitting and compliance for
     construction works (e.g. regulatory, health and safety, performance);
    Improved build quality and resource efficiency in construction, in line with the aims of
     the New European Bauhaus initiative.16
Scope: There is a need to develop, connect and align new technologies and digital tools for
construction, including improved and automated methods of designing, building and
authorising construction works. The manual processing and delivery of administrative, legal
and regulatory information such as planning and construction permits, and related compliance
processes, are complicated and lengthy procedures. This leads to delays and ambiguity in the
construction process, as well as errors, extra costs, waste and inefficiency.
Information generated or imported into digital models during early design phases can
potentially streamline the application and granting of digital administrative permits. This will
in turn facilitate informed decision making including compliance checks later in the design
and construction process and throughout the life cycle of the built asset.
Proposals should:
    Develop and demonstrate novel ways of digitalising permitting and compliance
     processes for construction works;
16
        https://europa.eu/new-european-bauhaus/index_en
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    Demonstrate new tools and solutions for the storing, processing, analysis and retrieval of
     administrative and regulatory information related to construction works; and facilitate
     stakeholders to consult the current status of the process at all times. The new solutions
     should make use of neutral data formats, addressing rule interpretation and machine-
     readable information, and supporting analysis and exploitation of relevant digitalised
     acts, regulations, requirements and standards;
    Ensure that the new solutions are interoperable and integrated, where relevant, with other
     relevant tools, databases and processes. These can include Building Information Models
     (BIM), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), public registries, Life Cycle Analysis
     data, digital twins including those of greater scale (e.g. city, regional or national level)
     with support for enabling Augmented Reality/Virtual reality and additional novel
     features, 3D cadastre, digital building logbooks, and models of larger scale of the built
     environment, including those that are handled by public authorities. Proposals should
     ensure that spatial information, where relevant, aligns with the aims of the INSPIRE
     Directive17;
    Ensure that the new solutions developed can handle a wide variety of relevant data, for
     example spatial and location data relating to the buildings or infrastructure and their
     context; urban height limits and setbacks; visual corridors or protected views;
     environmental information such as flood risk models and protected trees; cultural
     heritage rules and protections; utilities and services including energy, water and telecoms
     infrastructure;
    Develop solutions that harness the potential of digitalisation to accelerate processes and
     improve productivity, open up new methods of working and business models. For
     example, proposals should make use of disruptive technologies such as Artificial
     Intelligence, algorithm based checks, Human Aided Design and Compliance;
    Address potential barriers to the use of digital building permits and compliance checks
     including knowledge gaps, technology deployment, standards, and the regulatory and
     policy context;
    Take into account the wide range of actors involved in applying for, receiving and using
     permits and the related compliance (e.g. design, engineering and other construction
     professionals, researchers, industry especially SMEs, and public authorities), taking into
     consideration questions of accessibility, inclusivity including gender issues, and user
     acceptance;
    Take into account the international contexts and developments in construction-related
     data including BIM and GIS but also the capacities and opportunities presented in
     different parts of Europe. Proposals should therefore build on previous research, such as
     the outputs of the DigiPLACE project18;
17
        See https://inspire.ec.europa.eu/about-inspire/563
18
        See https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/856943
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    Address the potential for upskilling and re-skilling of the construction value chain as a
     result of the innovation;
    Contribute to an EU-wide framework for the digitalisation and automation of machine
     readable permits and compliance checks for construction works, including by
     collaborating with similar projects including those funded under this call;
    Develop technical guidelines and semantic models applicable to different EU countries.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Finally, proposals should provide contributions to relevant standards and seek to ensure
synergies with the Horizon Europe ‘Built4People’ co-programmed Partnership. Proposals
may address any or all types of buildings and infrastructure as appropriate.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-11:                               Automated        tools   for   the
valorisation of construction waste (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       6.00 and 10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 21.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 4 and achieve TRL 6 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Increase significantly the construction and demolition waste (CDW) utilisation (at least
     80% weight in line with the current waste Directive 2008/98/EC 19 as amended by
     Directive 2018/85120) by cascade approach including re-use, recycle and transformation
     of waste into secondary products in full cooperation between construction and waste
     management companies
    Provide new value chain and sustainable business models for construction waste
     reduction mobilising cross sectorial actors;
    Implement appropriate tracing of material and /or component along the new value chain.
19
        Directive 2008/98/EC: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32008L0098
20
        Directive 2018/851: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32018L0851
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    Increase by 50% the reusability of construction products post demolition and reduce the
      down cycling of construction waste by facilitating modular dismantling of complex
      construction products;
    Plan a list of actions for overcoming relevant barriers (e.g. end of waste criteria, lack of
      trust in secondary products, awareness of circular potential);
    Develop holistic and replicable solutions for more circular and climate neutral
      construction materials and activities involving upstream and down-stream actors.
Relevant indicators and metrics, with baseline values, should be clearly stated in the proposal.
Scope: Based on volume, construction and demolition waste (CDW) is the largest waste
stream in the EU. Considering that most of the waste share is glass, concrete, steel and
aluminium (or other metals), the embodied energy and embodied eq. CO2 emission in the
CDW is significant (8.5 MT eq. CO2 for construction in Sweden in 2015). By reusing and
recycling CDW in new constructions, the sector would come closer to the targets of becoming
fully circular and climate neutral. Precise quantitative and qualitative waste estimation is
crucial for waste management. This could be achieved by utilising digital technologies for
instance Building Information Modelling (BIM), material and component tracing, dedicated
apps for construction/de-construction and optimize site management. Such tools could
provide data about material type and composition (e.g. whether there are hazardous materials
that require special care) and quantities, and thus an estimation of the logistics needs, cost,
etc. and make waste separation easier and faster, e.g. by combining with automated equipment
and robots.
Proposals should:
    Develop, test and promote the necessary digital tools for material and/or component
      tracing and CDW management in different types of construction or demolition sites. The
      proposed tools should use as far as possible existing databases for waste management;
    Develop automated solutions for de-construction and waste separation process;
    Implement cross-sectorial holistic solutions involving glass, concrete, steel, ceramics,
      non-ferrous, etc. from the construction product and material side but also waste
      management, transportation and construction equipment and machinery side;
    Produce all required training material for the proper use of the developed technologies
      The content should be sufficiently inclusive and encompass the diversity of different
      users;
    Demonstrate all developed solutions (reutilisation, recycling, transformation, etc.) in at
      least four implementation sites across different European countries, considering the
      material recovery, transformation and utilisation;
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   Assess the value of the solutions in terms of the additional monetary value/reduction of
      eq. CO2 emissions produced;
   Besides the new solutions benefits, safety should be considered (on construction issues,
      hazardous materials, etc.)
   Proposals should consider the development of learning resources for the current and
      future generations of employees, with the possibility to integrate them in existing
      curricula and modules for undergraduate level and lifelong learning programmes. The
      projects should provide contributions to relevant standards or best practices.
   The projects should provide contributions to relevant standards or best practices.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is encouraged, in
particular with Asian countries.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-12:                           Breakthrough       technologies
supporting technological sovereignty in construction (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       8.00 and 10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 24.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 4 and achieve TRL 6 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Integrate breakthrough technologies derived from other industries: examples include
      additive manufacturing; human robot collaboration; autonomous vehicles in construction
      activities; autonomous maintenance, diagnostics and monitoring;
   Demonstrate the impact of the use of these new breakthrough technologies on the
      efficiency of resources (raw materials, water etc.), the reduction of waste and embodied
      CO2 emissions;
   Demonstrate the safety of these breakthrough technologies on a construction
      environment in cooperation with workers;
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   Demonstrate a reduction of dependency for importing breakthrough technologies related
      to additive manufacturing, human robot collaboration or autonomous vehicles;
   Increase the wellbeing of the construction workforce concerned.
Scope: There is a global trend for higher digitalisation in the construction sector. In this
context, there is a major need to ensure that construction activities in countries in Europe do
not depend on breakthrough technologies the industry concerned needs to import from outside
Europe to remain competitive. Currently, the construction sector is among the least automated
and digitised and the most labour accident-prone sectors in the Europe. Therefore, the use of
technologies such as additive manufacturing, autonomous vehicles and human robot
collaboration in a construction environment is crucial to increase the degree of digitalisation
of the sector. In addition, Member States are facing a shortage of skilled labour force in
construction activities. In the same vein, a higher degree of digitalisation would make the
construction sector attractive for younger generations and construction sites a safer working
environment. Proposal consortiums are encouraged to include a wide range of stakeholders
from SMEs to large construction firms.
The projects should:
   Develop, test and promote the necessary technologies, devices and systems for an highly
      automated construction site;
   Demonstrate all developed solutions in at least four diverse construction sites (such as
      roadwork, bridges, tunnels, different types of buildings, etc.) across different countries in
      Europe;
   Develop solutions for monitoring the wellbeing of the workforce and prevention of
      accidents taking into account gender and intersectional perspective;
   All solutions developed should be evaluated by the users (site management, workforce,
      etc.) through surveys or other means;
   Proposals should consider the development of learning resources for the current and
      future generations of employees, with the possibility to integrate them in existing
      curricula and modules for undergraduate level and lifelong learning programmes;
   Identify additional breakthrough technologies bearing an emerging serious risk of import
      dependency;
   Contribute to the development of new relevant standards or update of existing ones.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is encouraged, in
particular with Japan or South Korea in view of the cooperation on digital technologies.
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Hubs for circularity, a stepping stone towards climate neutrality and circularity in
industry
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-14:                           Deploying    industrial-urban
symbiosis solutions for the utilization of energy, water, industrial waste and by-products
at regional scale (Processes4Planet Partnership) (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 8.00
contribution per      and 12.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 28.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
Technology            Activities are expected to start at TRL 4 and achieve TRL 6 by the end of
Readiness Level       the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Deploy exemplary pilot solutions of the Industrial-Urban Symbiosis (I-US) concept,
     making the flows of energy, waste and water circular; and achieving near-zero GHG
     emissions and near-zero water discharge;
   Reduce by 50% (in weight or volume) industrial waste generation and reduce
     significantly the associated GHG emissions, by re-using and transforming waste, by-
     products and side-streams into new resources or raw materials;
   Plan a list of actions to overcome non-technological barriers for exploitation of cross-
     company symbiosis (i.e. waste regulations, standardisation, confidentiality and
     compliance, ownership, fair sharing of benefits, acceptance of the concept);
   Set up facilitation services for helping implementation of symbiotic processes directed to
     local authorities, and relevant businesses, private/industry actors, especially SMEs;
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    Develop best practices for knowledge-sharing on technological and non-technological
      aspects (i.e. job profile optimisation) in close collaboration with the European
      Community of Practice (ECoP) CSA and other relevant bodies, dissemination the major
      innovation outcomes to support the implementation of I-US;
    Explore and virtually demonstrate replication potential in other regions (i.e. by setting up
      a network amongst waste associations to optimise flow of secondary raw materials);
    Implement actions to facilitate relations and to involve the local community actors
      (authorities, associations, civil society, relevant businesses, especially SMEs,
      educational organisations, etc.), e.g. exchanging knowledge and human capital with the
      educational establishments and developing flexible learning resources.
    Implement a social innovation spin-off action21 involving one of the local community
      actors.
Relevant indicators and metrics, with baseline values, should be stated clearly in the proposal.
Scope: In March 2020, the European Commission launched the Circular Economy Action
Plan for a cleaner and more competitive Europe. In order to accelerate the transition to a
circular economy, exemplary pilot solutions integrating industrial urban symbiosis need to be
exploited. The solutions could cover the reduction of waste, virgin raw materials and energy
and water consumption, mainly by transforming underused waste materials (both industrial
waste, industrial side streams, by-products and end of life urban waste) into feedstock for the
process industries (urban mining). To support a wide implementation of industrial urban
symbiosis for waste utilization, the regional dimension is important since connexion with
local energy and utility networks, adjacent industrial infrastructures and available by-products
is crucial and will have to be considered in a holistic approach.
Technology and social based innovations should prove the potential for novel symbiotic value
chains in demonstrators involving multiple industrial sectors (combining non-exhaustively
energy, process and manufacturing industries) in pilot industrial settings. Projects are
expected to address several but not necessarily all following aspects:
    A broad cross-sectorial symbiosis and circularity implementation from a regional
      perspective to potentially achieve climate neutrality by 2050 including cooperation with
      other suitable regions in terms of availability of resources, technologies, available
      infrastructures and knowledge transfer;
    Cross-cutting solutions (processes and equipment) for the processing of side/waste
      streams specifically for the use as feedstock for plants and companies across sectors
      and/or across value chains, while increasing the resource efficiency/circularity in
      industrial value chains;
21
         A social innovation spin-off action may not necessarily encompass a commercial activity.
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   Process (re-)design and adaptation to integrate new processes (energy and material flow
     coupling, infrastructure and logistics) and create new synergies between sectors;
   Integration of novel sensing technology, IoT and digital tools to support design
     (including AI driven tools for the discovery of hidden pathways), flow optimization and
     controls;
   Concepts, tools and business models for the flexible and robust management of
     exchange streams in dynamic production environments to maximise the impact on
     sustainability while respecting the technical limitations, economic interests of the
     producers and the interests of citizens;
   IT infrastructures and tools that provide a secure basis for the integrated management
     and the preservation of confidentiality of sensitive data;
   Assessment methodologies and KPIs to measure the performance of symbiosis,
     including environmental, economic and social impacts (including SRL). Life cycle
     assessment and life cycle cost analysis should take into account existing sustainability
     standards (e.g. ISO 14000) and existing best practices;
   Development/use (preferred) of common reporting methodologies for the assessment of
     industrial symbiosis activities and exchanges in close collaboration with the European
     Community of Practice (ECoP);
   Tools to support companies in redefining their products process and systems from the
     point of view of design, production, logistic and business models, preferably based on
     the outcomes of previous projects (see for example SPIRE project portfolio on Industrial
     Symbiosis);
   Study social aspects of the community and its improvement through the I-US where
     demonstration pilot is located (social innovation, underdevelopment, job quality gender
     and inclusiveness perspective);
   Create societal awareness through a participative approach locally and more broadly,
     highlighting and communicating political and regulatory obstacle between
     regions/countries.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination. Interoperability for data sharing should be
addressed.
Clustering and cooperation with other selected projects under this cross-cutting call and others
in HE, with European initiatives (as for example: Circular Cities and Regions Initiative
(CCRI) and European Circular Economy Stakeholder Panel (ECESP)), as well as building on
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existing projects22 is strongly encouraged, see also Industrial Symbiosis Report from March
202023.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is encouraged on IS/I-
US/circularity technologies and their implementation in processes, with INCO countries
advanced in the field that could bring mutual benefit from different perspective.
This topic implements the co-programmed European partnership Processes4Planet.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-16: Hubs for Circularity European
Community of Practice (ECoP) platform (Processes4Planet Partnership) (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                         and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                         Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                         additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: Project is expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Establish a European Community of Practice (ECoP) as an effective and sustainable
      forum/platform connecting hubs for circularity (H4C) and all actors willing to invest in
      industrial urban-symbiosis (I-US), towards building new circular value chains;
    Provide up-to-date support to the H4C by collecting and evaluating knowledge, tools,
      models and solutions and making them accessible to the community, preparing training
      material dedicated to circular practitioners that can drive the H4C roll out across Europe;
    Define a set of methodologies and kits of specific KPIs (e.g. a kit for any single
      industrial sector) to enable the progress quantification of circularity and symbiosis with
      particular attention to the definition of gaps to be closed in order to reach the expected
      impact.
22
        e.g. Sharebox, Scaler, CIRCLEAN network or JRC Industry mapping EIGL, etc.
23
        Study and Portfolio Review of Cluster of Projects on Industrial Symbiosis
        https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/f26dfd11-6288-11ea-b735-01aa75ed71a1
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    Analyse collaboration models, non-technological barriers, tools, technologies and
     existing solutions for I-US and circularity, especially those from previously funded
     projects;
    Provide a state-of-play analysis of regions/areas best suited for the first implementation
     of advanced H4C in Europe, coupled with a detailed study of the strength and
     weaknesses of the regions/areas selected, including a symbiosis maturity level
     (Symbiosis Readiness Level, SRL) 24 and a number of specific scenarios for the
     technology and process implementation;
    Establish a roadmap on how to achieve an effective implementation of a certain number
     of first-of-a-kind pilots of advanced H4C by 2026, supported by a solid blended funding
     strategy, targeting the accomplishment of 2050 Green Deal Goals;
    Spread the H4C concept to all regions of Europe, support the H4C cooperation network
     and promote the transfer of the circular models across sectors and borders;
    Stimulate public and private investments in circular economy projects;
    Set up an effective collaboration with stakeholders represented in the P4Planet
     partnership, including non-governmental associations, and provide a solid plan for the
     continuation and self-financing of ECoP after the completion of the project;
    Drive and coordinate business-to-territory relationships in the area in which the H4C, or
     neighbouring H4C, are located (i.e. with authorities, SMEs, associations, educational
     organisations, civil society, etc.).
Scope: Circularity is an essential part of the industry transformation towards climate-
neutrality and long-term competitiveness. H4C are defined as first-of-a-kind, lighthouse
demonstrator plants of commercial size implementing industrial symbiosis or urban industrial
symbiosis with the aim of achieving a step change in circular utilization of resources and
GHG emission reductions, within a given representative geographical area. H4C have strong
technological focus and industrial dimension, but their implementation leverages elements
well beyond R&I. Specific implementation (including funding) strategies will have to be
designed, ensuring the participation of all stakeholders (Industry, SMEs, local authorities,
educational institutions and civil society). The common target is to collectively achieve and
demonstrate at scale a leap towards circularity and carbon neutrality in the use of resources
(feedstock, energy and water) in a profitable way.
The ECoP is a tool for connecting the Hubs and the community of interest into a network for
exchanging tools and knowledge across regions. It has also been proposed by
Processes4Planet partnership. The project will embrace possibly all existing H4C and circular
systemic activities and strongly link with the activities of relevant European Partnerships,
such as P4Planet.
24
        Industrial symbiosis report published in March 2020
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The ECoP should:
   Gather, evaluate and synthesise state-of-the-art knowledge on circularity and industrial
    symbiosis and work out their benefits for climate neutrality and competitiveness in
    relation to their possible applications. This work should embrace the outcomes of all
    previously funded projects and be subject to constant updates;
   Characterise, classify and evaluate systematically symbiosis and circularity-related
    solutions with a constant update of symbiosis and circularity-related solutions;
   Draw up a list of specifications/criteria for best suited areas/regions taking into account
    lifting up or expanding existing hubs;
   Analyse in detail suitable regions/areas in the EU for H4C implementation. The
    regions/areas to consider should involve all alternative resource streams relevant for
    process industries as potential source of feedstock or as utilities, I-US scenarios and
    infrastructures that are already in place; scrutinise co-investment scenarios (combination
    of public and private means) to reach high Symbiosis Readiness Levels (SRL).
   Analyse proven involvement of regions and local communities;
   Identify high-potential regions/areas, for developing the first demonstrator of H4C by
    2026. Such identification should be justified on the basis of objective criteria and should
    be open to further regions in the course of the project. Criteria should focus on process
    level, symbiosis process implementation, commitment level of the local authorities and
    communities, regional specificities (business/industrial policy and strategies), additional
    funding, potential private investors, etc. These hubs should become lighthouse examples
    of win-win cooperation between industry, SMEs, public authorities, educational
    institutions and civil society on circular economy beyond 2026;
   The H4C could be thematic at first (e.g. focus on valorisation of emissions or circular
    use of plastic waste, etc.) and evolve after a successful first demonstration into a broader
    concept, attracting other players from other industry sectors at local, regional, national or
    European level and enabling industrial symbiosis in new areas and processes;
   Propose stakeholder events for local and regional authorities creating awareness on
    industrial opportunities and challenges based on the analysis;
   Connect the regional H4C and ensure a mutually profitable knowledge and experience
    exchange;
   Provide support and advice to the community members, as well as, tutorials and learning
    framework about state-of-the-art solutions (for technical and non-technical problems);
   Promote the role and service of enablers/facilitators as a new type of service to industry,
    regions and civil society;
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    Support the transfer of knowledge, tools and innovation across the H4C, and the
     programming groups or ad-hoc task forces;
    Engage with stakeholders, such as, universities or other educational institutions to
     facilitate the training of circular practitioners. These practitioners should have an in-
     depth understanding of I-US, the state-of-the-art tools and databases and newest business
     models;
    Track regional needs based on feedback of H4C and other supporting members in order
     to optimise the support;
    Enable and regularly update evaluation of I-US projects by providing systematic
     knowledge on gaps and potential impacts, and favour connection with regions/areas of
     high potential for a first successful implementation of a H4C;
    Identify potential sites for setting up emerging new hubs based on mapping of I-US and
     circular activities as a continuous update and extension of the pre-implementation
     analysis.
The EU funded projects under Process4Planet, Made in Europe and Clean Steel but also under
cluster 6 dealing with circularity will be required to provide complete information and full
collaboration to the ECoP platform.
Clustering and cooperation with other selected projects under this cross-cutting call and others
in HE, and with European initiatives (as for example Circular Cities and Regions Initiative
(CCRI) and European Circular Economy Stakeholder Panel (ECESP)), building on existing
H2020 projects25 is strongly encouraged, see also Industrial Symbiosis Report from March
2020.26.
This topic implements the co-programmed European partnership Processes4Planet.
Enabling circularity of resources in the process industries, including waste and CO2/CO
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-17: Plastic waste as a circular carbon
feedstock for industry (Processes4Planet Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU                 The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per            12.00 and 18.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                     appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                            selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
25
        e.g. Sharebox, Scaler, CIRCLEAN network or JRC Industry mapping EIGL, etc.
26
        Study and Portfolio Review of Cluster of Projects on Industrial Symbiosis
        https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/f26dfd11-6288-11ea-b735-01aa75ed71a1
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Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 39.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Eligibility conditions   The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                         exceptions apply:
                         If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning,
                         navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must
                         make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and
                         services may additionally be used).
Technology               Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the end
Readiness Level          of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant      apply:
Agreements               The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                         applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                         for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                         the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Valorise a wide variety of unsorted plastic (and other) waste in large amounts, to avoid
     landfill;
   Yield material streams of high industrial interest, replacing the ones currently produced
     from fossil feedstocks (e.g. olefins, hydrogen, syngas, etc.);
   Develop concepts enabling 100% utilisation of Renewable Energy Sources (e.g.
     electrified processes), coping with potential fluctuations in the energy supply;
   At least 60% GHG emissions reductions in the overall lifecycle compared to existing
     processes for plastic recycling (or relevant benchmark).
Relevant indicators and metrics, with baseline values, should be clearly stated in the proposal.
Scope: Plastic (and other) waste, such as packaging, textiles, etc., could potentially represent a
sustainable alternative to imported fossil feedstock (e.g. oil, gas). It contains high amounts of
carbon, it is widely available and its valorisation could also provide environmental and
societal benefits avoiding the disposal in landfill.
The proposals submitted under this topic are expected to provide concepts for utilisation of
unsorted plastic (and other) waste in cracking applications, including e.g. packaging, non-
sorted polymers and single use items such as PPEs, for the production of material streams of
wide industrial interest (e.g. hydrocarbons, olefins, syngas, hydrogen, etc.). The technologies
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proposed should be electrified to work efficiently in a renewable based energy system. They
should also be able to cope with potential fluctuations in energy supply.
   The technologies proposed should be able to valorise a wide variety of unsorted waste,
      plastic could be a major source, other waste sources can be considered (e.g. textiles),
      providing the supply is secure and the business case is feasible. Special attention is
      required to the potential variability of the input, and the presence/formation of
      contaminants and impurities in the process;
   The processes addressed can be single or multi-step (e.g. pre-treatment, grinding, etc.)
      and should yield material streams which are of high industrial interest and can be readily
      integrated in downstream industrial processes for the production of a wide range of
      products (e.g. plastics, chemicals, hydrogen, fuels, fibres, materials, fertilisers, etc.);
   Industrial specifications should be considered, and proof that these secondary raw
      material streams can be used in downstream industries should be provided;
   Demonstration of the improved environmental footprint of the proposed products and
      processes, as well as their positive impact should be provided using relevant
      methodologies (e.g. LCA, LCSA, etc.). The prevention of upcycling of hazardous
      substances and their separation and disposal should be considered;
   Elements related to the replicability and scalability of the technology should be
      provided. Along with the relevance of the proposed approaches to solving waste related
      issues in existing European contexts;
   Demonstration of the proposed concepts in an industrially relevant environment and at
      an appropriate scale are expected. The integration of the proposed technology in existing
      value chains and industrial realities would be an added value.
   Proposals should consider the co-design of learning resources together with local and
      regional educational organisations for current and future generations of employees, with
      the possibility of integrating them in existing curricula and modules for undergraduate
      level and lifelong learning programmes. Learning resources should integrate the
      identification of new skills and should propose innovative learning-teaching methods
      that meet regional social needs and have a high potential for replication.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, International Cooperation is encouraged, in
particular with Japan, Korea, India or ASEAN countries.
This topic implements the co-programmed European partnership Processes4Planet.
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HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-18: Carbon Direct Avoidance in steel:
Electricity and hydrogen-based metallurgy (Clean Steel Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU                 The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per            6.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                     appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                            selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 28.00 million.
Type of Action              Innovation Actions
Technology                  Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 8 by the
Readiness Level             end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial         The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant         exceptions apply:
Agreements                  The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                            applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                            for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                            the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Projects outcomes will enable achieving the expected impacts of the
destination by improving energy efficiency in raw materials value chains.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Demonstration of technologies in the steel sector leading to a reduction of CO2
     emissions by 2050 by at least 80 to 95% compared to 1990 levels;
    Improve energy and resource efficiency and increase utilisation of renewable energy
     sources27 in metallurgical processes to substitute fossil fuels;
    Enabling steel production through carbon direct avoidance (CDA) technologies at a
     demonstration scale;
    Efficient integration of renewable energy sources, considering also their intermittency
     and the possibility to offer demand-response flexibility.
Relevant indicators and metrics, with baseline values, should be clearly stated in the proposal.
Scope: This topic covers carbon direct avoidance technologies leading to significant CO2
emission reduction in the steel sector.
27
        Biomass utilisation in line with the objectives of the EU Biodiversity Strategy.
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The Commission’s Strategic Vision “A Clean Planet for all” indicates that deep CO 2
emissions reductions in the steel sector are possible through a combination of technological
pathways, including steel recycling, carbon capture utilisation and storage, process
integration, and electricity/hydrogen-based metallurgy. While energy intensity has reduced
significantly over the past decades, the steel industry remains a large source of emissions due
to preferred use of coal and energy needed to reduce iron oxides. With alternative pathways
used with green electricity and green gases, the emissions can be further reduced so that these
pathways could achieve CO2 reductions of up to 95% by 2050 compared to 1990 levels.
There is no one solution to achieve low-CO2 steelmaking, as there is expected to be a variety
of production technologies in the future. Relevant participation from sectors other than steel is
not excluded, if the technologies presented are compatible with the expected outcomes of the
topic and the Clean Steel partnership objectives.
The projects proposed are expected to address the following research and innovation areas:
   Replacement of fossil carbon energy by renewable (hydro/wind/solar) electricity in iron
      and steelmaking;
   Development of pilots and demonstrators in the field of direct reduction of iron with
      hydrogen. Direct reduction of iron ore with high amounts of hydrogen is expected to be
      key for CO2 neutral steelmaking;
   Improvement of plasma melting processes with improved electrode technologies using a
      plasma torch or plasma smelting reduction leading to CO2 reduction compared to fossil-
      based fuels;
   Development and testing of direct electricity based iron oxides reduction processes
      including the electrolytic reduction at high or low temperature;
   Innovation activities focused on the process and the product properties as well as on the
      impact of the product properties on the downstream processes (e.g. Electric Arc
      Furnace). The process technology may have to be adapted to the new boundary
      conditions;
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on Clean Steel.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-19: Improvement of the yield of the
iron and steel making (Clean Steel Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
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Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         4.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 14.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to start at TRL 6 and achieve TRL 8 by the
Readiness Level          end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                         applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                         for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                         the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Validate at industrial test scale technologies for impurity removal from scrap or the
     recovery of metal fractions contained in steel making process residues (that are today
     mainly landfilled) reaching high recycling rate of residues originated at the demo site up
     to 40% achieving a metal recovery efficiency up to 90% and a mineral recovery
     efficiency up to 80%;
   Progressively increasing the uptake of low-quality scrap grades into high quality steel
     grades;
   Progressively replacing the use of pre-consumer scrap grades with high quality clean
     scrap grades;
   Progressively replacing the use of solid pig iron produced by traditional BF process with
     post-consumer grades;
   Reducing the environmental impact by minimizing CO2 emission up to 20% both,
     directly (and locally) by internal recycling of the metal fraction derived from residues, or
     indirectly by increasing the use of scrap as raw material in steelmaking production
     processes including:
         the reduction of pig iron use the in the steelmaking process;
         the use of alternative reducing agents as coal substitution, such as biomass,
           polymers, hydrogen;
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        the reduction of CO2 emission derived by extraction and transportation of natural
          resources as well as transportation and landfill of industrial waste;
        the generation of CO2 neutral energy vector from chemical and sensible heat from
          pyro-metallurgical residue treatment processes allowing at least 5% reduction of
          specific energy consumption for a dedicated process.
   Develop novel technologies for onsite characterization (chemical and physical) of
    ferrous materials to help standardization of charge managing practice;
   Confirming the replicability of the demonstration plant in most of EU steel shops.
Relevant indicators and metrics, with baseline values, should be clearly stated in the proposal.
Scope: R&I areas that needs to be tackled should address some of these aspects:
   Selection and integration of best available and applicable technologies to reduce
    impurities in post-consumer scrap before melting together with scrap yard management
    supported by digital smart tools for scrap classification and charge optimization; these
    are key elements to increase the use of scrap achieving the same quality of the finished
    product in both, the EAF, and BF/BOF route and at the same time reducing CO2
    emissions due to lower energy need with respect to iron-ore;
   Development, deployment, and use of smart sensor and dedicated Big Data analytics to
    develop and further optimize decision-supported systems for helping steel plant
    operators to increase the process yield and to improve the final steel product quality. The
    projects should ensure involvement of operators and process experts in development and
    implementation of Big Data, ensuring the uptake of human experiences and a user-
    friendly processing of results;
   Realisation of demonstration plants at relevant industrial scale focusing on material
    upgrading technologies (cleaning, size control) as well as inline characterization of
    ferrous materials via novel technologies for onsite characterization (chemical
    composition and physical properties);
   Development and implementation of highly efficient technologies for recovering metals
    and mineral fraction from steelmaking residues, including those coming from H2-based
    metallurgy ones, with high metallic or oxidic fractions; two possible ways are
    envisioned, whereas the first one is based on cooling and mechanical steps, such as wet
    or dry granulation followed by phase separation; the second one relies on a direct
    recycling of residues in existing production processes or in dedicated pyrometallurgic
    melting and reduction units;
   Full by-product testing and evaluation to have them covered by a standard like a CEN
    Workshop Agreement (CWA) or by a national technical agreement;
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   Enabling the use of obtained by-products in higher value applications (i.e. filtering,
      coating, additive manufacturing, material for CO2 sequestration, heat accumulator);
   Integration of energy recovery solutions in metal recovery processes targeting at a better
      Return of Investment.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on Clean Steel.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-20: Reducing environmental footprint,
improving circularity in extractive and processing value chains (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 12.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                     requesting different amounts.
Indicative           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 36.00 million.
budget
Type of Action       Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                     strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security, namely to increase EU
                     resilience in raw materials supply chains for EU industrial value chains
                     and strategic sectors to enable their green and digital transition and to
                     reduce dependence of extractive activities on carbon-related energy
                     sources and process emissions, participation to the topic is limited to legal
                     entities established in Member States, associated countries, OECD
                     countries, African Union Countries, and MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM,
                     and Andean Community.
                     Proposals including legal entities which are not established in these
                     countries will be ineligible.
                     The above exception is aligned with the Communication (2020) 474 on
                     Critical Raw Materials Resilience, on the need to develop strategic
                     international partnerships on raw materials.
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Technology            Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the end of
Readiness Level       the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects outcomes will enable achieving the expected impacts of the
destination by increasing access to primary raw materials and secondary raw materials, in
particular critical raw materials for EU industrial value chains and strategic sectors.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Reduce environmental impact of extractive and processing value chains;
    Develop demonstrators and pilot plants with a lower environmental impact;
    Reduce environmental footprint and increase circularity of extractive and processing
      value chains; and, where relevant, reduce contaminants and impurities in extracted raw
      materials;
    Develop methods, technologies and processes for mining and processing aiming at
      significantly decreased emissions (CO2 and other emissions);
    Significantly increase resource and energy efficiency, and increased circularity of raw
      materials together with increased valorisation of extractive waste;
    Contribute to meeting the goals of climate neutrality, circularity, zero pollution and
      system protection, sustainable use and restorations as spelled out in the European Green
      Deal.
Actions are expected to contribute to the implementation of the following actions of the EU
action plan on Critical Raw Materials28:
    Use Horizon Europe funding for research into mining processes with minimal impact on
      the environment and life-cycle assessment;
    Support waste and extractive waste valorisation and energy efficiency through cross-
      sectoral cooperation and industrial symbiosis, involving the mining industry.
Scope: Actions should develop sustainable solutions to reduce dependence of extractive
activities on carbon-related energy sources and process emissions. They should also address
reducing materials use, water and waste valorisation at all stages of the extractive and
processing cycle.
Actions should facilitate the market uptake of solutions developed through industrially- and
user-driven multidisciplinary consortia covering the relevant value chain and should consider
standardisation aspects when relevant.
28
         COM (2020) 474
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Actions should justify the relevance of selected pilot demonstrations in different locations
within the EU (and also outside if there is a clear added value for the EU economy, industry
and society).
Actions should facilitate the market uptake of solutions developed through industrially- and
user-driven multidisciplinary consortia covering the relevant value chain and should consider
standardisation aspects when relevant.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination. For TRLs 6-7, a credible strategy to achieve
future full-scale manufacturing in the EU is expected, indicating the commitments of the
industrial partners after the end of the project.
Actions should envisage clustering activities with other relevant selected projects for cross-
projects co-operation, consultations and joint activities on cross-cutting issues and share of
results as well as participating in joint meetings and communication events. To this end
proposals should foresee a dedicated work package and/or task, and earmark the appropriate
resources accordingly.
Actions should also contribute to improving the awareness of relevant external stakeholders
and the general public across the EU and in non-EU countries of project’s partners about the
importance of raw materials for society, the challenges related to their supply within the EU
and about proposed solutions which could help to improve society's acceptance of and trust in
sustainable raw materials production in the EU.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Integration of Renewables and Electrification in process industry
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-21: Design and optimisation of energy
flexible industrial processes (Processes4Planet Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          12.00 and 18.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 39.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Technology                Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the
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Readiness Level           end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                          applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                          for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                          the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Significant increase of the process flexibility and demand response towards the
      integration of variable energy sources, i.e., renewable energy sources, including possible
      onsite energy storage and conversion;
    Overall increased energy efficiency of the industrial process within the energy system;
    New digital tools that account for the energy availability to realise the additional
      flexibility of the process and that create connections to energy grid platforms for a more
      efficient energy management system;
    Cost reduction of the overall process through valorisation of excess streams into the
      energy system.
Relevant indicators and metrics, with baseline values, should be clearly stated in the proposal
Scope: Flexibility solutions are key to achieve a renewable energy share to deliver the EU
Green Deal objectives and which goes significantly beyond the current target of 32%. In the
coming years, EU industries will need to adapt to the increased fluctuations in energy supply
caused by the higher penetration of variable energy sources. Besides, an integrated energy
system, linking different energy carriers, infrastructures and consumption sectors in the EU,
will be set to deliver climate neutrality by 2050 in a cost effective way. The increased value of
flexibility will offer competitive opportunities for process industries (additional revenue
streams) and enable a leaner energy system.
Process flexibility and efficient energy storage are essential to account for the variable
renewable energy production. When less energy is available, process industries can consume
less energy or take it from storage; whereas, when there is surplus of energy, the excess
energy can be consumed or stored. A fast response rate, i.e., a swift increase or decrease of
the process energy consumption, is key in the shift to dynamic operating processes. To
support the change of energy supply, current processes, designed to run continuously at
maximum capacity, have to be adapted. Besides, energy efficiency measures will help
decreasing the overall process energy demand. To leverage the flexibility in process
industries, digital process control systems that optimise the process while accounting for the
value of flexibility need to be implemented.
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Digital tools need to be developed to attain the energy flexibility of the process, but also to
exchange data with network operators and flexibility markets (through market operators,
suppliers and/or aggregators), which will enable industries to provide flexibility services.
Powerful digital twins based on suitable combinations of analytical models, physics-based AI
or pure AI solutions need to be designed and applied. To find optimal control solutions in a
minimal time, digital twins could be empowered, for example, by multi-agent systems
technologies.
Moreover, the direct integration of renewable energy generation and the higher overall
efficiencies will require further flexibility solutions in process industries. Onsite energy
storage or conversion in the form of electricity, heat or other energy vectors can further
increase an installation’s flexibility.
Proposals should address the following aspects:
   In an existing process, identification of potential flexibility that allows an efficient and
      competitive operation;
   Redesign and modification of the process to enable more flexibility in operation (e.g.
      process that can run faster or slower depending on the needs of the grid) or the shift from
      batch processes to continuous processes, etc., including the removal or adaptation of
      process steps that limit the flexibility;
   Redesign and modification of the process to increase its flexibility response rate (e.g.,
      faster ramp up or ramp down) towards a higher energy efficiency at subsystem level;
   Development or redesign of digital process control systems, including, e.g., digital twins
      with integrated multi-agent systems, etc., supported by smart sensors and integrated
      analytical tools, to realise the flexibility of the process and to create connections to grid
      integration platforms;
   Evaluation of the potential use of onsite energy storage and conversion (electricity, heat,
      or other energy vectors) for the proposed flexible solution and integration of such energy
      solutions whenever relevant and feasible;
   Optimisation of the new process design at pilot scale.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination. Additionally, proposals should include a
safety assessment and a life cycle assessment for the implementation of the developed
technologies; and a contribution to standardisation, wherever possible.
Proposals should include activities that specifically target the collaboration with other
European projects on energy flexibility in their work plan (for example, a dedicated work
package or task).
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In order to achieve the expected outcomes, International Cooperation is encouraged, in
particular with US and Canada.
This topic implements the co-programmed European partnership Processes4Planet.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-22: Adjustment of Steel process
production to prepare for the transition towards climate neutrality (Clean Steel
Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          4.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 14.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Technology                Activities are expected to start at TRL 6 and achieve TRL 8 by the
Readiness Level           end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                          applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                          for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                          the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Adaptation of the energy and materials flow in the existing steel installations to allow for
      a technically and economically feasible transition to reduce the use of fossil carbon as
      reducing agent;
   Reduction of carbon footprint by incrementally adapting to hydrogen and biomass as
      reducing agents;
   Showcase new technologies to reduce steelworks energy consumption by implementing
      improvements in the materials and energy flows whilst reducing fossil carbon related
      emissions;
   Develop technological pathways to increase the reutilization of internal process
      metallurgical gases by deploying advanced gas treatment solutions.
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Scope: The proposals submitted under this topic are expected to provide concepts addressing
the modifications of the existing installations of both primary and secondary steel production
(BF/BOF, EAF, DRI) concerning the internal and external flows of energy and materials in
order to re-use metallurgical gases (internal re-cycling) and to upgrade them with new sources
(H2), e.g. by replacement of fossil carbon as reducing agent with hydrogen and biomass.
This also includes the integrated preparation (reforming, separation, heating, compression) of
external carbon-lean reducing gases or internally-recycled CO/CO2 streams for efficient
injection in the BF or use in conventional plants.
The concepts to be addressed under this topic are expected to address one or more of the
following areas:
    Injection of hydrogen or hydrogen-rich metallurgical gases or biomass to directly avoid
      the usage of fossil carbon as reducing agent in BF or as heat source in EAF operation;
    New process technologies for co-injection and new injection ports for BF and DRI plants
      and for EAF technology;
    Advanced gas treatment solutions (purification, reforming, preheating) for steel plants
      process gases for the purpose of internal re-use;
    Integration of gas injection with CO2 capture and storage technologies for the transition
      to CO2 neutral steelmaking;
    Adaption of the energy and materials flow in the energy system of the steel production
      process with adjustments of gas distribution/combustion to new gas properties and
      amounts including new developments regarding the related process technology and
      control technology.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on Clean Steel.
Call - CLIMATE NEUTRAL, CIRCULAR AND DIGITISED PRODUCTION 2022
                                                        HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)29
                          Topics                                Type   Budgets       Expected      Number
                                                                  of    (EUR            EU             of
29
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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                                                        Action million) contribution projects
                                                                           per project expected
                                                                   2022      (EUR            to be
                                                                                    30
                                                                           million)         funded
                                     Opening: 12 Oct 2021
                                    Deadline(s): 30 Mar 2022
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-                       IA       27.50 31 8.00       to 3
01-01                                                                     10.00
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-                       RIA      21.50    4.00 to 6.00     4
01-02
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-                       RIA      21.50 32 4.00 to 6.00     4
01-03
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-                       RIA      21.50    4.00 to 6.00     4
01-04
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-                       IA       30.00 33 4.00 to 8.00     4
01-06
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-                       RIA      22.00 34 3.00 to 6.00     3
01-07
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-                       IA       9.00     Around           2
01-09                                                                     4.50
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-                       IA       42.50    12.00      to 3
01-10                                                                     18.00
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-                       IA       42.50 35 12.00      to 3
01-11                                                                     18.00
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-                       IA       14.00 36 4.00 to 5.00     3
01-13
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-                       RIA      30.00    8.00       to 3
01-15                                                                     12.00
30
      Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
      amounts.
31
      Of which EUR 13.60 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
32
      Of which EUR 12.15 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
33
      Of which EUR 14.87 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
34
      Of which EUR 13.88 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
35
      Of which EUR 35.10 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
36
      Of which EUR 12.11 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-                        IA       10.00      Around        3
01-16                                                                        3.00
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-                        IA       42.50 37   12.00     to 3
01-17                                                                        18.00
Overall indicative budget                                         334.50
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Green, flexible and advanced manufacturing
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-01: Rapid reconfigurable production
process chains (Made in Europe Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         8.00 and 10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
37
        Of which EUR 36.83 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 27.50 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the
Readiness Level          end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                         applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                         for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                         the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Achieve a significant reduction in reconfiguration time, which includes all steps between
      stopping a production, reconfiguration of the individual production steps, requalification,
      adjustment of the intra-logistics processes, and ramping up to a full production speed;
    Develop validated standardised interfaces and protocols to enable digitalised and thus
      flexible manufacturing processes;
    Develop protocols for best practices in rapid reconfiguration applicable not only for the
      products and sectors present in the project, but also transferable to other sectors and
      application areas.
Scope: In times of disrupted supply chains or rapidly changing customer demands, production
lines will need to be built flexible enough to be able to handle these variations. Rapid
reconfiguration technologies of more flexible systems, will enable industries with many
production process steps to maintain a resilience against sudden changes in ordering and/or
supplies.
The projects should address reconfiguration of production systems in which the lines are
running at medium or high volume manufacturing rates (MVM and HVM respectively), and
include a variety of production steps, such as cleaning, forming, thermal treatments, cutting,
joining, surface treatments, painting, printing, assembly, etc. It should also consider complex
logistics and non-manufacturing operations enabling the production runs. Projects should
provide strategies for awareness and early detection of reconfiguration needs, e.g. by using
A.I. and data technologies, to enhance their resilience towards threatening events or crisis
situations.
The reconfiguration should be ambitious to the extent that the change addresses a new
customer base or new societal needs, or drastically changes the original production processes
and/or supply chain with minimal reconfiguration costs.
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Projects should also include protocols for best practices of the reconfiguration that can be
applicable also outside the sectors active in the project, which would include taking into
account any sector specific qualification requirements (such as clean room levels or
certifications for sectors such as medical and food). These protocols as well as the projects
should have a human-centred perspective, including skills requirements and training adapted
to different education levels and needs.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Research must build on existing standards or contribute to standardisation. Interoperability for
data sharing should be addressed. Additionally, a strategy for skills development should be
presented, associating social partners when relevant.
All projects should build on or seek collaboration with existing projects and develop synergies
with other relevant European, national or regional initiatives, funding programmes and
platforms.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, International Cooperation is encouraged, in
particular with Japan, South Korea or Canada.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership Made in Europe.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-02: Products with complex functional
surfaces (Made in Europe Partnership) (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       4.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 21.50 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 4 and achieve TRL 6 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Develop more efficient manufacturing processes to increase market share increase for
      products with functional surfaces that contribute to competitiveness and a transition to
      green and sustainable production flows;
   Significant reduction of the environmental footprint for surface treatments;
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    Uptake of treatment technologies in applications for a sustainable society, targeting
      reductions in energy use and environmental footprint.
Scope: Surface treatments are an integral part of any manufacturing process. Surface
treatments include many disciplines, such as painting/coating/printing (spray, powder, dip
coating, inkjet etc.), plating/implantation (electroplating, vacuum plating/coating, etc.),
thermal treatments (annealing, thermo-chemical processes, etc.), laser-based treatments
(annealing, texturing, etc.), additive manufacturing, micro manufacturing (micro electrical
discharge machining, micro milling, etc.) chemical and electrochemical treatments
(anodizing, electropolishing, chemical deposition, etc.), biochemical treatments, etching (wet
etching, plasma/dry etching, also for texturing).
While the integration of these treatment technologies into a manufacturing line has been well
reported, the technologies as such need to be adapted for each particular profile. In addition,
with progressively more complex and customised requirements on shape, material and
functionality, the demands on efficient and flexible surface treatments are increasing. In a
transition towards a sustainable production, with a substantially lower environmental
footprint, the demands are even higher.
The projects under this topic should address the following:
    Develop new surface treatments specifically targeting and enabling end-products with
      the purpose of reducing the end-products’ energy usage and/or environmental footprint.
      This may include co-design of product geometry and surface properties;
    Use of innovative production technologies for further functional integration and
      miniaturisation in order to reduce environmental footprints and resource use of products;
    Integrate the new surface treatments in a manufacturing line for profiles with complex
      shape or multimaterial content, with clear metrics on its efficiency during operation;
    Develop new business models and strategies for the uptake of these new technologies
      and with clear objectives on how to expand the uptake to other sectors and other
      applications.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Research must build on existing standards or contribute to standardisation. Interoperability for
data sharing should be addressed. Additionally, a strategy for skills development should be
presented, associating social partners when relevant.
All projects should build on or seek collaboration with existing projects and develop synergies
with other relevant European, national or regional initiatives, funding programmes and
platforms.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership Made in Europe.
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HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-03: Excellence in distributed control
and modular manufacturing (Made in Europe Partnership) (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       4.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 21.50 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 4 and achieve TRL 6 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Significant advance in modular technologies for flexible manufacturing operations,
      which respond to disrupted supply chains, or rapid changes in customer and societal
      demands;
   Transition of modular technology to sustainable production for varying batch sizes,
      including single lots, with a clear integration of control and decision-making strategies at
      different levels and throughout the supply chain;
   Improved understanding among industrial users, including SMEs, of how to organise
      and control reconfigurable manufacturing systems built from modules with defined
      interfaces, including quality assessments, environmental impact, energy use, end-user
      involvement and business models.
Scope: Modularity of a production system is crucial for flexibility and to allow for varying the
production according to needs and circumstances by introducing, changing, and removing
different process steps. While the concept of modularity is not new, there is still a vast range
of production steps that cannot be considered modular, and the ones that can be considered as
such are not necessarily suitable for current demands nor to be considered as a part of
sustainable production regimes.
The projects under this topic need to address the following aspects:
   Propose and develop new production modules that cover processes that are not currently
      readily available on the market and go beyond the current state of the art with a clear
      alignment of customer and workers’ needs including taking into consideration biases and
      gender dimension;
   Create interfaces based on open-source protocols that allow for easily integration of
      modules in existing lines and with other modules or production elements;
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   Create industrial strategies on how to use modularity, including its related service
      models, to reduce energy consumption and environmental footprint, and demonstrate
      these in a relevant environment;
   Develop business models that demonstrate the potential of the modular technologies to
      be transferred from one specific manufacturing sector to several others;
   Support training and knowledge transfer to relevant parts of the workforce.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Research must build on existing standards or contribute to standardisation. Interoperability for
data sharing should be addressed. Additionally, a strategy for skills development should be
presented, associating social partners when relevant.
All projects should build on or seek collaboration with existing projects and develop synergies
with other relevant European, national or regional initiatives, funding programmes and
platforms.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership Made in Europe.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-04: Intelligent work piece handling in a
full production line (Made in Europe Partnership) (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 4.00
contribution per       and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 21.50 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 4 and achieve TRL 6 by the end of
Readiness Level        the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
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   Develop highly flexible, resilient, reconfigurable and agile production lines able to
      handle a variety of different products and materials with high precision;
   Deploy easy to program advanced control systems capable of intelligent handling of
      complex products in terms of shape, size, material and stiffness;
   Increase productivity by enabling fast and accurate movement of work pieces through
      the production line, ensuring just-in-time delivery and reducing downtime.
Scope: The global trends towards product customization have increased production
complexity. To maintain global leadership and competitiveness of European manufacturing
industry, there is a strong need for efficient, flexible, reconfigurable and data-driven agile
factories. The recent pandemic crisis highlighted even further the need of manufacturing lines
that can switch production within a matter of hours.
Products and component handling is an integral part of the manufacturing industry and its
optimization increases productivity while minimizing production costs and time. However,
the increasing complexity and customization of products coupled to the paradigm shift
towards circular economy requires new assembly and disassembly lines able to handle a high
variety of work pieces which might be available as 3D models or just as physical artefacts.
Therefore, there is an increasing demand for innovative smart automated handling systems.
Multidisciplinary research activities should include SSH and cover:
   Development of innovative, efficient and low consumption systems for storage, retrieval,
      conveying and pick-and-place using a multi-disciplinary approach combining
      technologies such as collaborative/autonomous assembly and logistics, smart conveyor
      belts, advanced robotics, lightweight, flexible and versatile grippers, IoT, integrated
      physical and biochemical sensors (e.g. mechanical, magnetic, optical, electrochemical),
      image processing, simulation, modelling, data acquisition, data storage/sharing, data
      interoperability, data analytics, automated planning and machine learning;
   Development of advanced and robust handling devices and systems, for efficient
      manipulation and manufacturing process execution. Integrate advanced control of
      individual handling devices exploiting advances in AI;
   Achieve a high degree of flexibility and reconfigurability by ensuring interoperability
      and user-friendliness of both hardware and software;
   The solutions proposed should be able to handle autonomously different objects with a
      significant variety of shape, size and material properties;
   Demonstrate benefits for workers by reducing their involvement in unsafe and unhealthy
      tasks, improving their working conditions and increasing trust and acceptance towards
      technology;
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   Deploy innovative technologies in at least three manufacturing lines targeting different
      manufacturing processes and sectors, e.g. food & beverage preparation and packaging,
      metalworking, product assembly, textile processing and production, etc.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Research must build on existing standards or contribute to standardisation. Interoperability for
data sharing should be addressed. Additionally, a strategy for skills development should be
presented, associating social partners when relevant.
All projects should build on or seek collaboration with existing projects and develop synergies
with other relevant European, national or regional initiatives, funding programmes and
platforms.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is encouraged, in
particular with Japan or South Korea.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership Made in Europe.
Advanced digital technologies for manufacturing
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-06: ICT Innovation for Manufacturing
Sustainability in SMEs (I4MS2) (Made in Europe Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         4.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 30.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the
Readiness Level          end of the project – see General Annex B.
Procedure                The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                         exceptions apply:
                         To ensure a balanced portfolio covering all technology areas, grants
                         will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking
                         but also to at least one project per technology area, provided that the
                         applications attain all thresholds.
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Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                         The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60
                         000.
                         The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                         applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                         for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                         the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Making European manufacturing companies, especially SMEs and small mid-caps, more
      sustainable and resilient through the best use of digital technologies and upskilling of
      personnel;
   Making jobs of humans working in the manufacturing sector safer and more attractive
      for a diverse population of workers;
   Increasing innovation capacity, agility and productivity of the manufacturing sector, in
      particular for SMEs and mid-caps;
   Increasing the competitiveness of SMEs and mid-caps by reducing the entry barriers to
      the use of advanced digital technologies, and transferring innovative solutions into the
      wider manufacturing community.
Scope: ICT Innovation for Manufacturing SMEs (I4MS) aims to support manufacturing
SMEs and mid-caps in adopting the latest innovative digital technologies for their business
operations. I4MS2 builds on I4MS and addresses more significantly a sustainable and resilient
production.
The pandemic and economic crises demonstrated the key role of digital technologies in
responding quickly to external changes. Digitalisation improves resilience, agility and
competitiveness, and enables cost-efficient production in Europe. It will also support a radical
reduction of the environmental footprint of the sector. In this context, experimentation with
innovative and secure digital technologies in their production processes, products and
business models guided notably by competence centres specialised in the technologies
mentioned below will enhance manufacturing companies to successfully manage the twin
digital and green transformation of the coming years.
I4MS2 calls for Innovation Action projects that will support European SMEs and mid-caps to
innovate and make more sustainable their products, production processes and business models
through experimentation and testing. At least 50% of the budget should be allocated to SMEs
and mid-caps to participate in the experiments. The proposals may include financial support
to third parties to finance SMEs and mid-caps. Proposals should describe their
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complementarity to existing initiatives, namely the network of European Digital Innovation
Hubs, which is supported through the Digital Europe Programme. They should also indicate
how they will collaborate with European Digital Innovation Hubs.
Priority should be given to technologies that can:
   Improve the sustainability of processes and products; significantly reduce or reuse waste
      and lower the energy and carbon footprint;
   Make industrial processes more agile, secure and resilient to future changes;
   Make manufacturing jobs more attractive for humans, whichever the age, gender or
      social and cultural background, through better human-machine interfaces and more
      intuitive interaction with digital tools;
The following technology areas should be addressed in proposals:
   Artificial Intelligence applied to manufacturing, with a specific focus of AI applications
      at the edge;
   Cybersecure Industrial Internet of Things enabling trustworthy sharing of industrial data
      and value creation, to achieve further flexibility and agility of supply chains;
   Advanced interfaces and collaboration within smart working environments such as
      collaborative robots.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Research must build on existing standards or contribute to standardisation. Interoperability for
data sharing should be addressed. Additionally, a strategy for skills development should be
presented, associating social partners when relevant.
All projects should build on or seek collaboration with existing projects and develop synergies
with other relevant European, national or regional initiatives, funding programmes and
platforms.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership Made in Europe.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-07: Digital tools to                            support the
engineering of a Circular Economy (Made in Europe Partnership) (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       3.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
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Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 22.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Technology           Activities are expected to start at TRL 3-4 and achieve TRL 6 by the end
Readiness Level      of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Provide a range of support solutions and innovative digital tools for engineers,
     technicians and operators on the factory floor, in order to build agile, sustainable and
     responsive production environment and supply chains, with specific focus on areas such
     as material saving, repair, refurbishing, re-manufacturing, recycling, and reuse of
     products and components;
   Reduction of the dependency from imported raw materials or harmful materials for the
     European manufacturing sector (e.g. by material consumption reduction, material
     substitution and use of secondary raw materials);
   Define specifications and standards for data, products, and/or business processes, that
     can be agreed and commonly used by many industrial actors and across different
     industry sectors; and facilitate industry agreements on circularity and sustainability
     through increased data exchange among value chain actors and enable the development
     of new types of businesses;
   Reduce the skills and knowledge gap for the actors involved.
Scope: The focus is on developing new concepts, methods, and digital tools to support further
engineering of the industrial processes for recycling, re-manufacturing, refurbishing, and
reuse of manufactured products and components. New solutions will enable remanufacturing
and high-quality recycling by digitalisation of product and component information throughout
the whole product lifecycle, in line with the 2020 Circular Economy Action Plan.
Another challenge that falls within this scope is the human dimension. The support tools need
to work with the user, and training, knowledge transfer, cognitive interfaces, as well as
acceptance and uptake will be vital in the solutions proposed.
Proposals should cover all of the following aspects:
   Development of innovative concepts, methods, and tools that track and trace the status of
     relevant manufactured products and components, such as electronic systems and
     components as well as machine tools, and increase transparency and accountability for
     these along their lifecycle. Where appropriate, proposals need to be able to link up with
     manufacturing industrial data spaces platforms, so that circular economy data can be
     shared with a larger set of organisations;
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   Inclusion and handling of real-time production data in analysis software and tools,
      notably for decision making and control, as well as knowledge management;
   Demonstration of the support tools in at least two different realistic production
      environments with a clear target of improving quality and sustainability with significant
      economic value. If applicable, legal obstacles to implementation of the proposed
      solutions should be identified.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Research must build on existing standards or contribute to standardisation. Interoperability for
data sharing should be addressed. Additionally, a strategy for skills development should be
presented, associating social partners when relevant.
All projects should build on or seek collaboration with existing projects and develop synergies
with other relevant European, national or regional initiatives, funding programmes and
platforms.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership Made in Europe.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement
A new way to build, accelerating disruptive change in construction
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-09: Demonstrate the use of Digital
Logbook for buildings (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.50
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Measurable improvements in resource efficiency and decarbonisation of buildings and
      their construction/renovation, as a result of using digital building logbooks;
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    Improved linkages of existing databases, tools and sources for digital building logbooks;
    Improved usability of digital building logbooks through user eXperience, taking into
     account issues of accessibility as well as inclusivity;
    New or improved tools for collection and update of relevant data;
    Demonstrate other benefits of using digital building logbooks e.g. safety and health in
     buildings and construction for instance by structural health monitoring; cost
     effectiveness, efficiency gains in terms of time; enhanced climate resilience.
Relevant indicators and metrics, with baseline values, should be clearly stated in the proposal.
Scope: There is a need to demonstrate and realise the potential benefits of using digital
depositories of information that accompany buildings throughout their lifecycle. These digital
building logbooks (DBL) can potentially result in greater efficiency, circularity and
transparency in the building stock. DBLs should also improve decision making for all actors
along the lifecycle of the building, thereby facilitating better design choices and greater
sustainability, contributing in this way to the New European Bauhaus initiative.
Proposals should:
    Research and propose innovative approaches that utilise DBL features and
     functionalities, User eXperience, interoperability, data governance and the connection
     with other initiatives;
    Demonstrate the benefits of DBL in terms of e.g. productivity, collaboration across the
     construction ecosystem, resource efficiency, decarbonisation, safety and health, climate
     resilience;
    Consider both current and future opportunities to collect data from new technologies
     (e.g. sensors, real-time energy use, drones, 3D scanning) or existing and upcoming
     platforms (e.g. Sustainable product passports for construction materials) enabling
     additional data platforms. The DBL could link as well to those new data platforms,
     which will come with new possibilities and responsibilities in terms of data privacy and
     security;
    Research and develop common ‘languages’ – interfaces and protocols – to enable
     interoperability, data consistency (as for example through common European data spaces
     for the manufacturing sector to ensure enhanced access to privately held data, via
     industrial data platforms) and information exchange; introduce a Common Information
     Model for next generation DBL capitalizing on existing standards and proposing
     extensions for missing features;
    Address the problem of “data matching” and data verification. There is also a high
     potential for advanced technologies, such as blockchain, to support the alleviation of
     these issues and the application of such technologies should be explored;
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    Consider developing or making use of data quality marking schemes.
The DBL “features” (e.g. digital interface, data syncing, etc.) and "functionalities” (services
built around the DBL) should prioritise user-friendliness and a smart interface for end-users.
Proposals are expected to demonstrate a “modular and layered” structure for the DBL,
developing additional functionalities as extensions to the national schemes, ensuring that it is
flexible enough to make the right information available to the right actor at the right time.
Proposals should take into account User eXperience (UX) principles in order to stimulate the
update of the building logbook and its use by construction professionals and building owners.
Proposals should ensure that the functionalities offered by DBL and the corresponding
benefits are easily understood by construction and building professionals as well as building
owners. Proposals should take into account issues of accessibility and inclusivity, such as age,
gender, disability, and socio-economic background.
Proposals may address the DBL to any or all types of buildings and infrastructures as
appropriate.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Finally, proposals should provide contributions to relevant standards and seek to ensure
synergies with the Horizon Europe ‘Built4People’ co-programmed Partnership.
Hubs for circularity, a stepping stone towards climate neutrality and circularity in
industry
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-10: Circular flows for solid waste in
urban environment (Processes4Planet Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         12.00 and 18.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 42.50 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the
Readiness Level          end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
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set-up of the Grant        exceptions apply:
Agreements                 The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                           applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                           for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                           the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Deploy the concept of Industrial-Urban Symbiosis (I-US) on a real scale demonstrator,
     making the flow of solid waste circular in process, manufacturing and/or construction
     industries;
    Reduce 80 % (in weight or volume) solid waste generated in comparison to current state-
     of-the art, by re-using, valorising and transforming waste, by-products and side-streams
     into new/secondary resources of raw materials;
    Plan actions (e.g. awareness of circularity potential) to overcome non-technological
     barriers for exploitation (i.e. waste regulations, standardisation, confidentiality and
     compliance, ownership, fair sharing of benefits, acceptance of the concept);
    Develop knowledge sharing: know-how, advantages, challenges and recommendations
     on technological and non-technological aspects (e.g. job profile optimisation) with the
     European Community of Practice (ECoP) and other relevant bodies, disseminating the
     major innovation outcomes to support the implementation of I-US;
    Explore and illustrate replication potential in other regions (e.g. by setting up a network
     amongst waste associations to optimise flow of secondary raw materials);
    Implement actions to facilitate relations and to involve the local community actors
     (authorities, associations, civil society, relevant businesses, especially SMEs,
     educational organisations, etc.), e.g. exchanging knowledge, training, human capital,
     contributing to the optimisation of job profiles and sharing with the local educational
     establishments and with the ECoP;
    Implement a social innovation spin-off action38 involving one of the local community
     actors.
Relevant indicators and metrics, with baseline values, should be clearly stated in the proposal.
Scope: Hubs for circularity for solid waste in urban environment tackles a fundamental issue
of end of life materials representing a huge amount and broad range of solid wastes. Solid
waste are intended here as process industry, manufacturing industry, construction industry
waste and solid urban waste (consumer waste, End-of-Life waste). Solid waste in general is
one of the biggest waste streams in Europe, accounting for more than 30% of all waste
38
        A social innovation spin-off action may not necessarily encompass a commercial activity.
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generated in the EU (Dec.2019 data) 39 , re-using and re-cycling most of that could cut
significantly the emissions caused by the mining and manufacturing needed to produce those
materials in the first place and as such represents an important decarbonisation potential.
There is a need of innovative solution engaging waste management actors in novel value
chains to valorise a significant part of those wastes, bringing full attention to upcycling back
to secondary materials instead of down cycling of low re-use.
Projects are expected to address:
    Management and processing of waste streams through e.g. collection, disassembly,
     sorting, purification, refining, concentration, processing (e.g. thermal, mechanical),
     recycling technologies (especially chemical recycling), exchanging or preparation, for
     the valorisation of waste to be used as feedstock for other plants and companies across
     sectors and/or across value chains;
    Process (re-)design and adaptation to build a new circular value chain including energy,
     water and material flow, infrastructure and logistics;
    Investigate the availability and distribution of “waste” resources and logistic to ensure
     proper input of the specified material of the right quality and quantity to feed the new
     process in time;
    Integration of novel sensing technology, IoT and digital tools for the classification and
     sorting of solid waste streams to enable their efficient utilisation with as little
     downgrading as possible;
    New approach to end-of life materials removing the usual barriers of exploitation,
     enabling novel symbiotic interactions; unification of administration procedures, data
     sharing and preservation of data confidentiality;
    Define assessment methodologies and evaluate KPIs to measure the performance of
     symbiosis (SRL) and including environmental, economic and social impacts; ;
    Life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis should take into account existing
     sustainability standards (e.g. ISO 14000) and existing best practices;
    Assessment of the economic, circularity and climate benefits;
    Study social aspects of the community and its improvement through I-US where
     demonstration is located, whilst also considering a gender and inclusiveness perspective;
    Create societal awareness through a participative approach locally and more broadly,
     highlighting and communicating political and regulatory obstacle between
     regions/countries.
39
        https://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/index.htm
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    Connect to the ECoP for knowledge sharing: know-how,                                  challenges  and
      recommendations on technological and non-technological aspects;
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination. Interoperability for data sharing should be
addressed.
Clustering and cooperation with other selected projects under this call and others in Horizon
Europe, with European initiatives (as for example: Circular Cities and Regions Initiative
(CCRI) and European Circular Economy Stakeholder Panel (ECESP)), as well as building on
existing projects,40 are strongly encouraged; see also Industrial Symbiosis Report of March
202041.
This topic implements the co-programmed European partnership Processes4Planet.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement
Enabling circularity of resources in the process industries, including waste and CO2/CO
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-11: Valorisation of CO/CO2 streams
into added-value products of market interest (Processes4Planet Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU                  The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per             12.00 and 18.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                      appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                             selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget            The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 42.50 million.
Type of Action               Innovation Actions
Technology                   Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the
Readiness Level              end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial          The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant          exceptions apply:
Agreements                   The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                             applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                             for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
40
         e.g. Sharebox, Scaler, CIRCLEAN network, JRC EIGL, etc.
41
         Study and Portfolio Review of Cluster of Projects on Industrial Symbiosis
         https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/f26dfd11-6288-11ea-b735-01aa75ed71a1
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                          the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Utilise CO/CO2 streams to produce added value products and/or intermediates of wide
      industrial interest (e.g. polymers, resins, chemicals, food/feed ingredients, minerals,
      etc.). Excluding fuels and/or energy carriers;
   Enhance the market for CO/CO2 based products providing economically viable and
      sustainable alternatives to existing products with strong market interest in one or more
      applications (e.g. consumer products, feed/food ingredients, automotive, construction,
      etc.);
   Develop concepts enabling 100% utilisation of RES (e.g. electrified processes,
      concentrated solar, etc.), coping with potential fluctuations in the energy supply;
   Achieve at least 60% GHG emissions mitigation in the overall lifecycle compared to
      existing processes for the same products (or relevant benchmark);
   Develop mature technologies for separation/purification of CO/CO2 containing waste
      streams to allow the integration in the targeted industry sector/sectors.
Relevant indicators and metrics, with baseline values, should be clearly stated in the proposal.
Scope: The proposals submitted under this topic are expected to provide concepts for
utilisation of CO/CO2 streams from point sources (e.g. large industrial installations such as
steel, cement and chemical plants) converting them into added value products and/or
intermediates and chemicals of wide interest (plastics, resins, composites, chemicals). The
topic excludes explicitly fuels and renewable energy storage concepts. The technologies
proposed should support cross-sectorial concepts and sector integration paradigms. They
should also be able to work efficiently in a renewable based energy system, coping with
potential fluctuations in the energy supply or be fully self-sustained from an energy
standpoint. The concepts proposed are expected to:
   Process significant amounts CO/CO2 containing waste streams from energy intensive
      industries, including efficient approaches for the pre-treatment of the gaseous stream
      (e.g. cleaning, compression, drying, concentration, etc.) if needed;
   Target a range of products and/or intermediates with a wide variety of applications in
      different sectors (e.g. construction, automotive, food/feed, etc.) to replace existing ones
      (e.g. fossil based or from virgin raw materials);
   Consider clearly industrial specifications and relevant market requirements;
   Demonstrate that targeted products and/or intermediates can fully replace existing
      counterparts. The prevention of upcycling of hazardous substances, including their
      separation and disposal should be considered;
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   Demonstrate the improved environmental footprint of the proposed products and
      processes, as well as other positive impacts using relevant methodologies (e.g. LCA,
      LCSA, etc.);
   Provide elements related to the replicability and scalability of the technology, along with
      the potential for applicability in other Energy intensive industry sectors;
   Demonstrate the proposed concepts in an industrially relevant environment and at an
      appropriate scale. The integration of the proposed technology in existing value chains
      and the relevance to several European contexts would be an added value;
   Proposals should consider the co-design of learning resources together with local and
      regional educational organisations for current and future generations of employees, with
      the possibility of integrating them in existing curricula and modules for undergraduate
      level and lifelong learning programmes. Learning resources should integrate the
      identification of new skills and should propose innovative learning-teaching methods
      that meet regional social needs and have a high potential for replication.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
This topic implements the co-programmed European partnership Processes4Planet.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-13: Raw material preparation for clean
steel production (Clean Steel Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          4.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 14.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Technology                Activities are expected to start at TRL 6 and achieve TRL 8 by the
Readiness Level           end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                          applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                          for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                          the total eligible costs.
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Expected Outcome: Projects related to the two main raw-materials in the iron and steelmaking
route: the iron-ore and the scrap.
As regards iron ore, the availability of high-grade iron ores is expected to become a more
critical factor, as demand will increase. Therefore, technologies for the upgrade and the use of
low-quality iron ores are needed. This includes low carbon technologies for sintering/
pelletisation and/or cold bonded iron ore agglomeration.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Testing and validation of technologies for the upgrade and the use of low-quality iron
      ores. This includes low carbon technologies for sintering/ pelletisation and/or cold
      bonded iron ore agglomeration;
   Identification of best available and applicable technologies for the reduction of
      impurities in post-consumer scrap;
   Technologies for the valorisation of low-quality scrap streams.
Scope: The concepts to be developed under this topic are expected to address one or more of
the following areas:
   Enhanced utilisation of scrap, through improved scrap sorting and removal of scrap
      pollution, by new detecting technologies. The aim is to remove these impurities before
      melting, in order to achieve the same quality of the finished product and reducing CO 2
      emissions;
   Technologies allowing upgrade processes in low grade iron ores to make them suitable
      for pelletisation or direct use in existing steelworks to address the issue of the
      availability of high grade iron ores which is expected to become a more critical factor in
      the coming years as well as broadening the types of ore grades that can be utilized from
      different sources;
   Application of cold bonded agglomerate: binders, raw materials composition and
      processing conditions for the use of low quality iron ore grades.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on Clean Steel.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement
Integration of Renewables and Electrification in process industry
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-15: New electrochemical conversion
routes for the production of chemicals and materials in process industries
(Processes4Planet Partnership) (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      8.00 and 12.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 30.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to start at TRL 3-4 and achieve TRL 5-6 by the
Readiness Level       end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Electrification of the industrial production process by shifting from the chemical
     conversion process to an electrochemical conversion process;
   Efficient integration of renewable electricity to drive the conversion process;
   Significant reduction of CO2 emissions of the overall industrial process, including the
     emissions related to the generation of the electricity;
   Energy savings compared to the classical production routes;
   Overall material savings (waste reduction) compared to the classical production routes;
   Competitive costs of the new process technology and its integration in the processing
     line, including upstream and downstream.
Relevant indicators and metrics, with baseline values, should be clearly stated in the proposal.
Scope: Renewable electricity will play a major role in the transition towards a low carbon
energy supply. The production of chemicals, bulk materials and metals through the direct use
of renewable electricity and energy sources can be realised by electrochemical conversion in
photo- and/or electro-catalytic processes. Besides the reduction of CO2 emissions, other
advantages of electrochemical conversion with renewable electricity can be the higher
selectivity, process flexibility, or the possibility of accessing chemical pathways unattainable
in a conventional reactor. Furthermore, photoelectrocatalysis (PEC) directly uses the solar
radiation to drive the electrochemical reaction, enabling potential higher efficiencies and
lower costs.
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At present, there are promising electrochemical routes towards a wide range of products in
process industries. These include processes such as hydrogenation of biomass into valuable
chemicals, recovery of metals from waste streams (including strategic or scarce materials),
electrosynthesis of ammonia and organic molecules, production of lime by electrochemical
splitting, electrolytic production of metals, (in-situ) production of hydrogen peroxide or
ozone, etc.
Advanced electrochemical systems, configurations and novel technologies can enable higher
efficiencies and/or lower investments or operational costs. High temperature electrochemical
processes, using ionic liquids or molten salts as electrolytes, offer interesting alternatives to
the classical production processes as well opportunities for the development of sustainable
technology. Paired synthesis, where two valuable products are generated through the cathodic
and anodic reactions, can help to reduce energy consumption and costs (per unit product). The
integration of PEC technologies removes the intermediate electricity production step, which
can make the conversion process more energy efficient. Processes that involve multistep
transformations can be improved with a cell design that allows for the selective realisation of
complex reactions in a single unit and low-cost downstream processing.
All these novel electrochemical paths need to integrate process design and optimisation with
the development of advanced materials and reactor/cell components as well as low-energy
separation processes.
Proposals should address the following aspects:
    Development of the new electrochemical conversion route towards a product or
      intermediate of interest for process industries and demonstration at an appropriate scale;
    Optimisation of the reactor design and operation and the electrochemical parameters
      (mass and charge transfer) towards an improved electrochemical performance (increased
      Faradaic efficiency, lower overpotential, etc.);
    Optimisation of the reactor design and operation and the electrochemical parameters
      towards the increased lifetime or reduced cost of the electrochemical reactor components
      (electrode, electrolyte, catalyst, membrane);
    Development of suitable electrodes and electrocatalyst for the new conversion route
      towards a high selectivity and performance;
    Efficient integration of renewable energy sources, considering also their intermittency
      and the possibility to offer demand-response flexibility;
    Integrated process design, including materials, reactor/cell and separation methods, from
      the process intensification and cost perspectives;
    Demonstration and validation of the proposed concepts at an appropriate scale under
      environmental relevant conditions. Industrial feasibility should be proven by techno-
      economic assessments.
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The integration of oxidation and reduction reactions to produce valuable products in one
system is a valuable aspect. The use of critical raw materials or toxic materials should be
preferably avoided. The circular utilisation of a waste or emission stream as raw material and
the use of inert or low carbon impact materials, in general, are positive aspects.
The proposed technology must not target the electrochemical conversion of CO2 or the
production of hydrogen by water splitting, as these subjects are covered in other topics of the
Work Programme.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a safety assessment and a life cycle
assessment for the implementation of the developed technologies.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, International Cooperation is encouraged, in
particular with Japan.
This topic implements the co-programmed European partnership Processes4Planet.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-16: Modular                          and   hybrid     heating
technologies in steel production (Clean Steel Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Technology                Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the
Readiness Level           end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                          applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                          for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                          the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
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   Use a wide control range of heating capacity by modular heating technologies such local
      regenerators, and of hybrid heating, based on both fuel gases from the steel-making
      process and the incorporation of electricity from renewable sources;
   Integration of fuel cells, electrolysers or alternative carbon-based products for non-fossil
      coke, as well as increased use of non-fossil energy and reactants (e.g. green electricity
      for heat generation, biomass, green hydrogen) in downstream processes. .
   Integrate fuel cells of alternative coal-based products for non-fossil coke, as well as
      increased use of non-fossil energy and reactants (e.g. green electricity for heat
      generation, biomass, green hydrogen) in downstream processes.
Scope: Steel plant gases are partly used internally as heating gases and partly used externally,
in nearby power plants, to produce electricity at high cost and high CO2 load.
These gases could be used in reduction processes (blast furnace or even direct reduction) to
reduce fossil carbon use, provided they are well prepared for injection in these processes. This
notably includes cleaning, compression, heating and removal of oxidised compounds such as
CO2 and H2O, e.g. through scrubbing or reforming operations. To make a real difference on
CO2 emissions, all these preparation steps need to be performed using internal resources (by-
products, heat) or external but low-C energy sources (e.g. electricity, using plasma torches).
The concepts to be developed under this topic are expected to address one or more of the
following areas:
   Development of a flexible, modular technology that can easily be scaled up for the
      stepwise integration of heating technologies in Blast furnaces, Electric Arc Furnaces and
      Direct Reduction Processes;
   Technologies that target the integration of new materials and gases workflows in existing
      steelworks, combining exhaust gases from the reduction processes and heat generated in
      downstream processes to reduce the external requirements of energy.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on Clean Steel.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-17: Integration of hydrogen                              for
replacing fossil fuels in industrial applications (Processes4Planet Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          12.00 and 18.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
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project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 42.50 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Technology                Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the
Readiness Level           end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                          applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                          for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                          the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Significant reduction of CO2 emissions of the industrial process, whilst keeping NOx
     levels at least not higher than the equivalent gas-based solutions
   Improved energy efficiency of the industrial process
   Significant reduction of hydrogen fuel needs of the developed process with regards to
     the current fossil fuel needs
   Competitive costs of the developed technologies
Relevant indicators and metrics, with baseline values, should be clearly stated in the proposal.
Scope: Hydrogen does not emit any carbon dioxide when used and, when produced with
renewable energies, it offers a solution to decarbonise industrial processes, being an important
enabler to meet the 2050 climate neutrality goal of the European Green Deal and EU’s clean
energy transition. Hydrogen can be used as feedstock and energy carrier in energy-intensive
industry sectors. Hydrogen presents an opportunity for EU industry to reduce emissions
across a number of sectors. The integration of hydrogen into new production routes, the direct
use of hydrogen for heating and the use and production of GHG emission-free hydrogen
instead of carbon-intensive hydrogen will be fundamental to decarbonise EU industry across a
number of sectors.
In energy-intensive sectors, hydrogen can replace fossil fuels to generate high temperature
heat when combusted in furnaces, kilns, heaters or boilers. If GHG emission-free hydrogen is
used instead of fossil fuels, a zero GHG emission heating process could be achieved. As
hydrogen burns differently than the currently used fossil fuels, its use involves important
changes to the furnaces/kilns or the heating process, such as need of new burners, adjustments
in the combustion system, conductive zone of the furnace or the (off-)gas system, need of
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hydrogen compatible materials. The design of the new burners must include aspects that
minimise the NOx formation, associated to conventional hydrogen burners, such as lower
flame temperature, slower combustion, etc.
The future large demand of green hydrogen will lead to large-scale oxygen production in the
water electrolysis. Although oxygen can be harmlessly vented, the by-product oxygen can be
captured and effectively used in industrial processes. Using oxygen instead of air in
combustion reactions can reduce the energy use of the combustion, increase heating system
efficiency and reduce the energy loss in the exhaust gases.
The proposals should address the following aspects:
    Redesign of the heating process for the use of hydrogen as the sole heating fuel,
      including redimensioning and adjustments of the combustion system, conductive zone of
      the furnace or the (off-)gas system, plus possible measures to minimise NOx emissions;
    Modification of the heating equipment and infrastructure required for the use of
      hydrogen, e.g., new burners and hydrogen compatible equipment materials;
    Development of an oxygen or oxygen-enriched air combustion process that replaces an
      air combustion process, considering the energy and cost efficiency of the process;
    Integration of measurement and control instrumentation for detection and regulation of
      fuel gas characteristics and flows;
    Proven economic viability, which will be impacted by several parameters, in comparison
      with other heating alternatives.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a safety assessment, in line with the
Safety Planning for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Projects of the European Hydrogen Safety Panel,
and a life cycle assessment for the implementation of the developed technologies.
Proposals should also take into account cooperation with the Mission Innovation area on
Hydrogen, as well as dissemination notably within the communities of the Process4Planet
partnership and of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking.
This topic implements the co-programmed European partnership Processes4Planet.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement
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DESTINATION – INCREASED AUTONOMY IN KEY STRATEGIC
VALUE CHAINS FOR RESILIENT INDUSTRY
This destination will directly support the following Key Strategic Orientations, as outlined in
the Strategic Plan:
    KSO C, ‘Making Europe the first digitally-enabled circular, climate-neutral and
       sustainable economy through the transformation of its mobility, energy, construction
       and production systems’
    KSO A, ‘Promoting an open strategic autonomy by leading the development of key
       digital, enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains to accelerate
       and steer the digital and green transitions through human-centred technologies and
       innovations’
    KSO D, ‘Creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society,
       prepared and responsive to threats and disasters, addressing inequalities and providing
       high-quality health care, and empowering all citizens to act in the green and digital
       transitions.
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
to the following expected impact of Cluster 4:
    Industrial leadership and increased autonomy in key strategic value chains with
       security of supply in raw materials, achieved through breakthrough technologies in
       areas of industrial alliances, dynamic industrial innovation ecosystems and advanced
       solutions for substitution, resource and energy efficiency, effective reuse and recycling
       and clean primary production of raw materials, including critical raw materials, and
       leadership in the circular economy.
The COVID-19 crisis has shown that global competitiveness and resilience are two sides of
the same coin42. Resilience is about more than the ability to withstand and cope with shocks;
it is an opportunity to undergo transitions in a sustainable and fair way. As the EU gears up to
becoming a climate-neutral, circular and competitive economy by 2050, resilience will require
paying attention to new vulnerabilities as entire sectors undergo deep transformations while
creating opportunities for Europe’s industry to develop its own markets, products and services
which boost competitiveness.
Research and innovation will be fundamental to spur industrial leadership and enhanced
resilience. It will support the modernisation of traditional industrial models while developing
novel technologies, business models and processes. This can enhance the flexibility of the
EU’s industrial base, and increase its resilience by reducing EU dependencies on third
countries for critical raw materials and technologies.
42
          Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2021 (COM/2020/575 final)
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In the first Work Programme, topics under Destination 2 ‘Increased autonomy in key
strategic value chains for resilient industry’ will tackle missing segments in strategic areas
and value chains, to strengthen the EU’s industrial base and boost its competitiveness and
open strategic autonomy. In addition, it will explore how increased circularity has the
potential to increase the open strategic autonomy of EU industry through the more efficient
use of resources and secondary raw materials.
This will be achieved through R&I activities focusing on four areas key for the resilience of
EU industry:
    Raw materials: The EU is highly dependent on a few third countries for the (critical) raw
     materials it needs for strategic value chains (including e-mobility, batteries, renewable
     energies, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, dual-use and digital applications). In a context
     where demand is set to increase43, these will remain, more than ever, a vital prerequisite
     for both Europe’s open strategic autonomy and a successful transition to a climate-
     neutral and circular economy. Responding to the Critical Raw Materials action plan R&I
     activities will tackle the vulnerabilities in the entire EU raw materials value chain, from
     sustainable and responsible exploration, extraction, processing, recycling, contributing to
     building the EU knowledge base of primary and secondary raw materials and ensuring
     secure, sustainable and responsible access to (critical) raw materials.
    Advanced materials that are sustainable by design are needed to meet the challenges of
     climate neutrality, transition to a circular economy and a zero-pollution Europe, as well
     as broader benefits in many different applications. While chemical and related materials
     production is expected to double globally by 2030, this will largely take place outside
     Europe44. To overcome its reliance on imports of basic chemicals and related materials,
     Europe needs to strengthen its capacity to produce and use chemicals in a sustainable
     and competitive way. In addition, it is necessary to continue work on an ecosystem,
     based on open innovation test beds (OITBs), which enables the rapid development,
     uptake and commercialisation of advanced materials. All actions should be guided by
     sustainable-by-design principles, i.e. environmental and health safety, circularity and
     functionality.
    Circular value chains: to complement the circular technologies in Destination 1, further
     technological and non-technological elements (such as business models and the
     traceability of products) are necessary in the transition to novel low-emission and
     circular industrial value chains.
43
        For example, demand for rare earths used in permanent magnets, e.g. for electric vehicles, digital
        technologies or wind generators, could increase tenfold by 2050. See the Commission Communication
        “Critical Raw Materials Resilience: Charting a Path towards greater Security and Sustainability”,
        COM(2020) 474 final.
44
        By 2030, China will likely account for more than half of global production, the EU and US for only one
        quarter of production (Mid-Century Vision report, Cefic, 2019, and International Energy Agency)
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    Preparedness of businesses/smes/startups: European companies, and in particular SMEs,
      have shown a chronic lagging behind the US and China in the uptake of new, and
      especially digital, technologies.45
To achieve these wider effects, unprecedented investments in re- and upskilling are central to
supporting the green and digital transitions, enhancing innovation and growth potential,
fostering economic and social resilience and ensuring quality employment and social
inclusion. This is why activities planned under Destination 6 “A human-centred and ethical
development of digital and industrial technologies” will also contribute to the objectives of a
more resilient industrial base. Further, as industrial leadership and resilience are two sides of
the same coin, activities targeting industrial leadership are a key factor in the EU’s long-term
industrial resilience. This is why activities supported under Destination 1 ‘Climate neutral,
circular and digitised production’ and Destination 3 ‘World leading data and computing
technologies’ that further ensure Europe’s productivity growth and competitiveness are also
key to safeguarding its open strategic autonomy and resilience.
In addition, activities beyond R&I investments will be needed, in particular in terms of
synergies with the European Innovation Council and Pillar III of Horizon Europe given the
strong role of SMEs in the development of the innovations planned. Synergies will also be
sought to access blended funding and finance from other EU programmes notably under
InvestEU; testing and deployment activities under the Digital Europe Programme (DEP);
links to the EIT (Raw Materials and Digital KICs); links with the Single Market programme
to promote entrepreneurship and the creation and growth of companies and links to the
thematic smart specialisation platform on industrial modernisation.
In line with the European Green Deal objectives, research and innovation activities should
comply with the ‘do no significant harm’ principle46. Compliance needs to be assessed both
for activities carried out during the course of the project as well as the expected life cycle
impact of the innovation at a commercialisation stage (where relevant). The robustness of the
compliance must be customised to the envisaged TRL of the project. In this regard, the
potential harm of Innovation Actions contributing to the European Green Deal will be
monitored throughout the project duration.
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
to increased autonomy in key strategic value chains for resilience industry, and more
specifically to one or several of the following impacts:
    Resilient, sustainable and secure (critical) raw materials value chains for EU industrial
      ecosystems, in support of the twin green and digital transformations.
45
        See     ATI       reports     from      US      and     China      about     technology     performance:
        China:https://ati.ec.europa.eu/reports/international-reports/report-china-technological-capacities-and-
        key-policy-measures; and US: https://ati.ec.europa.eu/reports/international-reports/report-united-states-
        america-technological-capacities-and-key-policy
46
        as per Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate
        sustainable investment (EU Taxonomy Regulation)
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   New sustainable-by-design materials with enhanced functionalities and applications in a
      wide range of industrial processes and consumer products.
   Leadership in producing materials that provide solutions for clean, toxic/pollutant free
      environment, decarbonising industry, and safeguarding civil infrastructures.
   Leadership in circular economy that strengthens cross-sectorial cooperation along the
      value chain and enable SMEs to transform their activities and business models.
   Increased adoption of key digital and enabling technologies in industrial value chains
      and strategic sectors, paying particular attention to SMEs and start-ups.
Much of the research and innovation supported under this Destination may serve as a cradle
for the New European Bauhaus: this is about designing sustainable ways of living, situated at
the crossroads between art, culture, social inclusion, science and technology. This includes
R&I on manufacturing, construction, advanced materials and the circular economy
approaches.
Business cases and exploitation strategies for industrialisation: This section applies only
to those topics in this Destination, for which proposals should demonstrate the expected
impact by including a business case and exploitation strategy for industrialisation.
The business case should demonstrate the expected impact of the proposal in terms of
enhanced market opportunities for the participants and enhanced manufacturing capacities in
the EU, in the short to medium term. It should describe the targeted market(s); estimated
market size in the EU and globally; user and customer needs; and demonstrate that the
solutions will match the market and user needs in a cost-effective manner; and describe the
expected market position and competitive advantage.
The exploitation strategy should identify obstacles, requirements and necessary actions
involved in reaching higher TRLs, for example: matching value chains, enhancing product
robustness; securing industrial integrators; and user acceptance.
For TRLs 7-8, a credible strategy to achieve future full-scale manufacturing in the EU is
expected, indicating the commitments of the industrial partners after the end of the project.
Activities beyond R&I investments will be needed to realise the expected impacts: these
include the further development of skills and competencies (also via the European Institute of
Innovation and Technology, in particular EIT Manufacturing); and the use of financial
products under the InvestEU Fund for further commercialisation of R&I outcomes.
Where relevant, in the context of skills, it is recommended to develop training material to
endow workers with the right skillset in order to support the uptake and deployment of new
innovative products, services, and processes developed in the different projects. This material
should be tested and be scalable, and can potentially be up-scaled through the European
Social Fund Plus (ESF+). This will help the European labour force to close the skill gaps in
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the relevant sectors and occupational groups and improve employment and social levels
across the EU and associated countries.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                 Call                               Budgets (EUR million)    Deadline(s)
                                                   2021                2022
HORIZON-CL4-2021-                          355.20                            23 Sep 2021
RESILIENCE-01
HORIZON-CL4-2021-                          10.00                             25 Jan 2022
RESILIENCE-02
HORIZON-CL4-2022-                                                402.20      30      Mar
RESILIENCE-01                                                                2022
HORIZON-CL4-2022-                                                9.00        30      Mar
RESILIENCE-02-PCP                                                            2022
Overall indicative budget                  365.20                411.20
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Call - A DIGITISED, RESOURCE-EFFICIENT AND RESILIENT INDUSTRY 2021
                                                               HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)47
                      Topics                             Type       Budgets     Expected EU       Number
                                                           of        (EUR       contribution          of
                                                        Action      million)     per project       projects
                                                                                    (EUR          expected
                                                                     2021
                                                                                 million)48         to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 23 Sep 2021
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-01 RIA                              24.70      8.00 to 9.00        3
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-03 RIA                              13.50      Around 13.50        1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-04 IA                               36.00 49   Around 12.00        3
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-05 CSA                              8.00       Around 8.00         1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-06 RIA                              30.00      Around 7.50         4
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-07 IA                               36.00 50   Around 12.00        3
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-08 CSA                              4.00 51    3.00 to 4.00        1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-09 IA                               28.00 52   7.00 to 10.00       3
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-10 RIA                              23.00 53   5.00 to 7.00        3
47
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
48
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
49
        Of which EUR 21.78 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
50
        Of which EUR 21.78 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
51
        Of which EUR 2.42 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
52
        Of which EUR 16.94 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
53
        Of which EUR 13.91 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-11 RIA                          19.00 54   4.00 to 5.00    5
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-12 RIA                          19.00 55   4.00 to 5.00    4
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-14 IA                           33.00 56   7.00 to 10.00   8
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-16 CSA                          4.00 57    3.00 to 4.00    1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-17 RIA                          21.00 58   4.00 to 6.00    4
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-20 RIA                          23.00 59   4.00 to 6.00    4
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-25 CSA                          6.00       2.00 to 4.00    2
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-26 RIA                          6.00 60    2.00 to 4.00    2
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-27 CSA                          4.00       2.50 to 4.00    1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-28 CSA                          2.00 61    Around 1.00     1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-29 CSA                          10.00 62   Around 5.00     2
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-31 RIA                          5.00 63    3.00 to 5.00    1
Overall indicative budget                                      355.20
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
54
        Of which EUR 10.99 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
55
        Of which EUR 10.99 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
56
        Of which EUR 18.46 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
57
        Of which EUR 1.92 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
58
        Of which EUR 11.20 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
59
        Of which EUR 12.41 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
60
        Of which EUR 3.63 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
61
        Of which EUR 0.60 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
62
        Of which EUR 5.55 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
63
        Of which EUR 3.02 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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                                                     Annex E.
Procedure                                            The procedure is described in General
                                                     Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant              The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Novel paradigms to establish resilient and circular value chains
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-01: Ensuring circularity of composite materials
(Processes4Planet Partnership) (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 8.00
contribution per     and 9.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 24.70 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                     and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                     Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                     additionally be used).
Technology           Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 6 by the end of
Readiness Level      the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Reuse of composite material and recovery of secondary raw materials with higher value
     than currently available;
   Reduction of waste sent to landfill and positive environmental impact;
   Creation of new value streams through new technologies with potential for commercial
     exploitation; new business opportunities and revenue flows for recycling companies,
     benefiting particularly SMEs which dominate this sector of the market;
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    Increased uptake of novel composites materials in industrial applications e.g. enhanced
     lightweight designs for transport, currently limited due to costs and adherence by
     industry to environmental legislation and the end of life directive.
Scope: The European composites market size was worth €16 billion in 2018 and is estimated
to register an annual growth rate of 7.5% from 2020 to 2025 owing to increasing demand for
lightweight materials in various energy intensive value chains such as wind energy or
transport. However, composites are difficult to reuse or recycle as available technologies such
as high-temperature pyrolysis, and grinding (to be used as filler material) are either not
environment friendly or economically unattractive. In addition, the environmental legislation
on recycling of end-of-life components and structures will mean that from 2025, for example,
80,000 tons of fibre reinforced polymer composites will have to be recycled every year in
Europe. In this context it is imperative that technologies are found to reuse and recycle these
materials in a useful and sustainable manner. Furthermore, new solutions should also be
envisaged to allow their recycling with very few or no need to separate them without a
compromise to downcycling.
Proposals should:
    propose innovative dismantling and sorting systems enabling reuse and functional
     recycling of complex composite materials;
    develop and integrate novel solutions for a higher reuse of whole products and
     components (i.e. products’ reusability, upgradability, etc);
    develop novel, safe, environment friendly and commercially attractive methods of
     recycling a wide range of composite materials and reuse of secondary raw materials;
    demonstrate at pilot level the feasibility of reuse and/or recycle approaches of
     composites and its secondary raw materials, for specific applications;
    develop tools that will enable to demonstrate the circularity and the environmental
     benefits of the solutions tested;
    consider the co-design of learning resources together with local and regional educational
     organisations for current and future generations of employees, with the possibility of
     integrating them in existing curricula and modules for undergraduate level and lifelong
     learning programmes; learning resources should integrate the identification of new skills
     and should propose innovative learning-teaching methods that meet regional social needs
     and have a high potential for replication.
Where relevant, any solution proposed for the reduction of the content of toxic elements or
compounds in the resulting materials should also include the appropriate management of the
hazardous substances removed.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
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This topic implements the co-programmed European partnership Processes4Planet.
Raw materials for EU open strategic autonomy and successful transition to a climate-
neutral and circular economy
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-03: Identifying future availability of secondary
raw materials (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU         The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 13.50
contribution per    million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project             Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                    requesting different amounts.
Indicative          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 13.50 million.
budget
Type of Action      Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility         The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                    and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                    Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                    additionally be used).
                    In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                    strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security, namely to increase EU
                    resilience in raw materials supply chains for EU industrial value chains
                    and strategic sectors to enable their green and digital transition and to
                    reduce current EU over-dependence on a few third countries for critical
                    raw materials by boosting domestic production of primary and secondary
                    raw materials, participation to the topic is limited to legal entities
                    established in Member States, associated countries, OECD countries,
                    African Union Countries, and MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, and Andean
                    Community.
                    Proposals including legal entities which are not established in these
                    countries will be ineligible.
                    The above exception is aligned with the Communication (2020) 474 on
                    Critical Raw Materials Resilience, on the need to develop strategic
                    international partnerships on raw materials.
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Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 3-5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Improve knowledge base of EU and third country secondary raw materials (potential,
      resource estimation, production and refining);
    Promote the utilisation of specifications of the United Nations Framework Classification
      for Resources (UNFC) to Anthropogenic Resources approved in 201864;
    Facilitate and accelerate commercial exploitation development of EU secondary resource
      recovery projects EU;
    Support identification of the key factors, including socio-economic factors, drivers and
      barriers affecting development of a recovery project, and enable comparison of different
      options and projects;
    Develop reports on future trends in raw materials markets. The trends should be linked
      with change of demand related to the transition to a low-carbon and circular economy;
    Facilitate identification of supply and demand bottlenecks of future secondary raw
      materials supply;
    Dissemination and exploitation of projects outputs is tailored for EU institutions,
      Member States and industry dealing with raw materials;
The action is expected to contribute to the implementation of the following actions of the EU
action plan on Critical raw materials:65
    Develop the EU raw materials intelligence, strategic planning and foresight capacity by
      2022;
    Map the potential supply of secondary raw materials from waste and stock in the EU
      including its regions and help identify viable recovery project for funding by 2022.
Scope: A successful transition to a climate-neutral, circular and digitised EU economy relies
heavily on a secure supply of raw materials. In order to strengthen EU autonomy and reduce
over-dependency, we must boost domestic sourcing, both for primary and secondary raw
materials.
Actions should be based on a common understanding of relevant terms and codes, and
develop an understanding of anthropogenic resources and derive the needed aspects for
classification of recovery projects and to develop criteria for a transparent, consistent and
objective classification, needed to establish a comprehensive resource classification approach.
64
        https://www.unece.org/energywelcome/areas-of-work/unfc-and-sustainable-resource-
        management/applications/unfc-and-anthropogenic-resources.html
65
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Actions should acquire new data on secondary raw materials via in situ sampling from
different regions across the EU, collect existing data and present in a harmonised UNFC
format. The action should build on and advance further the work of UNECE – UNFC expert
group on Anthropogenic resources regarding the classification of secondary raw materials and
the work of H2020 project PROSUM 66 regarding collection of data and information on
secondary raw materials. The action should develop a proposal for EU statistics for secondary
raw materials.
The action should focus on the following streams of secondary raw materials, with particular
attention to critical raw materials: waste batteries, WEEE, mining waste, slags and ashes, and
construction and demolition waste.
All the data and information generated through these actions should be shared in open formats
on a free of charge basis with the European Commission, for its own use and for publication.
The action should envisage clustering activities with other relevant selected projects for cross-
projects co-operation, consultations and joint activities on cross-cutting issues and share of
results as well as participating in joint meetings and communication events. To this end
proposals should foresee a dedicated work package and/or task, and earmark the appropriate
resources accordingly.
The action should also contribute to improving the awareness of relevant external
stakeholders and the general public across the EU and in non-EU countries of project’s
partners about the importance of raw materials for society, the challenges related to their
supply within the EU and about proposed solutions which could help to improve society's
acceptance of and trust in sustainable raw materials production in the EU.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-04: Developing climate-neutral and circular
raw materials (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 12.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                      requesting different amounts.
Indicative            The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 36.00 million.
budget
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
66
         http://www.prosumproject.eu/
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conditions           exceptions apply:
                     In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                     strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security, namely to increase EU
                     resilience in raw materials supply chains for EU industrial value chains
                     and strategic sectors to enable their green and digital transition and to
                     reduce current EU over-dependence on a few third countries for critical
                     raw materials by boosting domestic production of secondary raw
                     materials, participation to the topic is limited to legal entities established
                     in Member States, associated countries, OECD countries, African Union
                     Countries, and MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, and Andean Community
                     Proposals including legal entities which are not established in these
                     countries will be ineligible.
                     The above exception is aligned with the Communication (2020) 474 on
                     Critical Raw Materials Resilience, on the need to develop strategic
                     international partnerships on raw materials.
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects outcomes will enable achieving the expected impacts of the
destination by providing advanced solutions for resource efficiency, effective reuse and
recycling of secondary raw materials, for EU industrial value chains and strategic sectors.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Scale up promising raw materials recycling from end-of-life products technologies and
      urban mines, including efficient sorting technologies for separation and recycling.
   Develop demonstration pilot showing that raw materials can be produced in an
      innovative and sustainable way in order to make sure that research and innovation end
      up on the market,
   Strengthen the competitiveness of the EU raw materials industries, contribute to
      ambitious energy and climate targets for 2030, minimise environmental impacts and
      risks, maximise circularity or resources and gain the trust of EU citizens in the raw
      materials sector.
Scope: Securing the sustainable access to raw materials, including metals, industrial minerals,
wood- and rubber-based, construction and forest-based raw materials, and particularly Critical
Raw Materials (CRM), is of high importance for the EU economy. Complex primary and
secondary resources contain many different raw materials. Their processing, reuse, recycling
and recovery schemes are complex and imply different steps, ranging from collection,
logistics, sorting and separation to cleaning, refining and purification of materials.
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Actions should develop and demonstrate innovative pilots for the clean and sustainable
production of non-energy, non-agricultural raw materials in the EU from end-of-life products,
targeting at least one of the following: waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE),
batteries, wood-based panels, multi-material paper packaging, end-of-life tyres finishing at
Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 6-7.
Actions should facilitate the market uptake of solutions developed through industrially- and
user-driven multidisciplinary consortia covering the relevant value chain and should consider
standardisation aspects when relevant. The action should also include the analysis of financial
opportunities ensuring the market exploitation and replication of the circular business model
behind the developed solutions as new processes, products and/or services.
Actions should justify importance of targeted raw materials and the relevance of selected pilot
demonstrations in different locations within the EU (and also outside if there is a clear added
value for the EU economy, industry and society).
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination. For TRLs 6-7, a credible strategy to achieve
future full-scale manufacturing in the EU is expected, indicating the commitments of the
industrial partners after the end of the project.
Actions should also contribute to improving the awareness of relevant external stakeholders
and the general public across the EU about the importance of raw materials for society, the
challenges related to their supply within the EU and about proposed solutions which could
help to improve society's acceptance of and trust in sustainable raw materials production in
the EU.
Actions should also cover social, economic and environmental impacts of recovering value
from secondary raw materials in comparison to primary raw materials, making focus on the
entire process chain.
Actions should envisage clustering activities with other relevant selected projects for cross-
projects co-operation, consultations and joint activities on cross-cutting issues and share of
results as well as participating in joint meetings and communication events. To this end
proposals should foresee a dedicated work package and/or task, and earmark the appropriate
resources accordingly.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-05: Building                       EU-Africa   partnerships     on
sustainable raw materials value chains (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
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project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                     requesting different amounts.
Indicative           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
budget
Type of Action       Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                     states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
                     In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                     strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security, namely ensuring a
                     diversified, secure, responsible and sustainable supply of raw materials, in
                     particular critical raw materials, to enhance EU open strategic autonomy
                     and strategic security, and to enable the green and digital transitions of EU
                     industrial value chains and strategic sectors, participation to the topic is
                     limited to legal entities established in Member States, associated countries,
                     OECD countries, African Union Countries, and MERCOSUR,
                     CARIFORUM, and Andean Community.
                     Proposals including legal entities which are not established in these
                     countries will be ineligible.
                     The above exception is aligned with the Communication (2020) 474 on
                     Critical Raw Materials Resilience, on the need to develop strategic
                     international partnerships on raw materials.
Expected Outcome: Projects outcomes will enable achieving the expected impacts of the
destination by increasing access to primary and secondary raw materials, in particular critical
raw materials for EU industrial value chains and strategic sectors.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Steer the development of strategic partnerships for EU-Africa industrial value chains’
     integration, covering exploration, extraction, mineral processing, refining and recycling
     (if refining capacity is in place);
   Improve sustainability (especially environmental and social aspects) in the mining and
     metal recycling sectors in Africa, including its impacts on biodiversity;
   Contribute to eradicating illegal and ethically doubtful supply chains and activities;
   Develop knowledge on raw materials potential in Africa that will facilitate investment
     and business decisions;
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    Reduce EU vulnerabilities in raw materials sourcing;
    Diversify EU supply chains from third countries for raw materials, especially for critical
     raw materials;
    Contribute to connecting different stakeholders of raw materials value chains, including
     final users.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation with partners established
in Africa is strongly encouraged.
Dissemination and exploitation of projects outputs is tailored for EU and African
organisations and industry dealing with raw materials.
The project should consider the findings and explore synergies with previous and ongoing EU
funded projects for Africa and existing trustworthy EU and international initiatives, covering
raw materials value chains.
The action is expected to contribute to the implementation of the following actions of the EU
action plan on Critical raw materials:67
    Promote responsible mining practices through the EU’s international cooperation
     programmes, in particular those related to the sustainable development of the informal
     sector (Artisanal and Small Scale Mining), which has become of strategic relevance in
     this field;
    Strengthen the local governance and business environment, together with other
     institutions and development partners (EITI, OECD, UNDP, WB, and Germany’s GIZ).
     The focus should be on supporting the informal sector, and to promote and disseminate
     responsible business practices.
    Develop strategic international partnerships to secure a diversified supply of sustainable
     critical raw materials, starting with pilot partnerships with interested countries in Africa
     in 2021.
Scope: Actions should include:
    An in-depth analysis of critical raw materials potential in Africa and existing processing
     and refining capacities;
    Mapping and assessing investment opportunities in strategic raw materials value chains
     in Africa, considering factors as existing potential, availability of infrastructures, good
     governance and regulatory issues;
    Developing new business models to integrate EU and Africa raw materials value chains,
     considering horizontal and vertical integration;
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   Developing a strategy for integration for EU and Africa value chains for the energy and
      digital transition;
   Building an EU and Africa business networking with upstream and downstream
      companies;
   Carrying out an in-depth analysis on financial instruments and investment funds and
      loans available at member state, EU and international levels for the Africa region.
   Developing in-depth case studies, addressing the above listed actions but not limited to
      it, for at least six African countries, including DRC, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Mozambique,
      Gabon and Namibia.
All the data and information generated through these actions should be shared in open formats
on a free of charge basis with the European Commission, for its own use and for publication.
Public authorities and civil society organisations should participate actively in project
activities to ensure that the processes and outcomes of the R&I align with the needs, values,
expectations of society and, when social change, new social practices, social ownership or
market uptake are required, social innovation should be encouraged.
Proposals should take into account issues of accessibility and inclusivity, such as age, gender,
disability, and socio-economic background.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-06: Innovation for responsible EU sourcing of
primary raw materials, the foundation of the Green Deal (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.50
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                       requesting different amounts.
Indicative             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 30.00 million.
budget
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                       strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security, namely to increase EU
                       resilience in raw materials supply chains for EU industrial value chains
                       and strategic sectors to enable their green and digital transition and to
                       reduce current EU over-dependence on a few third countries for critical
                       raw materials by boosting domestic production of primary raw materials,
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                    and to strengthen EU autonomy as well as socially and environmentally
                    acceptable sourcing, participation to the topic is limited to legal entities
                    established in Member States, associated countries, OECD countries,
                    African Union Countries, and MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, and Andean
                    Community.
                    Proposals including legal entities which are not established in these
                    countries will be ineligible.
                    The above exception is aligned with the Communication (2020) 474 on
                    Critical Raw Materials Resilience, on the need to develop strategic
                    international partnerships on raw materials.
Technology          Activities are expected to achieve TRL 3-5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level     General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects will enable achieving the expected impacts of the destination by
increasing access to primary raw materials, in particular critical raw materials for EU
industrial value chains and strategic sectors.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Improve knowledge base of EU and third country critical raw materials to identify new
     areas for exploration and resource estimation;
    Promote the utilisation of UNFC (United Nations Framework Classification for
     Resources) and UNRMS (United Nations Resource Management System) reporting
     standards in the raw materials sector;
    Accelerate development of EU domestic raw materials exploration projects integrating
     innovative technologies that can form the basis for new EU SMEs;
    Strengthen EU autonomy and ethical sourcing of raw materials by developing socially
     and environmentally acceptable means of discovery and production of primary critical
     raw materials.
The action is expected to contribute with intelligence and foresight capability to the
implementation of the EU action plan on Critical raw materials 68 and to support future
foresight work of the Commission related to raw materials.
Scope: Actions should develop new knowledge and conceptual models, supported by
innovative technologies to strengthen and secure the EU’s supply of primary raw materials
by:
68
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   Generating better geological understanding (i.e. characterization, modelling, mapping) of
      known mineral deposits to identify critical minerals resources and inform discovery of
      new resources
   Developing new genetic models for ore deposit types that host critical minerals in order
      to identify areas for exploration, especially in previously overlooked regions
   Deploying innovative geological, geophysical, geochemical, and data analysis
      approaches including modelling techniques (e.g. data analysis, remote sensing) to
      elucidate the geological history and structure and models of targeted spatial areas of
      targeted areas and to guide more environmentally friendly exploration for critical
      minerals, limiting impacts on biodiversity.
Actions should also map EU and third countries’ primary and secondary raw materials
potential and raw materials production and refining capacities in a harmonised form, using
UNFC (United Nations Framework Classification for Resources) and UNRMS (United
Nations Resource Management System).
Actions should also contribute to improving the awareness of the general public across the EU
about:
   the importance of raw materials for a successful transition to a climate-neutral and
      digitised economy and society; and
   the ensuing need for a secure, sustainable, and responsibly-sourced supply of raw
      materials, including from domestic sources to strengthen EU open strategic autonomy
      and reduce over-dependence on third countries.
All the data and information generated through these actions should be shared in open formats
on a free of charge basis with the European Commission, for its own use and for publication.
Actions should envisage clustering activities with other relevant selected projects for cross-
projects co-operation, consultations and joint activities on cross-cutting issues and share of
results as well as participating in joint meetings and communication events. To this end
proposals should foresee a dedicated work package and/or task, and earmark the appropriate
resources accordingly.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-07: Building innovative value chains from raw
materials to sustainable products (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 12.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
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project             Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                    requesting different amounts.
Indicative          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 36.00 million.
budget
Type of Action      Innovation Actions
Eligibility         The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                    strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security, namely to increase EU
                    resilience in raw materials supply chains for EU industrial value chains
                    and strategic sectors to enable their green and digital transition and to
                    reduce current EU over-dependence on a few third countries for critical
                    raw materials by boosting domestic production of primary raw materials,
                    to strengthen EU autonomy and to build innovative value chains linking
                    directly raw materials producers and end-users, participation to the topic is
                    limited to legal entities established in Member States, associated countries,
                    OECD countries, African Union Countries, and MERCOSUR,
                    CARIFORUM, and Andean Community.
                    Proposals including legal entities which are not established in these
                    countries will be ineligible.
                    The above exception is aligned with the Communication (2020) 474 on
                    Critical Raw Materials Resilience, on the need to develop strategic
                    international partnerships on raw materials.
Technology          Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level     General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects will enable achieving the expected impacts of the destination by
increasing access to primary raw materials, in particular critical raw materials for EU
industrial value chains and strategic sectors.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Develop resilient and sustainable critical raw materials supply chains for the e-mobility
     and renewable energy ecosystems and strategic sectors, such as aerospace, ICT and dual-
     use applications;
   Increase the EU raw materials supply capability and added value;
   Create new market opportunities for mineral raw materials sustainably produced in the
     EU;
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    Build innovative value chains establishing a direct link between the raw materials
      producers and the end-users.
    Create new circular business models with a convincing and quantified socio-economic
      impact.
Scope: Actions should develop innovative and sustainable technology and business solutions
finishing at the level of Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 6-7 for new high value added
and sustainable products with enhanced functional properties based on the EU produced raw
materials. The industrially- and user-driven multidisciplinary consortia should cover industry
players along the relevant value chains starting from raw materials to products. The focus is
on raw materials necessary for the e-mobility and renewable energy ecosystems including
battery raw materials; strategic sectors, such as aero-space and dual-use applications; or on
critical raw materials 69 , such as rare earths elements for highly performant permanent
magnets.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination. For TRLs 6-7, a credible strategy to achieve
future full-scale manufacturing in the EU is expected, indicating the commitments of the
industrial partners after the end of the project.
Actions should also contribute to improving the awareness of relevant external stakeholders
and the general public across the EU about the importance of raw materials for society, the
challenges related to their supply within the EU and about proposed solutions which could
help to improve society's acceptance of and trust in sustainable raw materials production in
the EU.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Green and Sustainable Materials
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-08: Establishing EU led international
community on safe- and sustainable-by-design materials to support embedding
sustainability criteria over the life cycle of products and processes (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         3.00 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
69
         Reference to the list of CRMs2020COM (2020) 474 final
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Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Develop a common understanding of the principles of sustainable-by-
design when applied to materials, both products and processes. The challenge is to identify
the key dimensions that need to be integrated in a product sustainability performance
assessment and enhance a systems approach based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
framework. The transition to sustainable-by-design70 is a societal urgency71. It is for example
the prerequisite to develop alternative and safer (lower toxicity) plastics, surfactants and
metal-based systems, and it is relevant for all types of materials.
The proposals are expected to support the uptake and utilization of the sustainable-by-design
strategies by industry, especially SMEs, by contributing to the following outcomes:
    Criteria and guiding principles for sustainable-by-design (i.e. integrating safety,
      circularity and functionality of advanced materials, products and processes throughout
      their lifecycle), in line with ongoing international work by e.g. OECD, UNEP, ECHA.
    A permanent structure for long-term operation of established gender balanced and
      inclusive expert’s network by time of project end with the involvement of wider
      communities engaged, beyond consortium members;
    Broadly supported and periodically updated roadmaps based on state of the art
      knowledge, identified information gaps and their translation into specific R&D questions
      and governance needs.
Strengthen collaboration and information exchange between relevant actors along value
chains (developers, producers, downstream users) to promote the development and
implementation of sustainable-by-design approach. Enhancing ownership and engagement of
the society through active collaboration and empowering people and communities as actors of
the sustainable-by-design transition.
Scope: Establish an inclusive and self-sustained international gender balanced and inclusive
network of experts and stakeholders in the materials community to enable multidisciplinary
design processes, map skills mismatches and competence gaps, to enable transition towards
an overarching framework in which sustainability is the essential entry point into markets:
    Perform landscape analyses of methodologies that focus on the de novo design, which
      guides sustainable products and processes and coordinate with the projects from NMBP-
      15, NMBP-16-2020 and other relevant initiatives (e.g. those in WG-E of the EU
      NanoSafetyCluster) to fill in the gaps in the current understanding;
70
         Sustainable-by-design concept takes a systems approach by integrating safety, circularity and
         functionality of advanced materials, products and processes throughout their lifecycle. This concept can
         be defined as a pre-market approach that focuses on providing a function (or service), while avoiding
         properties that may be harmful to human health or the environment. from a lifecycle perspective.
71
         Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability COM(2020) 667 final
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    Develop working framework for creation of an expanded safety and sustainability
      community, with agreement to create a common mechanism to engage, mobilise and
      bring together diverse stakeholders;
    Map and address sustainable-by-design skills mismatches and competence gaps, and
      support the enhancing of adequate skills at all levels - including in university
      programmes, research, industry and among regulators;
    Coordinate with other EU-funded projects targeting Sustainable-by-Design materials, in
      particular:       HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-11,                 HORIZON-CL4-2021-
      RESILIENCE-2021-01-12 and HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-13
Sustainability and life cycle of products and processes have a major impact on and can
positively contribute to the health and well-being of our citizens.
The topic is open for international cooperation where the EU has reciprocal benefit.
Resulting projects should establish cooperation mechanisms with relevant international
initiatives to align and leverage the extensive experience. Therefore, proposals should foresee
a dedicated work package for cooperation and earmark appropriate resources.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-09:                            Promote  Europe's      availability,
affordability, sustainability and security of supply of essential chemicals and materials
(IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        7.00 and 10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 28.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Technology              Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the end
Readiness Level         of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Europe needs to strengthen its capacity to produce materials and
chemicals in a sustainable and competitive way. Moreover, the recent crisis has shown the
importance for Europe’s chemical and material industry to increase its flexibility, and to adapt
quickly its production capacities to the changing supply needs72.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
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    Foster global competitiveness of EU companies. Helping Europe to overcome its
      reliance on imports of chemicals, in particular for essential products, while boosting
      Europe's economic and social recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis;
    Deliver new modular production concepts for the chemical industry (e.g. base
      ingredients for pharmaceutical or other essential societal products) that would
      significantly decrease process development time through the standardisation,
      modularisation and application of novel process intensification technologies;
    Produce highly efficient, flexible, and stand-alone production units that could be shipped
      to places where the need would be the highest;
    Enable decentralised and continuous processing of high added value chemicals and
      materials;
    Improve flexibility in products customisation with a faster response to supply
      chain/customer demands, creating opportunities of new business models enabled by
      digital technologies.
Achieve a significant impact on reducing production costs, design efforts time-to market and
logistic efforts.
Scope: Building on the experience gained from flexible production units 73 it would be
possible to equip base chemicals production containers with modular and standardised units
capable to facilitate a swift shift in the final production outcome. The focus on the proposals
under this topic should thus be the development of adaptable chemical plants with flexible
outputs.
Innovation actions within this topic may include:
    Improving flexibility and modularity of the equipment;
    Adaptation of process analytical technologies for modular production, to support process
      control, automation, predictive maintenance and process coordination;
    Smart equipment in intensified up and downstream processing;
    Increasing safety of fully automatic operations and reducing occupational health related
      risks;
    Enabling decentralised and continuous processing of high added value chemicals and
      materials;
    Standardisation of modular production concepts, including international standards.
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Chemicals and materials play a major role in society, and hence sustainability and life cycle
of those products have a major impact on and provide solutions concerning the health and
well-being of our citizens.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
This topic is open for international cooperation where the EU has reciprocal benefit, while
excluding industrial competitors from countries where the safeguarding of IPRs cannot be
guaranteed.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-10: Paving the way to an increased share of
recycled plastics in added value products (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       5.00 and 7.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 23.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 6 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Circularity and the increase of the content of recycled plastics in value
added products are central to the European Strategy for Plastics.
Projects are expected to contribute to several of the following outcomes:
   Establish EU broadly accepted definition of recyclate and develop relevant verification
     methods for recycled content in products.
   Establish EU broadly accepted procedures to control the consistent quality of recyclates;
     characterise their suitability for specific applications and trace the recyclates back to
     their origin;
   Deliver a clear approach to prevent some potentially hazardous substances to enter the
     recycled plastics system;
   Enhancing ownership and engagement of the society through active collaboration and
     empowering people and communities as actors of the circular plastic transition. At
     medium term, to fulfil the growing demand for recycled plastic content in market
     products;
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   At a longer term, to pave the way toward recyclable-by-design plastics.
Scope: To allow recycled plastics to be more promptly taken up as raw material for new
products there is a need for reliable and standardised procedures to characterise, trace back
origin and guarantee the safety of the recyclates. The proposals should address one or more of
the following areas:
   Developing standard, robust and easy to use sampling and analysis procedures to ensure
      consistent recyclate quality and safe products. Develop methodologies to establish the
      degree of degradation of recycled materials and to foresee their end-of-life;
   Developing and standardising methods for traceability. Allow the identification of origin
      of recycled materials via digital information management, e.g. marking technologies or
      blockchain;
   Detect and separate legacy additive in the waste stream, and ensure safe recycling of
      plastics containing such additives;
   Diffusing innovation, developing overarching best practices and build up communities to
      stimulate demonstration.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Proposals should actively pursue the involvement of all the actors in the value chain from the
chemical and material industry, to formulators, recyclers, public authorities and
standardisation bodies.
This topic is open for international cooperation where the EU has reciprocal benefit, while
excluding industrial competitors from countries where the safeguarding of IPRs cannot be
guaranteed.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-11: Safe- and sustainable-by-design polymeric
materials (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       4.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 19.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 5 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
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Expected Outcome: The way plastics are currently made, used and discarded, fails to capture
the economic, environmental and societal benefits of a more sustainable approach. Europe
produces 25 million tons of plastic waste annually, less than 30% is recycled. Moreover,
plastic production, use and disposal may result in the release of chemicals, which may give
rise to health and environmental problems. The development of a common understanding and
the transition to safe- and sustainable-by-design materials, including plastics, is a societal
urgency.
 Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Recyclable-by-design polymers with inherent recyclability properties for polymers
      where nowadays recyclability challenge is high;
    Safer (lower toxicity) plastics, with less reliance on potentially harmful additives;
    Reduced environmental footprint associated with the end-of-life phase of the polymers
      due to increased recyclability and /or reduced reliance on potentially harmful additives,
      compared with existing products for similar applications;
    Contribute to the development of safe- and sustainable-by-design criteria and guiding
      principles and apply them to polymers;
    Identification of priorities for substitution of plastic additives;
    New technologies and business opportunities for recycling industry across EU.
Scope: Thanks to their versatility, polymeric materials are used in a wide range of
applications from consumer goods and construction to aerospace. The proposals should focus
on:
    The design and development of new recyclable polymer systems substituting/improving
      nowadays difficult to recycle polymers e.g. PVC, thermosets or multicomponent
      (multilayer or blend) polymers;
    The design and development of safer plastics with less reliance on potentially harmful
      additives, e.g. plasticizers. The approach should allow to decrease their health and
      environmental impact and improve the purity of the secondary raw material and thus the
      quality of recycled plastic without compromising the material optimal properties and
      functionality;
    Carrying out an inventory of additives detected in plastics and their function and
      toxicity;
    Integration of safe- and sustainable-by-design aspects, including safety (toxicity),
      circularity and functionality of advanced polymeric materials, products and processes
      throughout their lifecycle.
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The proposals, activities and approaches should cover both - specific considerations for the
plastics under study, as well as developing overarching best practices that spans broader
sectors of safe- and sustainable-by-design plastics. Proposals should involve all the actors in
the value chain from the chemical and material industry, to formulators, recyclers and
regulators. Areas for research include the intersection between chemicals and waste
legislation.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Leveraging the extensive experience from relevant initiatives and aligning with other EU-
funded projects targeting safe- and sustainable- by-design materials, in particular under CSA
topic HORIZON-CL4-RESILIENCE-2021-01-08, is essential.
This topic is open for international cooperation where the EU has reciprocal benefit, while
excluding industrial competitors from countries where the safeguarding of IPRs cannot be
guaranteed.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-12: Safe- and sustainable-by-design metallic
coatings and engineered surfaces (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       4.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 19.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 5 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: New metal coating systems, produced without, and free of, toxic
substances (e.g. hexavalent Chromium), HREEs (heavy rare earth elements), LREEs (light
rare earth elements), and PGMs (platinum group metals). A major challenge is the
accumulation of metallic materials over the long term in the environment where they tend to
have adverse reactions with the ecosystem. On the other hand, the coatings are needed for
preservation of the products to prevent for instance corrosion and (bio)fouling. To ensure
safety and sustainability of new metal coatings a systems approach that integrates safety,
circularity and functionality of advanced materials throughout their lifecycle is required.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
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   At least 2 novel materials with improved (or at least comparable) efficiency as compared
      to traditional materials, associated with a reduction in metal usage of at least 15%;
   Materials modelling, assisted by advanced methods (e.g. physics-based methods,
      machine learning and artificial intelligence methods), integrated with safe- and
      sustainable-by-design models;
   Integration of eco-design and circularity concepts in the design of new metal coatings
      and provide recommendations for the end-of-life of the new material. This should
      include integration of REACH requirements in the eco-design development and pre-
      validation of indicators as well as tests to demonstrate the improved sustainability and
      reduced toxicity of both final product and production process;
   Innovative strategies for improving recovery, recyclability, purification and re-use
      products at the end of life. This could include the evaluation of their reusability in other
      application areas other than initial intended use, requiring lower purity inputs;
   An online or/and standalone decision support tool to guide industry (especially SME) for
      the implementation of safe- and sustainable-by-design approaches tailored to their needs;
   Integration into the standardisation process and development of a roadmap to achieve
      full standardisation (of e.g. methods, protocols);
   Contribute to the development of safe- and sustainable-by-design criteria and guiding
      principles and apply them to metallic coating and engineered surfaces.
Relevant indicators and metrics, with baseline values, should be clearly stated in the proposal.
Scope: Metal coatings are applied, to enhance performance characteristics, such as corrosion
resistance, colour, attractive appearance, wear resistance, optical properties, electrical
resistance, or thermal protection. Applications range from building & construction and
consumer goods to catalytic materials, metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and fuel cells and
proposals covering all above areas will be welcome. The optimisation of functionality
including sustainability and safety considerations and all aspects on resource utilisation across
the materials life cycle is essential. Such materials with desired properties and the
corresponding manufacturing processes should be designed with the assistance of in silico
techniques.
Leveraging the extensive experience from relevant initiatives and aligning with other EU-
funded projects targeting safe- and sustainable-by-design materials, in particular under CSA
topic HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-08, is essential.
The proposals, activities and approaches should cover both - specific considerations for the
metal coatings under study, as well as developing overarching best practices that spans
broader sectors of safe- and sustainable-by-design materials. Proposals should involve all the
actors in the value chain.
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Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
In line with the Union’s strategy for international cooperation in research and innovation,
international cooperation is encouraged.
Materials for the benefit of society and the environment and materials for climate-
neutral Industry
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-14: Development of more energy efficient
electrically heated catalytic reactors (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       7.00 and 10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 33.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 4-5 and achieve TRL 6 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B
Expected Outcome: A shift from fired- to electrically-heated catalytic reactors, powered by
renewables will lead to a large decrease in CO2 emissions, coupled with a significant process
intensification. As currently reactors are kept at high target temperatures in industrial-scale
catalytic processes with energy supplied by the combustion of fossil fuels, substitution of
fossil-fuel-derived heating with emissions-free alternatives will substantially contribute to the
greening of large industries. This requires the re-design of the reactor and in parallel with the
development of novel catalysts as well as integration of up and downstream processes to
operate with optimal energy efficiency and product yield.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   A breakthrough reduction in carbon footprint for a given reaction (CO2 emission
      reduction > 40%, demonstrated by LCA or similar studies);
   Demonstrate a significant process intensification (a reactor size reduction of > 50% with
      respect to the state-of-the-art conventional approach) and industrial scalability;
   Environmental and techno-economic feasibility of novel catalytic reactor technologies
      and catalyst materials demonstrated and validated at suitable scale against current
      industrial processes to produce the same products;
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    Integrated development methodology of catalysts and reactors for an optimized design
     up to pilot unit of novel catalytic reactors with significant carbon footprint reduction and
     allowing relevant process intensification, while maintaining cost competitiveness;
    Advanced catalytic reactor concepts to operate in synergy with alternative energy
     resources like e.g. non-thermal plasma.
Relevant indicators and metrics, with baseline values, should be clearly stated in the proposal.
Scope: Proposals should address an integrated development of:
    The next generation of industrially scalable and robust reactor technologies and
     associated catalytic materials for an electrified chemical production with an optimized
     design, up to pilot unit;
    Environmental and techno-economic impact studies should be part of the objectives to
     demonstrate the industrial feasibility and integration within the value chain of production
     and use of renewable energy sources.
    Solutions allowing the combined use of renewable energy resources with process
     intensification should be investigated in order to optimise energy efficiency, product
     yield and purity as an integrated part of the total process.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Where synergies are possible with projects from topics HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-
01-16, HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-15, HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-03,
and HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-03, cooperation activities are encouraged.
The topic is open for international cooperation, while excluding industrial competitors from
countries where the safeguarding of IPRs cannot be guaranteed74
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-16: Creation of an innovation community for
solar fuels and chemicals (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        3.00 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
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Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Creation of an innovation eco-system gathering the various elements
necessary to accelerate the development in the area of introduction of solar fuels and
chemicals. This will require a strict synergy of actions between all stakeholder components,
from R&D to industry and society, in order to foster their introduction. In addition, the
development of solar fuels and chemicals requires a full redesign of the current technologies
and processes based on fossil fuels, and the technological gap is a main factor limiting their
introduction.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Solar fuels and chemicals constitute those products that are equivalent in terms of
     functionality to the ones currently in use based on fossil fuels, and thus well integrating
     within the existing infrastructure, but produced with the aid of renewable energy sources
     and with a disruptive decrease in terms of reduction of greenhouse gas emissions on
     LCA bases, larger than that based on biomass sources. They will play a crucial role to
     meet targets for decarbonizing Europe;
   Structuring/developing in the short term the European ecosystem in order to speed up
     technologies to move from the laboratory to industry;
   Tackle long-term research challenges in the field. This would be done mainly through
     the RIA & IA topics of the large-scale R&I initiative, as well as with actions at national
     and regional levels, with overall coordination by the CSA.
Scope:
   Coordinating a large scale R&I initiative on storage of renewable (solar) energies in
     chemical form involving all relevant stakeholders (from academia, RTOs, industry and
     society) and linked with relevant international, national and local programmes and
     initiatives;
   Building and updating, a long-term roadmap;
   Building/structuring a gender balanced, inclusive community with all relevant
     stakeholders across EU;
   Participation of societal stakeholders to the activities of the community and initiative;
   Facilitating cooperation and communication between the stakeholders of the initiative on
     cross-cutting topics;
   Strengthening the engagement of the European industrial stakeholders in the long term
     beyond the CSA;
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   Creating an innovation eco-system to foster and accelerate the technological, economic
     and societal impact of the initiative and pave the way to industrial exploitation of the
     technologies in the field of energy, transport and climate;
   Speeding-up and increasing the positive impacts of technologies on climate change and
     protection of environment;
   Spreading of S&T excellence across Europe and increase awareness of European
     activities;
   Addressing international cooperation in particular with other relevant actions (e.g.
     Mission Innovation);
   Preparing a large-scale research and innovation initiative beyond the CSA, as a
     partnership or another instrument to be discussed and agreed upon with the Commission
     and the Member States and Associated countries.
Where synergies are possible with projects from topics HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-
01-14, HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-15, HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-03,
and HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-03, cooperation activities are encouraged.
The project partners should make provisions to actively participate in the common activities
of the large-scale research initiative on Fossil-free fuels and chemicals for a climate-neutral
Europe.
The topic is open for international cooperation where the EU has reciprocal benefit.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-17: Advanced materials for hydrogen storage
(RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      4.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 21.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 5 by the end
Readiness Level       of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: The benefits of a hydrogen based economy are well documented, since
hydrogen is an abundant zero emission fuel, and possesses a higher energy density than
conventional fossil fuels (e.g. petrol). However, safe hydrogen storage, either long or short
term, faces several challenges. Chemical storage is the prevailing method for long term
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storage due to the high storage density but the synthesis process needs further development to
make it commercially attractive. Pressurised gaseous storage is the most attractive in practical
terms but compression up to 700bar is needed to achieve practical volumetric storage
capacities for transport applications, which requires expensive pressure vessels and is
inherently dangerous. However, new approaches using ultra porous materials have
demonstrated the feasibility of high storage densities of gaseous hydrogen at pressure of
100bar.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Provide commercially attractive and safe new technologies for long-term storage and
     transport of hydrogen;
   Enable efficient and safe hydrogen short term storage for example for fuel tanks for
     automobiles, rail vehicles, ships, airplanes, or stationary storage, etc., eliminating
     pollution caused by fossil fuels and facilitating the greening of transport;
   Elimination of economic dependence for EU’s energy needs;
   Ability for distributed production, providing opportunities for new business ventures and
     the development of new centres for economic growth in both rural and urban areas that
     currently find it difficult to attract investment in the current centralised energy system.
Scope: Research proposals should address at least one of the following:
   Development of new environmentally friendly catalysts for ammonia synthesis at low
     pressures for long term hydrogen storage and distribution;
   Development of new ultra porous materials for hydrogen storage with a gravimetric
     storage capacity in excess of 6 wt% and a volumetric storage capacity in excess of
     40g/lt. The use of machine learning techniques to assess combinations and substitutions
     in various porous materials to help optimise the development process should also be
     considered; the development of suitable pressure vessel designs and materials for the
     containment of the adsorbent ultra-porous materials should also be addressed.
For long-term storage the proposals are expected to produce a demonstrator plant for low
pressure chemical synthesis. Similarly, for the short-term storage solution a demonstrator
pressure vessel containing ultra-porous hydrogen adsorbents should be produced.
The proposed solutions should also include full LCA of the new developed materials,
(catalysts, ultra-porous materials) and processes (synthesis process, ultra-porous material
production).
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
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The topic is open for international cooperation, while excluding industrial competitors from
countries where the safeguarding of IPRs cannot be guaranteed75
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-20: Antimicrobial, Antiviral, and Antifungal
Nanocoatings (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        4.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 23.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Technology              Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 6 by the end
Readiness Level         of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: The recent outbreak of the COVID19 virus has demonstrated that costs in
both human life and economic terms can be immense if measures are not in place to contain a
spread of infection. It is apparent therefore that passive measures are in place to minimise the
impact of current and future infection outbreaks. Nanoparticle filled coatings such as metal
nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, metal oxide nanoparticles, heterostructures, patterned
surfaces and graphene-based materials have demonstrated up to 99.9998% effectiveness
against bacteria, mould and viruses.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Minimise the risk of spread of infections from harmful pathogens arising from everyday
     human activities;
    Create a healthier living and working environment and offer holistic solutions to people
     with health issues;
    Improve citizen health and enhance the EU’s reputation as a public health best practice
     region;
    Enhance economic benefits through reduction of lost hours of work through illness;
    Boost research, development and innovation in the EU;
    Provide business opportunities especially for SMEs;
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   Sustainable synthesis of nanocoatings (including bio-based materials) especially with
      effectiveness against a range of pathogens.
Scope: Inorganic nanomaterials have demonstrated enhanced anti-microbial and anti-viral
activity. They are also stable at high temperatures, robust, and have a long shelf life,
compared to organic anti-microbial coatings. Research areas should address new antiviral and
antibacterial nanocoatings for a range of applications addressing use on both surfaces of so-
called high-traffic objects (e.g. door and window handles in public places, public transport,
hospitals, public buildings, schools, elderly homes etc.) and/or coatings for textiles (e.g.
protective clothing in food processing plants, laboratory coats, face masks, etc.).
The research should address the following aspects:
   Sustainable synthesis of nanocoatings/nanocomposites (including bio-based materials)
      with effectiveness against a range of pathogens;
   Application methods (both on surfaces and textiles);
   Surface adhesion and durability via assessing performance against wear (e.g. abrasion,
      washing, etc.) and degradation in the application environments on a variety of surfaces
      (e.g. glass, metals and various alloys, copper and steel, marble and stone slabs, ceramics
      and tiles, textiles and plastics);
   Toxicity of nanocoatings.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
This topic is directly related to the well-being of citizens in the context of COVID-19 virus
pandemic.
Materials and data cross-cutting actions
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-25:                       Biomaterials   database    for  Health
Applications (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        2.00 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
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Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Create of a database of biomaterials, providing detailed information on the chemical-
      physical, biological and toxicological properties accessible to wide variety of end-users,
      for e.g. researchers, companies and clinicians for the purposes of evaluating the
      biological and clinical usefulness also in the areas beyond their intended primary
      applications.
Scope: Projects will incorporate data on as many of the material properties as possible,
allowing for the development of standardised protocols for the determination and
measurement of the efficacy and safety of new biomaterials, taking into account the
specificities due to sex, race and age, whether they be single or combination entities.
Processing of data should be done in accordance with GDPR provisions.
A label of biocompatibility should be established so as to define the suitability of a
biomaterial for eventual use in a Medical Device or Advanced Therapy that the biomaterial
becomes a part of, so as to assist companies, especially SMEs, in choosing and facilitating
market access for their products.
This database should also contain comparative analyses of the results of biological testing of
biomaterials from the scientific literature (and clinical trials, where possible) so as to
incorporate data on as many of the material properties as possible, incl. taking into account
the specificities defined by sex, race, age. Based upon this, it should be possible to formulate,
as necessary, standardised protocols for the determination and measurement of the efficacy
and safety of new biomaterials, facilitating as it will, the need to establish high throughput test
platforms in the future for biomaterials, that comprise standardised testing protocols for ex
vivo, in vivo, pre-clinical and clinical testing.
Proposals must also address all the areas below:
    Develop a user-friendly platform for making all relevant data easily and readily
      accessible for the assessment and decision-making processes in appropriate formats to
      ensure interoperability. To ensure that the data are processed in accordance with the
      GDPR provisions;
    Facilitate extracting, analysing and re-using of the data with advanced data processing
      technologies e.g. Artificial Intelligence;
    Provide innovative trainings and manuals for the use of the database and its
      documentation;
    Develop a business model for the maintenance of the database demonstrating its
      sustainability beyond the funding period. A contribution of SSH expertise in the field of
      economics and marketing would be beneficial for the achievement of this goal.
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Proposals submitted under this topic should include actions designed to facilitate cooperation
with other projects, including; relevant ongoing Open Innovation Test Beds76, to enhance user
involvement, and to ensure the accessibility and reusability of data produced in the course of
the project by agreeing on metadata for the description of the materials databases.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-26: Sustainable Industry Commons (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 6 or more by
Readiness Level        the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Data has an enormous economic impact and yet, only a small share of
industrial data is retained and used for value creation. European industry needs solutions to
mitigate the barriers for industrial data reusability and facilitate the unlocking of value from
data, which will make a significant difference to the performance and competitiveness of
European industry. At the same time, the efforts to make European industry more competitive
and innovative need to be achieved without compromising the future of forthcoming
generations, therefore it is also important to provide European industry with tools that aid
them in improving their sustainability.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Develop tools to support industry in sustainable production and consumption of goods,
     which assist to improve the overall sustainability performance and contribute to the
     development of more sustainable solutions by embedding circular economy strategies;
    Develop ontology based data documentation for the application domain to facilitate
     interconnection by data exchange between designers, manufacturers, users and collectors
     of used/waste products, applying FAIR data principles and where applicable, taking into
     account the specificities due to sex, race, age, religion. The data should be processed in
     accordance with GDPR provisions;
    Reinforce European industry capacities and adapt to the new trends in the areas of
     sustainability and digitalization, and contribute to the development and/or creation of
     standards;
76
        Cooperation with projects funded in DT-NMBP-02-2018: OITBs for Safety Testing of Medical
        Technologies for Health
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   Increase competences for data handling among the potential data users (e.g. by providing
      trainings);
   Ensure high visibility of project results and user-friendly, open access to data and
      ontologies.
Scope: To develop tools for industry to enhance efficiency and contributing to less waste and
emissions while improving material/product/process quality all along the lifecycle of a
product/service system. The proposals should have a holistic approach, with a minimum of
three demonstrators/use-cases, covering the entire material/product/process life cycle and
proving the interoperability of data across the life cycle stages across industry domains. The
developed tools have to be compliant with existing standards, and the proposals should
contribute to development and/or creation of new ones.
The developed tools have to address circular economy strategies (as for example
improvement of durability, reusability, recyclability, recycled content, product reparability,
etc.) in order to guide companies to the development of their sustainability agendas with an
effective and user-friendly interface. Improvement of the overall environmental performance
should be demonstrated applying Life Cycle Assessment.
The developed tools have to be semantically interoperable and associated application domain
ontologies and data format have to be built upon the emerging developments of the Industry
Commons projects of H2020. Actions designed to facilitate cooperation with other projects, to
enhance user involvement and to ensure the accessibility and reusability of data produced in
the course of the project should be addressed, for example with EOSC-based initiatives and
European Data Spaces.
Improving the resilience and preparedness of EU businesses, especially SMEs and
Startups
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-27: Innovation Radar, Tech Due Diligence and
Venture Building for strategic digital technologies (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.50 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
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Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to at least one of the following
outcomes:
    A scaling up of capabilities in matching EU-funded technology solutions developed by
      highly innovative sustainable and digital startups with access to finance and growth
      opportunities including, but not limited to, other European funding instruments (such as
      the Digital Europe Programme and EIC), innovation procurement, investors and
      corporate innovation ventures.
    Deliver, through tech due diligence and venture-building approaches, a step change in
      the number of new ventures created and ventures’ ability to attract funding for
      sustainable and digital innovations developed in EU-funded R&I.
Scope: The action will use intelligence from the Innovation Radar platform77 to: facilitate tech
due diligence and the building of new ventures based on high-potential innovations and
upscaling of HE-funded startups. This will in particular include matching of EU-funded
innovations and the innovators behind them with finance and growth opportunities offered by
investors, other European funding programmes (including the Digital Europe Programme and
EIC), innovation procurement and corporate innovation ventures.
Specific support will be devoted to pilot tech due diligence and venture-building services78.
The services to be piloted will allow investors to better valuate the technology behind
innovations, enable more precise valuations of digital start-ups and prepare their investment
readiness. The tech due diligence services will deliver a benefit to spinoffs, startups and scale-
ups by improving their access to finance. The pilot will also implement ‘venture-building’
approaches to dramatically increase the number of new ventures created on the basis of
technological breakthroughs that may otherwise be at risk of remaining ‘in the lab’ despite
their market or disruptive potential.
The focus is on strategic digital and industrial technologies.
The cross-cutting action will act as a catalyst to fulfil the potential of startups, in particular
those who have secured EU funding (Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020), in delivering
market-ready applications and technology solutions that can contribute to the competitiveness
and open strategic autonomy of EU industry in key technology areas and value chains. It is
foreseen that the communities targeted by the action(s) will contribute to developing
applications that foster climate-neutrality, the circular economy, clean industry and user-
centric technology development, while also encouraging inclusiveness, and incorporating
European social and ethical values.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement
77
         https://www.innoradar.eu/
78
         As foreseen in the European Commission’s SME strategy (published 10.03.2020).
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HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-28: Re-opening industrial sites preparatory
action – Promoting a sustainable strategy for Europe’s industrial future (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Providing strategic business development plans for the re-opening of more than 20
      industrial sites in Europe, which have recently been closed or are about to be closed in
      the next months;
   Proposing networks of key players, stakeholders and projects to support regions
      exploring new approaches to address the challenges of green and digital transition of
      industries, an innovation-led and place-based approach inherent in Smart Specialisation,
      building on the specific assets and resources of each individual region concerned,
      supporting regional entrepreneurial culture, infrastructure and innovators;
   Analysing the regional cross-fertilization potential between traditional, high-tech and
      digital sectors, education and research, federal and local authorities, early stage venture
      capital and innovators;
   Promote the establishment of a new sustainable and inclusive regional industry eco-
      system;
   Identification of innovation barriers and recommendations for policy support;
   Analysis should be based on key figures like: Economic growth rates and Per Capita
      GDP, salaries; labour and unemployment rate of different population groups; innovation
      power in terms of patent applications; number of business registrations per year; tax
      revenues, taking also into gender and demographic data.
Scope: European innovation policy must place a greater emphasis on promoting innovation in
less-developed regions to trigger economic recovery in regions the local economies and
societies suffered from the recent closing down of industrial plants and sites, which had once
offered lots of jobs in these regions and has thus ensured a level of prosperity for the local
population.
Aiming at achieving a sustainable and inclusive industrial transformation, Europe needs to
develop new industrial policies relaunching productivity growth in regions suffering most
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from COVID-19 and economic situations of radical change. This will also help to achieve a
competitive social market economy in Europe that seeks to guarantee a balance in living
standards and economic conditions between urban and rural areas as well as regions.
The objective of this coordination and support action is to analyse the industrial ecosystem of
more than 20 regions in Europe and how they could be influenced by comprehensive
industrial policies, innovation programs, private investments accompanied with modern
regional administration policies and public investment in infrastructures, both digital and
transportation. Focus is both, on the growth of the digital industries, and on the transformation
of traditional industries and the creation of new business opportunities that could offer the
potential for a long term value creation and for new jobs.
The coordination and support action should network the stakeholders across entire innovation
value-chains and regional development programs. A holistic approach is needed, mobilizing a
diverse set of players from private and public organisations. The translation of an industrial
revitalization into integrated business development solutions across disciplines should be
envisaged and sustainable and inclusive regional-specific business development strategies
should be proposed to be taken up. In particular, the key actors in the region, who have a
“gravitational pull” should play a key role should be identified and involved.
The interplay between large companies and the start-up scene, authorities and financial
organisations are important success factor for a region. The strength of the industrial
innovation ecosystem should be summarised by characteristics such as robustness, diversity in
particular in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, cross-fertilisation between sectors, large and
small companies spurring the ecosystem, entrepreneurial culture, well connected across the
world, openness to disruption, platform-economy, supportive state, public procurement and
education and acceptance by the local population.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-29: 'Innovate to transform' support for SME's
sustainability transition (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
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                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply: In order to achieve
                         the expected objectives and/or the specific policy requirements of the
                         topic, the consortium must include at least three entities from at least
                         three Member States or Associated Countries.
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply: For actions funded
                         under this topic, the same legal entity may only be the coordinator of
                         one action. This means that any legal entity that is the coordinator of the
                         consortium may receive only one grant under this topic. In case the
                         same legal entity is the coordinator in more than one proposal submitted
                         under this topic, only the last submitted proposal will be considered for
                         evaluation.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements               Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                         The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                         The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 50 000.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Support objectives of the European Green Deal and of the EU SME Strategy for a
      sustainable and digital Europe;
    Increased resilience of SMEs, by fostering technological and social innovation in SMEs
      to support their transition to more sustainable business models and more resource-
      efficient and circular processes and infrastructures;
    Increased competitive sustainability of SMEs through the uptake of advanced
      technologies;
    Stronger innovation support ecosystems supporting the green, social and economic
      transition of SMEs, by leveraging synergies between existing EU networks and SME
      support initiatives.
Scope: Achieving European Green Deal objectives, and notably a climate neutral and resource
efficient economy, requires the full mobilisation of SMEs. The COVID-19 pandemic has also
led to companies redesigning their supply chains and facing a new industrial revolution,
brought on by a new generation of advanced technologies 79 , which are underpinning the
potential for competitive sustainability of SMEs.
79
         The Advanced Technologies for Industry project of the European Commission offers analytical
         overview of 16 advanced technologies: https://ati.ec.europa.eu/about/what-is-ati : Advanced
         Manufacturing Technology, Advanced Materials, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented and Virtual Reality,
         Big Data, Blockchain, Cloud Computing, Connectivity, Industrial Biotechnology, Internet of Things,
         Micro- and Nanoelectronics, Mobility, Nanotechnology, Photonics, Robotics and Security. European
         SMEs have shown a chronic lagging behind the US and China in the uptake of advanced technologies -
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The action will build on and further connect existing EU specialised business support
networks and centres – such as the Enterprise Europe Network, the European industry clusters
registered under the European Cluster Collaboration Platform, Centres for Advanced
Technologies for Industry. They will work in complementarity and close interaction with
Open Innovation Test beds, European Digital Innovation Hubs, Start-up Europe etc., but also
with academia, social partners and other social innovation actors.
This action will consist in:
A. Advisory services
Dedicated innovation and capacity building support will be provided to SMEs, to assess their
ability to transform their business models and increase their resilience.
This will consist of an assessment of SMEs’ innovation and sustainability practices,
elaboration of recommendations, notably in view of the uptake of advanced technologies
and/or social innovations.
Based on these recommendations, SMEs could receive further advisory services according to
their level of preparedness such as help and advice on proof of concept, investment readiness,
intellectual property (in cooperation with EU funded IP support), 80 technology transfer,
adaptation to standards, adaptation to environmental rules, design management, skill
development, partner search (including social partners). SMEs will receive targeted assistance
for the uptake of advanced technologies.
Social innovation should be recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical
interface and requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
This action will also include the set-up of a community, building on the SME Alliance
projects, in which best practices should be exchanged and SMEs could benefit from dedicated
peer-learning activities in order to learn from leaders (SMEs or larger corporates) of their own
sector. Incentives for leaders to share their best practices with peers should be identified in the
context of EU support to industrial ecosystems.
B. Financial support in the form of ‘Third party financing’
As a result of the advisory services and initial assessments, SMEs will receive financial
support through calls for SMEs, to implement the elaborated recommendations.
This should support amongst other activities the financing of a feasibility study, prototyping,
pilot testing, demonstrating, procurement of further specialised consultancy services and
coaching services that cannot be provided directly by the project partners, adaptation of
         See       ATI      reports    from      US      and     China      about     technology        performance:
         China:https://ati.ec.europa.eu/reports/international-reports/report-china-technological-capacities-and-
         key-policy-measures; and US: https://ati.ec.europa.eu/reports/international-reports/report-united-states-
         america-technological-capacities-and-key-policy
80
         https://intellectual-property-helpdesk.ec.europa.eu/index_en;                 https://intellectual-property-
         helpdesk.ec.europa.eu/horizon-ip-scan_en; https://euipo.europa.eu/ohimportal/en/online-services/ideas-
         powered-for-business
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business processes, free access and support to use testing facilities, introduction of new IT
solutions etc.
The Commission estimates that at least half of the budget should be allocated to financial
support to SMEs in the form of third party financing.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-31:                       European    Technological   and  Social
Innovation Factory (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Strengthened resilience and sustainability – in its economic, social ecological aspects –
      of the European industries;
   Innovations that combine technological and social innovation and support industry in
      their transition and the achievement of EU’s priorities;
   Inclusive entrepreneurship with a positive social impact;
   A new generation of technologically savvy social entrepreneurs;
   New business models capitalizing on a new partnerships between industry and society;
   New markets.
Scope: Our society is changing. The COVID-19 crisis has shown how quickly society can
adapt and bounce back and has underlined how urgent it was for European industry to
reinvent itself and increase its resilience. Social innovation holds the potential to support the
industry in this transition, especially when linked to technological innovation. Social
innovations can contribute to progress and innovation in all areas and change the way all
actors in society interact. They appear in new products, services, methods, business models,
production processes or new forms of cooperation. They do things differently and involve
academia, industry, public authorities, and civil society. Linking the industry with social
innovation would thus support the creation of a more resilient, inclusive and democratic
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European society and of a dynamic industrial innovation ecosystem while allowing the
industry to undertake its transition in a sustainable and fair way.
This topic concerns the generation of innovations that combine technological and social
innovation and engage industry and society to serve the EU’s priorities. It will provide social
innovators with financial and capacity building support to develop their ideas into concrete
solutions enabling businesses to transform towards more resilience, sustainability and
inclusion. It will also promote a new European culture of social innovation and social
entrepreneurship.
Projects should:
   Set up an inclusive mechanism to harvest social innovation ideas. They should issue
     calls for ideas that are business and industry driven, providing innovative solutions
     improving the resilience and preparedness of EU businesses in EU policy priority areas
     and are bottom-up in their approach, involving users and citizens. The following
     eligibility criterions should be used:
        i. serving at least one EU priority,
       ii. combining technological and social innovation,
      iii. engaging society and industry,
      iv. demonstrated market knowledge and market demand for the solution;
       v. offering an innovative solution.
   Ensure a broad dissemination of the calls to reach out to local social innovators with the
     support, for instance, of the national competence centres for social innovation funded
     under the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI).
   Select approximately 30 of the best entries, using announced eligibility criterions to rank
     entries. They should award approximately €100000.
   Turn these ideas into pre-market demonstration projects through a process of co-design
     and co-development, engaging civil society; start-ups, SMEs, mid-caps, and large
     corporations; academia; public authorities; philanthropists; impact financiers, etc. to the
     extent appropriate. The consortium should have extensive knowledge in business
     incubation to be able to provide capacity-building support. Synergies with the ongoing
     EU funded projects on Incubators for inclusive and social entrepreneurship are
     encouraged.
   Monitor the testing of the pre-market demonstration projects to demonstrate and
     document that the social innovation achieves investment grade.
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    Help pre-market demonstration projects to find investors through the portfolio of
      activities (e.g., matchmaking events, dragon-pitches, auctions, etc.) that they consider
      best suited.
Two thirds of the EU contribution should go to awards to selected entries and to the financing
of pre-market demonstration projects.
Applicants are encouraged to envisage additional sources of financing.
Applicants should envisage, as appropriate, clustering activities with other ongoing and future
social innovation projects funded under Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe projects for, inter-
alia, cross-project co-operation, consultations and knowledge exchange, joint activities on
crosscutting issues as well as participating in joint meetings and communication events.
Applicants should plan the necessary budget to cover those activities without the prerequisite
to define concrete common actions at this stage.
Call - A DIGITISED, RESOURCE-EFFICIENT AND RESILIENT INDUSTRY 2021
                                                               HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)81
                      Topics                             Type      Budgets      Expected EU       Number
                                                           of        (EUR       contribution          of
                                                        Action     million)      per project       projects
                                                                                    (EUR          expected
                                                                     2021
                                                                                 million)82         to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 16 Sep 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 25 Jan 2022
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-02-32 IA                              10.00 83    Around 2.50         4
Overall indicative budget                                         10.00
General conditions relating to this call
81
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
82
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
83
        Of which EUR 5.55 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
                                                           Annex E.
Procedure                                                  The procedure is described in General
                                                           Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                    The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Improving the resilience and preparedness of EU businesses, especially SMEs and
Startups
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-02-32: Social and affordable housing district
demonstrator (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.50
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Demonstrate renovation pilots in the sense of “lighthouse districts” as announced by the
     Affordable Housing Initiative in the Renovation Wave communication 84 following a
     smart neighbourhood approach and providing blueprints for replication, setting
84
        https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1603122220757&uri=CELEX:52020DC0662
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     liveability and latest technological and social innovations at the forefront;
    Mobilise cross-sectoral industrial 85 and partnerships at local level to develop, adapt,
     design new processes, methods and technologies (e.g. energy efficiency, circular,
     modular building, smart living, eco-design etc.). Special attention should be paid to the
     needs of residents in social using, through social innovation and using a human centred
     approach;
    Following a multi-actor approach, as defined in WP/ Annex X, engaging both, different
     sectors and fields of operation related to construction such as renewable energy, water
     treatment, and electronics as well as residents, social and public housing associations and
     civil society actors will be key to boost tailor-made and fit for purpose innovation;
    Demonstrate through such partnerships lighthouse districts that allow integrated
     renovation approaches. Besides technological innovation, specific focus on social
     innovation is crucial as it can provide social engagement models to empower and engage
     residents, foster the co-design, co-development and co-implementation, offer spatial
     organisation allowing socio-economic activities and services, improve the wellbeing of
     citizens, and promote intergenerational and mixed forms of housing and accessible
     architecture open for cultural and creative innovation. Social innovation may also form a
     key aspect in developing business models for these types of lighthouse districts;
    Develop new bottom-up human-centred business models in housing area that facilitate
     engagement of residents in renovation – for example by co-investing, setting up energy
     communities, housing cooperatives and resident owned social services and (creative,
     green, … ) commons;
    Identify "ready to go projects" for the lighthouse districts as well as “low hanging”86
     fruit in terms of social housing renovation and worst performing buildings to test new
     methods, practices and technologies. The selected districts/ use cases, the diverse
     climatic and biogeographic conditions and settlement types in urban, sub-urban and rural
     areas across the EU are to be well reflected;
    Support businesses and the private sector in developing demonstration projects that go
     the extra mile (environmental - social – cultural ambition) and allow innovations and
     new technologies putting inclusion and social progress at the forefront;
    Pilot circular construction methods taking into account the different industrial
     perspectives and value chains relevant for the renovation of the districts;
85
        Refers to the 14 Industrial Ecosystems for Recovery
86
        Many housing blocks in Eastern Europe are at the stretch of their “expiration date” and in need of a
        deep renovation. They are often located in proximity of each other which makes a district approach
        more beneficial. Many of the flats are owned by their residents, usually with no financial resources to
        renovate themselves. Therefore inclusive financial programs should be developed.
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   Apply and pilot innovative smart housing applications (at individual dwelling level) and
      general smart grid or district-level energy, waste, water, storage and other systems using
      newest technology at scale as well as technology that improves the social housing
      service provision itself;
   Plan actions for overcoming relevant barriers for renovation at district level with a
      majority of social housing dwellings (e.g. regulatory limits, lack of trust amongst
      different stakeholders, lack of private investors and awareness of the integrated approach
      potential);
   Effectively disseminate major innovation outcomes established in districts to support the
      implementation of industrial-urban symbiosis, connection to the European Community
      of Practice (ECoP) and development of flexible learning resources;
   Act as a catalyst for relevant EU projects and policies and channel this intelligence
      towards local projects and stakeholders, e.g. active aging, smart communities, including
      smart cities and smart villages, energy communities, skills, etc.;
   The final objective is to obtain a set of lighthouse districts that each have followed a
      different approach, focussing on different innovative solutions addressing the local
      reality and needs and to have demonstrated replication potential towards other districts
      by providing blueprints for replication and adaptation and by setting up a network
      amongst social housing providers.
Relevant indicators and metrics, with baseline values, should be stated clearly in the proposal.
Scope: To support a wide implementation of these district renovations, industrial urban
symbiosis needs to be fostered amongst most relevant partners engaged in construction and
renovation of social housing facilities. The local and regional dimension is important since
local energy and utility networks, adjacent industrial infrastructures and available by-products
and services in such districts would have to be considered in a holistic and integrated
approach. In the same way, logistics should be optimised wherever possible and should be an
advantage from the sustainable and competitiveness perspective.
Technology based innovations should prove the potential for novel symbiotic renovation
projects acting as demonstrators involving multiple industrial sectors (combining non-
exhaustively energy, construction, renewables, circular, electronics and creative industries,
social housing associations and public authorities) in pilot multi-stakeholder partnerships
focussing on a district approach and social needs related to social housing. Projects are
expected to address:
   The development of a broader integrated methodology towards renovation of social
      housing districts starting from a cross-sectoral approach (e.g. INNOSUP) and
      engagement models of residents to develop the application of technologies that make
      social housing more energy efficient, accessible and liveable;
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 Research how technologies for housing and renovation can be adapted in a way that
  serves the needs of residents in social housing at affordable cost as well as how
  development at scale (e.g. district level of multi-apartment building) might bring cost
  optimisation and improve the affordability;
 The adaptation of technology in way it addresses the basic and essential needs of
  residents rather than to showcase the most advanced application from a technical
  perspective (human centred, fit for purpose and tailor made);
 Research on how renovation of social housing districts can deliver a more balanced
  population in terms of income, age and socio-economic profile as well as to avoid
  formation of ghetto’s on the one hand and gentrification on the other hand;
 Aspects of environmental friendly traffic and internet connectivity to facilitate inclusion
  are to be considered;
 Energy poverty issues that must be avoided as a result of the renovation. Social
  innovation and financial planning must ensure that the cost of living will not increase
  significantly for tenants and residents;
 Integration of ICT and digital tools, including smart grids, smart living applications,
  advanced modelling for eco-design and modular construction, to design and establish
  novel symbiotic interactions, data sharing and preservation of data confidentiality, as a
  non-exhaustive list;
 Assessment methodologies and KPIs to measure the performance of symbiosis,
  including environmental, economic and social impacts. Life cycle assessment and life
  cycle cost analysis should take into account existing sustainability standards (e.g. ISO
  14000) and existing best practices;
 New skills acquisition in construction sector by piloting new technologies and processes
  in the renovation at district level focussing on needs in social housing;
 Development of common reporting methodologies for the assessment of industrial
  symbiosis activities and exchanges;
 Tools to support companies in redefining their products process and systems from the
  point of view of design, production, logistic and business models;
 Research on how realised lighthouse models can be duplicated and adapted to other
  social housing contexts, for example, where no strong social housing sectors are present
  or where participation models are less developed, such as energy communities and
  cooperatives;
 This topic supports the Bauhaus Initiative as lighthouse districts could display the
  application of the New European Bauhaus practices focussing on the aesthetic and co-
  creative aspects of renovation and building of social housing districts.
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Clustering and cooperation with other selected projects under this cross-cutting call and other
relevant projects as well as building on existing projects is essential, as many existing EU
projects can contribute to very specific applications or process in such a district renovation.
Call - A DIGITISED, RESOURCE-EFFICIENT AND RESILIENT INDUSTRY 2022
                                                               HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)87
                      Topics                             Type      Budgets      Expected EU       Number
                                                           of        (EUR       contribution          of
                                                        Action     million)      per project       projects
                                                                                    (EUR          expected
                                                                     2022
                                                                                 million)88         to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 12 Oct 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 30 Mar 2022
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-01 RIA                             25.30 89    6.00 to 8.00        4
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-02 RIA                             14.00       Around 14.00        1
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-03 CSA                             2.40        Around 2.40         1
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-04 IA                              15.00       Around 5.00         3
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-05 RIA                             13.50       Around 13.50        1
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-06 IA                              36.00 90    Around 12.00        3
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-07 IA                              36.00 91    Around 12.00        3
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-08 RIA                             13.50       Around 4.50         3
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-10 RIA                             20.00       3.00 to 5.00        4
87
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
88
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
89
        Of which EUR 21.43 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
90
        Of which EUR 31.94 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
91
        Of which EUR 31.94 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-11 RIA                          20.00       3.00 to 5.00     5
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-12 RIA                          20.00       4.00 to 6.00     4
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-13 RIA                          20.00       3.00 to 5.00     3
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-14 IA                           21.00       6.00 to 8.00     6
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-16 IA                           21.00 92    5.00 to 7.00     3
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-19 RIA                          18.00       4.00 to 6.00     3
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-20 IA                           34.00 93    10.00 to 12.00   3
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-21 CSA                          4.50        Around 4.50      1
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-23 RIA                          20.00       3.00 to 5.00     4
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-24 RIA                          23.00       4.00 to 6.00     4
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-25 IA                           15.00       4.00 to 5.00     1
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-26 CSA                          10.00 94    Around 5.00      2
Overall indicative budget                                      402.20
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                  The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                               C.
Award criteria                                          The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                        D.
Documents                                               The documents are described in General
                                                        Annex E.
Procedure                                               The procedure is described in General
                                                        Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                 The rules are described in General Annex G.
92
        Of which EUR 18.76 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
93
        Of which EUR 30.31 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
94
        Of which EUR 6.05 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Agreements
Novel paradigms to establish resilient and circular value chains
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-01: Circular and low emission value chains
through digitalisation (Processes4Planet Partnership) (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per     6.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 25.30 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Demonstrate an increase in the waste reduction by application of digital technologies
   Demonstrate optimisation of use of secondary raw materials in the value chains.
Scope: Circularity is an essential part of a wider transformation of industry towards climate
neutrality and long-term competitiveness. It can deliver substantial material savings
throughout value chains and production processes, generate extra value and unlock economic
opportunities. While circularity is in simple terms addressed by waste from one process
becoming secondary materials for others, an efficient use in the value chain in order to close
the loop or reuse in other industries, can be ensured only through a transparent information
system. There is thus a need for designing and piloting an information system for raw
materials and components in products throughout the whole value chain of process industries.
Proposals should:
   Propose new solutions for improved use of secondary raw materials along the value
     chain of the own industry or in other industries;
   Propose methodologies for digital tracing and certification of secondary raw materials.
     This should include real-time access to information on material compositions and
     material quality along the whole value chain;
   Propose digital tools for integration of product passport and/or certification schemes;
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   Propose open source software, open hardware design, and easy access to data, in order to
     facilitate access to information for the own and for other industries;
   Develop means and tools to indicate the composition and origin of recycled materials
     (bar code could be an option) indicating the composition and origin.
   Consider the co-design of learning resources together with local and regional educational
     organisations for current and future generations of employees, with the possibility of
     integrating them in existing curricula and modules for undergraduate level and lifelong
     learning programmes. Learning resources should integrate the identification of new
     skills and should propose innovative learning-teaching methods that meet regional social
     needs and have a high potential for replication.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination. Proposals should contribute to
standardisation, wherever possible.
This topic implements the co-programmed European partnership Processes4Planet.
Raw materials for EU open strategic autonomy and successful transition to a climate-
neutral and circular economy
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-02: Monitoring and supervising system for
exploration and future exploitation activities in the deep sea (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 14.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 14.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 3-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
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Expected Outcome: Projects cost-effective outcomes will enable achieving the expected
impacts of the destination by increasing access to primary raw materials, in particular critical
raw materials for EU industrial value chains and strategic sectors.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Develop technologies and systems to continuously monitor environmental impacts and
      mitigation methods of deep sea exploration and future mining;
   Develop multi-scale systems to identify gaps on the relevant available environmental
      data needed to develop statistically robust baselines that take into account the three-
      dimensional and temporal natural variability of the marine environment;
   Provide technological and systemic solutions for forecasting potential environmental
      impacts of using the developed monitoring and mitigation methods.
Scope: The global economic interest in deep-sea mineral resources has been growing and so
are the concerns with the negative impacts on the deep sea ecosystems if mining activities
start. The expected increase of the global demand for metals needed for the energy transition
might become a driver to initiate commercial deep sea mining, paved by the technological
advancements. However, before any deep-sea mining activities start, the environmental
impacts, and how to mitigate them, need to be well understood; a robust legal framework
needs to be in place and a reliable and transparent monitoring and supervising system for the
activities taking place in the deep-sea has to be ready. For the sake of transparency and to
properly assess the environmental consequences of the activities taking place in the deep sea
over time, it is crucial to develop and to put in place a system capable of continuous
monitoring, of the exploration and exploration activities, so the permitting and supervising
authorities can access it remotely and at any moment.
The actions should design and develop a reliable and robust monitoring and inspection system
for the exploration and future exploitation activities in the deep-sea. Before the monitoring
and inspection systems are used a forecasting of the impact on the environment of these
activities should be performed. Therefore, projects should deliver appropriate technological
and systemic solutions for such forecasting assessments.
A monitoring and inspection system for the activities taking place in the deep sea is very
complex because the activities take place in remote areas, in the middle of the ocean, and in
an extreme environment, deep water column and consequent pressure and fragile ecosystems.
The system needs to be fully transparent and capable of monitoring all relevant environmental
parameters and at the same time protect business confidentiality. Due to the complexity of
such system, the project has to be developed by a multidisciplinary team, looking at
environmental, legal and technological solutions. Any bathymetry, geology, seabed habitats,
chemistry, biology and physics marine data collected, in particular at the testing phase, should
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be INSPIRE95 compliant and made available through the European Marine Observation and
Data Network (EMODnet).
For each of the three mineral deposits (polymetallic nodules, manganese crusts and sulphide
deposits) found at different depth ranges of the ocean the project will
   1. Identify all the bio-chemical-physical parameters to be monitored at the bottom of the
      sea, along the water column and at the surface;
   2. Identify all technical requirements needed for a real time monitoring of all parameters at
      the bottom, along the water column and surface, including the use of satellite data
      (Global Navigation Satellite System and Copernicus’ satellite constellation) and to make
      it continuously available for remote access;
   3. Identify existing technological solutions and develop new ones to fulfil the technical
      requirements;
   4. Design and develop the architecture of the system in view of incorporating the
      monitoring parameters, the technical requirements and the legal constrains;
   5. Develop a trial version of the system and test it.
The project should build on and explore synergies with previous and ongoing EU funded
projects on environmental impacts and environmentally friendly technologies for exploration
and exploitation of the deep sea. The project should cooperate closely with the International
Seabed Authority, notably with its Legal and Technical Commission, and take into account
the legal framework for the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof beyond the limits of
national jurisdiction. The project should take into account the developments of the
international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of
Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond
national jurisdiction.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-03:                             Streamlining     cross-sectoral      policy
framework throughout the extractive life-cycle in environmentally protected areas
(CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.40
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                        requesting different amounts.
95
         Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2007 establishing an
         Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE)
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Indicative          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.40 million.
budget
Type of Action      Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility         The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                    strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security, namely to reconcile the
                    increasing demand for critical raw materials for achieving climate-
                    neutrality with nature protection, restoration and biodiversity growth and
                    the need to exchange good practices in extractive activities permitting
                    procedures with national and regional authorities, participation to the topic
                    is limited to legal entities established in Member States, associated
                    countries, OECD countries, African Union Countries, and MERCOSUR,
                    CARIFORUM, and Andean Community.
                    Proposals including legal entities which are not established in these
                    countries will be ineligible.
                    The above exception is aligned with the Communication (2020) 474 on
                    Critical Raw Materials Resilience, on the need to develop strategic
                    international partnerships on raw materials.
Expected Outcome: Projects outcomes will enable achieving the expected impacts of the
destination by increasing access to primary raw materials, in particular critical raw materials
for EU industrial value chains and strategic sectors.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Exchange of good practices in permitting procedures related to extractive activities that
      may have an impact in environmentally protected areas;
    Dissemination and exploitation of projects outputs is tailored for competent EU, national
      and regional authorities, industry and civil society in EU Member States.
Scope: Reconciling the increasing demand for Critical Raw Materials necessary for the EU
climate neutral ambition, with nature protection, restoration and biodiversity enhancement,
requires strengthening the raw materials policy framework. Streamlining more efficient,
effective and transparent permitting procedures throughout the mineral extraction life-cycle in
environmentally protected areas, would contribute to securing the sustainable access to
primary raw materials, whilst taking into account and reconciling requirements in
environmentally protected areas.
The actions should contribute to the exchange of good practices in permitting procedures
related to extractive activities that may have an impact on environmentally protected areas.
They should focus on reviewing good practices at the permitting stage in areas such as
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evaluating natural background conditions previous to the mineral extraction, evaluating the
impact on human health and biodiversity, as well as foreseen nature protection and restoration
measures. Particular attention will have to be paid to the legal obligations and practices
ensuring compliance with EU nature legislation (Birds and Habitats Directives) and the goals
of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.
The actions should analyse cross-sectorial policy coordination and integration covering
economic, environmental and social aspects in the value chain of the extractive life cycle from
finding and access to deposits to closure and rehabilitation, while focusing on the contribution
of streamlined permitting procedures to deliver on the climate ambition of the European
Green Deal.
The actions should develop and disseminate analyses (including on the most affected raw
materials, categories of sites, pressures, impact assessment methods, mitigation and
compensation measures etc.) and training material; organise capacity-building workshops and
seminars for competent authorities, industry and civil society in different Member States and
other countries in Europe. These activities can also address other countries that are eligible to
participate.
All the data and information generated through these actions should be shared in open formats
on a free of charge basis with the European Commission, for its own use and for publication.
Proposals should take into account issues of accessibility and inclusivity, such as age, gender,
disability, and socio-economic background.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-04: Developing digital platforms for the small
scale extractive industry (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                     requesting different amounts.
Indicative           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
budget
Type of Action       Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                     strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security, namely to increase EU
                     resilience in raw materials supply chains for EU industrial value chains
                     and strategic sectors to enable their green and digital transition and to
                     reduce current EU over-dependence on a few third countries for critical
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                        raw materials by using digital platforms to address their needs while
                        protecting biodiversity and raising awareness, participation to the topic is
                        limited to legal entities established in Member States, associated countries,
                        OECD countries, African Union Countries, and MERCOSUR,
                        CARIFORUM, and Andean Community.
                        Proposals including legal entities which are not established in these
                        countries will be ineligible.
                        The above exception is aligned with the Communication (2020) 474 on
                        Critical Raw Materials Resilience, on the need to develop strategic
                        international partnerships on raw materials.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level         General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects outcomes will enable achieving the expected impacts of the
destination by increasing access to primary raw materials, in particular critical raw materials
for EU industrial value chains and strategic sectors.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Develop digital platforms (applications) addressing needs of small-scale operations,
      mining clusters and SMEs, to enable a transformative change in EU extractive industries
      ensuring EU raw materials autonomy, while protecting and restoring biodiversity, boost
      our resilience, fight climate change and recover from the COVID-19 crisis;
    Develop business models and operation models.
    Contribute to the digitalisation of the extractive industry.
Scope: Actions should develop digital platforms that integrate Earth Observation data, in situ
data and data modelling, to improve data management and decision making during the
extractive process. Proposals are encouraged to make use of, but not limited to, existing EU
and Member States data infrastructures.
These digital platforms should scale up to the increased data volumes of the extractive
activities, incorporating assimilation techniques and interoperability best practices,
automation, systemization and integrated web-based services, and be brought into pre-
operational service provision, going beyond the demonstration phase.
Actions should contribute to digitalize the extractive industries operations and, being
INSPIRE 96 compliant, help data gathering at EU level for evaluating the performance and
competitiveness of extractive industries.
96
         Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2007 establishing an
         Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE)
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These digital platforms should contribute to increase the dialogue between the extractive
industry and EU citizens, raising awareness about the impact of raw materials on the value
chains and society well-being and reinforcing the commitment of the industry to protect
human health and natural eco-systems.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination. For TRLs 6-7, a credible strategy to achieve
future full-scale manufacturing in the EU is expected, indicating the commitments of the
industrial partners after the end of the project.
Building on past projects, the actions should provide practical and easily applicable capacity
building and training materials for a better environmental and social management of active
operations. They should also include exchange of best practices and capacity building for the
effective monitoring of extraction sites by competent authorities.
Actions should envisage clustering activities with other relevant selected projects for cross-
projects co-operation, consultations and joint activities on cross-cutting issues and share of
results as well as participating in joint meetings and communication events. To this end
proposals should foresee a dedicated work package and/or task, and earmark the appropriate
resources accordingly.
Actions should also contribute to improving the awareness of relevant external stakeholders
and the general public across the EU about the importance of raw materials for society, the
challenges related to their supply within the EU and about proposed solutions which could
help to improve society's acceptance of and trust in sustainable raw materials production in
the EU.
Proposals should take into account issues of accessibility and inclusivity, such as age, gender,
disability, and socio-economic background.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-05: Technological solutions for tracking raw
material flows in complex supply chains (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 13.50
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                     requesting different amounts.
Indicative           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 13.50 million.
budget
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
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                     In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                     strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security, namely to increase EU
                     resilience in raw materials supply chains for EU industrial value chains
                     and strategic sectors to enable their green and digital transition and to
                     reduce current EU over-dependence on a few third countries for critical
                     raw materials by increasing sustainable and responsible sourcing of
                     primary and secondary raw materials and by using technological solutions
                     to improve supply chain data transparency and traceability, participation
                     to the topic is limited to legal entities established in Member States,
                     associated countries, OECD countries, African Union Countries, and
                     MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, and Andean Community.
                     Proposals including legal entities which are not established in these
                     countries will be ineligible.
                     The above exception is aligned with the Communication (2020) 474 on
                     Critical Raw Materials Resilience, on the need to develop strategic
                     international partnerships on raw materials.
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 3-5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects outcomes will enable achieving the expected impacts of the
destination by increasing access to primary raw and secondary raw materials, in particular
critical raw materials for EU industrial value chains and strategic sectors.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Improve supply chain data transparency and traceability;
    Set up technological solutions for tracking raw material flows (material passports);
    Identify and address gaps in due diligence;
    Develop comparable criteria, reporting and audit approaches;
    Sustainable sourcing of raw materials;
    Contribute to the implementation of the following actions of the EU Action Plan on
      Critical Raw Materials: Action 4 - Map the potential supply of secondary critical raw
      materials from EU stocks and wastes and identify viable recovery projects.97
Scope: There is a need to improve supply chain data transparency and traceability, enabling
consumers and downstream producers to have information about the origins of metals in
finished products. In order to achieve the expected outcomes, it is advised to involve
industrial users from the downstream side. Due diligence has numerous research gaps in this
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area which need to be addressed in order to limit complexity and enable a level playing field
for responsible sourcing of minerals.
This action should close those gaps by the setting up of technological solutions for tracking
raw material flows (material passports), building upon comparable criteria, reporting and
audit approaches. Examples would include transparency in payments and traceability from
beginning to end of the supply chain, through a chain of custody certiﬁcation, and the use of
block chain technology in an eﬀort to improve supply chain transparency and traceability.
The action should build on the experience of existing EU projects on international responsible
sourcing and contribute to strengthening responsible sourcing agenda.
It is foreseen that this will facilitate responsible sourcing in complex supply chains and put
companies downstream in the supply chain in a better position to inﬂuence companies
upstream.
The proposal should build on the state of the art in sustainable raw materials traceability with
regard to sustainability certification schemes, standards and initiatives as well as block chain
technology. The proposal should also build on the experience from earlier Horizon 2020
projects in the area of responsible sourcing of raw materials in global value chains. The
proposal should cover CRMs in at least five complex supply chains, including a batteries
value chain.
The action should also contribute to improving the awareness of relevant external
stakeholders and the general public across the EU about the importance of raw materials for
society and of the challenges related to their sustainable supply.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-06: Sustainable and innovative mine of the
future (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 12.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                     requesting different amounts.
Indicative           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 36.00 million.
budget
Type of Action       Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
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                     In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                     strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security, namely to increase EU
                     resilience in raw materials supply chains for EU industrial value chains
                     and strategic sectors to enable their green and digital transition and to
                     reduce current EU over-dependence on a few third countries for critical
                     raw materials by increasing sustainable and responsible sourcing of
                     primary and secondary raw materials and by using sustainable, smart,
                     efficient and environmentally friendly technologies, participation to the
                     topic is limited to legal entities established in Member States, associated
                     countries, OECD countries, African Union Countries, and MERCOSUR,
                     CARIFORUM, and Andean Community.
                     Proposals including legal entities which are not established in these
                     countries will be ineligible.
                     The above exception is aligned with the Communication (2020) 474 on
                     Critical Raw Materials Resilience, on the need to develop strategic
                     international partnerships on raw materials.
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ outcomes will enable achieving the expected impacts of the
destination by increasing access to primary raw materials, in particular critical raw materials
for EU industrial value chains and strategic sectors.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Develop sustainable and smart mining technologies for exploitation of EU mineral
     resources;
    Contribute to a more safe and environmentally friendly, resource- and production
     efficient sustainable mining;
    Develop methods, technologies and processes aiming for digitisation and automation of
     raw materials production;
    Contribute to the implementation of the following actions of the EU Action Plan on
     Critical Raw Materials: Action 8: Develop Horizon Europe R&I projects on processes
     for exploitation and processing of critical raw materials to reduce environmental impacts
     starting in 2021 and Action 3: Launch critical raw materials R&I in 2021 on waste
     processing, advanced materials and substitution.98
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Scope: Actions should contribute to applying, adapting and eventually developing big data
technologies and Artificial Intelligence methodologies addressing mining industry
requirements to deliver on the climate ambition of the European Green Deal. The challenge is
to accelerate the innovation in the mining sector necessary for the digital transformation.
Actions should aim to develop new, enabling, operational solutions to improve capabilities
and performance of the raw materials value chain: from in situ mineral exploration and
permitting procedures, to mineral extraction and processing including recycling, as well as
closure and post closure activities.
Actions should push the EU to the forefront of a safer, more sustainable and intelligent
extraction of mineral resources through the deployment of technologies such as electrification
of ground and underground mobility, remote controlling, automation or autonomous
processes with a particular focus on historic mine sites and deep deposits. Actions should
develop sustainable solutions through industrial and user-driven multidisciplinary consortia
covering the relevant mining and processing value chains and technologies.
Proposals should target minerals and metals and can address individual elements of the raw
materials value chain or the value chain as a whole, and should provide quantitative measures
of the progress beyond the state of the art. Proposals are also required to seek end user
involvement to drive the research with their requirements and test the developed solutions,
with a clear path to the exploitation of the results.
Actions should facilitate the market uptake of solutions developed through industrially- and
user-driven multidisciplinary consortia covering the relevant value chain and should consider
standardisation aspects when relevant.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination. For TRLs 6-7, a credible strategy to achieve
future full-scale manufacturing in the EU is expected, indicating the commitments of the
industrial partners after the end of the project.
Actions should justify the relevance of selected pilot demonstrations in different locations
within the EU (and also outside if there is a clear added value for the EU economy, industry
and society).
The action should also contribute to improving the awareness of relevant external
stakeholders and the general public across the EU about the importance of raw materials for
society, the challenges related to their supply within the EU and about proposed solutions
which could help to improve society's acceptance of and trust in sustainable raw materials
production in the EU.
Actions should envisage clustering activities with other relevant selected projects for cross-
projects co-operation, consultations and joint activities on cross-cutting issues and share of
results as well as participating in joint meetings and communication events. To this end
proposals should foresee a dedicated work package and/or task, and earmark the appropriate
resources accordingly.
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Proposals should take into account issues of accessibility and inclusivity, such as age, gender,
disability, and socio-economic background.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-07: Innovative solutions for efficient use and
enhanced recovery of mineral and metal by-products from processing of raw materials
(IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 12.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                      requesting different amounts.
Indicative            The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 36.00 million.
budget
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                      strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security, namely to increase EU
                      resilience in raw materials supply chains for EU industrial value chains
                      and strategic sectors to enable their green and digital transition and to
                      reduce current EU over-dependence on a few third countries for critical
                      raw materials by increasing access to primary and secondary raw materials
                      by using innovative solutions for higher recovery rates and minimal
                      environmental impact, participation to the topic is limited to legal entities
                      established in Member States, associated countries, OECD countries,
                      African Union Countries, and MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, and Andean
                      Community.
                      Proposals including legal entities which are not established in these
                      countries will be ineligible.
                      The above exception is aligned with the Communication (2020) 474 on
                      Critical Raw Materials Resilience, on the need to develop strategic
                      international partnerships on raw materials.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects outcomes will enable achieving the expected impacts of the
destination by increasing access to primary raw materials and secondary raw materials, in
particular critical raw materials for EU industrial value chains and strategic sectors.
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Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
     Increase process selectivity, broader range and higher recovery rates of valuable raw
      materials, particularly critical raw materials;
     Unlocking substantial reserves of new or currently unexploited/underexploited resources
      within the EU;
     Significantly increase economic performance in terms of higher material-, water-,
      energy- and cost-efficiency and flexibility in minerals processing, metallurgical or
      recycling processes;
     Significantly improve the health, safety and environmental performance of the
      operations throughout the whole life cycle which is considered, including a reduction in
      waste, wastewater and emissions generation and a better recovery of resources from
      generated waste;
     Contribute to the implementation of the following actions of the EU Action Plan on
      Critical Raw Materials: Action 8: Develop Horizon Europe R&I projects on processes
      for exploitation and processing of critical raw materials to reduce environmental impacts
      starting in 2021 and Action 3: Launch critical raw materials R&I in 2021 on waste
      processing, advanced materials and substitution.99
Scope: Actions should develop sustainable systemic solutions through industrially- and user
driven multidisciplinary consortia covering the relevant value chain of non-fuel, non-food raw
materials.
Actions should develop energy-, material- and cost-efficient new sustainable mineral
processing and/or metallurgical technologies and processes to increase the selectivity and the
recovery rates of valuable by-products 100 , particularly critical raw materials 101 . The
importance of the targeted raw material by-products for the EU economy should be duly
demonstrated in the proposal. Recycling of end-of-life products is excluded from this topic.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination. For TRLs 6-7, a credible strategy to achieve
future full-scale manufacturing in the EU is expected, indicating the commitments of the
industrial partners after the end of the project.
Actions should facilitate the market uptake of solutions developed through industrially- and
user-driven multidisciplinary consortia covering the relevant value chain and should consider
standardisation aspects when relevant.
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100
         The term "by-products" should be interpreted here as the constituents usually accompanying the major
         component(s) of a raw material at low concentrations.
101
         EU list of critical raw materials 2020 – add link when published
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Actions should justify the relevance of selected pilot demonstrations in different locations
within the EU (and also outside if there is a clear added value for the EU economy, industry
and society).
Actions should also contribute to improving the awareness of relevant external stakeholders
and the general public across the EU about the importance of raw materials for society, the
challenges related to their supply within the EU and about proposed solutions which could
help to improve society's acceptance of and trust in sustainable raw materials production in
the EU.
Actions should envisage clustering activities with other relevant selected projects for cross-
projects co-operation, consultations and joint activities on cross-cutting issues and share of
results as well as participating in joint meetings and communication events. To this end
proposals should foresee a dedicated work package and/or task, and earmark the appropriate
resources accordingly.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-08: Earth observation technologies for the
mining life cycle in support of EU autonomy and transition to a climate-neutral
economy (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.50
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                     requesting different amounts.
Indicative           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 13.50 million.
budget
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                     and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                     Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                     additionally be used).
                     In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                     strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security, namely to increase EU
                     resilience in raw materials supply chains for EU industrial value chains
                     and strategic sectors to enable their green and digital transition and to
                     reduce current EU over-dependence on a few third countries for critical
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                      raw materials by increasing sustainable sourcing of primary raw materials
                      by using Earth Observation technologies for environmental monitoring,
                      participation to the topic is limited to legal entities established in Member
                      States, associated countries, OECD countries, African Union Countries,
                      and MERCOSUR, CARIFORUM, and Andean Community.
                      Proposals including legal entities which are not established in these
                      countries will be ineligible.
                      The above exception is aligned with the Communication (2020) 474 on
                      Critical Raw Materials Resilience, on the need to develop strategic
                      international partnerships on raw materials.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 3-5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects outcomes will enable achieving the expected impacts of the
destination by increasing access to primary raw materials, in particular critical raw materials
for EU industrial value chains and strategic sectors.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
     Unlock the potential of Earth Observation technologies, including Copernicus, through
      the development of downstream products and services for the whole mining life cycle,
     Strength EU autonomy in the area of raw materials, while enabling a successful
      transition to a climate-neutral, circular and digital EU economy;
     Contribute to the implementation of the following actions of the EU Action Plan on
      Critical Raw Materials: Action 7 - Deploy Earth-observation programmes and remote
      sensing for resource exploration, operations and post-closure environmental
      management.102
Scope: Actions should develop and innovate new methods to analyse Earth Observation data,
enabling systematic mineral exploration and continuous monitoring of extraction, closure and
post closure activities.
These developments and innovations should be built upon Copernicus satellite constellations,
and/or European national and commercial satellite missions, including, e.g. COSMO-Skymed,
EnMAP, PRISMA, TerraSAR-X, airborne and low-altitude platforms, ground based remote
sensing, also including conventional in situ techniques, methods and field work
measurements.
Actions targeting mineral exploration should develop EO methods that exploit multispectral,
hyperspectral, SAR and in situ data permitting to systematically revise and update pre-
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existing maps and datasets identifying new mineral deposits at various scales, from mining
regions to specific mining projects.
Actions targeting monitoring of extraction, closure and post closure activities should develop
EO methods that exploit radar, optical and in situ data to innovate products and services: a)
early warning systems and platforms that reduce operation risks; b) multi-sensor and multi-
platform environmental monitoring systems that reduce the impacts on human health and
preserve ecosystems.
Foreseen outputs of this action could be, but not limited to, new methods to exploit EO data
permitting to generate the following results at various scales, from mining regions to specific
mining projects.
For mineral exploration and mining monitoring:
   improved maps and techniques to map potential target areas of critical raw materials
   improved maps of mining waste deposits
   improved seabed mineral mapping by exploring the connection between sea shore and
      coastal areas
   Ground instability maps
   improved maps of mining waste deposits
   Mineral stockpile volume estimation
   Acid mine drainage maps
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Green and Sustainable Materials
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-10: Innovative                        materials  for    advanced
(nano)electronic components and systems (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
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Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 5 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Develop innovative new components and systems with enhanced and new functionalities
     and improved performance enabling added value to the European industry in sectors
     such as healthcare and wellbeing, mobility and transportation, aeronautics, environment
     monitoring, security and safety energy, smart cities, smart textiles and manufacturing;
   Impacts are also envisaged to smart grids, efficient through life performance monitoring,
     smart manufacturing and digital industry with increased computing performance and
     efficient data storage.
Scope: Europe aims to become a global role model for the digital economy and society.
Electronic components and systems (ECS) are the building blocks for this. Electronic
components and systems are core enablers and differentiators for the development of many
innovative products and services in all sectors of the economy.
Research and innovation are key to maintain the competitiveness of the European ECS
industry, generating growth, creating value, jobs and prosperity. Materials innovation lies at
the heart of this endeavour.
Actions under this topic must address one or more of the following technologies:
   Innovative materials design and processing for devices based on new and emerging
     technologies, including advanced methods of data driven materials design, for e.g.
     spintronics, neuromorphic, in-materio computing multisensing, photonics, nano-
     mechanics advanced ferroelectrics or biosensing;
   Heterogeneous integration of new materials (such as PZT, graphene, titanium oxide or
     aluminium oxide, etc.) for miniaturised sensor and actuator modules.
Proposals should indicate the key quantitative specifications to be achieved and develop
demonstrator components/systems to showcase the desired functionalities together with the
increased efficiency, reliability and manufacturability. Proposals are also expected to prove
the industrial relevance of the intended approach, establishing links to applications likely to
benefit from the development. End-of-life issues should be addressed.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
This topic is open for international cooperation where the EU has reciprocal benefit, while
excluding industrial competitors from countries where the safeguarding of IPRs cannot be
guaranteed.
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HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-11: Advanced lightweight materials for energy
efficient structures (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 5 by the end
Readiness Level       of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: The positive environmental impact of lightweight composite materials
most often occur due to benefits during the use-phase. The overall life-cycle benefits are often
reduced as a consequence of negative environmental impacts associated with the
manufacturing (energy consumption) and inherent challenges to regain the high-value
components (fibre and matrix) at industrial scale. Development of new chemistries for fast
curing resins, new bio-based composites (including fibres and core materials), joining
technologies between composites and other materials and associated novel production
techniques are expected to result in
   Reduced cost for production of renewable lightweight materials, 25 % lower cost than
      currently used materials;
   Light-weight products containing >50% sustainable, bio-based materials;
   Up to 30% lightweight potential through tailored functionality for a range of extreme
      environment (energy, infrastructures, aeronautics, space) applications and in surface
      transport;
   Reduction in CO2 emissions (LCA) of at least 20 %;
   Business models and circular value chains for lightweight bio based components;
   Improved time-to-market for European providers of lightweight solutions.
Relevant indicators and metrics, with baseline values, should be clearly stated in the proposal.
Scope: A step change is needed to develop new sustainable and high performance lightweight
materials and associated novel manufacturing techniques which comply with industrial
demands for quality and reliability. Research areas to be addressed include:
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    Development of new chemistries for fast curing resins (including bioresins) and
      associated novel production techniques (e.g. out-of-autoclave processes to reduce energy
      consumption);
    Utilisation of existing or development of cost competitive renewable resins and/or core
      materials in combination with new fibres to make all renewable lightweight composites
      and structures;
    Technologies and material design paradigms that enable hybrid composites based on a
      variety of constituents e.g. combinations of virgin and recycled fibres, bio-fibres
      including appropriate fibre coatings, etc. towards maximum cost and environmental
      benefits with a life-cycle perspective;
    High performance high temperature polymer composites with potential to extended use
      at temperatures above 300C. Besides general material and manufacturing, the long-term
      durability of materials in service is a potential are of research and development;
    New multifunctional composites where the materials and structures, besides traditional
      structural capacity, also is optimized towards one or several other functions such as
      thermal management (heating/cooling), energy harvesting and storage, morphing, self-
      monitoring, etc.;
    New recycling technologies for polymer composites structures and, in particular,
      composite constituents. The high value constituents e.g. carbon fibres or matrix are not
      easily separated and technologies to recycle both in the same process should be
      addressed.
Improving advanced lightweight materials will have a positive environmental impact, which
is in direct relation to the well-being of citizens.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
This topic is open for international cooperation where the EU has reciprocal benefit, while
excluding industrial competitors from countries where the safeguarding of IPRs cannot be
guaranteed.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-12: Functional multi-material components and
structures (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        4.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
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Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Technology           Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 6 by the end
Readiness Level      of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Optimised lightweight designs often require the use of multi-materials,
often with different physical properties, such as polymers composites and metals. The
manufacturing of multimaterial structures is thus a challenging task and many industries are
today addressing specific critical challenges that come with mixing of materials. It is of great
importance that multimaterial design is analysed from a holistic and multidisciplinary
perspective where all aspects from design to manufacturing, use and recycling are included in
the process. This will help industry make the change from traditional design based on one
material to multi-material design of lightweight structures.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Contribute to energy efficiency, increase competitiveness of new multi-materials items
     and multi-functional materials and products for a wide range of applications in the
     additive manufacturing industries and in specific industrial sectors e.g. transport
     including aeronautic, and maritime, consumer customised goods, communications,
     biomaterials, health and energy;
   Develop optimised structures in terms of operational performance and weight with a goal
     of reducing weight by 50% compared to traditional designs;
   Reduced lead-time of multimaterial products of 20% compared to today's design of
     multimaterial products that creates an increased competitiveness for the EU's industry;
   Strengthening of the EU's manufacturing industry through the intensive implementation
     of innovative and unconventional technologies along the EU's manufacturing value
     chain;
   Combine materials with high uniformity and with high mobility in industrial quantities
     with high reproducible quality;
   Increase of the product performance by at least 30% whilst retaining the product price;
   Dissemination of the challenges and benefits of functional multi-material components
     and structures in the relevant industrial sectors.
Relevant indicators and metrics, with baseline values, should be clearly stated in the proposal.
Scope: By combining several materials, proposals should advance the state of the art through
the development of ready assembled multifunctional devices. The role of new development in
additive manufacturing processes with dissimilar materials will be of importance. Proposals
should address and demonstrate several of the below simultaneous activities:
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   Quantification of improved functionalities, properties, quality and lifespan of fabricated
     pieces;
   Evaluation of matching materials properties to the production process to enable the
     joining of dissimilar materials for AM tools;
   Combination of precision engineering design with additive manufacturing methods to
     provide tailor-made joining solutions for dissimilar materials, with the ability to be
     reused/dismantled;
   Demonstration of a better understanding of the nanotechnology integrated materials
     properties and manufactures;
   Integration and validation at early stage of the qualification and certification
     considerations of the materials, including innovative non-destructive inspection
     techniques;
   Recycling aspects of multimaterial components and structures should also be addressed
     in detail.
   Joint development with material suppliers and end-users is required for a rapid uptake by
     industry;
   Modelling, simulation, standardisation and regulatory aspects (especially safety and
     nano-safety) and the process and materials qualification.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
This topic is open for international cooperation where the EU has reciprocal benefit, while
excluding industrial competitors from countries where the safeguarding of IPRs cannot be
guaranteed.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-23: Safe- and sustainable-by-design organic
and hybrid coatings (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 5 by the end
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Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Development of organic and hybrid coatings, safe- and sustainable-by-
design production strategies with enhanced functionality. This includes organic and hybrid
coatings and additives to substitute PFAS type coatings. Due to significant technical and
scientific challenges in several areas it has been difficult to find safer alternatives with the
absence of hazardous additives. In the past, this has led to substance substitution with
compounds that did not avoid the problem, but minimized it. Instead, a better approach is to
cover the whole lifecycle of products and include avoidance of hazardous substances and the
programming-in of sustainability along the product life cycle.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    A set of computational tools (including first-principles-based, data-driven, physics based
      and hazard, transport and fate models) to be used for supporting Safe- and Sustainable-
      by Design of materials (e.g. organic coatings and additives to replace PFAS);
    At least 2 novel materials (including bio-based ones) assessed in terms of their
      performance (function), human and environmental hazards (end-points determined based
      on the application areas) as well as their carbon and water footprints, recovery and
      recyclability, and overall environmental impact (LCA). Reaching at least 25% reduction
      in environmental impacts with <20% cost increase for production;
    Contribute to the development of safe- and sustainable-by-design criteria and guiding
      principles and apply them to organic or hybrid coatings;
    Enhance the social acceptance of the new developed materials by evidence basis
      compiled for consumer attitudes towards, and willingness to pay for, products that are
      less harmful to the environment, are sustainable, low carbon etc.;
    Certification programme (or equivalents) for sustainable containing products, along the
      whole value-chain;
Integration into standardisation process and development of a roadmap to achieve full
standardisation (of e.g. methods, protocols).
Relevant indicators and metrics, with baseline values, should be clearly stated in the proposal.
Scope: The largest share of the organic coatings market belongs to a family containing
Polyfluorinated Alkyl substances (PFAS), used in a wide variety of consumer and industrial
products. Research will therefore target development of innovative PFAS-free materials with
inherently surface active functions to be used for multi-industrial sector applications. (e.g.
novel bio-based materials). The proposals should focus on integration of sustainable-by-
design aspects including safety (toxicity), circularity and functionality of advanced coating
materials and techniques (e.g. nanostructured self-healing or omniphobicity), throughout their
lifecycle. Projects should include one or more of the following aspects:
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    Materials design supported by in silico methods for predicting hazards (toxicity) and fate
      to reduce additive exposure/leaching to humans and the environment;
    Development of alternatives maintaining functionality as well as reducing hazard and/or
      exposure (persistence) profiles with the aid of modelling, in order to reduce animal and
      experimental testing;
    Development of assays and approaches to demonstrate the reduction of hazard and/or
      exposure profiles of the new (alternative) advanced materials in a streamlined and robust
      manner to support route to market.
The proposals, activities and approaches should cover both - specific considerations for the
organic and hybrid coatings under study, as well as developing overarching best practices that
spans broader sectors of safe- and sustainable-by-design materials. Proposals should involve
all the actors in the value chain.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Leveraging the extensive experience from relevant initiatives and aligning with other EU-
funded projects targeting safe- and sustainable- by-design materials, in particular under CSA
topic HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-08, is essential.
This topic is open for international cooperation where the EU has reciprocal benefit, while
excluding industrial competitors from countries where the safeguarding of IPRs cannot be
guaranteed.
Materials for the benefit of society and the environment and materials for climate
neutral Industry
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-13: Smart and multifunctional biomaterials for
health innovations (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 5 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
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Expected Outcome: Multi-functional biomaterials are capable, by virtue of their own material
ingredients or surface properties, of achieving several biological responses simultaneously.
They may also help to dampen those that are undesirable such as inflammation, infection,
corrosion and issues related to bio and immune compatibility, while taking into account the
specificities due to sex, race and age.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Offer solutions through the development of multifunctional biomaterials to address and
     mitigate multiple bottlenecks in response to unmet clinical needs;
   Provide improved biocompatibility, biospecificity and longevity of medical devices or if
     relevant, improved bioactivity and/or biodegradability; physiological and biomechanical
     constraints and implications should also be considered.
   Show that the regulatory and IPR strategies are compatible with the overall research
     objectives.
Scope: Multifunctional biomaterials play a major part in shaping the future of Advanced
Therapies and Medical Devices. Health applications may include but are not limited to tissue
engineering, artificial organs, implants, bioinks for bioprinting platforms, microfluidics,
bioactive scaffolds, wearable and implantable devices, in-vitro diagnostics etc.
Projects funded under this topic should further:
   Develop and/or validate specific multifunctional biomaterials or micro systems for use in
     an eventual advanced therapy, medicinal product or medical device;
   Preclinical regulatory affairs as well as manufacturing processes would also need to be
     addressed, including up-scaling and good manufacturing practice (GMP);
   Pay special attention to the needs of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) as
     well as to the ultimate clinical applications of these biomaterials;
   Present a solid economical evaluation of possible savings, together with patient benefits.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
This topic is open for international cooperation where the EU has reciprocal benefit, while
excluding industrial competitors from countries where the safeguarding of IPRs cannot be
guaranteed.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-14:                      Membranes   for   gas   separations   -
membrane distillation (IA)
Specific conditions
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Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       6.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 21.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 4 and achieve TRL 7 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Advanced membrane materials are essential to achieve the goals of the
European Green Deal with significant reductions of industrial emissions in waste streams like
wastewater and waste gas like removal of gas / volatile pollutants from liquid emissions or
purification of wastewater.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   The next generation membrane materials, delivering smart solutions for greening of
      industrial plants;
   Advanced membrane materials for recycling of waste streams from industrial plants to
      support the Zero Pollution strategy;
   Better materials with outstanding separation performance and/or superior properties
      either in chemical, mechanical or thermal stability compared to commercial materials;
   Reduction of the water footprint of 10% in industrial plants for the preservation of
      freshwater resources;
   Up-scaling the desalination process by solar powered membrane distillation systems and
      coupling membrane distillation with solar / photovoltaic collectors;
   Energy saving by 10% through the application of a new generation of membranes.
   End-of-life issues
Scope: Membranes separation is one of the key process elements needed for the next level of
resource efficiency and for greener industrial plants. Proposals will address the development
of the new generation membrane materials from gas separation to membrane contactors in
comparison to the current state-of-the-art. Guidance by modelling and simulation techniques
should be provided to save on extensive experimentation and support up-scaling.
Proposals should address at least two of the following activities:
   Advanced membrane materials for the recovery of valuable components (ammonia,
      phosphate, alcohols, reactants, products, catalysts) from aqueous, organic and mixed
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     aqueous/organic process and waste streams to enhance the resource efficiency in
     industrial plants;
   Separating gas streams (e.g. CO2 utilisation processes) in the process emissions by using
     membrane technologies, where in addition to the produced product, other gases are in
     the stream (e.g. unreacted CO2 and hydrogen);
   Demonstrate the next generation of porous membranes for membrane contactors
     (membrane distillation, gas/liquid contactors, liquid/liquid contactors) with use of
     renewable energy sources (solar energy or waste heat) to achieve significant reduction in
     CAPEX and process costs of gas separations and distillation;
   Up-scaling the desalination process by solar powered membrane distillation systems by
     coupling membrane distillation with solar / photovoltaic collectors;
   New membrane materials to reduce the water footprint in industrial plants for the
     preservation of freshwater resources (e.g solvent tolerant reverse osmosis membranes,
     forward osmosis).
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
This topic is open for international cooperation where the EU has reciprocal benefit, while
excluding industrial competitors from countries where the safeguarding of IPRs cannot be
guaranteed.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-16: Building and renovating by exploiting
advanced materials for energy and resources efficient management (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       5.00 and 7.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 21.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of energy consumption and 36% of
     CO2 emissions in the EU. Renovation of existing old buildings has the potential to lead
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     to significant energy savings – potentially reducing the EU's total energy consumption
     by 5-6% and lowering CO2 emissions by about 5%;
   Compared to state of the art materials and components, the newly developed materials
     should deliver:
        Reduction by at least 30% of the embodied energy and CO2 at component level;
        Improvement by at least 20% of insulation properties;
        Reduction by at least 15% of the total costs compared to existing solutions;
        Demonstration of at least a 5% reduction of the energy spent during the whole life
           cycle of a building.
        Increased durability and lifetime, lower maintenance costs and environmental
           footprint.
   Demonstrate innovative retrofitting solutions using the building insulation materials as
     real cases approaching net zero energy standards and their replicability potential;
   Improvement of the quality of information from product manufacturers to facilitate
     better decision making;
   Strengthening of the competitiveness of the European construction sector in the field of
     “green” construction technologies;
   Sustainable building materials will be supporting the circular design. Self-sustaining
     buildings in respect to energy usage;
   New insulation materials should be cost effective, environmentally safe, fire resistant
     and can be easily applied on existing surfaces (e.g. spray coating);
   Return on investment should be below 7 years for deep retrofitting of buildings;
   Advent of a new generation of skilled workers and SME contractors in the construction
     sector aware of the need of a systemic approach towards energy efficiency should be
     promoted through the proposed activities.
Relevant indicators and metrics, with baseline values, should be clearly stated in the proposal.
Scope: Building envelopes and renovation materials that boost energy savings, save resources
and decrease carbon emissions, both during construction and operation of the buildings. In
view of the climate targets, Europe's building infrastructure needs a deep rehabilitation of
residential buildings (including buildings of historic value) while lowering the costs of
refurbishment. Building materials with adequate insulation properties are directly related to
the Green Deal and the well-being of our citizens.
Proposals should address and demonstrate several of the below activities:
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     Demonstrating that new insulation materials (not external cladding) will have reduced
      embodied energy, lower CO2 emissions and improved insulation properties during
      operation, and are cost effective, environmentally safe, fire resistant and can be easily
      applied on existing surfaces (e.g. spray coating);
     New components should also contribute to improve indoor air quality, by limiting VOCs
      emissions and/or by advanced properties aiming to absorb and biodegrade indoor
      contaminants;
     Enhanced durability for increased use duration, reduced maintenance and consequently
      reduced costs, respect of sustainability principles (the sustainability of each developed
      solution should be evaluated via life cycle assessment studies carried out according to
      the International Reference Life Cycle Data System - ILCD Handbook);
     New components should have to be lightweight construction with an ease of installation
      and provide for increased comfort and noise reduction, and find application to both new
      build and renovation and deliver realistic solutions at a reasonable price;
     Energy efficiency should be addressed by system integration and installation, exploiting
      synergies between technologies, which proved valid at a small scale and need a larger
      scale demonstration;
     Synergy with existing relevant Open Innovation Test Beds is encouraged;
     Clustering and cooperation with other relevant projects is strongly encouraged; in
      particular, liaison and synergies with the Horizon Europe Partnership on ‘People-centric
      sustainable built environment’ and Build4People.
Building materials with adequate insulation properties are directly related to the Green Deal
and the well-being of our citizens.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
The topic is open for international cooperation, while excluding industrial competitors from
countries where the safeguarding of IPRs cannot be guaranteed103
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-24: Novel materials for supercapacitor energy
storage (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        4.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
103
        SWD(2021)97 final, Report on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in third
        countries (2021)
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                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 23.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 6 by the end
Readiness Level          of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Supercapacitors are attractive alternatives to batteries because they can be
charged very quickly and can sustain vastly greater number of re-charge cycles than batteries
without losing efficiency. However, their power energy is lower than that of batteries but
recent material research breakthroughs have indicated that this can be substantially increased.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
     New supercapacitors with energy densities comparable to batteries in environmentally
      friendly electrolytes able to recharge in a fraction of the time required for current
      batteries, have no loss of performance over time and longer life;
     Substantial impact to energy storage systems solutions for applications ranging from
      consumer goods to electrification of transport and reduction of emissions;
     Innovative management systems for supercapacitors;
     Establish new industrial value chains with new energy storage products, tailored to meet
      the application requirements.
Scope: Compared to batteries, supercapacitor energy density is low and they use more
expensive and critical raw materials (CRMs). Proposals should address the challenge for new
material concepts to be used in supercapacitors to at least double the energy density over
current technologies reduce cost and minimise or eliminate use of CRMs.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Synergies are possible with any relevant projects from topic HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-11
from Cluster 5, and respective cooperation activities are encouraged, however R&I on energy
system integration, compatibility of systems or standards for participation in flexibility market
is excluded.
The topic is open for international cooperation, while excluding industrial competitors from
countries where the safeguarding of IPRs cannot be guaranteed104
Materials and data cross-cutting actions
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
104
         SWD(2021)97 final, Report on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in third
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HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-19:                      Advanced    materials  modelling    and
characterisation (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       4.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 18.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 5 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: The future of European industrial manufacturing requires further
advances in characterisation methods and computational modelling, in order to lead the way
to the reliable design of new and sustainable materials and processes, rapid upscaling, and
effective quality control. These advances can only be achieved through the development of
innovative techniques and a new generation of instrumentation, responding to industrial
needs.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Develop an open repository for knowledge transfer, data sharing for integration between
     advanced materials characterisation (material properties/functionalities) and modelling
     (data and physics based, engineering modelling), allowing full interoperability between
     data and workflows (CHADA, MODA and EMMO), with direct connection to
     manufacturing process;
   Develop characterisation techniques supporting key European technology area
     strongholds. The developed characterisation methods should be complemented with and
     validated by modelling tools;
   Enable a model-based innovation processes covering all stages from materials design
     (including several scales, e.g. from molecular to macroscale) to product development,
     including validation, characterisation and life cycle assessment, with the aim, in
     particular, of translating industry needs into innovation challenges and provide solutions;
   Increase the efficiency and effectiveness of materials and product development by
     reducing costs and time for product design, time-to-market and regulatory compliance,
     which will enable the transition to a decarbonised economy;
   Improve handling of missing data by means of artificial intelligence/machine learning
     methods and/or simulation;
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   Proposals should include a business case and exploitation strategy after the end of the
     action.
Scope: Proposals should:
   Develop a relevant range of characterisation methods, models and simulation tools to
     enhance the design – with clear demonstration of modelling and characterisation
     integration – and development stages of advanced materials and products, focusing on
     user cases related to low carbon and clean industry applications;
   Coordinate efforts towards data documentation, exchange procedures and ontologies that
     can aid the traceability, integrity and interoperability of data in line with Industry
     Commons and FAIR data principles;
   Seek the involvement of standardisation bodies for the development of standards, test
     guidance or guidance documents;
   Focus on the combination of theory with large-scale computational screening (e.g.
     Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning);
   Facilitate the re-use of existing research results on modelling and characterisation, as
     well as the uptake of new project results;
   Projects should contribute to the objectives of the European Materials Characterisation
     Council (EMCC) and European Materials Modelling Council (EMMC) and foresee the
     necessary resources to this effect.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-20: Climate Neutral and Circular Innovative
Materials Technologies Open Innovation Test Beds (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       10.00 and 12.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 34.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the end of
Readiness Level        the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Climate Neutral and Circular Innovative Materials Technologies are
essential in enabling the transition towards a European decarbonised economy. They can
contribute to a stronger circular economy, a cleaner Industry, a more sustainable growth and
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, which is fully in line with the Green Deal Strategy. To
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maintain its competitive advantage in clean Materials technologies the EU needs to increase
significantly the large-scale deployment and demonstration of new technologies across sectors
and across the single market, building new innovative value chains. Climate Neutral and
Circular Innovative Materials Technologies Open Innovation Test Beds (OITBs) will support
companies, especially SMEs, to become world leaders in clean products and technologies.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Increase significantly the large-scale deployment and demonstration of Climate Neutral
     and Circular Innovative Materials Technologies across sectors and the single market, as
     well as to build and maintain new innovative value chains;
   Reduce the technological risk of innovative materials and products, thus attracting more
     investors, and cut the time to market;
   Support companies, especially SMEs, to become world leaders in clean products and
     technologies by setting up a new generation of Open Innovation test Beds focused on the
     creation of Business Opportunities and Sustainability. Enhancing ownership and
     engagement of the society through active collaboration and empowering people and
     communities as actors of the climate neutral and circular transition ;
   Translation of industrial needs into scientific problems and concrete solutions, increased
     awareness and uptake by industry, and effective access of relevant stakeholders to know-
     how and advanced tools/infrastructure.
Scope: The following specific activities should be considered:
   Establish Open Innovation Test Beds (OITB) by upgrading existing or developing new
     materials facilities and pilot lines, and made available services for the design,
     development, testing, regulatory and environmental assessment and upscaling to industry
     and interested parties, specially SMEs;
   Specific focus will be given to the sustainability of the ecosystem by designing new
     funding instruments that would complement the already existing ones and provide
     further support for industrial uptake of climate neutral and circular innovative materials
     technologies in key strategic value chains;.
   Proposals should include actions designed to facilitate cooperation with other projects, to
     enhance user involvement and to reuse other projects results;
   Open access at fair conditions and cost as well as outreach and dissemination across
     Europe, based on a distinct methodology;
   Demonstrate measurable reduction of costs for product design, time-to-market and
     regulatory compliance by means of faster and cheaper evaluation of production process
     deviations. Relevant indicators and metrics, with baseline values, should be clearly
     stated in the proposal.
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In order to avoid duplication, the work will be aligned with the third pillar on Open
Innovation that will essentially focus on scaling up breakthrough and market-creating
innovation by establishing a European Innovation Council, support the enhancement of
European ecosystems of innovation and continued support to the European Institute of
Innovation and Technology (EIT) OITB for: Clean hydrogen Technologies; Fuel cells and
other alternative fuels; Carbon capture, storage and utilisation.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-25: Optimised Industrial Systems and Lines
through digitalisation (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         4.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level          General Annex B. – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: The digital transformation of the European manufacturing industry
depends on the availability and uptake of high quality, efficient, affordable and optimised
systems, such as those offered by cloud infrastructures, simulation-based twin technologies,
data driven approaches. However, there is a low uptake in Europe for such technologies, for
example in the case of cloud computing only 1 company in 4 apply it and only 1 in 5 for
SMEs105.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
     Support the transition towards industrial digitalisation;
     Increase speed of innovation by optimising the use of existing research results and
      facilitating uptake of new projects results;
     Design digital tools for industry (e.g. cloud systems, simulation-based twin technologies,
      data driven approaches, AI-based and reinforcement learning solutions) to enhance
      efficiency and product quality, as well as to increase the capability for better and faster
      reaction to market changes;
105
        https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Cloud_computing_-
        _statistics_on_the_use_by_enterprises.
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    Contribute to the development of advanced material modelling solutions in particular for
      manufacturing industry;
    Enhance data interoperability and new type of services related to the data analysis,
      simulations and/or visualisation techniques in each stage of the material value chain
      (design, processing, manufacturing, etc.) using FAIR data principles.
Scope: Digital tools can enable industry to control manufacturing processes and address
issues more efficiently and effectively as they run and update the production plant, while
improving key product and production performance indicators such as yield and throughput.
Proposals under this topic have to
    design robust digital tools integrating materials modelling and materials process
      development for industry;
    promote use and adaptation of existing tools and process developments that are
      applicable to different sectors;
    contribute also to the development of simulation and optimisation methods to facilitate
      more efficient design space exploration via experimentation, thereby reducing physical
      testing and improving quality;
    enhance efficiency of the manufacturing process;
    improve process and product quality;
    improve decision making efficiency, quality and understanding, while at the same time
      maintaining low operational costs.
Interconnection between processes and other industries is also in the scope, as there is an
increased integration of different domains and disciplines in complex workflows. To
overcome the problem, proposals have to address interoperability by implementing available
data standards like MODA, CHADA and ontologies like EMMO, as well as cooperation with
the Industry Commons developments.
The proposed use cases for the developed tool should demonstrate the business case and how
more sustainable solutions are achieved in the market, for example by reducing waste and/or
emissions during production. A Life Cycle Assessment should be included to estimate the
environmental improvement, together with a Life Cycle Cost assessment to demonstrate the
lower operational costs.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy,
as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
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Improving the resilience and preparedness of EU businesses, especially SMEs and
Startups
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-21: Leveraging standardisation in Digital
Technologies (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.50
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.50 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Connecting European stakeholders ecosystems, including SMEs, with
European and International standardisation bodies and other relevant actors. Identification of
standardisation areas, amongst others within the field of Internet standardisation, which need
European intervention and proposal of actions to address them.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Engagement of required stakeholders and experts to ensure lasting impact;
   Increase the influence of Europe into ICT standardisation, ensuring promotion of
     European requirements, values and interests;
   Set-up of a facility to support participation of European specialists in international ICT
     Standard Developing Organisations and global fora and consortia;
   Increase the participation of European specialists in international ICT Standardisation
     activities to support European values and interests, including in leadership positions;
   Synergies with other similar initiatives or European players including from EU (and
     national) funded R&I projects;
   Increase awareness and education on sustainability and ICT standardisation;
   Support standardisation meetings in Europe, so that European players have easier
     conditions for participation.
Scope: This action will involve and empower European stakeholders participating at the
development of open technical specifications and standards with the aim to representing
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European values and ethics, strengthen the take-up, scalability cross-border and cross-sector
interoperability of their technological solutions.
The aim is to reinforce the presence of EU and associated states experts in the international
ICT standardisation scene, by setting up a ICT standardisation observatory and a facility
supporting the participation of key European specialists (especially from SMEs and
Academia) in key international and global Standard Developing Organisations.
Key tasks to be carried out are:
   Mapping of the relevant activities in international ICT standardisation, including
      identification of sectors and areas, especially within the field of internet standardisation,
      where additional presence of EU and Associated Country experts may be needed. When
      relevant hosting standardisation meetings and workshops in Europe;
   Setting up of a management facility to support participation and leadership (e.g. chairing
      of technical committees) of key European specialists (incl. from SMEs and academia) in
      those organisations and technical bodies identified. The aim should be to achieve critical
      mass from industry, including SMEs and Startups, and academia for emerging
      standardisation activities;
   Liaise with relevant on-going developments in EU and national funded R&I projects, in
      particular with projects having identified standardisation output or with potential
      relevant results, including as well other coordination and support actions, and relevant
      European Partnerships;
   The consortium will define the process for an open call allowing the funding of the key
      European specialists to participate in global ICT standardisation activities to fulfil the
      scope of the call. The consortium will also define the process for an open call that will
      lead to a selection of an additional pool of specialist experts that may be needed to
      evaluate the applications for funding specialists to fulfil the scope of the proposal. In
      addition ad-hoc selection processes may be required. Financial support for these
      specialists will be typically in the order of EUR 1.000 – 10.000 per action by third party;
   Promotion of the relevance and benefits of ICT standardisation, especially for European
      industry competitiveness, driving sustainability, sovereignty, green deal, values and
      ethics. The proposal will also include actions, including development of tools and
      materials, to promote education on ICT standardisation;
   The proposal should take into account the previous activities carried out the observatory
      and facilities for funding experts within the topic ICT-40-2017 implemented by the
      StandICT.eu project and under ICT-45-2020 implemented under StandICT.eu2023
      project under (see http://www.standict.eu).
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement
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HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-26: 'Innovate to transform' support for SME's
sustainability transition (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply: In order to achieve
                       the expected objectives and/or the specific policy requirements of the
                       topic, the consortium must include at least three entities from at least
                       three Member States or Associated Countries.
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply: For actions funded
                       under this topic, the same legal entity may only be the coordinator of
                       one action. This means that any legal entity that is the coordinator of the
                       consortium may receive only one grant under this topic. In case the
                       same legal entity is the coordinator in more than one proposal submitted
                       under this topic, only the last submitted proposal will be considered for
                       evaluation. The coordinator of a consortium selected for funding under
                       this topic may also not be the coordinator in actions funded under the
                       topic     HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-29:                'Innovate    to
                       transform' support for SME's sustainability transition (CSA).
Legal and              The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of    apply:
the Grant              Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
Agreements             The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                       The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 50 000.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Support objectives of the European Green Deal and of the EU SME Strategy for a
     sustainable and digital Europe;
    Increased resilience of SMEs, by fostering technological and social innovation in SMEs
     to support their transition to more sustainable business models and more resource-
     efficient and circular processes and infrastructures;
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     Increased competitive sustainability of SMEs through the uptake of advanced
      technologies;
     Stronger innovation support ecosystems supporting the green, social and economic
      transition of SMEs, by leveraging synergies between existing EU networks and SME
      support initiatives.
Scope: Achieving European Green Deal objectives, and notably a climate neutral and resource
efficient economy, requires the full mobilisation of SMEs. The COVID-19 pandemic has also
led to companies redesigning their supply chains and facing a new industrial revolution,
brought on by a new generation of advanced technologies 106 , which are underpinning the
potential for competitive sustainability of SMEs.
The action will build on and further connect existing EU specialised business support
networks and centres – such as the Enterprise Europe Network, the European industry clusters
registered under the European Cluster Collaboration Platform, Centres for Advanced
Technologies for Industry. They will work in complementarity and close interaction with
Open Innovation Test beds, European Digital Innovation Hubs, Start-up Europe etc., but also
with academia, social partners and other social innovation actors.
This action will consist in:
A. Advisory services
Dedicated innovation and capacity building support will be provided to SMEs, to assess their
ability to transform their business models and increase their resilience.
This will consist of an assessment of SMEs’ innovation and sustainability practices,
elaboration of recommendations, notably in view of the uptake of advanced technologies
and/or social innovations.
Based on these recommendations, SMEs could receive further advisory services according to
their level of preparedness such as help and advice on proof of concept, investment readiness,
intellectual property (in cooperation with EU funded IP support), 107 technology transfer,
adaptation to standards, adaptation to environmental rules, design management, skill
106
         The Advanced Technologies for Industry project of the European Commission offers analytical
         overview of 16 advanced technologies: https://ati.ec.europa.eu/about/what-is-ati : Advanced
         Manufacturing Technology, Advanced Materials, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented and Virtual Reality,
         Big Data, Blockchain, Cloud Computing, Connectivity, Industrial Biotechnology, Internet of Things,
         Micro- and Nanoelectronics, Mobility, Nanotechnology, Photonics, Robotics and Security. European
         SMEs have shown a chronic lagging behind the US and China in the uptake of advanced technologies -
         See       ATI      reports    from      US      and     China      about     technology        performance:
         China:https://ati.ec.europa.eu/reports/international-reports/report-china-technological-capacities-and-
         key-policy-measures; and US: https://ati.ec.europa.eu/reports/international-reports/report-united-states-
         america-technological-capacities-and-key-policy
107
         https://intellectual-property-helpdesk.ec.europa.eu/index_en;                 https://intellectual-property-
         helpdesk.ec.europa.eu/horizon-ip-scan_en; https://euipo.europa.eu/ohimportal/en/online-services/ideas-
         powered-for-business
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development, partner search (including social partners). SMEs will receive targeted assistance
for the uptake of advanced technologies.
Social innovation should be recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical
interface and requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
This action will also include the set-up of a community, building on the SME Alliance
projects, in which best practices should be exchanged and SMEs could benefit from dedicated
peer-learning activities in order to learn from leaders (SMEs or larger corporates) of their own
sector. Incentives for leaders to share their best practices with peers should be identified in the
context of EU support to industrial ecosystems.
B. Financial support in the form of ‘Third party financing’
As a result of the advisory services and initial assessments, SMEs will receive financial
support through calls for SMEs, to implement the elaborated recommendations.
This should support amongst other activities the financing of a feasibility study, prototyping,
pilot testing, demonstrating, procurement of further specialised consultancy services and
coaching services that cannot be provided directly by the project partners, adaptation of
business processes, free access and support to use testing facilities, introduction of new IT
solutions etc.
The Commission estimates that at least half of the budget should be allocated to financial
support to SMEs in the form of third party financing.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement
Call - A DIGITISED, RESOURCE-EFFICIENT AND RESILIENT INDUSTRY 2021
(PCP)
                                                         HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-02-PCP
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)108
                          Topics                               Type Budgets         Expected       Number
                                                                 of     (EUR            EU             of
                                                              Action million)      contribution     projects
108
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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                                                                     2022      per project   expected
                                                                                 (EUR          to be
                                                                               million)109    funded
                                        Opening: 12 Oct 2021
                                     Deadline(s): 30 Mar 2022
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-02-01-                        PCP      9.00 110   Around         1
PCP                                                                           9.00
Overall indicative budget                                          9.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                  The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                               C.
Award criteria                                          The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                        D.
Documents                                               The documents are described in General
                                                        Annex E.
Procedure                                               The procedure is described in General
                                                        Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                 The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Improving the resilience and preparedness of EU businesses, especially SMEs and
Startups
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
109
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
110
        Of which EUR 5.38 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-02-01-PCP: Boosting green economic recovery
and open strategic autonomy in Strategic Digital Technologies through pre-commercial
procurement (PCP action)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per         9.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action           Pre-commercial Procurement
Eligibility conditions   The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                         exceptions apply:
                         The specific conditions for actions with PCP/PPI procurements in
                         section H of the General Annexes apply to grants funded under this
                         topic.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               PCP/PPI procurement costs are eligible.
                         The specific conditions are described in General Annex H.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Bring to the market new green, digital solutions that can increase Europe’s resilience and
     preparedness to tackle the circular economy and climate challenge, whilst strengthening
     EU open strategic autonomy in digital technologies;
   Advancing public sector modernization by capitalising on the transformational power of
     digital technologies to bring radical improvements to the quality and efficiency of public
     services;
   Leveraging PCP to drive innovation and increase resilience in the supply chain by
     opening up opportunities for innovative digitised companies, in particular SMEs and
     Startups, to access the public procurement market and scale up their business;
   Increased opportunities for wide market uptake and economies of scale for the supply
     side through increased demand for innovative green solutions, wide publication of
     results and where relevant contribution to standardisation, regulation or certification.
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Scope: By closing the gap between supply and demand in a way that reinforces EU open
strategic autonomy, PCPs can make a key contribution to economic recovery and growth 111.
As the future is one of green digital growth112, European public procurers need to lead by
example by procuring more green and more digital. This topic therefore focuses on forward
looking procurement of R&D to bring to the market new green, digital solutions that can
increase Europe’s resilience and preparedness to tackle the circular economy and climate
challenge.
This topic addresses Europe’s Achilles heel on the road towards a green and digital economic
recovery, the lack and fragmentation of public demand for innovative solutions113. While it is
well known that public sector modernisation and economic growth depend heavily on the use
of ICTs, European investments on innovation procurement in ICTs are still lagging behind
with a factor 3 compared to other leading global economies. Underinvestment is the biggest in
particular for R&D procurement (factor 5)114. Europe’s startups and SMEs are indispensable
in delivering the required innovations. As past experience shows that pre-commercial
procurement opens up the procurement market for startups and enables the public sector to
address societal challenges more effectively, Europe’s Startup community115 as well as public
procurers116 have requested the Commission and Member States to increase investments in
PCP.
This topic supports public buyers to collectively implement PCPs to drive innovation from the
demand side and open up wider commercialisation opportunities for companies in Europe to
take international leadership in new markets for strategic digital technologies that can deliver
greener solutions. The aim is to leverage PCP to encourage the development and to provide a
first customer reference for the piloting, installation and validation of breakthrough
innovations.
Addressing public sector transformation typically requires combinations of different cross-
cutting technologies and cooperation across public sector actors. The topic is thus open to
proposals from all domains of public sector activity to address public sector challenges that
require innovative ICT based solutions. It is open both to proposals requiring improvements
111
        Impacts of EU funded PCPs show 20%-30% efficiency and quality improvements in public services,
        doubling of the amount of public procurement directly awarded to startups/SMEs, a factor 20 increase
        in the amount of cross-border contract award to startups/SMEs and a factor 4 additional financing
        secured by startups/SMEs. The use of place of performance and IPR/commercialization conditions that
        fuel commercialization in Europe in PCPs also contributes to EU open strategic autonomy.
        PCP showcases: see e.g. impacts of PCPs that commercialised greener solutions
112
        ‘public authorities need to lead by example…’, Green deal communication, December 2019
113
        ‘A key factor in engineering economic turnaround will be the adoption of innovations... Europe’s focus
        should be primarily on ICT-using sectors because ICT-producing sectors alone are unlikely to provide
        significant productivity increases to the economy... The EU and governments can do this through their
        own procurement.’, Report for EU Parliament, Oct 2018
114
        SMART 2016/0040 that benchmarked European investments and policy frameworks for innovation
        procurement (study results to be presented and published in September-October 2020)
115
        Startup Europe Summit recommendations, March 2019
116
        Results of a survey carried out by the EU among procurers that participated in past EU funded PCP and
        PPI actions (see slide 28 for results of survey). Another specific survey, among procurers that
        participated in POV and PCP actions in the security domain, lead to the same conclusion that procurers
        want to more regular, annual open PCP calls.
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mainly based on one specific ICT technology, and those requiring end-to-end solutions that
need cross-cutting combinations of different ICT technologies. The work will complement
PCP Actions foreseen under other topics.
Proposals should demonstrate sustainability of the action beyond the life of the project. They
should demonstrate how the project is anchored in a clear strategy to fuel economic recovery
in a sustainable way through stronger early adoption of innovative green solutions. Activities
covered should include cooperation with policy makers to reinforce the national policy
frameworks and mobilise substantial additional national budgets for PCP and innovation
procurement in general beyond the scope of the project.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement
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DESTINATION – WORLD LEADING DATA AND COMPUTING
TECHNOLOGIES
This destination will directly support the following Key Strategic Orientations, as outlined in
the Strategic Plan:
   KSO A, ‘Promoting an open strategic autonomy by leading the development of key
      digital, enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains to accelerate
      and steer the digital and green transitions through human-centred technologies and
      innovations.’
   KSO C, ‘Making Europe the first digitally led circular, climate-neutral and
      sustainable economy through the transformation of its mobility, energy, construction
      and production systems
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
to the following expected impact of Cluster 4 as set out in Horizon Europe Strategic Plan:
   Globally attractive, secure and dynamic data-agile economy, by developing and
      enabling the uptake of the next-generation computing and data technologies and
      infrastructures (including space infrastructure and data), enabling the European single
      market for data with the corresponding data spaces and a trustworthy artificial
      intelligence ecosystem.
As data becomes the new fuel of the economy and a key asset to address our societal
challenges, the EU cannot afford to have the data of its businesses, public sector and citizens
stored and exploited largely outside its borders. This is affecting not only our economic
performance but also our security, safety and sovereignty.
As announced in the EU data strategy (COM(2020) 66), the EU has the means to become the
world’s most secure and trustful data hub. For that to happen, an important investment effort
in the development of data technologies is needed to support the use, interoperability and
analytical exploitation of EU-wide common data spaces targeting essential economic sectors
and areas of public interest. The COVID-19 crisis showed how essential it is to master data
technologies to address our societal challenges and to incentivize public and private
stakeholders to trustfully share data.
The investments should cover the necessary data infrastructure and service platforms to
enable virtualisation, adaptation of data and meta-data (including standards for data sharing)
as well as common analytics tools. Investment in this Destination will reinforce the cloud and
data infrastructure supply industry and make data accessible to research, education, businesses
and governments across the EU in a way that meets European values and requirements. It will
focus on energy-efficient and trustworthy data infrastructures and related services. The EU
also needs to swiftly develop generic cloud to edge to IoT technologies, methods, tools and
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platforms for the support of future hyper-distributed applications in any business/societal
sector.
Europe’s lead in the data economy also increasingly depends on its capability to
autonomously develop key High Performance Computing (HPC) technologies, provide access
to world-class supercomputing and data infrastructures, maintain global leadership in HPC
applications, and foster the acquisition of HPC skills. This is the purpose of the activities
funded by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking.
Investments in this Destination contribute substantially to climate change objectives. Energy
efficiency is a key design principle in actions, which will lead to new technologies and
solutions that are cornerstones for a sustainable economy and society. These solutions range
from environmentally sustainable data operations to balancing loads among centralised clouds
and distributed edge computing, from decentralised energy sources to energy-harvesting
sensors/devices, etc.
Finally, a robust data ecosystem rests as much on the wide, practical availability of top
solutions and results, as on the transparency of the research and innovation process. To ensure
trustworthiness and wide adoption by user communities for the benefit of society, actions
should promote high standards of transparency and openness. Actions should ensure that the
processes and outcomes of research and innovation align with the needs, values and
expectations of society, in line with Responsible Research and Innovation.
This Destination is structured into the following headings, which group topics together with
similar outcomes to address a common challenge:
     Data sharing in the common European data space
Data sharing and data interoperability are still at their infancy; few data markets for sharing
industrial data exist. In a recent survey117, more than 40% of the SMEs interviewed claim they
had problems in acquiring data from other companies. The diffusion of platforms for data
sharing and the availability of interoperable datasets is one of the key success factors which
may help to drive the European data economy and industrial transformation. On the other
hand, Europe is developing a strong legal framework for data and is well positioned to exploit
data from the public sector. The potential of European industrial data (from digitising
industry) creates great synergies to feed European data ecosystems with industrial, personal,
and public sector data, to be shared and exploited in full compliance with the ethical and legal
framework.
In line with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable), the
overall objective of the topics in this heading is to make Europe the most successful area in
the world in terms of data sharing and data re-use while respecting the legal framework
relating to security and privacy and fostering collaboration and building on existing
initiatives.
117
         https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/sme-panel-consultation-b2b-data-sharing
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    Strengthening Europe’s data analytics capacity
Recent developments in sensor networks, cyber-physical systems, and the ubiquity of the
Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have increased the collection of data
(including health care, social media, smart communities, industry, manufacturing, education,
construction, agriculture, water management finance/insurance, tourism, education, and more)
to an enormous scale (by 2025, 463 exabytes of data will be produced every day in the world).
There is significant potential for advances of data analytics at the intersection of many
scientific, technology and societal fields (e.g. data mining, AI, complex systems, network
science, statistics, natural language understanding, mathematics, particle physics, astronomy,
earth observation…), and new methods and approaches are needed along the whole data life-
cycle and value chain.
The overall objective of the topics in this heading is to make the EU fully autonomous in
processing, combining, modelling and analysing such large amounts of data for efficiently
predicting future courses of action with high accuracy and advanced decision-making
strategies. The use of natural resources is reduced and waste avoided by making it possible to
replace classical experiments by data-driven digital models. The technological achievements
under this heading will support the development of responsible and useful AI solutions, built
on high-quality and high-value data.
    From Cloud to Edge to IoT for European Data
Today, 80% of the processing and analysis of data takes place in data centres and centralised
computing facilities, and 20% in smart connected objects; only 1 European company in 4 use
cloud technologies; 75% of the European cloud market is dominated by non-EU players.
Considering the pace of development in this area outside of the EU, the implementation of the
activities will require R&I instruments with great flexibility, including the support of SMEs
and start-ups, to nurture a European ecosystem and deliver swift results.
In line with Europe’s data, green and industrial strategies, for capitalising on the paradigm
shift to the edge, Europe needs to pool major investments. Focus must be on the development
and deployment of the next generation computing components, systems and platforms that
enable this transition to a compute continuum with strong capacities at the edge and far edge
in an energy efficient and trustworthy manner.
The overall objective of the topics in this heading is to establish the European supply and
value chains in cloud to edge computing to Internet of Things (IoT) and tactile internet by
integrating relevant elements of computing, connectivity, IoT, AI cybersecurity. New
cloud/edge technologies with enhanced performance enabled by AI will increase European
autonomy in the data economy required to support future hyper-distributed applications.
Finally, actions on high-end computing for exascale performance and beyond will be entirely
implemented in the Joint Undertaking EuroHPC.
Today, Europe critically depends on foreign High Performance Computing (HPC)
technologies that are essential for scientific and industrial innovation and competitiveness. By
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2022 the next generation supercomputers will reach exascale performance, none of them with
European technology components.
The overall objective such actions is to ensure digital autonomy for Europe in key high-end
supercomputing technology (hardware and software) and applications, and developing the
first exascale supercomputer based predominantly on European technology by 2026.
Activities beyond R&I investments will be needed to realise the expected impacts: testing,
experimentation, demonstration, and support for take-up using the capacities, infrastructures,
and European Digital Innovation Hubs made available under the Digital Europe Programme;
large-scale roll-out of innovative new technologies and solutions (e.g. interconnections
between High-Performance Computing centres) via the Connecting Europe Facility; further
development of skills and competencies via the European Institute of Innovation and
Technology, in particular EIT Digital; upscaling of trainings via the European Social Fund +;
and use of financial instruments under the InvestEU Fund for further commercialisation of
R&I outcomes.
Expected impact
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
to world-leading data and computing technologies, and more specifically to one or several
of the following impacts:
    Improved European leadership in the global data economy
    Maximised social and economic benefits from the wider and more effective use of data
    Reinforced Europe’s ability to manage urgent societal challenges (e.g. data for crisis
       management, digital for clean energy).
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                Call                            Budgets (EUR million)        Deadline(s)
                                              2021                  2022
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DATA-01 141.00                                              21 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01                                      205.00         05 Apr 2022
Overall indicative budget            141.00                   205.00
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Call - WORLD LEADING DATA AND COMPUTING TECHNOLOGIES 2021
                                                                        HORIZON-CL4-2021-DATA-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)118
                  Topics                        Type         Budgets         Expected EU          Number
                                                  of          (EUR          contribution per          of
                                               Action        million)        project (EUR          projects
                                                                              million)119         expected
                                                              2021                                  to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 21 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DATA-01-01 RIA                            52.00 120     8.00 to 11.00            5
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DATA-01-03 IA                             30.00         Around 5.00              6
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DATA-01-05 RIA                            54.00         8.00 to 12.00            5
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DATA-01-07 CSA                            3.00          Around 1.50              2
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DATA-01-08 CSA                            2.00          Around 2.00              1
Overall indicative budget                                  141.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                      The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                      The criteria are described in General Annex
118
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
119
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
120
        Of which EUR 30.91 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Data sharing in the common European data spaces
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DATA-01-01: Technologies and solutions for compliance, privacy
preservation, green and responsible data operations (AI, Data and Robotics
Partnership) (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per     8.00 and 11.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 52.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Technology           Activities are expected to start at TRL 2-3 and achieve TRL 4-5 by the
Readiness Level      end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
    improve the efficiency and the use of trustworthy digital technologies to address the
     requirements of citizens, companies and administrations/public organisations on privacy
     and commercial and administrative confidentiality as well as responsible, fair and
     environmentally friendly (e.g. in terms of energy/carbon/material footprint) data
     operations in data spaces, across the data life cycle.
Scope: Digital technologies, methods, architectures and processes for user-friendly, safe,
trustworthy, compliant, fair, transparent, accountable and environmentally sustainable
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collection, storage, processing, querying, analytics and delivery of data. The technologies
should facilitate sharing and manipulation of data in compliance with prevailing and emerging
legislation (e.g. GDPR) for data processors and data subjects/rightholders and other
stakeholders. The technologies and solutions should enable safe and secure data handling,
sharing and re-use in the context of common European data spaces in various situations and
application areas. The scope also includes the combination of technological and social
innovation, technologies and solutions that enable environmentally sustainable data
operations (e.g. by optimising/minimising/de-centralising processing, transfer and storage of
data and avoiding unnecessary data manipulations, using energy-harvesting sensors/devices
etc.), as well as technologies and solutions for ensuring human, fair and ethically sound
collection, processing and manipulation of data, in line with the principles of
responsible/trustworthy AI.
The actions under this topic should liaise with relevant cyber-security actions under Cluster 3.
The actions are expected to build on Horizon 2020 actions on privacy-preserving technologies
and liaise with appropriate actions from Horizon 2020 topic ICT-13-2018-19, as well as with
data-centric H2020 European Research Infrastructures. They should also liaise with the Data
Spaces Support Centre (to be set up under the Digital Europe programme), in order to provide
methods and solutions for the emerging common European data spaces (to be deployed under
the Digital Europe programme). Likewise, they should liaise with other relevant national,
regional and trans-national initiatives such as Gaia-X and EOSC, especially to ensure
interoperability and reasonable re-use of common reference models, processes and building
blocks for a pan-European data infrastructure.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on Artificial Intelligence,
Data and Robotics.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DATA-01-03: Technologies for data management (AI, Data and
Robotics Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 30.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 8 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
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Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
    provide new secure and energy-efficient data management tools improving the usability
      and discoverability of data in different contexts, covering data provenance, synthetic
      data generation, data quality management (such as data cleaning, validation, enrichment,
      co-creation, identification of bias and correlations), improving data interoperability,
      metadata management (automated ways of labelling and describing data, data linkage),
      and ensuring data security, privacy and integrity, especially in the context of data spaces.
Scope: The actions under this topic are expected to provide practical, robust and scalable tools
to improve the interoperability, quality, and integrity of data and metadata, in the context of
other topics of the heading “Data sharing in the common European data space”. The data
management tools and systems should support a holistic approach of the data life cycle and
comply with accountability, fairness and confidentiality as well as the FAIR principles
(Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) for data and metadata management. Building
on results of relevant past and current initiatives, data management tools, systems and
processes are expected to enable, support and/or automate the creation and maintenance of
common ontologies, vocabularies and data models and/or structured, standardised and
automated authoring, co-creation, curation, annotation and labelling of data, in view of
different later uses (especially AI) made of the data. The actions are expected to create links
with relevant initiatives collecting/using heterogeneous/linguistic data, including AI initiatives
(such as AI4EU, European Language Grid, or the projects from the H2020 topic ICT-48), and
liaise with standardization bodies, where appropriate.
Actions are expected to deal with gaps and needs identified in real-world data space
management and real-world data heterogeneity challenges (encoding formats, multiple
languages, collection mechanisms, access methods, etc.), supporting, where necessary,
hybrid/adaptive approaches and models, leading to robust, reliable and automated annotation
of unstructured data sources. The tools should contribute to minimization of the energy
footprint, be adaptable to different user needs and support and encourage new business
models and (where appropriate) citizen involvement and social innovation. The tools should
be demonstrated by diverse use cases. Provision of open source tools is encouraged to
contribute to outreach and impact.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on Artificial Intelligence,
Data and Robotics.
From Cloud to Edge to IoT for European Data
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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HORIZON-CL4-2021-DATA-01-05: Future European platforms for the Edge: Meta
Operating Systems (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        8.00 and 12.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 54.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Technology              Activities are expected to start at TRL 4 and achieve TRL 5 by the
Readiness Level         end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial     The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant     exceptions apply:
Agreements              Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                        The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of
                        grants.
                        The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 150
                        000 in order to allow third parties to support industry, in particular
                        SMEs, in take-up of emerging edge topologies, for populating and
                        validating relevant use cases through experiments.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
   Next generation of higher-level (meta) operating systems for the smart Internet of Things
     with strong computing capacity at the smart device, system and edge-level, embedded in
     a compute continuum from IoT-to-edge-to-cloud. Such Operating system should be
     device independent and implement advanced concepts such as ad-hoc clouds, time-
     triggered IoT, and decentralised intelligence.
   Increasing European autonomy in data processing required to support future hyper-
     distributed applications by building open platforms and an open edge ecosystem
     including business models, driven by European actors.
   Achieving trust in these (meta) operating systems among actors in diverse industrial
     ecosystems by leveraging open standards and - where applicable - open source.
   Emergence of an open edge ecosystem including midcaps, SMEs and start-ups that
     foster the up-take of an edge operating system, e.g. through a modular functional
     spectrum of executable apps and services, for nurturing a European network of
     innovators and developers.
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   Demonstrators in key industrial and societal applications, which in future require more
      power at the edge.
Scope: Europe needs to strengthen its supply and value chains in cloud to edge computing by
integrating relevant elements of computing, connectivity, IoT, AI and cybersecurity.
Exploiting network functions such as adhoc - cloud/fog communication not limited to 5G , the
objective is to develop meta operating systems for the edge that enable cloud and edge
computing orchestrations by bringing computation, data and intelligence closer to where the
data is produced (sensors and devices) and by which volume, variety, interoperability, and
velocity should be handled efficiently and securely. This will make AI training and inference
at the edge viable and lead to a next generation of internet-enabled automation concepts
virtualizing computing and networking functions, multi-state analytics and digital twinning of
underlying objects to improve end-to-end response time, to optimise the CO2 footprint and
benefit from the use of renewable energy sources. Validation should be done through proof of
concept or prototype implementations for at least 3 different applications in domains such as
mobility, logistics, manufacturing, energy and other utilities, buildings or farming.
Proposals are expected to use financial support to third parties (FSTP) to support industry, in
particular SMEs, in take-up of emerging edge topologies, for populating and validating
relevant use cases through experiments. A maximum of 20% of the budget is expected to be
dedicated to FSTP and the maximum amount of FSTP is EUR 150.000 per third party for the
entire duration of the action.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DATA-01-07: Coordination and Support of the ‘Cloud-Edge-IoT’
domain (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.50
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
   Supporting the Commission and the constituency in coordinating the proposal portfolio
      in particular resulting from HORIZON-CL4-2021-DATA-01-05, HORIZON-CL4-2022-
      DATA-01-02, and HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01-03 and ensure consistent
      exploitation of the outcomes.
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   Exploring and exploiting synergies between relevant European national and private
      initiatives from Cloud to edge to IoT.
   Regaining European competitiveness in internet infrastructures through effective
      partnership models and the provisioning of open solutions as well as trusted &
      interoperable data-driven services in the core and at the edge.
Scope:
   to coordinate with the evolution of the computing continuum and investments in core
      Internet infrastructures and support the delivery of interdisciplinary-based new services
      and applications on top of the cloud-edge-IoT enabled data layer with the potential to
      generate vast opportunities for entire ecosystems and avoid vendor-lock in at the edge.
   to coordinate, build constituency, and analyse the needs for advanced smart IoT and
      edge computing nodes and systems in terms of performance, price, energy footprint,
      real-time capability, security and trust (leveraging cybersecurity research and
      deployment activities in Cluster 3), needed degree of customisation, synchronisation of
      digital twins etc. – and to map them to existing or emerging solutions, as well as to
      identify gaps. Outcomes are expected to address the most important sectors for Europe’s
      economy, and competitiveness as well as an analysis of cross cutting aspects like open
      standards, open source, and synergies across sectors.
   There is an explicit need for two CSAs as they must address the topic from two different
      but complimentary perspectives and target groups – the supply and the demand side.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DATA-01-08: Roadmap for next generation computing and
systems technologies (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
   Support structure for the European Computing ecosystem: networking events and vision
      workshops for the academic and industrial computing community,
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     Yearly updated roadmaps on computing addressing the area from a broad perspective
      from edge device to edge cloud to cloud to HPC, from scientific to industrial to societal
      and research applications, and addressing all relevant aspects such as real-time, security,
      etc.
Scope: To support the European Commission and the European computing constituency by
providing to them annually updated roadmaps for research and innovation related to
computing. This topic is overarching and building the bridge between Destinations 3 (heading
“From Cloud to Edge to IoT for European Data”), Destination 4 (“Ultra Low Power
Processors”), as well as the Joint Undertakings on Key Digital Technologies, Smart Networks
and Services, and high-performance computing (HPC). This effort builds on the achievements
and structures established by the HIPEAC project and think tank of all renowned European
research centres on computing “at large” and their key experts. Both the academic visions as
well as the industrial perspective should be taken into account.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Call - WORLD LEADING DATA AND COMPUTING TECHNOLOGIES 2022
                                                                       HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)121
                   Topics                        Type        Budgets          Expected EU          Number
                                                   of         (EUR          contribution per           of
                                                Action       million)         project (EUR          projects
                                                                               million)122         expected
                                                               2022                                  to be
                                                                                                    funded
                                            Opening: 23 Nov 2021
                                          Deadline(s): 05 Apr 2022
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01-01 RIA                             33.00       8.00 to 12.00              3
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01-02 RIA                             50.00 123   4.00 to 6.00               10
121
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
122
         Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
         amounts.
123
         Of which EUR 30.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01-03 RIA                        40.00 124     4.00 to 8.00           5
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01-04 IA                         52.00         10.00 to 13.00         4
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01-05 RIA                        30.00 125     Around 5.00            6
Overall indicative budget                              205.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                  The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                               C.
Award criteria                                          The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                        D.
Documents                                               The documents are described in General
                                                        Annex E.
Procedure                                               The procedure is described in General
                                                        Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                 The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Data sharing in the common European data spaces
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01-04: Technologies and solutions for data trading,
monetizing, exchange and interoperability (AI, Data and Robotics Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      10.00 and 13.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
124
        Of which EUR 15.24 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
125
        Of which EUR 12.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 52.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 4 and achieve TRL 7 by the end of
Readiness Level        the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
    improve the digital technologies, solutions and interoperable frameworks for data
      markets and data economy (e.g. industrial, administrative and societal/cultural data
      platforms/data spaces), allowing for data assets to be discoverable, efficiently and fairly
      priced and shared/traded in a secured, user-friendly, compliant and energy-efficient way;
      promote the development of a European industrial ecosystem of the data economy
      capable of ensuring digital autonomy; develop training material to endow workers in this
      occupational group with the right skillset in order to deploy the new technologies
Scope: The focus is on technologies, solutions and frameworks that facilitate the collection,
sharing, storing, processing, trading and re-using of data in compliance with the legal
framework and satisfying the needs, expectations and rights of the data providers, brokers,
users and data subjects. Practical and scalable solutions for handling large amounts of
transactions while minimizing energy consumption are necessary (e.g. smart/automated
contracting, data rights management, tracking of subsequent data use). Special attention
should be paid to fostering approaches that ensure data and metadata interoperability,
including the application of appropriate standards, reference architectures, common
ontologies/vocabularies/data models allowing smooth data sharing (also across sectors). The
emphasis is on the development and demonstration of practical and mature end-to-end
systems, building on the results of work on data platforms (topic H2020-ICT-13-2018-2019),
privacy-preserving technologies and computing technologies under Horizon 2020 and this
programme.
Actions are expected to develop and/or support data spaces of realistic scope and size,
deployable in real-world applications in various application areas. In particular, the actions
are expected to support the deployment of the Common European Data Spaces under the
Digital Europe programme (notably via the Data Spaces Support Centre, to be set up under
the Digital Europe programme): the technologies and tools are developed under Horizon
Europe actions and the deployment and operations are supported under Digital Europe
actions. The actions are expected to build on and create links with other European data
sharing schemes (e.g. EOSC, META-SHARE, ELRC-SHARE, European Data Portal), and
potential/emerging data user/innovator communities (e.g. AI4EU, digital innovation hubs,
data-centric H2020 European Research Infrastructures), as appropriate. The actions should
contribute to European technological autonomy in data sharing.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
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This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on Artificial Intelligence,
Data and Robotics.
Strengthening Europe’s data analytics capacity
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01-01: Methods for exploiting data and knowledge for
extremely precise outcomes (analysis, prediction, decision support), reducing complexity
and presenting insights in understandable way (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      8.00 and 12.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 33.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to start at TRL 2-3 and achieve TRL 4-5 by the
Readiness Level       end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
    Improving automated ways for extracting meaning and providing insights from data
      extremely fast and/or accurately in order to optimize decision making (ranging from
      crisis/emergency management to predictive maintenance) or action planning, as well as
      demonstrating how these improvements can have great positive impacts for society,
      people, economy, or the environment
Scope: The actions under this topic are expected to exploit “extreme data”: (defined as data
that exhibits one or more of the following characteristics, to an extent that makes current
technologies fail: increasing volume, speed, variety; complexity/diversity/multilinguality of
data; the dispersed data sources; sparse/missing/insufficient data/extreme variations in values)
to push the frontiers of analytics, prediction, simulation and visualisation to provide extremely
precise, timely and useful results from data and knowledge, to support (human or automated)
decision-making, saving lives or otherwise providing great positive impact (economic,
societal, environmental) compared to traditional methods of decision making. Integrity and
ethical aspects of the outcomes should be in line with the principles of responsible/trustworthy
AI. The use of European data sources (such as Copernicus, Galileo/EGNOS for satellite data)
is encouraged in the use cases, where appropriate. Analytics should be transparent,
trustworthy, flexible, fit for the purpose and user needs, intuitive and (when necessary)
provided as efficient and scalable “Analytics-as-a-Service”, including, where appropriate,
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federated analytics on distributed/decentralized data. Prediction should be extremely precise
and/or span over longer time period and/or account for uncertainty factors. Simulation should
allow precise replication and modelling of the real phenomenon or system (generating
accurate synthetic data, when appropriate), with minimal differences and/or minimize the
footprint/cost of the simulation model while generating useful data (considering context),
exploiting augmented reality when appropriate. Actions should consider quality standards and
assessment criteria for data generated by simulation. Visualisation should be interactive (and
facilitate human interaction and collaboration), intuitive, accessible and allow people (with
different needs, interests and backgrounds) to understand complex phenomena by smart
selection of parameters, anticipation of user needs/interest and by novel ways of combining
visual and non-visual elements and/or augmented reality.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01-05: Extreme data mining, aggregation and analytics
technologies and solutions (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 30.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 5 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
    provide better technologies, tools and solutions for data mining (searching and
      processing) of large, constantly growing amounts and varieties of data, and/or extremely
      sparse/dispersed/heterogeneous/multilingual           data  (stored   centrally    or     in
      distributed/decentralized systems), in particular IoT, industrial, business, administrative,
      environmental, scientific or societal data.
Scope: The actions under this topic are expected to provide ground-breaking advances in the
performance, speed and/or accuracy as well as usefulness of data discovery, collection,
mining, filtering and processing in view of coping with “extreme data”: (defined as data that
exhibits one or more of the following characteristics, to an extent that makes current
technologies fail: increasing volume, speed, variety; complexity/diversity/multilinguality of
data; the dispersed data sources; sparse/missing/insufficient data/extreme variations in
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values). The technologies and solutions are expected to discover and distil meaningful,
reliable and useful data from heterogeneous and dispersed/scarce sources and deliver it to the
requesting application/user with minimal delay and in the appropriate format. In particular,
the advances should enable the development of trustworthy, accurate, green and fair AI
systems where quality of data is as important as quantity and/or support industrial distributed
decision-making tasks at appropriate level in the computing continuum (edge/fog/cloud).
Insofar the results are intended for human use, the design of these tools should take into
account the relevant human aspects and interactions with users.
The actions should address the integration of relevant technologies (e.g. big data, AI, IoT,
HPC, edge/fog/cloud computing, language technologies, cybersecurity, telecommunications,
autonomous systems etc.) as a means towards achieving the goals, and foster links to the
respective research, industrial and user/innovator communities (e.g. AI4EU, digital innovation
hubs). The use of European data sources (such as Copernicus, Galileo/EGNOS for satellite
data) is encouraged in the use cases, where appropriate.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
From Cloud to Edge to IoT for European Data
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01-02: Cognitive                         Cloud: AI-enabled      computing
continuum from Cloud to Edge (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       4.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 50.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 2 and achieve TRL 5 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
   A new AI-enabled Cloud-edge framework (Cognitive Cloud) that will automatically
      adapt to the growing complexity and data deluge by integrating seamlessly and securely
      diverse computing and data environments, spanning from core cloud to edge. This
      framework will respond and adapt intelligently to changes in application behaviour and
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       data variability offering automatic deployment, mobility and secure adaptability of
       services from cloud to edge to diverse users and contexts. Resource management should
       take into account the openness and trustworthiness of the underlying resource
       management layers. The Cognitive Cloud will interface with all the layers in the
       computing continuum plane and will learn through the monitoring and management of
       resources deployed on Cloud/Edge. Applying AI-techniques will cater for dynamic load
       balancing to optimise energy efficiency and maintaining balanced data traffic and high,
       distributed, reliable throughput from cloud to edge according to the application and user
       needs and the underlying infrastructures. The framework will also dynamically adapt the
       processing capacity of the cloud to the varying supply of green energy in order to
       optimise its environmental footprint. Application developers will be empowered with
       greater control over network, computing and data infrastructures and services, and the
       end-user will benefit from seamless access to a continuous service environment.
Scope: Highly innovation cloud management layer making the best application of artificial
intelligence techniques and AI models with automatic adaptation to the computing resources
(i.e., connectivity, computing & storage) in cloud and edge to optimize where data are being
processed (e.g. very close to the user at the edge, or in centralised capacities in the cloud).
Seamless, transparent and trustworthy integration of diverse computing and data
environments spanning from core cloud to edge, in an AI-enabled computing continuum.
Automatic adaptation to the growing complexity of requirements and the exponential increase
of data driven by IoT deployment across sectors, users and contexts while achieving optimal
use of resources, holistic security and data privacy and credibility. Interoperability challenges
among computing and data platform providers should be addressed and cloud federation
approaches (based on open standards, interoperability models and open platforms) should be
considered where appropriate.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01-03: Programming tools for decentralised intelligence
and swarms (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        4.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 40.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Technology              Activities are expected to start at TRL 2 and achieve TRL 5 by the end
Readiness Level         of the project – see General Annex B.
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Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
    Agile and secure architectures for collaborative smart nodes with decentralised or swarm
      intelligence, which build on European strengths in embedded sensors and devices and
      wireless communication, both non-cellular and mobile 5G networks.
    Programming environments for smart edge-connected nodes and dynamic groups of
      nodes across the device-edge-cloud continuum, which reduce the complexity of
      programming and maintenance.
    Dynamic open environments and tools, which stimulate open architectures and
      interfaces, interoperability and avoiding vendor lock-in, open source where appropriate.
    Reinforced Europe’s position in the market of next generation smart systems (sensors
      and devices) integrated in an evolving Internet of Things and cyber-physical ecosystems
      with strong capacities at the edge.
Scope: Develop agile and secure architectures, dynamic programming environments and tools
for the compute continuum from the device and edge perspective, including energy-efficient,
lightweight AI-based approaches, tools for decentralised device and edge intelligence,
innovative mesh architectures with mixed topologies to support concepts like tactile internet
and swarm intelligence. This should support a paradigm shift from programming
environments for individual devices to dynamic groups of devices like swarms. Research
should include actionable data streams, contextual interaction and data fusion between the
users and the objects as well as. analytical model distribution, delocalized computation and
new mesh architectures. Concepts should combine advances in smart sensor networks, new
generations of embedded processors, and operating systems for the edge with seamless
federation of object identities (IDs) and distributed operation of a large number of
heterogeneous IoT devices and smart systems to achieve higher resilience, security and trust
in embedded AI applications. Proof of concept or prototype implementations should validate
the concepts in at least 3 application areas like for example automated driving, health,
farming, smart factories, utilities, cities and communities, logistics, buildings, which in future
require more power on device-level at the edge. Concepts should also contribute to the
sustainable use of energy, by optimising energy efficiency of proposed solutions and
promoting the use of renewable energy. Contributions to sustainable development goals
(SDGs) and open source, if appropriate.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
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DESTINATION – DIGITAL AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR
COMPETITIVENESS AND FIT FOR THE GREEN DEAL
This destination will directly support the following Key Strategic Orientations, as outlined in
the Strategic Plan:
    KSO A, ‘Promoting an open strategic autonomy by leading the development of key
      digital, enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains to accelerate
      and steer the digital and green transitions through human-centred technologies and
      innovations.’
    KSO C, ‘Making Europe the first digitally led circular, climate-neutral and
      sustainable economy through the transformation of its mobility, energy, construction
      and production systems
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
to the following expected impact:
    Open strategic autonomy in digital technologies and in future emerging enabling
      technologies, by strengthening European capacities in key parts of digital and future
      supply chains, allowing agile responses to urgent needs, and by investing in early
      discovery and industrial uptake of new technologies.
Electronic and photonic components, and the software that defines how they work, are the key
digital technologies that underpin all digital systems. As the digitalisation of all sectors
accelerates, most industries depend on early access to digital components. Dependence on
these technologies represents a clear threat to Europe’s autonomy, particularly in periods of
geopolitical instability, exposing Europe to risks of vulnerability. Actions under this
Destination will build on EU strengths in low-power consumption and ultra-secure
components, Europe needs to develop the essential electronic and photonic components for a
wide range of applications such as healthcare equipment, electric and autonomous vehicles,
manufacturing and production plants and equipment, telecom networks, aerospace vehicles,
consumer products
R&I initiatives on 6G technologies are now starting in leading regions world-wide, with the
first products and infrastructures expected for the end of this decade. 6G systems are expected
to offer a new step change in performance from Gigabit towards Terabit capacities and sub-
millisecond response times, to enable new critical applications such as real-time automation
or eXtended Reality (“Internet of Senses”). Europe must engage now to be among the top
influencers of - and competitors in - these technologies and ensure that emerging network
technology standards are defined following European values and energy-efficiency
requirements. Main actions on 6G technologies will be undertaken in the Smart Networks and
Services Joint Undertaking.
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Despite a strong European scientific community’s on AI and robotics, Europe lags behind in
AI diffusion. Actions under this Destination will develop world-class technologies serving the
needs of all types of European industries (e.g. manufacturing, healthcare, transport,
agriculture, energy, construction), providing top-performing solutions that businesses will
trust and adopt to maintain their competitiveness and maximise their contribution to
environmental sustainability.
While Europe is strong in many sectors, it must take ownership of its unavoidable future
transformations for competitiveness, prosperity and sustainability, by early leadership in new
and emerging enabling technologies, e.g. alternative computing models such as bio- and
neuro-morphic approaches, use of biological elements as part of technology, and sustainable
smart materials. In particular, the far-reaching impact of quantum and graphene technologies
on our economy and society cannot be fully estimated yet, but they will be disruptive for
many fields. Actions in this Destination will ensure that Europe stays ahead in this global race
and is in a position to achieve game-changing breakthroughs.
In line with the vision set out in the Digital Decade Communication (COM(2021)118), in
particular its ‘secure and performant sustainable digital infrastructures’ pillar, actions under
this Destination will support Europe’s open strategic autonomy, and reinforce and regain
European industry’s leaderships across the digital supply chain. It will direct investments to
activities that will ensure a robust European industrial and technology presence in all key
parts of a greener digital supply chain, from low-power components to advanced systems,
future networks, new data technologies and platforms. Autonomy will require sustaining first-
mover advantage in strategic areas like quantum computing and graphene, and investing early
in emerging enabling technologies.
Investments in this Destination contribute substantially to climate change objectives. Energy
efficiency is a key design principle in actions, which will lead to new technologies and
solutions that are cornerstones for a sustainable economy and society. These solutions range
from ultra-low-power processors to AI, Data and Robotics solutions for resource optimisation
and reduction of energy consumption and CO2 emissions; from highly efficient optical
networking technologies and ultra-low-energy 6G communication networks to robotics that
overcome the limitation of energy autonomy. Furthermore, promising emerging avenues are
addressed via ultra-low power operations enabled by spintronics and 2D materials-based
devices and systems for energy storage and harvesting.
Actions should devote particular attention to openness of the solutions and results, and
transparency of the research and innovation process. To ensure trustworthiness and wide
adoption by user communities for the benefit of society, actions should promote high
standards of transparency and openness. Actions should ensure that the processes and
outcomes of research and innovation align with the needs, values and expectations of society,
in line with Responsible Research and Innovation.
As a result, this Destination is structured into the following headings, which group topics
together with similar outcomes to address a common challenge:
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   Ultra-low power processors
Today Europe is not highly present in the microprocessor market. The objective of this
heading is to ensure EU open strategic autonomy through the development of low-power, low
environmental impact, secure and trusted components and software for strategic value-chains.
Proposals are invited under the topics of this heading in this work programme and under the
topics of the ‘Key Digital Technologies’ Joint Undertaking addressing the electronics value
chain (including software technologies).
   European Innovation Leadership in Electronics
Europe currently has a leading position in key digital technologies for the strategic sectors of
automotive, industrial manufacturing, aerospace, defence and security and healthcare. In the
emerging area of post-Moore components, there is a number of promising technological
approaches with no established players or dominant regions.
The objective of this heading is to secure access in Europe to cutting-edge digital
technologies, to strengthen current leadership in strategic value-chains, and to seize emerging
opportunities addressing existing technological gaps.
Proposals are invited under the topics of this heading in this work programme and under the
topics of the ‘Key Digital Technologies’ Joint Undertaking addressing the electronics value
chain (including software technologies).
   European Innovation Leadership in Photonics
The European photonics industry has an excellent position in core segments, far above the
average EU market share. The objective of the topics grouped in this heading is to strengthen
current leadership in photonic technologies and applications, and to secure access in Europe
to cutting-edge photonic technologies.
The topics of this heading are under the co-programmed Partnership ‘Photonics’.
   6G and foundational connectivity technologies
Today European suppliers of connectivity systems are well placed with around 40% of global
5G market share, but with high competitive pressure from Asian and US players. In terms of
technology, first 5G standards are available since end of 2017 enabling Gigabit/s speeds and
~millisecond latencies. Trusted industrial services based on 5G technology are at very early
stage.
The objective of this heading is to develop a strong supply chain for connectivity, increase
European competitiveness and autonomy in Internet infrastructures, and to contribute to a
reduction of the growing global energy consumption of the Internet and of the industry
vertical users of the Internet, and to other key SDG’s such as affordability and accessibility to
infrastructures. The topics under this work programme address in particular the need to
develop micro electronic components and systems supporting future disaggregated Radio
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Access Networks and components enabling the advent of all optical networks for ultra low
consumption and ultra high security networks.
Proposals are invited under the topics of this heading in this work programme and under the
topics of the ‘Smart Networks and Services” Joint Undertaking addressing the future
connectivity platforms including edge cloud and IoT technologies.
     Innovation in AI, Data and Robotics
Europe has an outstanding track record in key areas of AI research, Europe’s scientific
community is leading in AI and robotics, but substantial efforts are needed to transform this
into (disruptive) European AI technology products that can withstand international
competitors. Europe also lags behind in technology diffusion, less than half of European firms
have adopted AI technology, with a majority of those still in the pilot stage. 70% of these
adopter companies, only capture 10% of full potential use, and only 2% percent of European
firms in healthcare are using those technologies at 80% of potential 126 . Moreover, as
demonstrated during the COVID-19 crisis, many AI, Data and Robotics solutions exist today
but only a limited number of them reaches the level of maturity and adoption necessary to
solve the problems at hand. Therefore, there is room for improved adoption by industry,
which requires a drastic increase of industry-driven R&I, from basic research to large-scale
piloting. In general, industry acknowledges the potential of AI technologies, but often lacks
demonstrable benefits for their particular use cases.
The objective of this heading is to ensure autonomy for Europe in AI, data and robotics in
developing world-class technologies serving the needs of all types of European industries,
from manufacturing to healthcare, public sector, utilities, retail, finance, insurance, transport,
agriculture, energy, telecommunications, environmental monitoring, construction, media,
creative and cultural industries, fashion, tourism, etc. providing top-performing solutions that
industries will trust and adopt to maintain their competitiveness and maximise their
contribution to environmental and resources sustainability.
Several topics of this heading are under the co-programmed Partnership ‘AI, Data and
Robotics’.
     Tomorrow’s deployable Robots: efficient, robust, safe, adaptive and trusted
Europe is leading in robotics industry, with a high intensity of use of robots. Europe is also
scientifically leading in robotics’ cognition, safety, manipulation, soft robotics, underwater
and aerial robotics, with demonstrated impacts in many use-cases in key industrial sectors
(e.g.: healthcare, agri-food127, forestry, inspection and maintenance, logistics, construction,
126
        See https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/artificial-intelligence/tackling-europes-gap-in-digital-
        and-ai (based on data from 2017 and 2018)
127
        The term Agri-Food is intended to cover a wide range of food production sectors including livestock
        farming, fisheries,
        horticulture etc as well as produce processing, ingredient preparation and food manufacture and
        assembly.
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manufacturing, etc.) and across multiple modalities (aerial, marine, ground, in-vivo and
space).
The objective of this heading is to ensure autonomy for Europe in robotics, leading the way in
research, development and deployment of world-class technologies.
Several topics of this heading are under the co-programmed Partnership ‘AI, Data and
Robotics’.
     European leadership in Emerging Enabling Technologies
Europe’s leading industry sectors have a solid track-record in constant improvement, but less
so for embracing transformative ideas. The pathway from research to industry uptake is often
long and staged, with no intertwining of research and industry agendas. In the age of deep-
tech, though, this intertwining is essential.
The objective of this heading is to identify early technologies that have the potential to
become Europe’s future leading technologies in all areas of this cluster and to establish
industry leadership in these technologies from the outset. This heading has a unique focus on
off-roadmap transformations with a longer time-horizon but profound potential impact.
     Flagship on Quantum Technologies: a Paradigm Shift
Since 2018, the Quantum Technologies Flagship has been consolidating and expanding
Europe’s scientific leadership and excellence in quantum, in order to foster the development
of a competitive quantum industrial and research ecosystem in Europe. The EU’s aims for
quantum R&I in the next decade are set out in detail in the Quantum Flagship’s Strategic
Research Agenda (SRA 128 ) and its associated main Key Performance Indicators, 129 which
drafted and published in 2020 on quantum computing, quantum simulation, quantum
communication, and quantum sensing and metrology. Projects in each of these areas are
currently supported by the Flagship, by other EU research initiatives and by national
programmes.
The objective of this heading is to further develop quantum technologies and their
applications in the areas of quantum computing, simulation, sensing and communication, in
order to strengthen European technological sovereignty in this strategic field and achieve
first-mover industry leadership, capitalising on Europe’s established excellence in quantum
science and technology maintaining and developing quantum competences and skills
available in the EU and raising the capabilities of all Member States in this field.
The aim of the Commission’s Digital Decade strategy is for the EU to become digitally
sovereign in an interconnected world, and in the coming years quantum technologies will be a
key element of this digital sovereignty, as they are of global strategic importance. Quantum
technologies will be also used, among others, for sensitive applications in the area of security,
and in dual-use applications. Other world regions are already investing heavily in all areas of
128
        https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/document.cfm?doc_id=65402
129
        Link to provide later
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quantum technologies research. In this context, the EU must take action to build on its
strengths, and to carefully assess and address any strategic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and
high-risk dependencies which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions. This will enable it to
safeguard its strategic assets, interests, autonomy and security, while advancing towards its
goal of open strategic autonomy.
The Quantum Technologies Flagship conducts research and development activities in the key
domains of quantum computing and simulation, quantum communication, and quantum
sensing. The Flagship will contribute to world-leading quantum computers and simulators,
that will be acquired by the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking, and
will be crucial to achieving its Digital Decade goal of having its first computer with quantum
acceleration by 2025, with a view to being at the cutting edge of quantum capabilities by
2030. These machines will have a profound impact, with applications in medicine,
manufacturing, or new material and new drugs design but also in cryptography, finance and
many other sensitive domains.
Moreover, the Flagship’s research into quantum communication will support the development
of a European quantum communication infrastructure (EuroQCI). This key component of the
EU Cybersecurity Strategy will provide an extremely secure form of encryption to shield the
EU’s government data and critical infrastructures against cyber-attacks. Ensuring that the
latest quantum communication technologies remain accessible in the EU is crucial to
maintaining European security in the face of future threats.
Research in quantum sensing technologies is also vital to the EU’s interests, as it will develop
European expertise in quantum clocks for navigation (including for embarkation on Galileo
satellites) and precise timing applications, sensors for autonomous vehicles, and the next
generation of medical sensors.
It is therefore clearly in the EU’s interests to protect European research in these domains, the
intellectual property that it generates, and the strategic assets that will be developed as a
result, while taking steps to avoid situations of technological dependency on non-EU sources
(in line with the call of the October 2020 European Council to reduce Europe’s strategic
dependencies). With this in mind, the Commission has decided that, in the research areas
covered by 12 actions in this work programme in quantum computing and simulation,
communication, and sensing, only Associated Countries that meet certain conditions will be
eligible to participate in these actions.
The eligibility to participate in such actions is limited to legal entities established in the EU,
Norway, Iceland, Israel and the United Kingdom. The eligibility of entities established in the
UK to participate is conditional upon reciprocity of access to equivalent UK programmes for
entities established in Member States, which will be assessed by the Commission as soon as
such programmes are established and in any event before the signature of the grant
agreements. Should the UK not open the participation in its relevant programmes to entities
established in Member States, this condition would not be met and entities established in the
UK will not be eligible to participate in this topic.
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   Graphene: Europe in the lead
The starting point is the Graphene Flagship, launched in 2013, which already reached
European leadership in graphene and related 2D materials. The work is now coming to a
critical point where first simple products are being launched. R&I activities would now need
to be pursued and accelerated in order to translate achieved technology advances that are at
TRL 3-5 into concrete innovation opportunities and into production capabilities in many
industrial sectors (e.g. aviation, automotive, electronics, batteries, healthcare).
The objective of this heading is to strengthen and accelerate the technology developments that
support a strong European supply and value chain in graphene and related materials and
provide first-mover market advantages of scale.
Activities beyond R&I investments will be needed to realise the expected impacts: testing,
experimentation, demonstration, and support for take-up using the capacities, infrastructures,
and European Digital Innovation Hubs made available under the Digital Europe Programme;
large-scale roll-out of innovative new technologies and solutions (e.g. new energy-efficient
connectivity technologies) via the Connecting Europe Facility; further development of skills
and competencies via the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, in particular EIT
Digital; upscaling of trainings via the European Social Fund +; and use of financial
instruments under the InvestEU Fund for further commercialisation of R&I outcomes.
Expected impact
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
to digital and emerging technologies for competitiveness and fit for the Green Deal, and
more specifically to one or several of the following impacts:
   Europe’s open strategic autonomy by sustaining first-mover advantages in strategic areas
      including AI, data, robotics, quantum computing, and graphene, and by investing early
      in emerging enabling technologies.
   Reinforced European industry leadership across the digital supply chain.
   Robust European industrial and technology presence in all key parts of a greener digital
      supply chain, from low-power components to advanced systems, future networks, new
      data technologies and platforms.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                  Call                               Budgets (EUR million)          Deadline(s)
                                                    2021                2022
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-                   311.90                                  21 Oct 2021
EMERGING-01
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-                   23.00                 28.00             27 Jan 2022
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EMERGING-02
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-                                      116.50 05   Apr
EMERGING-01                                                           2022
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-                                      127.00 16   Nov
EMERGING-02                                                           2022
Overall indicative budget                334.90                271.50
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Call - Digital and emerging technologies for competitiveness and fit for the green deal
                                                    HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)130
                         Topics                               Type Budgets          Expected      Number
                                                                of     (EUR            EU             of
                                                             Action million) contribution projects
                                                                                   per project expected
                                                                        2021          (EUR          to be
                                                                                            131
                                                                                   million)        funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 21 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                           RIA      26.00       8.00        to 3
                                                                      132
01-01                                                                             10.00
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                           CSA      2.00        Around          1
01-05                                                                             2.00
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                           IA       26.00       4.00 to 6.00    6
01-06
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                           RIA      39.00       3.00 to 5.00    8
01-07
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                           IA       27.00       3.00 to 5.00    7
                                                                      133
01-09
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                           IA       22.00       3.00 to 5.00    6
01-10
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                           RIA      44.50       Around          9
130
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
131
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
132
        Of which EUR 15.49 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
133
        Of which EUR 16.09 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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01-11                                                                    5.00
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                    RIA      11.50     Around       1
01-12                                                                    11.50
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                    CSA      2.50      Around       1
01-13                                                                    2.50
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                    RIA      17.00     2.00 to 3.00 6
01-14
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                    RIA      13.50     Around       2
01-21                                                                    6.75
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                    RIA      4.00      Around       4
01-23                                                                    1.33
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                    CSA      3.00      Around       1
01-26                                                                    3.00
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                    RIA      22.50     5.00 to 7.00 4
01-27
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                    RIA      10.00     Around       2
01-30                                                                    5.00
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                    RIA      35.00     3.00 to 5.00 9
01-31
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                    CSA      6.40      Around       1
01-32                                                                    6.40
Overall indicative budget                                      311.90
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                           The conditions are described in General
                                                   Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                             The conditions are described in General
                                                   Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and             The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                          C.
Award criteria                                     The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                   D.
Documents                                          The documents are described in General
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                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Ultra-low power processors
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-01:                             Ultra-low-power,      secure
processors for edge computing (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      8.00 and 10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 26.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to start at TRL 2-3 and achieve TRL 4-5 by the
Readiness Level       end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Develop European secure specialised microprocessor designs (including accelerators and
     controllers) that deliver high-performance computing at ultra-low power operation.
   Improve by at least two orders of magnitude the performance per watt for the targeted
     edge applications
Scope:
   Develop European specialised processors, architectures and computational engines that
     have the potential to substantially improve energy efficiency (i.e. performance per watt)
     for the targeted edge application.
   Examples of targeted applications (non-exhaustive list) are automated driving, artificial
     intelligence, machine learning, computer vision, machine translation, speech recognition,
     sensor fusion, signal processing, etc.
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   New specialised processor designs may incorporate approaches such as neuromorphic,
      in-memory computing, probabilistic computing, neural networks, programmable logic,
      hardware-software co-design as well as open-source hardware and processor IP.
   Proposals should have a longer-term perspective taking into account the reduced
      performance improvements of general-purpose computing, the slow-down of Moore’s
      law and the changing economics of semiconductor manufacturing.
   Proposals should include research on advanced hardware-based security at silicon-level.
   Proposals should take into account certification guidelines for secure and safety-critical
      applications where relevant.
Proposals should include a preliminary analysis of bringing successfully to the market the
proposed research either as IP blocks or as standalone chips. Proposals may include early chip
prototyping in well-justified cases.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-05: Open Source Hardware for ultra-
low-power, secure processors (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Structure European involvement in open source hardware efforts (including open
      Instruction Set Architectures) related to the design of ultra-low-power, secure
      microprocessors, microcontrollers and accelerators.
   Develop a roadmap for open source hardware in Europe covering both R&D as well as
      funding & business aspects for edge applications in all power and performance ranges
      from deeply embedded to high-end computing.
Scope:
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   Address issues like availability of a sustainable and reliable open hardware IP supply,
      maturity of the IP components (especially for industrial use), open source design tools,
      compilation, simulation, verification, real-time and mixed criticality, etc.
   Bring together all relevant European stakeholders and further develop and grow the
      European open source hardware ecosystem
   Align with related regional or national initiatives covering both academia and industry
   Interface with international efforts in the area including certification guidelines for
      design of IP to be used in safe/secure applications
   Participate and lead in the development of open source hardware standards and
      specifications.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
European Innovation Leadership in Electronics
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-31: Functional electronics for green
and circular economy (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 35.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 2-3 and achieve TRL 4-5 by the
Readiness Level        end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   European leadership in the area of flexible, printed and organic electronics
   Development of new concepts, designs and technologies in electronics to support and
      enable circular economy and sustainability.
   Development of next generation components and systems that will deliver climate-
      neutral digital solutions for a wide range of sectors.
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Scope: Proposals are expected to make technological breakthroughs in the development of
functional electronics technologies134
to address the challenges and opportunities associated with green and digital transformation.
Eco-design principles135,
in particular reduction of energy and resource consumption should be taken into account. The
emphasis of this topic will be on the advancement in the area of flexible, printed and organic
electronics as low-cost/light- weight/less energy intensive approach to complement inorganic-
based mainstream semiconductors.
It is expected that proposals will focus on activities related to:
     Development of beyond state-of-the-art processes for electronic components and
       systems by making use of different types of substrates (e.g. flexible, stretchable and
       conformable) and their integration in various structures and materials (e.g. textiles,
       plastics, glass, paper and metal). Proposals should address the improvement of system
       characteristics (e.g. performance, robustness, reliability) and progress in high throughput
       and low-cost manufacturing processes.
     Increasing capability to integrate flexible and printed electronics in various application
       domains (e.g. wearables, mobility, health/well-being, agriculture and environment,
       energy and smart logistics) including in hybrid IC or flexible systems.
     Activities related to the development of new methodologies for next generation
       components and systems taking into account Eco-design principles, such as more
       efficient recovery and recycling solutions or/and optimisation of the use of resources
       (e.g. energy efficiency at system and manufacturing level, material consumption) will be
       encouraged.
Issues related to life cycle, end-of life, standardisation, certification and regulation
compliance should be considered whenever appropriate.
Proposals should include targets and metrics for decreasing use of resources in their chosen
approaches.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
European Innovation Leadership in Photonics
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
134
          Area at the convergence of unconventional nano-electronics, flexible/printed electronics and electronic
          smart systems that enables shifting from purely physical integration to functional integration.
135
          Complying with the EU Ecodesign directive.
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HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-06: Advanced optical communication
components (Photonics Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      4.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 26.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to start at TRL 3-4 and achieve TRL 5-6 by the
Readiness Level       end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
   Reliable and low latency communication with guaranteed service quality for the digital
      transformation of industrial processes;
   Reduced congestion in data communication when a multiplicity of applications compete
      for simultaneous delivery, thereby causing data loss or a delay in data delivery;
   Reduced power consumption to some pico-Joule per bit through the broader use of
      optical networking technologies, interconnects, and integrated optical communication
      components;
   Lowered barrier for the uptake of performant communication technologies by reducing
      cost of transmission interfaces to around 50 cents per Gigabit per second.
Scope: Proposals to develop ultra-dynamic photonic components and subsystems for data
communication, using for example new optical wavelength bands, space division
multiplexing, new integration schemes, optical switching and new switching paradigms, as
solutions for time-deterministic and time-sensitive networks. They should also enable ultra-
dynamic reconfiguration on the optical layer and mitigate amplifier power transients, while
saving energy, improving bandwidth efficiency, and guaranteeing low deterministic latencies
across the network. Emerging solutions, e.g. based on free space optical communication may
be explored as well.
Advances will cover a range of use cases for example from optical switching in commercial
applications to optical flow or packet switching approaches that would become practical for
the industrial Internet. Where relevant for the application, devices should be able to work in a
harsh environment such as within a wide temperature operating range, or in high humidity.
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In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on Photonics.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-07: Advanced Photonic Integrated
Circuits (Photonics Partnership) (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 39.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 2-3 and achieve TRL 4-5 by the
Readiness Level        end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
   New generations of photonic integrated circuits and devices
   Strengthening industrial capability of photonic device fabrication by integration and
      miniaturisation of technologies
   Lowering the barrier to the use of advanced or innovative photonic integration
      technologies for companies, in particular high-tech SMEs
   Providing European open strategic autonomy in Photonic Integrated Circuits and related
      manufacturing processing
Scope: Evolving photonic integration is opening up a wealth of opportunities in many
application areas by enhancing functionality and spectral coverage, facilitating new
applications in biomedical, environmental and industrial fields, making devices more power-
efficient and bringing ground-breaking technologies within reach of entrepreneurial SMEs.
The increasingly sophisticated requirements need new paradigms, capable of extending the
functionalities of optical components through design, integration, fabrication, assembly and
packaging techniques including the co-integration of photonic and electronic components.
These need to be augmented with new functions and performance enhancements, requiring in
many cases the development of new materials and innovative device structures.
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Challenges are for example in mastering epitaxial material growth and processing on large
wafers with improved quality, uniformity and very low defect densities, broadband (“white”)
light sources and high sensitivity photodetectors (including arrays) and high-efficiency
semiconductor lasers across many wavelength bands, capable of withstanding high
temperatures (>85°C) depending on the intended application. Incorporation of new building
blocks such as magneto-optic elements for non-reciprocal functionality (e.g. optical isolation)
could also be included.
Proposals should demonstrate the developed integration technologies in at least two
application oriented use cases and establish integration platforms, which help potential user
companies with their uptake.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership for Photonics.
6G and foundational connectivity technologies
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-26: Coordination of European Smart
Network actions (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: One proposal expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    Establishment of a Europe wide platform addressing the Communication Network
      Technologies and systems in the context of 6G global developments. It supports the
      identification of strategic R&I orientations including at global level, the coordination of
      R&I results/initiatives at EU scale including Member State level initiatives, the
      dissemination and web presence, the organisation of Europe's contribution to standards,
      and the identification of international cooperation priorities across key regions. The
      action is expected to directly contribute to support the early implementation of the new
      Smart Networks Services (SNS) institutionalised European partnership and the related
      programmatic organisation through cross SNS projects coordination.
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Scope: The selected proposal covers:
   Stakeholder management towards R&I orientation and SNS cross-project coordination
      and cooperation (implementation of the cross project cooperation contractual clause);
   Europe wide cartography of relevant Smart Network initiatives and identification of
      strategic cooperation opportunity in particular with initiatives at Member States level
   Design and maintenance of a European network web site;
   Working groups management and organisation for issues of common interest, supporting
      a common EU 6G vision and its technological realisation;
   International cooperation support with key third countries. It includes identification of
      international cooperation strategies with clear benefits to EU industrial stakeholders;
   Support to organisation of key conferences and dissemination events, including the
      EUCNC yearly conference.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Innovation in AI, Data and Robotics
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-09: AI, Data and Robotics for the
Green Deal (AI, Data and Robotics Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 27.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Technology              Activities are expected to start at TRL 3-5 and achieve TRL 6-7 by the
Readiness Level         end of the project – see General Annex B.
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        To ensure a balanced portfolio coverage, grants will be awarded to
                        applications not only in order of ranking but at least also to the highest
                        ranked for each of the three expected outcomes (1. Resource
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                      optimisation and minimisation of waste, energy, or greenhouse gas
                      emissions, 2. Environmental and waste management in the circular
                      economy, 3. Robotics solutions in harsh environments serving the
                      Green Deal) provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements            Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                      The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                      As third parties' grants may include robotics components, requiring high
                      equipment investment and/or important effort to integrate in a use-case
                      to address the sectorial challenges, the maximum amount to be granted
                      to each third party is EUR 200 000.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to at least one of the following
expected outcomes:
 1. Innovative AI, data and robotics solutions for resource optimisation and minimisation of
     waste in any type of sector (from agri-food, to energy, utilities, transport, production,
     etc.), reduction of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions including
     exploitation of all data and information sources contributing to optimising applications
     for a greener planet. This includes among others contribution to enterprises’
     sustainability programs in the context of their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)
     strategies to reduce their ecological footprint, cutting costs and contributing to social
     welfare at the same time
 2. Optimised AI, data and robotics (including modular and adaptive solutions) to maximise
     contribution to the Green Deal in various applications such as environmental and waste
     management, including for instance waste clean-up (e.g. plastic collection, sorting), or in
     the circular economy value chain.
 3. Advanced physical intelligence and physical performance of robotics solutions in diverse
     harsh environments serving the Green Deal.
Scope: Proposals are expected to integrate and optimise AI, data and robotics solutions in
order to demonstrate, by addressing use-cases scenarios in actual or highly realistic operating
environments, how they can directly contribute to the Green Deal. The proposed methodology
should be supported by industry or service relevant KPIs, making the case for the added value
of such technologies, and demonstrating scalability, and deployment potential. Technology
performance as well as added value to the application field should be demonstrated by
qualitative and quantitative KPIs, demonstrators, benchmarking and progress monitoring. The
environmental impacts of the proposed solutions should also be taken into account when
making the case for the added value of the technology for the environment.
While the proposals must be application driven, involving problem owners to define needs
and validate the proposed solutions, the focus is on optimising enabling AI, data and robotics
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technologies to maximise the benefit they bring in such applications. Proposals should adopt a
concrete problem solving approach, exploiting and optimising the most suitable technologies
and solutions at hand. The focus should be on real-world scenarios, which can benefit in short
to mid-term from the technology and solutions and demonstrate substantial impact on the
Green Deal, while taking into account the maturity of the technologies to solve the problems
at hand.
Deep involvement of all relevant stakeholders (including SMEs), from technology providers
to user industry, social partners, and relevant experts in operational and environmental impact
assessment, will be essential. Special attention will be given to including users of diverse age,
gender and background.
All proposals should incorporate training programs for non-expert users of AI, data and
robotics systems, who are domain experts and need to know basic AI, data, robotics concepts,
including the basics concepts of Trustworthy and ethical AI.
To reach their objectives, all proposals are expected to exploit synergies between at least two
of the three components: AI, Data and Robotics and forge strong cooperation between to
corresponding practitioners.
Proposals can involve either robotics-only solutions (for instance demonstrating robotics
solutions in harsh environments), or a mix of robotics and non-robotics components (for
instance in applications such as waste management, where a combination of robotics for
waste segregation and data and sensor driven AI for process optimisation) or only include
non-robotics AI and Data (for instance in energy optimisation, from production sites, through
the network, and then end-user sites, with IoT components). All selected proposals are
expected to include demonstrators at TRL 6 or above. At least half of the selected proposals
will have to have a major robotics demonstrator; therefore, proposals should clearly specify
their robotics demonstrator, if they chose to have one.
Proposals should clearly identify the expected outcome it will focus on.
Two types of proposals are expected:
  1. Focused projects (EU contribution around EUR 3.00 million), involving the user
      industry and technology provider(s),
  2. Larger projects (EU contribution around EUR 5.00 million), where a number of
      companies in a given application sector will identify in the proposal common challenges
      and use-cases, and organise competitive calls for AI, data and robotics solution providers
      to address such challenges. Competitive calls will be open to all types of companies, but
      only SMEs and Start-ups 136 will receive financial support to third parties, with a
136
         In this context a start-up is a tech-oriented company. It should employ less than 10 people (but more
         than 2 full time equivalent staff) that has operated for less than three years and has attracted more than
         EUR €50 000 early stage private sector investment or has demonstrable sales growth over 50% pa –
         they will receive 100% financial support to third parties while other SMEs would receive 70% financial
         support. Startups would be expected to highlight the impact that the project will have on their overall
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     maximum of EUR 200 000 per third party137 and 70% funding (100% for start-ups). At
     least 40% of the requested amount should be dedicated to financial support to third
     parties. The consortium will provide technical support with expertise in engineering
     integration, testing and validation to support the selected SMEs and start-ups acting as
     technology providers to demonstrate the added value of their solutions to address the
     challenges of the use-cases. Maximum one type of third party project will be funded per
     expected outcome138.
In all proposals, user industries are expected to play a major role in the requirement and
validation phases.
Besides financial support, these SMEs and start-ups successfully demonstrating the potential
of their solutions, must receive support from business experts, provided by the action, to
further develop their business and develop their market reach, and maximise their business
opportunities.
When possible, proposals should build on and reuse public results from relevant previous
funded actions. Proposals should make use of connections to the Digital Innovation Hub
networks, particularly those in Robotics, Data and AI. Full use should be made of the
common resources available in the AI-on-Demand platform139, Digital Industrial Platform for
Robotics 140 , data platforms 141 and, if necessary other relevant digital resource platforms.
Communicable results from selected proposals should be delivered to the most relevant of
these platforms in order to enhance the European AI, Data and Robotics ecosystem through
the sharing of results and best practice.
If proposals use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related
timing services and data, they have to prioritise Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS over
equivalent competing solutions offering the same services/data.
All proposals are expected to allocate tasks to cohesion activities with the co-programmed
partnership on AI, Data and Robotics and funded actions related to this partnership, including
the CSA HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-02. Where relevant, synergies with other
European partnerships and Horizon Europe Clusters (Cluster 4 and Cluster 6 in particular) are
encouraged.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on Artificial Intelligence,
Data and Robotics.
        Company strategy and growth prospects in the Impact section of their proposals (as well as the impact
        on society and European competitiveness.
137
        Maximum amount per third party, received from a given action, over its entire duration
138
        The 3 expected outcomes are : 1. Resource optimisation and minimisation of waste, energy or
        greenhouse gas emissions, 2. Environmental and waste management in the circular economy, 3.
        Robotics solutions in harsh environments serving the Green Deal
139
        Initiated under the AI4EU project https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825619 and further developed in
        projects resulting from H2020-ICT-49-2020 call
140
        https://robmosys.eu/newsrobmosys-rosin-towards-an-eu-digital-industrial-platform-for-robotics/
141
        E.g.: https://www.big-data-europe.eu/
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HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-10: AI, Data and Robotics at work
(AI, Data and Robotics Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 22.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to start at TRL 3-5 and achieve TRL 6-7 by
Readiness Level          the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Procedure                The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                         exceptions apply:
                         To ensure a balanced portfolio coverage, grants will be awarded to
                         applications not only in order of ranking but also to at least 2 highest
                         ranked for each use-case, provided that the applications attain all
                         thresholds.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                         The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of
                         grants.
                         As third parties' grants may include robotics components, requiring
                         high equipment investment and/or important effort to integrate in a
                         use-case to address the sectorial challenges, the maximum amount to
                         be granted to each third party is EUR 200 000.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to at least one of the following
expected outcomes:
   A new human-centred paradigm to keep people away from unsafe and unhealthy jobs via
     collaborative embodied (physical) AI, engaging and empowering end-users and workers,
     regardless of their gender, age or background.
   Human-centric AI supporting professionals in trustworthy hybrid decision-making, and
     optimising their tasks
Scope: Proposals are expected to demonstrate how AI, data, robotics and automation solutions
can support workers in their daily tasks, improving working conditions (both physical and
social) and work performance/efficiency, while considering safety, security and resilience, as
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appropriate. The added value to the application field should be demonstrated by qualitative
and quantitative industry/production or service relevant KPIs, demonstrators at TRL6-7,
benchmarking and progress monitoring processes.
The involvement of the application sector stakeholders, including social partners, workers,
managers and decision makers must be a key driver in the proposals, not only to identify the
needs and the application scenarios, but to be involved in the co-creation and testing and
uptake of the solutions and providing feedback to adapt the solutions to optimise the impact
on working conditions and performances.
The selection of the application sector should prioritise sectors and use-cases where the
technology can demonstrate maximum impact and added value.
While the focus is on technology, a human-centred approach will be key, with involvement of
the workers, professionals, (front-line operators and managers) and other relevant experts,
such as experts in human-centred design. They will closely collaborate with the technology
providers and integrators. Engagement with SSH 142 expertise is also needed to improve
interaction design and to provide expertise on trustworthiness and acceptability by workers, as
well as ethical perspective of human-machine collaboration. Gender and intersectionality
dimension143 analysis should be a part of the proposals, where relevant.
Each proposal will focus on one of the two following use-cases:
  1. Collaborative embodied AI (robotics system), empowering end-users and workers
      keeping them away from unsafe and unhealthy jobs: the focus will be on demonstrating
      improved working conditions (health/safety/level of stress, etc.), and worker trust and
      acceptance. The assistance should also take into account other factors less related with
      physical assistance like stress level. Meaningful human oversight of autonomy should be
      addressed.
  2. AI and data supporting professionals in trustworthy hybrid decision-making and
      supporting workers to optimise and facilitate their tasks; the focus will be on
      demonstrating how AI and data can improve the effectiveness and efficiency as well as
      management of trade-offs within the decision-making, building on the human and
      machine complementarities, exploiting the best capability of both for a better outcome.
      Meaningful human oversight of decision outcomes and explainability should be
      addressed. Specific effort should be made to develop re-usable decision-support systems
      or modules.
All proposals should exploit the latest results in AI, data and robotics, as well as multimodal
interaction technologies, User interface experience, for natural and seamless interaction
between the human and the technology/sources of information, including Augmented/Virtual
Reality when appropriate.
142
        Social Sciences and Humanities
143
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersectionality - intersectional aspects could cover gender, age, social
        level, education, ethnic origin, etc.
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Proposals should incorporate skills developments activities or/and connect with existing skills
activities in that domain, as appropriate.
Proposals should clearly identify which of the two use-cases listed above they will focus on.
Two types of proposals are expected:
  1. Focused projects (EU contribution around EUR 3.00 million), involving the user
      industry and technology provider(s),
  2. Larger projects (EU contribution around EUR 5.00), where a number of companies in a
      given application sector will identify in the proposal common challenges and use-cases,
      and organise competitive calls for AI, data and robotics solution providers to address
      such challenges. Competitive calls will be open to all types of companies, but only
      SMEs and Start-ups144 will receive financial support to third parties, with a maximum of
      EUR 200 000 per third party145 and 70% funding (100% for start-ups). At least 40% of
      the requested amount should be dedicated to financial support to third parties. The
      consortium will provide technical support with expertise in engineering integration,
      testing and validation to support the selected SMEs and start-ups acting as technology
      providers to demonstrate the added value of their solutions to address the challenges of
      the use-cases. Maximum one type of third party project will be funded per use-case.
In all proposals, user industries are expected to play a major role in the requirement and
validation phases.
Besides financial support, these SMEs and start-ups successfully demonstrating the potential
of their solutions, must receive support from business experts, provided by the action, to
further develop their business and develop their market reach, and maximise their business
opportunities.
When possible, proposals should build on and reuse public results from relevant previous
funded actions. Proposals should make use of connections to the Digital Innovation Hub
networks, particularly those in Robotics, Data and AI. Full use should be made of the
common resources available in the AI-on-Demand platform146, Digital Industrial Platform for
Robotics 147 , data platforms 148 and, if necessary other relevant digital resource platforms.
Communicable results from projects should be delivered to the most relevant of these
144
         In this context a start-up is a tech-oriented company. It should employ less than 10 people (but more
         than 2 full time equivalent staff) that has operated for less than three years and has attracted more than
         EUR €50 000 early stage private sector investment or has demonstrable sales growth over 50% pa –
         they will receive 100% financial support to third parties while other SMEs would receive 70% financial
         support. Startups would be expected to highlight the impact that the project will have on their overall
         Company strategy and growth prospects in the Impact section of their proposals (as well as the impact
         on society and European competitiveness.
145
         Maximum amount per third party, received from a given action, over its entire duration
146
         Initiated under the AI4EU project https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825619 and further developed in
         projects resulting from H2020-ICT-49-2020 call
147
         https://robmosys.eu/newsrobmosys-rosin-towards-an-eu-digital-industrial-platform-for-robotics/
148
         E.g.: https://www.big-data-europe.eu/
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platforms in order to enhance the European AI, Data and Robotics ecosystem through the
sharing of results and best practice.
All proposals are expected to allocate tasks to cohesion activities with the PPP on AI, Data
and Robotics and funded actions related to this partnership, including the CSA HORIZON-
CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-02. Where relevant, synergies with other PPPs are encouraged.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on Artificial Intelligence,
Data and Robotics.
Tomorrow’s deployable Robots: efficient, robust, safe, adaptive and trusted
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-11: Pushing the limit of robotics
cognition (AI, Data and Robotics Partnership) (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 44.50 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 2-3 and achieve TRL 4-5 by the
Readiness Level        end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcome:
   New generation of AI-Powered Robotics: Enabling robots to have more profound
      impacts than they currently have, in powering them with a deeper kind of AI, endowing
      them with a better perception and understanding of the world (up to semantic and
      explainable representations), This would allow the next generation of autonomous
      robots, with increased capabilities to work without/with limited supervision, as well as
      the next generation of interactive robots, with greatly improved intuitive, safe and
      efficient cognitive, social and physical capabilities, to assist humans.
In addition, depending on the focus of the proposal, the results are expected to contribute to at
least one of the following expected outcomes
   Smarter robots with improved capabilities, functionalities (including complex
      functionalities such as manipulation of delicate, irregular, dynamic or deformable
      objects, navigation in un-controlled and variable or challenging and harsh environments,
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      and continuous human-physical interactions) and an increased level of autonomy over
      the current state of the art, necessary to address real-world problems, while ensuring
      safety and reliability.
     Smooth and trustworthy (including safety and reliability) human-robot collaboration
      through advanced reactivity and mutual understanding, and human-centric automated
      adaptation of robots in human-robot interactions.
Scope: Proposals are expected to develop technologies and systems that significantly enhance
the cognitive ability of robots from the current state of the art to achieve greater levels of
interaction and autonomy. Proposals will address as appropriate the following:
     Develop enabling technologies, both new and existing, that extend the current state of
      the art in robotics perception, cognition, interaction and action as well as develop novel
      or advanced tools for the design and configuration of robots and robot systems that speed
      up the process of integration thereby reducing the time taken to deploy robot solutions.
      To do so by addressing the modularity and composability of solutions both in the
      operational context of a wide range of action and interaction use cases.
     There is also a need to address concepts such as trustworthiness, privacy, security and
      ethics already at the technology design phase.
     Develop lifelong autonomous robotics able to tackle unknown situations and adapt in the
      long term in pushing the state of the art of AI-based robots that combine monitoring,
      learning, planning and acting in order to evolve in difficult environments over long
      period of time. Support from simulation tools could be considered, as appropriate.
     Increase robot acceptance by handling adequately both human and robotic actions, with
      human-centric, advanced behavioural and elaborated planning models, and adopting
      multidisciplinary approaches including SSH149, as well as end-user involvement in the
      design of solutions addressing human factors and interaction. Gender and
      intersectionality dimension150 analysis should be a part of the proposals, where relevant.
     Push the limits of robotics interaction, adopting an interdisciplinary approach to integrate
      methods and techniques that allow the machines to engage in physical interactions with
      people or the environment, safely and intelligently, through specific enabling
      technologies: intuitiveness and responsive human-robot interfaces; integration of robot
      perception with natural and artificial intelligence; ability to physically, stably,
      dependably and safely interact with the environment, including users and surrounding
      people; development of advanced control tools fully integrating the human in the loop
      when performing a task; development of advanced control tools for dexterous and safe
      manipulation, assistance, and locomotion in diverse environments (ground, air, water,
      space, in-vivo and including safety critical and hazardous environments that are
149
         Social Sciences and Humanities
150
         https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersectionality - intersectional aspects could cover gender, age, social
         level, education, ethnic origin, etc.
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      corrosive, explosive, nuclear or at extremes of pressure or temperature) and in general
      for improved performance of robots; energy autonomy and resilience to highly limited
      and imperfect communication networks in on-field applications.
Two types of proposals are expected, either focusing on higher level of autonomy, expecting
less reliance on human supervision, or focusing on human-machine collaboration.
In each case, improvement in the level of robotics cognition should be demonstrated through
at least three real-world scenarios (including measurements of functional performance),
showing also the potential added value of such improvement in such use-cases scenarios.
Scientific and technological progress should be demonstrated by qualitative and quantitative
KPIs, demonstrators, benchmarking and progress monitoring. Activities are expected to
achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project
     The first type of proposals will further develop the level of autonomy in building on the
      latest developments in areas such as advanced perception, smart sensors, intelligent
      action and interaction, reasoning and learning, increased interpretation and
      understanding of the complex real-world environments (possibly involving human
      actions), anticipation of the effect of actions, adaptation and re-planning, graceful
      degradation, safety and security, etc. They will, as appropriate, further develop such
      components, and integrate them in an advanced robotics system, consider the balance of
      on-board vs off-board processes and the access and utilisation of external data and cloud
      resources to guide tasks and missions by adding external knowledge to internal
      reasoning and decision-making processes.
     The second type of proposals will further develop and integrate physical human-robot
      interaction, verbal/non-verbal communication as well as robot-environment/object
      interaction, embedding, as appropiate, safety, mutual understanding perception and
      interpretation of human actions, interaction situated in complex real-world environments
      and related motivations and social structures, joint goals, shared and sliding autonomy,
      ethical human-centric behaviour by understanding of physiological responses and
      emotions, etc. to reach truly smooth human-robot collaboration. This should as well
      integrate advanced control developments, and further develop them as necessary to
      guarantee the necessary speed for the required reactivity, ensuring natural, safe and
      smooth interactions with humans. Appropriate use should be made of data and
      knowledge accumulation from internal and external sources in order to guide reasoning
      and decision-making and the inclusion of explainability/transparency mechanisms 151
      appropriate to the use case. Such proposals should adopt a multidisciplinary approach
      and involve the necessary expertise in SSH152, in particular in ethics and human-centric
      design to enhance trust and acceptability.
When possible proposals should build on and reuse public results from relevant previous
funded actions. Proposals should make use of connections to the Digital Innovation Hub
151
         Explainability mechanisms can use multiple communication modalities, verbal, non-verbal, gestural etc.
152
         Social Sciences and Humanities
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networks, particularly those in Robotics, Data and AI. Full use should be made of the
common resources available in the AI-on-Demand platform153, Digital Industrial Platform for
Robotics 154 , data platforms 155 and, if necessary other relevant digital resource platforms.
Communicable results from projects should be delivered to the most relevant of these
platforms so as to enhance the European AI, Data and Robotics ecosystem through the sharing
of results and best practice.
All proposals should also take into consideration trustworthy AI principles 156 including
respect of human dignity and agency, as appropriate, given the technology focus.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on AI, Data and Robotics.
All proposals are expected to allocate tasks to cohesion activities with the PPP on AI, Data
and Robotics and funded actions related to this partnership, including the CSA HORIZON-
CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-02. Where relevant, synergies with other PPPs are encouraged.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-12: European Network of Excellence
Centres in Robotics (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU                  The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per             11.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                      appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                             selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget            The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 11.50 million.
Type of Action               Research and Innovation Actions
Technology                   Activities are expected to start at TRL 2-3 and achieve TRL 4-5 by
Readiness Level              the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial          The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant          exceptions apply:
Agreements                   Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                             The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of
                             grants.
                             The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60
                             000.
153
        Initiated under the AI4EU project https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825619 and further developed in
        projects resulting from H2020-ICT-49-2020 call
154
        https://robmosys.eu/newsrobmosys-rosin-towards-an-eu-digital-industrial-platform-for-robotics/
155
        E.g.: https://www.big-data-europe.eu/
156
        https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/ethics-guidelines-trustworthy-ai
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Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
     Scientific and technology advances in the major robotics challenges hampering its
      deployment
     A strong and tightly networked European research community in robotics, making it a
      world-class powerhouse for robotics excellence.
Scope: To ensure European open strategic autonomy in robotics, with huge potential socio-
economic impact, it is essential to reinforce and build on Europe’s assets, including its world-
class research community. In order to stay at the forefront of technological developments, it is
essential that researchers collaborate, share ideas and research outcomes. A strongly
networked community focused on excellence will be better at addressing the major robotics
challenges that block the domain’s further development and deployment.
As stated in the communication from the European Commission on Artificial Intelligence for
Europe 157 and the coordinated action plan between the European Commission and the
Member States and Associated Countries158, while Europe has undeniable strengths with its
many leading research centres, efforts are scattered. Therefore, joining forces will be crucial
to international competitiveness. Europe must scale up existing research capacities and reach
a critical mass through tighter networks of European robotics excellence centres. Proposals
should develop mechanisms to reinforce and network excellence centres in AI-powered
robotics 159 , bringing the best scientists from academia and industry to join forces in
addressing the major robotics challenges hampering its deployment, and to reinforce
excellence in robotics throughout Europe via a network of collaboration that focuses research
excellence on future industrial needs.
Such networks are expected to mobilise leading researchers to collaborate on key robotics
topics, to reach critical mass and increase the impact of the funding in progressing faster in
joined efforts rather than working in isolation, with fragmented and duplicated efforts.
Composition of the Network:
     Proposals should be driven by leading figures in robotics from major excellent robotics
      research centres, and industries, and bringing the best scientists distributed all over
      Europe, including also from promising research labs. They will bring on board the
      necessary level of expertise and variety of disciplines and profiles to achieve their
      objectives.
     Industrial participation will be ensured through inclusion of industrial organisations with
      research teams from multiple sectors that can bring into the network the expertise to
      identify important technological limitations hampering deployment in industry.
157
        https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/communication-artificial-intelligence-europe
158
        https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_18_6689
159
        Covering robots with certain level of intelligence/autonomy in their behaviour
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     Where relevant, representatives of civil society (e.g. social partners, citizen’s
      committees) bring in the ideas and needs of consumers/users and society, in order to
      obtain R&I results that are of practical relevance not only for industry/business but also
      for society.
Activities of the Network:
     In order to structure the activities, the proposals will focus on important scientific or
      technological challenges with industrial relevance and where Europe will make a
      difference, either in building on strengths, or strengthening knowledge to fill gaps
      critical for Europe.
     Based on these challenges, the proposals will develop and implement common research
      agendas. The main vision and roadmap with targets within the projects, as well as
      methodology to implement and monitor progress will have to be specified in the
      proposal and can be further developed during the project.
     Progress will be demonstrated in the context of use-cases, also helping to foster industry-
      academia collaboration
     Strong links will be developed among the members of the network, notably through
      collaborative projects, exchange programmes, workshops, or other mechanisms to be
      defined by the consortia.
     Proposals should develop mechanisms to foster excellence, to increase efficiency of
      collaboration, and to develop a vibrant Robotics network across Europe.
     The network will disseminate the latest and most advanced knowledge to all the
      academic and industrial Robotics laboratories in Europe and involve them in
      collaborative projects/exchange programmes. (This could involve projects defined
      initially or via financial support to third parties, for maximum 20% of the requested EU
      contribution, with a maximum of 60k€ per third party160).
     The network will develop strong interactions with industry, and where relevant, with
      trade unions, and civil society (inside the consortium and beyond), in view of triggering
      new scientific questions and fostering take-up of scientific advances.
     The network will develop collaboration with relevant Digital innovation Hubs, to
      disseminate knowledge and tools, understand their needs, and extend the industry-
      academia-civil society collaboration.
     The network should also foster innovation and include mechanisms to exploit new ideas
      coming out of the network’s work (for instance via incubators).
160
         Maximum amount per third party, received from a given Action, over its entire duration
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     Proposals should define mechanisms to become a virtual centre of excellence, offering
      access to knowledge and serve as a reference in robotics, including activities to ensure
      high visibility, usability and accessibility.
The proposals should
     Include mechanisms to spread the latest and most advanced knowledge to all the
      robotics-labs in Europe
     Develop synergies and cross-fertilization between industry, civil society, and academia
     Ensure that the network becomes a common resource and shared facility, as a virtual
      laboratory offering access to knowledge and expertise and a magnet for talents.
     Establish high visibility and accessibility, creating an easy entry point to robotics
      excellence in Europe where it is possible to access cutting edge ideas, research and
      expertise.
     Include sustainable access to the required resources and infrastructure to support R&D
      activities of the action, such as robotics equipment, support staff and engineers, and
      capacity to develop experiments that address the major future robotics challenges.
Proposals should define a number of major scientific and application challenges it will focus
on and which will mobilise the community to join forces across Europe in addressing them.
Continuous evaluation and demonstration of progress towards solving the targeted challenges
will motivate the entire network and support publications and scientific career developments
(providing reference benchmarks to publish comparative results, using the reference data,
scenarios, etc.), and also showcase the technology in application contexts, to attract more user
industries and eventually foster take-up and adoption of the technology. Scientific and
technological progress will be monitored through qualitative and quantitative KPIs (including
industry and service relevant KPIs), demonstrators, benchmarking and progress monitoring
processes.
Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project.
To address limitations of the use of robots due to human factors, an interdisciplinary approach
involving both technical and SSH 161 researchers is encouraged to address issues such as
interaction design, human factors, acceptability, non-discrimination and biases and
trustworthiness, taking into account gender and intersectionality 162 aspects, as appropriate.
Indeed, human-centred approaches in combination with multi-stakeholder co-design activities
can contribute to sustainable development of new enabling technologies. Putting people at the
forefront is expected to generate novel transformation pathways, which can remedy existing
technology in novel ways, and propose feedback loop systems that engage human users in
developing new sociotechnical learning situations and tools. Further, agile sociotechnical
161
        Social Sciences and Humanities
162
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersectionality - intersectional aspects could cover gender, age, social
        level, education, ethnic origin, etc.
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learning designs can remedy e.g. less efficient technologies, by emphasizing human aspects of
technologies in any sector (industry, healthcare, smart homes, etc.). Where appropriate,
special attention will be given to including users of diverse age, gender and background.
The proposals are expected to include mechanisms to share resources, knowledge, tools,
modules, software, results, expertise, and make equipment/infrastructure available to
scientists to optimise the scientific and technological progress. To that end, tools such as the
AI-on-demand platform 163 and Digital Industrial Platform for Robotics 164 should also be
exploited, enhanced and further developed by the network, to support the networking, quality
assessment, benchmarking and sharing of resources, maximising re-use and up-take of results.
Openness and interoperability of components are encouraged to develop synergies and cross-
fertilization between different approaches and solutions (e.g. through modularity of
components or open interfaces).
The proposals are also expected to include collaboration mechanisms among the best robotics
teams, but also mechanisms to bring all European robotics teams to the highest level of
excellence.
Proposals are expected to develop synergies:
     With other Networks of excellence centres in AI funded in H2020 or Horizon Europe,
       with a view of, all together, create vibrant European network of AI excellence centres.
       To that end, the activities should integrate with and complement the activities of the
       H2020-ICT-48 projects. The proposals are expected to dedicate tasks to ensure this
       coherence.
     With relevant activities in AI, Data and Robotics, primarily in destinations 3, 4 and 6,
       but also in other destinations and clusters, and share or exploit results where appropriate.
All proposals are expected to allocate tasks to cohesion activities with the PPP on AI, Data
and Robotics and funded actions related to this partnership, including the CSA HORIZON-
CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-02. Where relevant, synergies with other PPPs are encouraged.
European leadership in Emerging Enabling Technologies
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-13: Academia-Industry Forum on
Emerging Enabling Technologies (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.50
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
163
         Initiated under the AI4EU project https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825619 and further developed in
         projects resulting from H2020-ICT-49-2020 call
164
         https://robmosys.eu/newsrobmosys-rosin-towards-an-eu-digital-industrial-platform-for-robotics/
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project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.50 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
   European thought leadership in academia and industry on future enabling technologies
      and their transformational potential in industrial, societal and environmental terms.
   Increased engagement for structural collaboration and co-creation between academic,
      industry players and other stakeholders where roles of research, industry and society
      intertwine in an iterative and multidisciplinary approach for co-creating the enabling
      technologies of the future, all the way from low to higher TRLs, such as (but not limited
      to) bio-enabled technologies, sustainable smart materials and alternative computing
      models.
   Alignment with national or regional initiatives creating an expanding innovation
      ecosystem, anchored in local contexts across Europe, for selected emerging
      technologies.
   Accelerating the pick-up of novel advanced technology by industry and society.
Scope: A Coordination and Support Action to create and catalyse a forum for emerging
interdisciplinary areas and new technological visions. These actions enable and support a
broad range of participants (across disciplines in science and engineering, RTOs, industry
sectors, stakeholders) to meet, mutually inspire, cooperate and develop together innovative
ideas for future enabling technologies from early stages on (i.e., TRL 3+). They will help
industry to navigate rapidly changing environments, for instance by actively transferring ideas
and early technologies between players that would not normally interact, or by combinations
of different foresight activities (short-term, long-term, cross-sectorial) to prioritise strategic
directions while avoiding narrow visions for the future.
Concrete activities will include horizon scanning, portfolio analysis, a variety of participatory
workshops, visibility in various meetings, high-profile reporting on emerging enabling
technologies. This will build on (and link to) existing programmes and research portfolios
from European and national/regional programmes (including at low TRL) as well as broad
sourcing from foresight and technology scouting activities, including those specifically done
by this action for the cluster 4 industries and sectors. The forum should link to existing
initiatives and partnerships and add value by active cross-fertilisation across disciplines and
sectors, and by breaking the model of linear progression of technology development. National
or regional R&I priorities and orientations from European countries will be taken into
consideration. Broader stakeholder engagement is expected.
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The forum should become a reference for new enabling technologies at different levels of
maturity, their purpose, their transformational pathways and their impacts with a distinctive
anchoring in European industry and research, as well as providing guidance and reasoned
alternatives for Europe’s transformations, in line with the Commission priorities (in particular,
Green Deal, Digitisation, and Industrial Strategy).
Proposals should involve and be driven by representatives of the relevant actors of the field
(e.g., academia, RTOs, industry including SMEs).
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-14:                            Advanced        spintronics:
Unleashing spin in the next generation ICs (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 17.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 2 and achieve TRL 4 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
    Disruptive spin-based hardware components and devices, with significant progress
      towards the wafer-scale integration to provide industry compatible solutions for
      memory, sensing, imaging, communication and computation.
    First spin-based digital devices (Spin-chips) that demonstrate specific advantages of the
      approach and exhibit significant decrease in energy consumption.
    Large-scale complete systems that include next generation spintronics devices with
      emphasis on compatibility, integration of different materials & technologies including
      CMOS and photonics.
Scope: Proposals should focus on interdisciplinary R&D between academic research, RTOs
and industry (including SMEs) in order to address at least one of the following medium term
challenges in spintronic components and devices:
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    Develop new classes of materials (such as two-dimensional magnetic materials and
      heterostructures with tailored magnetic ordering, sensitive to different stimuli, e.g., light,
      electric field, stress etc.), achieving experimentally the largest effects allowed by physics
      to create new components and devices, including non-conventional ones, beyond the
      state of the art.
    Boost utilization of Spin-Charge interconversion for detecting spin currents or
      manipulating the magnetization of ferromagnets: this is key for ultra-low power
      operations as well as for a change of paradigm in logic with the goal of cutting down the
      energy consumption by a factor of 1000, enabling ultra-low energy, autonomous and
      safe devices towards attojoule electronics.
    Reach a massive gain in energy and time scales by profiting from collective spin
      excitations (spin waves, vortices, skyrmions) and their interaction with other
      waves/quanta carrying angular momentum (e.g., phonons, photons, plasmons or heat
      waves) for ultra-fast logic and data transfer.
    Master magnetic noise, stochasticity and chaotic behaviour for improved sensitivity,
      room temperature operation, and development of new device functionalities that enable
      new architectures and algorithms for use in a variety of sectors.
Proposals should aim at demonstrating a fully functional prototype of a spintronic device
operating in relevant environment conditions (TRL 4-5) in order to show how it will unlock
the full potential of the field in a number of specific and high potential application areas.
The proposals that will be funded under this topic are expected to collaborate in order to
create a critical mass of cooperation between EU research, industry and other relevant actors
in the area of spintronics, The overall goals are to put this emerging technological paradigm
firmly on the industries’ roadmaps, to foster the interdisciplinary communities that are driving
this forward and to improve the visibility for all key stakeholders.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-27:                                 Development             of
technologies/devices for bio-intelligent manufacturing (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        5.00 and 7.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 22.50 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
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Technology              Activities are expected to start at TRL 2 and achieve TRL 4 by the end
Readiness Level         of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: The use of biological elements as key enabling technology for
manufacturing is an emerging trend that perfectly concurs with the pressing requirements of
sustainability.
Biological transformation of industry can harness innovative and more efficient modes of
production which can satisfy the needs of future generations.
Proposals are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Strengthening European leadership in bio-intelligent manufacturing to support the
      industrial biological transformation;
   Developing of key enabling technologies which use biological components (and data)
      with an interface to a technical system making decisions, or a biological system with
      intrinsic intelligence for technical applications in manufacturing – in best case with a bi-
      directional communication between the biological and the technical system;
   Mainstreaming the integration of biological principles, functions and structures with
      other technologies – including digital – leading to novel, more efficient, manufacturing
      processes and methods;
   Facilitating extensive interdisciplinary collaborations and knowledge transfer among
      different disciplines such as bio engineering, biology, industrial manufacturing and
      Social Science and Humanities.
Scope: In a context of increasing constrains in the usage and production of resources, bio-
intelligent technologies should arise as key enabling manufacturing systems under any
circumstances while fostering the biological transformation of industry. In this sense, research
activities should be highly multi-disciplinary and networked to the strengthening of European
industrial leadership and autonomy in this emerging technology.
Proposals should investigate the potential of bioenabled technologies through the integration
of biological principles with other technologies, to bolster future supply chains and more
efficient manufacturing.
Proposals should aid the biological transformation of industries, investigating the biological-
technical interfaces of industrial and technological applications.
Research activities under this topic should cover (but not be limited to):
   Biomimicry of biological mechanisms to enable discrete manufacturing;
   Development of bioinspired systems and materials with technological and data
      interactions;
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    Innovative metrology and characterisation required for development of the bio-inspired
     technical components and systems;
    Exploring potential synergies between nano- and biotechnology in production
     technologies;
    Biosensors and bioactuators as enablers of novel manufacturing techniques, building on
     bi-directional communication between a biological and technical systems to aid discrete
     manufacturing;
    The use of biological components to increase efficiency in controlled manufacturing
     processes.
    Innovative metrology and characterisation required for development of the bio-inspired
     technical components and systems
Proposals should investigate the use of Big Data as a key enabler of the bio-technological
transformation in manufacturing.
Proposals should explore the use of data processing, Digital Twins and AI integrating data
exchanging between biological systems to technical components for the discrete
manufacturing environment.
Research activities should also cover societal and business challenges associated with
biointelligent manufacturing.
Flagship on Quantum Technologies: a Paradigm Shift
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-21: Next generation quantum sensing
technologies (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU         The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.75
contribution per    million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project             Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                    requesting different amounts.
Indicative          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 13.50 million.
budget
Type of Action      Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility         The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
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                         strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security, participation in this
                         topic is limited to legal entities established in Member States, associated
                         countries, OECD countries and MERCOSUR countries. Proposals
                         including legal entities which are not established in these countries will be
                         ineligible. This decision has been taken on the grounds that, in the area of
                         research covered by this topic, EU open strategic autonomy is particularly
                         at stake. It is important to avoid a situation of technological dependency
                         on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires the EU to take action
                         to build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and address any strategic
                         weaknesses, vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies which put at risk
                         the attainment of its ambitions.
                         For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph
                         above, in order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the
                         Union and its Member States, entities established in an eligible country
                         listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-
                         eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in
                         the action unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided
                         by their eligible country of establishment, that their participation to the
                         action would not negatively impact the Union’s strategic, assets, interests,
                         autonomy, or security165
Technology               Activities are expected to start at TRL 2-3 and achieve TRL 4-5 by the
Readiness Level          end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
     Demonstrate the feasibility of next generation quantum sensing technologies and devices
      by showing disruptive progress in the performance, reliability and efficiency of such
      technologies and devices and by enhancing the TRL of all (essential) components
      necessary to build them.
165
        The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
        to ensure that:
        a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
        to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
        facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
        that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
        b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
        to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
        security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
        c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
        recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
        eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
        is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
        country in which the legal entity is established.
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Scope: Proposals should focus on next generation quantum sensors that provide extreme
precision and accuracy measurements in many fields, beyond the performance of consumer
devices and services, from medical diagnostics and imaging, high-precision navigation, and
monitoring, to future applications in the Internet of Things and for enhanced measurement
and metrology.
Proposals should address: (i) the development of new methods and techniques to achieve full
control over all relevant quantum degrees of freedom and to protect them from environmental
noise; and/or (ii) identify correlated quantum states that outperform uncorrelated systems in a
noisy environment and methods to prepare them reliably. Proposed work should exploit
quantum properties (such as coherence, superposition and entanglement) emerging in
quantum systems to improve the performance of the targeted sensors technologies (e.g. in
terms of resolution, sensitivity or noise), well beyond the classical limits.
Proposals should target the development of laboratory prototypes (from TRL 2-3 to 4-5)
demonstrating the practical usefulness of engineered quantum states of light/matter to
improve sensing or imaging and develop and demonstrate optimized quantum software for
detection applications in real-world applications. They should leverage interdisciplinary
expertise and join forces with metrology institutes or other relevant technical fields to further
advance the limits of sensors sensitivity and resolution and to implement the best control
protocols, statistical techniques (e.g. Bayesian, among others) and machine learning
algorithms.
Finally, proposals should also coordinate their respective activities within each sensing
subfield (solid-state, atomic systems, photonics) and contribute to the governance and overall
coordination of the Quantum Technologies Flagship. They should also contribute to spreading
excellence across Europe; for example, through the involvement of Widening Countries.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-23: International cooperation with
Canada (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.33
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
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                       In order to achieve the expected objectives of the action, namely
                       reinforced EU-Canada research excellence in specific areas of mutual
                       EU-Canada interest, including quantum computing and simulation,
                       quantum networking and communication, quantum sensing and
                       metrology, the consortium must include a team of Canadian researchers,
                       with at least one (1) university applicant in Canada eligible to receive
                       funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of
                       Canada (NSERC). Researchers should refer to NSERC’s Eligibility
                       Criteria for Faculty to see if they are eligible to apply for and hold
                       funds.
                       Applicants in Canada must meet NSERC’s Eligibility Criteria for
                       Faculty and must agree to terms and conditions at the time of
                       application and when accepting the award. Applicants must complete
                       and sign the NSERC Terms and Conditions for Applying form and
                       attach it to the proposal166
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 1-2 and achieve TRL 2-3 by the
Readiness Level        end of the project – see General Annex B.
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                       exceptions apply:
                       Grants awarded under this topic will be jointly funded with NSERC.
                       There will be only one joint procedure for selection and evaluation of
                       proposals to be conducted in accordance to the Horizon Europe
                       procedures.
                       Proposals will be assessed by an evaluation committee with balanced
                       participation of experts appointed by the Commission and NSERC.
                       Applicants should submit the proposal only through the EU Funding &
                       Tenders Portal.
                       Evaluation Summary Reports will be shared with NSERC.
Legal and              The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of    apply:
the Grant              Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the corresponding
Agreements             grant agreements signed by NSERC as Alliance Grants.
Expected Outcome: Joint EU – Canada proposals are expected to contribute to the following
outcomes:
166
       Canadian applicants should refer to the NSERC website under the Call description for the NSERC
       Terms     and    Conditions    for     Applying     form:  https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Innovate-
       Innover/Collaborative_Research-Recherche_Collaborative_eng.asp
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     Advances in quantum technologies in specific areas of mutual EU – Canada interest,
      including quantum computing and simulation, quantum networking and communication,
      quantum sensing and metrology.
     Reinforcement of EU – Canada research excellence in the specific areas of mutual
      interest described above, including the establishment of strategic partnerships in
      research, education and training.
Scope: Proposals for the Joint Call EU-Canada are expected to address a mix of quantum
technology challenges in the areas of quantum communication, computing, simulation and
sensing and identify the added value and/or mutual benefit for both EU and Canadian
partners. These should include the integration of different aspects like physics, engineering,
computer science, theory, algorithms, software, manufacturing, control, infrastructures, etc.
Relevant technological and societal challenges to address include:
     Quantum computing and simulation co-design of hardware and software to accelerate
      applications; seamless interoperable software-to-hardware stack that can apply over
      multiple platforms, and theoretical and computer science foundations of quantum
      algorithms and architectures.
     Privacy and security concepts, proofs and applications for quantum communication,
      including QKD (quantum key distribution) and beyond; device independent protocols,
      quantum network/repeater protocols, including architectures and network stack;
      development of satellite and space-based hardware, and certification/verification of
      states and correlations.
     Application-specific quantum sensor development covering: device fabrication,
      characterisation, e.g. for magnetometry, prospection, imaging, navigation, biomedical,
      and theoretical research optimising simple sensors, control, as well as advanced
      approaches (use of entanglement and error correction).
Proposals should address one or more of the above technological and societal challenges and
clearly define the benefit the EU-Canada collaboration brings. In order to raise the
Technology Readiness Level (TRL), support for holistic - software and hardware -
engineering approaches across all areas are encouraged in consortia involving participation of
relevant public and/or private partners.
The Commission and NSERC consider that proposals with duration of 36 months (but not
exceeding 60 months) would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other
durations.
This is a Joint Call EU-Canada. The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million
(approximately CAD 12.00 million167) (sum of the EU indicative budget for the topic and the
167
         Exchange rate of 4th May 2021 applied
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Canadian indicative budget for the topic, which is also EUR 4.00 million (approximately
CAD 6.00 million168). The expected Canadian contribution per project is around EUR 1.33.
million (approximately CAD 2.00 million169). The total expected contribution per project is
EUR 2.66 million (approximately CAD 4.00 million170). Nonetheless, this does not preclude
submission and selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
The funding from NSERC will be provided to eligible applicants in Canada only and the EU
funding only to legal entities established in eligible countries in accordance with General
Annex B.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-30:                             Investing in  new    emerging
quantum computing technologies (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                       requesting different amounts.
Indicative             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
budget
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                       strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security, participation in this
                       topic is limited to legal entities established in Member States, associated
                       countries, OECD countries and MERCOSUR countries. Proposals
                       including legal entities which are not established in these countries will be
                       ineligible. This decision has been taken on the grounds that, in the area of
                       research covered by this topic, EU open strategic autonomy is particularly
                       at stake. It is important to avoid a situation of technological dependency
                       on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires the EU to take action
                       to build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and address any strategic
                       weaknesses, vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies which put at risk
                       the attainment of its ambitions.
168
         Exchange rate of 4th May 2021 applied
169
         Exchange rate of 4th May 2021 applied
170
         Exchange rate of 4th May 2021 applied
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                         For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph
                         above, in order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the
                         Union and its Member States, entities established in an eligible country
                         listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-
                         eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in
                         the action unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided
                         by their eligible country of establishment, that their participation to the
                         action would not negatively impact the Union’s strategic, assets, interests,
                         autonomy, or security171
Technology               Activities are expected to start at TRL 2-3 and achieve TRL 4-5 by the
Readiness Level          end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute by investing in a few other emerging
and potentially promising quantum technology platforms besides the ones supported in the
ramp-up phase of the Quantum Technologies Flagship, which would make it possible to
complement those already funded in the Quantum Technologies flagship and which have the
prospects of high scalability and fault tolerance.
Scope: In order to reach large-scale quantum computing in Europe, breakthroughs in
scalability of quantum computing processors, devices and integrated platforms are needed,
together with the ability to perform qubit operations such as read, write, and data transfer, and
qubit manipulation with a universal set of quantum gates. Besides the traditional quantum
architectures now under development in the Quantum Technologies Flagship, further qubit
and platform types, such as for example neutral Rydberg atoms, photonic qubits, and spin
qubits, need to be considered as candidates for quantum computing that would require further
research and development efforts.
The development of new emerging open quantum computer systems and platforms should be
integrating the key building blocks such as quantum processors (> 10 qubits) with limited
qubit overhead, control electronics, software stack, algorithms, applications, etc. Work should
address the scalability towards large systems (>100 qubits), the verification and validation of
171
        The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
        to ensure that:
        a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
        to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
        facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
        that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
        b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
        to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
        security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
        c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
        recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
        eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
        is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
        country in which the legal entity is established.
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the quantum computation, fault-tolerance and solving a concrete computational problem to
demonstrate the quantum advantage.
Proposals should also cover: (i) the cooperation with complementary projects launched
specifically in the area of the enabling quantum software stack (see HORIZON-CL4-2022-
DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-10: Strengthening the quantum software ecosystem for quantum
computing platforms), including also the need to establish from the beginning of this
cooperation appropriate IP exploitation agreements; (ii) any additional support they may
receive from relevant national, or regional programmes and initiatives; and (iii) contribution
to the governance and overall coordination of the Quantum Technologies Flagship initiative.
They should also contribute to spreading excellence across Europe; for example, through the
involvement of Widening Countries.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-32: Support and coordination of the
Quantum Technologies Flagship Initiative (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.40
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                      requesting different amounts.
Indicative            The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.40 million.
budget
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                      strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security, participation in this
                      topic is limited to legal entities established in Member States, associated
                      countries, OECD countries and MERCOSUR countries. Proposals
                      including legal entities which are not established in these countries will be
                      ineligible. This decision has been taken on the grounds that, in the area of
                      research covered by this topic, EU open strategic autonomy is particularly
                      at stake. It is important to avoid a situation of technological dependency
                      on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires the EU to take action
                      to build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and address any strategic
                      weaknesses, vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies which put at risk
                      the attainment of its ambitions.
                      For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph
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                          above, in order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the
                          Union and its Member States, entities established in an eligible country
                          listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-
                          eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in
                          the action unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided
                          by their eligible country of establishment, that their participation to the
                          action would not negatively impact the Union’s strategic, assets, interests,
                          autonomy, or security172
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
Coordination of the Quantum Technologies Flagship
     support the efficient functioning of the Quantum Technologies Flagship and the efficient
      implementation of the broader EU quantum strategy, and promote the Flagship's
      activities to a wide public
     enable Flagship projects to find synergies in their work and share best practice
     publish a European research and industry community roadmap that provide the route
      from research to industrial exploitation
     foster a European quantum community and provide a forum for productive discussions
      on Research and Innovation strategies
     transfer Europe’s research and innovation results into practical and high-value
      applications for the benefit of society.
Standardisation
     contribute to the development of international standards and regulations in quantum
      technologies and quantum applications, ensuring that Europe plays a leading role in
      global quantum standardisation initiatives.
172
         The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
         to ensure that:
         a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
         to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
         facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
         that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
         b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
         to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
         security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
         c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
         recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
         eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
         is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
         country in which the legal entity is established.
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Education and training
    Define a European core curriculum for quantum technologies to prepare postsecondary
      students for the challenges arising in quantum industry and academic research.
    Facilitate access to services and training offered to interested postsecondary students,
      workforce and other potential users (from industry, academia or public sector)
    Addressing the skills gap in quantum technologies-related domains by specialised
      training to develop the human capital resources to address increased skills need in
      industry (including SMEs).
    Create training programme curricula in close cooperation with industry for the quantum
      workforce according to the specific skills required by the quantum and end user industry.
    Implement innovative research-based curricula in quantum technologies for the
      university and secondary school education levels in all European countries.
Scope: Coordination of the Quantum Technologies Flagship
Proposals should ensure the smooth running and further development of the Flagship, support
the implementation of the overall EU strategy in quantum technologies, including governance,
raise the profile of the Flagship's activities and of quantum technologies in general, and
update the European Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda, in particular by working on
the following: support the operation of the Flagship’s governance structure; conduct a
community based process for preparing a Research and Innovation investment Roadmap and
priorities by involving research and industry stakeholders, undertake wide dissemination of
the Quantum Flagship results; organise outreach events and engage in structured discussions
with the general public, including on the social implications and ethics of quantum technology
development and innovation, particularly with regard to privacy and security, public trust and
acceptance; provide research dissemination services to projects; identify relevant training,
education and infrastructure needs.
This structured dialogue with the general public will take the form of engagement via all
meaningful platforms including social media, and the results may be compared with those of
international cooperation partners of the Flagship (e.g. Canada), and shared on the basis of
mutual exchange. Proposals should also encourage the Flagship’s projects to find synergies in
their activities, contribute to the overall EU strategy in the field (e.g. EuroQCI, EuroHPC),
and share best practice, and to foster the growth of a European quantum community that links
all academic and industry stakeholders, including by contributing to the coordination of
activities between European, national and regional programmes and projects.
Proposals should include concrete activities to coordinate and streamline European industrial
efforts in quantum technology to help unlock research from laboratories and forge a supply
chain in Europe. Proposals should feature a plan enabling the translation of academic research
in all Flagship pillars (quantum computing, quantum simulation, quantum communications,
and quantum sensing and metrology) into practical quantum technology and applications.
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Finally, proposals should work on establishing dialogue with other international programmes
in quantum technologies and in promoting international cooperation activities. In particular,
they should be supporting collaborative discussions between the main international players,
including countries such as the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, and the EU, exploiting
complementary strengths and challenges in collaborative research that ensures a clear win-win
situation for both parties and ongoing leadership on the global stage.
Proposals should involve and be driven by representatives of the relevant actors in the field
(e.g. academia, RTOs, and industry, including SMEs).
All proposals should contribute to spreading excellence across Europe; for example, through
the involvement of Widening Countries.
Standardisation
Proposals should address concrete standardisation activities in European and international
standardisation fora where quantum technologies will play a major role in the near future and
where standardisation can enhance existing capabilities and offer a competitive advantage to
Europe. Examples are: quantum computing and quantum-enabled security such as QKD,
QRNG, quantum sensing and metrology, including quantum enhanced medical imaging
devices, quantum gravity sensing devices, quantum timing devices, etc.
For this, proposals should develop an active presence and leadership in the coordination and
development of international standards and regulations in quantum technologies either in
existing standardisation activities and bodies and where relevant, by contributing to creating
new standardisation activities in existing groups and/or creation of new groups.
Proposals should bring together all the relevant stakeholders in the whole quantum technology
standardisation value chain – research, standardisation and the industry sectors, and if
relevant, public administrations/institutions. They should describe which players they will
mobilise and how they will efficiently coordinate them at European level to achieve impactful
results promoting the European interests in standardisation. Links to metrology aspects should
also be included, wherever relevant.
Education and training
Proposals should perform an extensive mapping of current and future requirements for
education and training; define standards for implementing appropriate educational strategies;
host existing and newly developed teaching materials and resources within a repository;
develop strategies for scaling up advanced quantum technology training programmes across
Europe; and establish a network between science, civil society, and industry to exchange
ideas, needs, and human resources (e.g. in the form of student internships). In doing so, they
should work in close cooperation with the Flagship project actors.
Proposals should also address the coordination of the education activities and strategies they
would work upon with the relevant national actors.
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Proposals should involve and be driven by representatives of the relevant actors of the field
(e.g., academia, RTOs, and industry, including SMEs, and intermediaries). They should take
into account synergies with activities in advanced digital skills supported by the Digital
Europe Programme.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Call - Digital and emerging technologies for competitiveness and fit for the green deal
                                                     HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)173
                       Topics                            Type         Budgets        Expected      Number
                                                           of          (EUR             EU             of
                                                        Action        million)     contribution projects
                                                                                    per project expected
                                                                   2021     2022       (EUR          to be
                                                                                             174
                                                                                    million)        funded
                                            Opening: 02 Nov 2021
                                          Deadline(s): 27 Jan 2022
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-                               RIA                12.00 5.00 to 7.00      2
EMERGING-02-10
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-                               FPA                                        0
EMERGING-02-15
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-                               RIA                16.00 2.00 to 3.00      5
EMERGING-02-16
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-                               FPA                                        0
EMERGING-02-17
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-                               FPA                                        0
EMERGING-02-19
173
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
174
         Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
         amounts.
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HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-                          IA         23.00          7.00      to 3
EMERGING-02-20                                                               10.00
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-                          FPA                                     0
EMERGING-02-22
Overall indicative budget                                     23.00 28.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Flagship on Quantum Technologies: a Paradigm Shift
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-15:                              Framework         Partnership
Agreement for developing the first large-scale quantum computers (FPA)
Specific conditions
Type of         Framework Partnership Agreement
Action
Eligibility     The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following exceptions
conditions      apply:
                In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s strategic
                assets, interests, autonomy, and security, it is important to avoid a situation of
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                    technological dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires
                    the EU to take action to build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and
                    address any strategic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies
                    which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions. For this reason, participation
                    is limited to legal entities established in Member States, Iceland, Norway,
                    Israel and the United Kingdom. The eligibility of entities established in the UK
                    to participate is conditional upon reciprocity of access to equivalent UK
                    programmes for entities established in Member States, which will be assessed
                    by the Commission as soon as such programmes are established and in any
                    event before the signature of the grant agreements. Should the UK not open the
                    participation in its relevant programmes to entities established in Member
                    States, this condition would not be met and entities established in the UK will
                    not be eligible to participate in this topic.
                    For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph above, in
                    order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the Union and its
                    Member States, entities established in an eligible country listed above, but
                    which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or by a
                    non-eligible country entity, may not participate in the action unless it can be
                    demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided by their eligible country of
                    establishment, that their participation to the action would not negatively impact
                    the Union’s strategic, assets, interests, autonomy, or security175
Expected Outcome: Framework Partnership Agreements (FPAs) in quantum computing are
expected to establish a stable and structured partnership between the Commission and the
institutions and organisations in quantum computing who commit themselves to establishing,
maintaining and implementing a strategic research roadmap aligned with and contributing to
the Quantum Flagship Strategic Research Agenda in a scalable open quantum computing
platform based on a specific quantum platform technology.
These partnerships will be set up through two FPAs, which will enable the completion of the
research roadmap within the context of the agreement.
175
         The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
         to ensure that:
         a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
         to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
         facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
         that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
         b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
         to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
         security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
         c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
         recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
         eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
         is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
         country in which the legal entity is established.
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The consortia responding to the call may include research institutes, universities, RTOs,
foundations, industry, SMEs as well as other organisations that can play a role in the
realisation of these quantum computing platforms. The FPA will specify the objectives, the
nature of the actions planned, and the procedure for awarding specific grants. Each FPA is
expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
     Demonstrate a universally programmable processor of at least 100 physical qubits (by
      2025) operating in the NISQ 176 domain including firmware and having sufficient
      coherence to perform computations involving all of its qubits; characterise with a
      hardware-agnostic test suite, including real-world applications, including for hybrid
      quantum/HPC computing, and the capability of out-performing classical computers on a
      number of relevant real-world use-cases; control needs to involve a low-level control
      system, a compiler and a scheduler.
     By 2029, build a full stack, highly connected, high fidelity quantum computer of at least
      one thousand physical qubits, exhibiting scalability and capable of out-performing
      classical computers on relevant real-world use-cases.
     Formulate standards and interface specifications for a complete software and hardware
      stack.
Scope: Fostering a vibrant European quantum computing industry will require hardware,
software, and the development of user interfaces. Proposals for FPAs are expected to build on
the quantum computing platforms supported under the Quantum Flagship ramp up phase.
Proposals should target the development of open quantum computing platforms, integrating
the key building blocks such as quantum processors in the NISQ regime (>100 qubits) with
control electronics, low-level software, verification and validation of the quantum
computation, etc.
Proposals should include practical strategies towards the break-even point of fault tolerance to
increase algorithmic depth (number of operations) for quantum computing on existing
platforms.
Proposals for FPAs must describe how the activities carried out during the ramp-up phase will
be continued involving the relevant disciplines and stakeholders, how results of the ramp-up
phase will be used, and how they will provide efficient coordination under strong scientific
and engineering leadership.
Proposals for FPAs should also address how to integrate in these platforms a full software
stack, including a compiler and scheduler, programming tools, a suite of algorithms, etc., that
would allow them to showcase their capability of solving real and concrete computational
problem(s) that demonstrate a quantum advantage.
Proposals should aim at the development of open quantum computer experimental systems,
and work on the reduction of their form factor.
176
         Noisy intermediate scale quantum
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Proposals for FPAs should also cover: (i) the cooperation with complementary projects
launched specifically in the area of the enabling quantum software stack (see HORIZON-
CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-10: Strengthening the quantum software ecosystem for
quantum computing platforms), including also the need to establish from the beginning of this
cooperation appropriate IP exploitation agreements; (ii) the collaboration with other initiatives
or programmes at regional, national, transnational or global level; (iii) any additional support
they may receive in their activities from relevant national, or regional programmes and
initiatives; and (iv) contribution to the governance and overall coordination of the Quantum
Technologies Flagship initiative. They should also contribute to spreading excellence across
Europe; for example, through the involvement of Widening Countries.
The partnership will have a duration of 4 years.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-16: Basic Science for Quantum
Technologies (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 2.00
contribution per      and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative            The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 16.00 million.
budget
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                      strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security, participation in this
                      topic is limited to legal entities established in Member States, associated
                      countries, OECD countries and MERCOSUR countries. Proposals
                      including legal entities which are not established in these countries will be
                      ineligible. This decision has been taken on the grounds that, in the area of
                      research covered by this topic, EU open strategic autonomy is particularly
                      at stake. It is important to avoid a situation of technological dependency
                      on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires the EU to take action
                      to build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and address any strategic
                      weaknesses, vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies which put at risk
                      the attainment of its ambitions.
                      For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph
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                         above, in order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the
                         Union and its Member States, entities established in an eligible country
                         listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-
                         eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in
                         the action unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided
                         by their eligible country of establishment, that their participation to the
                         action would not negatively impact the Union’s strategic, assets, interests,
                         autonomy, or security177
Technology               Activities are expected to start at TRL 2 and achieve TRL 4 by the end of
Readiness Level          the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
     Opening up new avenues for potential growth in the field of quantum technologies
     Novel concepts, leading to more advanced technologies continue to support the basic
      science research carried out by the Quantum Technologies Flagship, ensuring that it
      informs the Flagship’s work in other quantum fields, and/or explores new directions
      within existing fields.
Scope: Proposals should aim to explore new quantum effects and gain new knowledge that is
not limited to the pillar activities, and which may contribute to new quantum technologies and
applications in the long term. Areas of particular interest include quantum information theory,
the identification of new laws and limits, understanding the mechanisms behind decoherence,
the development of certification methods for quantum technologies, and research that goes
beyond the field of pure quantum technologies, such as the study of quantum effects in
thermodynamic or biological processes.
The technological resources include strategic components, ranging from fundamental
properties to engineering quantum devices and systems (TRL 2-4) to interfacing these across
different, always with a view towards end-user applications and their operation. Examples
are: light sources, interfaces including manipulation of light, and single photon detectors,
177
        The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
        to ensure that:
        a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
        to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
        facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
        that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
        b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
        to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
        security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
        c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
        recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
        eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
        is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
        country in which the legal entity is established.
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which are compatible and interoperable. The development of new materials, single integrated
solutions or hybrid integrated solutions that are miniaturised and scalable, fabrication and
packaging solutions, are also key challenges, as is the development of new protocols, control
approaches and algorithms.
Proposals should contribute to (i) the governance and overall coordination of the Quantum
Technologies Flagship initiative, (ii) where relevant to inter-project cooperation, in particular
with the 4 main pillars of the Quantum Technologies Flagship (quantum computing, quantum
simulation, quantum communication and quantum sensing and metrology). They should also
contribute to spreading excellence across Europe; for example, through the involvement of
Widening Countries.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-17:                           Framework         Partnership
Agreement for developing large scale quantum simulation platform technologies (FPA)
Specific conditions
Type of         Framework Partnership Agreement
Action
Eligibility     The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following exceptions
conditions      apply:
                In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s strategic
                assets, interests, autonomy, and security, it is important to avoid a situation of
                technological dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires
                the EU to take action to build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and
                address any strategic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies
                which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions. For this reason, participation
                is limited to legal entities established in Member States, Iceland, Norway,
                Israel and the United Kingdom. The eligibility of entities established in the UK
                to participate is conditional upon reciprocity of access to equivalent UK
                programmes for entities established in Member States, which will be assessed
                by the Commission as soon as such programmes are established and in any
                event before the signature of the grant agreements. Should the UK not open the
                participation in its relevant programmes to entities established in Member
                States, this condition would not be met and entities established in the UK will
                not be eligible to participate in this topic.
                For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph above, in
                order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the Union and its
                Member States, entities established in an eligible country listed above, but
                which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or by a
                non-eligible country entity, may not participate in the action unless it can be
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                    demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided by their eligible country of
                    establishment, that their participation to the action would not negatively impact
                    the Union’s strategic, assets, interests, autonomy, or security178
Expected Outcome: Framework Partnership Agreements (FPAs) in quantum simulation are
expected to establish a stable and structured partnership between the Commission and the
institutions and organisations in quantum simulation who commit themselves to establish,
maintain and implement a strategic research roadmap in a scalable open quantum simulation
platform based on a specific quantum simulation platform technology.
These partnerships will be set up through an FPA, which will enable the completion of the
research roadmap within the context of the agreement.
The consortia responding to the call may include research institutes, universities, RTOs,
foundations, industry, SMEs as well as other organisations that can play a role in the
realisation of these quantum computing platforms. The FPA will specify the objectives, the
nature of the actions planned, and the procedure for awarding specific grants. Each FPA is
expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
     Fully programmable open quantum simulators reaching several hundred individual
      quantum constituents (by 2025/2026) and above 1000 quantum constituents (by 2029).
     Improved levels of control and scalability and achievement of a further entropy
      reduction (by a factor of 2 in 2-3 years) of quantum simulators.
     Demonstrated full quantum simulation stack and operational stability for various classes
      of problems by ensuring maximum online availability.
     Wide accessibility to the quantum simulation platform facilities capable of
      outperforming the best supercomputers in physical simulations and in a large number of
      hard optimisation problems relevant for real-world use-cases.
Scope: Proposals for FPAs should aim to build quantum simulators that are capable of
simulating far beyond classical possibilities for hard-to-compute quantum or classical
systems. The resulting simulator should be based on and reinforce existing physical platforms
178
         The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
         to ensure that:
         a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
         to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
         facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
         that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
         b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
         to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
         security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
         c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
         recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
         eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
         is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
         country in which the legal entity is established.
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(such as ultra-cold atoms, trapped ions, Rydberg atoms, photonics or other qubits), therefore
consolidating the European scientific leadership in this field. The simulator platform should
include user-interfaces and software to allow applications of real world problems in e.g.
material science, quantum chemistry and others.
Proposals for FPAs should expand and strengthen the supply chain, aiming for the
development of key enabling technologies while improving notions of control of quantum
simulators. Entropy reduction and interaction engineering should be supported throughout.
Proposals for FPAs are expected to take in perspective the learning properties of physical
systems or to make use of programmable quantum simulators to solve near-term problems of
end-users. Applications should be identified in solving practical routing and scheduling
problems, and in offering cloud services in the quantum simulation of strongly correlated
quantum systems and materials. Proposals should also develop a comprehensive and strategic
patent portfolio to protect innovations in the field of quantum simulation and to provide
information about the IPRs that are open to licensing.
Proposals for FPAs should also cover: (i) the collaboration with other initiatives or
programmes at regional, national, transnational or global level; (ii) any additional support
they may receive in their activities from relevant national, or regional programmes and
initiatives; and (iii) contribution to the governance and overall coordination of the Quantum
Technologies Flagship initiative. They should also contribute to spreading excellence across
Europe; for example, through the involvement of Widening Countries.
The partnership will have a duration of 4 years.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-19:                           Framework         Partnership
Agreements in Quantum Communications (FPA)
Specific conditions
Type of         Framework Partnership Agreement
Action
Eligibility     The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following exceptions
conditions      apply:
                In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s strategic
                assets, interests, autonomy, and security, it is important to avoid a situation of
                technological dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires
                the EU to take action to build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and
                address any strategic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies
                which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions. For this reason, participation
                is limited to legal entities established in Member States, Iceland, Norway,
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                   Israel and the United Kingdom. The eligibility of entities established in the UK
                   to participate is conditional upon reciprocity of access to equivalent UK
                   programmes for entities established in Member States, which will be assessed
                   by the Commission as soon as such programmes are established and in any
                   event before the signature of the grant agreements. Should the UK not open the
                   participation in its relevant programmes to entities established in Member
                   States, this condition would not be met and entities established in the UK will
                   not be eligible to participate in this topic.
                   For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph above, in
                   order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the Union and its
                   Member States, entities established in an eligible country listed above, but
                   which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or by a
                   non-eligible country entity, may not participate in the action unless it can be
                   demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided by their eligible country of
                   establishment, that their participation to the action would not negatively impact
                   the Union’s strategic, assets, interests, autonomy, or security179
Expected Outcome: Framework Partnership Agreements (FPAs) in Quantum Communication
Technologies are expected to establish stable and structured partnerships between the
Commission and the institutions and organisations who commit themselves to establish,
maintain and implement a strategic research roadmap in Quantum Communication
Technologies.
These partnerships will be set up through two FPAs, which will enable the completion of the
research roadmap within the context of the agreements.
The consortia responding to the call may include research institutes, universities, RTOs,
foundations, industry, SMEs as well as other organisations that can play a role in the
realisation of Quantum Communication Technologies. The FPAs will specify the objectives,
the nature of the actions planned, and the procedure for awarding specific grants.
The first FPA (on “building the Quantum Internet”) is expected to contribute to the following
outcomes:
179
        The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
        to ensure that:
        a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
        to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
        facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
        that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
        b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
        to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
        security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
        c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
        recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
        eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
        is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
        country in which the legal entity is established.
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   Demonstrate long-distance (i.e., above 500 km) entanglement distribution involving
     quantum memories, and demonstrate a fully functional prototype of a quantum repeater
     operating across multiple nodes of a real world communication network that will unlock
     the full potential of a global quantum internet interconnecting quantum computers,
     simulators and sensors via quantum networks;
   Demonstrate a scalable interface connecting quantum computers via a quantum network
     spanning multiple cities in order to enable advanced use cases of a quantum internet.
   Demonstrate a platform-independent software and network stack on a quantum
     communication/information network consisting of at least two quantum computing
     nodes with quantum memories. The network should demonstrate resistance to known
     forms of attack.
The second FPA (on “quantum encryption and future quantum network technologies”) is
expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Demonstrate open, large-scale, quantum communication networks and system
     architectures, based on cost-effective network devices and equipment necessary to
     distribute classical secret keys or quantum information transport over direct
     communication links as well as, across multi-node quantum networks, demonstrating
     secure communication over long distances as well as its integration with classical
     networks; and, support the development of applications over such networks relevant for
     the EuroQCI initiative, such as authentication, long-term secure storage, primitives for
     multi-party computation between untrusted players, and clock synchronisation.
   Demonstrate future quantum network technologies in support of the EuroQCI initiative,
     and showcase disruptive progress in the performance, reliability and efficiency of
     relevant digital components and devices.
Scope: Proposals for FPAs are expected to develop quantum communication technologies
with improved performance and security to ensure European leadership. They are expected to
build on the ongoing projects supported under the Quantum Flagship ramp up phase and on
those currently defining the EuroQCI initiative.
Their focus should lie mainly in realising a quantum communication/information network,
over very large distances, well beyond what is currently possible, and enabling advanced
application functionality for distributing resources such as entanglement. This includes the
development of quantum memories and quantum repeaters that are the building blocks of
long-distance quantum communication networks on the ground, and could be deployed in a
European quantum communication infrastructure (EuroQCI).
Proposals for the first FPA (on “building the Quantum Internet”) should focus on the
development of a quantum internet interconnecting quantum computers, simulators and
sensors via quantum networks. These quantum networks should allow long-distance (>500
kilometres) entanglement-based quantum communication involving quantum memories, and
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will be inter-liked via a fully functional prototype of quantum repeaters. The FPA proposal
should also address the proper functioning of a platform-independent software and network
stack for managing and programming the quantum communication network consisting of at
least two quantum computing nodes with quantum memories.
Proposals for the second FPA (on “quantum encryption and future quantum network
technologies”) should focus on the development of (i) a robust, non-dependent and
sustainable supply chain of future-proof Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technologies; (ii)
integration and interoperability in cybersecurity systems and classical communication
networks based on optical fibre networks; and (iii) the development of the next generation of
quantum communication systems (e.g., device-independent, twin field QKD) with improved
performance and security protocols, and increased deployability through miniaturisation,
compared to the first generation of QKD systems. Proposals should advance quantum network
technologies in the above mentioned areas with the aim to achieve improved performances
(e.g., higher key rates, fidelities, link distances, robustness, …), post-processing of key
generation, key management, including interface to security applications (point-to-point link),
achieving higher level system integration and robustness, combining quantum network
technologies with conventional network infrastructures (including infrastructures based on
post-quantum cryptographic technologies) and applications for point-to-multipoint links,
including new protocols, applications and software and interface management between space
and ground infrastructures.
Proposals for FPAs should also cover: (i) the cooperation with complementary projects
launched specifically in the area of quantum encryption and future quantum network
technologies (see topic 2), including also the need to establish from the beginning of this
cooperation appropriate IP exploitation agreements, (ii) the collaboration with other initiatives
or programmes at regional, national, transnational or global level; (iii) any additional support
they may receive in their activities from relevant national, or regional programmes and
initiatives; and (iv) contribution to the governance and overall coordination of the Quantum
Technologies Flagship and (wherever relevant) EuroQCI. They should also contribute to
spreading excellence across Europe; for example, through the involvement of Widening
Countries.
The partnership will have a duration of 4 years.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-20: Quantum sensing technologies for
market uptake (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 7.00
contribution per      and 10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
                      appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
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project                  selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative               The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 23.00 million.
budget
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                         strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security, it is important to avoid
                         a situation of technological dependency on a non-EU source, in a global
                         context that requires the EU to take action to build on its strengths, and to
                         carefully assess and address any strategic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and
                         high-risk dependencies which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions.
                         For this reason, participation is limited to legal entities established in
                         Member States, Iceland, Norway, Israel and the United Kingdom. The
                         eligibility of entities established in the UK to participate is conditional
                         upon reciprocity of access to equivalent UK programmes for entities
                         established in Member States, which will be assessed by the Commission
                         as soon as such programmes are established and in any event before the
                         signature of the grant agreements. Should the UK not open the
                         participation in its relevant programmes to entities established in Member
                         States, this condition would not be met and entities established in the UK
                         will not be eligible to participate in this topic.
                         For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph
                         above, in order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the
                         Union and its Member States, entities established in an eligible country
                         listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-
                         eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in
                         the action unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided
                         by their eligible country of establishment, that their participation to the
                         action would not negatively impact the Union’s strategic, assets, interests,
                         autonomy, or security180
180
        The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
        to ensure that:
        a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
        to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
        facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
        that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
        b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
        to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
        security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
        c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
        recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
        eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
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Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 4-5 and achieve TRL 6-7 by the
Readiness Level        end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
    A host of mature quantum sensing technologies and devices (TRL 6-7) in many different
      application sectors, with the goal of establishing a reliable, efficient supply chain
      including first standardisation and calibration efforts for rapid market uptake.
Scope: Proposals should address the development of relatively mature quantum sensing
technologies and single or network-operating devices that have the potential to find a broad
range of new applications in transportation, precise localisation, health, security,
telecommunications, energy, electronics industry, construction, mining, prospection, and
much more.
Proposals should demonstrate advanced prototypes of such sensing technologies that provide
an unprecedented level of precision and stability, making new types of sensing, imaging and
analysis possible. For rapid market uptake, they should target miniaturised, integrated,
transportable quantum sensors and provide first plans for their further industrialisation
through enhanced cost efficiency and user operability at higher TRL.
In order to achieve the above, proposals should include relevant actors from the whole value
chain (from materials to devices and to system integration aspects). They may also include,
wherever relevant, activities and actors from metrology institutes that would provide
measurement methods and/or standards, including for the development of quality assurance
methods and for standardisation of the targeted quantum sensing technologies.
Finally, proposals should also cover: (i) any additional support they may receive from
relevant national, or regional programmes and initiatives; and (ii) contribution to the
governance and overall coordination of the Quantum Technologies Flagship initiative. They
should also contribute to spreading excellence across Europe; for example, through the
involvement of Widening Countries.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-22:                                Framework            Partnership
Agreements for open testing and experimentation and for pilot production capabilities
for quantum technologies (FPA)
Specific conditions
Type of           Framework Partnership Agreement
         is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
         country in which the legal entity is established.
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Action
Eligibility        The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following exceptions
conditions         apply:
                   In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s strategic
                   assets, interests, autonomy, and security, it is important to avoid a situation of
                   technological dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires
                   the EU to take action to build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and
                   address any strategic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies
                   which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions. For this reason, participation
                   is limited to legal entities established in Member States, Iceland, Norway,
                   Israel and the United Kingdom. The eligibility of entities established in the UK
                   to participate is conditional upon reciprocity of access to equivalent UK
                   programmes for entities established in Member States, which will be assessed
                   by the Commission as soon as such programmes are established and in any
                   event before the signature of the grant agreements. Should the UK not open the
                   participation in its relevant programmes to entities established in Member
                   States, this condition would not be met and entities established in the UK will
                   not be eligible to participate in this topic.
                   For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph above, in
                   order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the Union and its
                   Member States, entities established in an eligible country listed above, but
                   which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or by a
                   non-eligible country entity, may not participate in the action unless it can be
                   demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided by their eligible country of
                   establishment, that their participation to the action would not negatively impact
                   the Union’s strategic, assets, interests, autonomy, or security181
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
181
        The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
        to ensure that:
        a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
        to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
        facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
        that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
        b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
        to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
        security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
        c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
        recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
        eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
        is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
        country in which the legal entity is established.
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Framework Partnership Agreements (FPAs) respectively for open testing, experimentation,
and for pilot production capabilities for quantum technologies are expected to establish stable
and structured partnerships between the Commission and the institutions and organisations
who commit themselves:
   To create long-term open, supportive and sustainable experimental and testing
     infrastructures in Europe that are openly accessible by European academia and industry;
     and,
   To develop and provide access to first European fabrication (production) capabilities for
     quantum technologies, building on and linking together existing infrastructures.
These partnerships will be set up through two FPAs, which will enable the completion of the
research roadmap within the context of the agreements. The FPAs will specify the objectives,
the nature of the actions planned, and the procedure for awarding specific grants.
The first FPA (“supporting open testing, and experimentation for quantum technologies in
Europe”) is expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Establish a technology innovation roadmap through effective consultation with industry
     for linking early-stage capabilities to industry developments.
   Provide open testing, and experimentation capabilities for quantum technologies, that are
     available to scientists, engineers and users, and provide innovation support services to
     individual companies, in particular a broad spectrum of SMEs.
   Establish a well-connected network at European level and federate competences to
     increase European testing and experimentation capabilities of quantum technologies, and
     reduce their time-to-market.
   Provide services for the development of a European supply chain of quantum
     technologies, provide European industry, especially start-ups and SMEs, with the
     necessary innovation capacity, and make sure that critical IP remains within the EU.
The second FPA (“supporting experimental production capabilities for quantum technologies
in Europe”) is expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Establish a capability innovation roadmap for providing experimental (pilot) production
     capabilities and a roadmap for transferring such capabilities to an industrial production
     environment.
   Provide experimental production capabilities for quantum technologies in computing,
     communication and /or sensing available to users, including industry, in particular SMEs
     and contribute to developing European standards in the field.
   Provide services for the development of a European supply chain of quantum
     technologies, provide European industry, especially start-ups and SMEs, with the
     necessary innovation capacity, and make sure that critical IP remains within the EU.
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Scope: Proposals for both FPAs above are expected to establish well-networked lab facilities
that interact and support each other. Proposals should federate key competences in the whole
innovation value chain, from business-model development to promoting open-access to
innovation and know-how, in order to provide access and support to European quantum
technologies innovation actors.
Proposals should develop practical strategies in synergy with European academic and
industrial players (especially start-ups and SMEs), and quantum technologies innovation
actors in Europe to provide the quantum ecosystem with a ‘one-stop-shop’ to unique facilities,
competences and know-how centred at various locations in Europe.
The consortia applying for the first FPA should include a balanced and inclusive network of
RTOs and other excellent European institutes equipped with state of the art quantum
experimental facilities, infrastructures and tools, and other key innovation players that can
play a role in the implementation of sustainable open experimental and testing infrastructures
in quantum technologies.
The consortia applying for the second FPA should include a balanced and inclusive network
of RTOs and other excellent European institutes, small foundries, unique manufacturing
providers, and other key innovation players that can play a role in building and providing
experimental pilot production capabilities for quantum technologies.
The proposal for both FPAs should also cover: (i) the collaboration with other initiatives or
programmes at regional, national, or European level; (ii) the any additional financial support
they may receive in their activities from relevant national or regional initiatives; and (iii)
contribution to the governance and overall coordination of the Quantum Technologies
Flagship initiative. It should also contribute to spreading excellence across Europe; for
example, through the involvement of Widening Countries.
The partnership will have a duration of 4 years.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-10: Strengthening                           the  quantum
software ecosystem for quantum computing platforms (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 5.00
contribution per      and 7.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative            The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
budget
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                                             Digital, Industry and Space
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                         strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security, it is important to avoid
                         a situation of technological dependency on a non-EU source, in a global
                         context that requires the EU to take action to build on its strengths, and to
                         carefully assess and address any strategic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and
                         high-risk dependencies which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions.
                         For this reason, participation is limited to legal entities established in
                         Member States, Iceland, Norway, Israel and the United Kingdom. The
                         eligibility of entities established in the UK to participate is conditional
                         upon reciprocity of access to equivalent UK programmes for entities
                         established in Member States, which will be assessed by the Commission
                         as soon as such programmes are established and in any event before the
                         signature of the grant agreements. Should the UK not open the
                         participation in its relevant programmes to entities established in Member
                         States, this condition would not be met and entities established in the UK
                         will not be eligible to participate in this topic.
                         For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph
                         above, in order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the
                         Union and its Member States, entities established in an eligible country
                         listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-
                         eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in
                         the action unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided
                         by their eligible country of establishment, that their participation to the
                         action would not negatively impact the Union’s strategic, assets, interests,
                         autonomy, or security182
Technology               Activities are expected to start at TRL 2-3 and achieve TRL 4-5 by the
Readiness Level          end of the project – see General Annex B.
182
        The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
        to ensure that:
        a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
        to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
        facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
        that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
        b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
        to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
        security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
        c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
        recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
        eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
        is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
        country in which the legal entity is established.
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Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
     develop quantum-specific algorithms and methods to apply them to problem-solving in a
      wide variety of industrial fields, giving European industry a competitive edge.
Scope: Fostering a European quantum computing industry will require hardware, software,
and the development of user interfaces. Proposals should address the development of
quantum-specific algorithms and methods to solve problems, for example in chemical and
materials simulation, data analysis and optimisation, and space data processing and mission
planning, as well as the more general development of novel quantum algorithms for yet
unexplored application areas.
Proposals should target the development of quantum applications and the development of
industrial use cases for the quantum computers of the Quantum Technologies Flagship
(developed under topics (1) to (3) above). Furthermore, proposals should target the
development of quantum software stacks, libraries, etc., that facilitate the link from a high-
level description of algorithms to a low-level implementation with quantum gates, for solving
concrete problems and applications expected to demonstrate quantum advantage. The
developed applications and software should be independent of the underlying qubit platform
and their correct functioning should be tested on as many quantum computing platforms as
possible within the Quantum Technologies Flagship.
Proposals should also cover: (i) the cooperation with projects of the Quantum Flagship
supporting quantum computing platforms, including also the need to establish from the
beginning of such cooperation appropriate IP exploitation agreements; (ii) any additional
support they may receive from relevant national, or regional programmes and initiatives; and
(iii) contribution to the governance and overall coordination of the Quantum Technologies
Flagship initiative. They should also contribute to spreading excellence across Europe; for
example, through the involvement of Widening Countries.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Call - Digital and emerging technologies for competitiveness and fit for the green deal
                                                     HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)183
183
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
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                       Topics                                Type Budgets          Expected       Number
                                                               of      (EUR           EU              of
                                                            Action million) contribution projects
                                                                                  per project expected
                                                                        2022        (EUR            to be
                                                                                           184
                                                                                  million)         funded
                                         Opening: 21 Dec 2021
                                        Deadline(s): 05 Apr 2022
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                          RIA      48.00       3.00 to 5.00     10
01-03
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                          RIA      22.00       4.00 to 6.00     4
01-26
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                          RIA      13.00       Around           1
01-30                                                                            13.00
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                          RIA      17.50       2.00 to 3.00     5
01-35
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                          CSA      3.00        Around           1
01-38                                                                            3.00
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                          RIA      13.00       Around           1
01-39                                                                            13.00
Overall indicative budget                                            116.50
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                          Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                          Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                    The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                 C.
Award criteria                                            The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                          D.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
184
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Ultra-low power processors
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-26: Open source for cloud-based
services (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per     4.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 22.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Technology           Activities are expected to start at TRL 4 and achieve TRL 7 by the end
Readiness Level      of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   The objective of this topic is to complete the continuous path from flagship projects at
     the component level, such as the EPI, and cloud services. Emphasis is on the software
     and hardware interfaces between the aforementioned new processing architectures and
     cloud applications with the aid of relevant widely available ICT industry standards and
     Open Source stacks.
Scope: Proposals will address at least one of the following two areas:
   Virtual environments, methods and tools that interface with the deployment of full open
     source stacks from the kernel to cloud applications featuring targeted relevant processing
     architectures of European initiatives, e.g. RISC-V. Proposals addressing this field should
     cover both of these points:
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         Required developments to provide a simulation of the targeted architecture that
           allows validation, verification and testing of the trustworthiness of software layers
           over specific architectures
         Development and coordination with relevant software distribution to provide ports
           of the latter to the architectures targeted by the virtual environments.
   Open source interfaces that permit the deployment of tested stacks on the outcomes of
     European processor initiatives. Proposals should address at least one of these points:
         Open hardware interfaces able to integrate components in processor architectures
           prepared for deploying cloud applications. The focus should be in optimizing and
           expanding the interface possibilities of the aforementioned components vis-à-vis
           existing hardware computing standards.
         Software to provide the basic initialization of cloud servers based on processor
           components and the runtime interfaces for operating systems and programs.
European Innovation Leadership in Electronics
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-38:                           International cooperation  in
semiconductors (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
   Advise the EC on joint actions with leading semiconductor countries (e.g. Japan, South
     Korea, Taiwan) in support of EU policies.
   Support the Commission to define and implement measures aiming at strengthening the
     position of Europe’s industry in the global semiconductor value chain.
   Provide factual elements (e.g. state-of-the-art, emerging technologies…) for the EC
     assessment on areas of cooperation
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Scope: Within the context of semiconductor and semiconductor-based photonics (e.g. Silicon
photonics), the CSA will support the EC on the following activities:
   Preparation of a regional mapping of industrial strengths and gaps and their expected
     evolution
   Identification of emerging opportunities (e.g. technologies, approaches) for cooperation
     with other regions
   Definition of research areas in which international cooperation would result in tangible
     benefits for Europe
   Promotion and contribution to standardisation activities
   Organisation of joint events contributing to the above outcomes
   Promotion of mobility of researchers in specific topics (in cooperation with other support
     schemes)
   Preparation of a comparative analysis of modalities for cooperation and their
     applicability
The Commission will actively engage with Member States ensuring that their interests and
views are taken into account fully.
European Innovation Leadership in Photonics
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-03: Advanced multi-sensing systems
(Photonics Partnership) (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per     3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 48.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Technology           Activities are expected to start at TRL 2 and achieve TRL 5 by the end
Readiness Level      of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposals results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
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   Next generation multi-sensing photonic and electronic systems with increased
      integration of new functionalities, decreased size and cost-effective manufacturing.
   Supporting a European open strategic autonomy in key integration and packaging
      technologies and related manufacturing value chains.
   Sensing devices and components allowing for reaching the new green deal objectives
      through enabling high levels of reuse/repair/repurpose, recovery and recycling of waste
      and materials or helping to reduce overall power consumption of a system by at least a
      factor of 2.
   Reinforcing European industrial leadership in high performance multi-sensing systems
      and components for sectors such as healthcare and well-being, environmental monitoring
      and protection, transport and automated driving, manufacturing, aerospace and security.
Scope: The proposals will enable breakthroughs in sensor systems by combining component
development, system integration, packaging and cost-effective manufacturing processes. They
should propose innovative approaches capable of acquiring, processing and interpreting vast
amounts of sensory input data, where relevant, while reducing significantly overall energy
consumption.
Whenever justified, a modular approach with interchangeable components operating in a
platform environment should be favoured. The sensing functionality should build on
technologies related to light and include integration with microelectronics or micro-nano-
mechanical, micro-fluidic, magnetic, radio frequency or bio-chemical technologies where
appropriate.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership for Photonics.
6G and foundational connectivity technologies
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-30: European Enabling technologies
for Beyond 5G/6G RAN disaggregated architectures (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       13.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 13.00 million.
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Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to start at TRL 2-3 and achieve TRL 4-5 by the
Readiness Level       end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Availability of European capabilities for enabling hardware, computing, signal
     processing technologies for beyond 5G (B5G) and future 6G infrastructures in the
     context of disaggregated, virtualized networks, for both small cell networks and cloud-
     based macro RANs.
   Availability of European capabilities for B5G/6G computing based on new computing
     architectures for Base station including accelerators (e.g. FPGA’s) capable of supporting
     even the most demanding 5G/6G processes in cloud servers and white box base stations
     or routers.
Scope:
   B5G and 6G Base station computing and processing capabilities enabling the most
     demanding high performance, real time Radio Access Network (RAN) functions such as
     dynamic spectrum sharing in the context of disaggregated RAN architectures. It includes
     acceleration capabilities for real time virtualisation engines.
   Future RAN computing architectures and technology implementable in cloud or
     distributed computing platforms whilst addressing the current Open RAN limitation,
     notably energy efficiency and security. It supports 5G spectrum implementation above C
     band and future 6G spectrum capabilities as well as massive MIMO implementations.
     ASIC implementation benchmark may be taken as a target for performance validations.
   Open computing platform supporting future RAN disaggregation and virtualization and
     enabling an open multivendor architecture, on which large numbers of European
     equipment vendors may innovate. Openness also enables intelligent RAN real time
     management, notably through Machine Learning processes enabling key performance
     optimisation, in particular spectrum sharing.
The proposal should include a clear European strategy for the emergence of a European
capability in this communication-computing domain where Europe is today not at the
forefront. The strategy is expected to leverage new opportunities offered by the trend towards
network disaggregation and cloud implementation of functions. It offers a clear path towards
exploitation and industrial commitment.
For this activity, a clear complementarity strategy with relevant actions like Key Digital
Technologies Joint Undertaking, Smart Networks Services Joint Undertaking, the Important
Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) on micro electronics and communication is
sought.
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It is considered that participation of key European industrial players and RTO’s from the
communication domain, the micro electronic domain, as well as key SME’s in these domains
are needed.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-39: Ultra low energy and secure
networks (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       13.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 13.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 2-3 and achieve TRL 6 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to all of the following
expected outcomes:
The work will contribute to i) a reinforced European leadership in connectivity, devices and
service infrastructure, with European capabilities in shaping future connectivity standards, ii)
a digital and green transitions towards low carbon footprint of connectivity platforms iii)
enabling most demanding industrial use cases requiring very high grade of QoS and
performances (real-time sub-millisecond latency and secure applications)
The research covers enabling technologies for the long term objective of i) ultra low energy
networks and corresponding EU industrial capability for end-to-end all-optical
communications with no electro-optical conversion ii) ultra high security over fibre nets (e.g
quantum grade beyond today's range limitation). Complementary protocol level work may be
considered to alleviate IP limitations, making networks deterministic, drastically reducing
energy needs whilst increasing performances in terms of security, control by applications of
differentiated features, and implementability as "Network on a Chip".
Scope: Multidisciplinary projects with high scientific breakthrough potential towards lifting
key technological roadblocks are expected. Work covers the following areas:
    Technology for ultra high energy efficiency and capacity, with optical functions
      replacing more power-hungry electronics, towards the realisation of end-to-end all-
      optical networks. It aims at replacing electro-optical interfaces and their management by
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      lower power optical interfaces and targets the extension to new wavelength bands to
      reach rates of 10 Terabit/s for optoelectronic Interfaces and over 1 Petabit/s for optical
      fibre systems.
   Technology for Ultra high security and reliability, targeting improvements needed to
      reach end-to-end very high grade of security levels. Post-quantum replacements of
      current algorithms or provable and long-term secure data transmission of highly
      sensitive information is in scope, as well as novel. research directions like physical layer
      security for optical networks..
Use cases may target highly integrated Radio-optical networks, coping with a multiplicity of
scenarios requiring different functional splits between different network parts, enabling
optimal low cost operations of integrated fronthaul-backhaul and deterministic network
behaviour for specific applications requiring ultra low latency.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
European leadership in Emerging Enabling Technologies
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-35:                          Advanced       characterisation
methodologies to assess and predict the health and environmental risks of nanomaterials
(RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 17.50 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 5 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: The development of reliable and practical tools to ensure the safe and
sustainable use of nanomaterials has not kept pace with the rapid commercialization of
nanotechnology-enabled products. The dynamic nature of many nanomaterials in complex
environmental matrices is recognized as a major challenge for their detection, quantification
and characterization. Consequently, there is an urgent need to establish appropriate methods
for cost-efficient assessment and prediction of the health and environmental effects of
nanomaterials, providing better decision criteria, based on quantitative rather than qualitative
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information and taking into account the full life cycle of a material. Proposal results are
expected to contribute to several of the following expected outcomes:
   Develop high-resolution imaging methods for quantification and characterization of
      nanomaterials (e.g. nanoplastics) in complex matrices and determinations of their
      transformations in such environments.
   Increase availability of validated protocols to advance both nanosafety studies and
      material characterization.
   Ensure appropriate control experiments and more realistic in vitro models to address
      current gaps in nanotoxicology.
   Deliver reliable data and improved data reporting guidelines, supported by
      computational modelling, in order to allow the development of grouping and read across
      methods. Make use of open access database and using standards for data documentation
      (e.g. CHADA).
   Develop harmonized standardized test methods that can be used in a regulatory
      framework including test hazard assessment, biodegradability and sustainability for
      advanced nanomaterials.
   Increase the efficiency and effectiveness of materials and product development by
      reducing costs and time for product design, time-to-market and regulatory compliance
Scope:
   Develop advanced characterization tools and methods for nanomaterials industry to
      enhance the design and development stages of advanced materials and products
      contributing to less waste and emissions while improving process quality in line with
      Life Cycle Assessment framework;
   Develop new in vitro models and tests to assess nanotoxicology;
   Include use cases to validate and demonstrate the approach(es) in industrial settings and
      involve comprehensive analysis and measurement of process and handling release
      scenarios and exposure measurements;
   Propose the validated methods to standardization bodies such as ISO or OECD for
      development of standards, test guidance or a guidance document;
   Demonstrate connectivity with H2020 nanosafety projects and leverage the extensive
      experience from relevant initiatives. Cooperation with EU funded projects under
      Industry Commons and other similar initiatives for interoperability and data
      documentation should be addressed;
In line with the Union’s strategy for international cooperation in research and innovation,
international cooperation is encouraged.
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Call - Digital and emerging technologies for competitiveness and fit for the green deal
                                                    HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)185
                         Topics                               Type Budgets          Expected      Number
                                                                of     (EUR            EU             of
                                                             Action million) contribution projects
                                                                                   per project expected
                                                                        2022          (EUR          to be
                                                                                            186
                                                                                   million)        funded
                                           Opening: 16 Jun 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 16 Nov 2022
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                           IA       19.00       3.00 to 5.00    5
02-05
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                           RIA      28.50       Around          4
02-06                                                                             7.00
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                           IA       36.00       Around          4
02-07                                                                             9.00
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                           RIA      16.50       Around          3
02-17                                                                             5.50
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                           RIA      9.00        Around          2
02-18                                                                             4.50
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                           RIA      6.00        Around          1
02-19                                                                             6.00
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                           IA       9.00        Around          1
02-20                                                                             9.00
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-                           CSA      3.00        Around          1
02-22                                                                             3.00
185
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
186
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Overall indicative budget                                        127.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Innovation in AI, Data and Robotics
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-05: AI, Data and Robotics for
Industry optimisation (including production and services) (AI, Data and Robotics
Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 19.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Technology              Activities are expected to start at TRL 3-5 and achieve TRL 6-7 by
Readiness Level         the end of the project – see General Annex B.
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Procedure                The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                         exceptions apply:
                         To ensure a balanced portfolio coverage, grants will be awarded to
                         applications not only in order of ranking but also to at least the
                         highest ranked for each type of industry (i.e. production or service),
                         provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
                         In addition, grants will be awarded to at least the highest ranked
                         application for “Type 2 project” involving the use of financial support
                         to third parties for each type of industry (i.e. production or service),
                         provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                         The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of
                         grants.
                         As third parties' grants may include robotics components, requiring
                         high equipment investment and/or important effort to integrate in a
                         use-case to address the sectorial challenges, the maximum amount to
                         be granted to each third party is EUR 200 000.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to at least one of the following
expected outcomes:
   Advancing AI, data and robotics, and automation for the optimisation of production and
     services value-chains, optimisation of products, services, processes, to increase
     competitiveness, improve working conditions, and environmental sustainability, and
     supporting the European Economy using AI, data and robotics technologies.
   AI or learning systems (including, but not limited to self-learning, continuous and
     transfer learning, self-configuring systems) adapting production or services workflows to
     changing environments, dynamic and unpredictable resource constraints and to the
     capabilities and restrictions of humans and transferring results from one domain to
     another.
Scope: Proposals are expected to integrate and optimise AI, data and robotics solutions in
order to demonstrate, by addressing use-cases scenarios in actual or highly realistic operating
environments, how they optimise production and service use cases.
Industry-empowering AI, data and robotics: enable and boost wide spread deployment of
European technologies, in demonstrating clear benefits in particular applications coming from
major industrial sectors, in improving processes, products or services, contributing to their
competitiveness, quality of services, and strategy for environmental sustainability. Providing
industry with more autonomous and more intuitive and easier to operate technologies they can
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trust and that are tailored for their needs, with the adapted and guaranteed levels of
performance, reliability, safety, dependability, security and transparency. Providing
trustworthy AI solutions combining various sources of data, sensors, interaction and
information to address industrial challenges; combining the power of latest progress in AI,
FAIR187 data, autonomous or interactive robotics, smart devices and next generation networks
and computing to increase automation and optimise processes, resources, and services, and
addressing new technological challenges removing barriers for industrial deployment, and
improving trust through more transparent and explainable AI. Where relevant latest
development from low power consuming sensors, actuators and mechanisms, as well as new
energy sources and batteries will be exploited to ensure energy autonomy for robotics.
Promoting versatile, flexible, scalable, resilient physical and digital architecture that facilitate
the future AI, data and robotics based services adoption.
Proposals should demonstrate how major European industries (covering all the sectors, from
production188 to services) can substantially benefit from optimising AI, data and/or robotics to
maximise such benefits. Proposals are expecting to focus on specific use-cases to demonstrate
such benefits, cross-sector use-cases are encouraged. Added value to the selected use-cases
should be demonstrated by qualitative and quantitative industry and service relevant KPIs,
demonstrators, benchmarking and progress monitoring.
While the proposals should be application driven, involving problem owners to define needs
and validate the proposed solution, the focus is on optimising the enabling of AI, data and
robotics technologies to maximise the benefit they bring.
Proposals should focus on demonstrating the added value of AI and/or Data and/or Robotics
technologies to optimise value-chains, products, services or associated processes, including
knowledge automation (including capturing and elicitation), to increase competitiveness,
environmental sustainability, and where relevant, working conditions, for example, through
added flexibility, configurability, adaptability, etc.
Digital twin approaches could be considered, where necessary and of added value.
Proposals should also address non-technical issues hampering the adoption of AI, data and
robotics in the selected application domain, e.g. ethical aspects for the possible replacement of
human operators, trust, human-robots collaboration and cooperation, security and safety.
Proposals will address the production or service industries, where substantial added value of
AI, data and/or robotics can be demonstrated. This should be demonstrated with actual or
highly realistic operating demonstrators at TRL6-7. Proposals must clearly identify which of
the industries (i.e. production or services) they will exclusively focus on.
Two types of proposals are expected:
187
        FAIR data are data which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability
188
        Note that in the case of manufacturing, duplication with destination 1 topics are excluded. Therefore,
        proposals in this topic should demonstrate that they address topics different from those addressed in
        destination 1 topics.
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  1. Type 1 Projects: Focused projects (EU contribution around EUR 3.00 million), involving
      the user industry and technology provider(s). This type of proposals are not expected to
      involve the use of financial support to third parties.
  2. Type 2 Projects: Projects (EU contribution around EUR 5.00 million) involving the use
      of financial support to third parties, where a number of companies in a given application
      sector will identify in the proposal common challenges and use-cases, and organise
      competitive calls for AI, data and robotics solution providers to address such challenges.
      Competitive calls will be open to all types of companies, but only SMEs and Start-ups189
      will receive financial support to third parties, with a maximum of EUR 200 000 per third
      party190 and 70% funding (100% for start-ups). At least 40% of the requested amount
      should be dedicated to financial support to third parties. The consortium will provide
      technical support with expertise in engineering integration, testing and validation to
      support the selected SMEs and start-ups acting as technology providers to demonstrate
      the added value of their solutions to address the challenges of the use-cases. Maximum
      one type of third party project will be funded per focused area (either production or
      services).
In all proposals user industries are expected to play a major role in the requirement and
validation phases.
Besides financial support, these SMEs and start-ups successfully demonstrating the potential
of their solutions, must receive support from business experts, provided by the action, to
further develop their business and develop their market reach, and maximise their business
opportunities.
When possible, proposals should build on and reuse public results from relevant previous
funded actions, including public results developed in Member States and Associated
Countries. Proposals should make use of connections to the Digital Innovation Hub networks,
particularly those in Robotics, Data and AI. Full use should be made of the common resources
available in the AI-on-Demand platform191, Digital Industrial Platform for Robotics192, data
platforms193 and, if necessary other relevant digital resource platforms. Communicable results
from projects should be delivered to the most relevant of these platforms so as to enhance the
European AI, Data and Robotics ecosystem through the sharing of results and best practice.
189
        In this context a start-up is a tech-oriented company. It should employ less than 10 people (but more
        than 2 full time equivalent staff) that has operated for less than three years and has attracted more than
        EUR €50 000 early stage private sector investment or has demonstrable sales growth over 50% pa –
        they will receive 100% financial support to third parties while other SMEs would receive 70% financial
        support. Startups would be expected to highlight the impact that the project will have on their overall
        Company strategy and growth prospects in the Impact section of their proposals (as well as the impact
        on society and European competitiveness.
190
        Maximum amount per third party, received from a given action, over its entire duration
191
        Initiated under the AI4EU project https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825619 and further developed in
        projects resulting from H2020-ICT-49-2020 call
192
        https://robmosys.eu/newsrobmosys-rosin-towards-an-eu-digital-industrial-platform-for-robotics/
193
        E.g.: https://www.big-data-europe.eu/
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Where appropriate, issues such as data access, data sovereignty and data protection should be
addressed along the whole value chains, respecting all stakeholder interests, particularly
SMEs.
The re-use and sharing of data collected and processed for AI and Data innovation should be
encouraged to contribute to UN SDGs and the Green Deal (e.g.: sharing private data for the
public good, B2G in addition to B2B; G2B data sharing may be identified, in view of helping
businesses to increase sustainability and competitiveness).
Proposals should include dissemination activities to increase awareness about the potential
value for society and people as well as the business of AI, data and robotics driven
innovation.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on AI, Data and Robotics.
All proposals are expected to allocate tasks to cohesion activities with the co-programmed
partnership on AI, Data and Robotics and funded actions related to this partnership, including
the CSA HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-02. Where relevant, synergies with other
European partnerships are encouraged.
Tomorrow’s deployable Robots: efficient, robust, safe, adaptive and trusted
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-06: Pushing the limit of physical
intelligence and performance (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 28.50 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to start at TRL 2-3 and achieve TRL 4-5 by the
Readiness Level       end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to at least one of the following
expected outcomes:
   Robots with advanced physical functionalities, capabilities and efficiency (faster, safer,
      more agile and precise, etc.), to achieve wider variety of tasks efficiently. This includes
      beyond human capabilities (e.g. very large and very small scale capabilities or beyond
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      human precision, or beyond human perception and decision making, for example by
      using multi-modal sensing).
   Robots with greatly improved intrinsically safe and efficient human-centric human-robot
      and robot-environment/objects physical interaction capabilities, at natural human speed
      or more.
   Robots with improved abilities and robustness, allowing them to adapt to changes in the
      environment, and making them more energy efficient in order to run autonomously for
      longer periods of time while maintaining trustworthiness and dependability.
Scope: Proposals are expected to focus on technology and systems that significantly extend
the physical capability of robots beyond the state of the art. Proposals should:
   Improve the physical performance of robots (for example: improving robustness and
      resilience – to handle environment variations and unknown or unexpected situations -
      and energy efficiency to run safely and autonomously for longer periods of time,
      increased speed, some operating under extreme physical conditions such as under water,
      rough terrain, difficult climatic conditions, in the body, in the air, etc.).
   Develop promising and innovative robotic concepts (e.g.: collaborative, modular and
      distributed, hyper redundant, highly reconfigurable, soft or miniaturised robotics)
      enabling adaptation to transformations of industry and society (including crisis), and in
      addition to examine design methods and tools for novel configurations and concepts.
Proposals should investigate novel scientific approaches or push the limit of existing ones to
improve physical capabilities of robots relevant to industry and service needs in sectors where
this is a barrier to uptake, such as innovative actuation principles (such as soft robotics,
reconfigurable, hyper-redundant, modular robotics), or advance the field of miniaturised
robotics, advanced control, improved hardware and increased trustworthiness and
dependability (e.g. building on the latest results in mechatronics, advanced sensing and
actuation, advanced materials, integrated and embedded systems for AI at the edge,
neuromorphic computing).
Where relevant, proposals are also encouraged to embed, starting from the design stage,
techniques, methods and tools that enhance the performance and interaction of robots in real
world tasks where testability is limited and a “first time right” mentality must prevail; for
example in space exploration, in dense urban environments, when developing applications for
vulnerable people, or in safety critical infrastructures such as nuclear reactors, pressure
vessels or chemical storage tanks.
Proposals are expected to rethink robot bodies, with improved physical and interaction
capabilities (with the environment and with humans taking into account gender, age and
disabilities as appropriate) to reach novel or advanced abilities, such as powerful, fast, precise,
and intrinsically safe navigation, manipulation, sympathetic automated adaptation, etc.
capabilities. The shape and size of robots can vary from miniature to large-scale, from soft, to
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more rigid structure, from manipulators, to ground, air, marine, in-vivo, exoskeletons and
wearable robots, etc. Such proposals could also propose innovative approaches in building on
and integrating the latest developments in key underlying technologies, or by exploiting
multimodalities (audio, vision, AR/VR, haptics, etc.), improved safety mechanisms, physical
collaboration, collaborative and swarm robotics. In addition, proposals can address energy
efficiency, to address the current limitation of energy autonomy in robotics. Proposals could
also focus on advances in cognitive mechatronics, where sensing and actuation are closely
coupled with cognitive systems to deliver improved autonomy, dexterity, control, motion
quality, interaction (including all modalities), adaptation and learning, and safer systems.
Proposals should also take into consideration trustworthy AI principles, as appropriate.
Progress should be demonstrated by qualitative and quantitative KPIs, demonstrators,
benchmarking and progress monitoring. Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the
end of the project.
When possible, proposals should build on and reuse public results from relevant previous
funded actions. Proposals should make use of connections to the Digital Innovation Hub
networks, particularly those in Robotics, Data and AI. Full use should be made of the
common resources available in the AI-on-Demand platform194, Digital Industrial Platform for
Robotics 195 , data platforms 196 and, if necessary other relevant digital resource platforms.
Communicable results from projects should be delivered to the most relevant of these
platforms so as to enhance the European AI, Data and Robotics ecosystem through the sharing
of results and best practice.
All proposals are expected to allocate tasks to cohesion activities with the co-programmed
partnership on AI, Data and Robotics and funded actions related to this partnership, including
the CSA HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-02. Where relevant, synergies with other
European partnerships are encouraged.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-07: Increased robotics capabilities
demonstrated in key sectors (AI, Data and Robotics Partnership) (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU                  The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per             9.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                      appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                             selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget            The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 36.00 million.
194
        Initiated under the AI4EU project https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825619 and further developed in
        projects resulting from H2020-ICT-49-2020 call
195
        https://robmosys.eu/newsrobmosys-rosin-towards-an-eu-digital-industrial-platform-for-robotics/
196
        E.g.: https://www.big-data-europe.eu/
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Type of Action              Innovation Actions
Technology                  Activities are expected to start at TRL 3-5 and achieve TRL 6-7 by
Readiness Level             the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial         The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant         exceptions apply:
Agreements                  Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                            The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of
                            grants.
                            As third parties' grants may include robotics components, requiring
                            high equipment investment and/or important effort to integrate in a
                            use-case to address the sectorial challenges, the maximum amount to
                            be granted to each third party is EUR 200 000.
Expected Outcome: Proposals results are expected to contribute to at least one of the
following expected outcome:
     Demonstrators able to show the added value of robotics and their performances in
      addressing challenges in major application sectors, or in dangerous, dull, dirty tasks or
      those strenuous for humans or in extreme environments.
     Systems able to demonstrate beyond human performance in complex tasks, with high
      impact in key sectors, that show extended levels of adaptation and flexibility.
     Systems able to show high levels of reactivity and responsiveness and intelligibility
      when performing human-robot and robot-robot interactions in major application sectors.
Scope: Proposals are expected to focus on application oriented use cases that enhance specific
sectors in achieving significant improvements in functional and application performance.
Proposals will integrate novel robotics technologies into solutions that are capable of
autonomously taking over dangerous, dull and dirty jobs, or that are capable of achieving
tasks beyond human capabilities, in a range of innovative applications in key sectors or that
are capable of reaching the level of reactivity, flexibility and adaptivity and natural
intelligibility required for smooth and beneficial human-robot, as well as robot-robot
collaboration and interaction. Engagement with SSH197 expertise is needed to improve human
robot interaction design, behavioural intelligibility of robot interaction and action, especially
in novel service applications, and to provide expertise on trustworthiness and acceptability by
humans that impact at the design stage.
This topic will support innovation proposals, expected to exploit the latest robotics advances
and demonstrate at TRL6-7 use-case scenarios considering end-user needs and expectations,
in highly realistic operating environments, how they can directly contribute to the chosen
application, supported by quantitative and qualitative industry or service related KPIs.
197
         Social Sciences and Humanities
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Proposals need to make the case for the added value of such technologies, and demonstrating
scalability, and short-term deployment potential. Progress should be demonstrated by
appropriate KPIs, demonstrators, benchmarking and progress monitoring.
The proposals should be primarily application driven, with a concrete problem-solving
approach, exploiting the most suitable robotics technologies at hand. The focus should be on
real-world scenarios which can benefit in short term from the technology and demonstrate
substantial impact on the chosen application, also taking into account the maturity of the
technologies which can solve the problems at hand.
In case of shared workspaces, safe, dependable efficient and intuitive interaction will be key.
Considering that human factors and socio-economic aspects can limit or lessen efficient use of
robots, human-centred and socio-economic approaches in combination with multi-stakeholder
co-design activities can contribute to sustainable development of new enabling technologies.
Putting people at the forefront will ensure novel transformation pathways, which help utilise
existing technology in novel ways, and propose feedback loop systems that engage human
users in developing new sociotechnical learning situations and tools. Further, agile
sociotechnical learning designs, can remedy e.g., less efficient technologies, by emphasizing
human aspects of technologies in any application sector, from service to production, to
domestic use. For this, an interdisciplinary approach involving both technical and SSH198, in
particular ethics, researchers is needed to improve interaction design and to provide expertise
on trustworthiness and acceptability by workers, and address gender equality and
intersectionality199 where relevant.
The involvement of the user industry and the workers, possibly also the social partners, would
be key to drive the proposals, not only to identify the needs and the application scenarios, but
to be involved in the testing of the solutions and providing feedback to adapt the solutions to
optimise the working conditions and performances. This is also essential for the acceptance of
the technology. A human-centred approach will be key in all proposals, with deep
involvement of the workers, professionals and other relevant stakeholders including experts in
human-centred design, work safety, ergonomics, social partners or work organisation as
appropriate. They will closely collaborate with the technology providers and integrators. The
proposals should also take into consideration trustworthy AI principles including respect of
human dignity and agency. Special attention will be given to including users of diverse age,
gender and background.
Proposals are requested to dedicate at least 20% of their requested amount for FSTP to
support SMEs or Start-ups in the development or enhancement of demonstrators, with a
maximum of EUR 200 000 per third party200, and 70% of the costs (100% for start-ups). The
consortium will provide technical support with expertise in engineering integration, testing
198
        Social Sciences and Humanities
199
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersectionality - intersectional aspects could cover gender, age, social
        level, education, ethnic origin, etc.
200
        Maximum amount per third party, received from a given Action, over its entire duration
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and validation to support the selected SMEs and start-ups acting as technology providers to
demonstrate the added value of their solutions to address the challenges of the use-cases.
The selection of the application sectors should prioritise high impact sectors and use-cases
where the technology can demonstrate maximum added value.
Each proposal will focus on one of the following use-cases:
     Demonstrating substantial added value of robotics in major application sectors with high
      socio-economic and/or environmental potential impact, improving the effectiveness and
      efficiency of processes or services.
     Demonstrating how robotics can improve human working conditions and satisfaction in
      taking over dangerous, dull, dirty or strenuous tasks, keeping workers away from unsafe
      and unhealthy jobs.
Proposals are encouraged, where appropriate, to develop configuration and deployment tools
as well as tools for rapid configuration and re-configuration of robotics to improve
deployability, reduce time to deployment, increase user driven (re)configuration, including
through model-based approaches.
When possible, proposals should build on and reuse public results from relevant previous
funded actions. Proposals should make use of connections to the Digital Innovation Hub
networks, particularly those in Robotics, Data and AI. Full use should be made of the
common resources available in the AI-on-Demand platform201, Digital Industrial Platform for
Robotics 202 , data platforms 203 and, if necessary other relevant digital resource platforms.
Communicable results from projects should be delivered to the most relevant of these
platforms so as to enhance the European AI, Data and Robotics ecosystem through the sharing
of results and best practice.
Proposals are expected to develop synergies with relevant activities in AI, Data and Robotics,
primarily in destinations 1, 3, 4 and 6, but also in other destinations and clusters, and share or
exploit results with relevant funded actions where appropriate.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on AI, Data and Robotics.
All proposals are expected to allocate tasks to cohesion activities with the PPP on AI, Data
and Robotics and funded actions related to this partnership, including the CSA HORIZON-
CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-02. Where relevant, synergies with other PPPs are encouraged.
Graphene: Europe in the lead
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
201
        Initiated under the AI4EU project https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825619 and further developed in
        projects resulting from H2020-ICT-49-2020 call
202
        https://robmosys.eu/newsrobmosys-rosin-towards-an-eu-digital-industrial-platform-for-robotics/
203
        E.g.: https://www.big-data-europe.eu/
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Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-17: New generation of advanced
electronic and photonic 2D materials-based devices, systems and sensors (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.50
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 16.50 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to start at TRL 3-4 and achieve TRL 5 by the end
Readiness Level          of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
     New technological solutions with improved performance and reduced energy
      consumption providing significant advances towards the integration of 2D materials
      (2DM) technology, and the emergence of competitive value chains in graphene in
      Europe.
Scope: Proposals should cover the development of 2DM-based devices and systems bringing
2DM technology one step further towards the integration in current technologies and to the
development of radically new prototypes and/or solutions for industry for a wide range of
application areas overcoming integration costs, functionalities and/or power consumption
challenges. The proposals should develop 2DM-based electronic and photonic devices
including ultrafast circuits, photodetector, and modulators, broadband detectors, switches, as
well as sensors, advanced electronics, metamaterials, etc., serving applications such as 5G and
6G data communications, wireless connections, smart machine vision, autonomous robots and
vehicles, internet of things, and neuromorphic circuitry and/or imaging applications. The
2DM-based devices and systems should demonstrate their added value in terms of e.g.
functionality, integration, miniaturization, performances, power consumption, costs, etc.
compared to current conventional technologies. Proposals should integrate the value chain
and incorporate the relevant manufacturing technologies needed to bring the developed
devices towards the market and indicate how they work with the newly established Graphene
Flagship 2D-Experimental Pilot Line (2D-EPL)204.
Proposals should address a modelling, design, manufacturing and characterization of
developed devices and systems. The proposals should also explore, develop and assess the
204
        https://graphene-flagship.eu/innovation/pilot-line/
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route(s) for integration (e.g. wafer growth, transfer, wafer scale integration, co-integration) of
2DM into the devices and systems favouring industrial uptake in the longer-term.
Proposals should include activities aiming at facilitating future exploitation of results.
Proposals should aim, by the end of the project, at validating technology in relevant
environment (TRL 5).
Proposals should also cover the contribution to the governance and overall coordination of the
Graphene Flagship initiative.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-18: 2D materials-based devices and
systems for energy storage and/or harvesting (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.50
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 3-4 and achieve TRL 5 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
   Demonstrated added value of 2D materials (2DM) for energy storage devices and
      systems in applications where Europe can build competitive value chains.
   New technology solutions for portable energy sources outperforming alternative
      technologies e.g. in terms of energy and power density, operational safety, long-term
      stability, mechanical flexibility, light weight, thin thickness, and low cost that will
      enable the rapid development of power-demanding smart devices, Internet of Thing
      (IoT) sensors and wearable electronics.
Scope: Proposals should develop solutions demonstrating the potential added value of 2DM-
based energy storage like large energy storage technologies, beyond current Li-ion, for
electric power grids/solar farms/wind farms with increased performances in terms of
durability, safety, energy density and power density.
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Proposals should also work on structural batteries and structural supercapacitors and related
production techniques, i.e. energy storage devices integrated in structural parts of e.g.
airplanes or cars, to address the demand of distributed sensors and electronics, functional
printed micro-flexible supercapacitors for e.g. IoT applications.
Proposals addressing energy harvesting should investigate/establish proof of concepts/develop
2DM-based devices for energy conversion that can produce electricity in response to e.g.
light, moisture, flowing liquid, friction, pressure force, or heat with unprecedented
characteristics or unique functionalities.
Proposals should integrate the value chain and incorporate the relevant manufacturing
technologies needed to bring the developed devices towards the market.
Proposals should include activities aiming at facilitating future exploitation of results.
Proposals should aim, by the end of the project, at validating technology in relevant
environment (TRL 5).
The proposal should also cover the contribution to the governance and overall coordination of
the Graphene Flagship initiative.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-19: 2D materials-based devices and
systems for biomedical applications (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 3-4 and achieve TRL 5 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
    New technology solutions exploiting the unique properties of 2D materials (2DM) that
      would reduce cost and increase the efficacy of diagnostics or therapies, or provide new
      diagnostics or therapies for which there is currently no solution. It would strengthen
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      Europe’s industrial position in, early diagnostics, disease prediction and prevention,
      disease monitoring and reducing hospitalization time.
Scope: Proposals should build on the multi-functionality allowed by 2DMs and demonstrate
the advantages of combining e.g. biocompatibility, chemical stability, (bio-)sensing and
actuating, and integration with flexible electronic technologies, in addition to versatile surface
chemistry (for interface with biology) to allow continuous health monitoring and built-in
pharmacological interventions.
Emphasis of the proposals should have a translational perspective, addressing how the devices
and systems will reach the clinic, preferably led by European industry. Furthermore, the
proposals should bring together multidisciplinary teams including engineers, material
scientists, pharmacologists, biologists, clinicians, patients, and ethics experts. Potential
application areas include: engineering & bioengineering of biochemical or bioelectronic
diagnostics or therapeutic devices and platforms; sensors for digital health; electronics for
brain-computer interfaces, taking advantage of flexible devices; medical imaging in
combination with implantable devices (e.g. MRI); graphene for drug delivery of therapeutics
(e.g. for neurological disorders). The safety aspects of the proposed technologies should be
given proper consideration.
Proposals should include activities aiming at facilitating future exploitation of results.
Proposals should aim, by the end of the project, at validating technology in relevant
environment (TRL 5).
The proposal should also cover the contribution to the governance and overall coordination of
the Graphene Flagship initiative.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-20: 2D-material-based composites,
coatings and foams (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 9.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to start at TRL 4-5 and achieve TRL 6-7 by the
Readiness Level       end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   new multifunctional recyclable materials enabling solutions to environmental challenges.
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Scope: Proposals should address 2D materials (2DM) composites, aero-gels and foams that
can bring the full nanoscopic functionality of 2DM from nano- and microscale into the
macroscopic world. They should target in particular the development of 2D materials and
technologies mainly addressing environmental issues including e.g. energy consumption
reduction in transport, oil spill removal from water, water purification with low energy
consumption and improved water desalination. They should also target the development of
next generation, lightweight, recyclable composites and coatings endowed with key
functionalities like e.g., high temperature performance, structural health monitoring, and as
enablers for, e.g., structural batteries or hydrogen storage. They should also address Metal-
2DM composites enabling ultralow friction surfaces, reducing energy loss in sliding
mechanical and electrical parts and the development of 2DM foams enabling hydrogen
economy through catalytic hydrogen generation and storage. Proposals should also integrate
the value chain and incorporate the relevant manufacturing technologies necessary to bring
the developed devices towards the market.
Proposals must implement from the very beginning life cycle assessment (LCA) and end-of-
life (EOL) materials management to fully capture the advantage and develop greener
materials and processes.
Proposals should include activities aiming at facilitating future exploitation of results.
Proposals should aim at demonstrating by the end of the project fully functional material
systems and prototype applications operating in relevant environment conditions (TRL 6-7).
The proposal should also cover the contribution to the governance and overall coordination of
the Graphene Flagship initiative.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-22: Supporting the coordination of
the Graphene Flagship projects (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
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   A strong and coherent graphene and 2D materials (2DM) initiative by providing key
      support functions, enabling participating projects to find synergies in their work and
      share best practice, and favouring interactions and synergies with national and regional
      initiatives, projects and infrastructures in the domain.
Scope: Proposals should address the need to guarantee a sustained European leadership in
2DM, capitalise upon the investments made so far in graphene, exploit synergistically the
scientific, technological and innovation outcomes of these investments and deliver benefits to
the European society. Proposals should support the coordination of the projects of the
Graphene Flagship initiative that would be selected under the call topics of the initiative. They
should address all the coordination and support functions necessary to build a strong Flagship
initiative, including: governance, community engagement, dissemination, communication,
outreach, dialogue with the public, etc. They should also work on standardisation activities,
creating new education and training curricula, promoting innovation, developing research and
innovation roadmap activities, liaising with and supporting the coordination with relevant
national and regional 2DM activities and establishing and supporting the dialogue with other
international relevant programmes and initiatives in the field.
Proposals should involve and be driven by representatives of the relevant actors of the field
(e.g., academia, RTOs and industry, including SMEs).
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
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DESTINATION – OPEN STRATEGIC AUTONOMY IN DEVELOPING,
DEPLOYING                 AND           USING               GLOBAL        SPACE-BASED
INFRASTRUCTURES, SERVICES, APPLICATIONS AND DATA
Today EU citizens enjoy watching satellite TV, increasingly accurate global navigation
services for all transport modes and users (e.g. mobile phones and car navigation systems),
extended Earth monitoring for land, marine, atmosphere and climate change, global
meteorological observation and accurate cartographies of a wide number of variables. Space
also makes important contributions to security crisis management and emergency services.
These are key assets for the EU policies on climate, environment, transport, agriculture and
secure society (e.g. Maritime Strategy, the Arctic Strategy, the Digital Agenda, the Common
Security and Defence Policy, the Sustainable Development Strategy, the SGDGs). Finally, the
space sector is a source of economic growth, jobs and exports.
This destination will directly support the following Key Strategic Orientations, as outlined in
the Strategic Plan:
   KSO A, ‘Promoting an open strategic autonomy by leading the development of key
      digital, enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains to accelerate
      and steer the digital and green transitions through human-centred technologies and
      innovations.’
   KSO B, 'Restoring Europe’s ecosystems and biodiversity, and managing
      sustainably natural resources to ensure food security and a clean and healthy
      environment.
   KSO C, ‘Making Europe the first digitally led circular, climate-neutral and
      sustainable economy through the transformation of its mobility, energy, construction
      and production systems.’
   KSO D, ‘Creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society,
      prepared and responsive to threats and disasters, addressing inequalities and providing
      high-quality health care, and empowering all citizens to act in the green and digital
      transitions.’
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
to the following expected impact:
Open strategic autonomy in developing, deploying and using global space-based
infrastructures, services applications and data, including by reinforcing the EU’s
independent capacity to access space, securing the autonomy of supply for critical
technologies and equipment, and fostering the EU's space sector competitiveness.
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This expected impact is fully in line with the Space Strategy for Europe and the proposal for
the Space Programme. Horizon Europe R&I funds will contribute to this expected impact
along 2 main axes by:
   providing support with R&I funding to the EU space sector at large
   making a specific impact with the EU action with R&I to prepare the future evolutions
      of the Space programme components
This Destination is therefore structured along the following headings:
1 Foster competitiveness of space systems
2 Reinforce EU capacity to access to space
3 Evolution of Space and ground infrastructures for Galileo/EGNOS
4 Evolution of services: Copernicus
5 Development of applications for Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus
6 Innovative space capabilities: SSA, GOVSATCOM, Quantum
7 Space entrepreneurship ecosystems (incl. New Space and start-ups) and skills
Targeted and strategic actions supporting the EU space sector
While headings 1, 2, 7 and 8 will support the EU space sector at large and are largely based
on the recommendation of the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda, headings 3), 4), 5),
and 6) will be supporting the Space Programme components as well as the emerging quantum
initiative.
All headings will contribute to the 'Open strategic autonomy in developing, deploying and
using global space-based infrastructures'. This is the underlying goal when investing in R&I
to ensure the future of existing space programme component infrastructures, services and
applications (Heading 3) and with R&I to investigate new future services (Heading 4) or to
develop innovative space capabilities such as SSA, GOVSATCOM and Quantum (Heading
6). This autonomy would however not be complete if we did not have the capacity to access
space, to launch these infrastructures (Heading 2) and to propose opportunities for In-Orbit
Demonstration and In-Orbit Validation (Heading 8). As the EU space sector relies on a
smaller share of institutional investments compared to other regions, this difference needs to
be compensated by a more competitive sector (Heading 1). R&I and a strategy for critical
technologies for non-dependence is another important axis of action (Heading 8). A guarantee
for such autonomy is also to have a vivid and competitive downstream sector and
entrepreneurship eco-systems in the EU (Headings 5 and Heading 7). A description of the
headings objectives and targeted achievements is provided below.
Foster competitiveness of space systems
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The European space sector and space economy need to improve space-based capabilities,
capture new markets, adapt to rapidly changing markets whilst staying competitive in the
satellite communication, navigation and Earth observation sectors. This requires the
development of new competitive technologies for space and ground systems, such as very
high throughput and flexible satellites, very high-resolution sensors, radiation-hardened
electronics, on-board and ground Artificial Intelligence (AI), optical communication and
quantum technologies, as well as advanced robotics. We also need to prepare the ground for
future modular, flexible and intelligent satellites. In the mid to long term, the future space
ecosystem should include hybrid, smart and reconfigurable satellites, which can be
manufactured, assembled and serviced directly in-orbit, and with a de-orbiting capacity.
Digitalisation and automation will enable advanced design and manufacturing methods
(including additive manufacturing) and “Digital Twins”, plug-and-play modularity, as well as
model based system engineering. This will yield reductions in mass, cost, emission, energy
consumption and development time.
Disruptive technologies and concepts should be further developed to bring breakthrough
innovation to the space sector, while at the same time advancing technology maturation in the
view of qualification on ground or via In-Orbit Demonstration and Validation activities.
Reinforce EU capacity to access to space
Two specific challenges stand out. Firstly, the highly competitive global market for launch
services, which is characterised by an increasing number of competitors, secondly, the
emerging opportunities in space transportation that have not been yet seized by European
launch actors characterised by new uses of space (e.g. small satellites, larger constellations,
payload recovery, payload quick deployment), new services (e.g. direct orbit injection, in-
orbit servicing) and in-space transportation. This will require, amongst others, new concepts
for reducing the production and operation cost such as reusability (including stage recovery
and landing) of launcher and vehicle components, and low cost, high thrust and green
propulsion, modular avionics, autonomous systems, micro launchers, re-entry vehicles and
modern and flexible test and launch facilities. Both will require urgent activities to enable
operational capacities by at the latest 2030.
Disruptive technologies, methodologies and concepts should be developed to bring
breakthrough innovation to the launcher systems sector as well as to contribute to cost
reduction and contribute to the preparation of a competitive European Space Transportation
beyond 2030.
Evolution of Space and ground infrastructures for Galileo/EGNOS
For Galileo/EGNOS, the international context, the competitive environment with emerging
actors and novel techniques in the value chain, the increasing threats, and the evolution of the
technologies, components and systems, including dual-use technology, call for a constant
adaptation of the EU space infrastructure to these changing realities.
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To meet these challenges, EU needs sustained investments in R&D for innovative mission
concepts, technology and systems. These will ensure the continuity of the EGNSS service,
minimise the risks for technology inclusion in the infrastructure, thanks to anticipated
development and testing including in-orbit, protect better this infrastructure against modern
threats (notably cyber, jamming/spoofing, natural hazards), and increase the strategic
autonomy in key technologies. Overall, they will maintain the EU´s leadership position in the
Global Navigation Satellite Systems.
Evolution of services: Copernicus
Copernicus core services (Climate, Marine environment, Land monitoring, Atmosphere
monitoring, Emergency management and Security) must evolve and improve to better
respond to new and emerging policy needs, such as anthropogenic CO2, green house gas and
pollutant monitoring, climate change mitigation and adaptation, EU arctic policy, coastal area,
sustainable development goals, environmental compliance, protection of natural resources,
ecosystems and biodiversity, food security, agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture, crisis
management, safe transport, sustainable and clean energy, border management, preserving
cultural heritage, as well as other new domains that could bring key contributions to the
European Green Deal and to other EU priorities.
Similarly, the Galileo service portfolio (High precision positioning, navigation and timing,
authentication, search and rescue and Public Regulated Service, PRS) must be adapted to the
evolution of the user needs and market trends. This requires new services and capabilities to
better serve the downstream application sector, so that EGNSS remains at the fore front of the
provision of satellite positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services and keeps the pace
with increasing global competition in the sector (USA, China, 5G, etc.). Europe should extend
Galileo services to various societal challenges and offer it as a complementary service to
emerging markets like 5G, CCAM and AI.
Development of applications for Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus
EGNSS and Copernicus capacities are unique and world-class and should be fully utilised for
EU citizens, companies and society. Research and innovation should therefore foster the
development of EGNSS downstream applications and promote their adoption in the EU and
worldwide, in particular in markets with a long lead-time (e.g. maritime, rail, aviation), and in
areas where Galileo offers unique differentiators (high accuracy, authentication, Search and
Rescue, PRS
Copernicus based applications and services can serve, for example, polar research, monitoring
of the environment, maritime and coastal monitoring, natural disasters, civil security,
migration and agriculture. They and can bring, with EGNSS, a key contribution to the
European Green Deal and to the sustainable management of natural resources. The public
sector should be supported as customer of space based technologies via innovation
procurement. Synergies between Galileo/EGNOS and Copernicus, as well as synergies with
non-space programmes, leveraging the combination of space data with non-space data, will
open new avenues for the creation of a wealth of new and innovative applications and
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services. The use of Copernicus and Galileo/EGNOS for the EOSC and DestinE initiatives
should equally be taken into account and promoted.
Innovative space capabilities: SSA, GOVSATCOM, Quantum
Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and GOVSATCOM innovative components will be
developed in the EU Space programme fostered by Horizon Europe R&I. Quantum
Technologies, as an emerging field with great potential to be applied in the EU Space
programme, requires foundational research and validation activities for its space component.
Space Situational Awareness (SSA) will provide services to European users including
spacecraft owners/operators and governmental entities that will reinforce the protection and
resilience of European space and ground infrastructures against various hazards and risks
(mainly collisions in/from space, Near Earth Objects or space weather events). New
challenges are posed by the ever-increasing orbital population of smaller satellites and space
debris and the associated increased risk of orbital collisions, fragmentations and re-entries.
R&I activities shall address these challenges by developing novel architectures and technical
solutions for ground/space sensors, data processing, networking and operation centres
(including critical technological elements for the realisation of crucial future space weather
applications and services) to ensure safety and sustainability of space operations in Europe as
well as by improving current EUSST services and implementing new ones (space debris
mitigation and remediation services; space weather services).
The GOVSATCOM initiative aims to provide reliable, secured and cost-effective satellite
communications services to EU and Member State authorities with an infrastructure
supporting secure critical missions and the ability to exchange sensitive information in a
environment of worldwide hybrid threats (including the Arctic). Research and innovation
activities will foster the development of European satcom security related technologies and
increase European independence from foreign critical technologies and exploiting synergies
with Copernicus and Galileo and with defence /security assets.
Space will pave the way for quantum technologies in EU space infrastructure and for space-
based services (e.g. quantum inter-satellite communication, next generation atomic clocks or
quantum sensors). It is of the highest strategic importance for the EU and its industry to be
competitive and to become a global leader in this area. It will provide enhanced services to
EU citizens and allow overcoming limitations and challenges of the current generation of
quantum technologies. Therefore, R&I shall foster the development and use of EU sourced
space qualified quantum components, including mission design, integration and in-orbit
demonstration and validating. The availability of adequate ground segment infrastructure for
testing and validating the quantum space mission needs to be ensured too. Synergies with
GOVSATCOM will be thought.
Space entrepreneurship ecosystems (incl. New Space and start-ups) and skills
Business development, acceleration and upscaling of start-ups will be fostered across all space
areas under the CASSINI Space Entrepreneurship Initiative.
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CASSINI will provide support to business and innovation-friendly ecosystems, including the
strengthening business skills in the space market segments and digital services based on space
data. The objective is to make start-ups and scale-ups investment-ready and able to secure
venture capital funding. Synergies with the InvestEU programme and the Space programme
will be established.
Targeted and strategic actions supporting the EU space sector
Development of associated technologies and actions of key importance to the sections
described above will be pursued. These actions will at the same time contribute to foster the
competitiveness of the EU space sector, to reinforce our capacity to use and access space and
to perform R&I for the Space Programme.
These targeted and strategic actions will include the development of critical technologies for
EU non-dependence, the establishment of regular and cost-effective flight opportunities for
In-Orbit Demonstration/In-Orbit Validation (IOD/IOV), space science activities, as well as
outreach, education and international cooperation activities.
Limiting participation in certain actions to Member States (and certain candidate
associated countries to Horizon Europe)
The Space research part of the Horizon Europe Programme is by default open to the world,
promoting international cooperation to drive scientific excellence.
However, an important aspect of the Space Programme consists in ensuring security and
strengthening strategic autonomy across key technologies and value chains, taking advantage
of the possibilities that space offers for the security of the Union and its Member States. This
objective requires special rules in specific cases to set the requisite eligibility and participation
conditions to ensure the protection of the integrity, security and resilience of the Union and its
Member States. Hence, on an exceptional basis and duly justified, the work programme may
foresee a limited participation to entities from selected countries. Such exceptional
circumstances would relate to prevalent considerations to safeguard the Union’s strategic
assets, interests, autonomy or security. Possibilities for such limitations are framed by Article
22(5)and by Annex IV(11a) of the Horizon Europe Regulation. Out of 45 actions, 30 remain
fully open while 15 are proposed for limited participation
For six space actions, the restrictions to only Member States are justified under Annex IV of
the Horizon Europe Regulation which foresees that, where appropriate the eligibility criteria
of the Space Programme Regulation shall apply for the Horizon Europe space research topics
and actions. In the current work programme this includes SST and GOVSATCOM which
relate to sensitive Union space infrastructure.
Nine space actions are open to Member States, Norway and Iceland under Protocol 31 of the
EEA Agreement and the United Kingdom. These nine actions include Copernicus Security
R&D and actions involving technologies critical to strategic autonomy/dual-use.
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The eligibility to participate in such actions is limited to legal entities established in the EU,
Norway, Iceland and the United Kingdom. The eligibility of entities established in the UK to
participate is conditional upon reciprocity of access to equivalent UK programmes for entities
established in Member States, which will be assessed by the Commission as soon as such
programmes are established and in any event before the signature of the grant agreements.
Should the UK not open the participation in its relevant programmes to entities established in
Member States, this condition would not be met and entities established in the UK will not be
eligible to participate in this topic.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                 Call                             Budgets (EUR million)            Deadline(s)
                                                 2021                  2022
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01 136.22                                                   16 Feb 2022
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01                                        85.70             16 Feb 2022
Overall indicative budget               136.22                   85.70
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Call - STRATEGIC AUTONOMY IN DEVELOPING, DEPLOYING AND USING
GLOBAL SPACE-BASED INFRASTRUCTURES, SERVICES, APPLICATIONS AND
DATA 2021
                                                                      HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)205
                   Topics                        Type        Budgets         Expected EU          Number
                                                   of         (EUR         contribution per           of
                                                Action       million)        project (EUR          projects
                                                                              million)206         expected
                                                               2021                                 to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 02 Nov 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 16 Feb 2022
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-11 RIA                           12.00 207    4.00 to 6.00              2
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-12 RIA                           6.00         1.00 to 2.00              3
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-21 RIA                           39.00 208    30.00 to 39.00            1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-22 RIA                           19.80 209    15.00 to 19.00            1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-23 RIA                           3.00 210     1.00 to 1.50              2
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-41 RIA                           11.00 211    10.00 to 11.00            1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-42 RIA                           7.50 212     6.00 to 7.50              1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-43 RIA                           5.00 213     4.00 to 5.00              1
205
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
206
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
207
        Of which EUR 7.20 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
208
        Of which EUR 26.01 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
209
        Of which EUR 11.98 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
210
        Of which EUR 1.81 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
211
        Of which EUR 6.72 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
212
        Of which EUR 4.48 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-44 RIA                        5.60 214      Around 3.00           2
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-62 RIA                        17.00         15.00 to 17.00        1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-81 RIA                        10.32 215     2.00 to 3.00          4
Overall indicative budget                               136.22
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                  The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                               C.
Award criteria                                          The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                        D.
Documents                                               The documents are described in General
                                                        Annex E.
Procedure                                               The procedure is described in General
                                                        Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                 The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Foster competitiveness of space systems
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-11: End-to-end satellite communication systems and
associated services
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 4.00
contribution per     and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
213
        Of which EUR 2.78 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
214
        Of which EUR 3.39 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
215
        Of which EUR 6.72 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative              The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
budget
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                        background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                        SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                        classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
                        In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                        strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security in the area of research
                        covered by this topic, it is important to avoid a situation of technological
                        dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires the EU
                        to take action to build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and address
                        any strategic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies
                        which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions. For this reason,
                        participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States,
                        Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom. The eligibility of entities
                        established in the UK to participate is conditional upon reciprocity of
                        access to equivalent UK programmes for entities established in Member
                        States, which will be assessed by the Commission as soon as such
                        programmes are established and in any event before the signature of the
                        grant agreements. Should the UK not open the participation in its relevant
                        programmes to entities established in Member States, this condition would
                        not be met and entities established in the UK will not be eligible to
                        participate in this topic.
                        For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph
                        above, in order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the
                        Union and its Member States, entities established in an eligible country
                        listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-
                        eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in
                        the action unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided
                        by their eligible country of establishment, that their participation to the
                        action would not negatively impact the Union’s strategic, assets, interests,
                        autonomy, or security216
216
        The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
        to ensure that:
        (a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
        to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
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Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL5-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level           General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: The expected outcomes of this topic will enable flexible end-to-end
satellite communication system (including both space and ground segment) with high
productivity and growing data and service requirements. Security aspects should be
considered in all targeted developments. Competitiveness will be strengthened by providing
growing capacity per system, as well as flexibility and agility to face uncertainties and market
evolutions and improving system availability and latency to deliver high-quality experience to
end-users.
Projects are expected to contribute to one or several of the following outcomes:
   Capture 50% of global accessible Telecom satellite market by 2028.
   Showcasing a secure, flexible and competitive end-to-end-system aiming a ground
      demonstrator by 2026/27.
   Full inclusion and utilisation of satellite communication in 5G/6G network
   Short to mid-term disruptive development and maturation of key technologies (up to
      TRL6) for high performance and secure communication systems.
   Support the EU space policy and end-to-end secure communication by paving the way
      for the deployment of a future EU secure and global quantum satellite communication
      capacity.
   Contribute to EU non-dependence for the development of quantum communication
      technology in space.
   Enhance the TRL to 5-6 of the components necessary to build a quantum satellite
      communication capacity using EU technology in preparation of an IOD/V.
This will contribute to developing, deploying global space-based services applications and
data and contribute to fostering the EU's space sector competitiveness, as stated in the
expected impact of this destination.
Scope: The areas of R&I, which needs to be addressed to tackle the above-mentioned
expected outcomes are:
         facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
         that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
         (b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
         to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
         security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
         (c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
         recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
         eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
         is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
         country in which the legal entity is established.
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1) R&I on secure quantum communications through the development of components for
quantum satellite communication systems as well as of space technology components and
systems necessary for Quantum Key Distributions (QKD), e.g. space compatible Quantum
Random Number Generators (QRNG), single or entangled photon sources, decoy state
systems, associated electronics, systems for key management and storage, single photon
detectors and super accurate pointing mechanisms, protocols and standards, quantum specific
on-board computers as well as novel user authentication mechanisms. This area also includes
the tools necessary to simulate, control and monitor the space quantum information networks,
development and/or use of testbeds or any other system used to recreate or simulate the space
environment to test quantum satellite communications technology components.
2) R&I on ground segment, infrastructures, protocols, development of virtual network and
application functions as well as networks including end-user terminals and equipment
considering the handling of a range of new needs (e.g. introduced by satellite constellations,
increasing data rates, flexible ultra-high throughput satellites, higher on-board and on-ground-
autonomy, millimetre wavelength communication in Q/V, W-band), providing scalable and
resilient solutions while reducing costs.
Proposal should address only one area. To ensure a balanced portfolio covering the two areas
described above, grants will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but at
least also to one proposal that is the highest ranked within each area, provided that the
applications attain all thresholds.
Proposals are expected to promote cooperation between different actors (industry, SMEs and
research institutions) and consider opportunities to quickly turn technological innovation into
commercial space usage.
Proposals under this topic should explore synergies and be complementary to already funded
actions in the context of technology development at component level. In particular, the topics:
Critical Space Technologies for European non-dependence (H2020 SPACE-10-TEC-2018-
2020, COMPET-1-2014-2015-2016-2017), satellite communication technologies and high
speed data chain (H2020 COMPET-2-2016, COMPET-3-2017, SPACE-15-TEC-2018,
SPACE-29-TEC-2020). Furthermore, activities should be complementary to national
activities and activities funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), while contributing to
EU non-dependence.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Unless otherwise agreed with the granting authority, beneficiaries must ensure that none of
the entities that participate as affiliated entities, associated partners or subcontractors are
established in countries which are not eligible countries or target countries set out in the call
conditions or are controlled by such countries or entities from such countries.
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HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-12: Future space ecosystems: on-orbit operations, new
system concepts
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 1.00
contribution per     and 2.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                     background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                     SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                     classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology           Activities addressing area 1 of the call topic are expected to achieve
Readiness Level      TRL5-6 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Enable the industrialisation and new services in space by intelligent
solutions and concepts, exploiting synergies with terrestrial sectors and cultivating an
AppStore and Open-Architecture mentality.
Therefore, automation, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) especially in combination with
standardisation, modularisation and digitalisation are key enablers, improving space systems
and satellites’ flexibility and cost-efficiency, increasing sustainability and accessibility,
introducing mass-customisation and cooperative design as well as simplifying operations.
Each project is expected to contribute to one or several of the following outcomes:
   A future space ecosystem, fostering the industrialisation and business in space as well as
     supporting scientifically meaningful missions by using synergies with terrestrial sectors,
     building on spacecraft modularity, simplifying operations and make plug-and-play
     modules more common as well as enabling on-orbit services such as maintenance,
     assembly, manufacturing, re-configuration, recycling, logistics, warehousing, etc.
   Game-changing technologies, tools and processes enhancing on-orbit servicing
     applications and contribute to the protection of the in-space future ecosystem (e.g. debris
     mitigation).
   A paradigm shift towards sustainable, highly automated, flexible and economical viable
     space infrastructure, to maximise commercial opportunities in space and on Earth.
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This will contribute to, in the medium to long term, developing, deploying global space-based
services and contribute to fostering the EU's space sector competitiveness, as stated in the
expected impact of this destination.
Scope: The areas of R&I, which need to be addressed to tackle the above expected outcomes
are:
1) R&I on new scalable satellite platform concepts and building blocks increasing the degree
of satellite modularisation. Aiming at intelligent, adaptable and maintainable systems with
plug-and-play compartmentalised functionalities (modules) that will introduce both, on-orbit
re-configuration and re-use/re-cycling of spacecraft parts fostering debris mitigation, as well
as increased system redundancy, inherently. The approach should consider an innovative,
scalable and adaptive framework concept for a ‘European construction kit for satellite
systems and applications’, following the AppStore approach and fostering development of
compartmentalised functionalities (modules) for satellite systems independently from mission.
The framework should address the needs from building block developers as well as from end-
users. As one result, functional satellite modules (Orbital Replaceable Units to deliver
new/enhanced functionality) should be developed (TRL 5-6) to upgrade the satellite platform
of the orbital demonstration mission217 by using pre-existing standard interfaces218 (plug-and-
play concept). The module design should support the integration of different pre-existing
standard interfaces113. Further reference is given in a technical guidance document applicable
to this area219.
2) R&I on new on-orbit services concepts concentrating on a next generation of potential
business cases (e.g. satellite recycling, transfer services, logistics, warehousing, etc.)
contributing to a sustainable space infrastructure and in-space ecosystem development. Work
should include, but not be limited to, market & trend analyses, design of mission and system
architecture, and feasibility studies.
3) R&I to identify, develop and implement AI and industry 4.0 means (e.g. virtual design,
digital twins, virtual testing) in order to attain Rapid Development, Production and Assembly
Integration and Testing (AIT) processes in satellite life cycle.
Proposals should explore relevant and promising solutions derived in Horizon 2020 activities,
especially project results from the Strategic Research Clusters Space Robotics Technologies220
and Electric Propulsion221.
A proposal may address more than one area but must indicate the main area addressed, and is
expected to promote cooperation between different actors (industry, SMEs and research
217
         To be developed under topic HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-11
218
         Multi-functional interface for OOS applications providing at least transfer of mechanical loads, power
         and data, (e.g. HOTDOCK, iSSI or SIROM)
219
         Published on the EU funding and tenders portal (https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-
         tenders/opportunities/portal)
220
         www.h2020-peraspera.eu
221
         www.epic-src.eu
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institutions) and consider opportunities to quickly turn technological innovation into
commercial space usage.
To ensure a balanced portfolio covering the three areas described above, grants will be
awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but at least also to one project that is the
highest ranked within each area, provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Reinforce EU capacity to access and use space
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-21: Reusability for European strategic space
launchers - technologies and operation maturation including flight test demonstration
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      30.00 and 39.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 39.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Admissibility         The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                      background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                      SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                      classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
                      In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                      strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security in the area of research
                      covered by this topic, it is important to avoid a situation of technological
                      dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires the EU
                      to take action to build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and address
                      any strategic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies
                      which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions. For this reason,
                      participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States,
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                          Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom. The eligibility of entities
                          established in the UK to participate is conditional upon reciprocity of
                          access to equivalent UK programmes for entities established in Member
                          States, which will be assessed by the Commission as soon as such
                          programmes are established and in any event before the signature of the
                          grant agreements. Should the UK not open the participation in its relevant
                          programmes to entities established in Member States, this condition
                          would not be met and entities established in the UK will not be eligible to
                          participate in this topic.
                          For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph
                          above, in order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the
                          Union and its Member States, entities established in an eligible country
                          listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-
                          eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in
                          the action unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided
                          by their eligible country of establishment, that their participation to the
                          action would not negatively impact the Union’s strategic, assets, interests,
                          autonomy, or security222
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL5-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level           General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
     Contribution to the overarching objective of launch cost/price reduction by 50% by 2030
      (with respect to A6/VegaC cost/price 2021 economic conditions), for the benefit of EU
      Space programmes implementation and towards reinforcing EU‘s independent capacity
      to access to space.
     Innovation acceleration of enabling technologies (maturing, assessing and practicing,
      through representative in flight experiments).
222
         The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
         to ensure that:
         (a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
         to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
         facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
         that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
         (b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
         to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
         security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
         (c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
         recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
         eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
         is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
         country in which the legal entity is established.
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    Matured technologies up to TRL5/6, integration of system tests vehicle, on-ground and
      low altitude system tests by 2023 and contribution to the preparation of suborbital
      system tests potentially in 2025.
    Cost reduction investigation and system tests.
These outcomes will contribute to enhance EU strategic autonomy and sector
competitiveness, in line with the Expected Impact of the destination.
Scope: Cost reduction and improving flexibility of European launch systems are the main
challenges in order to foster European industry competitiveness on the global market.
R&I will focus on reusability concepts including required technologies that have a strong
potential for cost reduction, starting with the recovery of the most expensive components such
as first stage. It can also increase launch flexibility by reducing lead-time from order to launch
by helping to adapt efficiently the launch rate and the performance to market variations. In
addition, reusability would contribute to align space economy with the ecological transition to
sustainability.
The activities will address technologies and building blocks maturation up to TRL5/6 and
subsystem/system tests including system, vehicle integration, ground tests, low altitude flight
system tests by 2023 and contribution to the preparation up to ground based system tests of
suborbital flight system tests by 2025. The execution of the suborbital tests is not part of the
scope.
The developed enabling technologies and building blocks should be applicable to strategic
launchers able to launch EU Space Programme components, with the objective of enabling
operational capacities by 2030. The system tests vehicle should be representative of a reusable
1st stage of a strategic EU launcher. This vehicle should be at a sufficiently large scale in
order to be representative of the expected final capacities. The vehicle will be equipped with a
reusable propulsion system.
The proposed activities must also support EU non-dependence objective and include the
assessment of costs reduction investigations and system tests results towards the overarching
objective mentioned in the expected outcomes.
The activities will address enabling technologies maturation and demonstration at least in all
of the following areas:
    low cost GNC and avionics (hybridation techniques, navigation sensors, modular,
      reconfigurable),
    manoeuvring control devices,
    Health Monitoring System (HMS), propellant management,
    aerodynamic devices,
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   descent and landing/recovery systems,                 including low    latency, closed loop
      communication systems for landing,
   on-ground servicing processes (refurbishment, check-out supported by automatic post
      flight analysis and repair and recertification for reused elements),
   safety critical processes before launch and after landing.
The activities should include as many as technologies possible in each area to maximise the
number of matured technologies to be submitted to integrated tests at system level (all
technologies together).
All the activities should be complementary and coherent with the ESA on-going or future
activities in particular those decided at the last ESA Ministerial held in November 2019.
Proposals should provide all IPR dependencies and dependencies with other on-going
activities, and detail the implementation, the reporting and the organisational as well as
steering measures that will be taken to ensure that the proposed activities can be implemented
and can achieve all the expected outcomes within the project schedule and budget.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-22: Low cost high thrust propulsion for European
strategic space launchers - technologies maturation including ground tests
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      15.00 and 19.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 19.80 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Admissibility         The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                      background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                      SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                      classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
                      In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
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                         strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security in the area of research
                         covered by this topic, it is important to avoid a situation of technological
                         dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires the EU
                         to take action to build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and address
                         any strategic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies
                         which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions. For this reason,
                         participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States,
                         Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom. The eligibility of entities
                         established in the UK to participate is conditional upon reciprocity of
                         access to equivalent UK programmes for entities established in Member
                         States, which will be assessed by the Commission as soon as such
                         programmes are established and in any event before the signature of the
                         grant agreements. Should the UK not open the participation in its relevant
                         programmes to entities established in Member States, this condition
                         would not be met and entities established in the UK will not be eligible to
                         participate in this topic.
                         For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph
                         above, in order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the
                         Union and its Member States, entities established in an eligible country
                         listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-
                         eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in
                         the action unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided
                         by their eligible country of establishment, that their participation to the
                         action would not negatively impact the Union’s strategic, assets, interests,
                         autonomy, or security223
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL5-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level          General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
     Contribution to the overarching objective of launch cost/price reduction by 50% by 2030
      (with respect to A6/VegaC cost/price 2021 economic conditions), for the benefit of EU
223
        The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
        to ensure that:
        (a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
        to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
        facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
        that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
        (b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
        to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
        security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
        (c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
        recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
        eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
        is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
        country in which the legal entity is established.
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      Space programmes implementation and going towards reinforcing EU‘s independent
      capacity to access to space.
    Innovation acceleration of enabling technologies (maturing, prototyping, on ground
      tests)
    Identification of mature technologies at TRL 3-4 for cost-reduction possibilities in the
      current European launchers
    Matured technologies up to TRL 5-6 by 2023/24, including prototyping and on ground
      tests at subsystem level
    Cost reduction investigation and demonstration.
These outcomes will contribute to enhance EU strategic autonomy and sector
competitiveness, in line with the Expected Impact of the destination.
Scope: Cost reduction and improving flexibility of European launch systems are the main
challenges in order to foster European industry competitiveness on the global market.
The propulsion systems represent a significant part of launch system costs. It is necessary to
mature new or optimised low cost effective (lower number of parts, better operability), high
performance (high thrust to weight ratio, high specific impulse) and green propulsion
concepts, technologies and propellants for high thrust engines.
The activities should address maturation of enabling technologies, building blocks, tools and
processes including maintenance/overhaul and safety, up to TRL5/6 and subsystem tests
including prototyping and integrated tests at subsystems level.
The matured technologies, building blocks, tools and processes should be applicable to
strategic launchers able to launch EU Space Programme components, with the objective of
enabling operational capacities by 2030 and preferably earlier for current launch solutions.
The tests should be appropriate to this objective.
The proposed activities must also support EU non-dependence objective and include the
assessment of costs reduction investigations and test results towards the overarching objective
mentioned in the expected outcomes.
The activities will address one or several of the following areas:
    low cost propulsion,
    throttability,
    reduced number of parts with extensive application of Additive manufacturing, or new
      composite technologies
    maintenance/overhaul,
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   associated fluidics,
The activities should include as many as technologies possible in each area to maximise the
number of matured technologies to be submitted to integrated tests at subsystem level (all
technologies together).
All the activities should be complementary and coherent with the ESA on-going or future
activities in particular those decided at the last ESA Ministerial held in November 2019.
Proposals should provide all IPR dependencies and dependencies with other on-going
activities, and detail the implementation, the reporting and the organisational as well as
steering measures that will be taken to ensure that the proposed activities can be implemented
and can achieve all the expected outcomes within the project schedule and budget.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-23: New space transportation solutions and services
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 1.00
contribution per      and 1.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative            The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
budget
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                      background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                      SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                      classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
                      In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                      strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security in the area of research
                      covered by this topic, it is important to avoid a situation of technological
                      dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires the EU
                      to take action to build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and address
                      any strategic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies
                      which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions. For this reason,
                      participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States,
                      Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom. The eligibility of entities
                      established in the UK to participate is conditional upon reciprocity of
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                          access to equivalent UK programmes for entities established in Member
                          States, which will be assessed by the Commission as soon as such
                          programmes are established and in any event before the signature of the
                          grant agreements. Should the UK not open the participation in its relevant
                          programmes to entities established in Member States, this condition would
                          not be met and entities established in the UK will not be eligible to
                          participate in this topic.
                          For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph
                          above, in order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the
                          Union and its Member States, entities established in an eligible country
                          listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-
                          eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in
                          the action unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided
                          by their eligible country of establishment, that their participation to the
                          action would not negatively impact the Union’s strategic, assets, interests,
                          autonomy, or security224
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL5-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level           General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
     Contribute to EU Green Deal objective through the reduction of the environmental
      impact of space transportation and to be prepared for the upcoming REACH regulations,
      especially with respect to the use of hydrazine and its derivatives, focussing on
      commercial market as a driver for business growth.
     Contribute to expand commercial space transportation offer and services with new space
      transportation solutions. The objective is to contribute to double the accessible new
      space transportation service market to European industry by 2030.
     Design and performance studies as well as business cases (demonstration of economical
      viability).
224
         The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
         to ensure that:
         (a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
         to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
         facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
         that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
         (b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
         to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
         security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
         (c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
         recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
         eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
         is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
         country in which the legal entity is established.
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   Matured technologies up to TRL5-6 including functional and qualification test on
      ground.
These outcomes will contribute to enhance the sector competitiveness, in line with the
Expected Impact of the destination.
Scope: There are emerging opportunities in space transportation that are not yet seized by
European actors characterised by new uses of space (e.g. small satellites, larger constellations
and payload recovery) new destinations (e.g. direct GEO, re-entry from LEO).
The expected proposed activities should contribute to the maturation up to TRL5-6 of
enabling new technologies and subsystems (including common building blocks) in the field of
green propulsion, micro launchers and associated launch facilities, kick stage, orbital
propulsion and distancing, attitude and landing, re-entry solutions, smart satellite deployment
systems/dispensers, for space transportation including new routes up to Lunar orbit or surface.
The maturation could go up to subsystem and system level and may include one or several of
the following areas:
   “low thrust” green and low cost propellant functional propulsion systems and vehicle
      system aspects of existing propulsion systems for use of green propellants,
   Green engine, attitude control systems (RACS), thruster, ignition, fluid control
      equipment, propellant tank,
   Actuation systems and pyrotechnic systems, light weight structure concepts for micro
      launchers and re-entry vehicles,
   Smart and flexible dispenser for multi-satellites, constellations, and payloads launch
      solutions,
   Advanced avionics, attitude orbital module and re-entry module, descent and landing,
   GNC, autonomous localization and termination, modern TM/TC data handling, low-cost
      and modular avionics, automated rendezvous, capturing and spacecraft management
      technologies, avionics and test-bed.
All the activities should be complementary and coherent with the ESA on-going or future
activities in particular those decided at the last ESA Ministerial held in November 2019.
Proposals should provide all IPR dependencies and dependencies with other on-going
activities, and detail the implementation, the reporting and the organisational as well as
steering measures that will be taken to ensure that the proposed activities can be implemented
and can achieve all the expected outcomes within the project schedule and budget.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
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Evolution of space and ground infrastructure for Galileo/EGNOS
Actions related to this section can be found under "Other actions"
Evolution of Copernicus services
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-41: Copernicus Climate Change Service evolution
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      10.00 and 11.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 11.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL5-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Procedure             The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
   Enhanced quality and efficiency of the current service evolution to respond to (a) policy
     and/or user requirements (b) technological developments implementing the space
     regulation (c) complementing the challenges targeted by the Horizon Europe Mission on
     “Adaptation to climate change including societal transformation”
   Development of efficient and reliable new product chains, calling for new paradigms in
     data fusion, data processing and data visualisation essential for the service are expected
     to handle more high-volume satellite data sets and product sets. The baseline is to
     preserve continuity of what has been achieved while keeping the service modern and
     attractive
   Development of new algorithms and processing chains preparing for the use of new
     types of space observation data (being from new Sentinels, other contributing missions
     or ESA Earth Explorer missions) in order to allow the development of new products or
     the improvement of existing products.
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Scope: The areas of R&I, which needs to be addressed to tackle the above expected outcomes
are:
     New and innovative coupled data assimilation methods to improve the next generation of
      global and regional reanalyses in the climate consistency of Earth-system reanalysis
      datasets
     Underpinning science in predictability and new and innovative multi-model product
      generation to improve the realism (including representation of extremes and
      teleconnection patterns) of the current generation of climate prediction models.
With an integrated modelling approach, the integration of new observational data becomes a
driver for further enhancement and improved realism of the already existing production
chains, assimilation systems and coupled models. The development of advanced processing
and modelling techniques, as well as the exploitation of new sources of data, will be targeted
to create new products or significantly improve the quality and performances of existing
elements-components for the benefit of users. The projects should take into account the
existing service and clearly define to what extent service will be improved with new elements
or products, including the use of enhanced models, algorithms, tools and techniques to
generate new products.
Proposals are expected to provide tangible results (new or improved products or service
elements) for the Copernicus service within the period 2021-2027. The proposed research and
development should be modular and scalable. The activities of the project should also
contribute to the objectives set by the Group on Earth Observation and outcomes and relevant
results of the project should be promoted also at international level through the Global Earth
Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). In addition the project could contribute to the
objectives set by the DestinE initiative.
The project should provide a proof-of-concept (e.g. system element targeting TRL5-6) at least
demonstrating the feasibility of the integration in the existing core service.
Additionally, the transfer of research results to possible operations should receive active
attention during the course of the project to strengthen the readiness for an operational
deployment in the future. Appropriate interaction with the relevant Entrusted Entity of the
Copernicus services, the conditions for making available, for re-using and exploiting the
results (including IPR) by the said entities must be addressed during the project
implementation. Software should be open licensed.
Applicants are advised to consult information on the Copernicus programme in general at
https://www.copernicus.eu/en and further details on the topic in the Guidance document225
.
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In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-42: Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service
evolution
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       6.00 and 7.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 7.50 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL5-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                       exceptions apply:
                       The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
   Enhanced quality and enhanced efficiency of the current service to respond respectively
      to policy and/or user requirements and to technological developments
   Development of efficient and reliable new product chains, calling for new paradigms in
      data fusion, data processing and data visualisation and implementing Big Data &
      analytics modern solutions to handle more high-volume satellite data sets and product
      sets. The baseline is to preserve continuity of what has been achieved while keeping the
      service modern and attractive through.
   Development of new algorithms and processing chains preparing for the use of new
      types of space observation data (being from new Sentinels, other contributing missions
      or ESA Earth Explorer missions) in order to allow the development of new products or
      the improvement of existing ones.
Scope: The R&I, which needs to be addressed to tackle the above expected outcomes are:
   New and innovative data assimilation of atmospheric composition satellite observations
      to expand the use of satellite data streams in the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring
      Service (CAMS) operational global and regional production systems, to improve the
      quality of the CAMS global and regional reactive gases and aerosol information products
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      (analyses, forecasts and reanalyses) and to deliver near-real-time observations-based
      emissions of reactive gases and aerosol at the global scale
    New methods and measurements for quantifying uncertainties for atmospheric CAMS
      composition products in the context of decision-making as well as of environmental
      policies development and implementation to be directly useful for the users of the
      product.
With an integrated modelling approach, the integration of new observational data becomes a
driver for further enhancement and improved realism of the already existing production
chains, assimilation systems and coupled models. The development of advanced processing
and modelling techniques, as well as the exploitation of new sources of data, will be targeted
to create new products or significantly improve the quality and performances of existing
elements-components for the benefit of users. The projects should take into account the
existing service and clearly define to what extent the service will be improved with new
elements or products, including the use of enhanced models, algorithms, tools and techniques
to generate new products.
The main output of the project should be tools and methodologies that can be readily
transferred for improving aerosol representation in CAMS operational global and regional
systems. The proposal shoud develop activities that will improve the quality of the aerosol
variables in the CAMS global and regional analyses, forecasts and reanalyses, as well as of
the CAMS solar radiation products.
Proposals are expected to provide tangible results (new or improved products or service
elements) for the Copernicus service within the period 2021-2027. The proposed research and
development should be modular and scalable. The activities of the project should also
contribute to the objectives set by the Group on Earth Observation and outcomes and relevant
results of the project should be promoted also at international level through the Global Earth
Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). In addition the project could contribute to the
objectives set by the DestinE initiative.
The project should provide a proof-of-concept (e.g. system element targeting TRL 5-6) at
least demonstrating the feasibility of the integration in the existing core service.
Additionally, the transfer of research results to possible operations should receive active
attention during the course of the project to strengthen the readiness for an operational
deployment in the future. Appropriate interaction with the relevant Entrusted Entity of the
Copernicus services, the conditions for making available, for re-using and exploiting the
results (including IPR) by the said entities must be addressed during the project
implementation. Software should be open licensed.
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Applicants are advised to consult information on the Copernicus programme in general at
https://www.copernicus.eu/en and further details on the topic in the Guidance document226
.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-43: Copernicus Security and Emergency Services
evolution
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 4.00
contribution per       and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
budget
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                       strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security in the area of research
                       covered by this topic, it is important to avoid a situation of technological
                       dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires the EU
                       to take action to build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and address
                       any strategic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies
                       which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions. For this reason,
                       participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States,
                       Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom. The eligibility of entities
                       established in the UK to participate is conditional upon reciprocity of
                       access to equivalent UK programmes for entities established in Member
                       States, which will be assessed by the Commission as soon as such
                       programmes are established and in any event before the signature of the
                       grant agreements. Should the UK not open the participation in its relevant
                       programmes to entities established in Member States, this condition would
                       not be met and entities established in the UK will not be eligible to
                       participate in this topic.
                       For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph
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                          above, in order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the
                          Union and its Member States, entities established in an eligible country
                          listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-
                          eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in
                          the action unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided
                          by their eligible country of establishment, that their participation to the
                          action would not negatively impact the Union’s strategic, assets, interests,
                          autonomy, or security227
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL5-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level           General Annex B.
Procedure                 The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                          apply:
                          The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Enhanced quality and enhanced efficiency of the current services to respond respectively
      to policy and/or user requirements and to technological developments
     Significant improvement in resolution, detection capabilities, timely access to data and
      delivery of information according to the requirements of emergency and security
      applications
     Significant improvement in integration of non-space data along end-user intelligence
      supply chains, bringing added value at operational level (e.g. local and regional
      monitoring networks or field campaigns)
     Development of processing chain(s) to handle an increasing volume of satellite data,
      keeping underlying technology up-to-date and include new paradigms in data fusion,
      processing and automation to match users increasing expectations in added-value,
      easiness of access and visualisation.
227
         The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
         to ensure that:
         (a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
         to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
         facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
         that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
         (b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
         to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
         security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
         (c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
         recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
         eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
         is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
         country in which the legal entity is established.
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Scope: The R&I, which needs to be addressed to tackle the above expected outcomes will
investigate new and innovative methods and technologies to enhance the current services
performance. Specifically timeliness access to data, the need to reduce the gap between user
needs and service provision, new paradigms in data fusion, automation and inclusion of wider
sets of complementary, non-EO data to demonstrate the viability of extending services to a
broader range of users (relevant authorities from European to local levels) and to better
monitor security and emergency threats at regional or local level.
Upstream in the space segment, emerging EO missions in the coming decade will provide
new types of space data (being new Sentinels or other contributing missions), which also
require new algorithms and processing chains to be developed. Both the development of
advanced processing and modelling techniques will be targeted and the exploitation of new
sources of data, to create new products or significantly improve the quality and performances
of existing elements-components for the benefit of users.
On data fusion, vast amounts of EO-data are now being available for applications in the
security and disaster domains. Identification of complementary data sets, development and
testing of new and innovative ways (if applicable also in the context of social innovation) to
efficiently integrate them in emergency and security applications will be used to generate
added-value and new intelligence. Non-EO data could include in-situ observations and
measurements, meteorological data, data from aerial platforms, social media or crowd-
sourcing, as well as information generated from other sources and other Copernicus services.
Whenever appropriate, the project should take advantage from Copernicus and EGNSS
synergy.
Proposers are advised to exploit all possible synergies with other security specific actions
funded under the work programme of Cluster 3 “Civil security for society”.
Proposals are expected to provide tangible results (new or improved products or service
elements) for the Copernicus service within the period 2021-2027. The proposed research and
development should be modular and scalable. The activities of the project should also
contribute to the objectives set by the Group on Earth Observation and outcomes and relevant
results of the project should be promoted also at international level through the Global Earth
Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). In addition, the project could contribute to the
objectives set by the DestinE initiative.
The project should provide a proof-of-concept (e.g. system element targeting TRL 5-6) at
least demonstrating the feasibility of the integration in the existing core service.
Additionally, the transfer of research results to possible operations should receive active
attention during the course of the project to strengthen the readiness for an operational
deployment in the future. Appropriate interaction with the relevant Entrusted Entity of the
Copernicus services, the conditions for making available, for re-using and exploiting the
results (including IPR) by the said entities must be addressed during the project
implementation. Software should be open licensed.
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Applicants are advised to consult information on the Copernicus programme in general at
https://www.copernicus.eu/en and further details on the topic in the Guidance document228
.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-44: Copernicus evolution for cross-services thematic
domains
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.60 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL5-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level          General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
     Enhanced quality and enhanced efficiency of the current services to respond respectively
      to well identified emerging EU policy needs and/or user requirements and to
      technological developments
     Exploitation of the full range of Copernicus core services with a significant improvement
      in the coordination and integration of data and products between them
     Development of services which will support new policy(ies) and will address
      observational and information gaps
     Appropriate consideration of a wide range of users’ needs and of potential accessibility
      limitations
Scope: The areas of R&I, which needs to be addressed to tackle the above expected outcomes
are:
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   Development of a proof-of-concept or prototype with a Copernicus based-solution to
      improve the European capacity for monitoring and forecasting the Arctic accessed via a
      single entry point which can be easily integrated into the existing service(s)
   Development of a proof-of-concept or prototype with a Copernicus-based solution to
      improve the European capacity for monitoring the UN Sustainable Development Goals
      indicators accessed via a single entry point which can be easily integrated into the
      existing service(s) (such as long-time series to monitor atmosphere composition and air
      quality, the health of ocean and in land waters, and regular mapping of land use)
This approach should foster the exploitation of space EO capabilities to close observation
gaps in combination with ground-based infrastructure and innovative processing/modelling
techniques. The proposed developments should be modular and scalable and proposals should
provide a proof-of-concept or a prototype that can be easily integrated into the service(s).
Proposals should include the development of tools to support end users in their decision-
making activities (e.g. decision support systems, assessments, decision processes) using
Copernicus data and products and meeting the need for timely and quality long-term
global/regional information. Proposals should have the objective to increase the capabilities
and capacity of end users to use Copernicus data and products. The involved end-users should
provide feedback to the proposed tools on product efficiency, data access, new measurement
needs, new applied research topics, societal benefits, and other factors if necessary. If
applicable also social innovation can play a role in this context.
Depending on the selected area(s), user communities should be involved in the proposal. They
are mainly public authorities from national to local scale, operators of protected areas that
need to be monitored, administration in charge of planning and services in charge of law
enforcement. The community ranges from the fisheries or maritime authorities to land
managers, foresters and park managers, environmental agencies but also administration of
cultural site or universities. It also includes many of the actors that have to comply with
environmental rules from the business sector.
New digital tools should be considered and innovative solutions should be proposed for an
optimal exploitation of the data, improved processing and distribution chains, e.g. cloud and
HPC computing, distributed computing, Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, ensemble
modelling, model coupling & nesting, software as-a-service.
The project should provide a proof-of-concept (e.g. system element targeting TRL 5-6) at
least demonstrating the feasibility of the integration in the existing core service.
Additionally, the transfer from research to operations should receive full attention during the
course of the project to strengthen the readiness for an operational deployment in the future.
Appropriate interaction with the relevant Entrusted Entity of the Copernicus services, the
conditions for making available, for re-using and exploiting the results (including IPR) by the
said entities must be addressed during the project implementation. The software should be
open licensed.
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The activities of the project should also contribute to the objectives set by the Group on Earth
Observation and outcomes and relevant results of the project should be promoted also at
international level through the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). In
addition, the project could contribute to the objectives set by the DestinE initiative.
Proposals shall address only one of the R&I areas. To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will
be awarded to proposals not only in order of ranking but at least also to those projects that are
the highest ranked so as to cover all the R&I areas, provided that the proposals attain all
threshold.
Applicants are advised to consult information on the Copernicus programme in general at
https://www.copernicus.eu/en and further details on the topic in the Guidance document229
.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Innovative space capabilities: SSA, GOVSATCOM, Quantum
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-62: Quantum technologies for space gravimetry
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        15.00 and 17.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 17.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Admissibility           The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                        background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                        SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                        classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
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                        In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                        strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security in the area of research
                        covered by this topic, it is important to avoid a situation of technological
                        dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires the EU
                        to take action to build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and address
                        any strategic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies
                        which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions. For this reason,
                        participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States,
                        Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom. The eligibility of entities
                        established in the UK to participate is conditional upon reciprocity of
                        access to equivalent UK programmes for entities established in Member
                        States, which will be assessed by the Commission as soon as such
                        programmes are established and in any event before the signature of the
                        grant agreements. Should the UK not open the participation in its relevant
                        programmes to entities established in Member States, this condition
                        would not be met and entities established in the UK will not be eligible to
                        participate in this topic.
                        For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph
                        above, in order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the
                        Union and its Member States, entities established in an eligible country
                        listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-
                        eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in
                        the action unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided
                        by their eligible country of establishment, that their participation to the
                        action would not negatively impact the Union’s strategic, assets, interests,
                        autonomy, or security230
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level         General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: • Support the EU space policy and the green deal by paving the way for
the deployment of a future EU Earth observation mission making use of quantum gravimetry
230
       The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
       to ensure that:
       (a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
       to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
       facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
       that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
       (b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
       to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
       security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
       (c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
       recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
       eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
       is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
       country in which the legal entity is established.
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• Ensure EU non-dependence for the development of capacities leading to the availability of
quantum space gravimetry
• Enhance the TRL of all (critical) components necessary to build quantum gravimetry for
space
These outcomes will contribute to securing the autonomy of supply for critical technologies
and equipment, and fostering the EU's space sector competitiveness, in line with the Expected
Impact of the destination.
Proposals must address all the above-mentioned, expected outcomes.
Scope: The scope of this topic is the development of EU technologies and components for a
space quantum gravimeter or gradiometer (this may include hybrid sensors, relying both on
quantum and classical technologies) and which will lead to the development of an
Engineering Model and its potential qualification for a pathfinder mission.
The enhancement of the TRL up to TRL5 for cold atom interferometry (including Bose-
Einstein Condensates) components is a key objective of this call. The scope also covers the
development of software simulation tools to analyse the different gravimetry mission concepts
linked to these sensors or processing and analysis of the sensor data. This also includes the
development and/or use of testbeds such as the Einstein elevator or any other system used to
recreate or simulate the space environment (including airborne testing) to test quantum
gravimeters technology components.
The priority for this topic is the development of the technology leading to the deployment of a
pathfinder mission based on cold atom interferometry demonstrating the gravimetric
performance.
The proposals should answer the whole scope of this topic.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Space entrepreneurship ecosystem (including "New Space" and start-ups) and skills
Actions under this section can also be found under 'Other Actions'.
Targeted and strategic actions supporting the EU space sector
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-81: Space technologies for European non-dependence
and competitiveness
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
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contribution per    2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project             appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                    selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget   The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.32 million.
Type of Action      Research and Innovation Actions
Admissibility       The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility         The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                    background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                    SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                    classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
                    In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                    strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security in the area of research
                    covered by this topic, it is important to avoid a situation of
                    technological dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that
                    requires the EU to take action to build on its strengths, and to carefully
                    assess and address any strategic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and high-
                    risk dependencies which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions. For
                    this reason, participation is limited to legal entities established in
                    Member States, Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom and to
                    International European Research Organisations. The eligibility of
                    entities established in the UK to participate is conditional upon
                    reciprocity of access to equivalent UK programmes for entities
                    established in Member States, which will be assessed by the
                    Commission as soon as such programmes are established and in any
                    event before the signature of the grant agreements. Should the UK not
                    open the participation in its relevant programmes to entities established
                    in Member States, this condition would not be met and entities
                    established in the UK will not be eligible to participate in this topic.
Technology          Activities are expected to achieve TRL7 (areas 10, 13, 14A, 22D) and
Readiness Level     TRL6-7 (area 17) by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements          Beneficiaries will be subject to the additional exploitation obligations:
                    For a period of up to 4 years after the end of the project, access rights
                    to the use of products and/or processes generated by the project shall be
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                        given to European entities, in compliance with the signed Grant
                        Agreement and with no legal restrictions and limitations stemming
                        from International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), EAR99 or
                        equivalent instruments applicable in other jurisdictions.
                        Applicants must acknowledge and incorporate this obligation in the
                        proposal and Annex I to the Grant Agreement.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   To reduce the dependence on critical technologies and capabilities from outside Europe
     for future space applications;
   To develop or regain in the mid-term the European capacity to operate independently in
     space;
   To enhance the technical capabilities and overall competitiveness of European space
     industry vendors on the worldwide market;
   To open new competition opportunities for European manufacturers by reducing
     dependency on export restricted technologies that are of strategic importance to future
     European space efforts;
   To improve the overall European space technology landscape and complement and/or
     create synergy with activities of European and national programmes either in the space
     or non-space fields.
Scope: Research and innovation to mature critical space technologies selected from the
European Commission-ESA-EDA Joint Task Force (JTF) List of Actions 2021-2023 shall be
implemented in 2021 for the following technology areas.
   [JTF-2021/23-10] - RF components
   [JTF-2021/23-13] - Passive & RF Passive components
   [JTF-2021/23-14] - A - Discrete power devices
   [JTF-2021/23-17] - Very high energy ion accelerators for component, shielding and
     radiobiology characterization
   [JTF-2021/23-22] - D - Replacement solutions for metallic lead (Pb)
Context information and high-level requirements, including description of scope, initial and
target TRLs, and, where applicable, references and information of related activities, are
provided in the JTF List of Actions 2021-2023. Accordingly, a technical guidance document,
based on the JTF List of Actions 2021-2023, is published on the Funding & Tenders Portal
outlining all relevant information to the selected actions.
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Proposals should address only one area. To ensure a balanced portfolio covering the areas
described above, grants will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but at
least also to one proposal that is the highest ranked within each area, provided that the
applications attain all thresholds.
Activities should be complementary and create synergies with other European activities in the
same domain either in the space or non-space fields. Technological spin in and/or bilateral
collaborations should be enhanced between European non-space and space industries,
including technology research institutes and academia. An assessment of commercial viability
of the supply chain should be done. Identification of critical dependencies and, if applicable, a
business plan for commercialization, including time to market indication, of the developed
product and/or full range of recurring products should be included.
To achieve the non-dependence objective, applicants must
     Describe the technologies and/or technology processes to be used and show that they are
      free of any legal export restrictions or limitations, such as those established in the
      International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Export Administration regulation
      (EAR) such as EAR99 or equivalent instruments applicable in other jurisdictions;
     Set up a suitable technology development process aiming at avoiding export restrictions
      of non-EU states and assess vulnerabilities of the supply chain.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Unless otherwise agreed with the granting authority, beneficiaries must ensure that none of
the entities that participate as affiliated entities, associated partners or subcontractors are
established in countries which are not eligible countries or target countries set out in the call
conditions.
Call - STRATEGIC AUTONOMY IN DEVELOPING, DEPLOYING AND USING
GLOBAL SPACE-BASED INFRASTRUCTURES, SERVICES, APPLICATIONS AND
DATA 2022
                                                                       HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)231
                    Topics                        Type        Budgets         Expected EU          Number
231
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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                                                of         (EUR         contribution per         of
                                             Action       million)       project (EUR        projects
                                                                           million)232       expected
                                                            2022                               to be
                                                                                              funded
                                       Opening: 02 Nov 2021
                                      Deadline(s): 16 Feb 2022
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-11 RIA                        26.00         20.00 to 26.00         1
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-12 IA                         5.10          1.00 to 2.00           3
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-13 IA                         8.10          2.00 to 3.00           3
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-21 RIA                        2.00          1.00 to 2.00           1
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-41 RIA                        10.00 233     8.00 to 10.00          1
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-42 RIA                        6.00 234      5.00 to 6.00           1
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-43 RIA                        5.00 235      4.00 to 5.00           1
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-62 RIA                        2.00          0.50 to 1.00           2
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-72 CSA                        3.00          2.00 to 3.00           1
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-81 RIA                        10.50 236     2.00 to 3.00           4
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-82 RIA                        8.00          1.00 to 1.50           6
Overall indicative budget                               85.70
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                  The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                               C.
232
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
233
        Of which EUR 8.39 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
234
        Of which EUR 5.02 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
235
        Of which EUR 4.15 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
236
        Of which EUR 10.47 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Foster competitiveness of space systems
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-11: Future space ecosystems: on-orbit operations,
preparation of orbital demonstration mission
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per     20.00 and 26.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 26.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Admissibility        The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                     background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                     SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                     classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve technology maturation up to TRL6 by
Readiness Level      the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: The expected outcomes of this topic is to prepare a European pioneering,
high-impact but low-cost orbital demonstration mission for On-Orbit Servicing (OOS) in
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2025-2026 period that will demonstrate and showcase European know-how, support market
generation, open new business opportunities, foster international cooperation and deliver a
long-lasting impact in the future space ecosystem.
Projects should in particular contribute to prepare and showcase a future space ecosystem
fostering the EU's space sector competitiveness, as stated in the expected impact of this
destination. Further building on modularity and enabling on-orbit servicing, assembly,
manufacturing and recycling, and facilitate a smooth transition between the short-term market
needs and future commercial possibilities while respecting the protection of the in-space
ecosystem.
Scope: R&I on phase B2-C mission study237 and target-oriented technology maturation (TRL
6) to prepare a low cost orbital demonstration mission integrating robotic and autonomy
technologies and technical building blocks with high-impact on future commercial services
applying and enhancing the European Operations Framework for OOS. Technology
maturation should aim at risk reduction of the intended pioneering orbital demonstration
mission as well as at raise of confidence on OOS applications in general. The designed
satellite platform should be compatible with a functional upgrade later in Phase D enabled by
functional satellite modules (Orbital Replaceable Units to deliver new/enhanced
functionality), developed outside this topic and able to be connected to the platform using a
pre-existing standard interface238 (plug-and-play concept).
R&I activities related to technology maturation in the area of GNC, autonomous localization
and termination, modern TM/TC data handling, low-cost and modular avionics, automated
rendezvous and capturing technologies as well as avionics and test-beds are also addressed in
topic HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01-23.
Work done on Space Robotics including the European Operations Framework (EOF) in
Horizon 2020, and especially on the phase A-B1 mission studies to be launched in 2020,
should be exploited where possible. The EOF guidelines239 should be applied to and enhanced
by the orbital demonstration mission.
Further reference is given in a technical guidance document240. Technical documents of the
previous studies in the H2020 Strategic Research Cluster Space Robotics Technologies241 are
available on the PERASPERA website.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
237
         according to ECSS-M-ST-10C
238
         Multi-functional interface for OOS applications providing at least transfer of mechanical loads, power
         and data (e.g. HOTDOCK, iSSI or SIROM)
239
         www.h2020-peraspera.eu
240
         Published on the EU funding and tenders portal (https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-
         tenders/opportunities/portal)
241
         www.h2020-peraspera.eu
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HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-12: Technologies and generic building blocks for
Electrical Propulsion
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 1.00
contribution per     and 2.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.10 million.
Type of Action       Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                     background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                     SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                     classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL5-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Future applications will require Electric Propulsion products. However,
since the exact evolution of space infrastructure and markets cannot be predicted, the
development of technology building blocks is an adequate approach to better react and to
adapt to needs.
Therefore, this topic aims at increasing the effort for maturing technologies and generic
building blocks towards both incremental and disruptive technologies for Electric Propulsion
systems products up to TRL 5/6 for thruster components, electric power architecture and
products, as well as fluidic management systems and components. Furthermore, the topic
addresses next generation industrial manufacturing processes and support to activities
intending to allow in orbit demonstration/validation (IOD/IOV).
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Strengthen, in the medium term, the European capacity to compete worldwide in electric
     propulsion satellites and missions
   Technologies matured to at least TRL 5/6 at component level
   Matured industrialisation aspects for high TRL solutions
   Contribution to the preparation of the evolution of electric propulsion systems including
     Hall Effect Thrusters (HET), Gridded Ion Engines (GIE), High Efficiency Multistage
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      Plasma Thrusters (HEMPT), in four power classes (very low up to 0,3 kW; low: 0,3-1,5
      kW; medium 3- 7 kW; high 12-20 kW).
Scope: The areas of R&I, which need to be addressed to tackle the above-expected outcomes,
are:
1) R&I on generic building blocks technologies for thruster components (anode configuration,
magnetic nozzle, cathode, materials, alternative propellants, new manufacturing processes).
2) R&I on electrical power architecture and related components (Power Processing Unit,
direct drive, etc.).
3) R&I on fluidic management system and related components.
Proposal may address one or several of the above mentioned areas and should consider
aspects of manufacturing, standardisation, diagnostics, characterisation in order to serve next
generation industrial manufacturing processes.
The scope of activities includes, where appropriate, the preparation of IOD/IOV
demonstration(s).
Proposals are expected to promote cooperation between different actors (industry, SMEs and
research institutions) and consider opportunities to quickly turn technological innovation into
commercial space usage.
Further reference is given in a technical guidance document242. Technical documents of the
previous studies in the H2020 Strategic Research Cluster Electric Propulsion243 are available
on the EPIC website.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-13: End-to-end Earth observation systems and
associated services
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 2.00
contribution per        and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.10 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
242
         Published on the EU            funding    and    tenders   portal (https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-
         tenders/opportunities/portal)
243
         www.epic-src.eu
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Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                        background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                        SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                        classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level         General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: The expected outcomes of this topic will enable flexible satellite Earth-
observation end-to-end systems, including the ground segment subsystem with explicit
aspects of ground control centres and operations, as a strong subject of the "new space" and a
very dynamic market environment with high potential. Competitiveness will be strengthened
by providing growing capacity, as well as flexibility and agility to face uncertainties and
market evolutions and improving system availability and latency to deliver high-quality
experience to end-users.
Projects are expected to contribute to one or several of the following outcomes:
   Maintain the worldwide leadership for Earth Observation system by 2028 addressing (1)
     reactive very high resolution and (2) smart persistent (up to video) Earth observation.
   Short to medium term disruptive development and maturation of key technologies (up to
     TRL6) for high performance Earth-observation.
   Contribute to EU non-dependence for the development of Earth-observation
     technologies.
   Ground segment that meets the increased demand for data rates and volumes, satellite
     constellations, higher frequencies, multi-mission data with increased needs for data
     fusion, AI techniques and infrastructure security.
   A European demonstrator mission by 2026-27, showcasing EU technologies in
     preparation of an IOD/V:
         Reduction by 50% the cost of sub-metric missions by 2027
         Image acquisition at below 50cm resolution anywhere in less than 1 hour from the
            user request
         Drastic time reduction between user request and image availability
         Preparing the ground segment subsystem for future modular, flexible and intelligent
            satellites.
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Scope: The areas of R&I, which needs to be addressed to tackle the above-expected outcomes
are:
1) R&I on end-to-end systems, in particular addressing aspects such as enhanced end-to-end
system autonomy or accelerating AIT processes for small/medium series production.
2) R&I on observation payload, in particular addressing technologies and concepts for
detectors and sensors, radar and optical (including IR/night capabilities) leading to e.g. very
high resolution at lower price and persistent observation up to video, as well as satellite and
platforms with on-board autonomy for data storage and image processing for end-to-end
performance.
3) R&I on scalable, automatable, flexible and resilient multi-mission solutions for ground
segment able to be adapted and operate efficiently in complex scenarios, which are necessary
for enhanced autonomy for fleet management and flexible mission planning. Proposals should
consider enabling technologies and solutions aiming at exploiting the potential synergies
between the Earth observation, satellite communication and on-orbit services domains.
Proposal should address only one area. To ensure a balanced portfolio covering the three areas
described above, grants will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but at
least also to one proposal that is the highest ranked within each area, provided that the
applications attain all thresholds.
Proposals are expected to promote cooperation between different actors (industry, SMEs and
research institutions) and consider opportunities to quickly turn technological innovation into
commercial use in space.
Proposals under this topic should explore synergies and be complementary to already funded
actions in the context of technology development at component level. In particular, the topics:
Critical Space Technologies for European non-dependence (H2020 SPACE-10-TEC-2018-
2020, H2020 COMPET-1-2014-2015-2016-2017); Earth observation technologies (H2020
COMPET-2-2017, H2020 EO-3-2015, H2020 SPACE-14-TEC-2018-2019). Furthermore,
activities must be complementary to national activities and activities funded by ESA, while
contributing to EU non-dependence.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Reinforce EU capacity to access and use space
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-21: Multi sites flexible industrial platform and
standardised technology for improving interoperability of European access to space
ground facilities
Specific conditions
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Expected EU      The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 1.00
contribution per and 2.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project          appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                 selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
budget
Type of Action   Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility      The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions       exceptions apply:
                 Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                 background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                 SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                 classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
                 In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                 strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security in the area of research
                 covered by this topic, it is important to avoid a situation of technological
                 dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires the EU
                 to take action to build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and address
                 any strategic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies
                 which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions. For this reason,
                 participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States,
                 Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom. The eligibility of entities
                 established in the UK to participate is conditional upon reciprocity of
                 access to equivalent UK programmes for entities established in Member
                 States, which will be assessed by the Commission as soon as such
                 programmes are established and in any event before the signature of the
                 grant agreements. Should the UK not open the participation in its relevant
                 programmes to entities established in Member States, this condition would
                 not be met and entities established in the UK will not be eligible to
                 participate in this topic.
                 For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph
                 above, in order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the
                 Union and its Member States, entities established in an eligible country
                 listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-
                 eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in
                 the action unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided
                 by their eligible country of establishment, that their participation to the
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                          action would not negatively impact the Union’s strategic, assets, interests,
                          autonomy, or security244
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL5-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level           General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute all the following outcomes:
     Contribution to the overall objective of launch cost/price reduction by 50% by 2030
      (with respect to A6/VegaC cost/price 2021 economic conditions), for the benefit of EU
      Space programmes implementation and towards reinforcing EU‘s independent capacity
      to access to space.
     Improve cost efficiency of existing European test, production and space launch facilities.
     Feasibility study of an industrial platform (perimeter, technologies, costs), including cost
      benefit assessment, of key technologies in representative conditions.
     Matured technologies up to TRL 5/6 standardised technology for improving cost
      efficiency, interoperability of access to space ground facilities in EU, ground assets
      portability to speed-up deployments.
These outcomes will contribute to enhance EU strategic autonomy and sector
competitiveness, in line with the Expected Impact of the destination.
Scope: Cost reduction and improving flexibility of European launch systems are the main
challenges in order to foster European industry competitiveness on the global market.
Europe needs to improve the cost efficiency of the access to space ground facilities and of
launch systems production and operations for the strategic launchers essential for the
implementation of EU space programme. It could benefit from the industry 4.0
transformational wave, which has the potential to exploit digitalisation and advanced data
management for lowering the cost of low production rate facilities and further improving
quality. In addition, EU access to space ground facilities needs to become interoperable
allowing to decrease the launch service costs.
244
         The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
         to ensure that:
         (a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
         to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
         facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
         that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
         (b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
         to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
         security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
         (c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
         recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
         eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
         is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
         country in which the legal entity is established.
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The activities address technologies maturation applicable to strategic launch systems able to
launch EU Space Programme components, with the objective of enabling operational
capacities by 2030.
The maturation will go up to TRL5/6.
The activities will address one or several of the following listed domains under a) and/or b):
  a. Multi sites flexible industrial platform:
         Feasibility study and maturation of key technologies in representative conditions of
            a flexible platform as a tool for existing and future European space launcher
            products, to enable a cost-efficient approach including existing Manufacturing
            Assembly Integration and Testing capabilities as design constraints, to increase
            economical robustness against variable production rates in the rocket industry and
            to optimise transfer from existing to new launcher productions
         To explore, including from other industrial sectors, the use of a value-stream
            mapping (including the material- and information flow) in the field of Design to
            Manufacturing, Integration, Maintenance and Operation capabilities including
            improvements based on advanced data management and Artificial Intelligence.
            Maturation of technologies, including for reusable parts of the launch systems.
  b. Develop standardised and cost effective innovative technologies to improve cost
      efficiency of existing Test and Launch facilities, their interoperability and
      compatibility/attractiveness for new users, including one or several of the following
      domains :
         modern data handling, data processing, diagnostic techniques
         eco-friendly technologies,
         automation and innovative controls,
         mobile telemetry systems, mobile payload preparation facilities,
         vacuum simulation test facilities,
         security and safety
All the activities should be complementary and coherent with the ESA on-going or future
activities, in particular those decided at the last ESA Ministerial held in November 2019.
Proposals should provide all IPR dependencies and dependencies with other on-going
activities, and detail the implementation, the reporting and the organisational as well as
steering measures that will be taken to ensure that the proposed activities can be implemented
and can achieve all the expected outcomes within the project schedule and budget.
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In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Evolution of space and ground infrastructure for Galileo/EGNOS
Actions under this section can be found under 'Other Actions'
Evolution of services of the EU space programme components: Copernicus
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-41: Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring
Service evolution
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       8.00 and 10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL5-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                       exceptions apply:
                       The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
   Enhanced quality and efficiency of the current service to respond to (a) policy and/or
      user requirements (b) technological developments implementing the space regulation (c)
      complementing the challenges targeted by the Horizon Europe Mission on “Healthy
      oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters” and can also contribute to the initiative United
      Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
   Development of efficient and reliable new products chains, calling for new paradigms in
      data fusion, data processing and data visualisation essential for the service to handle
      more high-volume satellite data sets and product sets. The baseline is to preserve
      continuity of what has been achieved while keeping the service modern and attractive.
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    Development of new algorithms and processing chains preparing the use of the new
      types of space observation data (being from new Sentinels or other contributing
      missions) in order to allow development of new products or the improvement of existing
      products.
Scope: The main scope of this R&I is the development of new and innovative models for
marine ecosystems monitoring and related biogeochemistry. These models will be used to
prepare Copernicus-based solutions for different policies areas and for the challenges related
to biodiversity conservation. Some specific domains will be the exploitation of the dynamics
of the biological component of the ocean in terms of ‘fauna and flora’, how this marine living
component behaves in relation to the ocean physics (temperature, currents, sediments), its
biochemistry composition (in particular the plankton-to-fish links), climate change and the
man-made pressures (e.g. transport, pollution, fisheries, etc.).
With an integrated modelling approach, the integration of new observational data becomes a
driver for further enhancement and improved realism of the already existing production
chains, assimilation systems and coupled models. The development of advanced processing
and modelling techniques, as well as the exploitation of new sources of data, will be targeted
to create new products or significantly improve the quality and performances of existing
elements-components for the benefit of users. The projects should take into account the
existing service and clearly define to what extent service will be improved with new elements
or products, including the use of enhanced models, algorithms, tools and techniques to
generate new products.
Proposals are expected to provide tangible results (new or improved products or service
elements) for the Copernicus service within the period 2021-2027. The proposed research and
development should be modular and scalable. The project should provide a proof-of-concept
(e.g. system element targeting TRL 5-6) at least demonstrating the feasibility of the
integration in the existing core service. The activities of the project should also contribute to
the objectives set by the Group on Earth Observation and outcomes and relevant results of the
project should be promoted also at international level through the Global Earth Observation
System of Systems (GEOSS). In addition, the project could contribute to the objectives set by
the DestinE initiative and by the Marine Digital twin under development following the H2020
Green Deal call.
New technological tools should be considered and innovative solutions should be proposed
for better data exploitation, processing and distribution, e.g. move to cloud and HPC
computing, distributed computing, Artificial Intelligence and machine learning (e.g. for
automatic feature recognition), ensemble modelling, model coupling & nesting, software as-a-
service.
Additionally, the transfer of research results to possible operations should receive active
attention during the course of the project to strengthen the readiness for an operational
deployment in the future. Appropriate interaction with the relevant Entrusted Entity of the
Copernicus services, the conditions for making available, for re-using and exploiting the
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results (including IPR) by the said entities must be addressed during the project
implementation. Software should be open licensed.
Applicants are advised to consult information on the Copernicus programme in general at
https://www.copernicus.eu/en and further details on the topic in the Guidance document245
.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-42: Copernicus                            Anthropogenic        CO₂      Emissions
Monitoring & Verification Support (MVS) capacity
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        5.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL5-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level         General Annex B.
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Expected Outcome: The expected outcome is the continuation of the set up of the new
Copernicus element for the monitoring of anthropogenic CO2 emissions that includes:
Scope: The areas of R&I, which needs to be addressed to tackle the above expected outcomes:
     New and innovative methodologies to improve the definition of the correlations between
      emissions of co-emitted species (CO2, NO2, CO, CH4) in support of CO2 fossil fuel
      emission estimation
     New and innovative methods to better use of auxiliary observations such as 14C
      (radiocarbon), SIF (Solar Induced Fluorescence), and APO (Atmospheric Potential
      Oxygen) to separate anthropogenic CO2 emissions from the natural variability of CO2
245
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To enable the EU to move towards a low-carbon economy and implement its commitments
under the Paris Agreement, a binding target to cut emissions in the EU by at least 40% below
1990 levels by 2030 was set and the European Commission President von der Leyen
committed to deepen this target to at least 55% reduction by 2030. This was further
consolidated with the release of the Commission's European Green Deal on the 11th of
December 2019, setting the targets for the European environment, economy and society to
reach zero net emissions of greenhouse gases in 2050, outlining all needed technological and
societal transformations that are aiming at combining prosperity and sustainability.
The main objective is to perform R&D activities identified as priorities for the Copernicus
CO2MVS capacity as identified by the European Commission’s CO2 monitoring Task
Force246 .
The activities should support the further development of the foreseen European operational
monitoring support capacity for fossil fuel CO2 emissions. These activities should
complement or follow-up on the activities within the H2020-funded CO2 Human Emissions
(CHE)247 project and the Prototype system for a Copernicus CO2 service (CoCO2)248 project.
The activities, as described in the Guidance document, should address a series of scientific
and critical system design issues, which were defined following outcomes of the CHE project
and based on recommendations from the CO2 monitoring Task Force.
More generally, this action should support the development of an integrated support capacity,
enabling European experts to collectively share their knowledge and join forces on the
multiple fronts required to develop such a system with operational capabilities.
The activities should fulfil the technological and scientific requirements for the development
of this European operational capacity, to further improve the prototype system to better meet
user requirements and to exploit synergies with other Copernicus services.
Proposals are expected to provide tangible results (new or improved products or service
elements) for the Copernicus service within the period 2021-2027. The proposed research and
development should be modular and scalable. The project should provide a proof-of-concept
(e.g. system element targeting TRL 5-6) at least demonstrating the feasibility of the
integration in the existing core service. The activities of the project should also contribute to
the objectives set by the Group on Earth Observation and outcomes and relevant results of the
project should be promoted also at international level through the Global Earth Observation
System of Systems (GEOSS). In addition, the project could potentially contribute to the
objectives set by the DestinE initiative.
Additionally, the transfer of research results to possible operations should receive active
attention during the course of the project to strengthen the readiness for an operational
deployment in the future. Appropriate interaction with the relevant Entrusted Entity of the
246
        https://www.copernicus.eu/en/news/news/new-co2-green-report-2019-published
247
        https://www.che-project.eu/
248
        https://www.coco2-project.eu
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Copernicus services, the conditions for making available, for re-using and exploiting the
results (including IPR) by the said entities must be addressed during the project
implementation. Software should be open licensed.
Applicants are advised to consult information on the Copernicus programme in general at
https://www.copernicus.eu/en and further details on the topic in the Guidance document249
.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-43: Copernicus Land Monitoring Service evolution
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        4.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL5-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level         General Annex B.
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
     Enhanced quality and efficiency of the current service to respond respectively to policy
      and/or user requirements and to technological developments.
     Development of efficient and reliable new products chains, calling for new paradigms in
      data fusion, data processing and data visualisation essential for the service to handle
      more high-volume satellite data sets and product sets. The baseline is to preserve
      continuity of what has been achieved while keeping the service modern and attractive.
Development of new algorithms and processing chains preparing for the use of the new types
of space observation data (being from new Sentinels or other contributing missions) in order
to allow development of new products or the improvement of existing products.
249
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Scope: Since 2013, CLMS has developed core products for the monitoring of natural
resources and the assessment of land cover and land use changes, including land cover
conditions. At European level, land cover mapping is carried out on a regular basis, every 6
years for CORINE and every 3 years for the thematic ‘High Resolution Layers” (HRL). The
local component dealing with land cover mapping on specific areas like riparian areas, urban
zones and Natura 2000 sites, is following the same approach with a 6 years cycle but at very
high resolution. At Global level, an annual land cover mapping has been proposed since 2015
at mid resolution, the evolution to high resolution is also envisaged.
Vegetation, Inland Water and Cryosphere conditions are also monitored but on a regular
basis, mainly ten-daily basis at mid-resolution for the Global and European levels.
These mapping and monitoring approaches were partly conditioned by the availability of
satellite data. The deployment of the full Earth Observation capacities of Copernicus and the
complementarities between the instruments, including outside Copernicus environment,
allows to rethink of the approach including for providing a better answer to the policy needs.
The R&I has the main scope to develop new and innovative methods to combine and explore
data with different spatial and temporal characteristics using automatic processing for land
cover and land cover status change assessment. A more dynamic approach (e.g. annual
overviews or early warning or alert systems) and the integration of various sensors will
enhance the development of specific automatic processing approaches for real and near real
time data processing to respond to emerging European policy needs.
With an integrated modelling approach, the integration of new observational data becomes a
driver for further enhancement and improved realism of the already existing production
chains, assimilation systems and coupled models. The development of advanced processing
(also including AI and HPC) and modelling techniques, as well as the exploitation of new
sources of data, will be targeted to create new products or significantly improve the quality
and performances of existing elements-components for the benefit of users.
The project should take into account the existing service and clearly define to what extent the
service will be improved with new elements or products, including the use of enhanced
models, algorithms, tools and techniques to generate new product(s).
Proposals are expected to provide tangible results (new or improved products or service
elements) for the Copernicus service within the period 2021-2027. The proposed research and
development should be modular and scalable. The project should provide a proof-of-concept
(e.g. system element targeting TRL5-6) at least demonstrating the feasibility of the integration
in the existing core service. The activities of the project should also contribute to the
objectives set by the Group on Earth Observation and outcomes and relevant results of the
project should be promoted also at international level through the Global Earth Observation
System of Systems (GEOSS). In addition, the project could potentially contribute to the
objectives set by the DestinE initiative.
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Additionally, the transfer of research results to possible operations should receive active
attention during the course of the project to strengthen the readiness for an operational
deployment in the future. Appropriate interaction with the relevant Entrusted Entity of the
Copernicus services, the conditions for making available, for re-using and exploiting the
results (including IPR) by the said entities must be addressed during the project
implementation. Software should be open licensed.
Applicants are advised to consult information on the Copernicus programme in general at
https://www.copernicus.eu/en and further details on the topic in the Guidance document250
.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Innovative space capabilities: SSA, GOVSATCOM, Quantum
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-62: Space Weather
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        0.50 and 1.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL3-4 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level         General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Commonly occurring space weather events (SWE) have the potential to
affect the performance of critical space and ground infrastructure by disrupting operations and
communications in multiple sectors of society. In addition, “extreme SWE” could have
devastating societal and economic consequences with potential costs for disruptions and
damages estimated in tens or even hundreds of billions of Euros.
Space weather technological research for new precursor services: the worldwide goal of space
weather activities should be to monitor and forecast SWE just like terrestrial weather.
However, direct physical simulation is currently not achievable for an operational Sun to
Earth system, due in part to the lack of measurements and to the complexity of the involved
250
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processes, as well as different timescales involved. Current space weather models are
generally not capable of forecasting events over several days. A longer forecasting horizon
would require access to data from new observation infrastructure coupled with new and
improved modelling capabilities. Research and innovation activities should address
application domains that may include space as well as terrestrial infrastructure. Proposals
should include architectural concepts of possible European space weather services in relation
to the application domains addressed and they should demonstrate complementarity to Space
Weather services developed through the Space Situational Awareness component of the EU
Space Programme.
   Prepare Europe for a full exploitation of space weather data by a renewed effort on
     modelling and forecasting using currently available data.
   Develop concepts to provide space weather data, forecasts and warnings with criteria on
     (timely) availability, harmonized (data) standards and quality control similar to the best-
     practices of meteorological services (as e.g. documented by the World Meteorological
     Organisation WMO).
   Improve scientific understanding of the origin and evolution of space weather
     phenomena.
   Improving SWE restitution and prediction capabilities using artificial intelligence / deep
     learning techniques.
   Develop new services for both scientific purposes and terrestrial infrastructure
     monitoring.
   Acceleration innovation of enabling technologies (maturing, prototyping, on ground tests
     including exploratory ground based instrumentations research)
   Identified and matured concepts up to TRL 3-4
Scope:
   New modelling including ab-initio simulations to understand fundamental Sun-Earth
     physical mechanisms and their sensitivity to parameter change for improved forecasting
     skills, and forecasting techniques capable of improving the restitution quality and
     extending the time horizon of a future space weather forecasting capability to several
     days.
   Proposals should address the development of modelling capabilities and/or the delivery
     of prototype services able to interpret a broad range of observations of the Sun’s corona
     and magnetic field, of the Sun-Earth interplanetary space and of the Earth
     magneto/iono/thermo-sphere coupling relying on existing observation capacities.
   Validate and harmonize the currently available data from existing services and identify
     gaps in data and model availability.
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   Training of models using deep-learning techniques based on existing large aggregated
      databases from space measurements.
   Inventory of potential early indicators of extreme space weather events.
   Complementary and coherent activities with the ESA on-going or future activities in
      particular those decided at the last ESA Ministerial held in November 2019.
   On ground demonstration tests
   Ground instruments: densification of ground                     instrument   networks   and
      development/improvement of new instrument concepts
   Complementary and coherent activities with existing space weather services with a
      significant involvement of European and national scientific institutions and stakeholders.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Space entrepreneurship ecosystems (including "New Space" and start-ups) and skills
Actions under this section can also be found under 'Other Actions'.
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-72: Education and skills for the EU space sector
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   A structured overview of the educational offer in the EU, including continuing education
      for the EU space sector.
   Socio-economic analysis of the space-oriented student population and identification of
      gaps/shortcomings and excellences across the EU-27 and Associated Countries.
   Identification of the needs for education and skills in the EU space sector and of
      potential new educational knowledge answering emerging and future needs
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    Assessment of the adequacy between curricula and sector needs;
    Actions for the promotion of space jobs and career in Bachelor and Master courses
    Creation of educational material for jobs related to Earth observation and Positioning
     Navigation and Timing, in particular downstream.
    In relation to the expected impact, these outcomes will contribute to foster the EU space
     sector competitiveness by enhancing the adequacy between the needs of the sector and
     the qualification of the workforce and reinforce EU capacity to develop products and
     services with a higher level of autonomy.
Scope: Competitiveness and innovation of the EU space sector depends on the availability of
high educational standards and skilled professionals across a range of qualifications and the
possibility for these professionals to upgrade and update their skills. This is also in the interest
of the research and innovation community where the quality of the results and the impact of
EU-funded research is a precursor of the future space sector. The EU also plays a role in the
aligning of educational degrees to provide more opportunities and promote mobility of
professionals and researchers across countries and sectors.
The scope of this action encompasses:
    The analysis of the main curricula and courses available and existing educational
     standards across the EU-27 at bachelor, master and post-graduate levels as well as
     continuing education (training and staff qualification / certification). The study should
     provide an overview of the ‘supply’ of space-oriented education and of the ‘demand’, a
     quantitative analysis of the ‘stocks & flows’ of students at the different levels eventually
     employed in the space sector at large (academia, government agencies, upstream
     industry, downstream industry) including socio-economic aspects (e.g. gender,
     educational background, family income, parents’ education, residence geography, etc.),
     and a comparative analysis of the cost/time to achieve a degree. This should be
     supported by extensive, in-depth quantitative and fact-based evidence and encompass
     EU-27 and Associated Countries.
    The analysis of the skills required and reskilling needs of the R&I and the industrial
     community (across the entire supply chain, ranging from upstream space to downstream
     space) will be performed and structured, presumably along existing educational modules
     (e.g. electrical, mechanical, telecommunication, system engineering, physics,
     psychology, medicine). The analysis should engage both industry and educational
     institutions. It should not be limited to technical, scientific, engineering disciplines but
     also includes the essential soft skills needed, such as the ability to work in a diverse
     multidisciplinary team, to communicate efficiently, to create new activities and
     businesses, etc. An assessment of the number of professionals needed in the different
     sectors will be produced, based on fact-based and in-depth quantitative analysis of the
     demographics across EU-27, the current/projected enrolment rate into space-oriented
     disciplines, the success rate, etc. This will also include an exploratory look at future
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     skills, which the space sector will need in the future. The analysis should take into
     consideration results stemming from existing activities funded under Horizon 2020, e.g.
     the EO4GEO project (http://www.eo4geo.eu) and the PERSEUS project
     https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/640211
   The analysis of the match between needs and offer across the whole of EU-27 will be
     analysed and recommendations made to ensure a better match between the needs and the
     offer in the coming years. For this, a benchmarking of the career opportunities for space-
     oriented graduates coming from different universities across the EU-27 and Associated
     Countries (e.g. time to first employment, average salary after 3-5-7 years, etc.) will be
     performed. An assessment of the net inflows/outflows within EU-27 and Associated
     Countries and with non-EU countries will be carried out.
   In particular, the co-operation between academia and industry in the field of PhD studies
     will be assessed and measures to promote the research experience of the academic
     personnel proposed.
   The use of continuous learning “in-company” and “out-of-company” supported by the
     new digital technologies with guaranteed quality e.g. Massive Online Open Course
     (MOOC) will be assessed and promoted.
   Promotion of the space sector jobs and careers (in particular where there is a strong
     demand for qualified workforce) and information about the different curricula and
     disciplines of interest for such careers in Bachelor and Master studies.
   Creation of course modules in relation to the 2 EU flagship constellations Copernicus
     and Galileo for jobs related earth observation and PNT, in particular for the downstream
     sector.
Up to 1 project will be funded.
Targeted and strategic actions supporting the EU space sector
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-81: Space technologies for European non-dependence
and competitiveness
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.50 million.
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Type of Action      Research and Innovation Actions
Admissibility       The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility         The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                    background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                    SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                    classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
                    In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s
                    strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security in the area of research
                    covered by this topic, it is important to avoid a situation of
                    technological dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that
                    requires the EU to take action to build on its strengths, and to carefully
                    assess and address any strategic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and high-
                    risk dependencies which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions. For
                    this reason, participation is limited to legal entities established in
                    Member States, Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom and to
                    International European Research Organisations. The eligibility of
                    entities established in the UK to participate is conditional upon
                    reciprocity of access to equivalent UK programmes for entities
                    established in Member States, which will be assessed by the
                    Commission as soon as such programmes are established and in any
                    event before the signature of the grant agreements. Should the UK not
                    open the participation in its relevant programmes to entities established
                    in Member States, this condition would not be met and entities
                    established in the UK will not be eligible to participate in this topic.
Technology          Activities are expected to achieve TRL7 (areas 11, 14B, 15, 29) and
Readiness Level     TRL5 (area 9A) by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements          Beneficiaries will be subject to the additional exploitation obligations:
                    For a period of up to 4 years after the end of the project, access rights
                    to the use of products and/or processes generated by the project shall be
                    given to European entities, in compliance with the signed Grant
                    Agreement and with no legal restrictions and limitations stemming
                    from International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), EAR99 or
                    equivalent instruments applicable in other jurisdictions.
                    Applicants must acknowledge and incorporate this obligation in the
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                         proposal and Annex I to the Grant Agreement.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   To reduce the dependence on critical technologies and capabilities from outside Europe
      for future space applications;
   To develop or regain in the medium term the European capacity to operate
      independently in space;
   To enhance the technical capabilities and overall competitiveness of European space
      industry vendors on the worldwide market;
   To open new competition opportunities for European manufacturers by reducing
      dependency on export restricted technologies that are of strategic importance to future
      European space efforts;
   To improve the overall European space technology landscape and complement and/or
      create synergy with activities of European and national either in the space or non-space
      fields.
Scope: Research and innovation to mature critical space technologies selected from the
European Commission-EDA-ESA Joint Task Force (JTF) list of Actions 2021-2023 shall be
implemented for the following technology areas.
   [JTF-2021/23-9] - A - High performance, cost effective multi - junction solar cells
      for space applications
   [JTF-2021/23-11] - Space qualified RF GaN components and demonstrators
   [JTF-2021/23-14] - B - Integrated circuits for power applications
   [JTF-2021/23-15] - High challenges for PCBs and SMT (Surface Mount
      Technologies)
   [JTF-2021/23-29] - Thermal insulation systems based on aerogels for Space
Context information and high-level requirements, including description of scope, initial and
target TRLs, and, where applicable, references and information of related activities, are
provided in the JTF List of Actions 2021-2023. Accordingly, a technical guidance document,
based on the JTF List of Actions 2021-2023, is published on the Funding & Tenders Portal
outlining all relevant information to the selected actions.
Proposals should address only one area. To ensure a balanced portfolio covering the areas
described above, grants will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but at
least also to one proposal that is the highest ranked within each area, provided that the
applications attain all thresholds.
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Activities should be complementary and create synergies with other European activities in the
same domain either in the space or non-space fields. Technological spin in and/or bilateral
collaborations should be enhanced between European non-space and space industries,
including technology research institutes and academia. An assessment of commercial viability
of the supply chain should be done. Identification of critical dependencies and, if applicable, a
business plan for commercialization, including time to market indication, of the developed
product and/or full range of recurring products should be included.
To achieve the non-dependence objective, applicants must
   Describe the technologies and/or technology processes to be used and show that they are
      free of any legal export restrictions or limitations, such as those established in the
      International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Export Administration regulation
      (EAR) such as EAR99 or equivalent instruments applicable in other jurisdictions;
   Set up a suitable technology development process aiming at avoiding export restrictions
      of non-EU states and assess vulnerabilities of the supply chain.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Unless otherwise agreed with the granting authority, beneficiaries must ensure that none of
the entities that participate as affiliated entities, associated partners or subcontractors are
established in countries which are not eligible countries or target countries set out in the call
conditions
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01-82: Space science and exploration technologies
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       1.00 and 1.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL3-4 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Enable breakthroughs in technologies and scientific instrumentation for space science
      and exploration missions including those described in the Global Exploration Roadmap
      from the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG).
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   Validation of novel space/planetary robotic technologies and instrumentation through
      analogue tests.
   Increased collaboration of scientific, engineering and industrial teams both within and
      outside Europe across different domains.
   To strengthen European scientific excellence and support the development of leading
      edge scientific and technologic research in Europe
Scope: The development of innovative instrumentation (payload) and technologies enabling
space science and exploration missions requires timely technology development associated
with future space science and exploration missions, including robotic exploration
technologies, early stage scientific instrumentation and component technologies for space
resources utilisation and space observatories. The development of new and innovative
approaches, such as instruments for Cubesats and other small space platforms, including
planetary entry probe, or the use of Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components is
encouraged as long as it contributes to the implementation of space science and exploration
missions with significant scientific outputs.
Advances are expected in support to on-site activities such as innovative measurement
techniques, increased sensitivity, increased robustness, faster and more accurate data
processing or in-situ sample and data analysis.
The proposed activities should target primarily European and European-led space science and
exploration missions or international missions where the participation of European partners
provides demonstrated added value in technological development and scientific output.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
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DESTINATION                –      A      HUMAN-CENTRED                   AND         ETHICAL
DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL AND INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES
This destination will directly support the following Key Strategic Orientations, as outlined in
the Strategic Plan:
    KSO D, Creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society,
      prepared and responsive to threats and disasters, addressing inequalities and providing
      high-quality health care, and empowering all citizens to act in the green and digital
      transitions
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway contributing to
the following expected impact:
    A human-centred and ethical development of digital and industrial technologies,
      through a two-way engagement in the development of technologies, empowering end-
      users and workers, and supporting social innovation.
As Europe takes the lead in the green and digital transitions, workers, regions, and societies
are faced with extremely fast transformations, and will be differently affected by these
changes. The rapid adoption of new technologies offers an immense potential for improved
standards of living, safer mobility, better healthcare, new jobs, or the personalisation of public
services. At the same time, it presents risks such as skills mismatches, digital divides,
customer lock-in, or serious breaches of security or privacy.
As Europe sets off on its path to recovery towards a greener, digital and more resilient
economy and society, the need to improve and adapt skills, knowledge and competences
becomes all the more important. Developments in digital and enabling technologies have the
potential to enhance social inclusion, can inform up-skilling training programmes and ensure
a two-way engagement with society with regard to developing technologies.
The issue of trust has become central in the use of technologies, following revelations about
the exploitation of personal data, large-scale cybersecurity and data breaches, and growing
awareness of online disinformation. As outlined in the White Paper on Artificial Intelligence
(COM(2020)65), for AI technologies, trust requires in particular improving transparency
(explainability, expected levels of performance). For the Internet, increasing trust requires
new tools and services to ensure that GDPR is a reality for end-users.
It is also an opportunity for Europe to re-gain presence on the consumer electronics market,
by developing new interactive applications in various sectors with solutions meeting
European values and requirements in terms of privacy and security. The COVID-19 crisis has
also shown how important distance and innovative learning is for society.
Actions under this Destination will support EU objectives of inclusiveness, by supporting a
human-centred approach to technology development that is aligned with European social and
ethical values, as well as sustainability. These actions will further contribute to addressing the
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challenges faced by European industry and support the creation of sustainable, high-quality
jobs by targeting skills mismatches, the need to empower workers, and ethical considerations
relating to technological progress.
Actions should devote particular attention to openness of the solutions and results, and
transparency of the research process. To ensure trustworthiness, public awareness and
support, wide adoption by user communities for the benefit of society, actions should promote
the highest standards of transparency and openness. Actions should ensure that the processes
and outcomes of research and innovation align with the needs, values and expectations of
society, in line with Responsible Research and Innovation.
This Destination is structured into the following headings, which group topics together with
similar outcomes to address a common challenge:
    Leadership in AI based on trust
The objective of this heading is to ensure autonomy for Europe in AI, leading the way in
research, development and deployment of world-class technologies that are beneficial to
humans individually, organisationally and societally, and that adheres to European values,
such as the principles reflected in our fundamental rights and environmental sustainability.
Technologies need to be developed that industries and citizens will trust, so and that they
could be applied in a wide range of applications and industrial sectors. Trustworthy AI is
particularly key in applications such as (but not limited to) healthcare or in diverse critical
infrastructures such as energy and transportation.
Some topics of this heading are under the co-programmed Partnership ‘AI, Data and
Robotics’.
Proposals are encouraged to link with relevant European Institute of Innovation and
Technology (EIT) and its Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), in particular the
EIT Digital.
EIT Digital plays role in shaping technologies and innovations that work for people. At least
two of its focus areas, Digital Wellbeing and Digital Cities, address directly topics such as
ethical artificial intelligence, predictive analytics or augmented and virtual reality that are
relevant to this areas. The solutions will benefit from the increasing will of citizens to
participate in the sharing economy. EIT Digital, through projects with cities for example,
improves engagement and inclusiveness of the citizens and of the visitors by increasingly
organising and exposing data, especially in real time and along with analytics and machine
learning. Augmented and virtual reality of the cities are another facet of exposing or
simulating city data from the past, present or future to the benefit of citizens.
    An Internet of Trust
The issue of trust in the internet has become central, following revelations about the
exploitation of personal data, large-scale cybersecurity and data breaches, and growing
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awareness of online disinformation. A 2019 survey251 shows that half of the global internet
users are more concerned about their online privacy compared to a year previously. Distrust in
the Internet is causing people to change the way they behave online, for example by
disclosing less personal information. Users also express an increasing level of distrust of
social media platforms.
The objective of this heading is to develop a trustworthy digital environment, built on a more
resilient, sustainable, and decentralised internet, to empower end-users with more control over
their data and their digital identity, and to enable new social and business models respecting
European values.
     eXtended Reality (XR)
Due to its low presence in the consumer electronics industry, Europe is increasingly
dependent on external providers in this area. This raises concerns about its digital sovereignty
in crucial domains such as digital interaction services that are being adopted by a growing
number of European users and industries. The COVID-19 crisis has shown how important
distance and innovative learning is for society, our children, their parents and their teachers,
maintaining social and educational links under challenging circumstances. Emerging
technologies such as virtual reality, eXtended Reality or immersive environments provide
numerous opportunities for personalised, innovative, efficient and inclusive learning, for
learners of all ages, gender and condition
The objective of this heading is to gain industrial leadership in eXtended Reality technologies
and immersive environments, while ensuring the European values of privacy, ethics and
inclusiveness. It also aims to support the digital transformation of education through these
technologies in particular.
     Systemic approaches to make the most of the technologies within society and industry.
This heading promotes various systemic approaches to encourage creativity and make the
most of the technologies developed elsewhere within society and industry. They include
testing ideas in local communities; support for IP, standardisation and industry-academia
exchanges; art-driven design; and assessments of complex socio-economic systems. These are
complemented by support for a network of National Contact Points (NCPs), with a special
emphasis on engaging with new actors.
Activities beyond R&I investments will be needed to realise the expected impacts: testing,
experimentation, demonstration, and support for take-up using the capacities, infrastructures,
and European Digital Innovation Hubs made available under the Digital Europe Programme;
further development of skills and competencies via the European Institute of Innovation and
Technology, in particular EIT Digital and EIT Manufacturing; upscaling of trainings via the
European Social Fund +; use of financial instruments under the InvestEU Fund for further
commercialisation of R&I outcomes; and links to the thematic smart specialisation platform
on industrial modernisation
251
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Expected impact
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
to a human-centred and ethical development of digital and industrial technologies, and
more specifically to one or several of the following impacts:
     Increased inclusiveness, by supporting a human-centred approach to technology
      development that is aligned with European social and ethical values, as well as
      sustainability;
     Sustainable, high-quality jobs by targeting skills mismatches, the need to empower
      workers, and ethical considerations relating to technological progress252.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                 Call                               Budgets (EUR million)         Deadline(s)
                                                   2021                  2022
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01 206.00                                                 21 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-01                                          70.50         05 Apr 2022
HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-02                                          50.50         16 Nov 2022
Overall indicative budget                 206.00                   121.00
252
        2019 CIGI-Ipsos Global Survey on Internet Security and Trust
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Call - A HUMAN-CENTRED AND ETHICAL DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL AND
INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES 2021
                                                                     HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)253
                   Topics                          Type       Budgets         Expected EU         Number
                                                     of        (EUR          contribution per         of
                                                  Action      million)        project (EUR         projects
                                                                               million)254        expected
                                                                2021                                to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 21 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-01 RIA                             36.00        Around 4.00             9
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-02 CSA                             13.00        4.00 to 9.00            2
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-03 RIA                             9.00         Around 9.00             1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-04 RIA                             12.00        Around 12.00            1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-05 RIA                             17.00        Around 8.50             2
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-06 IA                              26.00        8.00 to 9.00            3
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-07 CSA                             2.00         Around 2.00             1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-08 CSA                             2.00         Around 2.00             1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-09 CSA                             1.50         Around 1.50             1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-13 RIA                             14.50        Around 4.80             3
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-14 RIA                             6.00         Around 6.00             1
253
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
254
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-17 CSA                       1.00        Around 1.00          1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-18 CSA                       1.00        Around 1.00          1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-19 CSA                       5.00        Around 5.00          1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-20 CSA                       2.00        Around 2.00          1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-21 RIA                       8.50        Around 2.80          3
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-24 RIA                       10.00       3.00 to 3.50         3
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-25 IA                        14.00       5.00 to 8.00         2
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-26 RIA                       5.00        Around 5.00          1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-27 RIA                       13.00       Around 6.50          2
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-28 CSA                       2.50        Around 2.50          1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-29 CSA                       2.50        Around 2.50          1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-30 CSA                       1.50        Around 1.50          1
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-31 CSA                       1.00        Around 1.00          1
Overall indicative budget                              206.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                            The conditions are described in General
                                                    Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                    Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and              The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                           C.
Award criteria                                      The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                    D.
Documents                                           The documents are described in General
                                                    Annex E.
Procedure                                           The procedure is described in General
                                                    Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant             The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
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Leadership in AI based on trust
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-01: Verifiable robustness, energy efficiency and
transparency for Trustworthy AI: Scientific excellence boosting industrial
competitiveness (AI, Data and Robotics Partnership) (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                        requesting different amounts.
Indicative              The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 36.00 million.
budget
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Technology              Activities are expected to start at TRL 2-3 and achieve TRL 4-5 by the
Readiness Level         end of the project – see General Annex B.
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                        apply:
                        To ensure a balanced portfolio covering a broad range of AI research
                        areas and approaches, grants will be awarded to applications not only in
                        order of ranking but at least also to the three highest ranked proposals in
                        the research area addressing novel or promising approaches to advance
                        “intelligence” and autonomy of AI-based systems, and at least to the top
                        ranked proposal within each of the four other research areas, provided that
                        the applications attain all thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to at least one of the following
expected outcomes:
     World-class transparent, explainable, accountable and trustworthy AI, based on smarter,
      safer, secure, resilient, accurate, robust, reliable and dependable solutions.
     Improved AI solutions aiming to meet the industrial 255 requirements in terms of
      autonomy, accuracy, safety, repeatability, robustness, resilience, security, etc.
     Greener AI.
     Next level of AI-based solutions, exploiting the intelligence embedded in the edge-to
      cloud infrastructure
255
        Including all industries from manufacturing to service, both public and private.
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    Advances in complex systems & socially aware AI
Scope: Develop trustworthy AI technology, key for acceptance, to take full advantage of the
huge benefits such technology can offer, and demonstrate the benefits in particular
applications. This will require improvement in transparency: explainability, accountability
and responsibility, safety, expected levels of technical performance (accuracy, robustness,
level of ‘intelligence’ and autonomy, etc.) which are guaranteed/verifiable and with
corresponding confidence levels.
Build the next level of “intelligence” and autonomy, essential to scale-up deployment, in
solving wider set and more complex problems, adapting to new situations and context
knowledge, addressing real-time performance requirements and data and energy efficiency,
also for greener AI and robotics solutions. This will investigate approaches such as integration
of both learning and reasoning, causality, contextualization and knowledge discovery, hybrid
semi-parametric models (combining laws of physics with observations, aka physics-informed
machine learning), human-in-the loop approaches, etc.
Contribute to making AI and robotics solutions meet the requirements of Trustworthy AI,
based on the respect of the ethical principles, the fundamental rights, including privacy. Ethics
principles needs to be adopted from early stages of AI development and design.
In this topic, solid scientific developments will be complemented, as relevant, by tools and
processes for design, testing and validation, certification (where appropriate), software
engineering methodologies, as well as approaches to modularity and interoperability, aimed at
real-world applications. Where appropriate proposals are encouraged to propose
standardisation methods to foster AI industry, helping to create, and guarantee trustworthy
and ethical AI, and in support of the Commission regulatory framework.
Scientific proposals are expected to focus on advancing the state of the art in one of the major
research areas below:
  1. Novel or promising learning (such as unsupervised, self-supervised, representational
      learning capable of contextualization, transfer learning, life-long and continual learning,
      etc.) as well as symbolic and hybrid approaches. The objective is to advance
      “intelligence” and autonomy of AI-based systems, essential to scale-up deployment,
      in solving a wider set of more complex problems, adapting to new situations (making
      them “smarter”, more accurate, robust, dependable, versatile, reliable, secured, safer,
      etc.), and addressing real-time performance requirements, where relevant, for both
      robotics and non-embodied AI systems. This will include, among others, integration of
      both learning and reasoning, combining data-driven and knowledge-based models,
      causality, contextualization and knowledge discovery. Approaches can build on
      simulation and digital twins, or include data augmentation, knowledge modelling,
      federation of AI systems – including the use of distributed data – federated learning, and
      new AI methods ensuring scalability and re-usability. This topic also supports innovative
      or promising approaches addressing functional and performance guarantees.
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  2. Advanced transparency in AI, including advances in explainability, in transparency
      (with guaranteed/verifiable levels of performance, confidence levels, etc.), investigating
      novel or improved approaches increasing users’ understanding of AI system behaviour,
      and therefore increasing trust in such systems.
  3. Greener AI, increasing data and energy efficiency. This covers research towards lighter,
      less data-intensive and energy-consuming models, optimized learning processes to
      require less input (data efficient AI), or optimized models, data augmentation, synthetic
      data, transfer learning, one-shot learning, continuous / lifelong learning, and optimized
      architectures for energy-efficient hardware, framework that optimises calculations for
      energy reduction in big data analytics. This also build on latest results in self-
      configuring, low-power or energy harvesting capable sensor devices, and low power data
      transmission and energy reduction in big data analytics (e.g. a framework that optimises
      calculations, leading to decreasing use of energy, etc.).
  4. Advances in edge AI networks, bringing intelligence near sensors, in embedded
      systems with limited computational, storage and communication resources, as well as the
      integration of advanced and adaptive sensors and perception (including multi-modal
      sensing and active perception, distributed sensing, etc.), but also optimising edge vs
      cloud AI to maximise the capabilities of the overall system (both globally and for
      individual users). This builds on latest hardware development (for which synergies with
      the European Partnership for Key Digital Technologies (KDT) is encouraged), but does
      not cover such hardware developments.
  5. Complex systems & socially aware AI: able to anticipate and cope with the
      consequences of complex network effects in large scale mixed communities of humans
      and AI systems interacting over various temporal and spatial scales. This includes the
      ability to balance requirements related to individual users and the common good and
      societal concerns, including sustainability, non-discrimination, equity, diversity etc.
Proposals should clearly identify its focused research area among the 5 listed above.
Proposals should include, as appropriate, the development of tools and processes for design,
testing and validation, deployment and uptake, auditing, certification (where relevant),
software engineering methodologies, as well as approaches to modularity and interoperability.
To complement the impressive progress in developing individual AI algorithms and
components, proposals could also address the development of scientific foundations for
designing, modelling, analysing, operating, monitoring, integrating, maintaining and
extending AI systems.
In all these topics, involvement of multidisciplinary teams and transdisciplinary research,
including SSH as appropriate, will be essential. The consortia should involve world-class
research labs and top scientists, joining forces to address these major scientific challenges,
and they are strongly encouraged to team up with European companies (large and small)
representing major industrial sectors for Europe, genuinely interested in S&T progress in
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these fields, and which consider adoption of AI “made in Europe” key for their
competitiveness256.
While the proposals should address scientific foundations, relevance to real-world
applications should be demonstrated, in particular through use-cases used to demonstrate
scientific progress.
All proposals are expected to embed mechanisms to assess and demonstrate progress (with
qualitative and quantitative KPIs, demonstrators, benchmarking and progress monitoring),
and share communicable results with the European R&D community, through the AI-on-
demand platform 257 , a public community resource, to maximise re-use of results and
efficiency of funding.
Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the projects.
Proposals should foresee activities to collaborate with projects stemming from topics relevant
to AI, Data and Robotics, primarily in destinations 3, 4 and 6, but also in other destinations
and clusters (in particular Cluster 3 on cybersecurity where relevant), and share or exploit
results where appropriate.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on AI, Data and Robotics.
All proposals are expected to allocate tasks to cohesion activities with the PPP on AI, Data
and Robotics and funded actions related to this partnership, including the CSA HORIZON-
CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-02.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-02:                            European             coordination,        awareness,
standardisation & adoption of trustworthy European AI, Data and Robotics (AI, Data
and Robotics Partnership) (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 4.00
contribution per        and 9.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative              The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 13.00 million.
budget
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
256
        https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/artificial-intelligence#Coordinated-EU-Plan-on-Artificial-
        Intelligence
257
        Initiated under the AI4EU project https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825619 and further developed in
        projects resulting from H2020-ICT-49-2020 call
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                        apply:
                        To ensure a balanced portfolio covering the two complementary types of
                        activities defined in this topic to coordinate and support the field of AI,
                        Data and Robotics, grants will be awarded to applications not only in
                        order of ranking but at least also to the highest ranked proposal amongst
                        the first type of proposals (see focus 1 under Scope), and to the highest
                        ranked proposal amongst the second type of proposals (see focus 2 under
                        Scope), provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to either of the following
expected outcomes, depending on their focus (the proposals should focus on one of the two
expected outcomes exclusively):
  1. Outcome 1:
       a. Efficient AI, Data and Robotics Public-Private Partnership supporting the
            community and the implementation of the SRIDA258.
      b. Reinforced links among initiatives in AI, Data and Robotics in H2020, Horizon
            Europe, Digital Europe Programme, and other programmes (Networks of
            excellence centres, DIHs, pilots, data platforms, and other projects).
       c. Widespread educational and outreach programmes
      d. Increased adoption of AI technologies in all Member States and Associated
            Countries, towards elimination of gaps between Member States and Associated
            Countries.
       e. Increased adoption of trustworthy AI, data and robotics in procurement both public
            and private (B2B, B2C, B2G, etc.)
       f. Standardisation methods for trustworthy and ethical AI to foster AI, data and
            robotics industry, and in support of the Commission regulatory framework.
  2.
     Outcome 2: Efficient support to the research community via the AI-on-demand-
     platform259, a public community resource.
Scope: The proposals should address one of the following focus areas:
Focus 1) the first type of proposals (EU contribution around EUR 4.00), will address the
following aspects:
258
        Strategic Research, Innovation and Deployment Agenda of the AI, Data and Robotics PPP
259
        Initiated under the AI4EU project https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825619 and further developed in
        projects resulting from H2020-ICT-49-2020 call
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 Support to the PPP on AI, Data and Robotics to develop a strong and inclusive network
  bringing, academia, industry, and public and industry users, including the major
  industrial European sectors and all relevant stakeholders, to guarantee strong coordinated
  efforts toward trustworthy AI, for the economy, society and environment. The network
  will also include national representatives, to link to national programmes and to foster
  synergies and coordination between the various European, national, public and private
  initiatives. Such coordination of efforts in research, innovation and expertise will be
  important for Europe’s leadership in AI. The objective is to support the community in
  defining and implementing the AI, Data and Robotics strategy for research, innovation,
  and deployment, and support the PPP in its coordination and support of the community
  in non-R&D tasks as well.
 Coordinate and establish links with all relevant initiatives in AI, Data and Robotics in
  Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, Digital Europe Programme, and other programmes
  (Networks of excellence centres, DIHs, pilots, data platforms, and other projects), in
  view of sharing knowledge, developing synergies, and coordinate the efforts when
  possible. Synergies should be developed with the relevant projects through efficient
  mechanisms (e.g. joint task forces), organisation of joint events gathering projects, etc.
 Support and encourage the adoption of AI technologies in all Member States and
  Associated Countries, with particular emphasis on geographical aspect and elimination
  of gaps in digital competences and access between Member States and Associated
  Countries
 Widespread educations and outreach programmes including public awareness and
  addressing acceptability and trustworthiness, informing about potentialities of AI but
  also ensuring that expectations are realistic to avoid backlash in the adoption. Such
  activities should target in particular the business community, with a particular focus on
  SMEs, as well as public administrators, and citizens at large.
 Investigate and promote the potential contribution of AI, data and robotics to social
  welfare and sustainability, for example as framed by the UN SDGs (sustainable
  development goals) and highlight the value generated by the combination of
  AI/data/robotics in different environments.
 Promote the adoption of trustworthy AI, data and robotics in procurement both public
  and private (B2B, B2C, B2G, etc.): this is crucial to foster the development of European
  AI industries and applications built on European data and compliant with the European
  regulatory framework, and to foster vast deployment of AI-based solutions.
 Support to standardisation in view of boosting AI, data and robotics industry, helping to
  create, and guarantee trustworthy and ethical AI, data and robotics, and in support of the
  Commission regulatory framework.
     Standards should guarantee that AI, data and robotics technology in industry brings
        a high level of trust and safety of operations, and that it respects fundamental values
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             and human rights. Standards should also ensure appropriate governance of AI, data
             and robotics throughout the system lifecycle and make sure that decision systems
             are trustworthy by being robust, un-biased, safe and secure.
         Developing a coherent and broadly accepted set of AI, data and robotics standards
             requires a minimum level of support to ensure that all essential players are involved
             and that their voices are heard and in order to disseminate information and collect
             essential requirements. Support is also needed to coordinate and encourage
             contributions to standardization activities around the world.
         An important dimension will be to explore needs for standardisation and
             qualification of equipment and processes, notably the application of Artificial
             Intelligence to business processes
The standardisation activities should include:
     The creation of an online observatory of published standards and ongoing
      standardisation activities in AI, data and robotics worldwide
     The identification of gaps and recommendations for key topics for future standardisation,
      in particular building on on-going activities in European Standardization Organizations
      (ESOs) and other relevant standardisation initiatives.
     Support to a mechanism for information exchange between international and European
      Standardization Organizations (ESOs) to increase the transparency of ongoing work at
      international and European levels.
     Support participation of European stakeholders in the international standardization
      initiatives
     Networking of all key players, collection of essential requirements for AI, data and
      robotics standardization and dissemination of information
     Recommendations on links between standardisation, certification and regulation
     Recommendations for research and innovation activities supporting standardization
One large CSA is expected to cover all the aspects above. Close cooperation is expected with
the second CSA supporting the AI-on-demand platform.
Focus 2) the second type of proposals (EU contribution around EUR 9.00), will address the
following aspects:
The second type of CSA proposals will be in charge of the maintenance and necessary
developments and services provision for the AI-on-demand-platform260, a public community
resource, with a focus on supporting the research community. Such platform should support
260
         Initiated under the AI4EU project https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825619 and further developed in
         projects resulting from H2020-ICT-49-2020 call
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the research community in providing modules, codes, tools, knowledge base to share and
continuously strengthen the S&T excellence. It should also provide the necessary access to
resources (data, compute power, equipment, etc.) to offer the AI, Data and Robotics R&D
community an environment in which to develop new solutions and to ensure a leading
position to Europe in S&T in these fields. It should also implement methods to compare
solutions, and demonstrate progress. Proposals should demonstrate how their methodology
will promote excellence, by serving the needs of the scientific community. In close
cooperation with the first Coordination and Support Action, it will further develop the
platform services that offer a common portal gathering relevant information, success stories,
etc. The activities of this AI-on-demand-platform funded through Horizon Europe will serve
the needs of the research community while the AI-on-demand platform funded through the
Digital Europe Programme will focuses on AI tools at higher TRLs, to serve the needs of the
market. Synergies will be developed between the two platforms to ensure complementarity
and avoid overlaps. Results from this platform should be transferred to the other platform,
after reaching sufficient level of maturity.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on AI, Data and Robotics.
All proposals are expected to allocate tasks to cohesion activities with the PPP on AI, Data
and Robotics and funded actions related to this partnership. Proposals should include
activities to collaborate with projects stemming from topics relevant to AI, Data and Robotics,
primarily in destinations 3, 4 and 6 of Cluster 4, but also in other destinations and clusters,
and share or exploit results where appropriate. Proposals should also develop synergies with
relevant activities in Digital Europe Programme.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-03: European Network of AI Excellence Centres:
Pillars of the European AI lighthouse (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          9.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Technology                Activities are expected to start at TRL 2-3 and achieve TRL 4-5 by
Readiness Level           the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
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Agreements                    Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                              The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of
                              grants.
                              The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60
                              000.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
     Establishing a new pillar of the European AI lighthouse261
     Reinforcing a leading unified European AI community
     Scientific progress in AI, addressing major challenges hampering its deployment.
Scope: To ensure European open strategic autonomy in critical technologies such as AI, with
huge socio-economic impact, it is essential to reinforce and build on Europe’s assets in such
technologies, including its world-class research community, in order to stay at the forefront of
technological developments.
Europe has undeniable strengths with its many leading research centres, but the efforts are
scattered.
As stated in the communication from the European Commission on Artificial Intelligence for
Europe 262 and the coordinated action plan between the European Commission and the
Member States and Associated Countries263, joining forces will be crucial for international
competitiveness. Europe has to scale up existing research capacities and reach a critical mass
through tighter networks of European AI excellence centres. The proposals should develop
mechanisms to reinforce and network excellence centres in AI, bringing the best scientists
from academia and industry to join forces in addressing the major AI challenges hampering
its deployment; therefore, reinforcing excellence through collaboration in AI throughout
Europe.
Such networks are expected to mobilise researchers to collaborate on key AI research
challenges and to progress faster in joined efforts rather than working in silos, leading to
fragmented and duplicated efforts. Such networks, are essential to reach critical mass and
overcome the present fragmentation of AI research in Europe.
To complement and extend the initiative started in H2020 to develop a vibrant European
network of AI excellence centres, and a vibrant AI scientific community, the proposals should
create a network of excellence for the following topic:
Safe and secure AI addressing safety and security by design: foster the collaboration
between AI with safety engineering communities, security, cybersecurity and related
261
        In this section AI is taken in the broad sense and covers AI, Data and Robotics
262
        https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/communication-artificial-intelligence-europe
263
        https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_18_6689
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communities, to develop safe-by-design and secure-by-design AI, data and robotics systems,
contributing to safety and security of citizens and any users of such AI-powered systems. The
focus is on research, but the work should also contribute to good practices, standards and
certification, complying with regulations for AI safety and protection of fundamental rights.
Topics to be covered include, but are not limited to:
   Technical robustness and safety, incl. methods for evaluating the resilience of systems,
      and standardized ways of quantifying robustness of AI
   Privacy preserving techniques and infrastructures
   Human agency and oversight in terms of system security and safety; including
      explainability in human-readable terms allowing to detect/prevent/mitigate/recover from
      harm and threats.
Proposals will bring together the best European research teams around AI to join forces and
address major technical as well as sector- or societal-driven challenges in strengthening
excellence, networking, multidisciplinarity and developing academia-industry synergies, as
relevant.
Composition of the Network:
   It should be driven by leading researchers in AI and AI relevant technologies from major
      excellent AI research centres, and bringing the best scientists across Europe, including
      also from promising research labs. It will bring on board the necessary level of expertise
      and variety of disciplines and profiles to achieve their objectives, ensuring a
      multidisciplinarity and multi-sectorial research approach, while respecting equality and
      diversity among the attracted talents.
Activities of the Network:
   In order to structure the activities, the proposals will focus on important scientific or
      technological challenges with industrial and societal relevance where Europe will make
      a difference, by building on strengths, or strengthening knowledge to fill gaps critical for
      Europe.
   Based on the identified challenges, the proposals will develop and implement common
      research agendas. The main vision and roadmap with targets within the projects, as well
      as methodology to implement and monitor progress will have to be specified in the
      proposal and can be further developed during the project.
   Scientific progress will have to be demonstrated through testing on application specific
      datasets or use-cases. By extending the benchmarking of foundational research to
      application specific areas, the research community will simultaneously address
      advancements in AI and grand societal and technological challenges.
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     The proposals should define mechanisms to foster excellence throughout Europe, to
      increase efficiency of collaboration, including through networking and exchange
      programmes, and to develop a vibrant AI network in Europe.
     The network will disseminate the latest and most advanced knowledge to all the
      academic and industrial AI laboratories in Europe and involving them in collaborative
      projects/exchange programmes. (This could involve projects defined initially or via
      financial support to third parties, for maximum 20% of the requested EU contribution,
      with a maximum of 60k€ per third party264).
     The network will develop, where relevant, interactions with the industry, in view of
      triggering new scientific questions and fostering take-up of scientific advances
     The network will develop collaboration with the relevant Digital innovation Hubs,
      World-class reference testing facilities, AI regulatory sandboxes and AI start-up
      initiatives, to disseminate knowledge and tools, and understand their needs.
     The network should also foster innovation and include mechanisms to exploit new ideas
      coming out of the network’s work (for instance via incubators, start-up and spinoff
      initiatives and university tech-transfer funds).
     Overall, each proposal will define mechanisms to become a virtual centre of excellence,
      offering access to knowledge and serve as a reference in their chosen specific field,
      including activities to ensure visibility.
The proposals should:
     include mechanisms to spread the latest and most advanced knowledge to all the AI-labs
      in Europe
     develop synergies and cross-fertilization between industry and academia
     become a common resource and shared facility, as a virtual laboratory offering access to
      knowledge and expertise and attracting talents
     provide broad access to AI excellence in Europe and also play an important role in
      increasing visibility
     provide access to the required resources and infrastructure to support the R&D activities
      of the action, such as cloud and computing capacity, IoT, robotics equipment, support
      staff and engineers, where relevant, and the capacity to develop prototypes, pilots,
      demonstrators, etc.
     include a number of major scientific and application challenges which will mobilise the
      community to join forces in addressing them. Continuous evaluation and demonstration
      of scientific and technological progress (with qualitative and quantitative KPIs,
264
         Maximum amount per third party, received from a given Action, over its entire duration
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      benchmarking and progress monitoring processes) towards solving the targeted
      challenges will motivate the entire network and support publications and scientific career
      developments (providing reference benchmarks to publish comparative results, using the
      reference data, scenarios, etc.), and also showcase the technology in application contexts,
      to attract more user industries and eventually foster take up and adoption of the
      technology.
     include mechanisms to share resources, knowledge, tools, modules, software, results,
      expertise, and make equipment/infrastructure available to scientists to optimise the
      scientific and technological progress. To that end, proposals should exploit tools such as
      the AI-on-demand platform265 and further develop and expand the platform, to support
      the network and sharing of resource, results, tools among the scientific community,
      maximising re-use of results, and supporting faster progress. Mechanisms to test results
      and continuously measure and demonstrate progress should be integrated in the platform,
      which is also important to support the scientific community, allowing also for
      comparative analysis. Openness and interoperability of components are encouraged to
      develop synergies and cross-fertilization between different approaches and solutions
      (e.g. through modularity of components or open interfaces).
     include collaboration mechanisms among the best AI and AI-relevant research teams,
      but also mechanisms to bring all European AI teams to the highest level of excellence.
      This is also in view of supporting and encouraging the adoption of AI technologies in all
      Member States and Associated Countries, with particular emphasis on geographical
      aspect and elimination of gaps in digital competences and access between Member
      States and Associated Countries, as well as addressing existing gender disparities.
     exploit and develop technology enablers, such as methodologies, tools and systems and
      exploit latest hardware development and data spaces, cloud and HPC resources.
Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project.
Proposals are expected to develop synergies:
     With other Networks of excellence centres in AI funded in H2020 or Horizon Europe,
      with a view of, all together, create vibrant European network of AI excellence centres.
      To that end, the activities should integrate with and complement the activities of the
      H2020-ICT-48 projects. The proposals are expected to dedicate tasks to ensure this
      coherence.
     With relevant activities in AI, Data and Robotics, primarily in destinations 3, 4 and 6,
      but also in other destinations and clusters (in particular with cluster 3 regarding security-
      related activities), and share or exploit results where appropriate.
265
         Initiated under the AI4EU project https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825619 and further developed in
         projects resulting from H2020-ICT-49-2020 call
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All proposals are expected to allocate tasks to cohesion activities with the PPP on AI, Data
and Robotics and funded actions related to this partnership, including the CSA HORIZON-
CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-02.
Background
The network of excellence centres on AI safety and security will contribute to the larger
objective of the European Commission to establish the European AI lighthouse.
The AI lighthouse is expected to mobilise the AI community to collaborate on key AI
research challenges and to progress faster in joined efforts rather than working in silos,
leading to fragmented and duplicated efforts. This is essential to reach critical mass and
overcome the present fragmentation of AI research in Europe.
The lighthouse will bring together stakeholders from research, innovation and
deployment, to become a world reference in AI that can attract investments and the best
talents in the field. The lighthouse will build on key pillars, each of them being a network of
excellence centres specialising in a given topic where Europe has the potential to become a
global champion. The initiative started with the H2020-ICT-48 call establishing the first
networks of excellence centres and will further develop in Horizon Europe.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-24: Tackling gender, race and other biases in AI
(RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       3.00 and 3.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 3-4 and achieve TRL 5-6 by the
Readiness Level        end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
    Increased availability and deployment of unbiased and bias-preventing AI solutions
      across a wide range of industrial and digital sectors
    AI-based solutions for enhancing digital equality and social inclusion for women and
      girls, and other groups at risk of discrimination, such as ethnic minorities and the
      LGBTIQ community
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     Increased involvement of underrepresented persons in the design, development, training
      and deployment of AI.
     Increased awareness, knowledge and skills about trustworthy, bias-free and socially
      responsible AI in the tech industry and scientific community
Scope: Research demonstrates how bias exacerbates existing inequalities and reinforces
gender, racial and other stereotypes in, for instance, the labour market, education, online
advertising systems, social media, taxation and the justice system.
Bias in AI can occur in three dimensions: training data, bias in algorithms, and bias in the
interpretation of the results. This topic investigates preventing and mitigating bias in AI,
focusing on (1) recommender and personalisation systems, (2) algorithmic decision-making,
and (3) surveillance software, including facial recognition. Proposals may focus on more than
one of these AI-based systems and should clearly identify the expected use-case/s in society.
Testing and assessment of AI systems with real-life data is needed to detect and reduce bias
and improve accuracy, in line with the General Data Protection regulation. Assessing the
fairness and social benefit266 of AI-based systems and gaining more scientific understanding
about their transparency and interpretation will be necessary to improve existing methods, and
develop new ones in employment, advertising, access to health care, fraud detection,
combatting online hate speech, and in general addressing bias affecting people’s ability to
participate in the economy and society. This becomes particularly relevant in light of the
pandemic and ongoing social justice movements, such as #MeToo and Black Lives Matter.
In line with the European Commission’ priority to strive for a ‘Union of Equality’, the
European Pillar of Social Rights, 267 the Gender Equality Strategy 2020 – 2025, 268 the EU
Anti-racism Action Plan 2020-2025 269 , and the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025 270 ,
proposals are expected to:
     Develop technologies and algorithms to evaluate and address bias in AI-based systems.
      These underlying methods will help addressing gender, racial, age bias, as well as bias
      against persons with disabilities, people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, and
      the LGBTIQ community in AI-based systems, and support the deployment of such bias-
      free AI-based solutions.
266
         The EC-funded Expert Group on “Gendered Innovations” recommends a rigorous social benefit review:
         http://genderedinnovations.stanford.edu/case-studies/machinelearning.html#tabs-2. See also the policy
         review on ‘Gendered Innovations 2: How Inclusive Analysis contributes to Research and Innovation’
         (European Commission, DG Research and Innovation, 2020) and methodologies and case studies
         therein dedicated to AI, addressing gender and intersectional analysis in machine learning and robotics.
267
         The European Pillar of Social Rights: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/social-
         summit-european-pillar-social-rights-booklet_en.pdf
268
         Gender          Equality         Strategy         2020        -2025:       https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
         content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0152&from=EN
269
         EU            Anti-racism           Action           Plan         2020          –           2025          :
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/a_union_of_equality_eu_action_plan_against_racism_2020_-
         2025_en.pdf
270
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/files/lgbtiq-equality-strategy-2020-2025_en
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     Develop standardized processes to assess and quantify the trustworthiness of the
      developed AI systems, in particular assessment of bias, diversity, non-discrimination and
      intersectionality271 – based on different types of bias measures. This might include a
      methodology for considering diversity and representativeness of data, ensuring the
      reliability, traceability, and explainability of the AI systems, testing models on various
      subgroups and enabling appropriate stakeholder participation. 272 It could also include
      mechanisms to flag and remove risks of biases and discrimination.
     Develop recommender and algorithmic decision-making systems which reduce bias in
      the selected use-case
     Conduct trainings and awareness raising on preventing gender and intersectional bias for
      AI researchers, students and practitioners in line with the Digital Education Action Plan
      2021 – 2027.273 Trainings should also target practitioners of AI as a whole to avoid that
      the topic be limited to those with an already existing interest in socially responsible AI.
      These activities should be carried out in cooperation with the Public-Private Partnership
      on AI, Data and Robotics274 and other relevant initiative and projects (such as the AI-on-
      demand platform).
     Cooperate with the Public-Private Partnership on AI, Data and Robotics 275 and other
      relevant partnerships across a wide range of industrial and digital sectors, including
      representatives of international digital professional associations (e.g. IEEE), computing
      industry, hi-tech start-ups / SMEs etc. to further promote the use and uptake of the
      developed tools.
Proposals should focus on the development of tools and processes for design, testing and
validation, including software engineering methodologies. The proposed approaches should
also build tools to support deployment and uptake, auditing, certification (where appropriate).
The inclusion of underrepresented and marginalised groups in the design development, and
training of the AI systems, and a transdisciplinary approach, involving multidisciplinary and
intersectorial partners in the consortium will be essential.
All proposals are expected to embed mechanisms to assess and demonstrate progress towards
their objectives of meeting the key requirements for removing bias (with qualitative and
quantitative KPIs, demonstrators, benchmarking and progress monitoring), and share results
271
         Intersectionality considers how different social or political identities, such as gender, race, sexual
         orientation, ability, ethnicity, socio-economic background, age and religion, intersect and can result in
         different forms of discrimination or privilege.
272
         See      ALTAI       -    The      Assessment     List    on    Trustworthy    Artificial   Intelligence:
         https://futurium.ec.europa.eu/en/european-ai-alliance/pages/altai-assessment-list-trustworthy-artificial-
         intelligence
273
         Education Action Plan 2021 -2027, p.12: “The [Ethics] Guidelines [for Trustworthy Artificial
         Intelligence] will be accompanied by a training programme for researchers and students on the ethical
         aspects of AI and include a target of 45% of female participation in the training activities”
         https://ec.europa.eu/education/sites/education/files/document-library-docs/deap-communication-
         sept2020_en.pdf
274
         https://ai-data-robotics-partnership.eu/
275
         https://ai-data-robotics-partnership.eu/
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with the European R&D community, through the AI-on-demand platform, as well as the
GEAR276 tool to maximise re-use of results and efficiency of funding. It is essential to ensure
that the publicly available results from relevant EU funded research projects (e.g. SHERPA,
SIENNA, Panelfit, TechEthos) are taken into account.
Activities are expected to achieve at least TRL5-6 by the end of the project
The consortia should exchange information and build synergies with the relevant projects
funded under Horizon Europe, Work programme 2021-202 WIDENING PARTICIPATION
AND STRENGTHENING THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH AREA277.
All proposals are expected to allocate tasks to cohesion activities with the PPP on AI, Data
and Robotics and funded actions related to this partnership, including the CSA HORIZON-
CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-02.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-27: AI to fight disinformation (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.50
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                        requesting different amounts.
Indicative              The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 13.00 million.
budget
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Technology              Activities are expected to start at TRL 3-4 and achieve TRL 5-6 by the
Readiness Level         end of the project – see General Annex B.
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                        apply:
                        To ensure a balanced portfolio covering different types of advanced AI
                        solutions against disinformation, grants will be awarded not only in order
                        of ranking but at least also to the highest ranked proposal addressing each
                        of the two expected outcomes (1. Advanced AI solutions against advanced
                        disinformation techniques for media professionals, and 2. Advanced AI
                        solutions against disinformation for citizens), provided that the
                        applications attain all thresholds.
276
        https://eige.europa.eu/gender-mainstreaming/toolkits/gear
277
        In particular: HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-91. ENSURING RELIABILITY AND TRUST IN
        QUALITY OF RESEARCH ETHICS EXPERTISE IN THE CONTEXT OF NEW/EMERGING
        TECHNOLOGIES.
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Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to one of the following
expected outcomes:
    Advanced AI solutions against advanced disinformation techniques for media
      professionals.
    Advanced AI solutions against disinformation for citizens.
Scope: The Media Action Plan is developed around three areas: recovery, transformation,
and enabling and empowerment. Research and innovation is key to the area of the
transformation. Innovative digital solutions play an important role in ensuring a pluralistic
access to trustworthy and meaningful information and quality content.
The consumption of news media has substantially increased during the COVID19 crisis, with
people seeking out relevant and factual information in a time of uncertainty. Unfortunately,
online services have also been used by malicious actors to spread dangerous disinformation
campaigns, with sometimes fatal consequences. Similarly the need for reliable and consistent
social media interactions as well as for access to audiovisual content, gaming and other
interactive activities has increased during COVID-19.
Notably, media and digital literacy is one of the key pillars in fight against disinformation, as
also identified e.g. in the Communication: “Tackling disinformation - the European
Approach”. With the modern social media being more and more AI based, and contemporary
disinformation mechanisms increasingly sophisticated, advanced means are required to ensure
a trustworthy environment. AI technologies applied to tools and services tailored to the media
ecosystem will help the access to and creation and distribution of trustworthy information and
facilitate countering sophisticated manifestations of disinformation.
The outcomes from this topic will offer exploitation and take-up opportunities for the Digital
Europe and Creative Europe Programmes.
Research and innovation proposals are expected to respond to one of the following:
  1. Advanced AI based solutions for securing a trustworthy online environment.
      Disinformation techniques are already today strongly AI based. Therefore, scientific
      researchers and media practitioners need to be equipped with quantitative and semi-
      supervised tools based on AI, and network science driven tools of least same level of
      sophistication, capable of detecting different forms of deep-fakes and tampered content
      and to understand how and where such type of content spreads online. The development
      of such tools require the involvement of a scientific community at the intersection
      between AI and computer science, mathematics, social network sciences, social sciences
      and other relevant scientific fields, closely collaborating with journalists and media
      practitioners, and equipped with the necessary computing power to analyse rich content
      (e.g. videos and images) and to automate the management, processing and analysis of the
      flow of information within online systems.
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  2. Advanced AI based solutions targeted to citizens for securing a trustworthy online
      environment. The solutions should foster citizens’ ability to identify, verify and combat
      disinformation through AI innovation. Solutions provided would include the analysis
      and tracing of various forms of content, correlation/comparison of various sources of
      information, exploitation of contextual information. Efficient and intuitive mechanisms
      to convey the information regarding quality/veracity of information should be addressed,
      as appropriate. Transparency and human oversight would be key, with a view of
      empowering citizens.
Proposals should include, as appropriate, the development of tools and processes for design,
testing and validation, deployment and uptake, auditing, certification (where appropriate),
software engineering methodologies, as well as approaches to modularity and interoperability.
Relevance to real-world applications should be demonstrated. Various approaches to AI for
detection, elaboration of confidence levels, contradiction trade-offs, pattern identification in a
field of heterogeneous sources and media formats, and also for decision support need to be
considered. Involvement of multidisciplinary teams and transdisciplinary research will be
essential. The consortia are strongly encouraged to team up with European companies, which
are part of the media ecosystem, including SMEs, and also with non-media industrial and
technological expertise.
Proposals should clearly identify the expected outcome it will focus on (i.e. targeting media
professionals or citizens).
Proposals should also coordinate and ensure complementarity with the ongoing media and
social media R&I, related to projects in the field (e.g. AI4Media278, Fandango279) and take
into consideration the expectations of the Media Action Plan and the European Democracy
Action Plan, and collaborate with the European Digital Media Observatory. The media data
space (developed under Digital Europe) infrastructures and communities might provide an
opportunity to pilot new tools produced by the selected proposals. Proposals should foresee
activities to collaborate with projects stemming from the topics HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-
01-03: Disinformation and fake news are combated and trust in the digital world is raised.
All proposals are expected to embed mechanisms to assess and demonstrate progress (with
qualitative and quantitative KPIs, demonstrators, benchmarking and progress monitoring),
and share communicable results with the European R&D community, through the AI-on-
demand platform, a public community resource, to maximise re-use of results and efficiency
of funding.
Activities are expected to achieve TRL5-6 by the end of the project
All proposals are expected to allocate tasks to cohesion activities with the PPP on AI, Data
and Robotics and funded actions related to this partnership, including the CSA HORIZON-
CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-02.
278
         https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/951911
279
         https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/780355
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An Internet of Trust
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-04: Trust & data sovereignty on the Internet (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       12.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             N.A. (not applicable)
Readiness Level
Legal and financial    The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant    apply:
Agreements             Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                       The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                       As the main objective of the action is to support large number of third
                       parties through open calls, the maximum amount to be granted to each
                       third party is EUR 500 000 to allow cases were a given legal entity (e.g.
                       large research, academic or industrial organisations) may receive
                       several grants (e.g. from different calls).
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
   Increased trust, privacy and user control when exchanging and accessing personal data
     on the Internet.
   A trusted electronic identity ecosystem, fostering a universal, interoperable, accessible,
     and user-centric digital identity as a passport to the digital society.
   A European ecosystem of top internet innovators, with the capacity to set the course of
     the Internet evolution according to a human-centric approach.
   New business and sustainability models based on decentralised technologies and open
     source.
Scope: The EU has an advanced legal framework in the areas of data protection, cybersecurity
and electronic identity. The objective of this topic is to deliver architectures, protocols and
services to ensure that end-users can exert their rights (e.g. under the GDPR) and benefit from
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decentralised technological solutions that ensure that they are fully in control of their personal
data on the Internet.
Proposals under this topic should develop new technologies and data governance models for
increased trust, privacy and user control of personal data and identity on the internet, levering
decentralised and self-sovereign identity approaches, empowering the end-users and enabling
user-centric business and sustainability models. Solutions should enable the portability of
personal data sets and allow the users to transfer or share such data with organisations of their
choice for purposes and under conditions they decide and control (e.g. data altruism).
Proposals should contribute to a trusted digital identity ecosystem that is in line with the
European regulatory framework, platform-independent and user-centric and contributes to
building a secure European digital identity. The purpose is to enable individuals to effectively
own, manage and control their digital identity and make it their passport to the digital society.
The proposals should support open source software and open hardware design, open access to
data, standardisation activities, access to testing and operational infrastructure as well as an
IPR regime ensuring lasting impact and reusability of results.
This topic has a focus on internet technologies developed for end-users (including electronic
identities) and builds upon open source developments by internet innovators. It complements
the activities of Destination 3 topic 2021-DATA-01-01, which have a focus on European data
spaces (technologies for data pooling, sharing and re-use), as well as those in Cluster 3 related
to privacy and online identity management (e.g. 2021-CS-01-04, 2021-FCT-01-01, 2022-BM-
01-02).
Financial support to third parties
The consortium should support third party projects from outstanding open source innovators,
academic research groups, high-tech start-ups, SMEs and other multidisciplinary actors, so
that multiple actors are funded and collectively contribute to increasing trust and data
sovereignty on the Internet. Apps and services that innovate without a research component are
not covered by this topic. As the primary purpose of the action is to support and mobilise
internet innovators, a minimum of 80% of the total requested EU contribution should be
allocated to financial support to third parties, selected through open calls.
The consortium should provide the programme logic for the third-party projects, ensure the
coherence and coordination of these projects, and provide the necessary technical support, as
well as coaching and mentoring, in order to ensure that the collection of third party projects
contributes to a significant advancement and impact in the research and innovation domain,
including in terms of standardisation. These tasks cannot be implemented using the budget
earmarked for the financial support to third parties.
Beneficiaries should make explicit the intervention logic for the area, their capacity to attract
internet talents, to deliver value-added services to the third-party projects, as well as their
expertise and capacity in managing the full life-cycle of the open calls transparently and
efficiently (a minimum of five open calls during the lifetime of the project). They should
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explore synergies with other research and innovation actions, supported at regional, national
or European level, to increase the overall impact.
The Commission considers that proposals with an overall duration of typically 36 months
would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not
preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other durations. For ensuring
focused effort, third parties will be funded through projects typically in the EUR 50 000 to
150 000 range per project, with indicative duration of 9 to 12 months.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-05: Trustworthy open search and discovery (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.50
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 17.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Technology              N.A. (not applicable)
Readiness Level
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        To ensure a balanced portfolio covering a broad range of research areas
                        and approaches, grants will be awarded to applications not only in order
                        of ranking but at least also to the highest ranking proposal in the first
                        research area, addressing advanced methods of search, and to the
                        highest ranking proposal in the second research area, addressing search
                        infrastructures, provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
Legal and               The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of     apply:
the Grant               Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
Agreements              The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                        As the main objective of the action is to support large number of third
                        parties through open calls, the maximum amount to be granted to each
                        third party is EUR 500 000 to allow cases were a given legal entity (e.g.
                        large research, academic or industrial organisations) may receive
                        several grants (e.g. from different calls).
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Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
    Empowered citizens and companies able to search and discover information, data, smart
     objects, resources and people online, with increased security, accuracy, diversity and
     transparency in search results while preserving the privacy of the end-users.
    Increased European competitiveness and sovereignty in future search and discovery
     systems with a strong focus on serving end-users’ needs (including privacy), providing
     trustworthy and pluralistic recommendations and increasing public trust in search results.
    A European ecosystem of top internet and social media innovators, with the capacity to
     set the course of the Internet evolution and the search ecosystem according to a human-
     centric approach.
    New business and sustainability models based on improved access to online data, smart
     objects and resources and on open source.
Scope: The objective of this topic is to develop technologies and solutions enabling new and
trustworthy ways of searching and discovering information on the internet across a variety of
resources such as personal, scientific, industrial and environmental data, connected devices
and smart objects, services, multimedia content, intranets and other IT resources, both public
and private. It is also to empower end-users, including through agents acting on their behalf,
to share and discover more data and reliable information sources, while preserving their
privacy and increasing public trust in search results.
Proposals should focus on advancing the state-of-the-art in one of the two research areas
below:
  1. Advanced methods of search and discovery such as voice-based search or cognitive
     search combining technologies for natural language processing, semantic analysis, AI-
     based taxonomies, network analysis, social computing and data visualisation, enabling
     new ways of discovering and accessing information, in an energy-efficient way.
     Proposals under this research area will support third party projects from outstanding
     open source innovators, academic research groups, high-tech startups, SMEs, social
     innovators, and other multidisciplinary actors, so that multiple actors are funded and
     collectively contribute to building a more open, trustworthy and user-centric search and
     discovery ecosystem. As the primary purpose of this research area is to support and
     mobilise internet and social media innovators, a minimum of 80% of the total requested
     EU contribution should be allocated to financial support to third parties, selected through
     open calls. Beneficiaries should make explicit the intervention logic for the area, their
     capacity to attract internet talents, to deliver value-added services to the third-party
     projects, as well as their expertise and capacity in managing the full life-cycle of the
     open calls transparently and efficiently (a minimum of five open calls during the lifetime
     of the project). They should explore synergies with other research and innovation
     actions, supported at regional, national or European level, to increase the overall impact.
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  2. Improving search and discovery infrastructures, with a view to increasing European
     sovereignty in future search, discovery and recommendation systems. Projects could
     notably design and pilot distributed search infrastructures, with a strong focus on
     sustainability,       security,        reliability,        interoperability and      trust.
     Proposals under this research area will incorporate third party contributions from
     outstanding open source innovators, academic research groups, high-tech startups,
     SMEs, and other multidisciplinary actors. A minimum of 15% of the total requested EU
     contribution should be allocated to financial support to third parties, selected through
     open calls.
Proposals should clearly identify the research area they are addressing.
The projects should support open source software and open hardware design, open access to
data, standardisation activities, as well as an IPR regime ensuring lasting impact and
reusability of results. The focus of this topic is on advanced research; apps and services that
innovate without a research component are not covered by this topic. A scientific
understanding of collective intelligence methodologies will be important to innovate beyond
the current state of the art in search and recommendation systems and contribute to a better
governance of social networks.
This topic contributes to the Media Action Plan (MAP), which aims to support the digital
transformation of, and collaboration within, the social media industry.
Financial support to third parties
The consortium should provide the programme logic for the third-party projects, ensure the
coherence and coordination of these projects, and provide the necessary technical support, as
well as coaching and mentoring, in order to ensure that the collection of third party projects
contributes to a significant advancement and impact in the research and innovation domain,
including in terms of standardisation. These tasks cannot be implemented using the budget
earmarked for the financial support to third parties.
The Commission considers that proposals with an overall duration of typically 36 months
would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not
preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other durations. For ensuring
focused effort, third parties will be funded through projects typically in the EUR 50 000 to
150 000 range per project, with indicative duration of 9 to 12 months.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-07: Next Generation Internet community-building
and outreach (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
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                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
   A vibrant community of Internet innovators and stakeholders, with the capacity to set the
      course of the Internet evolution according to a human-centric approach.
   Broad understanding and support for the NGI vision of a human-centric Internet
Scope: The proposal will support the European Commission in engaging a diverse community
of stakeholders, including internet innovators, researchers, start-ups and SMEs, but also
policy makers, internet end-users, social partners, local communities and citizens at large, in
order to develop and implement the NGI vision of a human-centric internet. It will liaise with
similar initiatives at national and regional level. It should help grow the community by
promoting broad stakeholder engagement in NGI activities and projects, in particular by
engaging internet innovators who are new to EU programmes. The project should seek to
ensure through dedicated activities diverse participation in terms of profiles, gender, age,
ethnic group, abilities, and nationality (including from neighbouring regions). It should have
dedicated activities to promote the involvement of women innovators.
The proposal should support the European Commission in NGI branding and marketing
activities, including extensive online and social media presence, press coverage and
participation in key events, establishing a positive brand image in the Internet community and
the public at large. Based on advanced digital and non-digital communication techniques, the
project will lead NGI communication activities and coach other NGI projects in effective
communication and marketing.
The Commission considers that proposals with an overall duration of 36 months would allow
these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission
and selection of proposals requesting other durations.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-08: NGI International Collaboration - Transatlantic
fellowship programme (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          2.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
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Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                         The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of
                         grants.
                         The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60
                         000.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
   Enhanced EU-US and EU-Canada cooperation in the development of Next Generation
      Internet technologies, services and standards.
   Supporting the EU internet policy objectives by sharing the EU vision and values with
      US and Canadian counterparts and forging bonds through concrete collaborations.
   A transatlantic ecosystem of top researchers, high-tech startups / SMEs and Internet-
      related communities collaborating on the evolution of the Internet according to a human-
      centric approach.
Scope: The aim of the topic is to reinforce EU-US and EU-Canada cooperation in the area of
Next Generation Internet, and to establish a continuous dialogue among US, Canada and EU
innovators. The focus should be on trust and data sovereignty and on internet architecture
renovation and decentralised technologies.
The proposal will organise a fellowship programme providing support to European Internet
innovators to travel to the US or to Canada to work and collaborate with US and Canadian
counterparts, with a view to promoting knowledge-sharing and establishing long-term
collaborations on NGI technologies, services and standards.
These should be 3 to 6 months fellowships for Internet researchers, notably open source
developers, academic researchers, hi-tech startups, SMEs and other multidisciplinary actors,
so that multiple actors are funded and collectively contribute to enhancing EU-US and EU-
Canada cooperation in the development of Next Generation Internet technologies and
services. The proposal should only provide financial support for travel and subsistence, and
only citizens of the EU and associated countries will be eligible for funding. As the primary
purpose of the action is to support and mobilise internet innovators, a minimum of 70% of the
total requested EU contribution should be allocated to financial support to third parties,
selected through open calls.
The Commission considers that proposals with an overall duration of 36 months would allow
these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission
and selection of proposals requesting other durations.
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In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-09: NGI Tech Review (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.50
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.50 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
   Increased value and maturity of internet technologies tackling key societal challenges
      such as response to pandemics, climate change, disinformation, or the protection of
      privacy.
   Improved collaboration of internet innovators to develop, test and improve solutions
      based on open source technologies.
Scope: The COVID-19 crisis demonstrates that complex challenges of today cannot be solved
by one organisation or by one country, and they require the support of digital technologies.
Open collaboration of innovators from multiple backgrounds supporting values such us
protection of privacy, inclusiveness and transparency is a critical factor for the development
of successful European solutions.
The scope of this topic is to support an open environment fostering collaboration between
internet innovators to tackle key societal challenges such as response to pandemics, climate
change, disinformation, or the protection of privacy. The environment will bring together
internet innovators to develop, test and improve solutions based on open source technologies.
The funding covers the setting up and operation of the open collaboration environment,
including the needed IT infrastructures; community management activities; and support to
innovators in a broad range of areas including quality, security, accessibility, privacy, open
source licensing, or documentation. The funding does not cover the funding of innovators to
develop new solutions.
The Commission considers that proposals with an overall duration of 36 months would allow
these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission
and selection of proposals requesting other durations.
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In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
eXtended Reality (XR)
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-13: eXtended Reality Modelling (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          4.80 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 14.50 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Technology                Activities are expected to start at TRL 2 and achieve TRL 5 by the
Readiness Level           end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                          The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of
                          grants.
                          The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 300
                          000 to further extend the use-cases and the application domains,
                          address sector specific constraints, ensure reproducibility and
                          demonstrate their integration paths.
Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Large-scale creation of eXtended Reality models with increased levels of interaction,
      context awareness, explainable autonomous decisions, human control, privacy and
      accessibility.
   Methodologies, tools and processes to build eXtended Reality services based on these
      models.
   Improved human to human and human to computer eXtended Reality interaction, in both
      offline and real-time context.
Scope: Recent advances in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) giving machines the ability
to understand and derive meaning from human languages, have shown that automatic systems
can exhibit human‑like performance. Machine translation, speech recognition or personal
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assistants are now part of our daily lives. Recent progress in AI has also enabled systems to
generalise from one task to another, from one language to another, from one modality to
another. Large pre-trained multilingual language models can handle different languages, even
with little or no training data. The same models can cover completely different language-
related tasks, such as text translation or summarisation, speech transcription, or sentiment
analysis. Natural language Understanding and Natural Language Generation state-of-art
techniques are expected to take advantage of the latest advances in research. Advances in user
and environment modelling and progress in data analytics allow systems to be increasingly
context-aware and efficiently support users in their decisions.
Drawing on the above-mentioned recent advances, the proposals will:
   Develop pre‑trained eXtended Reality models capable of adapting to a large variety of
      forms of expression, interaction, languages, domains, styles and intent. Taking into
      account surrounding real or virtual environments, contexts, preferences and abilities of
      the user, the models will contribute to the general understanding of the environments and
      users’ knowledge, preferences, believes, abilities, intent and goals.
   Demonstrate the adaptation and generalisation of the eXtended Reality models,
      including through the integration of structured knowledge, by developing solutions
      capable of carrying genuine human-like interaction before, during and after an eXtended
      Reality experience.
   Integrate the solutions into several eXtended Reality use‑cases scenarios, such as media,
      collaborative telepresence, learning, personal assistants or information retrieval.
Beyond supporting a large set of languages and modalities, the work will focus on enabling
new forms of interactions, avoiding bias, whilst ensuring accessibility, privacy, transparency
and explainability.
To compensate the increase of model complexity, the proposed solutions should be energy
efficient thanks to optimised protocols and algorithms with equivalent performance during
both training and implementation.
The proposal will ensure reproducibility and repeatability of the research results, promote an
open data and interfaces standardisation, avoiding narrow de-facto standards and demonstrate
clear and efficient integration paths for the European industry take up.
To further extend the application domains, address sector specific constrains, ensure
reproducibility and demonstrate their integration paths, proposals are expected to organise a
number of competitive calls with financial support to third parties (FSTP) and further extend
the use-cases. At least 20% of the funding should be dedicated to FSTP. To that aspect, the
consortium will provide guidelines and technical support in engineering integration, testing
and validation to support the development of such use-cases.
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HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-14: eXtended Reality for All – Haptics (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 by the end
Readiness Level          of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
     Specific eXtended Reality haptics hardware able to provide affordable portable devices
      for instantly refreshable full-page interactive tactile displays which enable navigating,
      reading and editing digital content in both standard braille and tactile graphics format for
      the blind and visually impaired280 and especially the deafblind for whom touch and feel
      are the only form of communication;
     Establish Europe as a world leader in developing accessibility solutions.
Scope: eXtended Reality, combining human-machine interactions and all real, mix,
augmented and virtual environments, allow users to interact with real-time contextual
information activated by intuitive sensory triggers. However, in order to provide eXtended
Reality for all, specific accessibility oriented development is required.
Indeed, certain categories of information such as scientific formulae, computer code, tabular
data, photos and images cannot be efficiently rendered by the blind and visually impaired by
using braille readers or text to speech technologies. Furthermore, the increase of distant
learning and teleworking has highlighted the lack of tactile feedback possibilities and
increased the gap for visually impaired accessibility.
Existing tactile solutions are limited to refreshable braille displays which are bulky and/or
prohibitively expensive. They offer a limited reading experience by providing only a single
line of characters at a time and their output is considerably slower than an experienced user’s
ability to read braille.
Drawing on the above-mentioned conclusion, the proposal will develop an affordable,
portable, usable full-page device able to convey and input digital information in both braille
and tactile graphics for people with visual impairments.
280
         The European Blind Union estimates that there are over 30 million blind and partially sighted persons
         in geographical Europe.
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Consortium will pay attention to develop solutions that are reliable, robust, safe and meet the
needs and preferences of visually impaired people. The solution need to be interoperable with
other ICT devices, including other assistive technologies, provides open APIs for use by third
parties and allow for back-translation of braille or tactile graphics into text or images to
enable cooperation between visually impaired and sighted people.
People with visual impairments should be involved in all stages of the research and
development. Their involvement in validating the solution is a minimum requirement.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-25: eXtended Collaborative Telepresence (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          5.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 14.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Technology                Activities are expected to start at TRL 4 and achieve TRL 6-7 by the
Readiness Level           end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                          The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of
                          grants.
                          The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 200
                          000 to further extend the application domains, guarantee
                          reproducibility and demonstrate the integration paths for take-up by
                          European industries.
Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to the following outcome:
   Establishing European industry leadership in eXtended collaborative telepresence
      solutions, while ensuring ethics, privacy, security and safety.
Scope: This topic aims to increase the European competitiveness and innovation capacity and
foster the adoption of European eXtended collaborative telepresence technologies in both
professional and private spheres, taking benefit of combining real and virtual environments to
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improve distant human-human interactions through wearables and computer mediated
technologies.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruptions to the way we work and live. Physical
distancing and global lockdown, as well as pressing climate and environmental concerns,
have accelerated the need for development and adoption of telepresence technologies to
sustain the productivity of remote and online contactless activities, as well as maintaining
social bonds. With a worldwide CO2 emission reduction of more than 20%, the crisis has also
revealed that teleworking and reduction of travel is an efficient mitigating solution. Tools
supporting enhanced teleworking have become of primal importance.
However, existing collaborative telepresence tools and solutions raise concerns in terms of
functionalities, interoperability, efficiency, versatility, openness, accessibility, security and
privacy of personal data.
Proposals should leverage existing open standards and technologies in the domain of
eXtended Reality, combining human-machine interactions and all real, mix, augmented and
virtual environments, accessibility, networks, security and privacy to provide low-cost and
widely available eXtended collaborative telepresence solutions.
To ensure wide take-up, proposals should demonstrate their capacity to scale up by involving
high numbers of end-users in tests in real environments.
The proposals are expected to address several of the following points:
   Support a wide range of networking bandwidth with adequate compression transmission
     of information so as to optimise end-to-end quality of service;
   Overcome the limitations of the current technologies handling large number of
     simultaneous users;
   Support different input and output modalities as the bandwidth capacities extend (text,
     speech, audio, video, AR/VR, 3D, holography);
   Through open standards, support the integration of additional services such as recording
     and sharing meeting recording speech transcription, translation, anonymisation,
     summarisation, context-aware instant search;
   Optimise the results of eXtended collaborative meetings through easy access, analysis
     and syntheses of recordings;
   Ensure security and protect user privacy, through a mix of necessary technologies
     (encryption, blockchains, edge-processing, standardisation, …);
   Develop, document and promote open standards based interfaces (such as APIs) which
     can be used by third parties to further enhance the project solutions and adapt them to
     other environments and user needs, avoiding vendor lock-in.
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    Provide systems to facilitate human-to-human and human-to-machine interaction, that
      allows real-time as well as offline communication;
    Apply eXtended Reality technologies to support the communication and collaboration
      experience;
    Apply eXtended Reality models to enhance the collaborative aspects of telepresence;
    Apply haptics devices to further improve the intuitiveness and accessibility of the
      solutions;
    Follow existing and propose new standards ensuring the privacy and security of the users
      to guarantee compliance with the European legal framework on personal data protection
      taking into account the complexity and particularities of eXtended Reality technologies;
    Demonstrate clear and efficient integration paths for take-up by European industries;
To further extend the application domains, guarantee reproducibility and demonstrate the
integration paths, proposals are expected to organise a number of competitive calls with
financial support to third parties (FSTP). At least 50% of the funding should be dedicated to
FSTP. To that end, the consortium will provide guidelines and technical support with
expertise in engineering integration, testing and validation to support the development of such
use-cases. The maximum amount of FSTP, distributed through a grant, is EUR 200 000 per
third party for the entire duration of the action, but smaller amounts may also be justified.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-06: Innovation for Media, including eXtended
Reality (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         8.00 and 9.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 26.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to start at TRL 4 and achieve TRL 8 by the end
Readiness Level          of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant      apply:
Agreements               Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
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                            The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                            As the main objective of the action is to set up a dedicated VR Media
                            Lab to foster innovation and new solutions in the field of VR/AR
                            Media, the maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR
                            500 000 for accommodating substantial equipment investment.
Expected Outcome: Prototyping of advanced solutions for the creation, distribution and
consumption of new immersive and innovative products for media. Support innovation in
media, including XR innovation, through interdisciplinary cooperation, involving various
professional groups (including artists, designers, journalists and media professionals,
filmmakers, game designers, programmers or academic researchers). The two priorities are:
     Foster the development of advanced solutions for the creation, distribution and
      consumption of new media products, including eXtended Reality.
     Foster the creation of a European VR MediaLab.
Scope: The Media Action Plan, aimed at supporting media industry recovery, has three areas:
Recovery, transformation, and enabling and empowerment. Transformation foresees
innovation actions to support transformation of media industry, and the creation of a
European Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) Industrial Coalition281.
Two key ingredients of such transformation are, among others, on the one hand, data know-
how and innovation in modular open-source media components, and on the other hand, the
development of immersive technologies. Both entertainment and news media have great
opportunities for ground-breaking innovations and inventive business models building on the
potential of new technologies, including XR.
Two types of innovation proposals are expected:
i. The development of new modular tools, components and/or services addressing
technical, organisational, commercial and legal aspects of data management and usage for
new media applications. The innovative solutions should be proven useful for the creation
and distribution of new formats, in particular of formats that use XR technologies and that
could be expandable or applicable, in addition to news media, to the media industry at large
and have a potential to be consumed in new environments (e.g. self-driving cars, intermodal
transport and tourism). To this end, cooperation within the media sector and across different
industrial sectors will be beneficial for the creation of synergies based on the use of data
applications.
Collaboration with the media data space will be encouraged already at its initiation phase, and
full interoperability with and deployability on it are highly recommended. Once it will be
operational, the Media Data Space deployed under the Digital Europe programme will offer
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the opportunity to the proposals supported by this Call to test and pilot their innovative
solutions.
ii. The launch of a dedicated VR Media Lab to foster innovation and new solutions in the
field of VR/AR Media. The Lab will develop and prototype advanced solutions for the
creation, distribution and consumption of new immersive VR/AR media products and foster
innovation by exploring a range of uses for VR/AR technologies, and bring together skills
from a variety of disciplines, including technology and the creative sector, to develop new
solutions for consumers, business and society.
The VR Media Lab will support creative cooperation on projects that focus on new ways of
storytelling and interacting through immersive media. The funded third party projects will
focus on content for entertainment, culture and news, as well as virtual and augmented reality
applications in other industries, such as tourism, and fields such as education. Solutions
developed as part of the VR Media Lab could result in new business models, technological
solutions, spinoff companies or partnerships.
At least 1 proposal will be funded for the innovation type i (Max Contribution of EUR 9
million).
One proposal will be funded for type ii (Max Contribution of EUR 8 million).
Financial support to third parties
For grants awarded under the type ii Innovation actions, beneficiaries should provide support
to third parties. The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. Each
IA for type ii will support third party projects from outstanding media innovators, SMEs and
other multidisciplinary actors, so that multiple third parties will be funded in collectively
contributing to the innovation area. The consortium will provide the programme logic and
vision for the third-party projects, ensure the coherence and coordination of these projects,
and provide the necessary technical support, as well as coaching and mentoring, in order to
ensure that the collection of third party projects contributes to a significant advancement and
impact in the research and innovation domain. These tasks cannot be implemented using the
budget earmarked for the financial support to third parties.
Beneficiaries should make explicit the intervention logic for the area, their capacity to attract
relevant top talents, to deliver a solid value-adding services to the third-party projects, as well
as their expertise and capacity in managing the full life-cycle of the open calls transparently.
As support and mobilising of media innovators is key to the type ii IA of this topic, a
minimum of 70% of the total requested EU contribution should be allocated to financial
support to the third parties.
The Commission considers that proposals with an overall duration of typically 30 months
would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not
preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other durations. For ensuring
focused effort, third parties in type ii will be funded through projects typically in the EUR 250
000 to 500 000 range per project, with indicative duration of 12 to 15 months.
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In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-28: eXtended Reality Ethics, Interoperability and
Impact (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.50
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.50 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   A strong and competitive ecosystem, with European companies playing a leading role in
      the wider deployment, adoption and acceptance of eXtended Reality technologies.
   Improved quality of eXtended Reality experiences and applications, combining human-
      machine interactions and real, mixed, augmented and virtual environments and ensuring
      ethics, privacy, security and safety.
Scope: New ethical risks, security and privacy concerns arise as experiences based on
eXtended Reality become more realistic and immersive, blurring the line that separates them
from the real world.
Although the applications investigated and developed to date aim to provide benefits to
individual and society, eXtended Reality technologies may also have harmful physical,
emotional and cognitive after-effects.
The potential amount and type of information collected, processed and stored by applications
based on eXtended Reality technologies may put individuals at high privacy and security risk.
Interoperability and safety are another major concern for the uptake of eXtended Reality
technologies. The lack of widely accepted standards slows down the development process and
increases design and testing costs. Several initiatives are trying to devise the industry
standards at a global level; however, European players are underrepresented in such
initiatives.
The selected proposal will help structuring and supporting the eXtended Reality community
in Europe by
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   devising responsible practices and guidance helping developers and producers of
     eXtended Reality experiences and applications to respect ethics and privacy values while
     ensuring the safety of the users;
   defining an European cross-industry code of conduct for eXtended Reality technologies
     and solutions while encouraging developers and producers to adhere to it;
   proposing new, or adapting existing, rating systems to support users in choosing the right
     eXtended Reality experiences and applications;
   gathering relevant evidence to help guarantee the respect of the European legal
     framework on personal data protection, taking into account the complexity and
     particularities of eXtended Reality technologies;
   fostering the contribution of European players to the definition of industry standards on
     eXtended Reality technologies ensuring interoperability and seamless integration with
     other relevant systems, technologies and data sources;
   helping to forge a competitive and sustainable ecosystem for the European eXtended
     Reality technologies industry by strengthening the links and promoting collaboration
     among the constituency, including EU-funded projects.
Systemic approaches to make the most of the technologies within society and industry
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-17: Awareness raising on Intellectual property (IP)
management for European R&I (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Increased awareness among knowledge generators of the importance of the generation,
     protection, management and use of IP for the development of key technologies and
     achieving sovereignty in strategic value chains.
   Stronger open innovation ecosystems by providing guidance and best practice examples
     on how to use the intellectual property.
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   Increased and optimised use of intellectual assets to promote innovation with high value
      to the economy and society.
Scope: The EU’s new Industrial Strategy aims for Europe to lead the next wave of technology
based innovations, transforming scientific breakthroughs into world leading companies. To
achieve technological sovereignty in critical technology areas, the management of intellectual
property, from the early stages of the knowledge creation process to the final deployment of
solutions, is key.
IP management is considered one of the main challenges facing valorisation of knowledge
and research. Better awareness of appropriate IP management enables transforming R&I
results into ground-breaking technological solutions, and enhances open innovation
ecosystems.
The action will address the need to increase awareness and knowledge on intellectual property
management. It will build the bridge between technology generation and technology
upscaling via IP management awareness. It will address the knowledge generators, early
career researchers, researchers, entrepreneurs in the making etc., regardless of their gender,
age or background.
The action will include an awareness campaign as well as specific activities to support
academia, research institutions and SMEs on the management and valorisation of IP to
demonstrate public value. The action will not overlap or duplicate existing initiatives but
should build on them, signpost them, and maximize the impacts as well as seek synergies with
major European level intellectual property actors.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-18: Fostering standardisation to boost European
industry's competitiveness (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Reinforcing the links between research, innovation and standardisation ensuring that
      standardisation is an integral part of the European research and innovation landscape.
   Facilitating the entry to market of innovative solutions, which could address major
      societal challenges such as climate change and digitalisation.
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   Promoting standardisation as an important enabler towards the enhancement of the
     competitive edge of the European industry.
   Helping in the development of agile standards by identifying the major bottlenecks of
     the standard-setting process.
Scope: As emphasised in the European Green Deal and in the New Industrial Strategy for
Europe, developing new standards, coupled with increased EU participation in international
standardisation bodies, will be essential to boost industry’s competitiveness and build a
sustainable and more inclusive future.
This action will identify obstacles hampering standardisation efforts of research generators,
develop remedies to the obstacles, and propose solutions to foster standardisation as a means
of knowledge valorisation by engaging with relevant standardisation bodies.
The action will create an interface to facilitate networking between the beneficiaries and their
national, European, international standardisation bodies for the exploitation and valorisation
of EU funded research results, organise trend analysis workshops, and promote the discussion
between R&I and standardisation. This interface will be a one-stop-shop for all these related
matters.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-19:                    Testing     innovative solutions    on    local
communities’ demand (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Increased societal uptake of new technologies and knowledge-based solutions, achieved
     through better understanding of societal needs and higher societal acceptance;
   Increased place-based innovation and experimentation, through testing of up to 100
     innovative new solutions in partnership with cities and local communities, research and
     industry, drawing on local characteristics and strengths;
   Increased innovation capacity across Europe, through new models of co-creation and
     exchange of good practises and learning from experimentation, so that innovative
     solutions are shared and adapted to the needs of local communities (avoiding ‘one size
     fits all’).
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Scope: This action will promote the uptake of research-based technological and non-
technological solutions in cities and local communities by responding to concrete, citizen
driven, demand for testing and experimentation. By addressing the local societal demand for
innovative solutions and bringing forward R&I to match communities’ needs, the action will
contribute to implementing the European Green Deal’s aim “to involve local communities in
working towards a more sustainable future, in initiatives that seek to combine societal pull
and technology push”. By matching needs to (candidate) new solutions stemming from EU
R&I, and testing these solutions in a transparent and socially inclusive way, the action will
contribute to technology uptake with citizen engagement, in line with the aims of the
European industrial strategy.
Within the scope of this action is to co-create and test societal solutions, so that R&I
developed in Europe can be tested in Europe, jointly with local communities. The scaling up
of the effective solutions is not within the scope of this action, and could be facilitated
through other programmes and initiatives (public and/or private). The core concept lies in
collecting, and then matching, needs of cities and communities with supply of possible
solutions from research results, involving adaptation to local needs, testing in real
environments (cities/communities as testbeds) and ensuring benefits for all parts of society.
Main beneficiaries of this action will be the participating cities and local communities,
together with the research and business partners involved in the testing and further uptake of
the innovative solutions. The action may engage planners, designers, architects, artists,
climate scientists, policy makers, investors, social innovators, local professionals and small
businesses. It will draw on the diversity of the local environments and their needs and
concepts for societal transformations and facilitate the sharing of experiences and lessons
learned. The consortium may provide financial support to third parties. The maximum amount
to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000. The respective options of the Model Grant
Agreement will be applied.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-20: Piloting a new industry-academia knowledge
exchange focussing on companies’ needs (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per         2.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
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                           The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of
                           grants.
                           The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60
                           000.
Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
     Stronger industrial ecosystems in Europe through reinforced industry-academia
      collaboration.
     Enhanced use of the European pool of talents and skills supporting European industry to
      deliver innovative solutions.
     Upskilling university students for their entrepreneurial and transversal skills by offering
      early exposure to real business environment and problem solving.
     Increased competitiveness of the European industry by facilitating access to knowledge
      and talents.
Scope: This action will promote industry-academia knowledge exchange focussing on
companies’ research and innovation needs, complementing university-business collaboration
in line with the European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and
resilience282.
This activity will build on already existing instruments in the field of university-business
cooperation such as EIT Knowledge Innovation Communities and Knowledge Alliance. Gap
analysis of the existing EU instruments in the field of university-business cooperation shows
that there is a need for enhancing support for ad-hoc collaborations focussing on companies’
specific needs. This activity will develop and pilot a standard collaboration module that will
support short-term gender-balanced co-creation teams of HEI 283 students, researchers and
companies own R&D personnel to work jointly to solve the company’s identified R&I and
business challenges. The applicants should elaborate how they will develop this in
coordination with the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) to avoid
duplication, explore complementary forms and means of service provisions distinct to the EIT
KICs, and allow possible use of existing EIT networks. The minimum number of co-creation
teams that need to be supported in a geographically balanced way is 300. The students and
researchers in each co-creation team must come from at least three EU Member States or
Associated Countries. Participation of companies across the EU and Associated Countries
should be ensured with particular emphasis on widening countries. The action should create
links with other relevant initiatives related to industry-academia collaboration.
The co-creation process will be facilitated by a collaborative module through which
companies can find the most suitable, skilled and motivated international teams on ad-hoc
basis to work together with the company staff to find a solution to the company’s identified
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challenge. The collaborative module will be in charge of matching the company’s needs with
individuals to form a bespoke and fit-for-purpose interdisciplinary diverse team to tackle the
particular challenge. Furthermore, the module will be in charge of the project management for
the co-creation teams and provide the teams with professional guidance and facilitation to
solve the defined challenges within 4-8 weeks. If applicants propose to provide financial
support to third parties to support co-creation teams they will need to describe conditions for
submission, evaluation and selection of proposals of third parties.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-21: Art-driven use experiments and design (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per         2.80 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.50 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 5 by the
Readiness Level          end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                         The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of
                         grants.
                         The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 80
                         000 in order to allow artists and end-users/providers of novel
                         technologies to collaborate in art-driven experiments.
Expected Outcome: Dedicated collaboration of industry with artists in R&D projects will lead
to novel products and services in line with a human-centred approach to innovation and with
sustainability goals. Proposals should bring together artistic practices with the technological
expertise provided by the consortium. This will:
   Stimulate uptake of digital technologies across selected sectors - (Green) Manufacturing,
      Mobility/Urbanism, Health, Agriculture, Energy and Space through art-driven
      experimentations to address social, business or sustainability challenges in the chosen
      sector(s).
   Increase trust in and acceptance of digital technologies in society through art-driven
      design and development of digital technologies. The development process and system
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      behaviour of the technologies should explicitly acknowledge human values and needs
      and thereby enable social inclusion and environmentally friendly innovation.
Scope: Design of technology and deployment in selected sectors will be explored through use
cases between stakeholders in industry – engineers, developers –, end-users and artists though
dedicated industrial projects in continuation of the S+T+ARTS residencies and S+T+ARTS
lighthouse pilots284. The role of the arts will be to (i) conceive challenging human-centred use
scenarios, (ii) explore alternative design methods and use scenarios for technologies using
artistic practice. Artists are contributing in system design and system testing and by allowing
exploration of technology in an artistic context. The call addresses all digital technologies but
in particular Artificial Intelligence. Calls will be open to research and technology institutions,
companies, and SMEs willing to provide access to selected (digital) technologies and to
connect to the arts.
The consortium will provide technical support and access to a range of digital technologies
for art-driven experimentation and support via financial support to third-parties for art-driven
experimentation. The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants to: (a)
artists interested to explore and to work with technologies to enhance their usability and
uptake and (b) artists and end-users/providers of novel technologies collaborating in art-
driven experiments. Third parties will be funded through projects typically up to EUR 40 000
per project for type (a) and EUR 80 000 per project for type (b) (30% of which to artists). At
least EUR 400 000 of the requested EU contribution should be dedicated to financial support
to third parties of type (a) and at least EUR 800 000 to type (b).
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-29: Support for transnational activities of National
Contact Points in the thematic area of Digital (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.50
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                      requesting different amounts.
Indicative            The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.50 million.
budget
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply: Applicants must be
                      Horizon Europe national support structures (e.g. NCP) responsible for the
                      Cluster 4 thematic area of Digital and officially nominated to the
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                     Commission, from a Member State or Associated Country. Only in case
                     and as long as Horizon Europe structures would not yet be officially
                     nominated, national support structures responsible for Information and
                     Communication Technologies (ICT) nominated for Horizon 2020 would
                     be eligible.
Procedure            The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                     apply:
                     The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
     Improved and professionalised NCP services across Europe, in the respective thematic
      area, thereby supporting access to Horizon Europe calls, lowering the entry barriers for
      newcomers, and raising the average quality of proposals submitted;
     A more consistent level of NCP support services across Europe;
     Facilitating participation of new players in projects in this thematic area;
     Matchmaking activities to link up potential participants from widening countries with
      emerging consortia in this thematic area. Matchmaking should use a variety of possible
      tools;
     Increased cooperation of NCPs with the Enterprise Europe Network.
Scope: Proposals should facilitate trans-national co-operation amongst National Contact
Points (NCPs) in the respective thematic area, encouraging cross-border activities, sharing
good practices and raising the general standard of support to programme applicants.
Proposers may wish to foresee specialised services covering the respective thematic area,
drawing on the expertise of the predecessor network. At the same time, proposers must
closely collaborate with the proposals in the two other thematic areas of the cluster, 285 to
ensure the cohesion of the services in the three thematic areas of Digital, Industry and Space,
with a single entry point and common visual identity. Proposers should also share good
practices across thematic areas; and enhance opportunities for collaboration across the cluster.
A dedicated work package should be developed to ensure these synergies.
Given the importance of human-centric approaches in this cluster, the proposal should attract
new types of player to the cluster, for instance social innovation players, makers and youth
associations. Appropriate expertise from social sciences and humanities (SSH) should be
included.
Special attention should be given to enhancing the competence of NCPs, including helping
less experienced NCPs rapidly acquire the know-how built up in other countries. Where
285
        Topics HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-30,31
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relevant, synergies should be sought with the Enterprise Europe Network to organise
matchmaking activities in accordance with Annex IV of the NCP Minimum Standards and
Guiding Principles.
The proposal should cover 36 months, with the possibility to renew to the whole duration of
Horizon Europe.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-30: Support for transnational activities of National
Contact Points in the thematic area of Industry (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.50
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                     requesting different amounts.
Indicative           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.50 million.
budget
Type of Action       Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     The following additional eligibility criteria apply: Applicants must be
                     Horizon Europe national support structures (e.g. NCP) responsible for the
                     Cluster 4 thematic area of Industry and officially nominated to the
                     Commission, from a Member State or Associated Country. Only in case
                     and as long as Horizon Europe structures would not yet be officially
                     nominated, national support structures responsible for Nanotechnologies,
                     Advanced Materials and Advanced Manufacturing and Processing
                     nominated for Horizon 2020 would be eligible.
Procedure            The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                     apply:
                     The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Improved and professionalised NCP services across Europe, in the respective thematic
      area, thereby supporting access to Horizon Europe calls, lowering the entry barriers for
      newcomers, and raising the average quality of proposals submitted;
   A more consistent level of NCP support services across Europe;
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     Facilitating participation of new players in projects in this thematic area;
     Matchmaking activities to link up potential participants from widening countries with
      emerging consortia in this thematic area. Matchmaking should use a variety of possible
      tools;
     Increased cooperation of NCPs with the Enterprise Europe Network.
Scope: Proposals should facilitate trans-national co-operation amongst National Contact
Points (NCPs) in the respective thematic area, encouraging cross-border activities, sharing
good practices and raising the general standard of support to programme applicants.
Proposers may wish to foresee specialised services covering the respective thematic area,
drawing on the expertise of the predecessor network. At the same time, proposers must
closely collaborate with the proposals in the two other thematic areas of the cluster, 286 to
ensure the cohesion of the services in the three thematic areas of Digital, Industry and Space,
with a single entry point and common visual identity. Proposers should also share good
practices across thematic areas; and enhance opportunities for collaboration across the cluster.
A dedicated work package should be developed to ensure these synergies.
Given the importance of human-centric approaches in this cluster, the proposal should attract
new types of player to the cluster, for instance social innovation players, makers and youth
associations. Appropriate expertise from social sciences and humanities (SSH) should be
included.
Special attention should be given to enhancing the competence of NCPs, including helping
less experienced NCPs rapidly acquire the know-how built up in other countries. Where
relevant, synergies should be sought with the Enterprise Europe Network to organise
matchmaking activities in accordance with Annex IV of the NCP Minimum Standards and
Guiding Principles.
The proposal should cover 36 months, with the possibility to renew to the whole duration of
Horizon Europe.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-31: Support for transnational activities of National
Contact Points in the thematic area of Space (CSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
286
         Topics HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-29,31
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                     requesting different amounts.
Indicative           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.00 million.
budget
Type of Action       Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     The following additional eligibility criteria apply: Applicants must be
                     Horizon Europe national support structures (e.g. NCP) responsible for the
                     Cluster 4 thematic area of Space and officially nominated to the
                     Commission, from a Member State or Associated Country. Only in case
                     and as long as Horizon Europe structures would not yet be officially
                     nominated, national support structures responsible for Space nominated
                     for Horizon 2020 would be eligible.
Procedure            The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                     apply:
                     The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
     Improved and professionalised NCP services across Europe, in the respective thematic
      area, thereby supporting access to Horizon Europe calls, lowering the entry barriers for
      newcomers, and raising the average quality of proposals submitted;
     A more consistent level of NCP support services across Europe;
     Facilitating participation of new players in projects in this thematic area;
     Matchmaking activities to link up potential participants from widening countries with
      emerging consortia in this thematic area. Matchmaking should use a variety of possible
      tools;
     Increased cooperation of NCPs with the Enterprise Europe Network.
Scope: Proposals should facilitate trans-national co-operation amongst National Contact
Points (NCPs) in the respective thematic area, encouraging cross-border activities, sharing
good practices and raising the general standard of support to programme applicants.
Proposers may wish to foresee specialised services covering the respective thematic area,
drawing on the expertise of the predecessor network. At the same time, proposers must
closely collaborate with the proposals in the two other thematic areas of the cluster, 287 to
ensure the cohesion of the services in the three thematic areas of Digital, Industry and Space,
287
        Topics HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-29,30
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with a single entry point and common visual identity. Proposers should also share good
practices across thematic areas; and enhance opportunities for collaboration across the cluster.
A dedicated work package should be developed to ensure these synergies.
Given the importance of human-centric approaches in this cluster, the proposal should attract
new types of player to the cluster, for instance social innovation players, makers and youth
associations. Appropriate expertise from social sciences and humanities (SSH) should be
included.
Special attention should be given to enhancing the competence of NCPs, including helping
less experienced NCPs rapidly acquire the know-how built up in other countries. Where
relevant, synergies should be sought with the Enterprise Europe Network to organise
matchmaking activities in accordance with Annex IV of the NCP Minimum Standards and
Guiding Principles.
The proposal should cover 36 months, with the possibility to renew to the whole duration of
Horizon Europe.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-26: Workforce skills for industry 5.0 (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 4 and achieve TRL 6 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   A quantitative and qualitative assessment of the nature of job transformations in the
      context of the 4th industrial revolution, estimating and mapping the emerging
      occupations. Establishment of an “Industry 5.0 platform” for future skill requirements
      improving the critical understanding of the ‘black box’ of new jobs creation;
   guidance and recommendations, including avenues for new learning and training
      systems, for policy-makers, businesses, individuals, to reduce the skills’ gaps, to cope
      with possible unemployment effects, to foster industrial competitiveness while
      enhancing inclusiveness.
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Scope: The 4th industrial revolution, has been associated with production efficiencies, cost
reductions, streamlined labour requirements and business model adaptations. However, this is
accompanied with social, economic and organizational challenges such income inequalities,
public perception for job quality and scarcity, legal issues and data security.
The RIA will investigate the social and economic impacts generated by emerging disruptive
technologies (artificial intelligence & machine learning, block chain, big data, internet of
things, 5g, etc.), robotisation and digitalization on labour markets and business models. They
will explore innovative methodologies in redefining work activities and automatable tasks
also through an historical comparison with previous industrial revolutions, including cultural,
ethical, and regional perspectives, combining the tools of social sciences and humanities
(SSH) disciplines with the insights of industry leaders (large companies, SMEs, regional
ecosystems) and social partners. Several dimensions should be explored: job nature and skills
including the impact generated by the covid-19 outbreak, labour productivity, employment
and mobility, quality and new forms of work, business value chains, management and
organisational models, gender aspects, workplace and socio-demographic characteristics,
territorial structures. Proposals will comprehensively assess how benefits are distributed in all
sectors and, keeping into account similar ongoing exercises (e.g. OECD, CEdefop, etc..) as
well as national industry 5.0 initiatives, they will forecast the expected dominant trend of jobs,
mapping the emerging occupations and predicting the future skill needs and shifts by industry,
also improving the critical understanding of those which cannot be automated (creativity,
social intelligence, problem-solving, etc..).
Furthermore distinctive learning trajectories and training paths will be identified for both
STEM and soft skills, including combined public-private learning ecosystems and
collaborative learning techniques/tools. Skills taxonomies will be developed in order to
monitor track changes in the demand that are continually challenged by technological
progress, thus contributing to close unintended skill gaps and unemployment spill-overs.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
Call - A HUMAN-CENTRED AND ETHICAL DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL AND
INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES 2022
                                                                 HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-01
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Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)288
                   Topics                          Type       Budgets         Expected EU         Number
                                                     of        (EUR          contribution per         of
                                                  Action      million)        project (EUR         projects
                                                                               million)289        expected
                                                                2022                                to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 21 Dec 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 05 Apr 2022
HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-01-03 RIA                             22.00        Around 11.00            2
HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-01-05 RIA                             2.00         Around 2.00             1
HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-01-07 RIA                             6.00         Around 6.00             1
HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-01-14 RIA                             19.00        5.00 to 8.00            3
HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-01-19 IA                              21.50        5.00 to 8.00            3
Overall indicative budget                                    70.50
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
288
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
289
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
An Internet of Trust
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-01-03:                    Internet     architecture    and    decentralised
technologies (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per      11.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 22.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            N.A. (not applicable)
Readiness Level
Procedure             The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      To ensure a balanced portfolio covering a broad range of research areas
                      and approaches, grants will be awarded to applications not only in order
                      of ranking but at least also to the highest ranking proposal in the first
                      research area, addressing Internet architecture, and to the highest
                      ranking proposal in the second research area, addressing Blockchain
                      and DLT, provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements            Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                      The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                      As the main objective of the action is to support large number of third
                      parties through open calls, the maximum amount to be granted to each
                      third party is EUR 500 000 to allow cases were a given legal entity (e.g.
                      large research, academic or industrial organisations) may receive
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                       several grants (e.g. from different calls).
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
    A greener, more secure and resilient global Internet based on a decentralised architecture
     stemming from the evolution of TCP/IP and the advent of distributed ledger technologies
     (DLT) and Blockchain.
    Increased European competitiveness and open strategic autonomy in core Internet
     technologies, DLT and Blockchain, reinforcing the European Internet and Blockchain
     ecosystems and excellence in research and innovation.
    A European ecosystem of top internet and Blockchain innovators, with the capacity to
     set the course of the Internet evolution and strengthening the role of Europe in Internet
     standard setting.
    New business and sustainability models based on decentralised technologies and open
     source.
Scope: The Internet architecture has developed as a mix of centralised, networked and device-
based technologies with design choices largely coming from the past. In particular, the
questions of security and energy efficiency were relatively secondary in the initial architecture
design of the Internet. At the same time, ever-larger fractions of the internet as we know it
today are operated by a small number of platforms controlling end-users’ data, online
transactions and infrastructure, effectively leading to a concentration and centralisation of the
Internet.
Proposals should focus on advancing the state-of-the-art in one of the two research areas
below:
  1. To review and upgrade the open Internet architecture (hardware, software, protocols) to
     increase the performance of the network, adapt it to new application requirements,
     improve quality of service, make it more resilient to security threats, more energy
     efficient and respectful of the environment (e.g. reparability, recyclability), and
     increasingly supportive of open and decentralised technologies and services.
  2. Address the current limitations of decentralised technologies, such as Blockchain and
     DLT, including those related to scalability, interoperability, energy efficiency, privacy or
     security, in order to make them dependable building blocks of the future Internet. This
     research area will explore DLT-based solutions, enabling the exploitation of data coming
     from a high number and various types of sources, eliminating data silos through
     decentralised and interoperable approaches, while helping individuals and organisations
     better govern their data when they participate in joint value chains where cooperating
     partners can also be competitors. Such solutions should ensure a high level of trust
     concerning data provenance and authentication with (real-time) traceability, data
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      integrity, data exploitation as well as data protection and privacy when it relates to
      individuals.
Proposals should clearly identify the research area they are addressing.
The focus is on advanced research that is linked to new technology breakthrough and real-life
applications or use cases. However, apps and services that innovate without a research
component are not covered by this topic. Proposals funded under this topic should include
standardisation activities to promote the technologies developed in international standard
setting organisations.
The proposals should support open source software and open hardware design, including how
to maintain key open source building blocks of the internet, access to testing and operational
infrastructures, as well as an IPR regime ensuring lasting impact and reusability of results.
Financial support to third parties
Each RIA will support third party projects from outstanding open source innovators, academic
research groups, high-tech startups, SMEs and other multidisciplinary actors, so that multiple
actors are funded and collectively contribute to building a more decentralised and trustworthy
Internet. As the primary purpose of the action is to support and mobilise internet innovators, a
minimum of 80% of the total requested EU contribution should be allocated to financial
support to third parties, selected through open calls.
The consortium should provide the programme logic for the third-party projects, ensure the
coherence and coordination of these projects, and provide the necessary technical support, as
well as coaching and mentoring, in order to ensure that the collection of third party projects
contributes to a significant advancement and impact in the research and innovation domain,
including in terms of standardisation. These tasks cannot be implemented using the budget
earmarked for the financial support to third parties.
Beneficiaries should make explicit the intervention logic for the area, their capacity to attract
top internet and DLT talents, to deliver value-added services to the third-party projects, as
well as their expertise and capacity in managing the full life-cycle of the open calls
transparently and efficiently (a minimum of five open calls during the lifetime of the project).
They should explore synergies with other research and innovation actions, supported at
regional, national or European level, to increase the overall impact.
The Commission considers that proposals with an overall duration of typically 36 months
would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not
preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other durations. For ensuring
focused effort, third parties will be funded through projects typically in the EUR 50 000 to
150 000 range per project, with indicative duration of 9 to 12 months.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
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HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-01-05: Next Generation Safer Internet: Technologies to
identify digital Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 7 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
   AI tools and technologies (including classifiers) to identify digital Child Sexual Abuse
      Material (CSAM).
Scope: One of the main challenges in the fight against online CSAM is the vast amount of
potential new CSAM that Hotlines and Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) have to assess and
classify as illegal prior to takedown. In 2018, for example, national LEAs in the EU received
more than 500,000 referrals stemming from US internet providers, while INHOPE Hotlines
are seeing increasing numbers of reports of CSAM hosted in the EU resulting from proactive
search for CSAM. Relying on human analysts alone to assess such vast quantities of material
slows up both law enforcement investigations and notice and takedown actions. There is
therefore an urgent need to further develop and test AI tools which support the classification
of CSAM. Such AI classifier tools will help law enforcement agencies (LEAs), INHOPE
Hotlines, and industry to analyse the vast amounts of digital CSAM more efficiently through
automated identification and prioritization, thus leading to swifter takedown of illegal
material by Hotlines and industry, and more effective investigations by LEAs.
The proposals aim to develop mature tools that support the analytical work of LEAs and
Hotlines, based on relevant classifiers that correspond to typical elements/characteristics of
CSAM. The tools should allow identification, categorisation and prioritisation of digital
CSAM from large data sets. The solutions should be robust enough and provide sufficient
information to help Hotline analysts and law enforcement officers in their assessments.
To ensure that the proposed solutions are fit for purpose and effective, INHOPE Hotlines and
LEAs should be involved in each project. Working in close cooperation with them, the
proposals should build on existing infrastructures and processes already available to LEAs
and INHOPE Hotlines. The proposals should ensure European added value through cross-
border interoperability.
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The proposals should define the characteristics and granularity of classifiers required, develop
the classifiers, compose and annotate representative CSAM data sets, train and test the tools
in cooperation with LEAs and INHOPE Hotlines. As CSAM is illegal, these data sets need to
be provided by or composed mainly in cooperation with LEAs. To reduce the development
and training time on this sensitive data, the proposed tools should be able to incorporate
dynamically user feedback, preferably without the need of retraining the model. The proposed
tools should also allow pre-training on data available for other general tasks, like image
classification, object detection, instance segmentation, etc., in order to increase the accuracy
and to reduce the exposure to sensitive data during training. The tools to be developed can
also include other relevant features such as text-based data analysis, audio analysis from
videos and/or automated key word extraction from audio or age detection.
All tools developed throughout the projects should be made freely available as Open Source
Software, also for industry to use on a voluntary basis to detect and remove illegal material.
The topic, with its focus on more effective and efficient AI-based tools for processing online
CSAM by a wide range of actors (NGOs, industry, Law enforcement), complements the
objectives of Horizon Europe Cluster 3 Civil Security for Society290, which advances research
into perpetrators and on tools for law enforcement intelligence. Moreover, it will build on
relevant work performed in previous EU-funded projects and national initiatives.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-01-07: NGI International Collaboration - USA and
Canada (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Technology              N.A. (not applicable)
Readiness Level
Legal and financial     The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant     apply:
Agreements              Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                        The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                        As the main objective of the action is to support large number of third
                        parties through open calls, the maximum amount to be granted to each
                        third party is EUR 500 000 to allow cases were a given legal entity (e.g.
290
        HORIZON-CL3-2021-FCT-01-11: Prevention of child sexual exploitation
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                        large research, academic or industrial organisations) may receive
                        several grants (e.g. from different calls).
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
   Enhanced EU cooperation with the US and Canada in the development of Next
      Generation Internet technologies, services and standards.
   Supporting the EU internet policy objectives by sharing the EU vision and values with
      US and Canadian counterparts and forging bonds through concrete collaborations.
   An EU-US-Canada ecosystems of top researchers, hi-tech start-ups / SMEs and Internet-
      related communities collaborating on the evolution of the Internet according to a human-
      centric approach.
   Generate new business opportunities for European Internet innovators based on
      decentralised technologies and open source.
Scope: The aim of the topic is to reinforce EU cooperation and strategic partnerships with the
US and Canada in the area of Next Generation Internet, and to establish a continuous dialogue
among the actors involved in the US, Canadian and EU programmes, in particular as far as
internet standardisation is concerned. The focus should be on trust and data sovereignty, in
particular digital identity, and on internet architecture renovation and decentralised
technologies.
A RIA will organise open calls for joint projects involving EU teams together with USA
and/or Canadian teams on emerging topics for the EU Next Generation Internet and
corresponding US and Canadian programmes, including technology development, joint
demonstrators and joint contributions to standards. The proposal should support open source
software and open hardware design, open access to data, standardisation activities, access to
testing and operational infrastructures as well as an IPR regime ensuring lasting impact and
reusability of results.
Financial support to third parties
Each RIA will support third party projects, from open source developers, to academic
researchers, hi-tech startups, SMEs and other multidisciplinary actors, so that multiple actors
are funded and collectively contribute to enhancing EU cooperation with the USA and Canada
in the development of Next Generation Internet technologies and services. As the primary
purpose of the action is to support and mobilise internet innovators, a minimum of 80% of the
total requested EU contribution should be allocated to financial support to third parties,
selected through open calls.
The consortium should provide the programme logic for the third-party projects, ensure the
coherence and coordination of these projects, and provide the necessary technical support, as
well as coaching and mentoring, in order to ensure that the collection of third party projects
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contributes to a significant advancement and impact in the research and innovation domain
and in advancing EU collaboration with the US and Canada. These tasks cannot be
implemented using the budget earmarked for the financial support to third parties.
Beneficiaries should make explicit the intervention logic for the area, their capacity to attract
top internet talents, to deliver value-added services to the third-party projects, as well as their
expertise and capacity in managing the full life-cycle of the open calls transparently and
efficiently (a minimum of five open calls during the lifetime of the project). They should
explore synergies with other research and innovation actions, supported at national or
European level, to increase the overall impact.
The Commission considers that proposals with an overall duration of typically 36 months
would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not
preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other durations. For ensuring
focused effort, third parties will be funded through projects typically in the EUR 50 000 to
100 000 range per project, with indicative duration of 3 to 9 months.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
eXtended Reality (XR)
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-01-14: eXtended Reality Technologies (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       5.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 19.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to start at TRL 2 and achieve TRL 4-5 by the end
Readiness Level        of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Innovative eXtended Reality industrial and societal applications, integrating
      technologies such as advanced visualisation, 3D, Augmented and Virtual Reality
      experiences, human-machine interaction and cooperation, with a focus on well designed
      and fully tested scenarios in real-world environment.
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Scope: The emergence of smart cities and factories, autonomous vehicles and homes,
intelligent appliances in conjunction with Virtual and Augmented Reality applications are
opening new ways to live, work, care, learn, play and socialize. Whilst people, places and
objects are being digitized and transferred into the virtual world and placed spatially and
contextually, sensors are embedded into our environments and the objects around us. New
digital interaction technologies are playing an essential role in this transformation by enabling
us to interact naturally and intuitively with digital information in the physical world.
This topic asks for research and innovation proposals to develop and demonstrate novel
eXtended Reality technologies, combining human-machine interactions and real, mixed,
augmented and virtual environments, aiming to augment the capabilities of users and
machines and to provide seamless and persistent physical-digital experiences, while
guaranteeing the privacy and rights of individuals and companies and ensuring safe, secure
and trustworthy interactions.
Special attention will be given to including end-users and transdisciplinary research including
social sciences and humanities, in order to deliver and enhance uptake of suitable, ethical and
safe solutions.
Proposals should cover at least one of the following points and will provide well designed and
fully tested scenarios in real-world environment for enhanced eXtended Reality experiences:
   devising innovative digital interfaces that take advantage of spatial computing to allow
      users to interact with real-time contextual information activated by intuitive sensory
      triggers;
   developing novel multi-user virtual communication and collaboration solutions that
      provide coherent multisensory experiences and optimally convey relevant social cues;
   improving the resilience, robustness, accuracy and semantic understanding of the current
      mapping and positioning systems, while providing real-time bidirectional
      synchronisation between models and interactive applications;
   facilitating the exploitation of 3D data acquisition techniques, enhancing its performance
      while reducing technology costs and providing efficient and scalable encoding,
      processing, storage and rendering means;
   enabling the construction of compelling context-aware and embodied experiences by
      providing solutions for the creation of convincing digital avatars and agents, with natural
      looking and physically realistic behaviours, movements and expressions.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-01-19: eXtended Reality Learning - Engage and
Interact (IA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
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contribution per           5.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                    appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                           selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 21.50 million.
Type of Action             Innovation Actions
Technology                 Activities are expected to start at TRL 4 and achieve TRL 6-7 by the
Readiness Level            end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial        The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant        exceptions apply:
Agreements                 Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                           The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of
                           grants.
                           The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 300
                           000 to further advance early prototypes of XR educational solution to
                           a market-ready product, with the overall aim to populate the on-
                           demand education platform.
Expected Outcome: Proposals are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   To develop innovative eXtended Reality applications for learning, training and education
To test and support take-up of proven, successful eXtended Reality tools, making Europe a
leader in cutting-edge technologies for education.
Scope: eXtended Reality, combining human-machine interactions with real, mix, augmented
and virtual environments, allows for higher engagement with teaching material and more
efficient interaction with complex problems or new environments. Proposals will make use of
XR technologies to develop and test virtual tools for teaching and learning.
The selected proposal will create a European reference platform on learning and teaching with
XR with the aim to:
   develop, apply and test the use of eXtended Reality technologies, in education , such as
      for virtual field trips, content creation and exploration (STEM, history, etc.), awareness
      of climate changes and biodiversity challenges, training of young professionals and
      upskilling (such as but not limited to healthcare and medical, manufacturing,
      construction and engineering), distance and blended learning, accessibility and inclusion;
   provide access to teachers, students, parents and school administration to a reference
      platform where they can find educational solutions appropriate for their educational
      needs;
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     build a focal point where the EdTech and XR community (including SMEs, start-ups,
      companies, academia/research community, learning and instructional designers, social
      innovators) can share/market their existing digital educational XR solutions, including
      those developed in the context of EU funded projects;
     further support digital start-ups, SMEs and industry active in the sector through
      Financial Support for Third Parties actions allowing them to further advance early
      prototypes of XR educational solution to a market-ready product, with the overall aim to
      populate the on-demand education platform;
     build upon and link to existing relevant initiatives, including for instance existing
      platforms, catalogues or repositories;
     reach out to potential user groups through awareness-raising and communication
      activities to boost the use of the platforms.
The project will be populated with FSTPs and smaller projects such as:
     FSTP projects for fully developed, tested and ready-to-deploy digital learning
      solutions/apps using XR;
     FSTP XR for education projects including Mini-Piloting projects/schools to be used for
      user-tests/examples/communication
The actions should select these small scale projects through the use of financial support to
third parties. A minimum of 60% of the EU funding of the action should be allocated to the
financial support of these third parties, typically of the size of EUR 150 000 to 300 000 per
third party and a duration of about 9 to 12 months. Financial support to third parties should in
line with the conditions set out in the General Annexes.
In order to facilitate the integration with existing IT systems and policies, the EU XR platform
for education should only accept XR content, tools and solutions based on open standards,
such as OpenXR and WebXR and should offer publicly available access to XR content, tools
and solutions, without passing through app stores.
Call - A HUMAN-CENTRED AND ETHICAL DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL AND
INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES 2022
                                                                     HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)291
291
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
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                   Topics                         Type       Budgets         Expected EU          Number
                                                    of        (EUR         contribution per           of
                                                 Action      million)       project (EUR           projects
                                                                              million)292         expected
                                                               2022                                 to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                          Opening: 16 Jun 2022
                                        Deadline(s): 16 Nov 2022
HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-02-01 RIA                            16.00        Around 8.00              2
HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-02-02 RIA                            34.50        Around 11.50             3
Overall indicative budget                                   50.50
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                          Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                          Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                    The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                 C.
Award criteria                                            The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                          D.
Documents                                                 The documents are described in General
                                                          Annex E.
Procedure                                                 The procedure is described in General
                                                          Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                   The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Leadership in AI based on trust
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
292
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-02-01: AI for human empowerment (AI, Data and
Robotics Partnership) (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU         The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per    million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project             Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                    requesting different amounts.
Indicative          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 16.00 million.
budget
Type of Action      Research and Innovation Actions
Technology          Activities are expected to start at TRL 2-3 and achieve TRL 4-5 by the
Readiness Level     end of the project – see General Annex B.
Procedure           The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                    apply:
                    To ensure a balanced portfolio covering a broad range of AI research
                    areas, grants will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking
                    but at least also to the highest ranked proposal addressing focus 1 (mixed
                    human-AI initiatives) and the highest ranked proposal addressing the
                    focus 2 (hybrid decision-support), provided that the applications attain all
                    thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Proposal results are expected to contribute to at least one of the following
expected outcomes:
   Truly mixed human-AI initiatives for human empowerment
   Trustworthy hybrid decision-support systems
Scope: Build the next level of perception, visualisation, interaction and collaboration
between humans and AI systems working together as partners to achieve common goals,
sharing mutual understanding and learning of each other’s abilities and respective roles.
Innovative and promising approaches are encouraged, including human-in the loop
approaches for truly mixed human-AI initiatives combining the best of human and machine
knowledge and capabilities, tacit knowledge extraction (to design the next generation AI-
driven co-creation and collaboration tools embodied e.g. in industrial/working spaces
environments).
Each proposal will exclusively focus on one of the two following research objectives, and
must clearly identify its focus in the proposal:
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  1. Reach truly mixed human-AI initiatives for human empowerment. The approaches
      should combine the best of human and machine knowledge and capabilities including
      shared and sliding autonomy in interaction, addressing reactivity, and fluidity of
      interaction and making systems transparent, fair and intuitive to use, which will play a
      key role in acceptance. The systems should adapt to the user rather than the opposite,
      based on analysis, understanding and anticipation about human behaviour and
      expectations.
  2. Trustworthy hybrid decision-support, including approaches for mixed and sliding
      decision-making, for context interpretation, for dealing with uncertainty, transparent
      anticipation, reliability, human-centric planning and decision-making, interdependencies,
      and augmented decision-making. Transparency, fairness, technical accuracy and
      robustness will be the key, together with validation strategies assessing also the quality
      of the decision of the AI supported socio-technical system.
All proposals should adopt a human-centred development of trustworthy AI and investigate
and optimise ways of human-AI interaction, key for acceptance and democratisation of AI, to
allow any user to take full advantage of the huge benefits such technology can offer,
regardless of their age, race, gender or capabilities. This includes development of methods to
improve transparency, in particular for human users, in terms of explainability, expected
levels of performance which are guaranteed/verifiable and corresponding confidence levels,
accountability and responsibility, as well as perceived trust and fairness. AI could also be
used to empower humans in supporting them to improve responsible behaviours, where
appropriate, but this should be done in full respect of the requirements ensuring trustworthy
AI, including human autonomy.
Innovative scientific approach towards human-centric approaches will require
multidisciplinary and trans-disciplinary approaches paying particular attention to
intersectional factors (gender, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, disability) including
SSH 293 and other disciplines relevant to stimulate novel research avenues, and eventually
improve user-acceptance. Collaborative design and evaluation with users involvement should
also be considered.
As a pilot activity, proposals in this topic will dedicate part of their activities on investigating
novel ways of engagement by citizens or citizen representatives with AI development, with a
view of optimising experience towards improving usability and experience for citizens (both
at professional or daily life environment).
All proposals should contribute to build the next level of perception, visualisation, interaction
and collaboration, and understanding between humans and AI systems working together as
partners to achieve common goals, sharing mutual understanding of each other’s abilities and
respective roles.
293
         Social Sciences and Humanities
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All proposals are expected to embed mechanisms to assess and demonstrate progress (with
qualitative and quantitative KPIs, benchmarking and progress monitoring, as well as
illustrative application use-cases demonstrating concrete potential added value), and share
results with the European R&D community, through the AI-on-demand platform294, a public
community resource, to maximise re-use of results, either by developers, or for uptake, and
optimise efficiency of funding. Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the
project.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on AI, Data and Robotics.
All proposals are expected to allocate tasks to cohesion activities with the PPP on AI, Data
and Robotics and funded actions related to this partnership, including the CSA HORIZON-
CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-02.
HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-02-02: European Network of AI Excellence Centres:
Expanding the European AI lighthouse (RIA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU                   The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per              11.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                       appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                              selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 34.50 million.
Type of Action                Research and Innovation Actions
Technology                    Activities are expected to start at TRL 2-3 and achieve TRL 4-5 by
Readiness Level               the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial           The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant           exceptions apply:
Agreements                    Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                              The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of
                              grants.
                              The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60
                              000.
Expected Outcome: Proposals results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
     Scientific progress in AI, addressing major challenges hampering its deployment,
      including systems engineering.
294
         Initiated under the AI4EU project https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825619 and further developed in
         projects resulting from H2020-ICT-49-2020 call
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     Build-up the European AI lighthouse, initiated by earlier Networks of excellence
      centers295.
     Unify and reinforce the world-class European AI community.
Scope: To ensure European open strategic autonomy in critical technology such as AI, with
huge potential socio-economic impact, it is essential to reinforce and build on Europe’s assets
in such technologies, including its world-class researcher community, in order to stay at the
forefront of technological developments.
As stated in the communication from the European Commission on Artificial Intelligence for
Europe and the coordinated action plan between the European Commission and the Member
States, while Europe has undeniable strengths with its many leading research centres, efforts
are scattered. Therefore joining forces will be crucial to be competitive at international level.
Europe has to scale up existing research capacities and reach a critical mass through cross-
community networks of European excellence centres in AI. Proposals should develop
mechanisms to reinforce and strengthen the networks of excellence centres in AI. They are
expected to bring the best scientists from academia and industry together to join forces in
addressing the major AI challenges hampering its deployment, and to reinforce excellence in
AI throughout Europe via a tightly-coupled network of collaboration.
Such networks are expected to mobilise select groups of key researchers from both industry
and academia to collaborate on solving significant AI problems in which Europe has
exceptional expertise. The networks are expected to increase the impact of the funding by
making faster and greater progress through the joint efforts by recognised leaders working
together, drawing on both shared and complementary perspectives, such as reasoning and
learning, on the chosen problems. Such networks, together with other mechanisms, will play
an important role in achieving a critical mass of talent and in overcoming the present
fragmentation of AI research in Europe.
Proposals will mobilise the best European teams in AI community to join forces to address
major technical as well as sector- or societal-driven challenges: strengthening excellence,
networking, multidisciplinarity, academia-industry synergies.
This initiative contributes to the initiative started in H2020 to develop a vibrant European
network of excellence centres in AI, and a vibrant AI scientific community, and continued in
the first call of Horizon Europe. To complement and extend this initiative the proposals
should create a network of excellence for the following topics:
  1. Next Generation AI – covering foundational research and emerging and novel
      approaches, with a view of improving the technical performances of AI-based systems,
      such as increased accuracy, robustness, verifiability, dependability, adaptability,
295
        In this section AI is taken in the broad sense and covers AI, Data and Robotics - the earlier Networks of
        Excellence centers projects result from the topic H2020-ICT-48, as well as the first topics of Horizon
        Europe HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-03 and HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-
        12
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      versatility, graceful degradation, etc. Research is also expected to address functional and
      performance guarantees.Aspects to be covered include, but are not limited to:
      foundational research in artificial intelligence and machine learning including new
      paradigms, algorithms, architectures and novel optimization and regularization methods,
      hybrid AI, hybrid machine learning, data/sample –efficiency.
  2. Scientific research and technologies prioritised in the latest SRIDA (Strategic Research,
      Innovation and Deployment Agenda of the AI, Data and Robotics PPP) , and
      complementing the previously selected Networks of Excellence centres (either in
      H2020-ICT48, or the first calls for Networks of Excellence Centres in Horizon Europe).
Proposals will need to demonstrate how they complement, intend to expand and maximise the
coverage of the previously selected296 networks of excellence centres in AI.
To develop the lighthouse the selected networks should identify the major strength Europe has
on a number of specific AI topics, and gather the best teams working on them in Europe in a
strongly connected virtual institute, collaborating and competing to progress on these topics.
They might also identify topics where Europe needs support to become competitive at
international level, if strategically important.
Each network should set ambitious challenges, with the overarching aim of becoming aworld
reference of excellence in AI on the strategic topics prioritised by the Network. As a result,
Europe’s diversity will stimulate healthy competition, rather than the fragmentation of the AI
community.
The scientific progress should be driven by major societal challenges, which will serve as a
source of research questions. This should also make it attractive for industries to join the
efforts, in bringing their top research teams in the network, and also provide data/challenges
that can become reference to drive scientific progress.
Composition of the Networks:
     Proposals should be driven by leading researchers in AI and AI relevant technologies
      from major excellent AI research centres, and bringing the best scientists across Europe,
      including also from promising research labs. They will bring on board the necessary
      level of expertise and variety of disciplines and profiles to achieve their objectives,
      ensuring a multidisciplinarity and multi-sectorial research approach, while respecting
      equality and diversity among the attracted talents.
Activities of the Networks:
     In order to structure the activities, the proposals will focus on important scientific or
      technological challenges with industrial and societal relevance where Europe will make
296
         the earlier Networks of Excellence centers projects result from the topics H2020-ICT-48, as well as the
         first topics of Horizon Europe HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-03 and HORIZON-CL4-2021-
         DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-12
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      a difference, by building on existing strengths, or increasing strength in areas that are
      critical for Europe.
     Based on the identified challenges, the networks should develop and implement common
      research agendas. The main vision and roadmap with clear targets, as well as
      methodology to implement and monitor progress will have to be specified in the
      proposal and can be further developed during the project.
     Scientific progress will have to be demonstrated through testing on application specific
      datasets or use-cases that characterise a demonstrated need of individuals or society as a
      whole. By extending the benchmarking of foundational research to application specific
      areas, the research community will simultaneously address advancements in AI and
      grand societal and technological challenges.
     The networks should define mechanisms to foster excellence throughout Europe, to
      increase efficiency of collaboration, including through networking and exchange
      programmes, and to develop a vibrant AI network in Europe.
     The networks are expected to disseminate the latest and most advanced knowledge to all
      the academic and industrial AI laboratories in Europe and involving them in
      collaborative projects/exchange programmes. (This could involve projects defined
      initially or via financial support to third parties, for maximum 20% of the requested EU
      contribution, with a maximum of 60k€ per third party297).
     Furthermore, it is key that each network provides a dissemination plan on how it intends
      to promote uptake by disseminating resources, e.g. datasets, software, or toolkits that are
      required to replicate and validate any experiments that gave rise to this knowledge.
     The networks should develop interactions with the industry, in view of triggering new
      scientific questions and fostering take-up of scientific advances
     The networks will develop collaboration with the AI-on-Demand platform, the AI, Data
      and Robotics Partnership and with relevant Digital innovation Hubs and AI start-up
      initiatives, to disseminate knowledge and tools, and understand their needs.
     The networks should also foster innovation and include mechanisms to exploit new ideas
      coming out of the networks’ work (for instance via incubators).
     Overall, each network will define mechanisms to become a virtual centre of excellence,
      offering access to knowledge and serve as a reference in its chosen specific field,
      including activities to ensure visibility.
The proposals should
     include mechanisms to spread the latest and most advanced knowledge to all the AI-labs
      in Europe
297
         Maximum amount per third party, received from a given Action, over its entire duration
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     develop synergies and cross-fertilization between industry, academia and civil society.
     become a common resource and shared facility, as a virtual laboratory offering access to
      knowledge and expertise and attracting talents
     provide broad access to AI excellence in Europe and also play an important role in
      increasing visibility
     provide access to the required resources and infrastructure to support the R&D activities
      of the action, such as cloud and computing capacity, IoT, robotics equipment, support
      staff and engineers, where relevant, and the capacity to develop prototypes, pilots,
      demonstrators, etc.
     include a number of major scientific and application challenges which will mobilise the
      community to join forces in addressing them. Continuous evaluation and demonstration
      of scientific and technological progress (with qualitative and quantitative KPIs,
      benchmarking and progress monitoring processes) towards solving the targeted
      challenges will motivate the entire network and support publications and scientific career
      developments (providing reference benchmarks to publish comparative results, using the
      reference data, scenarios, etc.), and also showcase the technology in application contexts,
      to attract more user industries and foster take up and adoption of the technology.
     include mechanisms to share resources, knowledge, tools, modules, software, results,
      expertise, and make equipment/infrastructure available to scientists to optimise the
      scientific and technological progress. To that end, proposals should exploit tools such as
      the AI-on-demand platform298 and further develop and expand the platform, to support
      the network and sharing of resource, results, tools among the scientific community,
      maximising re-use of results, and supporting faster progress. Mechanisms to test results
      and continuously measure and demonstrate progress should be integrated in the platform,
      which is also important to support the scientific community, allowing also for
      comparative analysis. Openness and interoperability of components are encouraged to
      develop synergies and cross-fertilization between different approaches and solutions
      (e.g. through modularity of components or open interfaces)
     include collaboration mechanisms among the best AI and AI-relevant research teams,
      but also mechanisms to bring all European AI teams to the highest level of excellence.
      This is also in view of supporting and encouraging the adoption of AI technologies in all
      Member States and Associated Countries, with particular emphasis on geographical
      aspect and elimination of gaps between Member States/Associated Countries, as well as
      addressing existing gender disparities.
     exploit and develop technology enablers, such as methodologies, tools and systems and
      exploit latest hardware development and data spaces, cloud and HPC resources.
298
         Initiated under the AI4EU project https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825619 and further developed in
         projects resulting from H2020-ICT-49-2020 call
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The networks will also address a number of sector- or societally-driven challenges, mobilising
the community towards achieving common goals in addressing such challenges that AI can
help overcome, demonstrating the positive impact on the society, economy and environment.
Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project.
Proposals are expected to develop synergies:
    With other Networks of excellence centres in AI funded in H2020 or Horizon Europe,
      with a view of, all together, create vibrant European network of AI excellence centres.
      To that end, the activities should integrate with and complement the activities of the
      H2020-ICT-48 projects. The proposals are expected to dedicate tasks to ensure this
      coherence.
    With relevant activities in AI, Data and Robotics, primarily under destinations 3, 4 and
      6, but also in other destinations and clusters, as well as relevant missions, and share or
      exploit results where appropriate.
All proposals are expected to allocate tasks to cohesion activities with the PPP on AI, Data
and Robotics and funded actions related to this partnership, including the CSA HORIZON-
CL4-2021-HUMAN-01-02.
Background
The selected networks of excellence centres will contribute to the larger objective of the
European Commission to establish the European AI lighthouse.
The AI lighthouse is expected to mobilise the AI community to collaborate on key AI
research challenges and to progress faster in joined efforts rather than working in silos,
leading to fragmented and duplicated efforts. This is essential to reach critical mass and
overcome the present fragmentation of AI research in Europe.
The lighthouse will bring together stakeholders from research, innovation and
deployment, to become a world reference in AI that can attract investments and the best
talents in the field. The lighthouse will build on key pillars, each of them being a network of
excellence centres specialising in a given topic where Europe has the potential to become a
global champion.
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OTHER ACTIONS NOT SUBJECT TO CALLS FOR PROPOSALS
Grants to identified beneficiaries
Specific conditions applying to each of the following actions:
HORIZON-CL4-SSA-SST-MS
HORIZON-CL4-SSA-SST-STM-AE
HORIZON-CL4-SSA-SST-SB
HORIZON-CL4-SSA-SST-SP
HORIZON-CL4-SSA-SST-SD
Admissibility        The page limit of the application is 100 pages per topic/action.
conditions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     Some activities, resulting from these actions, may involve using
                     classified background and/or producing of security sensitive results
                     (EUCI and SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B
                     Security — EU classified and sensitive information of the General
                     Annexes.
                     Participation limited to legal entities established in Member States
                     only.
                     In order to guarantee the protection of the strategic assets, interests,
                     autonomy or security of the EU and its Member States, participation is
                     limited to legal entities fulfilling the following conditions:
                       a. be established in a Member State and their executive management
                           structures be established therein,
                       b. commit to carry out all relevant activities in one or more Member
                           States, and
                       c. be established in a Member State and not be subject to control by
                           a third country or by a third country entity.
                         For the purpose of this Article, control means the ability to
                           exercise a decisive influence on a legal entity directly or indirectly
                           through one or more intermediate legal entity.
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                        For the purpose of this Article, executive management structure
                          means body of a legal entity appointed in accordance with
                          national law, and, where applicable, reporting to the chief
                          executive officer, or any other person having comparable
                          decisional power, which is empowered to establish the legal
                          entity's strategy, objectives and overall direction, and which
                          oversees and monitors management decision-making.
                    Mandatory use of Copernicus and Galileo/EGNOS data for projects
                    using satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                    and/or timing data and services
                    If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                    and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                    Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                    additionally be used).
Award criteria      The proposed project should provide a coherent contribution to the
                    EUSST development plan as the projects to be awarded in this area are
                    all expected to support the improvement of the current EUSST services
                    or the implementation of new ones.
Legal          and Lower funding rates
financial set-up of The funding rate of the eligible costs is defined in the description of
the          Grant each action.
Agreements
                    As justified in the Implementing Act related to Space regulation Article
                    58 §8: the philosophy of EUSST is to use national assets which has been
                    built by Member States in order to tackle national needs. While playing
                    national roles, the data collected by these assets can be used in order to
                    provide EUSST services.
                    Standard deliverables
                    Grants award under this topic will have to submit the following
                    deliverable(s):
                        Metrics and KPI (Key Performance Indicators) description
                        KPI flash report (to be submitted every quarter)
                        Security sensitive information assessment report (to be submitted
                          at the beginning, at mid-term and towards the end of the project)
                        data management plan (to be submitted at the beginning, at mid-
                          term and towards the end of the project)
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                           communication plan (to be submitted at beginning of the project)
                           plan for the dissemination and exploitation of results (to be
                            submitted at the beginning, at mid-term and towards the end of the
                            project).
                       Unlimited subcontracting
                       Subcontracting is not restricted to a limited part of the action.
                       Depreciation and full costs for listed equipment eligible
                       Purchases of equipment, infrastructure or other assets used for the action
                       must be declared as depreciation costs. Moreover, for the following
                       equipment, infrastructure or other assets purchased specifically for the
                       action (or developed as part of the action tasks): sensors and operational
                       centres building blocks constituting the current and future EUSST
                       architecture, costs may exceptionally be declared as full capitalised
                       costs.
                       Right to object to transfers or licensing
                       The granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or the
                       licensing of results under certain conditions.
                       Additional information obligation relating to standards
                       The beneficiaries must inform the granting authority if the results could
                       reasonably be expected to contribute to European or international
                       standards.
1. HORIZON-CL4-SSA-SST-MS - New & improved EUSST Missions and Services
Expected Outcomes:
In the coming years, an increase in the number of active objects in orbit is foreseen (e.g.
deployment of mega-constellations, increased number of non-manoeuvrable small objects –
SmallSats for research and scientific purposes, etc.). Additionally, the number of objects
(active and inactive) to be handled by SST systems will also increase due to the use of sensors
with a higher detection capability. For example, the US Space Fence radar, declared
operational in March 2020, is capable of detecting and tracking objects smaller than 10
centimetres and is expected to considerably increase the size of the space objects catalogue of
the US Space Surveillance Network.
Consequently, the provision of services by the EUSST operation centres, as well as the
strategy used to protect the European active satellites will have to be adapted to the arising
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needs. The need for the development of automated concepts becomes more relevant in order
to reduce response times, reduce costs and simplify coordination activities amongst operators.
Therefore, R&I projects on “new and improved EUSST missions and services” are expected to
contribute to the following outcomes:
   Keep the knowledge and capabilities of Europe on the Space Surveillance and Tracking
      domain at the leading edge.
   Adapt, improve and evolve the current EUSST initial services (Collision Avoidance;
      Fragmentation; Re-entry) portfolio to future user needs and space environment.
   Improve the overall performance of the EUSST services and ensure, in the long-term, a
      high level of performance and appropriate autonomy at Union level.
   Identify and define new missions and services (e.g. debris mitigation; debris
      remediation).
   Explore the implementation of new services, in complement of the three existing ones.
   Support the pre-developments and end-to-end early demonstration of new SST services.
Scope:
R&I activities which needs to be addressed in order to tackle the above expected outcomes are
the following:
   R&I on evolution of the Collision Avoidance service towards a higher responsiveness in
      the case of risks (e.g. Automatic warning service), and in all phases of the spacecraft life
      (e.g. deorbiting, EOL, etc.),
   R&I on evolution of the EUSST system for debris mitigation in order to reduce the
      space debris generation, as for example:
         Extended computation of conjunctions and risks;
         Automatic risk estimation and mitigation measures, (e.g. ground or on-board
            processes and using AI techniques);
         Support to satellite Owner / Operator in case of need: localisation of the spacecraft;
            spacecraft anomalies or on orbit contingencies; post-manoeuvre support in order to
            check the manoeuvre went as planned, etc.
         In general, support to all phases of the spacecraft life, in order to facilitate the
            decision making of the O/O and contribute to debris mitigation purposes
            (guidelines/standards/rules compliance).
         Design of innovative solutions for the detection and characterisation of
            malfunctioning satellites;
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         Development and on-ground demonstration of passivation technologies;
   R&I on evolution of the EUSST System for space debris remediation by managing the
      existing space debris. The analysis of potential remediation focused services at European
      level, the feedback of O/O and the monitoring of the international arena in the coming
      years are needed inputs prior to define the content of this topic in detail.
         Stimulation of the use of removal and disposal techniques through regulatory
            initiatives;
         Exploring the implementation of an Active Debris Removal (ADR) and on-orbit
            servicing (OOS) monitoring service, through attitude and relative orbit
            characterisation;
         Design associated to removal/servicing technology demonstration;
         Development and on-ground demonstration of disposal and active removal
            technologies;
   R&I on evolution of the EUSST Service Provision Portal in line with the evolution of
      the existing services (CA, RE, FG) and the inclusion of additional new ones (Debris
      mitigation / remediation). R&I activities will be required to cope with an expected
      increased number and heterogeneity of users and spacecraft, evolution of the SST
      Consortium/Partnership, etc. Reporting activities must continue evolving, as to provide
      actionable “Key Performance Indicators” supported by the development of the necessary
      tools/applications.
As the legal entities identified below are bodies designated by Member States, under their
responsibility, to participate in the SST Partnership within the meaning of Articles 56 & 57 of
the “Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the space
programme of the Union and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme”, and
under the same Regulation the Member States are identified as beneficiaries, this grant is
awarded without a call for proposals in accordance with Article 195(d) of the EU Financial
Regulation 2018/1046 and Article 20 of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and
Rules for Participation.
Implementation: Research and Innovation Action (RIA)
Legal entities: The Constituting National Entities having concluded an agreement creating the
SST partnership
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant awarded without call for proposals according to Financial Regulation
Article 195 (d)
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
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operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative budget: EUR 8.00 million from the 2022 budget
2. HORIZON-CL4-SSA-SST-STM-AE - SST & STM system architecture and evolutions
Expected Outcomes:
The environment on which the EUSST system performs its mission and delivers its services is
in constant evolution (e.g. technological or political factors changing the way on which the
space is used, orbital environment …).
EUSST system architecture engineering & evolutions: the analysis of the EU SST system
architecture needs to continuously progress to evaluate how the system has to evolve at
medium and long term, not only at network level (type, performance, number, geographical
localisation... of assets) but also at data processing and at services level. Other aspects like
data flow, security constraints, interconnectivity and complementarity between EU assets but
also cooperation with other non-European SST systems, etc. need to be considered as well.
More generally, the reliance on space-based data and services, in particular thanks to the
success of Copernicus and Galileo European programmes and the forthcoming connectivity
constellation, for our society, economy, security and defence has been rapidly growing. At the
same time, the emergence of new type of actors and business models (e.g. mega constellation)
increases the number of satellites and debris in orbit. For this reason, space becomes more and
more congested, posing a threat to the sustainability and safety of space operations and
infrastructures, with a higher risk of collision and of radiofrequency interferences.
The importance of SST / Space Traffic Management (STM) is thus growing, in a context
where there is lack of a clear definition at international level and no global regime and system
is in place, neither are flight rules and the associated monitoring/enforcement means.
Therefore projects developed under this topic are expected to contribute to the following
outcomes:
    Foster European cooperation in the SST domain and improve the EUSST performance
      towards larger autonomy.
    Highlight and propose solutions to fill the gaps in the current EUSST architecture.
    Pave the way on which the EUSST system has to evolve towards a higher level of
      performance (e.g. accuracy; number / size of catalogued objects...), quality of service
      (e.g. timeliness of information...) and autonomy.
    Demonstrate the complementarity, coherence and added-value of each element of
      EUSST system towards a more autonomous, interoperable SST system.
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   Explore and look for higher levels of cooperation with other SST systems such as the US
      SSA system which is of paramount importance to develop long-term cooperation.
   Raise the main issues and propose relevant answers to questions posed by all those
      developments in various technical and operational domains based on the outcome of the
      previous STM coordination and support actions developed under H2020.
   Propose adaptation to the new changes, and solutions for their possible integration into
      the existing standards, practices and technological means.
Scope:
R&I activities which needs to be addressed in order to tackle the above expected outcomes are
the following:
   EUSST architecture engineering.
   Define the future EUSST architecture and associated development roadmap offering the
      highest performance, European autonomy and best value for money
   Architecture studies and system design to validate the added-value of all the layers of the
      EUSST system.
   Define and set up efficient and relevant performance criteria, “metrics”, “Key
      Performance Indicators” and “critical success factors” (e.g. accuracy of European
      catalogue; false alarms ratio; expected increase of the number of objects into the
      catalogue; timeliness of service provision...)
   Improved SST system architecture simulation tools
   Activities / studies in the area of support to spacecraft manoeuvres, interference
      management, collision avoidance automation.
   Activities / studies in space objects life cycle and risk assessment.
   Assessment and pre-development of technology for object identification, for navigation
      aids and for servicing interfaces.
      Contribution to technical standardisation activities in these areas.
As the legal entities identified below are bodies designated by Member States, under their
responsibility, to participate in the SST Partnership within the meaning of Articles 56 & 57 of
the “Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the space
programme of the Union and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme”, and
under the same Regulation the Member States are identified as beneficiaries, this grant is
awarded without a call for proposals in accordance with Article 195(d) of the EU Financial
Regulation 2018/1046 and Article 20 of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and
Rules for Participation.
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Implementation: Research and Innovation Action (RIA)
Legal entities: The Constituting National Entities having concluded an agreement creating the
SST partnership
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant awarded without call for proposals according to Financial Regulation
Article 195 (d)
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative budget: EUR 6.00 million from the 2022 budget
3. HORIZON-CL4-SSA-SST-SB - Space-based SST (mission, system and sensors
network)
Expected Outcomes:
With the increase of the orbital population and with the need of observing smaller objects to
better protect the EU space assets, the need and added-value of developing Space-Based
Space Surveillance (SBSS) missions in complement to ground SST networks shall be studied
in Europe. Based on the experience of SBSS missions launched and operated outside Europe
(e.g. by US and Canada), Space-based SST missions and sensors network will have to be
included in EUSST in order to increase the EU ability to observe and catalogue objects on
various orbits, and compensate for the limitation linked to the geographical location, light and
weather conditions of ground sensors.
Therefore projects developed under this topic are expected to contribute to the following
outcomes:
   Study and assess several technical solutions for the development of a future European
      capability of SBSS.
   Explore the use of small satellite solutions to reduce CAPEX and OPEX
   To develop in the mid-term the European capacity to operate independently SBSS.
   To reduce the dependence on critical SBSS technologies and capabilities from outside
      Europe,
Scope:
R&I activities which needs to be addressed in order to tackle the above expected outcomes are
the following:
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   Study of various mission configurations (e.g. orbit regime, orbit plan etc.) and payload
      location to maximize the number of observed and catalogued objects, and other
      performance targets such as e.g. improve observation of objects not well seen from Earth
      sensors, increase of number of observations, increase of the catalogue accuracy, etc.).
      Analyse the EU SST gaps and the solutions that would address them with the best value
      for money,
   Study of coordination strategy and techniques among the satellites of the SBSS mission
      and the terrestrial SST system.
   Develop or improve existing algorithms allowing going from detection to cataloguing
      (e.g. IOD, correlation etc.) taking into account ground based SST system and payload
      performance (i.e. observable magnitude).
   Exploration of the use of non-dedicated sensors (e.g. star trackers) or hosted payloads in
      non-dedicated missions (“opportunistic” solutions) to reduce cost of operation is also an
      aspect to develop.
   Security issues related to the link between SBSS and ground EUSST network.
As the legal entities identified below are bodies designated by Member States, under their
responsibility, to participate in the SST Partnership within the meaning of Articles 56 & 57 of
the “Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the space
programme of the Union and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme”, and
under the same Regulation the Member States are identified as beneficiaries, this grant is
awarded without a call for proposals in accordance with Article 195(d) of the EU Financial
Regulation 2018/1046 and Article 20 of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and
Rules for Participation.
Implementation: Research and Innovation Action (RIA)
Legal entities: The Constituting National Entities having concluded an agreement creating the
SST partnership
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant awarded without call for proposals according to Financial Regulation
Article 195 (d)
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative budget: EUR 6.00 million from the 2022 budget
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4. HORIZON-CL4-SSA-SST-SP - SST Sensors and Processing
Expected outcomes: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
Supporting the upgrade and development of on-ground assets, in particular radars and
telescopes as well as data processing.
SST radiofrequency & optical sensors (radars, telescopes…) technological research &
innovation: due to the increased number of objects (both active and debris) to be handled, as
well as the evolution and inclusion of services in the future, R&I activities are necessary in
the sensor domain, both for radiofrequency (e.g. passive ranging, radars, etc.) and optical
sensors (e.g. telescopes, innovative wide field optical sensors, lasers). New promising
technologies like sensors based on the use of infrared will also be considered.
    Contribution to a consolidated and efficient EUSST sensor function.
    Improve coverage area, geographical location and performance they can offer: e.g. field
      of view, limiting magnitude, frequency-band, accuracy, timeliness of the associated
      processing ...
    Ensure an optimum evolution of the configuration and use of the EUSST sensors
      network, including the necessary raw data processing required to provide measurement
      data.
    Improved integration and connectivity of value added sensors, ensuring their compliance
      to the minimum quality requirements (including protocols, procedures, formats and
      calibration status).
SST data processing research & innovation (e.g. Artificial Intelligence…): the changes and
evolution in the space environment impose the need of adapting the current algorithms and
data processing methods and tools, as well as to look for new one.
    Include or at least explore the possibility to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) in any SST
      data processing (e.g. Improvement of object detection capability; of probability of
      collision accuracy ...)
    Development of automatic sensor scheduling and tasking, and data processing functions
Scope: To ensure that the sensors and data processing used in the SST domain can properly
address the upcoming requirements in all aspects, the following R&I activities needs to be
addressed in order to tackle the above expected outcomes:
    Adaptation to the new environment of technologies already in use in SST sensors like
      radars, telescopes and lasers.
    Improvement of sensors performances (e.g. measurements quality (noise; bias;
      measurements rates ...); tracks accuracy (track noise; track duration...)).
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   Specification, development, testing and pre-integration of improved sensors.
   Innovations need to be developed to allow detection of smaller objects, higher
     processing capabilities (e.g. networked telescopes for LEO coverage, improving tracking
     by lasers in daylight ...).
   New detection strategies to cope with an increased number / size of objects in the
     sensors’ Field of Regard / Field of View.
   Additionally, new technologies and/or processing algorithms and techniques will be
     explored for the development and implementation of potential new services developed in
     HORIZON-CL4-SSA-SST-MS New & Improved EUSST Missions and Services topic (e.g.
     support to manoeuvre, detection of malfunctioning spacecraft, etc.)
   Improved algorithms (e.g. Measurements correlation, Initial Orbit Determination, OD,
     covariance estimation...) for a more agile and accurate cataloguing of the increasing
     space objects population and services provision (e.g. Collision avoidance, support to
     manoeuvres and identification of in-orbit anomalies, etc...).
   Improved algorithms for data fusion for a more efficient use of the data and information
     from the same object coming from different sensors.
   Improvement of computation models of collision probability.
   Development of evaluation methods of collision probability that could be applied to
     constellations (e.g. multiple encounters).
   Improvement or development of new objects propagation models for efficient
     propagation of the orbital population (e.g. cloud propagation models to propagate the
     debris cloud generated after a fragmentation ...).
   Evolution of coordinated scheduling and tasking of sensors to progress towards a more
     efficient use of multiple available resources at system level.
   Improved algorithms for objects characterisation.
   Any promising technology for precise tracking and data processing.
As the legal entities identified below are bodies designated by Member States, under their
responsibility, to participate in the SST Partnership within the meaning of Articles 56 & 57 of
the “Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the space
programme of the Union and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme”, and
under the same Regulation the Member States are identified as beneficiaries, this grant is
awarded without a call for proposals in accordance with Article 195(d) of the EU Financial
Regulation 2018/1046 and Article 20 of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and
Rules for Participation.
Implementation: Innovation Action (IA) with a reduced funding rate (45%)
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Legal entities: The Constituting National Entities having concluded an agreement creating the
SST partnership
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant awarded without call for proposals according to Financial Regulation
Article 195 (d)
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative budget: EUR 25.00 million from the 2022 budget
5. HORIZON-CL4-SSA-SST-SD - SST Networking, Security & Data sharing
Expected outcomes: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
The topic “SST Networking, Security & Data sharing” aims to support the upgrade,
development and security issues of EUSST infrastructure based on the European network of
assets (sensors, operation centres, front desk …).
Although the EUSST infrastructure is supposed to stay under national control (meaning
mainly sensors and operation centres), an increased coordination is needed due to the
increased number of assets contributing to the European SST system. Without this
interconnection and coordination, it is impossible to ensure an efficient use of the resources
and an appropriate response to the challenges posed by the changing space environment.
As concrete aspects of the EUSST network (e.g. pooling of data from multiple sensor sources;
exchange between multiple operations centres of Member States) shall be considered in
highly detailed case studies, modelling.
SST networking of sensors & operation centres (EU SST network Command & Control):
considering the increased number of objects to be handled, an increased number of events and
users is expected. The European SST system has to evolve to a coordinated scheduling of the
resources and assets, ensuring that the events are covered in an optimum way, while the
current survey and tracking of the space objects population continues to be performed.
Evolution of the European SST network includes the Front Desk in charge of the interaction
with the users (users’ needs, monitoring of the service performance, etc.).
   Raise the main issues and propose relevant answers to the increasing complexity and
      missions constraints of the EUSST network.
   Connectivity and interface consolidation of network function between sensors / database
      / operating centres / front desk (reliability, maintainability and agility).
   Develop EUSST network in order to include a future new SBSS segment.
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Research on EUSST network hardening against external threats: the research concerns
security-critical aspects of the existing EU SST network. Various external threats shall be
considered in the research activity (e.g. cyber threats or other malicious activity). Research
specifically applying to the hardening of the EU SST network could add value to existing
research on network hardening that looks at computer networks and other related networks
more generally.
   A secured and resilient EUSST infrastructure.
Next generation exchange protocols / solutions for SSA enhancing interoperability and
security (robustness, information assurance, intrusion detection…)
   A secured and resilient EUSST infrastructure
   Define the need for SST-specific tools and solutions with regard to enhanced data
     interoperability and data security.
Scope: the following R&I activities need to be addressed in order to tackle the above expected
outcomes:
   Update operation centres to improved current services (Collision Avoidance;
     Fragmentation; Re-entry) adapted to future user needs and space environment.
   Update operation centres to new missions and services (e.g. debris mitigation; debris
     remediation).
   Adapt the European SST network to a more efficient coordinated scheduling and tasking
     of the resources and assets.
   Develop new data sharing and fusion strategies and techniques adapted to both ground
     based and space based SST assets.
   Develop threats analysis and associated counter measures to protect the EUSST
     infrastructure.
   Adapt EUSST operation centres for increasing security and resiliency.
As the legal entities identified below are bodies designated by Member States, under their
responsibility, to participate in the SST Partnership within the meaning of Articles 56 & 57 of
the “Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the space
programme of the Union and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme”, and
under the same Regulation the Member States are identified as beneficiaries, this grant is
awarded without a call for proposals in accordance with Article 195(d) of the EU Financial
Regulation 2018/1046 and Article 20 of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and
Rules for Participation.
Implementation: Innovation Action (IA)
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Legal entities: The Constituting National Entities having concluded an agreement creating the
SST partnership
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant awarded without call for proposals according to Financial Regulation
Article 195 (d)
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative budget: EUR 7.00 million from the 2022 budget
6. European Startup Nations Standard
European SMEs and startups face several challenges ‘on the ground’ as they pursue ambitions
of securing market opportunities and growing their revenues. Many European countries are
already pursuing best practices to help startups address challenges such as making it easier to
start-up and expand across borders, streamline visa and residency applications for third
country talent, make granting of employee stock options more attractive, promote venture-
building and tech transfer from universities, and increase access to finance for scaling-up. The
Startup Nation Standard was announced as a key action in the European Commission’s SME
Strategy. Subsequently the European Commission together with the MS established an initial
set of Startup Nation Standards. The action was launched politically at the March 2021 Digital
Day event under the PT EUCO presidency through a declaration calling for commitments
from Member States and EEA countries to implement such practices at national levels. In
order to regularly monitor progress of countries in achieving the Startup Nations Standards,
support is needed for its implementation.
Expected Impact: It is expected to be a catalyst for reform in member states and to drive their
delivery of framework conditions adapted to the needs of high growth startups and contribute
to making Europe the most attractive Startup and Scaleup continent.
Expected Outcome. The supporting service provider will develop the method, benchmark,
ensure broad outreach and communication with startup stakeholders across Europe, oversee
tracking and report on progress of Signatory Countries in achieving the Startup Nations
standard of excellence.
Scope: The initiative will focus on the set of standards agreed by the country signatories to the
Startup Nations Standard political declaration.
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195 (e) of the
Financial Regulation and the relevant provisions of the Horizon Europe Framework
Programme and Rules for Participation to the legal entity identified below as it has been
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agreed by the signatory EU and EEA countries that it will implement the action on their
behalf in cooperation with the European Commission.
Funding Rate: 100%
Legal entities:
EUROPE STARTUP NATIONS ALLIANCE, Rua da Emenda 91, ZIP Code – 1200-169
Lisboa, Portugal
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: Third or fourth quarter of 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 1.00 million from the 2021 budget
7. Digital Assembly – Presidency Event 2023
Expected Outcome: Informing of and providing a platform to debate the digital policies of the
European Commission with stakeholders and Members States, in particular the
Implementation of the Digital Decade.
Scope: Two days of debate (on site and online) on European digital issues and trends with
high level Digital Policy decision makers at Member State, European and international level.
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195(e) of the
Financial Regulation and Article 24 of the Horizon Europe Regulation.
Legal entities:
Swedish Ministry of Infrastructure, Malmtorgsgatan 3, 111 51 Stockholm, Sweden
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: First or second quarter of 2023
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Indicative budget: EUR 0.50 million from the 2022 budget
8. Presidency event (conference) in France: Industrial Technologies 2022
Events of a major strategic nature, which are focused and attract a broad spectrum of
stakeholders are important in assessing past activities, identifying policy options and
priorities, and planning future actions.
The European Commission will support the organisation of an event (conference) in France in
the first half of 2022, in cooperation with the French government, holding the EU Presidency
of the European Union at the time.
The conference should cover in particular the twin green and digital transformation of
European industry, with a focus on resilience post-Covid. It should focus on how
breakthrough technologies and scale up of industrial innovations could influence such twin
transition.
It should enhance synergies between research and innovation initiatives launched by the
Commission and by the Member States. The proposed content should be balanced,
encompassing policy, technological, economic and social elements and points of view. The
conference should be open to participants outside the EU. Outreach activities may be
included, such as a press programme; activities dedicated to the wider public or schools are
particularly encouraged.
To ensure impact, the focus and content of the conference should be well defined and clearly
aligned with other Presidency events already undertaken, while reflecting specific regional
strengths and needs.
The commitment of the national authorities to support the event, politically as well as
financially, is a pre-requisite to submitting a proposal. Proposals should be supported by the
competent Minister, evidenced in a letter included in the proposal. In order to ensure high
political and strategic relevance, the active involvement of the competent national authorities
will be assessed in the evaluation.
In agreement with the Commission services, projects should ensure appropriate flexibility, so
as to respond to rapidly changing policy scenarios.
The event is expected to result in: improved visibility of industrial technologies; identification
of policy options and priorities via review and assessment of developments, and sharing of
information and comparison of points of views; and efficient networking of various
stakeholders and support to their activities, e.g. industry, small and medium sized enterprises,
businesses, investors, local authorities, non-governmental organisations, trade unions, etc.
Legal entities:
Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Renouvelables (CEA)
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
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Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: First semester of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.10 million from the 2021 budget
9. Presidency event (conference) in Sweden: EuroNanoForum 2023
Events of a major strategic nature, which are focused and attract a broad spectrum of
stakeholders are important in assessing past activities, identifying policy options and
priorities, and planning future actions.
The European Commission will support the organisation of an event (conference) in the first
half of 2023, in cooperation with the Swedish government, holding the EU Presidency of the
European Union at the time. The conference should cover an issue of direct relevance to the
Cluster 4 (Digital, Industry and Space) of Horizon Europe, in particular industrial
technologies focusing on advanced materials and manufacturing and their impact to the Green
Deal and the Industrial Strategy.
It should enhance synergies between research and innovation initiatives launched by the
Commission and by the Member States. The proposed content should be balanced,
encompassing policy, technological, economic and social elements and points of view. The
conference should be open to participants outside the EU. Outreach activities may be
included, such as a press programme; activities dedicated to the wider public or schools are
particularly encouraged.
To ensure impact, the focus and content of the conference should be well defined and clearly
aligned with other Presidency events already undertaken, while reflecting the specific
strengths and needs of Sweden and its regional links.
The commitment of the national authorities to support the event, politically as well as
financially, is a pre-requisite to submitting a proposal. Proposals should be supported by the
competent Ministers, evidenced in a letter included in the proposal. In order to ensure high
political and strategic relevance, the active involvement of the competent national authorities
will be assessed in the evaluation.
In agreement with the Commission services, projects should ensure appropriate flexibility, so
as to respond to rapidly changing policy scenarios.
The event is expected to result in: improved visibility of the nanotechnologies and advanced
materials areas in Cluster 4; identification of policy options and priorities through a review
and assessment of developments; sharing of information and comparison of points of views;
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and efficient networking of various stakeholders and support to their activities, e.g. industry,
small and medium sized enterprises, businesses, investors, local authorities, non-
governmental organisations, trade unions, etc.
Legal entities:
Vinnova, Mäster Samuelsgatan 56, 101 58 Stockholm, Sweden
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: First semester of 2023
Indicative budget: EUR 0.10 million from the 2022 budget
10. HORIZON-CL4-QUANTUM-01-SGA - Developing the first large-scale quantum
computers (SGA)
Objective of the SGA
Within the Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) awarded under topic HORIZON-CL4-
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-15: Framework Partnership Agreement for
developing the first large-scale quantum computers (FPA), each of the selected consortia will
be invited to submit a proposal that will implement the first 3.5 years of the action plan
defined in the above FPA.
The proposal must progress the quantum computing platform in accordance with the research
roadmap as defined in the FPA. This covers in particular progress in key areas such as the
number of qubits to reach and the scalability potential, the fidelity / physical error rate, the
further development of the underlying quantum computing processors and the low-level
control of the programmability capability, the standardisation aspects, etc.
The proposal should describe how the activities carried out during the ramp-up phase will be
continued involving the relevant disciplines and stakeholders, how results of the ramp-up
phase will be used, and how they will provide efficient coordination under strong scientific
leadership. The proposal should detail activities in areas such as education, dissemination,
ethics and societal aspects. It should also describe how it will grasp the technological potential
in a way that accelerates innovation in all relevant application areas. Partners will be required
to give other partners access to results needed for the purpose of any other specific actions
under the FPA.
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The proposal should also cover: (i) the cooperation with complementary projects launched
specifically in the area of the enabling quantum software stack (see HORIZON-CL4-2021-
DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-10: Strengthening the quantum software ecosystem for quantum
computing platforms), including also the need to establish from the beginning of this
cooperation appropriate IP exploitation agreements; (ii) the collaboration with other initiatives
or programmes at regional, national, transnational or global level; (iii) any additional support
they may receive from relevant national, or regional programmes and initiatives; and (iii)
contribution to the governance and overall coordination of the Quantum Technologies
Flagship initiative. It should also contribute to spreading excellence across Europe; for
example, through the involvement of Widening Countries.
HORIZON-CL4-            HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-15:                      Framework
Partnership Agreement for developing the first large-scale quantum computers (FPA) with
identified beneficiary and specific grants awarded to identified beneficiary for Research and
Innovation Action under the Framework Partnership Agreement.
The standard evaluation criteria, thresholds, weighting for award criteria and the maximum
rate of co-financing for this type of action are provided in parts C and E of the General
Annexes.
In this action the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research
and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Funding rate: 100%
Minimum contribution: 18.000.000 EUR
Maximum contribution: 20.000.000 EUR
Expected grants: 2
Technology Readiness Level - Technology readiness level expected from completed projects
Activities are expected to start at TRL 4-5 and achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
see General Annex B.
Eligibility conditions - Participation limited to legal entities established in Member States,
Iceland, Norway, Israel and the United Kingdom
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s strategic assets,
interests, autonomy, and security, it is important to avoid a situation of technological
dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires the EU to take action to
build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and address any strategic weaknesses,
vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions.
For this reason, participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States, Iceland,
Norway, Israel and the United Kingdom. The eligibility of entities established in the UK to
participate is conditional upon reciprocity of access to equivalent UK programmes for entities
established in Member States, which will be assessed by the Commission as soon as such
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programmes are established and in any event before the signature of the grant agreements.
Should the UK not open the participation in its relevant programmes to entities established in
Member States, this condition would not be met and entities established in the UK will not be
eligible to participate in this topic.
For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph above, in order to
guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the Union and its Member States, entities
established in an eligible country listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled
by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in the action
unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided by their eligible country of
establishment, that their participation to the action would not negatively impact the Union’s
strategic, assets, interests, autonomy, or securityThe guarantees shall in particular substantiate
that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place to ensure that:
a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts
its ability to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its
infrastructure, facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the
purpose of the action, or that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out
the action;
b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information
relating to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action
have a national security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain
within the recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or
restrictions by non-eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported
outside the eligible countries, nor is access to them from outside the eligible countries
granted, without the approval of the eligible country in which the legal entity is established.
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Specific grant agreement awarded without call for proposals in relation to a
Framework Partnership Agreement
Indicative timetable: Second/Third quarter of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 40.00 million from the 2022 budget299
11. HORIZON-CL4-QUANTUM-02-SGA - Developing large scale quantum simulation
platform technologies (SGA)
Objective of the SGA
Within the Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) awarded under topic HORIZON-CL4-
2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-17: Framework Partnership Agreement for developing large
299
         Of which EUR 15.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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scale quantum simulation platform technologies (FPA), each of the selected consortia will be
invited to submit a proposal that will implement the first 3.5 years of the action plan defined
in the above FPA.
The proposal must progress the quantum simulation platform in accordance with the research
roadmap as defined in the FPA. This covers in particular progress in key areas such as the
number of addressable individual quantum constituents, the level of control and scalability
and achievement of a further entropy reduction of quantum simulators, the standardisation
aspects such as the software interfaces with external systems, etc.
The proposal should describe how the activities carried out during the ramp-up phase will be
continued involving the relevant disciplines and stakeholders, how results of the ramp-up
phase will be used, and how they will provide efficient coordination under strong scientific
leadership. The proposal should detail activities in areas such as education, dissemination,
ethics and societal aspects. It should also describe how it will grasp the technological potential
in a way that accelerates innovation in all relevant application areas. Partners will be required
to give other partners access to results needed for the purpose of any other specific actions
under the FPA.
The proposal should also cover: (i) the collaboration with other initiatives or programmes at
regional, national, transnational or global level; (ii) the eventual additional support they may
receive from relevant national, or regional programmes and initiatives; and (iii) contribution
to the governance and overall coordination of the Quantum Technologies Flagship initiative.
It should also contribute to spreading excellence across Europe; for example, through the
involvement of Widening Countries.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-17: Framework Partnership Agreement for
developing large scale quantum simulation platform technologies (FPA) with identified
beneficiary and specific grants awarded to identified beneficiary for Research and Innovation
Action under the Framework Partnership Agreement.
The standard evaluation criteria, thresholds, weighting for award criteria and the maximum
rate of co-financing for this type of action are provided in parts C and E of the General
Annexes.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Funding rate: 100%
Minimum contribution: 16.600.000 EUR
Maximum contribution: 16.600.000 EUR
Expected grants: 1
Technology Readiness Level - Technology readiness level expected from completed projects
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                                             Digital, Industry and Space
Activities are expected to start at TRL 4-5 and achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
see General Annex B.
Eligibility conditions - Participation limited to legal entities established in Member States,
Iceland, Norway, Israel and the United Kingdom
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s strategic assets,
interests, autonomy, and security, it is important to avoid a situation of technological
dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires the EU to take action to
build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and address any strategic weaknesses,
vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions.
For this reason, participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States, Iceland,
Norway, Israel and the United Kingdom. The eligibility of entities established in the UK to
participate is conditional upon reciprocity of access to equivalent UK programmes for entities
established in Member States, which will be assessed by the Commission as soon as such
programmes are established and in any event before the signature of the grant agreements.
Should the UK not open the participation in its relevant programmes to entities established in
Member States, this condition would not be met and entities established in the UK will not be
eligible to participate in this topic.
For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph above, in order to
guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the Union and its Member States, entities
established in an eligible country listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled
by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in the action
unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided by their eligible country of
establishment, that their participation to the action would not negatively impact the Union’s
strategic, assets, interests, autonomy, or security300
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Specific grant agreement awarded without call for proposals in relation to a
Framework Partnership Agreement
Indicative timetable: Second/Third quarter of 2022
300
        The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
        to ensure that:
        a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
        to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
        facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
        that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
        b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
        to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
        security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
        c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
        recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
        eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
        is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
        country in which the legal entity is established.
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Indicative budget: EUR 16.60 million from the 2022 budget
12. HORIZON-CL4-QUANTUM-03-SGA - Building the Quantum Internet (SGA)
Objective of the SGA
Within the Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) awarded under topic HORIZON-CL4-
DIGITAL-EMERGING-2021-02-19: Framework Partnership Agreements in Quantum
Communications (FPA), the selected consortium will be invited to submit a proposal that will
implement the first 3.5 years of the action plan defined in the respective FPA.
The proposal must progress the Quantum Internet Technologies in accordance with the
research roadmap as defined in the FPA. This covers in particular progress in key areas such
as enabling long-distance entanglement-based quantum communication.
The proposal should describe how any results of the ramp-up phase will be accessed and
exploited, and how it will provide efficient coordination under strong scientific leadership. It
should detail activities in areas such as education, dissemination, ethics and societal aspects. It
should also describe how it will grasp the technological potential in a way that accelerates
innovation in all relevant application areas. Partners will be required to give other partners
access to results needed for the purpose of any other specific actions under the FPA.
The proposal should also cover: (i) the collaboration with other initiatives or programmes at
regional, national, transnational or global level; (ii) any additional support it may receive in its
activities from relevant national, or regional programmes and initiatives; and (iii) contribution
to the governance and overall coordination of the Quantum Technologies Flagship. It should
also contribute to spreading excellence across Europe; for example, through the involvement
of Widening Countries.
HORIZON-CL4-DIGITAL-EMERGING-2021-02-19: Framework Partnership Agreements in
Quantum Communications (FPA) with identified beneficiary and specific grants awarded to
identified beneficiary for Research and Innovation Action under the Framework Partnership
Agreement.
The standard evaluation criteria, thresholds, weighting for award criteria and the maximum
rate of co-financing for this type of action are provided in parts C and E of the General
Annexes.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Funding rate: 100%
Minimum contribution: 24.000.000 EUR
Maximum contribution: 24.000.000 EUR
Expected grants: 1
                                       Part 7 - Page 457 of 512
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Technology Readiness Level - Technology readiness level expected from completed projects
Activities are expected to start at TRL 2-4 and achieve TRL 4-6 by the end of the project –
see General Annex B.
Eligibility conditions - Participation limited to legal entities established in Member States,
Iceland, Norway, Israel and the United Kingdom
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s strategic assets,
interests, autonomy, and security, it is important to avoid a situation of technological
dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires the EU to take action to
build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and address any strategic weaknesses,
vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions.
For this reason, participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States, Iceland,
Norway, Israel and the United Kingdom. The eligibility of entities established in the UK to
participate is conditional upon reciprocity of access to equivalent UK programmes for entities
established in Member States, which will be assessed by the Commission as soon as such
programmes are established and in any event before the signature of the grant agreements.
Should the UK not open the participation in its relevant programmes to entities established in
Member States, this condition would not be met and entities established in the UK will not be
eligible to participate in this topic.
For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph above, in order to
guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the Union and its Member States, entities
established in an eligible country listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled
by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in the action
unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided by their eligible country of
establishment, that their participation to the action would not negatively impact the Union’s
strategic, assets, interests, autonomy, or security301
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Specific grant agreement awarded without call for proposals in relation to a
Framework Partnership Agreement
301
        The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
        to ensure that:
        a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
        to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
        facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
        that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
        b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
        to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
        security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
        c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
        recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
        eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
        is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
        country in which the legal entity is established.
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Indicative timetable: Second/Third quarter of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 24.00 million from the 2022 budget302
13. HORIZON-CL4-QUANTUM-04-SGA - Quantum encryption and future quantum
network technologies (SGA)
Objective of the SGA
Within the Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) awarded under topic HORIZON-CL4-
2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-19: Framework Partnership Agreements in Quantum
Communications (FPA), the selected consortium will be invited to submit a proposal that will
implement the first 3.5 years of the action plan defined in the respective FPA.
The proposal must progress the Quantum encryption and future quantum network
technologies field in accordance with the research roadmap as defined in the FPA.
The proposal should describe how any results of the ramp-up phase will be accessed and
exploited, and how it will provide efficient coordination under strong scientific leadership. It
should describe how it will grasp the technological potential in a way that accelerates
innovation in all relevant application areas. Partners will be required to give other partners
access to results needed for the purpose of any other specific actions under the FPA.
The proposal should also cover: (i) the collaboration with other initiatives or programmes at
regional, national, transnational or global level; (ii) any additional support it may receive in its
activities from relevant national, or regional programmes and initiatives; and (iii) contribution
to the governance and overall coordination of the Quantum Technologies Flagship and the
EuroQCI initiative. It should also contribute to spreading excellence across Europe; for
example, through the involvement of Widening Countries.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-19: Framework Partnership Agreements in
Quantum Communications (FPA) with identified beneficiary and specific grants awarded to
identified beneficiary for Research and Innovation Action under the Framework Partnership
Agreement.
The standard evaluation criteria, thresholds, weighting for award criteria and the maximum
rate of co-financing for this type of action are provided in parts C and E of the General
Annexes.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Funding rate: 100%
Minimum contribution: 25.000.000 EUR
Maximum contribution: 25.000.000 EUR
302
         Of which EUR 11.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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                                             Digital, Industry and Space
Expected grants: 1
Technology Readiness Level - Technology readiness level expected from completed projects
Activities are expected to start at TRL 4-5 and achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
see General Annex B.
Eligibility conditions - Participation limited to legal entities established in Member States,
Iceland, Norway, Israel and the United Kingdom
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s strategic assets,
interests, autonomy, and security, it is important to avoid a situation of technological
dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires the EU to take action to
build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and address any strategic weaknesses,
vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions.
For this reason, participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States, Iceland,
Norway, Israel and the United Kingdom. The eligibility of entities established in the UK to
participate is conditional upon reciprocity of access to equivalent UK programmes for entities
established in Member States, which will be assessed by the Commission as soon as such
programmes are established and in any event before the signature of the grant agreements.
Should the UK not open the participation in its relevant programmes to entities established in
Member States, this condition would not be met and entities established in the UK will not be
eligible to participate in this topic.
For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph above, in order to
guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the Union and its Member States, entities
established in an eligible country listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled
by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in the action
unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided by their eligible country of
establishment, that their participation to the action would not negatively impact the Union’s
strategic, assets, interests, autonomy, or security303
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
303
        The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
        to ensure that:
        a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
        to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
        facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
        that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
        b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
        to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
        security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
        c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
        recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
        eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
        is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
        country in which the legal entity is established.
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                                       Digital, Industry and Space
Type of Action: Specific grant agreement awarded without call for proposals in relation to a
Framework Partnership Agreement
Indicative timetable: Second/Third quarter of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 25.00 million from the 2022 budget304
14. HORIZON-CL4-QUANTUM-05-SGA - Supporting                                 open      testing    and
experimentation for quantum technologies in Europe (SGA)
Objective of the SGA
Within the Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) awarded under topic HORIZON-CL4-
2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-22: Framework Partnership Agreements for open testing
and experimentation and for pilot production capabilities for quantum technologies (FPA), the
selected consortium will be invited to submit a proposal that will implement the first 3.5 years
of the action plan related to the pan-European provision of open testing and experimentation
facilities defined in the FPA.
The proposal must progress the open testing and experimentation capability of European
academic and industrial players, especially of start-ups and SMEs, in accordance with the
technology/capability innovation roadmap as defined in the FPA. This covers in particular
progress in establishing a well-connected network providing access to open testing, and
experimentation facilities in Europe, as well as access to unique competences and know-how
centred at various locations in Europe.
The network should be a ‘one-stop-shop’ to make state of the art hardware, experimental
instrumentation and related facilities, technologies and tools as well as knowledge and
expertise in quantum technologies available to European scientists, engineers and industry
players, especially start-ups and SMEs, with the aim of establishing an inclusive and effective
quantum technologies lab-to-market ecosystem in Europe.
By enabling innovation experiments, the network will deliver improved design processes,
better products and services, shorter time-to-market and improved innovation and
competitiveness capabilities.
The proposal should also cover: (i) the collaboration with other initiatives or programmes at
regional, national, or European level; (ii) the eventual additional financial support they may
receive in their activities from relevant national or regional initiatives; and (iii) contribution to
the governance and overall coordination of the Quantum Technologies Flagship initiative. It
should also contribute to spreading excellence across Europe; for example, through the
involvement of Widening Countries.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-22: Framework Partnership Agreements
for open testing and experimentation and for pilot production capabilities for quantum
304
         Of which EUR 10.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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                                           Digital, Industry and Space
technologies (FPA) with identified beneficiary and specific grants awarded to identified
beneficiary for Research and Innovation Action under the Framework Partnership Agreement.
The standard evaluation criteria, thresholds, weighting for award criteria and the maximum
rate of co-financing for this type of action are provided in parts C and E of the General
Annexes.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Funding rate: 100%
Minimum contribution: 19.000.000 EUR
Maximum contribution: 19.000.000 EUR
Expected grants: 1
Eligibility conditions - Participation limited to legal entities established in Member States,
Iceland, Norway, Israel and the United Kingdom
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s strategic assets,
interests, autonomy, and security, it is important to avoid a situation of technological
dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires the EU to take action to
build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and address any strategic weaknesses,
vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions.
For this reason, participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States, Iceland,
Norway, Israel and the United Kingdom. The eligibility of entities established in the UK to
participate is conditional upon reciprocity of access to equivalent UK programmes for entities
established in Member States, which will be assessed by the Commission as soon as such
programmes are established and in any event before the signature of the grant agreements.
Should the UK not open the participation in its relevant programmes to entities established in
Member States, this condition would not be met and entities established in the UK will not be
eligible to participate in this topic.
For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph above, in order to
guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the Union and its Member States, entities
established in an eligible country listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled
by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in the action
unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided by their eligible country of
establishment, that their participation to the action would not negatively impact the Union’s
strategic, assets, interests, autonomy, or security305
305
         The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
         to ensure that:
         a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
         to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
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Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Specific grant agreement awarded without call for proposals in relation to a
Framework Partnership Agreement
Indicative timetable: Second/Third quarter of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 19.00 million from the 2022 budget
15. HORIZON-CL4-QUANTUM-06-SGA - Supporting experimental production
capabilities for quantum technologies in Europe (SGA)
Objective of the SGA
Within the Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) awarded under topic HORIZON-CL4-
2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-22: Framework Partnership Agreements for open testing
and experimentation and for pilot production capabilities for quantum technologies (FPA), the
selected consortium will be invited to submit a proposal that will implement the first 3.5 years
of the action plan for providing pilot fabrication capabilities defined in the FPA that would
foster product development and rapid innovation especially for European industry, in
particular start-ups and SMEs.
The proposal should aim to establish experimental (pilot) production capabilities for a first of
their kind quantum technologies, where European companies, research centres and academic
institutions can produce novel devices on a pilot scale based on a shared cost model between
users and service providers.
Each of the targeted experimental (pilot) lines should have a simple baseline process ready in
2-3 years (TBD) from start of the project and the full flow should be ready during the lifetime
of the FPA. The development and operation of each experimental pilot line will be
coordinated closely with the core projects of the Quantum Flagship through a dedicated
collaboration agreement.
The action will require expertise in the area of manufacturing flows for quantum technologies,
in particular in quantum computing (for e.g. qubit fabrication), communication and sensing,
and with issues regarding reliability, versatility, process control including integrated testing
and minimizing lead times. Where necessary such expertise should be brought into the
consortium under proper consideration of IP issues.
         facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
         that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
         b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
         to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
         security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
         c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
         recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
         eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
         is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
         country in which the legal entity is established.
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The action should demonstrate how it federates key competences in the whole innovation
value chain, from business-model development to first fabrication, through a balanced and
inclusive network of RTOs, small foundries, unique manufacturing providers, and other key
innovation players, effectively acting as fabrication laboratories.
The proposal should also cover: (i) the collaboration with other initiatives or programmes at
regional, national, or European level; (ii) any additional financial support they may receive in
their activities from relevant national or regional initiatives; and (iii) contribution to the
governance and overall coordination of the Quantum Technologies Flagship initiative. It
should also contribute to spreading excellence across Europe; for example, through the
involvement of Widening Countries.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02-22: Framework Partnership Agreements
for open testing and experimentation and for pilot production capabilities for quantum
technologies (FPA) with identified beneficiary and specific grants awarded to identified
beneficiary for Research and Innovation Action under the Framework Partnership Agreement.
The standard evaluation criteria, thresholds, weighting for award criteria and the maximum
rate of co-financing for this type of action are provided in parts C and E of the General
Annexes.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Funding rate: 100%
Minimum contribution: 19.000.000 EUR
Maximum contribution: 19.000.000 EUR
Expected grants: 1
Eligibility conditions - Participation limited to legal entities established in Member States,
Iceland, Norway, Israel and the United Kingdom
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s strategic assets,
interests, autonomy, and security, it is important to avoid a situation of technological
dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires the EU to take action to
build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and address any strategic weaknesses,
vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions.
For this reason, participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States, Iceland,
Norway, Israel and the United Kingdom. The eligibility of entities established in the UK to
participate is conditional upon reciprocity of access to equivalent UK programmes for entities
established in Member States, which will be assessed by the Commission as soon as such
programmes are established and in any event before the signature of the grant agreements.
Should the UK not open the participation in its relevant programmes to entities established in
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Member States, this condition would not be met and entities established in the UK will not be
eligible to participate in this topic.
For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph above, in order to
guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the Union and its Member States, entities
established in an eligible country listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled
by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in the action
unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees provided by their eligible country of
establishment, that their participation to the action would not negatively impact the Union’s
strategic, assets, interests, autonomy, or security306
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Specific grant agreement awarded without call for proposals in relation to a
Framework Partnership Agreement
Indicative timetable: Second/Third quarter of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 19.00 million from the 2022 budget
Public procurement
1. Monitoring and assessment of industrial investments in R&D&I and technologies,
technology and market assessment for enabling and emerging technologies and green
technologies, in relation to the Green Deal and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Expected Impact:
The objective of this action is the provision of methods, indicators, data and analysis
assessing industry’s R&D&I investments to achieve ‘Green Deal’ and other Commission
priorities and European policy goals, assessment of the state of play in industrial innovation
efforts in the context of participation in global R&I networks and strategic value chains and
eco-systems. The action will contribute to building a monitoring and assessment facility on
industrial R&D&I investment data which allows a more systematic, methodology based and
continuous monitoring of industrial R&I agendas and investments relevant to achieve the
Green Deal goals.
306
         The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place
         to ensure that:
         a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability
         to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure,
         facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or
         that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action;
         b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating
         to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national
         security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate;
         c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the
         recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-
         eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor
         is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible
         country in which the legal entity is established.
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The expected impact is to highlight strengths and weaknesses in private R&D&I in the EU as
compared to other key global regions, e.g. helping to develop with Member States, EU
industry and other stakeholders ‘Common industrial technology roadmaps’ under the
European Research Area, as well as helping to improve reporting in the Competitiveness
Progress Report as required by the Energy Union Governance Regulation. Data and analyses
should support policy development and monitoring and underpin a stronger role of R&I and
technologies in EU industrial policy, environmental and climate policy, external relations,
international cooperative research, trade negotiations, FDI, etc. in view of increasing EU
industries’ competitiveness in the areas of green and other technologies.
Scope:
This action will assess the amount and quality of R&D&I that the industry is investing in
green technologies and markets, and other critical industries, addressing environmental,
competitiveness and inclusiveness goals. The activities will include in-depth analysis of the
industries providing and using green and other technologies, R&I investments, take up, use
and provision of technologies and related systems in innovation networks, value chains and
eco-systems. The activities will also include, for example, building synthetic indicators to
measure the “fitness” and industries’ overtime impact respectively on SDGs and on economic
and technological competitiveness, and in general the adoption of sustainable technologies
and solutions by industry sectors and eco- systems.
The results and facility should be complementary to the EU Industrial R&D Investment
Scoreboard which provides a number of indicators and baseline analyses on top actors’
corporate R&D intensity, type of invested technologies and economic strength. This action
should extend the analysis to industries beyond the top actors, and add a number of specific
indicators and analyses allowing more and systematic insight into industrial innovation and
market dynamics and put this in relation with evolving policy needs and the impact of public
support.
Data sources could be IP, balance sheets, annual reports, cutting-edge industrial experts and
other documentation and any other sources to assess industry’s and value chains’ economic
and technological fitness, market share and other related data, and relevant indicators. Insights
into the conditions for the needed industrial transformations and drivers and barriers will be of
special interest. Possible data types include also the collection of consistent time series in all
green technology main areas and calculating a new indicator showing the level of contribution
of each green technology industry over time in reaching SDG targets. A similar new indicator
could also be developed for other technology areas. As the green and digital transitions are
interlinked and rely on new and key enabling technologies, also technological sovereignty
issues deserve attention. Data and conclusions should address different levels -
region/country, sectors/eco-systems, companies.
Focus on specific technologies or eco-systems should be in line with Commission priorities,
the development common industrial technology roadmaps as set out in the new ERA
(European Research Area) Strategy, and emerging needs, taking into account partnerships,
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priority areas in the ‘Destinations’ in Horizon Europe and relevant activities and results under
Horizon 2020.
Activities in this action will be complementary to the work done under the GLORIA
Administrative Agreements with the JRC and build on previous actions on data and analyses
in Horizon 2020 (e.g. Green Deal Call 2020).
Duration: 36 months
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q2-Q4, 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 1.00 million from the 2022 budget
2. Simulation approaches for complex socio-economic systems
Expected Outcomes:
Provide the Commission with a granular social simulation tool to assess the impact of policies
on consumer rights and fundamental rights. The agent-based computational model approach
provides unique opportunities in an area where intangible assets are disproportionately
relevant and as a result data from observable market prices will typically not allow the
specification of testable research hypotheses. The artificially created environment of multi-
agent simulation tools can and fill this gap. The Commission will benefit from this tool for the
ex-ante impact assessment and ex-post evaluation of policies related to individual rights in
strategic market and non-market settings.
Duration: 18 months
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q2/2022
Indicative budget: EUR 1.00 million from the 2022 budget
3. EGNSS Evolution: Mission and Service related R&D activities
The objective is to study potential new services, as well as the enhancement of already
defined services, answering to new user needs and determine whether and how the EGNSS
mission of Galileo and EGNOS shall be enlarged or complemented to answer these new user
needs. This includes the preparation of contributions and technical analysis supporting the EU
position in multilateral and bilateral working groups and meetings.
The upstream R&D actions in this area will cover the assessment of services improvements
and of new services or capacities to be introduced, justifying the need, developing the service
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concept including with international partners when relevant, assessing costs to the programme
versus benefits to users and defining the roadmap of activities until an operational service
could be provided.
The procurement actions under this section will affect the essential security interests of the
Union, and will therefore require restricted participation that will be established in the tender
specifications.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q3-Q4 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 1.30 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 5.00 million from the
2022 budget
4. Support European “New Space” entrepreneurship through CASSINI Space
Entrepreneurship Initiative 2021-2027
CASSINI Business Accelerator
Implementation: the action will be implemented by the Commission through a call for tender
in 2021 to select a consortium of European business accelerators and sign a service contract.
Amount: The call for tender for Business Accelerator will be made in 2021 and the budgetary
commitment of EUR 8.50 million from Horizon Europe to be made in 2021 for a two-year
contract with a two-year option for extension.
Expected Outcomes:
   The aims are to promote commercial use cases for the EU’s space programme by
     providing qualified business development support. The objective is to increase the
     number of space-based companies that achieve high revenue growth. This will allow the
     companies to attract investments and capture new market shares.
   The expected economic benefits include an increase in the number of successful start-
     ups and scale-ups using space data and space technology, through an increase in sales,
     market share growth and staff hiring. These outcomes will allow the companies to attract
     larger amounts of financing through bank loans and equity investments.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative budget: EUR 8.50 million from the 2021 budget
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5. Digital Assembly – Presidency Event 2022
DG CONNECT is organising the Digital Assembly Event 2022. DG CONNECT plans to
procure via Framework Contracts and call for tenders for indicatively 15 contracts before the
end of 2022. The event is expected to take place in the 2rd calendar quarter of 2022. The call
for tenders are expected to be launched on the 1st and 2nd calendar quarter of 2022 and 2023.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q2 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.50 million from the 2022 budget
6. Digital conferences, outreach, studies and other activities
In addition to calls for proposals, other actions are also expected to be undertaken on specific
activities that the DG CONNECT will support. These include:
   The organisation of one Digital proposers’ day (2022). DG CONNECT plans to
      conclude service contracts in 2022, and also use existing Framework Contracts for this
      purpose. Indicative budget in 2022: EUR 1.5 million.
   Other events and publications (e.g. information, communication, dissemination etc.),
      either through the use of existing Framework Contracts, or the launch of indicatively 25
      calls for tenders during 2021 and 2022. Indicative budget in 2021: EUR 1 million.
      Indicative budget in 2022: EUR 2.2 million.
   Studies including socio-economics and impact analysis studies and studies to support the
      monitoring, evaluation and strategy definition for the ICT priority of Cluster 4 in
      Horizon Europe. DG CONNECT plans to procure via framework contracts and calls for
      tender indicatively 60 study contracts before the end of 2022. The calls for tenders are
      expected to be launched in the 2nd and 3rd calendar quarter of 2021 and 2022. It should
      be noted that internal outsourcing of studies to other Commission departments based on
      Administrative Agreements can be used as an alternative to the public procurement.
   Policy support activities, including benchmarking activities, evaluation and impact
      assessments, the development of ad hoc support software, possibly using existing
      Framework Contracts. DG CONNECT plans to procure via framework contracts and
      calls for tender indicatively 15 contracts before the end of 2022. The calls for tenders are
      expected to be launched in the 2nd and 3rd calendar quarter of 2021 and 2022. It should
      be noted that internal outsourcing of studies to other Commission departments based on
      Administrative Agreements can be used as an alternative to the public procurement.
   The Commission intends to launch, in 2022, a new Framework Contract for studies and
      the provision of consultancy services supporting digital policy. Specific contracts with
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      selected contractors are expected to be signed in 2022 or 2023 for a duration of 4 years.
      The overall budget envelope for the contract will be € 10 million.
Indicative budget for Studies and Policy support in 2021: EUR 3 million. Indicative budget in
2022: EUR 4 million.
Details will be provided in the texts of these calls for tender.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative budget: EUR 4.00 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 7.70 million from the
2022 budget
7. Space conferences, outreach, studies and other activities
It is envisaged to conduct public procurement activities for the organisation of events
(conferences, workshops or seminars) for the implementation of the European Space Policy,
European R&D research agendas related to Horizon Europe.
Support may be given to the organisation of conferences and information events to strengthen
wider participation in the programme (including that of third countries), and to disseminate
results of European research in the Space sector. Cooperation with the presidencies of the
Council of the European Union is envisaged.
Furthermore, procurement will be necessary of actions such as studies, preparation of
roadmaps to underpin planning or actions to evaluate the outcomes of R&D actions.
Activities may include surveys as appropriate implemented through public procurement,
and/or appointing (groups of) independent experts. This limited number of contracts may be
implemented on the basis of framework contracts, in order to further ensure that the
Commission is provided with appropriate and timely analyses, which in turn will facilitate the
proper integration of policy studies into the preparation of new policy initiatives.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative budget: EUR 0.50 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 1.20 million from the
2022 budget
8. Procurement on Industrial technology roadmaps and strengthening the links between
EU R&I policy, the ERA Policy Agenda and the EU Industrial Strategy
Expected Impact: This action will target the creation of a stronger link between research,
innovation and industrial policies and better understanding of R&D&I investment needs and
conditions for a systematic transfer of R&I results into EU industrial ecosystems. More
specifically, it will support the development and implementation of industrial technology
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roadmaps and R&I policy actions to help accelerate the twin transitions in key industrial
ecosystems.
Intended results of the action will be workshops and a number of studies and discussion
papers, including assessments on the evidence on the state of play in R&I, as input for policy
analysis and possible actions for EU development of key green technologies and other
strategically important industries addressing environmental, competitiveness and
inclusiveness targets. Overall impact is to facilitate the Commission’s discussion with
Member States, industry and other stakeholders in view of helping to make better use of R&I
to strengthen EU industrial ecosystems and Industrial alliances. as well as European
Partnerships.
Scope: The green and digital twin transitions and open technological autonomy require
targeted R&I action with a common vision. Relevant European partnerships and the European
Innovation Council provide a basis to boost the development of breakthrough technologies,
which can help EU industry achieving these goals. Discussion with Member States, industry
and other stakeholders to drive relevant R&I action must be based upon evidence. Inputs
produced under this action shall help informing this development and facilitate policy analysis
and development through consultation processes, supporting the exchange of best practices,
events, such as workshops, studies, factsheets, or discussion documents based upon
Commission services’ work.
Duration: 18 months
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q4 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.50 million from the 2022 budget
9. Update of the Material System Analyses (MSA)
The Material System Analysis (MSA) data sets investigate the flows of materials through the
EU-27 economy in terms of entry into the EU, flows through the economy, stock
accumulation, incl. end-of-life management. They contain key material specific data and
information. (3) monitoring of the circular economy; as well as providing useful information
for other activities. The MSAs support the RM policy development, and in the mid-term
provide a basis for developing sound sustainable resource management strategies. They also
contain useful information supporting other activities, such as the monitoring of the circular
economy. The first study on the MSA of 28 materials was published in 2015, and subsequent
studies have been performed for bulk metals and materials in the public and political focus.
This action will entail collecting new data and information for the materials covered up to
2018 and updating their MSA.
Duration: 12 months
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Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q4 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.50 million from the 2021 budget
10. Raw Materials events
It is envisaged to procure activities for the organisation of events (conferences, workshops or
seminars), including the Raw Materials Week through Framework Contracts before the end of
2022.
DG GROW is organising the Raw Materials Week in the fourth calendar quarter of 2022,
covering set of events including the High Level Conference of the European Innovation
Partnership (EIP) on Raw Materials.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q4 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.60 million from the 2022 budget
Other budget implementation instruments
1. Use of individual experts to advise on EU research and innovation policy
This action will support the provision of independent expertise for advising and assisting the
Commission services with the implementation, evaluation and design of EU research and
innovation policies. Individual experts will work in the following policy areas:
    Industrial Technologies including manufacturing and processing technologies, advanced
      materials, emerging technologies
    Sustainability and Sustainable Development Goals
    Technology sovereignty
    Industry driven Research infrastructures and pilot lines
    Technology roadmaps and exploitation aspects
    Regulatory constraints
    Review and update of indices
The tasks of individual experts would include:
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Analysis of the contribution of a portfolio of projects funded under H2020 or previous
research programmes to the relevant EU policy objectives; analysis of the state-of-the-art at
international level; investigation of deployment options for the developed knowledge and
innovation; assisting for setting-up a research and innovation strategy for selected domains;
advise the Commission on outstanding knowledge creation and promising technologies
covered by European funded projects and propose policy recommendations and options with a
view to reinforce the Commission capacity to elaborate evidence-based and science-proof
policy proposals.
Targeted analysis of data and indices
The advice provided by each individual expert will focus on specific areas and policy relevant
projects' results as well as data, information and concepts related to technology roadmaps and
policy monitoring e.g. through indices.
The individual experts' tasks will include attending bilateral meetings with Commission
services and remote drafting and possible preparatory work. The experts will be highly
qualified and specialised, and will be selected on the basis of objective criteria, following an
open call for expressions of interest. A special allowance of EUR 450/day will be paid to the
expert appointed in its personal capacity who acts independently and in the public interest.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative timetable: 2021 and 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.20 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 0.30 million from the
2022 budget
2. Use of individual experts to support the raw materials policy
This action will support the use of appointed individual independent experts for assisting the
Commission with advising and assisting the Commission services with the implementation
and design of the EU Raw materials policy, and reinforcing the Commission capacity to
elaborate evidence-based raw materials policy and the industrial transition to a climate-neutral
Europe. Individual experts will work on quantitative analysis of the criticality of individual
raw materials based on the EU methodology; critical raw materials supply and demand; future
raw materials trends and innovation potential; and technology, infrastructure and raw
materials requirements for the industrial transition.
The tasks of individual experts would include attending bilateral meetings with Commission
services, remote analysis, drafting and preparatory work. The experts will be highly qualified
and specialised, and will be selected on the basis of objective criteria, following an open call
for expressions of interest. A special allowance of EUR 450/day will be paid to the expert
appointed in its personal capacity who acts independently and in the public interest.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
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Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative timetable: Q4 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.40 million from the 2021 budget
3. Project monitoring and use of individual experts (space)
This action will support the use of appointed independent experts by HaDEA for the
monitoring of running space actions (grant agreement, grant decision, public procurement
actions and financial instruments) funded under Horizon Europe and previous Framework
Programmes for Research and Innovation and where appropriate include ethics checks.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative budget: EUR 0.50 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 1.00 million from the
2022 budget
4. Project monitoring
This action will support the use of appointed independent experts by HADEA for the
monitoring of running projects, where appropriate.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative budget: EUR 1.05 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 2.45 million from the
2022 budget
5. Project monitoring (digital)
This action will support the use of appointed independent experts by CNECT and HADEA for
the monitoring of running actions (grant agreement, grant decision, public procurement
actions, financial instruments) funded under Horizon Europe and previous Framework
Programmes for Research and Innovation, and where appropriate include ethics checks.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative budget: EUR 1.90 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 4.00 million from the
2022 budget
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Scientific and technical services by the Joint Research Centre
1. Scientific and technical services by the Joint Research Centre
GLORIA - Global Research and Innovation Analysis - Extended Industrial R&D&I
Investment Monitoring and Assessment Facility
The objective is to continue the 15-year collaboration of the monitoring of top R&D players
(Scoreboards) and build an extended facility around it, expanding the Commission’s internal
analytical capacities towards the priority goals. This will allow better understanding how the
concept of "corporate R&I for sustainable competitiveness" can contribute to the Prosperity
policy goal. For this, the EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboards will be developed
towards a more meaningful tool regarding the directionality of corporate R&D&I.
Scope: The previous monitoring activities already provide a number of indicators on
corporate R&D intensity, type of invested technologies and economic strength. The objective
of this action is to continue adding indicators and dedicated analyses on investments in
R&D&I, technologies and assets, targeting specifically the monitoring of industries that are
critical to current policy priorities, such as green or advanced manufacturing technologies.
Duration: 48 months
Form of Funding: Direct action grants
Type of Action: Provision of technical/scientific services by the Joint Research Centre
Indicative timetable: Q4 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 3.50 million from the 2021 budget
2. Criteria for Safe and Sustainable-by-Design advanced materials and chemicals
The objective is to develop a general framework for Safe and Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD)
criteria definition and apply it through selected case studies of advanced materials and
chemicals.
Scope: Dimensions of Safe and Sustainable-by-Design criteria for advanced materials and
chemicals will be defined at horizontal level including an overview of methods and standards
available to measure them. The basis for the definition will be, among others, a review of the
literature and of existing initiatives as well as feedback from stakeholders e.g. via a
stakeholder meeting. Also current legislation (e.g. REACH, CLP, industrial emissions
directive) will be scrutinised enabling the addition of dimensions that might not be covered by
existing EU policies. A methodology to define SSbD criteria will also be developed, taking
into account the whole life cycle of the chemical/material/product , which can then be tailored
for developing specific SSbD criteria. Case studies will test the proposed criteria on advanced
materials/chemicals/products. Developers, scientists and regulators will be consulted to
provide feedback on developed criteria. The target is to obtain a methodology that is in line
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with the advancement of other, parallel, related actions foreseen in the Chemicals Strategy for
Sustainability.
Form of Funding: Direct action grants
Type of Action: Provision of technical/scientific services by the Joint Research Centre
Indicative timetable: Q2 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.60 million from the 2021 budget
3. Support for the Strategic Implementation Plan of the European Innovation
Partnership on Raw Materials and the Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials
Objective: To continue the collaboration with the JRC on various aspects of raw materials
policy, such as framework conditions and potential supply of primary raw materials, sourcing
from third countries, availability and mapping of secondary raw materials, and
monitoring/reporting on these and other aspects in the Raw Materials Scoreboard.
Duration: 24 months
Form of Funding: Direct action grants
Type of Action: Provision of technical/scientific services by the Joint Research Centre
Indicative timetable: Q1 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.60 million from the 2022 budget
Indirectly managed actions
1. Indirectly managed actions delegated to ESA
The following four actions will be implemented by the European Space Agency (ESA) under
a contribution agreement between the Commission and the agency.
1.1. EGNSS Evolution: Technology and infrastructure-related R&D activities
Actions under this area will address upstream R&D activities. They will cover the maturing of
the existing technologies and the development of new and emerging technologies, the
engineering activities for the further evolution of Galileo and EGNOS existing systems,
technical studies for the assessment of exploratory system concepts and/or responding to new
mission needs and a changing environment, the development and maintenance of state-of-art
system tools and technical test-beds, the implementation of actions agreed at Programme level
to reduce the dependence of the supply chain on non-EU markets, the definition, design,
development and implementation of experimental satellite demonstrator, and others.
These activities will be implemented by ESA under the Contribution Agreement between the
Commission and ESA. The procurement actions under this section will affect the essential
security interests of the Union, and will therefore require restricted participation that will be
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established in the tender specifications. In such case, participation should in principle be open
only to entities established in the EU Member States. Participation of entities established in
Horizon Europe associated countries or in third countries will be decided on a case by case
basis with the approval of the annual work plan submitted to Commission under the Financial
Framework Partnership Agreement (FFPA).
Indicative budget for this action: EUR 42.70 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 44.00
million from the 2022 budget
1.2. HORIZON-CL4-SSA-SWENEO - Space Weather and Near Earth Objects
a) Space Weather
The worldwide goal of space weather activities should be to monitor and forecast SWE just
like terrestrial weather. However, direct physical simulation is currently not achievable for an
operational Sun to Earth system, due in part to the lack of measurements and to the
complexity of the involved processes, as well as different timescales involved. Current space
weather models are generally not capable of forecasting events over several days. A longer
forecasting horizon would require access to data from new observation infrastructure coupled
with new and improved modelling capabilities.
Research and innovation activities under this area will be delegated to ESA and will deal with
“development of certain technology elements for promising precursor services” and
“exploratory space weather payloads studies”. They shall be complementarity to Space
Weather services developed through the Space Situational Awareness component of the EU
Space Programme.
b) Near Earth Objects
Our knowledge of the physical characteristics of the NEO population is limited. And there is a
need of continuously investigate and share the physical and dynamical properties of the NEO
population as a whole, either through ground-based observations or through missions to
asteroids (e.g. close proximity operations to NEOs or mitigation demonstration). It is
necessary to have a number of specific technologies and instruments readily available to
further strengthening the science return of a mission.
Research and innovation activities under this area will be delegated to ESA and will study
“precursor services / European hot-redundant Minor Planet Centre backup” and “Increase
networking of MS assets”.
Indicative budget for this action: EUR 4.00 million from the 2022 budget
1.3. GOVSATCOM Technology Development and implementation of system innovative
features
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
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Contribute to the preparation of the GOVSATCOM component of the EU Space Programme.
In particular:
i) Research on the advanced technologies, and realisation of prototypes up to TRL level 4/5
(technology development/demonstration; product developments up to flight readiness) needed
to ensure the security of the future space segment of satellite governmental communications,
including technologies required for increased European non-dependence/critical technologies.
ii) Development of innovative features for the evolution of the GOVSATCOM ground and
space segments.
Scope: R&I for the maturation of EU GOVSATCOM supporting technologies including e.g.:
    Flexible phased array antennas providing multi-beam and beam-forming capabilities,
      digital signal processing, software-defined Radio, and related flexible payloads
      programmable in response to changing needs such as capacity flexibility and geographic
      coverage and distribution of traffic,
    Ground segment technologies for satellite control systems, mission planning systems,
      user terminals including multi-satellite and multi-band support and for beam hopping,
      and in support to the different security levels required by the different EU
      GOVSATCOM services and user categories.
    Implementation of future ground and space segment components, including innovative
      features of the EU GOVSATCOM planned and future space segment, such as LEO and
      Arctic constellations, optical space communications for data relay, planned satellite-
      based air-traffic management solutions, future implementation for 5G and of Very High
      Throughput Satellites.
    e.g.: advanced coding, modulation and cryptography, key management solutions, anti-
      jamming, secure TM/TC including secure hosted payload solutions, inter-satellite links
      (including data relay solutions), optical feeder link.
These activities will be implemented by ESA under the Contribution Agreement between the
Commission and ESA. The procurement actions under this section will affect the essential
security interests of the Union, and will therefore require restricted participation that will be
established in the tender specifications. In such case, participation should in principle be open
only to entities established in the EU Member States. Participation of entities established in
Horizon Europe associated countries or in third countries will be decided on a case by case
basis with the approval of the annual work plan submitted to Commission under the Financial
Framework Partnership Agreement (FFPA).
Indicative budget for this action: EUR 8.00 million from the 2021 budget
1.4. In Orbit Demonstration/Validation (IOD/IOV) service
To ensure EU non-dependence and competitiveness in technologies, there is a clear need for a
regular, sustainable, cost-effective and responsive In Orbit Demonstration/Validation
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(IOD/IOV) service in the EU. Space flight heritage in real conditions and environment is
often required to de-risk new technologies, products, concepts, architectures, services and
operations techniques be that for unique or recurrent, institutional or commercial missions.
Intended results of the action is to provide a service for regular aggregation (if needed),
launch and operations in orbit for IOD/IOV experiments; the objective is to have at least one
opportunity every year during the Horizon Europe implementation period. This will
contribute to reduce the time to market or operational use of new technologies, products,
concepts, architectures, and operations techniques.
The IOD/IOV activities intend to provide a regular and cost-effective service and solution for
common flight ticket actions (management, spacecraft design including reuse of existing
solutions, assembly, integration and tests, launch and operations) based on EU solutions both
for the spacecraft (i.e. platform, experiments aggregation, operations in orbit including
preparation and associated Ground Segment) and for the launch services.
The scope of the activities may include mission design, integration and implementation, for
all the necessary tasks to prepare, provide and operate spacecraft(s), together with the related
ground segment, which accommodates the selected IOD/IOV experiments, including the
QKD payload of Eagle 1307, as well as the associated launch services.
For the aggregation and operations, the activities include:
     System studies, at ground and space level, including the compatibility with the available
      launchers;
     Input to the launch mission analysis performed by the launch service provider;
     Selection, assembly, integration and testing of the spacecraft(s) and related ground
      segment;
     Management of interfaces with and between the different IOD/IOV experiments,
      between the spacecraft and the launcher and between the spacecraft and the ground
      segment;
     Preparation of the spacecraft(s) for the flight;
     In-orbit testing and operations including data provision.
Concerning launch aspects, IOD/IOV activities should support the European launcher
exploitation policy, therefore relying as far as possible on EU manufactured launcher
solutions launched from the EU territory. The actions will include the provision of flight
opportunities with EU manufactured launchers which encompass the mission analysis, the
307
        In the frame of this IOD/IOV service, to accelerate the implementation of the EU-wide quantum
        communication infrastructure (EuroQCI), the Union will support the ESA SAGA initiative by providing
        the aggregation of for the QKD payload of Eagle 1 on the satellite platform, the related launch services
        and initial in-orbit testing.
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verification of interfaces between the spacecraft and the launcher, the preparation of launch
campaign and the flight up to the injection of the spacecraft(s) on the required orbit(s).
Concerning the QKD payload of Eagle 1, ESA shall ensure that critical components are based
on EU technologies.
Indicative budget for this action: EUR 24.00 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 10.55
million from the 2022 budget
Legal entities:
European Space Agency (ESA)
Form of Funding: Indirectly managed actions
Type of Action: Indirectly managed action
Indicative budget: EUR 74.70 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 58.55 million from the
2022 budget308
2. Indirectly managed actions delegated to EUSPA
The following activities will be implemented by the European Union Space programme
Agency - EUSPA (the former European GNSS Agency - GSA), under a contribution
agreement between the Commission and the agency.
2.1. CASSINI Prize for digital space applications
The specific rules of the contest (“the challenge”) will be published in 2022.
Expected results: The prize will be awarded to one or several best data-driven marine or
maritime digital application(s) meeting the criteria of the contest. The application uses
Copernicus and/or Galileo data in combination with other data sources, and aims at solving
problems or meeting customer needs related to the detection, monitoring and tracking of
plastic pollution in rivers, lakes, shores and coastal zones and to support its removal in order
to support the prevention of ocean pollution. The awarding of the prize is expected to leverage
more private investment capital to the winning contestant.
Essential award criteria: The prize will be awarded, after closure of the contest, to the
contestants who in the opinion of the jury demonstrate a solution which is at least a system
prototype demonstrated in an operational environment that best addresses the following
cumulative criteria:
     Excellence
     Impact
     Business model & demonstration
308
        Of which EUR 2.55 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Eligibility criteria: Only SMEs are eligible to participate.
The reward (budget): The indicative budget for the prize is EUR 2.85 million from the 2022
budget, to be awarded to one/several winning contestant(s).
Indicative timetable of contest(s):
Stages                                            Date and time or indicative period
Opening of the contest                            Q2 2022
Deadline for submission of application            Q3-Q4 2022
Award of the prize                                Q2-Q3 2023
Type of Action: Inducement Prize
2.2. Support European “New Space” entrepreneurship through                     CASSINI Space
Entrepreneurship Initiative 2021-2027 - Hackathons & Mentoring
Implementation: the action will be implemented by the Commission through a specific
contract 2021-2023 concluded in 2020 under the existing Copernicus Framework Contract
with the consortium led by Verhaert New Products & Services NV and SpaceTec Partners.
The task will extended in 2022 for the activation of the two-year extension of the contract.
Amount: The contract for Year 1 of Hackathons & Mentoring will be a commitment of EUR
1.2 million on the 2020 Galileo Programme budget, and to activate the extension for Year 2+3
a commitment of EUR 2.40 million will be made on the 2022 budget of Horizon Europe.
Expected Outcomes:
   To stimulate the spur-of-the-moment development of innovative applications based on
      data and information coming from Copernicus satellite images and EGNOS and Galileo
      positioning signals and services.
   To develop prototypes further into viable business propositions.
   To provide training opportunities on how to access and use data from Copernicus and
      EGNOS/Galileo with data analytics tools and artificial intelligence.
   To promote the EU’s space programmes Copernicus and EGNOS/Galileo to a broader
      audience.
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative budget: EUR 2.40 million from the 2022 budget
2.3. Innovation activities for improved EGNSS operation and service provision
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To design and validate the provision scheme of new services, the development of service
demonstrators for EGNOS and for all services of Galileo (including PRS) will be required.
Service demonstrators enable early simulation of new service concepts at early stages of
maturity, supporting the definition of the mission requirements. These activities will
contribute to the decision of whether to implement a new service, providing initial feedback
from future potential users on the various options considered and on the service provision
requirements. In addition, the improvement of the complex operations is essential to improve
the performance of EGNSS services. Likewise, maintenance activities must be subject to a
continuous improvement process to guarantee the service continuity.
Actions under this area will cover the development and use of service demonstrators to
consolidate the future EGNSS services, the optimization of the operation schemes using
advanced dynamic strategies (e.g. machine learning) for Galileo constellation / system
management for the efficient and continuous provision of the full portfolio of Services in
EGNOS and in Galileo, and others.
These activities will be implemented by EUSPA under the Contribution Agreement between
the Commission and EUSPA. The procurement actions under this section will affect the
essential security interests of the Union, and will therefore require restricted participation that
will be established in the tender specifications. In such case participation should in principle
be open only to entities established in the EU Member States. Participation of entities
established in Horizon Europe associated countries or in third countries will be decided on a
case by case basis with the approval of the annual work plan submitted to Commission under
the Financial Framework Partnership Agreement (FFPA).
Indicative budget for this action: EUR 5.00 million from the 2021 budget
2.4. Development of applications for Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus
Actions under this area will address downstream R&D activities in the form of calls to
proposals to be launched by the European Union Space Programme Agency (EUSPA) in
accordance with the specification included in Appendix below.
We need to make the best use of EGNSS and Copernicus capacities for EU citizens,
companies and society. Research and innovation should therefore foster the development of
EGNSS downstream applications and promote their adoption in the EU and worldwide, in
particular in markets with a long lead-time (e.g. maritime, rail, aviation), and in areas where
Galileo offers unique differentiators (high accuracy, authentication, Search and Rescue, PRS).
Copernicus based applications and services can serve, for example, polar research, monitoring
of the environment, maritime and coastal monitoring, natural disasters, civil security,
migration and agriculture. They and can bring, with EGNSS, a key contribution to the
European Green Deal and to the sustainable management of natural resources. The public
sector should be supported as customer of space based technologies via innovation
procurement. Synergies between Galileo/EGNOS and Copernicus, as well as synergies with
non-space programmes, leveraging the combination of space data with non-space data, will
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open new avenues for the creation of a wealth of new and innovative applications and
services. The use of Copernicus and Galileo/EGNOS for the EOSC and DestinE initiatives
should equally be taken into account and promoted.
Indicative budget for this action: EUR 32.60 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 48.10
million from the 2022 budget
2.5 Tender evaluation, project monitoring and audits (EGNSS/Copernicus downstream)
This action will support the use of appointed independent experts by EUSPA for the
monitoring of running projects, tender evaluation and audits where appropriate.
Indicative budget for this action: EUR 0.50 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 1.00
million from the 2022 budget
Legal entities:
European Union Space Programme Agency - EUSPA (formerly GSA)
Form of Funding: Indirectly managed actions
Type of Action: Indirectly managed action
Indicative budget: EUR 38.10 million from the 2021 budget309 and EUR 54.35 million from
the 2022 budget310
APPENDIX TO ACTION 2.4
Specification of the two calls to be launched by EUSPA under indirect management
during 2021 and 2022
The following information is provided for information purposes.
Call - STRATEGIC AUTONOMY IN DEVELOPING, DEPLOYING AND USING
GLOBAL SPACE-BASED INFRASTRUCTURES, SERVICES, APPLICATIONS AND
DATA 2021 - APPLICATIONS
HORIZON-EUSPA-2021-SPACE-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)311
Topics                                 Type         of Budgets           Expected EU Number                of
309
        Of which EUR 19.72 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
310
        Of which EUR 32.69 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
311
        The Agency responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or after the
        envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Agendcy responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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                                    Action            (EUR             contribution    projects
                                                      million)         per     project expected to
                                                                       (EUR            be funded
                                                      2021                     312
                                                                       million)
Opening: 28 Oct 2021
Deadline(s): 16 Feb 2022
HORIZON-EUSPA-2021-                 IA                14.00 313        2.00 to 3.00    5
SPACE-02-51
HORIZON-EUSPA-2021-                 IA                9.30 314         2.00 to 3.00    3
SPACE-02-52
HORIZON-EUSPA-2021-                 IA                9.30 315         2.00 to 3.00    3
SPACE-02-53
Overall indicative budget                             32.60
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                               C.
Award criteria                                          The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                        D.
Documents                                               The documents are described in General
                                                        Annex E.
Procedure                                               The procedure is described in General
                                                        Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
312
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
313
        Of which EUR 8.47 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
314
        Of which EUR 5.63 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
315
        Of which EUR 5.63 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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This call and resulting actions will be implemented under indirect management by the
European Union Space programme Agency - EUSPA (the former European GNSS Agency
- GSA), subject to the conclusion of a contribution agreement with the Commission.
Development of applications from the EU space programme components
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-EUSPA-2021-SPACE-02-51: EGNSS and Copernicus applications fostering the
European Green deal
Specific conditions
Expected         EU The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution     per 2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 14.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL7-9 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
     Development of innovative EGNSS and Copernicus based solutions that contribute to
      the implementation of the European Green deal316. These solutions can play a major role
      in the transformation of the EUs economy into a climate-neutral economy by 2050, as
      well as support environmental protection, maintaining biodiversity, etc.
Uptake of Copernicus services and/or Galileo’s specific features and differentiators in areas
such as zero-pollution, EU methane strategy, clear and renewable energy and circular
economy; sustainable and smart mobility; building and renovation, and digital/precision
farming supporting the farm to fork strategy.
Scope: Proposals should focus on the development of innovative EGNSS and Copernicus
applications that support the Green Deal objectives and its related policies and they can be
submitted in any of the following areas:
     Increasing the EU’s climate ambition for 2030 and 2050: EGNSS and/or Copernicus
      based solutions which contribute to CO2 reductions and a toxic free environment,
      through better monitoring and preventing pollution from the air, water, soil and
      consumer products as well as natural catastrophes as pollution sources.
316
        COM (2019) 640 of 11 December 2019
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   Supplying clean, affordable and secure energy: EGNSS and/or Copernicus based
      solutions which support the supply of clean, affordable and secure renewable energy.
   Mitigating natural hazards:EGNSS and/or Copernicus based solutions which limit the
      damage from fires, floods or other natural hazards.
   Accelerating the shift to sustainable and smart mobility: EGNSS and/or Copernicus
      based solutions which enable or contribute to the development and impact monitoring of
      new sustainable mobility services and which reduce congestion, emissions and pollution
      especially in urban areas, while keeping costs at an efficient/reasonable level. Examples
      of emerging applications include automated and connected multimodal transport, public
      transport, mobility as a service, autonomous driving, IoT solutions for efficient mobility,
      road maintenance, air quality monitoring and forecasting.
   Building and renovating in an energy and resource efficient way: EGNSS and/or
      Copernicus based solutions, which contribute to the digitisation, smart monitoring and
      tracking of building and renovation processes. Examples of emerging applications
      include EGNSS based augmented or mixed reality for construction, special mapping
      solutions for making digital twins of buildings, utilities and infrastructure using Building
      Information Modelling (BIM), location-based applications for governmental processes,
      e.g. energy labelling of buildings leveraging the authentication feature, sensors for smart
      monitoring, drones with thermal camera to detect water and thermal leaks.
   From “Farm to Fork”: a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system:
      EGNSS and/or Copernicus based solutions which provide for food security and
      traceability across the entire supply chain and valorisation of the “made in Europe”.
      Precision or digital EGNSS farming solutions, which reduce significantly the use of
      chemical pesticides and fertilisers and help saving water for irrigation. Innovative
      EGNSS and/or Copernicus based tools that support the digitisation of post-2020
      Common Agricultural Policy or other agri-environmental policies.
   Preserving and restoring ecosystems and biodiversity. EGNSS and/or Copernicus
      based solutions which enhance biodiversity monitoring and enable data-driven decision
      tools for policymakers, to stop biodiversity loss and support the EU nature restoration
      plan. Examples of emerging applications include monitoring and detection of actions
      which are threatening the functionality of the ecosystem.
The solutions developed for all areas should leverage the Copernicus data or core services
products including Copernicus contributing missions and/or EGNSS differentiators, e.g. High
Accuracy Service, authentication features or Galileo Open Service with multi-frequency
capability. The developed solutions may integrate technologies like IoT, big data, artificial
intelligence, drones, 5G, augmented/mixed reality etc.
The developed applications should have a clearly defined commercial potential and should
respond to well identified user needs. The developed solution is expected achieve TRL7-9 by
the end of the project
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Proposals should deliver new innovative applications, with commercial impact and a clear
market uptake.
For proposals under this topic:
   Participation of industry, in particular SMEs and midcaps, is encouraged;
   Participation of, or outreach to, entities based in countries without a space tradition is
      encouraged;
   Involvement of post-graduate researchers (engineers, scientists, and others) is also
      encouraged, for example through professional work experience or through
      fellowships/scholarships when applicable;
   A Business Plan and evidence of user engagement is compulsory and must be provided
      as part of the proposal, to demonstrate the user need and sustainability of the project.
Proposals addressing PRS (Public Regulated Service) related applications are not in the scope
of this action.
Proposals under this topic should exploit synergies and be complementary to national
activities and activities funded by ESA.
Applicants are welcome to use the European space data infrastructures, e g. Galileo Service
Centre, EGNOS Data Access Service (EDAS) and the EGNOS user support facilities
(ASQF).
Applicants are advised to exploit all possible synergies with other specific actions related to
the European Green Deal and funded under the work programme of Cluster 5 “Climate,
Energy and Mobility” and of Cluster 6 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture
and Environment'.
HORIZON-EUSPA-2021-SPACE-02-52: EGNSS applications for Safety and Crisis
management
Specific conditions
Expected         EU The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution     per 2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.30 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL7-9 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
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Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Development of innovative EGNSS-based solutions contributing to a resilient and more
     stable Europe that protects citizens.
   Development of innovative EGNSS-based solutions addressing safety concerns, to
     support the implementation of EU policy priorities relating to the safety of citizens,
     improved disaster risk management, , better security and resilience of infrastructure and
     vital societal functions, cybersecurity and crisis management.
   Development of innovative EGNSS-based solutions complementing the products
     delivered by the Emergency Management and Security Services of Copernicus.
   Awareness raising on the benefits of using EGNSS and Copernicus for emergency
     disaster risk management, and EGNSS for timing and synchronisation for critical
     infrastructures.
Scope: Proposals may be submitted in any of the following areas:
   Improved emergency disaster risk management and societal resilience. EGNSS
     solutions for critical services related to detection, preparedness, response, recovery and
     mitigation of emergencies and disasters, introducing synergies between satellite
     navigation, earth observation and communications. In particular, the synergies with the
     Copernicus Emergency Response Service, which is already operational, should be
     exploited. EGNSS solutions that leverage Search and Rescue service for resilience and
     management in crisis situations, following a disaster where conventional means, e.g.
     telecommunications, are no longer working. Further promising areas include mapping
     and high accuracy navigation for response and recovery, more intelligent and accurate
     distress beacons for Save and Rescue, drone and robot operations for disaster response,
     GNSS/Copernicus-based earthquake early warning systems, and Helicopter Emergency
     Medical Services.
   Timing and synchronisation applications focussing on emerging network
     synchronisation needs of critical infrastructures (electricity, telecommunications,
     financial etc.) in terms of accuracy and robustness, while reducing EU dependency on
     other GNSS. Proposals may e.g. focus on increasing receiver resilience to interference,
     increasing resilience and reliability in the reception of GNSS signals, tighter and more
     accurate time/phase requirements, timing precise synchronisation between financial
     platforms, Critical Assets Monitoring and Data Centre resistance against spoofing data;
     telecommunication networks’ operation; small cell synchronisation and 5G; Energy
     distribution and Phasor Measurement Units for smart grids. Links to the timing
     metrology infrastructure may be included, where relevant.
Proposals should exploit EGNSS differentiators such as Galileo Open Service multi-
frequency, Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS), Galileo Open Service Navigation Message
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Authentication (OS-NMA), Galileo Signal Authentication Service and Galileo Search and
Rescue Service (SAR) for the development of new innovative applications.
Developed applications should have a clearly defined commercial potential and should
respond to user needs. The solution developed is expected to achieve TRL7-9 by the end of
the project.
Proposals      should      deliver    new        innovative      applications, with   commercial
impact and a clear market uptake. Standardisation of new technologies is also in the scope of
the topic and might be considered by the applicant. The use of other space components such
as Copernicus is recommended. In particular, the use of Copernicus Emergency Management
and Security services is highly encouraged. The developed solutions may integrate other non-
space technologies like IoT, big data, artificial intelligence, drones, 5G, augmented/mixed
reality etc.
For proposals under this topic:
   Participation of industry, in particular SMEs and midcaps, is encouraged;
   Participation of, or outreach to, entities based in countries without a space tradition is
      encouraged;
   Involvement of post-graduate researchers (engineers, scientists, and others) is also
      encouraged, for example through professional work experience or through
      fellowships/scholarships when applicable;
   A Business Plan and evidence of user engagement is compulsory and must be provided
      as part of the proposal, to demonstrate the user need and sustainability of the project.
   The involvement of public authorities in the safety critical domain may be foreseen, to
      attract public authorities as launching customer in case of successful projects.
Applicants are advised to exploit all possible synergies with other security specific actions
funded under the work programme of Cluster 3 “Civil security for society” and funded under
the work programme of Cluster 5 “Climate, Energy and Mobility” (e.g. Aviation safety topic
“More resilient aircraft and survivability).
Proposals under this topic should exploit synergies and be complementary to national
activities and activities funded by ESA.
Applicants are welcome to use the European space data infrastructures, e g. Galileo Service
Centre, EGNOS Data Access Service (EDAS) and the EGNOS user support facilities
(ASQF).
Proposals addressing PRS (Public Regulated Service) related applications are not in the scope
of this action.
HORIZON-EUSPA-2021-SPACE-02-53: EGNSS applications for the Digital Age
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Specific conditions
Expected        EU The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution    per 2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.30 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL7-9 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Foster the adoption of EGNSS in mass markets and professional markets.
   Create applications that will make the best use of EGNSS innovative features such as
     better multipath resistance, authentication etc.
   Contribute to the competitiveness of the European GNSS industry in the area of mobile
     applications, with special focus on the innovative role of SMEs and midcaps, and non-
     space countries.
   maximise public benefits by supporting the development of EGNSS applications that
     will address major societal challenges in focus areas such as health, citizen safety and
     security, mobility and the sharing economy.
Scope: Proposals may be submitted in any of the following areas:
   Internet of Things: Within Internet of Things solutions, there is a clear trade-off in
     terms of accuracy and battery life that prevents users to rely on GNSS in any situation.
     EGNSS solutions should demonstrate how power reduction techniques can effectively
     deliver GNSS-level accuracy in IoT devices and develop IoT solutions able to
     demonstrate the EGNSS compositeness in the IoT domain, to be used in application
     fields such as food geo traceability, blockchain and Artificial Intelligence
   Mobile solutions. Development of new EGNSS enabled solutions which exploit the
     EGNSS differentiators such as High Accuracy Service and authentication features or
     which leverage the availability of GNSS raw measurements in smartphones.
   mHealth-solutions for ‘silver economy’, robotics. With the ageing population growing
     fast in the EU, governments will be increasingly challenged to meet the needs of older
     people in a cost-effective manner. EGNSS can support the ‘silver economy’ by
     satisfying the specific needs of elderly and disabled persons. The innovations brought by
     EGNSS, together with technologies such as robotics or enhanced home automation –
     should be exploited to develop innovative solutions.
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   Artificial intelligence- Big Data, geo-tagging, optimisation for multiple sensors.
      Advances in AI will improve the capabilities of applications and services, providing
      improved experiences to all users.AI-enabled machine learning can be used to improve
      the GNSS data processing to provide greater performance thanks to the optimisation of
      multiple sensors. Proposals should explore synergies between EGNSS and Artificial
      Intelligence, in the frame of applications relaying on big data and geo-tagging
      techniques. Synergies with earth observation data can be also exploited.
   Cybersecurity- solutions that are stimulating privacy, security of location data,
      exploiting synergies with quantum. In a digitalised world, privacy and cybersecurity
      are of utmost importance for individuals who are increasingly relying on digital
      applications to perform day-to-day task and activities. EGNSS solutions should enhance
      the security of location-based applications. Additionally, synergies with quantum can be
      leveraged as well.
   Sharing economy- solutions for logistics, mobility services, goods and food. The
      sharing economy covers many different sectors. It is rapidly emerging across Europe.
      Within this trend, GNSS is a key technology for all services requiring geographic
      information. Newly developed EGNSS solutions in the field of logistics, mobility
      services, and food industry should capitalise on the enhanced accuracy and the
      innovative features provided by EGNSS.
   Sports and fitness - smart wearables. Wearables represent the beginning of the
      separation between smartphones and end users, as an increasing number of smartphone
      services and apps are now accessible via new interfaces (smartwatches, fitness trackers,
      smart glasses, clothing, etc.). Currently, wearables are mostly used for fitness, health and
      entertainment. Proposals should ensure the use of EGNSS innovative features and
      differentiators in the smart wearables domain, integrating also other non-space
      technologies.
Synergies with other space components and other non-space technologies are applicable to
this topic.
The developed applications should have a clearly defined commercial potential and should
respond to user needs. Standardisation of new technologies is also in the scope of the topic
and might be considered by the applicant. The solution developed is expected to achieve
TRL7-9 by the end of the project.
Proposals      should     deliver     new       innovative       applications, with   commercial
and social benefits, impact and a clear market uptake. The standardisation of new
technologies is also in the scope of the topic and might be considered by the applicant. The
use of other space components such as Copernicus is highly encouraged. The developed
solutions may integrate other non-space technologies like IoT, big data, artificial intelligence,
drones, 5G, augmented/mixed reality etc.
For proposals under this topic:
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     Participation of industry, in particular SMEs and midcaps, is encouraged;
     Participation of, or outreach to,entities based in countries without a space tradition is
      encouraged;
     Involvement of post-graduate researchers (engineers, scientists, and others) is also
      encouraged, for example through professional work experience or through
      fellowships/scholarships when applicable;
     A Business Plan and evidence of user engagement iscompulsory and must be provided
      as part of the proposal, to demonstrate the user need and sustainability of the project.
     Proposals addressing PRS (Public Regulated Service) related applications are not in the
      scope of this action.
Applicants are advised to exploit all possible synergies with other security specific actions
funded under the work programme of Cluster 1 “Health”, other parts of Cluster 4 “Digital,
Industry and Space”, and Cluster 5 “Climate, Energy and Mobility” (e.g. destinations 5 and
6).
Proposals under this topic should exploit synergies and be complementary to national
activities and activities funded by ESA.
Applicants are welcome to use the European space data infrastructures, e g. Galileo Service
Centre, EGNOS Data Access Service (EDAS) and the EGNOS user support facilities
(ASQF).
Call - STRATEGIC AUTONOMY IN DEVELOPING, DEPLOYING AND USING
GLOBAL SPACE-BASED INFRASTRUCTURES, SERVICES, APPLICATIONS AND
DATA 2022 - APPLICATIONS
HORIZON-EUSPA-2022-SPACE-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)317
Topics                                  Type         of Budgets           Expected EU Number                of
                                        Action            (EUR            contribution       projects
                                                          million)        per      project expected         to
317
         The Agency responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or after the
         envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Agency responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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                                                      2022             (EUR            be funded
                                                                       million)318
Opening: 27 Oct 2022 (indicative)
Deadline(s): 16 Feb 2023 (indicative)
HORIZON-EUSPA-2022-                 IA                9.50 319         2.00 to 3.00    3
SPACE-02-51
HORIZON-EUSPA-2022-                 PCP               5.20             2.60 to 5.20    2
SPACE-02-52
HORIZON-EUSPA-2022-                 IA                9.60 320         2.00 to 3.00    3
SPACE-02-54
HORIZON-EUSPA-2022-                 RIA               9.60 321         2.00 to 3.00    3
SPACE-02-55
HORIZON-EUSPA-2022-                 RIA               5.10             0.50 to 1.00    5
SPACE-02-56
HORIZON-EUSPA-2022-                 RIA               9.10 322         1.00 to 1.50    6
SPACE-02-61
Overall indicative budget                             48.10
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                               C.
Award criteria                                          The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                        D.
Documents                                               The documents are described in General
                                                        Annex E.
318
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
319
        Of which EUR 8.22 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
320
        Of which EUR 8.30 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
321
        Of which EUR 8.30 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
322
        Of which EUR 7.87 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
This call and resulting actions will be implemented under indirect management by the
European Union Space programme Agency - EUSPA (the former European GNSS Agency
- GSA), subject to the conclusion of a contribution agreement with the Commission.
Development of applications from the EU space programme components
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-EUSPA-2022-SPACE-02-51: EGNSS applications for Smart mobility
Specific conditions
Expected        EU The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution    per 2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.50 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL7-9 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Development of EGNSS based accuracy, safety-and liability-critical applications in long
     lead time market segments such as aviation, maritime, rail, road transportation and multi
     modal domains.
   EGNSS response to the increasing mobility demands and emerging transport solutions,
     such as those enabled by autonomous or unmanned platforms, supporting new policies
     aimed to incentivise green and sustainable transportation of goods and people.
   The action aims at fostering the EGNSS market uptake in transport. Applications should
     demonstrate the advantage of Galileo and EGNOS specific features and differentiators
     for their use in smart and green mobility, and should contribute to a resource efficient,
     safe, climate and environmentally friendly transport, that will be for the benefit of
     citizens, the economy and society.
Scope: Proposals may be submitted in any of the transport areas or propose a multi-mode
approach:
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   Aviation: EGNSS solutions for modernising and improving air operations and traffic
     management technologies, addressing Communication, Positioning, Navigation and
     Timing, as well as Surveillance, targeting new navigation operations powered by
     EGNSS (e.g. 4D, GBAS DFMC, surveillance), increased airport efficiency (e.g.
     leveraging SWIM), critical airport and future drone-port infrastructure management (e.g.
     synchronization, monitoring, surveying), polar routes surveillance against space weather
     events and facilitating integration of drones in the airspace (drone operations, U-Space
     services leveraging EGNSS and Earth observation data, dynamic maps), as well as new
     entrants in the airspace, such as high altitude flights.
   Maritime: EGNSS solutions that reduce emissions in shipping and increase efficiency
     of operations (e.g. ports operations and logistics, intelligent routing), safety (e.g.
     fisheries, navigation at sea, coastal and inland waters, surveillance and accident
     investigation, search and rescue at sea), and resilience, polar routes surveillance against
     space weather events and drive the modernization of the sector (e.g. Internet of boats,
     automation, autonomous sea cleaning, GNSS contribution to marine communication
     networks).
   Rail: EGNSS for cheaper, smarter, higher performance, safer and emission-efficient
     solutions (e.g. contributing to the deployment of EGNSS based signalling and its
     inclusion into the evolution of the European Train Control System (ETCS), efficiency-
     focused innovations enabling cost reductions, capacity increase and automation,
     infrastructure management, dangerous goods transport, autonomous trains). EGNSS
     based train localization for critical applications as well as the use of Copernicus for
     infrastructure related operations should ensure that the EU railways sector keeps pace
     with rest of the world, where the adoption of space-based services already started.
     Maintenance of rail existing infrastructure and support to new lines is also considered.
   Road: EGNSS solutions for regulated markets that reduce traffic, optimise fuel
     consumption, lower emissions, and foster cheaper, smarter, safer and greener
     transportation, including smart public transportation. EGNSS solutions to support the
     development of connected and autonomous driving, next generation vehicles and novel
     user equipment, new capacities for vehicles, e.g. intelligent speed adaptation, and the use
     of integrated space data for road safety and environment, such as monitorisation of road
     infrastructures (e.g. landslides and bridge infrastructure), and AI-based cyber threat
     mitigation (e.g. spoofing attacks on localization). EGNSS solutions that benefit from
     EGNSS regulations such as the eCall system (e.g. GNSS Tolling for passengers cars,
     congestion charging in Smart Cities, eParking, traffic information), or of the Smart
     Tachograph in commercial vehicles (e.g. custom control and cross-border enforcement,
     cabotage and freight activities).
Proposals should be built on the exploitation of the distinguishing features of EGNOS and
Galileo.
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The action focuses on the development of close to market EGNSS transport applications and
mobility services through the realisation of large-scale demonstration and implementation
projects, indicating the necessary scale-up needs to wide adoption in Europe and worldwide
and associated standards and certification.
Developed applications should have a clearly defined commercial potential and should
respond to user needs. The solution developed is expected to achieve TRL7-9 by the end of
the project.
Proposals should deliver new innovative applications, with commercial impact and a clear
market uptake. The use of other space components such as Copernicus is highly encouraged.
The developed solutions may integrate other non-space technologies like IoT, big data,
artificial intelligence, drones, 5G, augmented/mixed reality etc.
For proposals under this topic:
   Participation of industry, in particular SMEs and midcaps, is encouraged;
   Participation of, or outreach to, entities based in countries without a space tradition is
      encouraged
   Involvement of post-graduate researchers (engineers, scientists, and others) is also
      encouraged, for example through professional work experience or through
      fellowships/scholarships when applicable;
   A Business Plan and evidence of user engagement is compulsory and should be provided
      as part of the proposal, to demonstrate the user need and sustainability of the project, and
      opportunities for wide adoption in Europe according to standards and operational needs.
Proposals addressing PRS (Public Regulated Service) related applications are not in the scope
of this action.
Applicants are advised to exploit all possible synergies with other transport and mobility
specific actions funded under the work programme of Cluster 5 “Climate, Energy and
Mobility”
Proposals under this topic should exploit synergies and be complementary to national
activities and activities funded by ESA.
Applicants are welcome to use the European space data infrastructures, e g. Galileo Service
Centre, EGNOS Data Access Service (EDAS) and the EGNOS user support facilities
(ASQF).
HORIZON-EUSPA-2022-SPACE-02-52: Public sector as Galileo and/or Copernicus user
Specific conditions
Expected          EU The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
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contribution   per 2.60 and 5.20 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.20 million.
Type of Action        Pre-commercial Procurement
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Stimulate the public sector in Europe to use space downstream products, involving
     SMEs and midcaps.
   Support to public stakeholders through specific funding tools, to develop, via pre-
     commercial procurement (PCP) innovative EGNSS and/or Copernicus based solutions
   Encourage the public sector to be the “first customer” for innovative space based
     applications and contribute to speeding up the modernisation of the public sector.
   Enable public procurers to collectively implement PCPs to close the gap between supply
     and demand for innovative solutions that require e.g. precise location (from
     EGNOS/Galileo), spatial data and earth monitoring capabilities (from Copernicus).
   Bring radical improvements to the quality and efficiency of public services by
     encouraging the development,validation and certification (when applicable) of
     breakthrough space-based solutions
   Prepare Galileo and/or Copernicus-based solutions for an integrated approach to support
     national public authorities to concretely uptake Galileo and/or Copernicus products and
     use them within their mandate and regulatory tasks and specifically helping them
     integrating Galileo and/or Copernicus in their regulatory systems, operational procedures
     and decision-making.
   Decrease of the prices of EGNSS and Copernicus based products/services, a smart use of
     the procurement budget to remove supplier lock-in and obtain more open, standardized
     solutions, shorter time-to-market facilitating the access of SMEs and midcaps to the
     procurement market and increased exploitation of IPRs and R&D results.
Scope: This topic is open to proposals for PCP actions in all areas of public sector interest
requiring innovative solutions in different market segments that exploit space data. It is open
both to proposals requiring improvements mainly based on one specific downstream space
technology (e.g Galileo, Copernicus, GOVSATCOM), as well as to proposals requiring end-
to-end solutions that need combinations of different space components.
The topic is dedicated to public administration to procure research and experimental
development that exploits space data and services (e.g. Galileo and/or Copernicus) and that
meets their needs. In addition, the proposals should build on the procurement needs of the
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participating organizations, supporting the EGNSS, Galileo and/or Copernicus market take-up
across Europe and demonstrating a sustainability of solutions beyond the lifespan of the
proposed project. Projects should focus on very specific and more mature applications and
market segments, based on clearly identified needs. Promising areas of activities are the
following, however, the choice of market segment and application is left to the proposer:
   EGNSS and/or Copernicus for mobility as a service, cooperative ITS, public transport,
      smart cities and air quality monitoring and forecasting, including support to new green
      policies,
   Integration of EGNSS into U-Space concept for drones,
   Monitoring of infrastructure with EGNSS and/or Copernicus (rail, road, critical
      infrastructure)
   Copernicus and/or EGNSS for crisis emergency management, including related to
      extreme events (i.e. storm surges, coastal floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, space
      weather)
   Copernicus and/or EGNSS for civil security applications and border management
   Copernicus and/or EGNSS for sustainable development, climate change adaptation,
      mitigation and resilience services
   Copernicus and/or EGNSS for coastal area monitoring and modelling, also related to
      coastal planning and operations.
Activities covered should reinforce the national policy frameworks and mobilise substantial
additional national budgets, as well as awareness raising, technical assistance and/or capacity
building to other procurers beyond the project to mainstream PCP implementation and to
remove obstacles for introducing the innovative solutions to be procured into the market.
The requested solutions should be validated through field-testing by the participating
procurers in at least two different countries across Europe.
Applicants should take particular attention to ensure giving sufficient time for the different
PCP phases.
Applicants are recommended to use European data infrastructures such as, for example, the
DIAS platforms and the Galileo Service Centre and EGNOS user support facilities.
Proposals addressing PRS (Public Regulated Service) related applications are not in the scope
of this action.
HORIZON-EUSPA-2022-SPACE-02-54: Copernicus downstream applications and the
European Data Economy
Specific conditions
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Expected        EU The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution    per 2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.60 million.
Type of Action       Innovation Actions
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL8 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Europe needs to strengthen its position as provider of products and services based on
     data, enabling new market opportunities. The EU is promoting the use and uptake of
     Copernicus, a leading European data provider, as a driver of innovation for the European
     Data Economy.
   Actions under this Topic will contribute to increase the integration and uptake of
     Copernicus into the economy, and/or to solve societal challenges.
   The integration of Copernicus data assets with data contributed by other vertical domains
     into sizeable and scalable applications enabled by modern ICT technologies will greatly
     enhance Copernicus downstream market. Likewise, many vertical domains (such as, for
     example, agriculture, food security, health, energy, natural resources, environmental
     monitoring, insurances, tourism, security etc…) will benefit from the use of Copernicus.
Scope: Actions under this Topic will bring to market new or improved applications, products
and services by exploiting Copernicus data assets and services products.
To achieve the objectives described above, the project are required to adopt state-of-the-art
ICT technologies (such as, for example, Big Data and AI technologies in their wider
declinations), and make use of existing European data infrastructures, such as Copernicus
DIAS platforms, European open data portals, and industrial data platforms.
The technical solutions to be adopted should be user-friendly and work at the scale of the
large quantities of data involved. They should be adopted to contribute to the digitization
challenges of the European industry by opening up innovative business avenuesopportunities
and to support societal challenges.
Copernicus data and services products will be at the core of the projects’ data value chains
and integration activatesactivities needed to fulfil the industrial and users requirements that
will drive the actions. Whenever relevant, the link with European satellite
positioning/navigation/timing technologies should be exploited.
Applicants are required to present initial qualifying items of their business plan in the
proposal, which will then have to be fully developed as part of the project’s exploitation plan.
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Activities are expected to start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 8 by the end of the project.
HORIZON-EUSPA-2022-SPACE-02-55: Large-scale Copernicus data uptake with AI and
HPC
Specific conditions
Expected         EU The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution     per 2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.60 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Copernicus is producing increasingly large data volumes that require specific Big Data
     technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods to analyse it and manage it. The
     adoption of Big Data and AI technologies in the space industry represents a significant
     opportunity to innovate, following industrial requirements to better respond to well
     identified user needs.
   Moreover, the data infrastructures offering archiving and distribution services for Earth
     Observation data, including Copernicus, are often data silos that offer today limited
     discoverability, querying and linking possibilities. The full exploitation of the archives
     and data stores require specialized Artificial Intelligence technologies, Linked Open
     Data paradigms and semantic archives able to scale to the full archives data volumes.
     Enhancing those cloud infrastructures with technological paradigms that are now typical
     of other data intensive domains (such as multimedia), will contribute to facilitate the
     development of new products and services with earth observation data at their core, and
     connect earth observation data to European Data Spaces.
   Copernicus data are part of the European Data Economy and its value chains. As such,
     this call is promoting the collaboration of ICT actors, both from industry and academia,
     with the earth observation/space stakeholders and Copernicus users.
Scope: To address the expected outcomes described above, applicants are requested to
respond to one of the following challenges:
   Develop new and innovative products and services designed by industrial and user
     requirements, having Copernicus data assets and services products at their core, and
     scaling up to the increased data volumes of Copernicus’ archives, by solving the
     technological challenges related to Artificial Intelligence, AI, High Performance
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     Computing (HPC,), Big Data processing and management, and the integration with
     distributed data sources from other industrial domains.
   Develop new, enabling, scalable, operational solutions and technologies to improve
     capabilities and performance of the Copernicus value chain and supporting
     infrastructure: from access and discovery of data and information (required to fully
     integrate Copernicus data archives, including into the wider web of data and connect to
     European Data Spaces, in a machine to machine modality) to integration with other data
     sources and analysis to delivery and applications. Proposals can address individual
     elements of the value chain or the value chain as a whole.
For both challenges applicants are requested to provide quantitative measures of the progress
beyond the state of the art.
To ensure a balanced portfolio covering the two challenges described above, grants will be
awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but at least also to one project that is the
highest ranked within each area, provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project.
HORIZON-EUSPA-2022-SPACE-02-56: Designing space-based downstream applications
with international partners
Specific conditions
Expected       EU The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 1.00
contribution per and 1.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project             appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                    selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.10 million.
budget
Type of Action      Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility         The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in countries that
                    have signed an administrative cooperation arrangements on Copernicus
                    data access and Earth observation data exchange are exceptionally eligible
                    for Union funding. Currently, these countries are: the United States,
                    Australia, Ukraine, Chile, Colombia, Serbia, African Union, India and
                    Brazil. Discussions towards similar cooperation have been started with
                    other countries and regions (including United Nations Agencies and Asia-
                    Pacific countries).
Technology          Activities are expected to achieve TRL3-4 by the end of the project – see
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                                      Digital, Industry and Space
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects with international cooperation partner countries are expected to
contribute to the three following high-level outcomes:
  1. The use of EGNSS and sharing of expertise with public and/or private entities to
     introduce EU-space based applications/solutions leveraging their innovative, unique
     features, in particular Galileo differentiators (authentication, high accuracy) nd EU
     know-how.
  2. The use of Copernicus data, to develop jointly algorithms, services and/or products,
     which serve local user needs and/or enhance the Copernicus global product quality.
  3. The combined use of EGNSS and Copernicus to develop innovative downstream
     applications combining positing navigation and timing with Earth observation services.
Projects will also contribute to the following objectives:
    Lead to new or improved products, processes or services – using EU space technologies
     (Copernicus, EGNSS as enabler - that are capable of generating a marketable solution
     for the local market.
    Maximise and spread the benefits of space-based applications and solutions enabled by
     EGNSS and/or by Copernicus, to leverage downstream space excellence in particular of
     SMEs and universities, to facilitate investments and to foster market uptake.
    Create partnerships with non-EU entities towards commercialization, to trigger public
     and/or private investment from Europe and beyond to take advantage of market
     opportunities in Europe or local markets.
    Build capacity and awareness raising, around EGNSS and Copernicus based applications
     and solutions, particularly in the regulated domains.
Scope: Proposals can target one or more of the three expected outcomes. Proposal can also
include the use of other space based or non-spaced based assets and services, with a
preference given to those based in the EU and in the international cooperation partners
countries applying to these topics.
The actions should focus on technical developments of EU-space based
applications/solutions, dissemination, awareness-raising, as well as provide opportunities for
the creation of business-oriented partnerships of European industry with international
partners. By doing so the action should be achieving a critical mass of space based-application
success stories, demonstrating the advantages and differentiators of EU space based solutions
and services and making it an attractive option for public authorities, private industries and
private investors in Europe and elsewhere.
Cooperation with international partners, either public or private, is key to:
                                       Part 7 - Page 502 of 512
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                                      Digital, Industry and Space
   promoting the uptake of satellite navigation , position and timing, to enable non EU
     countries to benefit from the advanced and unique features offered by EGNOS and
     Galileo, particularly in transport and regulated domains.
   promoting the uptake of Copernicus globally, exploiting possibilities for integrating in-
     situ, space data and information technologies. Building the Copernicus full, free and
     open data policy, the Commission seeks to facilitate access to Copernicus data and
     information for interested international partners. Administrative cooperation
     arrangements on Copernicus data access and Earth observation data exchange have
     already been signed with several countries; the United States, Australia, Ukraine, Chile,
     Colombia, Serbia, African Union, India and Brazil. Discussions towards similar
     cooperation have been started with other countries and regions (including United
     Nations Agencies and Asia-Pacific countries).
Tasks may include joint calibration and validation activities or integration of local in-situ
systems to enhance the quality of data and service products. It is important to exploit the
value-added of integration of EO observation technologies (both satellite, airborne and ground
based) with positioning ones, and ICT (e.g. cloud computing) from international partner
countries through the development of applications, and encourage their insertion into the
market.
Technology promotion activities can include incentive schemes in the form of financial
support to third parties, that will promote the uptake of space downstream applications across
Europe and globally.
For proposals under this topic:
   Proposals dealing with EGNSS are encouraged to involve the relevant players on the
     European side whenever relevant (e.g. European Union Aviation Safety Agency
     (EASA), European Satellite Service Providers (ESSP) or Member States’ Air Navigation
     Service Providers for EGNOS Safety of Life service to aviation, European Maritime
     Safety Agency (EMSA), ERA for other transports). Participation of industry, in
     particular SMEs, is encouraged;
   When dealing with Copernicus based applications, participation of at least one partner
     from a country that has signed a Copernicus Cooperation Arrangement is required;
     Proposals are encouraged to use the Copernicus Data and Information Access Services
     (DIAS), or other existing data access solutions instead of setting up their own download
     and processing infrastructure. They are also encouraged to integrate third-party data
     (including in-situ data) and envisage data assimilation into models and products made
     available on the Copernicus platform of the Copernicus services. Participation of
     partners involved in international GEO initiatives is encouraged. Participation of
     industry, in particular SMEs, is encouraged;
   Involvement of public authorities is encouraged, whenever relevant;
                                       Part 7 - Page 503 of 512
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                                          Digital, Industry and Space
     Involvement of post-graduate scientists, engineers and researchers is encouraged, if
      relevant for the project.
HORIZON-EUSPA-2022-SPACE-02-61:                      GOVSATCOM         Service  developments    and
demonstrations
Specific conditions
Expected          EU The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 1.00
contribution per and 1.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative               The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.10 million.
budget
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         Some activities, resulting from this topic, may involve using classified
                         background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and
                         SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU
                         classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
                         In accordance with paragraph 11 of Annex IV of the Regulation (EU)
                         2021/695 establishing Horizon Europe, this action is implemented with
                         regard to eligibility of legal entities in accordance with the Union Space
                         Programme. In particular, for the reasons of EU strategic autonomy in
                         space and the security and integrity of EU space assets, in order to
                         guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the Union and its
                         Member States, legal entities established in any Member State will be
                         eligible to participate where these entities comply with the conditions
                         established in Article 24 of the Regulation (EU) 2021/696323.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
     Consolidation of security-related services, demonstrations in a user context and in
      particular for civilian users and synergies with the services provided by the other
      components of the Space Regulation (e. g. services for civil protection with Copernicus
      images).
     This topic address service developments in support to all High Level User Needs,
      including direct involvement of users and with emphasis on civilian users and
323
         https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
         content/EN/AUTO/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2021.170.01.0069.01.ENG&toc=OJ:L:2021:170:TOC
                                           Part 7 - Page 504 of 512
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                                    Digital, Industry and Space
    interoperability of services. This should include Pooling & Sharing demonstrations, in
    particular on services enabled by new technology developments such as ground segment,
    RPAS, optical communications or Internet of Things. Service development should
    include an element of awareness building and outreach.
Scope:
   R&I for the consolidation of integrated use cases and demonstration of EU
    GOVSATCOM service interoperability in real user environment.
      1. Development of an innovative use case (e.g. in the area of crisis management,
          surveillance, critical infrastructure etc.) exploiting a combination of secure
          SATCOM services, such as Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) and Fixed Satellite
          Service (FSS);
      2. Interoperability of services based on pooled and shared capacities from different
          satellite systems;
      3. Interoperability of governmental satellite-based communication services with
          terrestrial communication services;
      4. Development of end to end secure, interoperable, quickly deployable, affordable
          and user-friendly GOVSATCOM user services ;
      5. Integrated application leveraging the synergies with services provided by other
          Space Programme components (Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus, SSA);
      6. Proof of concept in a real user environment;
      7. Awareness and outreach activities in favour of EU GOVSATCOM user uptake.
   R&I Areas to be addressed:
      1. Interoperability between satellite communication systems’ services;
      2. Seamless handover between satellite and terrestrial communications networks for
          the provision of governmental communications services;
      3. Service level interoperability between commercial and MS owned satellite
          communications systems;
      4. Integration of EU GOVSATCOM services with services provided by the other
          components of the Space Regulation.
                                     Part 7 - Page 505 of 512
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                                        Digital, Industry and Space
Budget324
                                                        Budget              2021              2022
                                                        line(s)       Budget (EUR       Budget (EUR
                                                                           million)         million)
Calls
HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-                                                          403.00
TRANSITION-01
                                                     from                       286.40
                                                     01.020240
                                                     from                       116.60
                                                     01.020240 -
                                                     NGEU
HORIZON-CL4-2022-TWIN-                                                                            334.50
TRANSITION-01
                                                     from                                         195.97
                                                     01.020240
                                                     from                                         138.53
                                                     01.020240 -
                                                     NGEU
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01                                                  355.20
                                                     from                       199.57
                                                     01.020240
                                                     from                       155.63
                                                     01.020240 -
                                                     NGEU
HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-02                                                   10.00
                                                     from                         4.45
                                                     01.020240
                                                     from                         5.55
                                                     01.020240 -
                                                     NGEU
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01                                                                    402.20
324
      The budget figures given in this table are rounded to two decimal places.
      The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
      budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
                                          Part 7 - Page 506 of 512
 ---pagebreak---                     Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                             Digital, Industry and Space
                                         from                        261.78
                                         01.020240
                                         from                        140.42
                                         01.020240 -
                                         NGEU
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-02-                                        9.00
PCP
                                         from                          3.62
                                         01.020240
                                         from                          5.38
                                         01.020240 -
                                         NGEU
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DATA-01                                      141.00
                                         from                 110.09
                                         01.020240
                                         from                  30.91
                                         01.020240 -
                                         NGEU
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DATA-01                                             205.00
                                         from                        147.76
                                         01.020240
                                         from                         57.24
                                         01.020240 -
                                         NGEU
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-                                     311.90
EMERGING-01
                                         from                 280.32
                                         01.020240
                                         from                  31.58
                                         01.020240 -
                                         NGEU
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-                                      23.00  28.00
EMERGING-02
                                         from                  23.00  28.00
                                         01.020240
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-                                            116.50
                              Part 7 - Page 507 of 512
 ---pagebreak---                           Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                   Digital, Industry and Space
EMERGING-01                                    from                        116.50
                                               01.020240
HORIZON-CL4-2022-DIGITAL-                                                  127.00
EMERGING-02
                                               from                        127.00
                                               01.020240
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-01                                           136.22
                                               from                  65.13
                                               01.020240
                                               from                  71.09
                                               01.020240 -
                                               NGEU
HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-01                                                   85.70
                                               from                         57.68
                                               01.020240
                                               from                         28.03
                                               01.020240 -
                                               NGEU
HORIZON-CL4-2021-HUMAN-01                                           206.00
                                               from                 206.00
                                               01.020240
HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-01                                                   70.50
                                               from                         70.50
                                               01.020240
HORIZON-CL4-2022-HUMAN-02                                                   50.50
                                               from                         50.50
                                               01.020240
Contribution from this part to call                                   1.00
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-01 under
                                               from                   1.00
Part 12 of the work programme
                                               01.020240
Contribution from this part to call                                   0.58
HORIZON-MISS-2021-COOR-01 under
                                               from                   0.58
Part 12 of the work programme
                                               01.020240
                                    Part 7 - Page 508 of 512
 ---pagebreak---                            Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                    Digital, Industry and Space
Contribution from this part to call                                  11.75
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02 under Part
                                                from                 11.75
12 of the work programme
                                                01.020240
Contribution from this part to call                                         5.72
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CIT-01 under Part
                                                from                        5.72
12 of the work programme
                                                01.020240
Contribution from this part to call                                  10.78
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02 under
                                                from                 10.78
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020240
Contribution from this part to call                                        14.62
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01 under
                                                from                       14.62
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020240
Contribution from this part to call                                  11.10
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02             under
                                                from                 11.10
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020240
Contribution from this part to call                                        16.00
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01             under
                                                from                       16.00
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020240
Contribution from this part to call                                        23.00
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-01
                                                from                       23.00
under Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020240
Contribution from this part to call                                   1.99
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-04 under
                                                from                  1.99
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020240
Contribution from this part to call                                   0.94
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05 under
                                                from                  0.94
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020240
Contribution from this part to call                                   7.28
HORIZON-MISS-2021-NEB-01              under
                                                from                  7.28
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020240
Contribution from this part to call                                  31.81
                                     Part 7 - Page 509 of 512
 ---pagebreak---                            Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                    Digital, Industry and Space
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CANCER-02                     from                 31.81
under Part 12 of the work programme             01.020240
Contribution from this part to call                                   5.98
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02 under
                                                from                  5.98
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020240
Contribution from this part to call                                         14.38
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01 under
                                                from                        14.38
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020240
Contribution from this part to call                                   1.99
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-03 under
                                                from                  1.99
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020240
Contribution from this part to call                                          2.62
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEANCLIMA-
                                                from                         2.62
01 under Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020240
Contribution from this part to call                                          3.42
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOCIALCAT-01
                                                from                         3.42
under Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020240
Contribution from this part to call                                          0.18
HORIZON-MISS-2022-NCP-01              under
                                                from                         0.18
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020240
Other actions
Grant awarded without a call for proposals                                  52.00
according to Financial Regulation Article
                                                from                        52.00
195
                                                01.020240
Grant to identified beneficiary according                             1.10   0.60
to Financial Regulation Article 195(e)
                                                from                  1.10   0.60
                                                01.020240
Specific grant agreement                                                   143.60
                                                from                       107.60
                                                01.020240
                                                from                        36.00
                                     Part 7 - Page 510 of 512
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                                   Digital, Industry and Space
                                               01.020240 -
                                               NGEU
Public procurement                                                   14.80  17.50
                                               from                  14.80  17.50
                                               01.020240
Expert contract action                                                4.05   7.75
                                               from                   4.05   7.75
                                               01.020240
Provision of technical/scientific services                            4.10   0.60
by the Joint Research Centre
                                               from                   4.10   0.60
                                               01.020240
Indirectly managed action                                           112.80 112.90
                                               from                  93.08  77.66
                                               01.020240
                                               from                  19.72  35.24
                                               01.020240 -
                                               NGEU
Contribution from this part to Public                                 2.69   0.71
procurement under Part 12 of the work
                                               from                   2.69   0.71
programme
                                               01.020240
Contribution from this part to Expert                                 0.44   0.54
contract action under Part 12 of the work
                                               from                   0.44   0.54
programme
                                               01.020240
Contribution from this part to Indirectly                             0.58
managed action under Part 12 of the work
                                               from                   0.58
programme
                                               01.020240
Contribution from this part to Grant to                               0.04   0.18
identified beneficiary according to
                                               from                   0.04   0.18
Financial Regulation Article 195(e) under
                                               01.020240
Part 12 of the work programme
Contribution from this part to Grant                                  0.56
awarded without a call for proposals
                                               from                   0.56
according to Financial Regulation Article
                                    Part 7 - Page 511 of 512
 ---pagebreak---                             Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                     Digital, Industry and Space
195 under Part 12 of the work programme          01.020240
Contribution from this part to Specific                                         11.88
grant agreement under Part 12 of the work
                                                 from                           11.88
programme
                                                 01.020240
Contribution from this part to Service                                   0.20    0.11
Level Agreement under Part 12 of the
                                                 from                    0.20    0.11
work programme
                                                 01.020240
Contribution from this part to Provision of                              0.56
technical/scientific services by the Joint
                                                 from                    0.56
Research Centre under Part 12 of the work
                                                 01.020240
programme
Estimated total budget                                                1813.45 1857.22
                                      Part 7 - Page 512 of 512
 ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak---               EN
         ANNEX VIII
         “Annex VIII
       Horizon Europe
Work Programme 2021-2022
8. Climate, Energy and Mobility
               ”
 ---pagebreak---                                          Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                                     Climate, Energy and Mobility
Table of contents
Introduction ....................................................................................................... 15
Destination – Climate sciences and responses for the transformation
towards climate neutrality ................................................................................ 21
Call - Climate sciences and responses .................................................................................. 23
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 23
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-01: Improved understanding of greenhouse gas fluxes and
  radiative forcers, including carbon dioxide removal technologies ...................................... 24
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-02: Modelling the role of the circular economy for climate
  change mitigation ................................................................................................................. 26
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-03: Maximising the impact and synergy of European climate
  change research and innovation ........................................................................................... 28
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-04: Enhanced integrated assessment in pursuit of global
  climate goals ......................................................................................................................... 32
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-05: Better understanding of the interactions between climate
  change impacts and risks, mitigation and adaptation options .............................................. 34
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-06: Supporting and standardising climate services .............. 37
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-07: Improved economic methods for decision-making on
  climate and environmental policies ...................................................................................... 39
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-08: Restoration of natural wetlands, peatlands and
  floodplains as a strategy for fast mitigation benefits; pathways, trade-offs and co-benefits 41
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-09: The contribution of forest management to climate action:
  pathways, trade-offs and co-benefits .................................................................................... 43
Call - Climate sciences and responses .................................................................................. 45
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 46
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-01-01-two-stage: Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) approaches
  .............................................................................................................................................. 47
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-01-02-two-stage: Socio-economic risks of climate change in
  Europe .................................................................................................................................. 49
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-01-03-two-stage: Social science for land-use strategies in the
  context of climate change and biodiversity challenges ........................................................ 52
Call - Climate sciences and responses .................................................................................. 54
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 54
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-02-01: Verification and reconciliation of estimates of climate
  forcers ................................................................................................................................... 56
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-02-02: Development of high-resolution Earth system models for
  global and regional climate change projections ................................................................... 57
                                                           Part 8 - Page 2 of 496
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                                              Climate, Energy and Mobility
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-02-03: Improvement of Integrated Assessment Models in
  support of climate policies ................................................................................................... 60
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-02-04: Supporting the formulation of adaptation strategies
  through improved climate predictions in Europe and beyond ............................................. 63
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-02-05: Let nature help do the job: Rewilding landscapes for
  carbon sequestration, climate adaptation and biodiversity support ...................................... 65
Destination – Cross-sectoral solutions for the climate transition ................. 69
Call - Cross-sectoral solutions for the climate transition ................................................... 73
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 73
  A competitive and sustainable European battery value chain .............................................. 74
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-01: Sustainable processing, refining and recycling of raw
  materials (Batteries Partnership) .......................................................................................... 75
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-02: Advanced high-performance Generation 3b (high
  capacity / high voltage) Li-ion batteries supporting electro mobility and other applications
  (Batteries Partnership) .......................................................................................................... 77
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-03: Advanced high-performance Generation 4a, 4b (solid-
  state) Li-ion batteries supporting electro mobility and other applications (Batteries
  Partnership) .......................................................................................................................... 79
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-04: Environmentally sustainable processing techniques
  applied to large scale electrode and cell component manufacturing for Li ion batteries
  (Batteries Partnership) .......................................................................................................... 81
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-05: Manufacturing technology development for solid-state
  batteries (SSB, Generations 4a - 4b batteries) (Batteries Partnership) ................................ 83
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-06: Sustainable, safe and efficient recycling processes
  (Batteries Partnership) .......................................................................................................... 85
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-07: Support for establishment of R&I ecosystem, developing
  strategic forward-looking orientations to ensure future skills development, knowledge and
  technological leadership for accelerated disruptive technology exploration and uptake
  (Batteries Partnership) .......................................................................................................... 87
  Emerging breakthrough technologies and climate solutions ................................................ 89
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-08: Emerging technologies for a climate neutral Europe .... 89
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-09: Methane cracking to usable hydrogen and carbon ........ 91
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-10: Technologies for non- CO2 greenhouse gases removal 92
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-11: Direct atmospheric carbon capture and conversion ....... 93
  Citizens and stakeholder engagement .................................................................................. 95
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-12: Fostering a just transition in Europe .............................. 95
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-13: Strengthening Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH)
  research communities in climate, energy and mobility disciplines ...................................... 97
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-14: Accelerating the climate transition in difficult contexts:
  transition super-labs (pilot) .................................................................................................. 99
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-15: Fostering cooperation between Horizon Europe cluster 5
  National Contact Points (NCPs) ......................................................................................... 100
                                                    Part 8 - Page 3 of 496
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                                                     Climate, Energy and Mobility
  Communities and cities ...................................................................................................... 102
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-16: Co-Funded Partnership: Driving Urban Transitions to a
  sustainable future (DUT) .................................................................................................... 102
Call - Cross-sectoral solutions for the climate transition ................................................. 106
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 106
  A competitive and sustainable European battery value chain ............................................ 107
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-01: Sustainable processing and refining of battery grade
  graphite (Batteries Partnership) .......................................................................................... 107
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-02: Interface and electron monitoring for the engineering of
  new and emerging battery technologies (Batteries Partnership) ........................................ 110
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-03: Furthering the development of a materials acceleration
  platform for sustainable batteries (combining AI, big data, autonomous synthesis robotics,
  high throughput testing) (Batteries Partnership) ................................................................ 111
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-04: Towards creating an integrated manufacturing value
  chain in Europe: from machinery development to plant and site integrated design (Batteries
  Partnership) ........................................................................................................................ 114
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-05: Next generation technologies for High-performance and
  safe-by-design battery systems for transport and mobile applications (Batteries Partnership)
  ............................................................................................................................................ 116
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-06: Embedding smart functionalities into battery cells
  (embedding sensing and self-healing functionalities to monitor and self-repair battery cells)
  (Batteries Partnership) ........................................................................................................ 118
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-07: Digitalisation of battery testing, from cell to system level,
  including lifetime assessment (Batteries Partnership)........................................................ 119
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-08: Coordination of large-scale initiative on future battery
  technologies (Batteries Partnership) ................................................................................... 121
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-09: Physics and data-based battery management for
  optimised battery utilisation (Batteries Partnership) .......................................................... 122
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-10: Streamlined collection and reversed logistics, fully
  automated, safe and cost-efficient sorting, dismantling and second use before recycling
  (Batteries Partnership) ........................................................................................................ 123
  Communities and cities ...................................................................................................... 125
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-11: CIVITAS 2030 – Coordination and support for EU
  funded urban mobility innovation ...................................................................................... 126
Destination – Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply ............. 129
Call - Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply ................................................ 135
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 135
  Energy systems, grids and storage ..................................................................................... 136
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-01-01: Establish the grounds for a common European energy
  data space ........................................................................................................................... 136
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  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-01-02: Laying down the basis for the demonstration of a Real
  Time Demonstrator of Multi-Vendor Multi-Terminal HVDC with Grid Forming
  Capability: Coordinated action........................................................................................... 138
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-01-03: Interoperability community ......................................... 139
  Cross-cutting issues ............................................................................................................ 141
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-01-04: Clean Energy Transition .............................................. 141
Call - Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply ................................................ 144
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 144
  Global leadership in renewable energy .............................................................................. 146
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-01: Demonstration of wave energy devices to increase
  experience in real sea condition ......................................................................................... 146
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-02: Sustainability and educational aspects for renewable
  energy and renewable fuel technologies ............................................................................ 148
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-03: Market Uptake Measures of renewable energy systems
  ............................................................................................................................................ 149
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-04: Novel tandem, high efficiency Photovoltaic technologies
  targeting low cost production with earth abundant materials ............................................ 150
  Energy systems, grids and storage ..................................................................................... 152
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-05: Energy Sector Integration: Integrating and combining
  energy systems to a cost-optimised and flexible energy system of systems ...................... 152
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-06: Increasing energy system flexibility based on sector-
  integration services to consumers (that benefits system management by DSOs and TSOs)
  ............................................................................................................................................ 154
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-07: Reliability and resilience of the grid: Measures for
  vulnerabilities, failures, risks and privacy .......................................................................... 156
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-08: Electricity system reliability and resilience by design:
  High-Voltage, Direct Current (HVDC)-based systems and solutions ............................... 158
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-09: Demonstration of superconducting systems and elpipes
  ............................................................................................................................................ 160
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-10: Demonstration of advanced Power Electronics for
  application in the energy sector .......................................................................................... 161
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-11: Reinforcing digitalisation related know how of local
  energy ecosystems .............................................................................................................. 163
  Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) ................................................................ 164
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-12: Integration of CCUS in hubs and clusters, including
  knowledge sharing activities .............................................................................................. 165
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-13: Cost reduction of CO2 capture (new or improved
  technologies) ...................................................................................................................... 166
  Cross-cutting issues ............................................................................................................ 167
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-14: Support to the activities of the European Geological
  Services .............................................................................................................................. 167
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-15: Support to the activities of the ETIPs and technology
  areas of the SET Plan ......................................................................................................... 170
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Call - Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply ................................................ 172
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 172
  Global leadership in renewable energy .............................................................................. 174
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-01: AU-EU Water Energy Food Nexus ............................. 174
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-02: Next generation of renewable energy technologies ..... 176
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-03: Hybrid catalytic conversion of renewable energy to
  carbon-neutral fuels ............................................................................................................ 177
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-04: Physics and aerodynamics of atmospheric flow of wind
  for power production .......................................................................................................... 178
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-05: Wind energy in the natural and social environment .... 180
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-06: Novel approaches to concentrated solar power (CSP) 181
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-07: Stable high-performance Perovskite Photovoltaics ..... 182
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-08: Cost-effective micro-CHP and hybrid heating systems
  ............................................................................................................................................ 184
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-09: Carbon-negative sustainable biofuel production ......... 185
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-10: Innovative foundations, floating substructures and
  connection systems for floating PV and ocean energy devices.......................................... 186
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-11: Development of hydropower equipment for hidden
  hydropower......................................................................................................................... 187
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-12: Innovation on floating wind energy deployment
  optimized for deep waters and different sea basins (Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Baltic
  Sea, North-east Atlantic Ocean) ......................................................................................... 188
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-13: Demonstration pilot lines for alternative and innovative
  PV technologies (Novel c-Si tandem, thin film tandem, bifacial, CPV, etc.) .................... 190
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-14: Demonstration of large-scale CHP technologies for a
  shift to the use of biogenic residues and wastes ................................................................. 192
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-15: Solutions for more sustainable geothermal energy ..... 193
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-16: Innovative biomethane production as an energy carrier
  and a fuel ............................................................................................................................ 195
Call - Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply ................................................ 196
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 196
  Global leadership in renewable energy .............................................................................. 197
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-01: Demonstration of cost-effective advanced biofuel
  technologies utilizing existing industrial plants ................................................................. 198
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-02: Demonstration of innovative materials, supply cycles,
  recycling technologies to increase the overall circularity of wind energy technology and to
  reduce the primary use of critical raw materials ................................................................ 199
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-03: Advanced manufacturing of Integrated PV ................. 201
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-04: Demonstrate the use of high temperature geothermal
  reservoirs to provide energy storage for the energy system ............................................... 203
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-05: Demonstration of innovative plug-and play solutions for
  system management and renewables storage in off-grid applications ............................... 205
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-06: Novel Agro-Photovoltaic systems ............................... 206
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  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-07: Demonstration of innovative rotor, blades and control
  systems for tidal energy devices ......................................................................................... 207
  Energy systems, grids and storage ..................................................................................... 209
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-08: Supporting the action of consumers in the energy market
  and guide them to act as prosumers, communities and other active forms of active
  participation in the energy activities .................................................................................. 209
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-09: Real Time Demonstrator of Multi-Vendor Multi-
  Terminal VSC-HVDC with Grid Forming Capability (in support of the offshore strategy)
  ............................................................................................................................................ 211
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-10: Interoperable solutions for flexibility services using
  distributed energy storage .................................................................................................. 213
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-11: Demonstration of innovative forms of storage and their
  successful operation and integration into innovative energy systems and grid architectures
  ............................................................................................................................................ 216
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-12: Replicable solutions for a cross sector compliant energy
  ecosystem ........................................................................................................................... 218
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-13: Energy system modelling, optimisation and planning
  tools .................................................................................................................................... 220
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-14: Thermal energy storage solutions ................................ 224
  Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) ................................................................ 225
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-15: Decarbonising industry with CCUS ............................ 225
  Cross-cutting issues ............................................................................................................ 227
Call - Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply ................................................ 227
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 227
  Global leadership in renewable energy .............................................................................. 228
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-01: Digital solutions for defining synergies in international
  renewable energy value chains ........................................................................................... 228
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-02: AU-EU Energy System Modelling .............................. 230
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-03: Innovative renewable energy carrier production for
  heating from renewable energies ........................................................................................ 231
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-04: Technological interfaces between solar fuel technologies
  and other renewables .......................................................................................................... 232
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-05: Renewable energy carriers from variable renewable
  electricity surplus and carbon emissions from energy consuming sectors ......................... 233
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-06: Direct renewable energy integration into process energy
  demands of the chemical industry ...................................................................................... 234
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-07: Renewable energy incorporation in agriculture and
  forestry ............................................................................................................................... 235
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-08: Demonstration of complete value chains for advanced
  biofuel and non-biological renewable fuel production ...................................................... 237
Call - Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply ................................................ 238
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 238
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  Global leadership in renewable energy .............................................................................. 239
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-01: Innovative components and/or sub-systems for CSP
  plants and/or concentrating solar thermal installations ...................................................... 239
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-02: Best international practice for scaling up sustainable
  biofuels ............................................................................................................................... 240
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-03: Efficient and circular artificial photosynthesis ............ 241
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-04: Integrated wind farm control ....................................... 243
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-05: Novel Thin Film (TF) technologies targeting high
  efficiencies ......................................................................................................................... 245
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-06: Efficient and low-emission technologies for industrial
  use of combustion and gasification systems from low-value biogenic residues and wastes
  ............................................................................................................................................ 246
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-07: Development of algal and renewable fuels of non-
  biological origin ................................................................................................................. 247
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-08: Development of digital solutions for existing hydropower
  operation and maintenance ................................................................................................. 249
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-09: Recycling end of life PV modules ............................... 250
Destination – Efficient, sustainable and inclusive energy use ..................... 253
Call - Efficient, sustainable and inclusive energy use ....................................................... 257
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 257
  Highly energy-efficient and climate neutral EU building stock......................................... 258
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01-01: Advanced energy performance assessment and
  certification......................................................................................................................... 258
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01-02: Industrialisation of deep renovation workflows for
  energy-efficient buildings .................................................................................................. 260
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01-03: Advanced data-driven monitoring of building stock
  energy performance ............................................................................................................ 263
  Industrial facilities in the energy transition ........................................................................ 266
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01-04: Full-scale demonstration of heat upgrade technologies
  with supply temperature in the range 90 - 160°C............................................................... 266
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01-05: Industrial excess (waste) Heat-to-Power conversion
  based on organic Rankine cycles........................................................................................ 268
Call - Efficient, sustainable and inclusive energy use ....................................................... 269
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 270
  Highly energy-efficient and climate neutral EU building stock......................................... 271
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-02-01: Demonstrating integrated technology solutions for
  buildings with performance guarantees (Built4People) ..................................................... 271
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-02-02: Cost-effective, sustainable multi-functional and/or
  prefabricated holistic renovation packages, integrating RES and including re-used and
  recycled materials (Built4People) ...................................................................................... 273
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  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-02-03: Strengthening European coordination and exchange for
  innovation uptake towards sustainability, quality, circularity and social inclusion in the
  built environment as a contribution to the new European Bauhaus (Built4People) .......... 275
Call - Efficient, sustainable and inclusive energy use ....................................................... 277
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 277
  Highly energy-efficient and climate neutral EU building stock......................................... 278
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-01-01: Demand response in energy-efficient residential
  buildings ............................................................................................................................. 278
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-01-02: Renewable-intensive, energy positive homes.............. 280
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-01-03: Smarter buildings for better energy performance ........ 282
  Industrial facilities in the energy transition ........................................................................ 283
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-01-04: Development and pilot demonstration of heat upgrade
  technologies with supply temperature in the range 150-250°C ......................................... 283
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-01-05: Development of high temperature thermal storage for
  industrial applications ........................................................................................................ 285
Call - Efficient, sustainable and inclusive energy use ....................................................... 286
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 286
  Highly energy-efficient and climate neutral EU building stock......................................... 288
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02-01: Designs, materials and solutions to improve resilience,
  preparedness & responsiveness of the built environment for climate adaptation
  (Built4People) .................................................................................................................... 288
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02-02: Solutions for the sustainable, resilient, inclusive and
  accessible regeneration of neighbourhoods enabling low carbon footprint lifestyles and
  businesses (Built4People) .................................................................................................. 290
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02-03: Sustainable and resource-efficient solutions for an open,
  accessible, inclusive, resilient and low-emission cultural heritage: prevention, monitoring,
  management, maintenance, and renovation (Built4People) ............................................... 293
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02-04: Smart-grid ready and smart-network ready buildings,
  acting as active utility nodes (Built4People) ...................................................................... 295
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02-05: More sustainable buildings with reduced embodied
  energy / carbon, high life-cycle performance and reduced life-cycle costs (Built4People)
  ............................................................................................................................................ 297
  HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02-06: Support to the activities of technology areas of the SET
  Plan: Action dedicated to energy efficiency in industry .................................................... 299
Destination – Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modes .... 302
Call - Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modes ....................................... 308
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 308
  Zero-emission road transport ............................................................................................. 310
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-01: Nextgen vehicles: Innovative zero emission BEV
  architectures for regional medium freight haulage (2ZERO) ............................................ 310
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                                                Climate, Energy and Mobility
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-02: Nextgen EV components: Integration of advanced power
  electronics and associated controls (2ZERO) .................................................................... 312
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-03: System approach to achieve optimised Smart EV
  Charging and V2G flexibility in mass-deployment conditions (2ZERO) .......................... 314
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-04: LCA and design for sustainable circularity - holistic
  approach for zero-emission mobility solutions and related battery value chain (2ZERO &
  Batteries Partnership) ......................................................................................................... 318
  Aviation .............................................................................................................................. 321
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-05: Greenhouse gas aviation emissions reduction
  technologies towards climate neutrality by 2050 ............................................................... 321
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-06: Next generation digital aircraft transformation in design,
  manufacturing, integration and maintenance ..................................................................... 323
  Enabling climate neutral, clean, smart, and competitive waterborne transport ................. 325
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-07: Enabling the safe and efficient on-board storage and
  integration within ships of large quantities of ammonia and hydrogen fuels (ZEWT
  Partnership) ........................................................................................................................ 325
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-08: Enabling the full integration of very high power fuel cells
  in ship design using co-generation and combined cycle solutions for increased efficiency
  with multiple fuels (ZEWT Partnership) ............................................................................ 327
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-09: CSA identifying waterborne sustainable fuel deployment
  scenarios (ZEWT Partnership) ........................................................................................... 329
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-10: Innovative on-board energy saving solutions (ZEWT
  Partnership) ........................................................................................................................ 331
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-11: Hyper powered vessel battery charging system (ZEWT
  Partnership) ........................................................................................................................ 332
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-12: Assessing and preventing methane slip from LNG
  engines in all conditions within both existing and new vessels (ZEWT Partnership) ....... 335
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-13: Digital Twin models to enable green ship operations
  (ZEWT Partnership) ........................................................................................................... 337
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-14: Proving the feasibility of a large clean ammonia marine
  engine (ZEWT Partnership) ............................................................................................... 338
  Impact of transport on environment and human health...................................................... 340
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-15: Development and demonstration of cost affordable and
  adaptable retrofit solutions for tailpipe and brake polluting emissions ............................. 340
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-16: Assessment of noise and particle emissions of L category
  vehicles from real driving conditions ................................................................................. 343
  Cross-cutting actions .......................................................................................................... 345
  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-17: Support for dissemination events in the field of Transport
  Research ............................................................................................................................. 345
Call - Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modes ....................................... 347
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 347
  Enabling climate neutral, clean, smart, and competitive waterborne transport ................. 348
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    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-01: Exploiting electrical energy storage systems and better
    optimising large battery electric power within fully battery electric and hybrid ships
    (ZEWT Partnership) ........................................................................................................... 348
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-02: Innovative energy storage systems on-board vessels
    (ZEWT Partnership) ........................................................................................................... 350
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-03: Exploiting renewable energy for shipping, in particular
    focusing on the potential of wind energy (ZEWT Partnership) ......................................... 352
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-04: Transformation of the existing fleet towards greener
    operations through retrofitting (ZEWT Partnership) ......................................................... 354
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-05: Seamless safe logistics through an autonomous
    waterborne freight feeder loop service ............................................................................... 356
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-06: Computational tools for shipbuilding .......................... 359
    Impact of transport on environment and human health...................................................... 361
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-07: Prevent smog episodes in Europe: Air quality impact of
    engine-emitted volatile, semi volatile and secondary particles .......................................... 362
    Zero-emission road transport ............................................................................................. 363
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-08: Modular multi-powertrain zero-emission systems for
    HDV (BEV and FCEV) for efficient and economic operation (2ZERO) .......................... 363
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-09: Nextgen EV components: High efficiency and low cost
    electric motors for circularity and low use of rare resources (2ZERO) ............................. 366
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-10: New generation of full electric urban and peri-urban Bus
    Rapid Transit systems to strengthen climate-friendly mass transport (2ZERO) ............... 368
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-11: Stimulating Road Transport research and innovation
    dissemination and implementation in Europe and around the World ................................ 371
    Aviation .............................................................................................................................. 373
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-12: Towards a silent and ultra-low local air pollution aircraft
    ............................................................................................................................................ 373
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-13: Digital aviation technologies for new aviation business
    models, services, emerging global threats and industrial competitiveness ........................ 374
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-14: European Aviation Research Policy in support to EU
    policies and initiatives ........................................................................................................ 375
Destination – Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for
passengers and goods ...................................................................................... 377
Call - Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goods
................................................................................................................................................ 382
    Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 382
    Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM) ............................................. 383
    HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-01: More powerful and reliable on-board perception and
    decision-making technologies addressing complex environmental conditions (CCAM
    Partnership) ........................................................................................................................ 383
    HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-02: Common approaches for the safety validation of CCAM
    systems (CCAM Partnership)............................................................................................. 386
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    HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-03: Physical and Digital Infrastructure (PDI), connectivity
    and cooperation enabling and supporting CCAM (CCAM Partnership) ........................... 388
    HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-04: Cyber secure and resilient CCAM (CCAM Partnership)
    ............................................................................................................................................ 391
    HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-05: Analysis of socio-economic and environmental impacts
    and assessment of societal, citizen and user aspects for needs based CCAM solutions
    (CCAM Partnership) .......................................................................................................... 393
    HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-06: Framework for better coordination of large-scale
    demonstration pilots in Europe and EU-wide knowledge base (CCAM Partnership) ....... 397
    Multimodal and sustainable transport systems for passengers and goods ......................... 401
    HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-07: More efficient and effective multimodal freight transport
    nodes to increase flexibility, service visibility and reduce the average cost of freight
    transport .............................................................................................................................. 401
    HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-08: New delivery methods and business/operating models to
    green the last mile and optimise road transport .................................................................. 404
    HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-09: Climate resilient and environmentally sustainable
    transport infrastructure, with a focus on inland waterways................................................ 407
    Safety and resilience - per mode and across all transport modes ....................................... 409
    HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-10: Testing safe lightweight vehicles and improved safe
    human-technology interaction in the future traffic system ................................................ 409
    HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-11: Radical improvement of road safety in low and medium
    income countries in Africa ................................................................................................. 412
    HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-12: Controlling infection on large passenger ships ........... 415
    HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-13: Safe automation and human factors in aviation –
    intelligent integration and assistance .................................................................................. 417
Call - Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goods
................................................................................................................................................ 420
    Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 420
    Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM) ............................................. 421
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-01: European demonstrators for integrated shared automated
    mobility solutions for people and goods (CCAM Partnership) .......................................... 421
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-02: Reliable occupant protection technologies and HMI
    solutions to ensure the safety of highly automated vehicles (CCAM Partnership)............ 424
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-03: Human behavioural model to assess the performance of
    CCAM solutions compared to human driven vehicles (CCAM Partnership) .................... 426
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-04: Integrate CCAM services in fleet and traffic management
    systems (CCAM Partnership)............................................................................................. 427
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-05: Artificial Intelligence (AI): Explainable and trustworthy
    concepts, techniques and models for CCAM (CCAM Partnership) .................................. 430
    Safety and resilience - per mode and across all transport modes ....................................... 432
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-06: Predictive safety assessment framework and safer urban
    environment for vulnerable road users ............................................................................... 432
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-07: More resilient aircraft and increased survivability ...... 435
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    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-08: Safer navigation and tackling containership fires ....... 437
Call - Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goods
................................................................................................................................................ 440
    Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 440
    Multimodal and sustainable transport systems for passengers and goods ......................... 441
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-01: Logistics networks integration and harmonisation
    through operational connectivity to optimise freight flows and drive logistics to climate
    neutrality............................................................................................................................. 441
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-02: Urban logistics and planning: anticipating urban freight
    generation and demand including digitalisation of urban freight....................................... 443
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-03: Smart enforcement for resilient, sustainable and more
    efficient transport operations .............................................................................................. 446
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-04: Accelerating the deployment of new and shared mobility
    services for the next decade................................................................................................ 448
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-05: Advanced multimodal network and traffic management
    for seamless door-to-door mobility of passengers and freight transport ............................ 451
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-06: Smart and efficient ways to construct, maintain and
    decommission with zero emissions from transport infrastructure ..................................... 453
    HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-07: New concepts and approaches for resilient and green
    freight transport and logistics networks against disruptive events (including pandemics) 455
Other actions not subject to calls for proposals ........................................... 458
Grants to identified beneficiaries ........................................................................................ 458
    1. Support for the SET Plan Conference ............................................................................ 458
    2. Support to the IEA’s Clean Energy Transition Programme (CETP) for emerging
    economies ........................................................................................................................... 458
    3. IRENA - Clean Energy Innovation Analysis & RE-MAP grants .................................. 459
    4. Improved offshore energy development in areas reserved for defence activities .......... 461
    5. Support to European Standardisation Organisations for biomethane injection in the grid
    in support of the implementation of the RED II as well as gas quality regulatory work ... 462
    6. Support for the SET Plan Conference 2022 ................................................................... 463
Public procurements ............................................................................................................ 464
    1. Study on development of outlook for the necessary means to build industrial capacity for
    drop-in advanced biofuels .................................................................................................. 464
    2. Study on Prize development for renewable energy systems (recognition and inducement
    prizes) ................................................................................................................................. 464
    3. Study on using pre-commercial procurements for drop-in advanced biofuel for
    commercial cargo-shipping and aviation ........................................................................... 465
    4. Dissemination and information activities ....................................................................... 465
    5. Dissemination and information activities related to the EIC Prize Fuel From the Sun . 465
    6. Information, dissemination and logistic support for EU in Mission Innovation ............ 466
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  7. Information services for energy research and innovation policy development ............. 466
  8. Smart Cities Marketplace ............................................................................................... 467
  9. Assessment of the competitiveness of clean energy technologies ................................. 467
  10. Study on gender balance in the R&I field to improve the role of women in the energy
  transition ............................................................................................................................. 467
  11. Study on circular approaches for a sustainable and affordable clean energy transition
  ............................................................................................................................................ 468
  12. Organisation and operation the Grand Final event for the EIC Prize Fuel From the Sun
  ............................................................................................................................................ 468
  13. Support to the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of climate,
  energy and mobility research and innovation policy activities .......................................... 468
  14. Developing an Union database for transport gaseous and liquid fuels ....................... 469
  15. Assessment of GHG regional cultivation emissions related to NUTS 2 or equivalent
  third country regional reports and support for assessment of the work of voluntary schemes
  certifying sustainable feedstock and renewable fuels, produced from biomass ................ 470
  16. Update the Biograce methodology and calculation tool of GHG actual values for
  biofuels production paths and review of Annex III of RED II on energy content of fuels 470
  17. Technical assistance for developing guidance on the application of the cascading
  principle in support schemes for bioenergy ...................................................................... 471
Subscription actions ............................................................................................................. 471
  1. Contribution to Technology Collaboration Programmes (TCPs) of the International
  Energy Agency (IEA) ......................................................................................................... 471
  2. International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy ...................... 472
  3. Voluntary contribution to the CEM Secretariat for Phase III (July 2022 – June 2025) and
  to participation in its initiatives and campaigns ................................................................. 473
  4. IEA (EE HUB) ............................................................................................................... 474
  5. Contribution to the International Renewable Energy Agency ....................................... 474
Scientific and technical services by the Joint Research Centre ....................................... 475
  1. Clean Energy Technology Observatory ......................................................................... 475
  2. Energy markets analysis ................................................................................................. 475
  3. Energy scenarios ............................................................................................................ 476
  4. Technical assistance for reviewing Annex V and VI in RED II .................................... 476
  5. Smart specialisation for climate adaptation ................................................................... 476
Indirectly managed actions ................................................................................................. 477
  1. Response to lessons-learnt from recent accidents / incidents in air transport ................ 477
  2. Safety standards for the introduction of key concepts and technologies ....................... 478
  3. Solutions for runway safety............................................................................................ 479
  4. Standards supporting the digital transformation of aviation .......................................... 480
  5. Development of new aviation health safety standards (for flight crews) ....................... 481
  6. Impact of security measures on safety ........................................................................... 482
  7. Contribution to InvestEU blending operation under the Green Transition product ....... 483
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Expert contract actions ........................................................................................................ 486
  1. Experts for the monitoring of actions ............................................................................. 486
  2. External expertise to advise on EU research and innovation policy .............................. 487
Budget ............................................................................................................... 489
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Introduction
The overarching driver for this cluster is to accelerate the twin green and digital transitions
and associated transformation of our economy, industry and society with a view to achieving
climate neutrality in Europe by 2050. This encompasses the transition to greenhouse gas
neutrality of the energy and mobility sectors by 2050 at the latest (as well as that of other
sectors not covered by this cluster), while boosting their competitiveness, resilience, and
utility for citizens and society. Europe has been at the forefront of climate science and is
committed to keep delivering the knowledge for enabling efficient pathways and just
transitions to climate neutrality.
Activities of this work programme support the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 1 . By creating more jobs, accelerating
economic and social transformation, faster digitalisation and by generating innovation-based
and inclusive growth, activities will aid Europe’s recovery2 in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis,
contributing directly to the Commission priorities of a European Green Deal, a Europe fit for
the digital age, and an economy that works for the people.
The European Commission’s strategic vision “A Clean Planet for All” 3 outlines that the move
to climate neutrality – along with faster digitalisation and accelerated economic and societal
changes – will transform the energy and mobility sectors in the coming decades making them
increasingly intertwined. Research and Innovation will heavily influence the speed at which
these transitions can take place, directly affecting the associated costs, impacts and co-
benefits, such as better air and water quality, increased employment, social inclusion,
sustainable resource management (including the circular economy and biodiversity), and
reduced dependency on fossil fuels. A key contribution to success is the development of a
wide portfolio of – from a life-cycle perspective – cost-effective climate neutral alternatives
for emitting activities, based on often in combination with enhanced sector coupling,
digitalisation, system integration and leveraging, whenever appropriate, the existing Earth
observation and monitoring programme Copernicus. The twin green and digital transitions
require instilling profound changes in social practices and skills requirements, as a result,
engaging society in the co-design, co-development, and co-implementation of innovations
also through social innovation4.
1
         Activities in this cluster will contribute to multiple SDGs, with the most direct impact on SDG 7
         (Affordable and clean energy), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 11 (Sustainable
         Cities and Communities), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). In addition, SDG 3 (Good health and well-
         being), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth), and SDG 12
         (Responsible production and consumption) will be positively impacted.
2
         Europe's moment: Repair and Prepare for the Next Generation, EC COM (2020) 456 final
3
         A Clean Planet for all A European strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and
         climate neutral economy; COM/2018/773 final
4
         Social innovation concerns the development of new products, methods, and services for and with
         society to meet societal needs involving citizens, public authorities, business and industry, social
         partners and academia—the “Quadruple Helix”—in their design, development, and implementation.
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The rate at which European research and innovation actions succeed in developing, upscaling,
implementing, and commercialising such innovative solutions will steer EU’s future
competitiveness of its existing and newly emerging industries in European and global
markets.
Cluster 5 supports the EU’s strategic objectives through activities included in this work
programme and through the support of Institutional European Partnerships 5 which are
implemented through dedicated structures. Although the latter activities are not included in
this work programme, it is of great importance to maximise synergy and coherence between
activities regardless of their implementation mode6.
Activities in this work programme will contribute to all Key Strategic Orientations (KSOs)
of the Strategic Plan (KSO C being the one with the most direct contribution):
  A. Promoting an open strategic autonomy7 by leading the development of key digital
      and, enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains to accelerate and
      steer the digital and green transitions through human-centred technologies and
      innovations;
  B. Restoring Europe’s ecosystems and biodiversity, and managing sustainably natural
      resources to ensure food security and a clean and healthy environment;
  C. Making Europe the first digitally enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable
      economy through the transformation of its mobility, energy, construction and production
      systems;
  D. Creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society, prepared and
      responsive to threats and disasters, addressing inequalities and providing high-quality
      health care, and empowering all citizens to act in the green and digital transitions.
To contribute to these programme-level KSOs, cluster 5 will deliver on six specific expected
impacts. In this work programme, each expected impact has been transformed into a specific
Destination (see table below). This Destination-based work programme structure follows a
thematic centre-of-gravity approach, but activities in a given Destination can of course have a
cross-cutting character and will often contribute to multiple expected impacts. The specific
contribution to the overall expected impacts is explained in the introductory text of each
Destination.
Expected Impact (Strategic Plan)                                               Destination     (Cluster      5
5
         Clean Hydrogen, Transforming Europe's rail system, Integrated Air Traffic Management, Clean
         Aviation
6
         Activities specifically targeting fuel cells and hydrogen are primarily supported through calls for
         proposals of the European Partnership on Clean Hydrogen. However, in justified cases and in line with
         topic descriptions, specific aspects of hydrogen and fuel cells can be supported outside of the Clean
         Hydrogen Partnership
7
         ‘Open strategic autonomy’ refers to the term ‘strategic autonomy while preserving an open economy’,
         as reflected in the conclusions of the European Council 1 – 2 October 2020.
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                                                                    work programme)
Transition to a climate-neutral and resilient society and           1. Climate sciences and
economy enabled through advanced climate science,                   responses        for     the
pathways and responses to climate change (mitigation and            transformation       towards
adaptation) and behavioural transformations.                        climate neutrality
Clean and sustainable transition of the energy and 2. Cross-sectoral solutions
transport sectors towards climate neutrality facilitated by for the climate transition
innovative crosscutting solutions.
More efficient, clean, sustainable, secure and competitive 3. Sustainable, secure and
energy supply through new solutions for smart grids and competitive energy supply
energy systems based on more performant renewable
energy solutions.
Efficient and sustainable use of energy, accessible for all is 4. Efficient, sustainable and
ensured through a clean energy system and a just inclusive energy use
transition.
Towards climate-neutral and environmental friendly 5. Clean and competitive
mobility through clean solutions across all transport modes solutions for all transport
while increasing global competitiveness of the EU transport modes
sector.
Safe, seamless, smart, inclusive, resilient, climate neutral 6. Safe Resilient Transport
and sustainable mobility systems for people and goods and Smart Mobility services
thanks to user-centric technologies and services including for passengers and goods
digital technologies and advanced satellite navigation
services.
According to the intervention logic of this work programme, Destination 1 fosters climate
science and thus helps to identify effective and efficient pathways and responses to climate
change. Destination 2 supports different cross-cutting technologies and solutions for climate,
energy and mobility applications. Destination 3 and 4 focusses mainly on energy issues –
Destination 3 on making energy supply more sustainable, secure and competitive; Destination
4 on reducing energy demand of buildings and industry and enabling their more active role in
a smart energy system. Destination 5 and 6 improve the performance of transport modes and
mobility solutions – Destination 5 increases the competitiveness and climate/environmental
performance of different transport modes; Destination 6 advances mobility services and
solutions at system level for passengers and goods.
Horizon Europe is the research and innovation support programme in a system of European
and national funding programmes that shares policy objectives. Through the programme,
special attention will be given to ensuring cooperation between universities, scientific
communities and industry, including small and medium enterprises, and citizens and their
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representatives, in order to bridge gaps between territories, generations and regional cultures,
especially caring for the needs of the young in shaping Europe’s future. Calls could be EU
Synergies calls, meaning that projects that have been awarded a grant under the call could
have the possibility to also receive funding under other EU programmes, including relevant
shared management funds. In this context, project proposers should consider and actively seek
synergies with, and where appropriate possibilities for further funding from, other R&I-
relevant EU, national or regional programmes (such as European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF)8, European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) 9, Just Transition Fund10, LIFE 11, Innovation
Fund12, InvestEU13), where appropriate, as well as private funds or financial instruments. The
ERDF focuses amongst others on the development and strengthening of regional and local
research and innovation ecosystems and smart economic transformation, in line with
regional/national smart specialisation strategies. It can support investment in research
infrastructure, activities for applied research and innovation, including industrial research,
experimental development and feasibility studies, building research and innovation capacities
and uptake of advanced technologies and roll-out of innovative solutions from the Framework
Programmes for research and innovation through the ERDF.
The EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF)14 [currently available in all Member States]
aims at financing projects that directly tackle the economic and social impacts from the
Coronavirus crisis and support the green and digital transition. For project ideas that directly
contribute to these objectives and that have a strong focus in one Member State it is advisable
to check access to the RRF for a fast and targeted support.
In order to encourage multi-actors approaches and to be more effective in achieving impact,
proposals are expected to synergize with other relevant initiatives funded at EU level,
including the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) of the European Institute of
Innovation and Technology (EIT)15. The innovation ecosystems created and nurtured by the
EIT KICs can in particular contribute to building communities or platforms for coordination
and support actions, sharing knowledge or disseminating and fostering the exploitation of the
project results. Where relevant, and without prejudice to the direct participation of the EIT
KICs in the R&I activities under this destination, proposals are encouraged to explore other
forms and means of service provisions distinct from the EIT KICs that can be complementary
to the considered proposals and their activities. Collaboration with other innovation
communities that can well support the project implementation and impact is also encouraged.
Any such cooperation should be based on adequate intellectual property management
strategies.
8
        https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/erdf/
9
        https://ec.europa.eu/esf/main.jsp?catId=62&langId=en
10
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal/actions-being-taken-eu/just-
        transition-mechanism/just-transition-funding-sources_en
11
        https://ec.europa.eu/environment/archives/life/index.htm
12
        https://ec.europa.eu/inea/en/innovation-fund
13
        https://ec.europa.eu/commission/priorities/jobs-growth-and-investment/investment-plan-europe-
        juncker-plan/whats-next-investeu-programme-2021-2027_en
14
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/recovery-plan-europe_en
15
        https://eit.europa.eu/our-communities/eit-innovation-communities
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In line with RRF’s requirement and the European Green Deal objectives, research and
innovation activities should comply with the ‘do no significant harm’ principle, as defined
in Articles 3(b) and 17 of the EU Taxonomy Regulation16 established to determine whether an
economic activity is environmentally sustainable. Compliance with the ‘do no significant
harm’ principle needs to be assessed both for activities carried out during the course of the
project as well as the expected life cycle impact of the innovation at a commercialisation
stage. The robustness of the compliance must be customised to the envisaged TRL of the
project. In particular, the potential harm of Innovation Actions contributing to the European
Green Deal will be monitored throughout the project duration. Horizon Europe projects will
play an important role to help economic operators reach or go beyond the standards and
thresholds set up in the Regulation as technical screening criteria and to keep them up-to-date.
Alignment of research and innovation activities with EU Taxonomy technical screening
criteria will also be piloted in selected topics with the aim to facilitate their later access to
green finance to foster the market uptake of the innovative technologies and solutions they
developed.
In this Work Programme, a pilot is applied to a number of topics implementing co-
programmed European Partnerships, involving a lower funding rate of 60% (except for
non-profit legal entities), in order to enhance industrial contributions. It applies to topics for
Innovation Actions targeting TRL 6 and higher.
Horizon Europe’s approach to international cooperation consist of multilateralism and
purposeful openness, combined with targeted actions with key third-country partners. Actions
focus on aligning national, European and global efforts and investments in research and
innovation areas that contribute towards achieving key European Commission priorities. With
regard to cluster 5, the Commission pushes the acceleration of clean energy innovation
through the Mission Innovation 17 Initiative, which was launched at COP21 and currently
comprises 24 countries and the European Commission. International cooperation of EU
Member States and Associated Countries in the context of Mission Innovation in relevant
topics in this work programme is encouraged. In addition, this work programme specifically
addresses cooperation with African countries on renewable energies 18 and cooperation on
sustainable decarbonisation with major emitting countries around the world, in line with the
spirit of the Paris Agreement which emphasises the need for global cooperation on technology
development and transfer.
For topics in this cluster, consortia could consider their voluntary contribution in terms of
data, indicators and knowledge to relevant Joint Research Centre (JRC) platforms for
capitalising the knowledge developed in their projects and become more policy relevant:
    Life cycle assessment (LCA) and its relevant application to value chain assessment:
      European Platform on Life cycle assessment (EPLCA, https://eplca.jrc.ec.europa.eu/)
16
         Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2020 on the
         establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment, and amending Regulation (EU)
         2019/2088
17
         http://mission-innovation.net/our-work/innovation-challenges/
18
         Topics HORIZON-CL5-2021-ESS-02-01 and HORIZON-CL5-2022-ESS-02-02
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      and making reference to the Environmental footprint method when applying LCA
      (https://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/smgp/index.htm);
    Raw materials: Raw materials information system (RMIS, https://rmis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/);
    Soil      and     soil    related    issues:      European   Soil   Observatory    (ESO,
      https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/eu-soil-observatory);
    The natural capital accounting: INCA platform (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ecosystem-
      accounts).
For the purpose of technology monitoring and progress against the state-of-art and helping to
indicate project contributions towards the targets of the European Commission’s Green Deal
all actions related to hydrogen and fuel cells funded under this work programme shall report
directly or indirectly on an annual basis in a secure online data collection platform managed
by the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking and The European Commission during the course
of Horizon Europe. The reporting shall consist of filling in the template questionnaire(s)
relevant to the project content (and the technology development and TRL).
Activities included in this work programme have been designed together with EU Member
States, EEA Countries and the European Parliament, as well as stakeholders and interested
citizens.
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Destination – Climate sciences and responses for the transformation
towards climate neutrality
Europe has been at the forefront of climate science and should retain its leadership position to
support EU policies as well as international efforts for a global uptake of climate action in line
with the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including
biodiversity objectives. Advancing climate science and further broadening and deepening the
knowledge base is essential to inform the societal transition towards a climate neutral and
climate resilient society by 2050, as well as towards a more ambitious greenhouse gas
reduction target by 2030. It will involve research that furthers our understanding of past,
present and expected future changes in climate and its implications on ecosystems and
society, closing knowledge gaps, and develops the tools that support policy coherence and the
implementation of effective mitigation and adaptation solutions. Due to the inherent
international character of this subject, international collaboration is encouraged for topics
under this destination.
The activities implemented under this section will enable the transition to a climate-neutral
and resilient society and economy through improving the knowledge of the Earth system and
the ability to predict and project its changes under different natural and socio-economic
drivers, including a better understanding of society’s response and behavioural changes, and
allowing a better estimation of the impacts of climate change and the design and evaluation of
solutions and pathways for climate change mitigation and adaptation and related social
transformation.
This Destination contributes directly to the Strategic Plan’s Key Strategic Orientation C
”Making Europe the first digitally enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable economy
through the transformation of its mobility, energy, construction and production systems” and
the impact area “Climate change mitigation and adaptation”.
In line with the Strategic Plan, the overall expected impact of this Destination is to contribute
to the “Transition to a climate-neutral and resilient society and economy enabled through
advanced climate science, pathways and responses to climate change (mitigation and
adaptation) and behavioural transformations”, notably through:
  a. Advancing knowledge and providing solutions in the any of following areas: Earth
      system science; pathways to climate neutrality; climate change adaptation including
      climate services; social science for climate action; and better understanding of climate-
      ecosystems interactions.
  b. Contributing substantially to key international assessments such as those of the
      Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) or the European Environment
      Agency (e.g. European environment state and outlook reports, SOER).
  c. Strengthening the European Research Area on climate change.
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 d. Increasing the transparency, robustness, trustworthiness and practical usability of the
      knowledge base on climate change for use by policy makers, practitioners, other
      stakeholders and citizens.
Coordination and synergies between activities supported under Destination 1, as well as in
other Destinations and Clusters, and in particular complementarities with Cluster 4 and
Cluster 6 should be taken into account by planning for adequate resources for co-ordination
and clustering activities. Following a systemic approach, Destination 1 concentrates on
activities related to climate science and modelling, whereas Cluster 6 supports R&I in the
areas covered by Cluster 6, notably on the implementation of climate change mitigation and
adaptation solutions.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
              Call                       Budgets (EUR million)                Deadline(s)
                                        2021                   2022
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-             136.00                                  14 Sep 2021
01
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-                                     51.00           10 Feb 2022 (First
01-two-stage                                                             Stage)
                                                                         27 Sep 2022 (Second
                                                                         Stage)
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-                                     87.00           10 Feb 2022
02
Overall indicative budget        136.00                  138.00
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Call - Climate sciences and responses
                                                                           HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)19
                Topics                     Type         Budgets            Expected EU            Number
                                             of          (EUR        contribution per project         of
                                          Action        million)         (EUR million)20           projects
                                                                                                  expected
                                                          2021                                      to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 24 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 14 Sep 2021
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-01 RIA                         24.00          Around 8.00                  3
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-02 RIA                         15.00          Around 5.00                  3
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-03 CSA                         9.00           4.00 to 5.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-04 RIA                         15.00          Around 5.00                  3
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-05 RIA                         20.00          6.00 to 7.00                 3
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-06 CSA                         9.00           Around 9.00                  1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-07 RIA                         6.00           Around 3.00                  2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-08 RIA                         20.00          6.00 to 7.00                 3
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-09 RIA                         18.00          Around 6.00                  3
Overall indicative budget                             136.00
General conditions relating to this call
19
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
20
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-01: Improved understanding of greenhouse gas fluxes and
radiative forcers, including carbon dioxide removal technologies
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 24.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                       consortium selected for funding.
                       If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
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                       exceptions apply:
                       To ensure a balanced portfolio covering all three areas, grants will be
                       awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but at least also to
                       one project that is the highest ranked within each area, provided that the
                       applications attain all thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Improved knowledge in the addressed areas, also through increasing the use of high
      quality data, leading to a better understanding of the processes driving climate change.
   Improved projections of climate change (including in relation to climate change-related
      extreme events).
   Improve our understanding of how innovative mitigation actions can help stabilise
      global temperature.
   Improved understanding from these actions should be fed into improvements in Earth
      system models, climate services and other forms of downstream use.
Scope: This topic aims at filling fundamental gaps in our understanding of Earth system,
focussing on greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes and Earth system feedbacks, the behaviour of
radiative forcers (including their pre-cursors), and efforts to stabilise global temperature
through deployment of carbon dioxide (CO2) removal approaches.
Beneficiaries are encouraged to take advantage of the relevant national and/or European
research infrastructures (e.g. ICOS, ACTRIS etc.).
Actions should improve scientific understanding in only one of the following areas:
a) Greenhouse gas fluxes and Earth system feedbacks
Actions should target a better understanding of key processes related to the life cycles of
GHGs, other climate forcers and associated feedbacks affecting the Earth’s climate over
different time horizons, including the effect of climate variability from inter-annual to multi-
decadal and longer time scales. Actions should focus on elements of the climate system which
have an important influence on climate change and its impacts but are not sufficiently
understood by the latest science, such as terrestrial ecosystems, hydrological cycles, ocean
circulation changes, atmosphere-ocean gas exchanges, coastal zones or the biogeochemical
cycles.
b) Global warming contribution of different, non-CO2 radiative forcers
Actions should improve knowledge concerning the individual and cumulative contribution of
short- and long-lived radiative forcers, including GHGs other than CO2 and their precursors,
aerosols, refrigerants and other climate forcers, to climate change, including their impact on
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atmospheric and ocean circulation, as well as other environmental issues. Actions may focus
on a subset of forcers, and should concentrate on those where the relationship between
emissions, atmospheric lifecycle, climate system feedbacks, and global warming is least well
understood. Actions should also assess the climate and non-climate impacts, over multiple
time scales, of policies and measures targeting forcers other than CO2. Moreover, the action
should examine the application of this knowledge in relevant sectors (such as transport,
industry, agriculture and health) with a view to better understand co-benefits and trade-offs of
mitigation policies with other societal benefits, including human health.
c) Climate and Earth system responses to climate neutrality and net negative emissions
Actions should improve understanding of the environmental consequences of reducing net
greenhouse gas emissions to levels consistent with the aim of stopping global warming.
Actions should focus on the response of global temperatures and other key properties of the
Earth system to sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to net zero and below. This
should include, but not be limited to, pathways consistent with the Paris Agreement goals of
limiting warming to well below 2°C and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C above pre-
industrial levels, including scenarios with and without temperature overshoot. The action
should pay particular attention to climate-related challenges at different temporal scales,
including potential benefits, risks and feedbacks (e.g. effects of surface albedo changes) of
using carbon dioxide removal strategies, whether nature-based or technological, to stabilise
global temperature. In this context, interaction with actions dedicated to carbon dioxide
removal (like ongoing EU projects, NEGEM, LANDMARC and OceanNETs, as well as
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-01-01-two-stage: Carbon Dioxide Removal approaches and
Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage) is encouraged.
International cooperation on the above areas is encouraged.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-02: Modelling the role of the circular economy for climate
change mitigation
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per        5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Legal and financial     The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant     apply:
Agreements              Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional obligation
                        regarding open science practices:
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                           Open access to any new modules, models or tools developed
                              from scratch or substantially improved with the use of EU
                              funding under the action must be ensured through
                              documentation, availability of model code and input data
                              developed under the action.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Improve existing European and/or global climate mitigation models by better
     representation of basic industrial value chains (including reliable data) and potential
     mitigation technologies including the impact of circular economy.
   Improve the quantification of the impacts and potentials of the circular economy for
     climate change mitigation.
   Support the integration of the circular economy into climate action, policies and their
     evidence base, including externalities.
   Support the integration of the GHG emission reduction / mitigation in the circular
     economy criteria.
Scope: Projects are to advance the understanding and modelling of the current and future
potential contribution of the circular economy in Europe to GHG emissions reductions. The
scope of the modelling activities has to go beyond the state-of-the-art, in particular in terms of
sectors covered and their interrelations, be as comprehensive as possible (e.g. covering also
the blue economy), and include citizen’s behaviours and engagement.
This action should look beyond the specific measures needed to deliver a circular economy
and propose a framework for revealing, demonstrating and quantifying the circular economy’s
potential contribution to climate goals, as well as improving the coverage of basic industry
value and supply chains in models (or suites of models) used to analyse mitigation pathways.
While focusing on the linkages between circular economy measures and climate goals, the
action can also improve the understanding of the connections between climate action and
other environmental areas and issues as well as social and health issues, in line with the
systemic approach that the European Green Deal promotes.
Collaboration between the scientific community and policy- and decision-makers in order to
integrate the circular economy into integrated assessment frameworks and other
comprehensive climate policy visions is highly recommended. Actions should also ensure
collaboration with industry stakeholders and civil society, including, for example, sharing
best-practices, data, models and other knowledge required to analyse mitigation pathways to
ensure the input of - and alignment with - the needs, values and expectations of society.
When dealing with models, actions should promote the highest standards of transparency and
openness, as much as possible going well beyond documentation and extending to aspects
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such as assumptions, code and data that is managed in compliance with the FAIR principles 21.
In particular, beneficiaries are strongly encouraged to publish results data in open access
databases and/or as annexes to publications. In addition, full openness of any new modules,
models or tools developed from scratch or substantially improved with the use of EU funding
is expected.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-03: Maximising the impact and synergy of European
climate change research and innovation
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          4.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Admissibility             The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The page limit of the application is 45 pages.
Procedure                 The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                          exceptions apply:
                          To ensure a balanced portfolio covering both areas, grants will be
                          awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but at least also to
                          one project that is the highest ranked within each area, provided that the
                          applications attain all thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
    Raising awareness of citizens, business, social partners, policy-makers and other relevant
     audiences towards climate change, based on more efficient, transparent and engaging
     communication of authoritative and timely science-based information originating from
     EU-funded climate change research projects.
    Better coordination of both on-going and future EU-funded climate change research
     initiatives and a more efficient use of resources.
21
        FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). Further information: https://www.go-
        fair.org/fair-principles/; and Final Report and Action Plan from the European Commission Expert
        Group          on        FAIR         Data,        “TURNING           FAIR   INTO   REALITY”
        (https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/turning_fair_into_reality_0.pdf)
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   Enhanced impact of research investments and accelerated transfer of knowledge to
    inform policy and climate actions in Europe.
   Increased robustness, coherence and visibility of the results of EU-funded climate
    change research and innovation leading to increased uptake of the knowledge and
    solutions and more robust decisions by the public sector, businesses, industry and
    society.
   Curation of research and innovation project results related to climate change, such that
    stakeholders can discover and understand what EU-funded research is ongoing in their
    area of interest.
   Innovative and tailor-made tools and strategies to communicate the results of EU-climate
    change research leading to improved science – civil society interface, while considering
    drivers for active citizen engagement in climate action and more sustainable behaviours,
    including social innovations.
   Better coordination of climate change research, innovation and technology initiatives
    within the European Research Area, facilitating complementarity and coherence between
    EU-level, national and regional efforts and a more efficient use of resources.
   Identification of complementary research and innovation activities among the past,
    present and future work supported by national and regional R&I programmes on climate
    change, facilitating coherence between EU-level and national efforts and a more efficient
    use of resources, and taking into account international developments where relevant.
   Showcasing national and regional research and innovation activities and findings that
    could be of interest for cooperation between countries.
   Improving prioritisation of European climate change research by identifying priority
    topics (in terms of knowledge gaps and/or societal needs), and taking stock of national
    and EU-level climate change R&I research activities, in order to enhance the ability of
    existing and future European R&I to respond to societal needs.
   Accelerating the transfer of knowledge on climate change research to policy-makers,
    practitioners and the society.
   Implementation of collaborative activities to enhance the market, regulatory or societal
    uptake of R&I solutions related to climate change across Europe, for example by
    replicating national or local success stories in Europe.
   Identify good practices at European, national and regional level on communication,
    dissemination and exploitation of climate change research findings and projects results
    and facilitate their scaling up.
Scope: Actions should cover one of the following areas:
a) Maximising the impact of EU-funded climate change research
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The action should deliver effective mechanisms to strengthen the science-policy and science-
civil society interface on the state-of-the-art climate change research in order to increase
Europe's capacity to accelerate the response to the climate crisis and, biodiversity and other
environmental challenges. Climate change research is understood here as projects dealing
with climate, mitigation and adaptation science that will result mainly from Destination 1 of
Cluster 5 - “Climate sciences and responses”- of Horizon Europe as well as relevant legacy
projects of Horizon 202022. Other relevant projects, in particular from Cluster 3 and 6, as well
as other Destinations in Cluster 5 should also be considered where relevant and possible.
Synergies with the topic HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-06: Supporting and standardising
climate services should be established as necessary.
Knowledge synthesis and valorisation of results across EU funded projects and initiatives are
expected to constitute an important element of work and should lead to integrated policy
briefs and (joint) scientific publications that consolidate findings from different projects on
priority issues and challenges that are central to climate action at all scales. To deliver these
objectives, the action should consider activities such as curating, clustering, co-ordinating and
supporting the creation of synergies between EU-funded climate change research and
innovation activities, where relevant also considering national as well as international
initiatives such as Global Covenant of Mayors and Mission Innovation.
The actions should identify and systematically update research needs emerging from science
and/or policy discussions, and, where possible, match these needs against the themes that are
addressed (or could be addressed) by ongoing EU-funded research projects.
The action should build on the knowledge and tools accumulated during previous and existing
EU-funded initiatives. It should provide for adequate resources to take over and manage
selected knowledge curation platforms, including the EU climate change mitigation portal 23. It
is also expected to facilitate exploitation and maintenance of selected decision support tools
developed by other EU-funded climate change research projects in close cooperation with the
Commission services.
Communication, dissemination and cross-fertilisation of research results will be an important
component of the action and should include support to upscaling the efforts of individual
projects under Destination 1. These activities are expected to account for the majority of the
action’s budget and should be accordingly substantiated in the proposal. Activities should go
beyond standard (passive) practices and could include, for example, Massive Online Open
Courses, videos, mobile apps, festivals, citizen debates and other forms of active outreach,
where possible and appropriate building on existing tools and materials developed by EU-
funded projects. They should address a broad range of audiences, including policy makers,
business and civil society with particular emphasis on young people, taking into account each
audience’s specific needs and paying attention to gender differences, with a view to increase
22
         In particular relevant projects financed under the 2018-2020 H2020 work programme Call - Building a
         low-carbon, climate resilient future: climate action in support of the Paris Agreement, notably under
         areas: Decarbonisation, Climate adaptation, impacts and services; the Cryosphere and the Knowledge
         gaps. The final list is to be agreed with the European Commission.
23
         https://climatechangemitigation.eu
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awareness about the state of climate science, build support for climate action and trigger
broader societal transformation. National, regional and local level initiatives should be an
important component of the outreach. Innovative approaches, such as, for example, UNEP’s
“Earth School” 24 , podcasts or TED talks 25 , fully leveraging digital and social media
opportunities, are strongly encouraged. The action should mobilise and promote direct
interaction between the scientific community and civil society/practitioners. In addition, it
should also support efforts to counter misconceptions, fake news and conspiracy theories
regarding climate change.
The action is also expected to contribute to the objectives and activities of the European
Climate Pact26.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, notably as regards
exploration of the most effective techniques of communication, dissemination and
engagement, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal
impact of the related research activities. Social innovations should also be considered, notably
as new tools, ideas and methods leading to active citizen engagement and as drivers of social
change, social ownership and new social practices.
b) Maximising the synergy of climate change research and innovation in Europe
This action will help strengthen the European Research Area by ensuring coordination,
cooperation and synergies between research, innovation and technology policies and
programmes in the area of climate change research, including mitigation and adaptation, at
European, national and regional level.
Maximising the societal impact of climate change research in Europe requires coordination
among European, national and regional initiatives and research programmes. For example,
climate services, mitigation and adaptation options pioneered in one location may be
deployable in another. In basic climate science, coordination among programmes avoids
duplications, and ensures optimal use of resources (like IT infrastructure or data).
The action is expected to help prioritise investments in climate change R&I and to add value
to current and future R&I occurring across the ERA by exploiting potential synergies in R&I
planning and activities, and opportunities for partnerships or complementary activities. To
achieve this objective, the action should facilitate dialogue and exchange of information
among the relevant scientific communities and funding bodies at European, national and
regional level. It should identify and systematically update research needs emerging from
science, policy discussions and the society, and enable the inclusion of these priorities in
national and regional research strategies and agendas to finance ongoing and future projects.
24
        https://www.unenvironment.org/explore-topics/education-environment/what-we-do/earth-school
25
        See, for example, https://countdown.ted.com/
26
        In the context of the European Green Deal which sets ambitious goals towards achieving climate
        neutrality by 2050, the objective of the Climate Pact is to raise awareness on climate change, to engage
        citizens and communities in action for climate and environment and to build on and amplify existing
        initiatives in Europe.
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A science-policy and science-society dialogue should be established, when possible in
coordination with similar initiatives organised by other projects or entities, to improve access
to and communication and dissemination of excellent climate change research and innovation.
Activities will enhance cooperation between climate research scientist, professionals and all
relevant stakeholders (e.g. universities, business and other research and innovation actors),
accelerate the transfer of knowledge to inform policy and climate actions in Europe.
Activities should identify, analyse and support the scaling up of good practices at European,
national and regional level on communication, dissemination and exploitation of climate
change R&I projects results and solutions, as well as on climate change policies and strategies
(e.g. comparative reports on national and regional R&I policies addressing climate change).
The scope should include the organisation of the European Climate Change Adaptation
(ECCA) Conferences and contribution to other international conferences on climate change
adaptation.
Coordination should be ensured with relevant European, national and regional initiatives (e.g.
Joint Programming Initiatives, EIT Climate-KIC…).
The activities should build links with relevant EU programmes such as Copernicus, as well as
build upon and link to global structures like the IPCC, the Global Carbon Project and the
Global Covenant of Mayors.
Projects funded under this topic should ensure coordination between their activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-04: Enhanced integrated assessment in pursuit of global
climate goals
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
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Expected Outcome: Under the Paris Agreement, Parties to the UNFCCC have to pursue
policies and measures to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, including by preparing and
implementing successive Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) towards the
Agreement’s objectives. By 2025, countries are expected to produce new NDCs covering the
post-2030 period, informed during the 2022-23 period by the 6th Assessment Report of the
IPCC and the Paris Agreement Global Stocktake.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Provision of information for the preparation of climate policies and national planning for
     the post-2030 period, in light of the Paris Agreement goals and the need to reduce global
     net greenhouse emissions to zero by 2050.
   Enhanced international cooperation among the modelling community and other relevant
     stakeholders to expand the provision of robust in-country advice to decision-makers
     around the world.
   Enhanced mutual learning among the modelling, social science and policy communities
     to ensure coherence between different tools used to inform climate action, and
     consistency with the best available and open science.
Scope: Proposals should:
   Ensure that Integrated Assessment Models enable the assessment of Paris Agreement-
     compatible mitigation policies to which policymakers around the world have access.
   Deliver advice and insights that can inform climate action and sustainable development
     policy design, including biodiversity preservation, at global and national level, based on
     the best available science.
   Support comparability of model results e.g. between national and global scenarios, and
     between Integrated Assessment Models and other models used to inform climate action
     at different geographical scales.
   Identify milestones, drivers and barriers towards achieving climate neutrality in an
     economically and environmentally responsible and socially inclusive way, including
     where appropriate by examining implementation of previous or existing climate policies.
   Consider the role of major sectors including energy, water, transport, industry and land
     use, as well as the sequence of individual, social, economic, structural, and technological
     changes that could lead to climate neutrality.
   Support the use of model-based and data/driven analysis for climate-policy in the context
     of sustainable development and recovery from the economic and social impacts of the
     COVID-19 pandemic.
   Share best practices and build capacities to support the production of national scenarios
     and to inform domestic stakeholders during and after the lifespan of the action.
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Reflecting the nature of climate change as a global challenge, actions should be able to
provide insights at global level and of relevance to major emitters and countries from different
regions, with different levels of economic development and in-country scientific and
institutional capacity.
International cooperation is encouraged, in particular with one or more of the top ten
emitters 27 and with non-high-income countries 28 requiring support for the design and
implementation of current and future NDCs.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH and gender expertise, in order to
produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related
research activities.
When dealing with models, actions should promote the highest standards of transparency and
openness, as much as possible going well beyond model documentation and extending to
aspects such as assumptions, code and data that is managed in compliance with the FAIR
principles29. In particular, beneficiaries are strongly encouraged to publish results data in open
access databases and/or as annexes to publications.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-05: Better understanding of the interactions between
climate change impacts and risks, mitigation and adaptation options
Specific conditions
Expected EU                  The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per             6.00 and 7.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                      appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                             selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget            The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action               Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility                  The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                   exceptions apply:
                             If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                             and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                             Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                             additionally be used).
27
         For a ranking, see e.g. here: http://www.globalcarbonatlas.org/en/CO2-emissions
          orhttps://www.climatewatchdata.org/data-explorer/ .
28
         As defined by the World Bank.
29
         FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). Further information: https://www.go-
         fair.org/fair-principles/; and Final Report and Action Plan from the European Commission Expert
         Group          on        FAIR         Data,        “TURNING           FAIR    INTO   REALITY”
         (https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/turning_fair_into_reality_0.pdf)
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Legal and financial     The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant     apply:
Agreements              Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional obligation
                        regarding open science practices:
                            Open access to any new modules, models or tools developed
                              from scratch or substantially improved with the use of EU
                              funding under the action must be ensured through
                              documentation, availability of model code and input data
                              developed under the action.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
    Enhanced understanding, supported by quantitative and qualitative analysis, of the
     interaction, complementarity and trade-offs between adaptation and mitigation measures
     and policies helping to overcome the silo approach within and between them and leading
     to more effective climate action policies.
    Better knowledge about the risk and impacts of climate change and their interaction with
     mitigation pathways, including their feasibility across various scenarios of global
     warming.
    Enhanced legitimacy and robustness of integrated assessment frameworks based on more
     realistic representation of climate processes and their impacts.
    Contribution to enhanced collaboration among Working Groups I, II, and III of the
     Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
    Support and interaction with the activities of Horizon Europe Mission “Adaptation to
     climate change including societal transformation”.
Scope: Actions should deliver progress in integrating the analysis of the impacts and risks of
climate change, mitigation pathways and adaptation strategies into a single framework to help
understand and quantify their numerous interactions.
Progress is needed to better reflect the economic damages and reduced well-being due to
climate change in mitigation pathway analysis. Actions should integrate state of the art
climate science stemming from Earth System Models, Reduced Complexity Models and
similar into a common integrated assessment framework. This could include climate change
impacts, biodiversity and ecological considerations, Earth system feedbacks and extreme
events, and their interaction with mitigation pathways.
Actions should also improve the general understanding of the synergies, conflicts and trade-
offs between mitigation and adaptation strategies. For example, many adaptation actions that
need to be deployed at a large scale in the short to medium term (in parallel to ambitious
mitigation efforts) can have negative impact in terms of emissions. This includes flood and
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coastal (hard) protection, irrigation and desalination measures as well as increased demand for
cooling/air conditioning that are typically highly energy intensive and may put additional
stress on energy systems. Another example of an interaction between adaptation and
mitigation strategies is the shift towards regenerative and organic agriculture that provides
adaptation benefits, but may require expansion of food production areas to compensate for
lower productivity with the consequence of more deforestation. Any such potential conflicts
and interdependencies should be investigated, taking into account cross-sectorial cascading
effects and temporal differences.
Actions should formulate a set of technical and policy recommendations, including sector-
specific ones, targeting both public and private stakeholders, to reduce the tensions between
mitigation and adaptation strategies. Given that the interactions between mitigation and
adaptation often occur at regional and local scale, research should also aim at finding
solutions to reconcile the different scales at which mitigation and adaptations strategies are
implemented, including improving the territorial resolution of relevant tools. In addition,
actions should evaluate the impact on the costs of mitigation and adaptation strategies in
Europe when they are treated in an integrated manner. In order to achieve the above-
mentioned objectives actions may work on improvements in the modelling of adaptation,
particularly in the sectors where adaptation strongly interacts with mitigation (such as energy
and agriculture).
Actions should explore effective ways for bridging the gap between modelling theory and
practical applications, including through active involvement of and co-creation with
stakeholders and end-users from various relevant fields and social categories, including
through case studies in order to test and replicate the results. This should include outreach
activities to general public to better explain the trade-offs and interactions between mitigation
and adaptation strategies and measures.
Synergies with relevant projects funded under this Work Programme as well those originating
from Horizon 2020 should be explored and established during the course of the project. In
particular, projects resulting from the topic HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-01-02-two-stage:
Socio-economic risks of climate change in Europe and from Cluster 3 on Disaster Resilient
Societies should be foreseen.
When dealing with models, actions should promote highest standards of transparency and
openness, as much as possible going well beyond documentation and extending to aspects
such as assumptions, code and data that is managed in compliance with the FAIR principles30.
In particular, beneficiaries are strongly encouraged to publish results data in open access
databases and/or as annexes to publications. In addition, full openness of any new modules,
models or tools developed from scratch or substantially improved with the use of EU funding
is expected.
30
         FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). Further information: https://www.go-
         fair.org/fair-principles/; and Final Report and Action Plan from the European Commission Expert
         Group          on        FAIR         Data,        “TURNING           FAIR   INTO   REALITY”
         (https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/turning_fair_into_reality_0.pdf)
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Projects funded under this topic should ensure the coordination of their activities.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-06: Supporting and standardising climate services
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 9.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The page limit of the application is 45 pages.
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Support to the implementation of the EU Adaptation Strategy and the Mission on
      adaptation to climate change, including societal transformation e.g. by providing
      standardised tools for climate proofing and increasing resilience.
   Improved relevance of data, information and knowledge on climate change impacts and
      adaptation, as well as mitigation for users both in the private and public sectors.
   Enhanced value of climate services through standards and quality assurance procedures
      and communication.
   The generation of trust across supply and demand of knowledge and services, supporting
      the development of a market for climate services and the European climate service
      sector.
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    Enhanced quality, impact, equity and performance of European climate services.
    Enhanced data and analytical tools for climate impacts, risks (including extremes, longer
      trends, and the combination of trends and extremes) and transition risks, as well as
      actionable knowledge for the formulation of recommendations, identification and
      appraisal of adaptation options addressing the needs of all stakeholders.
    Enhanced coordination and visibility of climate services activities.
Scope: This topic is intended to improve the delivery of quality control and standards
(including open and licensed) for climate services and to guarantee suitability, quality, and
performance of digital solutions to manage climate risks and enhance adaptive capacities.
The scope of activities under this topic should cover the following aspects:
    Uncertainty analysis and quality control with supportive case studies at various levels
      (national to European and global), and delivery domains (public and private).
    Preparation of metadata guidelines to document in a comparative and transparent manner
      climate service data sources and processing methodologies, as well as decision-making
      based on these services, and support FAIR31 data management practices.
    Development of good practices, guidance, and standardization of climate information
      and verification methods for long-term forecast products.
    Definition of verification and certification methods to enhance quality and usability of
      climate services, including methods for the evaluation of their effectiveness.
    Coordination and promotion of European climate service activities, encouraging open
      exchange of knowledge, expertise and data and providing a science-user communication
      platform and improving synergies between regional, national, European and
      international activities.
    Development of appropriate business models and knowledge brokerage activities to
      support scale-up and replication of climate services.
Actions should develop interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary activities. Regular engagement
with stakeholders should be foreseen to consider applications in case studies, and to test,
benefit and allow replication and upscaling of the results.
These standards and schemes will also require supportive governance and other measures,
such as training and capacity building, to promote and sustain their use and continued
development. This includes the development of common terminology between user, provider,
and purveyor communities.
31
         FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable).
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Synergies should be explored with relevant activities under other Clusters, in particular
clusters 3 and 4 and standardization efforts internationally and in Europe (e.g. the Climate
Services partnership, the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), Digital Europe Programme
and the Copernicus Programme, amongst others). The action should build on the
achievements of the H2020 ClimatEurope project and the ERA4CS.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH and gender expertise, in order to
produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related
research activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-07: Improved economic methods for decision-making on
climate and environmental policies
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    Enhanced operational capacities of the methods of economic analysis for climate and
     environmental policies, leading to their increased usage in the preparation of decision-
     making on climate and environmental policies. This includes, but is not limited to,
     improved cost-benefit, multi-criteria and cost-effectiveness analysis.
    Practical recommendations and conceptual guidelines for improved, methodologically
     transparent economic approaches and practices for public policy design and evaluation
     in the domain of climate and environment.
    Proposals on ways to produce a better reflection of the specificities and risks of
     environmental challenges in public policy and promoting precautionary responses.
    Enhanced efficiency, effectiveness and legitimacy of European regulatory and policy
     decisions by providing decision-makers, stakeholders and the public with more realistic
     ability to systematically assess the options and their consequences.
    Improved capacity for decision making under the conditions of (extreme) uncertainty.
    New evidence on the effectiveness of various regulatory strategies, instruments and
     approaches for climate and environmental policies.
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    Factual evidence and insights for the design and evaluation of the implementation of
      major European policies such as in the domain of the European Green Deal, New
      Generation Europe, national recovery plans, and other relevant policies.
Scope: Actions should focus on the improvement of methodologies, practices and techniques
for conducting economic appraisal of environmental policies, taking into account the progress
in relevant sciences and in the understanding of the limitations of the methodologies and tools
used so far, notably in impact studies. The key environmental policies of interest under this
topic are those addressing climate change and biodiversity loss and actions should foster
integrated approaches for addressing these interdependent challenges. Innovative and out-of-
the-box approaches are strongly encouraged.
Actions are expected to investigate limitations of mainstream economic theory and models
used for environmental policy assessment, including the evaluation of appropriateness of cost-
benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses. They should also consider alternative approaches that
could be applied to assess environmental policies. Issues such as measurement of
environmental/climate damages and the treatment of uncertainty, including overreliance on
average and most likely outcomes as well as the non-linear features of climate-related risks
are expected to be addressed. Other aspects that could be explored include short-termism,
treatment of unpriced values, irreversibility, discounting, inclusiveness and socio-economic
inequalities, and broader ethical issues such as inter-generational fairness.
The work should encompass in-depth ex-post evaluation of the actual performance of selected
climate and environmental policies at European 32 , national or regional level in order to
identify their strengths and weaknesses and propose possible improvements in the
underpinning methodologies for ex-ante assessments. Alternative approaches derived from
the measurement of actual, realised costs and benefits of a representative sample of cases can
also be considered.
Actions should also examine the performance of different types of regulatory strategies such
as a comparison of market-based vs traditional (command and control) regulation, a
comparison among different types of market-based approaches (taxes, emissions trading,
green certificates, subsidies, etc.), evaluation of the performance of information-based
mechanisms (such as labelling) for purposes of environmental policy-making. The analysis
should take into account public acceptance dimension. Consortia should also explore
innovative policy interventions (such as various types of incentive) that could be applied to
encourage the adoption of more sustainable technologies and behaviours.
Applicants should take into account not only the advances in economic thinking, but also the
evolution in behavioural insights, study of public and political acceptance, as well as progress
in other relevant fields such as sociology, natural and political sciences, humanities, gender
and intersectional studies, public health and disaster risk reduction, as well as key trends that
have influenced the evolution of the European environmental policy-making. Lessons from
32
        For European Commission’s impact assessments please refer to https://ec.europa.eu/smart-
        regulation/impact/ia_carried_out/cia_2016_en.htm (Note: initiatives included in this data base may not
        be exhaustive and applicants are free to choose other case studies).
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the COVID-19 crisis should also be taken into account. Participation of and co-creation with
relevant stakeholders and key actors should be part of the action, including in-depth
contribution from social sciences and humanities to advance the understanding of the
dynamics and the factors impacting the policy and political decision-making processes.
Finally, actions should formulate and implement strong dissemination plan towards key actors
in relevant decision-making processes with an aim to testing the proposed methods in real
conditions and towards educational institutions in order to facilitate broad cross-fertilisation
of the insights created.
In response to this topic actions are expected to address the broader framework and
methodologies for economic analysis of environmental policies and thus go well beyond the
economic aspects of Integrated Assessment Models.
Synergies with other topics, in particular from Cluster 6 with respect to relevant biodiversity
insights, should be explored and established over the duration of the project.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-08: Restoration of natural wetlands, peatlands and
floodplains as a strategy for fast mitigation benefits; pathways, trade-offs and co-
benefits
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 6.00
contribution per      and 7.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
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   Support the EU Nature Restoration Plan of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.
   Improved assessment of the added value of wetland, peatland and floodplain restoration
     approaches under different scenarios and monitor their benefits and trade-offs in terms of
     greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals, climate change adaptation and disaster
     risk reduction, a wide range of ecosystem services and biodiversity.
   Improve the knowledge base on the status of European wetlands beyond the current state
     of the art on extent, location, condition, spatio-temporal trends, type of management and
     pressures (including climate change), as well as restoration potential to understand their
     capacity as carbon sinks or GHG sources to support climate mitigation and adaptation
     plans/solutions.
   Introduction of the quantified greenhouse gas abatement potential of wetland restoration
     in models and scenarios, for climate and biodiversity.
   Analyse the degree to which these approaches related to wetlands are affected by
     different scenarios of climate change (i.e. effectivity under global warming of 2°C and
     higher).
   Support the implementation of the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF)
     Regulation with respect to the inclusion of wetland restoration activities by developing
     robust and transparent methodologies, data provision and analysis.
   Contribute to the evidence on ecosystem services provided by restored wetlands and
     their long-term management as an investment with significant net societal benefits.
   Contribute to scientific assessments such as the IPCC, IPBES and International Resource
     Panel reports.
Scope: Projects are expected to assess the current extent and state of European wetlands, their
current and potential GHG profile (with or without protection/restoration measures) and their
medium to long-term mitigation capacity through restoration or other measures. As a
minimum, the assessment should take into account key greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4 and
N2O), the carbon value of services (such as production) in the baseline (e.g., food production)
and restoration scenarios (e.g., paludiculture or non-productive uses, like agritourism) and
estimate the abatement cost for different policy-relevant time periods. Assessments should
therefore look at assessing any trade-offs of restoring wetlands primarily for climate and
biodiversity benefits with the delivery of their wide range of other services, and on methods to
avoid, and if not possible, to mitigate them.
Projects are expected to develop or identify workable tools and approaches for the sound
estimation of GHG performance as well as impacts on biodiversity and a wide range of
ecosystem services. The GHG emission during restoration (e.g. due to disturbance of soils,
dredging of sediments, methane from rewetting) should be considered, including trade-offs
and benefits of passive restoration and following succession of water bodies. The evidence
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collected may contribute to the related policies, like LULUCF, and the implementation of the
Biodiversity Strategy commitments.
Projects are expected to go beyond the state-of-the-art of the different restoration and
management techniques and knowledge and provide guides and recommendations about the
scaling up of the solutions. In particular, the projects should capitalise on the evidence
provided by LIFE, Horizon 2020 and ERDF projects addressing wetland, floodplains and
peatland restoration and protection.
Actions should envisage clustering activities with other relevant selected for cross-projects
co-operation, consultations and joint activities on cross-cutting issues and share of results as
well as participating in joint meetings and communication events. To this end, proposals
should provide for a dedicated work package and/or task, and earmark the appropriate
resources accordingly.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-09: The contribution of forest management to climate
action: pathways, trade-offs and co-benefits
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 18.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                      consortium selected for funding.
                      If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
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   A comprehensive assessment of the climate mitigation potential of European forests and
     forest-based sector through modelling of different policy pathways, taking into account
     climate change related risks, physiological and biogeochemical responses to
     environmental change and management practices, adaptation needs, biodiversity goals,
     and the provision of other ecosystem services. The effects analysed have to include
     changes in carbon sequestration, forest health, productivity, substitution and biophysical
     factors, including the causes and time dynamics of these changes. The assessment of the
     potential and limits of forest-based products and biomass for energy in delivering
     climate benefits will inform public authorities on the most suitable approach to forest
     policy and forest bioeconomy.
   Development and improvement of robust and transparent methodologies for high-
     resolution monitoring and reporting of forest carbon pools and their interactions through
     a combination of in-situ data collection and remote sensing methods to be used to
     advance land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) reporting under the
     UNFCCC and compliance under EU legislation. Methods developed under this action
     will additionally feed into the development of the Forest Information System for Europe
     (FISE).
Scope: Proposals under this topic should develop a comprehensive assessment of different
pathways of the European forest GHG balance in view of the reviewed 2030 and 2050 climate
targets and other relevant EU environmental legislation and objectives incorporating:
   Biodiversity goals consistent with the EU Green Deal objectives and Biodiversity
     Strategy 2030 goals. Issues considered include the use non-native tree species, intensive
     thinning, transition between intensive and close-to-nature silviculture, and strict
     protection of forests.
   Uncertainties related to climate change and natural disturbances risks.
   Adaptation needs of existing and future forests, including factors determining their
     adaptation potential.
   Mitigation potential of afforestation and other forest activities including their
     opportunity costs.
   GHG impact of forest bioeconomy, including substitution effect of forest-based products
     and energy against realistic counterfactuals and with appropriate time dynamics.
   Renewable energy targets and the needs of forest-based bioeconomy for sustainable
     domestically-sourced feedstock.
   Biophysical effects, including changes in air temperature and precipitation associated to
     changes in surface albedo, land-surface properties, emissions of biogenic volatile organic
     compounds, transpiration and heat flux.
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    Assessment of trade-offs and synergies between climate-oriented forest management,
      and other objectives, for example recreational and amenity values;
Having such models/assessment at their disposal and understanding their time dynamics,
uncertainties and system boundaries, policy-makers will be better suited to incorporate forests
in the design and evaluation of possible solutions and pathways for climate change mitigation
and adaptation.
Monitoring and reporting on changes to forest carbon stocks is essential for policymakers
(both national and European) in order to be informed of trends in the forest sink evolution and
to develop annual approximated greenhouse gas inventories. Actions should support the use
of higher tier (and higher accuracy) methodologies and geographically explicit land-use data
in accordance with the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories 33 and
its 2019 Refinement 34 . Especially needed are actions to fill existing gaps resulting from
inventory bias towards the most economically relevant tree species and carbon pools.
Proposals under this topic should therefore aim to develop knowledge, tools, models,
databases and country- and region-specific values available to Member States and Associated
Countries, where possible integrating with Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) and climate
models to improve monitoring and reporting of forest carbon pools. Remote sensing data sets
can be helpful in estimating or verifying forest living biomass gains and losses, forest area
changes, forest health status and in identifying carbon-rich old-growth forests or natural
disturbances. Sample-based systems, on the other hand, should support mapping changes in
other forest carbon pools such as soil organic carbon in mineral and organic soils, and dead
organic matter. More robust estimation of fluxes among these forest carbon pools, which are
often neglected in greenhouse gas inventories, will assist in estimating their importance as
carbon reservoirs and the role that forest management can play in enhancing them, taking into
account biodiversity needs and resilience. Considering biophysical effects will improve the
understanding of trade-offs among climate objectives and their articulation with forest
management practices.
Actions should envisage coordinating activities with other relevant actions, initiatives and
programmes, including Horizon 2020 Work Programmes and the LIFE Programme,
COPERNICUS and relevant research infrastructures to promote synergies, integration and co-
operation. They should make use and contribute to knowledge exchange and networking
European platforms and consider devising a novel decision-making platform to ensure
effective dissemination of the results to the target stakeholders (i.e. policy-makers and
relevant national competent authorities). Cooperation and planning for further exploitation of
actions results during and after the project end is strongly encouraged.
Call - Climate sciences and responses
                                                                HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-01-two-stage
33
        https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/vol4.html
34
        https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2019rf/vol4.html
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Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)35
                      Topics                            Type       Budgets     Expected EU        Number
                                                          of         (EUR     contribution per        of
                                                       Action      million)    project (EUR        projects
                                                                                          36
                                                                                 million)         expected
                                                                      2022                          to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 12 Oct 2021
                Deadline(s): 10 Feb 2022 (First Stage), 27 Sep 2022 (Second Stage)
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-01-01-two-stage RIA                           21.00       Around 7.00         3
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-01-02-two-stage RIA                           10.00       Around 5.00         2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-01-03-two-stage RIA                           20.00       6.00 to 7.00        3
Overall indicative budget                                         51.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
                                                           Annex E.
Procedure                                                  The procedure is described in General
35
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
36
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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                                                     Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant              The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-01-01-two-stage: Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) approaches
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 21.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
   Support climate policies through an enhanced understanding of existing and emerging
     carbon dioxide removal options in terms of their technical readiness, key requirements
     (land and other resource needs, geographical and geological constraints, primary energy
     needs, etc.), short- and long-term sequestration potential, permanence, impacts
     (environmental, social, health, resource depletion, etc.) including potential co-benefits.
   Support climate models and integrated assessment models through an improved
     parametrisation of these technologies and solutions, allowing their better integration into
     pathways and strategies and broadening the carbon dioxide removal technology options
     that can be numerically modelled.
   A harmonised, comprehensive and transparent methodology for the characterisation and
     comparison of such technologies and the barriers to their deployment, which can
     facilitate public discourse on their role and impacts.
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   Gain better insight into the extended, system-level impacts of these technologies by
     considering ripple effects (e.g. extended impacts, land benefits foregone, opportunity
     costs, and rebound effects).
   Develop abatement cost estimates in function of time profile as well as factors like scale
     of deployment, key input factors (e.g., land/sea space, energy, reservoirs).
   Exploration and demonstration of business/ policy/ MRV (Monitoring, reporting and
     verification) frameworks for CDR uptake at scale, ranging from plant level to
     incorporation of CDR in international MRV and accounting (for example in the case of
     bioenergy trade).
Scope: Projects under this topic should identify an extended range of nature-based and
technical CDR methods, analyse and characterise them in a consistent and transparent
assessment framework. In this way, projects should:
   Deliver realistic estimates of each approach’s potential scale, cost, and effectiveness: on
     the basis of factors such as technical readiness, key land and other resource needs,
     geographical and geological constraints, primary energy needs (and associated impacts,
     including emissions), short- and long-term sequestration potential (including risk of non-
     permanence), key impacts (environmental, social, health, resource depletion, etc.) and
     risks.
   Allow the better parametrisation of integrated assessment models with respect to
     removals as well a better design of forward-looking policies. Develop abatement cost
     estimates in function of time profile as well variables like scale of deployment and key
     input factors.
   Explore efficient incentive and governance frameworks to facilitate CDR uptake at scale,
     including social acceptance, ethical and regulatory considerations, as well as identifying
     major issues and options for establishing MRV and accounting systems associated with
     CDR in general and specific technologies where applicable.
Analysis under this action should be based on practical experiences (in particular with a range
of land-based projects), existing pilot and experimental projects, technical and theoretical
analysis and review, including system-level impacts by considering ripple effects through
consequential analysis, including land benefits foregone, opportunity costs and rebound
effects, key barriers to deployment and governance challenges.
Interactions with CCUS topics under Destination 3 and HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-08:
Emerging technologies for a climate neutral Europe under Breakthrough Technologies are
encouraged.
Projects investigating the use of CDR technologies for enhanced oil recovery are not eligible.
Where appropriate, interaction with the topics related to climate-ecosystem interaction
(HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-08, HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-09, HORIZON-CL5-2022-
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D1-02-05) as well as marine topics (Cluster 6) is encouraged in order to foster integrative and
system approaches including different scientific communities and disciplines, as well as
different sectors of the society.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-01-02-two-stage: Socio-economic risks of climate change in
Europe
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per        5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                        consortium selected for funding.
                        If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                        and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                        Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                        additionally be used).
Legal and financial     The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant     apply:
Agreements              Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional obligations
                        regarding open science practices:
                            Open access to any new modules, models or tools, which are
                              developed from scratch or substantially improved with the use of
                              EU funding under the action must be ensured through
                              documentation, availability of model code and input data
                              developed under the action.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
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    A comprehensive socio-economic evaluation of future climate change impacts across
     sectors, countries/regions, timescales and climate building on socio-economic scenarios
     with improved sectoral, cross-sectoral and spatial resolution of impact projections.
    Improved climate change related decision support based on better understanding (and
     quantification) of the socio-economic risks (and opportunities), associated with climate
     change impact, for both sudden onset extreme events and slow onset processes.
    Better evidence for ambitious climate policy response, both in terms of mitigation and
     adaptation measures, based on a better understanding of socio-economic risks in the
     absence of adequate mitigation and adaptation efforts (or when limits to adaptation are
     reached), leading to a more secure and more certain socio-economic future.
    Actionable insights based on data at the appropriate level of geographical scale and
     spatial resolution for decision-makers in public and private sectors, including national
     and regional level estimations, leading to enhanced adaptation efforts and to a more
     resilient Europe.
    Better integration of climate change risks in public and private sectors’ investment
     decisions - from property, through infrastructure up to regional and national supply
     chains - leading to increased long-term resilience.
    Enhanced coordination with European Commission’s Joint Research Centre on research
     concerning climate impacts and adaptation modelling.
    Provision of authoritative knowledge to inform the activities of the Horizon Europe
     Mission on Adaptation to climate change including societal transformation.
Scope: Actions should improve the understanding of the nature and extent of physical risks
from a changing climate and their integrated socio-economic implications in Europe in 2030,
2050 and 2100 timeframes. The analysis should evaluate the costs of inaction / “business as
usual” by extrapolating current policies with different social and climatological scenarios. It
should seek to capture the range of possible socio-economic climate-related risks including
both those most likely to occur as well as those associated with low-probability high-impact
climate events with potentially catastrophic outcomes. Indirect impacts should be part of the
analysis as well as the impacts in the rest of the world with relevant spill over effects in
Europe should also be considered.
A comparison with scenarios with lower degrees of warming (with ambitious mitigation
measures) should be included as well as the analysis of the costs and benefits of ambitious
adaptation measures. Research should also improve the understanding of climate-related risks
that are unlikely to be avoided through mitigation and/or adaptation and require
urgent/specific response. The work could encompass improvements in adaptation modelling,
in particular in impact areas with the highest potential damages. Actions should also take into
account the impact of radical transformations envisaged in the context of the post-COVID
recovery.
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The impacts of climate risks should be assessed and monetised across various economic
sectors aiming at an expansion of the existing impact categories and combining them into a
coherent framework. Cross-sectorial impacts taking into account the interactions between
various sectors should also be addressed. This research should equally encompass impact
categories that cannot be directly monetised, but with either economy-wide implications or of
critical importance for future human well-being, such as health (including the spread of
infectious diseases), social justice, and biodiversity/ecosystems. The development of
appropriate tools and methodologies that are able to address these kinds of non-market based
impacts is part of the scope. In addition, actions should aim at accounting for the various
sources of uncertainty in a systematic way.
A national, and as much as possible regional, resolution should be aimed at in order to
account for heterogeneity in terms of hazards, exposure, vulnerability (including adaptive
capacities) and ability to manage risks across countries and regions. Distributional and further
equity considerations, including gender, associated with climate change impacts should also
be investigated in order to inform the formulation of just mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Development and testing of rapid analysis and assessment techniques using open data, tools
and methodologies as well as work on an economy-wide damage function relating GDP losses
or other metrics of public welfare and human wellbeing with temperature increase, could be
part of the research, too.
Actions should identify and formulate recommendations for measures that should be
implemented by various stakeholders groups to minimise the climate risks across Europe as
well as the needs for future research. They should explore effective ways for bridging the gap
between science, policy and practice. The needs of the private sector in order to prepare for
and adapt to climate change impacts should be an integral part of the work and could include
development of approaches for better integration of climate risks into financing principles of
the investment community.
This topic calls for a truly interdisciplinary approach combining a wide range of disciplines
including economics, climate science, bio-geophysical modelling, data engineering, risk
analysis, political and behavioural science etc. as well as for an active involvement of and co-
creation with people and communities at risk. As much as possible, it should integrate the
results of the existing studies and evidence-base, including from previously funded projects
such as COACCH and other projects from call SC5-06-2016-201737.
When dealing with models, actions should promote the highest standards of transparency and
openness, as much as possible going well beyond documentation and extending to aspects
such as assumptions, code and data that is managed in compliance with the FAIR principles38.
In particular, beneficiaries are strongly encouraged to publish results data in open access
databases and/or as annexes to publications. In addition, full openness of any new modules,
37
        A list of other relevant projects can be found here: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/776479
38
        FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). Further information: https://www.go-
        fair.org/fair-principles/; and Final Report and Action Plan from the European Commission Expert
        Group          on        FAIR         Data,        “TURNING           FAIR        INTO         REALITY”
        (https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/turning_fair_into_reality_0.pdf)
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models or tools developed from scratch or substantially improved with the use of EU funding
is expected.
Synergies with topic HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-05: Better understanding of the
interactions between climate change impacts, mitigation and adaptation options, as well as
with relevant topics in Cluster 3: Civil security for Society – Destination Area DRS02 on
Support to improved disaster risk management and governance, should be explored and
established. In addition, coordination with existing relevant initiatives on climate impacts and
adaptation modelling should also be sought, including the PESETA assessment39, in order to
stimulate the use of common simulation protocols in European climate risk assessments,
enlarge the coverage of climate impact areas, and improve the complementarity of modelling
efforts.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-01-03-two-stage: Social science for land-use strategies in the
context of climate change and biodiversity challenges
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          6.00 and 7.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    A characterisation of future expected land use patterns consistent with long-term
      objectives (especially on climate, biodiversity and renewable energy) and its comparison
      with the current situation and trends.
    A comprehensive understanding of the key motivations and drivers (economic,
      regulatory, legal, cultural, environmental, etc.) behind land-use related decisions in
      Europe at levels ranging from land owners to public authorities at local, regional and
      national level, including their relative importance.
39
         https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/peseta-iv
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    A better understanding of the awareness of key actors (land owners, managers, local
     authorities, regulatory agencies) about climate change and biodiversity challenges and
     their willingness to contribute addressing them, including the adoption of new or
     different practices consistent with long-term expectations.
Support to climate (mitigation, adaptation) and biodiversity policy design and implementation
through economic and behavioural insights allowing the efficient targeting of incentives and
engagement of stakeholders in a cost-effective manner, taking into account telecoupling
(displacement effects through changes in imports and exports).
Scope: Actions should aim to gain a realistic understanding of the factors behind land-use
decisions and how they can be best oriented towards the efficient and socially responsible
pursuit of multiple policy objectives on various scales (from the individual field/farm to
region to national to continental scale). They should develop a toolbox of instruments and
approaches deployable at different levels consistent with long-term goals and strategies
considering, inter alia:
    The need for land to provide net sequestration and biomass flows consistent with the
     demands of various mitigation pathways, on different timescales.
    The continued need for land to provide food, feed and raw materials under increasing
     climate change and other pressures and needs (e.g., water availability, climate change
     resilience).
    The potential for demand-side measures that can contribute to long-term objectives (such
     as sustainable and healthy dietary change) and how they can be deployed.
    The crucial need for halting and, if possible, reversing biodiversity loss in Europe and
     globally.
    The socioeconomic dynamics, behavioural patterns and inertia related to land ownership,
     management and policies.
    The considerable diversity of land use patterns, approaches and biogeographic
     conditions in Europe, including land-related resources such as water.
    The need to make the instruments and approaches, including collective learning and
     negotiation processes at local and landscape scale, widely and practically available to the
     key actors, to enable sustainable change.
    The need to avoid rebound (detrimental displacement effects).
Actions should focus on one or more of the following issues:
  a. Development of realistic scenarios and workable models for optimising the contribution
     of land to climate change mitigation, adaptation and biodiversity objectives, where
     possible integrating with Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), consistent with
     expectations while reducing conflicts, exploiting synergies and managing risks
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      (agroforestry can be one example of a system that allows higher productivity, more
      resilience and more biodiversity at the same time).
   b. Economic and behavioural insights into land use related decisions, barriers to change,
      efficient design of incentives. This should explore the relative merits of instruments
      (regulatory, market-based, education, soft policy).
   c. Explore a range of delivery mechanisms that could best incentivise the upscaling of the
      required changes under real-life situations in multiple settings (countries,
      biogeographical regions).
   d. Develop workable models for effective and efficient monitoring and incentivising public
      goods benefits (such as emissions reductions, biodiversity protection and water services).
   e. Contribute to the better quantification of land-related greenhouse gas flux trajectories for
      integrated assessment models on relevant scales (including displacement effects).
Participation of and co-creation with relevant societal stakeholders should be part of the
action, including interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research and the contribution from
social sciences and humanities and other relevant disciplines.
Synergies should be ensured with topics related to land-use, biodiversity and ecosystems in
Cluster 5 and in other Clusters, with the implementation of the Mission on Adaptation to
climate change including societal transformation, as well as with other relevant actions,
programmes and initiatives40.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH and gender expertise, in order to
produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related
research activities.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
Call - Climate sciences and responses
                                                                            HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)41
40
         E.g. UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
41
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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              Topics                   Type         Budgets            Expected EU           Number
                                         of          (EUR        contribution per project        of
                                      Action        million)         (EUR million)42         projects
                                                                                             expected
                                                      2022                                     to be
                                                                                              funded
                                       Opening: 12 Oct 2021
                                     Deadline(s): 10 Feb 2022
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-02-01 RIA                     15.00          Around 5.00                 3
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-02-02 RIA                     20.00          Around 10.00                2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-02-03 RIA                     15.00          Around 5.00                 3
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-02-04 RIA                     20.00          Around 10.00                2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-02-05 RIA                     17.00          8.00 to 9.00                2
Overall indicative budget                         87.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
42
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-02-01: Verification and reconciliation of estimates of climate
forcers
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                     proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Admissibility        The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     The page limit of the application is 60 pages.
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                     and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                     Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                     additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Enhancing the ability to ascertain whether and to what extent emission reduction efforts
     are producing the desired atmospheric signals for key greenhouse gases on relevant
     spatial and temporal scales.
   Better understanding of apparent discrepancies between reported greenhouse gas (GHG)
     emissions and removals (in national inventories and other schemes), measured
     atmospheric signals and modelled levels, with the aim of reducing and/or reconciling
     them on the long run.
   Reduced uncertainty of national GHG inventories through improved comparability with
     models and observations and piloting top-down approaches recognised in the 2019
     refinement of the IPCC 2006 Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.
   Contribution to improving the attribution of GHG fluxes (anthropogenic vs natural) as
     well as non-GHG atmospheric climate forcers (such as aerosols), including feed-backs.
   Support the Paris Agreement, in particular the Global Stocktake, and the implementation
     and monitoring of EU climate policy instruments.
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    Provide input (such as open data, models, methods and protocols) and contributions to
      international programmes and assessments (such as IPCC, Global Carbon Project).
Scope: Actions should aim at reconciling national greenhouse gas inventories with relevant
assessment and monitoring systems in Europe (in particular EU and Horizon Europe
Associated Countries) including observations from a wide range of monitoring networks, in-
situ and remote-sensed) at a range of scales by comparing their results. Aerosols and their
precursors should also be included in the analysis, as well as other air pollutants where
relevant (e.g., co-emitted species).
Special attention should be given to establishing how the use of top-down techniques that can
support the verification of national greenhouse gas inventories and other regulated estimates
of emissions and removals, in order to improve or supplement the methods/approaches
currently used. Ideally case studies in collaboration with one or more national inventory
compilers should be organised for this purpose.
Proposals should aim to develop scientifically robust methodologies, building on
achievements from previous research activities in order to decrease to acceptable levels
uncertainties associated with emission estimates, identify and constrain irreducible differences
and improve the attribution of emissions and removals to their sources (in particular the
separation of natural versus anthropogenic fluxes). They should also explore and support the
development and implementation of top-down approaches for use in national inventories, as
recognised in the 2019 Refinement of the IPCC 2006 Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas
Inventories.
The development and improvement of methodologies should also address the need for
versatility of applications, including mobile sources, individual point sources, land,
management actions etc. relevant to current and potential future reporting and compliance
systems. Furthermore, issues such as open data and metadata standards, transfer of
information and tools, and replicability of methodologies and tools outside Europe (mainly in
developing countries) should also be addressed.
Beneficiaries are encouraged to take advantage of the relevant national and/or European
research infrastructures (e.g. ACTRIS, ICOS etc.).
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-02-02: Development of high-resolution Earth system models
for global and regional climate change projections
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per        10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
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Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Admissibility             The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The page limit of the application is 60 pages.
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                          and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                          Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                          additionally be used).
                          Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                          states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union
                          funding.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant       apply:
Agreements                Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional obligations
                          regarding open science practices:
                              Open access to any new modules, models or tools, which are
                                developed from scratch or substantially improved with the use of
                                EU funding under the action must be ensured through
                                documentation, availability of model code and input data
                                developed under the action.
Expected Outcome: Proposals should improve European high-resolution, fully coupled
atmosphere-ocean-land Earth System Models, able to robustly simulate key climate processes,
their variability and future trends for this and well into the next century in order to enhance
the quality, robustness and versatility of climate projections on a range of temporal and spatial
scales (global and regional) to (1) support policies implementing the goals of the Paris
Agreement and (2) address the societal need to assess and respond to the adverse impacts of
climate change.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Improved climate projections with sound uncertainty estimates under different scenarios
      on different temporal and spatial scales.
    Improved understanding and modelling of tipping points in the climatic systems, such as
      the ice shields at both poles and ocean circulation.
    Advances in attribution of climate change and its phenomena to anthropogenic forcers.
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    Support to the evaluation of mitigation, adaptation and disaster risk reduction policies
      through improved linkages with Integrated Assessment Models.
    Pave the way for the next cycle of the IPCC Assessment reports by a leading role in the
      WCRP Coupled Model Intercomparison Programme (CMIP).
    Sustain and enhance European cooperation and leadership in climate sciences.
Scope: Projects should foster a fully coupled atmosphere-ocean-land-ice Earth-system model
approach that contributes to a better understanding and representation of the processes,
including for that drive and influence climate change on global and regional scale. Arctic and
Antarctic regions should be considered as key elements in global climate changes.
Projects should make efficient use of available and high quality observational data (e.g. space-
based and not space based, including in-situ and paleoclimatic data) for the development of
robust model validation, verification, and improve uncertainty estimation methodologies.
Where relevant, high-resolution model development and evaluation should be properly
connected with major programmes in the domain of Earth Observation such as the Copernicus
Programme, the ESA science satellite missions in Europe, as well as the Group on Earth
Observations (GEO) and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) at global
level.
They should also strive to reduce uncertainty of key parameters of climate and hydrological
systems. Projects should advance methods for assessing and attributing model outputs and
climate change impact on regional scales with the support of advanced digital technologies,
such as artificial intelligence methodologies.
The advanced climate modelling activities should support the attribution of observed and
projected climatic hazards to climate change or climate variability.
The activities should build on the experiences from and results of other European projects
contributing to the development of a new generation of climate models43.
Beneficiaries are encouraged to take advantage of the emerging ICT infrastructures (e.g.
EuroHPC and other high performance computing, cloud-based facilities) that will be made
available through the Destination Earth initiative under the Digital Europe Programme44.
If adding value to the project outcomes, coordination with the Destination Earth initiative can
be proposed to ensure the timely development of “climate replicas” building on the new state-
of-the-art IT infrastructure, including access to European high performance computing
resources and an operational platform to upload and integrate the models and data developed
43
        E.g., H2020 CRESCENDO (Coordinated Research in Earth Systems and Climate: Experiments,
        kNowledge, Dissemination and Outreach) https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/641816 , H2020
        PRIMAVERA (PRocess-based climate sIMulation: AdVances in high resolution modelling and
        European climate Risk Assessment) https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/641727, or projects funded from
        the call topic H2020-LC-CLA-18-2020.
44
        https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/europe-investing-digital-digital-europe-programme
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in the course of the projects. Connection to the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) should
be considered where relevant.
When dealing with models, actions should promote the highest standards of transparency and
openness, as much as possible going well beyond documentation and extending to aspects
such as assumptions, code and data that is managed in compliance with the FAIR principles 45.
In particular, beneficiaries are strongly encouraged to publish results data in open access
databases and/or as annexes to publications. In addition, full openness of any new modules,
models or tools developed from scratch or substantially improved with the use of EU funding
is expected.
International cooperation is encouraged.
Projects are expected to co-operate with other projects funded under this call, as well as other
relevant projects under Destination 1 and Cluster 6, Destination 5.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-02-03: Improvement of Integrated Assessment Models in
support of climate policies
Specific conditions
Expected EU                 The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per            5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                     appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                            selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action              Research and Innovation Actions
Admissibility               The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                  exceptions apply:
                            The page limit of the application is 60 pages.
Legal and financial         The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant         apply:
Agreements                  Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional obligations
                            regarding open science practices:
                                Open access to any new modules, models or tools, which are
                                   developed from scratch or substantially improved with the use of
                                   EU funding under the action must be ensured through
                                   documentation, availability of model code and input data
45
        FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). Further information: https://www.go-
        fair.org/fair-principles/; and Final Report and Action Plan from the European Commission Expert
        Group          on        FAIR         Data,        “TURNING           FAIR   INTO   REALITY”
        (https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/turning_fair_into_reality_0.pdf)
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                              developed under the action.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Improved adequacy of Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) to effectively contribute to
     international, European, national and regional climate policy processes in support of the
     implementation of the European Green Deal, the Paris Agreement, COVID-19 recovery
     and broader sustainability goals
   Contributions to major international scientific assessments such as the reports of the
     Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Intergovernmental Science-
     Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the International
     Resource Panel (IRP).
   Increased robustness, legitimacy, relevance, usability and transparency of IAMs leading
     to increased uptake and better awareness of their results across various end-user groups,
     developing, where possible, new business models for IAMs transparency (for example,
     open source and open code options).
   Enhanced coherence between climate action (mitigation, understanding of impacts,
     climate risks and adaptation) and other environmental/sustainability objectives, notably
     biodiversity, based on a more realistic representation of their interactions, including co-
     benefits and trade-offs.
   More active involvement of citizens in climate action based on better understanding and
     demonstration of how small scale actions contribute to the achievement of large-scale
     climate policy objectives including through socially innovative approaches, and better
     understanding of which actions/policies are more effective.
   Ultimately, accelerated transition towards climate neutrality based on improved
     knowledge and better designed policies that are more integrated, greener, healthier, more
     inclusive.
Scope: Actions should improve the state-of-the-art of IAMs by tackling their existing
weaknesses and lack of/limited capabilities of the current generation of models in order to
provide robust, credible and transparent evidence-base in support of design and evaluation of
multiscale (global, European, national, regional) mitigation policies at various time horizons.
An important goal of this call is to address multiple challenges in a coherent and consistent
manner using an integrated framework. To achieve this goal, it is not compulsory to
incorporate all issues into a single IAM. Combinations of hard linking, soft linking and other
ways of insuring a coherent approach between models and experts can be considered.
Actions should address developments and improvements, such as:
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   Sectorial detail and (transformative/structural) changes across various sectors of the
      economy such as those resulting from increased circularity and digitalisation.
   Temporal resolution and technological detail.
   Spatial resolution with outputs suitable for national/regional level analysis.
   Behavioural and lifestyle changes.
   Distributional and equity effects of climate policies.
   Interactions with the relevant sustainable development goals (such as co-benefits due to
      avoided impacts and trade-offs in areas such as health, biodiversity, food security etc.).
   Climate change impacts, including the extent to which they can be avoided through
      mitigation action, synergies and trade-offs between climate mitigation and adaptation
      policies.
   Financial sector and investment needs, including information in support of investment
      risk-reduction strategies to mobilise capital to finance the transition towards a climate-
      neutral economy.
   Uncertainties and risk-management strategies for supporting mitigation policies.
The above list is non-exhaustive and actions also may propose new avenues of research, while
duly justifying their choice and keeping in mind the impact on IAMs’ relevance and adequacy
as a decision-support tool. Actions should also explore options for making models more
capable of responding to external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic or similar. While
addressing the improvements, actions should take into account the modelling requirements
and learnings resulting from the COVID-19 crisis.
Actions should build on the knowledge base developed by previous initiatives and are
encouraged to establish links with other relevant projects financed from this work programme
(e.g. circular economy, climate adaptation modelling) and by Horizon 2020. In order to avoid
duplication of efforts, proposals should clearly demonstrate how they will go beyond the
modelling state of art.
Actions are encouraged to explore alternative approaches to the mainstream economic
assumptions typically underlying the models (such as fully functioning markets and perfect
information) and aim at striking the right balance between model complexity and usability.
In order to maximise the impact, active involvement of the end-users (policy makers,
business, civil society) in the co-design of models and validation of the outputs should be
considered. Applicants should investigate and apply communication tools and strategies for
improved interaction with stakeholders and dissemination of model results, duly accounting
for the needs of non-technical audiences. They should further develop the thinking around the
best ways to apply modelling insights to policies, including by building on the learnings from
the COVID-19 pandemic. Consortia should also explore ways for better bridging the gap
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between modelling theory and practical applications, including in support of behavioural
change and societal transformation.
It is recommended to include capacity-building efforts to lower the entrance barriers to the
established IAM community by involving research teams in EU Member States and
Associated Countries that are less advanced in terms of modelling capabilities.
When dealing with models, actions should promote the highest standards of transparency and
openness, as much as possible going well beyond documentation and extending to aspects
such as assumptions, code and data that is managed in compliance with the FAIR principles 46.
In particular, beneficiaries are strongly encouraged to publish results data in open access
databases and/or as annexes to publications. In addition, full openness of any new modules,
models or tools developed from scratch or substantially improved with the use of EU funding
is expected.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-02-04: Supporting the formulation of adaptation strategies
through improved climate predictions in Europe and beyond
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per           10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                    appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                           selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action             Research and Innovation Actions
Admissibility              The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                 exceptions apply:
                           The page limit of the application is 60 pages.
Eligibility                The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                 exceptions apply:
                           If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                           and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                           Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
46
         FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). Further information: https://www.go-
         fair.org/fair-principles/; and Final Report and Action Plan from the European Commission Expert
         Group          on        FAIR         Data,        “TURNING           FAIR   INTO   REALITY”
         (https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/turning_fair_into_reality_0.pdf)
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                       additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    Support to the implementation of the new EU Adaptation Strategy and the Mission on
      adaptation to climate change, including societal transformation, through better access to
      improved knowledge about climate impacts and fit-for-purpose data on individual and
      collective climate risks for all levels of government and stakeholders.
    Reduced vulnerability to climate change impacts based on decadal predictions which are
      a key source of information for better planning of adaptation options.
    Improved assessment of risks for people and systems exposed to extreme weather and
      climate events.
    Enhanced scientific collaboration and exploitation of synergies across the EU and
      Associated Countries for the provision of climate information to stakeholders engaged
      with the implementation of the EU Adaptation Strategy.
    Enhanced European cooperation and leadership in climate sciences e.g. in the frame of
      the Euro-CORDEX initiative, a part of WCRP’s Coordinated Regional Climate
      Downscaling Experiment project (CORDEX).
Scope: Proposals should aim at improving seasonal to decadal prediction to boost their quality
at regional to local scale in particular for Europe and for variables of high societal relevance.
Actions will enable progress in closing the gap between current skill and potential
predictability estimates, as well as better aligning with immediate adaptation needs of end-
users and making those predictions actionable. Ultimately, methodologies need to be
developed to merge simulations from long-term weather forecast to climate predictions and
projections, resulting in seamless climate information from sub-seasonal to seasonal and
decadal predictions for the next 30 years.
Proposals should also improve assessments of risk through extreme climate-related events on
a range of temporal and spatial scales, as well as early detection of tipping points. Tackle
uncertainties regarding regional patterns and magnitude of changes and improve
understanding of how existing model biases affect the representation of extremes regarding
the intensity and frequency of hazards, including the co-variability of different risk factors,
and ultimately reducing the biases.
Better exploiting climate variables can enhance consistency with impact models and avoid
potential mismatches, leading to better understanding of interactions between climate system
and other natural and socio-economic systems (e.g. insurance practices) as well as feedbacks
related to land use and cover, urban dynamics, air quality, etc., which are very relevant for
model simulations at regional scale. Actions should explore novel ways of coupling existing
impact models with climate models to provide quality forecast at the local scale, focussing for
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example on cities. Actions are encouraged to develop guidance on selection or aggregation of
model data for local impact assessments, with clear justification of the procedures, allowing
transformation of uncertainty into a manageable package of information.
Coordination with the Destination Earth initiative can be proposed to ensure the timely
development of “climate replicas” building on the new state-of-the-art IT infrastructure,
including access to European high performance computing resources and an operational
platform to upload and integrate the models and data developed in the course of the projects.
Data should be FAIR47 and based on standards. Models should also be fully documented in
terms of assumptions, architecture, code and data.
Participants should also ensure synergies with relevant projects and initiatives (e.g. Digital
Twin of the Ocean under the EU Green Deal call LC-GD-9-3-2020: Transparent & Accessible
Seas and Oceans: Towards a Digital Twin of the Ocean and the Digital Europe Programme).
Model development should be properly connected with major programmes in the domain of
Earth Observation such as the Copernicus Programme and the ESA science satellite missions
in Europe, as well as the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and the Global Earth
Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) at global level.
Actions should ensure the dissemination of project results to policy-makers and stakeholders
to support long-term planning. International cooperation is encouraged with the aim to ensure
the sharing of knowledge and experience between Europe and third countries on climate
change impact and adaptation option modelling and assessment.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH and gender expertise, in order to
produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related
research activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-02-05: Let nature help do the job: Rewilding landscapes for
carbon sequestration, climate adaptation and biodiversity support
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          8.00 and 9.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 17.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
47
        FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). Further information: https://www.go-
        fair.org/fair-principles/; and Final Report and Action Plan from the European Commission Expert
        Group          on        FAIR         Data,        “TURNING           FAIR   INTO   REALITY”
        (https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/turning_fair_into_reality_0.pdf)
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Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The page limit of the application is 60 pages.
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
    Contribution to IPBES and IPCC, to the achievement of objectives of reaching net zero
     carbon emissions, enhancing climate change adaptation, and to the EU Biodiversity
     Strategy.
    Support the implementation of the Horizon Europe Mission on Adaptation to climate
     change including societal transformation.
    Identify low cost/benefit ratio options to restore natural and semi-natural ecosystems for
     carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation.
    Assess the value of restoring ecosystem for adaptation to and/or mitigation of climate
     change and identify potential rebound effects and trade-offs.
    Demonstrate the degree to which these approaches are affected by climate change itself
     and if they can still be effective under global warming of 2°C and higher.
    Demonstrate the potential contribution of European abandoned land and protected areas
     systems for carbon sequestration, adaptation to and/or mitigation of climate change.
    Develop strategies to minimize the increasing risk of wildfires due to the changing
     climate.
    Provide operational methods for low cost, low human intervention options for
     ecosystems restoration optimising the contributions to climate and biodiversity
     objectives and managing trade-offs.
    Help generate FAIR48data and well-documented, robust and transparent methodologies
     for better integration of land-use management systems into IAMs and ESMs.
48
        FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable).
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   Assess the perception and acceptability of citizens and stakeholders on rewilding and
      rewilding options and identify potential conflicts and trade-offs in governance and
      decision-making.
Scope: The biodiversity crisis and the climate crisis are intrinsically linked and the
contribution of Nature-based Solutions (NBS) to the global climate objectives is pivotal. A
better understanding of how the use of ecosystems natural capacity, with minimal help from
humans, can contribute to carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation is urgently
needed to make the use of NBS operational.
Actions should foster interdisciplinary research with a focus on the climate-biodiversity
nexus, advancing our knowledge to further promote integrated approaches to better address
these interdependent challenges.
Actions, taking stock of previous and ongoing experience, including associated uncertainty,
should provide a robust assessment of the potential contribution that restoring ecosystems,
including trophic chains restoration, with a “let nature do the job”, also called “rewilding”,
approach can provide in terms of carbon sequestration and storage, climate change mitigation
and adaptation and biodiversity conservation. “Rewilding” is meant here as passive
management of ecological succession with the goal of restoring natural ecosystem processes
and reducing human control of landscapes, although some intervention may be required in the
early restoration stages.
Actions can address specific ecosystems and/or landscapes on land, freshwater, coastal and
marine ecosystems while providing a clear contribution to define the potential use of the
“rewilding” approach at regional, national and continental levels.
Actions should build on an updated and detailed picture of the status and trends of ecosystems
change, (including, where applicable, land abandonment) in Europe to assess where, at which
ecological conditions and at what scale the “rewilding” approach can significantly improve
carbon sequestration together with habitats reinforcement and biodiversity conservation.
Actions should investigate how “rewilding” can be complemented with other approaches (for
example active restoration and conservation, low intensity farming, forestry and pasture
management, fishing), taking into account specific regional conditions, to increase carbon
sequestration, improve biodiversity conservation and ensure provision of goods and
ecosystem services.
Actions should provide scientific insights, tools, methodologies and innovative solutions
including social innovations to assist national governments, regions and communities in
embedding the “rewilding” approach, as far as feasible, in their own plans to reach carbon
neutrality. Actions should also advance the integration of land use options for carbon
sequestration into IAMs and ESMs.
Actions should significantly advance knowledge on the role and relevance of restoring fully
functional trophic chains, for instance through the conservation, management and
reintroduction of apex predators, grazers and scavengers, in the “rewilding” process, with a
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special focus on the functioning of trophic cascades on landscape processes and the ability of
ecosystems to act as carbon sinks. Challenges and barriers to this aim should be analysed and
the involvement of Social Sciences and Humanities is recommended.
Actions should ensure appropriate multi-stakeholder collaboration and interdisciplinarity to
embed socio-economic aspects, including opportunities for economic development, existing
barriers (ecological, social, gender-related…) and potential synergies and drawbacks.
Actions should envisage clustering activities with other relevant actions, initiatives and
programmes, including Horizon 2020 and the LIFE Programme to promote synergies,
integration and co-operation. They should make use and contribute to knowledge exchange
and networking European platforms (e.g. Climate-ADAPT, Network Nature, OPPLA,
BiodivERsA). Cooperation and planning for further exploitation of actions results during and
after the project end is strongly encouraged.
Synergies should be ensured with projects addressing wildfires (for example under the EU
Green Deal call LC-GD-1-1-2020, Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge 5).
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH and gender expertise, in order to
produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related
research activities.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
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Destination – Cross-sectoral solutions for the climate transition
This Destination covers thematic areas which are cross-cutting by nature and can provide key
solutions for climate, energy and mobility applications. In line with the scope of cluster 5 such
areas are batteries, hydrogen, communities and cities, early-stage breakthrough technologies
as well as citizen engagement. Although these areas are very distinct in terms of challenges,
stakeholder communities and expected impacts, they have their cross-cutting nature as a
unifying feature and are therefore grouped together under this Destination.
This Destination contributes to the following Strategic Plan’s Key Strategic Orientations
(KSO):
     C: Making Europe the first digitally enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable
      economy through the transformation of its mobility, energy, construction and production
      systems;
     A: Promoting an open strategic autonomy49 by leading the development of key digital,
      enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains to accelerate and steer
      the digital and green transitions through human-centred technologies and innovations;
     D: Creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society, prepared and
      responsive to threats and disasters, addressing inequalities and providing high-quality
      health care, and empowering all citizens to act in the green and digital transitions.
It covers the following impact areas:
     Industrial leadership in key and emerging technologies that work for people
     Affordable and clean energy
     Smart and sustainable transport
The expected impact, in line with the Strategic Plan, is to contribute to the “Clean and
sustainable transition of the energy and transport sectors towards climate neutrality
facilitated by innovative cross-cutting solutions”, notably through:
   a. Nurturing a world-class European research and innovation eco-system on batteries
      along the value chain based on sustainable pathways. It includes improvement of
      technological performance to increase application user attractiveness (in particular in
      terms of safety, cost, user convenience, fast charging and environmental footprint), in
      parallel supporting the creation of a competitive, circular, and sustainable European
      battery manufacturing value chain (more detailed information below).
49
         ‘Open strategic autonomy’ refers to the term ‘strategic autonomy while preserving an open economy’,
         as reflected in the conclusions of the European Council 1 – 2 October 2020.
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  b. Increased efficiency of Europe’s cities’ and communities’ energy, resource use and
     mobility patterns and cities’ and communities’ overall sustainability, thereby improving
     their climate-resilience and attractiveness to businesses and citizens in a holistic fashion.
     This also includes improved air and water quality, resilience of energy supply, intelligent
     mobility services and logistics, liveability and accessibility of cities, public health,
     comfortable, affordable zero emissions housing as well as the exploitation of relevant
     European technologies and knowledge (more detailed information below).
  c. Facilitating the transformation to a climate neutral society, in line with the EU’s 2050
     climate targets, through more effectively engaging and empowering citizens to
     participate in the transition, from planning to decision-making and implementation
     (more detailed information below).
  d. Nurturing the development of emerging technologies with high potential to enable zero-
     greenhouse gas and negative emissions in energy and transport (more detailed
     information below).
A competitive and sustainable European battery value chain
Batteries will enable the rollout of zero-emission mobility and renewable energy storage,
contributing to the European Green Deal and supporting the UN SDGs by creating a vibrant,
responsible and sustainable market. Besides climate neutrality, batteries also contribute to
other UN SDGs directly and indirectly such as enabling of decentralized and off-grid energy
solutions.
The strategic pathway is, on the one hand, for Europe to rapidly regain technological
competitiveness in order to capture a significant market share of the new and fast growing
rechargeable battery market, and, on the other hand, to invest in longer term research on
future battery technologies to establish Europe's long term technological leadership and
industrial competitiveness
The Partnership “Towards a competitive European industrial battery value chain for stationary
applications and e-mobility”, to which all battery-related topics under this Destination will
contribute, aims to establish world-leading sustainable and circular European battery value
chain to drive transformation towards a carbon-neutral society.
The main impacts to be generated by topics targeting the battery value chain under this
Destination are:
  a. Increased global competitiveness of the European battery ecosystem through generated
     knowledge and leading-edge technologies in battery materials, cell design,
     manufacturing and recycling;
  b. Accelerated growth of innovative, competitive and sustainable battery manufacturing
     industry in Europe;
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  c. Accelerated roll out of electrified mobility through increased attractiveness for citizens
      and businesses, offering lower price, better performance and safety, reliable operation of
      e-vehicles. Increased grid flexibility, increased share of renewables integration and
      facilitated self-consumption and participation in energy markets by citizens and
      businesses;
  d. Increased overall sustainability and improved Life Cycle Assessment of each segment of
      the battery value chain. Developed and established innovative recycling network and
      technologies and in line with the March 2020 European Circular Economy Action Plan,
      accelerated roll-out of circular designs and holistic circular approach for funded
      innovations;
  e. Increased exploitation and reliability of batteries though demonstration of innovative use
      cases of battery integration in stationary energy storage and vehicles/vessels/aircrafts (in
      collaboration with other partnerships).
Communities and cities
This work programme contains only a few activities. The bulk of activities related to
communities and cities will be introduced during 2021 as an update to the Horizon Europe
work programme 2021, once the preparatory phase of the Horizon Europe Missions has been
concluded.
Emerging breakthrough technologies and climate solutions
Although the contribution of a wide range of technologies to reach climate neutrality is
already foreseeable, EU R&I programming should also leave room for emerging and break-
through technologies with a high potential to achieve climate neutrality. These technologies
can play a significant role in reaching the EU’s goal to become climate neutral by 2050.
Relevant topics supported under this Destination do not duplicate activities supported under
Pillars I or III, but focus on emerging technologies that can enable the climate transition and
follows at the same time a technology-neutral bottom up approach and the support of key
technologies that are expected to support achieving climate neutrality. Research in this area is
mostly technological in nature but should also where relevant be accompanied by assessments
of environmental impact, social and economic impacts, and possible regulatory needs as well
as activities to support the creation of value chains and to build up new ecosystems of
stakeholders working on breakthrough technologies.
The main expected impacts to be generated by topics targeting breakthrough technologies and
climate solutions under this Destination are:
    Emergence of unanticipated technologies enabling emerging zero-greenhouse gas and
      negative emissions in energy and transport;
    Development of high-risk/high return technologies to enable a transition to a net
      greenhouse gas neutral European economy;
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Citizens and stakeholder engagement
The transition to climate-neutral economies and societies by 2050 is the defining challenge of
this century. The challenge is not just technical: it calls for wide-ranging societal
transformations and the adaptation of lifestyles and behaviours. Engaging citizens and
stakeholders is therefore critical for the success of the European Green Deal, as is making
greater recourse to the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), alongside the Scientific,
Technical, Engineering and Mathematical (STEM) disciplines.
The topics under this section do not stand alone but aim to complement and support the
broader integration (“mainstreaming”) of citizen and stakeholder engagement as well as the
social sciences and humanities (SSH) across the whole Horizon Europe programme map and
particularly Cluster 5.
The main expected impacts to be generated by topics targeting citizen and stakeholder
engagement under this Destination are:
    A better understanding of the societal implications of the climate transition, including its
      distributional repercussions;
    More effective policy interventions, co-created with target constituencies and building
      on high-quality policy advice;
    Greater societal support for transition policies and programs, based on greater and more
      consequential involvement of those most affected.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
              Call                       Budgets (EUR million)             Deadline(s)
                                        2021                    2022
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01 232.00                            18.50             19 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01                                   138.00            06 Sep 2022
Overall indicative budget        232.00                  156.50
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Call - Cross-sectoral solutions for the climate transition
                                                                           HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)50
                Topics                      Type of        Budgets (EUR        Expected EU        Number
                                            Action            million)        contribution per        of
                                                                               project (EUR        projects
                                                           2021      2022
                                                                                 million)51       expected
                                                                                                    to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 24 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 19 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-01 RIA                             21.00              6.00 to 7.00         3
                                                          52
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-02 RIA                             24.00              6.00 to 8.00         3
                                                          53
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-03 RIA                             36.00              8.00 to 9.00         4
                                                          54
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-04 RIA                             20.00              Around 5.00          4
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-05 RIA                             26.00              6.00 to 7.00         3
                                                          55
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-06 RIA                             30.00              9.00 to 10.00        3
                                                          56
50
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
51
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
52
        Of which EUR 10.68 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
53
        Of which EUR 12.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
54
        Of which EUR 18.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
55
        Of which EUR 13.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
56
        Of which EUR 15.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-07 CSA                       3.00              Around 3.00        1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-08 RIA                       20.00             Around 2.50        8
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-09 RIA                       15.00             2.00 to 3.00       2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-10 RIA                                         2.00 to 3.00       2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-11 RIA                                         2.00 to 3.00       2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-12 RIA                       10.00             3.00 to 4.00       3
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-13 CSA                       3.00              2.00 to 3.00       1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-14 CSA                       2.00              2.00 to 3.00       1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-15 CSA                       3.50              Around 3.50        1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-16 COFUND 18.50                         18.50  Around 37.00       1
Overall indicative budget                           232.00     18.50
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                             The conditions are described in General
                                                     Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                     Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and               The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                            C.
Award criteria                                       The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                     D.
Documents                                            The documents are described in General
                                                     Annex E.
Procedure                                            The procedure is described in General
                                                     Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant              The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
A competitive and sustainable European battery value chain
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-01: Sustainable processing, refining and recycling of raw
materials (Batteries Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       6.00 and 7.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 21.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Raw materials need to be competitively processed and refined in Europe
in a sustainable way, including reduced environmental footprint, and improved social aspects
and competitiveness. This is underlined in the recently published list of Critical Raw
Materials (https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/raw-materials/specific-interest/critical_en) and
the Circular Economy Action Plan (https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/).
Project results will contribute to decreasing dependency of Europe on imported battery
chemicals and raw materials. As a result new business opportunities and jobs will be created
for the European industry.
Projects are expected to coordinate with projects funded under Cluster 4 RESILIENCE Green
and Sustainable Materials topics. Projects are expected to contribute to European Raw
Materials Alliance objectives.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   European low-grade deposits and secondary material sources such as tailings as source
      of nickel, cobalt and lithium are taken into use, reducing the European dependency on
      important materials by increasing refining capacity to battery grade materials in Europe.
      This requires innovative, cost-effective and safe extraction technologies;
   Battery grade intermediates such as lithium hydroxide and precursor materials are
      competitively produced and refined in Europe in a sustainable and socially acceptable
      way, improving the competitiveness and value of European battery and mobility
      industries;
   Reduced carbon emissions, increased energy efficiency, and more efficient resource use
      and yield, for example by increasing the capacity to re-process recycled lithium from
      spent batteries integrated in primary lithium processing;
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   New business opportunities and models for the European industry (e.g. joint processing,
     centralised Lithium refinery) creating additional jobs from increased processing and
     refining capacity.
Scope: In order to secure a competitive battery industry in Europe, innovations in chemical
and metallurgical production are required. The focus is at improved yield, better process
control, flowsheet flexibility, improved product purity and quality, improved impurity
removal, and improved recovery from secondary streams. These innovations are in some
cases complementary unit processes to existing process flow sheets, while in others, such as
European lithium or precursor production, completely new flowsheets. These advancements
are expected to bring the European battery metal and chemical production to a global
leadership. The activities are expected to cover one or several bullets:
   Solutions to a sustainable Lithium value chain, such as:
        Novel sorting technologies, new comminution method and alternative energy
           sources to improve energy efficiency, CO2 emissions and reduce water use in
           lithium processing and refining.
        Selective methods for lithium extraction from pegmatites and other Lithium bearing
           minerals and refining of lithium materials to battery grade chemicals or even to
           lithium metal. Improvement of stability of refined LiOH. Cross-connections to
           other relevant WP parts which cover raw materials issues (e.g. Cluster 4) will be
           established.
        Specification of physical-chemical properties for Lithium deposits, to foresee how
           the mineral mix could be better processed.
   New refining processes to increase value and yield from European mines and sustainably
     sourced and imported (nickel and cobalt) raw materials, but also from process waste,
     side streams, recycled materials, mine tailings and other non-conventional sources.
   Improvements in performance and efficiency of existing (nickel and cobalt) refining
     processes in Europe, e.g. by implementing new methodologies to reduce carbon
     emissions, increasing energy and resource efficiency, raw material flexibility and
     substitution of fossil fuels.
           Development of new recoverable reagents and processes and real-time
           composition analysis for battery metal leaching and extraction to reduce waste and
           improve material efficiency and waste management
        New smelting and slag engineering technologies to address Ni and Co losses in
           smelting
   Development of continuous processes for precursor materials (pCAM) to replace the
     currently used batch processing, including:
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         Process control solutions for different cathode active material recipes
         Complete process design concepts including filtration, gas supply, mixing ratios,
           flow control, fluidised process solutions, and process automation
         Process optimisation to minimise and/or recover off-specification battery metals
           and compounds.
   Zero Liquid Discharge processing in battery chemical and precursor material processing,
     including energy cascading and waste valorisation
   New business models for co-processing and process integration
   Process modelling competence combined with environmental impact evaluation (incl.
     LCA) for individual primary processes, in collaboration with a project funded under
     HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-04.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards a competitive
European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility’.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-02: Advanced high-performance Generation 3b (high
capacity / high voltage) Li-ion batteries supporting electro mobility and other
applications (Batteries Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per     6.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 24.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6 and higher by the end of the
Readiness Level      project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Advanced Li-ion batteries delivering on cost, performance, safety, sustainability and
     recyclability, with clear prospects for cost-competitive large-scale manufacturing and
     uptake by the electro mobility as well as other application sectors.
   Increase in energy density and hence increasing driving distance at reduced cost on
     module and pack level, inducing a broader customer’s acceptance.
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   Broader user acceptance leading to a significantly broader market penetration, helping to
      reduce GHG emissions of the transport and industry sectors to support EU’s efforts to
      become climate-neutral by 2050: demonstrated for recyclability.
Translating these outcomes into indicative KPIs to guide the R&I efforts, it is recommended
to target the following for impact by 2025 and beyond:
   Gravimetric, volume energy density at cell level of 350-400 Wh/kg, 750-1000 Wh/l
      respectively.
   Power density at cell level of 700 W/kg, 1500+ W/L.
   For high voltage application, operation at 4.7+ Volt.
   3000+ and 2000+ deep cycles for high capacity and high voltage applications
      respectively.
   Cost at pack level < 100 euro/kWh.
Scope: The overarching R&I challenges lie in the development of advanced materials
enabling higher energy / power density thanks to higher capacity (voltage range 4.3-4.5V)
and/or operating at higher voltage (4.7+V). Focus is on adapting the cathode materials (high-
nickel NMCs for capacity, spinels / Li-rich Mn NMCs for voltage), the anode materials
(graphite-containing Si(Ox)), the electrolytes (stabilised formulations) and their interplay.
   For the higher capacity approach, focusing on maximising energy and power
      density should address topics such as
         High-capacity cathode materials operating in 4.3-4.5 Volt range while delivering on
            cycle life, protective coatings for safety improvements;
         High-performance anodes with advanced graphite and silicon materials (increase Si
            content in Si/C anodes to achieve capacities ideally at 1000 mAh/g), - Other option
            is to, develop complete Si or other alloying anode solutions in nanostructured form;
         Suitable inactive materials (binders, conductive carbons, current collectors,
            separators);
         Electrolytes stable in 4.3-4.5 Volt (new additives and/or solvent systems), advanced
            processing routes for the novel materials and advanced electrode and cell/module
            designs.
   For the higher voltage approach, focusing on maximising energy and power density
      should address topics such as
         High-voltage stable electrolyte systems (new electrolytes and/or new formulations);
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         High-voltage stable cathode active materials (e.g. HV spinels, Li-rich Mn NMCs,
           phosphates, disordered materials etc. with lowered content in critical and high price
           elements, protective coatings);
         Tailoring and operando monitoring of the electrochemical interplay between the
           cathode active material and the electrolyte formation of stable SEI interfaces;
         Advanced high performance anodes matching these high-voltage cathodes and
           electrolytes;
         Structuring of the cathode and anode electrodes for among others their competition
           and electric conductivities.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards a competitive
European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility’.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-03: Advanced high-performance Generation 4a, 4b (solid-
state) Li-ion batteries supporting electro mobility and other applications (Batteries
Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      8.00 and 9.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 36.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Advanced Li-ion batteries delivering on cost, performance, safety, thermal stability,
     sustainability with clear prospects for cost-competitive large-scale manufacturing and
     uptake by electro mobility sector.
   Increase in energy density and hence increasing driving distance at reduced costs on
     module and pack level, positively affecting the customer’s acceptance.
   Broader user acceptance will help to reduce GHG emissions of the transport sector and
     support EU’s efforts to become climate-neutral by 2050.
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Translating these outcomes into indicative KPIs to guide the R&I efforts, it is recommended
to target the following for impact by 2030 and beyond:
   Gravimetric energy density at cell level of 400+ Wh/kg volumetric energy density at cell
      level of 800+ Wh/l (Gen 4a) progressing to 1000+ Wh/l (Gen 4b).
   Cycle life up to 3000 and beyond and ability to operate at charging rate of 3-5C (for
      aviation up to 10C).
   Cost at pack level down to below 75 euro/kWh.
   High-power variants for fast charging, airborne, heavy-duty, hybrid segments targeting
      >500W/kg and >700 W/l.
Scope: The overarching R&I challenges lie in the development of solid-state electrolytes,
cathode materials and anode materials enabling higher thermal and electrochemical stability
while targeting higher energy / power densities, fast charging, cyclability and improved
safety. These new materials should contribute in the control of thermal runaway at early stage,
and create non-propagation designs. Developments should range from using conventional
materials to using Li metal-based anode materials, aiming at reducing the amount of cobalt
used in the production in addition to the other expected outcomes listed above. Projects
should be aligned with ongoing H2020 projects on the subject, especially from H2020-LC-
BAT-2020 call and their publicly-available results.
   For Generation 4a (solid state with conventional materials) projects are expected to
      cover all bullets:
         Developing low direct current resistance active materials;
         Reducing thickness of the anode;
         Developing thin solid electrolyte with high ionic conductivity;
         Developing concepts/strategies for manufacturing new solid electrolyte interlayers;
         Improving interface design to ensure efficient charge-transfer and electrochemical
            stability and improved cell mechanical stability;
         Proposed approach is expected to have no negative impact on energy densities,
            safety, and cyclability;
         Development of coating strategies for current collectors.
   For Generation 4b (solid state with Li metal-based anode materials) projects are
      expected to cover one or several bullets:
         New materials and/or chemistries to increase the energy densities beyond the state
            of the art of batteries used in electro mobility applications.
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         At the anode side, lithium metal appears as the most appealing choice in terms of
           gravimetric energy density.
         Improved reversibility, homogeneity and density of electrodeposition process by
           doping or coating strategies.
         Solutions for manufacturing and handling Li metal sheet in dry atmosphere.
         Novel solutions for low cost manufacturing strategies such as solvent-free electrode
           manufacturing and solid electrolyte deposition.
         Another technology (anode-less), could also be developed by designing current
           collectors for reversible electrodeposition of lithium. Current collector coating
           strategies which regulate lithium deposition and improve cycling performance can
           also be developed.
         Solid-state electrolytes and lithium metal anodes open the way to new cathode
           chemistries reaching high energy density such as lithium-free cathode in
           combination with lithium metal or Li-excess cathode exhibiting high irreversible
           capacity in the anode-less configuration.
         Improving interface design to ensure efficient charge-transfer                   and
           electromechanical stability and improved cell mechanical stability.
         Bipolar cell design concepts and processing.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards a competitive
European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility’.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-04: Environmentally sustainable processing techniques
applied to large scale electrode and cell component manufacturing for Li ion batteries
(Batteries Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-6 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
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Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    Provide European a leadership position in production of batteries with lower carbon
      footprint.
    New sustainable electrode and cell manufacturing techniques are with reduced energy
      consumption, lower carbon footprint and no Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
      emissions. Electrode and cell manufacturing processes are scalable, safer, cheaper,
      cleaner and less energy consuming compared to state-of-the-art technologies, ultimately
      reinforcing an internationally competitive European battery manufacturing industry.
    Electrode coating production techniques completely eliminate organic solvents as slurry
      dispersing media leading to avoid the large capital costs associated to the solvent
      recovery system Implementation of dry manufacturing techniques such as 3D patterning
      of active electrode layers, and/or hydrophobic surface treatment of electrodes with next
      generation materials.
    Industrialising closed loops and process design to return low-value chemicals from
      manufacturing processes to high-value and necessary inputs for the battery
      manufacturing industry.
Scope: Industrial scale fabrication of Li-ion battery (LIB) porous electrodes imply casting of a
slurry over a thin metallic current collector according to conventional coating procedures.
This is the technology used also for advanced LIBs with high energy electrode materials and
liquid electrolyte (Gen3a/b). The slurry to be coated is prepared by mixing the active material,
conductive agent and binder in a solvent, typically N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). Since
NMP is toxic in nature, an expensive recovery system should be placed to collect the
evaporated NMP in the drying process.
Less expensive and environmentally friendly solvents, such as water are already employed for
anode manufacturing, which eliminates the large capital cost of the solvent recovery system.
Wet coating technologies can still be further optimised and benefit from reducing the solvent
fraction, thus, reducing the energy demand of the drying step. Moreover, completely dry
processing techniques could completely remove the need for energy consuming drying, hence
reducing the CO2 footprint of the electrode fabrication process.
This may also apply for example to protective interface coatings for both advanced anode –
e.g. lithium metal- and cathode – e.g. HV spinel materials. Also, there are other new concepts
that can benefit from the implementation of dry manufacturing techniques such as 3D
patterning of active electrode layers, or hydrophobic surface treatment of electrodes with next
generation materials. The process should be scalable, safer, cheaper, cleaner and less energy
consuming compared to state-of-the-art technologies. The proposed/developed processes are
expected to address the notion of “Design to Manufacture”, which should reduce production
cost and increase battery performance resulting in increased efficiency and better cycle life.
As the manufacturing techniques may benefit from digitalization, and moreover be ready to
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be integrated in digitally-driven larger production lines, project proposals should address
digitalization within their scope..It should also propose innovative technical solutions and/or
standardized approaches to ensure workers and users safety, particularly in the field of
handling new materials during processing – such as in the case of nano-materials. The
challenge is proposed for Li-ion up to generation 3.
Focus is into manufacturing technology development, up to pilot-level proof of concept.
Activities to be aligned/feeding into the specific machinery development topic – industrial
machinery development is beyond the scope of this topic.
Projects are expected to be aligned with H2020 project LiPLANET initiative – The EU
network of R&D Li cell manufacturing pilot lines.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards a competitive
European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility’.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-05: Manufacturing technology development for solid-state
batteries (SSB, Generations 4a - 4b batteries) (Batteries Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      6.00 and 7.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 26.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-6 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Position Europe at the industrial production lead in the international race for next
      generation, SSB technologies all through the value chain.
   Generation of an indigenous technological knowledge portfolio of industrially scalable
      manufacturing solutions for the different approaches to SSB including all core
      components: electrolytes, anodes –either carbon or Li(m) based - and their ad hoc
      composites cathodes.
   Contribute to climate neutral transport via the development of breakthrough technology
      in SSB batteries.
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    Enable cost effective, low carbon footprint and low-emission mass production of Gen4
      technology in Europe.
Scope: Lithium ion battery cells with conventional active materials are reaching their limits in
terms of energy densities. Also, safety issues arise with the utilisation of liquid organic
electrolyte which are becoming even more critical with the nearly introduction of advanced
materials made to increase cell voltage and fast-charging rates. Hence, there is an urgent need
for the development of innovative scalable manufacturing technologies based on of new solid
electrolytes that can be also combined with metallic lithium at the anode, leading to
significantly enhanced energy density. In that context, solid-state electrolytes enable
overcoming current battery cells limitations in terms of voltage and safety (reducing dendrites
formation risk) leading to and increased intrinsic thermal and electrochemical stability.
As a consequence, in parallel to the progress in new materials developments, there is a
growing need of Research and Innovation addressed to develop appropriate processing
techniques for assemble cells based on solid type electrolytes including all current foreseen
technological options: polymer-based, hybrid polymeric, inorganic and other alternatives such
as gel-like semisolid electrolytes.
Also, processing, handling and integration of lithium metal anodes into cells, with special
attention to solid-solid interfaces and protection layers need to be tackled (Generation 4b). As
an alternative route, advanced Si/C composite-based anodes (Generation 3b) may come as a
possible solution, and their specific manufacturing approach and interface requirements
towards solid state electrolytes should be covered as well. Thus, appropriate processing
techniques should be developed, optimised, adapted or reinvented for the preparation of dense
electrode and electrolyte layers, to enable scale up of solid-state battery cells (Generation4a
and Generation4b) towards industrial GWh mass production.
Cathodic electrodes making use of advanced materials – e.g. high Ni content oxides-
combined with electrolyte material to enhance interfacial compatibility may pose specific
manufacturing challenges involving innovative dry and/or extrusion coating techniques.
Projects funded under this topic should make provisions to establish adequate coordination
schemes with related materials running projects, with special focus in HORIZON-CL5-2021-
D2-01-03: Advanced high-performance Generation 4a, 4b (solid-state) Li-ion batteries.
The new manufacturing techniques for the SSB Gen 4a/4b batteries should focus on cost,
performance, safety and sustainability with clear prospects for cost-competitive large-scale
manufacturing and uptake by the electro mobility sector. Also, as the manufacturing
techniques may benefit from digitalization, and moreover be ready to be integrated in
digitally-driven larger production lines, project proposals should address digitalization within
their scope. Manufacturing and cell assembly processes to be developed should be more
sustainable compared to the current LIB manufacturing. In order to demonstrate cost
reduction and improvement in other parameters projects are expected to provide comparison
with baseline manufacturing techniques.
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Focus is into manufacturing technology development, up to pilot-level proof of concept.
Activities to be aligned/feeding into the specific machinery development topic –industrial
machinery development is beyond the scope of this topic.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards a competitive
European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility’.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-06: Sustainable, safe and efficient recycling processes
(Batteries Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      9.00 and 10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 30.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-6 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Improved access to battery materials and strengthened European raw material
      independency by increased circularity of material flows and use of the secondary raw
      materials in new batteries produced in Europe.
   Increased European competitiveness offering sustainable, safe, energy efficient and low
      carbon footprint battery recycling technologies and upscaleable solutions.
   Reduced recycling cost and environmental impacts through new and disruptive concepts
      for very high efficiency recycling.
   Improved health and safety aspects of recycling.
   The industry is prepared to meet the new regulatory targets for the recycling.
Scope: In order to effectively exploit the vast amounts of EV and stationary battery waste
emerging in the next decades, as well as the increasing amounts of production scrap resulting
from larger manufacturing, it is important to create innovative feasible and holistic recycling
processes in Europe.
Newly developed recycling processes are expected to be more flexible and adaptive, to be
able to meet a wide variety of battery waste or production scrap resulting from cross different
Li-battery chemistries (i.e. with and without transition metals). It is desirable to implement
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intelligent process design through integrating selected fractions into existing industrial
infrastructure, or other innovative integration of fractions or processes. The recycling
processes may partially utilise existing metallurgical infrastructure of the primary materials to
support feasible processing and explore ways to support industrial transition towards green
technologies.
Newly developed recycling processes are expected to aim at recovering the highest amount of
resources (e.g. metals, graphite, fluorinated compounds and polymers, active materials)
present within secondary raw materials which result from spent Li-batteries with and without
transition metals and focus on the reuse of these materials in batteries.
Low-value chemicals from manufacturing processes should be returned to high-value and
necessary inputs for the battery manufacturing industry. Focus should, however, be on
developing materials recycling routes which as directly as possible target next-generation
battery cathode and anode materials. Vertical integration to component/cell manufacturing
should be improved.
Proposals are expected to aim at the outmost recovery rates and recovered material purity,
meeting industrial requirements for their integration in the loop of cell manufacturing, in line
with values reflected in Partnership Strategic Research Agenda (SRA).
Recovery/re-use/re-purposing/reconditioning of battery materials/electrodes/components
should also be maximised and recycling discharge minimised.
Proposals are expected to develop new unit processes, or innovative combinations of
optimised unit processes, including, but not limited to mechanical pre-processing, leaching,
precipitation, solvent extraction, ion exchange, centrifuging, crystallisation, electrowinning,
roasting, smelting, pyrolysis, shock wave disruption and direct reuse of materials and
components.
Proposals are expected to identify and address health risks, environmental impacts, safety
hazards and new safety practices related to developed processes.
The environmental impacts and benefits are to be quantified through life cycle thinking
approach (e.g. LCA/SLCA), also in collaboration with the project funded under the joint topic
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-04.
The co-operation with projects funded under topics HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-01,
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-01 should be established.
International collaboration is strongly encouraged.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards a competitive
European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility’.
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HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-07: Support for establishment of R&I ecosystem,
developing strategic forward-looking orientations to ensure future skills development,
knowledge and technological leadership for accelerated disruptive technology
exploration and uptake (Batteries Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: In order to succeed in the development of a thriving innovative battery
industry, pan-European cooperation on research and innovation is essential. It is not only
essential to work across geographical boarders and institutional levels but it is also crucial that
stakeholders from all parts of the battery value chain pull together in a strategic coordinated
manner to ensure our collective research efforts are efficiently translated into sustainable
technologies and products economically, environmentally and socially.
Europe has an extensive landscape of battery R&I stakeholders. Thus there is a need to
continuously consolidate the Battery R&I community across the EU and associated countries
and across Battery-related networks, projects and initiatives (including European, national,
regional – HEU Partnerships, IPCEIs, Interregional partnership on advanced battery materials,
European Battery Alliance and coordination actions including BATTERY 2030+,
LiPLANET).
Project results are expected to contribute to all/ of the following expected outcomes:
   Consolidated Battery R&I community across the EU and associated countries and across
     Battery-related networks, projects and initiatives (including European, national, regional
     – HEU Partnerships, IPCEIs, Interregional partnership on advanced battery materials,
     European Battery Alliance and coordination actions including BATTERY 2030+,
     LiPLANET, and other initiatives established until the project end). Exceptional
     participation of third country participants is therefore not foreseen.
   Facilitated access to information for all – enabled European "one-stop shop" on Battery
     R&I information, including information on national programmes, events, battery projects
     and national battery networks (via website and other communication channels) reaching
     as many as possible battery stakeholders.
   Reduced time to market of technologies and improved European competitiveness
     through established research-industry collaborations, information sharing and expert
     group work.
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   Synergies and research results efficiently shared along the whole value chain, thus
    mobilizing R&I efforts.
   Attracted talent and competences necessary to achieve the technical goals and to support
    European industry.
   Provided scientific evidence for policymakers.
   Increase and reinforce international collaboration within the geographical scope outlined
    above..
Scope: Proposals are expected to:
   Develop, consolidate and communicate a strategic research approach for all stakeholders
    throughout the entire European Battery Value Chain.
   Develop and/or update coherent Strategic Research and Innovation agenda (SRIA) and
    corresponding detailed roadmaps covering all aspects of the battery value chain through
    expert group work.
   Facilitate and support work of experts from a different field in a cross-collaboration
    manner, identify the challenges and opportunities and so create guidelines and
    recommendations on how best to develop synergies.
   Establish and continuously update Key performance indicator (KPI's) values for current
    state-of-art battery technology, as collected from stakeholders across the battery value
    chain correlated and communicated via SET Plan progress monitoring.
   Establish Target Key performance indicators (Target KPI's) values for future battery
    R&I as collected from all relevant forums, correlated and communicated via SET Plan
    progress monitoring and the Strategic Research and Innovation agenda (SRIA) to the
    entire R&I community in general.
   Implement and foster the adoption of uniform standards and methodologies for the
    reporting of battery research developments across EU and national projects building on
    existing European and national work/efforts.
   Execute a clear communication plan describing the hosting and updating website,
    organising events and facilitating networking. Communicate results and progress in
    Battery R&I on both a European and International level.
   Cooperate with ETIPs and similar stakeholders fora, provide support to existing SET
    Plan Implementation Plans and advancement towards more interconnected activities,
    both in terms of contents and implementation mechanisms (see topic HORIZON-CL5-
    2021-D3-01-17)
   Promote and facilitate international collaborative actions, where necessary.
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   Perform additional activities which are relevant to reach the expected outcomes.
   In order to ensure high quality coordination and technical outputs from the proposals
      should possess both technical and operative expertise.
The overarching European R&I platform should build on previous efforts and continue to
foster pan-European active cooperation and maintain up-to-date clear realistic strategic
research and innovation agenda for Europe.
The project’s main governance (e.g. Steering Group, Advisory Board) is expected to provide
for direct involvement of European Commission services for collaboration on relevant policy
activities, incl. further supporting SET plan.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards a competitive
European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility’.
Emerging breakthrough technologies and climate solutions
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-08: Emerging technologies for a climate neutral Europe
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.50
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level         General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Available high-risk/high return technologies for a transition to a net greenhouse gas
      neutral EU economy by 2050.
   Knowledge and scientific proofs of the technological feasibility of the concept.
   Environmental, social and economic benefits to contribute to R&I strategy and policy
      forecast.
   Establishing a solid long term dependable European innovation base.
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Scope: The proposal is expected to address one of the following areas:
   Decarbonised, efficient, effective, and safe Transport;
   Fuel cells;
   Efficient energy generators;
   Energy distribution;
   Energy storage;
   Negative GHG emissions.
The following areas should not be covered as they fall within either partnerships or other
calls:
   Material research;
   Renewable energy technologies and renewable hydrogen production are addressed under
      HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-02;
   Batteries.
The proposal should address the validation of its concept to TRL 4, presenting a robust
research methodology and activities, establishing the technological feasibility of the proposed
concept. The methodology should include proper assessment of the environmental, social and
economic benefits, and consider transfers of developments in sectors other than energy
whenever relevant. These interdisciplinary aspects may provide ideas, experiences,
technology contributions, knowledge, new approaches, innovative materials and skills. The
applications of those concepts can also be proposed for various sectors. Economic benefits
could be for example technology cost reduction, job creations, new businesses and more
efficient motors and generators.
Proposals may consider the following areas:
   Technologies providing the possibility of multi-fuel integration and/or the potential for
      the transversal intersectorial decarbonization;
   Concepts targeting hard-to-decarbonize sectors and energy-intensive applications, such
      as road/rail/maritime transport or energy generation through thermal power generators;
   Flexibility in terms of its scalability to different power/energy demands;
   Compatibility with local or distributed energy production layouts;
   Use of already available industrial processes and raw materials for easy TRL upgrading
      and final transfer to mass production.
In developing its concept the proposal is expected to address the following related aspects:
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    Lower environmental impact (e.g. on climate change, pollution and biodiversity)
     quantified based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework;
    Better resource efficiency (materials, geographical footprints, water, etc…) than current
     commercial technologies;
    Barriers to the deployment of such technologies, including issues related to social
     acceptance or resistance to new energy technologies, related socioeconomic and
     livelihood issues globally;
    Prospective life cycle approach to be done with the relevant information that can be
     gathered at such TRL level.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-09: Methane cracking to usable hydrogen and carbon
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.57
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Technology              This topic focusses on technological concepts at low TRLs (TRL 3 or
Readiness Level         lower). Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the
                        project – see General Annex B.
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications
                        not only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                        ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                        thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to at least one of the following
expected outcomes:
    Replacement of the unabated use of natural gas by climate-neutral (or negative, in case
     of cracking of biogenic methane) hydrogen.
    Reduction of emissions by hard to decarbonise sectors, also considering the use of
     eventual by-products.
57
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    Faster reduction of GHG emissions by economies heavily relying on natural gas export
      or use (provided they reduce their upstream emissions).
    Production of economically usable by-product solid carbon (in tires, batteries, etc.).
Scope: A potential breakthrough technology is represented by the development of processes
allowing the use of available fossil and renewable methane to economically generate
hydrogen without any release of CO2 or other GHGs (as in current processes). To be
advantageous on a life cycle basis, however, this requires a higher efficiency than in current
processes and that the used natural or renewable gas is supplied by a chain with low upstream
leakage.
This requires the development of innovative methodologies to deliver high performance
hydrogen production from methane by directly splitting the molecule in its components
(hydrogen and solid carbon). Proposals are expected to demonstrate significant advances with
respect to already achieved results in Europe and outside, delivering a minimum of 50%
efficiency (i.e. energy from hydrogen recovery vs energy from original methane, for instance
by reducing reaction temperatures and improving catalysts), and demonstrating the potential
to achieve mass production and a competitive hydrogen cost and an improved climate
performance with respect to current methane based, CO2 releasing hydrogen production
methods including CCS. Due consideration should be given to the management of impurities
in the source stream, and to the development of the economic potential of the carbon particles
delivered by the specific technology which could have a valuable end-use (e.g. synthetic
graphite or carbon black) or the development of side-streams of other carbon-rich chemical
compounds (excluding uses which would re-release the carbon as CO2). Each project will
dedicate part of its work programme to technology assessment to consider environmental,
resource and economic aspects of the deployment of the technology).
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-10: Technologies for non- CO2 greenhouse gases removal
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.58
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications
58
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                       not only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                       ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                       thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to at least one of the following
expected outcomes:
    Increase knowledge on the plausibility of removing non-CO2 greenhouse gases from the
       atmosphere.
    Raise awareness on the effects of non-CO2 greenhouse gases on earth warming.
    Develop technologies for addressing the effects of non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions.
    Investigate techno-economic aspects of technologies and physical properties of
       emissions striving to match both into market-ready solutions.
Scope: Development of technologies for removing non-CO2 greenhouse gases CH4, N2O and
fluorinated gases.
This topic focusses on technological concepts at low TRLs (TRL 3 or lower).
In the case of methane, the scope of possible applications is further constrained: Methane
emissions stemming from the supply chain of fossil fuels are excluded, considering that such
emissions are meant to be addressed through emission avoidance. Other emissions with a
methane concentration higher than 1% are also excluded, considering that economic interests
should drive their mitigation.
Technologies are expected to contribute to the capture, concentration, use and/or disposal of
emissions, either from or at natural sources (if more concentrated) or in the atmosphere.
Carbon dioxide may be considered, though only if any synergy can be found with processing
it in combination with other greenhouse gas(es) which should be the prime focus. The state-of
the art of technology development will be clearly presented in the proposal with global
potential for emission reductions, cost figures and versatility and economic viability of use
where appropriate.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-11: Direct atmospheric carbon capture and conversion
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
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Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.59
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Technology               This topic focusses on technological concepts at low TRLs (TRL 3 or
Readiness Level          lower). Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the
                         project – see General Annex B.
Procedure                The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                         exceptions apply:
                         To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications
                         not only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                         ranked within set topics, provided that the applications attain all
                         thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to at least one of the following
expected outcomes:
    Increase knowledge of existing/develop new materials for direct atmospheric carbon
      capture and conversion technologies; or
    Address potential barriers to incorporation of direct air capture in existing CC(U)(S)
      concepts; or
    Make direct atmospheric carbon capture and conversion technologies a viable
      technology to make the EU carbon neutral by increasing the TRL levels of the different
      technological options.
Scope: This topic focusses on Direct Atmospheric Carbon Capture and Conversion, which is a
technology that can help reaching climate neutrality by 2050 by i) creating the carbon sinks
required to balance out residual emissions in 2050 and/or ii) using carbon captured from the
air as a raw material to replace other fossil raw materials.
The scope of this topic is to establish the technological feasibility of Direct Atmospheric
Carbon Capture and Conversion, including the environmental, social and economic benefits
with the goal of establishing this concept as a viable technology to fight climate change the
potential technologies require major technological breakthroughs, for example by
    Increasing knowledge of existing/develop new oxygen-tolerant                      catalysts  for
      photo/electro-reductive conversion of carbonates/carbamates; or
    Developing thermal chemical conversion technologies for direct atmospheric carbon
      capture and conversion; or
    Developing photo(electro)chemical conversion technologies for direct conversion of
      atmospheric CO2 to direct atmospheric carbon capture and conversion.
59
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Technological concepts supported under this topic should i) combine capture and conversion
in a single step, eliminating the need to regenerate absorbents or adsorbents and/or ii) be able
to enable decentralised production of chemicals and fuels using solar energy devices.
Projects that include research into the use of direct air capture for enhanced oil recovery will
not be considered.
Citizens and stakeholder engagement
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-12: Fostering a just transition in Europe
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       3.00 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to one or several of the following
outcomes:
   A better understanding of the distributional repercussions of the transition to climate
      neutrality across sectors, social groups, countries, regions, cities, and in the labour
      market that will help implement the commitment to “leaving nobody behind”.
   A better understanding of the trade-offs and synergies between climate action, climate-
      change impacts and equity and justice considerations, such as social inequality, gender
      equalities, as well as their interaction with other transformations that underpin the
      transition to climate neutrality.
   Addressing procedural justice concerns in the transition to carbon neutrality, via deeper
      and more consequential involvement of stakeholders from all parts of society in the
      transition process, for instance via co-design and co-production processes, social
      innovations, citizen science, user-led innovation type activities, or upstream multi-
      stakeholder debates or mechanisms for citizen deliberation and engagement.
   New scientific evidence to inform EU, national and regional policies in designing
      inclusive, socially fair, gender-sensitive and economically viable transition plans and
      post-COVID recovery packages that take due care of the most affected regions, cities,
      sectors and parts of society, including vulnerable individuals and households.
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    Increased societal and political acceptance for climate transition strategies, including
      renewable energy projects and more sustainable mobility concepts, based on greater
      involvement of those most affected, leading to better capacity for co-designing policy
      frameworks that enhance inclusiveness while minimising adverse distributional effects
      and inequalities.
    Improved insights into socio-economic and socio-political barriers that impede a just
      transition towards climate neutrality and identification of strategies to overcome these
      barriers on different temporal and spatial scales across Europe.
Scope: Actions should enhance the understanding of the challenges of the “just transition” to
climate-neutral and environmentally sustainable economies and societies, as envisaged in the
European Green Deal and Next Generation EU. They should analyse various dimensions of
inequality arising from climate change impacts, climate policies and transition pathways
including their distributional implications associated with changes in GDP, industrial
competitiveness and trade, employment and skills, taxation, incomes and wealth,
vulnerabilities and human health, structure of sectors, business models and relative prices etc.
Further equity aspects associated with climate change impacts and climate policy, such as
differential vulnerabilities as well as intergenerational fairness or justice should also be
studied, taking into consideration social and geographic circumstances and paying due
attention to most vulnerable parts of the society (poor, elderly, persons with disabilities,
children, migrants etc.). The gender dimension should also be explored. Research should
integrate learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of the evolution of inequality in
Europe and analyse potential implications for climate action and green recovery.
Actions should identify policy options and measures that combine climate and environmental
benefits with intra- and intergenerational justice, e.g. by a reduction of poverty and inequality
across different sectors of society, as well as within and between countries and regions. They
should explore links between and combinations of climate-focused policies and social,
taxation, employment and other relevant measures. Recommendations as to the most effective
levers for enacting an inclusive, fair and just ecological transition should be formulated.
Beyond climate action, links to Sustainable Development Goals should be considered as many
of them are centred on reducing poverty, inequality and meeting basic human needs.
Improving tools and methodologies for addressing intra- and intergenerational equity, equality
and justice concerns in the context of the transition to climate neutrality is part of the action’s
scope, but should take into account the work by projects in other parts of the work
programme, notably those addressing the improvement of Integrated Assessment Models
under Destination 1 on Climate Science. Research should comprise a strong empirical
component, including field experiments, and meaningfully involve stakeholders to collect
evidence, test proposals and discuss relevant issues.
Actions are expected to mobilise and build on the knowledge from across a broad range of
social sciences (including behavioural science, political science, sociology, economics, law,
gender studies etc.) and humanities and involve all parts of the quadruple helix (public bodies,
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industry/SMEs, social partners, academia/research, citizens/civil society) in a meaningful
transdisciplinary manner and across activities 60. Synergies with the topic HORIZON-CL5-
2021-D2-01-15 on Transition Super-Labs should be explored, given that equity and fairness
considerations will play a very important role in that context, too.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-13: Strengthening Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH)
research communities in climate, energy and mobility disciplines
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Research and innovation communities focusing on Social Science and Humanities (SSH)
      approaches to climate, energy and mobility as well as on citizen engagement and
      empowerment are less fragmented and better networked across Europe, including with
      respect to Eastern and Southern Europe.
    A targeted strategy for intensifying collaboration between Scientific, Technical,
      Engineering and Mathematical (STEM) and Social Science and Humanities (SSH)
      research and innovation communities has led to more and more in-depth
      interdisciplinary work.
    Dedicated outreach and engagement activities (e.g. co-creation processes and greater
      dissemination of best practices and challenges), have produced strong links to principal
      stakeholder communities, including policymakers at various levels, the private sector,
      academia, civil society, and citizens at large.
    Project activities have lowered social and behavioural barriers and contributed to greater
      citizen engagement in the context of the SET Plan, Horizon Europe Missions, Horizon
      Europe Partnerships, or other research and innovation actions supported by the EU’s
60
         Projects focused on Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) may be particularly relevant in this
         regard; a large number of these can be found in the Science with and for Society part of Horizon 2020:
         https://op.europa.eu/s/oeby.
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      framework programme, in collaboration with or building on other EU-funded projects in
      these areas.
    Policy advice to policy communities, including at European and other levels, is based on
      the latest research, including work prepared in the context of this project, actionable, and
      supported by communication and dissemination resources as well as practical guidelines.
Scope: Confronting the threat of global warming and transitioning to carbon neutrality by
mid-century requires research and innovation in a number of distinct but interconnected areas,
notably in climate science, energy, and mobility. Along with technological innovations,
successful solutions need to factor in changing lifestyles, social innovation, forms of
behaviour, value structures, governance arrangements at institutional or corporate levels, as
well as forms of social organisation. This calls for concerted, multi-disciplinary approaches
that are rooted in a variety of academic disciplines but also draw in and engage policymakers
at various levels, the private sector, civil society and citizens at large.
To develop and enact such approaches, more extensive networks connecting relevant
communities of researchers and practitioners are required, to facilitate and enable deeper and
more consequential forms of collaboration. In particular, Scientific, Technical, Engineering
and Mathematical (STEM) communities in climate science, energy and climate need to work
more closely with those in the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) disciplines, ensuring
adequate outreach especially to the eastern and southern parts of Europe. At the same time,
methods and mechanisms for lowering social and behavioural barriers and engaging citizens
and stakeholders need further refinement, more extensive application and improvement via
co-creation and co-production processes, including gender-sensitive ones, and greater
dissemination. Focus areas requiring specific attention include prosumers, renewable energy
and mobility communities, resource efficiency and the circular economy, as well as digital
platforms and technologies.
Developing novel, multi-disciplinary perspectives, strengthening SSH research communities
while encouraging collaboration with the STEM disciplines, and nurturing linkages with
stakeholder communities, civil society and citizens at large are important preconditions for
providing targeted, high-quality advice on how to confront the manifold challenges
surrounding the transition to climate neutrality. Policymakers at European and other levels
have obvious need for such advice, in delivering the European Green Deal and other high-
profile policy initiatives.
Projects under this topic are expected to work towards these goals, while also producing novel
research and concrete applications that can inform policymaking, notably at EU-level
including with respect to the European Green Deal.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
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HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-14: Accelerating the climate transition in difficult contexts:
transition super-labs (pilot)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   A mapping exercise has identified which settings across Europe – such as non-
      sustainable business complexes, mining regions or polluted metropolitan areas – would
      benefit the most from the transition super-labs approach, and which settings could serve
      to demonstrate the utility of this approach more generally.
   Feasibility studies have been carried out in a select number of these settings, yielding
      programmatic, actionable blueprints with a view of launching actual transition super-labs
      at a subsequent stage.
   Enabling coalitions for the practical delivery of transition super-labs have been
      assembled, with the participation of policymakers at local, regional and other levels,
      business, finance, civil society organisations, individual citizens, as well as academia.
   A program outline for the practical delivery of a number of transition super-labs in
      several contexts across Europe, comprising at least three EU Member States and/or
      Associated Countries, has been prepared, including an assessment of the contribution of
      different funding instruments (European, national regional and private funds).
Scope: First suggested by the High-Level Panel of the European Decarbonisation Pathways
Initiative, Transition Super Labs are a novel way of linking research and innovation with
policy. They are particularly relevant for challenges that defy purely technocratic solutions
and require fundamental transformations in economies and societies, including lifestyle and
behavioural changes or forms of social innovation. Anchored in the EU’s research and
innovation framework program, they provide ample room for co-creation with Member
States/Associated Countries, stakeholders and citizens.
Transition Super Labs are real-life laboratories where a rapid shift to climate neutrality is
conceptualised, implemented, monitored and revised in an integrated way. Similar to “living
labs” but operating at a much larger scale, they spur the transformation of whole entities –
such as non-sustainable business complexes, mining regions and polluted metropolitan areas –
in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner.
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Designed as flagship demonstrators, Transition Super Labs involve a broad range of actors –
businesses and industry, different levels of government, academia, civil society, citizens at
large – working closely with communities and regions directly affected by climate change.
They provide an ideal complement to mission-driven innovation in that they test systemic
innovations at scale and in real-world conditions. Confronting concepts and ideas with
technical, environmental and socioeconomic realities, they identify and help to overcome
critical bottlenecks and cultural resistance while avoiding false ecological trade-offs.
This topic supports a set of pilot activities designed to prepare the launch of several fully-
fledged transition super-labs at a subsequent stage.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
(including gender) experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in
order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the
related research activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-15: Fostering cooperation between Horizon Europe cluster
5 National Contact Points (NCPs)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.50
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.50 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       Applicants must be Horizon Europe national support structures (e.g.
                       NCP) responsible for cluster 5 and officially nominated to the
                       Commission, from a Member State or Associated Country.
                       Only in case and as long as Horizon Europe structures would not yet be
                       officially nominated, national support structures responsible for cluster 5
                       nominated for Horizon 2020 would be eligible.
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                       exceptions apply:
                       The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
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   Improved professionalization/skills of NCPs across Europe, helping to simplify access to
    Horizon Europe calls, lowering the entry barriers for newcomers, and raising the average
    quality of proposals submitted.
   Enhanced integration of all the cross-cutting issues throughout Horizon Europe.
   Connection with the NCP-network dealing with horizontal activities.
   Increased cooperation of NCPs with the Enterprise Europe Network. Harmonised and
    improved trans-national cooperation between NCPs.
Scope: The project should:
   Aim to facilitate trans-national co-operation between National Contact Points (NCPs)
    with a view to identifying and sharing good practices and raising the general standard of
    support to programme applicants;
   Give special attention to enhancing the competence of NCPs, including helping less
    experienced NCPs rapidly acquire the know-how built up in other countries;
   Have a good representation of experienced and less experienced NCPs and reflect the
    diversity of the areas covered under cluster 5. Countries not participating as beneficiaries
    of the action may benefit from the activities carried out by the network.
   Establish close cooperation and exploit synergies with other relevant NCP support
    structures;
   Aim to facilitate trans-cluster cooperation in the areas covered by Pillar 2, with a view to
    identifying synergies, to make possible to share good practices and tools. A close
    coordination and cooperation will be essential to achieve the objectives and impact of
    the NCPs networks.
   Include a work package to implement matchmaking activities to link up potential
    participants from widening countries with emerging consortia in the domain of Cluster 5.
    Matchmaking should take place by means of online tools, brokerage events, info days
    and bilateral meetings between project initiators and candidate participants from
    widening countries. Other matchmaking instruments may be used as appropriate. Where
    relevant, synergies should be sought with the Enterprise Europe Network to organise
    matchmaking activities in accordance with Annex IV of the NCP Minimum Standards
    and Guiding Principles;
   Built on the knowledge and tools generated by the NCP networks developed under
    Horizon 2020;
   Cover the whole duration of Horizon Europe.
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Communities and cities
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-16: Co-Funded Partnership: Driving Urban Transitions to
a sustainable future (DUT)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       37.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 37.00 million.
Type of Action         Programme Co-fund Action
Legal and financial    The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant    apply:
Agreements             Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                       Financial support provided by the participants to third parties is one of
                       the primary activities of this action to allow the partnership to achieve
                       its objectives. Therefore, the EUR 60 000 threshold provided for in
                       Article 204 (a) of the Financial Regulation No 2018/1046 does not
                       apply.
Total indicative       The total indicative budget for this co-funded Partnership is EUR 130
budget                 million, committed in annual instalments over multiple year (EUR
                       18.5 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 18.5 million from the
                       2022 budget).
Expected Outcome: To enable the EU to achieve targets set out by the EU Green Deal and
fulfil its commitments related to the UN Agenda 2030 for sustainability, the Urban Agenda
for the EU, the Habitat III New Urban Agenda and the Paris Agreement, European cities need
to engage in sustainability and climate-neutrality transitions.
The partnership is expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Enhanced multi-level cooperation and alignment on R&I on sustainable urban
      development across and within cities, regions and countries, including international
      outreach and cooperation with other networks and initiatives.
   Strengthen Europe as a role model for R&I on sustainable urban development.
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    Innovative, cross-sectoral and inclusive governance, policy and decision-making
      harnessing the full potential of social science and citizens’ engagement in city making
      process.
    Sustainable, safe, resilient, socially inclusive, liveable and attractive neighbourhoods,
      towns and cities with reduced environmental footprint and enhanced well-being and
      quality of life for citizens.
    Local authorities, municipalities, business, social partners, civil society, knowledge
      institutions and citizens empowered with necessary knowledge, skills and tools to
      actively engage in sustainability and climate-neutrality transitions.
    Cities fully empowered to play their critical role in providing solutions to global
      challenges thanks to enhanced technological, institutional, digital, nature-based and
      social innovation capacity.
    Science and evidence based implementation of the European Green Deal, the Urban
      Agenda for the EU and other European, national, regional and local urban-relevant
      policies and strategies.
Scope: Cities are the home of complex, inter-dependent challenges related to resource
depletion, climate change impacts, environmental degradation, water, air and soil pollution,
health issues and social exclusion. Although they occupy about 3% of the Earth’s land, they
consume over 65% of the world energy, 75% of natural resource and account for more than
70% of the global CO2 emission. Today, more than 70% of EU citizens live in urban areas
and it is expected that more than two thirds of the global population will be living in cities by
2030. Cities are also the engines of the European economy generating about 85% of the EU’s
GDP and hubs of technological and social innovation. As such, they are key players in
shaping and providing solutions to these challenges and need to urgently engage in
unprecedented systemic transformational and bold transition towards sustainability and
climate neutrality.
Important gaps in knowledge, evidence, innovation, technology, data, capacity and skills, lack
of integrated approaches and deficit in applying research and innovation results to actions
exist that prevent successful implementation of such transitions. Also institutional
fragmentation, non-inclusive and non-participatory governance structures lead to a lack of
shared vision, goal and direction regarding the transition process, incoherence in policies and
strategies, uncoordinated planning and decision-making, ineffective measures and inefficient
use of resources. Public utilities and enterprises in municipal ownership are an often overseen
link between the political ambition and innovative activities on the ground supporting a
transformation.
A co-funded partnership on Urban Transitions to a sustainable future is expected to make a
considerable contribution towards filling up these gaps. By aligning, mobilising and
leveraging EU, national and regional R&I agendas, programmes, priorities, activities and
investments, including from the private sector and associating to the extent possible, the
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totality of EU Member States and Associated Countries, it should create a pan-European
critical mass and invest on challenge-driven R&I to underpin urban sustainability transitions.
It should focus as priority on critical urban sectors such as Positive Energy Districts,
accessible, connected urban mobility and urban greening and circularity, their inter-relations
and interplay with cross-sectoral issues such as governance, digitisation, resilience, land use,
infrastructures and public spaces for sustainable, liveable, inclusive and resilient cities. In
doing so, the partnership should develop holistic, integrated, systemic and cross-sectorial
approaches, foster co-creation processes involving all relevant urban stakeholders and actors
and harness the potential of social innovation and citizen’s engagement to deliver place-based
portfolios of solutions, measures and tools, facilitate their replication, upscaling, up-taking
and mainstreaming and foster market accessibility to increase the return to investments.
It should experiment and promote technological, nature-based, social, economic, cultural,
planning and governance innovation and new business and finance models.
In line with the European Commission’s political vision of leaving no one behind, the
partnership should harness the outreach potential provided by the national research and
innovation funding agencies and involve, as necessary, international cities network to
mobilise cities, including small and medium size ones, enterprises including those in
municipal ownership, stakeholders, societal actors and research institutions across Europe,
including widening countries, and empower them in designing and rolling out sustainability
and climate neutrality transitions. This way it will establish itself as a European urban R&I
platform serving the sustainability transition needs of the wide diversity and heterogeneity
among cities across Europe regarding their socio-economic, technological, institutional,
innovation and skills potential.
Major efforts should be invested in facilitating replication, upscaling and up-taking of
technologies, solutions, tools and practices and fostering accessibility to knowledge and
evidence, individual and collective behavioural changes, knowledge sharing, dialogues, peer-
learning, awareness raising, communities and capacity building and skills enhancement to
enable urban actors, practitioners, society and citizens to become drivers for transformative
transitions towards urban sustainability.
Emphasis should be given to place-based approaches and experimentation capitalizing on
citizens’ engagement, social innovation, user-led and citizen science, for shared ownership of
human-centred and just solutions and transitions pathways that are tailored to local
specificities.
The European Partnership for ‘Driving Urban Tradition to Sustainable Future’ is expected to
present a joint programme of activities implemented through a series of joint calls for research
and innovation projects and a comprehensive management and implementation plan
promoting coordination, networking, training, demonstration and dissemination. Activities
could potentially be structured along the following building blocks:
    Implementing joint calls for challenge-driven R&I;
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   Setting-up of a multi-stakeholder community of practice to facilitate science-policy-
      business-society dialogues and sharing of experiences;
   Pursuing communication and dissemination measures to make R&I results accessible for
      all stakeholder groups;
   Preparation of methodologies, guidelines, references and tools for replication and
      mainstreaming of good “practice”;
   Clustering of projects and synthesising of R&I results;
   Setting-up a knowledge hub, organising training activities, fostering ULLs and
      experience sharing on new approaches and solutions to support capacity building among
      urban actors;
   Addressing standardisation, certification or, wherever necessary, legislative issues;
   Setting-up rigorous monitoring to assess progress towards achieving the objectives of the
      Partnership and its contribution to relevant EU policies;
To ensure coherence and complementarity of activities and leverage of knowledge and
investment possibilities, the partnership is expected to foster close collaboration and synergies
with other ongoing EU and nationally funded R&I actions, the mission on ‘Climate-neutral
and Smart Cities’ as well as other relevant Horizon Europe European Partnerships (e.g. Clean
Energy Transitions; Built environment and construction, Rescuing biodiversity, Safe and
Sustainable Food System, 2ZERO, Cooperative, Connected and Automated Mobility
(CCAM), EIT Urban Mobility and Water4All. Applicants are expected to describe in details
the way to implement such collaborations. To this end, proposals should provide for a
dedicated work package and/or task to describe the aims to be achieved through these
collaborations, the way to implement them and earmark the appropriate resources
accordingly.
Interfaces to public procurement and investment programmes and links with the Urban
Agenda for the EU, the European Urban Initiative (EUI) including its strand on Innovative
Actions under cohesion policy, private funds, etc. should be explored to support take-up and
larger scale implementation of tested approaches and solutions.
Mutually benefitting international outreach, collaboration and cooperation with global and
international cities and research funding networks should be pursued to align strategies and
research agenda and promote scientific evidence and good practice for urban policy on
international level.
Financial commitments and in-kind contributions are expected to be provided by the partners
of the consortium for the governance structure, the joint calls and other dedicated
implementation actions and efforts for national coordination.
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It is expected that the partnership will organise joint calls on an annual base from 2022-2027
and will consider ample time for the implementation of the co-funded projects.
The Commission envisages to include a new action in future work programme(s) to award a
grant to identified beneficiaries with the aim of continuing to provide support to the
partnership for the duration of Horizon Europe.
Call - Cross-sectoral solutions for the climate transition
                                                                           HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)61
                Topics                     Type         Budgets            Expected EU            Number
                                             of          (EUR        contribution per project         of
                                          Action        million)         (EUR million)62           projects
                                                                                                  expected
                                                          2022                                      to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 28 Apr 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 06 Sep 2022
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-01 IA                          10.00 63       Around 5.00                  2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-02 RIA                         10.00          Around 5.00                  2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-03 RIA                         20.00          Around 20.00                 1
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-04 IA                          15.00 64       7.00 to 8.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-05 RIA                         15.00          Around 5.00                  2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-06 RIA                         15.00          Around 5.00                  3
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-07 RIA                         15.00          Around 5.00                  3
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-08 CSA                         3.00           Around 3.00                  1
61
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
62
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
63
        Of which EUR 5.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
64
        Of which EUR 7.63 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-09 RIA                    15.00          Around 5.00               3
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-10 RIA                    15.00          Around 5.00               3
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-11 CSA                    5.00           4.00 to 5.00              1
Overall indicative budget                        138.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
A competitive and sustainable European battery value chain
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-01: Sustainable processing and refining of battery grade
graphite (Batteries Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per         5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
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Type of Action                 Innovation Actions
Admissibility                  The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                     exceptions apply:
                               The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology                     Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project
Readiness Level                – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial            The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant            exceptions apply:
Agreements                     The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                               applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                               for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                               the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: For graphite, both natural and synthetic graphite production for the EV
market take place almost exclusively in China. Although there is some existing mining of
Natural graphite in Europe, scaling these sources for the active anode material needs within
Europe will be very challenging as (i) extensive graphite exploration and mining would be
needed65, and (ii) almost all of the refining capacity is based in China. The main challenges in
refining are low yield in the spheronisation and the use of large amounts of hydrofluoric acid
in the refining step.
For synthetic graphite, by-products of oil distillation are used as the starting point, followed
by calcining, milling, shaping and graphitisation. This process produces high quality anode
graphite (enabling long lifetimes and fast charging) but is energy intensive and causes
environmental emissions (CO2, PAH). Opportunities to overcome all these problems exist
already in Europe but need further development and investment to reach the required scale.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes on either
natural or synthetic graphite production respectively:
    Decreased dependency of Europe on imported battery grade graphite and decreased risk
      in European Battery supply chains.
    Graphite (both natural and synthetic) competitively produced and refined in Europe in a
      sustainable and socially acceptable way improving the competitiveness of European
      batteries.
    Graphite leveraging the potential for fast charging of batteries, one of the key factors for
      the user acceptance of electric vehicles.
    Reduced carbon and environmental emissions from the anode material supply chain.
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         Natural      graphite    has    been     included     in    the     Critical    Raw Materials list,
         https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/raw-materials/specific-interest/critical_en
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   Projects should contribute to European Raw Materials Alliance objectives.
The Synthetic graphite projects are expected to focus additionally on:
   System prototype demonstration of battery grade anode graphite material with high
    energy density, long lifetime and quality enabling fast charging, produced with increased
    yield and lower environmental footprint.
   As a longer-term option, biocarbon alternatives to petroleum coke are expected to be
    developed to ensure long term sustainable supply.
The Natural graphite projects are expected to focus additionally on:
   Advanced refining of Natural graphite to improve the yield of battery grade products and
    lower the environmental footprint.
Scope:
   Enabling European graphite production – with vertical integration into the European
    battery production. Resource efficient sustainable production of both synthetic and
    natural graphite emphasising reduction of energy consumption, CO2 emissions, chemical
    use and the optimisation of recovery yield and raw material consumption. Enhance
    versatility regarding products and usable primary/secondary raw materials.
   Development of solutions for combined use of natural and synthetic graphite.
   For natural graphite: improving purification, milling, shaping and coating technologies
    that improve the performance characteristics of natural graphite.
   Improving the yield of spheronised products from natural graphite concentrate.
   Development of a non-HF purification technology to produce battery-grade anode
    material from spheronised natural graphite.
   Developing improved coating technologies for natural graphite that will increase the
    performance characteristics of natural compared to synthetic.
   For synthetic graphite: Improving graphitisation, calcining, milling, shaping and coating
    that improve the performance characteristics of synthetic graphite.
   The use of other available European carbon options like biobased anode carbon and by-
    products from anode material production as raw materials for synthetic graphite are
    expected to be developed.
   Development of new processes for synthetic graphite production from natural gas
    pyrolysis.
   Reduction of process discharge and emissions in synthetic graphite production.
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This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards a competitive
European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility’.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-02: Interface and electron monitoring for the engineering
of new and emerging battery technologies (Batteries Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 3-4 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: State-of-the-art in experimental and computational techniques for
characterisation of battery materials and interfaces are targeting the scale of the atoms and
ions. There is still a lack of understanding hampering the engineering of new and emerging
battery technologies,, due to the complexity of interface formation and evolution as a function
of time, temperature, battery cycling conditions and chemical composition of the electrolytes
consisting of different salts, additives and liquid solvents and/or solid components,. Going
into more depth, at process level, the time and the length scale of the electron transfer
reactions remain almost completely underexplored.
Pushing the frontiers of present in situ analytical techniques is a must to more efficiently
pursue research on sustainable materials and to develop greener Li-ion as well as future
battery chemistries. Improvements in analytical techniques that would allow to follow the
movement of interfacial reactions at the molecular scale all the way to the role of electrons at
the nanoscale and sub-nanoscale, at relevant timescales and on relevant systems and
interfaces, will have great impact beyond the sole battery field and would benefit to the
electrochemistry field as a whole, including electrocatalysis and others. It will contribute to
open up a new era for the study of transport at interfaces, which remains one of the greatest
challenges of research for any electrochemist. For researchers exploring new storage concepts
and engineering new interfaces, it will also provide insight into how to control the movement
and redox processes of atoms. It can lead to an increased control of the electronic wiring of
electrodes and a deeper understanding of the redistribution of electronic charge during redox
processes.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   New methods for studying electrode/electrolyte interfaces for liquid-based electrolytes
      and batteries and for studying solid-state and buried interfaces.
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   Models for explaining the degradation of battery interfaces.
   Deeper understanding of the formation and evolution of battery interfaces, leading to
      new insights on how to increase the lifetime and safety of new and emerging battery
      technologies, and therefore contributing to the long-term competitiveness of the
      European battery industry.
Scope: This topic should support the development of novel experimental and computational
techniques targeting the time and length scales of interface reactions in a battery cell
including electron and ion localisation, mobility and transfer reactions.
This targets the development of novel analytical techniques, supported by modelling and
simulation, able to follow interface, electron and ion dynamics in battery materials and battery
cells, and carefully selecting controlled model systems to implement those novel techniques.
Examples of experimental tools include operando Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM),
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR), operando ambient pressure photoelectron
spectroscopy techniques, operando X-ray scattering techniques, NMR, soft X-ray
spectroscopy with RIXS, neutron spectroscopy, ultra-fast spectroscopic methods as well as
Free Electron Laser (FEL) facilities. Other synchrotron and neutron scattering and ion-beam
techniques leading to development of new understanding of interfaces can also to be
suggested and implemented. The goal is to give advice and new insights on how to increase
the life time and safety of new emerging technologies.
Building upon the BATTERY 2030+: this call topic addresses the need of increasing the
fundamental understanding of processes in batteries at a level that will accelerate the
development of more stable chemistries adapted for their specific purpose. The proposal
should also cover the contribution and collaboration to the BATTERY 2030+ large scale
initiative.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards a competitive
European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility’.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-03: Furthering the development of a materials acceleration
platform for sustainable batteries (combining AI, big data, autonomous synthesis
robotics, high throughput testing) (Batteries Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       20.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
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Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 3-4 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Batteries have complex and dynamic processes taking place in and
between materials and at the interfaces/interphases within a battery cell. For each new battery
chemistry explored, new challenges in understanding these processes are revealed. To
accelerate the finding of new material’s and their combinations for both existing and future
battery chemistries the iterative and fragmented trial and error approach used today needs to
be replaced since it is slow and insufficient.
To accelerate the discovery of battery interfaces, materials and new sustainable concepts with
high energy and/or power performance there is a need to develop a fully autonomous and
chemistry neutral Materials Acceleration Platform (MAP) for battery materials and interfaces.
This is a key and long-term challenge for European battery community. The aim is to
integrate advanced multi-scale computational modelling, materials synthesis, characterisation
and testing to perform closed-loop autonomous materials findings and interphase engineering
that would accelerate by at least a factor of five the discovery of new battery chemistries with
ultra-high performances.
Building upon the shared data infrastructure, standards and protocols developed in the
BATTERY 2030+ initiative, this call topic addresses the need of increasing the level of
autonomy in the MAP-based discovery and development process. The proposal should also
cover the contribution and collaboration to the BATTERY 2030+ large scale initiative.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes
   Develop new tools and methods for significantly accelerating the development and
      optimisation of battery materials and interfaces, in order to increase the competitiveness
      of the battery material and cell industry in Europe.
   Demonstrate a fully autonomous battery-MAP capable of integrating computational
      modelling, materials synthesis and characterisation of both Li-ion and beyond Li-ion
      chemistries.
   Scale-bridging, multi-scale battery interface models capable of integrating data from
      embedded sensors in the discovery and prediction process, e.g. to orchestrate proactive
      self-healing.
   Community wide state-of-the-art collaborative environment to access data and utilise
      automated workflows for integrated simulations and experiments on heterogeneous sites,
      e.g., exploiting European HPC architectures and Large-scale facilities in collaboration
      with LENS and LEAPS.
   Demonstrate a robotic system that is capable of material synthesis for inorganic, organic
      or hybrid compounds following standard synthesis routes via automated characterisation
      of intermediate and final products and autonomous decision-making.
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    Deploy predictive hybrid physics- and data-driven models for the spatio-temporal
     evolution of battery interfaces and demonstrate inverse design of a battery
     material/interface.
Scope:
    Infrastructure tools for secure remote data access, data analysis and predictive
     modelling: Develop a FAIR66 data infrastructure for raw and curated experimental and
     modelling data, which can be accessed remotely and securely by relevant stakeholders,
     including industry. Develop the software infrastructure required to operate this platform,
     also with regard to future reproducibility and further exploitation of the results of the
     research activities. The software should provide specific access right and allow remote
     data access, complemented by distributed workflows using software-agnostic workflow
     engines that provide rapid-prototyping. Inverse materials design using hybrid physics-
     and data-driven battery interface genome models should also be demonstrated.
    Automated high throughput characterisation and integrated experimental and
     computational workflows: High throughput, multimodal operando experimental
     techniques using standardised battery cells and established protocols should be optimised
     to perform effective screening of new materials and on-line diagnosis of realistic
     devices. A central objective is to establish, structure, operate and dynamically refine
     such facility platform to harmonise, mutualise and optimise the global demand for
     battery characterisation. This includes automated experimental and computational
     workflows and modules for data acquisition and multimodal/multiscale analysis.
     Particular attention should be paid to battery interfaces and direct observation of
     interfaces under dynamic conditions, which are key to improve the performances and the
     lifetime of batteries.
    Autonomous synthesis robotics and orchestration software: The transition from low/no
     automated robotics for the synthesis of battery materials requires several R&I steps
     towards fully autonomous systems. Within the scope of this proposed call are partially
     autonomous systems following standard synthesis routes for inorganic and organic
     battery materials, especially also multi-step and high-temperature synthesis, that so far
     are challenging to automate for high throughput. AI-based orchestration and
     optimisation software modules and packages specifically targeting battery materials and
     interfaces are also central to the scope.
    Inverse design and AI-assisted scale-bridging models for multiple time- and length-scale
     processes: To develop scale-bridging models correctly describing the multiple
     mechanisms occurring at atomistic scale and the mesoscopic scale on the cell level. The
     new model approaches should be able to incorporate data from the advanced sensing in
     virtual design optimisation and battery control algorithms for SoX estimation. Sensitivity
     analysis and uncertainty quantification of the developed SoX models is also a
     requirement to assess the robustness of the developed models. These models should
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        FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable)
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     achieve a challenge based rational balance of accuracy and computational effort. They
     should accurately describe the actual state of the system, but also enable diagnosis and
     prediction, e.g., when self-healing procedures should be initiated. Multiscale Modelling
     approaches should be developed for the control of safety between BOL (Beginning Of
     Life) and EOL (End of Life) of a battery system by different uses and diagnosing the
     safety state of a battery system by innovative methods.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards a competitive
European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility’.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-04: Towards creating an integrated manufacturing value
chain in Europe: from machinery development to plant and site integrated design
(Batteries Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          7.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Admissibility             The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6 (for machinery
Readiness Level           development) and TRL 7 (integration of manufacturing plant supply
                          chain) by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                          applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                          for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                          the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Strengthening Europe’s battery cell industrial manufacturing value chain by building-up
     its Giga scale manufacturing capabilities distributed in the member states territories.
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    Development of new battery cell manufacturing machinery, with priority on minimising
      energy needed for cells production, enhancement of plant efficiency rates and integration
      of intelligent control processes to minimise scrap.
    Enabling deeper collaboration between (i) battery process equipment companies (ii)
      industrial-scale cell manufacturing, (iii) material, energy and other supply chain sectors
      benefitting from sector coupling.
    To stimulate and intensify the collaboration between pilot line operators, industrial-scale
      academia, cell manufacturing companies and European equipment companies to push
      innovations with regard to an economically and ecologically sustainable cell production
      in Europe.
Scope: In order to build globally competitive Li ion battery (LIB) cell production plants in
Europe, all the production value chain from machinery to plant and site development and
optimisation is expected to be considered holistically, from machinery development to plant
and site integration and optimisation. This topic intents to cover both areas.
In recent years Europe has developed strong competences in Li ion battery technology with
regard to academic research, material development and Battery system design. However,
there is still a lack of knowledge and competence regarding the economically and ecologically
production of LIB cells in both high volumes in Giga-factories or in much smaller batches for
specialised applications as developed in Mega-factories. From this perspective, the scope of
this topic is two-fold:
    From one side, to be able to supply machinery which is developed and built locally,
      Europe has to develop a leading position in the production of resource efficient,
      intelligent electrode and cell manufacturing machinery.
In the development of such battery manufacturing machinery, important aspects for success
include: minimising energy consumption, eliminating air and water pollution and integration
of intelligent control processes to minimise scrap thus reducing costs and environmental
impact of the production process. In addition, such machinery is expected to operate at very
high productivity levels with incorporate intelligent quality control systems. Moreover,
strategies of industry 4.0 should be intensively integrated in new European cell production
plants to yield economic success.
Activities under this topics would cover from TRL 3 (start) to TRL 6 (target).
    From the other side, battery cell production as a whole is currently confronted with
      enormous cost pressure. One major factor in the cost structure of European Giga-scale
      battery cell production is related to highly energy consuming manufacturing processes.
      A significant reduction and/or utilisation of low-carbon and low-emission energies
      would not only bring economic benefits, but would also provide clear advantages in
      terms of the ecological footprint. For sustainable success, the horizontal integration of
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     the European supply chain for battery process equipment into the growing production of
     giga-scale battery cells is a major challenge.
Activities under this topic would cover from TRL 6 (today) to TRL 7 (target).
Hence, this topic aims at closing a gap and enabling deeper collaboration between industrial-
scale cell manufacturing, battery process equipment companies, and material and other
industrial sectors potentially benefitting from sector coupling with cell manufacturing (e.g.
grid power or material suppliers).
Therefore, existing cell production lines and their material and energy flow internally and
externally interaction with other companies at the site should be investigated and evaluated.
Based on this, the network should investigate the ecological impact of different machinery,
production line configurations and factory designs to come to best practice proposals. Another
challenge is to implement ecological standards along the production chain together with
material suppliers and factory operators.
One additional target to achieve these goals is to stimulate and intensify the collaboration
between pilot line operators (e.g. which should be organised within the LiPLANET network),
industrial-scale academia, cell manufacturing companies and European equipment companies
to push innovations with regard to an economically and ecologically sustainable cell
production in Europe. This includes the support from running activities including for example
IPCEI's on batteries.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards a competitive
European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility’.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-05: Next generation technologies for High-performance
and safe-by-design battery systems for transport and mobile applications (Batteries
Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
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   Next-generation battery system technologies for electrification of a broad range of
      transport and mobile applications (including road, waterborne, airborne, and rail
      transport, as well as non-road mobile machinery).
   Demonstrating increased performances (energy density, power density, lifetime) and
      safety of battery systems, to improve the competitiveness of the European battery
      industry in the transport market.
   Novel design and process to reduce manufacturing, refurbishment, dismantling and
      recycling costs of battery systems.
Scope: Batteries are key for a climate neutral transport sector, which represents around 25%
of the total CO2 emissions in the EU. The electrification of transport and mobile applications
require high-performance and safe battery systems. In particular, fire is a critical safety risk
for several transport modes.
Projects are expected to develop innovative battery systems technologies that will benefit
several transport and mobile applications, by significantly improving performances and
safety, as well as environmental sustainability and cost.
In order to leverage the full potential of the research ongoing in Europe at the battery material
and cell levels, projects should consider the adaptation of battery system design to novel cell
chemistries that will reach the market in the short-to-medium term (e.g., advanced lithium-ion
or solid-state cells). Enhancing the cell-on-system volume ratio and/or weight ratio will
increase the energy density and/or power density at the battery system level. More generally,
projects should consider new technologies (battery system materials, mechanical design,
electrical architectures, thermal management strategies, etc.) for enhancing performances and
safety (for example, novel lightweight materials with optimum thermal characteristics to
decrease battery module and pack weight and simultaneously enhancing safety; new dielectric
cooling liquids with enhanced fire-retardant properties; etc.).
Manufacturability and recyclability should be explicitly addressed, in order to reduce the
manufacturing, refurbishment, dismantling and recycling costs as well as the carbon footprint
of the new battery systems.
Furthermore, the projects are expected to develop and assess methodologies to ensure the
safety throughout the full battery lifetime.
The projects should focus on the battery system level, i.e., on the integration of battery cells
into a battery system (e.g., a battery pack), considering mechanical, electrical and thermal
aspects.
The integration of battery systems into larger systems of application (e.g., into vehicles) is out
of scope for this topic, but obviously projects are expected to provide for requirements of the
chosen use cases.
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Project outcomes should be applicable to one or several use cases among the main transport or
mobiles applications (such as road, waterborne, airborne and rail transport, as well as non-
road mobile machinery and industrial applications), with the aim to maximise the impact on
the European industry and on CO2 emission reduction. Projects may consider the key
performance indicators proposed by Batteries Europe or by the dedicated Partnerships,
reflected in the Partnership Strategic Research Agenda (SRA), to guide the technology
developments on the application segments and use cases that will be selected. Some of the
project results can also be relevant for stationary energy storage applications.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards a competitive
European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility’.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-06: Embedding smart functionalities into battery cells
(embedding sensing and self-healing functionalities to monitor and self-repair battery
cells) (Batteries Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 2-4 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Batteries are operating in different conditions and although preventive
approach during battery operation is a must, we need to develop curative functionalities which
would enable battery operation in different non-ideal conditions while being transparent
through the nasty chemical environment of the cell. Smart functionalities with sensing
developed to detect irreversible reactions and self-healing functionalities designed to repair
damage occurred within the cell, Europe can develop cells with much higher quality, better
reliability and longer cycle life. This call is building on the long-term research roadmap of
BATTERY 2030+. The proposal should also cover the contribution and collaboration to the
BATTERY 2030+ large scale initiative.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Increased quality, reliability and life (QRL) of the battery system by integrating both
      sensing and self-healing functionalities at the battery cell level.
   Disruptive battery cell and battery management system technologies, to support a
      competitive and sustainable battery manufacturing industry in Europe.
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Scope: The target of this call is to embed sensors and self-healing functionalities into single
battery cell, with sensors being capable to detect defective operation and trigger self-repairing
functionalities via the Battery Management System (BMS).
Proposal should aim at a combined approach with the development of sensors capable of
continuous, long term operation within the cell and on the development of self-healing
functionalities which can be triggered by external stimulus. Sensors and self-healing
functionalities need to be adapted to detection of the critical degradation processes during cell
electrochemical or chemical ageing. Different battery chemistries can be addressed with a
focus on most critical degradation processes.
Proof of concept of coupling sensors and self-healing agents via BMS should be
demonstrated. Clear benefit of embedding smart functionalities into battery cells should be
demonstrated and approach needs to be adaptable to battery cells mass production processes
and not hinder subsequent recycling process. Estimation of QRL over the life span should be
assessed and the competitive advantage over alternative approaches like replacement or
recycling or second-use should be demonstrated.
Building upon the BATTERY 2030+ roadmap, this call topic addresses the need to develop
new sensors and self-healing functionalities which can give the batteries of the future
increased life-time, efficient re-use and better commercial success. The benefit of these
innovation on the global battery safety should be demonstrated. The proposal should also
cover the contribution and collaboration to the BATTERY 2030+ large scale initiative.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards a competitive
European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility’.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-07: Digitalisation of battery testing, from cell to system
level, including lifetime assessment (Batteries Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-6 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
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    Competitiveness of the European battery industry across the value chain (from cell
      manufacturers to cell integrators);
    Shorter time-to-market;
    Reduced time and/or cost of battery development by at least 20% to 30%;
    Improved battery design, for longer lifetime, and better reliability and safety;
    Reduced investment and operational costs of battery systems.
Scope: The current way of developing batteries is mainly based on trial-and-error processes,
which are time consuming, costly, and do not always lead to the best product design. It is
particularly the case when it comes to testing batteries to assess their performance, lifetime,
reliability and safety. Existing methods and tools lead to high costs, because of long test
durations, and/or the high number of required test samples, and/or the use of costly test
infrastructures. There is a significant room for improvement, by relying on digital methods
and tools to minimise the use of standard trial-and-error processes. Digitalisation of battery
testing will lead to an acceleration of the battery development time, a higher quality of the
battery assessment (better evaluation of battery performances, lifetime, reliability and safety),
and an improvement of the battery design itself (by better adapting the design to the
application requirements and production capabilities) and a better estimation lifetime (by
better modelling of battery ageing). Improvement in battery testing will result in major cost
savings, in particular in the development phase (test before invest).
Projects are expected to provide novel methods and tools to accelerate and improve the
battery testing process. A multi-scale approach should be used, by covering the value chain
from battery cells to battery systems (here, a battery system refers to an energy storage unit
integrating battery cells, excluding power converters). Projects should propose and validate a
new paradigm based on intelligent design of experiment (to avoid duplicated experiments, or
experiments that give low-quality information), the smart combination of physical and virtual
testing, hardware in the loop solutions, and the development and use of advanced models
describing battery cells and systems (physics-based models, data-driven models, or hybrid
models) and the relevant expected evolution in multiple different conditions of usage. In turn,
this requires full documentation of new modules, models or tools developed from scratch or
substantially improved. Particular attention should be paid to the assessment of battery
lifetime, reliability and safety, including the development of innovative methods for testing of
safety in transport and safety in usage, based on representativeness of the method for the
various potential failures (failure initiation, propagation control, mitigation means,
etc…).Projects should have an ambition for cross-sectorial applications, and should focus on
battery chemistries currently on the market or that will reach the market in the short term (i.e.,
advanced lithium-ion chemistries), with the potential to quickly adapt to next-generation
battery chemistries (i.e., solid-state lithium-based chemistries).
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards a competitive
European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility’.
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HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-08: Coordination of large-scale initiative on future battery
technologies (Batteries Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Fostering the scientific, technological, economic and societal impact of the initiative and
      paving the way to industrial exploitation of future battery technologies in key energy and
      transport application domains.
   Well-coordinated European research initiative on future battery technologies gathering
      excellent scientists and innovators as well as involving other relevant stakeholders and
      linked with relevant international, national and regional programmes.
   Spreading of excellence in future battery technologies across Europe, increased
      awareness of European activities and availability of European curricula in the field.
   Increased synergies and collaboration between the relevant research and innovation
      stakeholders in Europe as well as with major initiatives that already exist or are under
      preparation.
Scope: This call topic aim to network and coordinate the BATTERY 2030+ large scale
research initiative on Future Battery Technologies and its contribution to the broader efforts
of the European research and innovation stakeholders in battery technologies foreseen at
European level and in the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan and to tackle long-term
research challenges expected to result in 'game changing' impacts on future battery
technologies paving the way for providing a technological competitive advantage to the
European battery industry. Because of their ambition, their scale and their interdisciplinary
nature, these challenges can only be realised through a long-term, coordinated and sustained
effort at European level, by building on large scale research cooperation across academia and
industry and with other research initiatives at regional, national and European level, and by
mobilising Europe's best researchers around an ambitious long-term research agenda.
Proposals are expected to coordinate the research activities and the stakeholders participating
in the initiative; to facilitate communication, dialogue and cooperation on crosscutting topics;
to monitor the initiative's progress and maintain its roadmap; to provide support for its
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governance; to establish a robust and reliable knowledge base including key methodologies
and established results; to promote and communicate the objectives of the initiative and its
achievements, including by ensuring media presence and public visibility, by engaging with
industry and society and by participating or organising outreach events; to identify training
and education needs and promote European curricula in future battery technologies. In
particular, proposals should identify and coordinate relevant efforts for modelling and data
sharing, standardisation, intellectual property rights in cooperation with other relevant
initiatives at European level. They should also help networking and collaboration with other
relevant national and international activities in the field. They should cooperate with Batteries
Europe, the ETIP on battery announced in the EU Strategic Action Plan on Batteries.
It is expected that such an activity is driven by representatives of the relevant actors of the
field (e.g., from academia, RTOs and industry).
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards a competitive
European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility’.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-09: Physics and data-based battery management for
optimised battery utilisation (Batteries Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    New physics and data-based approaches for battery management, with the potential to
      enhance performances, lifetime, reliability and safety of battery systems for transport
      and stationary applications.
    New physics and data-based approaches for battery management facilitating predictive
      maintenance, and/or knowledge-driven end-of-life management of battery systems,
      and/or the development of more accurate degradation models.
Scope: Battery management plays an essential role by ensuring an efficient and safe battery
operation. However, current battery management systems (BMS) typically rely on semi-
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empirical battery models (such as equivalent-circuit models) and on a limited amount of
measured data. Consequently, there is currently a lack of knowledge about the overall state of
the battery in operation, resulting in suboptimal utilisation.
Projects are expected to substantially advance the state of the art in the field of battery
management, by developing innovative physics and data-based approaches, both at the
software and hardware levels to ensure an optimised and safe utilisation of the battery system
during all modes of operation.
Projects should pave the way towards next-generation BMS, which will leverage on an
increased computational capability enabling the execution of advanced software, and on the
ability to acquire, communicate and analyse large amount of data. Those next-generation
BMS will lead to significantly enhanced performances, lifetime, reliability and safety of the
battery system, by a dynamic update of battery usage limitations and the possibility to widen
the battery operating range in a controlled manner. Moreover, they will provide open access
to an increased amount of FAIR67 data (which can possibly be processed offline), enabling the
development of effective degradation models (thus reducing the investments costs of storage
systems by mean of improved sizing during the design phase), and facilitating predictive
maintenance and end-of-life management.
Projects are expected to develop technologies at both the software and hardware levels, with a
validation through a lab-scale prototype at TRL 4. Several of the following items should be
addressed: the development and implementation of physics-based battery models (e.g., ageing
phenomena models); adaptable battery models (e.g., based on operation data); sensor-based
solutions at the battery system level (e.g., with respect to sensor integration, communication
with the battery management, data fusion, data analysis); advanced state estimators (e.g., state
of health, state of function, state of energy, state of power, state of safety); methods for the
prognosis of remaining useful lifetime and ageing; methods for the early detection or
prediction of failures; solutions for the management of special situations (e.g., unbalanced or
dysfunctional cells). Project results should be applicable to a broad range of transport or
stationary applications.
 The selected projects are invited to participate to BRIDGE 68 activities when considered
relevant.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards a competitive
European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility’.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-10: Streamlined collection and reversed logistics, fully
automated, safe and cost-efficient sorting, dismantling and second use before recycling
(Batteries Partnership)
Specific conditions
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        FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable)
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Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Achieving the objectives of the Circular Economy Action Plan by enabling second life
     of batteries and increasing rates for recycling and recovery, in line with upcoming
     regulatory requirements.
   Revolutionize and re-freshen recycling industry, by applying best-in-world innovations
     based on automatisation, efficiency and sustainability.
   Create new circular business models, such as second life, to reduce the need for primary
     raw materials, and to maximize the use of battery cells reducing the cost per cycle.
   Develop a community for actors involved in the management of the recycling value
     chain for batteries (including second life) for sharing best practices (health and safety,
     transport, dismantling, refurbishing, recycling).
   Improve safety, through automatisation and reducing accidents.
Scope: Today the amount of end-of-life (EoL) batteries from e-mobility and stationary
applications is still limited. Moreover, EoL batteries are not standardised (form, chemical
composition, etc.) and consequently, their management and recycling are mainly based on
manual process. This increases risk of accidents as the integrity of the batteries / cells is no
longer guaranteed.
Within next several years, the amount of EoL batteries will surge, transforming the recycling
and battery value chain in general. It is important to develop efficient recycling chain and
processes able to meet these upcoming amounts of diversified waste streams. A general
approach to recycling should thus be reconsidered and new sustainable recycling chain for
batteries should be established, in terms of introducing novel approaches to products,
processes and keeping in mind their socio-economic viability and environmental impact.
It will require new upscaleable techniques and concepts for collection, logistics, and
automatisation in sorting, dismantling and second use before recycling.
Proposals are expected to cover all aspects below:
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   Development of standardized common diagnostics protocols and cut-off criteria between
     product (2nd life application) and waste (recycling).
   Elaborate critical stage of diagnosis of batteries as a waste-prevention measure in order
     to define which batteries or components of batteries are still considered fit for a second
     life application.
   Automate the dismantling of E-mobility and stationary batteries, reducing costs by
     avoiding manual work and improving sorting of parts for their replacement or
     preparation for recycling allowing the selective extraction of materials including the
     cathode and anode materials which for certain Li-chemistries lead to a higher value
     creation for the downstream recyclers.
   Development of novel safe dismantling processes and safety procedures along all steps
     of EoL management chain with focus on battery burning process (thermal runaway),
     identification of Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) and Lower Explosive Limits (LEL).
   Development of technologies preventing or reducing thermal runaway during
     transportation, storage and dismantling of batteries.
   Design and demonstration of standardized and cost-efficient storage and transportation
     containers with visual and thermal load monitoring systems and, if necessary, inert
     atmosphere or other measures reducing risk of fire or thermal runaway.
   Development of technologies for fast and efficient discharge of used batteries, connected
     with energy recovery, possibly integrated with SoH diagnostic equipment, with flexible
     connectivity and adjustable to various kinds of batteries.
   Development of standardized battery labelling system enabling all interested parties to
     automatically obtain necessary data on each battery. Potential integration of labelling
     system with battery passport database project and with labelling systems from other
     regions of the world (e.g. China). Identification of necessary data that should be included
     into labelling and battery passport projects.
   Research on batteries sorting and dismantling technologies, particularly automated
     sorting including machine learning applicable to small and EV batteries.
   Identify all potential risks and develop safe processes and safety procedures to reduce
     accidents.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards a competitive
European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility’.
Communities and cities
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-11: CIVITAS 2030 – Coordination and support for EU
funded urban mobility innovation
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       4.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
   Increasing the extent and speed of the take up of innovative, replicable urban mobility
     solutions in Europe, targeting responsible authorities and other stakeholders, in order to
     contribute to the priorities of the European Green Deal, which stresses that ‘’transport
     should become drastically less polluting, especially in cities. A combination of measures
     should address emissions, urban congestion, and improved public transport’’:
         Develop, and put in place a communication, dissemination and promotion strategy
           that will clearly distinguish the identity of the CIVITAS initiative amongst other
           European city initiatives.
         Provide a common communication and dissemination framework for CIVITAS
           urban mobility projects and their living labs, but also other projects that express
           interest in receiving CIVITAS support (referred to from now on as ‘the projects’),
           including providing a common corporate identity and producing a monthly
           newsletter that includes project results as well as wider developments in the field of
           sustainable urban mobility.
         Provide a common realistic and user-friendly evaluation framework with dedicated
           support for its implementation.
         Reach out to national transport press correspondents and relevant European media,
           the Horizon project community and a wider European and international audience of
           cities and professionals with the aim of increasing the visibility of the network and
           urban mobility projects.
   Monitor results and implementation activities in the projects and provide the European
     Commission with a bi-annual report.
         Facilitating exchanges among the projects and the European Commission with the
           aim of disseminating project key milestones and results.
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 Organising capacity building, replication and twinning sessions and three site visits
  per year, based on latest results and best practices from the projects, to support the
  take up of innovative urban mobility solutions.
 Organise a CIVITAS Forum once per year to share results and best practice from
  the projects.
 Collaborate on the organisation of the Urban Mobility Days (flagship conference on
  innovative, clean and integrated urban mobility
 Collaborate on the organisation of the Urban Mobility Days (flagship conference on
  innovative, clean and integrated urban mobility and transport).
 Disseminate project results as well as wider developments in the field of
  sustainable urban mobility, European media outlets, of cities and professionals.
 Assess the CIVITAS newsletter database and increase it by 20% every year.
 Offer the projects’ liaison activities, collaboration and synergy building with the
  different urban mobility communities and initiatives at European level, such as the
  ELTIS, EIP SCC, Driving Urban Transitions Partnership, EIT Urban Mobility and
  the Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission.
 Maintaining, optimising and promoting the CIVITAS website through usability
  tests, and improving its functionality, to ensure that it remains the main platform for
  the dissemination of relevant European urban mobility innovation results increasing
  the minimum of unique visitors with 20% every year.
 Increase the CIVITAS twitter followers by 20% every year. Provide a strategy for
  social media engagement.
 In collaboration with European Commission services, prepare two policy papers per
  year on innovative solutions, good practices, and their replication, putting in place
  three ad-hoc Thematic Groups (based on the thematic areas of CIVITAS) to
  analyse developments and prepare recommendations.
 Organise minimum two meetings per year of the CIVITAS Policy Advisory
  Committee, with one policy paper issued per year, to facilitate a continued dialogue
  between mayors, businesses and civil society.
 Prepare policy recommendations and key learnings addressed to cities, Member
  States/Associated Countries and the European Commission based on latest
  technological and planning trends, research and innovation as well as results from
  ongoing projects.
 Updating, promoting and enlarging the CIVITAS cities network, with at least 20
  new European cities added per year.
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         Providing support and funding to existing CIVINETS, maintaining the secretariat
            for the CIVITAS initiative, and actively engaging with local, regional or national
            stakeholders, aiming to overcome language and other barriers.
Scope: Together with initiatives of ELTIS and the European Mobility Week, CIVITAS is part
of the EU policy on urban mobility as a key flagship encouraging innovation at local level.
Since 2002 it acts as an open platform that facilitates research, the uptake of innovative
solutions, the validation of research results, the exchange of knowledge and best practices,
and common learning in the area of urban mobility and transport. The project selected under
this topic will help to ensure the long-term support for the CIVITAS projects offering
governance, and an organisational and logistical framework that guarantees the wide
dissemination and take up of urban mobility project results.
Proposals should aim at focusing activities on communication and event organisation and
coordination of living lab activities continuing and enhancing the operation of the platform, to
facilitate the continued coordination and knowledge exchange between the urban mobility
projects that have been, or that will be funded under the CIVITAS initiative (not exclusive).
These projects will deliver solutions that help achieve climate neutrality in cities, covering
both personal mobility and goods/urban logistics using all transport modes.
Proposals should aim at putting in place a common communication and dissemination
strategy to maximise the impact of the CIVITAS initiative. Proposals should ensure the
monitoring of activities, events and results of the urban mobility projects and communicate
about their progress and achievements. Applicants should also review the common ‘CIVITAS
Process and Impact Evaluation Framework’ and ensure the continuity of the CIVINETs. They
should ensure continuity and provide a smooth transition from the previous Coordination and
Support Action, CIVITAS ELEVATE.
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Destination – Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply
This Destination includes activities targeting a sustainable, secure and competitive energy
supply. In line with the scope of cluster 5, this includes activities in the areas of renewable
energy; energy system, grids and storage; as well as Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage
(CCUS).
The transition of the energy system will rely on reducing the overall energy demand and
making the energy supply side climate neutral. R&I actions will help to make the energy
supply side cleaner, more secure, and competitive by boosting cost performance and
reliability of a broad portfolio of renewable energy solutions, in line with societal needs and
preferences. Furthermore, R&I activities will underpin the modernisation of the energy
networks to support energy system integration, including the progressive electrification of
demand side sectors (buildings, mobility, industry) and integration of other climate neutral,
renewable energy carriers, such as clean hydrogen. Innovative energy storage solutions
(including chemical, mechanical, electrical and thermal storage) are a key element of such
energy system and R&I actions will advance their technological readiness for industrial-scale
and domestic applications. Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) is a CO2
emission abatement option that holds great potential and R&I actions will accelerate the
development of CCUS in electricity generation and industry applications.
This Destination contributes to the following Strategic Plan’s Key Strategic Orientations
(KSO):
    C: Making Europe the first digitally enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable
      economy through the transformation of its mobility, energy, construction and production
      systems;
    A: Promoting an open strategic autonomy69 by leading the development of key digital,
      enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains to accelerate and steer
      the digital and green transitions through human-centred technologies and innovations;
It covers the following impact areas:
    Industrial leadership in key and emerging technologies that work for people;
    Affordable and clean energy.
The expected impact, in line with the Strategic Plan, is to contribute to “More efficient,
clean, sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply through new solutions for smart
grids and energy systems based on more performant renewable energy solutions”, notably
through
69
         ‘Open strategic autonomy’ refers to the term ‘strategic autonomy while preserving an open economy’,
         as reflected in the conclusions of the European Council 1 – 2 October 2020.
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   i. Fostering European global leadership in affordable, secure and sustainable renewable
      energy technologies and services by improving their competitiveness in global value
      chains and their position in growth markets, notably through the diversification of the
      renewable services and technology portfolio (more detailed information below).
  ii. Ensuring cost-effective uninterrupted and affordable supply of energy to households and
      industries in a scenario of high penetration of variable renewables and other new low
      carbon energy supply. This includes more efficient approaches to managing smart and
      cyber-secure energy grids and optimisation the interaction between producers,
      consumers, networks, infrastructures and vectors (more detailed information below).
 iii. Accelerating the development of Carbon Capture, Use and Storage (CCUS) as a CO2
      emission mitigation option in electricity generation and industry applications (including
      also conversion of CO2 to products) (more detailed information below).
Fostering the European global leadership in affordable, secure and sustainable renewable
energy technologies
Renewable energy technologies provide major opportunities to replace or substitute carbon
from fossil origin in the power sector and in other economic sectors such as heating/cooling,
transportation, agriculture and industry. Their large scale and decentralised deployment is
expected to create more jobs than the fossil fuel equivalent. Renewable energy technologies
are the baseline on which to build a sustainable European and global climate-neutral future. A
strong global European leadership in renewable energy technologies, coupled with circularity
and sustainability, will pave the way to increase energy security and reliability.
It is imperative to enhance affordability, security, sustainability and efficiency for more
established renewable energy technologies (such as wind energy, photovoltaics or bioenergy),
and to further diversify the technology portfolio. Furthermore, advanced renewable fuels,
including synthetic and sustainable advanced biofuels, are also needed to provide long-term
carbon-neutral solutions for the transport and energy-intensive industrial sectors, in particular
for applications where direct electrification is not a technically and cost efficient option.
Synergies with activities in cluster 4 are possible for integrating renewable energy
technologies and solutions in energy consuming industries. Complementarities with cluster 6
concern mainly biomass-related activities.
In line with the “do not harm” principle for the environment, actions for all renewable energy
technologies aim to also improve the environmental sustainability of the technologies,
delivering products with reduced greenhouse gas emissions and improved environmental
performance regarding water use, circularity, pollution and ecosystems. In particular, for
biofuels and bioenergy improving the environmental sustainability is associated to the
biomass conversion part of the value chain and the quality of the product, while air pollution
associated to combustion in engines falls in the scope of other parts of the WP.
The main impacts to be generated by topics targeting the renewable energy technologies and
solutions under this Destination are:
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  a. Availability of disruptive renewable energy and renewable fuel technologies and systems
      in 2050 in order to accelerate the replacement of fossil-based energy technologies.
  b. Reduced cost and improved efficiency of renewable energy and renewable fuel
      technologies and their value chains.
  c. De-risking of renewable energy and fuel technologies with a view to their commercial
      exploitation and net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
  d. Better integration of renewable energy and renewable fuel-based solutions in energy
      consuming sectors.
  e. Reinforced European scientific basis and European export potential for renewable
      energy technologies through international collaboration (notably with Africa in
      renewable energy technologies and renewable fuels and enhanced collaboration with
      Mission Innovation countries).
  f. Enhanced sustainability of renewable energy and renewable fuels value chains, taking
      fully into account social, economic and environmental aspects in line with the European
      Green Deal priorities.
  g. More effective market uptake of renewable energy and fuel technologies.
Energy systems, grids and storage
Efficient and effective network management is the key to the integration of renewables in an
efficient way that ensures cost-effectiveness and affordability, security of supply and grid
stability. Real time monitoring and optimisation are necessary to increase the flexibility,
through solutions such as storage, demand response or flexible generation among others, to
integrate higher shares of variable renewable energy. Exploiting synergies between electricity,
heating and cooling networks, gas networks, transport infrastructure and digital infrastructure
will be crucial for enabling the smart, integrated, flexible, green and sustainable operation of
the relevant infrastructures. Besides hydrogen and batteries (addressed elsewhere), R&I in
other storage technologies, in particular thermal storage but also electrochemical, chemical,
mechanical and electrical storage solutions is necessary to create a set of flexibility options.
Activities on energy systems, grids and storage under this Destination will primarily focus on
the systemic aspects to enhance the flexibility and resilience of the system, in particular:
integrated energy system planning and operation, engaging consumers and providing new
services, electricity system reliability and resilience, storage development and integration and
green digitalisation of the energy system.
Moreover, the role of citizens and communities is key when it comes to making the flexibility
at appliance level available for the grid. Related to this, the inclusion of social sciences and
humanities (SSH) where relevant is essential to build the social acceptance of new energy
technologies and increase participation of consumers in energy markets.
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All projects will contribute to an increased capacity of the system to integrate renewable
energy sources and less curtailment at transmission and distribution level. The main expected
impacts are:
  a. Increased resilience of the energy system based on improved and/or new technologies to
      control the system and maintain system stability under difficult circumstances.
  b. Increased flexibility and resilience of the energy system, based on technologies and tools
      to plan and operate different networks for different energy carriers simultaneously in a
      coordinated manner that will also contribute to climate neutrality of hard-to-electrify
      sectors.
  c. Enhance consumer satisfaction and increased system flexibility thanks to enabling
      consumers to benefit from data-driven energy services and facilitating their investment
      and engagement in the energy transition, through self-consumption, demand response or
      joint investments in renewables (either individually or through energy communities or
      micro-grids).
  d. Improved energy storage technologies, in particular heat storage but also others such as
      electrochemical, chemical, mechanical and electrical.
  e. Foster the European market for new energy services and business models as well as
      tested standardised and open interfaces of energy devices through a higher degree of
      interoperability, increased data availability and easier data exchange among energy
      companies as well as companies using energy system data.
  f. More effective and efficient solutions for transporting off-shore energy thanks to new
      electricity transmission technologies, in particular using superconducting technologies,
      power electronics and hybrid Alternate Current – Direct Current grid solutions as well as
      MT HVDC (Multi Terminal High Voltage Direct Current) solutions.
Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS)
CCUS will play a crucial role in the EU Green Deal for the transition of energy-intensive
industries and the power sector towards climate neutrality. Supporting R&I for CCUS will be
particularly important in those industries where other alternatives do not yet exist like the
cement industry. This will be highly relevant towards 2050, when most electricity will be
coming from renewables, but the need to tackle the process emissions from industry will
continue. If CCUS is combined with sustainable biomass, it could create negative emissions.
Low carbon hydrogen from natural gas with CCUS could also play a significant role in
industrial climate neutrality, in the transition towards full use of hydrogen from renewable
sources, in particular in industries such as steel making, chemicals, or refining where large
quantities of hydrogen are needed. CCUS would enable early, clean hydrogen at scale. The
hydrogen infrastructure built for clean hydrogen with CCUS could be also shared by
hydrogen from renewable sources. It is thus important to develop CCUS for industrial
clusters, including aspects of system planning, shared infrastructure solutions such as buffer
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storage, shared CO2 and hydrogen transportation and infrastructure optimisation for CCS and
CCU.
Demonstration of the full CCUS chain is needed in the EU, with special emphasis on the
reduction of the energy penalty and cost of capture and on ascertaining safe storage. Under
the EU Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) ambitious R&I targets have been set in
agreement with the sectorial stakeholders. The focus is on CO2 storage appraisal, cost-
reductions, new technologies and proliferation of pilots and demonstrators.
Synergies with cluster 4 exist on the use of CO2 (please see topic “HORIZON-CL4-2022-
TWIN-TRANSITION-01-11: Valorisation of CO/ CO2 streams into added-value products of
market interest (IA)”).
The main impacts to be generated by topics targeting the renewable energy technologies and
solutions under this Destination are:
  a. Accelerated rollout of infrastructure for CCUS hubs and clusters.
  b. Updated authoritative body of knowledge on connecting industrial CO2 sources with
     potential ‘bankable storage sites, providing greater confidence for decision makers and
     investors.
  c. Proven feasibility of integrating CO2 capture, CO2 storage and CO2 use in industrial
     facilities. Demonstrating these technologies at industrial scale shall pave the way for
     subsequent first-of-a-kind industrial projects.
  d. Reduced cost of the CCUS value chain, with CO2 capture being still the most relevant
     stumbling block for a wider application of CCUS.
  e. Adequate frameworks for Measurement, Monitoring and Verification (MMV) for
     storage projects, to document safe storage and for public acceptance of the technology.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
              Call                        Budgets (EUR million)           Deadline(s)
                                        2021                    2022
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-01 73.00                              35.00           20 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02 230.80                                             05 Jan 2022
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03 280.00                                             23 Feb 2022
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01                                    381.00          26 Apr 2022
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02                                    99.00           27 Oct 2022
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HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03                                  127.50      10 Jan 2023
Overall indicative budget      583.80                   642.50
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Call - Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply
                                                                           HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)70
                Topics                      Type of       Budgets (EUR        Expected EU         Number
                                            Action           million)        contribution per         of
                                                                              project (EUR         projects
                                                           2021      2022
                                                                                million)71        expected
                                                                                                    to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 24 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 20 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-01-01 IA                             32.00              Around 8.00           4
                                                         72
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-01-02 CSA                            1.00               Around 1.00           1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-01-03 CSA                            5.00               Around 5.00           1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-01-04 COFUND 35.00                              35.00   Around 70.00          1
Overall indicative budget                                73.00      35.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
70
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
71
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
72
        Of which EUR 16.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Energy systems, grids and storage
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-01-01: Establish the grounds for a common European energy
data space
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 32.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Admissibility         The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Higher degree of interoperability between data platforms.
   Energy data made available and re-usable.
   Enable new market roles, market participants and energy communities.
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    Demonstrated implementations of Energy Data Spaces, exploiting open standards related
     to data-packages, interfaces, protocols, platforms and procedures.
    Enabling new digital solutions and services supporting the energy transition.
    Increased acceptance and participation of consumers on data sharing for energy services.
Scope: Develop, validate, demonstrate an Energy Data Space that enables access to and use of
energy data, comparison with different solutions and that has the following features:
    Interfaces for the exchange of information (i.e. APIs, connectors), and interoperable
     open standards.
    Pilot innovative solutions for a Common European Energy Data Space73, to promote a
     stronger availability and cross-sector sharing of data, in a customer-centric, secure and
     trustworthy manner.
    Support the establishment a common European Energy Data Space providing the tools
     and standards to connect and to make accessible as much data as possible covering the
     full energy value chain.
    Support the ability to accommodate Digital Twins at different levels of the grid (and
     outside the grid) and facilitate real-time operations.
    Create a market place for data-driven energy services on top of this energy related data
     space that are attractive for consumers and operators, increase the potential for investing
     in green energy and provide innovative services which are not possible w/o these Data
     Spaces.
    All projects together need to come forward with and test individually the minimum
     requirements on data governance and data interoperability, where applicable, exploring
     data source certification schemes.
    All projects together need to demonstrate interoperability of their respective Energy Data
     Space with those of the other projects in this call. A joint analysis of the solutions is
     expected as part of this exercise (learnings, best practices, barriers to implementation ...).
    Protection of personal data, cybersecurity and data rights (e.g. right for a fair
     remuneration) are to be specifically considered, with a final aim to increase the trust of
     data subjects and data providers in the energy data space.
    Projects should reserve one work package for the activities requiring collaboration,
     namely demonstration of interoperability, with the other projects of this call.
The selected projects are expected to contribute to relevant BRIDGE74 activities.
73
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/communication-european-strategy-data-19feb2020_en.pdf
74
        https://www.h2020-bridge.eu/
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This topic will benefit from the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement
of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to
produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related
research activities. The Commission will make sure that projects benefit from SSH expertise
through the cooperation in Bridge.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-01-02: Laying down the basis for the demonstration of a Real
Time Demonstrator of Multi-Vendor Multi-Terminal HVDC with Grid Forming
Capability: Coordinated action
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.00 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: The call is intended to support all the preparatory phases among all
stakeholders (HVDC systems manufacturers, TSOs, wind turbine manufacturers and
windfarm developers) leading to a demonstration project to de-risk the technology to enable
the installation in Europe of the first Multi-Vendor Multi-Terminal HVDC system with Grid
Forming Capability. The HVDC system should guarantee at least the technological
capabilities needed for advanced grid management capabilities and the deployment of the
offshore grid (active and reactive power controlled separately, support to weak AC grids,
black start, etc.). HVDC systems are applicable and can be planned, designed and integrated
in any part of the AC grid, i.e. onshore as well as offshore. Following the Commission
adoption of the “Strategy on Offshore Renewable Energy”, attention is presently focused to
offshore grid application.
The demonstration project deriving from the action will pave the way to the deployment of
the offshore energy system, which will enable the integration of increasing amounts of RES in
the energy system.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Solid foundation to ensure investments in DC technologies for the European electricity
      network needed for the energy transition.
   Agreement among stakeholders (HVDC systems manufacturers, TSO, Regulators,
      Standardisation bodies, wind turbine manufacturers, windfarm developers etc.) and
      planning for the demonstration of a Real Time Demonstrator of Multi-Vendor Multi-
      Terminal HVDC with Grid Forming Capability, which will lead to the first real-life full
      scale installation in Europe.
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    New way of framing the European energy system (on- off-shore) architecture and
     topology.
    Provide new pathways to offshore energy and development.
Scope: The supports all the multiple preparatory tasks, which will lead to a global agreement
among stakeholders and define the detailed planning for the full-scale industrial demonstrator.
These include, but are not limited to:
    Coordination and organization of a platform involving all stakeholders (HVDC system
     manufacturers, TSOs, third-party HVDC system integrators, wind turbine manufacturers,
     offshore wind farm developers).
    Compatibility of modelling tools towards interoperability.
    Model sharing between TSOs: legal framework.
    Roles and responsibilities on interoperability issues.
The selected projects are expected to contribute to relevant BRIDGE75 activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-01-03: Interoperability community
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    Ensure continuity of the ongoing interoperability of energy services related activities.
    Ensure horizontal coordination and support, sustainable up-take of the energy services
     related to interoperability, data spaces and digital twins.
    Support and disseminate a common framework for testing interoperability across
     running projects. Harmonise interoperability testing procedures76.
75
        https://www.h2020-bridge.eu/
76
        The Smart Grid Interoperability testing methodology developed by JRC of the EC is one such
        methodology https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/smart-grid-interoperability-testing-methodology
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    Increased interoperability of energy services, data and platforms, both at the function and
      business layers.
Scope: Facilitate the coordination and alignment of projects and support interaction between
the various related initiatives happening at European and National level.
    The project should support a community of practice that includes interoperability
      expertise relevant to the energy transition that keeps track and maintains an expertise
      around changes in requirements, emerging use cases and regulatory condition.
    development of IT/ICT, evolution of relevant standards and all activities impacting
      interoperability, virtualisation and digital twins, data spaces.
      industrial and working groups’ efforts towards interoperability (including ontologies,
      core models etc.).
Maintain an overview of what is happening, create a repository of best practices and use
cases, indicate what is needed to keep this interoperability and provide a forum to support
agreements on open standards, convergence on reference architectures and broad
dissemination.
Increased interoperability of energy services, data and platforms, both at the function and
business layers of the Smart Grid Architecture Model. Where relevant consider including also
smart energy systems models going beyond Smart Grids.
Develop an Interoperability Maturity Model (IMM) to indicate the level of maturity in
organisations, and the further effort/ actions need to be made to reach higher levels of
interoperability.
Create a network of interested parties, and eventually, setting up a distributed European
ecosystem of centres for the Interoperability testing of data driven energy solutions. This
should take into account existing initiatives like living labs, digital innovation hubs, JRCs
Interoperability testing lab related ERA-Net program calls and Clean Energy Transition
Partnership, and should aim at supporting a European knowledge base of use cases,
interoperability profiles test cases, and results of tests.
Establishing a cross-fertilisation of existing regional testing infrastructures, explore best
practice of local sand-boxing and link with existing networks. Demonstrate with the testing of
a set of real life cases where new interoperability requirements are to be tested, how the
activities would be organised.
The networks should agree on a common testing methodology and a common test reporting
methodology to be used.
The selected projects are expected to contribute to relevant BRIDGE77 activities.
77
         https://www.h2020-bridge.eu/
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Cross-cutting issues
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-01-04: Clean Energy Transition
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per        70.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 70.00 million.
Type of Action          Programme Co-fund Action
Legal and financial     The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant     apply:
Agreements              Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                        Financial support provided by the participants to third parties is one of
                        the primary activities of this action to allow the partnership to achieve
                        its objectives. Therefore, the EUR 60 000 threshold provided for in
                        Article 204 (a) of the Financial Regulation No 2018/1046 does not
                        apply.
Total indicative        The total indicative budget for the co-funded European Partnership is
budget                  EUR 210 million, committed in annual instalments over multiple years
                        (EUR 35 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 35 million from the
                        2022 budget).
Expected Outcome: The partnership is expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
  a. Increased directionality of clean energy transition research and innovation in Europe in
     line with the SET Plan by a shared pan-European vision regarding the goal and direction
     of the required system transformation processes adapted to regional needs and
     availability of renewable energy resources
 b. Evidence based energy and climate policy formulation
  c. A wider systemic transition and energy supply required for the climate transition in all
     sectors of society; enabling the transition of the built environment, transport, industry
     and other sectors to clean, low carbon energy;
 d. An innovation ecosystem for Europe's transition to clean energy and contribute to a
     resource-efficient energy system, both from an ecological and economic standpoint;
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  e. A building block to a zero-emission energy system for the decarbonisation of transport,
      buildings, industry, agriculture in the specific European environment;
  f. Increased engagement of consumers and prosumers and in appropriate demand-response
      mechanisms and its integration in the energy system;
  g. And finally, an energy system that meets the needs of different parts of society, in
      different geographical locations (urban and rural) and different groups.
Scope: The European Green Deal aims to transform Europe into a fair and prosperous society
with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy, with no net emissions of
greenhouse gases in 2050. To decarbonise Europe, renewables must become the main energy
source, while keeping the stability and resilience of the European energy system. Research
and Innovation is needed to be able to achieve the Clean Energy Transition, while realizing
also the ambitions of other EU policies like the New Circular Economy Strategy and the new
Biodiversity Strategy and delivering on the objectives of the European Green Deal. It will also
contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (in particular SDG 7
Affordable and Clean Energy and SDG 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure). At national
level, policies and measures in clean energy research and innovation will support the
achievement of the energy and climate targets, as outlined in the National Energy and Climate
Plans.
The Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP) aims to empower the energy transition and
contribute from a R&I perspective to the EU’s goal of becoming the first climate-neutral
continent by 2050. To achieve this ambitious goal, Europe needs to embark into a
transformative process of both the energy system and its supporting technologies, as well as
of the society. Key enabling and disruptive technologies, as well system innovation are
essential for this transition. With robust investment in innovation and technology
development, the energy transition turns into an opportunity for sustainable growth and
competitiveness, creating high-quality jobs and leaving nobody behind.
The Clean Energy Transition partnership is expected to contribute to the overarching goal of
transitioning to a clean energy system by pooling national and regional resources/funding
programmes thus overcoming a fragmented approach. In its Strategic Research and
Innovation Agenda, the Clean Energy Transition Partnership will address the following areas:
Development of clean and affordable energy production and conversion technologies;
development of a climate neutral, flexible and robust energy system; storage and its
integration in the energy system; resource and energy efficiency and circular flows in the
energy sector for an ecologically sustainable energy system; a just and inclusive energy
transition; sector integration and coupling; and digital transformation.
The partnerships actions are expected to contribute to:
    a better cost performance by improving efficiency, sustainability, reliability and
      circularity of a broad portfolio of clean energy technologies and solutions;
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    the integration of a wide range of new energy solutions and ‘first of a kind’ technologies
      on all levels of the energy system to give flexibility, promote and efficiently manage
      self-generation and consumption profiles and new holistic solutions for energy storage
      (surplus energy, peak load supply, inter-seasonal storage);
    the acceleration of the sustainable energy transition and societal development by the use
      of opportunities arising from the digital transformation and from data and information
      from the Copernicus programme, as well as the European Union’s Earth Observation
      programme.
The partner composition is expected to at least include a geographically representative
distribution of national and regional research and innovation authorities and funding agencies
from EU Member States, associated countries and their regions. The number of partners and
their contribution should be enough to attain a critical mass in the field. The partnership
should be open to the addition of new partners during the lifetime of the partnership. The
partnership should pool the necessary financial resources from the participating national (or
regional) research programmes with a view to implementing joint calls for transnational
proposals resulting in grants to third parties and in accordance to the ambition of activities
proposed.
The CETP will have to overcome the transnational challenges in the clean energy transition
following the ambition of the European Green Deal via a joint, shared, transnational
approach, engaging a wide variety of stakeholders including industry and research institutes.
The partnership has to provide a platform that makes research results available for the best use
and implementation for all stakeholders and to support capacity building in areas requiring
specific resources and expertise. By doing this, public and private investments in clean energy
technologies development and deployment can be leveraged and capitalised to ensure
adequate exploitation of results across Europe as needed.
Based on priorities identified in the Clean Energy Transition Strategic Research and
Innovation Agenda, proposals should pool together the necessary financial resources from the
participating national (or regional) research programmes with a view to implementing annual
joint calls for proposals resulting in grants to third parties with EU co-funding. National
efforts should reflect the ambitions outlined in the National Energy and Climate Plans,
including on Member States/Associated Countries participation in the SET Plan work
streams. Participation of legal entities from international partner countries and/or regions
including those not automatically eligible for funding in accordance with General Annex A is
encouraged in the joint calls.
The partnership should envisage clustering activities with other relevant selected projects for
cross-projects co-operation, consultations and joint activities on cross-cutting issues. To this
end, proposals should provide for a dedicated work package and/or task, and earmark the
appropriate resources accordingly. The partnership should also present and implement a joint
programme of activities focussed on communication (participation in joint meetings and
communication events), dissemination and exploitation.
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The partnership is expected to collaborate closely with the following European Partnerships:
    Clean Hydrogen, Built Environment and construction, European industrial battery value
      Chain and Driving Urban Transition within the Cluster Climate, Energy and mobility;
    Smart Networks and services, Clean Steel –Low carbon steelmaking, Carbon Neutral
      and Circular Industry and Geological Services for Europe within the Cluster Digital,
      Industry and Space;
    Circular Bio-based Europe within the cluster Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources,
      Agriculture and Environment;
    And the Climate-KIC and InnoEnergy EITs;
in order to ensure coherence and complementarity of activities. Applicants are expected to
describe in their proposal the methodology for their collaboration and the aims they want to
achieve with this kind of collaboration.
It is expected that the partnership will organise joint calls on an annual base from 2022 to
2027 and will consider ample time for the implementation of the co-funded projects.
The Commission envisages to include a new action in future work programme(s) to award a
grant to identified beneficiaries with the aim of continuing to provide support to the
partnership for the duration of Horizon Europe.
Call - Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply
                                                                           HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)78
                Topics                     Type         Budgets            Expected EU            Number
                                             of          (EUR        contribution per project         of
                                          Action        million)         (EUR million)79           projects
                                                                                                  expected
                                                          2021                                      to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 24 Jun 2021
78
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
79
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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                                      Deadline(s): 05 Jan 2022
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-01 IA                       15.00 80       Around 15.00             1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-02 CSA                      10.00          Around 2.50              4
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-03 CSA                      10.00          Around 2.00              5
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-04 RIA                      20.00          Around 5.00              4
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-05 IA                       30.00 81       9.00 to 10.00            3
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-06 IA                       25.00 82       Around 8.00              3
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-07 IA                       15.00 83       7.00 to 8.00             2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-08 RIA                      15.00          7.00 to 8.00             2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-09 IA                       15.00 84       Around 15.00             1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-10 IA                       10.00 85       Around 5.00              2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-11 CSA                      4.00           Around 4.00              1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-12 CSA                      2.00           Around 2.00              1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-13 RIA                      30.00          10.00 to 15.00           2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-14 CSA                      20.00          Around 20.00             1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-15 CSA                      9.80           Around 1.00              10
Overall indicative budget                          230.80
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                  The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                               C.
80
        Of which EUR 7.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
81
        Of which EUR 15.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
82
        Of which EUR 12.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
83
        Of which EUR 7.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
84
        Of which EUR 7.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
85
        Of which EUR 5.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Global leadership in renewable energy
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-01: Demonstration of wave energy devices to increase
experience in real sea condition
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per         15.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Admissibility            The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               The granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or the
                         exclusive licensing of results under certain conditions.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Demonstrated performance and reliability of wave energy devices producing comparable
     and public results using international metrics
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   Improved knowledge on how to operate wave energy devices, their availability
      maintainability and to increase the impact it is expected that projects are sharing project
      data.
   Reduction of the LCOE in line with the SET Plan targets (actions should clearly justify
      estimated LCOE at project start and end, using a recognised calculation methodology).
   Reinforced industrial supply chain in Europe.
   Attraction of private investors to the sector and reduction of the cost of their investment
      by presented evidences and credible key performance indicators.
Scope: The action is expected to:
   Demonstrate wave energy devices in real sea conditions for long periods of time (12-24
      months) providing invaluable learnings regarding performance, reliability, availability,
      maintainability, survivability and environmental impact.
   Utilise verified key subsystems by comprehensive dry testing to reduce risks in the
      implementation of the project. Alternatively, the project action is expected to finalise the
      dry testing in the first year of the project. The onshore testing of key subsystems need to
      have been carried out prior to any at-sea deployment of complete devices.
Proposals are expected to address also all the following:
   Industrial design and manufacturing processes, circularity of (critical) raw materials,
      scalability, installation methods, transport, operation & maintenance, supply chains and
      the related digital infrastructures.
   Projects are requested to demonstrate the technologies at sea while respecting existing
      environmental regulatory framework. Present an environmental monitoring plan to be
      implemented during the demonstration action.
The project has to include a clear go/no go moment ahead of entering the deployment phase.
Before this go/no-go moment, the project has to deliver the detailed engineering plans, a
techno-economic assessment, including key performance indicators based on international
recognized metrics, a complete implementation plan, a plan to achieve certification by an
independent certification body before the end of the action, and all needed permits for the
deployment of the project. The project proposal is expected to clearly demonstrate a proposed
pathway to obtaining necessary permits for the demonstration actions and allow for
appropriate timelines to achieve these. The project is expected also to demonstrate how it will
get a financial close for the whole action. Independent experts will assess all deliverables and
will advise for the go/no-go decision.
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The selected projects are expected to contribute and participate to the activities of the project
BRIDGE86 when relevant.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-02: Sustainability and educational aspects for renewable
energy and renewable fuel technologies
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.50
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: The EU has ambitious goals to tackle the ongoing climate crisis,
noteworthy being the aim to be a fully climate-neutral continent by 2050. Thus a framework
needs to be established where sustainability and educational aspects for renewable energy and
fuel technologies is addressed. Further, these actions need to engage with stakeholders at
different levels (policymakers, regulators, innovators, industry, trade associations, universities
and local communities) in order to align priorities and needs, while also identifying possibly
overlooked challenges.
In this context, and taking into consideration circularity and sustainability, project results are
expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Enhance and promote sustainability by addressing social and environmental aspects (air
      pollution, waste management, job opportunities, wildlife concerns, etc.) of renewable
      energy and renewable fuel technologies at a global level, thus ensuring the European
      Green Deal priorities are met.
    Support the development of training and reskilling efforts in the renewable energy and
      renewable fuel technology sectors, while also identifying (global and local) challenges,
      to realise the large deployment ambitions of the European Green Deal, and the various
      sectorial strategies under it (such as the recent Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy) and
      its external dimension.
    Support and promote circularity concepts and approaches (such as circular- and/or
      recyclable-by-design) in line with the Circular Economy Action Plan and the Action
      Plan on Critical Raw Materials.
Scope: In this topic, sustainability is meant in environmental, social and economic terms. The
proposal is expected to address all the following aspects:
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   Coordinate the stakeholder community and propose concrete actions to promote and
      accelerate the development of sustainable solutions for renewable energy and renewable
      fuel technologies, encompassing ‘circularity-by-design’ (with special attention to life
      cycle assessment of the entire value chain, including critical raw materials and gradual
      substitution of fossil fuels), and identifying and assessing relevant externalities.
   Set up and initiate a structured programme to promote an innovative multi-disciplinary
      approach on teaching and engaging with the sustainability of all forms of renewable
      energy. The proposal should also actively engage with European universities in this
      matter. Special consideration to gender balance issues should also be given. A clear post-
      project life for such programme should also be addressed.
   Develop and run an industry-academia programme focused on hands-on training. This
      programme should identify the required skills needed for the sustainability of renewable
      technologies, identify and act on knowledge gaps, and identify retraining opportunities
      based on revamped training curricula and course content. These concerted actions are
      expected to develop human capital in innovative new technologies through education
      and training.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-03: Market Uptake Measures of renewable energy systems
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
   Facilitate the wider uptake of renewable energy systems in the energy, industrial and
      residential sectors leading to an increased share of renewable energy in the final energy
      consumption by 2030 and beyond.
   Contribute to provide a basis for policy-makers and stakeholders for developing more
      informed RES policy and for analysing about the market dynamics when including all
      renewable energies.
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    Contribute to the development of markets and respective financial frameworks that can
      operate efficiently and incentive-compatible while accommodating massive shares of
      renewables.
    Increase societal acceptance of renewable energy facilities and installations through
      science-based evidence and tools addressing misperception phenomena from citizens.
Scope: The proposal is expected to develop solutions addressing at least 2 of the expected
outcomes either for the entire renewable energy market or focusing on a specific energy
sector, such as electricity, heating, cooling or renewable fuels. Proposals can also address
issues within a specific geographical region such as urban and peri-urban areas. Issues related
to acceptance of RES technologies due to cultural heritage landscape particularities can be
addressed. Self-consumption issues can be addressed too. International aspects, such as
collaboration with third countries and promoting solution in new markets, can be addressed as
well.
The proposed solution can be developed to address a local challenge but needs to have wide
potential for reapplication. The solution should have a long term viability and not be limited
to an ad-hoc fix. The methodologies applied may be inspired by successful approaches
already tested in other fields or contexts.
For all actions, the consortia have to involve and/or engage relevant stakeholders (e.g.
businesses, public authorities, civil society organisations) and market actors who are
committed to adopting/implementing the results. The complexity of these challenges and of
the related market uptake barriers may call for multi-disciplinary approaches, which should
include contributions from the social sciences and humanities. Where relevant, regional
specificities, socio-economic, gender-related, spatial and environmental aspects will be
considered from a life-cycle perspective.
Where relevant, proposals are expected to also assess the legal, institutional and political
frameworks at local, national and European level and examine how, why and under what
conditions these could act as a barrier or an enabler.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-04: Novel tandem, high efficiency                          Photovoltaic
technologies targeting low cost production with earth abundant materials
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
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Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                       consortium selected for funding.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Photovoltaic power generation is pivotal in the transition to a clean
energy system and the achievement of the zero-emissions target. To that end, it is important to
enhance affordability, security of supply and sustainability of PV technologies along with
further efficiency improvements. Consequently, project results are expected to contribute to
all of the following outcomes:
    Demonstrate tandem technologies for efficiencies beyond the single-junction Shockley–
      Queisser limit (~29%).
    Increase the potential of tandem technologies with earth abundant materials for mass
      production at low manufacturing cost.
    Minimise the impact of PV on landscape and environment by increasing its energy
      yield/m2.
    Contribute towards establishing a solid European innovation base and a competitive,
      continuous and coherent PV value chain.
Scope: Tandem-junction cell architectures present a path towards higher module efficiencies
over single-junction designs, because of the ability to absorb more efficiently the different
wavelength regions of the solar spectrum by means of separate devices (monolithically
integrated and bonded/mechanically stacked). This enables surpassing the limiting efficiency
of single-junction Si (~29%), which has neared its theoretical limit. As module costs drop,
balance-of-systems costs dominate the cost of PV installations, and gains in efficiency could
influence more the overall system costs, the energy yield/m2 and hence the land use or the
integration potential of the technology. The aim is to develop tandem cells and modules that
will reach efficiencies >30%, offer the same lifetime and degradation rate as standard
crystalline panels at only marginally higher cost, creating thus a viable economic pathway for
commercialisation of these technologies.
The proposal should address all of the following:
    Develop novel concepts based on earth abundant materials that optimise PV cell and
      module architecture, increase durability, decrease losses and target very high
      efficiencies, taking also into consideration specific applications.
    Employ simple, scalable and low cost processing techniques; deliver proof-of-concept
      for equipment development to support novel layer deposition.
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   Ensure compliance with the relevant standards at laboratory scale, also considering the
     specific applications targeted.
   Perform device/module real –life (under actual outdoor operating conditions)
     characterisation for reliability and energy yield assessment.
   Perform a life cycle analysis to bring evidence of the lower environmental impact, better
     resource efficiency than current commercial PV technologies, and circularity potential.
Energy systems, grids and storage
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-05: Energy Sector Integration: Integrating and combining
energy systems to a cost-optimised and flexible energy system of systems
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      9.00 and 10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 30.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Admissibility         The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to most of the following
expected outcomes:
   Demonstrated benefits of sector integration in different geographic, climate and
     economic conditions.
   Improved planning of integration of power, heat, gas, industry with a production site(s)
     of renewable energy.
   Optimised operations of coupled networks (e.g. electricity vs. heating).
   Validated tools and platforms enabling effective sector coupling as tested in large
     demonstration projects.
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    Consolidated methodology to evaluate the impacts on OPEX, CAPEX and overall value
      creation connected to the integration of flexibility from storage and other energy
      flexibility solutions.
Scope: Projects should demonstrate the benefits of the integration of different elements. This
includes in particular electricity and gas networks, district heating and cooling, and long term
energy storage systems (for example Hydrogen, power-to-X, thermal storage, hydro-storage).
It can also include mobility systems (e.g. e-mobility infrastructure) and energy-intensive
industry and/or industrial clusters or sites. Projects should demonstrate the integration at local
(i.e. distribution networks) and at national level (i.e. transmission networks), and the
interactions between them.
    Develop 2 or 3 pilots in different Member States/Associated Countries that demonstrate
      of solutions for energy system integration based on integrated management of various
      networks and infrastructures. The pilots could include for example:
         Electricity and gas networks;
         Implementation of solutions for district heating and cooling as sector integration for
            energy storage and flexible operation at different energy carriers;
         E-mobility infrastructure;
         Solutions for industry and industrial clusters for integrated flexible generation,
            consumption and energy storage;
         Flexible stand-alone systems and tools for living quarters and small and medium
            sized businesses and industries based on renewable generation, sector-coupling and
            storage technologies;
         Integrated systems to allow for long term (weekly, seasonal) energy storage.
    Demonstrations can be build up based on a combination and integration of various
      locally optimised grids into overall system management.
Projects should provide a preliminary analysis including country-specific challenges, a
sustainability assessment for the environmental impact, social acceptance, as well as
economic feasibility.
The participation of inter- and trans-disciplinary consortia combining expertise and capacity
from public authorities, urban stakeholders, infrastructure providers, knowledge institutions,
planners, entrepreneurs, societal actors and citizens is advised to address the challenges of this
topic.
Projects should develop a consolidated methodology to evaluate interaction of coupled
networks and the impact on OPEX and CAPEX connected to the integration of flexibility
from storage and other energy vectors as well as to build upon integrating knowledge on cost
reduction for the relevant conversion processes.
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Projects should develop innovative tools for:
    Assessment of technical and operational challenges, including environmental impact and
     social acceptance.
    System planning toolboxes to determine the optimal sizing, location and distribution of
     energy storage systems and technologies to facilitate their optimal use at different grid
     levels, as well as system planning toolboxes to determine the optimal location and
     utilisation rate of available energy conversion plants.
    Aging models’ definitions for several storage technologies according to the operating
     conditions and required regulation services.
    Communication, platforms and devices for increased observability/controllability of the
     generation, consumption and storage resources and the measurement acquisition.
    Tools to quantify the flexibility provided by sector integration.
Where relevant, projects should collaborate with the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking on
aspects that require integration of hydrogen.
Activities in relation to production of hydrogen are excluded, as all production aspects are
covered through calls of the Clean Hydrogen Institutional Partnership. Fuel Cell Micro
Boilers technology is also excluded due to technology development through the Clean
Hydrogen Partnership. Cooperation with the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, for example
through joint projects, is however welcomed.
The selected projects are expected to contribute to relevant BRIDGE87 activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-06: Increasing energy system flexibility based on sector-
integration services to consumers (that benefits system management by DSOs and
TSOs)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 25.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
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                       The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to most of the following outcomes:
    New business models for market parties based on energy services and revenue streams
      for consumers (across energy sectors and beyond, based on valorisation of the flexibility
      in their energy consumption).
    Enable market parties to provide flexibility services to network operators and the
      wholesale market based on competitive markets that are easily accessible and at low
      transaction costs.
    Increased application of digital technologies to support consumers and market parties to
      market their flexibility.
    Increased consumer engagement and acceptance.
    Increased availability of flexibility sources for TSOs and DSOs and enable them to
      develop markets for flexibility and interact with many distributed resources at the same
      time (via intermediaries such as energy suppliers or aggregators) based on seamless data
      exchange and interoperability.
    Facilitate scaling up the platforms and markets to spread its use by making it as easy as
      possible for suppliers, aggregators or consumers directly to offer grid services based on
      other or new small-scale and large-scale assets/devices on these markets, if necessary
      through as easy and automated pre-qualification processes as possible.
    Better understanding of market models and regulatory measures that can promote new
      business models.
    Contribution to better informed investment decisions by network operators and tariff
      setting models by NRAs, as flexibility markets and new business models can postpone
      or avoid new investments making better use of existing assets.
Scope: The projects will test and develop further already demonstrated solutions for data-
driven energy services for consumers, in cooperation with various actors in the energy system
(such as prosumers, aggregators, TSOs, DSOs, owners of assets that can provide flexibility
like batteries, heating/cooling systems, charging point operators, gas systems):
    Replicate them in as many different geographies as possible having different system
      needs, consumer needs, economic conditions or different climates. They will be adapted
      to the local energy requirements and they will aim at increasing consumer acceptance
      and participation. Focus is expected to be in the facilitation of different services.
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    Integrate energy services with other services for citizens and/or consumers (e.g. health,
      safety, mobility):
         focus on business models that combine energy services with other services, such as
            health, security, home automation or mobility services taking into account
            experiences and practice from social science and humanities;
         focus on business models for households that combine energy services focused on
            flexibility with investments in assets at consumer level that contribute to long-term
            changes in electricity production or consumption, such as RES generation, energy
            storage, deep renovations, new, more efficient and intelligent appliances that form a
            major part of household energy consumption (e.g. heating).
The development and testing of business models will contribute to a better understanding of
the ways to promote such models and to address their impact in the design, modelling and
planning of energy markets at all-time horizons and at all geographical scales, from the pan-
European cross-border wholesale electricity and gas markets, products, services and
businesses, down to local level. In the latter, without precluding other options, we are
considering neighbourhood, aggregated, retail, centralized local flexibility markets or peer-to-
peer market of energy products and services (flexibility, ancillary services, electricity, gas and
heating/cooling).
The solutions are expected to be aligned with already existing markets. The projects will
therefore be asked to cooperate to jointly provide detailed analyses and studies that address
possible regulatory measures related to the implementation of the Clean Energy for All
Europeans Package.
Specific demonstrators will make use of operational end-to-end architectures, digital
platforms and other data exchange infrastructure being developed under ongoing Horizon
2020, Horizon Europe as well as under other EU programs such as the Digital Europe
Program.
The selected projects are expected to contribute to relevant BRIDGE88 activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-07: Reliability and resilience of the grid: Measures for
vulnerabilities, failures, risks and privacy
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        7.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
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Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Admissibility           The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-6 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level         see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcome: Demonstration of increased energy system reliability and resilience, preventing or
ensuring rapid recovery following disturbances such as faults, cyberattacks, terrorism or
similar at all relevant levels (infrastructure, hardware, software, organisational, etc.).
Scope: Proposals are expected to include all of the following 4 points:
   Demonstration of measures to minimize TSO and DSO risks, vulnerabilities and of
     priority strategies and measures against nature and man-made hazards, terrorism,
     climate-related extreme events, weather, migration, etc. for:
           substation systems security and design;
        HV, MV, LV grid infrastructures including platforms for TSO and DSO
           interaction;
        automatic control of decentralized flexibility solutions;
        Events resulting in cascading failures, their mitigation and prevention.
   Application of advanced information technologies (e.g. probabilistic safety assessment,
     quantitative risk analysis) in system development, operation and asset management.
   Application of digital technologies for ensuring operational data quality and demand
     patterns recognition improving data access and information acquisition for maintenance
     operators.
   Development of shared knowledge basis within European area concerning threats,
     vulnerabilities, methods, not only for components but for entire systems and energy
     system technologies.
From the following four, proposals should include at least two:
   Development and application of technology (e.g. blockchain) for the identification and
     authentication of energy IoT devices, authentication of origin in spare part management,
     trading certificate infrastructures, protection relay configuration and micro grid
     management.
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    Development, testing and demonstration of advanced intrusion detection and prevention
     systems for energy infrastructures including security-related data and deep learning
     methods.
    Dedicated strategies for enhanced security and resilience at DSO and TSO level,
     including demonstration of TSO/DSO security data sharing.
    Development and application of methodologies for automation of grid maintenance (for
     example through robotics), advanced human-machine interfaces, and of data validation
     processes automation by applying emerging technologies.
The selected projects are expected to contribute to relevant BRIDGE89 activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-08: Electricity system reliability and resilience by design:
High-Voltage, Direct Current (HVDC)-based systems and solutions
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       7.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-6 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    HVDC technologies contribution achieving climate neutrality of the electricity
     generation sector allowing the integration of large share of renewables while
     concurrently addressing the security of supply.
    HVDC interconnections can act as a firewall blocking the spread of disturbances while
     permitting the interchange of power.
    Mastering HVDC technologies will open new business horizons for European companies
     in the global clean energy markets.
    Increased electricity system reliability and resilience throughout the overall
     interconnection system, which includes High Voltage cables. Furthermore, the use of
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      buried HVDC cables reduces the visual impact and improves the social acceptance
      compared to the classical AC overhead lines.
Scope: Proposals will explore concepts and propose solutions to foster the development of
large HVDC based transmission grid infrastructures, able to bring benefits to the existing
electrical system and capable of integrating the fore coming large amount of renewable
energy.
Proposals should demonstrate the reliability and resilience of the energy system through
HVDC interconnections integrated in the AC grid while coping with faster dynamics, in
particular by addressing at least two of the following topics:
   Proposals of optimal grid architecture concepts using HVDC (e.g. multi terminal, hub
      operation, etc.) and related demonstrated advantages, with a careful overview of
      planning aspects and deployment methodologies. Proposals should investigate and
      identify the technological (e.g. coordination between HVDC converters in close vicinity,
      modelling of HVDC submarine cables for transient phenomena, etc.), contractual and
      regulatory barriers for the deployment and present solutions to remove them.
   Real-time monitoring and assessment of the level of system stability and vulnerability
      against disturbances of future AC systems characterised by more HVDC and less
      conventional power generation.
   Reliability model for HVDC and its impact on the overall transmission system reliability
      with the HVDC link acting as ‘firewall‘ within the synchronous AC transmission
      system.
   Technical-economic benefits of the HVDC interconnection solution with the “firewall”
      functionality as well as in combination of other advantages contributing to the system
      security such as relieving heavily loaded AC corridors, etc.
   Simulation, real time demonstration of the avoidance or containment of cascading effects
      and resilience to cyberattacks or faults of the HVDC connection in the AC network.
   Simulation, real time demonstration of the co-ordinated use of HVDC-connected RES
      for containment of cascading faults and contribution to system restoration.
   Evaluation of the impact on system reliability of an increasing number of HVDC links
      incorporated in the transmission system through modelling and quantification of the
      dynamic “firewall” properties of the HVDC links incorporated in the transmission
      system.
   Evaluation of the use of HVAC fault location and monitoring systems for cables in
      HVDC (e.g. fibre optic distributed temperature sensing, online PD detection and location
      and time domain reflectometer (TDR) measurements for faults pre-location and
      fingerprinting).
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    Development of novel pre-fault monitoring systems for the evaluation of the actual
      status of the HVDC cables and accessories, with the aim to improve the reliability of the
      DC links.
    Development and validation of new dielectric materials for the insulation of HVDC
      cables and accessories aiming at achieving higher capacity transfer capabilities. The
      proposed materials should have reduced ageing due to space charge accumulation
      phenomena.
    Proposals for highly reliable design and manufacturing of HVDC cables and accessories
      and related demonstrated advantages. Proposals should investigate the sustainability of
      the identified procedures through LCA.
The selected projects are expected to contribute to relevant BRIDGE90 activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-09: Demonstration of superconducting systems and elpipes
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per        15.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Admissibility           The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology              Activities are expected to bring long distance DC Superconductors to
Readiness Level         TRL 8 in Europe by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: The Superconducting Transmission Lines (SCTL) main advantages are
higher transmission efficiency and ability to use lower operating voltages while still
preserving the total capacity. Potential applications for transport of high amounts of energy or
in European congested grid context is then key for the development of the grid and to increase
its efficiency.
Elpipes are polymer-insulated underground HVDC conductors based on low cost extruded
metal conductors. The technology could potentially be used to transfer massive capacities in
identified corridors. An elpipe installed at the surface could go to at least 30 GW with passive
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cooling. Actively (but non-cryogenically) cooled elpipe designs can theoretically go to
transfer capacities above 200 GW.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    New SCTL technologies to upgrade and expand the electric grid to meet the
     requirements imposed by the increasing penetration of renewables.
    Use of different superconductor technologies (e.g. HTS, MgB2) with different cooling
     medium, power rating and lengths.
    Increased power transfer capability within existing right of ways.
    Test and validate the transmission of bulk power not achievable with current cable
     technologies.
Scope: The activities will concur to demonstrate the reliability of the technology and its
applicability in the grid network.
    Demonstration of up to ±100kV, up to 1 GW power, superconducting system (HTS) up
     to 5 km onshore.
    Demonstration of ±100 kV, up to 1 GW power, superconducting system up to 100 km,
     offshore.
    Demonstration of a SCTL based on MgB2 LH2 cooled, for DC with a length up to 1 km
     and above, onshore. The voltage level and the cable section should be designed to have
     the maximum benefits in terms of insulation requirements and conductor section for a
     capacity transfer of 10 kA and above.
    Cable design and simulation of kA range faults, power reversal response, loss calculation
     and demonstration for protections of SCTL.
     Technical-economic benefits of the SCTL demonstrated compared with traditional
     (overhead lines, XLPE cable).
    Investigate the feasibility and applicability of elpipes with technical economic analysis,
     use cases, etc. for high transfer rates in identified corridors.
The selected projects are expected to contribute to relevant BRIDGE91 activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-10: Demonstration of advanced Power Electronics for
application in the energy sector
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
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contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Admissibility           The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-6 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level         see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Wide Bandgap-based (WBG) semiconductors such as Silicon Carbide
(SiC) enable higher power density, operation voltages, temperatures, and frequencies while
reducing heat dissipation of power electronics. This enables the development of more efficient
and smaller size converter stations affecting considerably on grid distribution generally and
logistics, cost, etc. and the deployment of the offshore energy grid. Right now SiC allows for
sufficient reduction on converter footprint, but it is far too expensive, and its cost has a
negative impact on overall system cost.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Production, test and validation of WBG-based switching semiconductors such as Silicon
      Carbide (SiC) for HVDC – MVDC converter applications in converter stations.
   Reduced size of components and equipment for offshore / onshore applications.
   Reduced cost of WBG-based semiconductors such as Silicon Carbide (SiC).
Scope: The activities are intended to produce, test and validate WBG-based based switching
semiconductors such as Silicon Carbide (SiC) for converter station application.
The activities include, but are not limited to:
   Production of SiC based semiconductors for HVDC – MVDC converter applications
      (example for HVDC: MMC cells with SiC 3.3 kV and above, 1,5 kA and above with
      optimal increased switching frequency to reduce losses).
   Converter board design and production (power and control parts installation and
      soldering of all components, hardware and software testing, etc.).
   Simulation and analysis of the impact of the actual passive components used in WBG
      components circuitry in the above mentioned conditions; development of strategies and
      innovative techniques to upgrade them for better adaptation to the afore-mentioned
      working conditions.
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    Analysis of the impact of fast transients from power electronics on other electrical
     components that were not originally designed to endure such stresses.
    Series modules assembly for converter application.
    Simulation and real time testing and validation of the converter with WBG-based
     switching semiconductor.
    Technical-economic assessment of the benefits provided by WBG-based compared to
     Silicon-based switching semiconductor of converters.
The consortium is expected to involve the European Commission and ECSEL JU where
considered relevant.
The selected projects are expected to contribute to relevant BRIDGE92 activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-11: Reinforcing digitalisation related know how of local
energy ecosystems
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    Increased autonomy of local ecosystems to participate in the decentralisation of energy
     systems and energy transition.
    Increase the number of participants in flexibility markets.
    Cover the gap on knowledge around digitalisation of energy services and contribute to
     the reskilling & upskilling of individuals and organizations.
    Facilitate the creation of a network of parties interested in joining forces for public
     procurement of energy related digital services.
Scope: The digitization of the future will not be created only by leading digital technologies,
but also by knowledge on and from the application areas of these technologies as well as a
range of methods and strategic tools. The creation/reinforcement of local digitalisation-of-
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energy ecosystems as a way to support a competence cluster for digital energy concepts
affecting to operators, consumers/prosumers, and authorities, which enable them being
autonomous to react to local energy transition needs.
The project should create an upskilling and reskilling training program, centred on the
digitalisation of energy and covering needs of local ecosystems centred on, among others,
DSOs, city operators, connected active consumers (energy communities or potential new
entrants) and local/regional authorities.
The training program should also contribute to capacity building of energy community
members and to the support of citizens in understanding the steps to follow to create an
energy community.
The project should seek to establish a cluster organization at local level for energy relevant
digital technologies such as, but not only, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things,
cybersecurity, big data, edge computing, data communications or blockchain.
After identifying the needs and engaging on a local level, the project should provide extensive
training in all Member States/Associated Countries and make the developed/used training
material available as broadly as possible.
The project should take into account, and collaborate with, where considered necessary, the
ongoing EDDIE 93 project from the Erasmus + program, relevant initiatives by Digital
Innovation Hubs, EC Digital Education action plan and any other initiative geared in the same
direction.
At the same time the project should investigate, and if the reaction is positive, create a
network of parties interested in joining forces for public procurement of digital services. One
example could be tools for cities to participate in energy flexibility markets that are
interoperable, where already present, with their Smart City Platforms)
The selected projects are expected to contribute to relevant BRIDGE94 activities.
This topic will benefit from the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement
of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to
produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related
research activities. The Commission will make sure that projects benefit from SSH expertise
through the cooperation in Bridge.
Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS)
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-12: Integration of CCUS in hubs and clusters, including
knowledge sharing activities
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: The continuation of investigating CCUS possibilities in hubs and clusters,
including knowledge sharing activities, is urgently needed as it could help to identify
infrastructure needs. Furthermore, it could also lead to identifying potential new CO2 Projects
of Common Interest in the sense of the TEN-E regulation95. Early planning will enable and
accelerate the roll-out of a CCUS infrastructure consisting of capture points and clusters,
intermediate hubs, CO2 conversion facilities, safe and cost-effective CO2 transport and
storage. Comprehensive information concerning the integration of CCUS in hubs and clusters
will facilitate the development of operational sites as from the early 2020's. The project is
expected to demonstrate the necessary requirements for CCUS integration in carbon-intensive
industries and will promote knowledge sharing activities.
Scope: The EU Green Deal underlines that the transition to climate neutrality requires smart
infrastructure and defines CCUS among the innovative infrastructures whose deployment in
key industrial sectors will be necessary before 2030. Integration of CCUS in high emission
industrial hubs and clusters is expected to be the most cost-efficient approach. Sharing,
eventually across borders, CO2 transport, use and/or storage infrastructure will help with
achieving economies of scale, and improving the business case. The complexity of CCUS
projects requires the inclusion of a great number of stakeholders, transparency, information
and knowledge sharing, and forward looking, joint planning.
The project is expected to include the elaboration of detailed plans for the integration of
CCUS in hubs and clusters linked to CO2 storage sites via hubs, pipeline networks and
shipping routes, with due attention to national and border-crossing permitting and regulatory
issues. Mapping and understanding the nature and longevity of emission sources,
identification of transport corridors and modalities, and performing initial impact assessments,
and developing local business models for delivery of CO2 capture, transport, utilisation and/or
storage (including the separation of responsibilities across the CO2 value chain), within
promising regions is important. Industrial clusters may include, for example, power
generation, cement and steel factories, chemical plants, refineries, waste-to-energy plants, and
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        on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure.
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hydrogen production facilities. In its initial phase, this topic could include the use of natural
gas (for the production of low carbon hydrogen, in power plants and refineries). The
assessment of cost-effective ('bankable') storage capacity in the selected regions is important.
This can be sites for onshore or offshore storage capabilities. Interaction between CCUS
hubs-and-clusters on the one hand, and renewables-based integrated energy systems, and/or
circular production modes on the other; will need to be studied.
Close cooperation across the CCUS value chain, as well as engagement with local
stakeholders, is paramount and so is knowledge exchange across CCUS projects. This
includes identifying and involving relevant end users, public authorities and societal
stakeholders and analysing their concerns and needs using appropriate techniques and
methods from the social sciences and humanities. The exchange of knowledge and know how
across CCUS projects needs to be continued and facilitated: therefore the successful project
will be expected to continue the activities of the existing European CCUS project network96.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-13: Cost reduction of CO2 capture (new or improved
technologies)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       10.00 and 15.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 30.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Significant step-change advances in CO2 capture rates, reductions in
energy penalty and cost of CO2 capture as well as facilitating safe and economic integration
into industrial clusters - which will in a short timeframe allow the uptake of CCUS in the
power sector and energy intensive industries.
Scope: The high cost of carbon capture is still the most relevant stumbling block for a wider
application of CCUS. Commercial deployment of CCUS requires a significant reduction of
the energy intensity of the CO2 capture process for power plants or other energy-intensive
industries, and a substantial decrease of the cost of capture. A continuous effort is needed to
develop and demonstrate new or improved capture technologies.
The objective is the pilot demonstration of advanced CO2 capture technologies that have a
high potential for increasing capture rates and efficiency, while reducing energy penalty and
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improving cost-efficiency of the whole capture process. Projects will test operating conditions
and operational flexibility, and provide proof of the reliability and cost-effectiveness of these
concepts, whilst at the same time evaluating the cost, technical requirements and operational
and safety impacts on the industrial facility and the associated transport and storage
infrastructure. The proposal should state credible and clearly defined targets and key
performance indicators (KPIs) for the energy penalty reduction, the capture rate and the
relative capital and operating costs of the capture process. Environmentally benign
technologies have to be pursued and their environmental impact addressed in the project also
in view of future scaling up.
Technology development should be balanced by an assessment of the societal readiness
towards the proposed innovations, including by identifying and involving relevant end users
and societal stakeholders (such as civil society organisations, non-governmental
organisations, and local associations) in deliberative processes and analysing their concerns
and needs using appropriate techniques and methods from the social sciences and humanities.
Proposals are expected to include aspects of circularity and best use of resources.
Cross-cutting issues
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-14: Support to the activities of the European Geological
Services
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 20.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   An improved evidence-based decision-making and long-term sustainable management of
      Europe’s subsurface, including offshore, needed to build a climate neutral continent.
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    Comprehensive inventory of harmonised data on primary raw materials in Europe, with
      a focus on applications of critical raw materials 97 for energy storage and power
      generation, resulting in a higher level of independence for Europe.
    Comprehensive inventory of information on geothermal energy resources and subsurface
      storage capacities for sustainable energy carriers (hydrogen, heat and cold) and
      sequestration of CO2, based on common and national scale assessment criteria and
      standardised reporting.
    Improved appraisal, protection and sustainable use – including appraisal of capacities for
      temporary storage - of Europe’s groundwater resources, which are under increasing
      pressure because of climate change and competing uses of the subsurface. Improved
      adaptation of coastal zones to the effects of climate change and sea level rise.
    A strong and sustainable network of national Geological Survey organisations in order to
      provide geological knowledge and services on a Pan-European level.
Scope: The growing demand for energy, raw materials and water is a key challenge for
Europe, requiring a more integrated, efficient and sustainable use of these resources. Europe
is increasingly dependent on global supply of mineral resources, in particular on those needed
for application in power generation, energy storage and transport, for the transition to climate
neutrality. However, until now there is no complete and harmonised data at European level on
mineral resources and reserves. There is a need for standardised reporting and uniform
appraisal of subsurface capacities for CO2 sequestration and temporary storage of sustainable
energy carriers (including hydrogen and heat/cold) in order to support a secure, affordable and
low-carbon energy supply. Groundwater resources are under increasing pressure as a result of
climate change, as well as competing subsurface uses, including for mineral and energy
resources. An up-to-date body of knowledge with high quality, policy-relevant geoscientific
information and expertise, aggregated at the EU-level, at the service of European citizens,
enterprises and institutions. This topic calls for concerted action to structurally address this
challenge at European level, which is expected to ultimately lead to a Geological Service for
Europe as a point of entry into a permanent collaborative network of National Geological
Survey organisations.
For achieving these objectives, the action is expected to address the following issues:
    Re-evaluation of European resources in primary raw materials and mining waste, with a
      focus on critical raw materials needed for climate transition, filling the currently existing
      gaps in data and information at European level.
    Developing a database with FAIR 98 and harmonised data on mineral resources and
      reserves (excluding fossil fuels) according to United Nations Framework Classification
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         Sustainability
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         fair.org/fair-principles/; and Final Report and Action Plan from the European Commission Expert
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      for Resources (UNFC) 99 , integrated in or linked to the EC managed geoportals (EU
      Open data portal100 and EU INSPIRE Geoportal.
     Developing an EU International Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Resource
      Management focused on promoting and building capacity on United Nations Framework
      Classification for Resources (UNFC) for mineral resources (primary and secondary) and
      supporting the United Nations Resource Management System (UNRMS) in line with the
      UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
     Building and maintaining an integrated European geothermal resources database based
      on uniform appraisal techniques and resource classification standards. Extend the
      geothermal database with assessed storage options for heat and cold.
     Deploying and maintaining a European storage atlas for CO2 and sustainable energy
      carriers like hydrogen and compressed air. Develop the knowledge for the subsurface
      management and planning of storage sites for CO2 and sustainable energy carriers.
     Transnational, harmonised data gathering, managing under the FAIR 101 principles,
      monitoring and evaluation of groundwater dynamics and groundwater quality.
     Collating and integrating geological and climate related information and data to assess
      and map coastal vulnerability, and to optimise siting of offshore windfarms (as well as
      associated infrastructure), in support of multifunctional use of pan-European marine
      space.
     Developing - and partly implementing within the CSA - a research agenda, which
      includes the piloting of innovative cross-country data generation methods, to help
      achieve the expected impacts. Coordinating, integrating and aligning R&I programmes
      of European geological surveys. Furthermore, the CSA is encouraged to seek synergies
      with the EPOS European Research Infrastructure Consortium.
     Developing a user-friendly digital Europe geological information system providing
      permanent data access, based on FAIR, and disseminating accurate, up-to-date, relevant
      and impartial data, information and knowledge developed by the partnership.
     Transformation of these data into decision support information and intelligence,
      including the use of innovative modelling and visualisation in multiscale digital
      products.
     Dissemination and communication of information and knowledge to stakeholders,
      including the general public.
        Group         on        FAIR          Data,        “TURNING           FAIR   INTO   REALITY”
        (https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/turning_fair_into_reality_0.pdf)
99
        https://www.unece.org/energywelcome/areas-of-work/unfc-and-resource-management/about-unfc-and-
        sustainable-resource-management.html
100
        https://data.europa.eu/euodp/en/home
101
        FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable)
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   Create a strong network of geological surveys, and develop a permanent structure in the
     form of a Geological Service for Europe able to sustain this network and the geological
     information system after the end of the programme.
The use of own resources, for example for implementing the proposed research agenda, will
increase the potential impact of the action, and is strongly encouraged.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02-15: Support to the activities of the ETIPs and technology
areas of the SET Plan
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                     proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.80 million.
Type of Action       Coordination and Support Actions
Award criteria       The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following exceptions
                     apply:
                     The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following exceptions
                     apply:
                     Only up to one project will be funded in each of the following sectors:
                         carbon capture storage and use;
                         geothermal systems;
                         hydropower;
                         ocean energy;
                         photovoltaics;
                         renewable fuels & bioenergy;
                         concentrated solar thermal energy (CSP & STE);
                         renewable heating and cooling;
                         wind energy;
                         energy efficiency in industry;
                         energy efficiency in buildings.
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Expected Outcome: Engagement of stakeholders is pivotal in the transition to a clean energy
system and the achievement of the zero-emissions target.
Project results are expected to contribute to both of the following outcomes:
   Consolidation of strong and sustainable networks in the different technology areas
      covered through the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan and its integrated
      roadmap.
   Cooperation among ETIPs and similar stakeholders fora, support to existing SET Plan
      Implementation Plans and advancement towards more interconnected activities, both in
      terms of contents and implementation mechanisms.
Scope: In 2015, the launch of the Energy Union saw the SET Plan incorporated as the Energy
Union’s fifth pillar on ‘Research, Innovation and Competitiveness’. Through the
Communication “Towards an Integrated Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan”, the
Integrated SET Plan set ambitious R&I targets which remain relevant and essential in the new
context of the European Green Deal and the Recovery Plan for Europe.
Depending on the sector, European Technology and Innovation Platforms (ETIPs), and/or
SET Plan Implementation Working Groups (IWG) and/or similar stakeholders fora support
the development and implementation of the SET Plan R&I priorities by bringing together
relevant stakeholders in key areas from industry, research organisations and, where
applicable, SET Plan Countries’ government representatives. They develop research and
innovation agendas and roadmaps, industrial strategies, analysis of market opportunities and
funding needs, understanding of innovation barriers and exploitation of research results,
which are in line with the Recovery Plan for Europe and latest EU climate and energy related
policies. They also provide consensus-based strategic advice to the SET Plan initiative
covering technical and non-technological aspects.
Considering the overarching aim of the clean energy transition, ETIPs, IWGs and/or similar
fora are encouraged to align and coordinate their activities, defining cross-cutting aspects for
accelerating the clean energy transition and contribute to the development of a European
Research Area in the field of Energy. Proposals should support ETIPs and/or IWGs and/or
stakeholders fora of one of the above-listed sectors, taking into consideration the specific
needs of the sector they address and the emerging policy priorities for their implementation as
well as the coordination with other initiatives/projects, in order to avoid overlaps.
ETIPs, IWGs and stakeholders fora should ensure the participation of companies (industry
and SMEs), research and civil society organisations, universities and European associations
representing relevant sectors (as applicable) from a representative number of SET Plan
countries establishing links with national authorities. To maximise their impact and widen
participation, they are encouraged to develop and implement robust outreach approaches and
societal engagement actions to span across the EU and associated countries.
Special attention should be given to the key challenges of the European Green Deal,
including, but not limited to, technological pushback, industrial production, societal
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transformation, and just transition. Likewise, contributions to the goals of the European
Research ERA in the field of energy, in particular regarding how to incentivise investing in
research and innovation should be addressed.
Furthermore, proposals should develop a dissemination and exploitation strategy and
implement dissemination and networking activities with other existing ETIPs and IWGs (e.g.
joint workshops, thematic conferences, webinar series, regular exchanges, etc.). Relevant
outputs of these CSAs will feed into the SET Plan information system (SETIS).
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
Proposals should address one of the following sectors: carbon capture storage and use,
geothermal systems, hydropower, ocean energy, photovoltaics, renewable fuels & bioenergy,
concentrated solar thermal energy (CSP & STE), renewable heating and cooling, wind energy,
energy efficiency in industry, energy efficiency in buildings.
Proposals submitted under this topic are encouraged to include actions designed to facilitate
cooperation, across Europe, with other projects and to ensure the accessibility and reusability
of data produced in the course of the project. Proposals should include a finance and
sustainability plan for future continuation beyond the lifetime of the proposal.
The indicative project duration is 3 years.
The requested budget for actions in the areas of concentrated solar thermal energy, energy
efficiency in industry and energy efficiency in buildings should be around EUR 0.6 million
because in these sectors there is no ETIP, only a SET Plan IWG with lighter structure and
activities. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
requesting different amounts.
Call - Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply
                                                                            HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)102
                 Topics                     Type         Budgets            Expected EU            Number
                                              of          (EUR        contribution per project         of
102
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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                                      Action        million)        (EUR million)103        projects
                                                                                            expected
                                                      2021                                    to be
                                                                                             funded
                                      Opening: 02 Sep 2021
                                     Deadline(s): 23 Feb 2022
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-01 RIA                     5.00           Around 2.50                2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-02 RIA                     33.00          Around 3.00                11
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-03 RIA                     10.00          Around 3.30                3
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-04 RIA                     18.00          Around 6.00                3
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-05 RIA                     10.00          Around 3.00                3
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-06 RIA                     9.00           Around 3.00                3
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-07 RIA                     15.00          Around 5.00                3
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-08 RIA                     10.00          3.00 to 5.00               2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-09 RIA                     15.00          Around 5.00                3
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-10 RIA                     10.00          Around 3.50                3
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-11 RIA                     10.00          3.00 to 5.00               2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-12 IA                      50.00 104      Around 16.00               3
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-13 IA                      45.00 105      Around 15.00               3
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-14 IA                      10.00 106      Around 10.00               1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-15 RIA                     10.00          Around 5.00                2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-16 IA                      20.00 107      Around 10.00               2
Overall indicative budget                         280.00
General conditions relating to this call
103
       Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
       amounts.
104
       Of which EUR 25.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
105
       Of which EUR 22.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
106
       Of which EUR 5.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
107
       Of which EUR 10.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Admissibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Global leadership in renewable energy
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-01: AU-EU Water Energy Food Nexus
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.50
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                       states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
                       In addition to the conditions described in General Annex B, at least three
                       partners from three different African countries must be part of the
                       consortium.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4 by the end of the project – see
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Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    Reinforce the activities in the long term the AU-EU HLPD CCSE Partnership.
    Provide knowledge and scientific modelling as evidence base of the water-energy-food-
       nexus including the environmental, social and economic trade-offs to contribute to R&I
       strategy and policy making.
    Increase clean energy generation in the African energy systems.
    A sustained network of African experts and expertise in this area.
    Improve in the long-term governance to advance knowledge and scientific modelling of
       the water energy food nexus including the environmental, social and economic trade-offs
       (governance aspects should be included since they are under-represented in the current
       research works).
Scope: The topic is contributing to the activities of the AU-EU High Level Policy Dialog
(HLPD) Climate Change and Sustainable Energy (CCSE) partnership. Climate changes and
increase usage of water in all economic activities create more stresses on water use for energy
generation. Energy generation covers in this context energy from renewable sources and
energy vectors such as electricity, heat and fuels. Therefore the needs for African countries of
having their own dedicated models to simulate and estimate the stresses on the water-energy
nexus are crucial for their policy decision and energy planning. International agreement and
trade issues can be considered in the model. Most of the current models are based on
developed country standard and usage.
The proposal should then develop and test models for decision makers and planners to
implement energy infrastructures and energy supply in Africa which safeguard a systemic
approach to the water-energy food nexus. These models can be based on existing reliable
source codes and models. The test should be made on the case of an existing African water
basin. Participation of societal stakeholders is considered important
Actions should promote the highest standards of transparency in model adoption, going
beyond documentation and extending to aspects such as assumptions, architecture, code and
data. The outcome of the project should be widely disseminated and the source code of the
model should be open access to stimulate future development. To ensure future uses, African
experts in water-energy nexus and in model development should be full partners in the
project. The project should identify further local training needs.
The project should also link with existing European activities to create synergies and cross-
fertilisation. The project should participate in the activities of the HLPD CCSE partnership.
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HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-02: Next generation of renewable energy technologies
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 33.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 3-4 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Available breakthrough and game changing renewable energy technologies enabling a
     faster transition to a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions EU economy by 2050.
   Knowledge and scientific proofs of the technological feasibility of the concept including
     the environmental, social and economic benefits to contribute to R&I strategy and policy
     forecast.
   Establishing a solid long term dependable European innovation base.
Scope: The proposal is expected to address high-risk/high return technology developments for
game changing renewable energy technologies including catalyst development, dedicated
storage systems and integration of renewable energy technologies into a single energy
generation system, heating & cooling systems, fuels production systems, hybrid electricity
generation solutions between different renewable energy sources, direct utilization of
renewable energy sources.
The following areas should not be covered as they fall within the scope of partnerships or
other calls:
   Pure material research;
   Conventional hydrogen production and fuel cells;
   Batteries.
However the production of renewable hydrogen directly from renewable energy sources is
within the scope of the topic.
The proposal should validate its concept to TRL 3 or TRL 4 through a robust research
methodology and activities, establish the technological feasibility of its concept, consider
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transfer developments in sectors other than energy whenever relevant, as they may provide
ideas, experiences, technology contributions, knowledge, new approaches, innovative
materials and skills.
In developing its concept the proposal is expected to address the following related aspects:
lower environmental impact, better resource efficiency (materials, geographical footprints,
water, etc…) than current commercial renewable technologies, issues related to social
acceptance or resistance to new energy technologies, related socioeconomic and livelihood
issues. Considerations should be given to the regulatory frameworks for their adequate
integration.
The project should also document the research process thoroughly - methods, data, results - to
ensure that future research and deployment builds on lessons from positive and negative
attempts made, through for example public deliverable, ORDP, etc. in order to ensure that the
final results and data are actually available after the project end.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-03: Hybrid catalytic conversion of renewable energy to
carbon-neutral fuels
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.30
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 3-4 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Carbon-neutral fuels can provide breakthrough solutions towards a fossil-
free economy responding to longer-term future demands for high energy density carriers in
sectors relying on liquid fuels if making their synthesis more efficient and technically sound.
This will contribute to advance the European scientific basis, leadership and global role in the
area of renewable fuels by moving forward the supra-national actors, and to reinforce the
European potential to export European renewable fuel technologies through international
collaboration.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Foster availability of synergetic catalytic systems for carbon-neutral renewable fuels.
    Improve performance of carbon-neutral renewable fuels and European competitiveness.
    Accelerate development of efficient carbon-neutral renewable fuels.
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Scope: Proposals will develop hybrid catalytic conversion processes, combining chemical,
electrochemical, biological, biochemical and thermochemical catalytic processes to convert
renewable energy to carbon-neutral renewable fuels of biological or non-biological origin
(other than hydrogen), and which respond to longer-term future demands for high energy
density carriers in sectors relying on liquid fuels. The development and combination of novel
catalysts and linked lab-scale components and/or systems which improve significantly the
performance regarding conversion efficiency for best atomic economy and specific marginal
cost reduction should be addressed. Development of catalysts and/or systems with dual
function, e.g. catalyst/sorbent or other, may be included. Combination of at least two different
catalysts types into a single multicatalytic material as appropriate should be addressed.
Improvements as regards the conversion of a broader variety of molecules from the same
feedstock and the broader application of hybrid catalytic systems in up-scaled processes
should be examined. Maximizing GHG emissions abatement in the conversion process should
be aimed. International cooperation is encouraged. Combination of H2 production by
electrolysis and its separate use for catalytic conversion of CO2 is not covered by this topic.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-04: Physics and aerodynamics of atmospheric flow of wind
for power production
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 18.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility conditions    The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                          exceptions apply:
                          If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning,
                          navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must
                          make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and
                          services may additionally be used).
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                The granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or the
                          exclusive licensing of results under certain conditions.
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Expected Outcome: As wind turbines grow bigger and taller, the blade tips are increasing
more affected by turbulent atmospheric flow features, while airborne wind energy systems
operate at even higher altitudes. This zone of the atmosphere currently lays between the
current numeric models at the microscale and the mesoscale. Further, the data integration of
the models of these different altitudes is still scarce. Thus, there is a need for an improved
understanding of atmospheric flow physics, particularly regarding wind power production
forecasting and the design of wind energy technology components.
It is expected that better predictions of wind patterns should:
    Support improved wind farm design, location choice, distribution and operation thus
       bridging the gap between small-scale controlled experiments and full-scale deployment;
    Enhance system reliability and power production;
    Decrease economic uncertainties related to farm design and power production, as well as
       wind technology components design and durability;
    Lead to the development of numerical models capable of accurately forecasting high
       wind flow and power production. It will also improve wakes modelling and the
       integration of models with real condition wind farm data;
    Use open access of Big Data storage and usage for the testing and performance tracking
       of the numeric models.
Scope: The proposal is expected to address all of the following aspects:
    Develop an open access knowledge hub for experimental data, based on the principles of
       open data sharing.
    Develop and validate numeric models to accurately forecast wind flow in low, medium
       and high altitudes in onshore and offshore scenarios. These models should address how
       external factors, such as wind conditions, and different climate affect power production
       and loads on target and neighbouring wind power systems;
    Integrate these different developments (knowledge hub and forecasting models) into a
       tool able to be readily absorbed by the sector. This integrated approach need to be
       applicable to at least 2 of these different wind energy conversion technologies: onshore
       wind, offshore wind (fixed bottom or floating), and high altitude wind systems;
    Validate and promote how such tools could be used to improve the design and
       deployment of wind farms, through case studies;
    Address and test how such integrated tools can be used for design development of wind
       technology components (for example blades, towers, substructures, kites, etc.), in
       particular on the issue of energy efficiency and material durability.
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Further indirect impacts on decreased material usage, system efficiency, and social issues
should also be made explicit. In order to optimise impact and enhance synergies, cooperation
with projects from the Horizon 2020 LC-SC3-RES-31-2020 call is particularly encouraged.
Synergies are possible with topic: HORIZON-CL4-DIGITAL-EMERGING-2022-01-18: 2D
materials-based devices and systems for energy storage and/or harvesting (RIA).
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-05: Wind energy in the natural and social environment
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                     requesting different amounts.
Indicative           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
budget
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Procedure            The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                     apply:
                     To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                     only in order of ranking but at least also to the highest ranking proposal
                     addressing offshore wind farms and the highest ranking proposal
                     addressing onshore wind farms, provided they attain all thresholds. This
                     condition to ensure a balanced portfolio will also considered to be met if
                     one project addressing both aspects is funded.
Expected Outcome: Renewable energy technologies will be evermore present in the lives of
European citizens, thus a harmonious co-existence is essential. Wind turbines are particularly
susceptible to the NIMBY effect (Not In My BackYard), and hence it is facing opposition
despite being a high-potential clean energy source. In order to achieve the European goals on
climate neutrality, dedicated actions in this context are needed to ensure that large turbines
retain a low environmental impact and gain more popular support. A particular focal point
should be how to best engage with different communities to identify actions toward the co-
existence goal.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Develop and promote the use of modelling tools and objective holistic assessment
      metrics for realistic in-depth analysis of cumulative impacts of wind installations on the
      environment and on local communities;
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     Develop guidelines to enhance energy citizenship108of (onshore or offshore) wind energy
      and farms, promoting a harmonious co-existence between the local population, other
      sectors (e.g. fishing communities, tourism) and the wind farms;
     Realise outreach activities to promote social awareness and engagement on wind energy,
      and develop guidelines for participatory processes in wind farm development to reach
      interactive and mutually value-enhancing outcomes;
     Facilitate both the identification of future areas for deployment, notably of offshore wind
      farms, and the consenting process.
Scope: The proposal is expected to address all the following aspects:
     Develop and promote the use of validated models and guidelines as a tool for enhanced
      societal engagement. Further, it should also demonstrate how participatory processes can
      enhance value creation and achieve higher social acceptability of wind energy;
     Assess through validated models how wind turbines impact the local environment (noise,
      impact on soil or sea beds, visual effect, effects on animal life and other species). In
      addition, it should also assess, if applicable, how offshore wind turbines (and fixed or
      floating substructures) impact the local marine environment (currents, waves, upwelling,
      and sediment transport). Finally, it should help to identify the best areas for deployment
      and to develop new designs and/or enhanced control strategies of wind turbines to
      address potential impacts;
     Develop a forum where regulators, industry, and local communities can exchange
      information and provide input to one another. Further, it should also identify the effect
      that the implemented models have on promoting wind energy;
     Address how the impact of different wind energy innovations and applications (onshore,
      offshore, floating, and airborne) is seen by the general public and the local actors.
This topic requires the effective contribution of Social Science and Humanities (SSH)
disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of
relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the
societal impact of the related research activities. Social innovations should also be considered,
notably as new tools, ideas and methods leading to active citizen engagement and as drivers
of social change, social ownership, and new social practices.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-06: Novel approaches to concentrated solar power (CSP)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
108
         Creating energy citizenship through material participation
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project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Concentrating solar power (CSP) plants supply renewable, dispatchable
power and can therefore be an important element of the evolving energy system. Project
results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Higher shares of variable output renewables in the energy system.
   Future, higher-efficiency CSP plants.
   Reduced levelized cost of electricity of future CSP plants.
   Significant performance regarding start-up, shutdown and load variation of future CSP
      plants.
   Improved environmental profile of future CSP plants.
Scope: Support will be given to novel solutions that use concentrating solar thermal energy to
generate power.
In terms of power dispatchability, the novel solutions will have to ensure a performance at
least equivalent to current commercial installations.
Solutions that cogenerate power and heat are also in the scope. Moreover, solutions that
support the concentrating solar thermal technology with photovoltaic technology are also in
the scope.
Projects should assess the sustainability of the proposed solutions in environmental and socio-
economic terms. Applicants are encouraged to consider a ‘circularity by design’ approach.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-07: Stable high-performance Perovskite Photovoltaics
Specific conditions
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Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                        consortium selected for funding.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level         General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Photovoltaic power generation is pivotal in the transition to a clean
energy system and the achievement of the zero-emissions target. To that end, it is important to
enhance affordability, security of supply and sustainability of PV technologies along with
further efficiency improvements. Consequently, project results are expected to contribute to
all of the following outcomes:
    Increase the efficiency and stability and minimise the environmental impact of
      Perovskite PV.
    Enlarge with bandgap tuneable perovskites and corresponding device architectures the
      integration and application possibilities of PV technology.
    Increase the potential for commercialisation of perovskite PV, creating a competitive
      technological know-how for the European PV industrial base.
Scope: Perovskite PV are welcomed as an emerging technology for solar energy conversion,
as today they afford high power conversion efficiency (PCE), higher than 25%. At the same
time, perovskite semiconductors are based on abundant and low-cost starting materials and
can be processed using simple and economic methods. The tuneable bandgap of the
perovskite materials opens a lot of applications in a wide range of optoelectronic devices,
even beyond solar cells. To ensure however economic feasibility and competitive levelized
cost of electricity, the technology should offer long-term stability alongside high power
conversion efficiency to match the reliability of silicon-wafer-based modules (the lifetime
expectation for a PV module in a power plant is 20–25 years). At present, the long-term
stability of lead halide perovskite modules does not meet this target and improvements are
hampered by a lack of understanding of the cell and module failure modes. In addition to the
intrinsic cell stability issues of perovskite PV, the usage of lead and scaling-up are the main
challenges towards bringing perovskite technologies to the market.
The proposal should address all of the following:
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   Research and resolve the degradation issues/mechanisms encountered from material to
     module and produce stable and highly efficient perovskite PV architectures/modules by
     optimizing the constituent materials, the architecture of the cell, the interfaces, the
     interconnections between cells, the environment conditions during the fabrication steps
     of cells and modules, the encapsulation of cells and modules, etc.
   Propose new device concepts and new materials (improved lead-halide perovskites or
     Pb-free perovskite analogues) to deal with any toxicity issues.
   Ensure compliance with the relevant protocols (ISOS) at laboratory scale.
   Develop adequate stability assessment methods/measurements; propose and perform
     device/module real –life (under actual outdoor operating conditions) characterisation for
     reliability and energy yield assessment.
   Identify environmental “hotspots” and how to address them. Perform a life cycle
     analysis (including decommissioning and disposal) to bring evidence of the low
     environmental impact, better resource efficiency than current commercial PV
     technologies, and circularity potential.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-08: Cost-effective micro-CHP and hybrid heating systems
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
   Increased technical performance, robustness, feasibility and penetration of renewables at
     household level
   Increase technology leadership and competitiveness of European industry
   Increased production share of renewables at consumer level
   Increased socioeconomic and environmental sustainability of renewables based energy
     systems at household level.
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Scope: Develop new technologies for biomass micro-CHP systems, including e.g. high
efficiency supercritical CHP systems with embedded integration of other renewables into
hybrid heating systems for maximizing the overall share of renewables at household and/or
multifamily level and emission reduction.
Improve the integration of compatible renewable technologies in household and/or
multifamily generators of heat and power making them attractive by addressing technological
bottlenecks, efficiency, cost-effectiveness and socio-economic as well as environmental
sustainability.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-09: Carbon-negative sustainable biofuel production
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Reusing or inhibiting biogenic effluent gases from biofuel production in
the same process, increases the biomass conversion efficiency and sustainability potential and
the overall resource and energy efficiency of the biomass utilization. Improving such
integration will contribute to increase the biofuel technology competitiveness and acceptance
and advance the European leadership and global role in the area of sustainable biofuels.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Increase bioenergy efficiency and sustainability.
   Increase sustainable biomass resource utilization.
   Generate negative emissions from biofuel production.
Scope: Proposals should develop cost-effective solutions to minimize carbon waste in
sustainable biofuel production processes by inhibiting biogenic effluent gas emissions or
incorporating biological and/or chemical/other capture of the biogenic effluent gas emissions
from the process and use it as appropriate either for separate in-situ downstream synthesis of
renewable fuels of biological origin, or integrate it in the sustainable biofuel production
through recycling. Proposals should also include an innovative approach for biogenic carbon
storage, through for example integrating production of biochar and using it as soil amendment
to enhance organic carbon content and functionality of soil, as well as a means to sequester
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carbon into the soil. Synergies with renewable hydrogen production should be developed by
incorporating it as appropriate in the sustainable biofuel production to compensate for
additional needs in hydrogen, increase overall biomass conversion efficiency, minimize the
biogenic carbon waste and reduce the fossil carbon footprint of the biofuel production. The
overall GHG emissions should be assessed on the basis of a Life Cycle Analysis for proving
negative GHG emissions and higher sustainability potential of biofuel production when
reusing biogenic effluent gases in-situ, along with addressing socioeconomic aspects.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-10: Innovative foundations, floating substructures and
connection systems for floating PV and ocean energy devices
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per        3.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level         see General Annex B.
Legal and financial     The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant     exceptions apply:
Agreements              The granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or the
                        exclusive licensing of results under certain conditions.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Improved overall life time, reliability, installability, operability and maintainability of
     marine substructures, mechanical joints and energy connection systems for ocean energy
     devices and/or offshore floating PV to reduce degradation and failure rates and thus
     investment risk.
   Better understanding of the device’s real life performance allowing a safe reduction in
     the over-engineering of devices’ specifications.
   Reduction of LCOE in line with the SET Plan targets (actions should clearly justify
     estimated LCOE at project start and end, using a recognised calculation methodology).
   Contribution to the objectives of the Mission Healthy oceans, seas, coastal and inland
     waters.
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Scope: The action is expected to:
     Test and validate the potential benefits of new circular materials in offshore floating PV
      and/or ocean energy substructures, foundations and if relevant mooring and anchoring
      systems whilst ensuring structural integrity and durability considering very high wind
      (speed >25 m/s), current (>1.2 m/s) and wave (height >14 m) loads and corrosion and
      biofouling on all elements of the ocean energy systems.
     Test and validate new prototype components and materials used in offshore floating PV
      and/or ocean energy devices and verify that they are compatible with and resistant to the
      marine environment.
     Research material properties and behaviour in combination with the use of improved
      predictive computational modelling tools.
     Research, develop and validate improved predictive computational modelling tools for
      material properties.
The use of existing test facilities and related research infrastructures for the purposes of the
project should be considered.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
The selected projects are expected to contribute and participate to the activities of the project
BRIDGE109 when relevant.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-11: Development of hydropower equipment for hidden
hydropower
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level         General Annex B.
109
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Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
   Advance the European scientific basis, leadership and global role in the area of
     sustainable hydropower while creating evidence for policy making.
   Create additional sustainable hydropower capacity to the existing fleet, maintain and
     advance European technological competitiveness in the sector, thus supporting the EU
     goals for climate protection, energy independence and economic growth.
   Enhance sustainability of added hydropower capacities by addressing social, economic
     and environmental aspects and by promoting prosumer renewable energy in cities and
     communities.
Scope: Development of hydropower equipment for hidden and therefore unrealised
hydropower by developing novel technologies which allow for increased techno-economic
feasible and sustainable hydropower production in non-hydropower hydraulic systems with
low head and/or small reservoir or water body size and/or impaired water quality (e.g.
saltwater), that may also involve prosumer solutions.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-12: Innovation on floating wind energy deployment
optimized for deep waters and different sea basins (Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea,
Baltic Sea, North-east Atlantic Ocean)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per        16.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 50.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Admissibility           The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level         see General Annex B.
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        To ensure a balanced portfolio covering multiple geographical areas,
                        grants will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but
                        priority will be given to high-ranking proposals addressing each of the
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                          different sea basins, provided that the proposals attain all thresholds.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                The granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or the
                          exclusive licensing of results under certain conditions.
Expected Outcome: Floating offshore wind has the potential to unleash a new European
industrial sector able to deliver clean and sustainable energy. Building from European
technological and industrial know-how and harnessing the natural resources of the different
sea basins around the European Union, namely the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, the
Baltic Sea and the North-east Atlantic Ocean, there is an opportunity to leverage these
conditions into technological leadership, while supporting the goal of climate neutrality.
In this context, project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Development or significant improvement of designs that reduce both CAPEX and
      OPEX;
     Deployment and demonstration of advanced full-scale floating wind turbines prototypes,
      and auxiliary equipment, in operational environment;
     Allow development of cost-efficient scalable solutions supporting exploitation of the
      renewable energy offshore potential in challenging conditions, while building upon
      innovative designs of floating structures and auxiliary equipment;
     Contribute to LCOE reduction in line with the SET Plan targets (actions should clearly
      justify an estimated LCOE at project start and end).
Scope: The proposal is expected to deploy in one of the possible sea basins 110 in Europe.
Further, the proposal should:
     Demonstrate how innovations (materials, technologies, designs,…) on floating wind
      turbines, substructures, dynamic cables, control systems and moorings positively affect
      production;
     Demonstrate in real use scenario the improvements that the identified solutions
      contribute in terms of life expectancy, cost reductions, as well as operation and
      maintenance of a floating offshore wind installation;
     Demonstrate how the proposed innovations positively increase rate of deployment of
      offshore wind in deep seas, reducing capital, operational and maintenance costs, as well
      as present an industrial roadmap for a floating energy industrial sector, with focus on
      mass production;
110
        The boundaries between the sea basins as defined in the Directive 2008/56/EC.
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     Document all demonstrations fully and transparently, to ensure replicability, up-scaling
      and to assist future planning decisions;
     Demonstrate a modular design suited to large-scale deployment in various environments,
      with special focus on industrial mass production;
     Ensure minimal environmental impact of these innovations, and address how Maritime
      Spatial Planning can be used to facilitate the identification and optimal use of suitable
      locations for floating wind platforms.
The proposal has to include a clear go/no go moment ahead of entering the deployment phase.
Before this go/no-go moment, the project will have to deliver the detailed engineering plans, a
complete business and implementation plan and all needed permits for the deployment of the
project. The proposal is expected to clearly demonstrate a proposed pathway to obtaining
necessary permits for the demonstration actions and allow for appropriate timelines to achieve
these. The proposal is expected to also demonstrate how it will get a financial close 111 for the
whole action. Independent experts will assess all deliverables and will advise for the go/no-go
decision.
The proposal should take a multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder approach, to ensure that
different viewpoints and interests are taken into account in development and deployment
processes and to help avoid foreseeable externalities. Thus, it requires the effective
contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as
the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects
enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities
The selected projects are expected to contribute and participate to the activities of the project
BRIDGE112 when relevant.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-13: Demonstration pilot lines for alternative and
innovative PV technologies (Novel c-Si tandem, thin film tandem, bifacial, CPV, etc.)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 15.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 45.00 million.
111
        Financial close occurs when all the project and financing agreements have been signed and all the
        required conditions contained in them have been met. It enables funds to start flowing so that project
        implementation can actually start. It includes, but it is not limited to, permitting and planning approvals,
        outstanding technical design issues, remaining key project and financing documents, and funding
        approvals.    More     information       can     be       found     at:    https://www.eib.org/epec/g2g/iii-
        procurement/32/323/index.htm
112
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Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Admissibility            The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         In order to achieve the expected outcomes and safeguard the Union’s
                         strategic assets, interests, autonomy or security and create a European
                         competitive advantage (Clean Energy Competitiveness Report
                         accompanying the 2020 State of the Energy Union Report), participation
                         to the topic is limited to legal entities established in Member States,
                         associated countries and OECD countries. Proposals including legal
                         entities which are not established in these countries will be ineligible.
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level          General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Photovoltaic power generation is pivotal in the transition to a clean
energy system and the achievement of the zero-emissions target. To that end, it is important to
enhance affordability, security of supply and sustainability of PV technologies along with
further efficiency improvements. To insure security of supply, retaining the whole value chain
in Europe is essential; technology de-risking is a necessary step towards this direction.
Consequently, project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
     Promote a considerable pipeline of new and advanced versions of existing technologies
      from lab to fab production, enabling robust continued performance increase, opening up
      new applications and facilitating further cost reduction.
     Reinforce the European PV value chain, support local companies to develop and sell
      differentiated and high value PV products and create local jobs.
     Demonstrate the feasibility and cost-competiveness of the novel PV technologies.
     Contribute towards establishing a solid European innovation base.
     Enable and facilitate large-scale deployment of PV and generation of renewable
      electricity.
     Minimise the impact of PV on landscape and environment by increasing its energy
      yield/m2.
Scope: Net-zero scenarios modelled by the JRC113 show that Europe needs to install up to 600
GW PV generation capacity by 2030 and over 1 TW by 2050 to reach its climate and energy
113
         https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2020.109836
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objectives. The European market will grow 10-15% per year and reach close to 80 GW by
2030. In this race, Europe has a unique opportunity to develop and deploy new generation PV
modules. A considerable number of new and advanced/innovative technologies is in the
pipeline but the concrete application on pilot manufacturing lines is lagging behind. The aim
is therefore to advance those technologies that offer the potential for much higher efficiency
and/or higher energy yield, the same lifetime and degradation rate and comparable cost to
standard crystalline technologies, opening-up possibilities for largescale 4.0 factories to drive
down costs, allowing large relocation of production to Europe.
The proposal should address all of the following:
    Develop and demonstrate at pilot line level innovative or alternative and advanced
      versions of existing PV technologies: the pilot lines should show the feasibility and cost-
      competitiveness of industrial production of cells and modules.
    Develop corresponding manufacturing equipment.
    Implement Industry 4.0 concepts.
    Test and validate the performance characteristics of manufactured products (efficiency,
      durability, reliability, etc.).
    Demonstrate a business case for manufacturing plants of individual output capacity in
      the GW range and a market introduction strategy.
    Address the following related aspects: lower environmental impact, better resource
      efficiency than current commercial renewable technologies, circularity potential
      (including recycling and sustainability by design).
    Document all demonstrators fully and transparently to ensure replicability and up
      scaling, to assist future planning decisions.
The proposal should involve multidisciplinary consortia including industrial partners.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-14: Demonstration of large-scale CHP technologies for a
shift to the use of biogenic residues and wastes
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per        10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
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Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       Proposals that include ‘Hybrid’ approaches that combine the use of
                       renewable energy with the continued use of fossil fuels, are not eligible.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
   Advance the European scientific basis and increase technology competitiveness in the
     area of bioenergy, in particular increase penetration of renewables, regional
     development, cost reduction and feedstock enlargement thus supporting the EU goals for
     climate protection, energy independence and economic growth;
   Technology de-risk retrofitting of large-scale fossil CHP to bioenergy as a necessary step
     before scaling up at commercial level;
   Allow high penetration in the energy system, ensure stability and security of energy
     supply and gain efficiency and costs in transforming the energy system on a
     decarbonised basis, in particular by reducing CAPEX for bioenergy capacity and base-
     load capability;
   Enhance sustainability of renewable energy and fuel value chains by addressing social,
     economic and environmental aspects of the value chain and its life cycle.
Scope: Demonstration of cost-effective and efficient technologies for retrofitting of fossil
CHP systems to the complete use of regionally sourced sustainable biogenic residues and
wastes or derived intermediate bioenergy carriers for continuous, cost-effective and low-
emission operation. Proposals are expected to address long-term scenarios for flexible and
modular operation within the energy system network and document all demonstrators fully
and transparently, to ensure replicability, up-scaling and to assist future planning decisions.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-15: Solutions for more sustainable geothermal energy
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
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                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Performance and reliability improvement of shallow and/or deep geothermal systems;
   Reduced environmental impact of geothermal plants;
   Reduced risk of seismicity;
   Increased citizen engagement for geothermal energy;
   Reduction of LCOE approaching SET Plan targets (actions should clearly justify
      estimated LCOE at project start and end);
   Energy efficient, environmentally sound, and economically viable generation of
      electricity, and/or heating and cooling from geothermal resources in a wide range of
      geological settings, enabling geothermal energy development in new regions and
      supporting application concepts for local energy supply.
Scope: The proposal is expected to develop and validate innovative sustainable circular-by-
design solutions that can reduce environmental impact and increase the overall circularity of
geothermal energy. The following can be considered:
   Capture of greenhouse gases, storage or reinjection schemes for the development and
      exploitation of geothermal reservoirs, in particular those with high content of non-
      condensable gases (NCGs), and the use of alternative fluid to brine.
   Techniques for reservoir development and exploitation in a wider range of geological
      settings, including complex and/or untested geological conditions.
   Potential introduction and demonstration of the innovative technologies as part of
      existing geothermal plants in Europe and abroad.
   Novel methods and technologies to find and develop productivity from near magmatic,
      superhot/supercritical zones that are currently unexploitable and non-commercial.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
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HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-16: Innovative biomethane production as an energy
carrier and a fuel
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Biomethane is a renewable substitute of natural gas, which can provide
energy storage capability and be a flexible renewable energy carrier to be fed to the existing
gas grid if reaching quality standards at an affordable price.
 Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Increase cost-effectiveness of the conversion in biomethane production.
   Diversify the conversion technology basis for biomethane production.
   Contribute to market up-take of biomethane related technologies in the gas market.
   Contribute to the priorities of the SET Plan Action 8.
Scope: Proposals will demonstrate cost-effective and innovative biomethane production
through thermochemical, biochemical, chemical, electrochemical, biological pathways
including sustainable biomass and biogenic wastes gasification, CO2 effluents from anaerobic
digestion or fermentation processes combined with renewable hydrogen or water. The
biomethane production should be optimized to improve production efficiency, reduce cost,
minimize GHG emissions and increase sustainability in a circularity approach for energy and
material above conventional technologies of biogas upgrading to biomethane. All
demonstrators should be fully and transparently documented, to ensure replicability, up-
scaling and to assist future planning decisions. Demonstrating advanced technologies for
efficient production at scale of biomethane will contribute to facilitate the market introduction
of the biomethane technologies and the substitution of natural gas in the gas grid. This is the
basis for penetration of biomethane in the energy and the transport energy systems, in
particular for gas consuming sectors. It supports the European Green Deal and climate and
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energy targets for 2030 and the net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, while supporting
the EU goals for energy independence and competitive sustainable growth.
Call - Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply
                                                                           HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)114
                Topics                     Type         Budgets            Expected EU            Number
                                             of          (EUR        contribution per project         of
                                          Action        million)        (EUR million)115           projects
                                                                                                  expected
                                                          2022                                      to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 14 Oct 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 26 Apr 2022
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-01 IA                          20.00 116      Around 10.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-02 IA                          40.00 117      Around 13.00                 3
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-03 IA                          32.00 118      Around 16.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-04 IA                          20.00 119      Around 20.00                 1
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-05 IA                          10.00 120      Around 10.00                 1
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-06 IA                          10.00 121      Around 5.00                  2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-07 IA                          10.00 122      Around 10.00                 1
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-08 IA                          18.00 123      5.00 to 6.00                 3
114
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
115
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
116
        Of which EUR 10.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
117
        Of which EUR 20.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
118
        Of which EUR 16.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
119
        Of which EUR 10.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
120
        Of which EUR 5.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
121
        Of which EUR 5.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
122
        Of which EUR 5.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-09 IA                       55.00 124      Around 55.00              1
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-10 IA                       7.00 125       2.00 to 3.00              3
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-11 IA                       30.00 126      7.00 to 8.00              4
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-12 IA                       35.00 127      8.00 to 9.00              4
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-13 RIA                      6.00           Around 6.00               1
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-14 IA                       30.00 128      7.00 to 8.00              4
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-15 IA                       58.00 129      Around 29.00              2
Overall indicative budget                          381.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                  The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                               C.
Award criteria                                          The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                        D.
Documents                                               The documents are described in General
                                                        Annex E.
Procedure                                               The procedure is described in General
                                                        Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                 The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Global leadership in renewable energy
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
123
        Of which EUR 9.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
124
        Of which EUR 27.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
125
        Of which EUR 3.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
126
        Of which EUR 15.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
127
        Of which EUR 17.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
128
        Of which EUR 15.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
129
        Of which EUR 29.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-01: Demonstration of cost-effective advanced biofuel
technologies utilizing existing industrial plants
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per        10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Admissibility           The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level         see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: The cost-effective integration of advanced biofuel technologies in
existing industrial plants will contribute to increase the competitiveness of these technologies
and overcome the costly scaling-up of advanced biofuel production which requires heavy new
infrastructure and investments and impedes their capacity building. It will thus allow high
penetration of advanced biofuels in the transport energy system, in particular for hard to
electrify sectors like aviation and maritime. Project results are expected to contribute to all of
the following expected outcomes:
   Reduce capital and operational expenses (CAPEX and OPEX) of advanced biofuel
      production facilities.
   De-risk technology, boost scale-up of advanced biofuels and contribute to their market
      up-take.
   Contribute to the priorities of the SET Plan Action 8.
   Respond to short and medium term needs for renewable fuels in transport.
   Create win-win solutions for advanced biofuel production and conventional industrial
      phasing out plants, e.g., first generation biofuels, associated with socio-economic
      benefits.
Scope: Proposals should demonstrate cost-efficient advanced biofuel technologies which
improve the economic viability of the advanced biofuel production. This should be done
through innovative transformation of existing plants to incorporate production of advanced
biofuels from non-food/feed sustainable biomass feedstock into existing processes, e.g., first
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generation biofuel plants, paper mill industry, waste treatment plants, oil-refineries,
petrochemical industry, etc. Integration of advanced biofuel processing should be done with
new and innovative installations and it should be optimized implementing a circularity
approach for energy and material, as well as digitalization as appropriate, e.g. by using
sensors, smarter equipment, algorithms etc., to increase the efficiency, cost-effectiveness and
performance of the final plant. Economic advantages in terms of both capital and operational
expenditure for commercialization of advanced biofuels through transformation, as well as
socio-economic benefits for phasing-out industries including the impact on current first
generation biofuel sites should be addressed. Proposals should provide information about the
expected economic improvements and the potential of full transformation to advanced biofuel
plants as appropriate. All demonstrators should be fully and transparently documented, to
ensure replicability, up-scaling and to assist future planning decisions.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-02: Demonstration of innovative materials, supply cycles,
recycling technologies to increase the overall circularity of wind energy technology and
to reduce the primary use of critical raw materials
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          13.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 40.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Admissibility             The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Procedure                 The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                          exceptions apply:
                          To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications
                          not only in order of ranking but at least also the highest ranking
                          proposal of each activity area as described in the topic will be funded,
                          provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
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Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                The granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or the
                          exclusive licensing of results under certain conditions.
Expected Outcome: To achieve the goals of climate-neutrality by 2050, renewable energy
sources installations will have an explosive growth. Wind energy, in particular, will play a
large role on supplying clean energy to the electrical grid. Nevertheless, this growth must be
done in a sustainable manner and following the principles set out in the Circular Economy
Action Plan and the Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials. Thus, clear and decisive actions
will need to be taken now to assure that the future wind farms are sustainable and circular,
while also dealing with current wind farms and the recycling of their components, once they
reach the end of their lifetime. The nature of this challenge involves different kinds of
activities.
The first activity is on the development of large-scale industrial demonstration of composite
material recycling technologies to increase the circularity of wind technology. This
demonstration will focus on flexible approaches for composite recycling, and on the
development of a knowledge hub involving other composite-heavy sectors, in order to share
best practices and to identify common challenges.
Another activity is on the development of alternative solutions to replace/substitute critical
raw materials. Further constraints linked to the availability of rare earths elements used in the
wind sector, in particular for permanent magnets, are also relevant in this context.
The project results are expected to contribute to the promotion of the ‘circularity by design’
approach in the wind energy sector, and to support the adoption of life cycle assessment tools,
demonstrating reduced carbon footprint on the wind turbine value chain.
Scope: The proposal is expected to address one of the following activity areas:
   On the development of large-scale industrial demonstration of composite material
      recycling technologies to increase the circularity of wind technology, proposals are
      expected to demonstrate recycling technologies at large-scale in an operating
      environment. The proposed solution will be a flexible production line, able to deal with a
      large amount of material (including, for example, coatings, paints, etc.) and applicable to
      several manufacturers and possibly to other sectors. The proposed solution should also
      have a long-term plan, with a business plan, beyond the life of the project. The proposals
      will also build a knowledge hub within the sector and with other sectors to transfer
      information and to promote recycling in the renewable energy sector and ‘circularity by
      design’ as a solution.
   On the development of alternative solutions to replace/substitute critical raw materials,
      proposals need to develop and demonstrate, in a relevant or operational environment,
      solutions and their supply cycles, improving efficiency of sourcing processes and
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     effectively replacing the constrained materials. The development of advanced ‘circular
     by design’ materials should also be considered. The solutions proposed should be in line
     with the Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials 130and the Foresight Study on Critical
     Raw Materials for Strategic Technologies and Sectors in the EU 131 . Finally, the
     proposals will indicate the effect that such proposed solutions have on promoting
     circularity and/or recyclability on wind energy, as well as their circularity potential, their
     financial feasibility, and their potential to be upscaled. Further, the proposals should
     address and support life cycle analysis as a tool to bring into evidence the environmental
     impact and resource efficiency of proposed solutions.
Independently of the activity tackled, the proposal has to include a clear go/no go moment
ahead of entering the deployment phase. Before this go/no-go moment, the project will have
to deliver the detailed engineering plans and all needed permits for the deployment of the
project. In the case of the first activity, the project will also have to deliver a complete
business and implementation plan. The proposal is expected to clearly demonstrate a proposed
pathway to obtaining necessary permits for the demonstration actions and allow for
appropriate timelines to achieve these. The proposal is expected to also demonstrate how it
will get a financial close 132 for the whole action. Independent experts will assess all
deliverables and will advise for the go/no-go decision.
Synergies are possible with topic: HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-23: Novel
recycling technologies for composite materials (RIA).
The selected projects are expected to contribute and participate to the activities of the project
BRIDGE133 when relevant.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-03: Advanced manufacturing of Integrated PV
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 16.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 32.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
130
        COM(2020) 474 - Critical Raw Materials Resilience: Charting a Path towards greater Security and
        Sustainability
131
        Critical Raw Materials for Strategic Technologies and Sectors in the EU - A Foresight Study
132
        Financial close occurs when all the project and financing agreements have been signed and all the
        required conditions contained in them have been met. It enables funds to start flowing so that project
        implementation can actually start. It includes, but it is not limited to, permitting and planning approvals,
        outstanding technical design issues, remaining key project and financing documents, and funding
        approvals.     More     information      can     be       found     at:    https://www.eib.org/epec/g2g/iii-
        procurement/32/323/index.htm
133
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Admissibility         The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      In order to achieve the expected outcomes and safeguard the Union’s
                      strategic assets, interests, autonomy or security and create a European
                      competitive advantage (Clean Energy Competitiveness Report
                      accompanying the 2020 State of the Energy Union Report), participation
                      to the topic is limited to legal entities established in Member States,
                      associated countries and OECD countries. Proposals including legal
                      entities which are not established in these countries will be ineligible.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Photovoltaic power generation is pivotal in the transition to a clean
energy system and the achievement of the zero-emissions target. To that end, it is important to
enhance affordability, sustainability and exploit the modularity and synergies of application of
PV technologies. Consequently, project results are expected to contribute to all of the
following outcomes:
   Demonstrate that automated manufacturing of integrated photovoltaics (IPV) can deliver
      cost competitive products assuming both the function of energy generators and of
      structural elements.
   Reinforce the European PV value chain, support local companies to develop and sell
      differentiated IPV products and create local jobs.
   Enable and facilitate large-scale integration of PV in buildings in line with the concept of
      “positive energy buildings”, in infrastructure, transport, agriculture, etc.
   Minimise the impact of PV on landscape and environment exploiting its modularity and
      synergies of use.
Scope: “Integrated PV” stands for photovoltaics that are embedded into components fulfilling
other functions. The most well-known and developed application currently is Building
Integrated PV (BIPV), in which PV is integral part of construction elements (tiles, façades,
cladding, …) and assembled to constitute a system replacing a conventional building envelope
solution. However, other Integrated PV (IPV) solutions are markedly emerging, for example
in infrastructure (IIPV), in the automotive industry (VIPV), in agriculture, etc. In addition to
the overall PV goal of lowering the LCOE, IPV applications can bring the extra value of
decentralized, point-of-use electricity generation and simultaneously fulfil another function
such as of a roofing, facade or sound barrier. Progressively developing and having the
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potential for a world-wide market with huge opportunities for the European industry,
manufacturing of customized IPV in series production concept needs to be developed to bring
down the cost of Integrated PV allowing for largescale production and use.
The proposal should address all of the following:
   Demonstrate at pilot line level flexible automated manufacturing for:
         differentiated product design (format, different thicknesses of substrate and
           variations in the solar cell matrix, encapsulation material, front sheet, etc.)
           respecting freedom of design and aesthetics for various applications;
         integration of advanced robust techniques for inline process and quality control;
         equipment design easily adaptable to rapidly emerging novel cell and module
           technologies;
         high product efficiency and durability at competitive costs, in conformity with
           codes and standards of integrated photovoltaics (IPV) use.
   Implement Industry 4.0 concepts.
   Demonstrate a business case and a market introduction strategy.
   Facilitate the ‘renovation wave’ by establishing an active collaboration between the PV
     sector and the building industry for seamless industrial construction/renovation
     workflows.
   Address the following related aspects: low environmental impact, resource efficiency
     and circularity potential.
The proposal should involve multidisciplinary consortia including industrial partners.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-04: Demonstrate the use of high temperature geothermal
reservoirs to provide energy storage for the energy system
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       20.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
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                       The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Performance and reliability improvement of geothermal systems.
   Reduced environmental impact of geothermal plants.
   Increased citizen engagement.
   Reduction of LCOE approaching SET Plan targets (actions should clearly justify the
      estimated LCOE at project start and end).
Scope: High-temperature underground thermal energy storage (HT-UTES) covers the 25-
90°C temperature range, and the targets of interest can reach up to 2000 m in depth. The
development of UTES is linked to a multidisciplinary understanding of the whole system,
including waste-heat source, exploration and subsurface characterisation, production,
implementation and distribution systems, as well as the adaptation of the regulatory
framework and social acceptance. The main technical challenges are the adaptation of the
return temperature from the surface site to the subsurface temperature and to the regulatory
frameworks, identification, characterisation and monitoring the reservoirs for UTES, the geo-
mechanical effects of the reservoir linked to the seasonal injection/ production operations
related to pressure and temperature changes, hydrogeochemical problems associated with
scaling and corrosion of the piping system, circular design and optimisation of the distribution
network.
The proposal is expected to:
   Develop and demonstrate appropriate control systems and infrastructure to manage
      geothermal heat and electricity production, heat demand and storage connected to the
      installation.
   Use the flexibility of geothermal reservoirs as thermal energy storage systems and
      flexibility in the network coping with daily, weekly and seasonal variations in heat
      demand.
   Demonstrate the innovative technologies in at least 2 different plants with different
      characteristics.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
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HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-05: Demonstration of innovative plug-and play solutions
for system management and renewables storage in off-grid applications
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per      10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Admissibility         The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                      states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 8 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
   Advance the European innovative knowledge basis, technology base, technology
     leadership in the area of renewable energy-based off-grid energy systems, while creating
     evidence for policy making in the context of off-grid energy systems.
   Improve environmental and socio-economic sustainability of the renewable-energy off-
     grid systems, particularly on geographic energy islands and/or in Africa and/or Central
     Asia.
   Technology de-risk through prototype demonstration tested and validated in operational
     environment as a necessary step before scaling up at commercial level.
   Reinforce the European scientific and innovation basis through international
     collaboration on off-grid energy systems while increasing the potential to export
     European renewable energy technologies and ensuring political priorities.
Scope: Demonstration of innovative plug and play solutions for system management and
renewables storage in off-grid applications, which allow for increase of renewables
penetration for electricity and heating/cooling and are deployable under different climatic
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conditions, while also addressing cost-effectiveness, energy poverty and security of supply
and by promoting prosumer renewable energy in off-grid cities and communities (including
on geographic islands).
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-06: Novel Agro-Photovoltaic systems
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                     proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action       Innovation Actions
Admissibility        The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     In order to achieve the expected outcomes and safeguard the Union’s
                     strategic assets, interests, autonomy or security and create a European
                     competitive advantage (Clean Energy Competitiveness Report
                     accompanying the 2020 State of the Energy Union Report), participation
                     to the topic is limited to legal entities established in Member States,
                     associated countries and OECD countries. Proposals including legal
                     entities which are not established in these countries will be ineligible.
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Photovoltaic power generation is pivotal to a clean energy system and the
achievement of the zero-emissions target. To that end, it is important to enhance affordability,
sustainability and exploit the modularity and synergies of application of PV technologies.
Consequently, project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
   Harvesting of crops and photovoltaic electricity, providing sustainable solutions for
      energy production/use/efficiency, soil protection and water conservation.
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   Reinforce the European PV value chain, introduce new business models and open new
      markets for novel Agro-Photovoltaic systems.
   Minimise the impact of PV on landscape and environment exploiting its modularity and
      synergies of use.
Scope: Agro-Photovoltaics (or Agrivoltaics) denotes approaches to use agricultural areas
simultaneously to produce crops and to generate PV electricity. In this way, Agro
photovoltaics increases land-use efficiency and enables PV capacity to be expanded solving
the problem of energy poverty in the agricultural sector, while still retaining fertile arable
areas for agriculture.
The proposal should address all of the following:
   Develop and demonstrate agro-photovoltaic systems or building integrated agro-
      photovoltaic systems for green houses employing PV cell technologies/systems that
      allow and are adapted to appropriate growth conditions (plant variety and local
      geography) and at the same time produce electricity covering all year-through energy
      needs (e.g. for cooling/heating, watering, etc.) and increased crop yield.
   Demonstrate feasibility, reliability, replicability, robustness and ease of maintenance of
      the system and its performance using relevant KPIs (for e.g. ground coverage ratio,
      energy and agricultural yield, spatial efficiency, etc.).
   Demonstrate a business case for the concept and market introduction strategy.
   Address the following related aspects: low environmental impact (avoiding or
      minimizing land impact from PV systems), resource efficiency and circularity potential.
   Include a strong involvement of citizens/civil society, together with academia/research,
      industry/SMEs and government/public authorities.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions, as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-07: Demonstration of innovative rotor, blades and control
systems for tidal energy devices
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
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Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Admissibility             The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                The granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or the
                          exclusive licensing of results under certain conditions.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Demonstrated increased performance (>20%) and reliability of tidal energy devices.
   Improved knowledge on how to operate tidal energy devices, their availability,
      maintainability and survivability.
   Reduction of LCOE approaching SET Plan targets (actions should clearly justify the
      estimated LCOE at project start and end using a recognised calculation methodology).
   Reinforced industrial supply chain in Europe.
   Attraction of private investors to the sector and reduce the cost of their investment to
      projects with evidences and credible key performance indicators.
Scope: There is a need for further technology investigation and demonstration for improved
reliability and efficiency of tidal turbine rotor and blades, including control and condition
monitoring systems. Failure in a blade can create long downtimes, for instance blade edges
can erode rapidly, facilitating water ingress, accelerating fatigue and the risk of failure. There
are different blade solutions under development in terms of shape and material. Improving the
seaworthiness of rotor and blades will reduce the likelihood of failure, reduced annual energy
production and increases in operating costs.
The proposal is expected to:
   Demonstrate innovative rotor and blade solutions including condition monitoring
      systems for tidal energy devices in real sea conditions for long periods of time (12-24
      months) providing invaluable learnings regarding performance, reliability, availability,
      maintainability, survivability and environmental impact.
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     Apply high performance computing and digitalisation (e.g. data processing, machine
      learning and data analytics methods for implementation in data driven design, digital
      twins and control and monitoring for O&M).
The selected projects are expected to contribute and participate to the activities of the project
BRIDGE134 when relevant.
Energy systems, grids and storage
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-08: Supporting the action of consumers in the energy
market and guide them to act as prosumers, communities and other active forms of
active participation in the energy activities
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       5.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 18.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to most of the following
expected outcomes:
     Demonstrate in real life interactive communication and support tools to engage citizens
      in the energy transition and to support them throughout the process of creating,
      constituting and developing an energy community, that are developed and fine-tuned
      based on field-tests;
     Engagement of distributed active consumers and energy communities at broad scale,
      including through innovative incentive mechanisms;
     Enabled new market roles and market participants;
134
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   Enabled automated participation;
   Residential and SME related Demand Response contributing to increased level of
      flexibility and to the development of new flexibility products;
   Identified drivers and rules beyond marginal pricing which can steer the transactions
      within the energy communities;
   Developing mechanisms to support the creation, growth and capacity building of energy
      communities.
Scope: The provisions of the Clean Energy Package have paved the way for a new, more
active role of prosumers and energy communities in the electricity market. Innovative tools
and tailored solutions should be developed and tested in order to fully enable new type of
interactions between citizens as consumers, prosumers and (members of) energy communities
and foster participation in energy (in particular electricity) markets.
To this aim, projects should link citizens, technologies, regulation and markets together.
Tools should be developed to support demonstration of the energy community paradigm shift
within the mentioned context using suitable digital platforms for putting the citizens in direct
contact with each other, suppliers, aggregators and other involved market stakeholders and to
increase prosumers’ satisfaction and participation.
Dedicated demonstrations should be set to demonstrate the use of these interactive tools to
contribute to real-time optimization of Distributed Energy Resources and the facilitation of
investment decisions at household or community level in RES or demand response.
To get the acceptance of different energy technologies in civil society, these demonstrations
should be built on SSH approach to take into account the social and behavioural dimension at
the stage of their design, also considering safety issues of electrical systems.
As a result, these demonstrations are expected to aim to increase the understanding of
consumer’s behaviour (e.g. by understanding how they are providing demand side flexibility
as close as possible to real-time). They should also aim to create innovative tools and tailored
solutions to empower prosumers, to help them to realise energy communities and finally pave
the way for the energy transition.
With these new insights the projects are expected to adapt the solution, test it again and
compare the outcome of both iterations.
The tested solutions should be able to reconciling the top-down market developments with the
bottom-up changes in the market arrangement and participation.
Solutions are expected to be as replicable as possible and to be demonstrated in a variety of
geographical locations in different Member States/Associated Countries representing very
different social and economic situations. In addition, regulatory / administrative barriers and
possible solutions should be assessed as part of the projects.
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To do so, projects are expected to design, develop and test incentives for market participants
to react to system conditions according to location and time, while at the same time
considering maximization of their economic benefit.
Projects should develop the entire functional chain from data collection and elaboration, to
local flexibility needs and user-centric compensation enabling the active participation of
prosumers.
Projects should take into account related ongoing activities under H2020 and Horizon Europe
and are expected to contribute to relevant BRIDGE135 activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-09: Real Time Demonstrator of Multi-Vendor Multi-
Terminal VSC-HVDC with Grid Forming Capability (in support of the offshore
strategy)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per        55.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 55.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Admissibility           The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level         see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
     Real Time Demonstrator of a Multi-Vendor Multi-Terminal HVDC (High Voltage
      Direct Current) with Grid Forming Capability to de-risk the technology and pave the
      way to the installation of the first installation in Europe of a Multi-Vendor Multi-
      Terminal HVDC system with Grid Forming capability. The Grid Forming capability in
      the demonstrator addresses the loss of inertia that the grid will incur with the huge
      integration of offshore RES.
     New way of framing the European energy system (on- off-shore) architecture and
      topology.
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   Way opening to the offshore energy development. Provide new pathways to offshore
     energy and grid development.
   Involvement, best practice and acquired experience and confidence of all stakeholders
     (HVDC system manufacturers, TSOs, third-party HVDC system integrators, wind
     turbine manufacturers, offshore wind farm developers).
Scope: The real-time demonstrator is the preliminary step to de-risk the technology and
enable a real life demonstrator application, which will pave the way to the exploitation of the
offshore RES and the development of the offshore grid. Proposals will include all the
necessary activities concurring to the implementation of a Real Time Demonstrator of a
Multi-Vendor Multi-Terminal HVDC (Voltage Source Converter High Voltage Direct
Current) with Grid Forming capability. HVDC systems are applicable and can be planned,
designed and integrated in any part of the AC grid, i.e. onshore as well as offshore. Following
the Commission’s adoption of the “Strategy on Offshore Renewable Energy”, attention is
presently focused to offshore grid application. The HVDC system will guarantee at least the
following capabilities or better:
   Independent and full control over the active and reactive power;
   Provide support to weak AC systems;
   Power flow reversal without the need of reversing the voltage polarities;
   Excellent response to AC faults;
   Black start capabilities.
These include, but are not limited to:
   Requirements for multi-vendor converter capabilities in all connection points (AC side,
     DC side).
   Definition of basic and detailed functional specifications, control and protection
     interoperability, readiness for future seamless system extension, standardization of
     HVDC models and replicas, model for interoperability assessment of grid forming
     converters, etc.).
   Definition of basic and detailed functional specifications, control and protection
     interoperability, and standardisation of wind power plant models and replicas for
     assessment of integration to HVDC grids.
   Development, integration, testing and validation of HV components and sub-systems
     guaranteeing interoperability. Evaluation of the technological challenges related to
     placing MT-HVDC systems subsea, e.g. at the sea bottom.
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     Real-time physical demonstrator of a HVDC system connected to the AC grid with at
      least three terminals of three different manufacturers with power rating applicable in the
      current existing real life use cases.
     Contextually, proposals will address grid codes and standardisation issues for all
      European operators in close cooperation with the European Commission.
     Regulatory framework analysis, definition and application aspect.
The selected projects are expected to contribute to relevant BRIDGE136 activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-10: Interoperable solutions for flexibility services using
distributed energy storage
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 7.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Admissibility           The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level         see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all] of the following expected
outcomes:
     A new generation of energy management systems implemented to provide the capability
      of a hybrid energy storage systems (HESS) to work as a conventional battery energy
      storage system with enhanced performance. Hybrid energy storage systems can concern
      distributed sources of storage, such as EV Batteries, Home Batteries, or connection with
      the Heat Pumps.
     Agreeing in wide scope of stakeholders including EV community and other sources of
      storage (e.g. flexible heat pumps) on a common protocol that could connect different
      storage applications (Energy- Home management system, heat pumps, EVs).
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    Validation of user acceptance, and demonstrating concepts that ensure privacy, liability,
      security and trust in connected data spaces.
    To encourage European citizens and businesses, especially SMEs to deploy storage, the
      ease of use and consequently interoperability are a must.
Scope: The objective is to develop interoperable distributed storage technology to enable the
seamless utilization and monetization of storage flexibility within a real life environment.
Pilots need to demonstrate innovative Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and Hybrid
Energy Storage Systems HESS solutions within the home, building, community and stand-
alone and power grid connected together with TSO and/or DSO, including real-time data
sharing and operation.
At least 2 pilots, with different use cases (overall covering both BESS and HESS systems),
should present interoperable solutions involving different types of BESS.
The project(s) should facilitate HESS reaching a similar interoperability and Plug-and-Play
capabilities of a BESS with extended performance by using virtualization techniques.
A new generation of hybrid energy storage systems (HESS) that can efficiently operate with
the combined capacities of the individual energy storage systems (ESS) that conform it.
Hybrid energy storage systems can concern distributed sources of storage, such as EV
Batteries, Home Batteries, or connection with the Heat Pumps.
Real-time data sharing and operation should be ensured through aligning existing standards
from the utility and ICT domains, across the devices and systems to enable innovative
distributed storage services.
Deployment and adoption of IoT standards and platforms for distributed storage systems
(stationary and electric vehicles) in Europe and development of cost-effective and sustainable
European distributed storage ecosystems and related business models are expected. For
example:
    Access of third parties to the minimum necessary data to perform aggregation functions
      should be looked at: which type of data could be made available for 3rd parties.
    Common solution between different stakeholder groups and different brands of devices
      should be looked at (for example storage from Heat Pumps requires coordination with
      several brands, so as to come up with a possible cross brands and cross sector solution).
    HESS dimensioning methodology depending on the application and integration
      conditions, including the selection of different European manufacturers ESS to conform
      the HESS, connection architecture, and control. Aspects of competition to be considered
      (include different manufacturers).
    Validation of the HESS integration in a real environment, demonstrating an efficient
      energy management, and the benefits of the combined capability of the individual ESS.
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     Framework for use of data that may be considered as personal data generated by natural
      persons under the GDPR.
Common architecture models (Smart Grids Architecture Model - SGAM 137 ) and
implementing standards (such as CEN-CENELEC, SAREF etc.) should be taken into account
to ensure interoperability and compatibility.
Highest (semantic) interoperability should be reached for alluse cases of storage and cost of
deployment of distributed storage is decreased.
The need for standard harmonization across industry sectors should be explored, along with
legislation and demonstration of scalability and stimulation of spill-over effects, for example
towards applications beyond road transport.
Feedback mechanisms from the users should be envisaged to allow adaptation and
optimisation of the technological and business approach to the particular use case. For all
actions, the consortia have to involve and/or engage relevant stakeholders and market actors
who are committed to adopting/implementing the results.
The selected projects are expected to contribute to relevant BRIDGE 138 activities. Projects
should take into account existing interoperability related work of previous and ongoing
H2020 and HE research projects such as INTERCONNECT139.
Collaboration and synergies with the co-programmed European Partnership 2Zero are also
expected. Areas will concern interoperable aspects of integration of storage from the EVs,
including research on minimum data to be made ready for the third parties (for purpose of
storage), e.g. HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-03: System Approach for advanced Static Smart
Charging: integration of EV with the infrastructure of the grid.
Similarly, collaboration and synergies are expected with European Partnership “Towards a
competitive European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-
mobility”. Areas concern battery management system and operation data (e.g. HORIZON-
CL5-2021-D2-01-06: Physics and data-based battery management for optimised battery
utilisation), and complementarities where integration of battery systems into larger systems is
not tackled (e.g. HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01-05: Next generation technologies for High-
performance and safe-by-design battery systems for transport and mobile applications), will
also be expected.
This topic will benefit from the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement
of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to
produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related
research activities. The Commission will make sure that projects benefit from SSH expertise
through the cooperation in Bridge.
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HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-11: Demonstration of innovative forms of storage and their
successful operation and integration into innovative energy systems and grid
architectures
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         7.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 30.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Admissibility            The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level          see General Annex B.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               The granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or the
                         exclusive licensing of results under certain conditions.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to most of the following
expected outcomes:
   Demonstration of innovative storage technologies which go beyond the state-of-the art
     of existing storage solutions in respect of sustainability, technical performance, lifetime,
     non-dependency on location geographical particularities and cost.
   Increased availability, robustness and safety of sustainable and efficient choices for
     energy storage to reduce energy losses and improve the environmental footprint of the
     energy system.
   Demonstrated availability and functionality of innovative energy storage systems
     developed for specific system designs and applications.
   Improvement of the already established European storage value chain able to contribute
     to the EU climate neutrality objectives.
   Creation and improvement of European technological value chains with the potential for
     international cooperation and market exploration
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     Demonstration of successful business cases and systems designs for energy storage
      integration solutions in innovative and 'green' energy systems at different scales and
      timeframes.
     Demonstration of effective integration of innovative energy storage systems and value
      chains at the interface of renewable energies and specific demand sectors
     Ensuring the compatibility of systems and standards of distributed energy storage for
      participation in flexibility markets.
Scope: Demonstration of successful operation and integration of either standalone or
combined innovative storage solutions (e.g. chemical, electrical, thermal, mechanical
including e.g. compressed air/liquid, supercapacitors, innovative hydropower storage
solutions) into innovative energy systems and grid architectures. Material development with
respect to Supercapacitors is excluded from this topic, as it is treated in Cluster 4, topic
HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-24 ("Novel materials for supercapacitor energy
storage").
Solutions should in particular explore, how innovative storage solutions can enable and drive
further the successful penetration of renewable into the European energy mix across several
important demand sectors (industry, energy, transport, residential, agriculture) by delivering
effectively at the interface of renewable energies and specific demand sector needs.
The solutions should show clear innovation with respect to the state of the art e.g. through use
of new advanced materials or new design solutions, always bearing in mind the objective of
sustainability and circular economy, minimizing the environmental footprint.
The demonstrated technologies should respond to energy storage flexibility requirements in
form of technological requirements and expected future investment and operational costs and
business cases in existing or emerging energy markets, by acknowledging existing system
designs and energy grid architectures. The demonstrated technologies should include
interfaces for connecting with existing infrastructure, e.g. of hydraulic systems for innovative
hydropower or the use of natural gas storage sites for hydrogen or biomethane storage, or
abandoned infrastructure such as mines, or storage solutions in district heating networks.
When integrating the storage solution, common architecture models (Smart Grids
Architecture Model - SGAM 140 ) and implementing standards (such as CEN-CENELEC,
SAREF etc.) should be taken into account to ensure interoperability and compatibility.
Highest interoperability should be reached ideally for all, but in any case for most of the use
cases of storage, so that cost of deployment of distributed storage is decreased.
Technical and regulatory barriers, also including the market dimension, should be taken into
account. This together with considering consumer acceptance of the solution as a prerequisite
to increasing participation of consumers in the energy system.
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The selected projects are expected to contribute to relevant BRIDGE141 activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-12: Replicable solutions for a cross sector compliant
energy ecosystem
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        8.00 and 9.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 35.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Admissibility           The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level         see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to most of the following
expected outcomes:
     A catalogue of services and flexibility potential of appliances tailor-made for specific
      consumer groups, as well as the accompanying IT-tools that can help them providing
      flexibility services to the energy market and system.
     Increase participation of energy consumers in demand side flexibility markets by
      reducing entry barriers and transaction cost, in particular in relation to data exchange and
      market access.
     Provide viable interoperable solutions and products, available to all levels of the grid
      including within the home, which makes it simple to increase flexibility in energy
      consumption and have a positive impact in balancing demand/response with an
      increasing share of renewable energy sources.
     Create a vibrant cross-sector ecosystem, successfully mobilising demand-response and
      demonstrating opportunities for new services provided by SMEs and start-ups.
     Create sustainable marketplaces based on a comprehensive catalogue of energy smart
      appliances (home appliances including EV charging and distributed energy storage),
      services and hardware/software solutions compliant with a set of standards for Minimum
      Interoperability.
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   Demonstrate the potential for a sustainable up-take (coordinated across all projects from
      the call) based on components and solutions piloted in real life.
Scope: Promote the adoption and usage of connected interoperable energy smart home
appliances (including the EV charging and home storage) and solutions in order to accelerate
the deployment of demand-side flexibility services, reduce the entry barrier and facilitate
replication.
   Identify a set of open standards for Minimum Interoperability based on the results of
      multiple research and innovation projects and existing technological developments as
      well as already available open standards and/or open source solutions to enable energy
      smart appliances and solutions to participate in demand side flexibility.
   Provide new business models supported by innovative interoperable solutions enabled by
      connecting systems from different sectors.
   Test interoperable services/solutions based on a reference architecture and minimum
      interoperability mechanisms that can enable flexibility.
   The solutions initially developed in a pilot in one country will have to be tested, in real
      life, in at least two other countries, with different energy constraints, by different
      entities. The overall target is replication in as many Member States/Associated Countries
      as possible.
   Create and populate a commonly agreed catalogue of energy smart home appliances
      (including EV charging and storage), services and hardware/software solutions
      compliant to a set of standards for Minimum Interoperability.
   The call is open to all stakeholders. For instance, utilities, ESCO/aggregators, appliances
      manufacturers, energy cooperatives, retailers owning buildings (heating/cooling) in
      many cities, office building that in their parkings offer eV chargers, water treatment
      plants, public buildings, schools, ICT companies, system integrators, Data Centre
      operators, EV manufacturers, storage providers, industry and other relevant stakeholders
      with a role in the energy flexibility market.
   The projects should support the proliferation of innovative energy and energy services
      markets building on interoperable solutions that can be tailored easily to the type or need
      of users. Therefore the projects should take into account the social and behavioural
      dimensions of consumer’s participation and to get the acceptance of different energy
      technologies.
   The solutions are expected to adapt digital technologies to the specificities and
      requirements of the energy system (Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, 5G, cloud/edge
      computing, Internet of Things ...).
   While complying with cybersecurity requirements privacy issues are to be specifically
      considered. They have to be built on open architectures and commonly agreed standards
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      derived from these technologies (such as SAREF) and relevant European and Global
      ICT and Energy Standards Development Organisation and associations
     The selected projects will cooperate among themselves and with other relevant projects
      through regular common workshops, exchange of non-confidential reports, etc.
The selected projects are expected to contribute to relevant BRIDGE142 activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-13: Energy system modelling, optimisation and planning
tools
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all the following outcomes:
     Provide regional, national and European public authorities and network operators, with
      customisable open source models of the components of the energy system, as well as
      tools to assemble these component models into a model of the energy system integrating
      the infrastructure related to all energy carriers in a given geographical area, with static
      and dynamic modelling capabilities.
     Provide regional, national and European public authorities and network operators, with
      an open source tool to allow them to better plan and optimise the development of
      renewable and low emission energy sources and the enhancement of infrastructure
      (including storage) to meet the future energy needs in a geographical area, while
      minimising the total investment and operation cost, hence satisfying the future final uses
      of energy (sometimes used as a feedstock) by consumers, at lowest cost and with better
      quality of service.
Scope: Advanced modelling tools to perform regional / cross-border and cross-energy vector
system planning and optimisation on a long time horizon, where cross-sectoral disruptive
innovations in industry, mobility and building sector can be included
Building on existing open source models or on the opening of currently proprietary models,
as far as they are available, the project should develop and validate open source models of the
components of the energy system and provide tools to integrate these component models into
a system model to satisfy the (future) needs in a geographical area, thereby providing a
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planning tool for cost and emissions optimisation of the enhanced energy system at pan-
European level. The aim is to better plan and optimise the expansion of the energy
generation and transmission and storage systems to meet the (future) energy needs aggregated
at a granularity level finer or equal to the NUTS2 level; the distribution layer to individual
energy users is not to be considered.
The open source modelling tool should be composed of the most relevant of the following
modules:
The multi-physics component models is expected to model the cost (CAPEX, fixed and
variable OPEX, economic lifetime) and technical performances (including GHG emissions) of
the components, they should be parametrised to take into account the local climate and socio-
economic characteristics of the geographical area where they will be located, as well as the
time-dimension, such as the season and time of day. The component models should be
capable of dynamic modelling with appropriate time steps (e.g. quarterly or hourly power
profile of sources for intraday balance assessment; weekly or monthly profile for seasonal
balance). The component models need to be described with standard modelling languages and
be modular, so that each one can be updated without impact on the others and can be
assembled with other models. They should cover most of the components in the following list,
at the very least one component in each of the 9 categories below:
    Renewable energy sources: energy production units of several typical sizes, covering
      technologies, such as for example photovoltaic, concentrated solar power, solar thermal,
      geothermal, onshore wind, offshore wind, hydroelectric, tidal, wave, biogas, biomass …
      Modelling of their cost, GHG emissions, typical (average) production performance of
      the sources, taking into account (where applicable): the season (month of the year), time
      (hour of the day), geo-location (at NUTS-2 level), and other parameters that can affect
      cost/performance. Where applicable, the statistic variability of their performance should
      be given and power profiles should be generated, for running dynamic simulations when
      the component modules will be integrated into system modules. A large-scale source
      should have its own model, small-scale sources (such for example wind turbines or
      household PV) should be aggregated (e.g. households PV aggregated at the level of a
      city).
    Non-renewable primary energy sources (natural gas, coal, oil, uranium …): extraction,
      import; modelling of the cost, capacity, GHG emissions and geolocation.
    Non-renewable energy conversion: refineries producing fuels or hydrogen; modelling
      the cost and performance (including GHG emissions) of the conversion from the primary
      energy carrier to secondary energy carriers, including CCS where applicable.
    Non-renewable electricity production (coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear …): cost and
      performance of existing or new power plants, including CCS where applicable;
      modelling the transformation from the primary energy carrier to electricity (including
      GHG emissions).
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   Renewable energy conversion: production of hydrogen and other renewable or low-
     emissions gaseous or liquid fuels; modelling of their cost and performances (power,
     efficiency …); modelling the conversion from the primary energy carrier to secondary
     energy carrier and by-products (O2, CO2, including GHG emissions …).
   Energy storage models: stationary batteries (large scale and house), electric vehicle
     batteries, hydropower storage, thermal storage, methane storage, hydrogen storage … ;
     modelling of their cost and performances: power, efficiency, capacity, life expectancy,
     state-of-charge (for dynamic modelling), life cycle GHG emissions.
   Transport pipelines (including recompression stations): cost (per km) and performance
     (capacity, efficiency, GHG emissions) of existing and new natural gas, hydrogen, CO 2
     pipelines, district heating/cooling pipelines or of upgrading pipelines to admixtures of
     renewable gasses or to pure hydrogen or to CO2; as well as other infrastructure (e.g.
     LNG terminals) or logistics (e.g. transport by ship).
   Transmission power lines: cost (per km) and performance (capacity, efficiency), of
     existing or new power lines, or for upgrading existing power lines to higher
     voltage/capacity.
   Energy consumers: modelling of the energy use profile of typical consumers (industry,
     buildings, households, local heat networks, mobility and transport) for the different types
     of energy carriers, taking into account (where applicable): the season (month of the year,
     and associated average temperature), time (hour of the day), geo-location (at NUTS-2
     level), and other parameters that can affect their energy use. Where applicable, the
     statistic variability of their performance should be given and power profiles should be
     generated, for running dynamic simulations when the component modules will be
     integrated into system modules. Where applicable, their capability to shift their
     consumption in time (demand response) and to store energy should be modelled,
     including the cost of this flexibility service. A large-scale user should have its own
     model; small-scale users, such for example household or eVehicle and (bi-directional)
     charging or refuelling stations, should be aggregated at the level of a city or NUTS2
     region.
     New methods to take into accounts new types of assets connected to the grids (Electric
     Vehicles (EV), microgrids, storage, small scale production, non-synchronous generators,
     etc.) and considering the cost-effective coupling with other energy networks.
System modelling, planning and optimisation tool:
   A system modelling tool should be developed to integrate the models of the components
     located in a geographical area into a system model. The models will use available data
     on the future needs of industry and other end-user sectors. The system modelling tool
     should allow both static and dynamic simulations, to assess the intraday, weekly and
     seasonal balances and associated grids stability. The modelling tool has to be modular
     and open to ensure coupling with other models, for example models including the
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      exchange of resources and materials (enabling industrial-urban symbiosis and
      circularity), as well as socio-economic and market models.
     Based on the system model, an optimisation and medium-long term grid planning
      tool should be developed to optimise the development pathways for renewable energy
      and other low emissions sources, storage and the enhancement of infrastructure, to meet
      the future energy needs in a geographical area, while minimising the total investment
      and operation cost, hence satisfying the future final uses of energy vectors of consumers,
      at lowest cost and climate impact.
     Visualisation tools should be developed to support the system modelling, the
      optimisation process and their results, notably in the format of dynamic energy heat
      maps. The compatibility of the results format with the JRC visualisation tools should be
      ensured.
Validation of the models and tools:
     Methodologies and procedures should be developed for the certification of the
      components models and, if possible, system models.
     The component models, system modelling and optimisation tools need to be validated
      by using them in support of the planning of the energy transition of two real-life
      geographical areas: one macro-region (e.g. several small or large countries) and one
      large (possibly cross-border) industrial cluster. The validations should cover the range of
      models and tools developed, and should therefore include in particular the dynamic
      modelling of relevant energy sources (intermittent and dispatchable), different existing
      or new energy networks, conversion between different energy vectors, energy storage
      and energy consumers capable of demand response.
The component models and the system modelling/optimisation tools need to be a properly
documented and open source development allowing the EC, the Member States and
Associated Countries and other public authorities or private organisations to use the tools for
their planning needs, or to develop additional add on modules. The models and tools, as well
as the relevant documentation and user guides, should be published under an appropriate open
license and made available to the modelling community on the Energy Modelling Platform for
Europe143. The results of the project have to be disseminated, notably at the EMP-E annual
conference. Upon completion of the projects presently supporting the EMP-E platform and
conference, the selected project should take over supporting the platform and organising the
annual conference.
The research should entail interviews with relevant grid operators and public administrations
in all EU Member States/ Associated Countries, so as to collect their views on how the tools
could best meet their needs. At least 2 interviews per MS/AC should be foreseen.
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The development of the models, simulation, optimisation and visualisation tools will be
closely coordinated with Commission services (including the Joint Research Centre).
The selected projects are expected to contribute to relevant BRIDGE144 activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-14: Thermal energy storage solutions
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        7.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 30.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Admissibility           The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level         see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Develop and demonstrate novel modular, compact, high performances, thermal energy
      storage solutions (TES) for heating, hot tap water and cooling for electricity load
      shifting. The integration of the solution within the energy networks of the building and
      its system management should allow different functions, such as peak load reduction,
      energy saving, energy cost minimization.
     Develop and demonstrate a novel thermal energy storage system much more compact
      than state-of-the-art technologies, enabling the storage of heat and cold for domestic
      applications for periods typically of 4 weeks long.
Scope: The scope covers the whole spectrum of application of the thermal energy storage
systems, ranging from short run to longer run, as well as from the smaller to bigger sizes:
     Thermal end-uses (space heating, hot tap water, cooling) represent a major share of the
      European electricity demand with consumption often at peak times. Integration into the
      building heating system and in the smart electricity grid is a key development aspect,
      next to the storage materials and technologies. Such storage devices reduces the demand
      for electricity from the grid at peak times during the day, allowing off peak electricity to
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      be used in the building for satisfying cooling needs during summer and/or heating
      demand, for space heating and hot tap water at later times. The typical charging power is
      in the order of 3 kW, for periods of up to three hours. The TES system is conceived
      modularly. The high volumetric energy density is a basic requirement given its
      utilization.
     For buildings not connected to district heating and cooling network, a much more
      compact TES system is needed to optimize and to increase the integration of varying
      RES . Such systems need much less volume than state-of-the-art technologies, realized
      with materials that have extremely low heat losses and enable the storage of heat and
      cold for domestic applications for periods typically up to 4 weeks. Cost reduction is a
      very important target, as the present solutions are too expensive. The ideal
      thermochemical TES process should have high reaction heat; Good reversibility; Fast
      charging and discharging rates; Stable reaction products; Non-toxic, non-corrosive, non-
      flammable and non-explosive reactants and products; Large-scale availabilities and
      abundance, affordable price.
The nature of the activities concerns:
     The development of novel phase change materials (PCM) and thermochemical materials
      (TCM) and components of required characteristics for thermochemical and PCM TES,
      characterized by low starting TRL (4). The development & adaptation of available heat
      exchanger and novel reactor designs; design and development of controls and modelling
      for novel sensors for TCM and PCM, starting from a higher TRL (5).
     Ice cold storage having higher TRL (6).
The achievable storage density (kWh/m3) depends on the technological approach (sensible
heat, PCM and TCM) and decreases drastically moving from the component to the system
level. Furthermore, with the exception of TCM, the charge of the store decreases with elapsed
time. The expected system level storage density measured initially and after four weeks from
the charge should be indicated.
The selected projects are expected to contribute to relevant BRIDGE145 activities.
Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS)
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01-15: Decarbonising industry with CCUS
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per        29.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
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project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 58.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Successful, safe and economic demonstration of integrated-chain CCUS
from relevant industrial sources will pave the way for subsequent first-of-a-kind industrial
projects. The scale of the proposals should permit obtaining relevant data and experience
required so that up-scaling to a first-of-a-kind plant can be envisaged as a next step.
The impact of projects under this call will be determined by the extent to which the results
will be extended to be used in further industrial facilities. In addition, it is important to
demonstrate how the captured CO2 will be utilised and/or stored in a sustainable way. Projects
carried out in areas with a sufficient concentration of CO2 emitting industries are considered
prime sites for hub and cluster developments, and are expected to generate the highest impact
on full-scale deployment of the results.
Scope: CCUS is one of the key promising technologies that can reduce CO2 emissions in the
carbon intensive industry and the only pathway for very stringent GHG emission reductions
from those industries that generate CO2 as part of their production processes. Relevant
industrial sectors in which inclusion of CCUS could contribute to reaching climate neutrality
are for example steel, iron and cement making, oil refining, gas processing, hydrogen
production, sustainable biofuel production and waste-to-energy plants. However, CCUS in
industrial applications faces significant challenges due to its high cost and the fierce
international competition in the sectors concerned. These sectors currently account for up to
20% of global CO2 emissions.
The focus of this topic lies in demonstrating the integrated chain of mature CO2 capture
technologies in industrial facilities with the perspective of geological storage and/or use.
Based on a high TRL (7 – 8) CO2 capture project a detailed plan on how to use the results, i.e.
the subsequent transport, utilisation and/or underground storage of the captured CO2 should
be developed. Important aspects to address are of technical (e.g. the optimised integration of
capture plant with industrial processes; flexibility, scalability; CO2 purity), safety (e.g. during
transportation and storage), financial (e.g. cost of capture; cost of integration) and strategic
nature (e.g. business models; operation and logistics of industrial clusters and networks). The
project should identify a detailed set of operational, environmental, technical and economic
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Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to allow monitoring and assessing the progress achieved
by the project.
Technology development has to be balanced by an assessment of the societal readiness
towards the proposed innovations. Relevant end users and societal stakeholders (such as civil
society organisations, non-governmental organisations, and local associations) will be
identified in the proposal, and involved in deliberative activities, so as understand and address
their concerns and needs. This will be analysed during the project using appropriate
techniques and methods from the social sciences and humanities, in order to create awareness,
gain feedback on societal impact and advancing society’s readiness for the proposed
solutions. Projects should also explore the socio-economic and political barriers to acceptance
and awareness with a view to regulatory or policy initiatives and include aspects of circularity
and best use of resources. Successful projects will be encouraged to join the EU CCUS
knowledge sharing project network.
Cross-cutting issues
Call - Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply
                                                                           HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)146
                Topics                     Type         Budgets            Expected EU            Number
                                             of          (EUR        contribution per project         of
                                          Action        million)        (EUR million)147           projects
                                                                                                  expected
                                                          2022
                                                                                                    to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                          Opening: 26 May 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 27 Oct 2022
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-01 RIA                         9.00           Around 3.00                  3
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-02 RIA                         5.00           Around 2.50                  2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-03 IA                          10.00 148      Around 10.00                 1
146
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
147
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-04 RIA                      10.00          3.00 to 5.00              2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-05 IA                       20.00 149      Around 10.00              2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-06 RIA                      10.00          3.00 to 5.00              2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-07 IA                       15.00 150      Around 7.50               2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-08 IA                       20.00 151      Around 10.00              2
Overall indicative budget                          99.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                  The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                               C.
Award criteria                                          The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                        D.
Documents                                               The documents are described in General
                                                        Annex E.
Procedure                                               The procedure is described in General
                                                        Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                 The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Global leadership in renewable energy
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-01: Digital solutions for defining synergies in international
renewable energy value chains
Specific conditions
148
        Of which EUR 5.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
149
        Of which EUR 10.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
150
        Of which EUR 7.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
151
        Of which EUR 10.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The consortium must include as a beneficiary at least one legal entity
                          established in a Mission Innovation Country152, not being Member State
                          or Associated Country.
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level           General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
     Advance the European and global scientific basis, European leadership and global role in
      the area of renewable energy and renewable fuels and related energy value chains while
      creating evidence for policy making by developing novel digital solutions.
     Provide digital breakthrough solutions for promoting the increase of the global
      renewable energy share.
     Reinforce the European scientific basis through international collaboration while
      increasing the potential to export European renewable energy technologies and ensuring
      political priorities in the context of sustainable global energy value chains.
     Improve reliability of system components, advanced and automated functions for data
      analysis, diagnosis and fault detection, forecasting and model-predictive control
      frameworks, ancillary services for the stability of the network; maintenance planning
      and/or reporting.
Scope: Development of novel real time and open data monitoring and/or simulation solutions
(e.g. including digital twins) for sustainable energy production and consumption, predictive
modelling and artificial intelligence for the analysis of international renewable energy value
chains and for internationally aligned decision-making in cooperation with international
partners from Mission Innovation Countries. To ensure trustworthiness, wide adoption by user
communities and support EU policy-makers, actions should promote the highest standards of
transparency and openness, going well beyond documentation and extending to aspects such
as assumptions, models and data related to renewable energy and fuels.
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HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-02: AU-EU Energy System Modelling
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.50
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                      states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
                      In addition to the conditions described in General Annex B, the
                      consortium must include at least three legal entities from three different
                      African countries.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    Reinforce the activities in the long term the AU-EU HLPD CCSE Partnership.
    Provide knowledge and scientific energy system modelling as evidence base including
      the environmental, social and economic trade-offs to contribute to R&I strategy and
      policy making.
    Increase clean energy generation in the African energy systems.
    A permanent network of African experts and expertise in this area.
Scope: The topic is contributing to the activities of the AU-EU High Level Policy Dialog
(HLPD) Climate Change and Sustainable Energy (CCSE) partnership. Current models are
based on developed country standard and usage. The development of energy system models
tailored to the specific African social, economic and regulatory environment is crucial for
energy generation system planning and for energy policy development. Today African
countries are relying heavily on developed country models and expertise.
Therefore, the proposal should develop and test models for decision makers and planners to
design and evaluate energy system(s) with a high penetration of renewable energy generation
in African countries through a regional approach. Considerations are to be given to climate
neutrality of cities and industries, using no fossil fuels. A focus should be made on the
introduction of clean energy technologies. The tests should be done for at least two base
cases.
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Proposals should include activities to coordinate with the project(s) to be selected under the
topic HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-01.
Actions should promote the highest standards of transparency in model adoption, including
assumptions, architecture, code and data. The outcome of the project should be widely
disseminated and all the source codes of the whole model to be open source and open access
to stimulate future development. To ensure future uses, African experts in energy and in
models development should be full partners in the project. The project should identify further
local training needs.
The project should make use of existing European activities to create synergies and cross-
fertilisation.
The project will contribute to the work of the AU-EU HLPD CCSE partnership through
networking activities with existing projects.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-03: Innovative renewable energy carrier production for
heating from renewable energies
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per        10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Admissibility           The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level         General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
   Advance the European innovative knowledge basis and increase technology
       competitiveness in the area of energy carrier production and heating value chains, in
       particular increase of feedstock availability for renewable heating, thus supporting the
       EU goals for climate protection, energy independence and economic growth;
   Technology de-risk of renewable energy carrier value chains as a necessary step before
       scaling up at commercial level;
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    Enhanced sustainability of renewable heating value and supply chains by improving
     techno-economic efficiency and minimising negative environmental effects.
Scope: Demonstrate cost-effective and energy-, catalyst and equipment material-efficient
transformation of renewable energy into renewable energy carriers for heating, while ensuring
very good combustion properties in respect of efficiency and avoidance of pollutants and
environmental and socioeconomic sustainability of the respective heating supply and value
chains.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-04: Technological                     interfaces between   solar  fuel
technologies and other renewables
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per     3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
    Advance the European scientific basis, technological leadership and global role in the
     area of renewable and solar fuels, while creating evidence for policy making;
    Provide breakthrough solutions towards a fossil-free economy and ecosystem by
     bridging solar energy and other renewables in boosting renewable fuel production and
     storage with the potential of strongly reducing CAPEX and OPEX/toe, high penetration
     in the energy system, ensuring stability and security of energy supply;
    Increase European technology competitiveness in solar and renewable fuel technologies,
     thus supporting the EU goals for climate protection, energy independence and economic
     growth.
Scope: Development of energy transmitting technological interfaces to couple solar fuel
technologies to other renewables such as from e.g. biosources or directly connected renewable
power generation, which allow for efficient feed in of other forms of renewable energy into
solar fuel conversion technologies and allow for efficient and continuous renewable fuel
production.
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HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-05: Renewable energy carriers from variable renewable
electricity surplus and carbon emissions from energy consuming sectors
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per      10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Admissibility         The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
   Advance the European scientific basis and increase technology competitiveness in the
      area of energy carrier production and integration with renewable electricity and carbon
      value and supply chains;
   Technology de-risk of renewable energy carrier value chains through demonstration as a
      necessary step before scaling up at commercial level;
   Enhanced sustainability of renewable energy carrier value and supply chains by
      improving techno-economic efficiency and avoidance of CO2/GHG emissions and
      renewable electricity economic or curtailment losses and supported by a life cycle
      assessment.
Scope: Demonstration of renewable energy carrier synthesis from variable renewable
electricity surplus and carbon emissions from energy consuming sectors, which is targeting
improvement of the overall synthesis value chain efficiency and viability while making best
use of the CO2 emissions in synergy with renewable electricity generation. The incorporation
of hybrids of renewable electricity with algal or synthetic renewable fuels in energy intensive
sectors by integrating the conversion of surplus renewable electricity and carbon emissions
from these sectors to liquid renewable energy carriers by algal, artificial photosynthesis or
homologous non-solar pathways will be demonstrated. Conversion technologies should be
based upon biological, biochemical, thermochemical and or electrochemical processes.
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Proposals should avoid curtailing of renewable electricity and carbon emissions and improve
overall efficiency and viability of renewable electricity assemblies in synergy with reduction
of carbon emissions.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-06: Direct renewable energy integration into process
energy demands of the chemical industry
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
   Advance the European scientific basis, technological leadership and global role in the
      area of renewable integration into the chemical industry, while creating evidence for
      policy making;
   Increase European technology competitiveness in renewable process energy
      technologies, thus supporting the EU goals for climate protection, energy independence
      and economic growth;
   Provide breakthrough solutions towards a fossil-free economy and ecosystem;
   Allow high penetration in the energy system, ensure stability and security of energy
      supply, including integration of local resources, and gain efficiency and costs in
      transforming the energy system on a fossil-free basis;
   Enable transformation of the energy supply to socio-economic and environmental fossil-
      free sustainable solutions across energy intensive chemical industry, targeting in
      particular process energy and its GHG emissions.
Scope: Development of the technology and the methodology of integrating renewable energy
in chemical processing by substituting fossil process energy in chemical industry, which has a
high carbon footprint due to processing relative to the mass of the final product. Pursued
technology developments are expected to directly target renewable energy integration into
process energy demands of the chemical industry beyond electricity (targeting e.g.
electrochemical potential of artificial photosynthesis to chemical reduction processes and/or
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e.g. direct solar thermochemical conversion) and should improve GHG balance and
sustainability of the targeted process.
Possible synergies exist with topic: HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01-21:
Design and optimisation of energy flexible industrial processes (IA).
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-07: Renewable energy incorporation in agriculture and
forestry
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.50
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Admissibility             The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Meeting local and seasonal energy demands in agriculture and forestry
with optimum agricultural and forest waste management and use while reducing the
associated emissions is essential. If not managed, agricultural waste is often burnt in the fields
and forests suffer from fires, thus increasing the environmental footprint of agriculture and
forests. Soil and biodiversity improvement in agriculture could also benefit from renewable
energy technologies. Demonstrating incorporation of renewable energy technologies to attain
heat, waste and land management needs in agricultural and forestry will contribute to increase
the penetration of renewable sources in the energy system and enable transformation of the
energy supply across critical energy-consuming sectors, thus accelerating the achievement of
the European Green Deal and climate and energy targets for 2030 and of net zero greenhouse
gas emissions by 2050, while supporting the EU goals for energy independence and economic
growth. Furthermore, it will support achieving the specific objective of the post 2020
Common Agricultural Policy 153 regarding contribution to climate change mitigation and
adaptation, as well as sustainable energy.
Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following expected outcomes:
153
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        environ-benefits-simplification_en.pdf
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   Promote decentralised renewable energy use and cost-efficient decentralized production
      of renewable energy carriers.
   Reduce agriculture and forestry carbon footprint from own energy consumption and
      agricultural/forest waste management.
   Increase sustainability and circularity in agriculture while creating positive effects on
      biodiversity.
   Increase sustainability and circularity in forestry.
   Foster regional development in rural areas.
   Support farmers’ and foresters’ engagement as prosumers of renewable energy.
Scope: Proposals should demonstrate incorporation of renewable energy technologies in
agriculture or forestry to meet its electricity, heat, cold, waste and land management needs.
Solutions should combine innovative renewable, circular and regional value chains from
different renewables and adapted storage options to de-fossilize agricultural or forest
processes trans-seasonally, taking into account hybridization compatibility. They should also
address one of the two options:
   Transformation of agricultural or forest wastes to renewable energy carriers in situ, e.g.
      by modular slow pyrolysis units, using renewable energy for process energy needs.
      Solutions should improve the cost-effectiveness and the sustainability of agriculture or
      forest seasonal energy demand based on renewables.
   Development of renewable-based agricultural protocols for multiple and cover cropping
      and/ or mixed cropping which increase carbon sequestration and soil organic matter and
      reduce pesticides, combined with transformation to renewable energy carriers in situ,
      e.g. by biogas production, in a circular approach for soil nutrients and carbon. Positive
      effects on soil biodiversity/soil health and soil functionality as regards increasing soil
      organic matter, phosphorus and other nutrients and reducing the risk on groundwater
      contamination from nitrogen oxides should be assessed. Solutions should improve the
      cost-effectiveness and the sustainability (including biodiversity) of agricultural waste
      and land management through valorisation of wastes and secondary crops based on
      renewable energy technologies.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities. The effective contribution of renewable energy and agronomy disciplines is also
expected.
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HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02-08: Demonstration of complete value chains for advanced
biofuel and non-biological renewable fuel production
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Complete value chains for advanced biofuels and renewable fuels of non-
biological origin provide a systemic understanding of the value created and the constraints in
individual chain steps. Demonstrating such complete value chains will contribute to increase
the competitiveness of their technologies and foster their commercialization to allow high
penetration of advanced biofuels and renewable fuels of non-biological origin in the energy
and transport energy system, in particular for hard to electrify sectors.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Build a portfolio of complete value chains for advanced biofuels and renewable fuels of
     non-biological origin.
   De-risk technology, boost the scale-up of advanced biofuels and non-biological origin
     renewable fuels.
   Contribute to the priorities of the SET Plan Action 8.
   Respond to short and medium term needs for renewable fuels in energy and transport.
   Improve sustainability and security of the value chains.
Scope: Proposals should demonstrate innovative and cost effective sustainable value chains
for advanced biofuels or synthetic renewable fuels of non-biological origin (other than for
hydrogen as a final product), over the entire cycle from feedstock to end use. Any sustainable
biomass feedstock including residues and wastes, or biogenic CO2 or industrial CO2 and
renewable hydrogen, as well as input energy to the conversion should be addressed. Pathways
which are biochemical, thermochemical, biological, chemical, electrochemical or
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combinations of them should be considered. Proposals should aim at improved performance
in terms of increasing the efficiency and sustainability and reducing the cost, while
evidencing the value creation along the value chain steps. Complete value chains may address
any relevant end use.
Call - Sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply
                                                                           HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)154
                Topics                     Type         Budgets            Expected EU            Number
                                             of          (EUR        contribution per project         of
                                          Action        million)        (EUR million)155           projects
                                                                                                  expected
                                                          2022                                      to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 06 Sep 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 10 Jan 2023
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-01 IA                          16.50 156      Around 5.50                  3
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-02 RIA                         9.00           Around 3.00                  3
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-03 RIA                         10.00          3.00 to 5.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-04 RIA                         18.00          Around 6.00                  3
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-05 RIA                         20.00          Around 5.00                  4
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-06 RIA                         10.00          3.00 to 5.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-07 RIA                         15.00          Around 5.00                  3
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-08 RIA                         9.00           3.00 to 4.50                 3
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-09 IA                          20.00 157      6.00 to 7.00                 3
154
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
155
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
156
        Of which EUR 8.25 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
157
        Of which EUR 10.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Overall indicative budget                        127.50
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Global leadership in renewable energy
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-01: Innovative components and/or sub-systems for CSP
plants and/or concentrating solar thermal installations
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.50
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 16.50 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
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Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level         see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Concentrating solar thermal technologies supply renewable, dispatchable
energy and can therefore be an important element of the evolving energy system. Project
results are expected to contribute to some of the following expected outcomes:
   Higher shares of variable output renewables in the energy system.
   Higher efficiency of concentrated solar power (CSP) plants and/or concentrating solar
      thermal installations.
   Reduced operation and maintenance costs of CSP plants and/or concentrating solar
      thermal installations.
   Achievement of the targets of the SET Plan Initiative for Global Leadership in CSP.
Scope: Support will be given to the demonstration of innovative, cost effective and more
reliable components and/or sub-systems for CSP plants and/or concentrating solar thermal
installations. The components and/or sub-systems will allow better efficiency in terms of solar
energy conversion.
The demonstration should span a continuous interval of at least six months covering all
possible incidence angles of the direct solar radiation.
Projects are expected to assess the sustainability of the proposed components and/or sub-
systems in environmental, social and economic terms.
All demonstrators should be fully and transparently documented, to ensure replicability, up-
scaling and to assist future planning decisions.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-02: Best international practice for scaling up sustainable
biofuels
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
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Expected Outcome: The need of including sustainable biofuels in a transformed integrated
energy system is recognized worldwide. Enhancing the European global role in this area will
increase the potential to export European renewable fuel technologies into global developing
markets, and improve sustainability of biofuel value chains worldwide while supporting the
EU goals for climate change mitigation in 2030 and 2050.
Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following expected outcomes:
     Build global knowledge for the scaling-up and the sustainability assessment of
      sustainable biofuels value chains.
     Contribute to cost-effective and more sustainable large-scale production of sustainable
      biofuels.
     Contribute to Mission Innovation Challenge n°4 Sustainable Biofuels158.
     Contribute to the SET Plan Action 8 Bioenergy and Renewable Fuels for Sustainable
      Transport.
     Accelerate capacity building for sustainable biofuels in the world.
     Develop networks for skill development and knowledge sharing in sustainable biofuels
      value chains worldwide.
Scope: Proposals will aim at fostering international cooperation to develop best practices and
concepts along the entire value chain for accelerating the scale-up of sustainable biofuels
worldwide. Scaling up sustainable biofuels is a global challenge in terms of environmental,
social, and economic sustainability, which can benefit from international collaboration and
knowledge exchange. Proposals should address systemic constraints and opportunities for
scaling up complete value chains of sustainable biofuels and propose solutions. Any
sustainable non-food/feed biomass feedstock and any innovative technology or combinations
of them should be considered. Proposals should enhance overall cost-effectiveness and
sustainability of large scale production of sustainable biofuels based on Life Cycle Analysis
addressing social, economic and environmental aspects. International cooperation with
Mission Innovation countries is expected.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-03: Efficient and circular artificial photosynthesis
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
158
        http://www.mission-innovation.net/our-work/innovation-challenges/sustainable-biofuels/
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Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action             Research and Innovation Actions
Technology                 Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level            General Annex B.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements                 Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the
                           Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions
                           under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for
                           Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the
                           Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy
                           Community (2021-2025). 159.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
     Advance the European scientific basis, leadership and global role in the area of
      renewable and solar fuels, while creating evidence for policy making;
     Provide solar fuel breakthrough solutions towards a fossil-free economy and ecosystem
      by bridging solar energy and fuel needs with the potential of high penetration in the
      energy system, ensuring stability and security of energy supply;
     Increase European technology competitiveness in solar fuel technologies, thus
      supporting the EU goals for climate protection, energy independence and economic
      growth.
     Develop artificial photosynthesis solutions, which will minimize further downstream
      processing and increase their scalability and integration within the industrial value chain
      in respect of circularity.
Scope: Development of novel artificial photosynthesis technologies, which allow for
improved efficiency of light harvesting, conversion to electrochemical potential and energy
fixation to carriers with strictly implementing circularity by design and efficient use of carrier
and (photo)catalyst materials through novel photoelectrochemical or bio-based (bio-hybrid) or
biological pathways for solar fuel production with increased efficiency in comparison to light
and dark reactions of natural photosynthesis. Production of hydrogen as a final product is not
envisaged.
159
         This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for
         Horizon      Europe,     under     ‘Simplified     costs    decisions’  or    through     this link:
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-
         decision_he_en.pdf
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Synergies are possible with topic HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01-16 Creation of an
innovation community for solar fuels and chemicals (CSA) and respective cooperation
activities are encouraged.
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-04: Integrated wind farm control
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 18.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                       exceptions apply:
                       In order to ensure a balanced portfolio, at least the highest ranking
                       proposal addressing offshore wind farms and the highest ranking
                       proposal addressing onshore wind farms will be funded, provided they
                       attain all thresholds. This condition to ensure a balanced portfolio will
                       also considered to be met if one project addressing both aspects is
                       funded.
Legal and              The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of    apply:
the Grant              The granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or the
Agreements             exclusive licensing of results under certain conditions.
Expected Outcome: The EU aims to be climate neutral in 2050, and to achieve this goal wind
energy technologies will need to unlock its full potential on low-cost reliable clean energy
generation. Thus, the next generation of wind farms will need to be supported by an even
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more innovative set of physical and digital tools as well as operational controls, collectively
called wind farm control. Generally, wind farm control refers to the coordination of different
wind turbines within a wind farm to better the overall farm power production, and to reduce
the structural loading among wind turbines160.
In this context, project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Development of open source data-driven tools to decrease energy costs on operation,
      while increasing total wind farm output, and a parallel evaluation of operational risks
      arising from the chosen solution, including e.g. limitations from machine learning (AI)
      and resilience against third-party fraud, i.e. operational security.
     Development of digital and physical tools, as well as interoperable frameworks and
      controls, for enhanced data collection, analysis, and operation aimed at an improved
      performance at farm level.
     Allow operators to make better informed decisions on farm-wide system optimisation,
      lifetime extension, decommissioning and/or recycling of components.
     Contribute to LCOE reduction in line with the SET Plan targets (actions should clearly
      justify the estimated LCOE at project start and end).
Scope: The proposal is expected to address all the following aspects:
     Address and validate how digital innovation on wind farm control are able to provide
      more stable, resilient, secure, reliable and affordable energy, while retaining high levels
      of cybersecurity. Focus on farm output maximization is expected. Additionally, focus on
      reduced component load is strongly encouraged.
     Address how these data-driven innovations reduce operational and maintenance costs,
      increase energy output, and their impact on (component, turbine, farm) lifetime;
     Address the role of such innovations as a prognostic tool, regarding failures and
      damages:
     Develop and release an open source digital/AI solution for sector uptake. This tool is
      expected to be built from concrete experiments and data measurements. Further, it
      should account for the advent of large wind turbines (up to 20 MW) and include those in
      the development of this tool.
In order to optimise impact and enhance synergies, cooperation with projects from the
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-04 call is particularly encouraged.
160
         FarmConners. D1.5: Recommendations and best practices for testing and validation of wind farm
         control. 2020.
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The selected projects are expected to contribute and participate to the activities of the project
BRIDGE161 when relevant.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-05: Novel Thin Film (TF) technologies targeting high
efficiencies
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                        consortium selected for funding.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level         General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Photovoltaic power generation is pivotal in the transition towards a clean
energy system and the achievement of the zero-emissions target. To that end, it is important to
enhance affordability, security of supply and sustainability of PV technologies along with
further efficiency improvements. Consequently, project results are expected to contribute to
all of the following outcomes:
     Increase the potential of thin-film technologies for mass production, low cost and/or
      specialised applications.
     Reinforce the European PV value chain, support local companies to develop and sell
      differentiated PV products.
     Allow for an efficient use of available areas for renewable energy generation/ reducing
      competition between different kinds of land use by further increasing PV energy
      yield/m2.
     Enable and facilitate large-scale deployment of PV and generation of renewable
      electricity.
Scope: An alternative to c-Silicon PV is thin-film solar cells, which can be fabricated on
various and flexible substrates (including glass, metal foils and polymers). A benefit of thin-
161
         https://www.h2020-bridge.eu/
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film PV is the lower direct semiconductor materials cost. Realising lower costs in production
requires high input material utilisation and low raw materials conversion costs. Largescale
thin-film module production can be more cost efficient when utilising rapid processing
technologies. With further advances in scientific understanding, 25% efficiency devices are
within reach as are even higher efficiencies in tandem architectures. Translating those device
and process advances to manufacturing technology will dramatically reduce LCOE once
sufficiently scaled in both module size and production volume. This will require adapting
deposition processes for higher rates and to larger-scale equipment while developing suitable
robust techniques for inline process and quality control.
The proposal should address all of the following:
    Develop novel environmentally benign thin-film technology concepts that optimise PV
      cell and module architecture, increase durability, decrease losses (minimising also the
      cell-to-module efficiency gap) and target very high efficiencies (>25%) with flexibility
      for specific applications.
    Employ simple, scalable and low cost/low energy consumption and higher rate
      deposition processes.
    Ensure compliance with all relevant standards, including those related to the specific
      applications targeted.
    Perform device/module real–life (under actual outdoor operating conditions)
      characterisation for reliability and energy yield assessment.
    Perform a life cycle analysis to bring evidence of the lower environmental impact, better
      resource efficiency than current commercial PV technologies, and circularity potential.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-06: Efficient and low-emission technologies for industrial
use of combustion and gasification systems from low-value biogenic residues and wastes
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
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   Advance the European scientific basis, technology base, leadership and global role in the
      area of bioenergy integration into industrial settings while creating evidence for policy
      making;
   Increased feedstock diversification and better technological performance leading to cost-
      reduction of bioenergy with positive effects on renewables’ penetration, circularity and
      security of supply;
   Reduced emissions and increased environmental and socio-economic sustainability of
      biomass combustion and gasification and bioenergy value chains.
Scope: Development of technologies for optimization of advanced biofuel flexible systems
regarding upstream multi-feedstock, logistics, feeding, ash management, combustion or
gasification processes and effluent emissions and their effective integration into industrial
process energy environment through efficient and low-emission technologies for industrial
use of combustion and gasification systems from low-economic value, but fully sustainable
biogenic residues and wastes.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-07: Development of algal and renewable fuels of non-
biological origin
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                       exceptions apply:
                       At least one algal fuel project, the highest scored from the above
                       threshold proposals will be funded, provided that it passes all thresholds
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Legal and                  The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of        apply:
the Grant                  Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the
Agreements                 Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions
                           under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for
                           Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the
                           Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy
                           Community (2021-2025). 162.
Expected Outcome: Renewable fuels of the future will be also based on algae and non-
biological feedstock for sectors that depend on and operate with dense fuels. Improving these
technologies will contribute to advance the European scientific basis and global technological
leadership in the area of renewable fuels, increase their technology competitiveness and role
in transforming the energy system on a fossil-free basis by 2050, in particular for hard to
electrify sectors like aviation, while supporting the EU goals for energy independence.
Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following expected outcomes:
     Increase feedstock and technology basis for renewable fuels.
     Facilitate development of advanced and high-quality biofuels from algae vegetable
      lipids.
     Foster development of technological pathways for algal and non-biological renewable
      fuel production.
     Increase robustness of conversion and process sustainability for algal and non-biological
      renewable fuels.
     Contribute to the priorities of the SET Plan Action 8.
     Deliver technology for longer-term needs for renewable fuels in energy and transport.
Scope: Proposals will develop and improve algal and/or non-biological renewable fuel
technologies (other than for hydrogen as a final product), through developing synthetic
pathways including biological, biochemical, thermochemical, electrochemical processes or
combinations of them. Improving the performance of the conversion process by increasing the
efficiency, reducing the cost and decreasing the GHG emissions from the production should
be addressed beyond the current state of the art. Implementing and improving circularity for
energy and material use should be considered, also as means to enhance sustainability and
economic feasibility of the proposed concepts. Proposals should also address systemic
162
         This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for
         Horizon      Europe,     under     ‘Simplified     costs   decisions’   or    through     this link:
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-
         decision_he_en.pdf
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constraints and opportunities for scaling-up algal and non-biological renewable fuel
technologies.
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-08: Development                           of   digital   solutions    for     existing
hydropower operation and maintenance
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          3.00 and 4.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level           General Annex B.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements                Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the
                          Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions
                          under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for
                          Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the
                          Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy
                          Community (2021-2025). 163.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
     Advance the European scientific basis, technology base, technology leadership in the
      area of hydropower in the context of digital transition and energy markets while creating
      evidence for policy making;
     Increase the technology competitiveness of the existing hydropower fleet in changing
      European power markets by increasing hydropower flexibility and decision-making in
      modern power markets;
163
        This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for
        Horizon      Europe,     under     ‘Simplified     costs    decisions’   or   through     this   link:
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-
        decision_he_en.pdf
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    Facilitate market penetration of renewables and getting closer to the European Green
      Deal and climate and energy targets for 2030 by increasing the flexibility, sustainability
      and predictability of existing hydropower;
    Improve environmental and socio-economic sustainability of the existing hydropower
      fleet.
Scope: Development of novel sensor technologies and digital solutions for digitization of
existing hydropower plants and improving their sustainable operation by addressing one or
more of the following: weather and flow forecast, biodiversity monitoring, predictive
modelling and artificial intelligence for the analysis of sensor data for decision-making in
operation and maintenance. Acknowledging eventual confidentiality of operational data, to
ensure wide uptake and reliability, actions should promote the highest standards of
transparency and openness of the digital solutions, extending to aspects such as assumptions,
architecture, code and data.
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-09: Recycling end of life PV modules
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        6.00 and 7.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Admissibility           The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level         General Annex B.
Legal and financial     The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant     apply:
Agreements              Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the
                        Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions
                        under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for
                        Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the
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                           Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy
                           Community (2021-2025). 164.
                           The granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or the
                           exclusive licensing of results under certain conditions.
Expected Outcome: Photovoltaic power generation is pivotal in the transition to a clean
energy system and the achievement of the zero-emissions target. To that end, it is important to
enhance its sustainability while creating wealth and additional employment opportunities in
Europe. Consequently, project results are expected to contribute to all of the following
outcomes:
     Demonstrate efficient,           low-cost,      emerging       recycling   technologies       for  PV
      modules/products.
     Increase recyclability and minimise the environmental impact of PV technology.
     Introduce new business models and open new markets in PV recycling.
     Reduce dependency on primary raw materials through the circular use of resources,
      sustainable products and innovation.
     Strengthen domestic sourcing of raw materials in the EU.
Scope: PV technology is undergoing a transition to a new generation of efficient, low-cost
products based on various photoactive materials. PV technology has definite environmental
advantages over competing electricity generation technologies, and the PV industry follows a
pro-active life-cycle approach to prevent future environmental impact and to sustain these
advantages. However, long-term sustainability of photovoltaics will be largely dependent on
the effectiveness of the process solutions that will be adopted to recycle the unprecedented
volume of end-of-life panels/products expected to be generated in the near future. Recycling
is indispensable to avoid the loss of the valuable materials employed to produce photovoltaics
and, at the same time, prevent harmful elements, including, for example, heavy metals, to be
dispersed into the environment through improper disposal practices.
The proposal should address all of the following:
     Forecast the PV waste streams and estimate the market potentials.
     Develop and demonstrate flexible, high efficiency and throughput recycling technologies
      adapted to the large volumes of PV modules/products that will be disposed in the future,
      depending on the typologies of cells/modules/products and reverse logistics.
164
        This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for
        Horizon      Europe,     under     ‘Simplified     costs   decisions’   or    through     this  link:
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-
        decision_he_en.pdf
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   Demonstrate re-use potential of high-value recycled material (maintaining its purity
     and/or integrity) in the PV sector.
   Demonstrate a business case for the concept and a market introduction strategy.
   Address the following related aspects: low environmental impact, resource efficiency
     and circularity potential.
The proposal should involve multidisciplinary consortia including industrial partners.
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.
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Destination – Efficient, sustainable and inclusive energy use
This Destination addresses activities targeting the energy demand side, notably a more
efficient use of energy as regards buildings and industry.
Demand side solutions and improved energy efficiency are among the most cost effective
ways to support the transition to climate neutrality, reduce pollution and raw materials use, to
create inclusive growth and employment in Europe, to bring down costs for consumers, to
reduce our import dependency and redirect investments towards smart and sustainable
infrastructure. The transition to a decentralised and climate neutral energy system will greatly
benefit from the use of digital technologies which will enable buildings and industrial
facilities to become inter-active elements in the energy system by optimising energy
consumption, distributed generation and storage and vis-à-vis the energy system. They will
also trigger new business opportunities and revenue streams for up-graded, innovative energy
services which valorise energy savings and flexible consumption.
This Destination contributes to the following Strategic Plan’s Key Strategic Orientations
(KSO):
     C: Making Europe the first digitally enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable
      economy through the transformation of its mobility, energy, construction and production
      systems;
     A: Promoting an open strategic autonomy165 by leading the development of key digital,
      enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains to accelerate and steer
      the digital and green transitions through human-centred technologies and innovations.
It covers the following impact areas:
     Industrial leadership in key and emerging technologies that work for people;
     Affordable and clean energy;
     Circular and clean economy.
The expected impact, in line with the Strategic Plan, is to contribute to the “Efficient and
sustainable use of energy, accessible for all is ensured through a clean energy system and a
just transition”, notably through
  a. Technological and socio-economic breakthroughs for achieving climate neutrality and
      the transition to zero pollution of the building stock by 2050, based on inclusive and
      people-centric R&I (more detailed information below).
165
         ‘Open strategic autonomy’ refers to the term ‘strategic autonomy while preserving an open economy’,
         as reflected in the conclusions of the European Council 1 – 2 October 2020.
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  b. Increased energy efficiency in industry and reducing industry’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG)
      and air pollutant emissions through recovery, upgrade and/or conversion of industrial
      excess (waste) heat and through electrification of heat generation (more information
      below).
Other Horizon Europe Clusters include topics and activities that can be relevant to this
Destination, e.g. in order to seek synergies. These include (but are not limited to) the
following:
Cluster 2:
    Destination 2 – Innovative Research on the European Cultural Heritage and the Cultural
      and Creative Industries. That Destination is most relevant for the topics which scope
      addresses heritage buildings.
    Destination 3 - Innovative Research on Social and Economic Transformations. That
      Destination is most relevant for the social innovation items included in some of the
      topics.
Cluster 3:
    Destination 4 – Increased Cybersecurity. This potential link is most relevant for the
      topics that address smart buildings and digitalisation of buildings.
    Destination 5 – A Disaster-Resilient Society for Europe. This potential link can be
      relevant for the topics that address the resilience of the building stock.
Cluster 4: the whole cluster is relevant, in particular Destination 1 – Climate Neutral, circular
and digitised production, which is highly relevant for all topics on buildings (e.g. for the
digitalisation of construction / renovation workflows).
Cluster 6:
    Destination 3 – Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors and Destination 4 – Clean
      environment and zero pollution. This potential link is relevant for all topics, in particular
      those that address sustainable renovation of buildings.
Beyond Horizon Europe, other programmes include some components with which synergies
and complementarities can be found. For instance, the Clean Energy Transition and Circular
Economy sub-programmes under LIFE can contribute to the market uptake of the innovation
delivered under this Destination. The Digital Europe programme includes actions that can be
relevant to consider in relation to the topics that entail the development or use of (big) data
approaches.
Highly energy-efficient and climate neutral European building stock
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Topics under this Destination targeting highly energy-efficient and climate-neutral European
building stock focus on both, the energy challenge in buildings and, more broadly, the
transformation of the built environment towards more sustainable living.
In line with the new European Bauhaus aiming to “bring the European Green Deal to life in
an attractive, and innovative and human-centred way”, the sustainable built environment
should go beyond merely improving the energy and resource efficiency of buildings and also
include a qualitative, aesthetic and human dimension. At the intersection of science,
technology and the arts, new creative design and architectural solutions should be developed
to ensure the sustainable renovation of the existing European building stock for the well-being
of its users. In particular the renovation or adaptive reuse of historical and heritage buildings
and sites needs to embrace quality principles to safeguard the cultural values of Europe’s
historical environment and local architectural identity.
Topics targeting energy efficiency in buildings under this Destination seek to achieve the
following impacts:
    More energy efficient building stocks supported by an accurate understanding of
      buildings performance in Europe and of related evolutions.
    Building stocks that effectively combine energy efficiency, renewable energy sources
      and digital and smart technologies to support the transformation of the energy system
      towards climate neutrality.
Addressing the broader transformation of the built environment, though, requires a larger
involvement of all players across the built environment value chain and throughout building
life cycle. To this end, a co-programmed European Partnership on a people-centric,
sustainable built environment has been set up (Built4People) to develop holistic R&I for an
effective transition to sustainability. All Horizon Europe R&I actions addressing the
challenges related to the buildings and construction sector will contribute to achieving the
Built4People Partnership goals and will benefit from the coordinated approach within the
community of its partners and stakeholders. Topics contributing to the implementation of the
Built4People European Partnership seek to achieve the following impacts:
    Higher buildings’ performance with lower environmental impacts through increased
      rates of holistic renovations.
    Higher quality, more affordable built environment preserving climate and environment,
      and safeguarding cultural heritage and ensuring better living conditions.
Industrial facilities in the energy transition
Topics on industrial facilities in the energy transition supported under this Destination focus
on thermal energy management in industry. The bulk of R&I activities related to industry is
however supported under Cluster 4 “Digital, Industry and Space”.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
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             Call                       Budgets (EUR million)       Deadline(s)
                                      2021                    2022
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01 66.00                                        19 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-02 38.00                                        25 Jan 2022
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-01                                  54.00       06 Sep 2022
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02                                  86.60       24 Jan 2023
Overall indicative budget      104.00                   140.60
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Call - Efficient, sustainable and inclusive energy use
                                                                           HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)166
                Topics                     Type         Budgets            Expected EU            Number
                                             of          (EUR        contribution per project         of
                                          Action        million)        (EUR million)167           projects
                                                                                                  expected
                                                          2021                                      to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 24 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 19 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01-01 IA                          10.00 168      3.00 to 5.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01-02 IA                          16.00 169      5.00 to 8.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01-03 IA                          10.00 170      3.00 to 5.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01-04 IA                          16.00 171      Around 8.00                  2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01-05 IA                          14.00 172      10.00 to 14.00               1
Overall indicative budget                             66.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
166
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
167
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
168
        Of which EUR 5.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
169
        Of which EUR 8.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
170
        Of which EUR 5.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
171
        Of which EUR 8.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
172
        Of which EUR 7.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Highly energy-efficient and climate neutral EU building stock
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01-01: Advanced energy performance assessment and
certification
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Improved construction quality and service life compliance.
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   Improved accuracy of energy performance assessment and any other assessment
      conducted in parallel, reduced gap between assessment and actual performance.
   Improved and automated monitoring of energy performance of buildings, and other
      relevant life-cycle performance aspects with a direct link to the energy efficiency
      performance.
   Improved user-friendliness of Energy Performance Certificates and post-occupancy
      performance data, in terms of clarity, accuracy, trade-offs and usability of the
      information provided.
   Increased uptake of design standards and practices based on actual performance.
   More reliable understanding of energy and environmental performance in the early stage
      of the building life cycle, and over service life, based on robust and consistent
      assessment practices across the buildings sector and across Member States and
      Associated Countries.
Scope: The next generation of energy performance assessment and certification schemes
needs to support the transition towards a climate neutral building stock over the full life cycle,
relying on technological innovations to improve speed and quality of as-built performance
assessment and service life compliance checks, also linking to other instruments such as
building logbooks, building renovation roadmaps, Level(s) and other datasets. Energy
performance assessment and certification schemes should seek to work coherently, where
relevant, with other performance data generated over the building’s life cycle. This can
include well-being, indoor air quality, noise and acoustic quality, daylight levels, pollutants
and health related data, as well as data pertaining to other issues such as accessibility of
buildings, and consumption of non-energy resources such as water.
The proposal should:
   Develop more reliable, cost-effective and highly replicable energy performance
      calculation methods also addressing, in parallel, relevant life-cycle performance aspects
      (e.g. well-being, indoor air quality and comfort, acoustics, water consumption,
      resilience, or whole life carbon) with a direct link to the energy efficiency performance.
   Address the definition and demonstration of advanced and innovative approaches for
      building energy performance and certification, and how these can interact with other
      relevant life cycle performance data and certification, focusing on a credible assessment
      of building intrinsic performance but also increasingly working towards output-based
      assessments using available building data; Investigate how such approaches can rely on
      automatic and semi-automatic assessment based on building digital models (e.g. BIM).
   Seek to incorporate in those approaches social and economic indicators.
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    Develop dynamic energy and other relevant life-cycle performance assessment and
      certification databases as a unique source of information on individual buildings over
      their lifetime for home owners, investors, real estate agents and public authorities.
    Demonstrate how data from smart sensors can be included in assessments in a dynamic
      way, also exploring, where relevant, how to combine building asset rating with building
      operational rating, and how to use digital innovations for the assessment of energy and
      other relevant life-cycle performance.
    Ensure the proposed solutions build on the results of previous projects dealing with
      building performance including Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), also
      considering where relevant integrating building renovation passports or roadmaps in
      EPCs.
    Ensure the proposed solutions allow for synergies with other relevant instruments (e.g.
      the smart readiness indicator under Directive 2010/31/EU, building renovation passports
      and relevant parts of Level(s)).
    Seek to ensure from the design phase that the project is developed with a view to
      integrate its results/deliverables under a digital building logbook.
    Ensure that the proposed solutions comply with, and support a broad adoption of,
      relevant EU standards (e.g. Energy Performance of Buildings standards developed by
      CEN, CENELEC and ETSI under Mandate M/480) and codes in order to allow for an
      EU-wide deployment.
    Ensure the involvement of relevant stakeholders (including European, national and
      regional certification bodies and consumer organisations).
Clustering and cooperation with other relevant projects is strongly encouraged; in particular,
liaison and synergies with the Horizon Europe Partnership on ‘People-centric sustainable built
environment’.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a clear business case and exploitation
strategy, as well as demonstration activities (at least three demonstration use cases) of an
adequate scale.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01-02: Industrialisation of deep renovation workflows for
energy-efficient buildings
Specific conditions
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Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      5.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 16.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Admissibility         The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 8 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following
expected outcomes:
   Significant improvement in productivity of construction and renovation processes for
     energy-efficient buildings, supporting an increase in scale in the renovation process and
     streamlining resource efficient nearly zero-energy performance renovation: 30 % waste
     reduction; improved quality of renovation; at least 30% and towards 50% reduction of
     on-site construction / renovation work time and 25% costs reduction.
   More affordable renovation projects for owners, for all building types but with a specific
     focus on residential buildings.
   Enhanced quality of construction, backed up by post-occupancy evaluations, also
     supporting a better integration of design and construction activities, streamlining
     commissioning of buildings, in particular in relation to energy management but also
     taking into account cross-cutting issues such as accessibility of buildings.
   Reduced performance gap between as-built and as-designed (difference between
     theoretical and measured performance), allowing tracking performance across the life
     cycle.
   Increased trust towards construction and renovation processes, by allowing tracking
     energy performance across the life-cycle.
   Upskilled workforce for industrialised renovation workflows, including automated and
     robotised construction / renovation, relying on interoperable digital modelling data.
   Enhanced safety of the construction workforce and increased acceptance of robotic
     support for deep renovation.
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    Innovative, tailored business models for deep renovation allowing increased scale of
      renovation, generating economies of scale and increasing the potential for attractive and
      affordable packages for end users including financing.
    Tailored access to building information across the life cycle for relevant stakeholders
      (owners, facility managers, contractors, public authorities).
    Integration with distributed renewable energy sources in neighbourhoods and districts,
      favouring the emergence of related initiatives (e.g. renewable energy communities).
    Enhanced synergies of renovation with local resources, e.g. district heating & cooling
      networks.
Scope: Several recent projects & calls have focused on prefabrication for deep renovation, but
more work is needed to innovate seamless workflows from design through to offsite
manufacture, installation, and compliance checking on site, also ensuring due consideration of
life cycle performance. There is also a need for more demonstrations across the EU.
Proposals should:
    Investigate innovative approaches for industrialised deep renovation, covering the whole
      workflow from design through to offsite manufacture, installation, compliance checking
      on site and end strategies for maintenance, operation and end of life.
    Make use of innovative processes and technologies, including those delivered by
      previous research such as design based on circularity principles, prefabricated
      components and digital tools, that allow to optimise workflows (cost, time, quality,
      resource use).
    Develop significantly improved integrated digital twin solutions that can support all
      stakeholders involved in the different phases of the construction or renovation processes,
      i.e. from concept to end-of-use, including design, construction, commissioning,
      operation (management and maintenance) and, where relevant, change of use.
    Demonstrate a seamless integration of the proposed approaches with state-of-the-art
      digital technologies for construction and renovation (Building Information Modelling,
      digital twins, etc.).
    Investigate the use of robotic systems and automation such as additive manufacturing,
      on-site automated and robotic systems (e.g. robots for building component assembly),
      drones and autonomous vehicles (e.g. for surveying, inspection and monitoring), and
      other types of automated support to augment workers’ capability and safety (e.g. lift
      robots, exoskeletons) for deep renovation.
    Investigate the application of the proposed approaches at neighbourhood- and district-
      level, with the aim to maximise synergies in renovation work and processes, decrease
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      costs, and to optimise the use of energy-related shared district resources (e.g. heating and
      cooling networks, renewable energy sources, energy storage facilities, etc.).
    Select processes and technologies that have a maximum potential for rapid and broad
      deployment at European level, with due consideration of the sector’s practices.
    Ensure effective involvement of the buildings supply chain, in particular SMEs, as well
      as of building owners/tenants and other relevant stakeholders.
    Where relevant, investigate whether and how the proposed approaches could apply to
      cultural heritage buildings.
    Ensure the proposed approaches allow to reach the highest level of energy performance,
      also considering other relevant aspects (e.g. life cycle, accessibility), while keeping costs
      in an attractive range for owners.
    Seek to ensure from the design phase that the project is developed with a view to
      integrate its results/deliverables under a digital building logbook.
    Demonstrate, based on well-defined metrics and key performance indicators, that the
      innovative approaches proposed lead to fewer mistakes, less waste, higher resource
      efficiency, higher quality in particular with regard to energy performance (reduced
      performance gap), increased replicability across sites, and other relevant life cycle
      aspects, enhanced safety of workers and their ability to work alongside robots, and faster
      construction.
    Investigate business models in view of mass deployment and EU-wide impact, seeking
      to address split of incentives between the owner and tenant of a building as a barrier to
      investments.
    Lead at least 3 large-scale demonstration to assess the proposed approaches for a variety
      of buildings typologies representative of the European building stock, ensuring the most
      adequate coverage of climatic conditions.
Clustering and cooperation with other relevant projects is strongly encouraged; in particular,
liaison and synergies with the Horizon Europe Partnerships on ‘People-centric sustainable
built environment’ and ‘Driving Urban Transitions’.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01-03: Advanced data-driven monitoring of building stock
energy performance
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
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Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Admissibility         The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 8 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   More robust, improved and consistent monitoring of performance (energy and other
     relevant aspects, such as indoor environment quality and life cycle) of buildings across
     the European sectors and through the whole value chain.
   Better informed planning of building infrastructure (e.g. renovation roadmaps, heating &
     cooling systems, district heating networks, mobility infrastructures (EV charging,
     parking facilities, communication networks, strategies for whole life carbon reduction
     etc.) and better informed investment decision-making for designing future buildings and
     building processes.
   Successfully tested smart energy services on the basis of advanced, high-quality building
     stock performance data.
   Significant and measurable increase in the use of open, real-time and reliable building
     data from multiple sources.
   Development of accurate methods that facilitate collection of data from the building
     stock (e.g. to support policy making and policy impact assessment or to substantiate
     performance guarantee schemes and contribute to de-risking investments in a climate
     neutral building stock over the full life cycle).
   Better availability of big data and big data analysis facilities for real-life scale research,
     simulation and policy-making.
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   More effective implementation of EU policies that drive the transition to a green, digital
    and sustainable economy, and contribute to enhance the quality of the building stock
    across the board (e.g. quality of life and working, inclusiveness and accessibility, etc.).
Scope: The proposal should:
   Enhance the collection and quality of energy and related (e.g. life cycle) data for
    buildings (including heating, ventilation and air-conditioning, indoor environment
    quality, all technical equipment, lighting and other appliances) through various sources
    such as manufacturers’ data, BIM and digital twin models, surveys, digital logbooks,
    sensors, meters, interfaces (statistical, structured and big data) and Level(s).
   Explore approaches to integrate dynamic data from buildings (e.g. coming from sensors)
    with metering static data (e.g. data spaces, energy performance certificates databases),
    statistical data, and other types of data (e.g. qualitative feedback from building users).
   Ensure the proposed approaches build on interoperability and cloud-based solutions that
    and allow for seamless collection and use of data from the buildings, systems and
    subsystems.
   Develop new or enhance existing open source data analytics dashboards and prediction
    tools.
   Develop improved tools for digital simulation and digital twinning.
   Develop, enhance and integrate existing open data sharing platforms, including where
    relevant by refining and integrating building data reference architectures and making
    links with relevant data spaces.
   Contribute to the development of open access and standardised European buildings data
    repositories, also supporting the development of related EU initiatives (e.g. the EU
    Building Stock Observatory, JRC E3P Roadmap for whole life cycle carbon emissions
    reduction).
   Promote fair data management practices to ensure findability, accessibility,
    interoperability and re-usability of data.
   Seek to ensure from the design phase that the project is developed with a view to
    integrate its results/deliverables under a digital building logbook.
   Demonstrate digital data exchange platforms for building. The solutions should be
    interoperable and able to interact with grid management platforms.
   Demonstrate real use cases with business potential (e.g. smart energy services)
    valorising high quality building performance data, e.g. to accurately monitor energy
    consumption and production across different fuels (for instance integrated heating and
    cooling and hybrid systems) as well as other relevant performance criteria.
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    Demonstrate that the proposed solutions allow to significantly improve the monitoring of
      the building stock performance, taking into consideration all relevant aspects (e.g.
      environmental, economic, and social ones).
Clustering and cooperation with other relevant projects is strongly encouraged; in particular,
liaison and synergies with the Horizon Europe Partnerships on ‘People-centric sustainable
built environment’ and ‘Driving Urban Transitions’.
Industrial facilities in the energy transition
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01-04: Full-scale demonstration of heat upgrade technologies
with supply temperature in the range 90 - 160°C
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 16.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    Demonstration at full scale (0.5 – 10 MWth) of industrial heat upgrade systems to supply
      various industrial processes with useful heat in the (sink) temperature range of 90 – 160
      °C, extracted from renewable heat sources (e.g. solar thermal), ambient heat or industrial
      waste heat.
    Scaling up and improvement of the economic and technical performances of heat
      upgrade in order to cover more industrial processes with special attention to integration
      and adaptation to existing/improved processes.
    Demonstration of business models and contractual agreements in the cases of use of the
      upgraded heat within the industrial plant, in other neighbouring plants or heating
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      networks, as part of the Hubs4circularity approach, identifying also potential regulatory
      barriers.
   Better awareness of the challenges and benefits of heat upgrade in the relevant industrial
      sectors.
Scope: This topic aims to satisfy the need for low temperature heat in the relevant industrial
sectors, by upgrading lower temperature heat flows, including from renewable heat sources,
ambient heat or industrial excess (waste) heat, as a cost-efficient way to improve energy
efficiency and reduce the GHG emissions.
Heat upgrade technologies exist, such as for example heat pumps, but their size needs to be
scaled-up and their cost needs to be reduced, notably by improving their performances, and
their operation needs to be demonstrated in various industrial contexts, in order to ensure their
wide deployment. The optional integration of renewable heat sources (e.g. solar thermal) as
the input heat flow to be further upgraded, is in scope.
In order to reach this goal all the following development areas need to be covered:
   Identify the target industrial processes which would benefit from this technology, as
      excess (waste) heat sources and as users (heat sinks); assess the impacts of these
      applications in terms of energy savings and GHG and air pollutant emissions reductions
      in the EU (and Associated States, if data are available), so as to maximise the impact and
      coverage of the most promising applications in the subsequent optimisation and
      demonstration steps. A preliminary analysis of the technico-economic feasibility and
      impact of the proposed heat upgrade process is expected already in the proposal.
   Optimise the heat upgrade system to improve its economic and technical performances
      in terms of: sink output temperature range (90 to 160°C); temperature increase between
      sink inlet and sink outlet temperatures; temperature spread between source and sink
      temperatures; flexibility to source input temperature variations; higher sink thermal
      power; higher coefficient of performance; bigger size; lower CAPEX (equipment) and
      operational costs (higher efficiency and lower maintenance).
   Development/improvement of design tools at components and system levels.
   Integration and long term full-scale demonstration of the system in an industrial
      application in at least one industrial sector.
   Technical and economical life cycle assessment of heat upgrade systems adapted for at
      least 4 industrial sectors, to demonstrate economic viability, define business cases and
      exploitation strategy.
   Assess the potential impact in CO2 emissions reduction (Mton CO2/a) and energy
      savings (TWh/a) in EU27 and (if data are available) in the Associated States, of using
      heat upgrade systems in the relevant industrial sectors, taking into account not only the
      thermal energy temperature and volumes needed by the relevant sectors but also the
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     temperature lift capabilities, and the availability of ambient or waste heat sources. The
     supply temperature ranges to be considered for the impact assessment are: <100°C, 100-
     200°C and >200°C. Evaluate the potential impact at global level by extrapolation. In
     case several projects are funded under this call, the results of this assessment should be
     compared with the other projects and harmonised.
   Identify the potential barriers to the deployment of heat upgrade and use due to the local
     regulatory framework in the EU Member States and Associated Countries.
   Disseminate the technical and economic benefits, notably (but not only) to the
     communities of the relevant Horizon Europe private-public partnerships.
   Given the transversal nature of the technology, the potential for transferring the
     technology to the building heating sector, including district heat networks, should be
     assessed and disseminated.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01-05: Industrial excess (waste) Heat-to-Power conversion
based on organic Rankine cycles
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      10.00 and 14.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 14.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Admissibility         The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
   Improved systems based on Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) to achieve scalability to
     higher power levels, higher cost effectiveness, wider input temperature ranges,
     significantly reduced system size, allowing wider take up of heat recovery and its
     conversion to power from more industrial processes.
   Better awareness of the challenges and benefits of systems based on Organic Rankin
     Cycles.
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Scope: Better use of process excess/waste heat represents a significant source of energy
savings for industries. The conversion of excess heat back to electricity would also improve
energy efficiency, mitigate the increase of electricity consumption due to industrial
electrification and thereby reduce the load on the power grids. This will also facilitate
balancing the grid due to intermittent supply of electricity from renewables and so contribute
to reduce GHG emissions.
Accounting for the results of previous research 173 , proposals are expected to integrate an
industrial excess heat-to-power conversion system based on Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC)
and demonstrate the system operation in industrial environment at an output power level of at
least 2 MW, with improved cost efficiency compared to existing solutions
In order to reach this goal all the following development areas need to be covered:
     Optimisation of thermal cycles and mixtures of fluids or additives for different
      temperature levels of recovered heat and constrained industrial environment, in terms of
      efficiency and economics (CAPEX, OPEX).
     Development/improvement of design tools at components and system levels.
     Development/improvement of materials and components: heat exchangers,
      turbomachinery (including advanced sealing technologies), waste heat recovery unit,
      power generator and electronics, etc.
     Integration and demonstration of the system in industrial environment; optionally heat
      storage can be integrated as well in the system.
     Technical, and economical life cycle assessment of heat-to-power systems adapted for at
      least 4 energy intensive industrial sectors, to demonstrate economic viability, define
      business cases and exploitation strategy.
     Evaluation of the potential impacts in terms of primary energy savings (GWh/year) in
      industry (heat recovery) and potential primary energy savings in the power generation
      sector, assuming full deployment in EU Member States and (as far as data are available
      for the calculation of the impact) in Associated Countries, and at global level by
      extrapolation.
     Dissemination of the technical and economic benefits, notably (but not only) to the
      communities of the relevant Horizon Europe private-public partnerships.
Call - Efficient, sustainable and inclusive energy use
                                                                  HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-02
173
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Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)174
                Topics                     Type         Budgets            Expected EU            Number
                                             of          (EUR        contribution per project         of
                                          Action        million)         (EUR million)175          projects
                                                                                                  expected
                                                          2021                                      to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 02 Sep 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 25 Jan 2022
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-02-01 IA                          15.00 176      5.00 to 7.50                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-02-02 IA                          22.00 177      9.00 to 11.00                2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-02-03 CSA                         1.00           Around 1.00                  1
Overall indicative budget                             38.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
                                                           Annex E.
174
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
175
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
176
        Of which EUR 7.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
177
        Of which EUR 11.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Highly energy-efficient and climate neutral EU building stock
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-02-01: Demonstrating integrated technology solutions for
buildings with performance guarantees (Built4People)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        5.00 and 7.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Admissibility           The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level         see General Annex B.
Legal and financial     The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant     exceptions apply:
Agreements              The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                        applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                        for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                        the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Demonstrated viability of, and proven integrated technology solutions for, performance
     guarantees and performance-based contracts to increase buildings energy performance
     but including aspects going beyond energy towards a broader range of climate- and
     environment- relevant matters (e.g. resource efficiency, whole life carbon, etc.).
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   Enhanced consumer trust in guarantees of performance and related contracts.
   Increased number of market actors, especially SMEs, offering performance-based
     business models.
   Enhanced awareness of end users and capacity building of businesses on performance-
     based contracts.
Scope: The proposal should:
   Design and demonstrate innovative integrated technology solutions based on state-of-
     the-art components (envelope, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning, cooling,
     automation and control, renewable energy, etc.) solutions for cost-effective buildings’
     overall performance enhancement with performance guarantees.
   Investigate the viability of performance-based business models combining those
     technology solutions with attractive and innovative contractual frameworks for
     performance guarantees and testing them with the relevant market players (e.g. energy
     suppliers, product manufacturer, technology/service providers).
   Develop business models that suit new industrialised design and production methods,
     and include enhanced energy and resource (based on suitable Level(s) indicators)
     performance guarantees with longer commissioning and condition-based maintenance to
     replace maintenance contracts.
   Develop performance contracts that work with industrialised solutions for the
     renovations in the residential sector, valorising energy and environmental performance,
     resource and energy efficiency, energy flexibility (through demand response) and
     comfort (Comfort Performance Contracts) for all building elements (e.g. building
     envelope, equipment & systems, energy storage).
   Build, where possible, on existing business approaches that have shown effectiveness for
     renovation (e.g. one-stop-shops, ESCOs).
   Ensure that those business models make use of digital tools (e.g. energy management
     systems, block chain, digital logbooks) to increase data availability for measurement and
     verification and therefore increase the traceability of performance (e.g. energy savings,
     energy generation, GHG emissions, location of components and substances in the
     buildings) and to ease the implementation of performance-based contracts.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘People-centric,
Sustainable Built Environment’ (Built4People).
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HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-02-02: Cost-effective, sustainable multi-functional and/or
prefabricated holistic renovation packages, integrating RES and including re-used and
recycled materials (Built4People)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         9.00 and 11.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 22.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Admissibility            The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level          see General Annex B.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                         applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                         for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                         the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Increased scale and productivity in the renovation process: demonstrated and quantified
     decrease of on-site construction / renovation work time (at least 30% and towards 50%).
   Benchmarked and quantified improvement of insulation and air-tightness compared to
     standard renovation solutions.
   Demonstrated improvement of indoor environment and user comfort and satisfaction, as
     well as accessibility, increasing attractiveness of renovation for buildings owners and
     users.
   Improved affordability of sustainable renovation and RES systems in buildings, in
     particular for households experiencing energy poverty issues.
   Demonstrated reduction of embodied energy and CO2 of renovation, and emission of air
     pollutants over the life cycle.
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   Increased deployment of built-in renewable energy generation solutions for on-site
     multi-purpose (heating, cooling, electricity) renewable energy generation.
   Increased share of reused and /or recycled and/or biosourced construction materials /
     products used in building renovation to contribute to circular economy.
   Faster uptake of EU-wide standards or certification of reused and / or recycled
     construction materials / products.
Scope: Proposals are expected to deliver large-scale, real life demonstration of promising
technology innovations already demonstrated at lab level. Proposals should cover all of the
following:
   Develop renovation solutions for a range of needs (from renovations limited in scope to
     deep renovations) applying predominantly re-used and / or recycled and/or biosourced
     construction materials / products in a cradle-to-cradle approach, allowing for installation
     without significantly modifying the structure of the building (or without overloading
     existing structures) and demonstrating a high replication and industrial potential.
   Develop multi-functional (passive & active) and scalable renovation solutions to
     improve energy performance of buildings, applicable to different building types based on
     prefabricated components and integrated RES systems.
   Develop building envelope solutions with integral means for combined active/passive
     management of energy transfer, i.e., integrating RES for active heat and sound insulation
     and direct on-site renewable electricity generation.
   Seek to support the integration of local sources of reused components and secondary raw
     materials in the renovation packages relying, where relevant, on urban mining.
   Develop novel testing methodologies oriented towards assessing the long-term
     performance of the elements. This should include the estimation of durability and service
     life.
   Model and test in actual scale the materials and components selected.
   Benchmark energy and environmental performance (applying the appropriate Level(s)
     indicators), monitoring (at least one year) at real scale of the new solutions, also
     demonstrating compliance with project and regulatory requirements, and demonstrating
     cost-effectiveness of the renovation solutions over the lifetime.
   Assess the risks related to major disruptive events (such as flooding, heat waves, and/or
     other climate-driven events and/or earthquakes) that apply to the geographical zones
     targeted and, where relevant, include an analysis of resilience of the renovated building /
     infrastructure against those major disruptive events.
   Demonstrate, based on clear and thorough documentation of relevant activities, that the
     proposed solutions lead to reduced maintenance costs, lead to an improvement of indoor
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     environment and user comfort and satisfaction, as well as accessibility, can be used in a
     wide range of environmental conditions, favour sustainable use of resources, respect
     sustainability life cycle principles, including end-of-life analysis involving the reuse of
     new and replaced elements at the end of service life.
   Consider renovation packages also integrating renewable energy sources for buildings
     with respect of the aesthetic, the historical value and/or the local architectural identity.
   Lead at least 3 large-scale demonstration of the solutions in diverse geographical areas,
     with various local environmental, social, and economic conditions, addressing both
     residential and non-residential buildings.
   Where relevant, contribute to standardisation (e.g. recycled concrete CEN standard) and
     certification activities (e.g. guides for non-standard hybrid component assessment).
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘People-centric,
Sustainable Built Environment’ (Built4People).
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-02-03: Strengthening European coordination and exchange
for innovation uptake towards sustainability, quality, circularity and social inclusion in
the built environment as a contribution to the new European Bauhaus (Built4People)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Increased uptake of innovative solutions for a sustainable, digitalised, human-centric and
     inclusive, quality built environment, following circularity principles across the value
     chain;
   Intensified, cross-sectorial and interdisciplinary peer-learning from front runners;
   Increased awareness on benefits from technological and non-technological (social,
     cultural) innovation and the synergetic cross-border cooperation in the built environment
     sector, with due consideration of all relevant aspects such as sustainability, energy and
     resource efficiency, life-cycle perspective, digitalisation, inclusion and accessibility;
   (In line with the New European Bauhaus) better acknowledgement and integration of
     quality architecture and design principles, blending design and sustainability in
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      innovative solutions to improve sustainability of the built environment, including, if
      appropriate, cultural heritage, also ensuring compliance with the principles of circular
      economy, with due consideration of relevant aspects such as style, human-centric
      inclusivity and accessibility for persons with disabilities;
     Improved visibility, more systematic adoption (including by users of the built
      environment) and uptake of innovative results, including from EU funded projects, in the
      field of sustainable built environment;
     Strengthened, long-lasting and multi-disciplinary networking in the field of innovative
      sustainable built environment;
     Scaled-up co-financing of innovation in the field of innovative sustainable built
      environment.
Scope: The proposal should:
     Develop business models to ensure co-financing options to foster innovation for
      sustainability, style, accessibility and quality of the built environment;
     Support the creation and operation of whole value chain Innovation Clusters linked to
      the ‘Built4People’ (B4P) partnership (People-centric sustainable built environment178).
     Link up the concept of whole value chain Innovation Clusters with regional/national
      innovation hubs and clusters, and, to relevant pilot projects of the New European
      Bauhaus, seeking to improve collaboration between those;
     Combine specialisation and advanced expertise with multi-disciplinary knowledge for
      cross-border value chains and offer the best possible R&I support to all actors of the
      European built environment ecosystem in particular for SMEs and mid-caps, as well as
      their stakeholders and clients;
     Put in place a long-term and multi-disciplinary network structure for those Innovation
      Clusters, along with an appropriate governance, to focus and nurture public investments
      that would serve several regions of Europe;
     Organise supporting dissemination actions, including workshops, conferences, peer-
      learning activities involving final end-users and relevant experts (e.g. accessibility),
      industrial fora, dissemination material, etc. and develop an organisation and business
      model for an effective collaboration among these Innovation Clusters, including after the
      end of the grant;
     Seek to cooperate with other coordination actions designed to support the New European
      Bauhaus, for instance in relation to education and dissemination, in the scope of Horizon
      Europe179 and beyond;
178
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/ec_rtd_he-
         partnerships-built4people.pdf
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     Cooperate closely with the leading partners of the B4P partnership.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘People-centric,
Sustainable Built Environment’ (Built4People).
Call - Efficient, sustainable and inclusive energy use
                                                                           HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)180
                Topics                     Type         Budgets            Expected EU            Number
                                             of          (EUR        contribution per project         of
                                          Action        million)        (EUR million)181           projects
                                                                                                  expected
                                                          2022                                      to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 28 Apr 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 06 Sep 2022
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-01-01 IA                          12.00 182      4.00 to 6.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-01-02 IA                          12.00 183      4.00 to 6.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-01-03 IA                          12.00 184      4.00 to 6.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-01-04 RIA                         10.00          3.00 to 5.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-01-05 RIA                         8.00           3.00 to 4.00                 2
Overall indicative budget                             54.00
General conditions relating to this call
179
        E.g. actions funded under the HORIZON-CIT- 2021-01-02 topic, which should contribute to the New
        European Bauhaus movement and the objectives of the European Green Deal, in relation to the Mission
        on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities.
180
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
181
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
182
        Of which EUR 6.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
183
        Of which EUR 6.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
184
        Of which EUR 6.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Admissibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Highly energy-efficient and climate neutral EU building stock
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-01-01: Demand response in energy-efficient residential
buildings
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       4.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
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Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    Increased potential benefits, trust and acceptability of demand-response solutions for
     residential consumers.
    Advanced asset control and aggregation approaches that enable the participation of
     residential buildings in commercial demand response.
    Expanded pool of assets relevant for demand response in the residential sector.
Scope: Address the large but untapped potential of the residential sector for Demand
Response with a view to support the energy transition at system level while respecting user
privacy, comfort and ownership.
Proposals should:
    Investigate innovative demand response solutions for the residential sector, including
     new control modes and asset optimisation techniques involving as many devices as
     possible.
    Ensure that the proposed solutions comply with the principle of privacy by design and
     with best practices on data protection.
    Ensure that the proposed solutions allow to minimise the effort required to elicit user
     preferences, also investigating innovative approaches for user segmentation and
     engagement.
    Take due account the regulatory frameworks of the regions / countries in which the
     proposed solutions could be deployed in designing their innovation, and shaping related
     exploitation activities.
    Seek to the best consideration of social and economic enablers in the design of the
     innovative solutions.
    Consider social innovations, notably as new tools, ideas and methods leading to active
     citizen engagement and as drivers of social change, social ownership, and new social
     practices.
    Demonstrate that the proposed solutions lead to reducing costs of small demand response
     assets e.g. through improved models and faster data processing and, are scalable and
     replicable.
    Demonstrate that the proposed solutions are suitable for explicit demand response, or a
     combination of both explicit and implicit residential demand response.
Each project is expected to include at least three demonstration sites located in different
climatic regions.
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The selected projects are expected to contribute to relevant BRIDGE185 activities, in particular
with respect to data exchange and interoperability.
Clustering and cooperation with other relevant projects is strongly encouraged; in particular,
liaison and synergies with the European Partnership on ‘People-centric sustainable built
environment’.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-01-02: Renewable-intensive, energy positive homes
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       4.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Faster transition to the next generation of new constructions and renovation of cost-
      effective energy positive, climate neutral residential buildings.
     Streamlined integration of advanced smart technologies, renewable energy and storage
      solutions in residential construction and renovation projects.
     Faster transition to buildings and technical elements that are capable to adapt to different
      user profiles and lifestyles, improving air quality, human health and well-being
      parameters.
     Improved skills and competences among the workforce.to support a rapid uptake of
      energy positive buildings in the residential sector.
Scope: The aim is to move beyond NZEB (nearly zero-energy buildings) for new
constructions and to the extent possible, for renovations, and to streamline energy positive
buildings, ensuring buildings can marry high energy performance with maximum flexibility
185
        https://www.h2020-bridge.eu/
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and adaptability to a changing society in a cost-effective manner. This is a key challenge for
the residential sector in the transformation to a highly energy-efficient and climate neutral EU
building stock, where energy positive homes should become the norm.
Proposals should:
    Investigate and demonstrate approaches for the construction of new energy positive
      residential buildings (and /or the renovation of existing residential buildings), with a
      focus on multi-family, multi-storey buildings, encompassing all relevant areas:
         Design phase (aesthetic and technical solutions and their potential, passive and
           active strategies, sustainable design);
         Integrated design and construction concepts;
         Reconfigurable designs and technical elements capable of adapting to different user
           profiles and lifestyles;
         Selection and installation of affordable and high performance construction products
           and materials, building on previous projects;
         Innovative processes from manufacturing to construction site;
         Integration of renewable energy production for heating and cooling, electricity
           production (e.g. BIPV and BAPV), and where relevant, thermal and electrical
           storage, including shared at neighbourhood and district levels; for existing
           buildings, cost-effective, innovative solutions that allow to (at least) fully cover the
           energy consumption of the building (electricity, heat and cooling) with renewable
           energy;
         Advanced use of smart management technologies (for control and operational
           issues, Building Management Systems (BMS) or Building Automation Systems
           (BAS)) to improve air quality, human health and well-being parameters, to
           facilitate engagement and inclusiveness of occupants and support measurement of
           (as-built) building performance;
         Reuse and recycling of elements, components and materials, in particular in relation
           to buildings end of life, also minimizing embodied carbon emissions over the whole
           life cycle, in particular for smart technologies;
         Where applicable, the use of grey- and black-waters.
    Ensure that the cost of such buildings/apartments does not increase substantially
      compared to current local / regional practises.
Clustering and cooperation with other relevant projects is strongly encouraged; in particular,
liaison and synergies with the Horizon Europe Partnership on ‘People-centric sustainable built
environment’.
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Each project is expected to include at least three demonstration sites located in different
climatic regions.
The demonstrations are expected to span a continuous interval of at least twelve months and
to ensure measurement of (as-built) building performances. The relevant building
professionals (e.g. architects, installers, workers, craftsmen, building managers) should be
involved.
Projects are expected to assess the sustainability of the proposed solutions in environmental,
social and economic terms, considering among others the embodied carbon emissions from
materials. The reuse and recycling of elements, components and materials of the proposed
solutions at the end of life should be ensured.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-01-03: Smarter buildings for better energy performance
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       4.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 8 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    More innovative, affordable, user-friendly and accessible products and systems to
     continuously monitor and improve the energy performance of buildings.
    Increased building energy performance through the optimisation and integration of
     different technologies, including renewable energy and storage, and services.
    Easier and more systematic use smart products and services to achieve savings where
     energy renovation is not an option.
    Higher replicability to increase number of buildings with smart building devices and
     digital infrastructure resulting in a higher smart readiness rating.
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Scope: Improvement and cost-reduction of technologies to predict, assess, monitor and
control in real time the energy performance of buildings, including energy efficiency,
renewables, storage and their optimisation.
The proposal should:
    Develop new or enhance existing solutions for interoperability of systems, including
      between building automation and control systems (BACS) and other technical building
      systems and devices (including IoT ones), as well as between buildings and the grid.
    Investigate innovative approaches to ensure high level of security and privacy by design
      in buildings.
    Investigate approaches to reduce costs of systems allowing the integration of energy
      efficiency, renewables, storage and their optimisation.
    On the basis of the above, demonstrate the potential for energy savings from energy
      management solutions based on smart technical building systems (predictive controllers,
      smart thermostats, active sensors, smart lighting, etc.).
    Assess the contribution of proposed solutions to the enhancement of smart readiness of
      buildings as rated by the smart readiness indicator under Directive 2010/31/EU.
    Demonstrate that the developed solutions are user-friendly and ensure the desired indoor
      environment quality and user satisfaction.
    Where possible, demonstrate that such solutions can build flexibly on services/products
      not originally intended for energy management (e.g. a smart home system).
    Seek to ensure from the design phase that the project is developed with a view to
      integrate its results/deliverables under a digital building logbook.
Each project is expected to include at least three demonstration sites located in different
climatic regions.
Clustering and cooperation with other relevant projects is strongly encouraged; in particular,
liaison and synergies with the European Partnership on ‘People-centric sustainable built
environment’.
Industrial facilities in the energy transition
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-01-04: Development and pilot demonstration of heat upgrade
technologies with supply temperature in the range 150-250°C
Specific conditions
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Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
    Validate the technical feasibility of industrial heat upgrade systems capable of supplying
     various industrial processes with useful heat in the (sink) temperature range of 150 – 250
     °C from renewable heat sources (e.g. solar thermal), ambient heat or industrial waste
     heat.
    Development and demonstration at pilot scale (5 – 200 kWth).
    Better awareness of the challenges and benefits of heat upgrade in the relevant industrial
     sectors.
Scope: This topic aims to satisfy the need for low-medium temperature heat in the relevant
industrial sectors, by upgrading lower temperature heat flows, including from renewable heat
sources, ambient heat or industrial excess (waste) heat, as a cost-efficient way to improve
energy efficiency and reduce the GHG emissions.
Available heat upgrade technologies, such as for example heat pumps, are limited to supply
(sink) temperatures of 150°C. Innovative heat upgrade technologies have the potential to
extend the temperature range up to 250°C, which would allow to cover more industrial
applications.
In order to reach this goal all the following development areas need to be covered:
    Identify the target industrial processes which would benefit from this higher temperature
     heat upgrade technology, as excess (waste) heat sources and as users (heat sinks); make
     a preliminary assessment of the potential impacts of these industrial applications in terms
     of energy savings and GHG and air pollutant emissions reductions in the EU (and
     Associated States, if data are available), so as to maximise the impact and coverage of
     the most promising applications in the subsequent development step; estimate by
     extrapolation the benefits at global level. A preliminary analysis of the feasibility and
     GHG emissions reduction impact, of the proposed heat upgrade process is expected
     already in the proposal.
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   Develop one or more heat upgrade technologies to raise the sink output temperature to
     the range 150 to 250°C. If needed investigate in new working fluids. Optimise the
     technical performances in terms of: temperature increase between sink inlet and sink
     outlet temperatures; temperature spread between source and sink temperatures;
     flexibility to source input temperature variations; higher sink thermal power potential;
     higher coefficient of performance.
   Integration and demonstration of at least one system at pilot scale, in conditions, as far as
     practical, similar to real industrial environment. The optional integration of renewable
     heat sources (e.g. solar thermal) as the input heat flow to be further upgraded, is in
     scope.
   Make a preliminary estimation of the future equipment cost for at least two industrial
     applications, to evaluate its economic potential; define an exploitation strategy.
   Dissemination of the technical and economic benefits, notably (but not only) to the
     communities of the relevant Horizon Europe private-public partnerships.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-01-05: Development of high temperature thermal storage for
industrial applications
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      3.00 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
   Short term (intraday or a couple of days) thermal storage systems for decoupling the heat
     generation from the heat use in industrial processes.
   Development of economically affordable new materials (including better basic
     understanding) for heat storage dedicated to medium to high temperature industrial
     processes.
   Better awareness of the challenges and benefits of heat storage in the relevant industrial
     sectors.
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Scope: This topic aims to satisfy the need for decoupling the heat generation from the heat use
in continuous or non-continuous industrial processes, in order to allow for heat exchanges
between different industrial processes and so enable industrial symbiosis, or to generate heat
during off-peak times and so provide energy demand flexibility.
In order to reach this goal all the following development areas need to be covered:
     Cost effective and new designs for high temperature storage of industrial heat, with
      minimal footprint. The large capacity storages in combination with long design lifetime,
      require the development of novel materials and designs.
     Development of materials and components: thermal storage materials, container
      construction, insulation technology, heat exchangers with aid of computational fluid
      dynamics.
     Integration and demonstration of the system at lab scale.
     Make a preliminary estimation of the future equipment cost for at least two industrial
      applications, to evaluate its economic potential.
     Make an analysis of the potential industrial applications and related benefits of the
      proposed storage system in EU27 and (if data are available) in the Associated States and,
      by extrapolation, at global level; a preliminary version of this analysis is expected
      already in the proposal. Define an exploitation strategy.
     Dissemination of the technical and economic benefits, notably (but not only) to the
      communities of the relevant Horizon Europe private-public partnerships.
Call - Efficient, sustainable and inclusive energy use
                                                                            HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)186
                 Topics                     Type         Budgets            Expected EU            Number
                                              of          (EUR        contribution per project         of
                                           Action        million)        (EUR million)187           projects
                                                                                                   expected
                                                           2022
186
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
187
         Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
         amounts.
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                                                                                              to be
                                                                                             funded
                                       Opening: 06 Sep 2022
                                      Deadline(s): 24 Jan 2023
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02-01 IA                       15.00 188      5.00 to 7.50              2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02-02 IA                       15.00 189      5.00 to 7.50              2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02-03 RIA                      20.00          4.00 to 5.00              4
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02-04 IA                       18.00 190      6.00 to 9.00              2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02-05 IA                       18.00 191      6.00 to 9.50              2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02-06 CSA                      0.60           Around 0.60               1
Overall indicative budget                          86.60
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                  The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                               C.
Award criteria                                          The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                        D.
Documents                                               The documents are described in General
                                                        Annex E.
Procedure                                               The procedure is described in General
                                                        Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                 The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
188
        Of which EUR 7.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
189
        Of which EUR 7.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
190
        Of which EUR 9.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
191
        Of which EUR 9.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Highly energy-efficient and climate neutral EU building stock
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02-01: Designs, materials and solutions to improve resilience,
preparedness & responsiveness of the built environment for climate adaptation
(Built4People)
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per           5.00 and 7.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                    appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                           selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action             Innovation Actions
Admissibility              The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                 exceptions apply:
                           The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology                 Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level            see General Annex B.
Legal and financial        The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant        apply:
Agreements                 Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the
                           Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions
                           under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for
                           Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the
                           Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy
                           Community (2021-2025). 192.
                           The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                           applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                           for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of the
                           total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
192
        This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for
        Horizon      Europe,     under     ‘Simplified     costs   decisions’   or    through     this link:
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-
        decision_he_en.pdf
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   Increased awareness of the built environment’s protective role for people and climate
    adaptation in case of disruptive events.
   Mainstreamed resilience as a key feature of the built environment across its life cycle.
   Improved ability of the built environment to support the preparedness and
    responsiveness to disruptive events at larger scales.
   Improved ability of the built environment to contribute to the overall quality of living
    and working.
   Strengthened supply chains for materials and solutions for a resilient and climate proof
    built environment, adapted to local risks.
Scope: The proposal should:
   Deliver innovative designs, materials and solutions to improve resilience and climate
    proofing of the built environment (in particular new and existing buildings) in a cost-
    effective and reliable manner.
   Ensure the proposed solutions cover a broad spectrum of natural risks and disasters, for
    instance natural disruptive events such as earthquakes, floods, heat waves, with a
    particular focus on extreme climatic events.
   Ensure the proposed solutions make use of natural, easy to manage, as well as advanced,
    evolutive materials and technologies that help combat the effects of global warming
    (increased cooling demand, heat island effects, etc.) and result in increased durability,
    resilience and adaptability of buildings and infrastructures, including their foundations.
   Consider social innovation where relevant, notably as new tools, ideas and methods
    leading to active citizen engagement and resilience, and as drivers of social change,
    social ownership, and new social practices.
   Develop and deploy digital and interoperable tools for monitoring, detection of, and
    response to critical situations (e.g. evacuation of people and first responders).
   Rely, where relevant, on self-sensing and adaptable materials, and materials with
    embedded sensors and actuators.
   Include, as part of the proposed solutions, built environment concepts that are self-
    sustained for a certain period of time – including off-grid electricity supply, green
    infrastructure and water purification and / or rain water provision in buildings.
   Where relevant, investigate whether and how the proposed approaches could apply to
    cultural heritage buildings across different typologies and geographic conditions, also
    including innovations in business models and ensuring holistic integration of disciplines
    across the value chain.
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   Validate the proposed solutions for a set of locations that is coherent with the risks and
      disasters considered in the proposal, ensuring a high degree of awareness and
      involvement of supply chains.
   Demonstrate that the proposed solutions improve the protection of people when
      experiencing disruptive events and contribute to enhance resilience and climate proofing
      at a larger scale (e.g. district, city, energy system).
   Demonstrate that the proposed solutions contribute to improving the overall quality of
      living and working in the buildings (e.g. in terms of accessibility, comfort and well-
      being).
   Demonstrate cost-effective improvement of the energy performance, reducing the cost of
      the interventions compared to traditional methods, as well as the energy related
      operational costs after the renovation.
   Demonstrate that the proposed solutions improve the use of relevant data such as
      weather forecasts or catastrophe warnings by monitoring and management systems in the
      built environment (e.g. to launch automatic emergency protocols to warn and protect
      buildings users).
   Lead at least 3 large-scale demonstration of the solutions in diverse geographical areas,
      with various local environmental, social, and economic conditions.
Clustering and cooperation with other relevant projects is strongly encouraged; e.g. with the
Horizon Europe Partnership on ‘Driving urban transitions’.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
For this topic, projects are encouraged to define and implement ambitious international
outreach and cooperation strategies.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘People-centric,
Sustainable Built Environment’ (Built4People).
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02-02: Solutions for the sustainable, resilient, inclusive and
accessible regeneration of neighbourhoods enabling low carbon footprint lifestyles and
businesses (Built4People)
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per           5.00 and 7.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
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project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Admissibility             The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                          applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                          for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                          the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Lasting behavioural change of people and economic actors towards lower carbon
     footprint lifestyles and businesses.
   Mainstreamed participatory planning processes and interaction with all relevant
     stakeholder groups in city planning.
   More sustainable, low emission, inclusive and affordable neighbourhoods and built
     environment.
   Improved accessibility of neighbourhoods through building-integrated, sustainable
     mobility solutions.
   Extended application of digital applications and tools to ease decision-making processes
     in complex stakeholder structures.
   Raised awareness and increased capacity of citizens on participatory processes for
     enhanced sustainability and environmental performance.
   Increased well-being and economic prosperity of citizens in a low carbon, sustainable
     built environment by ensuring high indoor and outdoor quality, and affordability of
     renovation solutions.
   Increased attractiveness of deep renovation through new regeneration and smart growth
     models for sustainable living.
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Scope: The proposal should:
   Deliver innovative methods and solutions for the regeneration of neighbourhoods, with
    due consideration of, inter alia, energy efficiency, sustainability, resilience, health,
    inclusiveness and accessibility, based on participatory planning processes and innovative
    decision-making procedures and digital applications.
   Ensure the proposed solutions allow to identify and integrate local sources of raw
    materials for building renovation in built environment planning scenarios.
   Ensure the proposed solutions include new evidence-based approaches (e.g. strategies
    and digital tools) to help quantify the benefits of integrated built environment
    transformation aimed at climate neutrality.
   Ensure the proposed solutions allow for involving all stakeholder groups, including inter
    alia elderly people, those with reduced mobility and persons with disabilities, and
    households affected by energy poverty, also seeking to address gentrification issues in
    neighbourhoods affected by energy poverty.
   Ensure the proposed solutions include concepts for local renewable energy generation
    and consumption integrated at building and district level in combination with multi-
    modal mobility concepts targeted to both urban and rural neighbourhoods.
   Ensure the proposed solutions contribute to optimising energy balancing at local level
    (e.g. thanks to energy sharing platforms and services connected to local micro-grids and
    / or virtual energy markets, including demand response and decision-support systems
    and block chain applications).
   Ensure the proposed solutions comply with the principles of circular economy, favouring
    urban mining, efficient use of resources, durability, reuse and recyclability.
   Ensure the proposed solutions are developed taking into account local environmental,
    social, and economic conditions and are relevant for the different geographical locations
    targeted.
   Where relevant, include concepts for energy circularity such as waste heat recovery from
    local industries (or other sources) and use in nearby buildings or in low-temperature
    district networks and, valorisation of by-products and residues (e.g. from local agro-food
    industry) for energy or other uses.
   Where relevant, investigate whether and how the proposed approaches could apply to
    cultural heritage buildings.
   Lead at least 3 large-scale demonstrations of the solutions in diverse geographical areas,
    with various local environmental, social, and economic conditions.
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   Consider social innovation where relevant and in the case where the proposed solutions
      are at the socio-technical interface and require social change, new social practices, social
      ownership or market uptake.
   Facilitate awareness raising and capacity building of citizens and relevant stakeholders
      (e.g. citizen associations, local authorities, businesses from the relevant sectors) on the
      principles and multi-benefits of sustainable, inclusive and accessible built environment.
Clustering and cooperation with other relevant projects is strongly encouraged; e.g. with the
European Partnership on ‘Driving urban transitions’.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘People-centric,
Sustainable Built Environment’ (Built4People).
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02-03: Sustainable and resource-efficient solutions for an
open, accessible, inclusive, resilient and low-emission cultural heritage: prevention,
monitoring, management, maintenance, and renovation (Built4People)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       4.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Increased availability and enhanced overall performance, including with regard to cost-
      effectiveness, of solutions applicable to the reliable and respectful historical renovation
      of heritage buildings, preserving their architectural and cultural identity.
   Demonstrated potential of sustainable, energy and resource-efficient historical
      renovation of heritage buildings.
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   Better protection of the value and long-term inclusiveness, accessibility and usability of
    cultural heritage sites.
   More cost-effective and less disruptive modernisation and preservation of the heritage
    built environment.
   Enhanced prevention and monitoring of the heritage built environment.
   More important role of the cultural heritage in deployment, showcasing and replication
    of solutions for a sustainable built environment.
Scope: The proposal should:
   Deliver technically and socially innovative, sustainable, energy and resource-efficient
    solutions for the cost-effective improvement and preservation of cultural heritage built
    environment along all relevant aspects: inclusiveness, accessibility, resilience,
    environmental and energy performance.
   Ensure the proposed solutions cover all relevant aspects of the heritage built
    environment’s life cycle: design, renovation works, operation, monitoring and
    management, and maintenance.
   Ensure the proposed solutions allow to maintain the heritage value (e.g. artistic, historic,
    archaeological, social and scientific) of targeted sites, while improving access and
    comfort of users and visitors, and reducing maintenance and operational costs.
   Ensure, where relevant, that the proposed solutions rely on (adapted) historical or
    traditional construction techniques and materials for sustainable restoration.
   Ensure the proposed solutions include natural low maintenance as well as advanced
    renovation techniques for high quality design and construction, including new digital
    technologies, while preserving the cultural value of the targeted sites.
   Ensure the proposed solutions contribute to facilitate the integration renewable energy
    sources while respecting the aesthetic and cultural identity of the targeted buildings.
   Ensure the proposed solutions contribute to the cost-effective improvement of the energy
    performance, also reducing the cost of the interventions compared to traditional
    methods.
   Ensure the involvement of relevant stakeholder groups (e.g. civil society organisations,
    associations, cultural heritage stakeholders such as cultural heritage protection bodies)
    and citizens’ acceptance thanks to co-creation processes and socially innovative ideas.
   Deliver and demonstrate decision-support tools for low-disruptive, optimal renovation of
    heritage built environment to enhance sustainability.
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   Clustering and cooperation with other relevant projects is strongly encouraged; e.g. with
     the Horizon Europe Partnership on ‘Driving urban transitions’.
   This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of
     SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to
     produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related
     research activities.
   This topic should consider social innovation as driver of social change, new social
     practices, social ownership and/or market uptake.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘People-centric,
Sustainable Built Environment’ (Built4People).
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02-04: Smart-grid ready and smart-network ready buildings,
acting as active utility nodes (Built4People)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          6.00 and 9.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 18.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Admissibility             The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                          applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                          for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                          the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes from the grid and to adapt their behaviour accordingly;
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   Improved interoperability and synergies between electricity and other energy carriers,
    and with other relevant non-energy sectors (e.g. mobility), supported by buildings,
    contribution to energy system integration at building’s level.
   Improved competitiveness of buildings as flexibility assets for grid and network
    management.
Scope: The proposals should:
   Deliver building-to-grid integration solutions that are cost-effective, simple to use and
    easy to install and maintain, and are applicable to both new and existing buildings.
   Enhance interoperability and synergies between buildings and grids, electricity and other
    energy carriers (e.g. district heating networks, hydrogen, etc.) and where relevant, other
    relevant sectors (e.g. e-mobility).
   Enhance synergies between on-site energy storage and on-site renewable energy sources.
   Contribute to enhance interoperability in the modelling of energy grids and buildings.
   Ensure the proposed solutions include ‘big data’ applications for real-time management
    and predictive maintenance of technical building systems.
   Ensure the proposed solutions minimise potential negative impacts neither on the
    satisfaction of building users (e.g. in relation to comfort or accessibility) nor on the
    potential of circular material flows during the building’s life cycle, and maximise
    potential benefits (e.g. energy costs savings and health).
   Ensure the proposed solutions give access to accessible, inclusive, reliable and user-
    friendly tools with limited maintenance needs and, to relevant building (and grid /
    network) data for interested stakeholders (e.g. facility managers).
   Assess the contribution of proposed solutions to the enhancement of smart readiness of
    buildings as rated by the smart readiness indicator under Directive 2010/31/EU.
   Where relevant, rely on advanced monitoring and management solutions such as those
    that integrate digital models / BIM with energy modelling and simulation at building
    level and district level.
   Implement and demonstrate innovative and competitive balancing, storage and
    generation services in buildings, while maximising building users’ and occupants’
    health, comfort and satisfaction.
   Demonstrate cost-effectiveness and economic viability of the proposed solutions and
    underlying business models for both consumers / end-users and the economic actors
    involved.
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     Demonstrate the use of large-scale interoperable platforms that bring together different
      actors and sectors (ESCOs, aggregators, DSOs, etc.) to exchange data and develop
      services.
     Seek to involve major European innovators, including social innovators, in relevant
      fields (demand response, communications, smart appliances, building services, facility
      management, energy services, etc.) with limited experience of Horizon 2020.
Clustering and cooperation with relevant projects is strongly encouraged; e.g. with the
European Partnership on ‘Driving urban transitions’.
The selected projects are expected to contribute to relevant BRIDGE193 activities, in particular
with respect to data exchange and interoperability.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘People-centric,
Sustainable Built Environment’ (Built4People).
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02-05: More sustainable buildings with reduced embodied
energy / carbon, high life-cycle performance and reduced life-cycle costs (Built4People)
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per           6.00 and 9.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                    appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                           selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 18.00 million.
Type of Action             Innovation Actions
Admissibility              The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                 exceptions apply:
                           The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology                 Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level            see General Annex B.
Legal and financial        The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant        exceptions apply:
Agreements                 The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                           applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                           for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                           the total eligible costs.
193
         https://www.h2020-bridge.eu/
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Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Increased and more traceable reduction of the GHG emissions of buildings in design,
     construction, renovation, operation and end of life.
   Faster market uptake of design solutions, materials, products, techniques and business
     models that are demonstrated to reduce significantly building related life-cycle costs and
     impacts, including whole life emissions, compared to current building completions.
   Mainstreamed affordable high life-cycle performance, and improved circularity of
     buildings in construction and renovation.
Scope: The proposal should:
   Demonstrate innovative design, construction and renovation methods, design and
     technology solutions that minimise the overall life-cycle environmental impact, reducing
     energy consumption and carbon footprint of the built environment across the life cycle,
     from construction to end of life thanks to, inter alia, applying circularity principles
     throughout the design and construction process, flexible use and lifecycle extension by
     design, design for deconstruction, disassembly and reassembly, integration of waste,
     reused, recycled, upcycled and bio-based materials and components, optimisation of
     design, construction and operation by means of digital tools.
   Deliver scalable full building demonstrations (both new and renovation) with validated
     performance measurements based on appropriate Level(s) indicators, demonstrating that
     the proposed methods and technology solutions optimise the use of energy and
     resources, and minimise the emissions of CO2 and other air pollutants across all phases
     of the life cycle, including construction and renovation works, and operation.
   Integrate the use of low embodied carbon products and solutions, including those that are
     locally sourced and bio-based with low carbon impact and capturing / storing CO2,
     selected based on modelling of their performance in terms of (inter alia) insulating,
     cooling, acoustic and hygrometric performance, ageing patterns, potential for
     deconstruction and/or reuse at end of life, and potential for automated / mechanised
     deployment.
   Identify and integrate local sources of reused or recycled construction products and
     secondary raw materials for building renovation in urban and rural planning scenarios.
   Where relevant, investigate whether and how the proposed approaches could apply to
     cultural heritage buildings.
   Seek to ensure from the design phase that the project is developed with a view to
     integrate its results/deliverables under a digital building logbook.
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   Deploy advanced, market-ready prefabs and multifunctional materials and components
     with optimal recycling and re-using potential (e.g. through new designs enabling the re-
     use) and optimal performance across relevant areas (energy, durability, safety and
     protection against fire).
   Demonstrate innovative solutions for optimal design, construction, operation and
     maintenance of sustainable buildings, including efficient technical building systems,
     automation and control, digital building logbooks, digital twins and other tools.
   Demonstrate the solutions in diverse geographical areas, with various local
     environmental, social, and economic conditions.
   Clustering and cooperation with other relevant projects is strongly encouraged; e.g. with
     the Horizon Europe Partnership on ‘Driving urban transitions’.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘People-centric,
Sustainable Built Environment’ (Built4People).
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02-06: Support to the activities of technology areas of the SET
Plan: Action dedicated to energy efficiency in industry
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 0.60
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 0.60 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Award criteria        The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following exceptions
                      apply:
                      Only up to one project will be funded in the following sector: energy
                      efficiency in industry
Expected Outcome: Engagement of stakeholders is pivotal in the transition to a clean energy
system and the achievement of the zero-emissions target.
Project results are expected to contribute to both of the following outcomes:
   Consolidation of strong and sustainable networks in the different technology areas
     covered through the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan and its integrated
     roadmap.
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    Cooperation among ETIPs or similar stakeholders fora, support to existing SET Plan
      Implementation Plan and advancement towards more interconnected activities, both in
      terms of contents and implementation mechanisms.
Scope: In 2015, the launch of the Energy Union saw the SET Plan incorporated as the Energy
Union’s fifth pillar on ‘Research, Innovation and Competitiveness’. Through the
Communication “Towards an Integrated Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan”, the
Integrated SET Plan set ambitious R&I targets which remain relevant and essential in the new
context of the European Green Deal and the Recovery Plan for Europe.
Depending on the sector, European Technology and Innovation Platforms (ETIPs), and/or
SET Plan Implementation Working Groups (IWG) and/or similar stakeholders fora support
the development and implementation of the SET Plan R&I priorities by bringing together
relevant stakeholders in key areas from industry, research organisations and, where
applicable, SET Plan Countries’ government representatives. They develop research and
innovation agendas and roadmaps, industrial strategies, analysis of market opportunities and
funding needs, understanding of innovation barriers and exploitation of research results,
which are in line with the Recovery Plan for Europe and latest EU climate and energy related
policies. They also provide consensus-based strategic advice to the SET Plan initiative
covering technical and non-technological aspects.
Considering the overarching aim of the clean energy transition, ETIPs, IWGs and/or similar
fora are encouraged to align and coordinate their activities, defining cross-cutting aspects for
accelerating the clean energy transition and contribute to the development of a European
Research Area in the field of Energy. Proposals should support the relevant IWG and/or
stakeholders fora of the above-listed sector, taking into consideration the specific needs of the
sector they address and the emerging policy priorities for their implementation as well as the
coordination with other initiatives/projects, in order to avoid overlaps.
ETIPs, IWGs and stakeholders fora should ensure the participation of companies (industry
and SMEs), research and civil society organisations, universities and European associations
representing relevant sectors (as applicable) from a representative number of SET Plan
countries establishing links with national authorities. To maximise their impact and widen
participation, they are encouraged to develop and implement robust outreach approaches and
societal engagement actions to span across the EU and associated countries.
Special attention should be given to the key challenges of the European Green Deal,
including, but not limited to, technological pushback, industrial production, societal
transformation, and just transition. Likewise, contributions to the goals of the European
Research ERA in the field of energy, in particular regarding how to incentivise investing in
research and innovation should be addressed.
Furthermore, proposals should develop a dissemination and exploitation strategy and
implement dissemination and networking activities with other existing ETIPs and IWGs (e.g.
joint workshops, thematic conferences, webinar series, regular exchanges, etc.). Relevant
outputs of this CSA will feed into the SET Plan information system (SETIS).
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This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
Proposals should address the following sector: energy efficiency in industry
Proposals submitted under this topic are encouraged to include actions designed to facilitate
cooperation, across Europe, with other projects and to ensure the accessibility and reusability
of data produced in the course of the project. Proposals should include a finance and
sustainability plan for future continuation beyond the lifetime of the proposal.
The indicative project duration is 3 years.
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Destination – Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modes
This Destination addresses activities that improve the climate and environmental footprint, as
well as competitiveness, of different transport modes.
The transport sector is responsible for 23% of CO2 emissions and remains dependent on oil
for 92% of its energy demand. While there has been significant technological progress over
past decades, projected GHG emissions are not in line with the objectives of the Paris
Agreement due to the expected increase in transport demand. Intensified research and
innovation activities are therefore needed, across all transport modes and in line with societal
needs and preferences, in order for the EU to reach its policy goals towards a net-zero
greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and to reduce significantly air pollutants.
The areas of rail and air traffic management will be addressed through dedicated Institutional
European Partnerships and are therefore not included in this document.
This Destination contributes to the following Strategic Plan’s Key Strategic Orientations
(KSO):
     C: Making Europe the first digitally enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable
      economy through the transformation of its mobility, energy, construction and production
      systems;
     A: Promoting an open strategic autonomy194 by leading the development of key digital,
      enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains to accelerate and steer
      the digital and green transitions through human-centred technologies and innovations.
It covers the following impact areas:
     Industrial leadership in key and emerging technologies that work for people;
     Smart and sustainable transport.
The expected impact, in line with the Strategic Plan, is to contribute “Towards climate-
neutral and environmental friendly mobility through clean solutions across all transport
modes while increasing global competitiveness of the EU transport sector", notably through:
  a. Transforming road transport to zero-emission mobility through a world-class
      European research and innovation and industrial system, ensuring that Europe remains
      world leader in innovation, production and services in relation to road transport (more
      detailed information below).
  b. Accelerating the reduction of all aviation impacts and emissions (CO2 and non-CO2,
      including manufacturing and end-of-life, noise), developing aircraft technologies for
194
        ‘Open strategic autonomy’ refers to the term ‘strategic autonomy while preserving an open economy’,
        as reflected in the conclusions of the European Council 1 – 2 October 2020.
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      deep reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and maintaining European aero-industry’s
      global leadership position (more detailed information below).
  c. Accelerate the development and prepare the deployment of climate neutral and clean
      solutions in the shipping sector, reduce its environmental impact (on biodiversity, noise,
      pollution and waste management), improve its system efficiency, leverage digital and
      EU satellite-navigation solutions and contribute to the competitiveness of the European
      waterborne sector (more detailed information below).
  d. Devising more effective ways for reducing emissions and their impacts through
      improved scientific knowledge (more detailed information below).
Zero-emission road transport
With the aim of accelerating the development and deployment of zero tailpipe emission road
transport with a system approach in Europe, the European Partnership “Towards zero
emission road transport” (2Zero) will work towards a common vision and delivering a multi-
stakeholders roadmap for a climate neutral and clean road transport system that improves
mobility and safety of people and goods and ensures future European leadership in
innovation, production and services.
The transformation towards zero tailpipe emission road mobility will deliver tangible benefits
including, at the local scale, pollutant emission reductions, cleaner air (including unregulated
pollutants, nanoparticles and secondary pollutants), reduced noise, increased accessibility and
more liveable urban plus peri-urban spaces. Major benefits for citizens’ health and quality of
life will be generated, and European economic growth will be supported, hence a solid base
for new business opportunities will be created. Within 2Zero, priority will be given to the
development of drivetrains for zero emission heavy-duty long-haul vehicles, where progress
is lagging behind other sectors of road transport.
Several levels of interactions are foreseen with other European initiatives, in particular with
the Industrial Battery Value Chain (Batteries) and the Cooperative Connected and Automated
Mobility (CCAM) co-programmed partnerships, as well as Clean Hydrogen Europe (CHE)
and the Mission on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities.
The main impacts to be generated by topics targeting zero emission road transport under this
Destination are:
  a. Accelerated uptake of zero tailpipe emission, affordable, user-centric solutions
      (technologies and services) for road-based mobility all across Europe.
  b. Increased user acceptance, improved air quality, a more circular economy and reduction
      of environmental impacts.
  c. Affordable, user-friendly charging infrastructure concepts and technologies that include
      vehicle-grid-interactions.
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  d. Innovative use cases for the integration of zero tailpipe emission vehicles, and
     infrastructure concepts for the road mobility of people and goods.
  e. Effective design, assessment and deployment of innovative concepts in road vehicles and
     mobility services thanks to life-cycle analysis tools and skills, in a circular economy
     context.
Aviation
Aviation, the climate and the economy are all inherently global and interlinked. Aviation’s
global economic impact, before COVID-19, was more than €2.4 trillion per year, while the
European one was more than EUR 700 billion per year. However, the environmental impact,
although in absolute terms small, it is projected to increase towards 2050 to a level that is not
compatible with the Paris Agreement, if action is not taken now.
The proposed European aviation R&I in Horizon Europe will follow a policy-driven approach
along the two main priorities (i.e. climate neutrality by 2050 and digital transformation) and
implemented in three streams of activities:
  1. Collaborative aviation R&I under this Destination of the cluster 5 work programme
     focuses on transformative low-TRL (1-4) technologies, notably precompetitive
     fundamental aviation research and technologies for future development, validation and
     integration activities, in line with climate neutrality by 2050 and the new Industrial
     Strategy for Europe.
  2. The European Partnership Clean Aviation (EPCA) focuses on three clearly identified
     paths, as described in Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA). It aims at
     accelerating the development, integration and validation of climate-neutral aviation
     technologies (TRL 4-6), for earliest possible deployment.
  3. The European Partnership for Integrated Air Traffic Management (IATM) focuses on
     solutions that will support evolving demand for using the European sky, increased
     expectations on the quality of ATM and U-space service provision, transforming and
     optimising how ATM and U-space services are provided as well as accelerating market
     uptake. The focus of the IATM (IATM) is on digitisation, automation and Artificial
     Intelligence.
While these three work streams will work in complementarity, all propulsion technologies for
integration at engine level will be developed exclusively in EPCA.
The main impacts to be generated by topics targeting aviation under this Destination are:
    Disruptive gains by 2035, with up to 30% reduction in fuel burn and CO2 between the
     existing aircraft in service and the next generation, compared to 12-15% in previous
     replacement cycles (when not explicitly defined, baselines refer to the best available
     aircraft of the same category with entry into service prior to year 2020).
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   Disruptive technologies entering into service by 2035 as well as 2050, based on new
     energy carriers, hybrid-electric architectures, next generation of ultra-high efficient
     engines and new aircraft configurations.
   New technologies for significantly lower local air-pollution and noise.
   Increased understanding of aviation’s non-CO2 climate impacts, enabling R&I activities
     to more effectively contribute to the EU’s climate targets.
   Maintain global competitiveness and leadership of the European aeronautics industry
     and the whole aviation ecosystem, including modernization of Air-Traffic Management
     by leveraging space-based services.
   Protect the passenger and increase the resilience of the aviation ecosystem to external
     shocks (e.g. health issues, manufacturing, operations, cybersecurity).
   Deliver an EU policy-driven planning and assessment framework/toolbox towards a
     coherent R&I prioritization and timely development of technologies in all three pillars of
     Horizon Europe.
Enabling climate neutral, clean, smart, and competitive waterborne transport
The European Green Deal refers to the need to achieve clean, climate neutral shipping and
waterborne operations and to the importance of research and innovation in this respect.
Waterborne transport, in particular where large sea-going vessels are used, remains an
important emitter of GHG and the sector needs to step up its efforts on a significant scale and
through a wide range of measures. Within the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)
global agreement was reached in 2018 to cut total shipping GHG emissions by at least 50%
by 2050 compared to 2008 (baseline). The EU considers this too timid and is committed to a
much higher level of ambition. By the same date the Union aims to cut all transport emissions
by at least 90%.
Even though the share of Inland Waterway Transport with regard to global GHG emissions is
of minor importance the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR) and its
Member States take various steps to reduce the GHG emissions of the fleet. In 2018 the
Mannheim Declaration was adopted which incorporates the EU GHG reducing targets for
inland navigation and these efforts are supported through this work programme.
To provide the innovations needed to achieve the targets and show global leadership (also in
pushing far more ambitious global regulatory standards) a new co-programmed European
Partnership “Zero Emission Waterborne Transport” (ZEWT) will mobilise resources and
leverage private and public investments towards the central objective of demonstrating by
2030 the deployable solutions needed for all main types of waterborne transport to become
“net zero emission” by 2050 at the latest. Most topics on waterborne transport will contribute
to the implementation of this partnership. Projects under ZEWT partnership topics are
expected to provide up to two presentations on progress made to the ZEWT partnership
members, also with the aim to support the monitoring of the ZEWT partnership performance
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as well the necessary underlying development to make these achievements possible within the
time frame of the partnership.
Furthermore, in the context of the EU’s digital strategy “A Europe Fit for the Digital Age” the
waterborne transport sector will have to embrace a wide-ranging digitalisation, resulting in
new business patterns, smart ports, automation of shipping and cargo handling (which will
provide higher efficiency and significantly safer operations), autonomous vessels, and new
design and decision tools.
Topics on waterborne transport under this Destination of the cluster 5 work programme
address climate neutrality and protection of the marine environment, digitalisation, and
industrial competitiveness with the aim to support all pertinent EU policy objectives, also
with regard to synergies with related programmes like the Connecting Europe Facility and the
EU Innovation Fund.
The main impacts to be generated by topics targeting waterborne transport under this
Destination are:
  a. Increased and early deployment of climate neutral fuels and significant electrification of
     shipping, in particular and foremost in intra-European transport connections.
  b. Increased overall energy efficiency and drastically lower fuel consumption of vessels
     (important in light of more expensive alternative fuels for which the sector will have to
     compete with other transport modes).
  c. Enable the innovative port infrastructure (bunkering of alternative fuels and provision of
     electrical power) needed to achieve zero-emission waterborne transport (inland and
     maritime).
  d. Enable clean, climate-neutral, and climate-resilient inland waterway vessels before 2030
     helping a significant market take-up and a comprehensive green fleet renewal which will
     also help modal shift.
  e. Strong technological and operational momentum towards achieving climate neutrality
     and the elimination of all harmful pollution to air and water.
  f. Achieve the smart, efficient, secure and safe integration of maritime and inland shipping
     into logistic chains, facilitated by full digitalisation and automation.
  g. Enable fully automated shipping (maritime and inland) and efficient connectivity.
  h. Competitive waterborne industries, including the globally active European maritime
     technology sector, providing the advanced green and digital technologies which will
     support jobs and growth in Europe.
Impact of transport on environment and human health
Transport emissions are one of the main contributors to air quality problems, particularly in
urban areas. At the same time, noise also negatively affects health. The World Health
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Organization (WHO) has classified traffic noise, including road, rail and air traffic, as the
second most important cause of ill health in Western Europe, behind only air pollution caused
by very fine particulate matter. Transport noise, particularly from road traffic, but also from
rail and aviation, is a major contributor to noise pollution in urban areas. While type-approval
noise limits for road vehicles, including their tyres, have been tightened over the years, the
overall exposure to noise generated by road vehicles has not improved mainly due to
increasing traffic volumes. L category vehicles are often perceived as a significant
contributors to noise pollution and this might be due to the fact that noise emissions seem to
be strictly optimised for specific conditions (but also due to tampering by their users, which in
some cases is made too easy by the way the vehicles are built).
Electrification promises to address most of these issues, but as some transport modes are more
difficult to electrify in the near future, there is need for research and innovation activities to
develop appropriate and environmentally sustainable solutions. Furthermore, possible new
pollutants and related health- challenges need to be monitored and investigated, and ways to
deal with emissions by the existing fleet need to be studied and demonstrated.
The main impacts to be generated by topics targeting transport-related health and
environmental issues under this Destination are:
  a. The reduction of road vehicle polluting emissions (looking at both regulated, unregulated
      and emerging ones) from both existing and future automotive fleets; prevention of smog
      episodes in Europe and a better understanding of the impact of air and noise pollution on
      human health (including potential sex and gender differences) .
  b. The better monitoring of the environmental performance and enforcement of regulation
      (detection of defeat devices, tampered anti-pollution systems, etc.) of fleets of transport
      vehicles, be it on road, airports and ports.
  c. The reduction of noise emitted by L category road vehicles.
  d. Substantially reduce the overall environmental impact of transport (e.g.: as regards
      biodiversity, noise, pollution and waste)
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
              Call                         Budgets (EUR million)             Deadline(s)
                                          2021                   2022
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01 258.00                                                14 Sep 2021
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01                                     253.00            26 Apr 2022
Overall indicative budget          258.00                  253.00
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Call - Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modes
                                                                           HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)195
                Topics                     Type         Budgets            Expected EU            Number
                                             of          (EUR        contribution per project         of
                                          Action        million)        (EUR million)196           projects
                                                                                                  expected
                                                          2021                                      to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 24 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 14 Sep 2021
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-01 IA                          45.00 197      10.00 to 15.00               3
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-02 RIA                         20.00 198      4.00 to 6.00                 4
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-03 RIA                         25.00 199      7.00 to 10.00                3
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-04 CSA                         4.00           Around 4.00                  1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-05 RIA                         25.00 200      2.00 to 6.00                 6
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-06 RIA                         29.00 201      3.00 to 6.00                 5
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-07 IA                          20.00 202      Around 10.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-08 RIA                         15.00 203      Around 15.00                 1
195
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
196
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
197
        Of which EUR 22.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
198
        Of which EUR 10.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
199
        Of which EUR 12.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
200
        Of which EUR 12.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
201
        Of which EUR 14.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
202
        Of which EUR 10.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
203
        Of which EUR 7.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-09 CSA                      0.50           Around 0.50               1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-10 RIA                      20.00 204      Around 5.00               4
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-11 IA                       14.00 205      Around 7.00               2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-12 IA                       7.00 206       Around 7.00               1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-13 RIA                      7.00 207       Around 7.00               1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-14 IA                       10.00 208      Around 10.00              1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-15 IA                       10.00 209      4.00 to 5.00              2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-16 RIA                      5.00           4.00 to 5.00              1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-17 CSA                      1.50           Around 1.50               1
Overall indicative budget                          258.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                  The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                               C.
Award criteria                                          The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                        D.
Documents                                               The documents are described in General
                                                        Annex E.
Procedure                                               The procedure is described in General
                                                        Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                 The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
204
        Of which EUR 10.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
205
        Of which EUR 7.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
206
        Of which EUR 3.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
207
        Of which EUR 3.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
208
        Of which EUR 5.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
209
        Of which EUR 5.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Zero-emission road transport
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-01: Nextgen vehicles: Innovative zero emission BEV
architectures for regional medium freight haulage (2ZERO)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         10.00 and 15.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 45.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Admissibility            The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level          see General Annex B.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                         applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                         for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                         the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
   Provide innovative, competitive and affordable zero tailpipe emissions vehicles
     architectures for regional medium freight transport and distribution full electric N2
     and/or N3 category vehicles (VECTO vehicle group 1, 2 or 3, i.e. with Gross Vehicle
     Weight >7.5 t), with prototype(s) fully validated for a zero-emission driving range of at
     least 200 km under driving conditions comparable to VECTO regional and urban
     delivery mission profiles, with strong synergies of urban and suburban operations.
   Demonstrate the vehicle’s functionality and performance in real world conditions, with
     innovative freight transport and logistics use cases, at least matching the vehicle
     dynamic performance of non-zero tailpipe emission vehicles and maximising
     productivity in terms of usage (t/km transported per year).
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    Provide fleet managers with ZEV-specific, flexible, managerial tools (e.g. adapted to the
      characteristics of vehicles and infrastructure) supporting the seamless integration of zero
      tailpipe emissions vehicles into fleets and facilitating the assignment of tasks and routes
      (infrastructure, range, charging time, payload etc.).
    Demonstration of fast charging concepts capable of fitting established regulations and
      business practices, particularly at load/unload points enabling efficient operations.
    Optimizing the specific charging infrastructures for logistics hubs and/or TEN-T urban
      nodes.
    Contribute to significant price reduction steps by demonstrating a net total cost of
      operation (TCO) parity with 2020 engine-based solutions and assuming a production
      volume of >= 10.000 pieces/year and net TCO reductions beyond that volume.
    Contribution to increasing economies of scale, following demonstration of powertrain
      integration in different applications and the realisation of the necessary value chains.
Scope: The action will focus on validation of full electric N2 and/or N3-category vehicle(s),
specific regional, suburban and urban freight transport applications seamlessly integrated into
fleets.
Proposals are expected to address all the following:
    Validation of zero emissions vehicle(s) in the above mentioned categories demonstrating
      the capabilities of the proposed architecture in terms of range, payload, charging
      requirements, access to connected data etc.
    Demonstration of high efficiency powertrains capable of at least 300 km range between
      recharging events, whilst operating with at their maximum allowed GVW.
    Demonstrate at least 200 km average daily operation in real conditions over a period of
      at least 6 months, according to different mission profiles and requirements (distribution
      and delivery of refrigerated payloads optionally included) including end users from
      across Europe.
    Achievement of total 10% improvement in overall efficiency over current generation
      electric vehicles of the same categories.
    Demonstration of a delivery load capacity not less than 90% of a current ICE vehicle.
    Define and develop charging infrastructure solution(s) and associated strategies (private,
      public or public-private) for the different use cases associated to logistics hubs and TEN-
      T urban nodes, also proposing an analysis of the minimum viable European recharging
      stations network, possibly also in coordination with projects issuing from 2Zero topic
      HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-03.
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     Development of specific powertrain components might be included where needed,
      considering synergies with HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-02 where appropriate.
     Assess the capabilities under real operational conditions/use cases and propose strategies
      to overcome payload and range limitations (e.g. charging strategies while
      loading/unloading), exploiting all potential operational benefits (e.g. low maintenance
      and operational cost) as well as innovation enabled by big data acquisition, analysis, and
      usage to broaden the missions in terms of payload and daily running within the regional
      scope, and maximizing vehicle productivity (ton km per year) thus demonstrating value
      for fleet operators and end users.
     Assess the potential impact in terms of emissions reduction considering the potential
      scale-up opportunities of the addressed use cases, prioritizing higher impact use cases.
     Synergies with shorter range/lower payloads urban and suburban applications in the
      municipal waste collection or construction activities, can be included.
     Projects should deliver digital twin models of the demonstrator vehicles, such that the
      impact of the innovations towards the overall objectives of the 2Zero partnership might
      be determined prior to the completion of the project. Data that is produced as output
      from a ‘digital twin’ should be FAIR, and deposition in relevant repositories should be
      encouraged210.
     Develop and validate tools for zero tailpipe emission vehicles integration in fleets (and
      mixed fleets) for efficient assignment of tasks (routes, charging strategies, assignments
      etc.).
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards zero emission
road transport’ (2ZERO).
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-02: Nextgen EV components: Integration of advanced
power electronics and associated controls (2ZERO)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          4.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
210
         Final Report and Action Plan from the European Commission Expert Group on FAIR Data,
         “TURNING                       FAIR                    INTO            REALITY”        -
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/turning_fair_into_reality_0
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Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-6 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Demonstrate a minimum of 20% cost reduction of power electronic modules and
     inverters for a given power, to increase the overall affordability of EVs in mass
     production (in comparison to the cost of the best current-generation or close to market
     components at proposal submission time).
   Significant advancements in efficiency (reduction of losses by 25%) and thermal
     performance (increased maximum operational temperature), both parameters versus the
     state of the art of the targeted application. This allows further range increases, faster
     charging and easier thermal management of the whole powertrain, as well as possible
     improvement in cabin-heating and defrosting in winter.
   Development of power electronics enabling drastic size and weight reductions for the
     electric drive, with significant advances beyond 5 kW/kg or 20kW/litre for a BEV.
   Facilitating the integration of power electronics in batteries and electric motors/axles
     (including modular approaches).
   Increased reliability and availability of powertrain by intelligent control and diagnostics
     techniques, predictive maintenance of machine and inverter.
   Achieve automotive quality levels in the whole system with new, robust and reliable
     functionalities and materials.
Scope: In the constant drive to improve efficiency and performance while increasing
affordability, the recent introduction of wide bandgap (WBG) technologies (such as SiC, GaN
and beyond, whose development is excluded in this topic since it is covered in the KDT
partnership) need further effort for their integration in new, on-board architectures, taking into
account new powertrain generations with different voltage levels, e.g. 400V, 800V and
higher.
Achieving innovative compact integrated solutions will be both a strong lever for future
economies of scale and a strong advantage for flexibility that will satisfy user’s needs and
increase acceptance, as well as an enabler for new powertrain architectures with distributed
multiple wheel drive.
Proposals are expected to address all the following:
   System-partitioning/-integration: Intelligent, redundant and fail-safe topology/system
     architecture; highly integrated power electronics with component integration and
     building-block approaches for minimal level of parasitics; integration and functional
     modularity of power converters (integrated on-board charger and traction inverter,
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     integrated inverter and electric motor, integrated DC/DC and inverter, high-frequency
     DC/DC power conversion with WBG components).
   Circuit concepts and control: Topologies adapted to advanced WBG semiconductors and
     new materials, “including & beyond GaN”; control approaches for improved reliability
     as well as reduction of losses, noise and interference at a system level; novel control
     strategies with self-learning and intelligent monitoring capabilities, suitable for very
     high-frequency operation.
   Interconnected technologies: robust assembly and materials, better suited for integration
     and new power semiconductors, alongside the capability for higher temperatures and
     currents, as well as extension to 3D design.
   Joining and connecting technologies: Power output stages with low impedance
     connection and increased robustness against temperature cycling, as well as advanced
     interfaces for modular building blocks.
   Thermal management: Module and component concepts with improved thermal
     performance; concepts for integrating cooling in housings, assemblies and component
     groups, and with environmental control if appropriate; direct liquid-cooling for high
     power can be considered through different solutions such as direct cooling with an
     immersed power module, jet impingement and spray, microchannel heatsinks or heat
     pipes; extension of air-cooling up to medium power levels.
   Simulation/Prediction: Holistic simulation chain (e.g. along the value chain: Vehicle/
     Motor/Electronics/IC); advanced physics-based simulation tools/models to increase
     development capabilities in order to close the gap to physical limits and reduce over-
     engineering; prediction of functional availability dynamically during operation
     predictive maintenance.
   Gate Drivers: integration of the driver component with the power module to limit the
     stray inductance between the gate driver and the semiconductor; the gate driver should
     allow maximum switching speed by dealing with electromagnetic interferences (EMI) to
     drive wide bandgap devices.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards zero emission
road transport’ (2ZERO).
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-03: System approach to achieve optimised Smart EV
Charging and V2G flexibility in mass-deployment conditions (2ZERO)
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per     7.00 and 10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
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                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 25.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to all of the following
expected outcomes:
   Definition of the optimal smart charging concepts able to cope with several million of
     Electric Vehicles (EV) deployed in different environments.
   Development of smart charging strategies and control mechanisms that maximise the EV
     drivers’ satisfaction and the efficiency of the whole energy system, increasing the use of
     renewable electricity harnessing unused EV storage capacity, whilst minimising grid
     reinforcements and energy generation needs.
   Innovative concepts and technologies performances to create affordable, user-friendly
     smart and bidirectional (V2X, where X can be G for Grid, H for Home and B for
     Business) charging solutions, co-optimising the needs of EV users, of the house/building
     and of the supplying grid.
   A better understanding of the operational and economic trade-offs for the user and the
     vehicle (e.g; cost of battery damage, additional cost for electronics to enable V2G), and
     on the charging (e.g. installation cost, battery damage/degradation) infrastructure of the
     different smart and bidirectional (V2G) charging approaches and technologies (for
     instance AC vs DC), as well as the costs for the different actors involved.
   Contribution to the integrated planning process of systems aimed at exploiting cross-
     sector mutual benefits (G2X and V2X).
   Contribution to the standardisation process of interfaces for V2X.
   Assess customer expectations and implement an open architecture (i.e. not proprietary)
     concerning smart and bidirectional charging solutions, as key success factors to build a
     mutually beneficial charging experience for the user and for the grid.
   Demonstrate V2X potential in encouraging renewable energy growth through the
     integration with low power renewable energy sources (e.g. photovoltaics on the roof or
     in parking lots), by reducing energy exchange with the grid (in both directions) by 50%.
Scope: Digitally controlled charging solutions represent a fundamental building block of a full
and effective shift to electromobility. When scaled to a mass-market-level, current
uncontrolled charging (i.e. maximum available power from the moment the vehicle is plugged
in) could contribute to create an extra burden on the power system. Mass availability of
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battery storage, provided by parked EVs (both light and heavy-duty vehicles) can however be
turned into a clear upside if an integrated approach is adopted considering the different
charging scenarios (public charging, home charging, depot charging, etc.). Moreover, the
effective exploitation of EV charging flexibility can minimise investments in the electric
grids, resulting in reduced system charges for the network users.
Proposals are expected to address all the following:
   Improve the whole user experience (localization, booking, payment and billing process)
     when charging EVs under different scenarios (on street and in personal parking, in
     company and public buildings, etc.) and considering different electric vehicle fleets
     (passenger cars, light and medium commercial duty vehicles). The quantity and quality
     of drivers’ needs (e.g. range anxiety, duration and preferred time slot for charging,
     acceptance of incomplete charge levels), the conditions for allowing a shared control of
     battery State-of-Charge, and the availability to commit to vehicle utilisation limitations
     (rewards & penalties) have to be considered as a starting point for designing smart and
     bidirectional charging solutions; integration and control solutions should also be
     considered, in view of achieving the best customer acceptance.
   Consider current slow/medium power charging, analyse and develop and demonstrate
     lower cost alternatives, appropriate for the mass deployment of slow charging,
     considering both AC and DC V2X solutions, related costs and issues (for instance power
     quality of AC systems), in view of optimising the cost of on-vehicle and infrastructure-
     side electronics.
   Complementing previous bullet innovative scalable solutions for large parking areas and
     urban, on-road parking in smart cities, e.g. from a suitable central power system with
     multiple outputs vs individual distributed low power chargers, are expected to be
     considered, developed and validated.
   In order to define optimal charging concept/strategies, trade-offs are expected to be
     performed in different EV penetration scenarios with a view to defining the optimal
     balance between the vehicle and infrastructure costs, the location and typology of
     charging infrastructures, and its interoperability whilst demonstrating the efficiency of
     V2X centralized and decentralized scenarios and catering for different EV categories, in
     different environments. The following alternatives are expected to be considered: public
     (including on-road and covered parking), private (residential and office buildings), in
     cities with high or low private parking availability, for light and heavy duty vehicles, in
     cities or countries with monophase and triphase systems, integration with personal
     (V2H) or business power generation (V2B), participation to grid service markets (V2G),
     aggregation with other consumer/prosumer facilities, behind-the-meter energy
     optimisation for prosumers.
   The impact of the different bidirectional charging profiles on the life of the EV battery
     and power electronics are expected to be quantified, used to define the damage cost and,
     therefore, the right level of incentives for the users in allowing their battery to be used.
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 Performing fast charging can be an alternative to a pervasive low power charging
  network. These concepts are expected to be analysed and the respective pros and cons
  defined, including the impact on the grid of a large number of fast chargers adequately
  spread in the urban environment (considering the potential of local storage), with a view
  to providing authorities with a complete perspective of the optimal infrastructure
  depending on local conditions.
 Defining optimal charging concept/strategies through the development of smart charging
  processes and data models, considering current international and European
  standardisation activities, minimising EV driver’s costs by rewarding their
  charging/discharging flexibility via effectively exploiting the storing capabilities of EVs
  both in a planned way (charging in low cost/generation surplus time slots) and
  considering contingencies (fast response in balancing grids flows fluctuations). AI-
  driven energy management schemes are expected to be developed, including their
  market and regulatory frameworks (dynamic tariffs criteria and focused incentives), to
  be tested preferably through regulatory sandboxes. In this respect, the communication
  requirements among the energy actors are expected to be evaluated, promoting the
  interoperability (preferably at European level) between the proposed solutions.
 A final assessment of the conditions in which full V2X functionalities are needed and
  beneficial, and where simple V1G charge control is sufficient, are expected to be
  performed.
 Quantitative parametric and probabilistic models for assessing the impact of progressive,
  massive EV penetration on the electricity system are expected to also be established:
  these should consider modifications of hourly/weekly load profiles, conditions for
  energy adequacy (primary energy supply) and power adequacy (grid
  congestions/reinforcements).
 Clear framework for use of the necessary personal data and data portability generated by
  the natural persons making use of vehicle infrastructure pair should be investigated
  thoroughly in line with the General Data Protection Regulation.
 In order to achieve a seamless smart charging experience for the EV driver, the
  connectivity and interoperability between the vehicle and the different players in the EV
  charging ecosystem, including charging point operators (CPOs), electromobility service
  providers (EMSPs), roaming platforms and distribution system operators (DSOs),
  together with access to all the necessary data to facilitate this objective, should be
  considered. This should help in creating an integrated mobility system, assisting drivers
  and passengers to take optimal decisions in selecting the charging points and overall trip
  planning, in terms of cost, waiting time, and the extra services provided to drivers and to
  vehicles.
 The relevant data collection, exchange and management for smart and bidirectional
  charging are expected to be assessed, with a focus on the required in-vehicle data types
  (especially in relation to the battery management system) which are indispensable to
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      operationalise these new charging technologies. Additionally, communication protocols
      and user interfaces (including the need for new/updated standards) are expected to be
      assessed and developed as needed in line with the work carried out by international and
      European standardisation organisation.
The selected projects are invited to participate to BRIDGE 211 activities when considered
relevant.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Towards zero emission
road transport’ (2ZERO).
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-04: LCA and design for sustainable circularity - holistic
approach for zero-emission mobility solutions and related battery value chain (2ZERO
& Batteries Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: The project addressing this “Batteries-2Zero” Joint Call approaches a
commonly accepted Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of zero-emission road transport solutions,
focussing on zero-emission vehicles and their batteries, as one of their central components, as
well as other applications of the same types of battery cells (e.g. industrial, stationary
applications etc.).
Proposals are expected to provide for coordinated activities on LCA and Life Cycle Inventory
(LCI) at vehicle and cell levels, to define and develop a unique and shared approach with
common methodologies for both zero-emission vehicles and the battery value chain. The
project’s main governance (e.g. Steering Group, Advisory Board) is expected to provide for
direct involvement of relevant stakeholders from the automotive and battery sectors, as well
as relevant European Commission services. Close cooperation with running EU-funded
projects performing LCA in these sectors will also be expected to maximise synergies and
reduce duplication of efforts.
The project’s results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     A consensus concept for a harmonised, robust, transparent and real-data based LCA
      approach and tools (also with consideration for extension to social Life Cycle
211
        https://www.h2020-bridge.eu/
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     Assessments, S-LCA), with an emphasis on light-duty and heavy-duty zero-emission
     vehicles (ZEV) and batteries; enabling the assessment of the sustainability performance
     and evaluation of optimal designs along the value chain and over the full life-cycle
     (cradle-to-cradle), also taking into account the need of comparing with conventional
     solutions.
   New, holistic and applicable quantitative tools to drive an approach to the design of
     ZEV, their components and batteries.
   Take into account in particular uptake of the Renewable Energy both for manufacturing
     processes and for information to the end users.
   A harmonised strategy for sustainability by design, describing requirements and
     specifications of tools for all life-cycle phases required to improve the environmental
     performance of ZEV and batteries, including their components and sub-systems.
   A commonly accepted ontology for a European-wide LCI database for zero emission
     vehicles and batteries, including all sub-systems and components, and using real data for
     the present and short-term future, whilst using provisional data, based on trajectories for
     the reduction of GHG emissions in the Power, Industry and Transport sectors, and use
     cases, including pre-defined data quality indicators.
   Greater environmental sustainability and lower TCO (total cost of ownership) through
     consistent and frontloaded real-data based assessment of technologies and solutions,
     with extension to other sectors using the same cells and technologies.
   Alignment of on-going harmonisation and standardisation activities relevant for a road
     transport-specific LCA approach, with emphasis on ZEV and the related battery value
     chain.
   In line with existing or upcoming legislation, and based on guidance from the EC, agree
     on the common access to the database, including, where this could be necessary for the
     Member States/Associated Countries to inform their policies.
   Increased awareness and acceptance of a European-wide, battery and road transport-
     specific LCA approach and LCI database.
Scope: In order to make the best, most informed choices in terms of sustainability, it is of
utmost importance for zero emission road transport to have the right tools to assess
technologies, non-technical measures and product life cycle processes in a holistic way. In
selecting the right technologies for clean and sustainable mobility at a system, vehicle and
component level, the ecological footprint and the impact of technologies upon society have to
be assessed, based on highly reliable data at an early stage of development and planning in a
harmonised and comparable way.
Proposals are expected to address all the following:
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     Screening, collecting and evaluating existing LCA and S-LCA needs, methodologies,
      tools datasets and metrics, to identify and overcome knowledge gaps, to identify
      development needs in current methodologies and tools, as well as to identify the impact
      reduction potential for ZEV and batteries.
     Elaborate a consensus LCA (and S-LCA) approach specific for zero-emission solutions,
      with an emphasis on light-duty and heavy-duty ZEV and the related battery value chain,
      suitable for the full life-cycle (cradle-to-cradle) whilst expanding the existing complexity
      of an environmental LCA to assess and compare the impact of solutions in a holistic
      way, and reflecting the needs of a resource-efficient circular economy.
     Elaborate the baseline for a Europe-wide, commonly accepted, road transport sector
      LCA approach and LCI database for ZEV and the related battery value chain, based on
      real data or on provisional data based on trajectories for the reduction of GHG emissions
      in the Power, Industry and Transport sectors, ensuring openness, accessibility and
      transparency, implementing the FAIR data principles212, whilst ensuring applicability to
      existing technologies.
     Taking into account existing and upcoming legislation, under policy guidance of the EC,
      define access to the database, for purposes of policy makers, including to the authorities
      of the Member States, where appropriate.
     Promote the uptake of Renewables in manufacturing processes and information on
      renewables to the end users. Harmonise across all stakeholders for methodologies, tools,
      datasets and metrics as well as for target criteria, to help improve consistency, robustness
      and transparency, and to address important gaps in transport-specific LCA and LCI, with
      focus on ZEV and the battery value chain. It is of utmost importance to involve all
      stakeholders, including the European Commission services, Member States/Associated
      Countries and standardisation bodies, to ensure the acceptance and succeeding
      implementation of the LCA approach and LCI database.
     Conceptualise the frontloading of a LCA and S-LCA for ZEV and the related battery
      value chain, at an early stage of development and planning, in a harmonised and
      comparable way, ensuring the compatibility and comparability with (conventional)
      alternatives.
     Definition of use cases for ZEV and batteries, representative of real-world conditions
      (e.g. for activity, lifetime, impacts linked to the specific duty-cycle and accounting for
      user behaviour) and the exemplary characterisation and calculation of impacts from
      zero-emission vehicle components, through applying the consensus LCA approach, and
      assessing the variability inherent to key real-world parameters.
212
         Final Report and Action Plan from the European Commission Expert Group on FAIR Data,
         “TURNING                       FAIR                    INTO                REALITY”     -
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/turning_fair_into_reality_0.pdf
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     Elaborate the potential and outline the transfer of the consensus LCA and S-LCA for
      other applications, such as fuel cells or stationary battery systems, or markets such as
      aerospace or maritime.
     This work should build upon both recent existing EC- and stakeholder-funded research
      (such as the eLCAr project and the reports “Circular Economy Perspectives for the
      Management of Batteries used in Electric Vehicles” and “Determining the environmental
      impacts of conventional and alternatively fuelled vehicles through LCA”213, aiming at
      aligning ongoing activities within this context towards a single LCA approach.
      Cooperation and exchange of experience and data with running projects performing
      LCA of batteries and cells is also expected to enrich the results.
The selected projects are invited to participate to BRIDGE 214 activities when considered
relevant.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnerships on ‘Towards zero emission
road transport’ (2ZERO) and ‘Towards a competitive European industrial battery value chain
for stationary applications and e-mobility’.
Aviation
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-05: Greenhouse                          gas     aviation     emissions    reduction
technologies towards climate neutrality by 2050
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         2.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 25.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 2-4 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level          see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to at least one of the following
expected outcomes:
213
         “Circular Economy Perspectives for the Management of Batteries used in Electric Vehicles” (Hill, N.,
         Clarke, D., Blair, L. and Menadue, H., Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2019,
         ISBN 978-92-76-10937-2 (online), doi:10.2760/537140 (online), JRC117790); “Determining the
         environmental impacts of conventional and alternatively fuelled vehicles through LCA” (Hill N. et a.,
         2020, DG CLIMA),
214
         https://www.h2020-bridge.eu/
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     Deliver transformative technologies that will substantially reduce non-CO2 emissions.
      The selection of technologies should be compatible with operational procedures and
      aligned with a potential inclusion of non-CO2 emissions in EU and International aviation
      market-based measures (e.g. EU Emissions Trading System and ICAO CORSIA) and
      other potential relevant policy tools (e.g. European Green Deal) and studies215. Foster in-
      flight measurement of non-CO2 emissions.
     Deliver transformative technologies for aircraft engines, systems and structures that will
      maximise the life cycle environmental impact reduction.
     Explore new modular aircraft and/or component configurations, optimised for the lowest
      possible environmental impact and noise footprint at take-off and landing operations,
      allowing 24/7 operations.
     Deliver improved aircraft performance technologies (including engine, hybrid-electric
      systems, electric & electromechanical systems, integrated H2 storage, management
      systems, light-weight multi-functional materials and structures and/or morphing
      capabilities), compatible with aviation climate reduction operational-mitigation
      strategies, in areas with high climate cost. The selection of technologies should deliver
      intermediate benefits and bridge the aviation climate neutrality gap towards 2050.
Scope: The impact of aviation to environment and climate is driven by long-term effects from
CO2 emissions and shorter-term ones from non- CO2 emissions (water vapour, nitrogen
oxides, sulphur oxides, aerosols, contrails and contrail cirrus). The CO2 effects are well
understood and are proportional to the fuel used, while the non-CO2 effects are still
insufficiently understood and carry large uncertainties. The total climate impact of aviation
has been estimated216,217 to two to four times higher than the effect of CO2 emissions alone.
R&I activities in Horizon Europe will pay adequate attention to CO2 and non-CO2 emissions,
as well as their interdependencies.
Regarding the reduction of full-flight fuel burn and CO2 emissions, the selection of
technologies should have a holistic approach to aviation ecosystem, considering aircraft
(including engines) technologies, improved air-traffic management solutions (input and
synergies with ATM partnership), new fuel options (input and synergies with hydrogen
partnership) and operational improvements. Timely alignment with European medium-term
industrial roadmaps (beyond 2030) should be established.
Regarding the reduction of aviation non- CO2 emissions, the selection of technologies and
operational measures should consider climate optimised flight trajectory planning avoiding
sensitive areas, should be compatible with operational procedures and aligned with a potential
215
         https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:7bc666c9-2d9c-11eb-b27b-
         01aa75ed71a1.0001.02/DOC_1&format=PDF
216
         https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2018:716:FIN
217
         https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:7bc666c9-2d9c-11eb-b27b-
         01aa75ed71a1.0001.02/DOC_1&format=PDF
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inclusion of non-CO2 emissions in EU and International aviation market-based measures (e.g.
EU Emissions Trading System and ICAO CORSIA).
A potentially high risk in pursuing transformative and disruptive climate neutral aviation
technologies is the recent evidence (last decade) from not as flawless as expected entry into
service of innovative propulsion and aircraft technologies at large. To mitigate this risk, the
R&I actions proposed in this topic should profit and linked with more integrated design and
manufacturing advancements that are covered in topic HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-06
(digital transformation).
Overall, this topic aims for new low TRL technologies for reduced life-cycle GHG emissions
that will reach TRL4 by 2030, at the latest. The topic has synergies with the EPCA and
Integrated ATM partnerships. All activities higher than TRL 3 that address the reduction of
GHG aviation emissions, with emphasis on propulsion technologies and their integration, will
be dealt in the European Partnership on Clean Aviation (EPCA) and the IATM partnership.
The low-TRL technologies in this topic may enable expanding the design envelope with new
configurations, more electrified aircraft and engine architectures, more electric systems, more
integrated metallic, composite and multifunctional aerostructures, advanced flow control and
high-lift aerodynamics as well as advancements in flight control systems. To enable
effectively addressing the non-CO2 climate impacts, the topic will also support research to fill
gaps in their understanding, and thereby enable addressing these impacts.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-06: Next generation digital aircraft transformation in
design, manufacturing, integration and maintenance
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.00
contribution per     and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 29.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 2-4 by the end of the project.
Readiness Level      However, exceptionally for this topic, activities may arrive up to TRL 6 in
                     well-justified cases, in coordination with the forthcoming European
                     Partnership on Clean Aviation and Integrated Air-Traffic Management
                     Work Programmes.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to at least one of the following
expected outcomes:
   Deliver transformative digital technologies that will allow flawless entry into service of
      future European aircrafts (including engines, structures and systems) of all platforms.
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      The outcomes should be in-line with technologies for future climate-neutral aircraft
      configurations and their integration. Multi-disciplinary model-based digital twins that
      cover the complete aircraft lifecycle, scaled-prototypes, representative rigs and unique
      research infrastructures fall within the expected outcomes.
   Advance further technologies that will enable flexible integration of simulation
      ecosystems in an extended enterprise context and allow multi-disciplinary design,
      optimisation and uncertainty quantification at realistic time-scales for commercial
      aviation.
   Deliver new technologies and methodologies for model-based validation and
      certification, measurement and prediction of hardware and software reliability and
      impact on flight safety for commercial aviation, new standards and alternative methods
      of compliance. Ensure compatibility between EASA-FAA working groups on standards
      (e.g. APR 4754/ED-79, ARP 4761, DO 178/ED-12 and DO-254/ED-80).
   Reduce the lifecycle greenhouse gas impact of aircraft materials (including rare earth
      elements) and explore the fastest path towards their economical substitution. Advance
      further recovery and recycling methods in order to extend the useful life of materials,
      reduce the carbon footprint and produce new high-quality parts for new applications.
      Enable a clear path towards a fully circular aircraft.
   Deliver transformative digital and eco-efficient manufacturing technologies, advance
      further composite manufacturing, maintenance-repair-overhaul (MRO) and health
      assessment processes and procedures (including Health & Usage Monitoring Units) that
      will allow flawless entry into service and continuous airworthiness of European aircrafts
      of all platforms. Optimised manufacturing and MRO processes and tools, as well as on-
      board and on-site sensors and communication platforms are within the expected
      outcomes.
Scope: This topic is about a real digital transformation with a holistic and circular approach
for the aviation ecosystem.
This topic aims to accelerate the design and manufacturing processes (including additive
manufacturing) as well as allow flawless entry into service of new aircrafts and systems. The
topic is in-line with the European new industrial policy and will bring even closer together the
European supply chain (including innovative SMEs and start-ups). This topic may cover all
aspects of digital aircraft, from design and manufacturing to operations and recycling. Digital-
physical scaled demonstrator aircrafts for education, research and development are within the
scope of this topic. Digital factory for all tiers and integrators and for all aircraft platform,
from components to final assembly line (FAL) are also within the scope of this topic. As
software becomes a vital part of the aircraft, new digital methods, tools and certification
processes are of outmost importance. Synergies with the European High Performance
Computing platform and European Digital Twin initiatives should be exploited.
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Enabling climate neutral, clean, smart, and competitive waterborne transport
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-07: Enabling the safe and efficient on-board storage and
integration within ships of large quantities of ammonia and hydrogen fuels (ZEWT
Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per         10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Admissibility            The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project
Readiness Level          – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                         applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                         for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                         the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Project outputs and results are expected to contribute concretely to the
following expected outcomes as marked (“*”) whilst supporting the overall medium and
longer term objectives:
   Contribution to the establishment by 2027 of at least two full scale demonstration
     projects using or potentially using 100% climate neutral fuels in a realistic shipping
     environment.
   Enabling the timely transition to climate-neutral ship operations by facilitating the wider
     adoption of carbon-neutral alternative fuels at a large scale and for shipping distances of
     3000 nm or more.
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    Supporting the conditions for a timely and efficient uptake of sustainable alternative
      fuels along the specific supply and usage chain for maritime transport and inland
      navigation.
    *Demonstration of the feasibility to store and use hydrogen based fuels (generally in
      liquid form) on a medium and large scale (capacities equivalent to +300 tons of
      conventional marine fuel [HFO, MGO or MDO]) in a realistic environment on-board.
    *Demonstration of the use of these fuels in high power applications with long autonomy.
    *Demonstration of the applicability, in particular with respect to short sea shipping, IWT
      vessels, and the stricter environmental expectations for passenger ships.
    *Development of pertinent technical rules.
Scope: Commercial shipping, including deep sea shipping (intercontinental maritime
transport), short sea shipping (services between European destinations), and other ship
operations with high power demand (which may include also certain aspects in IWT), requires
the storage of large amounts of energy with conventional fuel capacities from hundreds to
thousands of tons allowing operational autonomy up to several months. The use of sustainable
alternative fuels at scale embracing a number fuel options needs to be studied and solutions
developed for a wide range of applications.
Sustainable hydrogen, ammonia and other hydrogen derived fuels are potentially promising
alternative fuels to make shipping fully climate neutral and independent of fossil fuels. Only
very limited experience with the use of ammonia and hydrogen as fuel in a maritime
environment exists today.
Hydrogen and ammonia are particularly challenging in terms of on-board storage capacities,
storage methods, safe handling, space constraints and the structural integration of tanks, and
their subsequent use in high power propulsion systems.
The aim is to develop large and very large storage solutions for hydrogen and ammonia (e.g.
compressed H2, liquid H2, LOHC, hydrides, ammonia derived compounds) and their
integration on-board. Whilst a certain fuel neutrality is sought a rigorous preselection of the
most suitable type and form of fuels is required in order to come to a realistic demonstration
environment as early as possible.
Research and innovation is needed with respect to the efficient and safe on-board storage and
use under real shipping conditions, taking into account aspects such as pressure, temperature,
explosion risk and toxicity. These aspects have to be investigated considering all the relevant
issues related to the maritime environment such as structural response of the ship, ship
motions and related effects (e.g. sloshing, resonance), corrosion, etc.. In order to facilitate the
wide-spread use of these clean fuels, solutions should be modular with the possibility of
upscaling, and pertinent technical rules should be developed.
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Solutions are not necessarily limited to maritime freight transport if it can be shown that these
fuels can be used economically and efficiently at the specific scale of passenger services
(ferries) and IWT. This may imply different regulatory constraints and infrastructure
(bunkering) situations which have to be taken into account.
Projects will address both the storage of hydrogen and ammonia at capacities exceeding the
equivalent of 300 tons of conventional marine fuels in order to show the use in a realistic
environment with practical range and autonomy, although the fuel capacity may be adapted to
the requirements of different ship types in a first stage of development. The scope extends to
the design, testing and overall assessment of on-board systems for these fuels, developing
concepts and testing them at lab scale with a robust perspective of scaling up to achieve the
levels needed for operational commercial vessels. The structural integration of fuel and
energy systems on-board, related safety issues, supporting standards development, and the
minimisation of storage volumes and distributions systems towards the energy converters will
be addressed. This also needs to take into account bunkering situations as part of the fuel
handling on-board.
Transport of such fuels in dedicated carriers does not fall within the scope of this topic.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Zero Emission
Waterborne Transport’ (ZEWT).
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-08: Enabling the full integration of very high power fuel
cells in ship design using co-generation and combined cycle solutions for increased
efficiency with multiple fuels (ZEWT Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per     15.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                     proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project outputs and results are expected to contribute concretely to the
following expected outcomes as marked (“*”) whilst supporting the overall medium and
longer term objectives:
   Establishing the basis for achieving TRL 8 in on-board use of high power fuel cells by
      2030.
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   *Feasibility and technical demonstration of the use of high-power fuel cells in co-
      generation and/or combined cycle mode in waterborne transport.
   *Proof of scaling up, to a target of significantly above 3 MW power output, of fuel cell
      installations for all shipping applications, including main propulsion of a short sea
      shipping or inland navigation vessel.
   *In case of a fuel cell using fossil fuel as input proof of significant efficiency gains (at
      least 20%) in a realistic environment compared to the conventional use of the fuels (e.g.
      within an ICE) with consequent reduction in GHG emissions.
   *Demonstration of the exploitation on-board of waste thermal energy produced by high
      temperature fuel cells in ship-specific applications (e.g. hot water, steam production,
      HVAC, etc.) for potential mass-market application.
   *Showing a realistic pathway to the wider use of fuel cell technology in waterborne
      transport including the assessment of the maturity and resulting mid-term potential of
      various fuel cell systems. This may include an initial focus on lower power propulsion
      applications in inland navigation where power reserves for adverse sailing conditions are
      less relevant.
Scope: The use of fuel cells (FC) for waterborne applications is becoming increasingly
relevant as stack power increases and the problem of the storage of un-regulated alternative
fuels is solved. Demonstrating and upscaling this technology will lead to initial and earlier
applications in IWT and short sea shipping vessels, as well as to complementary power
generation on-board ships with high power demand, whilst also setting foundations towards
deployment within even larger scale long distance applications.
Whilst previous projects have addressed applicability of mainly smaller fuel cell systems on-
board, the full integration of very high power fuel cells on-board large ships represents a
major challenge.
The total efficiency of high temperature FCs, using a variety of fuels, can be substantially
increased through their use within a combined cycle, recovering secondary heat or using them
in combination with secondary combustion systems. Whilst such installations are operating on
land with substantial improvements in energy efficiency compared to an internal combustion
engine, a fully integrated dual cycle multi-MW FC system has yet to be achieved on-board a
ship. Regardless of the fuel used efficiency improvements would be expected to substantially
contribute to climate neutrality as well as moving towards high power 100% hydrogen
operations.
The aim is to prove the use of high-temperature FCs in a co-generation and combined cycle
mode, either on a ship powered uniquely by FCs, or on-board a large ship with high power
demand together with other power and thermal energy generation and management systems.
Solutions need to address comprehensively the complexity of ship integration, e.g. the balance
of plant components, batteries for dynamic loads and waste heat recovery systems.
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A demonstrator of a high-temperature system as a large efficient unit will be developed and
installed on-board a suitable vessel, and the budget foreseen reflects this ambition. The power
of the FC will aim to exceed significantly 3 MW. The system may be run with conventional
fossil fuels, with the use of an internal reformer. In this case the system needs to show a
significant efficiency gain in terms of reduced GHG emissions compared to the conventional
use of the fuel. Overall, the superiority of a FC solution over conventional ICEs should be
demonstrated in a comparable arrangement. This may include an IWT application with less
power to show the early marketability of the concept and its applicability on a large scale.
Initial target applications are those where the existing regulatory framework facilitates the
introduction of a prototype which may depend on the sector of application, the ship type or
the fuel used. The project should address the propulsion architecture and/or the electric
system, but it shall not address the development of new FCs per se.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Zero Emission
Waterborne Transport’ (ZEWT).
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-09: CSA identifying                        waterborne sustainable     fuel
deployment scenarios (ZEWT Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 0.50
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 0.50 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Project outputs and results are expected to contribute to all of the
following expected outcomes:
   A full understanding of clean fuel scenarios for different regions including sensitivity
      analysis of the different variables, consideration of evolving technologies and their
      applicability to maritime transport, inland navigation and waterborne operations.
   Development of quantified and dynamic techno-economic models for the uptake of
      sustainable fuels in a variety of waterborne application cases and for a range of regional
      conditions, clearly identifying uncertainties and parameters to enable technical and
      economic viability.
   Support for the transposition of RDI results into commercial and regulatory reality.
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    Support to identify the impacts on ports (e.g. bunkering supply and other services, also
      for IWT, emissions measuring and verification), derived for the defined scenarios for
      different regions.
Scope: Other than for short distances, waterborne transport is expected to become climate
neutral mainly by the introduction of alternative, sustainable, and carbon-neutral fuels, by
massive efficiency improvements and through related technologies for the fuel’s use in
propulsion and power generation on-board.
However, the uptake of specific alternative fuels in different European waterborne segments
and geographical areas will vary and depend on fuel costs, fuel availability (generation and
distribution), national or regional incentives, international co-operation, and many other fixed
and dynamic factors. Whilst some studies addressing fuels for maritime transport and/or
inland navigation exist, a proper characterisation per segment and per area including
sensitivity and variability analysis has not yet been addressed.
Supporting decision making within the ZEWT partnership the CSA will identify and monitor
the evolution of different sustainable alternative fuel deployment scenarios, taking into
account different types of services, the evolution of sustainable fuel supplies, operational
costs and capital expenditure, environmental factors (in particular those affecting coastal and
port communities), as well as distribution and infrastructure implications relevant to the
sector. Evolving and potential market mechanisms, regulations (e.g. the integration of the
maritime transport sector in the ETS, the FuelEU Maritime Directive etc.) and incentives are
to be considered. Discussions with sustainable fuel suppliers and facilitating the timely
commercial deployment of partnership outcomes to accelerate climate neutrality and emission
reduction of shipping are tasks of the CSA.
A model is to be developed considering the wider aspects of waterborne transport (incl. IWT,
short and deep sea shipping, high-tech vessels) involving energy and waterborne stakeholders,
with an approach that is neutral with regard to specific energy carriers or technologies. Focus
will be on the cost-efficient and timely deployment of solutions on a large scale and the
potential evolution of these factors over time. A life cycle assessment should be included and
linkages or synergies with alternative fuel use in other transport modes should be explored.
Activities will be undertaken in close and formal cooperation with the H2020 STEERER
project which is identifying strategic technological paths and priorities towards climate
neutrality as well identifying business model evolutions. Therefore, the budget of this CSA is
reduced. The project will support the waterborne community in the identification of market
trends with a systematic approach to future scenarios, understanding of uncertainties and
critical factors.
The project will liaise with EU and international bodies and their initiatives with respect to
future fuel scenarios and emission control governance (e.g. FuelEU Maritime, ESSF, IMO)
and will establish contacts with the main associations of fuel suppliers.
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This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Zero Emission
Waterborne Transport’ (ZEWT).
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-10: Innovative on-board energy saving solutions (ZEWT
Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project outputs and results are expected to contribute concretely to the
following expected outcomes as marked (“*”) whilst supporting the overall medium and
longer term objectives:
    Proof of gains in vessel energy performance and operational efficiency through
      demonstrators that are applicable to maritime transport and/or inland navigation.
    Significant reduction in GHG emissions from waterborne transport.
    Enabling the timely on-board application of innovative and green solutions for energy
      transformation that require significantly higher volumes for storage and equipment.
    *Deliver at the end of the project deployable energy efficiency solutions (stand alone or
      in combination, for new builds and for retrofitting) with at least 10% energy savings
      compared to best available technologies for stand-alone solutions and at least 20% for
      combined solutions, each on the level of the vessel.
Scope: The transformation of maritime transport and inland navigation towards climate
neutrality can be accelerated through the development and deployment of innovative
technologies to improve energy efficiency. The wide-spread adoption of these technologies, in
particular for high-power vessels, is crucial. RDI efforts will develop technological solutions
for higher efficiency, reducing fuel consumption as well as increasing performance. The
overall aim is reducing the vessel’s energy demand, facilitating the transition to sustainable
energy sources with lower energy density and potentially higher cost.
Energy efficiency measures may have specific applications linked to new technologies (e.g.
alternative fuels, fuel cells, electrification, assisted wind power propulsion) which require
significant changes in the on-board energy balance and management.
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Projects are expected to address technological solutions for energy efficiency yielding at least
10% reduction in energy consumption compared to best available technologies for similar
applications in case of a single measure and at least 20% in case of combined measures.
A wide range of potential solutions may be proposed, including for example: reducing
thermal, electrical and propulsive loads, optimisation of on-board energy management
systems, design based systemic/holistic approaches and/or the use of active/adaptive
technologies.
Digital solutions supporting operational strategies and remote monitoring and control can also
be addressed if they are contributing to higher energy efficiency. More and advanced sensors
integrated with advanced energy management can form the basis for an increased full life-
cycle ship energy efficiency and can feed into digital twin models for the ship and for its sub-
systems. Cyber security aspects are expected to be taken into account.
Other potential solutions may include waste heat recovery systems, HVAC improvements,
new hull forms, advanced propeller and appendages for enhanced hydrodynamics, reduced
hull resistance through air lubrication, new automation and control strategies, new coatings,
employing new high performance materials (in particular lightweight materials such as
composites) or enhanced production processes.
To maximise the potential for GHG reduction, solutions will be prioritised that are applicable
to a wide variety of waterborne operations (and not just selective cases), regarding both
maritime and inland navigation.
The technical and operational transferability will be ensured through standardisation and the
development of multi-media documentations and training programmes enabling also the long
term development of skills.
Activities addressing efficiency gains through the design of internal combustion engines or
power generation systems are excluded.
Solutions are expected to be demonstrated in line with the expected TRL but testing within an
operational environment would be a benefit.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Zero Emission
Waterborne Transport’ (ZEWT).
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-11: Hyper powered vessel battery charging system (ZEWT
Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          7.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
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Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 14.00 million.
Type of Action             Innovation Actions
Admissibility              The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                 exceptions apply:
                           The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology                 Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project
Readiness Level            – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial        The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant        exceptions apply:
Agreements                 The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                           applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                           for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                           the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Project outputs and results are expected to contribute concretely to the
following expected outcomes as marked (“*”) whilst supporting the overall medium and
longer term objectives:
   Faster turnaround times of battery electric ships and facilitating the charging of larger
     on-board batteries.
   New business models are developed for electrical ships and their port operations in close
     cooperation with land side stakeholders.
   Increase Europe’s technological lead in fast charging systems for batteries that can be
     applied to a wide range of vessel types in the medium term.
   Increase Europe’s competitive advantage within the electric shipping market supporting
     jobs and growth.
   *At least two full scale demonstrators in two European ports showing the practical use
     for an end-to-end service between these ports (without a proprietary solution, the system
     needs to be compatible with charging in other ports as well).
   *Demonstration and performance assessment in a realistic environment of fast multi-
     MW recharging systems, leading to an increase in the technical and economic viability
     of battery electric shipping.
   *Market analysis and feasibility assessment of the more wide-spread deployment of fast
     high power electrical charging of vessels in European ports (or at certain offshore
     facilities), including short sea vessels and ferries.
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      *Demonstrated flexibility regarding different waterborne applications to be served by
      the same connecting facility.
Scope: Electrification is an important means to make waterborne transport climate neutral and
is already successfully deployed within diesel hybrid ships and fully electric ferries serving
shorter distances. The capacity and range of electric vessels are increasing and the cost of
batteries are coming down. Due to comparatively high capital costs, business models of
electric ships are often founded on high availability, reduced maintenance and fast
turnaround.
The provision of high charging powers is often impeded by the lack of availability of high
power fast charging and of an adequate electrical supply infrastructure in ports or ferry
terminals. The provision of such infrastructure to enable (parallel) multi-MW charging can
substantially increase the costs to deploy electric shipping services. Furthermore, charging
infrastructures are usually bespoke to a particular electric vessel design. This lack of
standardisation further hinders the deployment of electric ships of all types.
Focusing on the ship and shore side interface, R&I will deliver solutions and technology to
minimise high power recharging times at port, explore the applicability of charging solutions
to a variety of batteries and their usefulness for different ship types. R&I will develop
standard interfaces which ensure a seamless integration of different electric ships into
conventional port and ferry terminal operations, including their integration with future port
and energy infrastructures as they evolve.
Projects will address technologies and solutions for minimising time-to-recharge, by ensuring
a recharging system of at least 5 MW capacity. No specific type of connection (either physical
or inductive) is preferred.
A high level of charging performance is expected being suitable for new vessels, but solutions
should also be adaptable towards existing or refitted vessels.
The following aspects need to be addressed: Ease and required connection time, flexibility
regarding power levels and energy transfer whilst minimising impacts on electrical grid
infrastructure (cables, switchboards, etc.), addressing potential battery degradation during fast
charging, impacts on materials through e.g. corrosion and thermal stress.
Substantial progress beyond the state of the art should be achieved, such as with respect to the
Horizon 2020 E-Ferry project. Applicability should be towards a range of vessel types, with
larger battery systems and longer autonomy.
It should be explored whether the results can be adapted to a range of particular charging
situations where power demand may be lower but the resilience of the system has to be higher
and the connection may be more difficult to make. For example, vessels serving wind parks or
offshore installations may be able to benefit from direct and distributed charging at the park or
installation to enable longer periods of fully electric operation increasing operational
efficiency and eliminating excessive transit times.
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The energy supply at the port side is not within the scope of this topic. However, projects are
expected to consider the minimum requirements for land side grid capacity and technical
specifications needed to accompany project outputs.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Zero Emission
Waterborne Transport’ (ZEWT).
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-12: Assessing and preventing methane slip from LNG
engines in all conditions within both existing and new vessels (ZEWT Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per         7.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 7.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Admissibility            The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level          see General Annex B.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                         applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                         for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                         the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Project outputs and results are expected to contribute concretely to the
following expected outcomes as marked (“*”) whilst supporting the overall medium and
longer term objectives:
   Ensure that the transitional deployment of LNG fuel does not increase GHG emissions
     but maximises its potential to contribute to climate neutrality.
   Strengthening the European leadership in LNG technologies, allowing for a transitional
     sustainable use of LNG where it is beneficial.
   *At least one full scale demonstrator for full methane slip abatement for a vessel in
     operation.
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    *Development and practical demonstration of technical abatement solutions both for
      retrofitted vessels and new builds, covering a range of operational scenarios.
    *Where still necessary and duly justified quantification of methane slip founded upon
      both in-situ measurements and consolidated pre-existing validated test results in the
      public domain addressing a range of LNG engine types and load factors, including
      dynamic loads as, for example, encountered in manoeuvring.
Scope: Nearly all commercial vessels in operation today have a power generation based on
one or more Internal Combustion Engines (ICE). Directive 2014/94/EU on the Deployment of
Alternative Fuels Infrastructure defined minimum requirements for the building-up of
alternative fuels infrastructure e.g. for natural gas. Currently Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG -
methane) is an alternate viable marine fuel deployed to substantially reduce ship-borne
pollutant emissions.
However, the impact of LNG on greenhouse gas emissions is strongly influenced by
“methane slip”, including the release of unburnt LNG from LNG-fuelled ICEs. This is a
problem that is being tackled but not fully solved.
Since methane is a greenhouse gas 84 times more potent than CO2 on a 20 year basis, the
potential release of unburnt methane substantially increases the fuel’s impact on climate
change. Whilst it is known that operations under some engine loading conditions and with
some engine types can significantly increase methane slip, there is a lack robust data on the
scale of the challenge for the existing LNG fleet and for new vessels.
Projects will address the current state of the art and the scatter of emissions between different
types of LNG-powered engines. Operational data on methane slip from existing engine
installations will be assessed, compared and made available. Activities may include additional
measurement campaigns of methane slip where necessary and duly justified, addressing the
complexity of different engine types at different load factors (including highly dynamic loads)
and operational profiles. Activities will lead to a better understanding of the parameters
involved in order to develop the most efficient abatement strategies through ICE improvement
and/or post-treatment technologies. Such activities are expected to go significantly beyond
existing measuring campaigns and provide distinctively new knowledge. A repetition of
measurements already made by producers of large marine engines will not be funded.
Project(s) will develop and demonstrate such strategies and the corresponding technologies
for better performing ICEs and/or after treatment systems which virtually eliminate methane
slip in all conditions in refitted or newly built vessels. By developing technologies also
suitable for retrofitting this action will also have an impact on the existing LNG-powered fleet
whilst ensuring that negative impacts on energy efficiency (potentially resulting in higher
CO2 emissions) and on the suppression of pollutant emissions (in particular NOx) are
avoided.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Zero Emission
Waterborne Transport’ (ZEWT).
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HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-13: Digital Twin models to enable green ship operations
(ZEWT Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 7.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project outputs and results are expected to contribute to all of the
following expected outcomes:
   Reduced emissions and improved efficiency enabled through development of digital
     models and tools for a wide range of vessel types, ship systems and operational
     environments.
   Prove and quantify the impact regarding emissions reductions and improved efficiency
     through productivity and performance increases based on a proven and efficient
     environmental impact assessment methodology.
   Ensuring the wider applicability of digital models for different ship types, both for new
     constructions and for retrofitting, through a comprehensive methodology and a
     transferable system architecture.
   Proving the interoperability of data models between different ship types and regarding
     the link with port digital twin models.
   Benchmarking efficiency improvements against other industry sectors.
   Increase the confidence of investors concerning the expected improvements in energy
     efficiency and reduced emissions resulting from upgrades and modifications for both
     new designs and retrofitting.
   In the medium term, enable the development of the “zero emission decision support
     system” as a contribution to the 55% reduction goals of fuel consumption in 2030.
Scope: The digital revolution is affecting most industrial sectors, enabling the digital
modelling of designs, manufacturing processes and operations. A wider and better
development of Digital Twin (DT) models enables new functionalities for the design and
operation of vessels to improve operational efficiency to be developed and validated with
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increased confidence without resorting to more costly physical testing. DT modelling can be
founded and validated using sensor data, data mining and merging, big data, AI and self-
learning to improve efficiency on all levels. Such developments increase owner confidence in
the expected performance when procuring innovative green systems as well as providing
operational feedback to the manufacturer which can be used to further improve energy
efficiency. In this respect DT models are understood as wide-ranging tools with known
application areas and those still to be explored.
The waterborne (transport) sector is characterised by very diverse requirements and market
realities. Ships, their systems and related technical and commercial processes are already
widely using digital technologies including virtual models but those are generally developed
individually and with significant overlaps. Capital expenditure is often very high. The wider
implementation and integration of digital technologies into more coherent Digital Twins on-
board and onshore supporting user oriented decisions is still in its infancy.
Whilst simulation environments are relatively mature maritime system tools, development to
enable full exploitation of the potential functionalities is still lacking.
Activities will address the DT concept in order to improve energy efficiency and
environmental performance from the early design phase of vessels to the end of the life cycle,
thus providing assurance to the owner or operator concerning the expected improvements
resulting from upgrades and modifications. This will be a key factor to achieve the zero-
emission targets for waterborne transport, while increasing the understanding of vessel
performance in a wide range of operations, in particular in the view of the parallel uptake of a
multitude of innovative technologies for on-board energy storage, distribution and conversion
as well as those for voyage optimisation and manoeuvring. A methodology to assess
environmental impacts and performance improvements through the DT model should be
developed and validated, with the definition of KPIs orienting the design choices and
manufacturing processes.
Project(s) will develop DT models, preferably based on existing specifications and simulation
environments, addressing different ship systems (e.g. engine and machinery operations,
hull/propeller performance and interaction models, electric network management including in
particular HVAC, cargo handling) in order to have a significant impact on energy efficiency
as well as on operational performance, both in maritime transport and IWT and with regard to
newbuildings and existing vessels. To this end the dynamic use of real life data (feedback
loop) is expected to be addressed as well.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Zero Emission
Waterborne Transport’ (ZEWT).
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-14: Proving the feasibility of a large clean ammonia
marine engine (ZEWT Partnership)
Specific conditions
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Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per         10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Admissibility            The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project
Readiness Level          – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                         applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                         for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                         the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Project outputs and results are expected to contribute concretely to the
following expected outcomes as marked (“*”) whilst supporting the overall medium and
longer term objectives:
   Contribution to at least one full scale demonstrator with the ammonia-fuelled marine
     engine used in a commercial vessel for main propulsion and/or (large scale) main power
     generation by 2027.
   In the medium term, enabling operations for maritime intercontinental transport (tankers,
     bulk carriers, container ships, passenger ships) and realisation of bunkering
     infrastructures, depending on fuel availability scenarios.
   Enable the timely transformation of the existing maritime fleet towards climate
     neutrality through retrofitting of existing vessels with ammonia-fuelled engines.
   *Demonstration and validation of an ammonia-fuelled marine engine with power output
     in the +10 MW range. The validation shows safe and reliable operation in realistic
     scenarios and for a range of load cases.
   *In case of proven feasibility pathways to the uptake of ammonia as a marine fuel for
     deep sea shipping and high power vessels are set out.
   *Analysis of pathways to ammonia as a marine fuel through the establishment of
     regulations and solutions for health and safety issues.
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Scope: Deep sea shipping (maritime intercontinental transport) and ship operations with very
high power demand require the storage of large amounts of energy carriers aboard in order to
ensure the required autonomy and the ability to navigate safely in adverse and extreme
conditions. The use of low energy density green fuels will in these operational environments
lead to a significant loss of cargo volumes or useable space (e.g. passenger cabins) which
directly impacts the economic parameters of the vessels and consequently leads to reluctance
by ship owners to invest in clean ships.
Ammonia is a zero carbon fuel, with a (slightly) higher volumetric energy density than liquid
hydrogen and with comparatively high liquefaction temperatures and pressures. Due to this,
and its combustion characteristics, green ammonia has been widely advocated as a potential
sustainable alternative marine fuel. Yet its possible use within a large low-speed marine
engine has yet to be proven. A practical and easy use of ammonia may be a game changer in
making shipping climate neutral, in particular if it can be used in the existing fleet through
retrofitting.
The aim is to develop, demonstrate and validate a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine
of at least 10 MW power output running on ammonia as its main fuel, with IMO-Tier III or
lower NOx emissions and negligible emissions of SOx, particulates and other harmful
substances or odours. As an indication total tank-to-wake GHG emission reduction versus an
MGO baseline should be at least 80% (taking into account that the climate-neutral upstream
supply of ammonia is not part of this topic). Risks should be assessed and the engine should
also comply with all relevant safety rules and regulations as stipulated by classification
societies and flag states.
Projects should demonstrate the engine operating at its rated power in a laboratory or on board
of an actual vessel, thus going beyond the state of the art which is currently demonstrating
ammonia combustion in smaller (road vehicle-based) test engines, or rapid compression
machines.
Assuming feasibility, pathways toward deployment will be proposed.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Zero Emission
Waterborne Transport’ (ZEWT).
Impact of transport on environment and human health
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-15: Development and demonstration of cost affordable and
adaptable retrofit solutions for tailpipe and brake polluting emissions
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       4.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
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project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 8 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Cleaner urban air and water quality and reduced health impacts and damage to historic
      buildings due to lower emissions from road transport by 2025.
    Affordable and adaptable retrofit solutions that with a fraction of the vehicle market
      value (e.g. 10% or less), could reduce the emissions of the existing Internal Combustion
      Engine (ICE) based fleet by over 50-60% for NOx and 90% for particles (exhaust
      emissions).
    Avoidance of transfer of pollution from high to low-income EU countries (exhaust
      emissions).
    Reduced health impact for highly exposed groups like public transport workers and users
      (emissions from brakes).
    Affordable and adaptable retrofit solutions to reduce particle emissions by over 90% for
      particles both in terms of numbers and mass (emissions from brakes).
    Reduced impact by heavy metals on soil and surface and ground waters (emissions from
      brakes).
    Reduced noise impact for retrofitted vehicles (exhaust emissions) and rolling stock
      (emissions from brakes).
Scope: The impact of transport on air and water quality has been repeatedly found to be due to
tailpipe emissions from older vehicles, vehicles exceeding emissions limits in real driving
conditions, or by vehicles, which, by not being subjected to specific limits, have high
emissions of certain pollutants (e.g. ammonia-fuelled vehicles which emit a high number of
particulates).Considering that the current automobile fleet in Europe is unlikely to be
significantly renewed within the next 10 years, the proposed research actions should address
emissions of nanoparticles from indirect injection (i.e. conventional) gasoline and natural gas
engines or Pre-Euro 6 c direct injection gasoline cars that will continue to occur for the next
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couple of years. In all these cases, when the vehicles are sufficiently recent and therefore not
candidates for scrapping, the proposed actions on retrofit technologies should aim at reducing
real emissions at a relatively low cost, thus providing an early improvement of air quality
without waiting for the vehicles to be replaced (or exported to other markets, thus just shifting
the pollution to poorer countries).
The Horizon Prize for the Cleanest Engine retrofit has already demonstrated very high NOx
reduction performance on a high emitting Euro 5 diesel, and one of the participants has
brought a product on the market, while at the moment no solution is present on the market for
ammonia and particulates by vehicle categories not fitted with particle filters (natural gas cars,
trucks and buses, gasoline cars). Therefore, the proposed actions should demonstrate in the
field the results of deploying available retrofits, in particular to public and private fleets
running high numbers of kilometres within the city (buses, delivery vans, taxis), as well as
developing and demonstrating new, low cost retrofit technologies for natural gas buses and
natural gas and gasoline cars in the above mentioned applications, with a clear validation in
real driving of the reduction of emissions. The proposed actions should also consider
awareness raising of little known emissions issues (for instance, ammonia and nanoparticles
below the regulated threshold) and specific incentive schemes to facilitate the adoption of
these technologies should also be considered, taking into account the results of the currently
running EU-funded projects on retrofits.
In addition to tailpipe particles, there is a growing awareness of the contribution by tires and
brakes from road and rail vehicles. Brakes, different from tires, have the potential to emit
large amounts of very fine particles and these can include harmful materials like heavy metals
and resins. Moreover, they contribute to poor local air and water quality in specific and
sometimes closed environments like bus stops, tunnels and train and metro stations.
Therefore, the proposed activities should assess the specific contribution of brake particles on
local air and water quality, possibly including citizen science contributions, for instance to
assess the situation of complete network of metro and rail stations in cities or workers
exposure, and to develop low cost retrofit solutions for these transport vehicles and
demonstrate existing solution in the field to assess their benefit and usability/operating costs,
while at the same time reducing the acquisition and installation costs, both for first installation
and retrofitting (specifically on long-lived public transport assets).
In some specific cases, like urban heavy duty vehicles and rail rolling stock, noise is also an
issue, therefore the retrofit solutions for these applications should also look at reducing
exhaust noise, particularly during transients, while low particle emissions brake solutions
should also look at integrating ways to reduce brake noise.
In line with the Union’s strategy for international cooperation in research and innovation,
international cooperation is encouraged.
Typically, projects should have a duration of 36 to 48 months. Nonetheless, this does not
preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts or durations.
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HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-16: Assessment of noise and particle emissions of L
category vehicles from real driving conditions
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       4.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-6 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    In-depth assessment of the noise and pollutant emissions of at least 150 L category
      vehicles, starting from the 10 top sellers of the different subcategories having significant
      sales (at least mopeds, 125cc, 250cc, 500 cc and above 500cc motorbikes, l6 and l7
      microcars, light freight transport 3 and 4 wheelers), including different brands and
      geographical coverage. This will allow to take into account a large share of their
      environmental impact.
    Measures for mitigating the noise from L category vehicles.
    Development of reliable detection techniques for tampered L category vehicles.
    Best practices for integrating a growing number of L category vehicles in the urban
      traffic without increasing the noise and emission pollution.
Scope: Noise pollution is a growing environmental concern and has been affecting quality of
life and well-being. It is caused by a varied number of sources and is widely present not only
in the busiest urban environments, it is also pervading once natural environments. The adverse
effects affect the well-being of exposed human populations, in the health and distribution of
wildlife, in the abilities of our children to learn properly at school and in the high economic
price society must pay because of noise pollution. Health effects, for instance, can be as bad
as increasing the risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
Whilst the increase in traffic volume results in higher noise levels, the increase in urbanisation
results in a higher number of people affected by noise. As a result, the adverse health impacts,
both direct and indirect, of traffic noise are expected to increase in the future despite potential
noise-reducing improvements in vehicles, tyres and roads.
One of the ways of reducing noise from road (or rail) traffic is by tackling the problem at
source. Setting lower emission limits via regulation is doubtless effective if it is based upon
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an appropriate test methodology, and good results have been achieved on large vehicles.
However L category vehicles are often perceived as a significant contributors to noise
pollution and this might be due to the fact that noise emissions seem to be strictly optimised
for specific conditions (but also due to tampering by their users, which in some cases is made
too easy by the way the vehicles are built). Moreover, recent measurement campaigns in EU
funded projects found some motorbikes having extremely high nanoparticles emissions. Real
driving portable emissions measurement system (PEMS) tests will also allow to verify if there
are issues in emissions testing, while lab tests should assess the risks posed by particle
emissions down to 2.5nm. Tampering is also often performed in order to increase
performance, leading to higher emissions.
There proposals should address the following:
   Assess the behaviour of a large sample of these L vehicles in real driving conditions for
      both noise and emissions in comparison with certification tests (complemented where
      necessary by lab tests, since mini-PEMS cannot measure certain pollutants like particles,
      ammonia and hydrocarbons).
   In particular, assess the real world driving behaviour that can produce particularly high
      annoyance and effect on health (noise emissions).
   Propose specific technical improvements in the standard test procedure (performed in
      homologated test tracks) so that the tests could better approach real world driving
      conditions and improve measurement technology for detecting nanoparticles.
   Assess how significant the impact of these emissions is on urban environments and
      health and examine whether the current regulatory limits are sufficient.
   Assess how widespread tampering is, its impact on global urban noise and emissions lev,
      its impact on global urban noise and emissions levels, and propose solutions to prevent
      it.
   Develop reliable technological solutions and effective experimental techniques for better
      enforcement of the regulatory measures for detecting noise under real driving conditions
This action will be focussed in particular in cities and regions with high powered two
wheelers use and the derived knowledge will provide significant support to designing future
measures aimed at reducing the noise and pollution emission levels from these vehicles.
Projects should make use of available results and technologies from projects funded in
projects on remote monitoring issuing from topics LC-MG-1-1-2018 and LC-MG-1-9-2019,
from projects on tampering LC-MG-1-4-2018, and from projects on nanoparticles
measurement issuing from topic GV-02-2016.
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Selected projects under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in joint activities as
appropriate.218
In line with the Union’s strategy for international cooperation in research and innovation,
international cooperation is encouraged.
Cross-cutting actions
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-17: Support for dissemination events in the field of
Transport Research
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.50
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.50 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Procedure                The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                         exceptions apply:
                         The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Expected Outcome: Project’s results are expected to contribute to all of the following
expected outcomes:
     Higher visibility, political and strategic relevance of the transport sector and of the EU
      policy in the field;
     Enhanced dissemination, communication and valorisation of transport R&I objectives,
      perspectives, strategies and results;
     More effective links and exchanges between research and innovation stakeholders and
      policy makers, to support the development and deployment of innovative solutions in
      Europe;
218
        These joint activities could, for example, take the form of clustering of projects and involve joint
        coordination and dissemination activities such as the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of
        knowledge, or the development and adoption of best practices. Successful proposals will also be
        encouraged to exchange with other relevant proposals funded under other topics and other clusters to
        ensure synergies on cross-cutting challenges of common interest. Therefore, proposals are expected to
        include a budget to cover those joint coordination and dissemination activities without the prerequisite
        to define concrete joint activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be defined during
        the grant preparation phase with the Commission.
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    Increased attractiveness of transport related studies and reinforce the pursuit of
      excellence in European transport research and innovation, by giving recognition and
      visibility to the best achievements.
Scope: The action will prepare and provide support to the Transport Research Arena
conference (TRA) to be organised in 2024 gathering transport stakeholders for discussing
political, industrial and research issues on a European and global level.
Proposals are expected to demonstrate the financial and organisational support of the national
authorities' and a preliminary economic plan covering the additional funding needs. In order
to ensure high political and strategic relevance, preference will be given to proposals
involving Member States holding the Presidency of the European Union in year 2024.
In line with previous TRA biannual conferences, the event should address the technological
and industrial developments of the transport sector (road, rail, waterborne, aviation sectors
and cross-modal aspects) providing a high level, future oriented perspective coming from
politics, the industry and the research community, in response to Europe’s social needs and
expectations.
In collaboration with the relevant actors, such as the European Commission services, the
different European Technology Platforms (ERTRAC for road, ERRAC for rail,
WATERBORNE TP for waterborne, ALICE for logistics and ACARE for aeronautics and
ECTP for construction), the Conference of European Directors of Roads (CEDR), the
European Transport Research Alliance (ETRA) and the previous TRA conference organisers
in order to maintain continuity, the action will define the overall planning of the conference,
structure the technical and political sessions of the event, contribute to select the appropriate
location for the venue and offer operational IT tools for the registration of participants, the
handling of speakers’ contributions, contribute to the organisation of logistics, etc. Support to
the organisation of demonstration activities should also be foreseen.
Specific attention should be put on a broad and balanced participation i.e. students, young
researchers, women, a large number of countries' representatives, etc.
The proposal is expected to also organise two competitions for transport research and
innovation awards covering all transport modes and cross-cutting issues (technological, socio-
economic and behavioural aspects) in line with the EU policy objectives for climate-neutral
and environmentally friendly mobility:
    A competition for students and young researchers with the goal of stimulating the
      interest among young researchers/students in the field of transport;
    A competition for senior researchers in the field of innovative transport concepts based
      on results from EU-funded projects only.
The organisation of these awards should ensure high-quality competition and very good
media coverage before, during and after the TRA conference, in line with previous editions
(TRA Visions). The competition is expected to give particular attention to gender issues.
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Call - Clean and competitive solutions for all transport modes
                                                                           HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)219
                Topics                     Type         Budgets            Expected EU            Number
                                             of          (EUR        contribution per project         of
                                          Action        million)        (EUR million)220           projects
                                                                                                  expected
                                                          2022                                      to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 02 Dec 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 26 Apr 2022
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-01 IA                          16.00 221      Around 8.00                  2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-02 RIA                         15.00          Around 5.00                  3
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-03 RIA                         18.00          Around 9.00                  2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-04 IA                          25.00 222      Around 5.00                  5
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-05 RIA                         15.00          Around 15.00                 1
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-06 IA                          7.00 223       Around 7.00                  1
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-07 RIA                         7.00           2.50 to 3.00                 3
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-08 IA                          58.00 224      15.00 to 20.00               3
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-09 RIA                         20.00          3.00 to 6.00                 4
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-10 IA                          25.00 225      20.00 to 25.00               1
219
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
220
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
221
        Of which EUR 8.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
222
        Of which EUR 12.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
223
        Of which EUR 3.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
224
        Of which EUR 29.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
225
        Of which EUR 12.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-11 CSA                    2.00           Around 2.00               1
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-12 RIA                    20.00          2.00 to 5.00              5
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-13 RIA                    20.00          2.00 to 5.00              5
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-14 RIA                    5.00           0.50 to 2.50              3
Overall indicative budget                        253.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Enabling climate neutral, clean, smart, and competitive waterborne transport
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-01: Exploiting electrical energy storage systems and better
optimising large battery electric power within fully battery electric and hybrid ships
(ZEWT Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per         8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
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Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 16.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Admissibility             The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                          applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                          for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                          the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Project outputs and results are expected to contribute concretely to the
following expected outcomes as marked (“*”) whilst supporting the overall medium and
longer term objectives:
   Contributions to two full scale vessel demonstrators, hybrid and fully electric, by 2027
     covering a sailing distance of at least 300 nm in the case of a fully electric vessel.
   *Development and validation of electrical architectures for large battery systems on-
     board.
   *Proof of the safe integration of battery systems into the ship’s electrical grid for a
     relevant number of ship types (e.g. IWT, short sea vessels, cruise ships, ferries) and
     operational scenarios.
   *Verification of the architecture and the power management system for two cases:
     hybrid and fully electric.
   *Documentation of skills requirements for the crew.
   *In the short term, facilitate full battery electric transit for reduced noise and zero
     emissions on shorter routes (up to 100 nm) and during approach and harbour stay.
Scope: Electrification and electrical energy storage is one of the major drivers for climate
neutrality in the waterborne sector. 100% electrical power can potentially be used on any kind
of vessel, with an initial focus on ferries and short sea shipping where re-charging can be
frequent, but also extending within hybrid applications to larger vessels on longer routes as
well as to high power vessels and high-end complex ships with a high number and a wide
variety of electrical consumers.
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Large battery based electrical energy storage systems offer the highest energy conversion
efficiencies. Within fully electric ships, notably ferries, batteries are the most energy efficient
method to achieve climate neutrality. Within ICE hybrid vessels batteries increase total
efficiency, cutting engine peak power demands, providing a “spinning reserve” and enabling
the possibility of zero emission port entries and coastal passages utilising only battery power.
The latest industrial outcomes in large marine batteries are already addressing safe, long-life
and cost-effective solutions. On the other hand, at ship level, the development of systems
which ensure the full integration of batteries in the ship’s highly complex electrical network is
crucial to ensure the optimal use of the electrical energy stored, alone or in combination with
other zero-emission ship power sources like, for instance, fuel cells.
Projects will develop solutions for the on-board integration (including the optimisation of the
electrical distribution grid) and control of batteries which will maximise the operational
flexibility of different ships under electric-driven zero-emission operations, focussing on an
optimal operation and the longest lifetime and lowest weight of the electrical systems and its
key components. While ensuring the ship's energy balance and efficiency, solutions need to
address one of these two cases:
    The hybrid arrangement for zero local pollution (long and complete discharge cycles), or
    The full electric arrangement, plug-in charging (charging strategy and battery size
      adapted to route).
Strategies for safe energy management systems with sufficient safety margins need to be
addressed.
Projects will also investigate (e.g. through performance modelling) different optimisation
strategies for the large capacity batteries on board and will need to prove the applicability to
several ship types and operational profiles. It will need to establish connections with the
project(s) awarded under the Horizon 2020 call LC-BAT-11-2020 which is focused on the
development of cost-efficient batteries, including the certification methodology.
Consideration should be given to technology transfer from potentially related sectors, such as
the energy management from solar panel systems.
Long term skills’ development needs and strategies with the aim to provide operational
transferability of the developed solutions are integral to the topic and should also be
investigated.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Zero Emission
Waterborne Transport’ (ZEWT).
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-02: Innovative energy storage systems on-board vessels
(ZEWT Partnership)
Specific conditions
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Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project outputs and results are expected to contribute concretely to the
following expected outcomes as marked (“*”) whilst supporting the overall medium and
longer term objectives:
   Contributions to at least two full scale on-board demonstrators for two different
      electrical energy storage solutions by 2027.
   Improve efficiency and make waterborne transport climate neutral through the
      exploitation of new innovative electrical storage systems.
   In the medium term, upscaling of proven solutions for a broad range of ship types (e.g.
      IWT, ferries, short sea shipping) and operational scenarios, as an alternative to batteries.
   Ensuring European leadership for energy storage solutions based on different
      technologies that will be fit-for-purpose for diverse waterborne applications.
   *Achieve a comprehensive understanding of potential innovative energy storage systems
      other than batteries and their applicability to waterborne transport.
   *Solutions to improve energy efficiency and make waterborne transport climate neutral
      founded upon innovative energy storage.
   *Comprehensive assessment of the technical feasibility and adequacy of innovative
      energy storage for a range of waterborne operations including efficiency, safety, cost
      competitiveness compared to batteries, skills requirements, and regulatory aspects.
Scope: Battery based electric energy storage systems are increasingly deployed within the
waterborne sector, particularly for sea short shipping, complex high-end ships and inland
navigation.
Nonetheless, specific operational requirements (e.g. autonomy, power peaks, etc.), in
particular in adverse conditions outside sheltered waters or going upstream on rivers, remain a
concern. Fully battery electric shipping is demanding, requiring very high energy levels to
achieve a realistic operational range and the necessary speed and thrust performance, whilst
hybrid applications can also be excessively large. Both hybrid and full battery operations are
subject to many more charging cycles and longer lifetimes than other transport applications.
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Batteries within most waterborne applications deployments are founded upon established
battery technologies. However, other energy storage systems exist which maybe valuable for
waterborne application in the future which have not been fully investigated. For example,
super-/ultra-capacitors, superconductivity magnetic energy storage, flywheels, flow batteries,
etc.
Projects will focus on low TRL solutions for waterborne transport, preliminary integration,
safety studies and the potential combination with other disruptive technologies such as super
conductors and the wider use of DC grids. It will address the integration on-board of
innovative energy storage systems (excluding storage of fuels and conventional batteries),
including control systems and optimised operational deployment, and the connection to the
on-board electrical grid.
Projects will address the cost competitiveness of the innovative solutions when compared
with batteries, specify the applicability in specific waterborne segments (in particular in IWT
where electrification may be pioneered through a dedicated project), determine risk levels,
identify safety measures and propose possible regulatory aspects. The pertinent skills
development will be outlined.
Activities will address innovative energy storage for waterborne applications, it will not
address the internal design of the energy storage technology itself. For example, the design of
super capacitors would be excluded.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Zero Emission
Waterborne Transport’ (ZEWT).
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-03: Exploiting renewable energy for shipping, in particular
focusing on the potential of wind energy (ZEWT Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 9.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 18.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project outputs and results are expected to contribute concretely to the
following expected outcomes as marked (“*”) whilst supporting the overall medium and
longer term objectives:
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   Renewable energy assistance is commercially viable and deployed at scale in
      commercial shipping and maritime operations, significantly contributing to making
      waterborne transport climate neutral.
   In the medium term, enabling the wide adoption of automated wind technologies for
      long distance maritime transport.
   *Through full scale demonstration prove the viability at large scale of power generation
      and propulsion assistance systems on-board harvesting renewable energies such as wind
      and solar.
   *System designs (including modular/drop-in) to reduce the costs of and increase
      confidence in refitting of the most appropriate existing vessels addressing several types
      of ships and different forms of renewable energy.
   *System designs including power management architectures and energy efficiency
      solutions (including wind-assisted and wind-based propulsion) for purpose built new
      ships including designs that are “wind-ready”. Demonstration of efficiency gains of at
      least 15% for power generation or at least 25% for propulsion purposes.
   *Provision of a summary and an analysis of pertinent regulatory issues and how to
      address them.
   *Documentation of skills requirements and incentives for the crew, for different types of
      ships and renewables adopted.
Scope: The use of on-board renewable energies, in particular automated wind assistance, has
potential to substantially reduce the ship’s energy demands and hence reduce fuel
consumption. Wind energy, harvested through e.g. rotors, hard and soft sails, kites, suction
wings, turbines or specific hull forms, can serve multiple purposes on-board, including in
particular primary propulsion with the additional beneficial effect of noise reduction.
Potentially more expensive climate neutral fuels and carbon taxes will further enhance the
economic benefits from efficiency gains and the exploitation of freely available renewable
energies. With wind being a genuinely maritime feature shipping would also avoid costly
competition with other transport sectors for sustainable fuels.
Whilst some renewable energy systems have been trialled at comparatively small scale, for
particular routes and ship types, their scale has often been too small to provide conclusive
data, and robust systems applicable for long distance trans-oceanic shipping are not yet
available. R&I is needed to harvest the wind energy potential, significantly enlarging the
current scale and expanding the typology for a much wider range of applications,
demonstrating cost-effective, safe, reliable and easy-to-handle technologies in a variety of
conditions. These conditions should be considered variable and dynamic if combined with
beneficial changes in operational profiles such as advanced (satellite enabled) weather
routing. The optimisation of aerodynamic efficiency of devices and the reduction of
superstructure drags will be considered.
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Overall energy efficiency strategies and architectures for the power management in large
ships will be developed, with an optimised and self-adaptive operation of wind power systems
as part of a hybrid architecture. For certain ship types and routes wind energy could become
the main propulsion. This may in particular apply to smaller craft and fishing vessels (in
transit) or to ships where wind propulsion can free bunker spaces for more paying cargo or
passengers. In these cases attention needs to be given to the most practical and efficient
system installation (e.g. retractable, auto-furling, hinged, multi-positional).
Projects are expected to address both retrofitting existing ships and new purpose built designs,
taking into account regulatory issues and making use of the existing guidelines by
classification societies on wind-assisted shipping. Large scale testing and preferably
demonstration is expected. Attention should be given to the conditions under which renewable
power sources on-board compete with specific fuel solutions in terms of life cycle and
opportunity costs, proven sustainability and reliable sourcing, and operational risks in order to
make the most convincing business case.
In addition to wind, other renewables such as solar electric systems should be considered for
different ship types, to the extent they can significantly contribute to the ship’s overall power
systems.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Zero Emission
Waterborne Transport’ (ZEWT).
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-04: Transformation of the existing fleet towards greener
operations through retrofitting (ZEWT Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per           5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                    appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                           selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 25.00 million.
Type of Action             Innovation Actions
Admissibility              The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                 exceptions apply:
                           The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology                 Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project
Readiness Level            – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial        The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant        exceptions apply:
Agreements                 The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
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                          applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                          for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                          the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Project outputs and results are expected to contribute concretely to the
following expected outcomes as marked (“*”) whilst supporting the overall medium and
longer term objectives:
    Accelerated achievement of climate neutrality of waterborne transport through retrofit
      modifications to the existing fleet.
    Ensuring cost effective solutions for retrofitting existing ships, thus supporting ship
      owners in the process of making the European fleet more environmentally friendly.
    Business models, industry standards, regulatory approvals, best practice guidance, and
      easy-to-customise strategies for retrofitting removing the commercial risk of
      deployment.
    Increased competitiveness of European shipyards, repair yards, and European marine
      equipment providers within the domain of green shipping technology.
    *Demonstrated retrofitting solutions for sea-going and inland navigation vessels in
      operation.
    *Retrofit solutions to reduce GHG emissions that are developed and ready to deploy.
      The target is to achieve a GHG emissions reduction of at least 35% compared to the
      original design.
    *Retrofit solutions involving climate neutral fuels making vessels GHG emission free.
      These solutions are expected to have a significant R&I content going beyond a simple
      exchange of fuels through minor technical adaptations.
    *Establishment of an up-to-date catalogue of suitable solutions for a wide variety of ship
      types and operation scenarios.
Scope: Progress towards climate neutrality of waterborne transport can be achieved more
quickly by means of retrofit solutions that improve the performance of the existing fleet (sea-
going and IWT) whilst solutions which are exclusive to new ships can only be implemented at
the pace of the commercially driven fleet renewal.
In the trajectory towards the transition to new technologies that will make waterborne
transport and operation greener and climate neutral picking the low hanging fruits is
important. With the comparatively long life cycles of waterborne assets and their high initial
capital costs addressing the existing fleet is paramount in order to achieve fast and tangible
results. Therefore, interventions that are easily implemented by shipyards, ship owners and
operators need to be developed in the shortest possible time to reduce emissions from vessels
already in service, both seagoing and those operating in inland navigation. The latter are
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particularly relevant as they tend to be in use in excess of 30 years and are largely owned by
SMEs with limited investment potential.
In this context the owner-operator dilemma poses additional problem in the waterborne
sector: A large number of ships are bareboat chartered by an operator who does not take
investment decisions although he could benefit from them through lower running costs. The
owner who would have to make those investment decisions, however, does not gain financial
advantages as charter rates are generally fixed and depend on ship size and speed only. A
performance related charter rate system has often been discussed but rarely implemented.
Easy and relatively cheap retrofitting solutions may help in overcoming this dilemma.
For inland navigation and/or maritime shipping projects are expected to address one or more
of the following:
   Retrofit solutions to significantly reduce air or water pollution without increasing fuel
      consumption and hence GHG emissions, for example main engine abatement systems or
      engine and propulsion system modifications.
   Retrofit solutions which significant reduce GHG emissions through partial or full
      electrification, clearly progressing beyond the state of the art. Indicative examples are
      battery ICE hybridisation for the main propulsion system and auxiliary power, electric
      network reconfiguration, electrical power management.
   Retrofit innovative hydrodynamic improvements (hull, hull management, appendages) to
      significantly improve energy efficiency and reduce GHG emissions by reducing fuel
      consumption.
Projects will focus on the design for technically and economically efficient retrofitting of the
ship along these main lines. Cost efficiency of the proposed solutions will come from
standardised and modular solutions applicable to different ships or by significantly reducing
operational costs over the expected remaining life time of the asset. This may require new
business models and implementation strategies based on a catalogue of solutions including
smart maintenance. Attention will be paid to solutions which are not causing secondary
emissions to air or water and which will not significantly increase fuel consumption.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Zero Emission
Waterborne Transport’ (ZEWT).
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-05: Seamless safe logistics through an autonomous
waterborne freight feeder loop service
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per        15.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
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                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project outputs and results are expected to contribute concretely to the
following expected outcomes as marked (“*”) whilst supporting the overall medium and
longer term objectives:
   Enable seamless safe logistics through an autonomous (or highly automated) waterborne
     freight feeder loop service for inland waterway and/or maritime transport applications.
     The autonomous system will provide an integrated, reliable, resilient, predicable fully
     automated service, also taking into account the interconnection of inland navigation and
     maritime transport in terms of serving the hinterland.
   Provide increased legal and regulatory certainty concerning autonomous waterborne
     services within national maritime and/or inland waters, e.g. concerning COLREGs,
     national and inter-governmental legislation etc. Expansion to the international dimension
     where feasible.
   Moving more freight by water with high levels of safety (taking in account all aspects
     related to fully autonomous navigation, e.g. manoeuvring, situational awareness,
     collision avoidance, failsafe operations), reduced environmental impact and
     contributions to climate neutrality, increased operational resilience and decongested land
     transport infrastructures.
   Autonomous waterborne freight feeder services can be taken up by the market on basis
     of a sound business case. Development of new business models based on autonomous
     waterborne feeder services within national maritime and/or inland waters.
   Reduced risk for first movers concerning autonomous waterborne technologies.
   Improved European competitive advantage within global markets with respected to
     connected and autonomous shipping as well as broadening expertise across several
     member states and associated countries.
   Exploitation of EU satellite navigation and other space based services.
   Better understanding of the societal issues and consequences of automated shipping
     services, in particular regarding skills challenges.
   *Preferably demonstrate the solution at full scale with all technology building blocks in
     a real world scenario. If full scale demonstration is unfeasible, solutions and key
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      technology building blocks may be validated by means of testing within relevant
      environments, noting the lower project budget foreseen in this case.
Scope: Digitisation and automation are increasingly disrupting business models and the
operation of the waterborne transport sector.
Whilst digital and connected solutions are widely deployed, autonomous waterborne transport
remains at an early stage of development, particularly outside of military applications. A
small number of early stage demonstrators are foreseen in the coming years with modest
ambition and focus. The main challenges are both technical and regulatory. Automated
maritime or inland waterways feeder services are seen as the most promising applications
where the feasibility and commercialisation of automated shipping can be proven. In
particular, an autonomous waterborne feeder loop or shuttle service providing regular reliable,
resilient and integrated supplies of freight with an ambition of zero emissions is likely to have
many applications.
Developing the necessary expertise for such services provides Europe with a competitive
advantage in the face of strong global competition which is investing to develop similar
technologies. Autonomous waterborne feeder services are expected to disrupt logistics,
remove freight from congested land infrastructures, increase safety by reducing the human
factor in accidents and incidents, and make transport climate neutral. They will change
business models, increasing logistic chain integration and exploiting telemetry and shore-
based support, whilst modifying the role of crews and legal responsibilities which will raise
further societal issues that need to be addressed. These anticipated changes to waterborne
transport also require clarity concerning the local rules and regulations in order to ensure legal
certainty. Project(s) is/are expected to co-operate closely with the Horizon 2020 project
MOSES which is already addressing aspects of robotic cargo handling and autonomous vessel
manoeuvring and docking.
Building on the current state of the art and on-going activities, proposals should address all of
the following points in line with the expected outcomes above:
    Develop an autonomous waterborne freight feeder loop service for inland or maritime
      transport suitable for specific commercial applications and which can provide an
      integrated, reliable, resilient, predicable fully automated service with a preference for
      zero GHG and pollutant emissions as well as supporting safer navigation (e.g.
      manoeuvring, situational awareness, collision avoidance, failsafe operations). Feeder
      service is to be understood to include Ro-Ro services.
    Given that an IWT application will significantly differ from a short sea application
      common technology building blocks need to be defined and developed. Project(s) should
      analyse differences and communalities in sufficient detail.
    Key aspects to be addressed are real time data acquisition, management, storage and
      exchange, and the supporting digital infrastructure(s), standards and connectivity, also
      addressing the potential use of Galileo GNSS services.
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   Develop business cases which demonstrate the viability of the proposed solutions and
     their impact on logistic chains. The latter will require addressing port handling and
     intermodality.
   In addition to the vessel projects should address the port and any other necessary shore
     side infrastructure as well as any adaptions to existing infrastructure such as locks and
     bridges in the case of inland waterways transport.
   Address requirements for telemetry, its architecture, infrastructure monitoring and
     security needed for controlling the system’s water-side and shore-side assets.
   Address the necessary safety, regulatory and legal rules (including liability, COLREGs
     etc.) needed to deploy such services. A clear distinction needs to be made between
     inland navigation and short sea shipping as different legal, fiscal and commercial
     conditions as well as emission baselines apply. The possibility for modifications of
     COLREGS and similar regulations as well as a more active role of shore traffic
     management services should be explored.
   Whilst ensuring European added value, and visibility of the European activities, engage
     with wider activities addressing automated shipping, including internationally within
     IMO, as well as supporting EU policy making in the domain of autonomous and
     connected shipping.
   Address reliability, liability and the consequences of system failure or breakdown.
     Special attention needs to be given to cyber security and resilience against malicious acts
     in all aspects.
   Address the socio-economic implications of such automated feeder services, including
     employment, training and skills requirements as well as the social acceptance of such
     vessels. The latter may have higher pertinence where vessel operations are taking place
     in proximity to population areas.
   Broaden European autonomous waterborne transport expertise amongst EU Member
     States and associated countries.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-06: Computational tools for shipbuilding
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 7.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
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Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project outputs and results are expected to contribute to all of the
following expected outcomes:
   Achieve a competitive advantage for European shipbuilders within global markets,
     particularly for complex high added value vessels.
   Rapid early ship design (including an AI-based analysis of technical and legal
     requirements derived from historic data or from a structured feedback loop between
     builder and operator), underpinning the functional design concept and production cost
     estimations.
   Virtual prototyping to increase the reliability of early stage capital cost estimations,
     particularly taking into account the full range of greening options and innovative (and
     potentially difficult to cost) technologies such as green power systems (batteries, fuels
     etc.), the impacts on weight and revenue generating spaces as well as benefits towards
     operational cost.
   Provide benefits towards the competitiveness of the wider European shipbuilding sector,
     beyond single shipyards, through the creation of a fast, flexible and reliable design
     environment and platform that also includes repair yards. The platform is expected to be
     based on Industry 4.0 digital technologies and is expected to be fully tested through a
     dedicated design case as a demonstrator. This should include all relevant design
     disciplines and focus specifically on the full range of technologies supporting the
     reduction of emissions, with linkage to highly automated and robotised processes in
     parts manufacturing, assembly and outfitting with full supply chain integration.
   Integration of the ship design stages (conceptual, functional, production), considering
     also supply chain management issues. Demonstration of a future proof ship design
     concept based on modular architectures that allow for (cost) efficient retrofitting during
     the ship’s life cycle.
   Computational shipbuilding tools and data management systems which are resilient to
     cyber threats.
   A European workforce that is highly skilled in the deployment and use of advanced
     computational tools in shipbuilding, particularly with respect to the integration of new
     technologies.
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Scope: Advanced computational systems are essential to Europe’s competitive advantage in
the construction, maintenance, conversion and repair of the world’s most complex, high added
value ships. Present computational systems are often proprietary, increasingly outdated and
difficult to maintain whilst Europe’s competitors are continuing to develop their advanced
computational capacity. It is essential that Europe is able to maintain and extend its
competitive lead within the high technology shipbuilding segment and that advanced
computational tools are developed which in particular are able to integrate a wide range of
emerging innovative technologies within designs, such as alternative power systems based on
e.g. e-fuels, renewables, electrification, and hybridisation. Systems need to feed into
competitive production processes as well as support potential changes to a ship design during
its entire life-cycle.
The complexity of such tools and systems calls for novel solutions regarding design and
production platforms, infrastructures, and services which may not be within reach of smaller
European shipyards and design consultancies. Therefore, new concepts for a reliable and cost
efficient roll-out of advanced platforms and tools are expected to be developed and
demonstrated.
Furthermore developments should benefit the wider European shipbuilding sector and address
the necessary skills development to enable full exploitation of the advanced computation
tools.
Proposals should develop advanced innovative computational tools for shipbuilding that
increase the European sectors competitiveness by addressing all of the following points:
    Facilitate rapid early stage design to support lower risk bid development particularly
      when integrating innovative new technologies.
    Provide better capital cost estimations and performance predictions, particularly showing
      the improvements expected from the inclusion of new technologies.
    Tools to be integrated with ship construction and production, as well as considering
      supply chain management and future maintenance and repair of vessels.
    Address and quantify the competitiveness gains provided by the tool(s) in the context of
      the wider European shipbuilding sector.
    Ensure that the tool is robust and resilient against cyber threats.
    Identify and address the necessary skills development needed to achieve the maximum
      benefit from innovative advanced computational shipbuilding tools.
    Develop a business case to quantify the added value from the developed tool to the
      shipbuilder concerned and within the context of the wider European shipbuilding sector.
Impact of transport on environment and human health
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-07: Prevent smog episodes in Europe: Air quality impact
of engine-emitted volatile, semi volatile and secondary particles
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.50 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 7.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Achieve better understanding of (semi)volatiles particles and secondary aerosol
      formation as well as their effects on health, air quality (in particular during winter
      season) and climate.
   Assess the contribution to PM2.5 of precursors present in exhaust from transport (i.e.
      volatile organic compounds, NOx, unburned hydrocarbons, nano-particles below 23nm,
      ammonia, etc.) through the formation of secondary aerosol (organic –SOA- and
      inorganic).
   Find ways in which scientific evidences of the role of emissions in atmospheric
      processes could be an input to develop policies and mitigate SOA formation in urban
      areas of EU.
   Improved quantification of transport externalities.
   Support of future emissions legislation and of “polluter pays” legislation.
Scope: The impact of transport emissions on air quality and health is relatively well known as
far as direct pollutants emission are concerned, i.e. particulate, NOx, hydrocarbons etc.
However, some of the emissions from engines and combustion processes in general are also
leading to further formation of health impacting compounds due to atmospheric aerosol
chemistry, and the specific impact of these compounds is less understood (except for ozone,
whose chemistry has been widely studied for other reasons). Also, in fields where regulation
limits particles emissions (cars, trucks, aircraft, non-road mobile machinery) current engine
particles emissions count only assesses the number of solid particles, disregarding the so-
called volatile and semi-volatile particles, thus underestimating the impact on air quality and
health.
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Proposals should assess in detail engines emissions in Real Driving Emissions (RDE)-
compliant testing conditions (based on currently used fuels) leading to volatile and semi-
volatile and secondary particulate, taking into account the wide available literature and results
from projects issuing from topics LC-MG-1-1-2018 and GV-02-2016, prioritise them
according to available information and assess their health impact with relevant modelling and
in vitro and in vivo testing.
After assessing the risks associated to each emission, proposals should define a robust and
transparent measurement and modelling system in order to determine an equivalent total
particles emissions index for each engine encompassing all these emissions, to complement
the direct solid particles emissions count currently in use to better quantify the total
externalities of combustion engines in all transport fields and related fuels.
In line with the Union’s strategy for international cooperation in research and innovation,
international cooperation is encouraged.
Zero-emission road transport
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-08: Modular multi-powertrain zero-emission systems for
HDV (BEV and FCEV) for efficient and economic operation (2ZERO)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          15.00 and 20.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 58.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Admissibility             The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                          applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                          for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                          the total eligible costs.
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Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to all of the following
expected outcomes:
    Demonstration of high efficiency long haul Heavy Duty Vehicle (HDV) powertrain for
     truck-trailer combinations, Vehicle Group 4, 5, 9, 10, 11 or 12 of VECTO capable of 750
     km unrefuelled/unrecharged range whilst operating at maximum gross vehicle weight
     (GVW) of minimum 40 tons under operational conditions comparable to the VECTO
     long haul mission profile.
    Demonstration of the developed concepts over a period of at least 6 months in real world
     conditions involving manufacturer(s), energy provider(s), electric and hydrogen
     infrastructure and end users (e.g. carriers, logistics service providers and cargo owners)
     from across Europe, covering at least 500 km (for long haul) average daily operation in
     real conditions – in line with drive and resting time regulation.
    Provide fleet managers with ZEV-specific, flexible, managerial tools (e.g. adapted to the
     characteristics of vehicles and infrastructure) supporting the seamless integration of zero
     tailpipe emissions vehicles into fleets and facilitating the assignment of tasks and routes
     (infrastructure, range, charging time, payload etc.).
    Contribute to significant price reduction steps by targeting and showing a pathway
     towards total cost of operation equality with 2020 engine-based solutions assuming a
     production volume of >= 10.000 pieces/year, and net TCO reductions beyond that.
Scope: The call is asking for a modular and flexible powertrain approach for large heavy-duty
trucks which can serve varying mission demands (range, power and re-charging/-fuelling
requirements) by varying battery/tank sizes to serve different missions and driving profiles
within one vehicle platform.
Flexible vehicle platforms can allow the installation of modular powertrain solutions
including either pure BEV/FCEV versions or hydrogen FC range extended battery vehicles,
exploiting the scalability and modularity of the installed power units to allow cost efficient
solutions for dedicated missions.
At least two different prototypes need to be demonstrated covering two different missions
under operational conditions: one of which is mandatorily for long haul freight transport, as
defined in expected outcomes, while the additional prototype(s) is/are open to Vehicle Group
4, 5, 9, 10, 11 or 12 of VECTO capable of operating at maximum gross vehicle weight
(GVW) of minimum 40 tons under operational conditions comparable to the VECTO regional
mission profile, and/or long distance coach(es).
Applicants should go beyond activities carried out by actions funded under topic HORIZON-
CL5-2021-DEST5-CCT-01-01, avoiding duplication of activities already performed under
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this topic, as well as of activities developed by ongoing Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint
Undertaking projects226.
Proposals are expected to address the following:
     Efficient energy/thermal management including the HVAC system and during ultra-fast
      charging both while driving and during breaks (including auxiliaries like overnight hotel
      and, optionally, refrigeration loads) achieving a minimum 44% energy efficiency in FC
      “charge sustaining mode” or 82% for BEV configurations (both at “tank-to-wheel” on
      the VECTO Regional Distribution and Long Haul cycles as appropriate).
     For FC applications, the scalable power level of a hydrogen-based power unit for full
      power operation or range extension to vary power and range demands of different
      mission profiles is expected to demonstrate at least 90% availability and 30.000 hr FC
      operational life for safe and efficient operations, including scale-up options; (FC and
      tank development are excluded from this topic; suitable engagement with FCH projects
      needs to be foreseen).
     For BEV long haul applications, demonstration of fast charging concepts, capable of
      fitting established regulations and business practices, with a range recovery of at least
      400 km in 45 min, with an overall charge efficiency of at least 80%. The proposed
      solutions are expected to not reduce transport productivity (i.e. km per day, including
      driver resting time) and should be deployable at load/unload points and staging areas,
      while ensuring grid compatibility.
     Demonstration of a delivery load capacity not less than 90% of a current such vehicle.
     Improvement of inverter and DC/DC technologies integration in regard to optimized and
      novel cooling concepts and cost reduction, considering where appropriate synergies with
      HORIZON-CL5-2021-DEST5-CCT-01-02.
     Improvement of specific central, high power electric motors or modular in-wheel motor
      concepts, considering where appropriate synergies with HORIZON-CL5-2022-DEST5-
      CCT-01-02.
     Achievement of cost benefits by optimization of the control architecture.
     Predictive maintenance strategies considering AI technologies, including deployment of
      prognostic and diagnostic techniques and control units in order to improve the lifetime of
      the fuel cells systems.
     Show the minimum achievable impact on environment (GHG, polluting emissions,
      biodiversity, resources etc.) using a comparative life-cycle assessment.
     Projects should deliver digital twin models of the demonstrator vehicles, such that the
      impact of the innovations towards the overall objectives of the 2Zero partnership might
226
         https://www.fch.europa.eu/page/fch-ju-projects
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      be determined prior to the completion of the project. Data that is produced as output
      from a ‘digital twin’ should be FAIR, deposition in relevant repositories should be
      encouraged227.
     Price reduction resulting from economies of scale due to modularity and standardization
      of components in other truck, bus/coach (and where possible railway) applications (also
      creating links with on-going projects in the FCH partnership) with a clear roadmap for
      how to increase production numbers after the end of the project and for developing the
      necessary value chains. System level cost-effectiveness of solutions (including needed
      infrastructure) need to be analysed.
     Develop and validate tools for zero tailpipe emission vehicles integration in fleets (and
      mixed fleets) for efficient assignment of tasks (routes, charging strategies, assignments
      etc.).
     Identify European cross-border corridors with lower barriers or higher benefits to start
      market operations, along with possible future initiatives within the Connecting Europe
      Facility context.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnerships on ‘Towards zero emission
road transport’ (2ZERO).
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-09: Nextgen EV components: High efficiency and low cost
electric motors for circularity and low use of rare resources (2ZERO)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          3.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to all of the following
expected outcomes:
     Lower cost, higher efficiency and power density electric motors for mass produced cars
      and vans, with a design-to-X approach enabling easy dismantling and recyclability and a
227
         Final Report and Action Plan from the European Commission Expert Group on FAIR Data,
         “TURNING                       FAIR                    INTO                REALITY”   -
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/turning_fair_into_reality_0.pdf
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     reduced use of (rare) resources through the development or application of alternative
     materials or advanced configurations.
   Lower electric vehicles (EV) cost and improved range and, therefore, a wider market
     penetration.
   Improved motor design and development processes, considering a full product life-cycle
     assessment in a circular economy environment, for lower total energy and resources
     consumption.
   European job creation/retention by developing a world-leading design and production
     base, including supplying SMEs.
Scope: Electrical machines are a fundamental part of zero emission powertrains for all classes
of road vehicles, but the target of this topic is the core market (with powertrains of 50-120kW
continuous power).
Proposals are expected to address all the following:
   Increasing primary efficiency, in particular by widening the high efficiency area and
     compactness, for example through topology or operational improvements, inclusion of
     increased features in integrated solutions, analysis of performance aspects over the
     machine-in-system life-cycle.
   Demonstrate the following specific targets (percentages with respect to automotive state
     of the art in 2020):
        Continuous power densities >23kW/litre and >7 kW/kg or continuous torque
           densities > 50Nm/litre and >20Nm/kg, for the complete motor including its
           cooling, allowing global performance optimisation specific for the category and
           type of vehicle;
        A 20% reduction in losses during typical vehicle operation;
        A reduction in the use of rare resources by 60%;
        Unit cost for the complete motor at mass production levels (100.000 units/year) <
           6€/kW;
        A recyclability rate >60%, or demonstrating the possibility of “functional”
           recycling of critical raw materials by repurposing magnets without extracting the
           single rare elements, thus keeping a higher share of the value.
   Increase high system voltages offering new opportunities for readdressing the current
     versus voltage trade-offs, throughout the vehicle systems and in aspects of the
     recharging infrastructure, duly considering potential impacts.
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   Guarantee the heat rejection of high energy density motors through multiphysics models
     in order an optimal design (use of rare resources, reduction in losses, high efficiency).
   Novel manufacturing process supporting increased integration, enabling, amongst other
     things, improved thermal control.
   The use of alternative architectures and materials to the currently used rare earths-based
     magnets and configurations. Recyclability plus life-cycle environmental impact aspects
     need to be considered, aiming at the best compromise with other performance
     parameters to reach the stated outcomes. If composite reinforced materials (CRM) are
     included in the design, the development of processes for the economic recycling of at
     least 60% of any rare materials needs to be included: only this additional work will
     justify the use of up to EUR 2 million of the expected EU contribution.
   The proposed motor concepts are expected to comply with automotive standards, given
     the normal dynamic and duty-cycle requirements, reliability, EMC etc. The proposed
     concepts should consider the motor (integration of electronics, excluding their
     development at component level), and integration of any related transmission. The
     concept has to be validated through representative duty-cycle evaluation, as a minimum
     on the test bed or, optionally with minimum-change integration, on an existing vehicle.
   The provision of a digital-twin of the concept, in-line with current best practice
     modelling and simulation standards, is required.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnerships on ‘Towards zero emission
road transport’ (2ZERO).
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-10: New generation of full electric urban and peri-urban
Bus Rapid Transit systems to strengthen climate-friendly mass transport (2ZERO)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          20.00 and 25.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 25.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Admissibility             The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility conditions    The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                          exceptions apply:
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                            Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                            states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union
                            funding.
Technology                  Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level             see General Annex B.
Legal and financial         The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant         exceptions apply:
Agreements                  The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                            applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                            for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                            the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Projects’ results are expected to contribute to all of the following
expected outcomes:
     Development of next generation innovative effective public transport systems concepts
      using full electric buses (M3228) through e-BRT.
     Present efficient, economically viable and flexible, integrated solutions of e-BRT within
      existing mass transport networks (all modes) and with personal mobility solutions (walk,
      bike, powered two-wheelers, cars etc.).
     Develop innovative, integrated, infrastructure solutions combining charging, bus-stops
      and dedicated bus lines, for both urban and peri-urban road networks.
     Development of flexible bus transport, end-user solutions, for both urban use in dense
      city centres and for less populated peri-urban environments, meeting future user
      demands of convenience, efficiency, safety and security.
     Development of an international market for European e-BRT systems, in particular, in
      countries with low offer of public transport with challenging conditions (climate,
      environment, poverty, etc.).
     Reduction of greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions as well as traffic congestion, by
      demonstrating the developed technologies and advanced electrified Bus Rapid Transit
      (e-BRT) concepts in European and in developing countries’ partner countries cities.
Scope: The scale-up phase of clean and intelligent city buses should cover the most
demanding routes, by switching the longest, fastest and busiest routes to electricity.
Therefore, the investment in innovations in city buses (e.g. clean propulsion) can be
optimized through BRT systems, as the operations can be planned, mileage is known and
228
         Category M3: motor vehicles designed and constructed primarily for the carriage of passengers and
         their luggage with more than eight seating positions in addition to the driver's seating position and
         having a maximum mass exceeding 5 tonnes.
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energy requirements can be predicted on-board since the roads and distances are familiar. As
such, revisiting the concept of BRT with new, enabling technologies and solutions offers a
key opportunity to reduce the carbon footprint of the transport sector, particularly in cities.
Demonstration and testing in real operation are expected to be developed in four or five
different European cities and at least one city in a partner country in a developing context
either in Africa or in the region of Latin American and Caribbean countries. The
demonstration activities should include mega-cities, larger/smaller cities and the link to peri-
urban, inter-urban and sub-urban dwellings in order to afford complementary solutions in test
and demonstrations. Zero tailpipe emission buses and their related infrastructure are expected
to be applied in BRT lines, in different city contexts, together with the needed integration of
e-BRT with other mass-public transport systems, and with personal mobility solutions.
Solutions include both the physical vehicles, recharging infrastructure and the overall services
offering.
Proposals are expected to address all the following:
     Electrification combined with automation and connectivity enablers229, to optimize and
      validate the whole advanced BRT system.
     Operational concepts: increasing the capacity use rate; the average commercial speed;
      punctuality / regularity.
     Synchronization with other city transport modes230; service quality whilst reducing CO2
      emissions, and cost per km/passenger.
     Replicability: use of the e-BRT technology under environmental, infrastructure and
      social conditions different from the European ones.
The focus of projects is expected to be on mass transport, full electric Bus Rapid Transit (e-
BRT) systems using full size buses (M3). Vehicle, infrastructure and operational aspects have
to be addressed, considering charging systems for stationary, opportunity231 and Electric Road
Systems (ERS) for buses (wireless, contact, SRS etc.) and strategies (IMC, Opportunity at
stops or terminal, offline charging etc.).
Proposals are expected to take into consideration the transport operators’ and transport
authorities’ needs for financial viability, effectiveness, flexibility, environment conformance,
safety and security. The impact of e-BRT technologies on bus performance and on the
frequency of necessary repair and maintenance work, the life duration of the bus, and the
costs that have to be covered at the end of the life (recycling; upgrading etc.) might have a
huge influence on the financial side and should, therefore, also be covered. The impact of the
solutions implemented in the different cities in terms of GHG emissions and traffic should
229
        e.g. big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence
230
        e.g. metro, bike-sharing, ferry
231
        e.g www.oppcharge.org
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also be quantified. Guidelines for regional and international replication conditions to reach out
a larger number of cities and countries are expected to be developed.
This topic requires the effective contribution of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH)
disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of
relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the
societal impact of the related research activities. Indeed, crosscutting issues related to socio-
economic, gender, socio-cultural, and user aspects need to be addressed with the development
of e-BRT systems in cities, taking into account location-specific characteristics of the
implementation area, such as local policy targets, population density, and cultural matters.
This will help at a better understanding and greater acceptability of such systems as well as
socioeconomic benefits.
In line with the strategy for EU international cooperation in research and innovation,
international cooperation is encouraged.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnerships on ‘Towards zero emission
road transport’ (2ZERO).
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-11: Stimulating Road Transport research and innovation
dissemination and implementation in Europe and around the World
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                       states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                       exceptions apply:
                       The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Expected Outcome: Project’s results are expected to contribute to all of the following
expected outcomes:
    Strengthen and widely promote research and innovation activities, including among the
      public/civil society, via road transport dedicated events;
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   Identify, highlight and disseminate the contribution from road transport, in particular
      from projects focused on zero tailpipe emission solutions, to the realization of the
      European Green Deal and the Paris Agreement;
   Provide a comprehensive overview of international developments in the field of road
      transport research to keep Europe competitive and successful;
   Increase of cooperation with road transport related national and international
      organizations and support of international EU activities in line with the UN Sustainable
      Development Goals;
   Contribute to identifying and analyse research and innovation areas for the future of road
      transport in the EU.
Scope: The objective of this topic is to promote sustainable road transport in Europe and at
international level. This action will contribute to a further harmonisation of research and
innovation activities, and therefore contribute to the European Research Area, as well as to
the European strategies for future transport systems. The action should also help accelerating
time to market of new mobility solutions, by stimulating a wider participation to EU activities
and supporting European and worldwide dissemination of results. In addition, this initiative
will support climate action and air quality improvement in line with the Green Deals targets
and objectives, and contribute to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals.
In line with these objectives, all the following aspects should be addressed:
   Organisation of events, conferences, workshops and dissemination activities to present
      and discuss future technology and trends, results, exchange experience and foster
      innovation aspects of road transport research and innovation;
   Identification of actions to support road transport area, in particular in the fields of
      education, training and skills at European level and standardisation and business models
      – mainly at EU level;
   Fostering of the links between European, national and (where feasible) regional
      programmes for road transport research, supporting coordination of activities with
      Member States;
   In the field of international cooperation, facilitating exchange between Europe and
      emerging economies in particular within Africa, Asia and Latin America;
   Identification of barriers for the deployment of research results and improvement of
      framework conditions at European and international level, including development of pre-
      feasibility studies at least in the specific areas of “Urban zero-emission mobility”, “Air
      quality and climate change” and “Road safety”;
   Track global progress on urban electric mobility, air quality and road safety and support
      UN activities (e.g. with UN Habitat and UNEP), and ITF/OECD;
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   Updating and coordinating research agendas and roadmaps in the field of road transport,
     in particular for urban mobility, road infrastructure, considering also road safety and
     logistics, taking into account relevant Horizon Europe partnerships and international
     activities in the field.
Aviation
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-12: Towards a silent and ultra-low local air pollution
aircraft
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 2-4 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to at least one of the following
expected outcomes:
   Deliver transformative technologies that will allow a step change in the reduction of
     local air quality (LAQ) from NOx, SOx, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and
     particulate matter (PM) that occur below 900m above ground level around airports.
     Explore synergies with land-based energy systems in Destination 3 and 4 of this Work
     Programme for the capture of these emissions and/or purification of air.
   Deliver transformative technologies towards a silent aircraft operations around airports,
     including a study on airport noise map towards assessing the airports that would most
     benefit from noise reduction policies.
   Advance further integrated and reference European models and methods for estimating
     aircraft emissions (LAQ and noise) inventories for operations in the airport vicinity,
     highly accurate estimations on the number of people affected. The models, methods and
     advancements in measurement technologies should advance further, contribute to and
     collaborate with existing ICAO CAEP and EUROCONTROL initiatives. They should
     also be aligned with H2020-ARTEM outcomes towards meeting the ACARE
     Flighpath2050 goals.
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Scope: LAQ and noise aviation emissions effect the quality of life and health. Air pollution is
the number one environmental cause of premature death in the European Union. Despite
progress in recent decades, it still causes more than 400,000 premature deaths every year, and
it brings respiratory and cardiovascular diseases to millions.
While the aviation contribution is estimated to 0.4% of the total deaths attributed annually to
global air quality degradation, aviation has a substantial impact on local air pollution around
airport areas and efforts are ongoing to reduce it further. Aircraft noise remains a matter of
concerns for airports and local authorities despite significant improvements, due to anticipated
increase of total number of flights in Europe (could reach 12.8 million by 2035 – despite the
present COVID-19 disruption).
Regarding the reduction of local air quality (LAQ) from NOx and particulate matter (PM), the
selected technologies may consider sustainable drop-in and non-drop-in fuel options, aligned
with EU industrial roadmaps and R&I activities in topic HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01-05.
Regarding the reductions of aviation noise around airports, the selected technologies should
consider propulsion and aircraft-propulsion integration interdependencies as well as
operational air-traffic management procedures.
This topic aims to support the EU and ICAO LAQ and noise policies. This topic aims for new
aircraft and engine technologies that satisfy the design and operational interdependencies
between CO2, non-CO2 and noise emissions, are compatible with approved operational
procedures and are aligned with the European industrial roadmaps for further development,
validation and integration beyond 2030.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-13: Digital aviation technologies for new aviation business
models, services, emerging global threats and industrial competitiveness
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 2-4 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to at least one of the following
expected outcomes:
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   Transformative digital aviation technologies that will enable new European business
      models and products (e.g. Urban Air-Mobility (UAM), seaplanes) with minimal
      environmental impact and opportunities for European competitiveness.
   Transformative digital aviation and space technologies as well as Unmanned Aircraft
      Systems (UAS), that will enable new services with pronounced societal impact for
      intermodal and multimodal transport, search and rescue operations, fast response to
      natural disasters, freight, firefighting, high altitude earth data-services, agriculture and
      forestry.
   New aviation products and services that exploit Artificial Intelligence and have
      pronounced impact to productivity, efficiency, automation and cost reduction.
   Breakthrough technologies that will minimise the risks from emerging global threats
      (cybersecurity, COVID-19) as well as increase the resilience of aircraft systems from
      increasing frequency of extreme weather conditions (e.g. temperature change, wind
      patterns). Technologies that address applications in difficult to access areas, including
      the open sea emergency response, avalanches, landslides and floods are within the scope
      of the topic.
   Transformative and breakthrough technologies that exploit synergies with aviation,
      space and defence. The development of materials and components for high-power
      density electrical architectures at high altitude environment (e.g. cabling, insulation,
      power electronics) are within the scope of this topic.
Scope: On 10 March 2020 the Commission presented a new Strategy to help Europe's
industry lead the twin transitions towards climate neutrality and digital leadership. Europe
needs industry to become greener, more circular and more digital while remaining
competitive on the global stage.
The topic aims to enable new digital aviation technologies for new aircraft business models
and services, (e.g. EGNSS-based search and rescue, urban air-mobility, firefighting, AI-based
technologies, digital data platforms) as well as minimise the risk from emerging threats
(extreme weather phenomena, cybersecurity, COVID-19 communicable diseases) to aviation.
Synergies with other EU initiatives should be exploited towards European digital platforms
that deliver insights and analytics for citizens, businesses and decision makers.
Third-country participation should guarantee and respect European IPR, interests and values.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01-14: European Aviation Research Policy in support to EU
policies and initiatives
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       0.50 and 2.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
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project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 2-4 by the end of the project,
Readiness Level       where applicable – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to one of the following expected
outcomes:
   Deliver at mid-term of Horizon Europe an update of European aviation R&I roadmap,
      while ensuring the alignment with the EU regulatory framework.
   Deliver a coherent framework and toolbox for technology and policy assessment of the
      impact of European aviation research – with emphasis to GHG emissions, local air-
      quality and noise. Ensure coordination with EPCA, IATM, HFC, ACARE and ASD,
      taking into consideration the work performed in the CS2 Technology Evaluator and the
      envisioned Clean Aviation Impact Monitor in its environmental, scientific, societal and
      economic dimensions.
   Support EU Member States/Associated Countries towards a coherent update of ICAO
      standards that will prevent backsliding.
   Connect better European aviation R&I with education and skills and communicate the
      European aviation R&I to citizens and stakeholders.
   Strengthen ERA in Aviation R&I, assess the R&I needs of European SMEs and promote
      aeronautics/aerospace spin-offs in all aspects of life.
   Strengthen the synergies between all aviation-relevant R&I activities in Horizon Europe.
Scope: In 2021, the European R&I will operate in a new European and global political
context, with a new EU budget, new policy priorities, and a new R&I programme. As the
Commission moves away from program implementation, while works much closer with
Member States, a new European aviation research policy framework is necessary. This
aviation WP is a representative example that aims towards EU policies and priorities
(European Green Deal and new European industrial policy).
The European aviation research policy aims to contribute with science-based informed
decisions that will bridge the gap between R&I, regulatory framework and economic
investments (with emphasis on climate neutrality by 2050 and European competitiveness).
The European aviation research policy also aims to connect better European aviation R&I
with education and skills as well as communicate the European aviation R&I to citizens and
stakeholders.
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Destination – Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for
passengers and goods
This Destination includes activities addressing safe and smart mobility services for passengers
and goods.
Europe needs to manage the transformation of supply-based transport into safe, resilient and
sustainable transport and demand-driven, smart mobility services for passengers and goods.
Suitable research and innovation will enable significant safety, environmental, economic and
social benefits by reducing accidents caused by human error, decreasing traffic congestion,
reducing energy consumption and emissions of vehicles, increasing efficiency and
productivity of freight transport operations. To succeed in this transformation, Europe’s
ageing (and not always sustainable) transport infrastructure needs to be prepared for enabling
cleaner and smarter operations.
Europe needs also to maintain a high-level of transport safety for its citizens. Resilience
should be built in the transport systems to prevent, mitigate and recover from disruptions.
Research and innovation will underpin the three safety pillars: technologies, regulations and
human factors.
This Destination contributes to the following Strategic Plan’s Key Strategic Orientations
(KSO):
     C: Making Europe the first digitally enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable
      economy through the transformation of its mobility, energy, construction and production
      systems;
     A: Promoting an open strategic autonomy232 by leading the development of key digital,
      enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains to accelerate and steer
      the digital and green transitions through human-centred technologies and innovations.
It covers the following impact areas:
     Industrial leadership in key and emerging technologies that work for people;
     Smart and sustainable transport.
The expected impact, in line with the Strategic Plan, is to contribute to “Safe, seamless,
smart, inclusive, resilient and sustainable mobility systems for people and goods thanks to
user-centric technologies and services including digital technologies and advanced satellite
navigation services”, notably through:
232
        ‘Open strategic autonomy’ refers to the term ‘strategic autonomy while preserving an open economy’,
        as reflected in the conclusions of the European Council 1 – 2 October 2020.
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  a. Accelerating the implementation of innovative connected, cooperative and automated
      mobility (CCAM) technologies and systems for passengers and goods (more detailed
      information below).
  b. Further developing a multimodal transport system through sustainable and smart long-
      haul and urban freight transport and logistics, upgraded and resilient physical and digital
      infrastructures for smarter vehicles and operations, for optimised system-wide network
      efficiency (more detailed information below).
  c. Drastically decreasing the number of transport accidents, incidents and fatalities
      towards the EU’s long-term goal of moving close to zero fatalities and serious injuries
      by 2050 even in road transportation (Vision Zero) and increase the resilience of
      transport systems (more detailed information below).
Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM)
The aim of relevant topics under this Destination is to accelerate the implementation of
innovative connected, cooperative and automated mobility (CCAM) technologies and
systems. Actions will help to develop new mobility concepts for passengers and goods –
enabled by CCAM - leading to healthier, safer, more accessible, sustainable, cost-effective
and demand-responsive transport everywhere. CCAM solutions will shift design and
development from a driver-centred to mobility-user oriented approach, providing viable
alternatives for private vehicle ownership while increasing inclusiveness of mobility. CCAM
must be integrated in the whole transport system to fully exploit the potential benefits of
CCAM and minimise potential adverse effects, such as increasingly congested traffic or new
risks in mixed traffic environments.
The focus is on road transport, but relevant interfaces with other modes (for instance transfers
and integration with public transport or rail freight transport) will be considered.
All technologies, solutions, testing and demonstration activities resulting from these actions
should be documented fully and transparently, to ensure replicability, increase adoption, up-
scaling, assist future planning decisions and EU and national policy-making and increase
citizen buy-in.
Actions are in line with the recommendations of the new European Partnership on CCAM.
The Vision of the Partnership is: “European leadership in safe and sustainable road transport
through automation”. It aims to harmonise European R&I efforts to accelerate the
implementation of innovative CCAM technologies and services. It aims to exploit the full
systemic benefits of new mobility solutions enabled by CCAM. The European Partnership on
CCAM plans to closely cooperate with other European Partnerships, in particular with
“Towards zero emission road transport” (2ZERO), “Driving Urban Transitions” (DUT), “Key
digital technologies” (KDT), “Smart networks and services” (SNS) and “AI, data and
robotics” (AI). The European Partnership will establish cooperation mechanisms to ensure
close interaction when defining R&I actions to maximise synergies and avoid overlaps.
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R&I actions taking place at a socio-technical level aiming to better understand the science-
society relationship (particularly when social practices, market uptake or ownership are
concerned) should favour solutions that are grounded in social innovation in order to achieve
its desired outcomes, i.e. by matching innovative ideas with social needs and by forming new
collaborations between public and private actors, including civil society and researchers from
the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH).
To test CCAM solutions, applicants can seek possibilities of involving the European
Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) in order to valorise the relevant expertise and
physical facilities of JRC in demonstrating and testing energy and mobility applications of the
JRC Living Lab for Future Urban Ecosystems https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/research-
facility/living-labs-at-the-jrc
The main impacts to be generated by topics targeting connected, cooperative and automated
mobility under this Destination are:
    Validated safety and security, improved robustness and resilience of CCAM
      technologies and systems.
    Secure and trustworthy interaction between road users, CCAM and “conventional”
      vehicles, infrastructure and services to achieve safer and more efficient transport flows
      (people and goods) and better use of infrastructure capacity.
    Seamless, affordable and user oriented CCAM based mobility and goods deliveries for
      all and high public acceptance of these services with clear understanding of its benefits
      and limits as well as rebound effects; based on the changing mobility needs and desires
      of a society in transition (digitally and environmentally).
    Better coordination of R&I and large-scale testing activities in Europe and expanded
      knowledge base on CCAM solutions.
    European leadership in the development and deployment of connected and automated
      mobility and logistics services and systems, ensuring long-term growth and jobs.
Multimodal and sustainable transport systems for passengers and goods
Multimodal and sustainable transport systems are the backbone for efficient mobility of
passengers and freight. In particular, the areas of infrastructure, logistics and network/traffic
management play a major role in making mobility and transport climate neutral, also through
the digitalisation of the sectors. At the same time, being vulnerable to climate change and
other disruptions, resilience in these three areas need to be increased. New and advanced
infrastructures across all transport modes are required to enable the introduction of new
vehicles, operations and mobility services. Furthermore, efficient and smart multimodal
logistics are key for seamless and sustainable long-haul, regional and urban freight transport
movements. Finally, dynamic multimodal network and traffic management systems are the
“glue” of the entire transport network, for optimised door-to-door mobility of both passengers
and freight.
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To test solutions related to multimodal and sustainable transport systems for passengers and
good, applicants may seek possibilities of involving the European Commission’s Joint
Research Centre (JRC) in order to valorise the relevant expertise and physical facilities of
JRC in demonstrating and testing energy and mobility applications of the JRC Living Lab for
Future Urban Ecosystems233.
The main impacts to be generated by topics targeting Multimodal and sustainable transport
systems for passengers and goods under this Destination are:
     Upgraded and resilient physical and digital infrastructure for clean, accessible,
      affordable, connected and automated multimodal mobility.
     Sustainable and smart long-haul, regional and urban freight transport and logistics,
      through increased efficiency, improved interconnectivity and smart enforcement.
     Reduced external costs (e.g. congestion, traffic jams, emissions, air and noise pollution,
      road collisions) of urban, peri-urban (regional) and long distance freight transport as well
      as optimised system-wide network efficiency and resilience.
     Enhanced local and/or regional capacity for governance and innovation in urban
      mobility and logistics.
Safety and resilience - per mode and across all transport modes
Safety and resilience are of primary concern for any transport system. The EU set ambitious
targets in its 2011 Transport White Paper, the third Mobility Package and, more recently, the
Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy 234 . COVID-19 has been a stark reminder of the
importance of resilience to external disruptions, particularly for transport. Research and
innovation will underpin the three pillars affecting safety and resilience: technologies;
regulations (alongside acceptable level of risks); and human factors (individual and
organisational aspects, including interaction with automation). The approach is risk-based and
systemic, including transport means/vehicles, infrastructure, the physical environment (e.g.
weather) and the various actors (e.g. manufacturers, regulators, operators, users) as well as all
their interfaces, including certification and standardisation bodies.
Synergies should be exploited across research at national, EU and international level together
with national authorities, EU agencies and international organisations to improve rulemaking,
safety promotion and oversight.
The main impacts to be generated by topics targeting transport safety and resilience under this
Destination are:
Safety in Urban Areas/ Road Transport Safety
     50% reduction in serious injuries and fatalities in road crashes by 2030.
233
         https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/research-facility/living-labs-at-the-jrc
234
         COM(2020) 789 final.
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   Improved reliability and performance of systems that aim to anticipate and minimize
     safety risks, avoiding risks and collisions, and reducing the consequences of unavoidable
     crashes.
   Drastic reduction of road fatalities and serious crash injuries in low and medium income
     countries in Africa.
   Better design principles of future road transport systems enabling also better traffic flow
     in big cities.
Waterborne Safety and Resilience
   Ensure healthy passenger shipping by preventing and mitigating the spread of contagious
     diseases and infections.
Aviation Safety and Resilience
   Decrease number of accidents and incidents due to organisational/human/automation
     factors and external hazards in all phases of flight, also beyond CAT category (80% goal
     in FlightPath2050), while enabling all weather operations.
   Saving lives following a crash (post-crash survivability).
   Anticipate emergence of new threats that could generate potential accidents and
     incidents (short, medium, and long term).
   Ensure safety through aviation transformation (from green/digital technologies uptake up
     to independent certification).
   Maintain safety and resilience despite the scale, pace and diversity of new entrants.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
             Call                         Budgets (EUR million)            Deadline(s)
                                        2021                    2022
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01 167.00                                              19 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01                                    122.00           12 Jan 2022
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02                                    91.00            06 Sep 2022
Overall indicative budget        167.00                   213.00
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Call - Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goods
                                                                           HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)235
                Topics                     Type         Budgets            Expected EU            Number
                                             of          (EUR        contribution per project         of
                                          Action        million)        (EUR million)236           projects
                                                                                                  expected
                                                          2021                                      to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 24 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 19 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-01 IA                          15.00 237      6.00 to 8.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-02 RIA                         15.00 238      12.00 to 15.00               1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-03 IA                          18.00          7.00 to 9.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-04 RIA                         12.00 239      5.00 to 6.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-05 RIA                         8.00 240       3.00 to 4.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-06 RIA                         6.00           5.00 to 6.00                 1
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-07 IA                          15.00 241      7.00 to 8.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-08 IA                          15.00 242      7.00 to 8.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-09 IA                          23.00 243      Around 7.50                  3
235
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
236
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
237
        Of which EUR 7.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
238
        Of which EUR 7.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
239
        Of which EUR 2.40 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
240
        Of which EUR 4.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
241
        Of which EUR 7.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
242
        Of which EUR 7.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-10 RIA                      12.00          3.50 to 4.00              3
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-11 RIA                      8.00           Around 4.00               2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-12 RIA                      8.00           3.00 to 5.00              2
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-13 IA                       12.00 244      4.00 to 8.00              2
Overall indicative budget                          167.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                  The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                               C.
Award criteria                                          The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                        D.
Documents                                               The documents are described in General
                                                        Annex E.
Procedure                                               The procedure is described in General
                                                        Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                 The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM)
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-01: More powerful and reliable on-board perception and
decision-making technologies addressing complex environmental conditions (CCAM
Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         6.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
243
        Of which EUR 11.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
244
        Of which EUR 6.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Admissibility            The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility conditions   The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                         exceptions apply:
                         If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning,
                         navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must
                         make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and
                         services may additionally be used).
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level          see General Annex B.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                         applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                         for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                         the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Determination of the appropriate compositions of cost-efficient sensor suites that most
     effectively and reliably deliver the lateral, spatial and temporal resolution needed for
     real-time driving decision-making of Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs).
   Ability to perform advanced environment and traffic recognition and prediction, limiting
     false detections and non-detections of obstacles, with particular attention to Vulnerable
     Road Users (VRU), in order to reduce existing disparities in the harm-to-exposure ratios
     of these vulnerable groups.
   Ability to determine the appropriate course of action of a CAV in a real world
     environment with a wide range of traffic scenarios and identify use cases in which the
     vehicle’s decision-making might be contradictory to existing traffic rules (e.g. to make
     way for a priority vehicle, to obey police officers directing traffic).
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   Availability of robust, transparent and accurate systems to enable the safe and reliable
      operation of automated vehicles in expanding Operational Design Domains (ODDs)
      including all weather conditions, complex urban environments, challenges in rural
      environments, etc.
   Standardization mandate for performance requirements for environment perception
      systems with respect to different automation levels and ODDs.
Scope: To achieve secure and trustworthy interaction between vehicles, infrastructure and
road users, robust (e.g. weather resilient) and accurate on-board environment positioning and
perception systems are essential for the extraction of reliable information required for real-
time driving decision-making. Furthermore, advanced on-board decision-making
functionalities need to handle the diversity of use cases in their respective operational
domains. Such functionalities have to guarantee the safety and reliability of future automated
vehicles, which will integrate complex in-vehicle systems-of-systems with advanced sensors,
control and actuators, relying on extensive computational power and an increased dependency
on software for decision-making.
The proposed actions are expected to address the development and demonstration of each of
the following aspects:
   More powerful and reliable embedded in-vehicle perception systems with increased
      performance, (weather) resilience and accuracy based on enhanced sensing, localization
      (with reliable, dynamic, high-definition digital maps, reliable and precise location from
      EU satellite navigation services) and improved object/person classification and cognition
      (with greater integration with infrastructure-based perception systems and other vehicles
      to complete data fusion and real time updates).
   System self-assessment methods for environment perception technologies and improved
      hardware integration into the vehicle need also to avoid reliability issues due to
      environmental stresses, temperature shifts, vibrations, potential malicious attacks, low
      speed crashes, etc.
   On-board, real-time, fail-safe, unambiguous and traceable decision-making systems for
      safe Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) based on complex in-vehicle systems-
      of-systems requiring extensive computational power and highly advanced algorithms in
      order to address complex traffic scenarios (with VRU). These systems should be cost
      effective and respecting the protection of personal data with improved minimum risk
      manoeuvres in the event that the limit of the ODD is reached or in the case of a
      malfunction.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is advised, in particular
with projects or partners from the US, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Singapore, Australia.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Connected, Cooperative
and Automated Mobility’ (CCAM).
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HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-02: Common approaches for the safety validation of
CCAM systems (CCAM Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          12.00 and 15.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level           General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Common methodologies and tools for the safety validation of CCAM systems defined,
      accepted and validated
         by the CCAM value chain and its R&I partners for the efficient verification of
            CCAM systems in their R&I and product development processes;
         by authorities and certification bodies for the validation of CCAM systems within
            type approval schemes and in future exemption procedures;
         and by consumer testing campaigns for the safety rating of automated vehicles
            assisting users in identifying the safest choices for their needs.
     Verification, validation and rating procedures based on realistic and relevant test cases
      generated from an openly accessible European database, compliant with the FAIR data
      principles245, providing the widest possible range of relevant scenarios, which CCAM
      systems will potentially encounter on European roads as a basis for robust system
      design.
Scope: A decisive factor for the successful implementation of innovative CCAM technologies
and for their acceptance and adoption in society will be assuring the effective safety of
CCAM systems.
While different assessment methods for automated driving functions have been developed,
common standard methodologies meeting all the requirements for testing, validation and
245
        FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). Further information: https://www.go-
        fair.org/fair-principles/; and Final Report and Action Plan from the European Commission Expert
        Group          on        FAIR         Data,        “TURNING           FAIR   INTO   REALITY”
        (https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/turning_fair_into_reality_0.pdf)
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certification of all levels and use cases of automated driving do not yet exist. Therefore,
consensus building between all stakeholders is urgently needed to establish common,
validated methodologies and tools. Existing approaches are currently analysed in Horizon
2020, an experts’ network has been set up and validation concepts are demonstrated for
selected use cases e.g. in the HEADSTART project246.
Proposed actions should move the development of common verification and validation
methodologies to a new level by widening substantially the scope of use cases addressed and
by preparing the required tools to enable the comprehensive safety verification and validation
of CCAM systems. This should take into account mixed traffic situations and include
functional safety issues and cybersecurity. Such methodologies and tools should allow for
their further development and adaptation with future technological evolution. Scenario-based
approaches combining virtual and physical testing are needed, as conventional verification
and validation approaches would require hundreds of millions of test kilometres for higher
levels of CCAM.
Proposed actions are expected to develop a commonly accepted and harmonised simulation
environment with standardised, open interfaces and quality controlled data exchange to enable
the virtual testing of CCAM functions and systems in a multitude of relevant test cases and to
enable the efficient and seamless use of validated models from different sources.
The validation of CCAM systems depends on the definition of relevant safety-critical
scenarios and test cases. Several national and European projects have started to collect such
scenarios and store them in databases. There is, however, no European database of relevant
scenarios nor an agreed database structure. Scenario descriptions also need to be harmonised
and not all relevant scenarios are known. Therefore, proposals need to define and develop
processes and tools to continuously identify relevant events and convert them into detailed
scenarios from various sources (including accidents), complemented by an ontology-based
tool to define relevant future/theoretical scenarios. Diverse weather, lighting and road
conditions, a broad spectrum of behaviour of other road users as well as edge cases should be
considered. Following the collection of such scenarios, which can partly be derived from
other projects and collaborations, scenarios need to be shared and centrally stored in a
European database. This database should be established by the proposed actions based on an
agreed structure and a harmonised scenario description (ontology layer) and metadata
framework, in line with the FAIR data principles.
Proposed actions are expected to develop recommendations for harmonisation,
standardisation and homologation including the conceptual description of an approval scheme
for CCAM systems considering all types of vehicles and fed into on-going discussions
regarding EU type vehicle approval rules as well as in the framework of the UNECE.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions, as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
246
        https://www.headstart-project.eu/
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meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is advised, in particular
with projects or partners from the US, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Singapore, Australia.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Connected, Cooperative
and Automated Mobility’ (CCAM).
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-03: Physical and Digital Infrastructure (PDI), connectivity
and cooperation enabling and supporting CCAM (CCAM Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         7.00 and 9.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 18.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Admissibility            The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility conditions   The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                         exceptions apply:
                         If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning,
                         navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must
                         make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and
                         services may additionally be used).
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level          see General Annex B.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                         applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                         for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                         the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
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For Area A:
   Common understanding of requirements and minimum set of infrastructure adaptations
     for the physical and digital infrastructure for CCAM systems and services, in mixed
     traffic with conventional vehicles and other road users and modes of transport.
   Description and development of service architectures of PDI for CCAM systems and
     services and agreed classification of infrastructure support levels stimulating EU-
     wide/global harmonisation for classification of infrastructure support.
   PDI support concepts of proven maturity (technically, functionally, etc.), developed in
     cooperation with road users and vehicle manufacturers to extend their Operational
     Design Domains (ODD), and ready for large-scale demonstration actions.
For Area B:
   Connectivity and cooperation enablers and needs for higher levels of automation
     identified and assessed, based on a detailed use-case-approach for the CCAM mobility
     system.
   Requirements for availability (e.g. coverage, security) and performance of connectivity
     and cooperation enablers (e.g. data rates, latency, robustness and redundancy, quality of
     service, resilience against cyberattacks) specified per use case, meeting requirements of
     functional safety and safety-critical applications.
   Ensured quality of and trust in external data by common definitions (incl. quality
     indicators definition) meeting requirements of cross-border interoperability and
     continuity.
   Feasible and sustainable concepts for and provision of road infrastructure coverage
     (short- and long-range connectivity along the road network) developed to enable CCAM
     services, included in testing at living labs and ready for large scale demonstration.
Scope: Physical and Digital Infrastructure (PDI), connectivity as well as cooperative
information and action represent important resources which enable and support the integration
of vehicles in the entire transport system. Road authorities and operators can provide essential
PDI information to vehicles, road users and other modes of transport. As a complement,
connectivity and cooperation are important capabilities of the full range of V2X actors
(vehicles, infrastructures, vulnerable road users etc.). This is a necessary condition to proceed
towards CCAM services in a developing CCAM ecosystem (involving benefits for e.g. road
and mobility users, manufacturers across sectors, traffic management actors).
Actions are expected to address the activities either under area A) Physical and Digital
Infrastructure (PDI) supporting CCAM or under area B) Connectivity and cooperation as
enablers for CCAM and advanced traffic management while taking into account the
complementing nature of both areas.
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Area A: Physical and Digital Infrastructure (PDI) supporting CCAM
The Physical and Digital Infrastructure (PDI) is pivotal to improve CCAM services. The
physical elements of infrastructure include markings, road signs, layout, etc., while the digital
components encompass digitised spatial network including relevant traffic rules and
regulations, input from road-side sensors, HD maps integrating static and dynamic data, etc.
PDI support will particularly help in more challenging geographical or weather conditions,
and can mitigate failure situations or gaps in the Operational Design Domain (ODD).
Research results so far have shown that the definition of ODD and infrastructure support level
requirements serve as common basis of physical and digital infrastructure attributes in
different Operational Environments (e.g. highly complex urban, interurban and motorway,
peri-urban, dense traffic). Proposals are expected to develop a service architecture built upon
this basis, which improves the functionality of highly automated vehicles by supporting their
“sense, plan and act” ability. This service architecture will provide PDI support, which offers
a finer gradation of dynamic traffic management regulations and can further increase the
functional safety and the traffic efficiency – or more general, the performance – of CCAM
services. Secure and trustworthy interaction between vehicles, infrastructure, and third-party
services needs to be ensured, as well as addressing the aspect of maintenance/evolution for
both types of infrastructure.
Proposed actions should build upon recent work of the CCAM Platform on classifying PDI
elements247 and develop a comprehensive classification scheme that also allows for describing
the PDI support (and the regular update) on road network sections (what, where, when).
R&I actions should advance the technological readiness of PDI support (e.g. Proof-of-
Concept) to level 6/7 on the way towards (pre-) deployment as an important contribution to
large-scale demonstration actions.
Recurring technology and process innovation however bears the risk that investment,
especially in sectors with long cycles, are devalued well before their (end of) lifetime. It is
crucial to balance premature action versus deferral of decision making and proposed actions
should therefore analyse the risks, benefits and required investments in PDI support and
provide guidance towards minimum adaptations of PDI that provide a substantial and
sustainable added value to CCAM.
Proposals should take into account that EU-wide/global harmonisation is key in this R&I
action, enabling broad uptake of services in the common single market and paving the way
towards coordinated deployment of necessary infrastructure support for CCAM. Potential
needs for standardisation or input for future regulatory action should be developed.
247
        To gain a deeper understanding how infrastructure can support CCAM, CCAM Platform WG 3
        (Physical and Digital Road Infrastructure) is working on a matrix linking physical and digital
        infrastructure attributes to basic driving tasks of sense – plan – act. Moreover, the WG 3 scoping paper
        provides recommendations for follow-up actions addressed to the CCAM partnership, a.o. to identify
        pre-deployment opportunities. More information on Working Group 3 of the CCAM Platform:
        https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm?do=groupDetail.groupDetail&groupID=3657
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Area B: Connectivity and cooperation as enablers for CCAM and advanced traffic
management
CCAM systems and services as well as advanced traffic management use connectivity and
cooperation for e.g. exchanging information on status and intentions, realising collective
perception, planning cooperative manoeuvres on roads, negotiating slots (time, space) for
executing manoeuvres. The first generation of C-ITS services (Day 1 services), limited to
provide status information, represents a prominent example of grown technological readiness
that have recently made their way into deployment in vehicles and the road infrastructure. The
next wave of services, also taking advantage of emerging technologies, should enable
connected cooperative automated mobility. Proposals have to build upon or further progress
already deployed services, first concepts and message designs for next generation C-ITS
services, as developed in C-ROADS, as well as insight from ongoing 5G Corridors for
Connected and Automated Mobility. Proposed actions should address and sufficiently test all
the following aspects in real traffic conditions:
   Data provision through communication channels from external sources (e.g. road status,
      traffic and weather conditions from vehicle external sources) increasing the functionality
      of CCAM services and traffic management as well as road safety, traffic efficiency and
      environmental protection.
   Ensuring interoperability and continuity of services, backwards compatibility of
      proposed solutions, supporting a mixed use or range of technologies (hybrid
      communication) while ensuring privacy and security for all, in all communication
      channels.
Because of the enabling nature of connectivity and cooperation as well as cross-sector links,
proposed research has to contribute to an integrated collaborative perspective of CCAM.
Proposals should include in research and testing all relevant actors across sectors to co-design
CCAM services. Proposals should also embrace the necessity to come up with concepts for a
sustainable organisation of the necessary co-investment, co-management and joint
implementation of CCAM.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is advised for all projects
of this topic, in particular with projects or partners from the US, Japan, Canada, South Korea,
Singapore, Australia.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Connected, Cooperative
and Automated Mobility’ (CCAM).
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-04:              Cyber       secure     and resilient CCAM       (CCAM
Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 5.00
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contribution per      and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Safe and secure operation of CCAM vehicles and mobility systems and services,
      enhancing trust and end user adoption of CCAM solutions.
   Cybersecurity requirements including data security and access control enabling
      harmonised approaches and tools for data sharing.
   Improved understanding of the new, emerging and specific CCAM related cyber security
      and resilience challenges, by using the contextual definition, including sector specific
      security features.
   Inclusion of cybersecurity and resilience as an integral part into the development process
      of CCAM solutions by OEMs, Tiers, telecom providers and service providers, with
      common aims and objectives, frameworks/architectures and designs.
   Cybersecure data sharing approaches from pilot applications towards CCAM on a
      harmonised larger scale.
Scope: Safe and secure operation of vehicles and mobility systems is key to the further
deployment of CCAM enabled mobility solutions, also to establish trust and acceptance
amongst end users. Extending the system domains beyond the vehicle through connectivity
(short range or networked) makes cybersecurity a fundamental building block for trusted
(digital) interaction of road users with each other, the infrastructure and cloud-based
solutions/services. Systems for CCAM need to be fail-operational and cyber-secure in their
entire Operational Design Domains (ODD) guaranteeing a safe and secure operation of
vehicles -independent of the respective security level the element or system has within its
ODD.
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Cybersecurity needs to be an integral part of the development process, with common aims and
objectives, frameworks/architectures, and designs (including normal operation, decision
making and actuation as well as anomaly detection).
Proposed R&I actions are expected to develop and validate methods and tools strengthening
the security of CCAM solutions (vehicles, infrastructure, etc.). They involve specific security
building blocks, which are ready-to-use in CCAM applications in vehicles, infrastructure with
feasible communication protocols. As a system’s approach integrating vehicles, infrastructure,
back-offices and mobility service centres is required, proposed actions are expected to
develop harmonised interfaces and protocols.
Further R&I actions have to address continuous assessment of the robustness and resilience of
CCAM enabled mobility solutions versus cyber-attacks, malfunction, misuse or system failure
of the systems in use.
Actions should consider the security value chain at each level – from vehicle parts up to the
transport infrastructure including the related services (e.g. maintenance, mobility) and
protecting the user’s privacy and guaranteeing data integrity and authenticity. Actions should
propose easy to use and re-use of best practices in cybersecurity for CCAM (i.e. architecture,
design and implementation patterns).
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is advised, in particular
with projects or partners from the US, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Singapore, Australia.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Connected, Cooperative
and Automated Mobility’ (CCAM).
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-05: Analysis of socio-economic and environmental impacts
and assessment of societal, citizen and user aspects for needs based CCAM solutions
(CCAM Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      3.00 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
For Area A:
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   A well-founded understanding of effects and impacts (positive as well as negative),
     benefits and costs of CCAM systems and services (short, medium, long-term).
   Methods and indicators to assess the impacts of CCAM solutions on mobility and wider
     socio-economic and environmental aspects (public health, land use/infrastructure need,
     accessibility, affordability, economy, employment, working conditions and required
     skills, energy use, air quality, carbon emissions, etc.).
   Definition of KPIs incorporating societal targets with individual mobility needs.
   Methods and tools for CCAM developers and manufacturers, authorities, municipalities
     and citizens enabling design and decision-making based on an integrated understanding
     of all its possible short, medium and long-term impacts, thereby avoiding negative
     rebound effects, such as discrimination or bias towards certain user groups, like women,
     the elderly, and disabled persons, but also ethnic minorities, persons from low income
     backgrounds, persons with varying digital literacy and skills, and those living in rural or
     peri-urban areas.
   Input for the design and evaluation of CCAM partnership activities, in particular for the
     large-scale demonstrators (ex-ante and ex-post) and for public engagement activities
     aimed at realistically informing users of CCAM capabilities and expectations.
For Area B:
   Methods and measures that capture the mobility needs of European citizens in the
     context of economic, social and environmental objectives at national, regional and local
     levels and that provide guidance on how to engage with citizens on CCAM solutions
     aiming to address these needs.
   Robust and documented knowledge (e.g. knowledge maps) of users’ and implementers’
     expectations, concerns and desires with regards to CCAM solutions for the mobility of
     persons and goods, with special attention to the needs of vulnerable users and under-
     researched groups, including women, disabled persons, and the elderly, but also ethnic
     minorities, persons from low income backgrounds, persons with varying digital literacy
     and skills, and those living in rural or peri-urban areas. This knowledge is to be
     integrated into the design and development of CCAM solutions to support these specific
     needs.
   Tools that allow CCAM developers, deployers and public authorities to implement user-
     centred CCAM solutions that effectively contribute to societal targets, including equity,
     and the uptake of CCAM systems at regional level.
   Recommendations for large-scale demonstration projects to include user and societal
     aspects taking into account location-specific characteristics of the implementation area,
     such as local policy targets, population density, and cultural matters.
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All the above expected outcomes should support the uptake of CCAM solutions (including
acceptance and adoption).
Scope: With the increasing digitalisation of road transport, CCAM solutions have the
potential to deliver an improved quality of life, by increasing safety and providing more
sustainable and inclusive mobility solutions. However, for these solutions to be successful, a
comprehensive understanding of all effects of CCAM on individuals, society and the
environment over time is needed. Moreover, the successful deployment of CCAM solutions
will depend on their availability and accessibility to future users, including the deploying
organisations, as well as on the willingness of the general public to use and accept future
CCAM solutions.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions, as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.To make sure that the proposed actions reflect the realities of a society with
changing mobility, digital and environmental needs, participatory processes with a wide and
diverse range of future user groups, civil society organisations, citizens, experts, deployers
and decision makers at various levels are strongly encouraged. The resulting methods and
tools should therefore be designed and developed in a co-creation manner between authorities,
municipalities and citizens, as well as CCAM developers and manufacturers. To this end, it is
recommended to develop solutions that are grounded in social innovation.
Actions must address the activities either under area A) Analysis of socio-economic and
environmental impacts of CCAM systems and services OR under area B) Assessment of
societal, citizen and user aspects for needs-based CCAM solution development and
deployment.
Area A: Analysis of socio-economic and environmental impacts of CCAM systems and
services
The analysis of CCAM benefits and risks are, or have been, addressed in R&I projects, which
has resulted in the creation of several impact assessment frameworks and decision support
tools. However, these are not sufficiently comprehensive and lack a higher-level systems
approach to fully understand and assess the short, medium and long-term risks of CCAM
solutions on societal and environmental aspects. The maturity level of existing assessment
tools varies: the analysis of accident risk of automated vehicles has been considered
extensively, while the understanding of wider health and equity effects on users’ mobility
experience is much less developed.
Actions will enhance existing methods/frameworks or develop new, broader, more
comprehensive and inclusive methods for the assessment of how CCAM solutions, systems
and services impact mobility and wider socio-economic and environmental aspects to ensure
that the design of CCAM solutions are tailored to evolving mobility and environmental needs.
The proposed actions should include all the following aspects:
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     Develop comprehensive impact assessment methods that cover the full range of effects
      of CCAM systems and services by taking a systems perspective that includes e.g. effects
      on jobs, health, inclusiveness, affordability and access to essential services, environment.
     For these methods, existing KPIs should be reviewed and updated if needed. In addition,
      new KPIs need to be developed, to capture aspects like equity in terms of access to
      mobility, or sustainability. User expectations towards e.g. comfort, perceived safety,
      necessary digital skills and access to information should also be addressed with
      qualitative assessments (e.g. observations, surveys, interviews).
     Ensure practical usefulness of these methods by addressing regional specifics within
      Europe, as well as the evolving needs and dynamics of a society in transition towards
      more sustainable and shared mobility for both people and goods.
     Cover under-researched fields in terms of impact assessment of CCAM solutions, such
      as the inclusion of underserviced or socio-economically challenged geographical areas
      and specific population groups.
Area B: Assessment of societal, citizen and user aspects for needs-based CCAM solution
development and deployment
The assessment of societal, citizen and user aspects of CCAM has been addressed in a number
of Horizon 2020 projects248, typically focusing on the acceptance of automated vehicles by
drivers and the public, driver needs and trust, and ways to increase driver performance. Yet
the assessment of CCAM solutions in terms of inclusiveness, equity and accessibility is
lacking in most R&I projects, and rarely goes beyond considering gender, disability and age.
While these categories need sustained attention, persons with different income levels,
different digital experiences, literacy and access, as well as people living in rural or peri-urban
areas, are examples of user groups that also need to be included in these assessment criteria so
that extensive analyses of user needs and expectations can be carried out.
The aim is to proactively consider all user groups and societal objectives in the design and
development phases of CCAM solutions.
The proposed actions should include all the following aspects:
     Develop and apply a systems approach for better understanding and considering user and
      societal needs, desires and expectations related to CCAM solutions, systems and
      services. A broad understanding of “users” is to be applied, including persons, public
      institutions such as hospitals and schools, organisations and businesses.
     Analyse equity aspects related to the deployment of CCAM solutions in terms of e.g.
      income level and solutions for deprived or underserviced areas, digital access and access
248
        SUaaVE       (http://www.suaave.eu/),     PAsCAL          (https://www.pascal-project.eu), Trustonomy
        (https://h2020-trustonomy.eu/), Levitate (https://levitate-project.eu)
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     to essential services, covering personal mobility as well as provision of supplies and
     necessities to end users.
   Map the broad range of concerns and expectations concerning CCAM involving a
     variety of stakeholders (including citizens, communities, transport service providers,
     professional drivers, road transport operators, road authorities, vehicle and other
     industry) and disciplines, including SSH (social sciences and humanities) to invest in
     social innovation that can complement the deployment of needs-based CCAM solutions.
   Define methodologies and mechanisms to communicate with future users/ citizens about
     CCAM aspects related to trust, ethics and acceptance.
   Develop tools that foster capacity building on CCAM among planners and decision
     makers to enhance their ability to influence solution design and development.
   Provide guidance on how to align overarching long-term policy goals and societal
     ambitions with user needs.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is advised for all projects
of topic (addressing either area A or area B), in particular with projects or partners from the
US, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Singapore, Australia.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-06: Framework for better coordination of large-scale
demonstration pilots in Europe and EU-wide knowledge base (CCAM Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      5.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Comprehensive analysis of all demonstrated CCAM use cases and harmonised
     approaches for implementing future large-scale demonstrations in Europe.
   Common framework for large-scale demonstration pilots in Europe including the
     identification of common use cases and Operational Design Domains (ODDs) as well as
     the definition of a common taxonomy and tools for scenario assessment.
   EU CCAM common evaluation methodology building on the outcome and
     recommendations from Working Group 2 of the CCAM Platform.
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   Test data exchange framework with a collection of best practices and guidelines,
     including specifications for data labelling (e.g. ODD definition) and common data
     formats (aligned with ongoing standardisation activities) as well as tools and
     documentation to use them, a common openly accessible platform safeguarding ethical
     usage of test data in a transparent manner to improve cooperation across projects and
     stakeholders.
   Harmonised conditions and processes for tests of CCAM systems on public roads,
     including criteria for a mutual recognition of procedures (building on the outcome and
     recommendations from Working Group 4 of the CCAM Platform).
   Common basis for CCAM Knowledge in Europe through an up-to-date and continuously
     maintained Knowledge Base on CCAM adapted to the needs of the potential members of
     the European Partnership on CCAM and all relevant stakeholders.
   Efficient and sustainable governance structure for the collection of CCAM Knowledge
     in Europe and globally, thus facilitating the engagement and contribution of stakeholders
     from all sectors and in particular exchanges and cooperation with and amongst EU
     Member States/Associated Countries.
   Network and forum of experts in the different thematic fields of R&I on CCAM with
     adequate tools and processes to enable the exchange of experiences and practices,
     stimulate collaboration and cooperation between all CCAM stakeholders and reach
     consensus on challenges and future R&I needs.
Scope: Many diverse CCAM related R&I activities, tests and large-scale demonstration
projects are ongoing across Europe and coordination, knowledge and data exchange as well as
harmonised approaches for implementing future large-scale demonstrations in Europe are
needed to better exploit synergies between all these activities.
There is a need for a common and searchable baseline of CCAM, thus ensuring transferability
of knowledge for future research, development and testing of CCAM.
The aim of this action is twofold:
   to improve the coordination of CCAM demonstrations in Europe by developing a
     European framework for testing on public roads including common approaches for
     evaluation and test data exchange for large-scale demonstration pilots in Europe.
   to expand, maintain and update the existing EU-wide Knowledge which should
     centralise information about stakeholders, CCAM related R&I programmes and projects
     in Europe and beyond.
Proposed actions must address Area A and Area B.
Area A: Framework for coordination of CCAM demonstrations in Europe
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The numerous CCAM demonstration projects in Europe lack a common vocabulary and the
impact assessments of these projects are often difficult to compare. If different methodologies
lead to incompatible evaluations, it will be hard to get an overall picture on the socio-
economic and environmental impacts across several activities.
Proposed actions should establish a well-structured overview of European evaluation
methodologies and its testing instances (test sites, living labs, simulations, open road) and
develop a common evaluation framework and methodology with common indicators for
large-scale demonstration pilots. This will allow comparability of results, complementing
evaluations and meta-analysis over multiple evaluation studies. It will thus allow maximizing
the profits and ease spreading of the lessons learned across Europe. It will enable to assess the
wider impacts of future CCAM systems and services, providing necessary input for decision
and policy making by governments and industry. Links should be established with other
initiatives developing methodologies and indicators for CCAM solutions in specific areas, in
particular on societal aspects249.
Actions should build on the outcome of the CCAM Platform WG2 250 and on the
methodologies and practices developed by past and ongoing R&I activities and gathered in
the CCAM Knowledge Base251 to establish common criteria for the preparation, execution
and evaluation of all types of impacts of large-scale CCAM demonstrations in Europe, in
particular common assessment indicators and methodologies.
Different parties involved in CCAM testing generate large amounts of test data (from in-
vehicle or infrastructure). Actions should develop a test data exchange framework, which
addresses legal and administrative aspects as well as technical aspects like data provision,
access, protection of user data, and labelling of data and proper description of the data format.
This latter includes describing objects, features and other road users around the vehicle, but
also the driver and passenger whereabouts inside the cabin, efficient (semi)-automatic
annotation processes and complex-label description in a large-scale data environment. As part
of the labelling, a standardised and structured annotation model should be included.
Different national policy and legal frameworks make the organisation of cross-border testing
difficult. To facilitate the development of both cross border testing and support authorities and
in particular cities in organising piloting projects, a European framework for testing on public
roads based on criteria for mutual recognition of procedures should be established. Proposed
actions should establish links with UNECE and have very close cooperation with the EU
Member States and Associated Countries through the CCAM Member States Advisory Board,
249
         In particular HORIZON-CL5-2021-DEST6SMS-01-05: Analysis of socio-economic and environmental
         impacts and assessment of societal, citizen and user aspects for needs based CCAM solutions
250
         Working Group 2 of the CCAM Platform focussing on the “Coordination & Cooperation of R&I and
         testing activities” has analysed key challenges and identified actions regarding the development of a
         common evaluation methodology (CEM) and has provided a first outline of a European CEM. During
         this process, it has been deemed valuable to develop a set of guidelines and establish a support team that
         can offer advice to projects on methodological aspects and for setting up an evaluation plan. More
         information on Working Group 2 of the CCAM Platform:
         https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm?do=groupDetail.groupDetail&groupID=3657
251
         See https://knowledge-base.connectedautomateddriving.eu/methodology/
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in particular regarding testing conditions and regulations and associated harmonisation
aspects.
Area B: EU-wide Knowledge Base
Proposed actions should continue and extend the existing EU-wide Knowledge Base 252 on
CCAM as the “one-stop shop” for the exchange of knowledge and experiences on CCAM in
Europe and beyond and to promote existing and valuable datasets. The Knowledge Base
should collect structured, up-to-date and targeted information on European and national large
and small scale demonstration projects and testing activities, test sites, corridors and living
labs with their features and capabilities, standards, testing and assessment methodologies as
well as regulations, policies and programmes in the field of CCAM in Europe and worldwide.
It should provide a common and searchable basis of CCAM, thus ensuring transferability of
knowledge for future research, development and testing of CCAM. A wider engagement of
the stakeholder community in providing content and actively contributing to its future
development needs to be ensured.
The Knowledge Base should also function as the key information tool of the future European
Partnership on CCAM to support the development and updates of the Strategic Research and
Innovation Agenda (SRIA).
Particular emphasis should be placed on:
     Extending the content about CCAM activities in Europe and globally and ensuring it is
      up-to-date and mapped.
     Developing knowledge summaries and collecting background information about
      purposes and drivers behind testing and piloting activities, lessons learned, best
      practices, implementation guidelines enabling the translation towards actions and
      agendas by authorities, decision makers and the CCAM Partnership.
     Structuring information and adding specific information, in particular according to
      stakeholder’s needs and priorities and developing targeted toolkits to support new
      stakeholders in setting up, running and assessing testing and piloting initiatives.
252
         The existing Knowledge Base (https://knowledge-base.connectedautomateddriving.eu) has been
         established as the one-stop shop for CCAM knowledge in Europe, which is used by an increasing
         number of stakeholders from Europe and other regions of the world. It features a number of essential
         elements for the identification of future R&I needs, supporting the harmonisation of procedures and the
         transferability of best practices. These elements include past and present R&I projects (both on a
         European and national level), information on related regulation and national policies, strategies and
         action plans, guidelines and evaluation methodologies, data sharing, relevant terms, related events
         (including materials from past events)
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     Collecting common terminologies, methodologies, standards and procedures related to
      CCAM and promoting the implementation of common metadata frameworks and the
      FAIR data principles253 to support interoperability.
     Maximize the outreach of the Knowledge Base through newsletters, dedicated social
      media channels.
In close cooperation with the future European Partnership on CCAM, proposed actions should
establish a network of experts in different thematic fields of R&I on CCAM. Actions should
provide a forum to facilitate the interaction of experts, the exchange of experiences,
implemented technologies and solutions and practices, stimulate collaboration and
cooperation between all parties involved in the CCAM European partnership and beyond.
Actions should organise conferences and workshops on CCAM, in cooperation with the future
European Partnership on CCAM.
Particular attention should also be given to international cooperation activities to stimulate the
exchange and collaboration with partners from other regions of the world on common R&I
challenges in the area of CCAM. It is important to establish close contacts with the CCAM
Member States Advisory Board to ensure good support for feeding the Knowledge Base with
up-to-date information.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Connected, Cooperative
and Automated Mobility’ (CCAM).
Multimodal and sustainable transport systems for passengers and goods
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-07: More efficient and effective multimodal freight
transport nodes to increase flexibility, service visibility and reduce the average cost of
freight transport
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          7.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
253
        FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). Further information: https://www.go-
        fair.org/fair-principles/; and Final Report and Action Plan from the European Commission Expert
        Group          on        FAIR         Data,        “TURNING           FAIR   INTO   REALITY”
        (https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/turning_fair_into_reality_0.pdf)
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Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    More efficient, effective and sustainable management of goods and freight flows in
      (air)ports and inland terminals, taking into account all costs (economic, social and
      environmental) of the proposed solutions/innovations, including externalities and
      possible rebound effects.
    Expanded throughput of the nodes thanks to increased operational efficiency and
      optimised use of assets and infrastructures, without expanding the physical facilities.
    Improved access to transhipment services at reduced costs.
    More visible and standardised services provided within the multimodal freight transport
      nodes, seamlessly accessible by end users to maintain continuous door-to-door tracking
      of freight locations and boost shifting cargo to more efficient and sustainable transport
      modes.
    Increased automation, digitalisation, standardisation and interoperability of processes,
      technologies and equipment, particularly intermodal transport units (ITUs) and cargo
      transport/transhipment procedures in multimodal freight transport nodes.
    Better integration of the various freight transport nodes into overall logistic chains.
Scope: To achieve competitive sustainability and higher levels of efficiency taking account of
all costs and externalities and to maximise the utilisation of the multimodal freight transport
nodes’ capacity, the proposals should research and demonstrate all of the following points:
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     Building on previous EU and other funded projects254, and enabling compatibility with
      legacy systems, demonstrate and quantify the benefits of using different intermodal
      transport units (ITUs) and innovative automated loading systems to support multimodal
      logistics operations. Further develop standardisation strategies on intermodal transport
      units also focusing on different modes and logistics operators, cargo
      transport/transhipment procedures, technologies and interfaces to enable flexibility,
      efficiency and sustainability of the transport system.
     In line with the strategy for EU international cooperation in research and innovation,
      international cooperation on standardisation of ITUs is encouraged.
     Building on previous and on-going Horizon 2020 and CEF funded projects255 and the
      Digital Transport and Logistics Forum’s findings256, deploy and demonstrate advanced
      cooperative logistics IT solutions in actual operational environment (minimum at TRL 7)
      focusing on better integration of the nodes in overall supply chains and the accessibility
      and usability of node services in an automated/digital manner, with a user perspective
      approach. The deployed IT solutions should:
         Provide full visibility of the standard services offered by the multimodal freight
             transport nodes, and by the companies operating in them, e.g. open and shared
             warehouses, terminal services, transhipment facilities, transport services from and
             to the terminals;
         Providing better estimated and actual times of arrival and of departure through real
             time track and trace of the transport and goods, benefitting from standardised
             identification (e.g. RFID, new sensors) and improved positioning accuracy based
             on European GNSS;
         Provide automated decision support system functionalities to optimise the supply
             chain overall performance and its resilience against disruptive events (including
             pandemics);
         Ensure compatibility of deployed solutions with existing legacy systems;
         Ensure the resilience of data and management systems to mitigate the consequence
             of accidental or malicious interventions;
         Address data ownership, confidentiality, governance and access rights;
254
         Horizon 2020 funded projects such as MODULUSHCA (https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/314468),
         Clusters2.0 (http://www.clusters20.eu/), AEROFLEX (https://aeroflex-project.eu/), and Less than
         Wagon Load (http://lessthanwagonload.eu/).
255
         Horizon       2020     funded     projects     such     as     AEOLIX        (https://aeolix.eu/), SELIS
         (http://www.selisproject.eu/), COREALIS (https://www.corealis.eu/), 5G-LOGINNOV (https://5g-
         ppp.eu/5g-loginnov/), and Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funded projects such as iTerminals 4.0
         (https://iterminalsproject.eu/)
256
         Enabling organisations to reap the benefits of data sharing in logistics and supply chain,
         https://www.dtlf.eu/sites/default/files/public/uploads/fields/page/field_file/executive_summary2_readin
         g__0.pdf
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         Facilitate greenhouse gas emissions reduction through, for example, smart
             scheduling and routing on expected arrivals times to nodes/terminals supporting
             slower approaching speeds.
     Capitalising on previous Horizon 2020 projects257, demonstrate the effectiveness of new
      business models and collaborative approaches - preferably supported by the IT
      infrastructure and solutions outlined above - able to support cooperative logistics
      operations with focus on the provision of open logistics nodal services. The business
      models should consider the legal constraints and include appropriate frameworks for
      contractual relations in collaborative environments. Based on the deployment of these
      new business models, identify concrete legal barriers and regulations at both European
      and national levels preventing their adoption and market uptake, and propose solutions
      and specific policy recommendations.
     Ensure compatibility with existing and emerging EU logistics standards such as the
      European Maritime Single Window environment 258 for maritime transport and the
      platforms for Electronic Freight Transport information 259 and with the outcomes of
      initiatives such as the Digital Transport and Logistics Forum (DTLF).
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-08: New delivery methods and business/operating models
to green the last mile and optimise road transport
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per           7.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                    appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                           selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action             Innovation Actions
Admissibility              The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                 exceptions apply:
                           The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
257
         Horizon 2020 funded projects such as ICONET https://www.iconetproject.eu/, and LOGISTAR
         https://logistar-project.eu/.
258
         Regulation (EU) 2019/1239 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 establishing
         a European Maritime Single Window environment and repealing Directive 2010/65/EU.
259
         Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 on
         electronic freight transport information (Text with EEA relevance)
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Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Take up and upscaling of innovative, best practice and replicable safe and sustainable
      last mile solutions in the living labs260 involved in the proposals, while facilitating the
      common lesson drawing and learning at European level, in order to contribute to the
      priorities of the European Green Deal, which stresses that ‘’transport should become
      drastically less polluting, especially in cities.”261
     Develop logistics hubs and micro consolidation centres. During the assessment process
      of possible locations, cooperation with local authorities is required. Locations should be
      checked against the sustainable mobility and logistics plans of the concerning city.
     Test and deploy new delivery methods (such as e-cargo bikes) in at least 3 cities/project.
     Optimise urban space, loads and reduce empty miles through dynamic routing, load
      policies, multi/single-brand parcel lockers and boxes.
     Demonstration of cost-efficient, zero-emission modes of last mile transport for urban and
      peri-urban deliveries in the living labs involved in the projects (as listed in the scope part
      below).
     Increased quality and liveability of urban and metropolitan areas by reducing road risk,
      congestion, air and noise pollution.
     Improve knowledge of user needs, habits and preferences in terms of deliveries by
      collecting and sharing information amongst public authorities and private companies
      aiming at clustering users while respecting GPDR.
Scope: The large scale introduction and application of cargo bikes, in urban and peri-urban
areas has shown to be a game changer for cities: the image of cycling improves; general levels
of cycling increase (both for freight and passengers); urban space is used more efficiently; air
quality, noise and safety levels as well as quality of life improve. However, this innovative
solution is present in only a few cities and at best in the starting phase in other European
cities. Its full potential has not been achieved in any European city.
Projects should address both methodological and technical/vehicle aspects to help optimising
last mile deliveries, where the benefits and how it can be replicated across several cities.
Demonstration of cleaner modes for last mile transport vehicles such as, electric assisted
cycles (2/3/4 wheels), bikes and cargo bikes in combination with the testing of innovative
tools such as dynamic e-routing, load policies, multi/single-brand parcel lockers and boxes,
micro consolidation centres and zero emission freight in the urban context to measure their
260
         At least three living lab cities should be included as demonstrators of the innovative solutions and at
         least three follower cities. At least one of the living labs and follower cities should be located in areas
         experiencing rapid economic and social change.
261
         https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:b828d165-1c22-11ea-8c1f-
         01aa75ed71a1.0002.02/DOC_1&format=PDF
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effects on optimisation (reducing empty miles), efficiency, and congestion reduction should
be considered. Results could also contribute to better delivery technologies transforming the
last mile such as camera-based object tracking, precise location brought by enhanced EU
satellite navigation (GNSS) services, application of AI technologies and CCAM solutions to
delivery services and advanced analysis based on driver apps. It is recommended the
establishment of energy savings objectives (e.g. electricity) regarding micro-consolidation
centres in relation to other traditional strategies.
Actions should focus on piloting cooperation with private logistics operators, local businesses
and establish new models for addressing governance and management of logistics operations
in urban and peri-urban areas. Projects should achieve cost-efficient and scale up potential
and deployment of innovative and sustainable urban people and goods mobility solutions
enabled by better governance and regulations, including procurement or white-label schemes
as an efficient tool for achieving these goals.
A thorough evaluation, with a clear baseline in each city, should provide qualitative and
quantitative information on the results of the local solutions implemented. The effectiveness
of the proposed measures in achieving local policy objectives should be evaluated and the
possible barriers to their broad take up and deployment identified, together with
recommendations on how to overcome them. This should be accompanied by mechanisms for
common lesson drawing and learning, within the project, between the projects funded under
this topic and through the CIVITAS Initiative.
Proposals may include preparatory, take up and replication actions, research activities, as well
as tools to support local planning and policy making.
A demonstrated contribution to the implementation of the cities’ Sustainable Urban Mobility
Plans, without forgetting higher scales planning scope, is expected. If not already in place, the
city can develop a Sustainable Urban Logistics Plan or other appropriate planning instrument
to manage urban freight and logistics.
Funding for major infrastructure works is not covered by this action. Proposals should plan
for an active collaboration within the CIVITAS initiative.
Social innovations should be considered, notably as new tools, ideas and methods leading to
active citizen engagement and as drivers of social change, social ownership, and new social
practices.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities
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HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-09: Climate resilient and environmentally sustainable
transport infrastructure, with a focus on inland waterways
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.50
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 23.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Admissibility         The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve at least TRL 7 by the end of the
Readiness Level       project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Ensure navigability for inland waterways by assuring at least 50% capacity during
     extreme weather events.
   Enhance land/sea/infrastructure resilience to extreme weather and human caused events
     by assuring at least 80% capacity at network level during the disruptions.
   Contribute with at least a 20% increase in modal shift to the sustainability of transport
     systems.
   Ensure resilience and smooth functioning of passenger mobility as well as freight
     transport and logistics networks operating on these infrastructures.
   Increase the use of recycled materials within or across transport modes by at least 30%.
   Reduce environmental impact (emissions, soil/water pollution, degradation of
     ecosystems and fragmentation of habitats) during construction, maintenance, operation
     and decommissioning of the infrastructure in line with the EU environmental legislation.
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Scope: Transport infrastructure is vulnerable to climate change and other natural or human
caused disruptions. Maintaining an elevated infrastructure reliability and performance is
crucial for increasing the resilience of the transport system. For example, low or excessive
precipitations and extreme temperatures put a strain on transport infrastructure, lowering its
performance and capacity, exacerbating its vulnerabilities and raising safety concerns. At the
same time when focusing at a resilient and performing transport infrastructure its
environmental footprint, resource and material consumption and habitat fragmentation and
biodiversity degradation should be reduced to a minimum. The goal is smart, green,
sustainable, climate-resilient and biodiversity friendly infrastructure.
Research is needed in order to limit transport infrastructure vulnerability to climate change
and other natural or human caused disruptions. Making infrastructures more resilient to
climate change should focus on improving the ability of the transport infrastructure network
to withstand disruption, adapt to changing conditions under extreme circumstances while
maintaining its performance. The goal is to strengthen infrastructure reliability, improve its
performance and increase the resilience of the whole transport system, creating a climate
resilient infrastructure system. The proposals will develop and validate new solutions to
increase efficiency, inter-modality, resilience, safety and security of the transport system, for
passengers and freight. Proposals should address all of the following aspects with particular
attention to inland waterways:
    Solutions for ensuring the performance of inland waterways during periods of low or
      high water levels (as they are primary reasons blocking smooth functioning of this type
      of transport infrastructures).
    Solutions for ensuring the performance and safety of land transport infrastructure and
      ports during extreme weather and man-made events. Development of strategies for
      increasing the capacity of resilient infrastructures during disruptive events.
      Interconnection of infrastructure health monitoring, traffic management and emergency
      management systems to support informed decision making during and after these events,
      also supporting possible redistribution of passenger and freight flows to complementary
      infrastructures.
    Building on state-of-the-art solutions for surveillance and prediction of climate change
      effects, and identification of infrastructure points vulnerable to climate change, proposals
      should develop cross-modal strategies to upgrade (including physical upgrade) existing
      infrastructures and reduce their vulnerability, while using sustainable materials and
      construction techniques.
    Design of standard, modular infrastructure elements for rapid deployment after
      disruptive events in order to increase the capacity of the transport network or create new
      provisional links as a temporary measure until the transport network recovers its normal
      capacity. Both mode-specific and multi-modal solutions can be considered.
    Development of new governance models that enable cooperation across institutional,
      modal and national boundaries. Together with stakeholders and end users at various
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     levels, develop and demonstrate innovative concepts and solutions to make operations
     for passenger mobility, freight transport and logistics supply chains more resilient to
     large-scale shocks and disruptions by enhanced planning, management and flow
     redistribution (considering also shifting to less carbon-intensive transport modes).
     Development of standard models and procedures to foster the implementation of resilient
     methodologies from design and construction and throughout the life-cycle of the
     infrastructure.
Innovative infrastructure solutions should contribute to lowering the environmental footprint,
resources and material consumption. Exploring Nature-based solutions (NBS) is an
opportunity for creating sustainable, climate-resilient EU transport infrastructure in a cost-
effective manner, while producing substantial social, economic, and environmental co-
benefits. The goal is smart, green, sustainable and climate-resilient infrastructure, planned in a
way that maximises positive impact on economic growth and minimises the negative impact
on the environment and, significant and lasting degradation of ecosystems and fragmentation
of habitats, promoting environmentally friendly modes of transport and leading to the
reduction of transport emissions.
Proposals need to include at least two pilot demonstrations in operational environment
(minimum at TRL7) in CEF corridors, one specific for inland waterways and a second one for
integrated with waterways hinterland infrastructure. Proposals should also consider results
from previous calls on infrastructure resilience 262 and sustainable construction and should
uptake relevant EU guidance on development and management of EU transport infrastructures
and be compatible with EU environmental legislation263.
Safety and resilience - per mode and across all transport modes
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-10: Testing safe lightweight vehicles and improved safe
human-technology interaction in the future traffic system
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.50
contribution per       and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
262
        EU funded projects such as RESIST, FORESEE, SAFEWAY, PANOPTIS
263
        Guidance on Inland waterway transport and Natura 2000 Sustainable inland waterway development and
        management
        Water Framework Directive : Directive 2000/60/EC
        Habitats Directives : Directive 92/43/EEC
        Birds Directive : Directive 2009/147/EC
        Environmental Impact Assessment Directive : Directive 2011/92/EU amended by Directive
        2014/52/EU
        Strategic Environmental Assessment : Directive 2001/42/EC
        Floods Directive : Directive 2007/60/EC
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                    selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
budget
Type of Action      Research and Innovation Actions
Technology          Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level     General Annex B.
Procedure           The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                    apply:
                    To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                    only in order of ranking but at least also to the highest-ranked proposal in
                    each area, i.e. one proposal for area A) Testing safe lightweight vehicles
                    and another one for area B) Safe human-technology interaction in the
                    future traffic system, provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
For Area A:
   Safer but also lighter and circular vehicle structures.
   Advanced vehicle concepts with higher compatibility between vehicles of different sizes
     and masses in dissimilar crashes.
   Advanced structural designs tolerant to a wider set of crash angles.
   Demonstration of a minimum number of crash tests designed to validate virtual testing
     for a large number of different scenarios
   Improved safety in future mixed traffic scenarios including an increasing number of
     automated vehicles
For Area B
   Reduced driver distraction as an important factor in road crashes.
   Intuitive and unobtrusive information of drivers and other road users about expected
     actions at any time.
   Safer mobility for all road users including the ones with impaired mental and/or physical
     capacity.
   Availability of human-centric adaptive interfaces and positive stimulation and utilisation
     of human abilities by new human-technology interfaces.
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   Improved validation methods for HMI.
Scope: Actions should address the activities EITHER under area A) Testing safe lightweight
vehicles OR under area B) Safe human-technology interaction in the future traffic system.
Proposals should clearly indicate which area they are covering.
Area A –Testing safe lightweight vehicles
Automotive safety has significantly progressed in the last decades thanks to advanced
modelling and testing capabilities and new structural concepts, as well as the introduction of
active safety.
Future vehicles and their structures, however, will have to be lighter and lighter, and this
means already an intrinsic reduction of safety when crashing with a heavier crash counterpart.
Moreover, new structural concepts will need to be more and more designed with a circular use
of materials in mind, and structures with mixed light materials and related manufacturing
concepts (including casting and 3D printing of complex shapes, for instance in energy
absorbers or highly integrated structural components) will be widely different from today’s
mostly sheet steel based concepts. Advanced testing on crash, toughness, fracture and fatigue
of new materials and concepts should be performed where relevant. A smart integration of
these concepts are expected to lead the demonstration of a more sustainable and safe body-in-
white with at least a 10% weight reduction on already achieved results for multimaterial
research structures.
In this context, the proposed actions should analyse the crash scenarios of the future,
considering active safety devices but also their potential failure and the fact that for a long
time there will be a mixed traffic situation where automated and semi-automated vehicles will
share the road with normal “manually driven” vehicles and all types of unprotected road
users.
This requires a new way of conceiving structures and their components, to ensure that all
requirements are met at the same time and to further increase safety by including vehicle
compatibility concept, like harmonised rigidity between light and heavy vehicles, so that the
heavy vehicle helps the more vulnerable one in absorbing the impact energy. Standardised
positions for crash absorbing elements should be addressed to ensure the best engagement
scenarios, as well as multi-angle optimisation, to avoid that structures are optimised only for
the exact test cases in regulation or in EuroNCAP tests. A significant number of crash tests is
expected to be performed for validating the different scenarios.
Area B –Safe human-technology interaction in the future traffic system
Another challenge for the safety in future transport systems and services is the ever growing
and intensified human interaction with ubiquitous digital content. The overload of various
kinds of information from multiple sources can lead to increased driver or unprotected road
user distraction and have negative impacts on road safety.
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Human machine interfaces (HMI) with adaptive characteristics continue to be developed and
new functionalities are continuously added, yet the impacts of those systems on the behaviour
of drivers and other road users are not sufficiently known. Further research on the effects of
such technologies in road transport safety is required.
These adaptive HMI systems can support a wide range of traffic users and could be included
in scenarios based on the mixed traffic and accidentology where needed. As such the
applications are not limited to higher levels of vehicle automation. Therefore, they need to
consider a wide variation of human capabilities and reactions as well as long-term mental and
physical capacities (including disabilities and disorders) and instantaneous limitations in
capabilities (collapse, illness, drowsiness, etc.).
In particular, the following aspects should be considered by future research:
   Design and development of intuitive, understandable, non-distracting and reliable
     adaptive interfaces for human-technology interaction in road vehicles minimising
     training needs for safe usage.
   Develop concepts of external interfaces, also considering the characteristics (for instance
     speed, direction) that are possible to interpret and understand by all road users.
   Understand long-term effects (physical and mental), potential risks and possible benefits
     for road users exposed to and actively using adaptive HMI technologies, and propose
     means to improve or maintain road user performance in terms of safety.
   Development of safety validation methods for new adaptive HMI technologies.
While this topic is open to research on all human-technology interaction in the road transport
system, specific issues of the interaction of highly automated vehicles with their occupants
and other road users are covered in topic HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-02.
Typically, projects should have a duration of 36 to 48 months. Nonetheless, this does not
preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts or durations.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-11: Radical improvement of road safety in low and
medium income countries in Africa
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
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Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                       states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-6 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
    Contribute to the global target of 50% fewer road fatalities and serious injuries by 2030
      in low to medium income countries in Africa.
    Contribute to implementing the recommendations of the Road Safety Cluster of the
      African-EU Transport Task Force adopted in 2020.
    More effective design of road safety practices, measures and policies in the targeted
      countries; establishment of the safe system approach in national road safety strategies.
    In line with the Sustainable Development Goals and with the principles of the Joint EU-
      Africa Strategy (JAES), the activities to be implemented should contribute to the
      improvement of road safety and traffic fluidity conditions in Africa, ultimately saving
      thousands of lives and lessening the human, social and economic burden of road
      accidents.
    The reinforcement of endogenous African capabilities with a view to long term
      sustainable progress in the fight against road casualties and for a more efficient and
      sustainable transport system.
    The dissemination of European know-how and the deployment of sound technical and
      governance solutions. In particular, the outcomes of the SaferAfrica action should be
      included (in particular the African Road Safety Observatory).
Scope: Over 650 road deaths per day occur on African roads and unless measures are taken,
road crashes in Africa are projected to increase by 68% over the next decade. African road
traffic death rates are the highest globally and more than four times higher than the European
average.
Building upon the work and activities already undertaken at EU level in this area, including
the Safer Africa project and in line with the recommendations of the Road Safety Cluster of
the African-EU Transport Task Force adopted in 2020, R&I is needed to create a strong
analytical base and to develop and assess, with local partners, the implementation of small
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scale system pilots and its various components, at city, regional, national and continent level.
Actions should contain the sharing of knowledge and best practice, data analysis,
infrastructure for effectively reducing road deaths in Africa.
To address this challenge, proposals should address all of the following:
   In-depth road accident investigations should be carried out at least in selected
      areas/countries to be able to find evidence of the underlying contributing factors behind
      accidents, whether related to the road user, vehicle, traffic environment or the traffic
      system.
   develop an innovative approach to promote the Safe System approach in selected
      African countries, enabling the exchange of data, methodologies, training, knowledge
      and best practice with particular focus on leading road safety agencies, traffic system
      “owners” such as road authorities, the police, regulating and certifying agencies to
      support the preparation of their road safety strategies and targets.
   Analyse the most appropriate road safety assessment methodologies and traffic
      management systems, as well as protection principles for the vulnerable road users and
      vehicle occupants, and define criteria for measuring future progress. Moreover, identify
      requirements for skills development and training of staff, and research and innovation
      needs, with a view to quick deployment of suitable solutions.
   design, develop and implement a series of small scale pilot demonstration projects to test
      the implementation of a safe system approach at different levels (national, regional,
      city), involving different local stakeholders (e.g. civil society organisations such as
      citizens’ associations, and non-governmental organisations), local government bodies
      and institutions as well as private companies.
   carry out an evaluation and assessment of the pilot demonstration projects that includes
      feedback from local actors, national and international stakeholders gathered through
      specific participatory workshops.
   Define guidelines detailing requirements and propose recommendations from the small
      scale pilot demonstrations useful for the implementation of a safe system approach to be
      up-scaled for the African continent (capacity building).
A balanced participation of European and African partners in these activities is expected, also
with the aim of reinforcing endogenous African capabilities, and will be taken into account in
the evaluation of proposals. Multinational international cooperation with relevant third
countries is encouraged in order to leverage resources and impact.
Typically, projects should have a duration of 36 to 48 months. Nonetheless, this does not
preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts or durations.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
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HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-12: Controlling infection on large passenger ships
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project outputs and results are expected to contribute to all of the
following expected outcomes as applicable for the two sub-activities:
   Communicable infections (Covid-19, influenza, norovirus) do not spread rapidly
     amongst passengers and crew on large passenger ships, in particular on cruise ships. The
     spread is controllable also beyond the vessel in ports and port communities.
   Communicable infections on board large passenger ships can be detected systematically
     at an early stage and effective measures are put in place to prevent the spread of
     infection. Crews and other personnel are duly trained.
   Large passenger ships are intrinsically designed to prevent the spread of infection and to
     facilitate measures in case of detection to eliminate further spread.
   An evidence base is established concerning the specific mechanisms facilitating the on-
     board spread of infection and the effectiveness of different mitigation methods.
   A knowledge base is publicly available concerning mechanisms facilitating the spread of
     on-board infection, mitigation measures and underlying evidence.
   Evidence based guidance for healthy passenger ship design is available to improve the
     design of ships which can help avoiding infections and facilitate the detection on board
     infections at an early stage, inherently mitigate the spread of infection and facilitate
     actions to prevent its further spread.
Scope: Passenger ships and in particular cruise ships (with their high occupancy rates and
elevated passenger and crew numbers of up to 8000 persons, close proximity of passengers
and crews, high crew turnover with crews coming from many different countries, frequent
port calls naturally implying common shore side excursions, and on-board activities with
intense social interaction) have been implicated in the spread and multiplication of disease.
Large and medium-sized cruise ships have seen a highly dynamic and sometimes dramatic
multiplication of Covid-19 infections on-board and the disembarkation of several hundred
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infected (and often asymptomatic) passengers who subsequently became vectors for infection
within the regions concerned and their home regions. In this context it needs to be kept in
mind that cruise passengers often travel to and from the ship by air, adding to the potential
spread. Passenger ships have also been hosts for the rapid spread of Norovirus illness,
influenza and legionella infections. This can be particularly problematic for (generally
smaller) passenger ships that undertake longer expedition-type cruises away from population
centres, thus entirely or predominantly relying on on-board medical services and facilities.
Europe as the world’s largest and almost exclusive producer of large and medium-sized
passenger and cruise ships and as home to a large number of important cruise destinations
must ensure a healthy on-board environment which is also crucial for the viability and the
sustainable growth of the business. Whilst guidelines to control the spread of on-board
infections have been published, it is clear that these are not fully effective and there is a lack
of an evidence base to underpin the effectiveness of the suggested measures for different
infections. Important knowledge gaps continue to exist and so far the real effectiveness of
different mitigation measures now deployed remains largely anecdotal.
To address these challenges, proposals will address one of the following two aspects and
cover all of the tasks mentioned.
  1. “Infection control on-board large passenger ships - prevention, mitigation and
      management”.
         Establishing a comprehensive scientific basis concerning the effectiveness of
           different prevention, mitigation and management measures.
         Developing and demonstrating solutions for improving the prevention, mitigation
           and management of on-board disease and illness.
         Cooperate and coordinate with other projects selected from this topic as well as
           other relevant actions such as the EU’s “healthy gateways” action.
         Outcomes and data to be made publicly available to facilitate the take up of best
           practices, also in function of vessel type and size, type of cruise and cruise
           destination. A distinction should be made between large ferries as typically
           deployed in Europe and cruise ships.
  2. “Healthy ship design”:
         Applying a bottom-up evidence based approach address the functional and concept
           design of large passenger ships so as to reduce the on-board spread of infection.
         Research should in particular address ventilation systems and their airflows,
           germicidal surfaces and disinfection practices, contamination control in all relevant
           ship areas, facilitating enhanced quarantine, process separation, the design of social
           areas including those for the crew, the design of crew work areas, especially
           pantries, laundries etc.. In this respect a better interaction of people with the vessel
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            and its equipment on the basis of social innovations (e.g. hands-free accessibility
            solutions) should also be considered.
         Innovative systems should be addressed to enable early stage detection of the
            spread of on-board infections such as for example employing AI, big data, smart
            sensors etc.
         Cooperate and coordinate with other projects selected from this topic as well as
            other relevant actions such as the EU’s “healthy gateways” action.
         Outcomes and guidance concerning healthy ship design should be made available
            to facilitate the take up of best practices by ship interior designers, shipyards, and
            equipment manufacturers.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-13: Safe automation and human factors in aviation –
intelligent integration and assistance
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         4.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Admissibility            The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level          General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Improved monitoring of human performance, system performance and external hazards,
      in order to pave the way to more automation in aviation while meeting Flightpath2050
      safety goals.
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   Avoiding startle response or “automation surprise”, enabling intelligent assistance to all
     operators on the air and on the ground in all safety-critical situations and allowing fall-
     back response in case of severe system perturbations - including pilot incapacitation,
     cyber-attacks and/or broader operational system-wide failures.
   New crew and team configurations, including human-machine teaming, automation
     supervisory roles and distributed human crew (both airborne and on the ground) to
     ensure safety and optimise performance without leading to complacency or to loss of
     critical skills.
   Better prepared workforce and training, with smarter selection, qualification and training
     tools and methods to maintain high standards of safety and resilience, including
     advanced simulation for complex safety-critical events.
   Increased organisational and regulatory preparedness, safety culture and societal
     acceptance in the advent of more automation in aviation, from earlier integration of
     human factors and automation into design processes and safety case methods up to
     ensuring an appropriate level of human factors and automation competence in key
     organisations, including regulators.
Scope: Activities should address a renewed safety focus on the teaming between the human
and automation, given the steady increase in automation in aviation operations at large (e.g. in
cockpit, ATC, maintenance, etc.), including for new airborne services and vehicles such as
drones. When automation is unable to cope, control should be handed back safely to the
human.
Prepare the next step-change in automation, artificial intelligence (AI), in two steps. Firstly, in
the medium term with the role of AI as ‘Digital Assistant’, part of the team, earning the trust
of the human operators and the flying public. Secondly, in the long term, with the potential of
AI to take over operations. For the transition to digital assistant and ultimately to AI-run
operations, develop a novel approach to Human Factors and to safety (and security) assurance
methods and processes.
System transition issues should be addressed, to avoid an initial spate of ‘automation-assisted
accidents’, as it happened at the last step change in the level of automation in aviation (‘glass
cockpits’), which nevertheless resulted in significantly improved safety.
Activities should consider the increasing complexity in aviation e.g. traffic growth expected
back in the mid/long-term, more ‘new entrants’ as drones, more extreme weather events, more
environmental constraints leading to more complex systems and operations. In such an
evolving aviation environment it is needed to better understand and anticipate why incidents
happen – the triggering events/hazards, the cognitive failures and the challenges at the human-
machine interface – in order to learn the right lessons and then share them both internally and
externally. This includes the impact of physical and mental wellbeing on human performance
and safety, both in a positive sense (e.g. motivation, positive safety culture) and in a negative
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sense (e.g. fatigue, constraints during/after pandemic times, fitness for duty, skill loss, and
complacency).
More focus is needed then on Human Digital Interface design and on integrating AI into
human crews and teams, as a smart assistant to explain, accompany and support operators, in
particular at safety-critical situations and to recover from emergencies. More adaptive and
trustworthy human-machine systems and more intuitive interfaces should be developed.
Developments should be applied to realistic operational and regulatory contexts while
devising how to maintain safety culture and societal acceptance along with organisational and
regulatory preparedness. Particular attention should be paid to possible differences such as
age, gender and ethnography. Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the
socio-technical interface and requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or
market uptake.
This topic requires the effective contribution of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH)
disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions, as well as the inclusion of
relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the
societal impact of the related research activities.
Activities should go beyond the state of the art and previous R&I activities, at least at EU
level264. Activities should ensure no overlap but complementarity for integration with any
other aviation activities, such as SESAR / Transforming the European ATM System
partnership. The proposals may include the explicit commitment from the European Aviation
Safety Agency (EASA) to assist or to participate in the actions265.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes with increased resources and impact, international
cooperation can be foreseen with third countries with relevant capacities in this domain, while
ensuring that the respect of European IPR, interests and values is strictly guaranteed.
Synergies with other transport modes and safety/security critical sectors adopting more
automation is welcomed, in particular on risk assessment and pre-normative research to
ensure fit-for-purpose rulemaking and management systems and a high level of cyber-attack
protection.
Synergies with other topics in Horizon Europe can be exploited such as in Cluster 4 e.g.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-02 (Software for low-power operation at
the edge), HORIZON-CL4-2021-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-11 (Pushing the limit of robotics
cognition), in Cluster 3 e.g. HORIZON-CL3-2021-INFRA-01-01 (European infrastructures
and their autonomy safeguarded against systemic risks), as well as with other EU programmes
such as Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), NextGenerationEU and Digital Europe.
264
        Examples of aviation safety research projects available on:
        - Projects For Policy (P4P) on Aviation Safety https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
        /publication/b4690ade-3169-11e8-b5fe-01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF/source-75248795
        - Coordination-support action OPTICS2 https://www.optics-project.eu/narratives/
265
        https://www.easa.europa.eu/domains/safety-management/research
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Call - Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goods
                                                                           HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)266
                Topics                     Type         Budgets            Expected EU            Number
                                             of          (EUR        contribution per project         of
                                          Action        million)        (EUR million)267           projects
                                                                                                  expected
                                                          2022                                      to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 14 Oct 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 12 Jan 2022
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-01 IA                          50.00 268      20.00 to 25.00               2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-02 RIA                         8.00           6.00 to 8.00                 1
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-03 RIA                         8.00           7.00 to 8.00                 1
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-04 IA                          10.00 269      4.00 to 5.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-05 RIA                         12.00          5.00 to 6.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-06 RIA                         13.00          4.00 to 4.33                 3
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-07 IA                          9.00 270       4.00 to 8.00                 1
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-08 IA                          12.00 271      3.50 to 6.00                 2
Overall indicative budget                             122.00
General conditions relating to this call
266
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
267
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
268
        Of which EUR 25.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
269
        Of which EUR 5.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
270
        Of which EUR 4.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
271
        Of which EUR 6.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM)
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-01: European demonstrators for integrated shared
automated mobility solutions for people and goods (CCAM Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        20.00 and 25.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 50.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Admissibility           The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility conditions  The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning,
                        navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must
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                         make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and
                         services may additionally be used).
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level          see General Annex B.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                         applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                         for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                         the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    Demonstration of inclusive, user-oriented and well-integrated shared CCAM systems
      and services for people and goods in real traffic conditions, which contribute to
         reduced carbon footprint and harmful emissions;
         reduced congestion, more reliable, predictive travel times and more efficient
           transport operations;
         Increased safety and security;
         End-users’ adoption for specific use cases of innovative shared mobility solutions.
    Demonstration of innovative cross-sector business models and partnerships for CCAM.
    Assessment of all impacts of shared CCAM solutions in real world conditions,
      specifically on sustainability, inclusiveness and safety based on viable economic use
      cases for passengers and goods.
Scope: CCAM solutions have to provide a more user-centred, all-inclusive road mobility,
while increasing safety, reducing congestion, emissions and contributing to climate neutrality.
These novel mobility services enable seamless integration with existing services (e.g. public
transport, logistics), and higher levels of automation support, transport productivity and
efficiency (e.g. transportation of goods at lower speeds to save energy, operational efficiency
at logistics hubs and in hub to hub corridors or last mile operations). Yet all these benefits
need to be proven. Previous and currently ongoing demonstration projects for CCAM systems
and services show, that further testing of highly automated systems and services with high
scaling potential is necessary, involving more mature technologies or additional use cases in
extended Operational Design Domains (ODDs). Proposed actions for this topic are expected
to address all the following aspects:
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     implement a set of European demonstrators of smart, shared mobility and/or logistics use
      cases in real traffic conditions with ambitious and realistic operational domains
      (balancing environmental complexity, risk, speed, economic viability, etc.) enabled by
      CCAM solutions (SAE Level 4) with market potential (i.e. with scalable business and
      operating models).
     Test robustness, reliability and safety of highly automated CCAM systems and services,
      while focussing on user interaction and interaction with other road users (specifically
      vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists). This includes testing of key
      enabling technologies (e.g. sensors, connectivity, cybersecurity, AI, big data, space-
      based services), physical/digital infrastructure support and optimised traffic and fleet
      management.
     address user and customer needs for mobility and logistics, paying special attention to
      differences in mobility patterns by gender, age, disability and other social groups 272 .
      Further, deploy high quality services that are well integrated with other modes and
      existing mobility services.
     apply, test and demonstrate the common evaluation framework for large-scale
      demonstration pilots in Europe and the test data exchange framework, provide input to
      the European knowledge base on CCAM (see topic HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01-06)
      and contribute to the European database of relevant scenarios (see topic HORIZON-
      CL5-2021-D6-01-02).
Proposed actions should contribute to effective assessment and demonstration of benefits on
energy efficiency, traffic flow, safety, user appreciation, etc. based on holistic modelling
solutions. If possible, already existing investments at national and European level on
demonstration activities should be leveraged, optimising return on investments and create a
strong basis for even larger scale demonstrations and system integration.
Proposed actions should foster the collaboration between public and private stakeholders (e.g.
cities, regions and infrastructure operators, authorities, civil society organisations, public
transport operators, OEMs and suppliers, logistics hubs, freight transport and logistics service
providers and freight transport and logistics users, research providers, ITS and telecom sector)
to achieve common objectives and assess societal impacts. Co-creation with users should be
considered to demonstrate benefits and raise public acceptance/adoption of CCAM under real-
world conditions. To this end, it is recommended to develop solutions that are grounded in
social innovation.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions, as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
272
         See for example the Gendered Innovations case study on smart mobility (2020, p.114):
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/research_and_innovation/strategy_on_research_and_innovation
         /documents/ki0320108enn_final.pdf
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Proposed actions are expected to focus on demonstrators for integrated shared automated
mobility solutions for people, for goods or for both, and should address resulting synergies
and complementarities in the CCAM ecosystem when possible. All vehicles used for testing
the innovative CCAM concepts should use zero emission technologies.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is advised, in particular
with projects or partners from the US, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Singapore, Australia.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Connected, Cooperative
and Automated Mobility’ (CCAM).
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-02: Reliable occupant protection technologies and HMI
solutions to ensure the safety of highly automated vehicles (CCAM Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       6.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Protection systems in Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) designed for a greater
      variation of unconventional seating positions and body postures, including sex, age and
      ability differences, to be sufficiently inclusive to encompass the diversity of the occupant
      population, considering all situations and conditions for the application of such systems
      and taking into account different accident configurations with a higher market
      penetration of CAVs.
   New, advanced Human-Machine-Interface (HMI) solutions as enablers for the safe and
      efficient co-existence and interaction of CAVs with other road users (including
      Vulnerable Road Users and non-automated vehicles). Interfaces should be reliable and
      seamless, based on comprehensive knowledge and models of individual human
      behaviour and capabilities.
   Advanced driver/passenger condition monitoring and improved HMI functionalities to
      prepare the driver to take control as may be necessary when the vehicle reaches the
      limits of its Operational Design Domains (ODD).
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     Consistent design methodologies and tools for performance assessment of the new
      protection systems.
     Delivering evidence-based support to the regulatory bodies for the potential adaptation
      of traffic rules.
Scope: In order to ensure the safety of highly automated vehicles, on-board systems need to
anticipate risks reliably, prevent crashes and minimise the consequence of unavoidable
collisions while enhancing user acceptance, and generating trust and reliance on automated
systems through well-designed, informative Human-Machine-Interfaces.
The proposed actions should address all the following aspects:
     Development of vehicle crashworthiness and advanced safety solutions in order to
      protect passengers and mitigate injury risk in unavoidable collisions also with new,
      unconventional seating positions and body postures, considering new protection
      principles and taking into account all situations and conditions for the application of
      such systems (for example in shared automated road vehicles). This also includes the
      identification of new accident configurations and adaptations to the structural layout of
      vehicles.
     Development of empathic HMI solutions, which includes a framework for modelling
      human emotions, in order to enable natural and intuitive interaction of CAVs with the
      driver, passengers and with other road users (including unprotected ones) also in mixed
      traffic situations.
     Monitoring approaches and simulation models to detect and assess occupant status
      (including health) and level and point of attention of the driver, enabling appropriate
      HMI, linked also to the new intelligent protection systems in order to fully leverage their
      potential in terms of adapting to different seating positions, body postures, occupant
      sizes etc., including gender, age, and ability differences.
     Improved solutions to address situations in which human drivers are expected to
      seamlessly resume control, for example when the limit of the ODD is approaching.
     Recommendations for user-centric HMI design guidelines and for an extension of the
      European Statement of Principles for human-machine interaction (ESoP) 273 towards
      automated vehicles should be derived, taking into account also the interaction with
      unprotected road users and other non-automated, non-connected vehicles.
     Development of assessment tools for the developed protection technologies and
      advanced safety solutions in order to support the definition of safety requirements,
      standards (e.g. UNECE) and the analysis of potential needs for the adaptation of traffic
      rules.
273
         European Commission Recommendation on safe and efficient in-vehicle information and
         communication systems: update of the European Statement of Principles on human-machine interface,
         2008/653/EC
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This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions, as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is advised, in particular
with projects or partners from the US, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Singapore, Australia.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Connected, Cooperative
and Automated Mobility’ (CCAM).
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-03: Human behavioural model to assess the performance
of CCAM solutions compared to human driven vehicles (CCAM Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       7.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
A robust and scalable reference model of human driving behaviour:
   Replicating the full performance spectrum of human drivers, which allows comparing
      the performance of an automated driving system in a specific situation to the human
      driver population. This serves as a basis to define the required safety level of CCAM
      systems and to take decisions on validation requirements in type approval schemes. The
      model will also help to define fair assessment criteria in consumer testing campaigns
      relative to human-driven vehicles and for the safety verification of CCAM systems in
      industrial development processes.
   Serving as a reference for the automotive industry and its R&I partners to design human-
      like and therefore easily predictable and acceptable behaviour of automated driving
      functions in mixed traffic.
   Helping the automotive industry, its R&I partners, certification bodies and consumer
      testing organisations to realistically represent the behaviour of other human-driven
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      vehicles in the (virtual) simulation of mixed traffic. Virtual testing shortens development
      cycles and accelerates the implementation of CCAM technologies.
Scope: Statistical data available today gives a good idea of overall human driving, vehicle and
infrastructure performance in terms of safety. However, evidence is missing on the precise
performance of humans in the variety of specific situations that might be critical for
automated driving systems. The variability of human behaviour and performance with factors
like gender, cultural and ethnic background, ageing, diseases, driving experience, mental
workload or fatigue makes the acquisition of such evidence a very challenging task. External
factors such as diverse weather and lighting conditions play a role in this context, as well.
Data on the dependence of human driving behaviour from such factors is partly available
from previous research, but not sufficiently broken down to the level of specific driving
situations.
Available software modules to simulate human driving behaviour only cover specific aspects
of human driving performance so far and do not cover the full spectrum of drivers with
statistical data on the probability of certain behavioural patterns.
Therefore, proposed actions have to develop a probabilistic human behavioural model with
the potential to cover all relevant aspects of human driving performance as well as the broad
spectrum of drivers and influencing factors. A methodology will be needed to extract
consistent data on human driving performance from different data sources (e.g. real traffic,
simulator tests) and collect such data with the long-term objective of fully depicting the large
variance of human driving behaviour in different situations, while respecting gender, age and
other factors like disabilities and diversity criteria. Proposals should calibrate the parameters
of the model with the help of this data, and develop a corresponding validation concept based
on real-world experiments. Potential ethical issues will have to be considered, as tests with
humans need to be carried out and their personal data will have to be captured. The model
should be transparent, independent from proprietary software tools and easy to use. It should
be validated at least for selected fields of application with the perspective of extending these
fields of application gradually and also simulating human behaviour in future scenarios of
mixed traffic.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is advised, in particular
with projects or partners from the US, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Singapore, Australia.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Connected, Cooperative
and Automated Mobility’ (CCAM).
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-04: Integrate CCAM services in fleet and traffic
management systems (CCAM Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          4.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
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project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Admissibility            The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility conditions   The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                         exceptions apply:
                         If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning,
                         navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must
                         make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and
                         services may additionally be used).
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level          see General Annex B.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               The funding rate is up to 60% of the eligible costs. This funding rate
                         applies both to members and non-members of the partnership, except
                         for non-profit legal entities, where the funding rate is up to 100% of
                         the total eligible costs.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Concepts of fleet and traffic management in the CCAM eco-system enabling optimised
     systems for the mobility of people and goods that take into account the balance between
     societal and individual user needs.
   Intermodal interfaces and interoperability between traffic management systems (of
     different geographical locations and/or of CCAM vehicles and other modes of transport)
     considering integration beyond road transport in the overall multimodal transport system
     providing seamless mobility services.
   Advanced simulation models and tools that enable and help assessing new traffic
     management strategies (including dedicated lanes, priorities at intersections etc.) for
     CCAM.
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    Optimised mobility network load balancing approaches through advanced traffic
      management guidance and information loops that can reach individual users as well as
      operational traffic management actors.
    Effective cooperation and governance models for operating CCAM services as part of
      real-life fleet and traffic management systems developed and tested.
Scope: Proposed actions should develop and demonstrate concepts of traffic and fleet
management to achieve a desirable integration of CCAM vehicles in the entire mobility
system. CCAM vehicles should be considered in their different sizes and usages as well as
their mobility service provision (private, public, shared, pooled etc.). Proposed actions should
address both the transport of people and goods with automated fleets (commercial/logistics
fleets, fleets operated by public or private transport operators) and individual vehicles
(CCAM- or conventional vehicles) well integrated in the entire traffic management system.
They have to address technology gaps to foster vehicle integration, communication and better
manoeuvre coordination and orchestration concepts in managing fleets and traffic as well as
integrating public transport and other shared mobility concepts. This involves planning,
forecasting and managing fleet and individual vehicles’ movements according to their specific
needs. Proposed actions should demonstrate traffic efficiency improvements by mobility
network load balancing of routes, optimizing reliability of arrival times of goods delivery or
shared mobility services, organize measures in case of events, or bilateral communication and
acknowledgement of traffic management guidance if advised from an appropriate control
centre.
Proposed R&I actions are expected to address intermodal interfaces and interoperability
between traffic management systems from one geographical location to another and from one
user group to another to attain seamless mobility for all.
Proposed actions should develop and demonstrate mixed traffic orchestration concepts,
enabling or involving new mobility business cases for fleet operation (logistics, public or
private transport operator, etc.). These new fleet and traffic management approaches should
closely link to societal and individual user needs (including VRUs and other connected or
non-connected users).
Advanced simulation models and tools should be able to test and demonstrate in real life
traffic their ability to support the optimisation and balancing of the mobility network load.
Testing and demos in real life traffic conditions should be undertaken through engagement
with stakeholders from the industry, public authorities, public and private operators, service
providers, the research sector and road and vehicle users and by satisfactorily addressing the
priorities of all (win-win-win).
Governance of the traffic management system has to take into account the different needs and
requirements of the users, depending on their gender, socio-economic background, age,
ethnicity or ability, and the availability of services enabled by CCAM and the accordingly
relevant supporting infrastructure. Both citizen-led needs and CCAM developments will guide
the governance of traffic management systems which will eventually see the CCAM fleets of
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private and public transport (including on demand PT) integrated fully into the transport
network. It is recommended to develop solutions that are grounded in social innovation.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions, as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is advised, in particular
with projects or partners from the US, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Singapore, Australia.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-05: Artificial Intelligence (AI): Explainable                       and
trustworthy concepts, techniques and models for CCAM (CCAM Partnership)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       5.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Concepts, techniques and models based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) used for
      situational awareness, prediction, decision making and triggering of actions for time
      critical and safety relevant CCAM applications as well as for cyber threat detection and
      mitigation.
   A clear understanding of the capabilities, limitations and potential conflicts of AI based
      systems for CCAM.
   Increased user acceptance from an early stage, based on explainable, trustworthy and
      human-centric AI. Interactions with vehicles using AI should be understandable, human-
      like and reflect human psychological capabilities, and free of gender, ethnic or other
      biases.
   Accelerated AI development and training for CCAM enabled by a relevant set of real
      and synthetic traffic events and scenarios.
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   AI based CCAM solutions will evolve from reactive and/or adaptive system support into
      predictive system state awareness (including driver state and user diversity), decision-
      making and actuation, enhancing road safety especially in near-critical situations.
Scope: The deterministic understanding and consequential design of assistance systems are
mostly reactive or to some extent adaptive. In the transition from driver assistance systems
towards fully automated systems, a critical aspect is the decision making (i.e. planning and
acting), based on robust and reliable detection and perception. AI has a huge potential to
advance this process.
Specifically, in more complex and dense traffic environments, highly automated driving
functions will benefit from the system state prediction enabled by AI. Yet, the current state of
technology using AI for CCAM has limitations regarding human-like actions, more
specifically the intuitive, split-second (predictive) assessments and ‘reflex decision making’.
As such, any AI requires good integration into the overall system with close interaction and
compatibility with the active safety systems (e.g. automated emergency braking).
For the development process, training is essential for the performance of unbiased AI. It
requires sufficient traffic and event data under varying conditions from all over Europe,
avoiding limited data sets. The current, mainly deterministic approaches for validation in
automotive development will not be sufficient for future training and validation of AI-based
or AI-supported functions, which will also need to be able to deal with complex issues as
(un)intended miscommunication.
Proposed R&I actions therefore are expected to address all the following aspects
   Support the development and integration of AI in CCAM with explainable, trustworthy
      and human-centric and unbiased concepts, techniques and models; this can be on vehicle
      level and on transport system level, where tactical and strategic links to traffic
      management and traffic conditions need to be established.
   Address the knowledge gap on AI training and validation approaches as well as efficient
      and ethical approaches for data handling of increasing amounts of data.
   Build upon existing and generated data for training and verification of AI supporting
      situational awareness in CCAM in more complex traffic scenarios (e.g. digital twins).
Specific automotive requirements on functional safety and security need to be considered in
the development process of an automotive-grade AI ensuring consistency with existing
validation procedures.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions, as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
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In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is advised, in particular
with projects or partners from the US, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Singapore, Australia.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on ‘Connected, Cooperative
and Automated Mobility’ (CCAM).
Safety and resilience - per mode and across all transport modes
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-06: Predictive safety assessment framework and safer
urban environment for vulnerable road users
Specific conditions
Expected EU         The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 4.00
contribution per    and 4.33 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project             appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                    selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 13.00 million.
budget
Type of Action      Research and Innovation Actions
Technology          Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level     General Annex B.
Procedure           The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                    apply:
                    To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                    only in order of ranking but at least also to the highest-ranked proposal in
                    each area, i.e. one proposal for area A) Predictive safety assessment
                    framework and another one for area B) Safer urban environment for
                    vulnerable road users, provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
For Area A:
   Harmonised, prospective assessment framework for road safety, both active and passive,
     solutions (for policy, regulatory and consumer assessment).
   Comprehensive virtual representation of challenging scenarios in future road traffic.
   Well-founded prognoses on the effects of new solutions on road safety and protection of
     vulnerable road users and vehicle occupants.
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For Area B:
   50% reduction in serious injuries and fatalities in road crashes by 2030, with a focus on
      measures addressing unprotected vulnerable road users
      Better prediction of all road users behaviour and the use of new transport modes
   Concepts and guidelines for safe inclusion of new types of vulnerable road users, e.g.
      those using new means of transport into the traffic system
   Development of solutions that facilitate inclusion of all vulnerable users in the transport
      system, including people with disabilities, the elderly, and children by providing a safe
      environment for walking and cycling.
      Facilitation of modal shift to active and clean modes of transport, improving the health
      of road users and the quality of urban environments.
Scope: A Safe System approach recognises that since accidents will continue to occur despite
preventive efforts, it is a shared responsibility between stakeholders (road users, road
managers, vehicle manufacturers, etc.) to take appropriate actions to ensure that road
collisions do not lead to serious or fatal injuries. The safe system approach requires a
systematic, multi-disciplinary, multi-sectoral, and multi-stakeholder approach which
addresses the safety needs of all users; fatal and serious injury prevention, collision
prevention and mitigation and post-collision care and aligns with other policies for co-benefits
such as health, occupational health and safety, sustainable development and poverty
reduction. In a Safe System approach, mobility is a function of safety rather than vice versa. It
involves the implementation of system-wide measures that ensure, in the event of a collision,
that the impact forces remain below the thresholds likely to produce either death or serious
injury.
Area A – Predictive safety assessment framework
The road traffic system is changing with new technology, new means of transport as well as
with regulatory and behavioural changes, and so will scenarios which are relevant for safety.
Such future scenarios are not yet captured in accident databases. Traditional analysis methods
and road studies can no longer predict the impact of new developments and new measures on
road safety with an increased speed of technological development, but relatively slow
penetration rates in the road traffic system. Also for already developed safety measures,
scenarios need to be provided which cover more complex transport system levels where safety
can be described in terms of risk and probability due to interplay between societal and
technological driving forces as well as different stakeholder and user needs. A predictive
safety assessment framework on higher system levels will support considerably the proactive
management of road safety as an important principle of the safe system approach.
Virtual simulation allows for fast and extensive evaluation of safety measures even in
scenarios which do not exist in real traffic yet. With growing computer power, safety
assessment methods should therefore be extended to potential future scenarios and to the
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transport system level also allowing for the evaluation of socio-economic benefits. Such
predictive assessment requires appropriate simulation environments and realistic models of all
elements of the transport system (incl. human behaviour and traffic flow), which need to be
harmonised to make them available for policy, regulatory and consumer assessment.
Within this context, actions should address the following aspects:
    Develop new methods to efficiently predict the effects of the implementation of a new
      technology, new means of transport and regulatory or behavioural changes on road
      safety up to the level of socio-economic benefits.
    Further develop virtual models of the relevant elements of the transport system for which
      such further development is most urgently needed, and validate them through testing
      activities and corresponding correlation.
    Analyse, based on selected examples, how the application of new technology and/or the
      introduction of new regulation will affect the remaining road safety burden, and how
      traffic and crash scenarios will change with their market penetration and/or enforcement
      respectively.
Area B – Safer urban environment for vulnerable road users
A safe system strategy and targets to reduce accidents in urban areas inevitably should have at
its core the safety of vulnerable road users. Vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists and
powered two wheelers) constitute almost 70% of the fatalities from road crashes in urban
areas. Our society is characterized by an ageing generation, which is still mobile and more
active in road traffic than in the decades before, therefore it is of high importance to improve
safety in road traffic for elderly people by seeking solutions that would concomitantly address
infrastructure and road user behaviour. A safe system strategy needs also to take into account
the interactions between different modes of transport, especially the road intersection with
trams, light-rail, commuter rail, including infrastructure and human factors of vulnerable users
in relation to level-crossings and trespassing.
In this context, building on best practices (technological, non-technological and social), as
well as ongoing projects and planned initiatives in the area of safe urban environment for
vulnerable road users, actions should address the following aspects:
    Protection principles and solutions to provide a safe environment for vulnerable road
      users through infrastructure measures and lifelong learning initiatives for vulnerable road
      users as well as for vehicle occupants (behavioural change, training courses, road safety
      education from an early age)
    Identify specific mobility needs and public space design needs to promote a safe journey
      for the vulnerable road users, and enhance their perception of safety (considering among
      others women’s perception of safety and people with disabilities, like blind people in
      shared spaces).
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   Safe inclusion of new means of transport into the traffic system (including personal light
     electric vehicles, PLEVs, such as electric scooters and self-balancing vehicles and the
     safe transition to higher levels of automation e.g. automated public transport vehicles ).
     Safety measures on the vulnerable road users’ vehicles, improving stability, robustness
     and helping to prevent crashes overall.
   Protective equipment (helmets, clothes, reflectors) that is innovative, effective, user
     friendly and likely to lead to higher usage rates. Possibilities of active equipment able to
     detect oncoming collisions and warn the VRU in order to prevent crashes should be
     explored and demonstrated
   Improved detection mechanisms of vulnerable road users by other users and accurate
     prediction of their behaviour including at road intersections.
   Analysis of the most common causes of accidents concerning vulnerable road users and
     demonstration of applied solutions.
   Provide clear guidance to cities and Member States/Associated Countries on how to
     incorporate the vulnerable road users dimension into infrastructure planning and
     sustainable urban mobility plans especially for the aspects of safety, security and
     accessibility.
Actions should address the activities EITHER under area A) Predictive safety assessment
framework OR under area B) Safer urban environment for vulnerable road users. Proposals
should clearly indicate which area they are covering. At the same time, links will ideally be
established between projects under both areas, so that solutions, concepts and measures
developed under Area B) could be assessed using the framework from Area A).
Typically, projects should have a duration of 36 to 48 months. Nonetheless, this does not
preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other durations.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-07: More resilient aircraft and increased survivability
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      4.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Admissibility         The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
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conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to two or more of the following
expected outcomes in order to contribute to Flightpath2050 safety goals:
    Near real-time proactive prediction, detection, communication and avoidance/mitigation
     of anomalies and hazards at the airport (e.g. on the runway, at ground-handling, etc.), in
     the atmosphere (e.g. extreme weather phenomena) and on-board (e.g. fire,
     electromagnetic interference, structural issues, etc.), including self-protection.
    Improved safety modelling and design of aircraft and airports to increase survivability
     e.g. in case of fire, crash, ditching, including impact of new fuels or energy systems.
    Improved means and methods for reliable tracking of aircraft and timely evacuation,
     search and rescue of passengers and crew.
Scope: Activities should contribute to maintain a high-level of safety in aviation by
encompassing the evolution of external hazards with the evolution of aviation systems.
Aircraft should be more resilient to external hazards and internal failures in all phases - from
ground-handling, runway operations, up to flight and emergency operations. Should such rare
events occur, the aircraft should be able to fly safely back to an airport, or, in the worst case,
ensure the survivability of passengers and crew and their safe evacuation and rescue.
Increase the ability to predict and avoid or mitigate weather hazards, which remain one of the
major challenges on the ground and in flight, such as thunderstorms, lightning strikes,
turbulence and wind shear to icing, snow and fog, as well as emerging events such as drones
incursion, and major events such as volcanic ash clouds that can affect large swathes of
airspace. Prevent and handle electromagnetic interferences (including cosmic radiation) and
fire events, triggered by internal failures or external hazards. Improve modelling and
protections systems accordingly together with tools to assist the design and the certification
process, considering also climate risks.
Advance systems and methods for reliable aircraft tracking and for safe evacuation, search
and rescue of passengers and crew, including with new aerial means as drones. Advanced
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features of Galileo Search & Rescue operating service should be fully explored and exploited,
if applicable.
Activities should go beyond the state of the art and previous R&I activities, at least at EU
level 274 . The proposals may include the explicit commitment from the European Aviation
Safety Agency (EASA) to assist or to participate in the actions275.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes with increased resources and impact, international
cooperation can be foreseen with third countries with relevant capacities in this domain, while
ensuring that the respect of European IPR, interests and values is strictly guaranteed.
Synergies with other transport modes and safety/security critical sectors is welcomed, in
particular on risk assessment and pre-normative research to ensure fit-for-purpose rulemaking
and management systems.
Synergies with the relevant topics in Horizon Europe Cluster 4 can be exploited e.g.
HORIZON-CL4-2021-SPACE-02-52 (EGNSS applications for Safety and Crisis
management), HORIZON-CL4-2022-SPACE-02-51(EGNSS applications for Smart mobility)
as well as with other EU programmes such as Connecting Europe Facility (CEF),
NextGenerationEU and Digital Europe.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01-08: Safer navigation and tackling containership fires
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         3.50 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Admissibility            The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level          General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
274
         Examples of aviation safety research projects available on:
         - Projects For Policy (P4P) on Aviation Safety https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
         /publication/b4690ade-3169-11e8-b5fe-01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF/source-75248795
         - Coordination-support action OPTICS2 https://www.optics-project.eu/narratives/
275
         https://www.easa.europa.eu/domains/safety-management/research
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    Navigational accidents including vessel collisions and groundings, damage to vessels
      and boats from debris (in particular lost containers), and harm to marine mammals are
      significantly reduced.
    There is systematic understanding of the causes of navigational accidents and high
      standards are established for their prevention.
    Automated systems reducing the human factor as a cause of navigational accidents are
      introduced on a relevant scale and deployed in particular on vessels operating in
      sensitive areas where navigational accidents and incidents would have a particular
      negative impact (coastal zones, marine protected areas).
    Digital solutions (“smart ships”) that help in the prevention of accidents are developed
      and integrated in the overall vessel architecture and in traffic control systems. A link to
      automated and autonomous shipping solutions under development is established.
    Containership fires can be systematically prevented, and when occurring they will be
      detected swiftly and tackled safely without recourse to external intervention.
    The serious risk to crews, coastal and port communities from the toxic combustion
      products of containership fires is mitigated.
    The frequency of containership fires is reduced in a statistically proven way.
Scope: Whilst the safety of shipping has significantly improved since the major disasters in
the past decades navigational accidents remain a frequent and almost daily occurrence. In
addition, the growing size of containerships has been linked to an increasing frequency of
major containership fires which are difficult to tackle and have often resulted in the loss of
lives and the total loss of ship and cargo as well as dangers from toxic combustion products.
Lost containers remain a serious navigational hazard with consequences for the safety of
smaller vessels and boats as well as for imminent and longer term coastal pollution.
Human factors are often the most important causal factor within navigational accidents
including collisions with waterborne traffic and structures, and groundings. Furthermore
hazards such as collisions with large marine mammals and debris can be difficult to detect by
means of human observation.
Despite improvements fires on-board containerships continue to be a regular occurrence
which often require external intervention for crew evacuation (where at all possible) and on
certain occasions have remained uncontrolled for days before burning out or being
extinguished. Such interventions cannot be assured easily on most major shipping routes and
are not always effective with consequent risks to crews, the marine environment and
potentially coastal communities.
To address these challenges applicants will address one of the following two aspects:
Navigational accidents
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 a. Systematically assess the causes, consequences and probability of navigational
    accidents, including collisions involving vessels and offshore structures, groundings,
    container losses, as well as collisions with marine mammals and floating objects.
 b. Develop solutions and standards to address the most important causal factors, including
    the removal/reduction of human factors through smart sensors and automatic prevention
    and evasion measures.
 c. To reduce and potentially eliminate the human factor develop and test innovative
    solutions beyond the state of the art to locate and stay clear of objects in order to avoid
    navigational accidents including collisions with marine mammals, floating debris and
    small surface vessels, in particular recreational crafts and fishing boats. Based on open
    source principles and common data protocols (e.g. AIS) the developed systems should
    also support digital networking to alert other waterborne traffic in real time of the
    location of hazards as well as supporting a European navigational hazards data base. The
    exploitation of Galileo GNSS services and eventually other space based services is to be
    foreseen.
 d. Propose solutions to the tracking and recovery of lost containers in cases where those
    containers pose a risk to navigation and the marine environment.
Containership fires
 a. Undertake a systematic analysis of containership fires’ causal factors (including
    malicious and erroneous cargo declarations), the currently established responses based
    on on-board means, and the consequences, including the potential consequence of a fire
    in coastal regions with an onshore wind.
 b. Research should address the range of risks, ship and cargo system design issues, fire
    detection and firefighting methods, accident management methodologies, and pertinent
    regulatory issues in order to greatly reduce the risk of fires at sea.
 c. Special attention should be given to fires within cargo areas (in holds and on deck) for
    which relevant risk control options should be presented, analysed and the effects of their
    application validated though computer simulation and model tests, including those for
    specific firefighting equipment.
 d. In cooperation with relevant authorities (EMSA, European flag states, coast guards,
    rescue services) accident management strategies and plans to minimise the consequences
    from containership fires in European coastal and port areas should be developed. This
    should include an analysis of and proposition for stand-by equipment and assets.
 e. Outcomes and strategies should be widely communicated to facilitate best practice and
    develop specific training plans, including practical exercises on a realistic scale, for
    crews in cooperation with operators and seafarer organisations.
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Call - Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goods
                                                                           HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)276
                Topics                     Type         Budgets            Expected EU            Number
                                             of          (EUR        contribution per project         of
                                          Action        million)        (EUR million)277           projects
                                                                                                  expected
                                                          2022                                      to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 28 Apr 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 06 Sep 2022
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-01 IA                          15.00 278      7.00 to 8.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-02 IA                          15.00 279      7.00 to 8.00                 2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-03 RIA                         8.00           Around 4.00                  2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-04 IA                          20.00 280      8.00 to 10.00                2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-05 RIA                         15.00 281      4.00 to 5.00                 3
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-06 IA                          10.00 282      Around 5.00                  2
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-07 RIA                         8.00           Around 4.00                  2
Overall indicative budget                             91.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
276
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
277
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
278
        Of which EUR 7.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
279
        Of which EUR 7.50 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
280
        Of which EUR 10.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
281
        Of which EUR 1.66 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
282
        Of which EUR 5.00 million from the 'NGEU' Fund Source.
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                                                       Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Multimodal and sustainable transport systems for passengers and goods
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-01: Logistics networks integration and harmonisation
through operational connectivity to optimise freight flows and drive logistics to climate
neutrality
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       7.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
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Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Freight transport and logistics companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises,
      evolve to operate seamlessly engaging with nodes, partners and customers in an effective
      way, thus achieving a better utilisation of the assets and other resources in the freight
      transport and logistics chain within Europe.
   Energy and emissions reduction potentials higher than 20%, based on the operative gains
      without needing to renew the assets, are demonstrated by the shared logistics networks
      (collaborative logistics).
Scope: Integration and harmonisation of closed independent logistics networks and of clusters
of networks (e.g. from different logistics service providers or different cargo owners)
providing open and shared services to manufacturers and retailers focussing on intra-
European flows, would enable to optimise freight flows at system level, thus overcoming
operational inefficiencies (e.g. peak overloads, partially loaded or empty transportation, sub-
optimal transit routing, waiting times, higher overall costs, inefficient asset utilisation,
increased emissions) and driving climate neutrality in logistics.
Projects will have to advance the adoption of technological solutions and organisational and
behavioural models in use cases and applications under the leadership of logistics operators
taking into account stakeholders’ preferences.
In pilot actions, two or more logistics providers or shippers’ logistics networks should
develop and demonstrate a systemic framework for connecting effectively their independent
logistics networks (at least partially) pooling the demand of various cargo owners and develop
a system of logistics networks in which assets and services, including synchro-modal services,
are shared and flows are managed in a consolidated way demonstrating potential benefits.
Proposals should address all the following points and subpoints:
   Develop and demonstrate a robust and transparent collaborative framework with guiding
      principles to ensure operational connectivity of logistics networks (e.g. services, shared
      resources and assets, information and financial flows, etc.) under the lead of logistics
      providers and addressing governance and potential anti-competition law issues. Current
      independent closed networks gradually are expected to become connected networks with
      shared and open capabilities, including intermodal transport solutions in specific
      demonstrators.
   Through the pilot cases and demonstrators:
         Identify and demonstrate potential gains of these logistics networks / systems of
            logistics networks compared to independent logistics networks in terms of
            emissions and energy consumption reduction and potential business models for
            uptake beyond the project duration.
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         Identify main barriers and opportunities to achieve a system of logistics networks,
            propose solutions and pilot them to deliver guidelines for expansion and
            implementation.
         Address governance aspects (e.g. how to organise and expand the logistic network
            with other logistics networks willing to join or how to legally engage with users of
            these shared logistics networks services and capabilities) and propose actions to
            accelerate organic and jointly acceptable growth of these logistics networks.
         Identify innovative business models addressing also revenue sharing.
         Identify and assess existing regulation (e.g. anti-competition) preventing or the
            need for new regulation to enable this shared and holistic approach, by building on
            the results and outcomes of previous and ongoing projects and activities 283 .
            Develop guidelines to address specific concerns and propose specific
            recommendations that should be considered.
     Identify and assess the main drivers and barriers towards horizontal collaboration in
      terms of organisational cultures and frameworks of the logistics service providers and
      the transport operators. Propose solutions to overcome the barriers and recommendations
      on how to create the best conditions (success factors) to boost new logistics
      collaborations, maintain them and reap their benefits.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-02: Urban logistics and planning: anticipating urban
freight generation and demand including digitalisation of urban freight
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         7.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Admissibility            The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
283
         E.g. Digital Transport and Logistics Forum www.dtlf.eu,, Collaboration Concepts for Co-modality
         (CO3) http://www.co3-project.eu/., NexTrust
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conditions                 exceptions apply:
                           If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                           and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                           Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                           additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
     Take up and upscaling of innovative, best practice and replicable data driven logistics
      solutions and planning in the living labs284 involved in the proposals, while facilitating
      the common lesson drawing and learning at European level, in order to contribute to the
      priorities of the European Green Deal, which stresses that ‘’transport should become
      drastically less polluting, especially in cities.285 This action supports city sustainability
      targets such as climate neutrality, road safety, improved air quality, reduced congestion
      and better use of public space.
     Optimal mix distribution of land uses both in city centres and peripheries looking at the
      preferred rationales for achieving the best combination of residential, commercial,
      leisure and industrial space to reach the most sustainable mobility patterns according to
      the available and future transport supply and demand.286
     Improved local authority capacity in the managing and collection of data, estimation and
      measurements of the impacts achieved by new measures and if a regulation is needed to
      ensure this happening.
     Valorisation of data and information gathered from urban freight to better understand the
      impact of long-haul deliveries and e-commerce on the city as “just in time” deliveries are
      producing longer and more trips with more and emptier vehicles, leading to more
      congestion, air and noise pollution, Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and road risk in
      urban areas.
     Optimise the potential mix of strategically positioned land, owned by public authorities
      (unused railway tracks and marshalling yards, real estate, parking) or by logistics service
      providers in urban areas, for developing a comprehensive policy strategy integrating
      transport, logistics and land use. The scope of this exercise includes the roll-out of new
      modes and increasing use of sustainable modes (waterways and rail). Better understand
      the impact of increasing transport and logistics patterns on the climate and environment,
      resilience and robustness of the transport network and the urban infrastructure. This
      exercise addresses as well the increasing impact of new modes, (electric assisted) cargo
      bicycles, light electric freight vehicles (LEFV) and vehicles on alternative fuels.
284
         At least three living lab cities should be included as demonstrators of the innovative solutions and at
         least three follower cities. At least one of the living labs and follower cities should be located in areas
         experiencing rapid economic and social change.
285
         https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:b828d165-1c22-11ea-8c1f-
         01aa75ed71a1.0002.02/DOC_1&format=PDF
286
         These patterns are data supported, by collecting and analysing freight data.
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    Optimize shared transport facilities for goods through smart solutions.
    Improved space management and urban planning focusing on the “new normal” after the
      Covid-19 pandemic considering how cities are optimising their planning and allocation
      of space.
    Demonstrate and deploy economically viable and sustainable solutions driven by
      relevant technologies (e.g. real-time traffic information, space management, floating car
      data) and demonstrate the convenience of consolidation, consistent with the full planning
      of loading and unloading spaces, to deliver the services and the goods.
    New or upgraded sustainable urban logistics plan that includes the main stakeholders
      (cities, logistics operators, couriers, postal services, real estate and/or retail industries)
      and addresses to a minimum: development of safe and sustainable logistics and delivery
      models in cities, low emission zones, data collection and usage, consolidation and space
      management, clean and alternative vehicles, stakeholders dialogue, e-commerce.
Scope: How urban space is being used and allocated can influence congestion, noise, road
risk, air quality, GHG emissions as well as liveability. At the same time there is a gap for
purpose-oriented freight data collection in cities to support their decision making towards
sustainability targets such as climate neutrality, air quality, road safety reducing congestion
and better use of public space.
Proposals should consider dynamic space re-allocation for the integration of urban freight at
local level and the impacts of how urban space is being used as well as the optimal mix of
space distribution and of land uses. Proposals should analyse the potential of strategically
positioned urban (or peri-urban) spaces to develop and implement a pilot demonstration, (but
without interfering with parks, trees or other recreational green areas). The aim is to reduce
the impact of freight transport and logistics on the urban fabric.
Projects could consider involving real estate companies, logistics service providers, together
with cities, to develop sustainable business models for open and clean hubs/consolidation
spaces in cities (for example using/sharing existing private locations such as underground
private parking, office buildings and other potential available spaces in cities – while
respecting security constraints).
A more efficient policymaking on urban freight logistics requires cities to enhance their data
collection capabilities, while private logistics or e-commerce (like food delivery) companies
and services should be encouraged to share data. Potential applications are Urban Vehicle
Access Regulations (UVARs), including Low Emission Zones (LEZ), smart parking and
dynamic space management and better traffic planning. A vast amount of transport data from
different parts of the transport system currently remains unexploited. Understanding barriers
and opportunities as well as developing local capacity related to data collection within the
urban and peri-urban transport system is a first step to encourage private and public
organisations to share transport data. Potential benefits of the data applications need to be
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checked on how they could support the optimization of sustainable mobility plans (SUMPs)
and sustainable logistics plans (SULPs).
A thorough evaluation should provide qualitative and quantitative information on the results
of the local solutions implemented. The effectiveness of the proposed measures in achieving
local policy objectives should be evaluated and the possible barriers to their broad take up and
deployment identified, together with recommendations on how to overcome them. This
should be accompanied by mechanisms for common lesson drawing and learning, within the
project, between the projects funded under this topic and through the CIVITAS Initiative.
Proposals may include preparatory, take up and replication actions, research activities, as well
as tools to support local planning and policy making. A demonstrated contribution to the
implementation of the cities’ Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans is expected. If not already in
place, the city can develop a Sustainable Urban Logistics Plan or other appropriate planning
instrument to manage urban freight and logistics. Funding for major infrastructure works is
not eligible. Proposals should plan for an active collaboration within the CIVITAS initiative.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-03: Smart enforcement for resilient, sustainable and more
efficient transport operations
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
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    An innovative, efficient, consistent and resilient enforcement system thanks to the direct
      contactless access to real-time digitized information on vehicle, driver and cargo by
      competent authorities.
    A more competitive and fairer transport internal market thanks to the realisation of
      “compliance by design” and “compliance by default” principles.
    Optimisation of the use of human and economic resources and increased productivity for
      both, public control authorities and transport operators, due to reduced administrative
      burden and time, while achieving a very significant increased control efficiency and
      consistency.
    Improved transport workers social conditions and increased attractiveness of the sector,
      by reducing the pressure put on them as the main subjects responsible for law
      compliance.
    Accelerated deployment of e-government services by authorities and uptake of digital
      solutions by transport operators for information exchange.
    Decreased number of transport accidents, incidents and fatalities linked to the higher
      levels of compliance with road transport legislation.
    Accelerated deployment of innovative connected, cooperative and automated mobility
      (CCAM) technologies and systems for passengers and goods to increase safety and
      reduce environmental impacts.
Scope: The research and innovation activities should provide innovative solutions for
allowing the authorities to access directly and in real time all relevant information required
under the different pieces of legislation in “one click”. In particular, that should include social
rules (such as Regulation No 561/2006 on Driving times and resting periods, Regulation (EU)
165/2014 on the Tachograph and Directive 2006/22/EC as regards enforcement requirements
for posting drivers in the road transport sector), market rules (such as Regulation 1071/2009
on access to the occupation of road transport operator, Regulations 1072/2009 and 1073/2009
on access to the market for freight and passenger road transport, Directive 96/53/EC on
weights and dimensions of certain road vehicles, Directive (EU) 2016/797 on the
interoperability of the rail system, Directive (EU) 2016/1629 on technical requirements for
inland waterway vessels, and Directive 2005/44/EC on harmonised river information services
(RIS) on inland waterways in the Community), as well as safety legislation (such as Directive
2006/126/EC on driving licences, Directive 2003/59/EC on the certificate of professional
competence of drivers, Directive 2007/59/EC on the certification of train drivers and
Directive (EU) 2017/2397 on the recognition of professional qualifications in inland
navigation).
Research and innovation actions are expected to bring together stakeholders at various level,
from supply chain (e.g. manufacturers, retailers, freight forwarders and logistics service
providers), transport services (e.g. transport operators, enforcing authorities) and
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infrastructure networks (e.g. road / rail / inland waterways operators and transport node public
authorities) to ensure a truly integrated approach.
The technical solutions should take into account the work done in the Digital Transport and
Logistics Forum287 and in its subgroup on electronic documents in particular, and build on the
existing electronic databases and exchange of information platforms (RESPER, ERRU,
TACHONET, RIS, IMI, eFTI, etc.), as well as privately developed tools already in place,
allowing for their interconnection or integration in order to provide seamless access and
exchange of information under the “only once principle”. They should also develop existing
and/or new concepts and systems to incorporate the areas that are not yet covered by such
electronic databases and platforms. The aim is to achieve a comprehensive ecosystem for
smart transport enforcement that is tested and proved to be viable, economically and
technically, and allows for future integration with relevant information exchange systems in
use or considered for deployment in all modes of transport, as part of a wider multimodal
transport information exchange environment.
The research should also provide assessment and recommendations on ensuring that there is a
business case for the operators to make the information available electronically to the
authorities, and for the authorities to accept it and implement the means to use this
information in line with the “only once principle”. Recommendations could eventually
include the need for legislative measures to support the uptake of the digital and
communication technologies for smart enforcement.
Furthermore, the research should consider the business case and conditions for reusing
administrative information, where relevant, for the purposes beyond proving legal
compliance. This includes, for instance, for compiling statistics, informing research, assessing
the use of infrastructure, optimising logistics operations and maximising utilisation of assets.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-04: Accelerating the deployment of new and shared
mobility services for the next decade
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        8.00 and 10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
287
        https://www.dtlf.eu/
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Admissibility             The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                          and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                          Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                          additionally be used).
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
Developing and pilot testing at least three different business models scenarios based on
collaboration platforms or public-private partnerships/project, each of them contributing to:
     Congestion and air pollution reduction, reduced road risk, social inclusion, accessibility
      in each city (living lab)288.
     Increased share of new and shared mobility services (NMS) in the modal distribution,
      e.g. by 25% compared to a realistic baseline and financial viability of services.
     Integration of new and shared mobility services with public transport (e.g. filling service
      gaps and off-peak periods), in at least following three collaborative use cases/living lab
      that will facilitate data sharing and connectivity with remote/peri-urban areas.
      (Re-)Designing transport infrastructure 289 or upgrading/reusing existing infrastructure
      elements (e.g. street profile/layout, intersection/junction design, priority corridors/lanes,
      dedicated parking, charging/docking stations, street surfaces/pavements, etc.) to
      accommodate new mobility modes, patterns and behaviours with highest safety levels
      while being resilient to various climate conditions.
     Developing results based policies as well as recommendations/each project in line with
      the Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning guidelines, to increase the understanding and
      take-up of new mobility services by local/regional authorities and public and private
      mobility service providers.
288
         At least three living lab cities should be included as demonstrators of the innovative solutions and at
         least three follower cities. At least one of the living labs and follower cities should be located in areas
         experiencing rapid economic and social change.
289
         Solutions need to demonstrate that traffic congestion is not increased.
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   Actively engage in communicating the common learning, lesson drawing, evaluation,
      dissemination and the exchange of knowledge and best practices, both within the project
      and with the wider urban mobility and transport community.
Scope: New and shared mobility services have shown that they have the potential to meet
urban dweller’s needs while at the same time bring about a more rational use of cars.
However, in order to succeed at delivering ‘’Mobility As a Service’’ and address the
challenges that cities face, high-quality, user centric, and reliable new mobility solutions need
to be offered as a credible alternative to the private car, coupled with safe and integrated
infrastructure.
New solutions should be explored and deployed for newly designed or existing transport
infrastructure to accommodate new and shared mobility services. Mobility services that could
be considered are, for example: micro mobility, including bike/scoter sharing, demand
responsive transport, car-pooling or car sharing.
New and shared mobility services should be proposed in at least 3 living labs/project in
integrated, complementary and reinforcing packages of urban mobility and planning measures
and new technological solutions, combining “push’’ and “pull” measures.
The services deployed should enable the idea of a social optimum in mobility from several
perspectives (including socio-economic, environmental, health, accessibility; gender and
inclusion; and safety and security aspects) while considering the implications for transport
infrastructure and urban design.
The new services should also be tested beyond the commercially interesting urban cores,
providing low and zero emission solutions for car-dependent suburban, peri-urban and rural
areas linked to specific needs of diverse target groups such as populations with no access to
public transport or affluent communities dependent on the private car.
Projects should test new and shared mobility services in mobility management (such as for
companies, schools, attractions). Innovative approaches that respond to the needs of a large
variety of users (such as families with children, people living in remote locations, commuters,
housing developers) are expected. The role of marketing and communication, and approaches
based on the co-creation of solutions should be considered.
Equally eligible would be cooperative approaches with employers willing to enter in a pilot to
test a ‘Mobility as a Service’ (MaaS) type of service for their employees or with housing
developers that are offering reduced parking spaces to residents and seek to offer smart and
shared mobility solutions in return.
The proposals should also explore how the adaptation of transport infrastructure (e.g. bike-
lanes or new street designs, profiles and layouts, etc…), promotes the use of shared, micro-
and active- mobility, limiting risks and increasing safety while reducing transport congestion.
The results and impacts should be assessed using a wide range of quantitative indicators and
compared with the situation before the implementation of the proposed solutions.
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Public space redesign actions targeted by the awarded projects should not come at the cost of
removing or deterioration of parks, trees or green recreational areas in the selected partner
cities.
The potential adverse impacts some NMS may generate for example on high-density urban
areas, on safety and security, travel demand, public transport use and traffic volumes, should
be considered.
A demonstrated contribution to the implementation of the cities’ Sustainable Urban Mobility
Plans is expected. Proposals should collaborate with the CIVITAS initiative. They should
demonstrate that the proposed approaches are truly innovative for the local context. Proposals
should ensure that an appropriate geographical balance across Europe is achieved through
twinning activities and other means to maximise impact without leaving anyone behind, and
by demonstrating commitment of cooperation though their planned activities.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-05: Advanced multimodal network and traffic
management for seamless door-to-door mobility of passengers and freight transport
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       4.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-6 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to at least four of the following
expected outcomes:
    Improved multimodal transport network and traffic management capabilities, facilitating
      seamless door-to-door mobility for passengers and freight.
    Effective and resilient network-wide data exchange and new integrated data management
      systems for dynamic and responsive multimodal network and traffic management.
    Tested and validated systems for enhanced prediction and resolution of network
      bottlenecks, substantially increasing safety, security, resilience and overall performance
      of the entire transport network.
    Innovative tools and services for optimising mobility flows of passengers and freight in
      cities and other operating environments, cutting congestion, journey times and traffic
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      jams across transport modes, and thereby significantly reducing emissions (CO2, SOx,
      NOx, particles, noise).
   New governance arrangements for multimodal transport network and traffic
      management, in view of further regulatory and policy actions.
   High market adoption and transferability of innovations to different ecosystems.
Scope: Advanced multimodal network and traffic management capabilities are essential for
the efficient operation of the entire transport network and for seamless door-to-door mobility
of both passengers and freight. This is even more pertinent in view of new mobility trends and
technologies, connected and automated vehicles, new physical and digital infrastructures and
innovative services. At the same time however, a number of challenges remain to develop
validated concepts and leverage multi-actor data exchange, ensure interoperability of new
technologies and develop interfaces across transport modes, as well as to design appropriate
governance arrangements for relevant public and private stakeholders.
In this context, building on best practices (technological, non-technological and socio-
economic), ongoing projects on multimodal network and traffic management, as well as other
initiatives (e.g. the Digital Transport and Logistics Forum), actions should address at least six
of the following aspects:
   Developing and carrying out validation for multimodal, dynamic, (cyber and physically)
      secure and resilient transport network and traffic management systems, leveraging state
      of the art technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, edge
      computing).
   Demonstrating effective collection, analysis and use of network-wide fixed and variable
      data (e.g. using ICT and EU satellite-based information from vehicles, physical
      infrastructures and users) and developing integrated data management and monitoring
      systems, for effective and intelligent multimodal network and traffic management.
   Developing new methods and tools for harmonised and comparable international
      monitoring of mobility demand, for passenger mobility and freight transport, including
      through survey data collection and big data processing, leveraging the opening of service
      providers’ databases to research and public authorities.
   Conducting simulations for system-wide optimisation of demand/capacity balancing for
      multimodal passenger and freight flows, against foreseen (e.g. traffic disruption due to
      an important city-wide event) and unforeseen scenarios (e.g. major network/traffic
      disruption as a result of a hazard manifestation or compromise in transport safety due to
      a health emergency), to enable real-time prediction and balancing of mobility behaviour,
      as well as early problem detection and resolution.
   Developing and testing network and traffic management visualisation and decision-
      making tools (e.g. using big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning), while taking
      into account regular mobility patterns (including soft modes) and user needs of citizens
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      (including vulnerable road users and different gender groups) and businesses, as well as
      ad-hoc and flexible mobility-on-demand services, in the context of mobility/logistics as a
      service.
   Demonstrating interoperability and enhanced interfaces of network and traffic
      management systems across stakeholders, transport modes and country borders.
   Performing early pilot activities on multimodal network/traffic management, of limited
      scale and in defined environments, such as in the context of urban mobility of passengers
      and freight.
   Conceiving, developing and preparing the introduction of next-generation multimodal
      network and traffic management services, provided by public and/or private stakeholders
      and operationalised at a centralised and/or decentralised level.
   Develop and test implementable multi-level governance models, with roles and
      responsibilities for public and private stakeholders to share data and engage in transport
      network and traffic management functions, providing recommendations for further
      regulatory and policy actions.
In line with the Union’s strategy for international cooperation in research and innovation,
international cooperation is encouraged.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-06: Smart and efficient ways to construct, maintain and
decommission with zero emissions from transport infrastructure
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Admissibility           The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve at least TRL 7 by the end of the
Readiness Level         project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
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    A holistic approach to lowering transport infrastructure environmental impact, which
      takes into account the whole life cycle of transport infrastructure; carbon-neutral
      construction, maintenance, operation and decommissioning of the infrastructure
    Implementation of circular economy principles (for example, by fostering new solutions
      and systems that are easy to maintain, repair, update, adapt and replace and by
      maximising the re-use/recycle of infrastructure components) to reduce emissions and the
      environmental impact; 100% reutilisation of construction materials within or across
      transport modes.
    Performance-based design models and manufacturing techniques (e.g. additive and
      subtractive manufacturing) with the objective to substantially reduce materials
      consumption in construction and maintenance activities.
    Enhanced modular construction, maintenance and decommissioning interventions able to
      reduce life cycle cost (LCC) by at least 30%.
    Optimisation of energy use and increased share of renewable energy for infrastructure
      management operations as a way leading to achieving energy neutrality
    Novel governance, public procurement and data utilization models to decrease the
      emissions and carbon footprint of the whole life cycle of transport infrastructure by 20%
Scope: The overall objective of the topic is to support the development of sustainable
transport infrastructure, addressing its environmental and economic efficiency dimensions.
Research should provide knowledge and technical solutions to limit transport emissions, both
caused by transport infrastructure and to which transport infrastructure contributes, as the
infrastructure related emissions are often unaccounted for. This in due to the long time
between construction and decommissioning. Projects should cover the whole life cycle of
transport infrastructure to which extent transport infrastructure design can influence and limit
the overall emissions from construction, maintenance, operation and decommissioning of the
infrastructure.
Proposals should address all of the following aspects:
    Development of new methods and technologies to construct, manage and maintain
      transport infrastructure in order to further contribute to lowering emissions while
      allowing for cost saving.
    Fostering of green, sustainable and innovative public procurement (particularly focused
      on the reduction of emissions, recycling and climate adaptation and mitigation).
    Development of smart techniques for effective construction, maintenance and
      decommissioning tasks leading to zero emissions from transport infrastructure. Modular,
      standard and prefabricated solutions need to be considered. Additive manufacturing
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      techniques (e.g. 3D-printing) can be also taken into account. Recycling and reuse of
      materials should be also incorporated into the automated processes.
   Design and development of solutions for reduction of emissions through more efficient
      energy management on transport infrastructure operations by, for example energy
      harvesting on infrastructure and its verges, adaptive lighting systems, self-powered
      signalling systems and innovative tunnel ventilation. The proposed solutions should take
      into consideration existing regulations.
   Validation of all the proposed solutions in at least three demonstration pilots at minimum
      TRL7, considering different environments and phases of the infrastructure life cycle, ,
      namely design, construction, maintenance and decommissioning.
Proposals should build on previous results from projects on sensoring, digitalisation, asset
management, decision support and automation in the construction and maintenance of
infrastructures.
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-07: New concepts and approaches for resilient and green
freight transport and logistics networks against disruptive events (including pandemics)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   An adaptive multimodal European freight transport and logistics network, including its
      international connections, that reacts quickly and seamlessly upon disruptions (including
      pandemics), hence minimising the damage and shortening the recovery time while
      significantly reducing emissions.
   European freight transport and logistics networks which are resilient by design, thanks to
      better operational interconnectivity of the stakeholders, services provided based on real-
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      time status information, pre-defined alternative routes and synchro-modal approaches,
      robust data management, secure and resilient digital logistic and network management
      tools.
    New cost-efficient business models and services towards resilient and zero-emission
      logistics are adopted by the sector in the short-medium term, also supported by
      appropriate regulatory frameworks and participatory planning processes.
Scope: New production and distribution trends (e.g. globalisation, lean manufacturing, just-in-
time inventory) as well as emerging digital technologies have introduced new kinds of
challenges to the supply chain. Together with resilient and smart infrastructures, new
concepts, innovative solutions and better cooperation of operators are needed for freight
transport to minimise the negative impacts of disruptions, shorten the recovery and ease the
transition time, while taking in due account emissions and energy consumption reductions as
feasible.
Research and innovation actions will have to bring together stakeholders at various level,
from supply chain (e.g. manufacturers, retailers, freight forwarders and logistics service
providers), transport services (e.g. transport operators, enforcing authorities) and
infrastructure networks (e.g. road / rail / inland waterways operators and transport node public
authorities) to ensure a truly integrated and jointly acceptable approach.
Proposals will have to:
    Evaluate the resilience of strategic logistics networks and their related data and IT
      systems and propose management systems and operations, including alternative
      networks and transport services, to increase their resilience against natural, accidental
      and human triggered disruptive events. Proposed concepts and solutions should be
      suitable to increase the resilience and sustainability of the entire transport network.
      Lessons learnt from the COVID-19 crisis on how to make supply chains concurrently
      more resilient to large-scale shocks and environmentally friendly should be considered.
    Develop and demonstrate how synchro-modal approaches (shipment split and merge,
      dynamic synchronisation of multimodal schedules, realignment in case of disruptions
      etc.) provide resilience and sustainability by design to the freight transport and logistics
      networks in which these services are operated.
    Develop business intelligence capabilities, such as intermodal freight corridor
      performance and resilient measurement and assessment (e.g. evaluate what could be the
      alternative logistics networks and services to manage a failure in a main infrastructure in
      a transport corridor).
    Define cost-efficient and green new business models able to be adopted by the sector in
      the short-medium term and propose business/regulatory roadmaps and recommendations
      to support the adoption of the new proposed approaches and other solutions enhancing
      the capability to manage disruptions.
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Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
Establishing synergies with projects funded under the Cluster 3 Civil Security for Society
topic ‘Ensured infrastructure resilience in case of Pandemics’ could be envisaged.
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Other actions not subject to calls for proposals
Grants to identified beneficiaries
1. Support for the SET Plan Conference
Slovenia will organise the annual Strategic Energy Technology Plan conference in 2021. The
conference will take place in Slovenia during the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the
European Union. The European Commission will support the organisation of the annual SET
Plan conference in cooperation with the entity designated by the Slovenian Presidency
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195(e) of the
Financial Regulation and Article 20(4) of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and
Rules for Participation to the legal entity identified below as it is responsible for energy policy
and will lead all activities on energy policies during the time of Slovenian Presidency of the
Council of the European Union. As such, the co-organisation of SET Plan Conference falls
under its competence.
Legal entities:
Republic of Slovenia, Ministry of Infrastructure , Langusova 4, SI- 1000 Ljubljana
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: 4th quarter of 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.25 million from the 2021 budget
2. Support to the IEA’s Clean Energy Transition Programme (CETP) for emerging
economies
The IEA's Clean Energy Transitions Programme (CETP) aims to accelerate global clean
energy transitions, particularly in major emerging economies, such as Brazil, China, India,
Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa and others. Drawing on the IEA’s recognised expertise
across all fuels and technologies, this programme assists the target countries in overcoming
the energy technology and policy challenges of moving towards the implementation of the
Paris Climate Agreement. The CETP hence also contributes to the objectives of the European
Green Deal’s international dimension, and it has therefore received EU funding since 2020.
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The CETP includes collaborative analytical work, technical cooperation and strategic
dialogues with key energy stakeholders in emerging economies. In particular, the EU is keen
to continue supporting, through a 3-year project, activities related to (among others) the
development of innovative and timely indicators of the clean energy transition, the integration
of renewable energy through adequate policies and market design, and accelerated energy
technology innovation and deployment through policy and international cooperation.
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195 (e) of the
Financial Regulation and Article 20(4) of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and
Rules for Participation to the legal entity identified below as it contributes directly and
significantly to the external dimension of the EU Green Deal and the Paris Climate
Agreement and can leverage IEA’s unique clean energy expertise and recognition in major
emerging economies.
Legal entities:
Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (International Energy Agency),
OECD, rue André-Pascal 2, PARIS CEDEX 16 75775
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: 3rd/4th quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 3.00 million from the 2022 budget
3. IRENA - Clean Energy Innovation Analysis & RE-MAP grants290
Description: Provision of enhanced technical analysis and the fostering of broader
information exchange on renewable energy innovation potential and deployment opportunities
to support the implementation of the EU Green-Deal and its supporting strategies for reaching
net-zero emissions in the EU energy system by 2050.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has developed detailed knowledge and
expertise on the status and prospects of innovative solutions for renewable energy amongst
the major global players in clean energy innovation including in the EU and many EU
member states. In addition, IRENA’s near-global membership of 162 countries enables the
290
         This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
         R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from the delegation to
         Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
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agency to convene experts and decision-makers from around the world to facilitate the
exchange of knowledge and to increase collaboration.
The planned activities will leverage and allow IRENA to expand upon that expertise and its
established collaborative frameworks. The activities will draw on IRENA Regional Remap
analysis, including the upcoming REMap-EU, and will deepen IRENA’s work on the
development, discussion and dissemination of an evidence base on innovation opportunities
that can inform policy development and long-term planning including enhanced roadmaps for
the pathway to the 2050 net-zero emissions goal. The expanded scope will ensure that EU
specific opportunities to both learn from and share insights with countries within and outside
the EU are identified as well as opportunities for EU innovations to be utilized further afield.
Topics to be covered will include the following:
   Analysis of emerging systemic innovative solutions and their deployment potential for
      the deep decarbonization of challenging end-use sectors including long-distance and
      freight transportation and energy-intensive industries.
   Analysis of emerging systemic innovative solutions and their deployment potential for
      the deep decarbonization of buildings and urban environments.
   Fostering of closer collaboration and enhanced information exchange between countries
      and companies, within and beyond the EU, on the topic of innovative solutions for the
      production and use of renewable fuels including hydrogen.
   Fostering of closer collaboration and enhanced information exchange between countries
      and companies, within and beyond the EU, on the topic of making fuller use of
      underutilized renewable resources – including off-shore renewables and hydropower.
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195(e) of the
Financial Regulation and Article 20(4) of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and
Rules for Participation to the legal entity identified below as the International Renewable
Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organisation that include all EU Member
States and the European Union as members. IRENA has been requested by its members to
develop a global renewable energy roadmap (REmap), which is published yearly.
From 2016-2018, the EC supported the development of a REmap analysis for the European
Union which analysis supported EU policy development as well as IRENA’s global
renewables roadmap. The Remap analysis consists of a technology-rich, bottom-up analysis
of renewable energy potential, cost and benefits based on country by country analysis, with a
methodology that is developed within IRENA and that needs to be consistent with other
IRENA analyses to contribute to the global roadmap.
This study will provide an update and extension of the 2018 EU REmap analysis. As
explained above, the services can only be provided by IRENA which is therefore placed in a
de facto monopoly situation under point 11 of Annex 1, Financial Regulation.
Legal entities:
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International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Masdar City P.O. Box 236, Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: 2nd quarter 2021 – 4th quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 1.00 million from the 2021 budget
4. Improved offshore energy development in areas reserved for defence activities
The “EU Strategy to harness the potential of offshore renewable energy for a climate neutral
future” COM(2020) 741 final, specify the need to identify barriers for offshore renewable
energy developments in areas reserved for defence activities and improve co-existence. This
action shall present a mapping of the areas in question, their potential for offshore energy
generation including an analysis of the defence related barriers. On this basis solutions shall
be developed for improved co-existence involving stakeholders and experts from both defence
and energy sectors.
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195(e) of the
Financial Regulation and Article 20(4) of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and
Rules for Participation to the legal entity identified below as the EDA is justified as an
identified beneficiary through the dedicated action point in the offshore strategy (COM(2020)
741 final) that commits “The Commission and the European Defence Agency” to “set up a
joint action”. Furthermore the particular confidentiality aspects related to the use of military
installations and the EDA collaboration with the Ministries of Defence in the Member States
positions them as the only organisation that can implement this action. “
Legal entities:
European Defence Agency, Rue des Drapiers 17-23; 1050 Bruxelles; Belgium
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
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operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: launch before end 2021 with a duration of 24 months
Indicative budget: EUR 2.00 million from the 2022 budget
5. Support to European Standardisation Organisations for biomethane injection in the
grid in support of the implementation of the RED II as well as gas quality regulatory
work
CEN/TC 408 worked on the Commission's Standardization Request M/475 on standards for
biomethane use in transport and injection in natural gas pipelines under contract
SA/CEN/ENTR/EFTA/475/2012-15 and the standardisation work has progressed well.
However, the work identified important topics for which research has to be continued in order
to provide certainty for the specification and in particular:
a. Impact of siloxanes on industrial boilers;
b. Impact of Sulphur on engines;
c. Impact of oxygen on underground storages;
d. Impact of components on health;
e. corrosion tests in gas networks;
f. impacts of Hydrogen content in biomethane on gas grid;
g. statistical analysis on biogas composition;
h. purification process.
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195(e) of the
Financial Regulation and Article 20(4) of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and
Rules for Participation to the legal entity identified below as previous work under H2020
specific grant agreements with CEN have identified that there are knowledge gaps on impacts
of biomethane related siloxanes on heavy duty vehicles engines and industrial boilers as well
as the sulphur and oxygen content impact on gas facilities. In order to be able to update the
bio-methane standards EN16723-1:2016 and EN16723-2:2017 it is necessary to perform
experiments on these 2 topics. These are particularly relevant for advancing regulatory work
for greening the gas grid under the Green Deal. It is also relevant for implementing RED II.
There is urgency to begin in 2021 to complement existing specific grant agreement
ENER/C2/452-2019 as some work will need to run in parallel and to avoid significant gaps.
Revision of EN16723 would follow on the basis of this work in 2023. Without this follow up
agreement, it will not be possible to complete the work needed to revise CEN standard
EN/16723.
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Legal entities:
AFGAZ - L’Association Française du Gaz, 1 rue du Général Leclerc CS 40252 92047 PARIS
LA DEFENSE CEDEX FRANCE
GERG - Groupe Européen de Recherche Gazière (European Gas Research Group), Av.
Palmerston 4 B-1000 Brussels BELGIUM
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: 2nd quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 3.00 million from the 2021 budget
6. Support for the SET Plan Conference 2022
The Czech Republic will organise the annual Strategic Energy Technology Plan conference in
2022. The conference will take place during the Czech Presidency of the Council of the
European Union. The European Commission will support the organisation of the annual SET
Plan conference in cooperation with the entity designated by the Czech Presidency.
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195(e) of the
Financial Regulation and Article 20(4) of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and
Rules for Participation to the legal entity identified below as it is responsible for energy policy
and will lead all activities on energy policies during the time of Czech Presidency of the
Council of the European Union. As such, the co-organisation of SET Plan Conference falls
under its competence.
Legal entities:
The Czech Republic, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Na Františku 32, 110 15, Prague
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
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Indicative timetable: 2nd quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.25 million from the 2022 budget
Public procurements
1. Study on development of outlook for the necessary means to build industrial capacity
for drop-in advanced biofuels
The study will analyse the means which are needed to achieve the necessary industrial growth
for advanced biofuels contribution to meeting the new targets for 2030 and 2050 under the
European Green Deal by collecting industrial input directly from industrial associations
operating in the alternative and renewable transport fuels sector, analysing and putting
forward recommendations and a roadmap. The study will make an analysis on the actual
status in capacity and supply of alternative to fossil fuels for transport, and on the demand,
which will be created if different policy scenarios are applied to meet the new targets for 2030
and climate neutrality for 2050. The analysis will take into account all available alternative
fuel options including those based on technologies still in development and demonstration
stage today. Based on the results for the demand in drop-in advanced biofuels, the input of the
relevant fuel producers will be collected in order to determine the necessary developments of
the relevant industry in terms of actions and investments for meeting this demand in 2030 and
2050 with full compliance at highest standards with regards to socioeconomic and
environmental sustainability. The study will provide factual evidence and rigorous analysis of
industries outlooks and will define strategic research and innovation directions and a roadmap
for the industrial developments. The overall output will be presented in a strategic report,
which will be validated in a workshop with relevant industrial stakeholders and experts.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: 2nd quarter 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.70 million from the 2021 budget
2. Study on Prize development for renewable energy systems (recognition and
inducement prizes)
The study will investigate the potential candidates for prizes to be launched WP2023-2024
with the objectives to stimulate and accelerate the development and the market introduction of
renewable energy systems. The scope of the work will cover the analysis of past prizes
launched under Horizon 2020 and draw lessons to be learned, will establish criteria for prize
selection in the field of renewable energy for both types, recognition and inducement prizes,
and will draft aims and rules of contest for five prizes with the relevant stakeholders.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
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Indicative timetable: Q2 in 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.70 million from the 2021 budget
3. Study on using pre-commercial procurements for drop-in advanced biofuel for
commercial cargo-shipping and aviation
The study will address how to use pre-commercial procurements in the context of production
capacities, target fleets and distribution infrastructure to create substantial uptake of drop-in
advanced biofuel for commercial cargo-shipping and aviation which is essential for
decarbonisation of the maritime and aviation sectors, yet those fuels are less competitive to
fossil alternatives.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: 3rd quarter in 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.30 million from the 2021 budget
4. Dissemination and information activities291
Communication activities such as meetings, conferences, out-reach communication
events/papers/materials and publications should support dissemination of knowledge and
information to relevant stakeholders.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: as of 2nd quarter in 2021 and as of 1st quarter in 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.17 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 0.74 million from the
2022 budget
5. Dissemination and information activities related to the EIC Prize Fuel From the
Sun292
Communication activities such as meetings, Grand Final, conferences, award ceremony out-
reach communication events/papers/materials and publications should support dissemination
of knowledge and information to relevant stakeholders.
Form of Funding: Procurement
291
         This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
         R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from      the delegation to
         Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
292
         This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
         R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from      the delegation to
         Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
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Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: 3rd quarter 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.05 million from the 2021 budget
6. Information, dissemination and logistic support for EU in Mission Innovation293
The European Commission, on behalf of the European Union, joined the Mission Innovation
(MI) in June 2016. MI is a global initiative that aims to reinvigorate and accelerate public and
private global clean energy innovation to make clean energy widely affordable and it is one of
the key strategic forum for the EU's international cooperation in clean energy RD&D. MI
members committed to share information on their clean energy RD&D activities, double their
governmental clean energy investments within 5 years, and encourage greater levels of private
sector investments.
To guarantee continuation of MI initiative, and maintain the ownership of the activities the
EC, on behalf of the EU, is actively engaged in and another set of activities it leads, a series of
supporting services need to be covered, mainly the websites, information and dissemination
activities and logistic support, etc.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: 3rd quarter 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.10 million from the 2021 budget
7. Information services for energy research and innovation policy development 294
An information platform is planned to be used to gain a better understanding of the energy
research sector. Intelligence gained through the platform will help to establish priority areas,
base policy decisions on hard evidence, and allocate resources optimally.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: 3dr quarter 2021 and 3rd quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.10 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 0.10 million from the
2022 budget
293
         This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
         R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from      the delegation to
         Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
294
         This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
         R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from      the delegation to
         Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
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8. Smart Cities Marketplace295
This action aims to continue the current well-established service portfolio of the Smart Cities
Marketplace (knowledge-exchange, capacity building, matchmaking process) and
expanding/supplementing it with a pan-European programme with certified experts and
practitioners, which will provide hands-on help and know-how for making the much needed
city-needs-led change a reality.
The Smart Cities Marketplace has established a large community of more than 6.000 smart
city stakeholders across all relevant sectors (city administrations, industry, finance, research,
EU and international initiatives, etc.) over the past few years.
Supported by and actively engaging these stakeholders the project fostered purposeful and
tangible collaborations for the replication and upscaling of Smart City solutions.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: tender launch in 4th quarter 2021; project duration: 4 years
Indicative budget: EUR 7.00 million from the 2022 budget
9. Assessment of the competitiveness of clean energy technologies
This work will support the preparation of the annual Competitiveness Progress Reports
required under the Regulation on the Governance of the Energy Union. It will build on the
clean energy competitiveness framework and bring improvements, including on its social,
economic, and environmental indicators, as well as its international dimension. It will also fill
data gaps for specific technologies.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Calls for tender launch in 1st quarter 2022 – duration of contracts: 1.5
years
Indicative budget: EUR 0.50 million from the 2022 budget
10. Study on gender balance in the R&I field to improve the role of women in the energy
transition
The study will investigate the gender balance in the R&I field in Europe and assess how to
improve the role of women in the energy transition decision making process and in access to
new employment opportunities: barriers, good practices and recommendations.
295
        This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
        R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from the delegation to
        Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
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Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: 3rd quarter 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.90 million from the 2021 budget
11. Study on circular approaches for a sustainable and affordable clean energy
transition
The study will investigate the horizontal nature of circularity, proposing a holistic view
(circularity + sustainability + clean energy transition + increasing EU resilience and autonomy
in technologies).
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: 2nd quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.90 million from the 2022 budget
12. Organisation and operation the Grand Final event for the EIC Prize Fuel From the
Sun296
To contribute to the organisation and operation of the Grand Final event for the EIC Prize
Fuel From the Sun, that is part of the final assessment of the applications.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: 3rd quarter 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.05 million from the 2021 budget
13. Support to the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of climate,
energy and mobility research and innovation policy activities297
The action will focus on three types of activities:
296
        This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
        R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from      the delegation to
        Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
297
        This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
        R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from      the delegation to
        Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
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     Technical assistance, and economic and policy analysis to support various aspects of the
      research and innovation policy relevant in climate, energy and mobility and related
      sectors.
     Communication activities, such as events and publications, that could support
      dissemination of knowledge and information to interested organisations and individuals,
      as well as development of new forms of cooperation and information exchange between
      interested organisations and individuals.
     Supporting new forms of innovation in the climate, energy and mobility sectors, as well
      as new forms of supporting innovation, e.g. start-up support, new business models, new
      financing instruments, cooperation with organisations outside the climate, energy and
      mobility sectors., supporting innovation investment communities and intermediaries.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: as of 2nd quarter 2021 and as of 1st quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 1.00 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 1.30 million from the
2022 budget
14. Developing an Union database for transport gaseous and liquid fuels 298
In line with the Commission’s obligation under Article 28 of the Renewable Energy Directive
(RED II), it is necessary to ensure that a Union database is put in place to enable the tracing of
liquid and gaseous transport fuels that are eligible for being counted towards the target (and
specifically the numerator referred to in point (b) of Article 27(1)), that are suitable for
measuring compliance with renewable energy obligations and that are eligible for financial
support for the consumption of biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels. Accurate tracing along
the full value chain, starting from the certification of the feedstock compliance with the
sustainability criteria and progressing with accurate mass balancing through the fuel
production and their final use, is necessary to assure that the production and usage of biofuels
is consistent across the EU and does not generate the risk of multiple counting in the EU-wide
and global markets. Under the revised proposal of the RED II, the scope of the Union
database has been extended to cover all end-uses of the fuels already covered by the database.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: as of 2nd quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 1.75 million from the 2022 budget
298
         This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
         R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from the delegation to
         Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
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15. Assessment of GHG regional cultivation emissions related to NUTS 2 or equivalent
third country regional reports and support for assessment of the work of voluntary
schemes certifying sustainable feedstock and renewable fuels, produced from biomass 299
The study will support the implementation of the Directive 2018/2011 EU (RED II) in two
important areas, namely:
     Assessment of reports submitted by Member States or equivalent reports by third
      countries on regional average values of GHG cultivation emissions as per the obligation
      of article 31 (2) – (4) of RED II. The work will focus on assessing the correctness of data
      and methodological approach in calculating typical regional GHG emission values,
      connected to the cultivation of the agricultural biomass used in the production of the
      bioenergy.
     Support for the assessment of the methodology and operations of the schemes certifying
      fuels, recognized by the Commission under article 30 (4) of RED II.
Both streams of work are key to ensure the proper functioning of renewable energy policy
under the RED II in applying a Life-cycle assessment (LCA) approach in calculating GHG
emissions of pathways. Therefore, this work will be directly supporting the achievement of
the EU Green Deal objectives.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: as of 2nd quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.50 million from the 2022 budget
16. Update the Biograce methodology and calculation tool of GHG actual values for
biofuels production paths and review of Annex III of RED II on energy content of fuels
300
The study will support the Commission work in 2 important areas for the implementation of
the RED II, namely:
     The use of a streamlined and updated tool for calculation of actual GHG emission values
      for biofuels that can be directly used by economic operators;
299
        This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
        R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from      the delegation to
        Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
300
        This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
        R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from      the delegation to
        Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
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     Review and update of the list of fuels and their energy content in Annex III of RED II in
      order to ensure a proper basis of energy solutions for economic operators and Member
      States.
All these streams of work are key to ensure the proper functioning of renewable energy policy
under the RED II in applying a Life-cycle assessment (LCA) approach in calculating GHG
emissions of pathways. Therefore, this work will be directly supporting the achievement of
the EU Green Deal objectives.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: as of 2nd quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.60 million from the 2022 budget
17. Technical assistance for developing guidance on the application of the cascading
principle in support schemes for bioenergy 301
REDII include a requirement for Member States to design their support schemes in a way that
avoids undue distortions of the raw material market. As part of the REDII revision, the
Commission proposal includes the development of operational guidance on this requirement,
and to further explore best practice on how to apply the cascading principle to bioenergy
support schemes, including for minimising the use of high quality roundwood for energy use.
The objective of this measure is to assist the Commission with the preparation of such
operational guidance.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: as of 3rd quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.50 million from the 2022 budget
Subscription actions
1. Contribution to Technology Collaboration Programmes (TCPs) of the International
Energy Agency (IEA)302
The Commission represents the European Union in the Technology Collaboration
Programmes (TCPs) concluded under the framework of the International Energy Agency
301
        This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
        R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from      the delegation to
        Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
302
        This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
        R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from      the delegation to
        Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
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where it participates in activities in certain areas of energy research. The annual financial
contributions will be paid to the entities responsible for managing the following TCPs:
     Geothermal Energy Research and Technology;
     Bioenergy;
     Ocean Energy Systems;
     International Smart Grids Action Network (ISGAN);
     Greenhouse Gas Research & Development;
     Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems;
     Photovoltaic Power Systems;
     Solar Heating and Cooling;
     Clean Coal Centre;
     Wind Energy Systems;
     Hydropower Technology and Programmes;
     Gas and Oil Technologies;
     Energy Efficient End-Use Equipment (4E);
     Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E).
Type of Action: Subscription action
Indicative timetable: as of 1st quarter 2021, as of 1st quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.45 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 0.45 million from the
2022 budget
2. International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy 303
The Commission represents the European Union in the International Partnership for Hydrogen
and Fuel Cells in the Economy. The annual financial contribution will be paid to the entity
responsible for managing it.
Type of Action: Subscription action
Indicative timetable: as of 1st quarter 2021, as of 1st quarter 2022
303
        This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
        R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from the delegation to
        Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
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Indicative budget: EUR 0.05 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 0.05 million from the
2022 budget
3. Voluntary contribution to the CEM Secretariat for Phase III (July 2022 – June 2025)
and to participation in its initiatives and campaigns304
While the Commission has been active in the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) since its
inception in 2010, the European Union formally became a member on 6 June 2016 when the
EU Energy Ministers formally endorsed the CEM Framework Document. This Framework
Document is a combination of political commitment and more detailed procedural
arrangements of the co-operation, but does not create any legal or financial obligations under
domestic or international law.
The CEM Framework Document establishes a multilateral CEM Secretariat to facilitate the
long-term engagement of all CEM Members in the work of the CEM. This is hosted at the
International Energy Agency (IEA) under an "Administrative Arrangement" between the IEA
and CEM Members. In order to provide "adequate and predictable financial resources" for the
CEM Secretariat, CEM Members are encouraged to provide voluntary contributions on an
annual or multi-annual basis.
The CEM consists of major economies that, together with the European Commission on
behalf of the EU, are aiming to accelerate the global clean energy transition. Together they
have the potential for making a major impact as they represent about 90% of global clean
energy investment and 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The Commission has already expressed political support to extending the mandate of CEM
from Phase II (July 2019-June 2022) to Phase III (July 2022-June 2025). Preparations of this
new mandate (also referred to as CEM3.0) are underway with the Commission’s active
participation in the CEM Steering Committee.
Under CEM, groups of member countries may create, engage in and provide voluntary
financial contributions for initiatives and campaigns to advance specific CEM objectives. The
Commission currently co-leads and supports financially the operating agents of the following
initiatives: the Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment (SEAD) initiative
(50.000 EUR/year) and the Hydrogen initiative (20.000 EUR/year); and it is in the process of
joining the Equal by 2030 campaign (10.000 EUR/year).
Type of Action: Subscription action
Indicative timetable: Q2/Q3 2022 for the CEM Secretariat, and Q2/Q3 2021 and 2022 for the
CEM initiatives and campaign
Indicative budget: EUR 0.08 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 0.68 million from the
2022 budget
304
         This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
         R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from the delegation to
         Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
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4. IEA (EE HUB)305
The purpose of the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC) is to
strengthen international cooperation on energy efficiency. The action carried out under the
auspices of the Partnership should result in more effective energy policy and programme
output, in best practices being more widely known, disseminated and applied and in
economies of scale. The aim of the Partnership is to offer a topic-driven, structured dialogue
and an operational network for enhanced cooperation and exchanges on energy efficiency
between countries and international organisations by:
     exchanging information and experience on development of regulatory measures, policies
      and programmes;
     developing benchmarks and sharing information on goods and services, along with
      measurement methods regarding energy performance and energy savings;
     strengthening information, education and training for energy consumers;
     building stakeholder capacity by improving contacts between national, regional and local
      authorities and other relevant partners and stakeholders, exchanging views and sharing
      knowledge and experience.
Type of Action: Subscription action
Indicative budget: EUR 0.08 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 0.08 million from the
2022 budget
5. Contribution to the International Renewable Energy Agency306
The European Union is a member of IRENA. According to the organisation's Statute and
Financial Regulation this implies the obligation to pay an annual contribution to its budget
covering the participation of the EU in IRENA's activities. IRENA's main objective is to
disseminate best practices in the field of renewables as the principal platform for international
cooperation in the field, a centre of excellence on renewable energy and a repository of
policy, technology, resource and financial knowledge. This includes:
     The promotion of the widespread and increased adoption and the sustainable use of all
      forms of renewable energy globally, including in the EU, in particular to bring down
      costs and also to increase market experience, in order to contribute to economic growth
      and social cohesion as well as access to and security of energy supply;
     Support activities for countries in their transition to a renewable energy future;
305
         This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
         R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from      the delegation to
         Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
306
         This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
         R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from      the delegation to
         Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
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     Reducing of barriers for renewable energy, stimulating best practice and raising
      awareness.
Type of Action: Subscription action
Indicative budget: EUR 0.56 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 0.56 million from the
2022 budget
Scientific and technical services by the Joint Research Centre
1. Clean Energy Technology Observatory307
Development of a Clean Energy Technology Observatory that will monitor the EU research
and innovation activities on clean energy technologies needed for the delivery of the
European Green Deal; and will assess the competitiveness of the EU clean energy sector –
and its positioning in the global energy market. It will build on the previous Low Carbon
Energy Observatory and other related Commission activities.
Form of Funding: Direct action grants
Type of Action: Provision of technical/scientific services by the Joint Research Centre
Indicative timetable: 3rd quarter 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 5.00 million from the 2021 budget
2. Energy markets analysis308
To use and further enhance the METIS model for better understanding energy economy-
environment interactions at national, EU and regional levels, with a particular emphasis on the
detailed assessment of EU energy policy impacts on the power and gas systems and markets.
Form of Funding: Direct action grants
Type of Action: Provision of technical/scientific services by the Joint Research Centre
Indicative budget: EUR 0.50 million from the 2022 budget
307
        This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
        R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from      the delegation to
        Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
308
        This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
        R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from      the delegation to
        Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
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3. Energy scenarios309
To use, further develop and maintain JRC's modelling capabilities for better understanding
energy-economy-environment interactions at both the EU and global levels, with a particular
emphasis on the detailed assessment of EU energy policy impacts. The tools to be developed,
maintained and applied include POTEnCIA, GEME3 and POLES.
Form of Funding: Direct action grants
Type of Action: Provision of technical/scientific services by the Joint Research Centre
Indicative budget: EUR 0.50 million from the 2022 budget
4. Technical assistance for reviewing Annex V and VI in RED II310
There is a legal obligation to keep Annex V and Annex VI of the directive (EU) 2018/2001
(RED II) updated. JRC technical assistance is required to adding or revising values for
biofuel, bioliquid and biomass fuel production pathways.
Form of Funding: Direct action grants
Type of Action: Provision of technical/scientific services by the Joint Research Centre
Indicative budget: EUR 0.30 million from the 2021 budget
5. Smart specialisation for climate adaptation311
Provide guidance and support to EU regions and Member States in the development of smart
specialisation strategies to unlock / identify links to EU Regional Funds to implement their
climate adaptation plans and strategies contributing to a sustainable and inclusive growth.
Development of specific synergetic actions in the area of climate adaptation among Horizon
Europe, national research and innovation programmes, the EU Regional and cohesion
programmes and the Next generationEU recovery instrument.
Form of Funding: Direct action grants
Type of Action: Provision of technical/scientific services by the Joint Research Centre
Indicative timetable: as of 2nd quarter 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 1.00 million from the 2021 budget
309
        This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
        R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from      the delegation to
        Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
310
        This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
        R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from      the delegation to
        Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
311
        This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
        R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from      the delegation to
        Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
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Indirectly managed actions
1. Response to lessons-learnt from recent accidents / incidents in air transport
Specific challenges:
The investigations of recent incidents and accidents in commercial aviation have raised the
need to enhance further the end-to-end verification of complex systems, evolve airworthiness
and flight standards, detect potential faults and improve the survivability of occupants in case
of accidents.
Scope:
The targeted actions focus on specific safety issues, for which no new technological
development will be undertaken but, building on previous research and innovation actions, the
relevant changes to the aviation safety standards will be prepared and coordinated with
stakeholders:
   Further develop the understanding of complex errors in critical or automated aircraft
     systems (e.g. air sensors, flight controls and the applicability of new techniques for
     design verification and real-time fault detection);
   Understand the risks for fire and smoke from lithium batteries in aircraft cabin,
     refinement of operational standards and procedures to mitigate these;
   Develop comprehensive analysis and gather representative data for the assessment of
     aircraft evacuation issues, particularly for helicopter and VTOL ditching on water.
Contribution to EASA activities:
   Evolution of airworthiness standards (risk mitigations and regulatory compliance
     demonstration);
   Address EU MS safety investigation authority safety recommendations.
Impact:
   Introduction of innovative methods and solutions for safety management;
   Improvement of the European aviation safety system;
   Reinforcement of EU industry’s leading position due to safety technologies.
Results needed by: 2023
Legal entities:
European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3; D-50668 Köln;
Germany
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Form of Funding: Indirectly managed actions
Type of Action: Indirectly managed action
Indicative timetable: 1st quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 3.40 million from the 2022 budget
2. Safety standards for the introduction of key concepts and technologies
Specific challenges:
Technological innovation for air transport requires the comprehensive evaluation of benefits,
constraints, standardisation and deployment issues. Often, before new product approval,
Aviation Authorities need to re-assess existing safety standards and certification processes to
ensure their applicability to new technologies. Here the absence of up-front dedicated safety
assessment and relevant data raises the risk of delaying deployment, or worse creating safety
gaps with new products and processes. This research action concerns preparation for the safe
introduction of several new concepts (reduced crew or single crew operations) and
technologies (big data technologies, artificial intelligence, drones and U-Space) culminating
with new or evolved aviation standards and regulations, encompassing aircraft system
certification methods and tools, operational procedures and flight training processes and
systems.
Scope:
The targeted actions focus on specific safety issues, for which no new technological
development will be undertaken but, building on previous research and innovation actions, the
relevant changes to the aviation safety standards will be prepared and coordinated with
stakeholders:
   Risk assessment framework for reduced crew and single crew operational concepts;
   Development of certification standards supporting the introduction of artificial
      intelligence techniques for safety-critical aviation applications;
   Introduction of new technologies for flight training devices (rules adaptation);
   New safety standards for drone autonomous operations and U-Space services.
Contribution to EASA activities: Evolution of airworthiness and flight standards
Impact: Support of EU citizens and industry stakeholders through the safe and streamlined
deployment of innovative products and operations
Results needed by: 2023-2024
Legal entities:
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European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3; D-50668 Köln;
Germany
Form of Funding: Indirectly managed actions
Type of Action: Indirectly managed action
Indicative timetable: 1st quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 3.40 million from the 2022 budget
3. Solutions for runway safety
Specific challenges:
With the forecasted increase of traffic the importance of maintaining the highest levels of
safety standards for runway operations remains paramount, in particular to address the risks of
aircraft runway collisions and excursions. These risks are part of the key risk areas for
commercial air transport as reported from the EASA Annual Safety Review. The underlying
issues include technical and operational issues, for instance the incomplete situational
awareness for dense traffic runway operations, the gaps in solutions for the monitoring of
runway surface conditions and the entry of erroneous flight parameters by crews.
This research action will build upon previous developments for the prevention and mitigation
of runway accidents, such as those undertaken by the SESAR Programme and the EREA
Future Sky Safety initiative, and will align with joint action plans prepared by aviation
stakeholders for the prevention of runway incursions or excursions.
Scope:
The targeted actions focus on specific safety issues, for which no new technological
development will be undertaken but, building on previous research and innovation actions, the
relevant changes to the aviation safety standards will be prepared and coordinated with
stakeholders:
    Consolidation of best-practice and issues for the implementation of the ICAO ‘triple
      one’ concept (one runway, one frequency, one language);
    Introduction of new technologies for runway state assessment (assessing runway micro-
      texture);
    Enable mitigating means for frequent causes of incidents such as the entry of erroneous
      take-off parameters.
Contribution to EASA activities:
    Contribution to Best Intervention Strategies;
    Evolution of safety standards.
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Impact:
   Improved technology and operations for the EU aviation industry;
   Reduction of runway incidents / accidents.
Results needed by: 2023
Legal entities:
European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3; D-50668 Köln;
Germany
Form of Funding: Indirectly managed actions
Type of Action: Indirectly managed action
Indicative timetable: 1st quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 2.10 million from the 2022 budget
4. Standards supporting the digital transformation of aviation
Specific challenges:
The fast-paced digital transformation observed in several industrial sectors is extending to
aviation and air transport. The need to anticipate the changes and evolutions of aviation
standards requires timely and upstream investigation, through several case studies, of the
application of radically new concepts and processes for aviation products, processes and
operations (such as machine-learning techniques, ‘internet of things’). This includes
developing capabilities such as tools and methods for design, simulation (digital twins),
verification and validation and their application to aircraft certification, regulatory approval
and safety monitoring processes.
Scope:
The targeted actions focus on specific safety issues, for which no new technological
development will be undertaken but, building on previous research and innovation actions, the
relevant changes to the aviation safety standards will be prepared and coordinated with
stakeholders:
   Develop a robust safety risk assessment methodology to support the identification and
      consolidation of safety hazards and their mitigation using numerical tools (the ‘digital
      twin’ concept);
   Prepare the roadmap for the next evolution(s) of airworthiness and maintenance
      standards for new digital applications and validate the new capabilities for the associated
      performance and risk assessment.
Contribution to EASA activities: Roadmap for the changes to aviation standards
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Impact: EU preparedness for the deployment of digital innovation in aviation and air transport
Results needed by: 2024
Legal entities:
European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3; D-50668 Köln;
Germany
Form of Funding: Indirectly managed actions
Type of Action: Indirectly managed action
Indicative timetable: 1st quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 2.10 million from the 2022 budget
5. Development of new aviation health safety standards (for flight crews)
Specific challenges:
Current aviation standards have been built with duly consideration to occupational safety and
health conditions affecting flight crew members. Nevertheless the lack of a comprehensive
investigation centred on actual air transport operations of the potential hazards, incidents,
causes and the appropriate mitigations, including new health monitoring solutions, represent a
major obstacle for the evolution of those standards.
In particular the monitoring of the impact of diseases or health issues during the career of
aviation professionals requires the investigation of the state-of-the-art of medical research
developments, the development of extensive health data sets and the validation of solutions
for use in an aviation environment.
As an example, a review of the current examination process of pilots living with HIV and
HIV treatment revealed a lack of specific research on this subject.
   Scope: Comprehensive assessment of health risks for aviation professionals in the fields
      of cardiovascular diseases and mental health, incl. risks following COVID-19 infection;
   Investigation of aviation health safety issues (causes, incidence, mitigations) in the
      context of aircraft cabin environment, including air contamination events;
   Evaluation of innovative solutions for health monitoring and protection in the context of
      aircraft operations;
   Evolution of aeromedical standards for aviation professionals, including solutions for
      health monitoring of aviation professionals during their career, for pilots living with
      HIV.
Contribution to EASA activities:
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   Evolution of aeromedical standards;
   Comprehensive assessment of health safety risk and mitigations for air transport.
Impact:
   Development of international health safety standards for air transport;
   Clarity and improvement of conditions for the EU aviation sector.
Results needed by: 2023-2024
Legal entities:
European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3; D-50668 Köln;
Germany
Form of Funding: Indirectly managed actions
Type of Action: Indirectly managed action
Indicative timetable: 1st quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 1.70 million from the 2022 budget
6. Impact of security measures on safety
Specific challenges:
The implementation of aviation security measures can have a direct impact on safety aspects
of aerodrome or aircraft operations. Airport security, aircraft security, cargo and mail or
inflight security are the areas where interdependencies are highly visible and where any
security requirements should also consider possible impacts on and potential contribution to
aviation safety.
The research action aims to provide new methods, tools and data for the effective
performance of safety analysis while considering security measures, involving the different
stakeholders concerned and to support the preparation of the evolutions needed in safety
standards and in the aviation regulatory framework.
Scope:
   Assessment of the impact of security requirements on operational safety and
      performance, including development of new solutions and tools to ensure efficient
      assessment in the early phases of development.
Contribution to EASA activities: Impact analysis of security requirements on safety standards
Impact:
   Enhanced standards for EU aviation industry;
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     Contribution to international aviation standards.
Results needed by: 2023-2024
Legal entities:
European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3; D-50668 Köln;
Germany
Form of Funding: Indirectly managed actions
Type of Action: Indirectly managed action
Indicative timetable: 1st quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 1.50 million from the 2022 budget
7. Contribution to InvestEU blending operation under the Green Transition product
The ‘Fit for 55’ package of measures adopted by the Commission in July 2021 sets out the
policies and legislation for the EU to meet its 2030 target of 55% net greenhouse gas
emissions reductions, which will create new opportunities for investment in new technologies
and approaches. The final aim is decarbonising the economy in line with the objectives of the
Paris Agreement, the European Green Deal and the European Union’s 2050 net-zero target,
and Climate Law. That is why the European Commission intends to establish an efficient
framework to identify European projects deploying innovative technologies, business models
and approaches to reduce the green premium – the difference between the price of a carbon-
emitting technology and its clean alternative. Under existing initiatives, the Commission has
already been supporting, under InnovFin and other EU programmes, a variety of
technological pathways for decarbonisation. InnovFin Energy Demonstration Projects312, in
particular, has been very effective at mobilising finance for first-of-a-kind projects in the area
of innovative renewable energy production, storage and smart grids. It has mobilised so far
EUR 346 million of EU support for 11 operations (with total project costs of EUR 864
million).
The blending operation will target projects at TRLs 6-8 via the European Investment Bank
(EIB) or other implementing partners’ financial instruments, by providing loans and quasi-
equity (or a combination of both), which may be blended with non-reimbursable components.
The financial instrument component of operations may draw from the Innovation Fund, this
Horizon Europe action, or the InvestEU budget, while the non-reimbursable component will
only be funded by this Horizon Europe action – to be spent economically as a last resort
option to enable project’s financial closure.
The blending under the InvestEU’s Green Transition product focusses on the following four
areas that are underrepresented in the current portfolio of InnovFin:
312
        https://www.eib.org/en/products/mandates-partnerships/innovfin/products/energy-demo-projects.htm
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     Renewable hydrogen. In July 2020, the Commission adopted the Hydrogen Strategy313
      with the aim of decarbonising its production and to expand its use to store, transport and
      accelerate the use of renewable energy, as well as replacing fossil fuels in specific
      sectors, aiming to reach 40 GW of electrolyser capacity by 2030, producing up to 10
      million tonnes of renewable hydrogen. Investments in renewable hydrogen production
      capacity are estimated at EUR 180-470 billion in the EU until 2050. The strategy
      identifies as a clear priority the production of renewable hydrogen, i.e. hydrogen
      produced through electrolysis using renewable electricity. In this context, a top priority
      is to demonstrate larger size, more efficient and cost-effective electrolysers, with
      capacities reaching 100 MW and above. Another priority is to further develop large scale
      hydrogen end-use applications, notably in industry. The path to business case feasibility
      (without any grant component) of the solution at potential replication sites shall also be
      investigated. The necessary coordination, along the value chain with the European Clean
      Hydrogen Alliance314, and on data and knowledge with the observatory and data base in
      the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, is foreseen.
     Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). Though aviation accounted for only 3.7% of total CO2
      emissions in the EU in 2018, it accounted for 15.7% of CO2 transport emissions.
      Aviation is the second highest transport sector after road vehicles, and the fastest
      growing. Reducing aviation emissions is challenging considering the long operational
      life of aircraft and the fact that that zero-emission aircraft configurations and powertrain
      options for commercial air transport are far from technological and commercial maturity.
      SAF can significantly reduce aviation reliance on fossil fuels, while relying on existing
      infrastructure and propulsion systems, but the transition will require significant
      investments. While several SAF production pathways are certified, their use in the fuel
      mix is still negligible (less than 0.1%) due to high production costs. The price of the
      most innovative and sustainable types of fuels is estimated at up to 3 to 6 times the price
      of fossil aviation fuels depending on the production pathway, while their lifecycle
      emissions savings are 85% or more compared to fossil fuels. The path to business case
      feasibility (without any grant component) of the solutions at potential replication sites
      shall also be investigated as well as sustainability in wider scale as part of the Fit for 55
      package. The Commission has therefore proposed the ReFuelEU Aviation initiative315 to
      boost the supply and use of sustainable aviation fuels in the EU. The action will support
      the development of the most innovative SAF notably advanced biofuels and RFNBOs316
      in line with the ReFuelEU Aviation and Renewable Energy Directive sustainability
      framework.
     Long duration energy storage (LDES). At any moment in time, electricity consumption
      and generation have to be perfectly matched. This balance is necessary not only in the
      short term for power grid stabilisation (for which short duration storage solutions exist),
313
         https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0301
314
         https://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/policy/european-clean-hydrogen-alliance_en
315
         Commission proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on ensuring a level
         playing field for sustainable air transport (COM(2021) 561 final, 14 July 2021, 2021/0205 (COD))
316
         Renewable Fuels of Non Biological Origin (RFNBOs) as defined under RED II.
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      but also over the long term, to ensure supply adequacy, by compensating for
      fluctuations, for meteorological dark and still periods (‘dunkelflaute’) that can last a few
      weeks, and for seasonal variations between summer and winter. Long duration – weekly
      to seasonal - renewable grid scale energy storage needs will expand as both the
      electrification of demand and the share of renewable – and variable as well as distributed
      - energy sources in the total supply mix will grow. Sustainable long duration energy
      storage therefore has a key role to play in the transition towards a carbon-neutral
      economy. The storage system needs to be optimised for large capacity and long duration
      (weekly, seasonal), for minimal climate and environmental footprint over the full life
      cycle, for regulatory compliance and for financial viability (hence maximising round trip
      efficiency, minimising costs and identifying a business case for the targeted investment
      based on electricity storing / de-stocking price projections). The path to business case
      feasibility (without any grant component) of the storage solution at potential replication
      sites shall also be investigated. Sustainable storage solutions for renewable energy,
      involving an energy vector that can be used for other purposes than regenerating
      electricity are also eligible. The topic is open to all technologies: chemical (including
      hydrogen and its derivatives), electrochemical, thermal and mechanical technologies
      (other than pumped hydro which is mature and available commercially).
   Direct air capture (DAC) of CO2. European Commission scenarios reaching net-zero
      emission by 2050 show extensive use of carbon dioxide removal, including DAC. For
      example, the 1.5 tech scenario forecasts 266 Mt of CO₂ point capture and 200 Mt of CO₂
      DAC. Most IPCC scenarios modelling 1.5°C paths also include a share of carbon
      dioxide removal (with and without DAC). DAC emerges as the most relevant source of
      carbon for renewable power-to-fuels/chemicals processes in such scenarios, but several
      challenges remain for a large-scale deployment of the technology. The future operational
      and financial viability (without any grant component or support scheme) of any DAC
      solution at potential replication sites shall also be investigated in function of the fate of
      the captured CO2 (i.e. underground storage or use), renewable energy source used for
      the capture process, and vicinity to CO2 transport and storage infrastructure (in case of
      underground storage). The International Energy Agency estimates the current DAC cost
      to be within a wide range of $100-$1000 per captured tonne of CO₂. Stakeholders claim
      that costs can be reduced to €50-€100 by 2030 with sufficient investments in R&I and
      deployment. As there is so far no specific EU initiative targeting DAC, this topic will fill
      an important gap.
Functioning of the blending operation
The blending operation will be open to all applicants meeting the set eligibility criteria set in
this text and InvestEU Green Transition product. As such, it is not restricted to projects
proposed under pre-existing or future partnerships with the European Commission. This
blending operation is particularly relevant because it seeks to bring together the public and
private sector to fund pre-commercial, industry-scale demonstration projects for critical
decarbonisation technologies, directly addressing the early deployment funding gap for the
selected technologies and provide a structure to accelerate their commercialisation.
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Projects’ selection and financing procedure follows the InvestEU Regulation. In particular,
the EIB or other implementing partners will check the financial viability of and perform full
due diligence on each potential financing operation, while the Commission services assure
their eligibility under the ‘policy check’ procedure. Special attention shall be paid to ensuring
that the technologies developed and Intellectual Property generated will benefit the EU
interest, in particular by focussing the funds on high quality projects realised in the Union/
eligible Associated Countries.
Expected impact
Unprecedented investment is needed to turn climate policy targets into reality. Attaining the
2030 target of at least 55% net emissions reduction is estimated to require EUR 350 billion of
additional annual investment. Blended finance is a crucial tool to mobilise urgently needed
private ‘patient capital,’ especially in domains considered too risky for the markets to
function. This is the case of the technologies selected, which will benefit from investments in
demonstration and scaling-up – leading to increased confidence among market participants,
economies of scale in production and deployment, and significant cost reductions. The project
pipeline of the InnovFin EDP and FutureMobility facility, as well as the high number of
submitted proposals under the first Innovation Fund calls, indicate the richness of the EU
ecosystem, which - boosted by the fit-for-55 package - is expected to thrive in the coming
years. The initiative will accelerate the reduction of the green premium in key areas, allow for
wider, faster up-take and contribute to the creation of jobs in the EU in green industries
manufacturing these solutions.
The Horizon Europe contribution to the EU-Catalyst Partnership through this blending
operation is expected to amount to EUR 200 million for the period 2022-2025.
Legal entities:
European Investment Bank (EIB), 98-100, boulevard Konrad Adenauer, L-2950 Luxembourg,
Luxembourg, as the implementing partner under InvestEU
Form of Funding: Indirectly managed actions
Type of Action: Indirectly managed action
Indicative timetable: 2nd quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 50.00 million from the 2022 budget
Expert contract actions
1. Experts for the monitoring of actions
This action will support the use of appointed independent experts for the monitoring of
actions (grant agreement, grant decision, public procurement actions, financial instruments)
funded under Horizon Europe and previous Framework Programmes for Research and
Innovation and where appropriate include ethics checks.
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Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative timetable: As of 1st quarter 2021 and 1st quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.80 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 0.80 million from the
2022 budget
2. External expertise to advise on EU research and innovation policy
This action will support the provision of independent expertise in support of the design,
implementation and valorisation of EU research policy. Individual experts will work in the
following domains:
   Analysis, design, assessment and implementation of strategic climate, energy and
     mobility research and technology options and actions
   Future climate, energy and mobility -related research actions and programmes,
     contribution to their impact assessment.
   International cooperation in the field of climate, energy and mobility research and
     innovation.
   Analysis and valorisation of EU climate, energy and mobility research results in view of
     contributing to the elaboration of policy reports (such as projects for policy, project
     cluster reports, etc).
   Preparation of actions for Horizon Europe missions.
The tasks of individual experts would include:
   Analysis of the contribution of the funded research to the EU policy objectives spanning
     across all climate, energy and mobility modes and systems;
   Analysis of the state-of-the-art at international level; investigation of deployment options
     for the developed knowledge;
   Participation in international symposia, including the drafting of White Papers and
     reports on the symposia's conclusions;
   Advise the Commission on promising technologies covered by European and nationally
     funded projects and on ways to stimulate synergies;
   Assist the Commission in the evaluation of calls for expression of interest.
In addition to individual experts, this action could provide for Commission expert groups.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
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Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative timetable: As of 2nd quarter 2021 and as of 1st quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.80 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 1.00 million from the
2022 budget
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Budget317
                                                        Budget              2021              2022
                                                        line(s)       Budget (EUR       Budget (EUR
                                                                           million)         million)
Calls
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01                                                          136.00
                                                     from                       136.00
                                                     01.020250
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-01-two-stage                                                                    51.00
                                                     from                                           51.00
                                                     01.020250
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D1-02                                                                              87.00
                                                     from                                           87.00
                                                     01.020250
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01                                                          232.00              18.50
                                                     from                       163.32              18.50
                                                     01.020250
                                                     from                        68.68
                                                     01.020250 -
                                                     NGEU
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D2-01                                                                            138.00
                                                     from                                         125.37
                                                     01.020250
                                                     from                                           12.63
                                                     01.020250 -
                                                     NGEU
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-01                                                           73.00              35.00
                                                     from                        57.00              35.00
                                                     01.020250
317
      The budget figures given in this table are rounded to two decimal places.
      The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
      budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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                                          from                 16.00
                                          01.020250 -
                                          NGEU
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-02                                        230.80
                                          from                175.80
                                          01.020250
                                          from                 55.00
                                          01.020250 -
                                          NGEU
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03                                        280.00
                                          from                217.50
                                          01.020250
                                          from                 62.50
                                          01.020250 -
                                          NGEU
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01                                               381.00
                                          from                       193.50
                                          01.020250
                                          from                       187.50
                                          01.020250 -
                                          NGEU
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-02                                                99.00
                                          from                        66.50
                                          01.020250
                                          from                        32.50
                                          01.020250 -
                                          NGEU
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03                                               127.50
                                          from                       109.25
                                          01.020250
                                          from                        18.25
                                          01.020250 -
                                          NGEU
                               Part 8 - Page 491 of 496
 ---pagebreak---                     Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                            Climate, Energy and Mobility
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-01                                         66.00
                                          from                 33.00
                                          01.020250
                                          from                 33.00
                                          01.020250 -
                                          NGEU
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D4-02                                         38.00
                                          from                 19.50
                                          01.020250
                                          from                 18.50
                                          01.020250 -
                                          NGEU
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-01                                                54.00
                                          from                        36.00
                                          01.020250
                                          from                        18.00
                                          01.020250 -
                                          NGEU
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02                                                86.60
                                          from                        53.60
                                          01.020250
                                          from                        33.00
                                          01.020250 -
                                          NGEU
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D5-01                                        258.00
                                          from                134.50
                                          01.020250
                                          from                123.50
                                          01.020250 -
                                          NGEU
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D5-01                                               253.00
                                          from                       187.50
                                          01.020250
                               Part 8 - Page 492 of 496
 ---pagebreak---                           Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                  Climate, Energy and Mobility
                                                from                        65.50
                                                01.020250 -
                                                NGEU
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D6-01                                              167.00
                                                from                113.10
                                                01.020250
                                                from                 53.90
                                                01.020250 -
                                                NGEU
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-01                                                     122.00
                                                from                        81.00
                                                01.020250
                                                from                        41.00
                                                01.020250 -
                                                NGEU
HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02                                                      91.00
                                                from                        59.34
                                                01.020250
                                                from                        31.66
                                                01.020250 -
                                                NGEU
Contribution from this part to call                                   7.28
HORIZON-MISS-2021-NEB-01             under
                                                from                  7.28
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020250
Contribution from this part to call                                   2.50
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-01 under
                                                from                  2.50
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020250
Contribution from this part to call                                   2.50
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-01 under
                                                from                  2.50
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020250
Contribution from this part to call                                          0.63
HORIZON-MISS-2022-NCP-01             under
                                                from                         0.63
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020250
                                     Part 8 - Page 493 of 496
 ---pagebreak---                            Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                   Climate, Energy and Mobility
Contribution from this part to call                                        25.32
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CIT-01 under Part
                                                 from                      25.32
12 of the work programme
                                                 01.020250
Contribution from this part to call                                   4.00
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-01 under Part
                                                 from                 4.00
12 of the work programme
                                                 01.020250
Contribution from this part to call                                   5.57
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05 under
                                                 from                 5.57
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                 01.020250
Contribution from this part to call                                  63.59
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02 under
                                                 from                63.59
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                 01.020250
Contribution from this part to call                                  11.76
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-04 under
                                                 from                11.76
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                 01.020250
Contribution from this part to call                                  35.27
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02 under
                                                 from                35.27
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                 01.020250
Contribution from this part to call                                   0.58
HORIZON-MISS-2021-COOR-01 under
                                                 from                 0.58
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                 01.020250
Contribution from this part to call                                  69.35
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02 under Part
                                                 from                69.35
12 of the work programme
                                                 01.020250
Contribution from this part to call                                  11.76
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-03 under
                                                 from                11.76
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                 01.020250
Contribution from this part to call                                        12.72
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOCIALCAT-01
                                                 from                      12.72
under Part 12 of the work programme
                                                 01.020250
Contribution from this part to call                                        67.54
                                      Part 8 - Page 494 of 496
 ---pagebreak---                           Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                  Climate, Energy and Mobility
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01 under from                                    67.54
Part 12 of the work programme                   01.020250
Contribution from this part to call                                      12.32
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEANCLIMA-
                                                from                     12.32
01 under Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020250
Contribution from this part to call                                      68.64
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01 under
                                                from                     68.64
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                01.020250
Other actions
Grant to identified beneficiary according                           4.25  5.25
to Financial Regulation Article 195(e)
                                                from                4.25  5.25
                                                01.020250
Public procurement                                                  4.07 13.89
                                                from                4.07 13.89
                                                01.020250
Subscription action                                                 1.22  1.82
                                                from                1.22  1.82
                                                01.020250
Provision of technical/scientific services                          6.30  1.00
by the Joint Research Centre
                                                from                6.30  1.00
                                                01.020250
Indirectly managed action                                                64.20
                                                from                     64.20
                                                01.020250
Expert contract action                                              1.60  1.80
                                                from                1.60  1.80
                                                01.020250
Contribution from this part to Indirectly                           0.58
managed action under Part 12 of the work
                                                from                0.58
programme
                                                01.020250
Contribution from this part to Public                               9.84  1.13
                                     Part 8 - Page 495 of 496
 ---pagebreak---                             Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                    Climate, Energy and Mobility
procurement under Part 12 of the work from                               9.84    1.13
programme                                         01.020250
Contribution from this part to Grant                                     3.31
awarded without a call for proposals
                                                  from                   3.31
according to Financial Regulation Article
                                                  01.020250
195 under Part 12 of the work programme
Contribution from this part to Specific                                         52.60
grant agreement under Part 12 of the work
                                                  from                          52.60
programme
                                                  01.020250
Contribution from this part to Provision of                              2.19
technical/scientific services by the Joint
                                                  from                   2.19
Research Centre under Part 12 of the work
                                                  01.020250
programme
Contribution from this part to Expert                                    0.44    0.81
contract action under Part 12 of the work
                                                  from                   0.44    0.81
programme
                                                  01.020250
Contribution from this part to Grant to                                  0.04
identified beneficiary according to
                                                  from                   0.04
Financial Regulation Article 195(e) under
                                                  01.020250
Part 12 of the work programme
Contribution from this part to Service                                   1.20    0.52
Level Agreement under Part 12 of the
                                                  from                   1.20    0.52
work programme
                                                  01.020250
Estimated total budget                                                1730.00 1873.80
                                       Part 8 - Page 496 of 496
 ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak---                          EN
                     ANNEX IX
                      “Annex IX
                  Horizon Europe
             Work Programme 2021-2022
9. Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
                     Environment
                          ”
 ---pagebreak---                                      Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Table of contents
Introduction ....................................................................................................... 15
Destination – Biodiversity and ecosystem services......................................... 22
Call - Biodiversity and ecosystem services ........................................................................... 28
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 28
  Understanding biodiversity decline ...................................................................................... 29
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-01: European participation in global biodiversity
  genomics endeavours aimed at identifying all biodiversity on Earth .................................. 30
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-02: Data and technologies for the inventory, fast
  identification and monitoring of endangered wildlife and other species groups ................. 32
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-03: Understanding and valuing coastal and marine
  biodiversity and ecosystems services ................................................................................... 34
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-04: Assess and predict integrated impacts of cumulative
  direct and indirect stressors on coastal and marine biodiversity, ecosystems and their
  services ................................................................................................................................. 38
  Valuing and restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services ................................................. 42
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-05: The economics of nature-based solutions: cost-
  benefit analysis, market development and funding .............................................................. 42
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-06: Nature-based solutions, prevention and reduction of
  risks and the insurance sector ............................................................................................... 45
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-07: Ecosystems and their services for an evidence-
  based policy and decision-making ....................................................................................... 48
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-08: Supporting the development of a coherent and
  resilient Trans-European Nature Network ........................................................................... 51
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-09: Assessing and consolidating recent scientific
  advances on freshwater ecosystem restoration. .................................................................... 53
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-10: Demonstration of measures and management for
  coastal and marine ecosystems restoration and resilience in simplified socio-ecological
  systems. ................................................................................................................................ 54
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-11: What else is out there? Exploring the connection
  between biodiversity, ecosystems services, pandemics and epidemic risk .......................... 57
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-12: Improved science based maritime spatial planning
  and identification of marine protected areas ........................................................................ 60
  Managing biodiversity in primary production ..................................................................... 62
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-13: Breeding for resilience: focus on root-based traits63
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-14: Fostering organic crop breeding ........................... 64
  Enabling transformative change on biodiversity .................................................................. 67
                                                       Part 9 - Page 2 of 571
 ---pagebreak---                                          Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                         Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-15: Quantify impacts of the trade in raw and processed
  biomass on ecosystems, for offering new leverage points for biodiversity conservation,
  along supply chains, to reduce leakage effects..................................................................... 67
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-16: Biodiversity, water, food, energy, transport, climate
  and health nexus in the context of transformative change ................................................... 70
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-17: Policy mixes, governance (including financing) and
  decision-making tools for transformative action on biodiversity......................................... 73
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-18: Understanding the impacts of and the opportunities
  offered by digital transformation, new emerging technologies and social innovation on
  biodiversity ........................................................................................................................... 75
  Interconnecting biodiversity research and supporting policies ............................................ 78
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-19: A mechanism for science to inform
  implementation, monitoring, review and ratcheting up of the new EU biodiversity strategy
  for 2030 ('Science Service'). ................................................................................................. 78
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-20: Support to processes triggered by IPBES and IPCC
  .............................................................................................................................................. 83
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-21: Impact and dependence of business on biodiversity
  .............................................................................................................................................. 86
Call - Biodiversity and ecosystem services ........................................................................... 89
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 89
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-02-01: European partnership rescuing biodiversity to
  safeguard life on Earth ......................................................................................................... 90
Call - Biodiversity and ecosystem services ........................................................................... 95
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 95
  Understanding biodiversity decline ...................................................................................... 96
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-01: Observing and mapping biodiversity and
  ecosystems, with particular focus on coastal and marine ecosystems ................................. 96
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-02: Building taxonomic research capacity near
  biodiversity hotspots and for protected areas by networking natural history museums and
  other taxonomic facilities ................................................................................................... 100
  Valuing and restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services ............................................... 103
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-03: Network for nature: multi-stakeholder dialogue
  platform to promote nature-based solutions ....................................................................... 103
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-04: Natural capital accounting: Measuring the
  biodiversity footprint of products and organizations ......................................................... 107
  Managing biodiversity in primary production ................................................................... 110
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-05: Intercropping – understanding and using the
  benefits of complexity in farming and value chains .......................................................... 110
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-06: Monitoring and effective measures for
  agrobiodiversity .................................................................................................................. 113
                                                           Part 9 - Page 3 of 571
 ---pagebreak---                                           Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                          Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-07: Protection and sustainable management of forest
   genetic resources of high interest for biodiversity, climate change adaptation, and forest
   reproductive materials ........................................................................................................ 115
   Enabling transformative change on biodiversity ................................................................ 117
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-08: Assessing the nexus of extraction, production,
   consumption, trade and behaviour patterns and of climate change action on biodiversity in
   the context of transformative change ................................................................................. 117
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-09: Understanding the role of behaviour, gender
   specifics, lifestyle, religious and cultural values, and addressing the role of enabling players
   (civil society, policy makers, financing and business leaders, retailers) in decision making
   ............................................................................................................................................ 121
   Interconnecting biodiversity research and supporting policies .......................................... 123
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-10: Cooperation with the Convention on Biological
   Diversity ............................................................................................................................. 123
Call - Biodiversity and ecosystem services ......................................................................... 124
   Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 125
   Managing biodiversity in primary production ................................................................... 126
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-02-01-two-stage: Maintaining and restoring pollinators and
   pollination services in European agricultural landscapes................................................... 126
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-02-02-two-stage: Boosting breeding for a sustainable,
   resilient and competitive European legume sector ............................................................. 131
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-02-03-two-stage: Resilient beekeeping .......................... 133
Destination – Fair, healthy and environment-friendly food systems from
primary production to consumption ............................................................. 136
Call - Fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food systems from primary production
to consumption...................................................................................................................... 141
   Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 141
   Enabling sustainable farming ............................................................................................. 142
   HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-01: Reaching the farm to fork target: R&I
   scenarios for boosting organic farming and organic aquaculture in Europe ...................... 143
   HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-02: Developing sustainable and competitive
   land-based protein crop systems and value chains ............................................................. 145
   HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-03: Digitalisation as an enabler of agroecological
   farming systems.................................................................................................................. 147
   HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-04: Tackling outbreaks of plant pests ............. 150
   HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-05: Animal welfare 2.0 ................................... 151
   HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-06: Vaccines and diagnostics for priority animal
   diseases ............................................................................................................................... 153
   HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-07: Research & innovation roadmap for
   blockchain technologies in the agri-food sector ................................................................. 155
                                                            Part 9 - Page 4 of 571
 ---pagebreak---                                           Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                          Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
   HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-08: Uncovering lock-ins and levers to encourage
   farmers to move to and stay in sustainable, climate-neutral and biodiversity-friendly
   farming systems: from experiments to systemic mechanisms ........................................... 158
   HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-09: Towards an EU approach to assess and
   internalise positive and negative externalities of food for incentivising sustainable choices
   ............................................................................................................................................ 161
   Enabling sustainable fisheries and aquaculture .................................................................. 164
   HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-10: Sea to fork transparency and consumer
   engagement ......................................................................................................................... 164
   HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-11: Digital transition supporting inspection and
   control for sustainable fisheries .......................................................................................... 167
   Transforming food systems for health, sustainability and inclusion .................................. 169
   HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-12: Filling knowledge gaps on the nutritional,
   safety, allergenicity and environmental assessment of alternative proteins and dietary shift
   ............................................................................................................................................ 169
   HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-13: Evidence-based decision-making to change
   social norms towards zero food waste ................................................................................ 172
   HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-14: Microbes for healthy and sustainable food
   and diets.............................................................................................................................. 175
   HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-15: Transition to healthy and sustainable dietary
   behaviour ............................................................................................................................ 178
   HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-16: Identification, assessment and management
   of existing and emerging food safety issues ....................................................................... 181
   HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-17: Increasing the transparency of EU food
   systems to boost health, sustainability and safety of products, processes and diets .......... 183
   Targeted international cooperation ..................................................................................... 187
   HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-18: One Health approach for Food Nutrition
   Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) ................................................................. 187
   HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-19: EU-China international cooperation on
   integrated pest management in agriculture ......................................................................... 189
Call - Fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food systems from primary production
to consumption...................................................................................................................... 192
   Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 192
   Enabling sustainable farming ............................................................................................. 193
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-01: Risk assessment of new low risk pesticides
   ............................................................................................................................................ 193
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-02: Socio-economics of pesticide use in
   agriculture........................................................................................................................... 195
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-03: Enhancing biosecurity in terrestrial livestock
   production........................................................................................................................... 197
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-04: Innovative solutions to prevent adulteration
   of food bearing quality labels: focus on organic food and geographical indications ......... 199
   Enabling sustainable fisheries and aquaculture .................................................................. 201
                                                            Part 9 - Page 5 of 571
 ---pagebreak---                                           Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                          Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-05: Integrated and sustainable freshwater
   bioeconomy: Combining aquaculture, biodiversity preservation, biotechnology and other
   uses ..................................................................................................................................... 202
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-06: Biosecurity, hygiene, disease prevention and
   animal welfare in aquaculture ............................................................................................ 203
   Transforming food systems for health, sustainability and inclusion .................................. 205
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-07: Building alternative protein-friendly
   sustainable and healthy food environments........................................................................ 205
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-08: Research and innovation for food losses and
   waste prevention and reduction through harmonised measurement and monitoring ......... 208
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-09: Microbiomes in food production systems 211
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-10: Integrated surveillance system to prevent and
   reduce diet-related non communicable diseases (NCDs) ................................................... 214
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-11: Effective systems for authenticity and
   traceability in the food system ........................................................................................... 217
   Targeted international cooperation ..................................................................................... 220
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-12: Agro-ecological approaches in African
   agriculture systems ............................................................................................................. 220
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-13: AU-EU Combatting all forms of malnutrition
   ............................................................................................................................................ 222
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-14: African food cities .................................... 225
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-15: Support for international research on
   infectious animal diseases .................................................................................................. 228
Call - Fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food systems from primary production
to consumption...................................................................................................................... 230
   Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 230
   Enabling sustainable farming ............................................................................................. 231
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-02-01-two-stage: Agroecological approaches for
   sustainable weed management ........................................................................................... 231
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-02-02-two-stage: Emerging and future risks to plant
   health .................................................................................................................................. 234
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-02-03-two-stage: Ecology of infectious animal
   diseases ............................................................................................................................... 236
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-02-04-two-stage: Smart solutions for the use of
   digital technologies for small- and medium-sized, farms and farm structures .................. 237
   Enabling sustainable fisheries and aquaculture .................................................................. 240
   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-02-05-two-stage: Innovative food from marine and
   freshwater ecosystems ........................................................................................................ 240
Destination – Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors ........................... 242
Call - Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors ............................................................. 247
   Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 247
                                                            Part 9 - Page 6 of 571
 ---pagebreak---                                     Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
  Enabling a circular economy transition .............................................................................. 248
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-01: Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI)’s
  circular systemic solutions ................................................................................................. 248
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-02: Circular Cities and Regions Initiative’s project
  development assistance (CCRI-PDA) ................................................................................ 251
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-03: Innovative solutions to over-packaging and
  single-use plastics, and related microplastic pollution ....................................................... 254
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-04: Increasing the circularity in textiles, plastics
  and/or electronics value chains........................................................................................... 256
  Innovating sustainable bio-based systems and the bioeconomy ........................................ 259
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-05: Novel, non-plant biomass feedstocks for industrial
  applications......................................................................................................................... 259
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-06: Contained biomass solutions for sustainable and
  zero-Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) production systems for high value applications . 261
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-07: Microbiomes for bio-based innovation and
  environmental applications ................................................................................................ 264
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-08: Mainstreaming inclusive small-scale bio-based
  solutions in European rural areas ....................................................................................... 266
  Innovating for blue bioeconomy and biotechnology value chains ..................................... 268
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-09: Unlocking the potential of algae for a thriving
  European blue bioeconomy ............................................................................................... 268
Call - Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors ............................................................. 270
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 270
  Enabling a circular economy transition .............................................................................. 271
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-01: Circular Cities and Regions Initiative’s project
  development assistance (CCRI-PDA) ................................................................................ 272
  Innovating sustainable bio-based systems and the bioeconomy ........................................ 274
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-02: Marginal lands and climate-resilient and
  biodiversity-friendly crops for sustainable industrial feedstocks and related value chains 274
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-03: Benefits of the transition towards sustainable
  circular bio-based systems from linear fossil-based .......................................................... 277
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-04: Maximising economic, environmental and social
  synergies in the provision of feedstock for bio-based sectors through diversification and
  increased sustainability of agricultural production systems ............................................... 279
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-05: EU-China international cooperation on unlocking
  the potential of agricultural residues and wastes for circular and sustainable bio-based
  solutions ............................................................................................................................. 281
  Safeguarding the multiple functions of EU forests ............................................................ 284
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-06: Strengthening the European forest-based research
  and innovation ecosystem .................................................................................................. 284
  Innovating for blue bioeconomy and biotechnology value chains ..................................... 286
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-07: Marine microbiome for a healthy ocean and a
  sustainable blue bioeconomy ............................................................................................ 286
                                                      Part 9 - Page 7 of 571
 ---pagebreak---                                          Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                         Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Call - Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors ............................................................. 289
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 289
  Enabling a circular economy transition .............................................................................. 290
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-01-two-stage: Integrated solutions for circularity in
  buildings and the construction sector ................................................................................. 290
  Innovating sustainable bio-based systems and the bioeconomy ........................................ 292
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-02-two-stage: Exploring extreme environments: novel
  adaptation strategies at molecular level for bio-based innovation ..................................... 292
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-03-two-stage: Sustainable biodegradable novel bio-
  based plastics: innovation for sustainability and end-of-life options of plastics................ 294
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-04-two-stage: Photosynthesis revisited: climate
  emergency, “no pollution and zero-emission” challenge and industrial application ......... 296
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-05-two-stage: Life sciences and their convergence
  with digital technologies for prospecting, understanding and sustainably using biological
  resources ............................................................................................................................. 299
  Safeguarding the multiple functions of EU forests ............................................................ 301
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-06-two-stage: Harnessing the digital revolution in the
  forest-based sector .............................................................................................................. 301
Destination – Clean environment and zero pollution .................................. 304
Call - Clean environment and zero pollution..................................................................... 308
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 308
  Halting emissions of pollutants to soils and waters ........................................................... 309
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-01: Regional nitrogen and phosphorus load
  reduction approach within safe ecological boundaries....................................................... 309
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-02: Optimisation of nutrient budget in
  agriculture........................................................................................................................... 312
  Protecting drinking water and managing urban water pollution ........................................ 314
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-03: Preventing and managing diffuse
  pollution in urban water runoff .......................................................................................... 315
  Addressing pollution on seas and ocean ............................................................................ 317
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-04: Achieving zero polluted seas and ocean
  ............................................................................................................................................ 317
  Increasing environmental performances and sustainability of processes and products ..... 318
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-05: Environmental sustainability criteria for
  biological resources production and trade in bio-based systems: impacts and trade-offs . 318
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-06: Increasing the environmental
  performance of industrial processes in bio-based sectors: construction, woodworking,
  textiles, pulp and paper and bio-chemicals ........................................................................ 320
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-07: International and EU sustainability
  certification schemes for bio-based systems ...................................................................... 322
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-08: New genomic techniques (NGT):
  understanding benefits and risks – focus on bio-based innovation .................................... 324
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-09: Environmental impacts and trade-offs
  of alternative fertilising products at global/local scale. ...................................................... 327
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-10: Environmental services: improved
  bioremediation and revitalization strategies for soil, sediments and water ........................ 328
Call - Clean environment and zero pollution..................................................................... 331
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 331
  Halting emissions of pollutants to soils and waters ........................................................... 332
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-01: Preventing groundwater contamination
  and protecting its quality against harmful impacts of global and climate change ............. 332
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-02: Piloting innovative governance
  solutions to limit nitrogen and phosphorus emissions at the interface of rural/coastal and
  urban/industrial environments ............................................................................................ 335
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-03: EU-China international cooperation on
  nature-based solutions for nutrient management in agriculture ......................................... 338
  Protecting drinking water and managing urban water pollution ........................................ 340
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-04: Securing drinking water quality by
  protecting water sources against pollution, providing innovative monitoring and treatment
  solutions and ensuring safe distribution ............................................................................. 341
Destination – Land, ocean and water for climate action ............................. 344
Call - Land, ocean and water for climate action ............................................................... 348
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 348
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-01: Improved understanding, observation and
  monitoring of water resources availability. ........................................................................ 349
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-02: European Partnership Water Security for the
  Planet (Water4All) ............................................................................................................. 352
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-03: Key oceanic and polar processes driving regional
  & global climate change ..................................................................................................... 357
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-04: Demonstration network on climate-smart farming
  – linking pilot farms ........................................................................................................... 360
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-05: Agroecological approaches for climate change
  mitigation, resilient agricultural production and enhanced biodiversity ............................ 362
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-06: Resilient livestock farming systems under
  climate change .................................................................................................................... 365
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-07: International Research Consortium on
  (agricultural) soil carbon .................................................................................................... 367
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-08: Agroforestry to meet climate, biodiversity and
  farming sustainability goals ............................................................................................... 369
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-09: Enhancing science-based knowledge on EU
  forests’, including old-growth forests, capacities to mitigate climate change ................... 372
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-10: EU-China international cooperation on
  increasing the resilience of forests ..................................................................................... 374
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Call - Land, ocean and water for climate action ............................................................... 376
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 377
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01-01: Climate sensitive water allocation systems and
  economic instruments. ........................................................................................................ 378
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01-02: Understanding the oceanic carbon cycle ........ 380
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01-03: Demonstration network on climate-smart farming
  – boosting the role of advisory services ............................................................................. 383
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01-04: Fostering the resilience of agricultural
  production: from observation of changes to the development of resilience strategies ...... 385
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01-05: Forestry - European observatory of climate
  change impacts and demonstration network of climate smart restoration pilots ............... 387
Destination – Resilient, inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and
urban communities .......................................................................................... 391
Call - Resilient, inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and urban communities .... 394
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 394
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-01: Grasping rural diversity and strengthening
  evidence for tailored policies enhancing the contribution of rural communities to
  ecological, digital and social transitions ............................................................................ 395
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-02: Expertise and training centre on rural
  innovation ........................................................................................................................... 399
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-03: Smart XG, last-mile and edge solutions for
  remote farming, forestry and rural areas ............................................................................ 402
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-04: Socio-economic empowerment of the
  users of the sea ................................................................................................................... 405
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-05: Integrated urban food system policies –
  how cities and towns can transform food systems for co-benefits ..................................... 408
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-06: Inside and outside: educational innovation
  with nature-based solutions ................................................................................................ 411
Call - Resilient, inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and urban communities .... 413
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 413
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-01: Boosting women-led innovation in
  farming and rural areas ....................................................................................................... 415
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-02: Assessing and improving labour
  conditions and health and safety at work in farming ......................................................... 417
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-03: Integration of marine ecosystem service
  valuation, conservation and restoration in socio-economic models ................................... 419
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-04: Social innovation in food sharing to
  strengthen urban communities’ food resilience.................................................................. 422
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-05: Assessing the socio-politics of nature-
  based solutions for more inclusive and resilient communities ........................................... 425
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Call - Resilient, inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and urban communities .... 428
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 428
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-02-01-two-stage: Smart solutions for smart rural
  communities: empowering rural communities and smart villages to innovate for societal
  change................................................................................................................................. 429
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-02-02-two-stage: Developing nature-based
  therapy for health and well-being....................................................................................... 433
Destination – Innovative governance, environmental observations and
digital solutions in support of the Green Deal .............................................. 437
Call - Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in
support of the Green Deal ................................................................................................... 440
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 440
  Innovating with governance models and supporting policies ............................................ 442
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-01: Mobilising the network of national contact
  points in Cluster 6 .............................................................................................................. 442
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-02: Furthering food systems science and
  federating researchers across the European Research Area ............................................... 444
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-03: Preparatory action for the Horizon Europe
  Food System Partnership .................................................................................................... 448
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-04: Strengthening bioeconomy innovation and
  deployment across sectors and all governance levels ........................................................ 450
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-05: Fostering strategic advice and synergies
  between national and EU research and innovation agendas, including SCAR foresight ... 452
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-06: Environmental and social cross-
  compliance of marine policies............................................................................................ 454
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-07: Regional governance models in the
  bioeconomy ........................................................................................................................ 458
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-08: Improving understanding of and
  engagement in bio-based systems with training and skills development ........................... 460
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-09: Revitalisation of European local
  communities with innovative bio-based business models and social innovation .............. 462
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-10: Raising awareness of circular and
  sustainable bioeconomy in support of Member States to develop bioeconomy strategies
  and/or action plans ............................................................................................................. 465
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-11: Education on the bioeconomy including
  bio-based sectors for young people in primary and secondary education in Europe ......... 466
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-12: EU agriculture within a safe and just
  operating space and planetary boundaries .......................................................................... 468
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-13: Modelling land use and land management
  in the context of climate change ......................................................................................... 470
  Deploying and adding value to Environmental Observations ............................................ 472
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-14: User-oriented solutions building on
  environmental observation to monitor critical ecosystems and biodiversity loss and
  vulnerability in the European Union .................................................................................. 472
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-15: Preparing for pre-commercial procurement
  (PCP) for end-user services based on environmental observation in the area of climate
  change adaptation and mitigation ....................................................................................... 474
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-16: Tools to support the uptake and
  accessibility/exploitability of environmental observation information at European and
  global level ......................................................................................................................... 476
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-17: Common European Green Deal data space
  to provide more accessible and exploitable environmental observation data in support of the
  European Green Deal priority actions ................................................................................ 478
  Digital and data technologies as key enablers .................................................................... 480
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-18: Mapping and improving the data economy
  for food systems ................................................................................................................. 480
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-19: Development of the markets and use of
  digital technologies and infrastructure in agriculture – state of play and foresight: digital
  and data technologies for the agricultural sector in a fast changing regulatory, trade and
  technical environment ........................................................................................................ 483
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-20: Data economy in the field of agriculture –
  effects of data sharing and big data .................................................................................... 485
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-21: Potential of drones as multi-purpose
  vehicle – risks and added values ........................................................................................ 487
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-22: Assessing the impacts of digital
  technologies in agriculture – cost, benefits and potential for sustainability gains ............. 489
  Strengthening agricultural knowledge and innovation systems ......................................... 493
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-23: Broaden EIP Operational Group outcomes
  across borders by means of thematic networks, compiling and sharing knowledge ready for
  practice ............................................................................................................................... 493
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-24: Supporting knowledge exchange between
  all AKIS actors in the Member States by means of an EU-wide interactive knowledge
  reservoir .............................................................................................................................. 495
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-25: Improving national AKIS organisation in a
  co-creative process across the EU ...................................................................................... 498
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-26: Deepening the functioning of innovation
  support ................................................................................................................................ 500
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-27: Developing EU advisory networks on
  consumer-producer chains.................................................................................................. 503
  HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-28: Thematic networks to compile and share
  knowledge ready for practice ............................................................................................. 506
Call - Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in
support of the Green Deal ................................................................................................... 509
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 509
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
  Innovating with governance models and supporting policies ............................................ 511
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-01: Mobilisation of society to transform food
  systems for co-benefits ....................................................................................................... 511
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-02: European Partnership for a climate neutral,
  sustainable and productive Blue Economy ........................................................................ 513
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-03: Multi-layer governance performance of
  marine policies ................................................................................................................... 518
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-04: Consumer-focused labelling options for
  bio-based products.............................................................................................................. 520
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-05: Innovative tools and methods to evaluate
  the design and support, monitoring and implementation of effective CAP strategic plans 522
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-06: Water governance, economic and financial
  sustainability of water systems ........................................................................................... 524
  Deploying and adding value to Environmental Observations ............................................ 526
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-07: New technologies for acquiring in-situ
  observation datasets to address climate change effects ...................................................... 526
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-08: Uptake and validation of citizen
  observations to complement authoritative measurement within the urban environment and
  boost related citizen engagement ....................................................................................... 528
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-09: Environmental observations solutions
  contributing to meeting “One Health” challenges .............................................................. 531
  Digital and data technologies as key enablers .................................................................... 532
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-10: Piloting approaches and tools to empower
  citizens to exercise their “data rights” in the area of food and nutrition ............................ 532
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-11: Upscaling (real-time) sensor data for EU-
  wide monitoring of production and agri-environmental conditions ................................... 535
  Strengthening agricultural knowledge and innovation systems ......................................... 537
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-12: Thematic networks to compile and share
  knowledge ready for practice ............................................................................................. 538
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-13: Broaden EIP Operational Group outcomes
  across borders by means of thematic networks, compiling and sharing knowledge ready for
  practice ............................................................................................................................... 540
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-14: Improving preparation of multi-actor
  projects to enable the relevant actors to work in a co-creative way ................................... 542
  HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-15: Developing EU advisory networks on
  water use ............................................................................................................................. 545
Other actions not subject to calls for proposals ........................................... 549
Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article 195(e) ......... 549
  1. Dedicated support for the IPBES secretariat .................................................................. 549
  2. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s ‘Programme on
  the Circular Economy in Cities and Regions’ .................................................................... 549
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Indirect Management ........................................................................................................... 551
  1. Circular city centre (C3) ................................................................................................. 551
  2. Circular economy technical assistance facility (CETAF) for local and regional circular
  economy investments ......................................................................................................... 553
Public Procurements ............................................................................................................ 556
  1. Indicators and methods for measuring the transition to climate-neutral circularity, its
  benefits, challenges and trade-offs ..................................................................................... 556
  2. Circular value chain analysis focusing on intra- and inter-value chain collaboration ... 558
  3. Development of life-cycle information .......................................................................... 560
  4. Support the transition towards circular economy at local and regional scale ................ 561
  5. Studies, conferences, events and outreach activities ...................................................... 561
  6. Enhancing stakeholder involvement in the EU Bioeconomy policy.............................. 562
Subscription Actions ............................................................................................................ 563
  1. GEO subscription 2021-2022 ......................................................................................... 563
Scientific and technical services by the Joint Research Centre ....................................... 563
  1. Leveraging European data-sharing and exploitation practices within GEOSS (Global
  Earth Observation System of Systems) .............................................................................. 563
Expert contract actions ........................................................................................................ 564
  1. External Expertise .......................................................................................................... 564
Budget ............................................................................................................... 566
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Introduction
The Horizon Europe mandate for Cluster 6 is to provide opportunities to enhance and balance
environmental, social and economic goals and to set human economic activities on a path
towards sustainability. The underlying paradigm of Cluster 6 is therefore the need for a
transformative change of the EU economy and society in order to reduce environmental
degradation, halt and reverse the decline of biodiversity and better manage natural resources
while meeting the EU’s climate objectives and ensuring food and water security.
Research and Innovation (R&I) in this cluster will contribute to the UN’s Sustainable
Development Goals and accelerate the ecological transition required by the European Green
Deal. Of particular relevance will be SDG 2 – zero hunger; SDG 3 – good health and well-
being; SDG 6 - clean water and sanitation; SDG 8 – decent work and economic growth; SDG
9 – industry, innovation, and infrastructure; SDG 11 – sustainable cities and communities;
SDG 12 - responsible consumption and production; SDG 13 – climate action, SDG 14 – life
below water and SDG 15 - life on land".
Activities in this work programme will contribute to all key strategic orientations (KSOs) of
the strategic plan1, with orientations B and C contributing the most directly. These KSOs are:
  A. promoting an open strategic autonomy by leading the development of key digital and
      enabling technologies, sectors and value chains to accelerate and steer the digital and
      green transitions through human-centred technologies and innovations;
  B. restoring Europe’s ecosystems and biodiversity, and managing sustainably natural
      resources to ensure food security and a clean and healthy environment;
  C. making Europe the first digitally led circular, climate-neutral and sustainable economy
      through the transformation of its mobility, energy, construction and production systems;
  D. creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society, prepared and
      responsive to threats and disasters, addressing inequalities and providing high-quality
      health care, and empowering all citizens to act in the green and digital transitions.
To contribute to these programme-level KSOs, Cluster 6 will deliver on six specific expected
impacts. In this work programme, each expected impact has been transformed into one or two
specific destination(s) (see table below). This destination-based work programme structure
follows a thematic centre-of-gravity approach, but activities in a given destination may be of a
cross-cutting nature and will often contribute to multiple expected impacts. The specific
contribution to the overall expected impacts is explained in the introductory text of each
destination.
Expected impact (strategic plan)                                      Destination (Cluster 6 work
1
        https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-law-and-publications/publication-detail/-/publication/3c6ffd74-8ac3-
        11eb-b85c-01aa75ed71a1
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
                                                                  programme)
Climate neutrality is achieved by reducing GHG                        Land, oceans and water for
emissions, maintaining natural carbon sinks, and                        climate action
enhancing the sequestration and storage of carbon in
ecosystems, including by unfolding the potential of
nature based solutions, production systems on land and at
sea as well as rural and coastal areas, where adaptations
to climate change are also being fostered for enhancing
resilience
Biodiversity is back on a path to recovery, and                       Biodiversity and ecosystem
ecosystems and their services are preserved and                         services
sustainably restored on land, inland water and at sea
through improved knowledge and innovation
Sustainable and circular management and use of natural                Circular economy          and
resources as well as prevention and removal of pollution                bioeconomy sectors
are mainstreamed, unlocking the potential of the
                                                                      Clean environment         and
bioeconomy, ensuring competitiveness and guaranteeing
                                                                        zero pollution
healthy soil, air, fresh and marine water for all, through
better understanding of planetary boundaries and
deployment of innovative technologies and other
solutions, notably in primary production, forestry and
bio-based systems
Food and nutrition security for all within planetary                  Fair,       healthy       and
boundaries is ensured through knowledge, innovation and                 environmentally-friendly
digitalisation in agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture and               food systems from primary
food systems, which are sustainable, resilient, inclusive,              production to consumption
safe and healthy from farm to fork
Rural, coastal and urban areas are developed in a                     Resilient,          inclusive,
sustainable, balanced and inclusive manner thanks to a                  healthy and green rural,
better understanding of the environmental, socio-                       coastal      and       urban
economic, behavioural and demographic drivers of                        communities
change as well as deployment of digital, social and
community-led innovations
Innovative governance models enabling sustainability                  Innovative       governance,
and resilience are established and monitored through                    environmental observations
enhanced and shared use of new knowledge, tools,                        and digital solutions in
foresight, and environmental observations as well as                    support of the Green Deal
digital, modelling and forecasting capabilities
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Activities under Cluster 6 will help to accelerate the ecological transition required by the
European Green Deal in order to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. This will be done by
preserving Earth’s natural carbon sinks such as soils and plants, forests, farmed lands and
wetlands, substantially reducing GHG from the agricultural sector and transforming the food
system. In addition, activities will foster innovation to develop the circular economy and
exploit the potential of biological resources for renewable products. This will reduce the EU’s
dependence on non-renewable resources, and help to reduce emissions/waste from industrial
processes by using more sustainable bio-based systems. At the same time it will avoid trade-
offs that could damage biodiversity and will promote synergistic measures to protect
biodiversity. R&I will support the objectives the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, of the
circular economy action plan, the EU industrial strategy, the bioeconomy strategy, the EU
forest strategy, the blue growth strategy, the chemicals strategy for sustainability and the EU
plastics strategy, in addition to the EU climate policy.
Protecting and restoring the integrity of ecosystems and their capacity to deliver a wide range
of essential services, thus putting Europe’s biodiversity on a path to recovery by 2030, as
required by the EU biodiversity strategy, is fundamental to achieving the European Green
Deal objectives. Avoiding loss of biodiversity also has the potential of helping to avoid threats
to human health in the future. R&I will address the multiple challenges in this area, including
by enabling transformative changes. This cluster will improve knowledge on the causes of
biodiversity decline, the role of ecosystems and their services and support their restoration.
The cluster deals with agriculture, forestry, aquaculture and fisheries, food and bio-based
systems, animal and human health, which directly depend on ecosystem services. These
sectors have profound environmental impacts and at the same time are particularly affected by
the global environmental changes. Particular climate adaptation and biodiversity needs will
have to be considered for their transformation. R&I activities will include solutions
addressing indirect drivers of biodiversity loss, which at the same time impact the climate and
our resilience to adapt to it.
Cluster 6 will steer and accelerate the transition to sustainable, healthy and inclusive food
systems to achieve effectively the objectives of the farm to fork strategy. It will empower
farmers, fishermen and aquaculture producers to transform their production methods more
quickly and efficiently and make the best use of nature-based, technological, digital and social
innovations. This will deliver better climate mitigation and environmental results, increase
climate resilience and reduce dependency on pesticides and antimicrobials. At the same time
it will also provide consumers with affordable, safe, nutritious, healthy and sustainable food.
R&I will also stimulate practices at all stages of the food system from processing to services
and the use and valorisation of waste and by-products and surplus management. This will
ensure safe and sustainable food and facilitate a shift to sustainable and healthy diets. R&I
will also support the design, implementation and monitoring of the common agricultural
policy (CAP), the common fisheries policy and the EU General Food Law.
Improved knowledge and innovations will be key to the success of the zero-pollution
ambition of the European Green Deal to halt and prevent pollution, and will therefore address
issues concerning fresh and marine waters, soils, nutrients as well as the environmental
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
performance of processes. R&I will support EU environmental legislation and policies that
target a higher level of protection for biodiversity, soil, water, air and marine resources,
including the Birds Directive and the Habitats directive, the pollinators initiative, the revised
soil thematic strategy and the EU Water Framework Directive and the maritime policy and the
EU Arctic policy.
The cluster will support the development of resilient and vibrant rural, coastal, urban, and
peri-urban areas in line with the Commission priority “An economy that works for people”. It
will develop new governance models ensuring that no one is left behind to implement the
Green Deal initiatives, needed to ensure a fair and just transition. This cluster will help to use,
uptake and deploy environmental observation and take advantage of digital solutions in
coherence with the EU priority “A Europe fit for the digital age”. The cluster will also take
advantage of opportunities that the post-COVID-19 crisis recovery package offers to set the
economy on a path to sustainable development in line with the UN 2030 Agenda.
Horizon Europe is the research and innovation support programme in a system of European
and national funding programmes that shares policy objectives. Through the programme,
special attention will be given to ensuring cooperation between universities, scientific
communities and industry, including small and medium enterprises, and citizens and their
representatives, in order to bridge gaps between territories, generations and regional cultures,
especially caring for the needs of the young in shaping Europe’s future. Calls could be EU
Synergies calls, meaning that projects that have been awarded a grant under the call could
have the possibility to also receive funding under other EU programmes, including relevant
shared management funds. In this context, project proposers should consider and actively seek
synergies with, and where appropriate possibilities for further funding from, other R&I-
relevant EU, national or regional programmes (such as ERDF, ESF+, JTF, EMFAF, EAFRD
and InvestEU ), where appropriate, as well as private funds or financial instruments. The
ERDF focuses amongst others on the development and strengthening of regional and local
research and innovation ecosystems and smart economic transformation, in line with
regional/national smart specialisation strategies. It can support investment in research
infrastructure, activities for applied research and innovation, including industrial research,
experimental development and feasibility studies, building research and innovation capacities
and uptake of advanced technologies and roll-out of innovative solutions from the Framework
Programmes for research and innovation through the ERDF.
The EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) currently available in all Member States
aims at financing projects that directly tackle the economic and social impacts from the
Coronavirus crisis and support the green and digital transition. For project ideas that directly
contribute to these objectives and that have a strong focus in one member state it is advisable
to check access to the RRF for a fast and targeted support.
Research on a societal and political framework is necessary to achieve the transformation
expected and R&I investments under Cluster 6 will therefore emphasise the role of the social
sciences and humanities, gender, inter/transdisciplinary and systems approaches. R&I will
build on existing research infrastructures.
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Cluster 6 activities will sustain the EU’s ambition in international fora in areas of paramount
importance such as biodiversity, climate change, the management of natural resources, seas
and ocean, sustainable agriculture, food safety and food and nutrition security.
In line with the European Green Deal objectives, research and innovation activities should
comply with the ‘do no significant harm’ principle2. This compliance needs to be assessed
during the course of the project and during the expected life cycle impact of an innovation if
the innovation is commercialised. The robustness of the compliance must be customised to
the envisaged technology readiness level (TRL) of the project. In this regard, the potential
harm of innovation actions contributing to the European Green Deal will be monitored
throughout the project’s duration.
To be more effective in achieving impact, the proposals shall synergize with relevant
initiatives funded at EU level, including the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs)
of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). The innovation ecosystems
created and nurtured by the EIT KICs can in particular contribute to building communities or
platforms for coordination and support actions, sharing knowledge or disseminating and
fostering the exploitation of the project results. Where relevant the proposals are encouraged
to explore possible forms and means of service provisions distinct to the EIT KICs, in
particular EIT Food and EIT Climate-KIC.
For topics in this cluster, the consortia should consider their possible contribution to Joint
Research Centre (JRC) relevant platforms for capitalising the knowledge developed in their
projects, and to become more policy relevant, contributing in terms of data, indicators and
knowledge. With reference to:
   Life cycle assessment (LCA) and its relevant application to value chain assessment, refer
      to      the       European        Platform        on     Life      cycle    assessment         (EPLCA,
      https://eplca.jrc.ec.europa.eu/) and make reference to the Environmental footprint
      method when applying LCA (https://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/smgp/index.htm)
   Raw materials, refer to                  the     Raw      materials    information     system      (RMIS,
      https://rmis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/)
   Soil and soil related issues, refer to the European Soil Observatory (ESO,
      https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/eu-soil-observatory)
   Natural            capital        accounting,         refer       to      the       INCA          platform
      (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ecosystem-accounts)
   Biodiversity, refer to the EC Knowledge Centre                                       for    Biodiversity,
      (https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/biodiversity_en).
Specific requirements for multi-actor projects:
2
         As defined in Articles 3(b) and 17 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to
         facilitate sustainable investment of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2020 (see
         Annex XY)
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Proposals submitted for topics requesting to follow the multi-actor approach must meet all
requirements listed below. The multi-actor approach described here, which is a form of
responsible research and innovation, aims to make the R&I process and its outcomes more
demand-driven, reliable and relevant to society. This is more than just widely disseminating
the results of a project, or listening to the views of a board of stakeholders. A multi-actor
project ensures the genuine and sufficient involvement of a targeted diversity of actors, which
serves the objectives of the topic. Which relevant key actors participate depends on the
objective of the proposal. The actors are essentially the (end-) users3 of the project results
and are backed up by useful intermediaries who can bring in further knowledge relevant to the
topic’s objectives, such as farmers / farmers' groups, foresters / foresters’ groups, fishermen /
fishermen's groups, advisors, food processors, businesses, consumer associations, local
communities, citizens, civil society organisations including NGOs, government
representatives, etc. The genuine and sufficient involvement of such actors should take place
all over the whole course of the project: from participation in project planning and
experiments to implementation, dissemination of results and a possible demonstration phase.
Building blocks for the project proposal are expected to come from science as well as from
practice and from intermediaries: it is a ‘co-creation‘ process. End-users and practitioners are
to be involved, not as a study-object, but to use their practical and local knowledge and/or
entrepreneurial skills to develop solutions and create ’co-ownership‘ of results for (end-) users
and practitioners. This will speed up the acceptance and take-up of new ideas, approaches and
solutions developed in the project. Therefore, a multi-actor project proposal must
demonstrate:
    how the project proposal's objectives and planning are targeting the needs/problems and
     opportunities of the (end-)users of the project results;
    how the description of the project concept and in particular the composition of the
     consortium reflects a balanced choice of key relevant actors who have complementary
     types of knowledge (scientific and practical), and will ensure a broad implementation of
     project results which should be useful in practice;
    how the project intends to include existing practices and tacit knowledge in scientific
     work. This should be illustrated in the project proposal with a sufficient number of high-
     quality knowledge exchange activities indicating the precise and active roles of the
     different non-scientific actors in the work. Thanks to the cross-fertilisation of
     competencies and ideas between actors, this should generate innovative findings and
     solutions that are more likely to be applied;
    how the project will facilitate the multi-actor engagement process by making use of the
     most appropriate methodologies;
    the project's added value: how the project will complement existing research and best
     practices;
3
        An “(end-) user” of project result is a person who is him/herself putting the project results into practice
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   the proposal should demonstrate how the project will result in practical knowledge,
    approaches or tools, made easily understandable and accessible, and how this free
    material for practice will feed into the existing dissemination channels most consulted by
    the (end-) users of the project results in the countries and regions;
   for topics linked to Intervention Area 3, for EU-wide communication, this knowledge
    should also be assembled in a substantial number of ‘practice abstracts’ in the common
    EIP format4 of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) 'Agricultural Productivity and
    Sustainability' (EIP-AGRI);
   for other topics, this EIP may also be used if they are covered under its innovative areas5,
    as may other similarly effective solutions for dissemination through the main existing
    dissemination channels targeting (end-)users;
   for topics linked to Intervention Area 3, involvement, as much as possible, of interactive
    innovation groups operating in the EIP-AGRI context, such as EIP-AGRI Operational
    Groups funded under Rural Development Programmes.
4
      The       EIP      common        format       for     "practice  abstracts"      is     available     at:
      https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/en/content/eip-agri-common-format
5
      For the innovative areas covered by the EIP see section 8 (pp.8-9) of the Commission Communication
      2012(79)                                final:                           https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
      content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52012DC0079&from=EN
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Destination – Biodiversity and ecosystem services
The EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 is a cornerstone of the European Green Deal that will
put Europe’s biodiversity on the path to recovery by 2030, for the benefit of people, the
climate and the planet. It will also prepare the EU to take a leading role in the upcoming
international negotiations on a new global framework to halt biodiversity loss. With the Green
Deal’s ‘do no significant harm’ vision, all EU policies will become more biodiversity-
friendly, focusing more on the sustainable use of ecosystems, supporting the recovery in a
post-pandemic world6. This policy vision is fully supported in the strategic plan of Horizon
Europe for 2021-2024 in its first key strategic orientation ‘Protecting and restoring
ecosystems and biodiversity and managing sustainably natural resources on land and at sea,
and achieving climate neutrality and adaptation’. Consequently, Destination ‘Biodiversity and
ecosystem services’ intends to achieve the following expected impact from Cluster 6
‘Biodiversity is back on a path to recovery, and ecosystems and their services are
preserved and sustainably restored on land, inland water and at sea through improved
knowledge and innovation’. All actions funded under this destination must therefore help to
deliver this main impact.
Research and innovation is key to delivering results that will have an important impact on
biodiversity, food, health, water and climate, which are all interconnected, and to achieving
the goal of healthy and resilient ecosystems by 2030. It will also enable transformational
change engaging European society and economy and their global impacts, making decisions
more biodiversity-friendly. R&I will support policy targets, develop nature-based solutions7
and holistic approaches to address the main causes of biodiversity loss, particularly in
connection to production systems, bringing all sectors together to be integrated in ecosystem-
based management. Investments in R&I will help to protect and restore the integrity of
terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems, currently under multiple pressures, and protect and
restore their capacity to deliver a wide range of essential services. Under Horizon Europe, a
long-term strategic research agenda for biodiversity will also be developed.
The sixth mass extinction is taking place: one million species are at risk of extinction, and the
degradation of ecosystems severely affects the fabric of life that enables the survival of
humankind 8 . None of the globally agreed targets of the 2011-2020 strategic plan for
biodiversity has been fully achieved 9 , with the biodiversity crisis even deepening. Our
knowledge on biodiversity status, pressures, impacts and responses needs to be improved,
requiring even basic taxonomic work in certain ecosystems. Understanding biodiversity
decline and addressing its main drivers through data-driven science, integrated
6
         COM/2020/380 EU biodiversity strategy for 2030: Bringing nature back into our lives
7
         Nature-based solutions are “inspired and supported by nature, which are cost-effective, simultaneously
         provide environmental, social and economic benefits and help build resilience. Such solutions bring
         more, and more diverse, nature and natural features and processes into cities, landscapes and seascapes,
         through locally adapted, resource-efficient and systemic interventions. Hence, nature-based solutions
         must benefit biodiversity and support the delivery of a range of ecosystem services.”
8
         IPBES global assessment (2019). Summary for policy-makers.
9
         United Nation’s 5th Global Biodiversity Outlook (2020).
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multidisciplinary knowledge, new tools, models and scenarios, will support Europe’s policy
needs and boost global biodiversity science. Solutions for preventing and addressing the
individual and cumulative effect of direct drivers of biodiversity loss (land use change,
overexploitation, climate change, invasive species, pollution) need to be further developed
and made available to policy makers and practitioners, such as through the new EC
Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity 10 . For more impact on society and economic sectors,
citizen science and crowdsourcing also require big data analysis, artificial intelligence, social
sciences, communications and policy tools.
Valuing and restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services is necessary to develop tools to
guide decisions, inform and implement policies on the environment, water, health, climate,
disaster risk reduction, agriculture, forests and other land use types, protected areas
management, the sustainable bioeconomy, the blue economy, maritime and cross-sectoral
spatial planning, and responsible business practices. The continued degradation of the
ecosystems and their services affects biodiversity and climate change11, and increases the risk
of severe ecological disasters and pandemics. The European Green Deal and its biodiversity
strategy call for urgent action to restore damaged aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in order to
increase biodiversity and deliver a wide range of ecosystem services.
The contribution of ecosystems to human wellbeing and the economy is not properly
accounted for in market transactions, or in planning and investment decisions: the social and
economic co-benefits of healthy ecosystems are often disregarded. Natural capital accounts
need to be developed and mainstreamed. Investments in R&I will also lay the ground for
scaling up and speeding up the implementation of technological, societal and nature-based
solutions (NBS). NBS support vital ecosystem services, biodiversity and biomass provision,
as well as access to drinking water, clean soil, improved livelihoods, healthy diets and food
safety and security from sustainable food systems. NBS deployment will also create green
jobs and build resilience to climate change and natural disasters. Citizens, authorities,
businesses, social partners and the research community must be engaged at local, regional,
national and European levels.
Managing biodiversity in primary production: Biodiversity is the basis for sustainable and
resilient agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture and forestry, as also recognised in the farm to fork
and biodiversity strategies under the Green Deal. With diverse genetic resources, it is possible
to use in primary production plants and animals that are adapted to different environments,
ecosystems and meet diverse needs. Furthermore, the interplay between species below and
above ground delivers important ecosystem services, such as pollination, soil fertility, pest
and risk control. Despite these recognised benefits, current production systems tend to be
specialised and rely on a limited number of crops, breeds and forest tree species whose
genetic basis is narrow. Reversing this trend and increasing their resilience is critical and of
global concern in particular in the current context of accelerated climate change and a
growing population whose production and consumption footprint is increasing.
10
        https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/biodiversity_en
11
        https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-0738-8
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Enabling transformative change12 in biodiversity: Science (IPBES and IPCC) and Policy
(the global post-2020 biodiversity framework and the EU biodiversity strategy) clearly
underline that biodiversity loss can only be successfully addressed if transformative changes
are initiated, accelerated, and up-scaled. There is however hardly any knowledge on potentials
and challenges arising from transitions focused on biodiversity. System-level change of this
kind starts with social innovation in the form of, for example, regulations, incentives, local
and participatory processes, and through the introduction of new technologies, new
production processes, or new consumer products, which change how socio-technical and
socio-ecological systems operate and impact their environment. Such transformative change
must decrease the impacts of indirect drivers of biodiversity loss, which are in turn,
underpinned by societal values and behaviours. Indirect drivers of biodiversity loss are
understood to mean here: production and consumption patterns, human population dynamics
and trends (including their footprints), trade, technological innovations, and local to global
governance (including financing). Research and innovation can enable these transformative
changes to happen and initiate processes, behaviour changes and actions which are
transforming the way we impact biodiversity. Socio-economic and multidisciplinary research,
including on the role of education, will develop knowledge and tools to understand the role of
transformative change for biodiversity policy making, address the indirect drivers for
biodiversity loss, and accelerate transformative changes in our society that are relevant to
biodiversity.
Interconnecting biodiversity research and supporting policies refers to the establishment
of the European Partnership ‘Rescuing biodiversity to safeguard life on Earth’ and to the
support to other science-policy interfaces. The European partnership on biodiversity13 will
connect national, local and European research, innovation and environmental programmes,
combining resources in support of one goal, i.e. that by 2030 biodiversity in Europe is back on
the path to recovery. It will co-develop multidisciplinary research and innovation programmes
with stakeholders, set up a European network of coordinated observatories for biodiversity
monitoring, and implement a broad range of activities to increase the relevance, impact and
visibility of EU research and innovation in tackling the biodiversity crisis in line with the EU
biodiversity strategy for 2030.
Science-policy interfaces on biodiversity and nature-based solutions have made good progress
in recent years14, and must be stepped up to achieve targeted impacts on biodiversity-relevant
policies, that can in turn be used as structured policy input into the research cycle. These
interfaces are also key to guiding biodiversity governance, and to implement the EU Green
Deal and international conventions15. In line with the Commission priority 'A stronger Europe
in the world', the EU must take and demonstrate leadership in this field, notably by increasing
12
         Transformative change has been defined by IPBES as “A fundamental, system-wide reorganization
         across technological, economic and social factors, including paradigms, goals and values”. IPBES
         global assessment (2019). Summary for policy-makers.
13
         https://www.biodiversa.org/1759
14
         Good leverage effects have been achieved, notably through EKLIPSE, Oppla, the NBS platform, the
         EU4IPBES support action 2018-2021.
15
         In particular, the UN Convention on Biodiversity, and the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
its support to IPBES16 -to bring it up to the same level as the IPCC-, and to the Convention on
Biological Diversity. Besides economic support, this also includes efforts to create synergies
and cooperation between IPBES, regional Multilateral Environmental Agreements and other
relevant research communities to ensure a full coverage of all relevant aspects of biodiversity
and ecosystem services in order to underpin the full scope of the post 2020 global biodiversity
framework.
All topics will directly contribute to the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 and to the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 13, 14, 15, 17.
Several missions will also help to achieve biodiversity-related impacts, notably in the areas of
‘Adaptation to climate change including societal transformation’, ‘Climate-neutral and smart
cities’, ‘Ocean, seas and waters’ and ‘Soil health and food’.
Expected impact
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway contributing to
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, and more specifically to one or more of the following
impacts:
    Biodiversity decline, its main direct drivers and their interrelations are better
      understood and addressed through the production, integration and use of open data,
      knowledge, education and training, innovative technologies, solutions and control
      measures, in collaboration with European and international initiatives.
    Biodiversity and natural capital are integrated into public and business decision-
      making at all levels for the protection and restoration of ecosystems and their
      services; science base is provided for planning and expanding protected areas, and
      sustainably managing ecosystems.
    Europe builds competitive sustainability and tackles climate change and natural
      disasters through the deployment of nature-based solutions, including ecosystem-
      based disaster risk-reduction approaches fully reaping their economic, social and
      environmental benefits for a green recovery across all European regions.
    The interrelations between biodiversity, health, food, soil, water, air and climate
      are better known and communicated to citizens and policy-makers; in particular, risks
      associated with microbiomes and biodiversity-friendly prevention/mitigation measures,
      and opportunities for biodiversity recovery are identified.
    Practices in agriculture and forestry support biodiversity and the provision of other
      ecosystems services based on a) a better understanding of functional biodiversity (above
      and below ground), b) effective knowledge and innovation systems and c) ready-to use
      solutions for land managers, adapted to specific conditions.
16
         The Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
    Access to a wider range of crops and breeds with a broadened genetic base is
      improved in line with global biodiversity commitments by gaining greater insight into
      the characteristics of genetic resources and by enhancing capacities for their preservation
      and use in breeding and in primary production (farming, forestry, fisheries, aquaculture).
      More (bio)diverse, resilient production systems will have positive knock-on effects on
      value chains, consumption, healthy diets and the wider, non-managed biodiversity.
    Approaches for enabling transformative changes in society for biodiversity and
      ecosystems recovery are identified, tested and implemented in policy, governance, law
      business and society; all indirect drivers of biodiversity loss are addressed and ‘do not
      harm’ biodiversity policies become a mainstream part of all sectors.
    Biodiversity research is interconnected across Europe, supporting and enhancing the
      ambition of national, EU and international environmental policies and conventions.
When considering the impact of the proposals, their compliance with the ‘do no significant
harm’ principle17 has to be assessed. Also it has to be ensured that the research and innovation
activities do not cause a significant harm to any of the six environmental objectives of the EU
Taxonomy Regulation.
The portfolio of actions under this destination will have impacts in the following areas:
“Enhancing ecosystems and biodiversity on land and in waters”; “Climate change mitigation
and adaptation”; “Clean and healthy air, water and soil”; “Sustainable food systems from farm
to fork on land and sea”; and “A resilient EU prepared for emerging threats”.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                Call                          Budgets (EUR million)                     Deadline(s)
                                            2021                    2022
HORIZON-CL6-2021-                     194.50                                       06 Oct 2021
BIODIV-01
HORIZON-CL6-2021-                     20.00                   20.00                22 Jul 2021
BIODIV-02
HORIZON-CL6-2022-                                             95.00                15 Feb 2022
BIODIV-01
HORIZON-CL6-2022-                                             46.00                15 Feb 2022 (First
BIODIV-02-two-stage                                                                Stage)
                                                                                   01     Sep       2022
                                                                                   (Second Stage)
17
         As per Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate
         sustainable investment (EU Taxonomy Regulation)
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                 Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Overall indicative budget        214.50                  161.00
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Call - Biodiversity and ecosystem services
                                                                     HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)18
                   Topics                         Type        Budgets         Expected EU         Number
                                                    of         (EUR         contribution per          of
                                                 Action       million)        project (EUR         projects
                                                                                million)19        expected
                                                                2021                                to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 06 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-01 RIA                           20.00         10.00 to 20.00          2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-02 RIA                           10.00         3.00 to 5.00            2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-03 RIA                           16.00         Around 16.00            1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-04 RIA                           10.00         Around 10.00            1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-05 RIA                           5.00          Around 5.00             1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-06 CSA                           4.00          Around 4.00             1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-07 RIA                           13.00         Around 13.00            1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-08 IA                            10.00         Around 10.00            1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-09 CSA                           0.50          Around 0.50             1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-10 IA                            10.00         Around 10.00            1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-11 RIA                           12.00         4.00 to 6.00            2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-12 RIA                           7.00          3.00 to 4.00            2
18
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
19
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-13 RIA                      16.00         Around 8.00          2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-14 IA                       10.00         Around 5.00          2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-15 RIA                      10.00         2.00 to 3.00         4
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-16 RIA                      5.00          Around 5.00          1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-17 RIA                      8.00          2.00 to 3.00         3
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-18 RIA                      5.00          2.00 to 3.00         2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-19 CSA                      13.00         11.00 to 13.00       1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-20 CSA                      5.00          Around 5.00          1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-21 RIA                      5.00          2.00 to 3.00         2
Overall indicative budget                              194.50
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Understanding biodiversity decline
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-01: European participation in global biodiversity
genomics endeavours aimed at identifying all biodiversity on Earth20
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      10.00 and 20.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      International organisations with headquarters in a Member State or
                      associated country are exceptionally eligible for funding given the global
                      dimension of this topic.
                      International cooperation is encouraged.
                      If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: In support of the implementation of the Green Deal and the EU
biodiversity strategy for 2030, successful proposals will help to create and maintain European
nodes and networks integrated into global biodiversity genomics initiatives and help to better
understand biodiversity decline, its main direct drivers and their interrelations.
Projects results are expected to contribute to at least four of the six following expected
outcomes:
    Creation and management of the European node of the International Barcode of Life.
    Creation of a European hub affiliated to the Earth Biogenome Project, with a common
     goal and clear targets.
    Development of the necessary networks, technologies, quality standards, reference atlas
     and taxonomic expertise through Europe to systematically, and comprehensively identify
     specific, intra-specific and ecosystem diversity through genomics techniques, such as
     full-genome sequencing, barcoding and metabarcoding.
20
        Such as the International Barcode of Life (iBOL) consortium, https://ibol.org/, and the Earth
        BioGenome Project global consortium, https://www.earthbiogenome.org/
                                         Part 9 - Page 30 of 571
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
   Advances in the assessment of pan-European biodiversity via genome sequencing and/or
      DNA barcoding of threatened/endangered species, ecologically through barcoding
      and/or genome sequencing (animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms), ecological
      keystone species and economically important species, (e.g. pollinators and their biome,
      soil, forest, and marine and/or freshwater communities as well as invasive species and/or
      disease vectors).
   Pan-European barcoding of pollinators by completing the Barcode of Life for European
      bees, butterflies, moths and hoverflies.
   The active support and cooperation of citizen scientists and other non-professional
      taxonomists.
Scope: DNA-based identification systems can track biodiversity change on large geographic
scales and reveal the interactions among the species in a biome. On the other hand, fully
sequencing life, including, when relevant, information on symbiotic organisms, microbiomes
and parasites, is expected to provide new tools for the conservation, preservation and
regeneration of biodiversity, drug discovery and advanced biotechnology.
The International Barcode of Life (iBOL) consortium has set up high-throughput barcoding
infrastructure to barcode all biodiversity on Earth by 2045 with the help of the international
community and several new infrastructures across the world. Several EU and associated
countries currently participate in the barcoding endeavour, but there is no pan-European node
of iBOL as such.
Similarly, the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), initiated in 2018, aims to sequence and
catalogue the genomes of all of Earth's currently described eukaryotic species over a period of
10 years. Several European groups have joined the endeavour but no European target or
project has been proposed yet.
Proposals should set up one or both European hubs for iBoL and/or EBP, and leverage
resources and expertise to advance in completing the barcoding and/or sequencing of
European biodiversity in a smart and efficient way, taking advantage of existing networks,
infrastructures and expertise. Specific groups of ecological or economic importance, or
species under threat, such as pollinators, mycorrhizal fungi, invasive species or disease
vectors, should be sufficiently prioritised.
Projects should sufficiently plan their barcoding effort to maximise possible applications,
such as, for example: registering patterns of biodiversity across ecoregions to forecast changes
in response to anthropogenic drivers of biodiversity loss; discovering new species; tracking
invasive alien species by metabarcoding forest soil samples, freshwaters or coastal waters;
revealing symbiomes and trophic chains, etc. Proposals should contribute to the EU
biodiversity strategy for 2030 by generating the reference genomes of the representative
species across the tree of life, leveraging the existing genome sequencing facilities. Sample
collection standards and protocols should be developed, validated and adopted, as should
                                         Part 9 - Page 31 of 571
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
engagement actions and tools to allow citizens and other non-professional-taxonomist
stakeholders to participate at different stages of the activities.
Data, results and methodologies from projects funded under this topic should contribute to the
EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity21, and be permanently and openly accessible in any
relevant repositories. International cooperation with strategic third country partners is strongly
encouraged, for example with Canada.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-02: Data and technologies for the inventory, fast
identification and monitoring of endangered wildlife and other species groups
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.00
contribution per       and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: In support of the implementation of the Green Deal, the EU biodiversity
strategy 2030 and the Birds and Habitats Directives, successful proposals will help to bridge
taxonomic and monitoring gaps, by providing methods, data, knowledge and models on the
conservation status and ecological requirements of species and habitats and help to better
understand and address biodiversity decline, its main direct drivers and their interrelations.
Projects results should contribute to some of the following expected outcomes:
    Systemic, integrated and (open-)standardised data, knowledge and models on the
      conservation status and ecological requirements of species and habitats, with a focus on
      those covered by the Birds and Habitats Directives and IUCN Red List. This will lead to
      better management of protected sites and species, in particular with a view to setting
      conservation objectives and developing appropriately designed and effective
      management plans
21
        https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/biodiversity_en
                                           Part 9 - Page 32 of 571
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
    The bridging of taxonomic and monitoring gaps thanks to new enabling tools,
      technologies, fast identification methodologies and integrated monitoring systems across
      Europe on wildlife species. These will help to identify biodiversity threats, such as
      invasive species, emergence of disease threats, conflict situations with production
      animals and/or human communities, etc.
    Models upscaling the results of biodiversity assessments to wider areas, based on
      existing datasets of environmental descriptors.
    Integrative taxonomy of inventory pollinator species (bees, butterflies, moths and
      hoverflies), soil fauna (mites, springtails, woodlices, millipedes and earthworms) and/or
      other threatened species groups
Scope: The EU biodiversity strategy contains concrete objectives to protect and restore
biodiversity and to address the main pressures and threats to biodiversity. In order to achieve
these objectives, basic research is needed to better understand, monitor, observe and manage
biodiversity, including in protected areas. Such knowledge is also indispensable to support the
protection and restoration of natural capital and ecosystems.
Better, accessible and FAIR22 data on species, biodiversity and ecosystems will also help to
ensure that biodiversity preservation is a mainstream feature of other sectors, such as
agriculture, transport, energy or the bioeconomy. There is a need for systemic and
standardised biodiversity data on the ground in order to build up our knowledge on the status
and trends of habitats and species and ecosystems, and on the drivers of decline.
Monitoring needs to be of better quality, greater relevance and more cost-effective. This is to
be achieved by, among other things, developing, testing and implementing new (long-term)
approaches that make use of recent technological advances and existing data from multiple
origins (e.g. observation data, remote sensing, DNA technologies, big data analysis, AI, deep
learning, historical records, use of citizen science and volunteer expert data).
Projects should develop, test and implement enabling tools, technologies and fast
identification methodologies to produce and integrate data, knowledge and models on the
conservation status of species and habitats, with a focus on those covered by the Birds and
Habitats Directives. Projects should also help to develop an integrated European biodiversity
monitoring system, in collaboration with the initiatives and projects mentioned below. There
needs to be a particular focus on to those species and habitats, for which knowledge gaps still
exist, and on those prioritised for conservation action in line with the EU biodiversity strategy
2030, such as pollinators, sea birds, marine mammals, invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles,
bats, mosses, lichens, wetlands, coastal and marine areas, grasslands, mires, bogs and fens,
heathland and shrubs.
The biogeographical approach of the Natura 2000 network needs to be taken into account. If
the proposal addresses the pollinator-related outcomes, projects should produce an inventory
22
        FAIR        data     principles:       Findable,      Accessible,      Interoperable and Reusable
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/turning_fair_into_reality_0.pdf
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
of pollinator species through integrative taxonomy, and bridge taxonomic gaps by developing
tools (field guides, identification keys, national reference collections and checklists, European
online ID platform, image recognition/apps, digitalised collections, etc.) for bees, butterflies,
moths and hoverflies.
Projects should contribute their data to the Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity23 and earmark
the necessary resources for cooperation with the Centre; projects should also promote
synergies with the European co-funded partnership on biodiversity24 (HORIZON-CL6-2021-
BIODIV-02-01) and its activities. Cooperation is also expected with other relevant projects
and initiatives, such as EUROPABON25 which was awarded funding under the call ‘SC5-33-
2020: Monitoring ecosystems through research, innovation and technology’, or with projects
resulting from this specific call as well as other EU-funded calls. Strong collaboration and
networking is expected with the future taxonomy CSA resulting from topic HORIZON-CL6-
2022-BIODIV-01-02: ‘Building taxonomic research capacity near biodiversity hotspots and
for protected areas by networking natural history museums and other taxonomic facilities’.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-03: Understanding and valuing coastal and marine
biodiversity and ecosystems services
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 16.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 16.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                         and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                         Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                         additionally be used).
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level          see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome:
23
        The EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity (KCBD) is an action of the EU biodiversity strategy for
        2030. It aims to enhance the knowledge base, facilitate its sharing and foster cross-sectorial policy
        dialogue      for     EU     policy     making       in    biodiversity   and      related     fields.
        https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/biodiversity_en.
24
        https://www.biodiversa.org/1759
25
        https://europabon.org/
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
    In support of the implementation of the Green Deal and the biodiversity strategy, and in
      order to better understand biodiversity decline, its main direct drivers and their
      interrelations, successful proposals will contribute to all of the following expected
      outcomes: Closure of the gap in the knowledge and exploration of marine and coastal
      biodiversity at the level of species, the intraspecific/genetic level, ecosystems,
      functionalities, trophic-interactions and interconnections across temporal and spatial
      scales;
    New theoretical frameworks for the organisation of marine biotic communities, with key
      species, from microbiome to megafauna, from benthic to pelagic, especially
      invertebrates and apex predators, and considering sex segregation determined by
      environmental parameters, in space and time and the ecosystem processes linking them
      (energy and biogeochemical cycles, including the role of migratory species behaviour ),
      from deep sea to coastal biotopes including intertidal areas
    Ocean health prediction (including climate change vulnerability), decision-making and
      policy implementation supported by the full integration of ecological components with
      physical and geochemical components (in four dimensions: surface, water columns,
      seafloor, time) into improved global and regional high-resolution models of ecosystems
      conditions and dynamics;
    Improved detection and monitoring of invasive alien species, assessment of their impact
      on biodiversity and conservation monitoring of endangered species;
    Natural capital accounting with an estimation of the value and co-benefits of services
      from healthy deep sea to coastal ecosystems, including non-financial benefits such as
      well-being and social and cultural values for policy and decision-making; development
      of a common EU methodology and criteria for the non-financial ecosystem benefits;
    Improved science-based maritime spatial planning and identification of Ecologically or
      Biologically Significant Marine Areas and design of Marine Protected Areas.
Scope: Studies estimate there may be 0.7 to 1.0 million eukaryotic marine species, of which
about only 226,000 are described. The EEA State of Nature Report 2013-2018 found a
general lack of marine species data that hampers the elaboration of conservation and
restoration measures, the sustainable management of ecosystems and, therefore, the
achievement of favourable conservation status. For instance, invertebrates supporting the
lower level of the food chain or marine mammals are among those species with the highest
proportion of unknown assessments (over 78 %). In the deep sea, over 90% of the species
may be new to science. Additionally, very little is known about the effects of modern biogenic
structures related to feeding types and morphological traits that may play a major role in
biogeochemical cycles. Marine biodiversity hotspots in tropical and subtropical shallow areas
host species and processes that are yet undescribed. The lack of biodiversity knowledge and
appropriate monitoring are critical limiting factors in the definition and implementation of
measures, where the range, population size and suitable habitat area are unknown in the
majority of Member States and for the majority of vulnerable marine species and ecosystems.
                                        Part 9 - Page 35 of 571
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
The main reasons are the limited access and high cost of explorations of the diversity of
biotopes in the vast marine and coastal realm, in particular the deep sea, and the resources
available to identify organisms across the full range of sizes (from microorganisms to
megafauna).
Acidification, deoxygenation, global warming and climate change, including seasonal
patterns, are affecting marine ecosystems faster than terrestrial ecosystems, with their
cumulative and long term effects amplifying the unprecedented pressures of the rapidly
evolving ocean economy, driven by human needs for food, energy, transportation and
recreation, as underlined by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity
and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Services (IPBES GA, 2019). The effects have been documented on mobile and habitat
building species over the past two decades and reveal an accelerating trend (IPBES GA, IPCC
2019). Many marine species are highly mobile, often migratory and rely on a number of
different habitats throughout their developmental stages. In addition, the marine realm hosts
numerous species for which sex determination is dependent upon environmental conditions
such as temperature, seasonal patterns, and other geochemical parameters. For these species,
environmental changes may cause different responses and effects on species populations and
related ecosystems functions that are not shown when studying the species indiscriminately of
sex and population dynamics.
With so much still unknown, ecosystem processes cannot be fully understood. This weakens
models of marine ecosystems and their responses to pressures and diminishes our capacity to
predict and take the best measures. Since biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate in
Earth’s history, there is an urgent need to take conservation measures and develop holistic
ecosystem-based management approaches, so that these ecosystems become resilient to
environmental changes and are able to provide services for humankind and the planet’s life
support system. For this, it is critical to improve the knowledge and understand and model
marine biodiversity as soon as possible. Proposals should address all of the following aspects:
   Increase understanding of the dynamics of marine biodiversity and ecosystems processes
      and functioning (including primary production, food webs and biogeochemical cycles) in
      Europe, in its outermost regions and overseas countries and territories, whose
      participation is encouraged, and in areas beyond national jurisdictions. Ensure that new
      modelling and scenario approaches integrate new and existing biodiversity data and
      knowledge from other EU, international and national projects and from long-term
      ecosystem and socio-ecological research infrastructure on species, biotopes and
      ecosystem processes.Genomics and taxonomic technologies for the inventory and fast
      identification of marine species from microbes, plankton and invertebrates to migratory
      species (including diadromous species), apex predators such as sharks and mammals,
      corals and other habitat building species, generating reference datasets from identified
      voucher specimens and novel methods to improve biodiversity monitoring and
      inventory.
                                        Part 9 - Page 36 of 571
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
    Increase understanding of how input from freshwater and estuarine systems influence
     coastal marine communities and their ecosystem functionality.
    Use acoustic and non-invasive monitoring as an integral component of any marine
     ecosystem exploration and assessment.
    Develop methods and indicators for regular and timely integrated assessments of the
     state / health of marine biodiversity and its key ecosystem services, in the EU and
     associated countries’ marine waters (Good Environmental Status) and in areas beyond
     national jurisdiction.
    Contribute to the Global Taxonomy Initiative of the Convention on Biological Diversity
     (CBD) and to free and open access to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility’s
     biodiversity data.
    Identify opportunities for cooperation with relevant projects, such as EUROPABON 26,
     which was awarded funding under the call ‘SC5-33-2020: Monitoring ecosystems
     through research, innovation and technology’, or the projects resulting from topics under
     the Heading ‘Understanding biodiversity decline’" in Destination ‘Biodiversity and
     ecosystem services’ as well as topics from Destination ‘Fair, healthy and
     environmentally-friendly food systems from primary production to consumption’
     (aquaculture, fisheries), Destination ‘Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors’
     (biotechnologies, microbiome), Destination ‘Land, ocean and water for climate action’
     (Carbon cycle and natural processes) and Destination ‘Innovative governance,
     environmental observations and digital solutions in support of the Green Deal’
     (environmental observation). Cooperation is also expected with the Biodiversity
     Partnership27 (HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-02-01) and other relevant Horizon Europe
     missions and partnerships. Proposals should outline a plan on how they intend to
     collaborate with other projects selected and with the initiatives mentioned, by e.g.
     participating in joint activities, workshops, common communication and dissemination
     activities, etc. Applicants should allocate the necessary budget to cover the plan. The
     plan’s relevant activities will be set out and carried out in close co-operation with the
     relevant Commission departments, ensuring coherence with related policy initiatives.
    Where relevant, create links, contributing to and using the information and data of the
     European Earth observation programme Copernicus, the Group on Earth Observations
     (GEO) and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), the European
     Space Agency’s Earth Observation Programme and in particular the flagship actions on
     biodiversity and ocean health of the EC-ESA Joint Earth system science initiative, is
     expected.
    Improve professional skills and competences on marine taxonomy and system thinking.
26
        https://europabon.org/
27
        https://www.biodiversa.org/1759
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
    Engage in cooperation with the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity 28 and other
      relevant existing platforms and information sharing mechanisms29.
    Contribute through education and training (school & ocean literacy, art and citizen
      science platforms) to a greater overall societal and public understanding of the link
      between biodiversity and the functioning of ecosystems.
To achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is strongly encouraged.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-04: Assess and predict integrated impacts of
cumulative direct and indirect stressors on coastal and marine biodiversity, ecosystems
and their services
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 10.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                         and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                         Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                         additionally be used).
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level          see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In support of the implementation of the Green Deal and the biodiversity
strategy, successful proposals will contribute to all following expected outcomes notably to
better understand biodiversity decline, its main direct drivers and their interrelations:
    Policy makers and implementing authorities at national and regional level can assess and
      predict impacts (incl. tipping points) of multiple stressors on coastal and marine
      biodiversity (cf. sensitive species and habitats), ecosystems functioning and all its
      services (including climate change adaptation, resilience and human health)
28
         The EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity (KCBD) is an action of the EU biodiversity strategy for
         2030. It aims to enhance the knowledge base, facilitate its sharing and foster cross-sectorial policy
         dialogue     for     EU      policy     making       in    biodiversity   and      related     fields.
         https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/biodiversity_en.
29
         BISE, BiodivERsA, Oppla, NetworkNature and their joint work streams.
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
    Better management and impact assessment of invasive species, harmful algal and
      jellyfish blooms
    Implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive by determining pressure
      levels that clearly equate to acceptable levels of environmental impact on the Good
      Environmental Status.
    Ecosystem based management approaches and policy measures for activities both at sea
      and on land to reduce pressures to ensure Good Environmental Status and will enable the
      sustainability of coastal and marine ecosystems to deliver services and be resilient to
      rapid climate and environmental changes.
Scope: The European Environment - State and Outlook 202030 (EEA, SOER) underscore the
fact that the current trajectories of social and economic development are destroying the
ecosystems that ultimately sustain humankind. The Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems
and their Services: An EU Ecosystem assessment (Maes et al., 2020) 31 points out the
knowledge gaps in marine data and highlights that the data coverage in space and time is still
insufficient to provide an exhaustive assessment of the condition of marine ecosystems and
their services in Europe (incl. the outermost regions and overseas territories). The Marine
Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) Implementation Report (2020) 32 underlines the
lagging targets and actions to reach the Good Environmental Status in European seas.
Consistently with the knowledge review in the latest IPCC SROCC 33 and IPBES GA 34
reports, shifting onto sustainable pathways requires urgent rapid and large-scale reductions in
human and environmental pressures, going far beyond the current reductions. Europe is not
making enough progress in addressing environmental challenges, that natural capital is not yet
being protected, conserved and enhanced in accordance with the ambitions of the Seventh
Environment Action Programme (7th EAP35).
Pressures on marine and coastal biodiversity and ecosystems are increasing at a faster rate
than the efforts to protect them. Adding to human direct pressures, the integrity of these
ecosystems and their capacity to deliver a wide range of multiple essential services and
benefits to people is already and will be further undermined by the effects of climate and
environmental changes which occurs faster in the ocean (like warming, stratification, sea level
rise, extreme events, pollution, eutrophication, deoxygenation, and acidification).
There are still many stressors whose negative effects are not well defined, as their effects may
only appear upon interacting with others stressors, creating unknown synergies. Identifying
30
         The      European     environment   —      state    and    outlook  2020     (EEA      SOER    2020
         https://www.eea.europa.eu/soer)
31
         Maes et al., 2020
32
         COM(2020)259             -       MSFD            Article       20      implementation         report
         (https://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine/eu-coast-and-marine-policy/marine-strategy-framework-
         directive/index_en.htm)
33
         Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/)
34
         Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (https://ipbes.net/global-
         assessment)
35
         The 7th Environment Action Programme (EAP)( https://ec.europa.eu/environment/action-programme/)
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
and defining direct and indirect anthropogenic and environmental stressors and their
interactions should be the first step towards correctly quantifying their effects and feeding the
models (forecast).
With increasing industrial use of the ocean space, there is a growing need for the development
of tools for impact monitoring.
Conceptual and numerical models are crucial tools to understand how multiple factors interact
and could affect non-linear systems such as natural ecosystems. They cannot be fully
substituted by observations and monitoring, but empirical data is essential to validate model
results and provide levels of uncertainty.
Models but also design and use of biodiversity scenarios are important approaches to perform
‘what if’ scenarios, in order to forecast potential impacts of different management options
affecting the status of stressed ecosystems under evolving environmental conditions.
In order to facilitate and speed up the development of measures and holistic ecosystem-based
management approaches that promote the sustainability of coastal and marine ecosystems and
enable them to deliver services and be resilient to rapid climate and environmental changes,
proposals are expected to address all of the following aspects:
   Develop a systemic approach for the integrated impact assessment of cumulative direct
      and indirect stressors on coastal and marine ecosystems processes and services (from
      benthic to pelagic systems, from food to human health) and assessment of the state of
      coastal and marine ecosystems “health” or condition, and resilience to cumulative
      pressures.
   Characterise, measure, and understand the combined impact of different types of
      pressures or perturbations (chemicals and energy pollution, bioaccumulation, invasive
      species, extraction activities, river inflows and supplies of sediments and nutrients,
      hypoxia, pH, warming, etc.) on coastal and marine biodiversity and ecosystems
      condition (biotic communities, structure, biotope, and functions) from small cells to
      large ecosystems cells, from invertebrates to predators, and considering sex segregation
      of species determined by environmental parameters, in space and time including
      estimates of the extinction risks of species and structures, which might play key roles in
      the functioning of an ecosystem and in the conservation of marine biodiversity.
   Increased understanding of the biological mechanisms that determine the response of
      organisms and ecosystems to environmental changes (including components of stability,
      such as resistance, resilience and recovery), as well as the limits of their response
      adaptation capacity (tipping points), and the implications for the management of aquatic
      areas, habitats and species
   State of the Art Biologging technology and molecular methods, in combination with
      knowledge on oceanographic processes to understand the effects of agents of change on
      the ecology and population dynamics through different levels of marine food chains.
                                        Part 9 - Page 40 of 571
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
    Rationalise and advance strategies for monitoring European populations of marine
     species at the top of food chains, especially those that can indicate important changes in
     the oceanic environment, and have life histories that make them especially susceptible to
     change.
    Integrate existing and new biodiversity data and knowledge from multiple origins,
     including other EU (Horizon 2020 and previous framework Programmes), international
     and national research projects. Proposals should take into account all the relevant
     knowledge and data from the IPCC, IPBES, JRC, LIFE projects, EEA, MAES, the
     IUCN Guidelines and other relevant initiatives.
    Develop technologies, methods and models that can quantify and forecast how
     cumulative anthropogenic perturbations can affect ecosystem’s sustainability,
     productivity and resilience against environmental stressors.
    Where relevant, creating links, contributing to and using the information and data of the
     European Earth observation programme Copernicus, the Group on Earth Observations
     (GEO) and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), European Space
     Agency Earth Observation Programme and in particular the flagship actions on
     biodiversity and ocean health of the EC-ESA Joint Earth system science initiative, is
     expected.
    Contribution to enhancing the overall societal and public understanding of link between
     marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and human health through education and
     training (school & adult education, citizen science platforms)
    Cooperate with the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity by providing and harnessing
     data and applying an integrated conceptual framework and with other relevant existing
     platforms and information sharing mechanisms36.
    Opportunities for cooperation with the Biodiversity Partnership 37 (HORIZON-CL6-
     2021-BIODIV-02-01) and other relevant Horizon Europe missions and partnerships, as
     well as synergies with relevant projects in Destination ‘Fair, healthy and
     environmentally-friendly food systems from primary production to consumption’
     (aquaculture, fisheries), Destination ‘Clean environment and zero pollution’ (pollution),
     ‘Land, ocean and water for climate action’ (climate) and Destination ‘Resilient,
     inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and urban communities’ (land sea connection,
     coastal areas) should be identified. Proposals should outline a plan on how they intend to
     collaborate with other projects selected and with the mentioned initiatives, by e.g.
     participating in joint activities, workshops, common communication and dissemination
     activities, etc. Applicants should allocate the necessary budget to cover the plan.
     Relevant activities of the plan will be set out and carried out in close co-operation with
     relevant Commission services, ensuring coherence with related policy initiatives.
36
        BISE, Oppla, NetworkNature and their joint work streams.
37
        https://www.biodiversa.org/1759
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is strongly encouraged.
Valuing and restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-05: The economics of nature-based solutions: cost-
benefit analysis, market development and funding
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                         and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                         Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                         additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal will support the development of policies, business
models and market conditions to scale up and speed up the implementation of nature-based
solutions (NBS)38. It will contribute to the wider deployment of NBS and to fully reaping
their economic, employment, social and environmental benefits in order to build a
competitive sustainability in Europe and to tackle climate change. NBS contribute to the EU
biodiversity strategy for 2030 and other Green Deal priorities, by supporting biodiversity and
vital ecosystem services: climate change mitigation and enhancement of carbon sinks,
biomass provision, access to fresh water, clean soil, healthy diets and lifestyles and
sustainable food systems. NBS deployment will also create green jobs and build resilience to
climate change and natural disasters.
Successful proposals will contribute to all following expected outcomes:
38
        As defined by the European Commission: Solutions that are inspired and supported by nature, which
        are cost-effective, simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits and help build
        resilience. Such solutions bring more, and more diverse, nature and natural features and processes into
        cities, landscapes and seascapes, through locally adapted, resource-efficient and systemic interventions.
        Hence, nature-based solutions must benefit biodiversity and support the delivery of a range of
        ecosystem services. In https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=nbs.
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    Better understanding of the economic and financial performance of NBS, contributing to
      a greater promotion of investments in NBS and to an acceleration of market uptake.
    NBS markets are further developed and better structured.
    Actors involved in NBS markets are better equipped to conduct cost-benefit analysis and
      monetisation of NBS, and to address their funding needs, for greater implementation of
      NBS, including ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction approaches.
    NBS business cases are strengthened, contributing to greater adoption of NBS and
      awareness of their benefits.
    Regional and Europe-wide advisory services are equipped with better tools and create
      multi-stakeholder networks to more effectively support NBS project development and
      investment vehicles.
    Informing Mission Adaptation to Climate Change, the EU Adaptation Strategy and the
      EU Taxonomy on Sustainable Finance.
    Assess potential skill gaps and devise trainings to tackle this skill shortage
Scope: Developing markets for NBS has proved a continuing challenge. NBS investments are
many and varied, with their benefits and costs differing by project type and context. They
produce a range of benefits, many of which are public goods with limited revenue streams
that may accrue to different stakeholder groups. Detailed understanding of these benefits is
lacking. The same is true for potential economic benefits resulting from avoidance or
reduction of costs due to NBS intervention (such as those related to insurance, penalty or
capital costs). In addition, the variety of NBS and their context-specific nature across urban,
periurban and rural realms, makes it difficult to predict reliably their commercial prospects.
These features make financing of NBS projects challenging and investment from the private
sector particularly so. As a result, funding of NBS has typically focused on a narrow range of
public sources. Addressing knowledge gaps about the economic and financial performance of
NBS investments, in combination with trialling the development of business cases and models
for NBS implementation39 is particularly urgent in the current context where NBS need to be
exponentially scaled up to meet the policy priorities of the European Green Deal. Despite
growing interest in NBS, upscaling NBS investment would require better understanding of
different return on investment (ROI) models while accounting for indirect revenue streams
associated with NBS (e.g. lower insurance costs for local government from investment in
flood defences). The successful proposal should:
    Provide guidance for project developers and decision makers to take informed decisions
      about NBS: e.g. comparison of strengths and weaknesses of green and grey solutions in
      climate change adaptation; cost-benefit assessments for NBS (including both the initial
39
         The socio-political and cultural aspects of NBS are, in turn, the focus of HORIZON-CL6-2022-
         COMMUNITIES-01-05: Assessing the socio-politics of nature-based solutions for more inclusive and
         resilient communities.
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               Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
  capital investment and maintenance stage); resilience and insurance values of NBS;
  assessment of other co-benefits of NBS, including non-monetary ones. Synergies should
  be considered with the dedicated topic HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-06: Nature-
  based solutions, prevention and reduction of risks and the insurance sector;
 Analyse the potential for development of specific demand and supply chains in NBS;
 Provide methodological guidance on assembling NBS business cases, applying a Total
  Economic Value framework, of practical use to practitioners in making the case for NBS
  investments;
 Develop a coaching programme on NBS readiness assistance where businesses and
  projects selected for Investment Readiness Assistance receive coaching packages
  tailored specifically to their readiness levels and business objectives to advance the
  maturity of projects, taking also into account skill gaps;
 Create new or assess, streamline and provide access to existing toolboxes to support
  regional needs related to NBS financing and implementation; Consider the
  diversification of financing arrangements and mixes: co-financing and benefit sharing
  options with the private sector; PPPs; innovative financing mechanisms; and innovative
  arrangements, e.g. to involve and compensate the land owners who provide the space for
  NBS implementation;
 Assess the impacts and opportunities for NBS associated with the EU Taxonomy on
  Sustainable Finance and support the practical implementation of the Taxonomy by
  stakeholders;
 Analyse innovative financing approaches, including NBS ‘green bonds’ and blended
  finance at appropriate levels (e.g. European cities), while considering synergies with the
  European Investment Bank and any other relevant actors;
 Identify the potential for private investment in different NBS typologies and identify the
  critical conditions/actions necessary for upscaling, including research related needs.
  Provide a strategy for greater finance mobilisation through, for example, a NBS
  investment community or marketplace where potential project partners, entrepreneurs,
  investors, and innovation stakeholders can meet to discuss and advance investment in
  NBS;
 Identify and analyse case studies of multiple-benefit, co-governance/co-ownership
  projects with participation of the private sector, exploring their costs and benefits,
  analysing their financing strategies and identifying critical success factors;
 Explore synergies and interconnection of different EU initiatives (such as INTERREG,
  LEADER, URBACT, Covenant of Mayors, etc.) in terms of financing and potential for
  more coordinated actions and aggregated impact on NBS;
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    Develop additional training and tailored courses, networking and B2B matchmaking
      sessions and other relevant events.
Proposals should address all of the above points.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
Collaboration with the Biodiversity Partnership 40 (HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-02-01) is
expected in the context of reinforcing the knowledge base for assessing, developing and
deploying nature-based solutions.
Applicants should create synergies with projects under the same topic and other relevant
ongoing or up-coming projects, notably the Horizon 2020 NBS project portfolio and its task
forces; HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-06: Nature-based solutions, prevention and
reduction of risks and the insurance sector; HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-03: Network
for nature: multi-stakeholder dialogue platform to promote nature-based solutions;
HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-05: Assessing the socio-politics of nature-based
solutions for more inclusive and resilient communities; HORIZON-CL6-2022-
COMMUNITIES-02-02-two-stage: Developing nature-based therapy for health and well-
being; HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-06: Inside and outside: educational
innovation with nature-based solutions.
To this end, proposals should include dedicated tasks and appropriate resources for
coordination measures, foresee joint activities and joint deliverables.
Proposals should ensure that all evidence, information and project outputs are accessible
through the Oppla portal (the EU repository for NBS)41.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-06: Nature-based solutions, prevention and reduction
of risks and the insurance sector
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic aims to support the development of policies, business models
and market conditions to scale up and speed up the implementation of nature-based solutions
40
        https://www.biodiversa.org/1759
41
        https://oppla.eu/.
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
(NBS) 42 . It will contribute to the wider deployment of NBS and to fully reaping their
economic, social and environmental benefits in order to build a competitive sustainability in
Europe and to tackle climate change. NBS contribute to the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030
and other Green Deal priorities, by supporting biodiversity and vital ecosystem services,
notably building resilience to climate change and natural disasters.
Successful proposals will contribute to all following expected outcomes:
    More robust and integrated NBS for climate change adaptation and disaster risk
      reduction at local, regional, national and European level, notably contributing to the
      EU’s Action Plan on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the EU
      Adaptation Strategy and Mission Adaptation to Climate Change.
    Wider recognition and implementation of NBS as their benefits (avoided damages) are
      fully recognised when compared to the costs of inaction, thus contributing to greater
      resilience and competitiveness of the European economy and society.
Greater engagement of the insurance sector in NBS markets and NBS funding and
collaboration with other actors across different countries, regions, and cities.
Scope: The costs from climate-related hazards in Europe are increasing and are likely to rise
even further and faster over the coming century due to a projected increase in the severity and
frequency of events brought by climate change. This will exacerbate other changes related to
land use and urbanisation. While encompassing the whole cycle of disaster risk management,
in line with the implementation of the EU Sendai Framework over the next ten years (2015-
2030) and the new EU Adaptation Strategy, special attention on the role of prevention and
risk reduction in Europe is needed, notably through nature-based solutions (NBS). The role
that the insurance and reinsurance industry can play in resilience and risk reduction is not
sufficiently explored. Previous research highlights that the insurance sector can support action
as institutional investors, insurance providers, innovators of new insurance products or as
partners bringing their risk management expertise43. Data collected by insurance companies
can help municipalities in their understanding of risk and to better prioritize climate
adaptation measures44. However, several barriers remain insufficiently addressed to further
42
        As defined by the European Commission: Solutions that are inspired and supported by nature, which
        are cost-effective, simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits and help build
        resilience. Such solutions bring more, and more diverse, nature and natural features and processes into
        cities, landscapes and seascapes, through locally adapted, resource-efficient and systemic interventions.
        Hence, nature-based solutions must benefit biodiversity and support the delivery of a range of
        ecosystem services. In https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=nbs.
43
        Weinberg, J., Thakar K., Marchal, R., Nanu, F. and Lopez Gunn, E. (2019). DELIVERABLE 8.3;
        Second Roundtable Report and Policy Brief. EU Horizon 2020 NAIAD Project, Grant Agreement
        N°730497.
44
        Ebeltoft, M. (2016). Private-Public-Project: sharing insurance loss data to local and national authorities,
        (and scientists) in DRR and resilience work. NORDRESS Island, January 2016.
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engage the insurance sector in the particular case of NBS – from data management issues to
overcoming the uncertainty of investments, or finding adequate regulatory incentives 45.
The successful proposal should:
    Establish a network and the needed collaborative and participatory arrangements and
     spaces between all relevant stakeholders in risk reduction across scales: insurers and re-
     insurers (including insurance associations), public authorities (local, regional and/or
     national), financing bodies (e.g. the EIB and other investors), farmers associations,
     relevant actors from the scientific community and potential links to other relevant
     initiatives (such as the Covenant of Mayors);
    Facilitate a dialogue at different levels of such a network of stakeholders on potential
     opportunities, strategies or mechanisms to foster collaborative action for a more robust
     decision-making and for increased risk prevention through NBS;
    Identify risk-related data requirements, mechanisms, existing tools, and opportunities for
     better data sharing (and data crowdsourcing) to identify areas at risk and potential areas
     of intervention through NBS or hybrid approaches;
    Support the establishment of secure and efficient data sharing mechanisms between local
     authorities, insurers and the private sector, taking into appropriate consideration data
     privacy issues;
    Develop agreed and robust metrics for the quantification of risk reduction performance,
     and/or ways to assess risk mitigation potential from NBS, including better integration of
     NBS models and catastrophe models, damage estimates under climate change scenarios
     and avoided damages;
    Identify financing options and existing success stories for NBS investments from
     insurance companies, including through blending mechanisms;
    Identify new insurance products that are transparent and affordable in terms of risk
     premiums and/or pooling of risks;
    Highlight best practices, and remaining gaps, related to the use of NBS to reduce and
     control risks, considering the type of hazard, location, and scale of intervention;
    Identify specific case studies related to NBS and reduction of risk in EU policies and
     strategies (e.g. the EU adaptation strategy, the action plan on the Sendai framework for
     disaster risk reduction, the common agricultural policy (CAP), the EU forest strategy,
     the Water Framework Directive, the Floods Directive, restoration objectives in the EU
     biodiversity strategy, etc.).
45
        Marchal, R., Piton, G. Lopez-Gunn, E., Zorrilla-Miras, P. Van der Keur, P. Dartée, K. Pengal, P. et al.
        (2019). The (Re)Insurance Industry’s Roles in the Integration of Nature-Based Solutions for Prevention
        in Disaster Risk Reduction—Insights from a European Survey. Sustainability 11 (22): 6212.
        https://doi.org/10.3390/su11226212.
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Proposals should address all of the above points.
Complementary activities such as interviews, research reviews and small
research/experimentation-oriented actions may be envisaged. The stocktaking of previous
Horizon 2020 projects on NBS, and how these results can be integrated in future insurance
sector involvement should also be addressed.
Applicants should create synergies with projects under the same topic and other relevant
ongoing or up-coming projects, notably the Horizon 2020 NBS project portfolio and its task
forces; HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-05: The economics of nature-based solutions: cost-
benefit analysis, market development and funding; HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-03:
Network for nature: multi-stakeholder dialogue platform to promote nature-based solutions;
HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-05: Assessing the socio-politics of nature-based
solutions for more inclusive and resilient communities. To this end, proposals should include
dedicated tasks and appropriate resources for coordination measures, foresee joint activities
and joint deliverables.
Proposals should ensure that project outputs are accessible through the Oppla portal (the EU
repository for NBS)46. Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-
technical interface and requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or
market uptake. This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-07: Ecosystems and their services for an evidence-
based policy and decision-making
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 13.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 13.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                         consortium selected for funding.
                         If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                         and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                         Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                         additionally be used).
46
        https://oppla.eu/.
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Expected Outcome: In support to the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 the successful
proposal should provide knowledge to support EU and its Member States as well as relevant
Associated Countries in the implementation of its actions and commitments by contributing to
the integration of biodiversity and natural capital into public and business decision-making at
all levels for the protection and restoration of ecosystems and their services. Successful
proposals will contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Inform the policy decisions affecting the environment thought a better understanding of
      the condition of ecosystems and their services in Europe, helping fill the current
      knowledge gaps.
    Contribute to the evidence and awareness of the importance of biodiversity, healthy
      ecosystems and the social and economic values that emerge from them though a better
      understanding of ecosystems services in relation with ecosystems condition.
    Support restoration targets and secure the sustainability of human activities and human
      well-being through the definition of the minimum criteria for ecosystems to achieve or
      maintain a healthy state or a good condition.
Scope: The first EU-wide Ecosystem Assessment report states that Europe’s ecosystems, on
which we depend for instance for food, timber, clean air, clean water, climate regulation and
recreation, suffer from unrelenting pressures caused by intensive use of land or sea , climate
change, pollution, overexploitation of natural resources and invasive alien species. Ensuring
that ecosystems achieve or maintain a healthy state or a good condition is a key requirement
to secure the sustainability of human activities and human well-being.
The successful proposal should cover the main knowledge gaps identified by the EU
Ecosystem assessment 47 report to improve the assessment of the condition of ecosystems
while providing uptake of the assessment’s outcomes in policy. It should develop and test
indicators not yet available for supporting the ecosystem and services assessment. This
includes developing the minimum criteria, reference levels and aggregation schemes to define
good ecosystem condition. This definition is not restricted to protected areas, but should
encompass also forests, agroecosystems, urban areas, soil ecosystems, wetlands, fresh water
and marine ecosystems. The proposal should addresses regional diversity and the
corresponding decision level.
47
        Maes, J., Teller, A., Erhard, M., Condé, S., Vallecillo, S., Barredo, J.I., Paracchini, M.L., Abdul Malak,
        D., Trombetti, M., Vigiak, O., Zulian, G., Addamo, A.M., Grizzetti, B., Somma, F., Hagyo, A., Vogt,
        P., Polce, C., Jones, A., Marin, A.I., Ivits, E., Mauri, A., Rega, C., Czúcz, B., Ceccherini, G., Pisoni, E.,
        Ceglar, A., De Palma, P., Cerrani, I., Meroni, M., Caudullo, G., Lugato, E., Vogt, J.V., Spinoni, J.,
        Cammalleri, C., Bastrup-Birk, A., San Miguel, J., San Román, S., Kristensen, P., Christiansen, T., Zal,
        N., de Roo, A., Cardoso, A.C., Pistocchi, A., Del Barrio Alvarellos, I., Tsiamis, K., Gervasini, E.,
        Deriu, I., La Notte, A., Abad Viñas, R., Vizzarri, M., Camia, A., Robert, N., Kakoulaki, G., Garcia
        Bendito, E., Panagos, P., Ballabio, C., Scarpa, S., Montanarella, L., Orgiazzi, A., Fernandez Ugalde, O.,
        Santos-Martín, F., Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services: An EU ecosystem
        assessment, EUR 30161 EN, Pulications Office of the European Union, Ispra, 2020, ISBN 978-92-76-
        17833-0, doi: 10.2760/757183, JRC120383.
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The proposal should investigate how good ecosystem condition is related to the capacity of
ecosystems to deliver ecosystem services and focus on quantification of ecosystem services
and on data derived from biodiversity and ecosystem monitoring in combination with models
to study these. The proposal should develop and test methods and tools (in particular methods
developed for natural capital accounting) to consistently report harmonised and verified
ecosystem data at EU and Member State and Associated Country level that can be used to
regularly report or assess the pressures and condition of ecosystems, dynamics, trends and
changes over time.
The proposal should bring the individual MAES components 1) map ecosystems, 2) map and
assess condition of ecosystems, 3) map and assess ecosystem services delivered by
ecosystems together in integrated ecosystem assessments to better understand how the
condition of various ecosystem types influences the delivery of different ecosystem services.
The proposal should demonstrate how to apply the MAES 48 outputs and other relevant
ecosystem knowledge in practical policy, including its implementation, and other decision-
making process (public and private) at various spatial and temporal scales while involving
relevant stakeholders and citizens.
The proposal should follow up on European and global projects and networks to facilitate
dialogue among the relevant scientific communities, funding bodies, relevant stakeholders
and user communities in Europe throughout the duration of Horizon Europe.
The proposal should test and demonstrate the links between biodiversity, ecosystems and
macro-economic policies and national policies for instance on agriculture, fisheries, forestry
and climate. The proposal should develop and test practical applications seeking to harness
the full potential of ecosystem services for evidence-based decision making. Ecosystem
services need to be uptake and better integrated in different sectoral policies including,
amongst others, urban and regional development, the common agricultural policy,
conservation planning or marine spatial planning.
Applicants should create synergies with relevant projects under this Call. To this end,
proposals should include dedicated tasks and appropriate resources for coordination measures,
and, where possible, foresee joint activities and joint deliverables. Furthermore, cooperation is
expected with the Biodiversity Partnership49 (HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-02-01) and the
Science Service HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-19. The proposal should set practical
policy recommendations for the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 targets, commitments, and
ecosystem services-related policies, thereby contributing to the implementation, monitoring of
progress and ratcheting up of the strategy’s commitments as part of the European Green Deal.
The successful proposal should show how their results might provide timely information on
relevant project outcomes. Cooperation is expected with projects under “HORIZON-CL6-
2021-BIODIV-01-20: Support to processes triggered by IPBES and IPCC” and “HORIZON-
CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-10: Cooperation with the Convention on Biological Diversity” for
48
        https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/knowledge/ecosystem_assessment/index_en.htm
49
        https://www.biodiversa.org/1759
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major science-policy bodies such as the Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC), as well as the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The successful proposal should ensure that all evidence, data and information will be
accessible through the Oppla portal, and prepare the inclusion of its results, knowledge
synthesis and policy briefs to the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity. In this topic the
integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation
content is not a mandatory requirement. Where relevant, creating links to and using the
information and data of the European Earth observation programme Copernicus, the Group on
Earth Observations (GEO) and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) is
expected.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-08: Supporting the development of a coherent and
resilient Trans-European Nature Network
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 10.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                     proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action       Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                     and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                     Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                     additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: Contributing to the implementation of the EU biodiversity strategy for
2030, this topic aims to give support to building a coherent and resilient trans-European
nature network (TEN-N) of protected areas, including through the set-up of ecological
corridors, thereby contributing to the protection and restoration of ecosystems and their
services in Europe.
Successful proposals are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
   Development of a coherent and resilient trans-European nature network of protected
      areas, by supporting Member States on the key commitments for protecting at least 30%
      of EU land area, and strictly protecting at least 10% of EU land area.
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    Setting up of ecological corridors – within and outside the network - to prevent genetic
      isolation, allowing for species migration including the response to climate change, and
      maintaining and enhancing healthy ecosystems, and delivering multiple ecosystem
      services.
Promote, support and demonstrate innovative and replicable financing solutions for the
upscaling investments in green and blue infrastructure 50 (GI) and nature-based solutions
(NBS).
Scope: The EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 addresses the on-going biodiversity decline
through an EU Nature Protection and Restoration Plan across land and sea, including through
the deployment of a truly coherent TEN-N increasing and interconnecting the current network
of protected areas. The strategy includes key commitments for 2030 for legally protecting a
minimum of 30% of the EU’s land area and 30% of the EU’s sea area and strictly protecting
one third of the EU’s protected areas, including all remaining EU primary and old-growth
forests. Additionally, setting up and integrating ecological corridors will be important to
prevent genetic isolation, allowing for species migration and dispersal, and for maintaining
and enhancing healthy ecosystems. This is particularly relevant for increasing resilience of the
network with respect to climate change51.
The successful proposal should set up a strategic plan to support national authorities in
identifying and selecting the relevant priority areas for EU land protection and the set-up of
ecological corridors. It should be built on the existing EU network of protected areas and
based on the EU Guidance to Member States52, referred in the EU biodiversity strategy for
2030.
The successful proposal should consider various climate change scenarios, propose solutions
for strengthening ecological connectivity under these different scenarios, through additional
protected areas and ecological corridors. In this context, it should also consider the role of
Green Urban Spaces and intensively managed ecosystems.
It should promote, support and demonstrate innovative and replicable financing solutions in
GI and NBS and innovative cooperation and participatory approaches across borders among
Member States on different levels involving a wide range of stakeholders across sectors.
The successful proposal should set out a clear plan to collaborate with national authorities and
stakeholders, relevant projects under this call the EU Biodiversity Partnership, the Science
50
         Green Infrastructure is a strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural areas with other
         environmental features designed and managed to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services. It
         incorporates green spaces (or blue if aquatic ecosystems are concerned) and other physical features in
         terrestrial (including coastal) and marine areas. On land, GI is present in rural and urban settings.”
         (European Commission, 2013)
51
         Climate change impacts on ecosystems are now evident across all ecosystems, for example, where
         climate change is increasing the risk of forest fires and other ecosystem degradation. Furthermore,
         climate change is projected to drive species to higher latitudes. A more coherent network of nature is
         one of the solutions to mitigate impacts of and adapt to climate change and allow species to migrate.
52
         This Guidance is currently under discussion in the frame of the EU Nature Directives Expert Group
         (NADEG) and should be finalized by the end of 2021 at the latest.
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Service under HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-19: ‘A mechanism for science to inform
implementation, monitoring, review and ratcheting up the new EU biodiversity strategy’ as
well with the EU Natura 2000 Biogeographical Process53 which will be the main forum for
discussion of the targets between the Commission, Member States and stakeholders. To this
end, proposals should include dedicated tasks and dedicate appropriate resources for
coordination measures, and, where possible, foresee joint activities and joint deliverables. The
successful proposals should provide knowledge to Convention on Biological Diversity (e.g.
SBSTTA/SBI) and to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and
Ecosystem Services processes where relevant. Projects should ensure that all evidence, data
and information will be accessible through the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement. Where relevant, creating links to and
using the information and data of the European Earth observation programme Copernicus, the
Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems
(GEOSS) is expected.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-09: Assessing and consolidating recent scientific
advances on freshwater ecosystem restoration.
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 0.50
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 0.50 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: In support of the implementation of the Green Deal and the biodiversity
strategy, a successful proposal will improve the knowledge to restore ecosystems and halt
biodiversity loss, in particular Destination ‘Biodiversity and ecosystem services’ impact
“Biodiversity in Europe is back on a path of recovery by 2030; ecosystems and their services
are preserved and sustainably restored on land, in inland water and at sea through improved
knowledge and innovation
The project will contribute to all of the following expected outcomes
    Support public authorities and other organisations engaged in ecosystem restoration to
      implement and prioritise innovative restoration approaches.
53
         The Biogeographical Process is guided and monitored by the Expert Group on Natura 2000
         Management, and Steering Committees composed of representatives of the Member States, the
         European Commission, the European Environment Agency, the European Topic Centre on Biological
         Diversity, the European Habitats Forum and the Natura 2000 Users Forum.
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    Increase evidence of the potential of innovative restoration approaches to halt
      biodiversity loss and contribute to carbon storage in sediments and soils.
    Build the foundations for large scale restoration projects and related investments.
Scope: Freshwater ecosystems are degraded due to barriers and other morphological changes,
loss of wetlands and floodplains, over abstraction of surface and ground waters, land
management that reduces infiltration and generates pollution in land and seas. In responding
to the climate and biodiversity crises and acknowledging that healthy water ecosystems are
essential for climate adaptation there is an opportunity to determine how to prioritise and
deliver aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem restoration at scale throughout Europe, both in rural
and urban areas. There is a need to build on recent research from disparate research
communities and approaches like the mapping and assessment of ecosystem services to
identify how restoration can deliver on multiple objectives (ecosystem services, biodiversity
protection, sediment management, climate adaptation, mitigation) and deliver value for
citizens.
The objective of this topic is to determine how to implement the restoration of freshwater
ecosystems and remove hydromorphological barriers to ensure sustainable environmental
flows and to support achievement of good status in both surface and ground waters, long-term
water resource management, biodiversity and climate resilience.
This topic should result in a comprehensive review of the knowledge about and past
experience with effective approaches to freshwater ecosystem restoration. The scope should
include methods for detection and identification of ecosystem degradation, assessment and
restoration potential, methods for prioritisation including ones based on mapping of
ecosystem services, options for restoration including ones for heavily modified water bodies,
approaches to long-term management of restored ecosystems and approaches for monitoring
and evaluation including proper evaluation of environmental impacts of restoration options
and contribution to climate mitigation. The governance aspects should play important role
including strengthening relevant institutions, cross-sectoral collaboration between water and
other relevant authorities, financing models for restoration measures, and long term
maintenance and protection of restored bodies, economic analysis of costs and benefits,
including citizens engagement.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-10: Demonstration of measures and management for
coastal and marine ecosystems restoration and resilience in simplified socio-ecological
systems.
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 10.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                      The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                      multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
                      If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In support of the implementation of the Green Deal and the biodiversity
strategy, a successful proposal will improve the knowledge to restore ecosystems and halt
biodiversity loss, supporting notably the following impact in this destination: ‘Biodiversity
decline, its main direct drivers and their interrelations are better understood and addressed’
Projects results are expected to contribute to all following expected outcomes:
    Demonstration of the best combinations of interventions and approaches in a simple
      socio-ecological system; guidelines to upscale them to more complex systems, for the
      restoration and protection of coastal, marine and connected freshwater biodiversity and
      ecosystem services and their resilience to environmental changes in both protected and
      non-protected areas;
    Formulation and implementation of European & international marine related policies.
Scope: Pressures on marine biodiversity, and the ecosystems they form a part of, are
increasing at a faster rate than the efforts at protection. Adding to human direct pressures, the
effects of climate and environmental changes are becoming main drivers affecting the
integrity of marine ecosystems and their capacity to deliver a wide range of multiple essential
services and benefits to people. Those global changes are occurring already and have a more
rapid affect in the ocean than on land (like warming, stratification, sea level rise, extreme
events, pollution, eutrophication, deoxygenation, and acidification).
There is an increasing need for a holistic ecosystem-based and knowledge-based overarching
approach that ensures the sustainability and resilience of coastal and marine ecosystems with
a Multi Actor Approach involving the four leviers of transformation (science & innovation;
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
economy & finance; individual & collective action; governance). This approach should at the
same time integrate and balance different ocean uses and relevant land-based activities to
optimise the overall sustainability of the ocean economy.
This topic aims at speeding up the identification, the development and integration of ad hoc
measures and holistic ecosystem-based management approaches at larger scale, considering as
well the land-sea interactions, especially connected inland waters, that will restore coastal and
marine ecosystems and enable the sustainable delivery of services and resilience to rapid
climate and environmental changes. To do so, it is necessary to test with no delay several
types of interventions, tools and targets (conservation, restoration, holistic ecosystem-based
management, marine nature-based solutions, social innovation) at realistic scales, with
spatially well-defined socio-ecological system boundaries before upscaling to larger and more
complex socio-ecological systems.
    In this topic simplified socio-ecological systems are systems where the number of socio-
     economic activities, governance levels and range of ecosystems diversity are such that
     they allow for the experiment to be conducted within the duration of a project and the
     range of funding available. They should include already existing MPAs and/or other area
     based management tools to allow for a quick start of the project’s testing approaches.
     For example, but not exclusively, the system composed by the relevant EU Outermost
     regions, such Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands and Capo Verde (Macaronesia), La
     Réunion, Maurice and related islands (Mascarene Islands), la Gaudeloupe, Saint Martin
     and la Martinique (Lesser Antilles), Mayotte (Comoros archipelago), French Guyan, or a
     system of Mediterranean islands (e.g., the Tuscan Archipelago) could provide an
     example of a large scale but simplified socio-economic system that could be used for
     assessing cumulated impacts and identifying solutions. Similarly, the Greenland-
     Iceland-Faeroe region could offer a site in sub-polar Arctic region for identifying
     integrated solutions for marine biodiversity management under rapid climate change
     conditions. Inland, presence of protected areas including human activities can also
     provide an ideal context to explore these questions.
    This topic would allow projects in different simplified socio-ecological system so
     several measures and approaches could be conducted in parallel with a shared method
     enabling both highly system specific as well as shared challenges and solutions to be
     identified cross-islands / interregional cooperation and policy implementation. Social
     innovation and co-creation of the approaches and solutions by involving the four levers
     of transformation in the local communities would be central to enable proper
     scientifically sound and societally acceptable interventions.
    Innovative approaches and lessons learnt for upscaling measures and holistic socio-
     ecological management of marine and coastal ecosystems recognising the need to
     preserve the inherently dynamic nature of coastal ecosystems and their associated
     landforms. Projects should build on existing knowledge to avoid duplications and
     overlaps with past or ongoing research and integrate results from multiple origins,
     including other EU or national projects.
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    Where relevant, creating links to and using the information and data of the European
     Earth observation programme Copernicus, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and
     the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) is expected.
    Proposals should outline a plan on how they intend to collaborate with other projects
     selected under any other relevant topic/call, by e.g. participating in joint activities,
     workshops, common communication and dissemination activities, etc. Furthermore, the
     plan should embrace cooperation with the Biodiversity Partnership 54 (HORIZON-CL6-
     2021-BIODIV-02-01) and other relevant Horizon Europe missions and partnerships.
     Applicants should allocate the necessary budget to cover the plan. Relevant activities of
     the plan will be set out and carried out in close co-operation with relevant Commission
     services, ensuring coherence with related policy initiatives.
    Contribution to enhancing the overall societal and public understanding of link between
     biodiversity and ecosystem functioning through education and training (school & adult
     education, citizen science platforms)
    In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is strongly
     encouraged.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-11: What else is out there? Exploring the connection
between biodiversity, ecosystems services, pandemics and epidemic risk
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 4.00
contribution per       and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 3-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
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Expected Outcome: A successful proposal will contribute to European Green Deal priorities
and the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, whilst supporting the EU’s response to the
coronavirus and other zoonotic outbreaks, in the context of EU’s goal of leading just digital,
economic and ecological transitions that will leave no one behind, One Health approaches,
and the future European Health Union. It will explore the evolution and spread of
microbiomes in the wild and their relationship with biodiversity loss, ecosystems dynamics
and epidemics risk, in a broad societal, climate change and global context. By doing so, the
interrelations between biodiversity, health and environment (e.g. climate and land use) will be
better known and communicated to citizens and policy-makers. In particular, risks associated
with microbiomes and biodiversity-friendly prevention/mitigation/restoration measures, and
opportunities for biodiversity recovery will be identified. This topic is also expected to have
impacts related to ‘Climate change mitigation and adaptation’ and ‘A resilient EU prepared
for emerging threats’.
Projects results are expected to contribute to some of the following expected outcomes:
   The evolution and spread of microbiomes in the wild and their relationship with
      biodiversity loss and ecosystems dynamics is understood and modelled, within the
      broader context of socio-economic driving forces, climate change, public health, and
      increasing resilience.
   Epidemics risks are understood, mapped and forecasted on the basis of relationships
      between factors such as land use, ecology, climate, biodiversity, and socio-economic
      factors, including wildlife trade, that determine the pace at which new pathogens emerge
      and then spread once transmission between humans occurs.
   Contribution to ecosystem services: use of novel technologies for better land use and
      environmental management, increasing (or at least preserving) biodiversity under
      unfavourable environmental/climatic conditions.
   Sustainable prevention/mitigation measures improving microbiomes and biodiversity
      conservation/recovery are proposed.
   Molecular and phylogenetic characterisation of potential emerging and novel pathogens
      and their hosts in both natural and human-modified areas for use as pre-leads in future
      vaccines, antimicrobials and other prevention strategies.
   Pathogen detection and surveillance strategies, focusing on human populations at risk
      but also on potential reservoirs and vectors, based on rapid, on-site, genomic tools
      allowing a fast and early response when facing potential outbreaks.
   New multidisciplinary collaborations that embody the One Health/EcoHealth concept
      are active and efficient as a way to prevent pandemics, sustain biodiversity, promote
      human, animal and ecosystem health and nature conservation, as well as support the
      needed transformative change.
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
    Effective strategies to increase awareness and participation of indigenous and local
      communities in pandemics prevention are in place: risks management and opportunities
      for biodiversity conservation/recovery are built together.
Scope: Wildlife microbiomes, whether symbiotic, commensal or pathogenic, and their
potential to spread by crossing interspecies barriers, eventually reaching humans via
transitional interfaces (e.g. peri-urban, farming areas), are still largely unknown. Complex
links between increased human-mediated disturbance, land-use change, natural habitat
loss/degradation/fragmentation, climate change and biodiversity loss have all been linked to
increases in the increased prevalence and risk of zoonotic disease for a variety of pathogens,
mostly driven by human activities that modify the environment or spread pathogens into new
ecological niches55. Zoonotic diseases are significant threats to human health, with vector-
borne diseases accounting for approximately 17 per cent of all infectious diseases and causing
an estimated 700,000 deaths globally 56 in a normal year, which can more than double in
pandemic years57.
The magnitude and direction of altered disease incidence due to anthropogenic disturbance
differ globally and between ecosystems. Some described mechanisms and drivers that
especially affect infectious disease risk are 58 habitat alteration (e.g. deforestation,
urbanisation), depletion of predators, biological invasion, host transfer, biodiversity change,
human-driven genetic changes, bushmeat hunting and consumption, environmental
contamination by infectious agents, international exchanges, trade, etc.
This call aims to recover biodiversity and ecosystems services whilst predicting and
preventing future pandemics and epidemic outbreaks, especially in tropical areas and
biodiversity hotspots, through collaboration between environmental (including climate),
ecological, biomedical and social sciences. Projects should map, identify and characterise
(e.g. with molecular techniques) potential emerging pathogens and their hosts/vectors in both
carefully selected natural and human-modified areas, explore the relationship of biodiversity
and ecosystems dynamics with microbiomes’ evolution and spread, within the broader context
of socio-economic driving forces, climate change, public health and animal health.
Pathogen discovery, prophylaxis and operational surveillance strategies should be developed
to search for new potential pathogens, within natural and human-modified ecosystems and
hosts as well as in cases of human infectious diseases of unknown aetiology, to prevent, detect
and contain their outbreaks. Risk maps and predictive models should be built based on
development trends, the presence of probable host/bridge species, environmental and socio-
economic factors.
55
        Whitmee et al. 2015 and CBD SoK 2015
56
        IPBES Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services & IPBES The assessment report on
        land degradation and restoration.
57
        In the first twelve months of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 2 million related deaths have been
        officially registered worldwide (worldometers.info/coronavirus, 19 January 2021).
58
        Patz & Confalonieri (2005) Human Health: Ecosystem Regulation of Infectious Diseases. Ecosystems
        and Human Well-being: Current State and Trends. 1. cited in IPBES global assessment report, 2019
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The impacts of land use and climate change on biodiversity, ecosystem services and
pandemics should be also taken into account, as well as any recent IPBES reports on the links
between biodiversity and pandemics59.
Ecologists, infectious-disease researchers, medical doctors, veterinarians, environmental,
public-health and animal-health experts, socio-economic stakeholders and the private sector,
particularly SMEs, as well as authorities, civil and political entities, should contribute among
others to devise an early warning mechanism, track environmental change, assess the risk of
pathogens crossing over and reduce risky human activities.
Efforts to preserve/restore biodiversity should address the economic and socio-cultural factors
that drive natural habitat alteration and the rural poor’s dependency on hunting and trading
wild animals. International cooperation with non-EU countries where new pathogens have
emerged is strongly encouraged. Projects should ensure availability and interoperability of
their data with the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity and earmark the necessary
resources for cooperation. Collaboration with the Biodiversity Partnership (HORIZON-CL6-
2021-BIODIV-02-01) and creating links to its activities is expected60.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of social sciences and humanities (SSH)
disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-12: Improved science based                            maritime spatial
planning and identification of marine protected areas
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.00
contribution per       and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 7.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project –
59
        IPBES (2020) Workshop Report on Biodiversity              and Pandemics. Daszak, P. et al.
        doi:10.5281/zenodo.4147317 https://ipbes.net/pandemics
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In support of the implementation of the Green Deal and the biodiversity
strategy, a successful proposal will improve the knowledge to restore ecosystems and halt
biodiversity loss, supporting notably the following impact in this destination: ‘Biodiversity
and natural capital are integrated into public and business decision-making at all levels for the
protection and restoration of ecosystems and their services; science base is provided for
planning and increasing protected areas, and sustainably managing ecosystems’.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
    Prioritisation of future protected areas, restoration areas, and science-based maritime
      spatial planning (including in larger scale hot spots identified in maritime national plans
      in order to develop ad hoc plans addressing specific scenarios so as to ameliorate the
      high impact of human activities over the ecosystem services).
    Implementation of the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 (legally protect a minimum of
      30% of the EU’s sea area of which 10% is strictly protected, and integrate ecological
      corridors, as part of a true Trans-European Nature Network, maritime spatial planning
      and ecosystem-based management covering all sectors and activities at sea, as well as
      area-based conservation-management measures) and the Convention on Biological
      Diversity post-2020 framework.
    Improved science based for the description of Ecologically or Biologically Significant
      marine Areas (EBSA)
Scope: Restored and properly protected coastal and marine ecosystems bring substantial
health, social and economic benefits to coastal communities and the EU and Associated
Countries as a whole. The need for stronger action is all the more acute as marine and coastal
ecosystem biodiversity loss is severely exacerbated by global warming.
Achieving a good environmental status of marine ecosystems, will be accomplished not only
through protected areas and the restoration of important ecosystems but also by the ways we
use the sea so that we no longer endanger food security, fishers’ livelihoods, and the fisheries
and seafood sectors. The EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 underlines the application of an
ecosystem-based management approach to reduce the adverse impacts of fishing, extraction,
mining and other human maritime activities, taking into account pressures from land-based
activities, especially on sensitive species and seabed habitats. To support this, national
maritime spatial plans should aim to cover all blue economy sectors and take into account the
natural ecological features and the link between them.
Experience and lessons learnt from existing marine protected areas (MPAs) show that our
capacity to identify ideal locations for MPAs, their sizes, borders, management practices and
their connectivity fails to consider the different aspects of biodiversity attributes, to recognise
climate change impacts and lacks a sound scientific base in relation to certain aspects. The
optimal locations, connectivity and restrictions in MPAs required to achieve the protection of
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biodiversity and ecosystem services remain uncertain and are likely to become even more
dynamic as the marine environmental conditions are changing fast.
So far, there has been a predominance of MPAs and projects concerned with genes and
species and less with individual traits and inter-specific processes, and very few addressing
large-scale habitats and ecosystem level processes. Knowledge and scientific approaches are
still lacking to address all biodiversity attributes using a coherent and systemic approach.
Links and feedbacks between and within biodiversity attributes, ecosystem services and
policy implications are lacking.
By building on and integrating existing knowledge and results from multiple origins,
including other EU and national projects, research and innovation could pave the way to fill
present gaps on marine biodiversity and its management by better linking spatially ecological
features with socio-economic elements. It can also have potential links with activities funded
by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), in particular calls and
projects on Maritime Spatial Planning.
    Design of ad hoc innovative flexible socio-ecological management to cope with a rapidly
       changing environment for coastal, offshore and deep-sea marine ecosystems, taking into
       account their connectivity, including through deep-sea migratory species, and the need to
       preserve their inherent natural dynamics.
    Where relevant, creating links to and using the information and data of the European
       Earth observation programme Copernicus, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and
       the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) is expected
    Proposals should outline a plan on how they intend to collaborate with other projects
       selected under any other relevant topic/call, by e.g. participating in joint activities,
       workshops, common communication and dissemination activities. Furthermore, the plan
       should embrace cooperation with the Biodiversity Partnership61 (HORIZON-CL6-2021-
       BIODIV-02-01) and other relevant Horizon Europe missions and partnerships.
       Applicants should allocate the necessary budget to cover the plan. Relevant activities of
       the plan will be set out and carried out in close co-operation with relevant Commission
       services, ensuring coherence with related policy initiatives.
    Provide approaches for greater policy coherence between the Water Framework
       Directive, Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Maritime Spatial Planning and the EU
       biodiversity strategy for 2030 and how these policies can better assist in the preservation
       of inherently and spatially dynamic systems.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is strongly encouraged.
Managing biodiversity in primary production
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-13: Breeding for resilience: focus on root-based traits
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 16.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: In line with the objectives of the biodiversity and farm to fork strategies,
a successful proposal will support the transition to more sustainable practices in agriculture by
reducing the need for external inputs and supporting biodiversity in agroecosystems.
The project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   A better understanding of root-based traits (including the capacity to establish beneficial
     interactions with soil biota) and their genotypic variability as well as increased insight
     into the (adaptive) phenotypic plasticity of roots;
   Enhanced capacities for root phenotyping under controlled and on-field conditions;
   The delivery of strategies for breeding for below-ground traits capitalising on more
     effective interactions between plants and microorganisms in the rhizosphere;
   An increased use and valorisation of genetic resources (in situ and ex situ) for root based
     traits.
On the longer term projects will contribute to: the development of crops (annual and
perennial) and forest trees that are more tolerant to abiotic stress conditions, require less
external inputs (e.g. fertilisers and pesticides) and show an increased capacity for carbon
sequestration, thereby contributing to adaptation of agriculture and forestry to climate change.
Scope: With increasing effects of climate change and a shift towards low(er) input production
systems, there is the need for crops that are capable of capturing resources more efficiently
and are resilient to abiotic stresses.
The root system and its interaction with soil biota is crucial for nutrient and water acquisition
as well as for the capacity of plants to adapt to changing environments and to be more tolerant
against pests and diseases. Phenotypic plasticity is key for plants to respond to varying soil
conditions and highly dynamic distribution of soil resources. The size and architecture of the
root system also determine the allocation of carbon in the soil. Breeding for root traits is
therefore a promising strategy to increase plant stress resilience while also enhancing soil
carbon sequestration.
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Proposals should:
    Identify root traits that increase resource efficiency of plants in different environments,
      taking into account beneficial plant – microbe interactions and the restitution of plant-
      fixed carbon to the soil;
    Increase our knowledge on the (molecular and biochemical) plasticity of root responses
      and their metabolic mechanisms to environmental cues;
    Improve existing and/or develop new root phenotyping tools (including image analysis
      protocols) to be used in controlled and on-field conditions, thereby overcoming the root
      data bottleneck;
    Develop strategies to implement “root breeding”, i.e. select for desirable root
      characteristics and exploit the genetic variation in root traits.
Activities should be carried out in a range of agronomically relevant soil conditions.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-14: Fostering organic crop breeding
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal should support the objectives of the EU
biodiversity and farm to fork strategies to transition to fair, healthy and environmentally-
friendly food systems from primary production to consumption, notably the objective to
increase organic farming. They should do so by increasing the availability of and access to
suitable plant reproductive material for organic crops and by increasing the competitiveness
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of the organic crop breeding sector. As such, activities funded under this topic will help the
EU achieve the target of at least 25% of the EU’s agricultural land under organic farming by
2030. Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
    Greater knowledge of relevant traits for organic crop production;
    Improved and open access to a wider pool of high-quality plant reproductive material for
      the organic crop sector;
    Improved adaptation of new organic crop varieties and organic heterogeneous material
      to organic farming conditions (e.g. agronomic performance under organic cultivation
      practices, disease resistance, resilience to drought, longevity, adaptation to different
      pedo-climatic conditions, nutritional quality, etc.);
    Improved identification and traceability of organic heterogeneous material (OHM);
    Increased competitiveness of the organic crop breeding sector achieved by (i) improved
      availability of breeding strategies for organic crop production; (ii) novel governance and
      financing models supporting new breeding initiatives for organic crop production; (iii)
      increased relevance of the organic sector for commercial plant breeders and seed
      producers generating increased demand for organic seed and breeding; (iv) improved
      quality and transparency in the organic plant reproductive material market; (v) training,
      demonstration and networking.
Scope: Promoting the use of more sustainable farming practices is an EU policy objective
enshrined in the European Green Deal and its related strategies. Boosting organic farming in
the EU, one of these objectives, can greatly contribute to achieving the ambition to
significantly reduce the use and risk of inputs in farming while making agriculture more
resilient, including through increased (bio)diversity. Increasing the availability of organic
varieties for the organic sector that are better adapted to different and variable conditions is
important in order to improve the performance of the organic crop sector. Application of the
new organic Regulation 62 (EU) No 2018/848 has the potential to support higher levels of
biodiversity and greater resilience in the organic sector with the use of new tools such as the
definition of organic heterogeneous material (OHM) and organic varieties. The possibility to
use landraces can also revive traditional and regional crops. However, achieving adequate and
timely upscaling of organic breeding and seed production that meet growing market demands
can be challenging for the sector. Strong involvement from public and private actors, novel
governance and financing models for breeding, variety testing and seed production, as well as
training, are needed.
Proposals should contribute to improving the availability and quality of plant reproductive
material and the selection of varieties suited to the specific conditions of organic farming, in
line with the objectives and requirements for organic plant reproductive material set out in
Regulation (EU) No 2018/848 and the transformation of the EU’s breeding sector. Proposals
62
         https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv%3AOJ.L_.2018.150.01.0001.01.ENG
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must implement the ‘multi-actor approach’ and ensure a value chain approach with adequate
involvement of the farming sector. Activities should take into account the diversity of seed
systems in the EU. The topic is open to all types of organic farming systems in various
geographical and pedo-climatic conditions. In this topic the integration of the gender
dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory
requirement.
Proposals should develop measures to support the preservation of genetic resources and
increase the availability of plant reproductive material for the organic sector, including
through pre-breeding and breeding activities and new approaches to seed sourcing.
Proposals should develop measures that contribute to the development of organic
heterogeneous material63 and varieties suitable for organic cultivation for an increasing range
of crops, including arable, forage and horticultural crops.
Proposals should develop specific protocols for testing new organic varieties. Measures
should consider the adaptability of OHM and organic varieties to different climatic and
edaphic conditions, and resistance to pests and diseases, as well as combining these assets
with crop stability, productivity and nutritional content in order to maintain a level of
competitiveness of the organic plant reproductive material. The potential of OHM to foster
and improve the use of traditional material in organic crop farming should be analysed.
Proposals should develop a toolbox to identify OHM and a system to ensure OHM breeding
traceability and maintenance. Case studies of innovative engagement of value chain partners
in organic plant breeding in different contexts should be analysed and key factors of success
should be identified. Proposals should develop governance and financial models to support
organic plant breeding that include all actors in the value chain. Proposals should conceive
marketing and value chain development strategies to introduce improved varieties for seed
multiplication and treatment, ensuring quality and transparency in the organic seed market.
Proposals should set up new networks, and expand existing ones where relevant, to
demonstrate and test organic crop breeding in different pedo-climatic regions across Europe,
with an emphasis on regions where the organic sector is less developed. Proposals will give
attention to participatory on-farm demonstrations. Proposals should design training packages
tailored to the specific needs of different actors of the organic breeding and seed business to
strengthen their capacities and increase breeding gains.
Proposals should develop scientifically robust and transparent methodologies, building on
achievements from previous research activities. To ensure trustworthiness, swift and wide
adoption by user communities, and to support EU and national policy-makers, actions should
adopt high standards of transparency and openness, going beyond ex-post documentation of
63
        ‘Organic heterogeneous material’ means a plant grouping within a single botanical taxon of the lowest
        known rank which: (a) presents common phenotypic characteristics; (b) is characterised by a high level
        of genetic and phenotypic diversity between individual reproductive units, so that that plant grouping is
        represented by the material as a whole, and not by a small number of units; (c) is not a variety within
        the meaning of Article 5(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 (1); (d) is not a mixture of
        varieties; and (e) has been produced in accordance with this Regulation.
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results and extending to aspects such as assumptions, models and data quality during the life
of projects.
Enabling transformative change on biodiversity
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-15: Quantify impacts of the trade in raw and
processed biomass on ecosystems, for offering new leverage points for biodiversity
conservation, along supply chains, to reduce leakage effects
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                         states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
Expected Outcome: In line with the EU biodiversity strategy, a successful proposal will
develop knowledge and tools to understand the role of transformative change for biodiversity
policy making, address the indirect drivers of biodiversity loss, and initiate, accelerate and
upscale biodiversity-relevant transformative changes in our society.
Projects should address all following outcomes:
    understanding and quantifying the impacts of the trade in raw and processed non-food
      biomass 64 from land and sea on biodiversity and on the wide range of services that
      ecosystems can provide, including in relation to climate change mitigation and
      adaptation.
    identifying new leverage points for biodiversity conservation 65 , for example along
      supply chains, within and beyond the retailing sector, reducing leakage effects (including
      carbon leakage), and providing recommendations on how to address these leverage
      points at corporate and institutional level.
64
        See https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/bioeconomy/topic/biomass_en (for energy, feed, fibre,
        textile production or carbon storage)
65
        As referred to in the understanding of transformative change in IPBES and GBO-5, EEA
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    making available and using (local) solutions for retailers and their leverage effects on
      (global aspects of) patterns of biomass production and consumption, rebuilding our
      economy in a biodiversity-friendly way within planetary boundaries, including through
      sustainable corporate governance.
    specifying the meaning of transformational change in practice, based on case studies.
    improving the understanding of the biodiversity inter-dependencies of the SDGs;
      strengthening IPBES and IPCC by the contribution of European research and innovation.
    providing approaches, tools and knowledge influence policies at the right level on
      transformative change for biodiversity – the key elements of this change by the portfolio
      of cooperating projects (of which these projects are part).
With the focus on quantifying impacts of trade of raw and processed biomass on ecosystems,
projects are encouraged to engage in international cooperation (in particular with African
countries, Brazil, Latin American and Caribbean countries or the Mediterranean region) to
find new leverage points for biodiversity conservation along supply chains and to reduce
leakage effects for the EU and associated countries66.
Scope: In addition to focusing on limiting the impacts from biomass production and
consumption on biodiversity, proposals should look at the whole trade-related value chain, at
the scale needed to have a greater effect on protecting and restoring biodiversity. Proposals
should analyse how the biomass sector could increase its positive impact on biodiversity.
They should support biodiversity to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services, including on
mitigating and adapting to climate change.
Proposals should increase the volume of evidence available by taking systematic approaches
that take account of links between activities and leakage effects at different stages in the value
chain or link production and consumption explicitly, including with institutions, businesses,
retailers and investors, civil society, and should cover more than one product at a time.
The knowledge gained should help establish an ‘ecological footprint’ of biomass and the
manufactured goods based on biomass, within planetary boundaries as stipulated in the EU
bioeconomy strategy67. The knowledge should be usable for science-industry cooperation on
the bioeconomy 68 , and should follow the pollution and climate neutrality targets and
commitments, due diligence and human rights requirements, and the policy on just transition,
for the service industry and the financial sector.
Proposals should take into account the role of governments as major consumers of goods and
services (and the leverage in procurement processes), and of manufacturers and retailers as
consumers of primary resources.
66
         Including telecoupling effects on and from Europe
67
         See https://ec.europa.eu/commission/news/new-bioeconomy-strategy-sustainable-europe-2018-oct-11-
         0_en and biomass assessment studies https://ec.europa.eu/knowledge4policy/projects-activities/jrc-
         biomass-study_en
68
         Such as the BBI Joint Undertaking and later the Circular bio-based Europe (CBE) Partnership
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The outcomes of these projects should help integrate biodiversity values into the circular
economy, for example by cutting waste from the biomass chain, reducing leakage effects,
tele-coupling, using carbon and nitrogen footprints in production processes and minimising
the use of plastic in the economy. The projects should give explicit values and accounting of
these benefits for biodiversity.
Proposals should look at how to further mainstream biodiversity into socio-economic and
environmental agendas, from the transformative aspect of minimising the impacts of trade in
raw and processed biomass for protecting, sustainably managing and restoring biodiversity
and the wide range of ecosystem services it can deliver, in order to nudge pathways towards
fair and equitable development and just transitions (1) across the EU Member States and
associated countries, and (2) globally.
Proposals should build their analysis on the synergies between multiple Sustainable
Development Goals, to deliver directly and indirectly biodiversity benefits. They should
highlight the role of biodiversity in attaining the set of Sustainable Development Goals
relating to the trade in raw and processed biomass.
Proposals should provide case studies and collect good and failed examples that can serve as
useful inputs to these transformations. They should inform and inspire transformative change
through learning, co-creation and dialogue.
Proposals should include specific tasks and allocate sufficient resources for coordination
measures, to develop joint deliverables (e.g. activities, workshops, joint communication and
outreach measures) with all projects on transformative change related to biodiversity funded
under this destination. This applies to projects funded under this destination that aim to
deliver multiple co-benefits, including on the reduction of biodiversity loss 69 . Proposals
should use existing platforms and information sharing mechanisms relevant to promoting
transformational change and sharing biodiversity knowledge 70 . Furthermore, projects are
expected to cooperate with the European partnership on biodiversity 71 (HORIZON-CL6-
2021-BIODIV-02-01) and the Science Service (HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-19).
Proposals should show how their results can provide timely information for relevant IPBES
and IPCC functions. They are expected to cooperate with the CBD, and with. with projects
‘HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-20: Support to processes triggered by IPBES and IPCC’,
‘HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-10: Cooperation with the Convention on Biological
Diversity’ and ‘HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-21: Impact and dependence of business on
biodiversity’.
69
        In addition, cooperation with projects run under the call Horizon 2020 LC-CLA-14-2020
        ‘Understanding climate-water-energy-food nexus and streamlining water-related policies’
70
        BISE, EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity, BiodivERsA, Oppla, NetworkNature and their joint
        work streams
71
        https://www.biodiversa.org/1759
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-16: Biodiversity, water, food, energy, transport,
climate and health nexus in the context of transformative change
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: In line with the EU biodiversity strategy, a successful proposal will
develop knowledge and tools to understand the role of transformative change for biodiversity
policy making, address the indirect drivers of biodiversity loss, and initiate, accelerate and
upscale biodiversity-relevant transformative changes in our society.
Proposals should look at how to further mainstream biodiversity into policy making and
governance (including financing) for achieving transformative action, both under and above
the scope of socio-economic and environmental agendas.
The project should address all following outcomes:
    The interlinkages (nexus) between biodiversity, water, food, energy, transport and health
     in the context of climate change, the underlying causes of biodiversity loss and the
     determinants of transformative change to achieve the 2050 vision for biodiversity are
     assessed.
    Options for change, showing which societal factors (including policy competences,
     markets and stakeholder interests) drive transformative change with a positive effect on
     biodiversity, and which factors drive transitions that have a negative impact on
     biodiversity in the short-, medium- and long-term, are identified, understood, and co-
     developed by the relevant actors.
    Guidance to facilitate potential just transition pathways and actions at European level to
     feed into systemic policy decisions. This includes guidance on how to enhance the
     synergies between biodiversity preservation and action on climate-neutrality, and how to
     avoid trade-offs.
    Specifying the meaning of transformational change in practice, based on case studies
     illustrating how to put transformational change into action. Creating specific narratives,
     business models and policies, including on nature-based solutions for climate mitigation
     and adaptation, water and health, to aid the transition to a biodiversity- and climate
     friendly, sustainable Europe.
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    Knowledge is produced (e.g. meta-studies72, publications) and made available by 2023-
      2024, fit for the production of IPBES assessments on transformational change and on the
      nexus between biodiversity, climate, water, food and health. Putting in place measures to
      build capacity, policy support, and science brokerage of project results, including after
      the release dates of the IPBES assessments, by effective and impactful dissemination.
    Scientists dispose of a network that facilitates and promotes research on transformational
      change for biodiversity across natural and social sciences73.
    Approaches, tools and knowledge influence policies at appropriate level on
      transformative change for biodiversity – the key elements for this change are delivered
      by the portfolio of cooperating projects (of which this project forms part of).
Scope: The European Green Deal and its biodiversity strategy call for transformative change,
which requires the policy and tools to bring about transformative change. The post-2020
biodiversity goals risks to be missed from the outset if the required policy decisions are not
taken and implementation is not secured. Policy makers find the task of translating science on
transformative change into policy daunting and challenging. This is where European research
and innovation together with the community outside academia (business, government
organisations etc.) must urgently demonstrate what transformative change could actually
mean and achieve for biodiversity. There is also a need for practical guidance to policy
makers and society on the impacts of the necessary structural, ecological, social and economic
transformations the European Green Deal could achieve.
The European Union and associated countries still need to identify the key factors in society
that can stimulate or hinder this transition across the continent and share such findings with
other regions of the world. This includes research into behavioural, social, cultural, economic,
institutional, infrastructure, technical and technological factors.
Proposals should focus on indirect drivers of biodiversity loss: production and consumption
patterns, human population dynamics and trends, trade, technological innovations, local to
global governance (including financing), which in turn cause the direct drivers (land and sea
use change, over-exploitation, climate change, pollution, invasive species).
With the focus on biodiversity, and links to human activity, proposals should examine how
transformative change takes place in different societal and cultural contexts. They should look
at what triggers these changes and what obstacles there are (behavioural, financial, policy,
institutional, power setting etc). The proposals should measure and model their impact; and
provide options for action (at individual, business and society level) to promote and enable
transformative changes, including through nature-based solutions. Social innovation and the
gender dimension should be explored when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
72
         Based on available knowledge, such as in GBO-5, EEA reports on transformative change, EU workshop
         on transformational change for biodiversity (https://ec.europa.eu/info/events/workshop-transformative-
         change-global-post-2020-biodiversity-framework-2020-mar-18_en), FP7 and H2020 projects on urban
         and climate transformations, including under the projects from topic LC-CLA-14-2020 Understanding
         climate-water-energy-food nexus and streamlining water-related policies
73
         STEAM and SSH
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake. The
proposals should should look at gender dynamics and diversity to investigate how different
identities and social groups are tangibly promoting transformative changes through bottom-up
transition initiatives for sustainable lifestyles that are of major relevance to biodiversity.
The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
(IPBES) is for biodiversity and ecosystems services what IPCC is for climate change. In this
context, this topic should support the upcoming IPBES assessments, expected to deliver in
2023-24, on transformational change and on the nexus of biodiversity, climate, water, food
and health, with an additional focus on energy and transport. The IPBES assessment is
expected to examine, inter alia:
(a) Values (relational, utilitarian, etc.) and how they influence behaviour;
(b) Notions of good quality of life, worldviews and cultures, models of interaction between
nature              and              people                 and              social              narratives;
(c) The role of social norms and regulations, and of economic incentives and other institutions
in leveraging behavioural change in individuals, businesses, communities and societies;
(d)       The         role       of       technologies           and        technology          assessment;
(e)               The                role                 of               collective                action;
(f)      The        role       of      complex           systems        and        transitions       theory;
(g)           Obstacles             to            achieving             transformative              change;
(h)         Equity           and         the          need          for          “just         transitions”;
(i) Lessons from previous transitions.
The project should feed input into this assessment, critically examining the usability of the
IPBES conceptual framework for these aspects.
Proposals should provide case studies and collect good and failed examples, including current
and business models, the role of citizen science, and scenarios that could provide useful input
into these transformations and inform and inspire transformative change through learning, co-
creation and dialogue.
Proposals should build their analysis on synergies between multiple Sustainable Development
Goals to deliver both direct and indirect biodiversity benefits. They should also look at the
role of biodiversity in reaching the set of Sustainable Development Goals, when related to the
interlinkages (nexus) between biodiversity, water, food, energy, transport and health 74 in the
context of climate change, the underlying causes of biodiversity loss, and the determinants of
transformative change.
Proposals should include specific tasks and allocate sufficient resources to develop joint
deliverables (e.g. activities, workshops, joint communication and outreach) with all projects
74
        Integrating lessons from the global ‘One Health’ and the One Health European Joint Programmes,
        IPBES workshop report on biodiversity and pandemics and cooperation with projects HORIZON-CL6-
        2021-BIODIV-01-11: ‘What else is out there? Exploring the connection between biodiversity,
        ecosystems services, pandemics and epidemic risk’ and HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-02-
        02-two-stage: ‘Developing nature-based therapy for health and well-being’.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
on transformative change related to biodiversity funded under this destination. They should
use existing platforms and information sharing mechanisms relevant to transformational
change and to biodiversity knowledge 75 . Furthermore, cooperation is expected with the
Biodiversity Partnership (HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-02-01), the Science Service
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-19, and the Convention on Biological Diversity and
projects under ‘HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-20: Support to processes triggered by
IPBES and IPCC’ and ‘HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-10: Cooperation with the
Convention on Biological Diversity’.
This topic should involve contributions from social science and humanities disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-17: Policy mixes, governance (including financing)
and decision-making tools for transformative action on biodiversity
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: In line with the EU biodiversity strategy, successful proposals will
develop knowledge and tools to understand the role of transformative change for biodiversity
policy making, address the indirect drivers of biodiversity loss, and initiate, accelerate and
upscale biodiversity-relevant transformative changes in our society.
Projects should address all following outcomes:
    Tools promoting the benefits of biodiversity are taken up by policy makers, industries,
     civil society organisations including NGOs, financing entities, businesses and retailers.
     These solutions can include a stocktaking of good practice (in addition to natural capital
     accounting and reporting), standards, agreements, charters, commitments, regulations,
     financing streams (positive incentives vs harmful subsidies), engaging society and
     incorporating lifelong learning.
    Increased use and mainstreaming of ‘green over grey’ approaches, in particular by
     adopting nature-based solutions on land and at sea, in line with the Green Deal’s ‘do no
     significant harm’ principle.
    Ways to facilitate the application of systemic, sustainable policy mixes and governance
     approaches, based on a range of policy tools, economic instruments or regulations.
75
        BISE, EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity, BiodivERsA, Oppla, NetworkNature and their joint
        work streams.
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    Developing and testing approaches on (1) mitigating existing and future risks to
     biodiversity and on (2) better reflecting how biodiversity loss affects company business
     models, value chains, profitability and long-term prospects, so that methods and tools
     can be integrated into decisions, while factoring in societal and democratic processes
     (citizen engagement, political campaigns, science denialism).
    Making options available on how to implement in practice the renewed sustainable
     finance strategy for the financial system to generate a positive impact on biodiversity.
    Promoting tax systems and pricing that reflect environmental costs, including
     biodiversity loss, to shift the tax burden from labour to pollution, and to tackle the issue
     of under-priced resources and other environmental externalities.
    Making available case studies on what transformational change76 means in practice.
    Improving the understanding of the biodiversity inter-dependencies of the SDGs.
     Supporting IPBES and IPCC work by providing input from European research and
     innovation. Providing approaches, tools and knowledge influence policies at the right
     level on transformative change for biodiversity. The key elements for this change will be
     delivered by the broader portfolio of collaborative projects (of which these projects
     developing the toolbox for transformative changes with a positive effect on biodiversity,
     providing policy mixes, science-policy communication, governance and decision-
     making tools form part).
Scope: Policy mixes, governance (including financing) and decision-making tools to achieve
the necessary ecological, climate, economic and social transition for biodiversity are not yet
widely available, and must be developed. Proposals should take up the work of the renewed
sustainable finance strategy which will help ensure that the financial system contributes to
mitigating existing and future risks to biodiversity.
Proposals should look at how to further mainstream biodiversity into policy making, science,
and governance (including financing) to achieve transformative action within and beyond
socio-economic, climate and environmental agendas.
Proposals should build their analysis on the synergies of multiple Sustainable Development
Goals, to deliver direct and indirect biodiversity benefits, and on the role of biodiversity in
reaching the set of Sustainable Development Goals.
Proposals should produce case studies and a collection of good and failed examples of
developing and implementing policy tools, best practices and instruments, which could feed
into the just transformation process and inform and inspire transformative change through
learning, co-creation and dialogue.
76
        Referring to, and critically assessing, the understanding of transformative change in IPBES and GBO-5,
        EEA and based on existing tools such as https://www.sustainable-prosperity.eu/ or workshops
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/events/workshop-transformative-change-global-post-2020-biodiversity-
        framework-2020-mar-18_en
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Proposals should include specific tasks and allocate sufficient resources to develop joint
deliverables (e.g. activities, workshops, joint communication and dissemination) with all
projects on transformative change related to biodiversity funded under this destination. They
should use existing platforms and information sharing mechanisms relevant for
transformational change and on biodiversity knowledge77. Projects are expected to cooperate
with the European partnership on biodiversity (HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-02-01) and
the Science Service (HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-19). Proposals should show how
their results and outcomes could provide timely information for major science-policy bodies
such as the Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Services (IPBES), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and the
Convention on Biological Diversity78.
This topic should involve contributions from the social sciences and humanities disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-18: Understanding the impacts of and the
opportunities offered by digital transformation, new emerging technologies and social
innovation on biodiversity
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                        states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
Expected Outcome: In line with the EU biodiversity strategy, successful proposals will
develop knowledge and tools to understand the role of transformative change for biodiversity,
tackle indirect drivers of biodiversity loss, and initiate, accelerate and upscale biodiversity-
relevant transformative change in our society.
Digital technologies are transforming all sectors of society, from food production to mobility,
energy, climate mitigation and adaptation measures, construction, infrastructure, technology
77
        BISE, EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity, BiodivERsA, Oppla, NetworkNature and their joint
        work streams
78
        In particular the policy support function of IPBES, https://ipbes.net/policy-support. Projects are
        requested to cooperate with projects ‘HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-20: Support to processes
        triggered by IPBES and IPCC’ and ‘HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-10: Cooperation with the
        Convention on Biological Diversity’.
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
use, human behaviour and societal organisation, with different impacts on and perceptions of
biodiversity, due to the speed, scale and level of connectivity of these transformations.
Projects should help identify a safe operating space, in which digitalisation and new emerging
technologies generate no unsustainable rebound effects, but instead can be a vehicle for
accelerating and amplifying the transition to a safe and just world for humankind whilst
protecting, restoring and sustainably using biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Project should address all following outcomes:
    A better understanding, today and for the future, of the impacts on, risks and
      opportunities for biodiversity of digital transformation (for example smart technologies,
      artificial intelligence, automation, miniaturised sensors, citizen science applications,
      crowdsourcing), new materials (e.g. for biomimicry), and new and emerging
      technologies.
    Identification and an assessment of how system-level change affecting biodiversity
      through social innovation happens. This should cover bringing in new technologies, new
      production processes, consumer products, regulations, incentives, or participatory
      processes, and changes how socio-technical and socio-ecological systems operate.
    Making proposals for safeguards to build public understanding of the range of diverse
      values held by members of the public (i.e. indigenous communities, youth, women,
      vulnerable groups in society, socially or economically marginalised groups), to promote
      democracy and a socially just transition taking action on biodiversity. Proposals should
      promote incorporating these safeguards in transformative processes linked to the digital
      sector and technology, which can have positive or negative impacts on biodiversity and
      on the wide range of services ecosystems can provide.
    Demonstrating the potential of social innovation to tackle biodiversity loss, as well as
      using biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides, with nature-based solutions as
      case studies. Demonstrating how nature-based solutions, enabled by social innovation,
      tackle poverty, low resilience and social inequality to achieve a just transition.
    Testing active intervention by R&I policy and sector policies (niche creation,
      reformulation of governance, ‘exnovation’), also by empowering and endowing
      communities.
    Approaches, tools and knowledge influence policies provided at the right level on
      transformative change for biodiversity. The key elements for this change are to be
      delivered by the portfolio of cooperating projects (of which these projects form part).
Outcomes should be formulated in such a way that enables their potential users (policy
makers, institutions, businesses, engineers, civil society) to understand and concretely apply
them, including for monitoring, accounting and reporting purposes. The outcomes should be
translated into options to ratchet up the targets and enabling mechanisms of the EU
biodiversity strategy for 2030, the global post-2020 biodiversity framework, and to feed input
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into the processes on the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals and IPBES.
With the focus on the impacts and opportunities of digital transformation, new emerging
technologies and social innovation on biodiversity for the EU and associated countries,
projects are strongly encouraged to engage in international cooperation, in particular with
African countries, Brazil, Latin American and Caribbean countries or the Mediterranean
region, in order to understand differences between the EU/AC and other world regions.
Scope:
    Proposals should generate, collect and distribute knowledge on how to tackle the indirect
      drivers of biodiversity loss linked to technological and social innovation, which includes
      digitalisation. They should also assess the impacts on biodiversity of the digital divide
      between urban, peri-urban and rural areas. Proposals should explain how changes in our
      societies are fostered by technological and social innovation impacting biodiversity – for
      example by bringing in new and emerging technologies, new production processes,
      consumer products, regulations, incentives, or participatory processes, which change
      how socio-technical and socio-ecological systems operate.
    Proposals are expected to contribute to informing stakeholders and users on the social
      and technological impacts of new and emerging technologies that are not covered by
      existing procedures for biodiversity-related risk assessments79. This includes the wider
      positive and negative impacts on societal values, behaviour, institutional, financial and
      business frameworks, which in turn are having an impact on biodiversity and the
      capacity of ecosystems to provide a wide range of services.
    Proposals should assess which tools further mainstream biodiversity into policy making,
      and governance (including financing, the promotion of innovation, and bringing in new
      and emerging technologies) to achieve transformative action that benefits biodiversity, to
      avoid, mitigate or manage conflicts linked to these transformational changes80. In doing
      this, proposals should engage with civil society, policy makers, finance and business
      leaders, to create a toolbox for transformative change via action on biodiversity.
    Proposals should build their analysis on the synergies between multiple Sustainable
      Development Goals to deliver both direct and indirect biodiversity benefits, staying
      within planetary boundaries, and on the role of biodiversity in reaching the set of
      Sustainable Development Goals. Proposals should factor in impacts and opportunities of
      digital transformation, new emerging technologies and social innovation on biodiversity.
      This explicitly includes the interdependence of biodiversity loss and climate change, and
      the impacts on biodiversity of digital, technological or social approaches on action to
      mitigate and adapt to climate change – and vice versa.
    Proposals should develop pathways for digital developments to achieve a successful twin
      digital and biodiversity transition. They should develop methodologies to assess their
79
         Such as in the frame of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Cartagena Protocol
80
         Referring to, and critically assessing, the understanding of transformative change in IPBES and GBO-5,
         EEA
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     impacts (including the impacts from energy/electricity infrastructure, or on democracy
     and on trust in science) on environmental, social and economic systems. Such
     assessments should focus on the direct and indirect effects of digital developments on
     biodiversity, intertwined with climate change and health.
    Proposals should provide case studies and a collection of good and failed examples,
     including current relevant business models, the role of citizen science, and scenarios that
     could provide useful impact to these transformations and inform and inspire
     transformative change through learning, co-creation and dialogue.
    Proposals should include specific tasks and allocate sufficient resources to develop joint
     deliverables (e.g. activities, workshops, and joint communication and dissemination)
     with all projects on transformative change related to biodiversity funded under this
     destination. They should use existing platforms and information sharing mechanisms
     relevant to transformational change and to biodiversity knowledge 81 . Furthermore,
     projects are expected to cooperate with the Biodiversity Partnership and the Science
     Service. Proposals should show how their results and outcomes can provide timely
     information to major science-policy bodies such as the Intergovernmental science-policy
     Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the Intergovernmental
     Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and to the Convention on Biological Diversity. They
     are expected to cooperate with projects ‘HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-20: Support
     to processes triggered by IPBES and IPCC’ and ‘HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-2022-
     01-10: Cooperation with the Convention on Biological Diversity’.
    Where relevant, projects are expected to create links to and use information, data and
     impact-related knowledge from the European Earth observation programme Copernicus,
     the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and the Global Earth Observation System of
     Systems (GEOSS).
Interconnecting biodiversity research and supporting policies
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-19: A mechanism for science to inform
implementation, monitoring, review and ratcheting up of the new EU biodiversity
strategy for 2030 ('Science Service').
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       11.00 and 13.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
81
        BISE, Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity, BiodivERsA, Oppla, NetworkNature and their joint work
        streams
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 13.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                       consortium selected for funding.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements             Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                       The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants
                       to actions under point k) of the topic .
                       The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 200
                       000, as actions under k) are key activities which the Science Service
                       must deliver through the approaches laid out in its other actions, and to
                       which the broad science community should contribute. Maximum 30%
                       of the total requested EU contribution may be allocated to this purpose.
                       The process of selecting entities for which financial support will be
                       granted, within open calls for proposals to be evaluated by external,
                       independent experts in a fair and transparent process must be defined in
                       the proposal.
Expected Outcome: The project is expected to connect up biodiversity research across
Europe, supporting and enhancing the ambition of national, European and international
environmental policies and conventions.
Contributing to the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, the aim of this topic is to give support
for developing and implementing this and other EU policies by generating knowledge
generation, guiding biodiversity governance and ecosystem monitoring, and implementing the
EU Green Deal. It supports the development of a long-term strategic research agenda for
biodiversity.
The project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   a single entry point linking European research and biodiversity policymaking that will be
     embedded in the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity (KCBD) as ‘scientific pillar’,
     which will collect and organise knowledge resulting from science that is relevant for
     implementing the EU biodiversity strategy and other relevant EU policies, in particular
     knowledge generated from EU-funded R&I projects, relevant infrastructures and
     platforms.
   feeding input into the monitoring, reporting and review mechanism of the EU
     biodiversity strategy for 2030 with relevant research-based assessments and options that
     can feed into any short- and medium-term corrective action necessary (“ratcheting up”).
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     full integration into, and support to the governance framework of the EU biodiversity
      strategy for 2030 to steer implementation of the commitments on biodiversity agreed at
      national, European or international level.
     setting up a functional, early delivering Science Service at EU level, also involving
      associated countries where appropriate, to bolster at global level the EU’s ambitions for
      research into biodiversity-relevant areas.
Scope: The EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 announced a science policy mechanism for
research-based options to ratchet up the implementation of commitments made on
biodiversity. This topic is to provide a Science Service as a dedicated tool to regularly
integrate science into EU biodiversity policy-making in terms of what is needed to implement
the strategy. It should bridge the continued and critical gap on knowledge sharing and should
complement other EU-funded initiatives82. It should feed into the EC Knowledge Centre for
Biodiversity83. At the same time, it should provide a single-entry point linking RTD funded
research and innovation with biodiversity policymaking via the EC Knowledge Centre for
Biodiversity. Further, the Science Service might act as a pilot on how any science component
could work in practice in the context of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. With
this work, Europe could test and lead the way on how to make such an instrument, triggering
research-based options to implement the biodiversity strategy, work in practice.
The objective is to reformat and connect research results to the needs of environmental policy
in a targeted dialogue between science and policy makers. This should include science
resulting from the latest EU R&I activities and infrastructures, shape future R&I and be
embedded in the long-term strategic research agenda on biodiversity. Proposals should
develop a Science Service mechanism that covers all of the following aspects:
   a. Inspired by IPBES functions, it should provide relevant policy tools (e.g. indicators),
      generate knowledge to fill gaps, build capacity within and beyond the EU, and contribute
      to science-based assessments for the EU decision-making process.
   b. All work carried out by the Science Service should be defined under strong and clear
      governance arrangements, including how to prioritise requests, and designed to support
      implementing, monitoring, reporting and reviewing the EU biodiversity strategy. The
      governance should be led by DG RTD, in cooperation with DG ENV, DG JRC and the
      EEA, and ideally involve the Environmental Knowledge Community (EKC)84 and factor
      in its needs and requests.
82
         Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity, Biodiversity Partnership, Horizon Europe’s large-scale missions,
         further projects funded by R&I within this work programme.
83
         The EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity (KCBD) is an action of the EU biodiversity strategy for
         2030. It aims to enhance the knowledge base, facilitate its sharing and foster cross-sectorial policy
         dialogue      for     EU      policy     making       in    biodiversity   and     related     fields.
         https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/biodiversity_en.
84
         The Environmental Knowledge Community (EKC) is a collaboration between different services of the
         European Commission (EC) and the European Environment Agency (EEA) to exploit new ways of
         creating and exchanging knowledge that is related to environmental policy-making.
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   c. The Science Service should feed into the EC Knowledge Centre on Biodiversity85 and
      support it to direct knowledge gaps and policy questions to science, synthesize
      knowledge, and communicate emerging issues identified by science to decision-makers
      in policy, business, NGOs, land users or site managers. The Science Service should also
      be involved and feed knowledge into strategic dialogues and fora organised by the EC
      Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity, as well as in expert meetings requested by the EKC.
      The Knowledge Centre on Biodiversity should manage exchanges from policy to science
      and vice-versa, and the Science Service constitutes its primary tool for making scientific
      information accessible to policy makers.
   d. Member States, and where appropriate associated countries, civil society and the
      Mission Boards under Horizon Europe, may also ask the Science Service to cover
      specific topics. The process of directing requests for contents and format to the Science
      Service, and how to provide information, is to be agreed with the relevant EU services,
      including with the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity.
   e. The Science Service should use the tools and results funded by the EU research
      framework programmes 86 , by other sources of European funding 87 , and additional
      relevant sources 88 , which it should help integrate into the EC Knowledge Centre for
      Biodiversity. It should cooperate with the European partnership on biodiversity89.
   f. The Science Service should take up requests from biodiversity policy-making to the
      Biodiversity Partnership, and to the biodiversity-relevant missions in Horizon Europe.
      This would be orchestrated in collaboration with the EC Knowledge Centre for
      Biodiversity; such as via its user forum function. The Science service should also
      organise ad-hoc high-level expert advice to the European Commission’s high-level
      decision-makers on specific issues related to biodiversity.
   g. The work of the Science Service should be presented and discussed at expert or working
      groups according to the governance framework of the EU biodiversity strategy, and
      should support European research policy related to biodiversity. It should also act as a
      ‘back office’ for organising the cooperation of biodiversity-relevant research projects –
      in thematic clusters where appropriate – under Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020, such
      as yearly meetings or through common products, in collaboration with the Executive
      Agency. This would be done in collaboration with the EC Knowledge Centre for
      Biodiversity.
85
86
         e.g. directly EU-funded or co-funded projects by Joint Programming Initiatives, ERA-Nets, the
         European partnership on biodiversity
87
         Such as funding under the Multi-annual financial framework (e.g. LIFE or COST, regional and
         cohesion, agricultural and rural development, fisheries and maritime, climate, social, just transition
         funding, neighbourhood, international cooperation), or under the Recovery Fund.
88
         This covers e.g. relevant ESFRI's research infrastructures and Global Biodiversity Information Facility
         (GBIF) national nodes, biodiversity-relevant knowledge and data from citizen science, businesses,
         NGO, earth observation (linked to Galileo and Copernicus), governance processes, in order to increase
         the value and return-on-investment.
89
         https://www.biodiversa.org/1759
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   h. The Science Service should support the orchestration of current and future knowledge
      mechanisms to implement the long-term European strategic biodiversity research
      agenda, including work under the Biodiversity Partnership and other biodiversity-
      relevant partnerships; such as EKLIPSE, Oppla, NetworkNature, the EC Knowledge
      Centre for Biodiversity90 and other biodiversity-relevant science advisory mechanisms. It
      should also describe the global aspects of its services in the mid-term planning.
   i. Proposals should indicate what specific results the Science Service should initially
      deliver by the end of year one. This pilot exercise should be relevant to and fit the
      timeframe set out in the policy agenda of the EU biodiversity strategy, and optionally,
      for the global biodiversity agenda. Throughout the duration of the project, the following
      annual work plans should be aligned to the long-term strategic research agenda (in
      preparation - See EU biodiversity strategy).
   j. The Service should then deliver, communicate and disseminate regular (e.g. half-yearly)
      input in the form of options and scenarios for implementing the biodiversity strategy for
      2030 and beyond. The aim must be to trigger response from those entities responsible for
      implementing the strategy (e.g. EU services, national and local authorities, business,
      civil society and the environmental knowledge community in general).
   k. It should provide, on request of its governance bodies, summaries, knowledge synthesis,
      factsheets or briefs and reviews of biodiversity research outputs and tools usable for
      implementing and ratcheting up the EU biodiversity strategy, in language and format
      tailored to the target users, such as:
         i. foresight, analysis of new and emerging topics,
        ii. indicators and valuation methods,
       iii. analysis of the behavioural, institutional and bio-physical factors for biodiversity
             conservation and restoration, including on tipping points and planetary boundaries,
       iv. projections/forecasts, integrated models, scenarios and pathways that integrate
             socio-economic and cultural values, that avoid lock-in pathways, and that provide
             incentives for large-scale demonstration of nature-based solutions and testing of
             governance approaches, financing and business models to enable transformative
             change,
        v. requests to existing science-policy services (such as EKLIPSE and Oppla) in
             collaboration with the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity for dedicated
             biodiversity-relevant science-policy tasks that those services can deliver, and that
             the Science Service channels into the biodiversity governance framework,
90
         The EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity (KCBD) is an action of the EU biodiversity strategy for
         2030. It aims to enhance the knowledge base, facilitate its sharing and foster cross-sectorial policy
         dialogue     for     EU      policy     making       in    biodiversity   and      related     fields.
         https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/biodiversity_en.
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       vi. support for science-based decision-making for biodiversity against disinformation
             campaigns; and
      vii. testing new ways of communicating biodiversity-related science to non-scientific
             audiences.
   l. Proposals should describe how the Science Service can deliver its work in line with the
      timeframe for policy processes and to implement the EU biodiversity strategy. They
      should explain how they have sufficient resources, and a flexible, lean mechanism
      following the principles of credibility, relevance and legitimacy, including whether
      internal assessments or peer reviews on its outputs are planned.
 m. Proposals should evaluate the experience of comparable instruments covering some of
      the actions or procedures that the Science Service should set up 91 , focused on
      biodiversity but also in other fields, and under the governance framework of the EU
      biodiversity strategy.
   n. The project should draw up a plan on how to finance and govern the activities of this
      kick-starting service over the medium- and long-term and seek to secure commitments to
      allow the work of the Science Service to continue after the funding of this topic ends, i.e.
      before 2027.
Proposals should strike an appropriate geographical balance across Europe.
This topic should involve contributions from the sciences and humanities disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-20: Support to processes triggered by IPBES and
IPCC
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
91
         such as IPBES, IPCC, EEA (the European Environment Agency), SCAR (Standing Committee on
         Agricultural Research), EPBRS (European Platform for Biodiversity Research Strategy), SfEP (Science
         for Environment Policy), SAM (the European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism), EPRS
         (European Parliamentary Research Service) or the UK’s Climate Change Committee.
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
                         states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
Expected Outcome: In line with the Commission priority 'A stronger Europe in the world', to
implement the EU Green Deal and demonstrated leadership as stipulated in the EU
biodiversity strategy for 2030, a successful proposal will step up EU support to processes
triggered by IPBES and IPCC92 to achieve targeted impacts on biodiversity-relevant policies,
and to integrate structured policy input into the research cycle. Projects should produce all
following outcomes:
    EU projects and initiatives are aware of and use the knowledge generation, policy
      support and capacity building functions of IPBES, including the recommendations
      issued by its task forces (for IPBES and IPCC).
    better take up IPBES and IPCC findings and conclusions.
    Resolving shortcomings in the uptake of IPBES assessments in sectorial policy making
      other than for biodiversity, and business decisions at European, national and local level,
      when translating its outcomes into options for better protecting and restoring biodiversity
      and ecosystem services.
Scope: Science-policy interfaces on biodiversity and nature-based solutions have made good
progress in the last years, but must be stepped up to achieve the targeted impacts on
biodiversity-relevant policies, and to get structured policy input into the research cycle. They
are also key in guiding biodiversity governance, and in implementing the EU Green Deal and
international conventions. In line with the Commission’s priority 'A stronger Europe in the
world', the European Union must take and demonstrate leadership in this field, notably by
increasing its support to IPBES -to elevate it to the same level as the IPCC-, and for the
Convention on Biological Diversity. Besides economic support, this also includes efforts to
create synergies and cooperation between IPBES, regional Multilateral Environmental
Agreements, and other relevant research communities to ensure a full coverage of all relevant
aspects of biodiversity and ecosystem services in order to underpin the full scope of the post
2020 global biodiversity framework.
This action delivers targeted support to areas of specific interest for European research policy
by using IPBES outputs. It also helps European researchers play their role in IPBES
assessments, in particular those from southern, central and eastern European countries, and
those from the Western Balkans, Central Asia, and from Africa 93 , who remain
underrepresented, due to a lack of capacity to participate in meetings, networking or science
input at global level. Three major functions of IPBES still need to be further developed to
achieve a proper level of uptake in Europe: knowledge generation, policy support and
capacity building functions, including the task forces.
The project should cover the following points:
92
         Considering Horizon Europe Cluster 5 – Destination 1 “Climate Science and Responses”
93
         Europe and Central Asia form one region for IPBES purposes; cooperation with Africa is a priority for
         the policy agenda of the European Union
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   a. providing assistance to the EU and associated countries, and to central Asian and to
      African researchers, knowledge holders and local communities for input into IPBES and
      IPCC;
   b. networking between scientific disciplines relevant to IPBES and IPCC (e.g. between
      SSH, STEM);
   c. translating IPBES output into EU languages, targeted to a wider readership by the EU
      public, interest groups, research and innovation projects, policy makers and businesses in
      cooperation with ‘HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-19: A mechanism for science to
      inform implementation, monitoring, review and ratcheting up the new EU biodiversity
      strategy (‘Science Service’)’;
   d. facilitating synergies through cooperation between IPBES and IPCC researchers and
      relevant regional Multilateral Environment Agreements, such as the United Nations
      Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Air Convention;
   e. proposing standards for EU-funded biodiversity projects in applying the relevant work of
      the IPBES data and knowledge task force;
   f. supporting European negotiators at IPBES plenary meetings and inter-sessional work
      (such as for the review of assessments, the work of task forces and preparation for
      plenary groups);
   g. improving the level of coherence in how the EU and associated countries give input into
      both, CBD (e.g. SBSTTA/SBI) and IPBES processes in cooperation with ‘HORIZON-
      CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-10: Cooperation with the Convention on Biological Diversity’.
The project should detail a plan on how the work can be further financed and governed over
the medium- and long-term and secure commitments that enable the work to continue after
the funding of this topic ends.
Proposals must not develop any new platforms but ensure that all relevant evidence, data and
information is accessible through e.g. the Oppla portal and cooperate with existing networks
of national platforms 94 . They must also prepare the inclusion of its results to the EC
Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity according to an agreed format.
The project is to set a clear plan on how it will plan to collaborate with other projects selected
under this and any other related topics, such as ‘HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-16:
Biodiversity, water, food, energy, transport, climate and health nexus in the context of
transformative change’ and ‘HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-21: Impact and dependence
of business on biodiversity’, and with the Biodiversity Partnership (HORIZON-CL6-2021-
BIODIV-02-01). This includes links to ESFRI research infrastructures, to test whether they
could host predictive models, visualization and analysis of their platform's, early warning
systems, to respond to IPBES assessments and CBD requests), by participating in joint
94
         Such as e.g. the ECA network, the Sub-global Assessment Network, BES-Net or EKLIPSE
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activities such as workshops or joint communication and dissemination measures. Proposals
should include dedicated tasks and allocate sufficient resources for coordination measures.
This topic should involve the contribution from the social sciences and humanities disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-21:                         Impact      and   dependence         of   business on
biodiversity
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 2.00
contribution per           and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                    appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                           selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action             Research and Innovation Actions
Award criteria             The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following exceptions
                           apply:
                           Proposals must present an interdisciplinary team of experts, including
                           corporate practitioners, in accounting, ecology, business management
                           and organisation, social, political and environmental economics.
Expected Outcome: In line with the EU biodiversity strategy for 203095, the topic aims to
support the development of policies, business decisions and knowledge generation, to tackle
the indirect drivers of biodiversity loss, and accelerate biodiversity-relevant transformative
changes in businesses and our society.
Successful proposals will help integrate biodiversity into business decisions to improve:
    public health and well-being and to tackle inequalities, create new jobs and sustainable
      growth in rural, post-industrial and coastal areas; strengthen resilience against
      environmental and climate stressors; minimise the risks of future diseases linked to
      business activities, with disastrous health, economic and social impacts, and
    corporate decision making and business resilience and to minimise investment risk and
      thereby play a key role in the sustainable transition of the economy.
Projects should produce all following outcomes:
    A better understanding and awareness of how businesses depend, and impact upon,
      biodiversity and ecosystem services, based on past and ongoing knowledge, also from
      practical business experience (by private companies), to feed into business decision
      making.
95
         In particular its chapter 3.3 “Building on an integrated and whole of society approach”
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
    Making available knowledge (e.g. meta-studies, publications) for the production of the
      IPBES methodological assessment on business and biodiversity, which is planned to be
      adopted in 2024-25, following a fast-track approach. Putting in place capacity building,
      policy support, and science brokerage of the projects, including after the release dates of
      the IPBES assessment, through effective and impactful dissemination.
Making accessible scientific evidence that is directly relevant to multiple Sustainable
Development Goals, in particular closely related to Goals 9 (build resilient infrastructure,
promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation), 12 (ensure
sustainable consumption and production patterns, i.e., issues of production and efficient use of
natural resources), 13 (climate change), 14 (life below water) and 15 (life on land).
Scope: Key economic sectors depend on and have a direct and indirect, positive or negative
impact on biodiversity. Biodiversity is directly at the centre of many economic activities, and
a healthy biodiverse planet is a precondition for humankind to exist – and thus for businesses
to grow and for the economy to recover following a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keeping nature healthy is critical for the economy, both directly and indirectly. The World
Economic Forum ranks biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse as one of the top five threats
humankind will face in the next ten years. Businesses rely on biodiversity as inputs into their
production processes, with over half of global GDP – some €40 trillion – dependent on nature
and the services it provides.
Conversely, if we continue doing business as usual, and contribute to destroying ecosystems,
the continued degradation of our natural capital will considerably limit business opportunities
and socio-economic development potential. Internalising biodiversity into business decisions
can enhance the health and well-being of all people and tackle inequalities, create new jobs
and sustainable growth in rural, post-industrial and coastal areas; strengthen resilience against
environmental and climate stressors; and minimise the risks of future outbreaks of infectious
diseases with disastrous health, economic and social impacts. From the perspective of the
private sector companies, integrating natural capital and biodiversity impacts and
dependencies will enhance corporate decision making and business resilience as well as
minimise investment risks. It will better inform, transform and improve their companies’
sustainable decision-making processes, including by removing key blind spots in company
risk assessments.
This means putting together a highly interdisciplinary team of experts, including biodiversity
and corporate practitioners. It needs to cover biophysical and socio-economic aspects related
to multiple sectors that have different impacts and ways of managing and accounting. Key
expertise is needed in accounting, ecology, business management and organisation, social,
political and environmental economics. This topic does not cover developing natural capital
accounts or measuring biodiversity footprints.
The proposals should cover all of the following points:
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    identifying criteria and indicators for measuring dependence, impact and contribution to
     the recovery of biodiversity and ecosystem services;
    developing methods to reduce adverse impacts and related material and reputational
     risks, and to develop the business case for long-term sustainability, for business sectors
     in addition to forestry, agriculture and fisheries, tourism, energy and mining,
     infrastructure and manufacturing and processing, that are directly dependent upon
     ecosystem services;
    developing a tool box to measure, assess and monitor the dependence and impact of the
     business sector on biodiversity, improved risk management linked to biodiversity, and
     the contribution of business to biodiversity recovery96;
    assessing the broader impact of businesses on biodiversity, the cumulative impact and
     the indirect impact from supply chains, trade or substitution effects (such as tele-
     coupling);
    collating targets and regulations (at any level within the EU and in associated countries)
     that stimulate innovation generating a positive impact on biodiversity and on the
     decoupling of environmental pressures from increased output;
    promoting (1) business cases that contribute to the conservation, restoration and
     sustainable use of biodiversity and the wide range of ecosystem services and (2) public
     accountability, informing regulatory agencies and guiding financial investments and
     influencing producer, retailer and consumer behaviour. Analysing the added value of
     creating a Horizon Europe prize97 for innovative businesses that improve biodiversity
     and its wide range of ecosystem services, focused on nature-based solutions 98 .
     Delivering timely input to IPBES assessment on business, and the processes on IPBES
     objectives for building capacity, strengthening the knowledge basis, supporting policy,
     and communicating and engaging, on impact and dependence of business on
     biodiversity, and the relevant IPBES task forces.
Proposals should also show how their results could provide timely information on project
outcomes to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and to the Convention
on Biological Diversity. Projects are expected to cooperate with projects HORIZON-CL6-
2021-BIODIV-01-20: Support to processes triggered by IPBES and IPCC, HORIZON-CL6-
2022-BIODIV-01-10: Cooperation with the Convention on Biological Diversity and
96
        Based on, and/or in cooperation with relevant projects funded by the EU (such as ‘Aligning
        Biodiversity Metrics for Business and Support for Developing Generally Accepted Accounting
        Principles for Natural Capital’), under Horizon 2020 (‘WeValueNature’, ‘MAIA’) or LIFE (such as
        ‘Transparent’), and the EU and national Business@Biodiversity Platforms, and further EU and global
        networks and platforms
97
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/prizes/horizon-
        prizes_en
98
        Complementary, and in distinction to the European Business Award for the Environment
        https://ec.europa.eu/environment/awards/index.html
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HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-04: Natural capital                            accounting:     Measuring      the
biodiversity footprint of products and organizations.
Proposals should make available the relevant evidence, data and information via the Oppla
portal, and prepare to feed in the uptake of its results according to an agreed format to the EC
Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity. Collaboration with the Knowledge Centre should also
include its stakeholders forum.
The project should set out a clear plan on how it will collaborate with other projects selected
under this and any other relevant topics, such as HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-16:
Biodiversity, water, food, energy, transport, climate and health nexus in the context of
transformative change, and with the European partnership on biodiversity HORIZON-CL6-
2021-BIODIV-02-01 99 , by participating in joint activities such as workshops or
communication and dissemination activities. The project should also set out a clear plan on
how it will collaborate with key business-related networks that promote the integration of
biodiversity into corporate decision making. Proposals should include specific tasks and
allocate sufficient resources for these coordination measures.
This topic should involve the contributions from the social science and humanities disciplines.
Call - Biodiversity and ecosystem services
                                                                      HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)100
                   Topics                          Type of          Budgets      Expected EU Number
                                                   Action            (EUR        contribution         of
                                                                    million)      per project      projects
                                                                                     (EUR         expected
                                                                 2021     2022              101
                                                                                  million)          to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                          Deadline(s): 22 Jul 2021
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-02-01 COFUND 20.00                               20.00   40.00        to 1
99
        https://www.biodiversa.org/1759
100
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
101
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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                                                                            165.00
Overall indicative budget                                   20.00   20.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-02-01: European partnership rescuing biodiversity to
safeguard life on Earth
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       40.00 and 165.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 40.00 million.
Type of Action         Programme Co-fund Action
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
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                            Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                            additionally be used).
Legal and                   The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of         apply:
the Grant                   Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
Agreements                  The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                            Financial support provided by the participants to third parties is one of
                            the primary activities of the action in order to be able to achieve its
                            objectives. The EUR 60 000 threshold provided for in Article 204(a) of
                            the Financial Regulation No 2018/1046102 does not apply. The
                            maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 7 000 000
                            for the whole duration of Horizon Europe.
Total indicative            The total indicative budget for the duration of the partnership is EUR
budget                      165 million.
Expected Outcome: The partnership is expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
In line with the European Green Deal and the Convention on Biological Diversity, this
partnership will contribute to the objectives and targets of the EU biodiversity strategy for
2030 under the overarching objective that, by 2030, biodiversity in Europe is back on the path
to recovery. A successful proposal will contribute to the EU Green Deal priorities, the Birds
and Habitats Directives, and to EU climate and agricultural policies. It will help connect
biodiversity research across Europe, supporting and raising the ambition of national, EU and
international environmental policies and conventions103. The expected outcomes of the topic
will also contribute to other impacts of Destination ‘Biodiversity and ecosystem services’, as
well as to the Commission priority 'A stronger Europe in the world', and to the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) 13, 14, 15, 17.
     Biodiversity research and environmental policy institutions build up coherent initiatives
      through a co-funded European partnership.
     National/local and EU research & innovation programmes share information between
      programmes and with environmental ministries and agencies, combining in-cash and in-
      kind resources. EU and national/regional biodiversity research agendas from EU
      Member States and associated countries- are complementary; a long-term pan-European
      strategic research agenda is co-created and implemented.
102
         Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on
         the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No
         1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU)
         No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing
         Regulation          (EU,       Euratom)         No        966/2012;     https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
         content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32018R1046
103
         In particular, the UN Convention on Biodiversity, and the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030
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    Biodiversity monitoring in Europe is structured in the form of a network of coordinated
      observatories providing accessible knowledge on biodiversity and ecosystem services to
      users via the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity.
    The partnership increases the relevance, impact and visibility of R&I and European
      leadership in tackling the biodiversity crisis.
    Biodiversity is mainstreamed across sectors and policies across Europe by using tools
      such as natural capital accounting and by rolling out nature-based solutions, including
      traditional and new technologies, which provide multifunctional and resilient solutions
      to complex societal challenges.
Scope: The European partnership on biodiversity ‘Rescuing biodiversity to safeguard life on
Earth’ is one of the actions included in the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030. It should
coordinate research programmes between EU and its Member States and associated countries
and trigger combined action. For the first time, it should mobilise environmental authorities as
key partners in carrying out biodiversity research and innovation, along with ministries of
research, funding agencies, and environmental protection agencies. The partnership’s co-
created strategic research and innovation agenda for seven years should include calls for
research projects, biodiversity- and ecosystems monitoring and science-based policy advisory
activities.
The partnership and its members should be committed to the Global 2050 Vision of ‘Living in
harmony with nature’ adopted under the Convention on Biological Diversity - by 2050,
biodiversity and its benefits to people should be protected, valued and restored. The long-term
goals in the zero-draft of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, adding up to this 2050
Vision include:
    net zero ecosystem loss by 2030, with a decreased risk of species extinction risks
      decreasing, and an increase in abundance of endangered species and their genetic
      diversity;
    rolling out of nature-based solutions at sufficient scale to contribute to people’s and
      environmental needs across Europe;
    good biodiversity status fully acknowledged as one of the basis for sustainable
      development and a green economy, and EU/AC leadership is recognised in this context.
To reach these long-term goals, the Biodiversity Partnership should support the contribution
of R&I to the EU biodiversity strategy to 2030 to enable transformative change that puts
biodiversity on the path to recovery by 2030, for the benefit of the climate and people.
The partnership should aim to achieve five overarching objectives:
  1. Produce actionable knowledge to tackle both the direct and indirect drivers of
      biodiversity loss; produce knowledge on biodiversity status, trends and dynamics, and in
      integrating drivers, pressures, impacts and responses; produce knowledge on the trade-
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    offs and synergies between multiple drivers of biodiversity change; and an assessment of
    new tools and approaches to biodiversity/ecosystem conservation and restoration;
 2. Expand and improve the evidence base, accelerate the development and wide
    deployment of nature-based solutions to meet societal challenges across Europe in a
    sustainable and resilient way, contributing to protecting biodiversity while tackling
    multiple challenges such as the climate crisis while improving food and nutrition
    security, the water supply, addressing flooding and water scarcity, and tackling other
    societal priorities.
 3. Making the business case for the conservation and restoration of ecosystems, by
    contributing science-based methodologies to account for and possibly value ecosystem
    services and the natural capital, and to assess the dependency and impact of businesses
    on biodiversity.
 4. Improved monitoring of biodiversity and ecosystem services across Europe (status and
    trends), building on existing national/regional monitoring schemes, building new
    capacity for setting up new schemes, promoting new and efficient technologies and
    experience from processes related to mapping and assessing ecosystems and their
    services (MAES) with regard to enhancing and standardising tools for mapping and
    assessment.
 5. Science-based support for EU, Member States and associated countries policy-making,
    including for strengthening and implementing environmental policies and laws, and
    improving cross-sectoral links synergies with other European sectoral policies. More
    generally, R&I programmes should be better linked to the policy arena, providing greater
    input to policy making and improving the assessment of policy efficiency. The European
    partnership for biodiversity should be implemented through a joint programme of
    activities ranging from research to coordination and networking, including training,
    demonstration and dissemination, to be structured along the following main work
    streams:
 6. Actions to promote and support R&I programs and projects across the European
    Research Area, including launching ambitious joint calls to fund transnational R&I
    projects and run mobility schemes, for example for young scientists or between
    academia and business;
 7. Actions to build R&I capacity and increase the impact of R&I programmes and projects,
    including science-based policy support;
 8. Actions to support, harmonise and carry out biodiversity monitoring;
 9. Measures to improve the uptake, demonstration and rollout of solutions to tackle the
    above-mentioned objectives of the partnership;
10. Measures to enhance the excellence, visibility and impact of European R&I at
    international level.
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11. Measures to regularly update the partnership vision and strategy.
The composition of the partnership should include at least a geographically representative
distribution of national and regional research and innovation authorities and funding agencies,
environmental authorities, and environmental agencies from EU Member States, associated
countries and their regions. The number of partners and their contribution should be sufficient
to attain a critical mass in the field. Partners are expected to provide financial and/or in-kind
contribution, in line with the level of ambition of the proposed measures. The partnership
should be open to including new partners over the lifetime of the partnership. Its governance
should create a clear and transparent process for engaging with a broad range of stakeholders,
together with the full members of the partnership, to ensure that the work strategically covers
a wide range of views in the field of biodiversity, nature-based solutions and ecosystem
services throughout the lifetime of the partnership. To ensure that all work streams are
coherent and complementary, and to leverage knowledge investment potential, the partnership
is expected to foster close cooperation and synergies with the Horizon Missions on Soils;
Ocean, seas and waters; Climate Adaptation and Cities; and with the future European
Partnerships Agroecology, Urban Transitions, Agriculture of Data, Water, Blue Economy,
and Circular/Bio-based economy. The partnership should collaborate closely with the EC
‘Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity’104 recently launched by the EC to build the expertise in
Europe to inform, track and assess progress in implementing the EU 2030 biodiversity
strategy and to underpin further biodiversity policy developments. It should also cooperate
with the Science Service project under Horizon Europe105, which is embedded into the EC
‘Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity’ and aims to facilitate the inclusion of research results
into action to implement biodiversity policies.
The partnership should allocate resources to cooperate with existing projects, initiatives,
platforms, science-policy interfaces, institutional processes at EU level, and at other levels
where relevant to the partnership’s goals. Proposals should pool the necessary financial
resources from participating national (or regional) research programmes with a view to
implementing joint calls for transnational proposals that provide grants to third parties.
Applicants are expected to describe in detail how they would carry out this collaborative work
in practice. Given the global dimension of biodiversity, membership and other modalities of
participation from institutions in non-EU countries is encouraged. In particular, the
participation of legal entities from international countries and/or regions including those not
automatically eligible for funding is encouraged in the joint calls.
Proposals should pool the necessary financial resources from participating national (or
regional) research programmes with a view to implementing joint calls for transnational
proposals that provide grants to third parties.
104
        The EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity (KCBD) is an action of the EU biodiversity strategy for
        2030. It aims to enhance the knowledge base, facilitate its sharing and foster cross-sectorial policy
        dialogue     for     EU      policy     making       in    biodiversity   and      related     fields.
        https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/biodiversity_en.
105
        To be funded through the topic HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-19
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Financial support provided by the participants to third parties is one of the primary channels
under this action to enable the partnership to achieve its objectives. The maximum amount to
be granted to each third party is EUR 7 million for the whole duration of Horizon Europe. It is
expected that the partnership organises joint calls on an annual base from 2022-2027 and
therefore it should factor ample time to run the co-funded projects.
This topic should involve contributions from the social sciences and humanities disciplines.
The Commission envisages to include new actions in future work programme(s) to continue
providing support to the partnership for the duration of Horizon Europe.
Call - Biodiversity and ecosystem services
                                                                     HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)106
                   Topics                         Type        Budgets         Expected EU         Number
                                                    of         (EUR         contribution per          of
                                                 Action       million)        project (EUR         projects
                                                                               million)107        expected
                                                                2022                                to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 28 Oct 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 15 Feb 2022
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-01 RIA                           14.00         4.00 to 14.00           2
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-02 IA                            6.00          Around 6.00             1
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-03 CSA                           6.00          Around 6.00             1
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-04 IA                            10.00         Around 10.00            1
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-05 RIA                           16.00         Around 8.00             2
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-06 RIA                           8.00          Around 8.00             1
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-07 RIA                           8.00          Around 8.00             1
106
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
107
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-08 RIA                      12.00         Around 3.00          4
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-09 RIA                      10.00         3.00 to 4.00         3
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-10 CSA                      5.00          Around 5.00          1
Overall indicative budget                              95.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Understanding biodiversity decline
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-01: Observing and mapping biodiversity and
ecosystems, with particular focus on coastal and marine ecosystems
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 4.00
contribution per     and 14.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 14.00 million.
budget
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                     and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                     Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                     additionally be used).
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level      General Annex B.
Procedure            The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                     apply:
                     To ensure a balanced portfolio covering all types of ecosystems, grants
                     will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but with at
                     least two-third of the topic budget to projects highest ranked within
                     marine/coastal ecosystems, and one third of the topic budget to the highest
                     ranked projects within the terrestrial/freshwater ones, provided that the
                     applications attain all thresholds
Expected Outcome: In support of the implementation of the Green Deal and the biodiversity
strategy, successful proposals will contribute to all the following expected outcomes notably
to better understand biodiversity decline, its main direct drivers and their interrelations:
    Next generation fit for purpose and user friendly, validated and integrated coastal,
      marine and terrestrial biodiversity observation, mapping and monitoring tools (from
      remote sensing to eDNA, AI, robotics and citizen science framework) that provide data
      to feed models of prediction of biodiversity (for global and regional scales to define and
      update ecosystem-based management approaches).
    Fulfil the objectives of the Global Biodiversity Observation Network (The Group on
      Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network – GEOBON, MBON, GOOS)
    Empowering ocean observations (e.g., citizen science framework, robotics, artificial
      intelligence, big data analytics) and robust science-based thinking at national and
      international levels will promote science diplomacy and wider societal actions to support
      responsible and sustainability thereby enhancing ocean governance
    Coastal, marine and terrestrial biological processes and biodiversity are integrated into
      national, regional (including EU and AC sea basins), and global observation systems.
      Reliable and affordable methods for monitoring water quality in line with the MSFD and
      WFD, which would generate information that is geo referenced and available more in
      real time.
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
   In line with the targets of the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, contribute to establish a
      network of effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative, protected
      areas and/or other area-based effective conservation measures.
   “Blue Carbon” balance model in the different marine ecosystems for possible use for
      carbon offsetting and for Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)
Scope: Better biodiversity observations are needed to assess the health of ecosystems and the
impact of measures derived from EU policies, and to feed data into models for the predictions
of effects and the development of management measures for the implementation of EU
policies.
Observation and mapping of coastal and marine biodiversity are key tools to manage and
share the “ocean commons” in a fair and responsible way under the present global challenges
and rapid environmental changes. They also help ensure that the benefits derived from the
exploitation of ocean resources can be sustainably managed and equitably shared. The
distribution of these “ocean commons” is changing. The melting polar ice caps, stagnation in
wild seafood provisioning opportunities, emergence of harmful pathogens and parasites, and
previously inaccessible ocean spaces (e.g. the deep sea) now increasingly within human reach,
are challenges that need to be addressed by responsible ocean governance to reduce the
potential for conflicts at all levels and ensure human well-being. Current knowledge on how
to relate and govern marine natural resources and associated societal changes is fragmented,
and observations of resource distribution, use, state and dynamics are scant and insufficiently
accessible. We need to advance observations to support modelling of the complex links
between marine ecosystems and societal developments to forecast, manage and mitigate these
changes.
Adequate scientific knowledge is also fundamental to protect and restore favourable
conservation status of habitats and species under EU nature legislation, notably the Birds and
Habitats Directive and good ecological status under the Water Framework Directive. Reliable
data and knowledge are necessary inter alia to define protected areas in line with the EU
biodiversity strategy and its underlying legislation, to develop conservation objectives,
conservation and restoration measures, to define the conservation status and to undertake
environmental impact assessments.
In order to do so, projects are expected to encompass all of the following aspects:
   Use of satellite and drone images (earth observation) to assess pressures on freshwater,
      coastal and marine ecosystems (fragmentation, hydromorphological changes, etc.);
   Develop eDNA protocols complementing established biological indicators to monitor
      ecological status, in the context of the Water Framework Directive.
   New platforms and integration of variety of sensors in situ, autonomous unmanned
      vehicles, acoustic monitoring, satellite applications, holistic approaches (e.g., systems
      biology, meta-omics, and ecosystem approaches) and novel theoretical frameworks
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  linking evolutionary theory and oceanography as well as marine social sciences and
  humanities can provide an integrated framework to inform decision making, particularly
  in inherently dynamic coastal ecosystems.
 Where relevant, creating links, contributing to and using the information and data of the
  European Earth observation programme Copernicus, the Group on Earth Observations
  (GEO) and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), European Space
  Agency Earth Observation Programme and in particular the flagship actions on
  biodiversity and ocean health of the EC-ESA Joint Earth system science initiative, is
  expected.
 Contribute to improving the knowledge on marine and terrestrial habitats and species
  protected under the Birds and Habitats Directive.
 Contribute to improving the knowledge on how invasive alien species interact with local
  biodiversity to better feed policies on their prevention, eradication and management In
  line with EU Regulation 1143/2014 on invasive alien species,
 Implement the Essential Ocean Variables for sustained observations of marine
  biodiversity and ecosystem changes identified by the Global Ocean Observing System
  (GOOS).
 The projects should benefit from the large datasets recovered from the long-term
  environmental monitoring conducted through the national and European dedicated
  Research Infrastructures (e.g. eLTER).
 Technical, theoretical and practical development and validation for the use of
  environmental DNA (eDNA), combined with other ocean data (both biotic and abiotic).
  These approaches promise leaps in our ability to sample ecosystem-wide data at
  increasingly low costs.
 Investigate all key processes (ecological and anthropogenic) controlling the fate of
  carbon and its sequestration in marine and costal ecosystems. Evaluate the “Blue
  Carbon” balance in the different marine ecosystems through high-resolution mapping
  and modelling of marine ecosystems of the European EEZ, characterised by habitats,
  species, processes and functions, from deep sea, offshore to coastal.
 The tools, models and geo-referenced information systems that should be designed
  should be focused on user needs and designed with user experience.
 Standardised minimum set of Essential Ocean and Biodiversity Variables (EOVs /
  EBVs)
 Contribution to enhancing the overall societal and public understanding of link between
  biodiversity and ecosystem functioning through education and training (school & adult
  education, citizen science platforms)
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     All the marine observations connected though these actions should be incorporated into
      EMODnet.
     Cooperation with the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity and other relevant existing
      platforms and information sharing mechanisms108.
     Contribute to the free and open access to biodiversity data of the Global Biodiversity
      Information Facility.
     Opportunities for cooperation with relevant projects, such as EUROPABON 109 awarded
      under the call ‘SC5-33-2020: Monitoring ecosystems through research, innovation and
      technology’ or the projects resulting from topics under the Heading ‘Understanding
      biodiversity decline’ in Destination ‘Biodiversity and ecosystem services’ and from
      Destination ‘Land, ocean and water for climate action’ (Carbon cycle and natural
      processes) and Destination ‘Innovative governance, environmental observations and
      digital solutions in support of the Green Deal’ (environmental observation) should be
      identified. Furthermore, cooperation is expected with the European co-funded
      partnership on biodiversity110 (HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-02-01) and other relevant
      Horizon Europe missions and partnerships. Proposals should outline a plan on how they
      intend to collaborate with other projects selected and with the mentioned initiatives, by
      participating in e.g. joint activities, workshops, common communication and
      dissemination activities, etc. Applicants should allocate the necessary budget to cover
      the plan. Relevant activities of the plan will be set out and carried out in close co-
      operation with relevant Commission services, ensuring coherence with related policy
      initiatives.
     This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
     In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is strongly
      encouraged.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-02: Building taxonomic research capacity near
biodiversity hotspots and for protected areas by networking natural history museums
and other taxonomic facilities
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
108
         BISE, Oppla, NetworkNature and their joint work streams.
109
         https://europabon.org/
110
         https://www.biodiversa.org/1759
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Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements              Capacity-building actions and local nodes may be supported through
                        grants to third parties. In this case, the proposal must define the process
                        of selecting entities for which financial support will be granted, within
                        open calls for tenders to be evaluated in a fair and transparent process.
                        The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 200
                        000, as building capacity near biodiversity hotspots is a key activity of
                        the action. Maximum 30% of the requested EU contribution may be
                        allocated to this purpose.
Expected Outcome: In supporting the implementation of the Green Deal, the EU 2030
biodiversity strategy and the Birds and Habitats Directives, successful proposals will
contribute to increasing and transferring local taxonomic knowledge, innovation and expertise
across Europe, in particular for endangered species and other relevant groups of species, to
better understand and address biodiversity decline, its main direct drivers and their
interrelations.
Successful proposals must address all the following outcomes:
   Increased local taxonomic knowledge and expertise across Europe, in particular for
      endangered species and other species groups of particular interest, through a network of
      expert trainers.
   National reference collections for pollinators (bee, butterfly, moth and hoverfly
      specimens).
   Better taxonomic research capacity and reinforced digital networking, in particular near
      biodiversity hotspots and for protected areas, and access to materials, resources, advice,
      and professional expertise and infrastructures from museums and other taxonomic
      facilities, such as botanical gardens, herbaria, natural history collections, and
      biodiversity research centres.
   New taxonomy methods and technologies are put to use and tested in situ, in particular,
      generation of reference datasets linking DNA data and voucher specimens, and
      identification methodologies and digital applications, including 2D and 3D specimen
      digitalization. Knowledge and tools are generated and shared among central and local
      taxonomy nodes in the network, as well as with citizen scientists and end-users
      worldwide.
   Strategic opportunities to promote integrative taxonomy in professional careers and
      academic curricula are identified. Pilot actions to address the current shortage of
      taxonomists are initiated.
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Scope: Professional taxonomists are highly specialised and skilled experts, traditionally
working in academia or curating collections in natural history museums, herbaria, botanical
garden or biobanks. European collections hold and document 80% of the worlds’ described
biodiversity. Today, this expertise is increasingly required by decision-makers at local and
regional levels to plan and implement conservation efforts, establish protected areas, combat
invasive species, sustainably manage forests, fields and seas, and many other aspects of
ecological, economic and societal importance. There are millions of species still undescribed
and there are far too few taxonomists to do the job: global biodiversity is being lost at an
unprecedented rate because of human activities, and, paradoxically, many species are
disappearing at the same rate to the decline of the number of experts who are able to
document that disappearance.
EU Member States and associated countries, often lack permanent taxonomic capacity in the
field, in particular near biodiversity hotspots and protected areas. They could greatly benefit
from professional expertise, networking and infrastructures from natural history museums and
other taxonomic facilities, such as botanical gardens or biobanks, and centres integrating new
genome- and image-based technologies to advance taxonomy, contributing at the same time
with adequate in situ conservation monitoring, data and samples.
Building on expert findings and recommendations, the taxonomic network should develop a
plan to strengthen taxonomic expertise in Europe, promote taxonomy and its applications in
official curricula and businesses, and develop plans for international cooperation. Expert
taxonomy trainers across Europe111 should train a network of ‘followers’, by creating simple-
to-use identification guides and methodologies, training programmes, online tools and
activities adapted to local needs and resources (by area and by taxa of particular importance,
such as endemic, locally-threatened species, those in the Red List, or intra-specific diversity).
The strategy of promoting integrative taxonomy should also account of the publication gap in
taxonomic journals, discouraging specialists in academic competitions. For example,
strategies should encourage the engagement of taxonomists in wide ecological research
projects, and identify relevant opportunities in the private sector, securing their career
development. The project should also lead with guidance, resources and expertise to establish
or improve national reference collections for pollinators in all European countries (bee,
butterfly, moth, and hoverfly and beetle specimens), as well as for soil fauna (mites,
springtails, woodlices, millipedes and earthworms) and freshwater taxa including invasive
alien species in all European countries. This should be carried out in collaboration with
projects resulting from topic HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-02: ‘Data and technologies
for the inventory, fast identification and monitoring of endangered wildlife and other species
groups’.
The network should also support, guide and supervise the establishment of adequate facilities
in a pilot number of local nodes (such as wet labs, connected computer data nodes and remote
communications). For this purpose, proposals can include financial support to third parties in
the form of grants. A maximum of EUR 200 000 per third party could be granted. The
111
         Such as the members of the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF): https://cetaf.org/
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consortium need to define the selection process of organisations, for which financial support
will be granted. A maximum of 30% of the EU funding can be allocated to this purpose.
Successful proposals should also promote the effective development of European
infrastructures, such as LifeWatch ERIC, the future DiSSCo’s digitalised collections, or
eLTER, and application of advanced taxonomic technologies (such as eDNA, genomics, AI).
The action should also seek to involve amateur taxonomists, reach for citizen scientists with
tools and networks, produce/update a strategic mapping and agenda for taxonomic expertise
in Europe, and identify gaps and needs for future actions. Gender aspects should be addressed
both in amateur and professional taxonomy communities and the biogeographical approach
needs to be taken into account.
Valuing and restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-03: Network for nature: multi-stakeholder dialogue
platform to promote nature-based solutions
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                         exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
                         Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                         states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
Expected Outcome: This topic aims to support the development of policies, business models
and market conditions to scale up and speed up the implementation of nature-based solutions
(NBS) 112 . It will contribute to deploying NBS more widely and to fully reaping their
112
        As defined by the European Commission: Solutions that are inspired and supported by nature, which
        are cost-effective, simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits and help build
        resilience. Such solutions bring more, and more diverse, nature and natural features and processes into
        cities, landscapes and seascapes, through locally adapted, resource-efficient and systemic interventions.
        Hence, nature-based solutions must benefit biodiversity and support the delivery of a range of
        ecosystem services. In https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=nbs.
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economic, social and environmental benefits in order to build a competitive sustainability in
Europe and to tackle climate change. NBS contribute to the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030
and other Green Deal priorities, by supporting biodiversity and vital ecosystem services:
climate change mitigation and improving carbon sinks, biomass provision, access to fresh
water, clean soil, healthy diets and lifestyles and sustainable food systems. Deploying NBS
will also create green jobs and build resilience to climate change and natural disasters.
Successful proposals must contribute to all following expected outcomes:
     Broad and effective community of innovators in the EU and associated countries,
      practitioners and developers of NBS – including but not limited to Horizon
      2020/Horizon Europe projects – engaged across communities of science, business,
      policy and practice, and from local to global level;
     Better engagement, with public authorities, private sector and society at large for
      implementing and investing in NBS;
     Establish European NBS “quality brand” with an underlying, comprehensive and agreed
      vision and agenda, to position and promote EU excellence in NBS innovation;
     Improve cooperation and synergies with key strategic international partners and
      collaboration with CEN/CENELEC to develop European and international standards and
      foster the emergence of a global market for NBS;
     Consolidate NBS knowledge across sectors and disciplines through regional and Europe-
      wide transdisciplinary collaboration, advisory services, awareness raising, knowledge
      transfer and skills development.
Scope: Nature-based solutions (NBS) deliver multiple ecosystem services to address diverse
societal challenges with a systemic and innovative approach. An effective multi-stakeholder
platform is needed to support and consolidate the understanding of NBS and to promote their
use and speed up market up-take and wider implementation.
Such a platform enables: a) dialogue, interactions, knowledge and information sharing; b)
integration of EU project results and platforms; and c) collaboration and think-and-do-tanks
among relevant stakeholders (science, public administration, professional organizations,
businesses and investors, civil society).
NetworkNature113, a CSA funded under Horizon 2020’s Societal Challenge 5 (WP 2019) that
is due to end in 2022, is in the process of creating this platform. The Oppla 114 portal is
developing the underlying EU NBS knowledge repository, supporting access, sharing NBS
knowledge more widely, including from EU-funded NBS projects, to already engaged and
new target audiences, such as the finance and investment sector and the wider public.
113
         https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/887396/.
114
         https://oppla.eu/.
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This topic aims to maintain and build upon the achievements of NetworkNature and Oppla.
The successful proposal should further develop and consolidate an engaged, broad and
effective European community of innovators, practitioners and developers to promote the
design, deployment, out- and up-scaling of NBS at the European and global scale, while
recognising regional and national specificities, contexts and needs.
The successful proposal should undertake continuous and strategically driven stakeholder
dialogue and facilitate sharing of practice, experience and expertise related to all NBS-
relevant aspects, across multiple scales and sectors. Actions should cover social, economic,
financial, environmental, educational, institutional, regulatory and cultural aspects; in
particular:
    Improve engagement, strengthened ties and new partnerships with public authorities, the
      private and financing sector and society at large to implement and invest in NBS, based
      on a high level of awareness about their advantages in order to widen the uptake of these
      solutions;
    Maintain and further develop an online open source stakeholder platform that facilitates
      the interactions within and between NBS knowledge holders and implementers;
    Identify, evaluate, standardise and gather tools, mechanisms and advisory services that
      support different actors in NBS in a one-stop-shop, aiming at supplying offers to match
      the needs which are brought forward;
    Build on NetworkNature's business plan, to make such a platform financially self-
      sustainable by the end of the project, and emphasise payback models and payable
      advisory services;
    Maintain and support established NBS hubs and establish new ones; support and advise
      on communication and outreach campaigns and regular events in all Member States,
      involving international networks and environmental communicators and targeting all
      relevant stakeholders involved in the NBS value chain, including the scientific
      community;
    Develop a ready-to-use communication toolbox in all EU official languages for regional
      and local authorities to better communicate about NBS and their benefits, namely in
      terms of economic growth and job creation;
    Facilitate the clustering of current and upcoming EU-funded NBS relevant research and
      innovation projects and promote the uptake of their results in further EU or national
      initiatives (e.g. in projects resulting from the LIFE programme or cohesion policy);
    Assist the Commission in organising science-policy workshops and assessing the
      contribution of NBS to global and EU policies, notably related to the EU Green Deal.
      These include biodiversity, pollution, climate adaptation and mitigation, water,
      agriculture and forestry, as well as urban and regional development, health,
      transformative change and just transitions;
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     Facilitate the development of guidelines for practitioners with state-of-the-art NBS
      design practices and protocols; Collaborate with CEN/CENELEC to develop European
      standards, making sure these guidelines are accessible to all users;
     Help to the develop and mainstream NBS-related professional training and include it in
      primary, secondary and higher-education curricula115;
     Develop mechanisms for capacity building and knowledge sharing across disciplines, the
      involving EU and MS/AC-wide professional organisations. Include partner organisations
      across EU Member States to ease dissemination of NBS knowledge at local and Europe-
      wide level ;
     Promote international cooperation with key strategic partners and sharing best practice,
      in particular with – but not limited to –Latin American and Caribbean countries, the
      USA and Africa;
     Support a dialogue between cities implementing NBS (e.g. through twinning, peer
      exchanges, etc.) to encourage NBS knowledge sharing, experience exchange and access
      to best practices in the Member States; and establish links with other networking
      initiatives such as ICLEI, or the Covenant of Mayors;
     Further develop and maintain existing databases of facts and figures on NBS cost-
      effectiveness, including in monetised form, and according to NBS typology and
      challenges addressed by NBS, for improved communication and outreach;
     Identify specific areas and priorities where further research and innovation and
      educational development are needed to more widely implement, exploit benefits and
      market acceptance of NBS.
The proposals must address all of the above points and should ensure that all evidence and
information will be accessible through the Oppla portal (the EU repository for NBS)116.
Applicants should create links with projects under the same topic and other relevant ongoing
or up-coming projects, notably the Horizon 2020 NBS project portfolio and its task forces;
‘HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-05: The economics of nature-based solutions: cost-
benefit analysis, market development and funding’; ‘HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-06:
Nature-based solutions, prevention and reduction of risks and the insurance sector’;
‘HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-05: Assessing the socio-politics of nature-based
solutions for more inclusive and resilient communities’; ‘HORIZON-CL6-2022-
COMMUNITIES-02-02-two-stage: Developing nature-based therapy for health and well-
being’; ‘HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-06: Inside and outside: educational
innovation with nature-based solutions’. To this end, proposals should include specific tasks
115
         Synergies should be considered with HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-06: Inside and
         outside: educational innovation with nature-based solutions.
116
         https://oppla.eu/.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
and sufficient resources for coordination measures, envisage joint activities and joint
deliverables.
Collaboration with the Biodiversity Partnership (HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-02-01) is
expected in the context of strengthening the knowledge base for assessing, developing and
deploying nature-based solutions.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of social sciences and humanities
disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-04: Natural capital accounting: Measuring the
biodiversity footprint of products and organizations
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                       consortium selected for funding.
Expected Outcome: In keeping with the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 the successful
proposal is expected to contribute to measuring and integrating the value of nature into public
and business decision making at all levels for the protection and restoration of ecosystems and
their services.
Successful proposals will contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
   Change the way in which EU and associated countries organizations and companies
      allocate capital or influence their activities to promote a sustainable management by
      mainstreaming the use of corporate natural capital accounting.
   Integrate biodiversity and ecosystem considerations into business decision-making at
      different levels by measuring the biodiversity footprint of products and organisations
      through improving, developing and implementing standardised methods, criteria and
      standards that focus on essential features of biodiversity, ecosystems services, values,
      and sustainable use.
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   Improve corporate biodiversity disclosure through innovative approaches to foster
     principles of biodiversity data transparency to accurately report on biodiversity,
     ecosystems and services.
   Demonstrate innovative solutions for valuing business impacts and dependencies in
     biodiversity and ecosystem and how this ends up in risks and opportunities for
     businesses private decision-making.
   Explore solutions to decrease the biodiversity footprint of retailers in global value
     chains.
Scope: The EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 recognises that biodiversity considerations need
to be better integrated into public and business decision-making at all levels. This should
include measuring the environmental footprint of products and organisations on the
environment, through life-cycle approaches complemented and eventually integrated by
natural capital accounting. In this context, the Commission will support the establishment of
an international natural capital accounting initiative.
Natural capital accounting has potential in providing a meaningful basis for business
performance reporting by explicitly mapping out impacts and/or dependencies on natural
resources and placing a monetary value on them. Specific examples include business
accounting and reporting and the disclosure of non-financial reporting and accounting
directives.
The successful proposal should develop, take up or demonstrate in real settings standardised
natural capital accounting practices to support companies to measure, value and synthetise
biodiversity and ecosystem risks assessment, notably in a way that is suitable for routine
consideration in business and economy decision-making (including at executive level). It
should also mainstream environmental footprints methods for instance through quantifying
the environmental impacts of products, or supply and value chains, business models or
organisations based the Commission Organisation Environmental Footprint (OEF) and the
Product Environmental Footprint (PEF).
The successful proposal should contribute to the alignment of natural capital accounting
between the public and private sectors and to explore how the links to link the collection and
use of statistics and data for natural capital accounting. It should also address the obstacles
businesses are facing, in particular on data collection and improving the access and utility of
European environmental data sets at different levels (i.e.: national statistical offices,
environmental agencies, corporate reports) allowing better corporate and national data
integration for economic and financial decision making.
The successful proposal should work on methodologies for companies to set science-based
biodiversity targets. It should also address the specific decision-making needs of corporates
and financial service provider to allow a specific and meaningful linkage with the macro-
economic perspective and the ecological concept of planetary boundaries at the scale of
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decision to be taken at corporate level enabling to assess and understand to corporate safe
operating space.
The successful proposal should develop and test concrete natural capital accounting and
reporting frameworks for business performance with respect to biodiversity and ecosystem
services reporting. This should include explicit mapping of the impacts and/or dependencies
on natural resources and placing a monetary value on them. Specific examples should include
business accounting, reporting, and the disclosure of non-financial reporting.
The successful proposal should explore to which extent the System of Environmental-
Economic Accounting / Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EEA) framework in its
current form is useful for natural capital assessment and natural capital accounting by
businesses. This should be done both in terms of methodological approach and data collection
o the opportunities for adapting the SEEA EEA framework to make it more tailored to the
business needs or the extent to which national statistical offices can benefit from data
collection by businesses.
The successful proposal should develop and test concrete natural capital accounting basis for
business performance on biodiversity and ecosystem services reporting by explicitly mapping
out impacts and/or dependencies on natural resources and placing a monetary value on them.
Specific examples should include business accounting, reporting, and the disclosure of non-
financial reporting.
The successful proposal should support the European contribution to a globally consistent
approach to account for ecosystems and their value. The proposal should ensure that the EU
continues to play a lead role in international environmental affairs through its support for
effective measures, international standards and accounting relating to natural capital.
The successful proposal should improve the access and utility of European environmental
data sets at different levels (i.e: national statistical offices, environmental agencies, corporate
reports) allowing better corporate and national data integration for economic and financial
decision making.
The successful proposal should support developing and testing natural capital and biodiversity
based business models. These are expected to invest in nature for the benefit of biodiversity,
ecosystems functioning and ecosystem services and address the challenge to turn the value of
ecosystem into a revenue stream. The successful proposal should help making natural capital
and biodiversity based business models bankable, thereby enabling private investments in
nature conservation. In other words, ‘how to facilitate making money with nature by
enhancing ecosystem conditions but not by exploiting it to the detriment of nature’.
The successful proposal should therefore take stock and establish links with the work
undertaken by ongoing initiatives, European and national platforms on business and
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biodiversity, the Natural Capital Protocol, Value balancing alliance, the Knowledge
Innovation Project KIP INCA and other Horizon 2020 related projects117.
The successful proposal should support the practical implementation of corporate reporting
obligations such as under the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive (2014/95/EU)118 or of
the EU Taxonomy on Sustainable Finance.
Applicants should create synergies with relevant projects under this call (‘HORIZON-CL6-
2021-BIODIV-01-07: Ecosystems and their services for an evidence-based policy and
decision-making’; ‘HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-17: Policy mixes, governance
(including financing) and decision-making tools for transformative action for biodiversity’ the
EU Biodiversity Partnership and the Science Service. To this end, proposals should include
specific tasks and appropriate resources for coordination measures, and, where possible,
envisage joint activities and joint deliverables.
The proposal should set practical policy recommendations for the EU biodiversity strategy for
2030 targets and commitments. Proposals should contribute to strategic dialogue with the EC
Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity forum and ensure that all evidence, results, data and
information will be accessible and interoperable with the KCBD119.
In this topic, the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
This topic should include the effective contribution of social sciences and humanities
disciplines.
Managing biodiversity in primary production
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-05: Intercropping – understanding and using the
benefits of complexity in farming and value chains
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
117
         MAIA and We Value Nature
118
         The Commission is currently working on a review of the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive
         (2014/95/EU) – current guidelines: https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/non-financial-reporting-
         guidelines_en
119
         The EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity (KCBD) is an action of the EU biodiversity strategy for
         2030. It aims to enhance the knowledge base, facilitate its sharing and foster cross-sectorial policy
         dialogue     for     EU      policy     making      in     biodiversity   and      related     fields.
         https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/biodiversity_en.
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Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 16.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In line with the objectives of the farm to fork and biodiversity strategies,
successful proposals will promote diversification in agriculture as a means to increase the
resilience of the sector vis-a-vis variable environmental, climatic and economic conditions.
By promoting biodiversity, proposals will address consumer demands for more diversified
and sustainable production in agriculture.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
   Integration of knowledge from diverse disciplines (e.g. ecology, agronomy, genetics,
      physiology as well as social sciences) to better understand, assess and use ecological
      processes which underpin the multiple benefits arising from intercropping;
   Better understand the barriers for the adoption of intercropping by farmers;
   Optimised, field-tested and ready-to-use agronomic practices for intercropping
      applicable to various conditions across Europe;
   More wide-spread practical expertise of intercropping amongst advisors and farmers;
   Increased evidence and appreciation of the beneficial effects of intercropping on crop
      quality and product quality along with wider benefits for biodiversity, soil health, water
      quality and reduced GHG and air pollution emissions;
   Demonstration of the economic avenues and benefits of diversified production for the
      farming sector and related value chains.
In the long(er) term:
   More sustainable, biodiverse and resilient farming ensuring the continued delivery of a
      larger range of food and non-food products along with multiple ecosystems services;
   Stronger links between the various operators in value chains and increased economic
      avenues for the farming sector;
   Better appreciation by the wider public of the benefits of intercropping and
      diversification in general.
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Scope: Farmers face increasing pressure to shift production towards lower input systems,
while continuing to ensure sufficient supplies of food and non-food products. The Green Deal
in particular has set ambitious targets to reduce by 2030 the overall use of chemical pesticides
and fertilisers, reduce nutrient losses and increase organic farming120.
Species rich production systems such as intercropping121 have shown significant potential to
increase resource efficiency and resilience against biotic and abiotic stresses, thereby allowing
to deliver yield gains without increased inputs, or stabilise yields with decreased inputs.
Diversified farming systems making use of strategic intercrops can also improve soil health
and deliver multiple ecosystem services.
The benefits of intercropping are the result of highly dynamic interactions between plants and
their environment and allow to optimise the use of resources such as nutrients, water or solar
radiation. Despite these benefits, intercropping is not widely applied in European agriculture,
due e.g. to an increased complexity of operations and labour intensity at farm level or a
market pulls for more standardised products and processing as well as for simplified modes of
marketing,
Activities should:
     Study the (context specific) mechanisms that underpin the benefits associated with
      intercropping such as enhanced resource efficiency, disease and pest avoidance and
      product quality;
     Elucidate the links between above- and below-ground species interactions and how these
      could be optimised through management;
     Provide evidence on the effects of intercropping on product quality down the value
      chain;
     Identify, test and demonstrate agronomic practices that promote benefits from
      intercropping by optimising the interactions between plants, environment and
      management (G x G x E x M) , including the use of inputs and adapted machinery such
      as precision tools;
     Explore farmers’ the motivation to adopt intercropping practices and propose solutions
      to overcome potential barriers;
     Promote the uptake of intercropping through the development of guidelines and wide-
      spread practical demonstrations taking into account a range of farming systems, pedo-
      climatic conditions and value chains;
120
         Green Deal farm to fork and biodiversity strategies with 2030 targets: Reduce by 50% the overall use
         and risk of chemical pesticides and reduce use by 50% of more hazardous pesticides; reduce nutrient
         losses by at least 50% while ensuring no deterioration in soil fertility; this will reduce use of fertilisers
         by at least 20 %; achieve at least 25% of the EU’s agricultural land under organic farming
121
         intercropping is understood as a farming practice growing two or more crop species together at the
         same time in the same place
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
   Identify and test avenues for marketing and processing of more diverse farming outputs
     across the value chain.
Result of activities should benefit both conventional and organic agriculture. International co-
operation is strongly encouraged in particular with countries where intercropping is more
widely applied, yet would benefit from further optimisation.
Activities must implement the multi-actor approach, thus ensure an adequate involvement of
advisors, farmers, other players in the value chain and consumers. Communication and
outreach to a wide range of stakeholders is essential.
This topic should include the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
Proposals should specify how they plan to collaborate with other proposals selected under this
and other relevant topics, e.g. by undertaking joint activities, workshops or common
communication and dissemination activities. Proposals should allocate the necessary
resources to cover these activities.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-06:                  Monitoring      and    effective   measures  for
agrobiodiversity
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: In line with the objectives of the 2030 biodiversity strategy and other
policies such as the common agricultural policy (CAP), successful proposals will contribute to
the take up of practices in agriculture that promote biodiversity as well as to effective
monitoring of farmland biodiversity to maintain and re-establish biotopes and habitats.
Projects should address all of the following outcomes:
   Methods and tools for a systematic monitoring of in situ biodiversity of agricultural
     areas, considering above ground and soil biodiversity;
   Enhanced methods and indicators to evaluate the impact of agricultural practices and in
     particular CAP agri-environment measures or ecoschemes on above and below ground
     biodiversity;
   Increased access to information on carbon- and nature-rich areas;
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
   More effective farm advisory systems in relation to biodiversity issues and providing
      special advice for farmers including those operating in Natura 2000 sites
In the longer term:
   More effective agri-environment measures, improving both above- and below ground
      biodiversity in agricultural areas along with an increased uptake of agroforestry
      measures under rural development programmes.
Scope: The EU biodiversity strategy 2030 underlines the role of farmers in preserving
biodiversity while at the same time indicating that certain agricultural practices are a key
driver for biodiversity decline.
According to the latest State of Nature Report (EEA, 2020), many terrestrial habitats are
severely impacted by agriculture, especially grasslands and freshwater habitats, heath and
scrub, and bogs, mires and fens playing important role in soil carbon sequestration. This is
also the case for most of the species groups, including reptiles, molluscs, amphibians,
arthropods, vascular plants and breeding birds.
Grasslands as one of the most species-rich habitats in Europe, are among the habitats with the
highest share of assessments showing a bad conservation status (49 %), accompanied by
deteriorating soil properties.
Farmland birds and insects, particularly pollinators, and soil microbiota are key indicators of
the health of agroecosystems and are vital for agricultural production and food security. The
biodiversity strategy aims to bring back at least 10% of agricultural area under high-diversity
landscape features. These include, amongst others buffer strips, rotational or non-rotational
fallow land, hedges, non-productive trees, terrace walls, and ponds. Such measures help
enhance carbon sequestration, prevent soil erosion and depletion, filter air and water, and
support climate adaptation.
The EU Birds and Habitats Directive aims at reaching favourable conservation status of wild
birds as well as of those species and habitats covered in the annexes of the Habitats Directive.
However, there are many data gaps to identify species’ requirements and to monitor
population trends over time for those species dependent on agricultural habitats. This hampers
the design of appropriate agro-ecological conservation measures and the proper
implementation of the Directives. It is therefore necessary to monitor the diversity and area of
habitats for farmland-dependent species, in space and time, in order to maintain and re-
establish biotopes and habitats.
Projects should:
   Map carbon and nature rich areas and analyse the effects of agricultural practices on
      biodiversity;
   Monitor the diversity and area of habitats for farmland-dependent species, in space and
      time;
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   Develop and test effective agri-environment measures as well as indicators and
      monitoring tools to determine the effectiveness of conservation measures for species and
      their habitats in the agricultural context;
   Develop and demonstrate practical examples of agro-forestry systems and how these can
      be promoted through rural development programmes.
Activities should be carried across a range of climatic/biogeographical regions in the EU and
Associated Countries.
The project needs to take account of already existing European species action plans, such as
the Turtle Dove action plan and the EU Wet Grassland Wader action plan. Furthermore,
cooperation is expected with the Biodiversity Partnership and other relevant Horizon Europe
missions and partnerships.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-07: Protection and sustainable management of forest
genetic resources of high interest for biodiversity, climate change adaptation, and forest
reproductive materials
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: In line with the EU biodiversity and climate change objectives, successful
proposals will support the protection and sustainable use of forest genetic resources by
contributing to a better insight into the characteristics of genetic resources in the climate
change context, adaptive and biodiversity supporting practices in forestry and the
enhancement of Europe’s ambition in the international biodiversity agenda and international
conventions.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Improved cooperation and knowledge sharing on deploying and conserving forest
      genetic resources in Europe;
   Better conservation of unique tree lineages for forest ecosystem restoration and
      management;
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   Sustainable use of genetic resources within the forest community in a climate change
     context;
   Efficient implementation of the Access and Benefit Sharing Regulation in the EU.
Scope: Diversity of forest genetic resources provides the adaptive potential for tree species
and populations to cope with climatic changes and future challenges. The adaptive potential
of forests depends on their demographic history and the forces of natural selection. It also
depends on forestry activities and the choice of species and populations that show better
potential for adaptation to climate change or to subsequent effects of climate change.
Provenance trials and common garden trials allow for the assessment of phenotypic responses
in various environmental conditions and genomic backgrounds and therefore, genotype X
environment interactions. New provenance trials in new environments including populations
from range and habitat margins, coupled with genomic analysis of the provenances should
provide insights to improve adaptive forest management.
Proposals should:
   Conduct research and networking on provenance trials or common gardens, with new
     trials and reassessment of older provenance tests using phenotypic traits related to
     climate change adaptation. This analysis should guide adaptive forest management to
     choose appropriate forest reproductive material, including its use through assisted
     migration. This may also lead to a requirement for research into adaptive silvicultural
     management of stands to support the efficient and sustainable deployment of forest
     genetic resources.
   Evaluate the impact of forestry activities on forest genetic diversity, develop new
     cultural trajectories to protect and sustainably use forest genetic resources in naturally
     regenerated forests, and quantify the ecosystem services provided by forest genetic
     resources.
   Focus on methods and strategies to breed forest reproductive material with a higher
     genetic diversity, to diversify tree species composition when establishing new forests
     and regenerating existing forests. Biomass properties, essential for wood-based products
     as well as properties related to resilience to climate change induced disturbances, need to
     be safeguarded or enhanced in the new reproductive material.
   Develop methods and tools to expand the production capacity of nurseries and the
     diversity of forest reproductive material produced to anticipate and mitigate the impact
     of extreme weather events, stimulate the development of nurseries in regions where
     forest reproductive material with useful characteristics is available, establish an EU
     network of forest nurseries assisting each other with the provision of forest reproductive
     material, and ensure the traceability of the material from the nursery to the final planting
     site.
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   Expand the EU Forest Reproductive Material Information System (FOREMATIS) and
      link it with existing information systems to provide information on genetic conservation
      units with useful properties, to serve as a decision-support tool on where to best source
      and/or plant forest reproductive material. This would take into account current/future
      climatic conditions, and create an archive for future generations that should allow the
      tracking of exact planting site and performance of forest reproductive material.
   Cover different climate/biogeographical regions in Europe.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Enabling transformative change on biodiversity
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-08: Assessing the nexus of extraction, production,
consumption, trade and behaviour patterns and of climate change action on biodiversity
in the context of transformative change
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                       states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
Expected Outcome: In line with the EU biodiversity strategy, a successful proposal must
develop knowledge and tools to understand the role of transformative change for biodiversity
policy making, address the indirect drivers of biodiversity loss, and initiate, accelerate and
upscale biodiversity-relevant transformative changes in our society.
Projects must address all of the following outcomes:
   Economically, socially, ethically and institutionally viable and sustainable pathways are
      designed to minimise biodiversity loss or to enhance biodiversity. These pathways
      should consider mutually influencing extraction, production, consumption, trade patterns
      in the medium- and long-term (beyond 2030).
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     Improve understanding of the human dimensions impacting biodiversity i.e. ethics,
      social context, institutions, organisation, behaviour will provide policy makers, industrial
      stakeholders and civil society the tools needed to reframe their actions, by highlighting
      the synergies of mainstreaming biodiversity with climate transitions, including on how to
      avoid or minimise trade-offs.
     Better understand social norms and behaviours, linked to socio-economic values (e.g.
      ethics, social context of individuals, consumers, institutions, organisations, industry)
      affecting biodiversity.
     Inform and motivate transformational change through learning, co-creation and dialogue
      based on case studies. The understanding of the biodiversity inter-dependencies of the
      SDGs has improved; IPBES and IPCC are strengthened through European research and
      innovation. Provide a set of approaches, tools and knowledge influence policies at the
      appropriate level on transformative change for biodiversity – the key elements for this
      change are delivered by the portfolio of cooperating projects (of which these projects
      form part).
With focus on assessing the nexus of extraction, production (including processing),
consumption, trade and behaviour patterns, including transformative changes for climate
change on biodiversity for the EU and Associated Countries, international cooperation in
particular with African countries, Brazil, Latin American and Caribbean countries or the
Mediterranean region is strongly encouraged.
Scope: Proposals should address all the following points:
     Assess how extraction, production, processing, consumption, trade, behaviour patterns,
      especially linked to primary production (e.g. livestock with/or energy crops, etc.
      including through tele-coupling from consumption and all along supply chains),
      integrated food systems, and transformative changes towards climate neutrality, affect
      biodiversity and ecosystem services.
     Develop pathways together with key industries and key stakeholders to minimise loss of,
      and enhance biodiversity, whilst increasing the delivery of a wide range of ecosystem
      services. These industries cover food, feed, fibre, energy production and the wider food
      chain (related to bio-economy, renewable energies, infrastructure, technologies)122, and
      the deployment of climate mitigation and adaptation measures potentially harmful for
      biodiversity (e.g. concrete walls in coastal areas, replacement of biodiversity rich
      ecosystems for energy crops, etc.).
     Identify and address leverage points for transformational change in trade, triggering
      changes in established and new production and consumption patterns for new business
      models.
122
         Based on the development of sustainable pathways as issued by projects such as CD-LINKS and
         EUCalc.
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     Highlight the potential of (1) public procurement for delivering biodiversity benefits and
      (2) nature-based solutions for enabling and accelerating the relevant aspects of
      transformative change.
     Quantify investments into infrastructure and labour that could be shifted from impacting
      biodiversity negatively towards benefits for biodiversity, including the anticipation,
      mitigation and management of social, institutional and economic conflicts this may
      trigger (or decrease), to achieve a just transition process.
     Understand and engage communities and other social actors, including through citizens
      science, and initiate behavioural changes leading to production and consumption patterns
      preventing further biodiversity loss.
     Cooperate with ongoing activities to include biodiversity into integrated assessment
      models123 and analyse the usability of existing and emerging concepts such as ‘Planetary
      Boundaries’, ‘Doughnut Economy’, ‘Environmental Footprints’.
     Explain the relevance of transition pathways for biodiversity for competitive
      sustainability, towards a just transition in the full range of SDGs and climate neutrality.
Unsustainable production and consumption, including the role of trade for linking both, are
pushing many of the direct drivers of biodiversity loss: land use change, overexploitation,
climate change and pollution. Proposals should, based on a clear understanding of these
relationships 124 address how leverage points and levers can be identified and used for
generating benefits for biodiversity, e.g. through revision of regulation, standards, funding
practices or governance processes.
They should highlight how the primary production sectors (in particular in agriculture,
forestry, fisheries, raw material extraction, and also the construction sector) and the related
infrastructure and energy provision and use impacts biodiversity directly. They should show
effects on the direction of economic development, which leads to lock-in effects, inequalities,
lack of capacities of institutions at every level to shift towards sustainable use, the protection
and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem services. On patterns of consumption, proposals
should show how their impacts such as uneven use and exploitation of resources, generation
of waste and pollution, value setting, power setting in societies, institutions and financial
streams could be addressed in business, institutional and consumer agendas to achieve
positive outcomes for biodiversity.
Proposals should assess the cultural diversity that influences these compromises and people’s
engagement, and lead the way to further mainstream biodiversity in socio-economic and
environmental agendas, from the transformative aspect of changing extraction, production and
processing, consumption, trade and behaviour patterns, including on actions for addressing
123
         Such as activities stemming from CL5-D1-CSR-07-2021/2, CL5-D1-CSR-09-2021/2 and CL5-D1-
         CSR-15-2021/2
124
         As provided in IPBES (2018, 2019), IPCC (2019), EKLIPSE and EC (2020), GBO-5 (2020), FP7 and
         H2020 projects on climate and urban transitions. See also http://www.biodiversitybarometer.org/
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
climate change on biodiversity. They should also analyse and test the use of nature-based
solutions as tool in this regard. Optimal and cost-effective use of behavioural games, networks
of sensors, GIS-mapping, big data and observational programmes such as the European Earth
observation programme Copernicus, through the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and the
Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) as well as citizens' observatories,
should be used as appropriate to enable the integration and visualisation of data.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
Proposals should build their analysis upon the links between multiple Sustainable
Development Goals, to deliver direct and indirect biodiversity benefits, and of the role of
biodiversity in reaching the set of Sustainable Development Goals, when related to extraction,
production, consumption, trade and behaviour patterns.
Proposals should produce case studies and collect good and bad examples that could inform
these transformations and inform and inspire transformative change through learning, co-
creation and dialogue.
Proposals should include specific tasks and ensure sufficient resources to develop joint
deliverables (e.g. activities, workshops, as well as joint communication and dissemination)
with all projects on transformative change related to biodiversity. This concerns projects
funded under this destination, or under calls included in Destination ‘Fair, healthy and
environmentally-friendly food systems from primary production to consumption’ related to
transformational change (Fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food systems from
primary production to consumption) that aim to deliver various co-benefits, including on the
reduction of biodiversity loss. Projects should use existing platforms and information sharing
mechanisms relevant for transformational change and on biodiversity knowledge 125 .
Cooperation and possibly synergies with relevant topics in Cluster 5 should be explored and
established as relevant. Furthermore, cooperation is expected with the European partnership
on biodiversity and with the Science Service.
Proposals should show how their results might provide timely information for major science-
policy bodies such as the Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and
Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), as
well as the Convention on Biological Diversity on project outcomes. Cooperation is requested
with projects under ‘HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-20: Support to processes triggered by
IPBES and IPCC’ and ‘HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-10: Cooperation with the
Convention on Biological Diversity’.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of social science and humanities
disciplines.
125
        BISE, Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity, BiodivERsA, Oppla, NetworkNature and their joint work
        streams
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HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-09: Understanding the role of behaviour, gender
specifics, lifestyle, religious and cultural values, and addressing the role of enabling
players (civil society, policy makers, financing and business leaders, retailers) in decision
making
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      3.00 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: In line with the EU biodiversity strategy, a successful proposal will
develop knowledge and tools to understand the role of transformative change for biodiversity
policy making, finance and business leaders, address the indirect drivers of biodiversity loss,
and initiate, accelerate and upscale biodiversity-relevant transformative changes in our
society.
The projects should address all of the following outcomes:
   Inform approaches tackling biodiversity loss and implementing nature-based solutions
      that consider how behaviour, lifestyles, religious, societal and cultural values shape the
      choices of producers and consumers, institutions and their policy decisions.
   The motives behind broad societal changes and transitions are taken up in the design of
      relevant policies, communication and engagement campaigns and other actions.
   Leverage points in those sectors with the greatest impact on biodiversity are addressed,
      as the role of decisive actors (civil society, education institutions, policy makers,
      financing and business leaders, retailers) and their inter-sectorial consultation is known.
      This includes human rights and due diligence across economic value chains, as well as
      the role of employment patterns for a just transition.
   The understanding of the biodiversity inter-dependencies of the SDGs has improved;
      IPBES and IPCC are strengthened by the contribution of European research and
      innovation. Approaches, tools and knowledge influence policies at the adequate level on
      transformative change for biodiversity – the key elements for this change are delivered
      by the portfolio of cooperating projects (of which these projects form part).
Scope: Proposals should engage with civil society organisations – in particular those working
on gender, diversity, equity and inclusion –, social partners, policy makers, financing,
industry and business leaders, and retailers and value-led (such as religious and cultural)
institutions when addressing the role of enabling players for transformative changes in
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
biodiversity actions, exemplified at relevant levels from local to global. They should identify
and test measures to overcome barriers for behaviour changes in biodiversity action,
considering ethical questions in behavioural economics, e.g. linked to future generations. This
should acknowledge the interdependence of the climate and biodiversity crisis.
The proposals should explore intersectionality approaches and consider interlocking systems
of power between gender and other social categories and identities such as religion, ethnicity
and race (including migrants and refugees), social class and wealth, gender identity and sexual
orientation and disability to better address access to and ownership of nature-based solutions.
The proposals should analyse and address the impact of intrinsic vs economic/utilitarian
values. They should include an estimation of the importance of engineered vs haphazard
policy making factors at relevant levels, and specify and address effects of processes affecting
adherence to democracy, voting campaigns, science denialism126.
The proposals should build their analysis upon the synergies of multiple Sustainable
Development Goals, to deliver direct and indirect biodiversity benefits, and of the role of
biodiversity in reaching the set of Sustainable Development Goals, considering the
importance of behaviour, lifestyle, religious and cultural values.
The proposals should produce case studies and collect good and failed examples that could
inform these transformations 127 and inform and inspire transformative change through
learning, co-creation and dialogue.
Proposals should include specific tasks and provide sufficient resources to develop joint
deliverables (e.g. activities, workshops, as well as joint communication and dissemination)
with all projects with all projects on transformative change related to biodiversity funded
under this destination, and should use existing platforms and information sharing mechanisms
relevant for transformational change and on biodiversity knowledge 128 . Furthermore,
cooperation is expected with the European partnership on biodiversity and the Science
Service (HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-19: A mechanism for science to inform
implementation, monitoring, review and ratcheting up of the new EU biodiversity strategy for
2030 (‘Science Service’). Proposals should show how their results might provide timely
information for major science-policy bodies such as the Intergovernmental science-policy
Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC), as well as the Convention on Biological Diversity on project
outcomes. Cooperation is expected with projects ‘HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-20:
Support to processes triggered by IPBES and IPCC’ and ‘HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-
2022-01-10: Cooperation with the Convention on Biological Diversity’.
126
        Cooperation with Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call topic 10.2 is encouraged
127
        Using results from previous projects and initiatives at EU and global level (see also project
        POLICYMIX and studies such as http://www.biodiversitybarometer.org/ or https://portfolio.earth/) and
        referring to, and critically assessing, the understanding of transformative change in IPBES and GBO-5,
        EEA
128
        BISE, Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity, BiodivERsA, Oppla, NetworkNature and their joint work
        streams
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
This topic should involve the effective contribution of social science and humanities
disciplines.
Interconnecting biodiversity research and supporting policies
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-10: Cooperation with the Convention on Biological
Diversity
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: In line with the Commission priority 'A stronger Europe in the world', to
implement the EU Green Deal and demonstrated leadership as outlined in the EU biodiversity
strategy for 2030, a successful proposal will increase the European support to the Convention
on Biological Diversity.
The project results must contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    A dedicated mechanism for scientific and technical cooperation of the EU and associated
      countries with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) delivers support for its
      working groups and task forces, and for the respective subsidiary bodies (including the
      Informal Advisory Group on Technical and Scientific Cooperation).
    Improved coherence in how the EU and associated countries contribute to CBD (e.g.
      SBSTTA/SBI) and to IPBES processes in cooperation with HORIZON-CL6-2021-
      BIODIV-01-20: Support to processes triggered by IPBES and IPCC.
Scope:
    Research on biodiversity and nature-based solutions has made good progress in the last
      years, but must be stepped up to achieve targeted impacts on biodiversity-relevant
      policies. Global initiatives, in turn, should provide structured policy input into the
      research cycle. This is also key to guiding biodiversity governance, and to implement the
      EU Green Deal and international conventions. In line with the Commission priority 'A
      stronger Europe in the world', the EU must demonstrate leadership in this field, notably
      by increasing its support to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
    The proposals should cover all the following points:
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         Deliver a dedicated mechanism for scientific and technical cooperation of the EU
            and Associated Countries with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) for
            its Informal Advisory Group on Technical and Scientific Cooperation.
         In cooperation with the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity, deliver on the
            European technical and knowledge contribution to a global biodiversity platform
            for biodiversity, and support the implementation of the CBD monitoring framework
            (including in collaboration with EU and national monitoring initiatives and the
            Biodiversity Indicators Partnership),
         Improve biodiversity knowledgeto better understand gaps in global biodiversity
            action and to identify the needs for stepping (“ratcheting”) up biodiversity
            commitments and action.
         Engage and support European researchers participating in CBD working groups
            and task forces, and the CBD’s subsidiary bodies, and provide this expertise to
            UNFCCC processes.
         Provide technical and scientific support to negotiators from the EU and associated
            countries in preparing and at SBSTTA/SBI meetings and CBD COPs.
         Share relevant information so that the EU can lead and cooperate on worldwide
            research, which includes targeted capacity building for central and eastern
            European and associated countries.
     Proposals should indicate which specific tasks they plan to deliver at the end of year one.
      This should be relevant and timely for the policy agenda of the Global Biodiversity
      Agenda, and for the international dimension of the EU biodiversity strategy.
     Proposals should then deliver regular (e.g. every six months) input according to the
      agenda of SBSTTA and SBI to the EC services, and continuous support for the
      Working/Advisory Groups under CBD, in cooperation with the Science Service
      (HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-19: A mechanism for science to inform
      implementation, monitoring, review and ratcheting up of the new EU biodiversity
      strategy for 2030 (“Science Service”), the Biodiversity Partnership, and further relevant
      instruments, tools and mechanisms129. Its results, where relevant, should be accessible
      through the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity, according to agreed standards.
      Proposals should outline sufficient resources for such cooperation and contribute to the
      strategic dialogues into the KCBD forum.
Call - Biodiversity and ecosystem services
                                                       HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-02-two-stage
129
         Such as BISE, Oppla, EKLIPSE, NetworkNature, EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)130
                         Topics                               Type Budgets          Expected      Number
                                                                of      (EUR           EU             of
                                                             Action million) contribution projects
                                                                                   per project expected
                                                                         2022         (EUR          to be
                                                                                            131
                                                                                   million)        funded
                                           Opening: 28 Oct 2021
                Deadline(s): 15 Feb 2022 (First Stage), 01 Sep 2022 (Second Stage)
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-02-01-two-                           IA       20.00       6.00        to 3
stage                                                                             10.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-02-02-two-                           IA       14.00       Around          2
stage                                                                             7.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-02-03-two-                           RIA      12.00       Around          2
stage                                                                             6.00
Overall indicative budget                                             46.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
130
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
131
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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                 Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Managing biodiversity in primary production
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-02-01-two-stage: Maintaining and restoring pollinators
and pollination services in European agricultural landscapes
Specific conditions
Expected EU         The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 6.00
contribution per    and 10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project             appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                    selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget   The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action      Innovation Actions
Eligibility         The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                    Project consortia must give evidence that they have the rights to
                    undertake actions on the areas to be restored.
                    The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                    The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                    multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Procedure           The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                    apply:
                    Grants will be awarded to proposals according to the ranking list.
                    However, in order to ensure a balanced portfolio of supported actions, at
                    least the two highest-ranked proposals covering action mainly in the
                    European Union and Associated Countries will be funded provided that
                    they attain all thresholds.
Expected Outcome: Responding to the EU Green Deal, the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030
and the farm to fork Strategy, a successful proposal will restore pollinator-habitats, support
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
the development of pollinator-friendly policies, business models and market conditions, by
helping to establish sustainable, productive, climate-neutral and resilient farming systems by
minimising pressure on ecosystems, delivering a wide range of ecosystem services, improving
public health and generating fair economic returns for farmers. Projects should address all of
the following outcomes:
     Agricultural landscapes that are dominated by intensively managed crops and grasslands,
      are restored 132 through co-designed (with farmers and other land managers, local
      communities, agricultural advisory services, landscape planners, the nature conservation
      sector etc.) large-scale, experimental pollinator-friendly practices and services and
      through social innovation processes, such as new innovative approaches to enhance
      community participatory planning and innovative business models.
     Management, restoration, conservation and connectivity of wild pollinator habitats
      follow scientific and policy recommendations, which have been tested in the projects on
      their applicability. The range of recommendations in question is set in the Assessment
      Report on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production of IPBES 133 and the updated
      Plan of Action of the international initiative on the conservation and sustainable use of
      pollinators134.
     Systemic approaches provide an effective enabling environment for stakeholder actions.
      They demonstrate that coherent and comprehensive policies for the conservation and
      sustainable use of pollinators at various governance levels can be demonstrated at least
      at landscape scale. , and contributing to foster sustainable agricultural practices while
      ensuring farming viability and profitability, for different agricultural sectors.
     Improved coordination in governance, as well as enhanced data accessibility, financing
      and maintenance agreements for actions beneficial for pollinators are achieved
     Adaptive management of measures for the conservation and sustainable use of
      pollinators is informed by continuous monitoring and assessing of the outcomes,
      including by using results-based payment schemes.
Scope: This topic aims at maintaining and restoring species-rich pollinator communities and
their services in agricultural landscapes dominated by intensive land use, and facilitating the
uptake of pollinator-friendly practices at wider scale.
The direct and indirect drivers of pollinator decline are cross-cutting in nature .This calls for
the need to ensure policy coherence and to integrate pollinator and pollination considerations
not only in policy measures that support the transition towards more sustainable agricultural
132
         “Restoration” is based on CBD guidance on ecosystem restoration, and in line with the EU 2030
         biodiversity strategy whose Restoration Plan aims to help bring diverse and resilient nature back to all
         landscapes and ecosystems. On experience of the LIFE programme, see i.a.
         https://ec.europa.eu/easme/sites/easme-site/files/restoration_of_intensified_farmland_life_platform_-
         _final.pdf
133
         IPBES (2018) https://ipbes.net/assessment-reports/pollinators
134
         As adopted in CBD/COP/DEC/14/6..
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
practices, but also across sectors (for example forestry, consumption and health) and at
different spatial scales (farm, landscape, ecosystem).
Despite efforts, many of the main direct drivers of pollinator loss have remained largely
unchanged over the years: habitat fragmentation and land use change, the widespread use of
synthetic chemicals in agriculture and in other sectors, invasive alien species, and pathogens
(in case of managed pollinators). In particular, great attention has been focused on drivers
linked to intensive agricultural practices, such as monoculture, and the use of synthetic
fertilisers and pesticides that can have direct and indirect effects on pollinators. In addition,
the increasing negative impact on pollinator habitats of other direct drivers, such as climate
change, have exacerbated the problem.
This topic aims at restoring and maintaining species-rich pollinator communities and their
services in agricultural landscapes characterised by intensive farming practices, and
facilitating the uptake of pollinator-friendly practices in the agricultural sector at a wide scale,
in different pedo-climatic conditions across Europe. The proposed projects should emphasise
mainstreaming pollination concerns into policies, developing and implementing measures on
the ground to support the conservation and sustainable use of pollinators, addressing risks,
and building capacity. In doing this, they should involve all relevant stakeholders along the
agri-food chain and share knowledge on multiple levels to integrate pollination considerations
into farming, land use and other management decisions, focusing collaborative research on
emerging issues and prevailing needs.
The proposed projects should build on existing experience135 in particular on lessons learned
and best practices gained through EU-funded projects and initiatives such as those supported
by Horizon 2020, Results-Based Payment Scheme projects 136 , the LIFE programme, and
prepare the uptake of approaches developed and tested in this topic into future EU-funded
activities (such as LIFE, the common agricultural policy, Horizon Europe). The proposals
should show how their results may contribute to the EU Pollinators Initiative137, feed into
relevant IPBES functions, and ensure cooperation with the Convention on Biological
Diversity. Coordination with the two following topics should be envisaged: ‘HORIZON-CL6-
2022-BIODIV-01-10: Cooperation with the Convention on Biological Diversity’ and
‘HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-20: Support to processes triggered by IPBES and IPCC’.
Projects are expected to secure additional funding or in-kind contributions when
implementing restoration actions.
Proposals should include specific tasks and envisage sufficient resources to develop joint
deliverables (e.g. activities, workshops, as well as joint communication and dissemination)
with all projects funded under this topic for aspects of horizontal nature and for cooperation
135
         Based on and/or informing the EU Pollinators Initiative, the Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity, BISE,
         and further projects and initiatives of EU importance and globally such as SC5-32-2020: Addressing
         wild pollinators decline and its effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services, or EcoStack, POSHBEE,
         B-GOOD and IPMWORKS, EIP-AGRI, the Focus Group on Bee Health and Sustainable Bee Keeping
         https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/en/focus-groups/bee-health-and-sustainable-beekeeping
136
         https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/rbaps
137
         https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/species/pollinators/index_en.htm
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
with other projects such as BiodivERsA, Oppla, the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity,
relevant H2020 projects such as SHOWCASE and HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-08:
‘Agroforestry to meet climate, biodiversity and farming sustainability goals’. Actions should
use existing platforms and information sharing mechanisms relevant for pollinators and the
restoration of their habitats. Furthermore, cooperation is expected with the European
partnership on biodiversity138 and with the Science Service (HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-
01-19: A mechanism for science to inform implementation, monitoring, review and ratcheting
up the new EU biodiversity strategy (‘Science Service’), and with other large-scale initiatives
under Horizon Europe, such as the candidate partnership on agroecology, living labs, research
infrastructures and the proposed mission ‘Caring for soils is caring for life’.
The proposals should address all of the following points:
     Demonstrate measures to diversify large-scale farming systems and the resulting feeding
      resources and habitats of pollinators in agricultural lands, grasslands and semi-natural
      areas, through agro-ecological practices, including organic farming and agroforestry, as
      well as through home gardens, and forestry systems where relevant to the restored
      landscapes, with a view to ensure heterogeneous habitats formed by native species that
      offer diversified floral and nesting resources for pollinators;
     Create set-asides for nature, such as uncultivated patches of vegetation, to enhance floral
      diversity, and to ensure native, diverse, abundant and continuous floral resources for
      pollinator across time and space;
The two points mentioned above combined should cover at least 50% of the proposed budget.
     Analyse and evaluate different options to protect and conserve threatened pollinator
      species as well as their natural environment, and elaborate the requirements to promote
      recognition of pollinator-friendly practices and consequences on pollination functions
      and services in existing certification schemes; and develop methods for the inclusion of
      pollinator conservation into ecosystem restoration frameworks (in particular on
      grassland and other agro-ecosystems).
     Develop prototypes of potential extension services, farmer-to-farmer sharing approaches
      and farmer field schools to strengthen synergies between scientific evidence, traditional
      knowledge, conservation and farmer-researcher community practices, to exchange
      knowledge and provide hands-on education and empowerment of local farming
      communities on pollinators. This could include for instancefostering networks for
      exchanges of native seeds
     Elaborate, based on the large-scale approach, how the promotion of coherent policies
      across sectors and issues (e.g. biodiversity, agriculture and food security, chemicals and
      pollution, reduction of inequality, climate change and disaster risk reduction) could look
      like for pollinators. This scalability plan should be developed with the involvement of
138
         https://www.biodiversa.org/1759
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
      the communities concerned, and should include the dissemination of innovative
      solutions and practices, and a process for commitments in adopting large-scale
      restoration of pollinator communities within governance and financing systems, to allow
      replication and upscaling across the EU, associated countries and internationally. It
      should seek guarantees for the non-reversibility and/or continuity of restoration activities
      and/or further replication and/or expansion, implementation of sustainable management
      practices and monitoring after the end of the projects.
     Assess and propose options to develop and implement innovative incentives, consistent
      with international obligations, for farmers and other actors along the agri-food chain, to
      encourage the adoption of pollinator-friendly practices (e.g. carbon sequestration
      measures that increase pollinator habitats; conservation of uncultivated areas for
      pollinator forage; communication to consumers and other actors on the benefits of
      pollinator-friendly practices, etc). This should also cover assessing the impacts on
      farmers’ income, on overall business performance of farms, as well as on social aspects
      in farming communities.
     Build on existing knowledge, developed inter alia by EU-funded research projects, to
      assess options to remove or reduce incentives that are harmful to pollinators and their
      habitats (e.g. pesticides subsidies; incentives for pesticide use as credit requirements
      from banks), and to promote alternative approaches to pesticide use (e.g. Integrated Pest
      Management), taking into consideration the needs of farmers, gardeners, land managers,
      indigenous people, local communities and other stakeholders139;
     Design and test a system to monitor the effectiveness of the large-scale interventions,
      taking into consideration the scale-dependent aspects of protecting pollinators and
      managing pollination functions and services, using standard methods in line with the
      proposal for an EU Pollinator Monitoring Scheme 140 , and contribute to their
      improvement.
The proposals should develop scientifically robust and transparent methodologies, building on
achievements from previous research activities. To ensure trustworthiness, swift and wide
adoption by user communities, and to support EU and national (including from associated
countries) policy-makers, actions should adopt high standards of transparency and openness,
going beyond documentation of results and extending to aspects such as assumptions, models
and data quality during the projects life.
Applicants are reminded that costs for land purchase or lease are not eligible costs in the
context of activities of research and innovation or innovation projects.
139
         In cooperation with e.g. Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe calls on Integrated Pest Management
140
         https://wikis.ec.europa.eu/display/EUPKH/EU+Pollinator+Monitoring+Scheme
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-02-02-two-stage: Boosting breeding for a sustainable,
resilient and competitive European legume sector
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 14.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                          The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                          multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal should support the objectives of the EU
biodiversity strategy and the farm to fork strategy to transition to a fair, healthy and resilient
European agriculture, notably its objective to foster EU-grown plant proteins, in line with the
‘’Report on the development of plant proteins in the EU’’141. They should do so by increasing
the availability of crops and breeds that cater for the specific needs of the legume sector, thus
supporting increased (agro-) biodiversity and the transition to sustainable, productive,
climate-neutral and resilient farming systems that minimise pressure on ecosystems while
ensuring fair economic returns for farmers and food consumption that is sustainable in terms
of both health and the environment.
Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
     Improved legume varieties for different attributes/traits (e.g., resilience to abiotic and
      biotic stresses, nutrient composition, food and feed processing, flavour, etc.);
     Improved availability of and open access to data on breeding methods and legume
      breeding research outcomes;
     Increased competitiveness of the legume breeding sector through cost-effective legume
      breeding methods, novel governance models, testing, training and networking;
141
        https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52018DC0757
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    Improved biodiversity and diversification of farming systems and agri-food value chains,
       as well as increased farmers’ competitiveness through the implementation of crop
       rotation systems based on the cultivation of legumes;
    Improved delivery of environmental services from agriculture, including the reduction of
       greenhouse gas and air pollution emissions.
Scope: Legume crops are a source of food, feed and environmental services. For instance,
legumes have the unique capacity to fix nitrogen in the soil and therefore improve soil
fertility, while at the same time reducing the need to use conventional inorganic fertilisers.
Legumes have an important role to play in the transition towards more sustainable farming
systems that provide economic, environmental and social benefits and address relevant
objectives of the EU biodiversity and farm to fork strategies. In view of the global increase in
protein demand, a sustainable diversification of protein sources in the EU and Associated
Countries needs to be explored and developed. Legume crops have a significant role to play in
this regard. However, for a variety of reasons, legume production in the EU and Associated
Countries is not sufficiently developed. Amongst others, a lack of breeding efforts and
insufficient use of genetic resources are responsible for the low percentage of arable land
currently used for legumes, despite their agronomic and environmental benefits. Closing gaps
in breeding (traditional and new varieties) including facilitating knowledge and best practices
sharing in legume breeding, can be a key driver for improving the competitiveness of legume
crops grown in the EU and Associated Countries.
Proposals should build on the results of relevant EU-funded research projects. Proposals must
implement the 'multi-actor approach' and ensure adequate involvement of farmers, the
breeding sector and other relevant actors of the value chain. This topic is open for the
breeding needs of the legume sector in conventional, agroecological and organic farming, and
addresses all climate / biogeographical regions in the EU and Associated Countries. In order
to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is strongly encouraged. Proposals
should include a clear plan to collaborate with other projects selected under this topic. In this
topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Proposals should develop a catalogue of legume species and varieties and desired
characteristics driven by demands in the EU and Associated Countries food and feed chains.
Proposals should develop a range of measures to improve legume varieties for different
attributes, such as higher and more stable yields, enhanced tolerance to abiotic and biotic
stresses, resource efficiency, increased nitrogen-fixing capacity (e.g. enhanced use of plant
root-microbiome interactions within rhizosphere layer), and enhanced nutritional quality, food
and feed processing, etc., through pre-breeding and breeding activities and tapping into local
and traditional varieties where relevant. Proposals should improve screening techniques to
better understand genetic relationships, origin and susceptibility to specific attributes.
Proposals should build an open repository of breeding methods and breeding research
outcomes for different attributes. Proposals should analyse the cost-effectiveness of legume
breeding methods and identify the best varieties suited for given uses (e.g. crop rotation,
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
extensive agricultural livestock systems, etc.). Case studies of innovative engagement of value
chain partners in legume breeding initiatives in different contexts should be analysed and key
factors of success should be identified. Governance and financial models should be developed
to support legume breeding initiatives that are inclusive for all actors in the value chain and
that build linkages among those actors, with a view to strengthening legume demand.
Proposals should design training packages tailored to the specific needs of different actors in
the legume breeding and seed business to strengthen their capacities to achieve breeding
gains. Building on existing tools or mechanisms, where relevant, proposals should set up a
transdisciplinary EU and Associated Countries wide platform to facilitate trans-national and
trans-regional knowledge and best practices sharing in legume breeding, including facilitating
cross-regional testing of varieties. Proposals should foster demonstration and testing of
legume breeding in different regions, with emphasis in regions where the legume breeding
sector is less developed.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-02-03-two-stage: Resilient beekeeping
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                     requesting different amounts.
Indicative           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
budget
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                     The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                     multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Procedure            The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                     apply:
                     To ensure a balanced portfolio covering biotic and abiotic factors, grants
                     will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but at least
                     also to one project within the biotic stressors (i.e. diseases) that is the
                     highest ranked, and one project highest ranked within the abiotic stressors,
                     if the applications attain all thresholds .
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal will support the objective of the biodiversity
strategy and the farm to fork strategy to transition to fair, healthy and resilient European
agriculture, and contribute to preserve biodiversity and strengthen the resilience and
sustainability of specific farming sectors. It will contribute to the impacts related to a better
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
knowledge of the biodiversity decline and of the interrelations between biodiversity, health
and climate, as well as to the practices in agriculture supporting biodiversity and other
ecosystem services.
The proposed projects are expected to contribute to a better understanding of agroecosystems
practices that can sustain honeybees, to enhanced preservation of honeybee genetic resources
and their use in breeding, and to mitigation of impacts of beekeeping activities on wild
pollinators.
   Improved resilience of beekeeping against stresses like climate change, nutritional
     stresses, pathogens and chemicals;
   Support to stakeholders associated with beekeeping, trade, services, monitoring and
     control through increased knowledge on honeybee immunity and nutrition;
   Improved capacity to deal with relevant honeybee pathogens;
   Robust evidence-based understanding of the importance of diversity within honeybee
     populations;
   Improved understanding of the impacts of beekeeping activities on wild pollinators and
     strengthened capacity to address them.
Scope: Resilience of beekeeping is important both for pollination services and for the
honeybee production sector. Bees are subject to numerous biotic and abiotic stressors (e.g.
loss of feed resources, exposure to various chemicals, invasive species and/or pathogens) and
the impact of climate change on honeybees requires further attention. The biology of
honeybees, including immunity and nutrition is still poorly understood, as is the role of
genetic diversity within honeybee populations and interactions between honeybees and their
environment.
The proposals will address relevant areas of research as appropriate:
   Develop technologies and strategies for beekeepers to adapt to climate change and
     possibly contribute to mitigate climate change, including the design of novel beehives
     equipment, technologies and management protocols;
   Perform baseline studies on immunity, health, nutrition, and genetic diversity and
     resistance of honeybees in line with their biological performance;
   Develop tools for assessing potential impacts of beekeeping on wild pollinators at
     landscape scale, strategies for mitigating those impacts, and tools tailored to public
     authorities for planning and decision-making with regard to optimal deployment of bee
     hives at local or regional level, taking into account among others nutrition requirements
     and landscape factors;
   Address at least Varroa destructor and possibly other honeybee mites, as well as Aethina
     tumida
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   Review the key biological mechanisms of Varroa destructor, which determine its
      multiplication in a hive, including its potential connection with other pathogens, and
      identify possible novel areas to target with potential new control methods, including bee
      genetic resistance, especially in light of the experience and limitations of the attempts to
      fight it in Europe in the last decades;
   Assess the vulnerability and preparedness of the EU honeybee-keeping sector in relation
      to Aethina tumida and Tropilaelaps spp. which are exotic or largely exotic to the EU
      (A.tumida is present in southern Italy), scrutinise strategies and practices in other
      countries (outside of EU) where these appeared recently, identify successful practices
      and suggest mitigation strategies for and by the beekeepers to live with these pathogens,
      in case of their eventual spread in the EU.
Proposals should include, if appropriate, a genetic component, looking at both the diversity of
honeybee populations and the possibility of breeding and conservation approaches to address
the identified challenge.
Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor approach’ and ensure adequate involvement of
beekeepers, farmers, agricultural advisory services, manufacturers, the veterinary profession,
ecology and nature conservation experts, and other relevant actors.
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Destination – Fair, healthy and environment-friendly food systems from
primary production to consumption
National, EU and global food systems are facing sustainability challenges, from primary
production to consumption, that could jeopardise food and nutrition security. The farm to fork
strategy, which is key to the success of the European Green Deal and achievement of the UN
sustainable development goals (SDGs), aims to address these challenges and to deliver co-
benefits for environment, health, society and the economy, ensuring that actions leading to
recovery from the COVID-19 crisis also put us onto a sustainable path going forward.
Research and innovation (R&I) are key drivers steering and accelerating the transition to
sustainable, safe, healthy and inclusive food systems, from farm to fork, thereby ensuring
food and nutrition security for all.
Sustainable farming systems provide a number of economic, environmental, social and
health benefits, and are the main prerequisite for food and nutrition security. For farmers, who
are the backbone of food systems and the immediate managers of natural resources, the Green
Deal sets ambitious targets with respect to the sustainability and safety of feed and food
production. These targets are included in the core Green Deal policy initiatives, in particular
the farm to fork strategy, the biodiversity strategy, zero pollution efforts and climate action.
R&I in line with the strategic approach to EU agricultural research and innovation142 will be
key enablers if these challenging targets are to be achieved. They will speed up the transition
to sustainable and competitive agriculture by unlocking the potential of agroecology 143 ,
including improving organic farming as part of the agroecological transition, boosting
production of EU-grown plant proteins and advancing digital and data technologies
(Destination ‘Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in
support of the Green Deal’). R&I will support farmers to manage land, soil, water and
nutrients in new, sustainable ways, in particular through the Horizon Europe mission in the
area of ‘soil health and food’. New knowledge and innovative solutions will improve plant
and animal health and welfare, prevent interspecies disease transmission through food
production and trade systems, and reduce farmers’ dependency on pesticides, antimicrobials
and other external inputs. Thanks to R&I, farming systems will maximise provision of a wide
range of ecosystem services from more sustainably managed EU agro‑ecosystems and
landscapes, and help to reverse the loss of biodiversity and soil fertility while ensuring
resilient primary production (Destination ‘Biodiversity and ecosystem services’). Farmers will
be better equipped to make a significant contribution to climate neutrality and become more
resilient to climate change (Destination ‘Land, ocean and water for climate action’). Also,
R&I will support the development of policy (in particular the common agricultural policy
(CAP)), business models and market conditions enabling transition to sustainable food and
farming systems. Effective agricultural knowledge and innovation systems (AKISs) will
speed up innovation and the uptake of R&I results from farm to fork (Destination ‘Innovative
142
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        research-and-innovation
143
        http://www.fao.org/3/i9037en/i9037en.pdf
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in support of the Green Deal’).
As a result, farmers will be able to transform their production methods and move to climate-
and environment‑friendly, and resilient farming systems, thereby contributing to sustainable
food value chains that provide producers with fair economic returns and consumers with
affordable, safe, healthy and sustainable food (Destinations ‘Biodiversity and ecosystem
services’ and ‘Land, ocean and water for climate action’).
Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture contribute directly to environment‑friendly,
inclusive, safe and healthy food production by providing highly nutritional proteins, lipids and
micronutrients for a healthy diet. Sustainably produced food from marine and freshwater
bodies can and should account for a much bigger proportion of our overall food consumption.
The farm to fork strategy seeks to help fishers and aquaculture producers to achieve better
climate and environmental results and to strengthen their position in the supply chain. R&I
will directly support the common fisheries policy (CFP) and deliver inclusive, diversified
approaches to allow fisheries management to adapt to different realities, including in the
international context. Sustainable and resilient aquaculture systems, including the use of low
trophic species (e.g. algae and herbivores), high animal welfare standards and alternative
sources of protein for food and feed, will increase seafood production and reduce its
environmental impact while adding economic value to the chain. Seafood security will benefit
from a drastic reduction in the current massive pre- and post-harvest losses in seafood
biomass. Producers’ and consumers’ awareness, trust and behaviour with respect to the
responsible production, consumption and disposal of seafood will contribute directly to the
competitiveness and sustainability of the sector. An overarching partnership for a
climate‑neutral, sustainable and productive blue economy will contribute to food security,
added value, blue growth and jobs in Europe through a jointly supported R&I programme in
the European seas, coastal and inland waters.
Transforming food systems for health, sustainability and inclusion requires robust,
system-wide changes at all governance levels (from local to global and vice versa) as food
systems are intertwined with all other sectors and are among the key drivers of climate change
and environmental degradation. Food systems are to be understood as covering all the sectors,
actors, stakeholders, organisations and disciplines relevant to and connecting primary
production from land and sea, food processing, food distribution and retailing, food services,
food consumption, food safety, nutrition and public health, and food waste streams. The
European Green Deal and, in particular, the farm to fork strategy support a shift to more
resilient and environmentally, socially and economically sustainable food systems, as required
to deliver safe, healthy, accessible and affordable food and diets for all sourced from land and
sea, while respecting planetary boundaries. This will involve a better understanding of the
multiple interactions between the components of current food systems, to foster solutions that
maximise co-benefits with respect to the four priorities of the Commission’s ‘Food 2030’ R&I
initiative:
    nutrition and health, including food safety;
    climate and environmental sustainability;
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
    circularity and resource efficiency; and
    innovation and empowering communities.
R&I will accelerate the transition to sustainable, healthy and inclusive food systems by
delivering in various areas: dietary shifts towards sustainable and healthy nutrition; supply of
alternative and plant-based proteins; prevention and reduction of food loss and waste;
microbiome applications; improving food safety and traceability; fighting food fraud;
behavioural change; personalised nutrition; urban food systems (Destination ‘Resilient,
inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and urban communities’); food systems governance
and systems science; and digital and data-driven innovation (Destination ‘Innovative
governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in support of the Green Deal’).
R&I activities supporting the partnership for safe and sustainable food systems for people,
planet and climate will help identify and deliver innovative solutions providing co-benefits for
nutrition, food quality, the climate, circularity and communities.
The EU also aims to promote a global transition to sustainable food systems. Targeted R&I
activities, in particular under the EU-Africa Partnership on Food and Nutrition Security and
Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) and global initiatives involving international research
consortia, will contribute to this ambition.
Expected impacts:
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out credible pathways to fair, healthy,
safe, climate- and environment‑friendly, resilient food systems from primary production
to consumption, ensuring food and nutrition security for all within planetary boundaries
in the EU and globally.
More specifically, proposals should contribute to one or more of the following impacts:
    sustainable, productive, climate-neutral and resilient farming systems providing
      consumers with affordable, safe, traceable healthy and sustainable food, while
      minimising pressure on ecosystems, restoring and enhancing biodiversity, improving
      public health and generating fair economic returns for farmers;
    sustainable fisheries and aquaculture increasing aquatic biomass production,
      diversification and consumption of seafood products for fair, healthy, climate‑resilient
      and environment‑friendly food systems with low impact on aquatic ecosystems and high
      animal welfare; and
    sustainable, healthy and inclusive food systems delivering co-benefits for climate
      mitigation and adaptation, environmental sustainability and circularity, sustainable
      healthy nutrition, safe food consumption, food poverty reduction, the inclusion of
      marginalised people, the empowerment of communities, and flourishing businesses.
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
When considering their impact, proposals also need to assess their compliance with the ‘do no
significant harm’ principle144, whereby R&I projects should not support or involve activities
that significantly undermine any of the six environmental objectives of the EU Taxonomy
Regulation.
To unlock the full potential of R&I and maximise impacts, participatory approaches, e.g.
multi-actor approach, involving input from industry, technology providers, primary producers,
the food, drink and hospitality industry, consumers, citizens, local authorities, etc. should be
promoted with a view to co-creating innovative systemic solutions in support of food systems’
sustainability.
Topics under this destination should have impacts in the following impact areas of the
Horizon Europe strategic plan for 2021-2024:
     sustainable food systems from farm to fork on land and sea
     climate change mitigation and adaptation;
     enhancing ecosystems and biodiversity on land and in waters;
     good health and high-quality accessible healthcare;
     clean and healthy air, water and soil;
     a resilient EU prepared for emerging threats; and
     inclusive growth and new job opportunities.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                Call                            Budgets (EUR million)                 Deadline(s)
                                              2021                    2022
HORIZON-CL6-2021-                      186.00                                      06 Oct 2021
FARM2FORK-01
HORIZON-CL6-2022-                                               164.00             23 Feb 2022
FARM2FORK-01
HORIZON-CL6-2022-                                               66.50              23 Feb 2022 (First
FARM2FORK-02-two-stage                                                             Stage)
                                                                                   06    Sep     2022
                                                                                   (Second Stage)
Overall indicative budget              186.00                   230.50
144
         See Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate
         sustainable investment (EU Taxonomy Regulation).
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Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Call - Fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food systems from primary production
to consumption
                                                              HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)145
                       Topics                             Type      Budgets     Expected EU       Number
                                                           of        (EUR       contribution          of
                                                        Action      million)     per project       projects
                                                                                    (EUR          expected
                                                                     2021
                                                                                 million)146        to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 06 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-01 RIA                               4.00        Around 4.00        1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-02 IA                                9.00        Around 9.00        1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-03 CSA                               2.00        Around 2.00        1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-04 RIA                               14.00       Around 7.00        2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-05 RIA                               8.00        Around 8.00        1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-06 IA                                12.00       Around 6.00        2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-07 CSA                               3.00        Around 3.00        1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-08 RIA                               12.00       Around 4.00        3
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-09 RIA                               8.00        Around 8.00        1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-10 IA                                10.00       Around 5.00        2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-11 IA                                10.00       Around 5.00        2
145
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
146
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-12 RIA                          11.00       Around 11.00    1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-13 RIA                          12.00       6.00 to 7.00    2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-14 RIA                          12.00       Around 12.00    1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-15 RIA                          12.00       Around 12.00    1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-16 RIA                          12.00       Around 6.00     2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-17 IA                           11.00       Around 11.00    1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-18 RIA                          18.00       Around 6.00     3
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-19 RIA                          6.00        Around 6.00     1
Overall indicative budget                                     186.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Enabling sustainable farming
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-01: Reaching the farm to fork target: R&I
scenarios for boosting organic farming and organic aquaculture in Europe
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                      The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                      multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal should support the farm to fork’s strategy objective
of a transition to fair, healthy, climate-resilient and climate- and environment-friendly food
systems from primary production to consumption, notably the target of at least 25% of the
EU’s agricultural land under organic farming by 2030 and a significant increase in organic
aquaculture, by evaluating the conditions and proposing scenarios relating to knowledge and
innovation for reaching this target.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Support for the implementation of the common agricultural policy (CAP), the EU
     organic farming regulation and the action plan for the development of the organic sector
     in the EU;
   Robust evidence on the socio-economic scenarios and market analysis of organic (crops
     and livestock) farming and aquaculture and food systems across the EU and Associated
     Countries for reaching the target of at least 25% of the EU’s agricultural land under
     organic farming by 2030 and a significant increase in organic aquaculture;
   Increased and coordinated research and innovation (R&I) investments in the organic
     sector;
   Improved exchange of knowledge and best practices on organic (crops and livestock)
     farming and aquaculture production, and increased availability of advisory services and
     capacity building, leading to an innovation ecosystem in the EU and Associated
     Countries that is fit to support the achievement of the farm to fork target on organics.
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Scope: The EU is taking a leading role in promoting organic farming and aquaculture and
organic food production systems, ensuring high quality standards and developing new value
chains. One of the goals of the farm to fork strategy is to reach at least 25% of the EU’s
agricultural land under organic farming by 2030 and a significant increase in organic
aquaculture. This significant increase needs to be accompanied by a similar increase in the
organic market. However, the current distribution of organic farming and aquaculture in the
EU and Associated Countries is uneven, and there is a need to understand better the obstacles
that prevent their development. A number of factors need to be in place for this increase to
happen. Among those, research to identify the possible socio-economic impacts on organic
producers and on other operators of the value chain, as well as empowering the organic (crops
and livestock) farming, aquaculture and food sectors, are essential. Networking and the
coordination of research and innovation activities among all relevant actors in the organic
farming and aquaculture sectors can ensure the strategic thinking, mobilisation of resources
and sharing of knowledge and best practices that are needed to strengthen the organic R&I
ecosystem in the EU and Associated Countries, in order to support the achievement of these
objectives.
Proposals should evaluate the constraints and lock-ins for reaching the farm to fork strategy
target on organics, and the necessary facilitating environment. Proposals should analyse the
uptake of organic (crops and livestock) farming and aquaculture across the EU and Associated
Countries and the reasons for their varied uptake.
As part of a foresight exercise, proposals should set out scenarios showing where the expected
increase can be achieved, and analyse the socio-economic impacts on existing and new
organic producers and other market players.
Proposals should assess various actors’ knowledge needs when it comes to enhancing
innovation towards greater adoption of organic farming and aquaculture, so that the target of
the farm to fork strategy can be reached. Proposals should promote capacity building and
ensure the necessary sharing of knowledge and best practices among organic (crops and
livestock) farmers, aquaculture producers, advisors, scientists and other operators in the value
chain, building on existing tools where relevant and available.
In undertaking these activities, proposals should promote close cooperation among relevant
research and innovation actors across the EU and Associated Countries, ultimately leading to
a more efficient organic production R&I ecosystem. As such, proposals should help to
preserve and continue existing communities of research providers and research funders, and
widen them to include other public or private actors.
Proposals must implement the ‘multi-actor approach’ and ensure a value chain approach, with
adequate involvement of the organic farming and aquaculture sectors.
Collaboration should be ensured with other relevant EU-funded research projects and
initiatives under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, including the relevant Horizon Europe
partnerships and networking initiatives.
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-02: Developing sustainable and competitive
land-based protein crop systems and value chains
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 9.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                          The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                          multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal should support the farm to fork’s strategy objective
of a transition to a fair, healthy and resilient EU agriculture sector, in particular the goal of
fostering EU-grown plant proteins, in line with the ‘’Report on the development of plant
proteins in the EU’’ 147 . Activities should support the transition to sustainable, productive,
climate-neutral and resilient farming systems that minimise pressure on ecosystems, while
ensuring fair economic returns for farmers and food consumption that is sustainable in terms
of both health and the environment.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Identification of the most suitable regional and local transition paths for stimulating
      sustainable, resilient and economically viable land-based protein crop production for
      food and feed in the EU and Associated Countries, resulting in increased commercial
      production of such crops and enhanced food security in the context of protein
      requirements in the EU and Associated Countries;
     Improved, robust evidence of the social, economic, environmental, climate and health
      benefits and costs of increasing land-based protein crops production;
147
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     Improved capacities of farmers to cultivate land-based protein crops through innovative
      advisory tools, improved and wider exchange of knowledge and best practice, adoption
      of sustainable crop rotation practices and collaboration with other actors in the value
      chain;
     Stronger innovation ecosystem for land-based protein crop development in Europe
      through multi-stakeholder and transdisciplinary intra-regional, trans-regional and trans-
      national collaboration and networking.
Scope: Land-based protein crops148 are a source of food, feed and environmental services and
have an increasingly important role to play in the transition to more sustainable farming
systems that provide economic, environmental and social benefits. In view of the increase in
protein demand, the sustainable diversification of protein sources in the EU and Associated
Countries needs to be explored and developed. Land-based protein crops have a significant
role to play in this regard. However, due to a variety of factors, their production in the EU and
Associated Countries is not sufficient to cover the growing demand for plant-based proteins.
It is becoming necessary to develop and ensure more sustainable and resilient supply chains,
and to promote higher consumer acceptance and attractive market opportunities. Specific
measures are needed to realise the potential of land-based protein crops in the EU and
Associated Countries.
Proposals should build on and expand existing knowledge in order to identify the most
suitable transition paths for sustainable land-based protein crop production in different pedo-
climatic regions, and to develop strategies for sustainable and competitive regional protein-
based crop systems and agri-food and feed chains. Proposals should cover the diversity of
available and novel land-based protein crop species with a crude protein content of more than
15%, and consider conventional, agroecological and organic farming systems in all European
climate/biogeographical regions. Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor approach' and
should ensure adequate involvement of farmers and all relevant actors in the value chain for
land-based protein crops. Proposals should build on the results of relevant projects and
thematic networks funded under Horizon 2020 and include a task to collaborate with the
project(s) selected under the following topic in this work programme: HORIZON-CL6-2021-
FARM2FORK-01-12: Filling knowledge gaps on nutritional, safety, allergenicity and
environmental assessment of alternative proteins and dietary shift. In this topic the integration
of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a
mandatory requirement.
Proposals should identify the most suitable transition paths for the development of sustainable
new and existing land-based protein crop farming systems and agri-food and feed chains
across the EU and Associated Countries. Proposals should explore the potential for value
chain development, taking into consideration opportunities, constraints and impact of
different tools, instruments and policies, on different value chain actors, using case studies of
148
        This topic focuses on protein rich plants with a crude protein content of more than 15 % (oilseeds:
        rapeseed, sunflower seeds and soya beans; pulses: beans, peas, lentils, lupins etc.; and fodder legumes:
        mainly alfalfa and clover), accounting for about 1/4 of the total crude plant protein supply in the EU.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
existing farms, networks of farms and producer organisations. Proposals should develop and
test strategies for sustainable and competitive local and regional land-based protein crop
systems that result in improved production techniques, cropping system design that promote
crop diversification, feed efficiency, value chain development, reduced environmental impact
and improved farmers’ organisation, taking into account complementarity across regions and
addressing regional imbalances. Proposals should document specific support needs (advice,
knowledge and best practice sharing, etc.) for farmers seeking to cultivate protein crops in
different regions, assessing the availability of specific tools and developing new, innovative
ones. Building on existing tools or mechanisms where available and relevant, proposals
should establish a transdisciplinary, multi-stakeholder EU and Associated Countries-wide
network to facilitate trans-national and trans-regional sharing of knowledge and best practice
in land-based protein supply chain management and agronomic practices, including
facilitating cross-regional testing of varieties. Building on existing tools or mechanisms where
available and relevant, proposals should establish regional multi-stakeholder networks for
advisory services, awareness raising, the sharing of knowledge and best practice,
experimentation and demonstration on land-based protein crops species that are best adapted
to regional conditions. Proposals should analyse the impact of climate change on land-based
protein crops in various farming systems, and their contribution towards climate resilient
farming and wider environmental benefits in relation to aspects such as biodiversity, input
reduction, closing nutrient cycles, increased soil organic matter and improved soil health.
Proposals should develop innovative measures for improving the impact of land-based protein
crop production in terms of increased (agro-)biodiversity. Proposals should develop methods
and indicators to compare the climate, environmental, social and health benefits and costs of
greater land-based protein crop production and its industrialisation, considering the impact of
policy measures on land-use changes and implications for farmers, in different farming
systems and regions. Proposals should develop indicators to take into account and compare
the further industrialisation feasibility and costs of the varieties considered. A method for the
systematic collection of data on land-based protein crops for economic and environmental
assessment should be developed.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-03:                        Digitalisation    as   an  enabler    of
agroecological farming systems
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
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conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                         The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                         multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal should support the farm to fork’s strategy objective
of a transition to a fair, healthy and resilient European agriculture sector, in particular the goal
of promoting agroecology, by improving understanding of the potential of digitalisation as an
enabler of agroecology, a transformative, sustainable, healthy, resilient and inclusive
approach to farming that can minimise farming pressure on ecosystems while generating fair
economic returns for farmers.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Robust evidence of existing innovative digital tools and technologies that specifically
      support the transition to agroecology for different crops, farming systems and pedo-
      climatic conditions;
     Improved understanding of the barriers, drivers, risks and usability aspects of digital
      tools that support the implementation of agroecological farming approaches for different
      crops and farming systems in different pedo-climatic regions;
     Greater awareness among different actors of the cost-effectiveness and the economic,
      environmental and social performance of digital tools that support the implementation of
      agroecology, as well as the barriers and incentives for their uptake and deployment;
     Pathways to address research and innovation (R&I) needs as regards digital tools that
      specifically support the transition to agroecology in the EU and Associated Countries.
Scope: Agroecology 149 is a holistic approach that relies on and maximises the use of
ecological processes to support agricultural production. By working more with nature and
ecosystem services, it has the potential to increase farms’ circularity, diversification and
autonomy, and drive a full transformation of farming systems and agricultural value chains,
from input substitution and beyond. Agroecological farming systems therefore have great
potential to enhance the sustainability performance of agriculture and agricultural value
chains that contribute to the objectives of the EU farm to fork strategy. Compared to
industrialised and most conventional agricultural production, agroecology brings a higher
level of complexity to farming systems. Digital technologies and agricultural equipment can
play a key role in improving the performance of agroecological approaches at farm and
territorial level, and boosting their uptake by farmers, inter alia by supporting their decision-
making on farming practices. These technologies, which include artificial intelligence, geo-
spatial technology, advanced image analysis procedures, the internet of things (IoT), robotics
and sensors, are available and can be applied to most farming approaches. However,
agroecological farming systems are more likely to benefit from tailored digital technologies
149
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
and technology portfolios that enable, for instance, ongoing monitoring of the transition of
farming practices and their performance through databases of in-situ data, or support for
farmers’ decision-making through the integration of the different elements of an
agroecological farming system in a holistic, system-based approach. The cost-effectiveness
and performance of these solutions need to be evaluated in order to ensure they contribute to
the effectiveness and sustainability of agroecological systems and to farm and/or landscape
management. Activities should contribute to road-mapping for the improved productivity and
sustainability performance of agroecological farming systems by assessing the availability of
digital, data-based solutions tailored to agroecological farming and the potential to adapt
“standard” digital technologies used in agriculture to the specific requirements of
agroecological approaches for farm and landscape management. Due attention should be paid
to aspects relating to security in the use of data, interoperability and the extent to which
farmers and other actors in the food chain accept and are able to use these solutions.
Proposals should ensure that any data produced in the course of the project comply with the
FAIR principles. Proposals should build on the results of relevant projects funded under
Horizon 2020 and ensure collaboration with projects funded under the following calls in this
work programme: HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-05: Agroecological approaches for
climate change mitigation, resilient agricultural production and enhanced biodiversity and
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-02-01-two-stage: Agroecological approaches for
sustainable weed management.
Proposals should evaluate the need for such tools, and their implementation capacity for
different crops and farming systems in different pedo-climatic zones, taking account of local
natural habitat types. Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor approach' and ensure
adequate involvement of the farming sector.
Proposals should document specific needs for digital technologies to support agroecological
farming approaches, at farm, territorial and regional / national level. Building on existing data
bases of digital technologies for agricultural production, proposals should assess the
availability of tools tailored to agroecological approaches and identify gaps and needs for the
adaptation of existing technologies or the development of new, innovative solutions to serve
the needs of agroecological farming systems. Proposals should evaluate the cost-effectiveness
of the solutions proposed, and assess their potential performance in agroecological farming
systems for different crops, farming systems, biogeographical regions and pedo-climatic
conditions. Proposals should analyse barriers to and incentives for the uptake and effective
deployment of these tools, including analysis of cost effectiveness, risks, usability and
affordability for farmers, as well as social and cultural obstacles. Based on this information,
proposals should compile an open repository of available digital tools to address the specific
needs of agroecological farming systems, including organic, under different pedo-climatic
conditions. In collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, including farmers, the private
and public sector as well as consumer representatives, proposals should develop a roadmap
for R&I on digital technologies to support agroecology in the EU and Associated Countries.
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-04: Tackling outbreaks of plant pests
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 14.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                         consortium selected for funding.
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                         The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                         multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In line with the farm to fork strategy, for a transition to fair, healthy and
resilient EU agriculture and forestry, including an ambitious target for the reduced use of
plant protection products150, proposals will support research and innovation (R&I) to help the
agricultural / forestry sectors to remain productive and contribute to sustainable agriculture
and/or forest health.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Find adequate responses to EU quarantine plant pests;
     Enhance capacities to prevent, monitor and (bio)control important plant pests;
     Support to relevant EU and Associated Countries’ plant health policies.
Scope: Proposals should target one or more plant pest(s)151 that are either Union quarantine
plant pests152 present in the EU or Union quarantine pests which are priority pests 153 in the
EU, and that are of concern for agriculture and/or forestry. They should improve methods and
strategies for surveillance and control, and extend the range of tools for integrated and
effective pest management.
150
        The farm to fork strategy sets the target to reduce by 50% the overall use and risk of chemical pesticides
        and reduce use by 50% of more hazardous pesticides
151
        A pest is defined here as any species, strain or biotype of plant, animal or pathogenic agent injurious to
        plants or plant products (EU legislation, Regulation 2016/2031)
152
        See part B of Annex II to Commission Implementing Regulation 2019/2072 for pests known to occur in
        the Union territory
153
        See Annex to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/1702 for priority pests.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Proposals should:
   Contribute to the understanding of the drivers of plant pest spread and establishment
      including the influence of climate change, ecosystem degradation, and globalisation.
   Develop efficient surveillance methods and strategies for early-detection and
      (bio)control of the pest(s).
   Extend the range of tools and technologies available for the development of
      economically and environmentally sound solutions for effective pest management in
      farming and forestry in line with the principles of integrated pest management.
   Analyse the social and economic implications for farmers affected by the plant pest(s)
      and developing approaches whereby those affected can best cope with the situation.
   Analyse the ecological impact of plant pest(s) spread and establishment.
International cooperation with countries affected or threatened by the same pest(s) is strongly
encouraged. Proposals should consider both the conventional and the organic sectors.
Proposals must implement the “multi-actor approach” including a range of actors to ensure
that knowledge and needs from various sectors such as research, plant health services and
farmers/foresters are brought together.
The possible participation of the JRC in the project will consist of supporting the analysis of
social and economic implications for farmers affected by the plant pest(s) and developing
approaches on how to best cope with the situation when affected.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-05: Animal welfare 2.0
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
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                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In line with the farm to fork strategy, for a transition to fair, healthy and
resilient livestock production systems, including the improvement of animal welfare and
reduction of anti-microbial usage, a successful proposal will support research and innovation
(R&I) to help policy makers and other actors (e.g. economic operators) monitor and improve
animal welfare in intensive and extensive systems, thus contributing to sustainable
agriculture.
The project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
   Improved capacity to evaluate and monitor the state of animal welfare in a
      region/country or in relation to a group of operators;
   Enhanced capacity to further improve animal welfare by business operators or decision
      makers, through provision of best practices and innovative tools and
   Enhanced capacity to integrate the environmental and socio-economic impact of
      proposed practices and innovations.
Scope: Farming and food production data are collected at different stages of the production
process of terrestrial livestock, mostly to improve economic efficiency, disease control, food
safety and quality. Few data collected on farms or during subsequent processing (e.g. in
slaughterhouses or dairies) are used to monitor the welfare state of the animals and the
different levels of welfare. This can be done through a combination of diverse sources of data
already collected and more intensive collection through automatic systems, or routine
sampling. At present, even where data are used for animal welfare purposes, they are often
exploited only at individual farm level or for just a few operators. The development of
algorithms to interpret the various types of data that are collected could increase their value in
relation to animal welfare. This would be beneficial both at farm level and in broader
contexts, e.g. among groups of operators, or at regional, national, or EU levels.
Proposals should address all of the following areas of research in terrestrial livestock:
   Identification of the data and appropriate indicators that enable assessment of animal
      welfare on farms, during transport and at the time of slaughtering/killing;
   Development of innovative ways of automatically collecting data pertaining to welfare
      and related sustainable farming techniques;
   Standardisation of data collection for a population of operators along the supply chain;
   Development of algorithms integrating heterogeneous data from a population of
      operators in order to evaluate the level of animal welfare within the population
      concerned;
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
   Development of best practices associated with statistically meaningful improvements in
      animal welfare (i.e. associated with improved indicators at population level);
   Evaluation of the environmental and socio-economic impacts of best practices for animal
      welfare, including marketability;
   Development of monitoring tools and smart models to improve the scope of the data
      collection both quantitatively (population size) and qualitatively (quality of data
      collected and impacts measured); and
   Development of innovative ways to estimate the impact of past detrimental conditions on
      welfare.
The choice of the population of operators should take into account their economic and social
relevance for the EU policy and regulatory framework, and potential animal welfare issues (to
be addressed both quantitatively and qualitatively). The choice of data studied should take
into account complementarity, frequency and ease of collection (automation or routine
sampling). It should also take account of the various dimensions of animal welfare (feed and
water, comfort, health, behaviour, etc.). Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor approach’
and ensure adequate involvement of the farming sector, the veterinary profession, agricultural
advisory services and other relevant actors along the food chain.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-06: Vaccines and diagnostics for priority
animal diseases
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In line with the farm to fork strategy, for a transition to fair, healthy and
resilient livestock production systems, including the reduction of anti-microbial usage, a
successful proposal will support research and innovation (R&I) to help policy makers and
economic operators reduce the burden of infectious animal diseases, thus contributing to a
sustainable livestock industry and public health (food safety, zoonoses, anti-microbial
resistance).
The project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
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     Enhanced capacity to prevent or control relevant priority diseases, through the provision
      of innovative tools and products to policymakers, the veterinary profession and business
      operators; and
     Increased knowledge of virulence factors, mechanisms of infection and protection and
      identification of protective antigens needed for effective vaccine development.
Scope: Vaccines and diagnostics are essential components of the toolbox for preventing and
controlling infectious animal diseases and limiting their impact, including the potential
reduction of anti-microbial usage. The development or improvement of vaccines for regulated
diseases may not be attractive for the pharmaceutical industry and public support may be
needed because of market failure. It is important that the toolbox includes early, fast and
reliable diagnostics, which may go hand in hand with vaccination (e.g. DIVA tests). New
developments in science and technology (e.g. genomics, artificial intelligence) enable a fresh
approach to vaccine and diagnostic development.
Proposals should address, for terrestrial livestock and relevant wildlife, improvements in
vaccine technologies (e.g. adjuvants, stability and administration), products (e.g.
new/improved vaccines, vaccines addressing multiple pathogens), underpinning knowledge
(virulence factors, infection and protection mechanisms, protective antigens necessary for
effective vaccine development) and related diagnostics, and look into the feasibility of
vaccine production based on existing or novel vaccine platforms. Use of artificial intelligence
to decipher target antigens is encouraged.
Diagnostics for infectious diseases in terrestrial livestock and related domains is
recommended, for instance to set animal-specific clinical breakpoints for susceptibility of key
veterinary pathogens for which disease-specific breakpoints are unavailable and generic
breakpoints based on antimicrobial concentrations in serum are not relevant. Point-of-care and
multi-pathogen diagnostic tools are particularly helpful for strengthening surveillance and
capacity to respond to threats.
The choice of infectious agents / diseases should take into account their importance for EU
policy and regulation, e.g. by virtue of being responsible for epizootic diseases such as
African swine fever, African horse sickness, or being priority zoonotic diseases, contributing
to anti-microbial resistance, or having serious socio-economic impacts more generally.
Proposals may use priorities identified under OIE 154 , in EU animal health law, or by the
154
                 https://www.oie.int/fileadmin/SST/adhocreports/Diseases%20for%20which%20Vaccines%20c
        ould%20reduce%20Antimicrobial%20Use/AN/AHG_AMUR_Vaccines_Apr2015.pdf                      and
        https://www.oie.int/fileadmin/Home/eng/Internationa_Standard_Setting/docs/pdf/SCAD/A_SCAD_Sep
        t2018.pdf (annex8 p;46)
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
SCAR Collaborative Working Group on Animal Health and Welfare155, Discontools156, or the
STAR-IDAZ International Research Consortium157.
Participation of industry is highly recommended.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
International research cooperation with institutions outside the EU is welcome insofar as it
brings clear added knowledge, value and expertise to the project and maximises the impact.
Proposed research should take into account other EU funded projects, including those funded
under ICRAD ERA-NET158.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-07: Research & innovation roadmap for
blockchain technologies in the agri-food sector
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                         exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
Expected Outcome: In line with the farm to fork strategy and the headline ambitions of a
‘digital age’ and ‘economy that works for people’, leaving no one behind, the successful
proposals will support increased traceability and transparency in food supply chains and
support the implementation of sustainability schemes. They will therefore contribute to the
ambition of developing sustainable, productive and climate-neutral, biodiversity-friendly, and
resilient farming systems providing consumers with affordable, safe, healthy and sustainable
food, minimising pressure on ecosystems, improving public health and generating fair
economic returns for farmers through the exploration and development potential of the use of
blockchain in the agri-food sector.
155
         https://www.scar-cwg-ahw.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Final-Report-CWG-AHW-
         CASA_updated-EU-AH-SRA.pdf
156
         www.discontools.eu
157
         www.star-idaz.net
158
         https://www.icrad.eu/
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
   enhanced transparency and traceability in agri-food supply chains, including “green
      supply chains” through blockchain technologies;
   contributing to increasing competitiveness and market power of producers, including
      through smart contracts;
   reduce transaction costs and administrative burdens in the field of agri-food management
      for public and private actors through blockchain technologies and dedicated tools;
   capacity building in Research & Innovation (Infrastructure), in the agri-food sector and
      public administration for the development, assessment and application of blockchain
      technologies in the field of agri-food;
   excellence in research and innovation in blockchain technologies in the agri-food sector
      in Europe through networking of actors and initiatives.
Scope: The potential of blockchain technologies across sectors and fields of application has
been widely acknowledged and is driven in private and public domains. Also in the area of
agri-food, blockchain technologies have raised interest, but are not yet applied in mainstream
mode. On the one hand, the area of agri-food induces special challenges to the application of
blockchain technologies, such as the nature of products; on the other hand, the sector is
predestinated for tracking technologies. As pointed out in the European Commission`s Green
Deal, and the farm to fork strategy in particular, transparency and sustainability efforts in the
food supply chain are to be increased and power between actors to be balanced. Blockchain
technologies can not only support traceability ambitions, but also support the implementation
of organic or other (sustainability-related) labelling schemes as well as sustainable finance
and climate mitigation and/or biodiversity-friendly schemes, and smart contracts, track
information for consumers, and reduce administrative burdens for the public administration
A new level of ambition is needed to tackle research and innovation (R&I) in the field of
blockchain technologies in the agri-food sector, thereby generating the necessary knowledge
and solutions to enhance the development and application of blockchain technologies in the
agri-food sector in the private and public domain and develop the relevant capacities to foster
this R&I objective in the short, medium, and long term. Experiences from the application of
blockchain technologies in others sectors and areas are to be capitalised.
Activities should create an effective framework for action, which is expected to allow pooling
resources, coordinating efforts and developing a coherent portfolio of R&I activities in the
wider area of blockchain technologies in the field of agri-food following an integrative and
de-fragmented systemic approach. This should include:
   mapping and assessing existing blockchain technologies related European and
      international R&I activities and promoting their coordination in the field of agri-food;
      where relevant, initiatives and approaches developed in / for other sectors / fields of
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
     application with the potential of being transferred to the agri-food sector might be
     mapped as well;
   assessing the extent of application of blockchain technologies in the agri-food sector in
     the EU and globally including the extent to which blockchain technologies meet EU and
     international regulatory requirements, and draw lessons learnt, benefits and
     shortcomings/ disadvantages;
   analysing the needs for R&I on blockchain technologies in agri-food as expressed
     through stakeholder consultation and on-going research projects;
   identifying gaps, priority areas and types of action for intervention;
   proposing methodologies to monitor and review a portfolio of blockchain technologies
     related R&I activities in the field of agri-food.
Funded activities are expected to increase European capacities (technical, organisational) for
implementing a major R&I programme on blockchain technologies in the agri-food sector.
This results in:
   a roadmap for R&I on blockchain technologies in the agri-food sector in Europe
     developed following the concept of "co-creation" with a wide range of stakeholders,
     including the private and public sector as well as consumer representatives;
   improved coordination with existing activities in Europe and globally, thereby raising
     visibility and effectiveness of R&I funding going beyond EU-funded initiatives and
     including e.g. also nationally or regionally or privately supported actions;
   identification of potential "flagships" for testing and demonstrating solutions on key
     actions from a producer, processor, consumer, investor and public administration
     perspective under consideration of experiences gained/ approaches developed in other
     sectors;
   informed development of policies, supported development of relevant policies, and
     facilitated harmonisation and coordination between decision-making levels.
Proposals should cover all of the following aspects:
   development of innovative, cost-effective and resource-efficient blockchain-based
     approaches (including systemic approaches) to increase the traceability of agricultural
     products taking local, regional, national, European and global supply chains as reference
     point considering private and open blockchain networks.
   development of innovative approaches reflecting on the environmental, socio-economic
     and practicability implications of the application of different blockchain approaches
     considering at least the situation in the EU and developing countries.
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   giving special attention to the capacities of (small) farmers and processors and actors in
     third countries in the deployment of blockchain technologies, as well as to private and
     public (sustainability-related) labelling schemes, organic and climate- and biodiversity-
     friendly production, sustainable finance, food safety, food safety emergencies, detection
     of non-authorised substances, border controls and consumer benefits, and fraud
     prevention.
   identification of possible new application areas for blockchain technologies in the area of
     agri-food; possible spill-over effects to related application fields, such as bio-based value
     chains.
   development of innovative resource efficient approaches to reduce transaction costs and
     administrative burden for producers and the administration (for organic products).
   development of suitable R&I programmes to deliver the knowledge, technologies and
     practices needed to achieve the aforementioned expected outcomes.
   establishment of links to relevant actors and organisations, including to Digital
     Innovation Hubs, the European Blockchain Partnership and the EU Blockchain
     Observatory.
Proposals are expected to demonstrate how to liaise with Cluster 4 activities as regards the
development of cross-sectoral technological developments of blockchain solutions and reflect
on their potential for the agri-food sector, e.g. in the fields of blockchain-based Internet of
Things network management, authentication and access controls methods and novel
decentralised analytics.
International cooperation is strongly encouraged.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-08: Uncovering lock-ins and levers to
encourage farmers to move to and stay in sustainable, climate-neutral and biodiversity-
friendly farming systems: from experiments to systemic mechanisms
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
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                       consortium selected for funding.
Expected Outcome: In line with the Green Deal, notably the farm to fork and biodiversity
strategies, climate action, zero pollution ambition and the common agricultural policy (CAP),
the successful proposals should support the development of policies, business models and
market conditions that enable sustainable, productive and climate-smart agricultural systems.
The farming systems should provide consumers with healthy and sustainable food affordable
for all, improving public health, minimising pressure on ecosystems, enhancing biodiversity,
and generating fair economic returns for farmers.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    improved understanding of challenges and opportunities for the development of
      sustainable, climate-neutral, biodiversity-friendly farming systems at the farm and
      landscape levels;
    improved understanding of farmers’ individual (behavioural/decision-making) and
      systemic ‘lock-ins’ and ‘levers’ for moving to and staying in sustainable, climate-neutral
      and biodiversity-friendly farming systems;
    improved understanding of consumers’ behaviour (decision-making) and market
      segmentation with regard to buying food from sustainable, climate-neutral and
      biodiversity -friendly farming systems;
    improved understanding of behaviour (decision-making) of upstream and downstream
      operators in agri-food value chains and other relevant actors across food systems with
      regard to hindering/facilitating transition to sustainable, climate-neutral and biodiversity-
      friendly production and consumption systems;
    better design and implementation of relevant policies, in particular the CAP, the farm to
      fork and biodiversity strategies, that effectively incentivise large-scale and long-term
      behavioural shifts by farmers to sustainable, climate-neutral and biodiversity-friendly
      farming systems;
    improved farm advice, business strategies and relationships building on common
      interests among relevant food systems operators and actors across sectors, helping
      farmers to produce in a more sustainable manner, contributing to climate neutrality and
      reversing biodiversity decline; and
    improved capacities of researchers in behavioural and experimental research, and
      systems thinking.
Scope: Although the EU has made strides in improving the sustainability of agriculture,
substantial efforts are still needed to achieve the ambitious targets of the European Green
Deal, in particular the farm to fork strategy and the objectives of the future CAP. Many
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emerging approaches, such as agroecology 159 (including organic farming), etc., have the
potential to make farming systems more sustainable in climate, environmental, economic and
social terms. However, multiple ‘lock-ins’ are preventing farmers from scaling the transition
up and out to more sustainable production systems. Policy and business shifts are needed to
help them escape from the ‘lock-ins’ and change at the requisite pace. An in-depth
understanding of farmers’ ‘lock-ins’ and ‘levers’ is key to spurring large-scale and lasting
shifts to sustainable farming systems. Behavioural and experimental research that unpacks the
decision-making involved in adopting sustainable practices holds significant potential when it
comes to identifying ‘lock-ins’ and ‘levers’, thereby improving the effectiveness of the CAP
and contributing to the successful implementation of the farm to fork strategy. In addition to
unpacking the pieces of the behavioural (decision-making) puzzle, it is important to compile a
wider, more comprehensive picture of the food systems in which farmers operate and of their
governance, structures, mechanisms and dynamics that lock them into unsustainable practices
or incentivise them to take and stay on a sustainable path.
Proposals should investigate farmers’ decision-making (behaviour) and the broader food
systems in which they have to operate (and/or create collective action), so as to uncover what
locks them into unsustainable practices and what incentivises them to move to and stay in
sustainable production systems. Attention should be paid to the full range of decision-making
factors (e.g., behavioural, economic/regulatory, knowledge, biophysical, gender, cultural, etc.)
and food systems’ structures, mechanisms and dynamics (e.g., feedback loops, trade-offs and
synergies, etc.).
Proposals should take a comprehensive behavioural approach and investigate proximal and
distal factors to understand farmers’ behaviour (decision-making) better, in order to inform
the design and implementation of policies (in particular the CAP) and the European Green
Deal initiatives (in particular farm to fork and biodiversity strategies). Extensive experimental
research should cover, for instance (but not limited to) ‘nudges’, voluntary schemes or
mandatory regulation, to ﬁll gaps in policy-oriented research and support effective, evidence-
based policy design and implementation.
It is also important to analyse behaviour (decision-making) of other food system actors and
their role in/influence on hindering or incentivising farmers’ decisions as to whether to adopt
and maintain sustainable practices in the long-term. To this end, proposals should thoroughly
analyse consumers’ preferences (habits, choices), decision-making and shopping behaviour,
in particular looking at market segmentation and willingness to pay versus buying acts, in
various contexts. This knowledge should be shared broadly with farmers, so that they can
respond better to changes in consumer demand, which is a strategic CAP objective. In
addition, proposals should explore the behaviour (decision-making) and actions of
downstream and upstream operators in agri-food value chains (e.g., input industry, food
companies, retailers, hospitality industry, etc.) and other relevant food system actors that lock
farmers in unsustainable practices or enable/encourage them to adopt sustainable practices
and stimulate or hinder consumer demand for more sustainable food.
159
         http://www.fao.org/3/i9037en/i9037en.pdf
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With an interdisciplinary lens, proposals should also consider the ‘whole-systems’ in which
farmers operate and analyse the systemic mechanisms, structures and dynamics that lock
farmers (and landowners) into unsustainable states and ways to break away, build collective
interest for and incentivise them to move to and remain in sustainable farming systems.
Concurrent research should be conducted using the same (or similar) methods in a variety of
settings representative of the diversity in agri-food systems and conditions in the EU and
Associated Countries (e.g., a wide range of farm typologies, diverse farming systems,
including (but not limited to) various agroecological approaches and organic farming,
sectors/value chains, collective actions, regions and communities, etc.) in order to be able to
derive meaningful conclusions on the general validity of decision-making (behavioural)
factors and systemic insights across countries and contexts.
Proposals should also explore and propose ways to engage diverse food system operators and
actors (e.g., through innovative policies, improved farmers’ organisation, social innovation or
new business models, etc.), in enabling farmers to move to and stay in sustainable farming
systems.
Based on the research results, proposals should formulate and disseminate widely to relevant
actors:
  1. policy recommendations and innovative policy options, in particular for the CAP,
      environmental policies, and relevant Green Deal initiatives; and
  2. business strategies (including the identification of end markets for sustainable products
      on a cross-sectoral basis);
for encouraging farmers to lastingly adopt sustainable practices and progressively raise their
sustainability performance.
The possible participation/contribution of the JRC in the project would consist of being
involved in the selection of policies, business models and market conditions to be tested, the
design of the experiments and the formulation of the policy recommendations.
Proposals should build and expand on the achievements of past and current research and
innovation (R&I) projects, e.g., those funded under topic SFS-29-2017160. Collaboration with
future projects to be selected under topic HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-09 is
encouraged. This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-09: Towards an EU approach to assess and
internalise positive and negative externalities of food for incentivising sustainable
choices
Specific conditions
160
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/sfs-29-
        2017
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                       consortium selected for funding.
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal, in particular the farm to fork and
biodiversity strategies, climate action and zero pollution ambition, the successful proposals
should help to speed up the transition to sustainable, biodiversity-friendly, zero pollution,
climate-neutral and resilient farming and food systems on land and at sea. They should do so
by supporting the development and implementation of policies, business models and market
conditions that better internalise the external costs and benefits of food, thereby make the
most sustainable food the most available and affordable for consumers, while generating fair
economic returns in the supply chain, in particular for primary producers and SMEs.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    better understanding by policymakers, businesses and other actors in farming and food
     systems on land and at sea, of challenges and opportunities in relation to the
     internalisation of climate, environmental, social and health externalities of food at
     various levels (e.g., policy, product, organisational, farm, and investment) and in
     different contexts;
    well-informed policy at local, regional, national and EU levels on the possible ways of
     steering primary producers’, businesses’ and consumers’ decision-making towards
     sustainable options by assessing and valuing the externalities of food (including using
     subsidies, taxes, incentives, etc.);
    widespread use by policymakers, farmers and businesses of improved and harmonised
     approaches to identify, measure and value the positive and negative climate,
     biodiversity, environmental, social and health impacts of food; and
    better internalisation of the positive and negative climate, biodiversity, environmental,
     social and health externalities of food, so that the most sustainable and healthy food
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      becomes the most affordable and available for consumers, while generating fair
      economic returns in the supply chain, in particular for primary producers and SMEs.
Scope: Better internalisation of positive and negative climate, biodiversity, environmental,
social and health externalities of food has emerged in the policy debates as one of many
options for improving the availability and affordability of sustainable food for consumers and
generating fair economic returns for sustainable producers. However, the advantages and
disadvantages of the internalisation externalities of food are widely discussed. In addition, the
attribution, assessment and valuation of these externalities are complex and challenging tasks.
Interest and research around the internalisation of externalities of food have been growing in
recent years. A number of initiatives and collaborations are building at various levels, from
local to global. Accordingly, various frameworks, methods and approaches to operationalise
the internalisation of externalities related to food have been developed and researched (e.g.,
true cost accounting). Nevertheless, the concept remains more theoretical than practical and it
requires development and adaptation over time.
Proposals should follow a ‘multi-actor approach’, pilot a ‘community of practice’ and
convene policy dialogues engaging researchers, policymakers and other relevant actors from
across farming and food systems on land and at sea (e.g., farmers, fishers, downstream and
upstream businesses, retailers, hospitality operators, consumers, financial institutes, NGOs,
etc.) that are involved on the ground in identifying, measuring and putting a monetary value
on the positive and negative climate, biodiversity, environmental, social and health
externalities of food. A balanced coverage of the EU contexts and the inclusion of a wide
range of viewpoints (i.e., from ‘believers’ to ‘sceptics’) and relevant projects/initiatives at
different levels, from local to global, are essential.
Based on an in-depth review of the state-of-the-art (including scientific evidence, diverse
projects and initiatives, and, for example, existing natural capital accounting), proposals
should scrutinise various approaches to:
    identifying, assessing and monetarising positive and negative climate, biodiversity,
      environmental, social and health externalities of food; and
    measuring degrees of internalisation (i.e., what parts of various costs and benefits are
      already internalised in the current context).
Proposals should explore possible ways to improve, harmonise and operationalise these
approaches in practice. They should also map and analyse gaps in existing databases, and
collect data needed to assess the externalities, in such a way that they can be used for several
purposes (e.g., footprint analysis). Proposals may identify a comprehensive set of case studies
(e.g., based on a comprehensive ‘hotspot’ analysis) and demonstrate the usefulness of various
approaches and databases in practice.
Proposals should also identify various possible strategies for elevating internalisation of
externalities and embedding it in decision-making of primary producers, businesses and
consumers. They should analyse these strategies in order to inform policymakers and
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businesses about the various possible options (e.g., taxing negative externalities and/or
rewarding positive externalities across food value chains, from input industry through
production to consumption) and their effectiveness, costs, benefits and risks.
All work should cover a wide range of food products sourced from different types of farming
systems on land and at sea (including agroecological and organic), supply chains, processes,
contexts and levels (e.g. farm, product, policy, investment, organisational, etc.). Attention
should also be paid, inter alia, to legal issues (especially in relation to fiscal policy) and
distributional effects, the international dimension (e.g., how to deal with feed and food
produced outside the EU) and the whole spectrum of impacts along value chains (e.g., in
relation to deforestation, land-grabs and rights violations, leakage of greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions, etc.), in line with the principles of due diligence and systems thinking.
Policy recommendations and business strategies should be derived from the insights
generated, and then widely communicated and disseminated. Proposals should encourage
networking, sharing of knowledge and good practices, as well as building the necessary
expertise and competencies among policymakers and businesses, including primary producers
and SMEs. As a result, taking into account the various approaches and viewpoints, a
consensus should be reached in the policy debate on the feasibility, implications and next
steps for developing and implementing a harmonised EU approach for assessing and
internalising externalities of food. Depending on the results, proposals may also develop an
action plan for policymakers and businesses, and a roadmap for future research and
innovation (R&I) to operationalise in practice the assessment and internalisation of
externalities of food.
The possible participation of the JRC in the project would consist of a contribution to a
holistic assessment, including footprints (e.g., with the MAGNET model). This topic should
involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines. In this topic the integration of the
gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a
mandatory requirement.
Enabling sustainable fisheries and aquaculture
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-10: Sea to fork transparency and consumer
engagement
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
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Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                        The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                        multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level         see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal objectives, the farm to fork strategy
for a fair healthy and environmentally friendly food system, the EU bioeconomy strategy and
blue growth strategy, the successful proposal will support consumer engagement to a more
sustainable, environmentally friendly, inclusive, safe and healthy seafood consumption
through innovative information strategies and tools.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Sustainably fished or farmed nutritious seafood with a low ecological and carbon
      footprint is well-communicated, well-accepted and preferred by consumers.
   Identification of key bottlenecks to achieve a fully transparent seafood value chain in
      Europe, including the assessment of criteria for consumers’ non-acceptance.
   A lasting cooperation on data and information sharing between fishers, aquaculture
      producers, industry, retail sector, public authorities, scientific or knowledge centres,
      digitalisation companies and consumers, implementing innovative tools, including
      labelling in support of and complying with the current relevant legal framework and the
      future EU framework for food sustainability labelling. Full life cycle analyses that
      include environmental impact with an extended variety of monitored and communicated
      indicators on the environmental and climate footprint of seafood products supported by
      digital transition.
   Growth, in the medium and long-term, of sustainable aquaculture in the EU and
      increased competitiveness of European seafood in global markets.
   Increase public awareness and education to reaching and engaging more citizens to
      achieve a carbon footprint reduction in the seafood supply chain.
   Social innovation for short-chain slow seafood solutions. Promotion of traditional or
      indigenous knowledge and skills or cultural culinary heritage and short-food chains with
      potential integration in ecotourism.
Scope: Transparency in the seafood chain is fundamental to create trust and improve
acceptance by the consumers. A wealth of information is already available on seafood
supplies to guide consumers and retailers in their purchasing choice. However, knowing when
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and where fish are caught in the vastness of the ocean is challenging and requires innovative
and cost-efficient approaches. Additionally, farmed fish and shellfish grow in relatively
controlled conditions, but producers do not always find the way to demonstrate this benefit. A
lot of seafood is consumed processed and this adds downstream steps before reaching
consumers’ table through logistics and retail. Often, consumers are faced with fish and
shellfish of little-known origin with little information about fishing gear, feed, welfare issues,
processing and transport details. This adds to an already existing important lack of trust in
seafood, especially farmed seafood. Therefore, the level of awareness and demand among
consumers and retailers is still far from sufficient to achieve a fully sustainable seafood sector
and to efficiently promote consumption of the products with nutritional benefits and the
lowest ecological and carbon footprint.
Research in this topic is expected to contribute to improving our understanding and
developing new approaches and tools (e.g. new methods to trace origin, interoperable data
technologies) to provide fully traceable records on how seafood is produced, processed and
transported. The environmental performance of seafood production and consumption needs to
be based on a complete set of criteria that can be efficiently ranked, monitored and integrated
in transparent labelling of seafood in support of and complying with the current relevant legal
framework and the future EU framework for food sustainability labelling. Issues of biology,
feeding, disease, pathology, environmental sustainability (including issues related to organic
aquaculture) among others should be addressed.
Innovations should lead to a change in the seafood consumption behaviour towards a
preference for nutritious and sustainable seafood with a low ecological and carbon footprint.
Proposals should significantly increase the visibility of sustainably fished or farmed seafood
and the engagement of consumers with these products through improved monitoring
approaches, analytical methods and communication and marketing strategies, and the
development and optimization of web-based and digital tools. Traceability should be ensured.
Moreover, the tool can show information on the seafood species life cycle, nutritional values
and the fishing or production and processing methods.
The use of social innovations for short-chain slow food solutions to reach and engage more
citizens should be considered. Underused caught or produced species with very low
ecological or carbon footprint can also be promoted. Traditional or indigenous knowledge and
skills or cultural culinary heritage should be taken into account where relevant and
appropriately assessed for environmental and food safety, and integrated in ecotourism
developments. Special attention should be paid to the younger generation.
Cooperation activities with projects funded under other seafood-related topics are encouraged.
Engaging with managing authorities of European Structural and Investment Funds during the
project would help increase implementation of the project outcomes.
Active co-creation with stakeholders and end-users, including from third countries that export
seafood to the EU is also key for the achievement of traceability in all seafood consumed in
the EU.
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International co-operation with partners from non-associated third countries is strongly
encouraged as a win-win scenario, while contributing to the European competitiveness and
resilience.
Where relevant, proposals may seek synergies and capitalise on the results of projects funded
under Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, its
continuation European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, and other funding streams.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines. Social innovation161 is
recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and requires social change,
new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-11: Digital transition supporting inspection
and control for sustainable fisheries
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal objectives, Common Fisheries
Policy, the farm to fork strategy for a fair healthy and environmentally friendly food system,
and the blue growth strategy, the successful proposal will support better fisheries management
through data and technological development.
Project results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following expected outcomes:
     Advancing the digital transition for fisheries inspection and control and deliver data for
      fisheries science, management and monitoring in a cost-efficient way to fully achieve the
      objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
     Delivering innovative technological solutions such as machine learning and artificial
      intelligence and advance sensing technologies to support biologically complex data
      analysis
     Devise new monitoring and control strategies to stop illegal, unreported and unregulated
      fishing (IUU) and promote sustainable fisheries in the EU and globally.
161
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    Create a new generation of jobs in the EU requiring digital and high-tech know-how
      applied to fisheries.
    Improve the professional skills and competences of those working and being trained to
      work within the blue economy.
Scope: The CFP aims to ensure that fisheries are environmentally, economically and socially
sustainable and provide a source of healthy food for EU citizens. The CFP adopts a cautious
approach, which recognises the impact of human activity on all components of the ecosystem.
It seeks to make fishing fleets more selective in what they catch, to phase out the practice of
discarding unwanted fish and to fight IUU vigorously. These illegal practices deplete fish
stocks, destroy marine habitats, distort competition, put honest fishers at an unjust
disadvantage and weaken coastal communities, particularly in developing countries. The EU
is working to close the loopholes that allow illegal operators to profit from their activities. To
be successful, the EU needs to have in place a technologically advanced and effective
fisheries control system. Fighting IUU requires global cooperation, namely through regional
fisheries organisations, to foster synergies by adopting innovative control technologies and
data standards by fishing, coastal, port and consumer states.
Despite the advances attained since its inception, important challenges remain to ensure that
the CFP aims are fully met. The availability and quality of fisheries data should be improved
and more needs to be done to ensure that these data are shared systematically between all
relevant entities, including fisheries scientists. In the EU, current control measures are only
partially effective at ensuring the enforcement of the landing obligation, and of fully
documented fisheries more generally. Accurate recording and accountability of by-catches of
sensitive species, such as birds and mammals, and of marine biological resources are essential
for an ecosystem approach to fisheries and for a sound stock assessment, which are in turn the
foundation of responsible and sustainable fisheries management. The control and monitoring
of vessels operating outside EU waters (long-distance fleet) as well as the small-scale fleet
and recreational fisheries need particular attention.
Moreover, in order to ensure that EU fish imports come from sustainable fisheries and to
promote the eradication of IUU worldwide it is necessary to cooperate with third-countries
and international organisations to strengthen and promote the use of similar cost-efficient
control technologies and data standards. The digital revolution has to contribute to ensure
accurate catch registration data, including from weighing at landing, the verification of
measures on fishing capacity applicable to vessels engine power, better traceability of
fisheries products and improved catch certification schemes.
Digitisation and advanced tools applied to fisheries, such as Remote Electronic Monitoring
Systems (REMs), artificial intelligence, machine learning tools, sensor data and high-
resolution satellite imagery, have enormous potential to optimise fishing operations and
enhance our ability to collect and analyse data, as well as improve monitoring and control
capabilities and ultimately support a sustainable management of marine biological resources.
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Research and innovation under this topic should review existing and develop new
technological solutions to improve: (i) detection of illegal discards; (ii) checks on weighing,
weighing systems and accurate catch registration; (iii) data management and reporting and
third-party reporting based on remote electronic monitoring systems on vessels; (iv) risk
management applied to fisheries; (v) monitoring and control of small-scale, recreational and
long-distance fleet, (vi) electronic marking of fishing gear, (vii) identifying IUU activities as
well as fisheries products stemming from those activities, (viii) promoting data standards and
protection, remote access to data and automatic data exchange protocols, and (ix) innovative
tools to assess compliance with technical requirements and measures applicable to fishing
vessels, such as continuous engine power monitoring.
Research under this topic should be cross-disciplinary bringing together marine scientists,
maritime (including fisheries) surveillance and control authorities, IT specialists and
governance experts.
Where relevant, proposals may seek synergies and capitalise on the results of projects funded
under Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, its
continuation European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, and other funding streams.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Transforming food systems for health, sustainability and inclusion
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-12: Filling knowledge gaps on the nutritional,
safety, allergenicity and environmental assessment of alternative proteins and dietary
shift
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       11.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 11.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                       consortium selected for funding.
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
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                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal priorities, the farm to fork strategy
for a fair, healthy and environment‑friendly food system, and the EU’s climate ambition for
2030 and 2050, the successful proposal will support R&I to promote the production, provision
and safe consumption of alternative sources of protein, and dietary shifts towards sustainable
healthy nutrition, contributing to the transformation of food systems to deliver co‑benefits for
climate (mitigation and adaptation), biodiversity, environmental sustainability and circularity,
sustainable healthy nutrition and safe food, food poverty reduction, empowerment of
communities, and thriving businesses.
The farm to fork strategy states that ‘[a] key area of research will relate to (…) increasing the
availability and source of alternative proteins such as plant, microbial, marine and insect-
based proteins and meat substitutes’.
While information already exists on the environmental and climate-related benefits of a
dietary shift to alternative proteins, more R&I is needed to obtain a comprehensive and
up‑to‑date understanding of the environmental footprint and sustainability performance of
alternatives (e.g. plant-based, microbe-based, ocean-based (i.e. fish, algae, invertebrates),
fungus-based, insect-based, cultured meat) compared to conventional sources of protein (e.g.
meat and dairy) and dietary shifts. There is also a need for further research on the positive and
negative impacts of alternative protein sources in European diets on human health (e.g. food
allergies) and their bioavailability (along with other characteristics such as structure, colour,
taste and flavour). It is presumed that a shift to alternative proteins should lead to healthier
and overall more sustainable diets, but this depends on the nature of the shift (e.g. shifting
from processed meat to another nutrient‑poor, highly processed protein source might not
provide the desired health benefits).
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    informing a systemic approach to integrated food policy development and informing
      sectoral policies (e.g. on food safety, public health, agriculture, aquaculture and the
      environment) through additional, up-to-date information and knowledge on alternative
      sources of protein and dietary shift; and
    providing solutions and assessing their potential for fighting climate change (through
      adaptation and mitigation), halting biodiversity loss and improving ecosystem services,
      promoting the circularity of the food system and improving people’s health and
      well‑being through more nutritious, healthier and overall sustainable food systems and
      food choices.
Scope: Many studies (e.g. IPCC, EAT-Lancet) have highlighted the large environmental
impact of traditional livestock production and consumption of products thereof, and the need
for and benefits of a dietary shift to alternative protein sources. For example, switching from
meat and dairy to alternative sources of protein could lead to savings in land use (plant
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alternatives need less land per unit of protein; aquatic animals generally have a high
production per area), better animal welfare and less deforestation for food production.
Excessive consumption of livestock-derived products could also lead to a decline in health.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified processed meat as carcinogenic to
humans and red meat as probably carcinogenic to humans. An Oxford University model
specifies that switching to diets made of alternative protein sources (e.g. algae, insects, plants,
fungi) reduces diet‑related mortality by 5-7%, due to increased consumption of dietary
fibres162. However, a concern regarding novel foods (especially those containing proteins) is
the likelihood of food allergies.
Proposals are expected to address the following:
     consider all alternative sources of protein (e.g. plant-based, microbe-based, ocean‑based
      (i.e. fish, algae, invertebrates), fungus-based, insect-based, cultured meat), including
      their processing, and avoid focusing on only one, so as to enable comparison;
     fill knowledge gaps and improve our understanding of the positive and negative impacts
      of each type of alternative protein and the overall dietary shift with respect to the
      environment, natural resources, biodiversity and climate (considering global aspects,
      pedo‑climatic and biogeographical conditions, pollution pressure and trade issues);
     fill knowledge gaps on the characteristics of each type of alternative protein, including
      nutritional quality (e.g. bioavailability, the quality of the protein itself and of combined
      protein sources), alone and in the context of its introduction in European diets (taking
      into account the cultural aspects of diets and national dietary advice in the EU);
     fill knowledge gaps on the health impact of alternative proteins and overall dietary shift
      in the European Union, in particular for those sources of proteins for which limited
      information on health impacts is available, such as (but not limited to) invertebrates or
      insects-based proteins (e.g. allergies, compliance with nutrient‑based and food‑based
      dietary guidelines and recommended dietary patterns), while considering gender aspects,
      and other safety aspects (e.g. not cytotoxic, no toxic aggregates or excessive amount of
      toxic substances);
     conduct a comparative systemic analysis of conventional and alternative proteins. New
      Product Environmental Footprint (PEF)-based categories should be created and health
      effects should be included in diet assessment frameworks. Non-linear effects should be
      studied, with regard to both consumption and production;
     highlight the need for new future-proof technologies and anticipate potential issues in
      relation to resource availability, pollution and societal acceptability;
     create or contribute to a data space to gather knowledge, information and results of
      studies, and share them openly (open science) among research communities, interested
162
         World Economic Forum, Oxford Martin School, Oxford University (2019), Meat: The future of series –
         Alternative proteins.
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     parties and the public (dietary data hub). Seek interactions and complementarities with
     the data space for R&I and the European Open Science Cloud, and contribute to
     increasing the level of FAIRness (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Re-
     usability) of dietary data;
   clearly explain how they will contribute to the farm to fork objectives and deliver co-
     benefits on each of the Food 2030 priorities: nutrition for sustainable healthy diets,
     climate and environment, circularity and resource efficiency, innovation and
     empowering communities (e.g. meeting the needs, values and expectations of society in
     a responsible and ethical way); and
   implement the multi-actor approach by involving a wide range of food system actors and
     conducting inter-disciplinary research. Proposals should also promote international
     cooperation. Where relevant, activities should build and expand on the results of past
     and ongoing research projects (especially the four projects funded under topic LC-SFS-
     17-2019: Alternative proteins for food and feed). Projects should have a clear plan as to
     how they will collaborate with other projects selected under this topic (if funding of
     more than one project is possible) and topic HORIZON‑CL6‑2021-FARM2FORK-01-02:
     Developing sustainable and competitive land‑based protein crop systems and value
     chains. They should participate in joint activities, workshops, focus groups or social
     labs, and common communication and dissemination activities, and show potential for
     upscaling. Applicants should plan the necessary budget to cover these activities. The
     possible participation of the JRC in the projects will also ensure that the proposed
     approach will be compatible with and/or improve existing databases and tools used at the
     European Commission with regard to the environmental aspects, and ensure open access
     to data.
   This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-13: Evidence-based decision-making to change
social norms towards zero food waste
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      6.00 and 7.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
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                        The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                        multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 (according to the activity) by
Readiness Level         the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal priorities, the farm to fork strategy
for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system, and the EU's climate ambition
for 2030 and 2050, the successful proposal will support R&I to prevent and reduce food loss
and waste, contributing to the transformation of food systems to deliver co-benefits for
climate (mitigation and adaptation), biodiversity, environmental sustainability and circularity,
dietary shift, sustainable healthy nutrition and safe food, food poverty reduction and the
empowerment of communities.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all the following outcomes:
     More timely and responsive decision-making on food waste prevention and reduction by
      any actor seeking to implement a food waste prevention or reduction initiative, based on
      new, comprehensive and easily accessible evidence of the impact and cost-effectiveness
      of different measures and behaviours at different levels and across different sectors,
      including consumers;
     Food companies engage more and more effectively in food waste prevention and
      reduction activities.
Scope: Food loss and waste has negative impacts on society, the environment and the
economy: it contributes to food insecurity and hinders nutrition; generates greenhouse gas
emissions and creates pressure on land and water, including deforestation, degradation of
natural habitats and biodiversity loss; it is also responsible for great economic losses. Such
negative impacts are exacerbated in times of crisis (e.g. COVID-19), when food supply‑chain
disruptions generate additional food losses and wastes.
Reducing the amount of food intended for human consumption that is eventually lost or
wasted represents a complex challenge, as it involves changing established business practices
and people’s habits, while guaranteeing the safety of food. As demonstrated by UNEP Food
Waste Index Report 2021 163 , food is wasted mainly towards the end of the supply chain
(particularly at consumption level, in households and food services). Here, consumer
behaviour and the lack of awareness and coordination between actors in the supply chain play
a key role. An additional issue directly linked with loss and waste is the amount of packaging
that is eventually discarded with – or without – the food.
Successful proposals are expected to address two complementary areas:
Area A:
163
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Developing a comprehensive evidence-based analysis of food loss and waste prevention
actions, with the overall aim of informing decision-making. In particular, this should involve
an impact assessment and cost-benefit analysis of existing food waste prevention actions in
the EU and its associated countries, and of their economic, environmental and social impacts.
This should include developing a database of actions and tools for preventing and reducing
food waste and loss, which will help inform future interventions by different stakeholders and
promote replicability across countries.
The development of sector-specific guidance sharing the key success factors, barriers and data
for an effective prevention and reduction of food losses and waste is also recommended.
Area B:
Supporting research (i.e. development of an evidence base) and innovation (with a special
focus on open and social innovation) on existing social norms responsible for food waste, so
as to foster appropriate changes in consumer behaviour and business practices (e.g. marketing
standards, retail and trade practices, restaurant portion sizes).
This will involve gathering new evidence on the feasibility of innovations that are tailored to
specific contexts.
On consumer behaviour, the investigation should include analysis of current trends and
correlations as regards:
   Food waste and convenience food (i.e. ready to eat);
   Food waste at household level and food services (i.e. eating out/take away);
   Food waste, obesity and malnutrition;
   Food waste and crisis response policies (e.g. case of COVID-19).
As regards food businesses, this activity should support innovative and/or improved business
practices in large companies and SMEs that:
   Effectively signal the value of food, so as to reduce food waste;
   Redesign portion sizes to reduce food waste;
   Operationalize food waste reduction and prevention though internal corporate policies
      and business strategies with supply chain actors.
The expected behavioural change should also be supported by new or specifically adapted
technologies in both of the following areas: date marking and sustainable and smart food
packaging.
Successful proposals should build on the work of the Commission’s Joint Research Centre in
support of the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste, and be in line with the
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Commission’s environmental footprint method164, 165, especially as regards to the life-cycle
assessment.
Successful proposals should deliver on food waste reduction and prevention across the food
system. They should explain how they will deliver co-benefits to the Food 2030 priorities
(nutrition for sustainable healthy diets, climate and environment, circularity and resource
efficiency, and innovation and empowerment of communities).
The required multi-actor approach (see eligibility conditions) will be implemented by
conducting inter- and trans-disciplinary research and involving a wide range of food system
actors, with special attention to consumers and civil society organisations.
Proposals should develop compelling communication products, potentially two-way
communication activities for each relevant food system actor and an innovative science
education package for schools. They are encouraged to build on past or ongoing EU-funded
research and collaborate with relevant initiatives, including the Commission’s Platform for
Food Losses and Waste. They should set out a clear plan on how they will cluster with other
proposals selected under this and any other relevant topic, e.g. by participating in joint
activities, workshops, and common communication and dissemination activities.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
Proposals should address inequalities, be they due to gender, race or other social categories.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-14: Microbes for healthy and sustainable food
and diets
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          12.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                          The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
164
         JRC - Assessment of food waste prevention actions. Development of an evaluation framework to assess
         the performance of food waste prevention actions
165
         Calculator for impacts of food waste prevention actions
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                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
                       International organisations with headquarters in a Member State or
                       associated country are exceptionally eligible for funding.
Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will be in line with the European Green Deal
priorities and the farm to fork strategy for a fair healthy and environmentally friendly food
system, as well as with the EU's Climate ambition for 2030 and 2050. It will support R&I to
foster advances in research related to microorganisms for safer, healthier and more
environmentally friendly food processing. This is along with contributing to the
transformation of food systems to deliver co-benefits for climate (mitigation and adaptation),
biodiversity, environmental sustainability and circularity, dietary shift, sustainable healthy
nutrition and safe food, food poverty reduction and empowerment of communities, and
thriving businesses.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    A furthering of open access provision for the necessary standardisation, identification,
      and mapping techniques of existing and potential beneficial microorganisms, and
      microbial consortia for use in food processing, which providing an assessment of their
      benefits with respect to nutrition, health, food safety, circularity, and sustainability.
    Knowledge from the assessment of the economic, societal and environmental importance
      of fermented foods and of their role in transition from animal to vegetable proteins.
    Advanced knowledge on what can be considered a healthy human microbiota and the
      conditions (for example diet and treatments) under which this equilibrium is disrupted.
    Further knowledge on fermentation-based solutions for food products and processes,
      such as improved nutritional, structural, and functional properties, and enhanced food
      preservation.
Scope: There is evidence that beneficial bacteria and other microorganisms can lead to a
healthy animal and human gut microbiome, that microbiomes can improve food quality and
safety (incl. tailored food) as well as the nutritional value of aliments/food, contributing to
more sustainable food systems. The rupture of the human microbiome symbiotic relationship
could also be associated to more health disorders and the cause of chronic diseases, and that
food is an essential lever to maintain symbiosis by promoting optimal intestinal microbial
diversity and restoring healthy microbiome profiles and functionality. An expected outcome
of this topic is the further scientific underpinning, verification and elucidation of these
investigative pathways through evidence driven research and innovation.
In this context food based on microbial fermentation needs further investigation as it currently
accounts for 5 to 40% of our diet (country depending) yet we still know little of its role in the
human digestive system after ingestion. Further research should provide sustainable dietary
strategies based on microbe-fermented foods aiming to improve human health and
sustainability of dietary patterns, and help in determining any possible role in metabolic
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disease control. Food fermented by microorganisms and food ingredients produced by them
also have huge innovation potential, in particular for SMEs, for local development, and as a
way of minimizing food waste from non-optimal raw material, waste products from food
manufacturing, or seasonal overproduction.
Activities should develop applicable solutions, in particular for the food processing industry,
and in the utilisation of fermentation potential. New products may seek EU market regulatory
approval, thus proposals should consider and address relevant regulatory requirements as well
as EFSA guidance documents for specific safety testing and risk assessment protocols.
Proposals are expected to address the following:
   Understand the interaction of microbial biodiversity, mechanisms between fermented
      foods, different types of food microbiomes, and the human microbiomes in order to
      determine the role of fermented food in nutrition, health and diet diversification.
   Develop applicable solutions for the food processing industry utilizing microbial
      potential in the production of food ingredients, and nutrients including formulation into
      food products.
   Develop new tests to evaluate the condition of the symbiosis between humans and
      microbiotas used routinely in pro- and diagnostics.
   Using microbes to reduce food packaging, food processing inputs (e.g.: energy, water),
      chemicals used in food (production), while ensuring the increased lifespan and safety of
      the products and the benefits to human and animal health.
   Activate societal engagement with relevant stakeholders (e.g. farmers, civil society
      organisations, regulatory bodies, citizens and media outlets) in order to ensure product
      acceptability and labelling in compliance with the relevant legal framework.
Proposals should explain how they will deliver co-benefits to the four Food 2030 priorities:
nutrition for sustainable healthy diets, climate and environment, circularity and resource
efficiency, innovation and empowerment of communities as well as those relevant to different
socio-economic and cultural groups.
Proposals must implement the multi-actor approach by involving a wide diversity of food
system actors and conducting inter- and trans-disciplinary research engaging consumers,
consumer organizations and civil society organisations and including local and indigenous
knowledge of soils. Proposals are encouraged to build on past or ongoing EU-funded
research, research infrastructures and collaborate with relevant initiatives, including the
Horizon Europe Soil Health and Food Mission. International cooperation (such as the
International Bioeconomy Forum) is highly recommended. Proposals should include a clear
plan on how they will collaborate with other proposals selected under this and any other
relevant topic, by participating in joint activities, workshops, as well as common
communication and dissemination activities. Proposals should plan the necessary budget to
cover these activities.
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This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-15: Transition to healthy and sustainable
dietary behaviour
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       12.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal priorities, the farm to fork strategy
for a fair, healthy and environment‑friendly food system, and the EU’s climate ambition for
2030 and 2050, the successful proposal will support R&I to facilitate the transition towards
healthy and sustainable dietary behaviour. It will contribute to the transformation of food
systems to deliver co-benefits for climate (mitigation and adaptation), biodiversity,
environmental sustainability and circularity, dietary shift, sustainable healthy nutrition and
safe food, food poverty reduction and empowerment of communities, and thriving businesses.
The main objective of this topic is to understand better, and measure, factors influencing
dietary behaviour. It also seeks to support the development of innovative, effective tools and
strategies to facilitate the transition towards healthy and sustainable dietary behaviour and
self-management of dietary habits.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
    improved knowledge and understanding of the factors influencing the dietary behaviour
      of different target groups (in particular vulnerable groups) across Europe, including
      barriers and constraints;
    identification of effective means whereby each food system actor can foster behavioural
      change;
    enabling consumers to make informed food choices;
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     a scientific basis for dietary advice to support policymakers and Member States that will
      empower individuals to adopt healthy and sustainable dietary behaviours, choices and
      lifestyles, as a win-win for their health and the environment, building on the advice of
      competent bodies at national, EU and international levels; and
     a better scientific basis on which policymakers could develop communication strategies
      that would increase the acceptability of food and health policy interventions by all actors
      and sectors that aim to support a shift towards healthy and sustainable diets for all,
      bearing in mind that education and dietary advice is a national competence.
Scope: Changes in food production, processing and consumption patterns have contributed to
diet-related health problems worldwide 166 . Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as
cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cancer, obesity, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes
account for 71% of all deaths. NCDs are largely preventable through effective interventions
that tackle shared risk factors such as unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, tobacco use and the
abuse of alcohol. According to the EAT-Lancet Commission, a shift from current diets to
healthier diets is likely to benefit human health substantially, averting about 11 million deaths
per year. Long-lasting, healthy and sustainable dietary behaviour needs to be given high
priority from an early age, as good eating habits are usually formed in childhood.
The change of dietary behaviour is a complex challenge subject to manifold influences that
should be better understood at individual and system levels, and through public engagement
and inter-/trans-disciplinary approaches. The development of new approaches/strategies/tools
requires a systemic approach involving all the main actors at different levels, who can ensure
acceptance of and better adherence to healthy and sustainable dietary behaviour. These
include governmental and public authorities, healthcare providers, education systems from
schools to universities, (local) producers, the food industry, retailers, hospitality and food
services, non‑governmental consumer and patient organisations, the general public,
policymakers and the media.
Proposals should consider a range of geographical, socio-economic, behavioural and cultural
factors and aim to produce innovative and effective strategies, tools and/or programmes
promoting sustainable and healthy dietary behaviours and lifestyles to be used by
policymakers, and monitoring approaches for measuring progress towards these goals if
policymakers decide to implement such strategies, tools and/or programmes. The gender
dimension (possible physical and behavioural differences) should also be investigated. Data
collected and integrated by the private and public sectors should be broken down by gender
and age.
Where relevant, activities should build and expand on the results of past and ongoing research
projects, and input from national, EU and international competent bodies. Selected projects
under this topic (and under the topic HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-01-05-two-stage:
Prevention of obesity throughout the life course) are strongly encouraged to participate in
166
         Scientific Advice Mechanism, Group of Chief Scientific Advisors: Towards an EU Sustainable Food
         System, Scientific Opinion n°8 (March 2020).
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joint activities as appropriate, possibly in the form of project clustering, workshops, etc.
Proposals are expected to demonstrate support for common coordination and dissemination
activities. Applicants should plan the necessary budget to cover such activities.
Proposals are expected to address the following:
   map and monitor dietary patterns at national/regional/rural/(sub)urban levels relevant to
      different genders, socio-economic and cultural groups, including the most vulnerable, to
      provide a snapshot of the situation across Europe;
   identify, involve and analyse different population groups, in particular the most
      vulnerable, and the health and environment impact of their choices, in order potentially
      to enable them to benefit from the outcome of the project;
   understand and measure the impacts of the factors and incentives influencing individual
      and collective dietary choice and behaviour across Europe;
   improve our understanding of the barriers and enabling factors affecting food system
      actors’ efforts to improve food environments and to produce, process, promote and
      provide healthier and environmentally, socially and economically sustainable food
      products/processes/services to respond to citizens’ needs/demands;
   for specific groups, develop innovative actions/approaches/interventions for different
      countries, region, urban and rural areas that policymakers could use to facilitate the
      transition towards healthy and sustainable dietary behaviour and lifestyle, and evaluate
      the effective impact if those would be implemented;
   develop innovative and effective tools to improve education, communication,
      engagement and training on sustainable healthy nutrition and diets, and on sustainable
      food systems, adapted to different population groups in respect of cultures, needs and
      gender at different levels (e.g. public authorities, health care providers, education
      systems). The tools should be available to the responsible national authorities, to support
      their efforts on health promotion, disease prevention and care;
   develop science-based tools for translating the scientific evidence base into easy-to-
      understand food-based dietary guidelines by national competent authorities that take
      account of local, seasonal, cultural, social, ethical, health and environmental factors and
      help consumers to make informed, responsible and easy choices;
   fill knowledge gaps and update the scientific evidence base to provide support for
      national authorities developing dietary guidelines for specific population groups (using
      the basis provided by national, EU and international competent bodies);
   provide recommendations for policymakers, underpinned by scientific evidence, to
      facilitate the transition towards healthy personalised management and sustainable dietary
      behaviour and lifestyle; and
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   provide evidence-based cost-benefit analysis of the proposed measure(s).
The multi-actor approach (see eligibility conditions) will be implemented by involving a wide
range of food system actors and conducting inter-/trans-disciplinary research. Proposals
should bring together multiple types of scientific expertise in health and natural sciences, and
social sciences and humanities. This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH
disciplines.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-16:                         Identification,     assessment     and
management of existing and emerging food safety issues
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                      The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                      multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal priorities, the farm to fork strategy
for a fair, healthy and environment-friendly food system, and the EU’s climate ambition for
2030 and 2050, the successful proposal will support R&I on integrated approaches throughout
the food system for detecting, assessing and mitigating relevant food safety risks. It will
contribute to the transformation of food systems to deliver co-benefits for climate (mitigation
and adaptation), environmental sustainability and circularity, dietary shift, sustainable healthy
nutrition and safe food, food poverty reduction and empowerment of communities, and
thriving businesses.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
   reduced risks from biological and chemical hazards throughout the food system;
   administrations’ ability to anticipate and mitigate emerging food safety risks, capacity
      and expertise for risk assessment activities including holistic risk assessment (risks in
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      combination with benefits) and best-fitting control measures for biological and chemical
      hazards across the food system;
     improved support for food systems regulatory science (integrated risk-benefit
      assessment, cost-benefit assessment) through robust holistic risk assessment;
     improved use of ‘big data’ to predict and prevent emerging food related threats; and
     long-term anticipation and prevention of emerging risks for food and feed safety, plant,
      soil and animal health, and nutritional quality through better trend tracking and
      characterisation systems.
Scope: Food-borne diseases are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, and a
significant impediment to socio-economic development worldwide, but the full extent and
burden of unsafe food, and especially the burden arising from chemical and biological
hazards, is still largely unknown167.
Successful proposals are expected to address both of the following areas (area A and area B):
Area A
     develop methods for early identification and monitoring of drivers of (re)emerging food
      safety risk and threats (e.g. global environmental changes, globalisation, technological
      innovations, policy changes, changes in values, perceptions and sensitivity, change in
      economic models, etc.);
     develop methods and devices for the characterisation of emerging risks, with the aim of
      anticipating and possibly mitigating/preventing impacts (preparedness);
     develop educational material/curricula to help strengthen existing food safety risk
      analysis teaching with an inter-/trans-disciplinary systems dimension;
     engage authorities and the general public throughout Europe in early warning and the
      identification of emerging risks through a coordinated citizen science approach, and food
      safety awareness-raising efforts;
     develop guidance on how to integrate food safety considerations in the design phase of
      innovations such as circular economy, by identifying possible emerging risks, in liaison
      with relevant initiatives that would benefit from the results;
     develop methods to guarantee food safety in local food systems from farm to fork, in
      particular in small-scale businesses, and local cooperatives; and
     develop holistic risk-benefit assessment methods and tools, and adapt these for use in a
      regulatory setting.
167
        WHO estimates of the global burden of foodborne diseases: foodborne disease burden epidemiology
        reference group 2007-2015. http://who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/199350/9789241565165_eng.pdf
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Area B
     improve knowledge on the persistence of pathogens (including viruses) in food matrices
      and food processing environments for improved microbe control;
     develop data, indicators and tools to address and tackle the risks associated with new and
      food-borne pathogens (including viruses);
     develop and validate detection methods for new hazards and develop methods and
      devices for early identification of risks for food safety and threats;
     develop more robust and responsive models for food safety crisis management, taking
      into account socio-economic and environmental factors;
     analyse drivers of risks (globalisation, urbanisation, environmental degradation, climate
      change, etc.) to support the long-term anticipation and possible prevention of emerging
      risks; and
     develop scientific evidence to support assessment of the risk posed to susceptible human
      subpopulations (including gender in the research context) and ecosystems and the
      underlying risk drivers.
Successful proposals should deliver support for evidence-based policymaking and related risk
assessment activities and implementation needs, in particular for the development of effective
regulatory control and enforcement aspects in the area food safety. Engagement with risk
managers and risk assessors is expected for priority-setting and to deliver impactful results.
Proposals should explain how they will deliver co-benefits to the four Food 2030 priorities.
The multi-actor approach (see the eligibility conditions) must be implemented by involving a
wide range of food system actors and conducting inter-disciplinary research. Proposals are
encouraged to follow the One Health168 approach and to build on past or ongoing EU-funded
research and cooperation with relevant initiatives (such as the One Health’ European joint
programme 169 ). They should have a clear plan on how they will collaborate with other
projects selected under this topic (if funding of more than one project is possible). They
should participate in joint activities, workshops and common communication and
dissemination activities. Applicants should plan the necessary budget to cover these activities.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-17: Increasing the transparency of EU food
systems to boost health, sustainability and safety of products, processes and diets
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per           11.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
168
         https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/one-health
169
         One Health European Joint Programme: https://onehealthejp.eu/
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project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 11.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Eligibility conditions    The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                          exceptions apply:
                          The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                          The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                          multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 (according to the activity)
Readiness Level           by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant       apply:
Agreements                Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The
                          support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                          The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 300
                          000 in order to cover the expenses for developing and piloting
                          crosscutting and systemic solutions that improve transparency with
                          regards to one or several of the six objectives mentioned in the topic.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal priorities and the farm to fork
strategy for a fair, healthy and environment-friendly food system, the successful proposal will
support R&I to increase transparency across food systems to boost health, sustainability and
safety of products, processes and diets, contributing to the transformation of food systems to
deliver co-benefits for climate (mitigation and adaptation), environmental sustainability and
circularity, dietary shift, sustainable healthy nutrition and safe food, food poverty reduction
and empowerment of communities, and thriving businesses.
Advances in R&I to upgrade transparency will provide multiple benefits relevant to
improving food safety, fighting food fraud and addressing growing public concern in the EU
as regards the climate, biodiversity and environmental impacts of food and diets in practice.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all following expected outcomes:
    accelerate the deployment of transparency innovations and solutions in EU food systems,
      especially among micro-enterprises and SMEs, to boost health, sustainability, and safety
      of products, processes and diets, and drive climate action; and
    ensure that future transparency innovations and solutions are demand-driven, systemic
      and cost-effective, and support the objectives of the EU farm to fork strategy and the EU
      Green Deal.
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Scope: Despite technological progress and the emergence of new approaches, solutions and
methodologies, recent literature170 highlights continuing challenges in increasing the uptake of
transparency solutions among food system actors. These include concerns about connectivity,
interoperability, privacy, cost-efficiency and low consumer confidence in the technologies
being deployed. In addition, many point to the fragmentation and complexity of food systems,
the high number of SMEs and micro-companies, and the cross-cutting and systemic nature of
transparency innovations as important reasons for the slow deployment of the solutions.
Transparency (defined in supply chains as access to non-distorted, factual, relevant and timely
information about supply chain products171) is a critical component of modern food systems.
Transparency of food production from farm to fork is crucial to inform consumers, authorities
and food system actors on product characteristics such as origin, production method,
ingredients and safety, and on sustainability and ethical aspects of products and processes. It
is also a crucial factor in ensuring food traceability and authenticity.
Proposals should accelerate the deployment of transparency solutions in EU food systems,
especially among micro-enterprises and SMEs, to boost health, sustainability and safety of
products, processes and diets in the period to 2030, and drive climate action. In particular,
proposals should facilitate innovations that increase transparency in support of six objectives:
  1. Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of traceability;
  2. Making it easier for people to adopt healthy and sustainable diets with a lower
      environmental and climate impact, by advancing innovations that provide and process
      transparency data across the food chain to support the implementation of the future EU
      framework for sustainability labelling;
  3. Making it easier for farmers and food businesses to increase the sustainability of their
      products and processes, and make them more nutrition-sensitive;
  4. Drastically improving the efficiency and effectiveness of food safety processes and
      procedures, within companies and beyond;
  5. Increasing the authenticity of products, and reducing food fraud; and
  6. Increasing the capacity of authorities and policymakers that deal with food safety,
      sustainability, nutrition and health to monitor the performance of different parts and
      processes of the food system.
Proposals should build a network of expertise that can act as an EU hub for knowledge
sharing and the demonstration and piloting of systemic solutions relating to transparency. The
network should be governed by a wide range of experts and stakeholders, including primary
producers, processors, retailers, food service providers, consumers, public and private
institutions (governmental institutions, civil society, including NGOs, and industry),
investors, entrepreneurs and policymakers.
170
         E.g. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2019.07.024
171
         https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aei.2010.06.001
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Proposals should create an inventory of validated technologies (such as IoT, blockchain,
artificial intelligence, 5G/edge, and ‘big data’), open data, approaches and methodologies
based on past research and emerging best practice. They should demonstrate the use of these
technologies to address the above objectives using existing or emerging data infrastructures
across the food chain. They should make a particular effort to valorise relevant past EU-
funded research.
Proposals should consolidate the state of play as regards approaches for dealing effectively
with cross-cutting challenges (e.g. connectivity, privacy, interoperability, consumer
acceptance, cost-effectiveness, skills) and address the lack of such approaches where needed
and in line with the relevant legal frameworks.
Proposals should widely disseminate and communicate expertise among primary producers,
processors, retailers, food service providers, public and private institutions (governmental
institutions, NGOs, industry), investors, entrepreneurs and policymakers. In this way, they
should build awareness, education and skills on at European level in a way that supports
solution development in practice in major food categories, by taking into account EU,
national, regional and sectoral contexts and needs (health, food & nutrition policies,
environmental, socioeconomic, cultural, gender-related, behavioural and dietary).
Proposals should develop methodologies, tools and approaches to enable the clients of the
network of expertise to engage actively with end-users of transparency solutions (e.g.
retailers, public authorities), a broad range of food system actors, technology and
infrastructure providers and policymakers, to make sure that new transparency solutions are
demand-driven, systemic, in line with the relevant legal frameworks, and cost-effective, and
that they support the objectives of the EU farm to fork strategy, including the implementation
of the future food sustainability labelling framework. Proposals are encouraged to assess the
merits of existing and future citizen-science initiatives that can help build or uptake
transparency solutions.
Proposals should help clients to apply systems thinking to identify challenges linked to the
above objectives and possible innovative systemic solutions. They should help them
understand and assess how transparency solutions will be used and how they will generate
benefits and incentives for consumers and food businesses by enabling policy development
(including the implementation of a future EU framework for sustainability labelling). They
should stimulate mutual learning across parts of food systems, scientific disciplines,
geographies and languages.
Proposals should perform these tasks using a business model that guarantees the functioning
of the network and its services beyond the lifespan of the project.
In addition, proposals should develop and pilot cross-cutting and systemic solutions that
improve transparency as regards one or more of the six objectives, while respecting the
relevant legal frameworks and national competence in the area of diet and health, to
complement and support the above tasks. The pilots should advance solutions that can benefit
a wide range of micro-enterprises and SMEs. For the purpose of the pilots, proposals may
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
involve financial support for third parties in the form of grants, typically in the order of EUR
100 000 to 300 000 per party. These amounts are deemed sufficient to ensure that solutions
are demand-driven, systemic and cost-effective, and support the objectives of the EU farm to
fork strategy and the EU Green Deal. Up to 20% of the EU funding requested by the proposal
may be allocated to the purpose of financial support for third parties.
Proposals should explain and map how the pilots will achieve co-benefits relevant to the Food
2030 priorities (nutrition for sustainable healthy diets, climate and environment, circularity
and resource efficiency, innovation and empowerment of communities).
Proposals should set out a clear plan on how they will collaborate with other projects selected
under this and any other relevant topic, by participating in joint activities, and common
communication and dissemination activities. Proposals are encouraged to link with relevant
smart specialization platforms.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
Targeted international cooperation
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-18: One Health approach for Food Nutrition
Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU       The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
per project       Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                  requesting different amounts.
Indicative        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 18.00 million.
budget
Type of Action    Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility       The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following exceptions
conditions        apply:
                  The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                  Due to the specific challenge of this topic, in addition to the minimum
                  number of participants set out in the General Annexes, consortia must
                  include at least five independent legal entities established in Africa. The
                  places of establishment of at least four of these legal entities must be in the
                  same geographical region of Africa (as defined by the African Union:
                  https://au.int/en/member_states/countryprofiles2)
                  Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member states
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
                      of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                      The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the multi-
                      actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
                      International organisations with headquarters in a Member State or
                      associated country are exceptionally eligible for funding.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness             General Annex B.
Level
Expected Outcome: The EU’s relationship with Africa is a key priority for the EU. The
effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing urgency of the climate crisis put pressure
on both domestic/local food production and on ecosystems that generate higher health risks
for plants, animals and humans with the emergence of new pest and diseases.
In line with the farm to fork strategy, and the development of Green Alliances on sustainable
food systems, successful proposals will provide a comprehensive and integrated response to
current and future challenges benefiting people, nature and economic growth in Europe and in
Africa.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of following expected outcomes:
     EU – Africa jointly tackle climate change and environment-related challenges and meet
      the objectives of the Paris Agreement on climate change, and contribute to the
      Sustainable Development Goals;
     develop nature-based solutions to plant nutrition, plant health and animal health
      addressing human health, with innovative methods and technologies that optimize, and
      limit when necessary, the use of external inputs and helps farmers in the implementation
      of regulated deficit strategies;
     strengthened transdisciplinary research and integrated scientific support for relevant EU
      policies and priorities (the EU strategy for Africa, European Green Deal objectives, etc.);
     In line with the EU priorities, proposals should take into consideration the objectives of
      the European One Health Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) 172that aim at
      making the EU a best practice region, boosting research, development and innovation
      and shaping the global agenda.
Scope: The “One Health” approach to plant and animal health is based on a systemic
perspective linking the health of ecosystems, animals and humans. It requires interventions at
different level (local, territorial, value chain) and coherent public policies. ‘One Health’ can
be applied to establish a transformative approach to increasing sustainable practices in
172
         The European One Health Plan Against Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) can be found at:
         https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/health/files/antimicrobial_resistance/docs/amr_2017_action-plan.pdf
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
agriculture and improving the overall health and well-being of humans, animals, and natural
ecosystems.
There is a need to fill knowledge gap regarding interactions with different components and
especially between human and animal and plant health and strengthen monitoring and
evaluation systems to prevent the emergence and spread of pest and diseases with nature-
based solutions.
Proposals should build on existing and new knowledge, data, models (including in situ
calibration measurement) and available tools to:
   identify local farm animals and crops in the different agro-ecological zones in Africa to
      maintain/increase productivity, resilience and nutritional quality taking into account the
      interactions between plants, animals, diseases, pests, zoonosis and ecosystems under
      conditions of limited external inputs and increased abiotic and biotic stresses;
   develop innovative means including innovative methodologies for risk assessments and
      practices to tackle current and emerging plant pests and diseases, pests and zoonosis
      (including transboundary infectious livestock diseases) taking into account the
      interactions between plants, livestock health and the natural ecosystems;
   develop sustainable and systemic integrated approaches to plant and animal health from
      farm to international scales in line with a greener agriculture by optimising resource
      efficiency, minimising production losses and avoiding geographical spread of
      diseases/pathogens (i.e. control of locusts or other migratory pests, development of
      vaccines) including animal breeding and being responsible/respectful of natural
      ecosystem integrity, goods and services;
   establish a multidisciplinary team that works together to achieve these outcomes and
      bring together experts from academic, government, public, and private institutions to
      achieve meaningful change in public awareness, policies, and practices that support
      implementation of sustainable agricultural practices.
Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor approach’ and ensure adequate involvement of the
farming sector and, as relevant, bio-based industry active in rural areas.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-19: EU-China international cooperation on
integrated pest management in agriculture
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
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                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility conditions    The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                          exceptions apply:
                          The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                          The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of
                          the multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme
                          part.
Procedure                 The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                          exceptions apply:
                          Grants awarded under this topic will be coordinated with the Ministry
                          of Science and Technology, China (MOST).
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the specific grants
                          awarded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, China (MOST)
                          to the Chinese partners.
                          The respective options of the Model Grant Agreement will be
                          applied.
Expected Outcome: In line with the farm to fork strategy, the successful proposals will help to
promote a global transition to sustainable food systems. They will therefore help to ensure
sustainability of agri-food systems, catering for the needs of a growing population and support
the development and implementation of integrated pest management practices. They will
strengthen international cooperation with actors from China in the areas of integrated pest
management.
Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
    reduce the use of pesticides for crops of importance to the EU, Associated Countries and
     China which dependency on chemical pest management is currently high;
    increase on-farm use and implementation of integrated pest management practices;
    develop integrated pest management training for farmers/growers and extend the range
     of applications through incentives to increase the uptake of integrated pest management
     practices;
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
   raise awareness of integrated pest management practices and improve product quality
      and food safety by decreased residue concentrations of pesticides in crops and lower
      environmental impact.
Scope: A high percentage of food crops is lost to plant pests and diseases annually. At the
same time, concerns are mounting over the impact of pesticides used in agriculture on the
environment, non-target organisms and human health. Proposals should support the
development and implementation of integrated pest management practices for crops where the
dependency on conventional chemical pesticides is the highest, and where the exchange of
information, best practices and technologies is of benefit to the EU, Associated Countries and
China.
Proposals should:
   enlarge the range of tools available for integrated pest management practices, such as
      crop diversification leading to more functional diversity, effective cropping techniques,
      appropriate species and varieties resistant to pests, the development of biological control
      agents, the preservation and enhancement of natural enemies of pests etc.;
   develop technologies enabling the prevention, modelling and monitoring of pest
      emergence allowing timely and appropriate intervention in line with the principles of
      integrated pest management;
   develop risk assessment methods for assessing the risks and environmental impacts of
      these technologies;
   support capacity building, training and education enabling farmers/growers to adopt
      sustainable agricultural practices in pest management and the establishment of a
      reward/incentives system.
Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor approach’ and ensure adequate involvement of the
farming sector. Practical solutions for farmers/growers, close to the market, should be
facilitated by the involvement of industry, including SMEs, to promote the transfer of
technology relating to integrated pest management.
Actions will contribute to implementing the EU-China Food, Agriculture and Biotechnology
(FAB) flagship initiative, which aims to ensure sustainability of agri-food systems, catering
for the needs of a growing population, the reduction of food and agricultural losses and waste,
and the provision of safe and healthy foodstuffs.
Due to the scope of this topic, international cooperation is strongly encouraged, in particular
with China. This topic is envisaged to be implemented as a coordinated call but if no
agreement is reached with the Ministry of Science and Technology China (MOST) on the co-
funding of Chinese partners, it will be implemented as a normal call. Updates will be
published on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Call - Fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food systems from primary production
to consumption
                                                              HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)173
                       Topics                             Type      Budgets     Expected EU       Number
                                                           of        (EUR       contribution          of
                                                        Action      million)     per project       projects
                                                                                    (EUR          expected
                                                                     2022
                                                                                 million)174        to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 28 Oct 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 23 Feb 2022
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-01 RIA                               7.00        Around 7.00        1
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-02 RIA                               6.00        Around 6.00        1
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-03 RIA                               10.00       Around 5.00        2
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-04 IA                                8.00        Around 4.00        2
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-05 RIA                               10.00       Around 5.00        2
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-06 RIA                               12.00       Around 6.00        2
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-07 IA                                12.00       Around 12.00       1
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-08 RIA                               14.00       Around 7.00        2
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-09 RIA                               10.00       Around 5.00        2
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-10 RIA                               11.00       Around 11.00       1
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-11 RIA                               10.00       Around 10.00       1
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-12 RIA                               28.00       Around 7.00        4
173
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
174
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-13 RIA                          11.00       Around 11.00    1
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-14 RIA                          12.00       Around 6.00     2
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-15 CSA                          3.00        Around 3.00     1
Overall indicative budget                                     164.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Enabling sustainable farming
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-01: Risk assessment of new low risk pesticides
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 7.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Expected Outcome: In line with the farm to fork strategy, for a transition to fair, healthy and
resilient EU agriculture and forestry, including an ambitious target of the reduced use of plant
protection products, the successful proposal will support research and innovation (R&I) to
help agriculture / forestry sectors to remain productive and contribute to sustainable
agriculture and forest health.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     improve risk assessment of new so-called low-risk substances and plant protection
      products with the use of relevant methods;
     foster EU regulatory science and risk assessment of new low-risk pesticides for
      agriculture;
     ensure the safety of new low-risk pesticides used in agriculture through robust and
      transparent risk assessment;
     increase the availability of safe and environmentally friendly methods for plant
      protection and weed control to reduce risks to the environment, non-target organisms
      and human health.
Scope: Concerns are mounting over the effects of pesticides on the environment, non-target
organisms and human health. Member States and EU policies seek to reduce the reliance on
chemical pesticides for crop protection through the design and implementation of approaches
that are more integrated and include restrictions on the use of several active substances. To
ensure the lowest risk to human health and the environment, the development of so-called
low-risk substances175 is encouraged by several regulatory incentives in the EU. However, the
changing nature of low-risk plant protection products requires increased capacities in risk
assessment. The plant protection products approval and authorization process has to keep pace
with scientific and technological developments aiming to advance assessment methods of new
low-risk plant protection products.
New products may seek EU market regulatory approval, thus proposals should need to
consider and address relevant EU regulatory requirements as well as relevant guidance
documents that are to be followed for the specific hazard characterisation and exposure
assessment to achieve an appropriate risk assessment.
Proposals should contribute to:
     improve the risk assessment of newly proposed or specifically adapted low-risk
      pesticides such as new species/strains of microorganisms, ds-RNA-based pesticides,
175
         Low-risk active substances for plant protection are defined according to criteria outlined in Regulation
         (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 concerning the
         placing of plant protection products on the market and repealing Council Directives 79/117/EEC and
         91/414/EEC. They are subject to specific provisions for their approval and the authorisation of low-risk
         plant protection products containing them outlined in this Regulation and its implementing Regulations.
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
     pheromones, plant extracts, and/or microbiome solutions or a new mode of application
     with the use of relevant methods;
   develop and advance the integration of different tools, technologies and methodologies
     to support the comprehensive and consistent risk assessments of new low-risk pesticides
     to ensure safety and sustainability;
   contribute to understanding the biological effects of these new substances and/or
     products;
   assess the impacts and risks of these new substances and/or products;
   assess and improve the level of certainty in risk assessments of new low-risk pesticides;
   identify the relevant additional studies required for assessing these new low-risk
     pesticides in order to establish that they have a hazard profile compatible with their
     classification as low-risk substances and plant protection products;
   contribute to the standardisation and validation of the developed tools, technologies and
     methods for risk assessments.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-02: Socio-economics of pesticide use in
agriculture
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                      consortium selected for funding.
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                      The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                      multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In line with the farm to fork strategy, the successful proposal will support
integrated pest management practices facilitating the progress towards the ambitious target of
reduced use of plant protection products while supporting the agricultural / forestry sectors to
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
remain productive and contribute to sustainable and biodiversity friendly agriculture and/or
forest health.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Identify opportunities and barriers to increase the uptake of integrated pest management
      and low-pesticide-input pest management across the diversity of EU and Associated
      Countries farming systems;
     Increase the capacity to understand the impact of current pesticide use practices and
      proposed alternatives on the agricultural sector;
     Develop a thorough understanding of farmers’ decision-making, governance aspects and
      consumption patterns behind integrated pest management and low pesticide use
      practices;
     Support the design of relevant related policies to achieve the targets of the farm to fork
      and biodiversity strategies;
     Strengthened transdisciplinary research and integrated scientific support for relevant EU
      policies and priorities (Sustainable Use Directive176, common agricultural policy (CAP),
      Green Deal objectives, European pillar of social rights, etc.).
Scope: Research has shown that well-designed integrated pest management programmes can
control pests in an ecologically friendly manner; however, farming today relies on chemical
treatments to ensure farm profits and yield. A better understanding of the social, economic
and policy factors that can hinder or promote the uptake as well as evidence of the economic
performance of integrated pest management/ low pesticide practices are needed to identify
measures that can enhance its adoption and encourage the involvement of all relevant actors
across the value chain. Project funded under this topic should ensure synergies and
collaboration with other relevant ongoing Horizon 2020 projects.
Proposals should:
     Improve understanding of the reasons for the limited uptake of reduced pesticide
      use/integrated pest management practices and/or shift towards low-risk pesticides and
      bio-control agents and practices. This should include a deeper analysis of the evolution
      since the whole agricultural sector may be impacted by a reduction of pesticide use.
     Improve understanding of the impact (including direct and indirect effects) of current
      pesticide use practices and proposed alternatives at various scales, from fields to
      landscape and rural areas.
     Analyse the sociological and economic drivers and unintended consequences, such as the
      switching of crops and/or pesticides when a plant protection product becomes
      unavailable.
176
         Directive 2009/128/EC on the sustainable use of pesticides
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
    Analyse the consequences of the ongoing development of resistances to the use of
      pesticides (both in qualitative and quantitative terms), on productivity, on the economic
      performance of farms, on natural habitats and biodiversity and the environment.
    Analyse the competitiveness of goods produced using chemical pesticide-free/low-
      pesticide agriculture.
Proposals should cover a wide range of farm typologies, sectors and systems representative of
the diversity of farming in the EU and Associated Countries, including both conventional and
organic. Proposals must implement the “multi-actor approach” including a range of actors to
ensure that knowledge and needs from various sectors such as research, social partners, plant
health services and farmers/foresters are brought together.
The possible participation of the JRC in the project will consist of the use of a farm-level
modelling tool to contribute to the assessment of the socio-economic impacts of alternative
pesticide use practices, as well as to the evaluation of different policy scenarios to incentivise
the uptake of alternative pesticide strategies. Additionally, the JRC could contribute to the
analysis of possible survey data dealing with socio-economic impacts of current and
alternative pesticide use practices.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-03:                      Enhancing      biosecurity   in terrestrial
livestock production
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In line with the ‘farm to fork’ strategy for a transition to fair, healthy and
resilient livestock production systems, including the reduction of anti-microbial usage, a
successful proposal will support research and innovation (R&I) in helping policy makers and
economic operators to prevent and control infectious animal diseases, thus contributing to
sustainable agriculture and to public health.
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
The project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
     improving the capacity of policy makers, members of the veterinary profession, business
      operators and other relevant actors to prioritise and implement biosecurity measures in
      different production systems on farms and other places where animals are handled;
     gaining a better understanding of the costs and efficiency of certain biosecurity
      measures.
Scope: Biosecurity refers to a set of management and physical measures designed to reduce
the risk of introduction, establishment and spread of diseases, infections or infestations to,
from and within a population177. Biosecurity can prevent or minimise the risk of transmission
of infectious diseases not only to animals, but also people (zoonoses), and contributes to the
fight against antimicrobial resistance. Where no vaccine is available nor authorised, like for
African swine fever or other new and emerging diseases, the control of infectious diseases
relies heavily on biosecurity and no disease prevention, eradication or control programme can
work without it. Proposed projects should address biosecurity at primary production, at least
on farms and where animals are handled, but may also address relevant sectors like the feed
industry. Effective biosecurity requires constant attention by those implementing it.
Biosecurity can more easily be performed in enclosed facilities, like for indoor livestock
farming, than in outdoor production, which may facilitate direct or indirect contacts with
wildlife and subsequent transmission of a pathogenic infectious agent to livestock, although
risks from outdoor farming may not always be higher than indoor. General principles of
external and internal biosecurity are known, not least at farm level, but may not be equally
applicable to all farms, production systems and species and protect equally well against all
relevant diseases. The costs and efficiency of different measures are not always known, and
guidelines are not common yet.
The proposals should:
     address different terrestrial animal species and production systems, and different
      situations where livestock are handled;
     address the main diseases or groups of diseases against which biosecurity measures are
      effective, taking into account epidemiology of the diseases and related risks (e.g.
      wildlife);
     collect and disseminate best practices, and develop guidelines where appropriate;
     develop validated applicable methods or refine tools to assess biosecurity measures on
      farms or other places where livestock is handled;
     select certain measures, evaluate their efficiency, where appropriate by testing, and
      estimate their cost.
177
         https://www.oie.int/en/standard-setting/terrestrial-code/access-online/?htmfile=glossaire.htm
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement. Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor
approach’ and ensure adequate involvement of the farming sector, the veterinary profession,
advisory services and other relevant actors.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-04:                       Innovative       solutions  to prevent
adulteration of food bearing quality labels: focus on organic food and geographical
indications
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                       consortium selected for funding.
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: The farm to fork strategy aims to accelerate the transition to sustainable
farming and food systems by, inter alia, promoting the growth of organic farming with a view
to achieve the target of at least 25% of the EU’s agricultural land under organic farming by
2030. Moreover, the strategy envisages the strengthening of geographical indications (GIs),
by including specific sustainability criteria, where appropriate. One of the strategy’s main
priorities is to combat food fraud along the food supply chain. The successful proposals
should therefore contribute to preventing food fraud of products with quality labels, in
particular organic and GIs. In this way, they should facilitate progress towards the strategy’s
challenging target for organic farming and strengthen the GIs scheme.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   a wider use of new and improved tools and field-deployable methods and approaches for
      rapid and cost-effective verification of claims related to food products of plant and
      animal origin with quality labels, in particular organic and GIs;
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    unlocked potential of new technologies and other innovative approaches (e.g., business
      models) fit for farmers and food businesses (especially small-scale farmers and small
      and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs)) as well as policymakers, which cost-effectively
      enable traceability and transparency along the supply chains of quality labelled food, in
      particular those with organic and GIs labels;
    improved functioning and effectiveness of the control systems in Member States and
      Associated Counties and the EU’s legislative framework for organic and GI food
      products;
    increased data availability, interoperability and use, and improved analytical capacity for
      enhanced traceability and transparency along the supply chains of quality labelled food,
      in particular organic and GIs;
    well-informed decision-making by farmers, food businesses and policymakers to
      improve climate, environmental, economic and social sustainability along the supply
      chains of quality labelled food, in particular organic and GIs.
Scope: Quality labelled food products, such as organic and GIs, are generally more expensive
than their counterparts. Therefore, foods with such quality labels are particularly prone to
fraud. Illegal practices can considerably harm the quality schemes, as they can undermine
consumer confidence, thus damaging the farmers and food businesses who respect the rules.
The main challenge is that it is difficult for consumers and operators across supply chains to
visually distinguish genuine from false organic or GI products. Traditional methods of
determining food quality are time consuming and usually require special laboratory analyses,
which are often costly and may not be sufficient to guarantee a product’s authenticity and
traceability. In addition, as organic and GI food supply chains become more complex, the
need to ensure product traceability and transparency along the entire chain increases. Existing
traceability and control systems help track products throughout the food supply chain and
improve transparency. However, the organic and GI sectors rapidly change due to, for
example, widespread use of e-commerce, and given the expected growth of these sectors, the
risk of fraud may increase. Therefore, it is important to continuously innovate and upgrade the
approaches to prevent fraudulent practices. Diverse new technologies and other innovative
solutions (e.g., business models; participatory certification; local, short or mid-tier supply
chains; etc.), are emerging to improve the authentication and traceability of quality labelled
food products, in particular those with organic and GI labels, as well as to increase
transparency of supply chains, thereby contributing to combating fraud. These innovative
solutions need to be developed/improved, tested, demonstrated and deployed.
Proposals should investigate the current fraud practices affecting quality labelled food
products, in particular organic and GI, and analyse the root causes/drivers of these practices
and obstacles and ways to eradicate them. Based on these insights and building on the state-
of-the-art in research and innovation, proposals should develop/improve, test, demonstrate
and pilot promising innovative low-cost methods, tools and approaches to authenticate and/or
trace quality labelled food products, especially organic and GIs, as well as to improve
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transparency of their supply chains from farm to fork. They should explore the potential of
various technological and non-technological innovative solutions (e.g., digital (such as
photonics, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, internet of things (IoT), machine learning,
etc.), new business models (in particular involving and suitable for small-scale farmers and
SMEs), suitable reference materials, rapid and field-deployable, non-destructive testing
methods, technologies to improve cybersecurity, etc.), and their combinations. The
heterogeneity of products and sectors, as well as the diversity of supply chains and contexts
should be taken into account. Proposals should also investigate the barriers and incentives to
scaling up the use of the innovative solutions as well as assess the positive and negative
impacts on the different operations and actors in the organic and GI food value chains,
particular attention should be paid to small-scale farmers, SMEs and consumers, as well as the
control systems used in Member States and Associated Countries. Proposals should also
develop a system to increase availability of and access to relevant data, promote data
harmonisation and improve the ways in which data are stored. In addition, they should
explore ways to advance the analysis, use, interoperability and security of data to enhance fair
transparency and support better decision-making, to improve sustainability along organic and
GI food supply chains.
The innovative solutions should be widely disseminated and recommendations for relevant
actors in the public sector and business should be provided. Close involvement and
consultation with project advisory board members is recommended. Projects should use the
'multi-actor approach', ensuring adequate involvement of all relevant actors, including input
suppliers, farmers and SMEs. Proposals may build on existing research infrastructures, where
relevant. Proposals are encouraged to build on past and ongoing EU-funded research and
innovation projects, and are strongly encouraged to cluster with upcoming projects under the
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-10, HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-11 and
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-17 topics. They are also encouraged to cooperate
with actors working on related initiatives, including the European Commission’s Joint
Research Centre (JRC) Knowledge Centre for Food Fraud and Quality, which provides
expertise in food science, authenticity and quality of food supplied in the EU. The possible
participation/contribution of the JRC in the project would consist of ensuring that the project
deliverables are compatible with and/or improve existing databases and tools used at the
European Commission and fostering open access to project results via dissemination through
the European Commission Knowledge Centre for Food Fraud and Quality.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines. For this topic, the
integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation
content is not a mandatory requirement.
Enabling sustainable fisheries and aquaculture
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-05: Integrated and sustainable freshwater
bioeconomy: Combining aquaculture, biodiversity preservation, biotechnology and
other uses
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 3-6 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal objectives, the farm to fork strategy
for a fair healthy and environmentally friendly food system, the EU bioeconomy strategy and
blue growth strategy, the successful proposal will support freshwater aquaculture
products/processes and/or environmental services sustaining the health of freshwater
ecosystems and their bioeconomy sectors.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Improvement of the environmental footprint and resource efficiency of freshwater
      aquaculture and stimulation of its diversification and growth in the framework of an
      integrated freshwater bioeconomy strategy.
   Preservation of freshwater biodiversity by reducing the freshwater aquaculture impacts
      (e.g. with appropriate spatial planning) and assessment of its potential for
      biotechnological applications
   Stimulation of sustainable economic growth and jobs creation in the freshwater
      bioeconomy sector for people living in lakeside and riverside areas in Europe.
   Improvement of the professional skills and competences of those working and being
      trained to work within the blue economy.
Scope: Freshwater systems host an immense biodiversity and support a multitude of activities
providing livelihoods to inland populations. Lakes, ponds and rivers require a transition to
more sustainable and environment-friendly productive ecosystems through optimal water
management and planning, mutually benefiting the different ecosystem services by
developing economic activities in rural areas, maintaining the biodiversity, and increasing
resilience to climate change and water crises.
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Aquaculture, in particular integrated multi-trophic or recirculating aquaculture systems, can
be key for the development of lakeside and riverside areas as it can be combined with other
bio-based activities, such as farming, livestock and the use of hitherto unused naturally
produced biomass. Addressing environmental concerns, such as the requirements of the Water
Framework Directive and the Habitats Directive, are essential for sustainable growth of
freshwater aquaculture. Preserving biodiversity, including health and biosecurity issues, is
also key for potential biotechnological applications that should also be explored under this
topic.
The Strategic Working Group on Fisheries and Aquaculture (SCAR-Fish) of the Standing
Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) highlighted in a recent study178 several issues
that urgently need to be explored by research and addressed by innovation, such as climate
change-related issues and issues of profitability. Research in this topic should consider the
priorities of the SCAR-Fish study.
Strong and active involvement of stakeholders and end-users, including industry and NGOs,
in a co-creation approach, is key for the success of the projects that will be selected.
International co-operation with partners from non-associated third countries is strongly
encouraged as a win-win scenario, while contributing to the European competitiveness and
resilience.
Where relevant, proposals may seek synergies and capitalise on the results of projects funded
under Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, its
continuation European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, and other funding streams
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-06: Biosecurity, hygiene, disease prevention
and animal welfare in aquaculture
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 3-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level         see General Annex B.
178
         SCAR-Fish (2020) Evaluation of the freshwater aquaculture research needs in Europe. Edited by P.
         Lengyel.                                                                             https://scar-
         europe.org/images/FISH/Documents/Freshwater_aquaculture_research_Europe_final_04022020.pdf
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Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal objectives, the farm to fork strategy
for a fair healthy and environmentally friendly food system, the EU bioeconomy strategy and
the blue growth strategy, the successful proposal will support research and innovation on
animal health and welfare in aquaculture to contribute to an environmentally friendly,
inclusive, safe and healthy seafood production, including from freshwaters.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Advancement of knowledge about how farmed fish react to farming conditions and their
      effects on their welfare and growth.
     Development of innovative and less invasive disease prevention, monitoring, control and
      treatment approaches for a more sustainable production.
     Healthier seafood production through improvement in farming practices and thus
      contribute to increase its competitiveness.
     Improve the professional skills and competences of those working and being trained to
      work within the blue economy.
Scope: Aquaculture is the food production sector with the fastest growth globally, but in the
EU it is stagnant. Fish and mollusc disease remain an important constraint on productivity and
its prevention and management are essential for the sustainability of the European aquaculture
industry. Parasites, viruses and microbes often have devastating effects when they infect fish
or shellfish farms. The great variety of species cultured and production systems used hinders
the implementation of good husbandry practices tailored to each aquatic species. The
aquaculture sector falls short of codes of good practice and technologies for the early
detection, prevention and control of aquatic diseases. There is also a need for alternatives to
pharmaceutical treatments: antimicrobials and antiparasitic drugs are limited and expensive,
environmentally impacting and raise consumers concerns on the safety of seafood. The
Strategic Working Group on Fisheries and Aquaculture (SCAR-Fish) and the Collaborative
Working Group on Animal Health and Welfare (SCAR-AHW) in the frame of the Standing
Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR), highlighted in a recent study 179 several fish
pathology issues that need urgently to be explored by research and addressed by innovation,
such as rapid tests for diagnosis and DNA vaccines at the level of hatchery, bloodstock, cage,
pond, etc. Research in this topic should consider the priorities of the SCAR-Fish study.
A similar SCAR-Fish and SCAR-AHW study180 revealed major gaps related to fish welfare,
such as a striking lack of welfare indicators, and a strong interest from the industry to improve
fish welfare for more and better production. Main gaps presented by this study should be
included in the research under this topic.
179
         SCAR-Fish & SCAR AHW (2019). Disease Prevention In Farmed Fish New Developments and
         Research       Needs.      https://scar-europe.org/images/FISH/Documents/CASA_Fish_Disease_Final-
         Report.pdf
180
         SCAR-Fish & SCAR AHW (2018). Strengthening fish welfare research through agap analysis study.
         https://scar-europe.org/images/FISH/Documents/Report_CWG-AHW_CASA_FISH-welfare.pdf
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Codes of good practices are crucial for fish and shellfish sustainable production. Research
under this topic should develop innovative aquaculture approaches to achieve the highest
possible health standard in production, including breeding, nutrition, alternative disease
control methods or increased biosecurity. A holistic approach should be applied, considering
the interaction with the environment, the reservoirs, wild and farmed fish interaction or the
importance of co-existing pathogens simultaneously infecting the same hosts. Modelling of
aquaculture health economics should be covered in the study.
Strong and active involvement of stakeholders and end-users, including industry and NGOs,
in a co-creation approach, is key for the success of the projects that will be selected.
International co-operation with partners from non-associated third countries is strongly
encouraged as a win-win scenario, while contributing to the European competitiveness and
resilience.
Where relevant, proposals may seek synergies and capitalise on the results of projects funded
under Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, its
continuation European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, and other funding streams
Transforming food systems for health, sustainability and inclusion
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-07:                      Building     alternative    protein-friendly
sustainable and healthy food environments
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per      12.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                      The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                      multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
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Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal priorities, the farm to fork strategy
for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system, and the EU’s climate ambition
for 2030 and 2050, the successful proposal will support R&I to promote the production,
provision and consumption of alternative sources of proteins as well as dietary shifts towards
sustainable healthy nutrition. This will contribute to transforming food systems so that they
can deliver co-benefits for climate (mitigation and adaptation), biodiversity, environmental
sustainability and circularity, dietary shifts, sustainable healthy nutrition and safe food, food
poverty reduction and empowerment of communities, and thriving businesses.
The EU’s farm to fork strategy states that: “European diets are not in line with national
dietary recommendations, and the ‘food environment’ does not ensure that the healthy option
is always the easiest one”.
The food environment, which makes the link between food supply and diets, is one of the
determinants of consumer choices and food production. As such, food environments are
essential to enabling a dietary shift towards less livestock-based and less highly processed
food (e.g., more fresh and minimally processed fruit and vegetables, plant-based and aquatic
food to tackle the over-consumption of meat and dairy). Much more R&I is needed on food
environments to ensure that environmental sustainability and health objectives can be
achieved.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of food environments to ensure that people,
      including the most vulnerable groups, have choices in terms of alternative proteins (e.g.
      plant-based, microbe-based, ocean-based (i.e. fish, algae, invertebrates), fungus-based,
      insect-based), to foster a dietary shift (accessibility and availability).
     Ensuring an overall improvement in public health as a result of this shift, with a shift
      towards healthy, sustainable and diversified dietary patterns in line with national dietary
      advice.
     Reducing the environmental burden of European diets, including but not limited to
      greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, air pollution and impact on ecosystems, improving
      circularity (e.g. food waste and by-products), providing new, sustainable and healthy
      products made of alternative sources of proteins to consumers.
Scope: According to studies carried out by Milford et al. (2019) 181 and Castellani et al.
(2017)182, consumer choices depend on the food environment that ensures the availability of
and access to food. The behavioural sciences suggest that, to achieve a meaningful dietary
shift, a choice architecture should be designed to promote healthy and sustainable food
preferences.
Proposals are expected to address the following:
181
         Milford, A.B., et al. (2019). Drivers of meat consumption. Appetite 141 (2019) 104313.
182
         Castellani, V., et al. (2017). Consumer Footprint - Basket of Products indicator on Food. JRC Technical
         reports.
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 Empowering the ‘middle part’ of the food system, including for example industry,
  processors, retailers, food services, cooks and caterers to shape the food environment
  toward sustainability EU-wide, through the provision of a diverse diet based on
  alternative protein sources, including through training/skills-building among different
  actors in order to produce and provide alternative protein food.
 Working on diversifying the offering, particularly in terms of alternative protein sources,
  and ensuring easier access to and affordability of sustainable and healthy (as defined in
  national dietary recommendations) foods and diets everywhere (urban, peri-urban and
  rural areas) for everybody (including the most vulnerable).
 Developing industry-ready processes to sustainably produce food based on alternative
  proteins whose sensory characteristics (e.g. colour, taste, structure) and nutritional value
  will be accepted by consumers.
 Developing a typology of food environments across Europe and identifying the enabling
  factors for positive transformative change to healthy sustainable diets.
 Assessing the tools and instruments (e.g. policy measures, incentives, existing and new
  promotion and marketing approaches, pricing policies) necessary to increase and vary
  the provision of alternative protein foods, which would lead to overall healthy and
  sustainable dietary patterns in line with national recommendations.
 Taking into account several key elements for the provision of alternative protein sources,
  e.g. shelf life, food handling, affordability (including externalities in prices of unhealthy
  and unsustainable diets), trade-offs between various food provision routes, developing
  new varieties of protein sources and rediscovering/valorising old varieties, traceability,
  and preserving flavour and natural resources (this would therefore be linked to the
  outcome of projects funded under the HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-12 topic:
  Filling knowledge gaps on the nutritional, safety, allergenicity and environmental
  assessment of alternative proteins and dietary shift). Gender aspects could also be
  considered.
 Exploring how the food environment can become ‘crisis-proof’ (whether something can
  be learnt from or has changed with the COVID-19 pandemic): creating resilient local,
  regional or European food systems that provide food and nutrition security for
  Europeans in a way that protects against future disruptions in supply chains. One way of
  doing this is by diversifying diets and providing people with alternative sources of
  protein.
 Clearly explain how the proposal will deliver co-benefits to each of the Food 2030
  priorities: nutrition for sustainable healthy diets, climate, biodiversity and environment,
  circularity and resource efficiency, innovation and empowering communities (e.g.
  meeting the needs, values and expectations of society in a responsible and ethical way).
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   Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface
     and requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
   Implementing the required multi-actor approach (see the eligibility conditions) by
     involving a wide diversity of food system actors and conducting trans-disciplinary
     research. Proposals should also promote international cooperation. Where relevant,
     activities should build and expand on the results of past and ongoing research projects
     (especially the four projects funded under the LC-SFS-17-2019 topic: Alternative
     proteins for food and feed). Projects should have a clear plan on how they will work with
     other projects selected under this topic (if funding of more than one project is possible).
     They should participate in joint activities, workshops, focus groups or social labs, as well
     as organise common communication and dissemination activities and show potential for
     upscaling. Applicants should plan the necessary budget to cover these activities.
   This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-08: Research and innovation for food losses
and waste prevention and reduction through harmonised measurement and monitoring
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                     proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 14.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                     consortium selected for funding.
                     The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                     The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                     multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Technology           Activities are expected to achieve up to TRL 6 (according to the activity)
Readiness Level      by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Procedure            The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                     exceptions apply:
                     To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                     only in order of ranking but at least also to one project within the area A
                     that is the highest ranked, and one project highest ranked within the area
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                       B, provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal priorities, and in particular the farm
to fork strategy for a fair healthy and environmentally friendly food system, as well as with
the EU's climate objectives, the successful proposals should support prevention and reduction
of food losses and waste. They should therefore contribute to creating sustainable, healthy and
inclusive food systems that deliver co-benefits for climate mitigation and adaptation,
biodiversity, environmental sustainability and circularity, sustainable healthy nutrition and
safe food consumption, food poverty reduction and empowerment of communities, and
thriving businesses.
Projects results are expected to contribute to some of the following expected outcomes:
   Successful implementation of the harmonisation of food waste measurement across
      Europe, supported by the development of new tools across the food system on land and
      at sea, from farm to fork, producing reliable and comparable data on food and waste
      (area A);
   With respect to food losses at the primary production stage:
         robust measurement of the magnitude of food losses at the primary production
            stage (i.e., agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture) at Member States and the EU
            levels for various commodities and at aggregated level, thereby contributing to the
            prevention and reduction of such losses (area B);
         better understanding of the drivers (root causes) of food losses at the primary
            production stage and identification of ways for policymakers and primary
            producers to prevent and reduce them (area B).
   Well-informed and more effective policy and business strategies for preventing and
      reducing food losses and waste across the food system on land and at sea, from farm to
      fork (area A and B).
Scope: Each year, a substantial amount of food is lost or wasted all along the food value
chain, from primary production to final consumption. Food losses and waste have negative
impacts on the society, the environment and the economy. They contribute to food insecurity
and hinder nutrition, generate GHG emissions and create pressure on land and water,
including through habitat degradation and biodiversity loss, and are responsible for great
economic losses. Such negative impacts are exacerbated in times of crisis such as the current
COVID-19 pandemic, when additional food losses and wastes are generated by disruptions in
food supply chains.
Preventing and reducing the amount of food intended for human consumption that is
eventually lost or wasted is a complex challenge. The robust and reliable measurement and
monitoring of food losses and waste is key to tracking progress made over time and informing
the development and implementation of effective strategies and actions.
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The recent adoption of the EU Commission Decision (EU) 2019/1597 set a common method
and minimum quality requirements for the uniform measurement of levels of food waste at
the national level. However, since thoroughly assessing food losses at the primary production
stage is difficult, time-consuming and costly, the common EU method excludes measurement
of food losses at this stage. In addition to this lack of information about the levels of food
losses at the primary production stage, there is also insufficient understanding of the root
causes and drivers behind these losses, and this is key to developing effective strategies for
preventing and reducing them.
Proposals responding to this topic should address one of the two complementary areas:
 A. Develop cost-efficient food waste-relevant data collection, integration and analyses
     based on a large number of varied sources (e.g. households, food services, other small
     business), as well as on food discarded through wastewater, in order to improve the
     mapping of current food waste profiles at European and national level. To this end,
     proposals should speed up the innovation process and develop and test new technologies
     and tools along the food systems – from farm to fork, on land and at sea.
 B. Develop and validate new tools and methods to measure and estimate food losses at the
     primary production stage, including storage of products originating from agriculture,
     fisheries and aquaculture. These new tools and methods should be applied and food
     losses at primary production stage measured across a large enough sample of diverse
     farms/production systems and value chains (including organic and agroecological), for a
     wide range of the most important commodities produced in the EU, across several years
     and in all Member States. This should generate robust measurement/estimation of food
     losses at the primary production stage for different commodities, at the Member State
     and EU levels, and at an aggregated level. Where relevant, measurements from Earth
     observation platforms may be used. To minimise data collection bias, each Member
     State should create a pool of trained researchers who are able to use the method and
     directly measure the food losses at the primary production stage. In addition to
     measurement, the direct and indirect drivers and root causes of food losses at primary
     production stage should be thoroughly investigated. Particular attention should be paid to
     the identification of market driven food losses at the primary production stage, to assess
     the potential for a reduction strategy based on marked demand shifts. Generated insights
     should also allow for identification of possible ways to prevent and reduce food losses at
     the primary production stage.
Proposals should provide recommendations for policymakers and best practice guidelines /
business strategies for researchers and relevant operators across the various diverse terrestrial
and aquatic food value chains.
Proposals should build on the work done by the Commission’s Joint Research Centre in
support of the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste and be aligned with the
environmental footprint method developed by the Commission. The possible participation of
the JRC in the project would consist of gathering data collected in the projects into a
consistent framework for modelling food losses and waste, integrating life cycle assessment
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
considerations in the projects, in particular in the assessment of food losses and waste
prevention intervention and food innovation, helping translating results into policy relevant
outputs.
Proposals should deliver on the food waste reduction and prevention targets relevant to the
farm to fork strategy, across the food systems. In addition, in area A, they should also explain
how they will deliver co-benefits on the four Food 2030 priorities: nutrition for sustainable
healthy diets, climate and environment, circularity and resource efficiency, and innovation
and empowerment of communities.
In area A, the required multi-actor approach must be implemented by conducting inter- and
trans-disciplinary research and involving a wide diversity of food system actors, with special
attention paid to consumers and civil society organisations.
Proposals are encouraged to build on past or ongoing EU-funded research and work together
with relevant initiatives including the European Commission Platform on Food Losses and
Food Waste. They should set out a clear plan on how they will work with other proposals
selected under this and any other relevant topics, e.g. by participating in joint activities and
workshops, or by running common communication and dissemination activities.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines. Proposals should take
into account and address inequalities, whether they be due to gender, race or other social
categories.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-09: Microbiomes in food production systems
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                      The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                      multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
                      International organisations with headquarters in a Member State or
                      associated country are exceptionally eligible for funding.
Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will be in line with the European Green Deal
priorities and the farm to fork strategy for a fair healthy and environmentally friendly food
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system, as well as with the EU's Climate ambition for 2030 and 2050. It will support R&I to
foster advances in microbiome-related research for more sustainable agricultural food
production. This in turn will contribute to the transformation of food systems to deliver co-
benefits for climate (mitigation and adaptation), biodiversity, environmental sustainability and
circularity, dietary shift, sustainable healthy nutrition and safe food, food poverty reduction
and empowerment of communities, and thriving businesses.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    More nutritious and diverse plant-based food produce and products, based upon diverse
      microbiomes.
    Knowledge that leads to microbiome based understanding as needed by the industry on
      the interaction of plants (e.g. secondary metabolites) and of plant microbiomes with
      animal and human microbiomes. This is within the context of animal/human health
      effects, and of plants hosting plant/human/animal pathogens or other microorganisms
      causing quality and safety problems.
    Enhanced "translational research", which generates and applies knowledge that can
      improve human health and environmental practices and contributes to yield stability and
      food and nutrition security.
    Strengthened relationships between all actors involved in our food systems (e.g. farmers,
      and consumers) by offering transparency of business strategies, including related
      integrated assessments and decision support tools.
Scope: Diversity is increasingly important and is fundamental to achieving the UN
Sustainable Development Goals 2, 3, 12, 13, 14 and 15. To introduce such diversity there is a
need to implement research and innovation, education, communication, regulation and policy
at (multi-)national and European level addressing existing food systems-related microbiome
research gaps from laboratory to the field to food production ecosystems. This includes the
interaction of food chain microbiome components from the soil to the plant/animal to the
plate. We require a better understanding of the interaction of microbial biodiversity of
plant/animal/human microbiomes and other biological processes in the larger food and
animal/human health context. This is based upon an understanding that plant/animal/human
microbiome/ microbiota comprises all microorganisms, including pathogens, and beneficial
microorganisms.
The scope covers plant/animal/human/food microbiome interactions that can provide healthier
food and reduce human health and environmental risks, and contribute to restoring
biodiversity, enhanced circularity, and climate change adaptation.
A better understanding of the potential (direct or indirect) interactions between plant/
animal/human/food microbiomes should be achieved. Successful proposals should directly
link their R&I coverage with other related intervention actions developing microbiome
products and knowledge. In the medium term, food products grown and processed under
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optimised conditions favouring positive interactions with the microbiome must be harvested
and delivered at comparable costs to those originating in today's conventional farming or
intensive agriculture systems. This should be achieved while ensuring that the microbiome-
solutions have low risk for consumers, farmers and other users, and the environment,
maintaining the economic balance of production facilities and preventing dramatic economic
losses, in particular to primary producers. New products may seek EU market regulatory
approval, thus proposals should address relevant EU regulatory requirements as well as EFSA
safety guidance and risk assessment and health outcomes verification.
Proposals are expected to address the following:
   The characterisation and development of microbiomes and their downstream products
     providing dietary diversity for improved human and animal health, and resilient food
     production systems.
   Mapping and provision of the arising co-benefits relevant to the four Food 2030
     priorities: nutrition for sustainable healthy plant-based food and feed as well as those
     relevant to different socio-economic and cultural groups.
   Increasing knowledge and understanding of the biological and ecological processes
     involved in the assembly and dynamics of plant microbial communities, particularly
     microbial invasion and persistence, all along the production chains to deploy microbiota
     shaping-based strategies to improve the quality and safety of food products.
   Designing multi-objective multi-region microbiome/diet transition pathways for EU food
     systems, gathering all aspects of sustainable food systems and diets, health and safety
     parameters, biodiversity climate and environmental factors, circularity and resource
     efficiency, innovation and empowerment of communities, traditional and cultural
     resources.
   Seek international cooperation (such as with the International Bioeconomy Forum, the
     ‘one planet sustainable food systems’ programme, etc.), along with early and wide
     communication of microbiome science and applications.
   Address food industry needs, particularly personnel training in classical microbiology
     and modern microbiome skills; the closing of regulatory loopholes for microbial
     products; and the demarcation of research levels providing better differentiation to the
     companies developing the products.
The required multi-actor approach (see eligibility conditions) must be implemented by
involving a wide diversity of food system actors and conducting inter- and trans-disciplinary
research engaging consumers and civil society organisations. Proposals are encouraged to
build on past or ongoing EU-funded research, research infrastructures and collaborate with
relevant initiatives, including the Horizon Europe mission in the area of soil health and food
international cooperation, the International Bioeconomy Forum, the ‘one planet sustainable
food systems’ programme, etc. The proposals should set out a clear plan on how it will
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collaborate with other related proposals selected under this and any other relevant topic/call,
by participating in joint activities, workshops, as well as common communication and
dissemination activities.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-10: Integrated surveillance system to prevent
and reduce diet-related non communicable diseases (NCDs)
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       11.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 11.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal priorities and the farm to fork
strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system, as well as with the EU’s
climate ambition for 2030 and 2050, the successful proposal will support R&I aiming to
reduce diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs). It will contribute to the
transformation of food systems to deliver co-benefits for climate (mitigation and adaptation),
environmental sustainability and circularity, dietary shifts, sustainable healthy nutrition and
safe food, food poverty reduction and empowerment of communities, and thriving businesses.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
    Improving public health by introducing improved NCDs biomarkers.
    Better understanding of human (male and female) physiology, metabolic regulation and
      the links between all aspects of nutrition and health, microbiome and disease
      development.
    Robust and reliable knowledge base on variations in human health in response to
      nutrition and other relevant factors. Translation of this knowledge into innovative and
      effective food and nutrition solutions to improve people’s health and wellbeing in ways
      that are adapted to women and to men, while simultaneously taking into account other
      dimensions of sustainability such as climate and the environment.
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     Comprehensive evidence base on links between nutrition/health and disease by
      conducting hypothesis-driven studies and adopting more integrated research approaches.
     Improved public awareness and a healthier diet which will reduce NCDs in particular in
      vulnerable population groups across Europe, addressing health inequalities.
Scope: Unsustainable and unhealthy diets, with an increased demand for livestock products
and calorie-dense and nutrient-poor foods that are often highly processed (high in calories,
sugars, sodium/salt, saturated fat and alcohol, and low in wholegrains, fruits and vegetables,
legumes, nuts and seeds), are the leading NCD risk factor and a driver of high obesity rates. In
Europe, at present, more than half of the adult population is overweight or obese, and children
and population groups of lower socio-economic status are the most severely affected. NCDs
such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes are
responsible for the deaths of 41 million people each year, equivalent to 71% of all deaths
globally183. NCDs have a negative impact on both lives and health budgets but are largely
preventable through effective interventions that tackle shared risk factors (such as unhealthy
diets, physical inactivity, tobacco use and alcohol abuse).
The complexity of the interactions between diet and human health requires multi-level
engagement and inter- and transdisciplinary approaches to improve public health and reduce
Europe’s major health and economic burden. The development of new societally acceptable
approaches/strategies/tools for healthy and sustainable diets that reduce diet-related NCDs
requires a systemic approach involving a wide diversity of actors and sectors at different
levels (from local to international). These include policy makers and public authorities, health
care providers, schools and higher education establishments, food producers and processors,
retailers, hospitality and food services (e.g. restaurants, canteens), researchers, non-
governmental consumer and patient organisations, science brokers and private individuals.
Proposals should consider a range of diet-related NCDs, geographic, socio-economic,
behavioural and cultural factors. The gender dimension of the research is particularly
important for this topic. Data collected and integrated by the private and public sectors should
be broken down by gender and by socio-economic groups.
Where relevant, activities should build and expand on the results of past and ongoing research
projects. Selected projects under this topic (and under the HORIZON-HLTH-2022-
STAYHLTH-01-05-two-stage topic: Prevention of obesity throughout the life course) are
strongly encouraged to participate in joint activities as appropriate, possibly in the form of
project clustering, workshops, etc. Proposals are expected to show support for common
coordination and dissemination activities. Applicants should plan the necessary budget to
cover such activities.
Proposals are expected to address the following:
183
        IPES FOOD 2019. Towards a Common Food Policy for the European Union: The policy reform and
        realignment that is required to build sustainable food systems in Europe. International Panel of Experts
        on Sustainable Food systems;
        ECIPE.Europe’s Obesity Challenge.2016
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 Mapping and monitoring of the diet-related NCD situation (e.g. cardiovascular and heart
  diseases, obesity, diabetes, cancer and allergies) at the EU level, based on a literature
  review to better understand the relationship between lifestyle (including diet, nutrition
  and alcohol, physical activity), physiological and genetic parameters including the
  human        microbiome,        gender         and       sex,     geographical  placement
  (national/regional/neighbourhood and rural/urban zone), socio-economic, cultural and
  environmental (with particular reference to the human exposome) factors, biological
  parameters (including genomics and microbiomes), and the risk of NCDs.
 Development of standardised methods for collecting (missing) data, using existing
  data/studies/cohorts and increasing the use of big data and artificial intelligence to
  elucidate the complex interactions between diet and human health.
 Development of advanced and easy-to-use biomarkers of risk/response for NCDs,
  including non-invasive and microbiome-based ones.
 Assessment and monitoring of the impact of existing measures/interventions/policies in
  the EU on reducing NCDs.
 Investigating and generating a strong evidence base for the key physiological processes
  involved in the development of NCDs and how they may be affected by nutrition (from
  specific nutrient, dietary components to foods and dietary patterns) and other factors
  (e.g. geographical, biological, socio-economic, cultural, environmental, educational),
  taking into account individual genotype-phenotype status.
 Development of a strong evidence base on the risks of unhealthy diet and unhealthy food
  (high in calories, sugars, sodium/salt, saturated fat and alcohol, low in wholegrains,
  fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds, and often highly processed) within the
  development of NCDs versus healthy food/products.
 Identifying high risk/vulnerable populations across Europe, better understanding their
  predisposition to diet-related diseases, and designing specific hypothesis-driven research
  and well-controlled intervention studies with very strict conditions to reduce dietary and
  health inequalities in different countries, regions, rural and urban areas.
 Developing more targeted recommendations for effective and cost-efficient integrated
  policies (such as social, fiscal, regulatory, marketing) in the short-, medium- and long
  term. These are to support Member States and associated countries and policy makers in
  designing effective and cost-efficient policies that focus on prevention and promote
  healthy diets to reduce diet-related NCDs, taking into account environmental, gender,
  social and economic sustainability aspects.
 Undertaking risk/benefit cost analyses for the different options proposed to better predict
  and understand effective and long-term impacts and facilitate informed policy decisions
  and societal debate.
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The required multi-actor approach (see the eligibility conditions) must be implemented by
involving a wide diversity of food system actors and conducting inter- and trans-disciplinary
research.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-11: Effective systems for authenticity and
traceability in the food system
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                       consortium selected for funding.
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Technology             Actions developing tools and models are expected to reach TRL 7 by the
Readiness Level        end of the project – see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal priorities and the farm to fork
strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system, the successful proposal
will support R&I in improving traceability and combating food fraud along the food supply
chain. It will contribute to the transformation of food systems to deliver co-benefits for
climate (mitigation and adaptation), environmental sustainability and circularity, dietary
shifts, sustainable healthy nutrition and safe food, food poverty reduction and empowerment
of communities, and thriving businesses.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
    A robust knowledge base of the underlying reasons for/drivers of food fraud (e.g.
      economic and social) and the extent of food fraud.
    Innovative strategies and solutions (tools and devices) to prevent fraudulent practices by
      improving traceability and safeguarding authenticity, and fostering solutions for fraud
      prevention.
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   Improved assistance to control bodies and authorities in fraud prevention.
   Improved transparency through digital solutions (such as IoT, artificial intelligence,
      blockchain and distributed ledger technologies) that meet consumer demand for food
      transparency, with a focus on demonstrating authenticity of food as a way to reduce food
      fraud and boost consumer confidence in food origin and quality.
   Contribution to further development of policies for food authentication and traceability
      and for fighting food fraud/food crime.
   Support official control by providing guidance on detection and mitigation of fraudulent
      practices.
Scope: To contribute to the goals of the farm to fork strategy, the EU will scale up its fight
against food fraud to create a level playing field for operators and strengthen the powers of
control and enforcement authorities. The new EU Official Controls Regulation (Regulation
(EU) 2017/625) includes key provisions in relation to food fraud. Recently, the issue of food
fraud has been thrust into the spotlight and is of increasing concern to society and to the food
industry. It can have very different impacts on consumers, ranging from direct health threats
(e.g. consumption of toxic adulterants and contaminants) to violation of consumer rights (e.g.
mislabelling). With the complexity of the global market and the addition of e-commerce, the
safety risks of food fraud are likely to increase. Therefore, there is a constant need for
sensitive and accurate authentication methods and innovative traceability methods to prevent
food fraud and help the industry and official control authorities. Maintaining the integrity of
European foods is vital to protect both consumers and the legitimate producers, industry and
retail, and foster consumer confidence in the authenticity of all food products.
Successful proposals are expected to address both areas (area A and area B):
Area A:
   Take stock and determine the current state-of-the-art, identify gaps, and suggest short-,
      medium- and long-term strategies for closing gaps in research addressing various aspects
      of fraud such as societal and economic drivers, fraud opportunities, mitigation and
      prevention measures.
   Quantify the economic dimension of the food fraud problem and understand the
      behaviour of food criminals perpetrating food fraud.
   Carry out translational research on fraud detection methods to provide the required
      evidence base for harmonisation and standardisation of methods and harmonisation of
      strategies for regulatory use.
   Develop and validate rapid food fraud detection tools and real-time in-situ/on-line
      analytical methods for testing authenticity and quality.
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    Develop and implement new food fraud detection models (based on data, by applying
      artificial intelligence techniques) and tracing methods through the use of new and
      emerging technologies, such as blockchain and smart labelling tools.
    Build common platforms and tools for sharing information among stakeholders.
Area B:
    Support the development of an early warning system (EWS) for detection and possible
      further prevention of fraudulent practices and an efficient use of artificial intelligence,
      taking into consideration the data protection rules in place.
    Evaluate the utility of different food-authenticity-related databases existing in Member
      States and the EU institutions, and create a central database/data portal for further use of
      these data by authorised users to improve fraud detection and enforcement actions by the
      competent authorities.
    Develop tools that increase consumers’ confidence in the authenticity and quality of the
      food supply, in line with the relevant legal frameworks.
    Investigate food chain stakeholders’ attitudes towards adulterated food to understand
      better their motivation to commit fraud and trade-in inferior quality goods.
The required multi-actor approach (see the eligibility conditions) must be implemented by
involving a wide diversity of food system actors and conducting inter-disciplinary research.
Proposals should bring together major stakeholders and scientific expertise to protect
consumers and industry from food fraud.
Projects relevant to this topic should support policymaking and implementation relevant to
fighting food fraud.
Proposals should explain how they will contribute to achieving the objectives of the farm to
fork strategy and deliver co-benefits to the four Food 2030 priorities.
Proposals should involve a wide diversity of actors and implement an inter- and trans-
disciplinary approach. They are encouraged to build on past and ongoing EU-funded research,
and are strongly encouraged to cluster with upcoming projects under the HORIZON-CL6-
2022-FARM2FORK-01-04 topic: Innovative solutions to prevent adulteration of food bearing
quality labels: focus on organic food and geographical indications. They are also strongly
encouraged to work with existing research infrastructure and collaborate with relevant
initiatives, including specifically the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC)
Knowledge Centre for Food Fraud and Quality, which provides expertise in food science,
authenticity and quality of food supplied in the EU. The possible participation of the JRC in
the project will ensure that the project deliverables are compatible with and/or improve
existing databases and tools used at the European Commission and foster open access to
project results via dissemination through the European Commission Knowledge Centre for
Food Fraud and Quality, particularly to the competent authorities of the EU Member States.
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Proposals should set out a clear plan on how they will work with other projects selected under
this and any other relevant topic, by participating in joint activities and running common
communication and dissemination activities. Applicants should plan the necessary budget to
cover these activities.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
Targeted international cooperation
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-12: Agro-ecological approaches in African
agriculture systems
Specific conditions
Expected EU        The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
per project        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                   requesting different amounts.
Indicative         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 28.00 million.
budget
Type of Action     Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility        The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following exceptions
conditions         apply:
                   Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member states
                   of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
                   The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                   The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the multi-
                   actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
                   The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                   Due to the specific challenge of this topic, in addition to the minimum
                   number of participants set out in the General Annexes, consortia must
                   include at least eight independent legal entities established in Africa. The
                   places of establishment of at least five of these legal entities must be in the
                   same geographical region of Africa (as defined by the African Union:
                   https://au.int/en/member_states/countryprofiles2)
                   International organisations with headquarters in a Member State or
                   associated country are exceptionally eligible for funding.
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Technology         Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness          General Annex B.
Level
Procedure          The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                   apply:
                   To ensure a balanced portfolio covering the agro-geographical regions of
                   Africa, grants will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking
                   but at least also to one project per geographical region that is the highest
                   ranked, provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
Expected Outcome: In line with the farm to fork strategy, and its promotion of global
transitions on sustainable food systems, successful proposals will provide a comprehensive
and integrated response to current and future challenges benefiting people, nature and
economic growth in Europe and in Africa.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
    EU – Africa jointly tackle climate change and environmental-related challenges (e.g.,
      biodiversity loss, natural habitats alteration, landscape degradation) and meet the
      objectives of the Paris Agreement on climate change, and contribute to the Sustainable
      Development Goals, in particular ensuring food and nutrition security and decent
      livelihoods.
    Identification of optimal combinations of agro-ecological practices that increase the
      climate change mitigation and adaptation of different farming systems in different agro-
      ecological zones in Africa while ensuring the financial viability of businesses.
    Quantification and assessment of socio-economic and environmental performance of
      agro-ecological strategies contributing to sustainable agriculture practices, supporting
      small farmers and access to local and international markets.
    Increased end-user adoption and implementation of agro-ecological practices by farmers
      supporting rural communities, ensuring farm resilience and viability at individual and
      system levels.
    Strengthened transdisciplinary research and integrated scientific support for relevant EU
      policies and priorities (EU strategy for Africa, Green Deal objectives, etc.).
Scope: The EU’s relationship with Africa is a key priority for the EU. The effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic and the growing urgency of the climate crisis put pressure both on
domestic/local food production and on ecosystems that generate higher health risks with the
emergence of new pest and diseases for plants, animals and humans.
The implementation of agro-ecological approaches will alleviate the pressure that agri-food
production places on natural ecosystems, contributing to resilience of agri-food systems and
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facilitating nature-based responses to current and future agri-food risks and threats. Agro-
ecological transitions of food systems requires strong food governance with interventions at
different level (local, territorial, and value chain) and coherent public policies.
Proposals should build on existing and develop new knowledge, data, models (including
indicators) to:
   Identify and evaluate the most suitable agro-ecological strategies for various farming
      systems in different agro-ecological zones, in Africa.
   Deliver a method to identify the best combination of agro-ecological practices for
      different farming systems, identifying barriers to and drivers of (socioeconomic and
      ecological) its wide implementation and the conditions, means and tools to support agro-
      ecological transitions at individual, territorial and systems levels, and including
      prospective related to access to local and international markets.
   Develop indicators to monitor and measure the qualitative and quantitative impacts of
      these strategies for different farming systems, the climate neutrality potential and trade-
      offs, nutrients flows, biodiversity and improvement of in farm socio-economic
      resilience.
   Support farmers, advisory services and actors in value chains in implementing agro-
      ecological practices by stablishing communities to support capacity building, knowledge
      exchange, and share best practices across different human communities in relation to
      agro-ecological practices that contribute to mitigating climate change and other
      environmental impacts.
   Identify approaches and methods to enhance the demand for food products resulting
      from agro-ecological practices, from local, national, regional and international markets.
Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor approach’ and ensure adequate involvement of the
farming sector and, as relevant, bio-based industries active in rural areas.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-13:                        AU-EU     Combatting       all forms  of
malnutrition
Specific conditions
Expected EU         The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 11.00
contribution        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
per project         Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                    requesting different amounts.
Indicative          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 11.00 million.
budget
Type of Action      Research and Innovation Actions
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Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                     Due to the specific challenge of this topic, in addition to the minimum
                     number of participants set out in the General Annexes, consortia must
                     include at least five independent legal entities established in Africa. The
                     places of establishment of these legal entities must cover at least three
                     different specific regions in Africa (as defined by the African Union:
                     https://au.int/en/member_states/countryprofiles2).
                     Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member states
                     of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
                     The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                     The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                     multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Legal and            The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up     apply:
of the Grant         Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The support to
Agreements           third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                     The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal priorities and the farm to fork
strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system, as well as with the EU`s
climate objectives for 2030 and 2050, the EU’s “Comprehensive Strategy with Africa” calls
for the EU to “partner with Africa to maximise the benefits of the green transition and
minimise threats to the environment”. It states that: “The EU and Africa must join efforts to
reach the Sustainable Development Goal of zero hunger and address the challenges of
nutrition and food security by boosting safe and sustainable agri-food systems.” In support of
this strategy, the EU and the African Union are implementing a ten-year roadmap (2016-
2026) on research and innovation in food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture to
which the successful proposal will contribute. This will help to transform food systems to
deliver co-benefits for climate (mitigation and adaptation), environmental sustainability,
biodiversity and circularity, dietary shift, sustainable healthy nutrition and safe food, food
poverty reduction and empowerment of communities, and thriving businesses. An estimated
821 million people are currently undernourished, and 151 million children under five years of
age are stunted. At the same time, the number of overweight and obese people is increasing
rapidly in Europe and Africa, with no signs of slowing.
This research and innovation action (RIA) will build on the international dimension of the
farm to fork strategy. It relates to evidence presented by the EAT Lancet report and the 2020
Global Nutrition Report. It contributes to the agenda and follow-up of the 2021 UN World
Food Systems Summit.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
A successful proposal will develop and test approaches to innovations that improve nutrition
through a deeper understanding of the unmet nutritional needs, aspirations, behaviours and
preferences of consumers who remain underserved by markets and face limited access to
affordable nutritious foods.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Better informed nutrition policies that can be scaled-up by initiatives such as SUN
     (scaling-up nutrition).
   Improved nutrition in African countries reducing all forms of malnutrition through safe,
     healthy and affordable diets, including dietary shifts, that reduce the pressure of food
     production on land and water use and reduces the climate footprint of downstream
     activities from farm to fork.
Scope: Proposals are expected to address the following:
   Mapping and monitoring of dietary patterns at national/regional/rural/urban levels
     relevant to different socio-economic and cultural groups, including low-income settings,
     the most vulnerable, rural food environments and for those in conflict or protracted-crisis
     situations to better understand what people are eating and how they make food choices.
   Contribute to standardised metrics and tools to measure the food environment. In many
     food systems the absence of formal channels to acquire food lead to a dynamic, self-
     sufficiency and unregulated retail food environment with a large proportion of informal
     food vendors. This results in enormous variety in metrics in terms of reference points
     (i.e. food accessibility), media coverage (i.e. food promotion) and level of
     implementation (i.e. policies).
   Improved knowledge and measurement of the factors influencing dietary behaviour in
     selected African countries, and development of effective means for each food system
     actor to share food knowledge and improve food behaviour.
   Assessment of the value of and potential for scaling-up of sustainable traditional food
     knowledge based on access to biodiverse agro-ecological situations.
   Assessment of innovations to improve nutrition, driven by a deep understanding of the
     unmet nutritional needs, aspirations, behaviours and preferences of consumers who
     remain underserved by markets and face limited access to affordable nutritious foods.
   Innovative and effective tools to improve education, communication, engagement and
     training on sustainable healthy nutrition and diets, and more generally on sustainable
     food systems adapted to different population groups in respect of their age, culture and
     needs and considering gender.
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   Provision of a scientific basis for sharing food knowledge and developing dietary advice
    to support policy makers to empower individuals to adopt healthy and sustainable food
    behaviour, as a win-win for both their health and the environment.
   Supporting the development of new integrated policy-making and implementation
    efforts such as the scaling-up nutrition initiative within and across countries (at multiple
    levels). This will support healthier and sustainable dietary behaviours and lifestyles with
    the provision of innovative, efficient, effective, evidence-based and ready-to-use
    tools/strategies including cost-benefit assessment of the different options proposed.
   Contributing to the mapping and monitoring of mycotoxin effects in unsafe foods and
    diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) to better understand the relationship
    between lifestyle (including mycotoxin levels, diets, nutrition and alcohol), gender,
    geographical, socioeconomic and environmental factors, biological parameters, and the
    risk of development of diet related NCDs.
   Development of innovative and effective policies/strategies/tools contributing to reduce
    dietary and health inequalities as precursors of NCDs, in particular in vulnerable
    population groups.
   A space for mentoring and acceleration of innovative business concepts, including social
    innovation and upscaling for promising approaches using cascading funding
    opportunities.
   When relevant, creating links to and using the information and data of the European
    Earth observation programme Copernicus, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and
    the global Earth observation system of systems (GEOSS).
   Include a clear plan on collaboration with other projects selected under this topic, other
    nutrition related EU projects and similar projects funded under the EU-AU HLPD-
    FNSSA priority from different funding sources including Horizon 2020 and Horizon
    Europe, ERA-Nets, African Union research grants, DeSIRA or PRIMA. They should
    contribute to the work of the FNSSA-working group (WG) by linking to the
    LEAP4FNSSA project supporting the FNSSA-WG secretariat. They should participate
    in joint activities, workshops, and communication and dissemination activities and show
    potential for upscaling. Applicants should plan the necessary funding to cover these
    activities.
   Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface
    and requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake. This
    topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-14: African food cities
Specific conditions
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Expected EU         The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
per project         Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                    requesting different amounts.
Indicative          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
budget
Type of Action      Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility         The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                    Due to the specific challenge of this topic, in addition to the minimum
                    number of participants set out in the General Annexes, consortia must
                    include at least five independent legal entities established in Africa. The
                    places of establishment of these legal entities must cover at least three
                    different specific regions in Africa (as defined by the African Union:
                    https://au.int/en/member_states/countryprofiles2).
                    Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member states
                    of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
                    The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                    The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                    multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Legal and           The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up    apply:
of the Grant        Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The support to
Agreements          third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                    The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal priorities and the farm to fork
strategy for a fair healthy and environmentally friendly food system, as well as with the EU's
climate objectives for 2030 and 2050, the EU’s “Comprehensive Strategy with Africa” calls
on the EU to “partner with Africa to maximise the benefits of the green transition and
minimise threats to the environment”. In support of this strategy, the EU and the African
Union are implementing a ten-year roadmap (2016-2026) on research and innovation in food
and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture to which the successful proposal will
contribute. It will also contribute to the transformation of food systems to deliver co-benefits
for climate (mitigation and adaptation), environmental sustainability and circularity, dietary
shift, sustainable healthy nutrition and safe food, food poverty reduction and empowerment of
communities, and thriving businesses.
Urban areas contribute significantly to global food-system related emissions and food waste.
Urban growth often happens at the expense of natural resources. Urban areas are increasingly
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affected by the double burden of malnutrition: high prevalence of undernourishment and
undernutrition and increasing obesity and the spread of non communicable diseases.
A successful proposal will build on initiatives like the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact
(MUFPP), on the FAO urban food agenda and upon the recommendations of the Task Force
Rural Africa report. It will address big, intermediate and small cities and towns. It will
address the fact that poorly planned urban food systems lack opportunities to link rural and
urban food producers, markets and consumers, and limit the access of vulnerable groups to
safe and healthy nutrition.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all or some of following expected outcomes:
   A shift to food security and improved nutrition in five African cities (could encompass
      rural urban centres and cities) through a shift to healthy and affordable diets that reduces
      the pressure of food production on land and water use and reduces the climate footprint
      of downstream activities from farm to fork.
   Reducing the food-system-related environmental footprint, improving circularity (e.g.
      food and packaging waste), and providing citizens with new, sustainable and healthy
      products.
Scope: Proposals are expected to address the following:
   Understanding: promoting multi-stakeholder collaborations in assessing data on food
      challenges (including harmful marketing and advertising and unequal access to healthy
      food for the urban poor), and identifying opportunities and indicators in developing
      urban food policies.
   Engaging: mobilising a wide diversity of food system actors (from farm to fork, the
      public and private sector, and society, organic and conventional); in particular higher
      education institutions and research centres to work with local actors in support of
      evidence-based food policy development and to help provide local solutions to
      integrated food system challenges.
   Mutual learning: reinforcing or creating new networks of African cities and towns to
      share good practices and learn from and support each other. This implies also involving
      cities (in Africa, Europe or elsewhere) with well-developed food policies to provide
      guidance and lessons learned, as well as new forms of collaboration/twinning.
   Innovation: proposals should envisage a space for mentoring and accelerating innovative
      business concepts, including social innovation and upscaling in view of African or
      European food business entrepreneurs with special consideration of women and the
      diaspora using cascading funding opportunities. Proposals may involve financial support
      to third parties e.g. to academic researchers, start-ups, SMEs and other multidisciplinary
      actors, to, for instance, develop, test or validate developed assessment approaches or
      collect or prepare data sets or provide other contributions to achieve the project
      objectives. A maximum of EUR 60 000 per third party may be granted. Conditions for
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     third parties support are set out in Part B of the General Annexes. Consortia need to
     define the selection process of organisations, for which financial support will be granted.
     A maximum 20% of the EU funding can be allocated to this purpose. The financial
     support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
   Where relevant, creating links to and using the information and data of the European
     Earth observation programme Copernicus, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and
     the global Earth observation system of systems (GEOSS).
   Exploring how the food environment can become crisis-proof (whether something can
     be learnt from or has changed with the COVID-19 crisis) and how to create resilient
     local, regional food systems with border regimes, which do not disrupt supply chains.
   Governance: developing and evaluating innovative multi-actor urban food systems
     governance processes and capacities for science-backed integrated policy making and
     implementation actions that deliver on the international collaboration dimension of the
     farm to fork strategy objectives and Food 2030 co-benefits for health, environment,
     climate, circularity and inclusion, while minimizing trade-offs.
   EU-AU partnership: proposals should have a clear plan on how they will collaborate
     with other projects selected under this topic and similar projects funded under the EU-
     AU HLPD-FNSSA priority from different funding sources including Horizon 2020 and
     Horizon Europe, ERA-Nets, African Union research grants, DeSIRA or PRIMA. They
     should contribute to the work of the FNSSA-working group (WG) by linking to the
     LEAP4FNSSA project supporting the FNSSA-WG secretariat. They should participate
     in joint activities, workshops and as common communication and dissemination
     activities and show potential for upscaling. Applicants should plan the necessaryfunding
     to cover these activities.
   Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface
     and requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake. This
     topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-15: Support for international research on
infectious animal diseases
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
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Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                        exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
                        International organisations with headquarters in a Member State or
                        associated country are exceptionally eligible for funding.
Expected Outcome: In line with the farm to fork strategy, for a transition to fair, healthy and
resilient livestock production systems, including the reduction of anti-microbial usage, a
successful proposal will support research and innovation (R&I) to help research funders,
policy makers and business operators in decreasing the burden of infectious animal diseases,
thus contributing to sustainable agriculture and to public health at global level. Considering
the transboundary nature of infectious animal diseases and relate issues such as anti-microbial
resistance, providing support to the work of the STAR-IDAZ International Research
Consortium (IRC) will facilitate international coordination of research in these domains. Such
a support will enhance and leverage capacity to prevent and control diseases not only
globally, but also in the EU and associated countries, to reduce the risk to human health
arising from infectious animal diseases and anti-microbial resistance, and to contribute to
global food security.
At EU level, this will contribute to supporting the objectives of the ‘farm to fork’ strategy for
a transition to fair, healthy and resilient European livestock production systems, including the
reduction of anti-microbial usage while improving the efficiency and competitiveness of
livestock production,
Project results are expected to contribute to all following outcomes:
    ensuring public access to and active dissemination of pertinent information on research
      activities, needs, and research outputs on priority infectious animal diseases, including
      zoonoses, and related issues; and
    fostering the delivery of new or improved prevention, control and surveillance tools or
      strategies.
Scope: Infectious animal diseases and related issues can cause serious social, economic and
environmental damage and in a number of cases threaten human health (zoonoses, anti-
microbial resistance). These diseases do not respect borders and can often spread quickly
through out the globe. These global threats, the diversity of pathogens and livestock species
and the scarce resources available for animal health research make the case for international
cooperation on priority diseases and issues, in order to expedite the development of better
prevention and control methods, ensure the sustainability of livestock industries and protect
human health and the environment. This initiative should consolidate and deepen international
research cooperation in the area of infectious animal diseases and related issues such as anti-
microbial resistance. It should support the activities of the STAR-IDAZ International
Research Consortium (Star-IDAZ IRC), aiming to strengthen the global network of research
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programme owners and funding organisations in order to achieve specific targets relating to
the prevention and control of priority infectious animal diseases, including zoonoses, and
related issues such as anti-microbial resistance and new emerging threats. The action should
(i) facilitate the work of the Executive and Scientific Committee and the working groups, (ii)
organise research gap analyses as appropriate, (iii) maintain the necessary tools and other
work resources, (iv) disseminate pertinent information and results to stakeholders and users,
(v) organise interaction with relevant projects and initiatives, and (vi) organise activities to
leverage resources and enlarge the network as appropriate. In this topic the integration of the
gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a
mandatory requirement.
Call - Fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food systems from primary production
to consumption
                                                   HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-02-two-stage
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)184
                          Topics                               Type Budgets          Expected      Number
                                                                 of     (EUR            EU             of
                                                              Action million) contribution projects
                                                                                    per project expected
                                                                         2022          (EUR          to be
                                                                                             185
                                                                                    million)        funded
                                            Opening: 28 Oct 2021
                 Deadline(s): 23 Feb 2022 (First Stage), 06 Sep 2022 (Second Stage)
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-02-01-                             RIA      14.50       Around          3
two-stage                                                                          5.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-02-02-                             RIA      7.00        Around          1
two-stage                                                                          7.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-02-03-                             RIA      12.00       Around          2
two-stage                                                                          6.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-02-04-                             IA       15.00       Around          3
184
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
185
         Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
         amounts.
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two-stage                                                                    5.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-02-05-                       IA        18.00      Around       3
two-stage                                                                    6.00
Overall indicative budget                                         66.50
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Enabling sustainable farming
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-02-01-two-stage: Agroecological approaches for
sustainable weed management
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 14.50 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
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Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                         The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                         multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal should support the farm to fork’s strategy objective
of a transition to a fair, healthy and resilient European agriculture, notably its objective to
promote agroecology, and the target to reduce the overall use and risk of chemical
pesticides 186 , by unfolding the potential of agroecology to provide alternative weeding
strategies that reduce or eliminate the use of pesticides used as herbicides. This will support
the transition to sustainable, safe, productive, climate-neutral and resilient farming systems
that minimise the pressure on ecosystems while ensuring fair economic returns for farmers.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Evidence of optimal and innovative combinations of holistic alternative weeding
      techniques based on agroecological approaches in different European pedo-climatic
      conditions for a wide range of crops and farming systems, including conventional,
      organic and mixed farming;
     Quantitative and qualitative evidence of the social, economic and environmental
      sustainability and performance, as well as trade-offs, of different alternative weeding
      strategies across Europe at farm, landscape and regional levels, and in the medium to
      long term;
     Robust evidence of factors influencing farmers’ decision-making and improved
      knowledge co-creation and feedback among actors in the food value chain, resulting in
      ease of use, end-user acceptance and increased implementation of alternative and holistic
      weeding strategies based on an integrated use of agroecological approaches;
     Improved, open access to data on current weed management practices and use of
      herbicides across several representative European agro-ecosystems.
Scope: Herbicides have become the foundation of weed management in EU farming systems.
Given that herbicides can have harmful effects on the environment, non-target organisms, and
animal and human health, reducing reliance on these products has become a policy objective.
Sustainable and effective non-chemical alternatives to reduce or eliminate the use of
herbicides are largely lacking for most crops and farming systems in the EU. Weed-related
challenges can be better addressed as a part of broad-based, holistic strategies such as
agroecology187 that, by relying on and maximising the use of ecological processes to support
agricultural production, have the potential to advance ecosystem sustainability while ensuring
186
         The farm to fork strategy sets the target to reduce by 50% the overall use and risk of chemical pesticides
         and reduce use by 50% of more hazardous pesticides
187
         http://www.fao.org/3/i9037en/i9037en.pdf
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profitability of the farming activity. Agroecology is a holistic approach that relies on and
maximises the use of ecological processes to support agricultural production. By working
more with nature and ecosystem services, agroecology has the potential to increase the
circularity, diversification and autonomy of farms, and drive a full transformation of farming
systems, from input substitution and beyond. In parallel, progressing towards digitalisation or
the implementation of new digital technologies is one of the main ambitions facing EU
agriculture. The development and promotion of alternative weed management techniques and
strategies that do not only rely on chemical herbicides are required. Moreover, factors such as
soil and climatic conditions, as well as the type of crop and the farming system can largely
determine the spatial and temporal development of major weeds and, therefore, the
effectiveness and efficiency of these strategies. Agroecological or nature-based principles can
provide systemic, sustainable, context-specific and socially acceptable alternatives to address
these challenges.
Activities should advance knowledge, build capacities and deliver innovative systemic and
holistic solutions to reduce and eventually eliminate the use of chemical pesticides used as
herbicides, and will address the needs of a wide range of crops (arable and permanent) and
farming systems, both conventional and organic. Proposals should cover all EU and
Associated Countries biogeographical/pedo-climatic regions. Proposals must implement the
‘multi-actor approach’ and should build on and expand the achievements of relevant past and
ongoing EU-funded research projects.
Proposals should include a clear plan on how they will collaborate with other projects funded
under this topic. Projects should ensure collaboration with projects funded under the
following topics in this work programme: HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-05:
Agroecological approaches for climate change mitigation, resilient agricultural production
and enhanced biodiversity and HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-03: Digitalisation as
an enabler of agroecological farming systems. Proposals should identify optimal
combinations of agroecological solutions for socially, economically and environmentally
sustainable alternative weed management strategies that reduce or eliminate the use of
herbicides. They should do so by capitalising on the opportunities offered by cropping system
design, mechanical weed management techniques, soil management practices, breeding, bio-
based herbicides, precision and site-specific weeding and digitalised weed monitoring,
including by using technology and knowledge of weed biology. Proposals should test and
evaluate the sustainability, performance and profitability of these strategies versus classical
chemical weed management approaches in the medium- to long-term and at farm, landscape
and regional levels, undertaking qualitative and quantitative estimates of trade-offs, and
identifying gaps and needs towards non-chemical weed management. Proposals should
undertake comprehensive analysis of the socio-economic aspects involved in the adoption of
alternative weeding strategies based on agroecological approaches and of the factors
influencing farmers’ decision-making, including consumer and market aspects, like risk
perception and acceptance of food produced with new weed management strategies. Proposals
should develop and test strategies involving all relevant actors for knowledge co-creation and
feedback to demonstrate and accompany farmers in implementing and/or switching to
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agroecological weed management. Proposals should develop a repository of current weed
management practices and use of herbicides in several representative EU and Associated
Countries agro-ecosystems.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-02-02-two-stage: Emerging and future risks to
plant health
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 7.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                         The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                         multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
                         The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                         consortium selected for funding.
Expected Outcome: In line with the farm to fork strategy for a transition to fair, healthy and
resilient European agriculture and forestry, including an ambitious target of reduced use of
plant protection products 188 , the successful proposal will support research and innovation
(R&I) to help the agricultural / forestry sector to remain productive and contribute to
sustainable agriculture and/or forest health.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Find adequate responses to new and/or emerging plant pests;
     Improve the understanding of drivers of plant pest emergence including the influence of
      climate change, ecosystem degradation and globalisation;
     Develop economic and environmentally sound solutions for effective pest management
      in farming and forestry in line with the principles of integrated pest management;
     Support to relevant plant health policies in the EU and Associated Countries.
188
         The farm to fork strategy sets the target to reduce by 50% the overall use and risk of chemical pesticides
         and reduce use by 50% of more hazardous pesticides
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Scope: Proposals should target one or more new or emerging189 plant pests190 (regulated, non-
regulated, introduced or native) that are causing or likely to cause, significant (socio)
economic and/or environmental losses to agriculture and/or forestry in the EU and/or
Associated Countries. Within the scope of this topic are pests exhibiting an altered and higher
probability of entry and spread in a new area that might be the result of changes in their
biology or changes in agriculture or forestry pest management practice or rapid spread in new
areas 191 . The choice of target pest(s) should consider the potential threat in terms of
development and spread, its potential exacerbation under climate change as well as the
potential impact on agricultural production, forestry, trade and the wider environment
(including soil and water). Activities should consider both the conventional and the organic
sectors.
Proposals should:
     Increase knowledge of the biology, pathways of entry, behaviour in the plant-soil system
      where relevant, and drivers of spread including the influence of climate change and
      globalization of pest(s);
     Improve methods and strategies for prevention, early detection and surveillance;
     Develop and uptake rapid and effective tools for the prevention of entry, spread and
      establishment, early detection, surveillance, treatment and (bio) control of plant pests for
      a sustainable and integrated pest management;
     Identify and introduce resistance traits to support the long term sustainability of
      agriculture and forestry in the EU and/or Associated Countries;
     Assess the social and economic implications for farmers and ecological impacts of the
      plant pest(s) and the development of approaches on how to best cope with these
      situations;
     Integrate citizen science as a tool to monitor emerging pests.
International cooperation with countries affected or threatened by the same pest(s) is strongly
encouraged. Proposals must implement the “multi-actor approach” including a range of actors
to ensure that knowledge and needs from various sectors such as research, plant health
services and the farming/forestry sector are brought together. In this topic the integration of
the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a
mandatory requirement.
The possible participation of the JRC in the project will consist of support on the analysis of
the potential impact of the studied pests and the development of economic and
189
         EFSA Scientific Colloquium XVI
190
         A pest is defined here as any species, strain or biotype of plant, animal or pathogenic agent injurious to
         plants or plant products (EU legislation, Regulation 2016/2031)
191
         EFSA Scientific Colloquium XVI
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environmentally sound solutions for effective pest management in farming and forestry in line
with the principles of integrated pest management in particular their acceptance by farmers.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-02-03-two-stage: Ecology of infectious animal
diseases
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: In line with the ‘farm to fork’ strategy for a transition to fair, healthy and
resilient livestock production systems, including the reduction of anti-microbial usage, a
successful proposal will support research and innovation (R&I) to help policy makers and
relevant actors (e.g. business operators) in the prevention and control of infectious animal
diseases in a changing environment, thus contributing to sustainable agriculture and to public
health.
The project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
    improving the capacity for risk-based surveillance thanks to a better understanding of
      sources and pathways of emergence and spread of animal diseases, including habitat
      destruction;
    increasing the capacity to prevent and control diseases in animals, and their potential
      impact in human population; and
    improving understanding of the impact of climate change on pathogen ecology and
      animal diseases to predict them and possibly define appropriate countermeasures.
Scope: The emergence, persistence and spread of diseases is the result of a number of factors
linked to the dynamic biological or ecological interplay among and between the infectious
agents, the hosts (intermediary or definitive), the community of hosts (intermediary or
definitive, including wildlife), vectors in the case of vector-borne diseases, the environment,
including other living organisms found in agro-ecosystems, and human activity.
Understanding this interplay, at various spatial scales (herd, farm, landscape), in particular the
capacity of infectious agents, vectors or hosts to persist in different agro-ecosystems, to
circulate between them, or to evolve and potentially become more pathogenic or jump
between species is often incomplete for known diseases, and virtually non-existent for new
diseases, like the emergence of Coronavirus infections highlighted.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
The proposals should address relevant areas of research in terrestrial livestock, and related
wildlife as appropriate and should contribute to:
1. understanding the population dynamics of pathogens in and outside hosts, including
interactions within and between humans and animals;
2. understanding the drivers of pathogen evolution (e.g. mutations) and their impact on
virulence and cross-species transmission;
3. understanding the impact of the host immune response on pathogen adaptation / evolution;
4. understanding the mechanisms of behaviour/persistence of pathogens in animals, animal
products, vectors and outside the host (e.g. environment, fomites);
5. inactivation of pathogens in a changing environment;
6. understanding antimicrobial resistance development, where relevant.
The choice of the infectious agent / diseases should take into account their importance for the
EU policy and regulatory framework, not least for epizootic diseases such as African swine
fever, avian influenza or African horse sickness, or for zoonotic pathogens, or major diseases,
including production diseases, responsible for high antimicrobial usage and potential transfer
of resistance to human pathogens or microbiota. Where appropriate for the diseases targeted,
cooperation with relevant professionals outside the animal health domain (e.g. public health,
environment) is recommended, as highlighted by the ‘one health’ approach. The gender
aspects should be considered, where relevant, e.g. in pathogen transmission.
Proposals may use priorities identified under the SCAR192 Collaborative Working Group on
Animal Health and Welfare 193 , Discontools 194 , or STAR-IDAZ International Research
Consortium 195 . They should draw on lessons learned from other EU funded projects on
selected diseases and clearly underline how they will bring new knowledge and impacts.
International research cooperation with non-EU countries where selected diseases are
endemic is encouraged to maximise the impact.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-02-04-two-stage: Smart solutions for the use of
digital technologies for small- and medium-sized, farms and farm structures
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per           5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                    appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
192
        Standing Committee on Agricultural Research
193
        https://www.scar-cwg-ahw.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Final-Report-CWG-AHW-
        CASA_updated-EU-AH-SRA.pdf
194
        www.discontools.eu
195
        www.star-idaz.net
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Eligibility conditions    The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                          exceptions apply:
                          The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                          The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of
                          the multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme
                          part.
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The
                          support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                          The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60
                          000.
Expected Outcome: In line with the farm to fork strategy and the Headline ambitions of a
Digital Age and Economy that works for people, leaving no one behind, and the biodiversity
strategy, the successful proposals will support the development of small- and medium sized
farms to benefit from digital technologies and strengthen their capacities to their effective and
efficient deployment. Projects will therefore contribute to the development of sustainable,
productive and climate-neutral and resilient farming systems providing consumers with
affordable, safe, healthy and sustainable food, minimising pressure on ecosystems, improving
public health and generating fair economic returns for farmers through the development of
smart solutions for the use of digital technologies for small- and medium-sized, farms and
farm structures. Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
    Innovative solutions for the use of digital technologies (fostering soft- and hardware)
      tailored to the needs of small- and medium-sized farms and farm structures, including
      crop- and livestock production;
    Increased uptake of innovative digital technologies by farmers;
    Contribution to avoiding an increased digital divide between small and large farms;
    Increase in the environmental and economic performance of small- and medium-sized
      farms in the EU and Associate Countries.
Scope: Despite the potential of digital technologies to increase the economic and
environmental performance of the agricultural sector, there is still need to increase the uptake
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
of precision farming tools, particularly among small- and medium-sized farms. An increase in
the digital divide between small and large farms is to be avoided.
While one main reason for this circumstance is – as for many investments in agricultural
equipment – investments in digital technologies frequently only become cost-effective, if a
critical mass of production volume is given. In addition, small- and medium-sized farms and
farms structures have in some areas specific needs and strengths, because of e.g. a small
average parcel seize, which should be considered in the development of digital solutions for
the sector.
Proposals should cover all of the following aspects:
     Development and piloting of cost-effective digital solutions for small- and medium-sized
      farms and farm structures for at least grass land and arable crops under representative
      consideration of the diverse environmental, climatic and socio-economic conditions
      across the EU and Associated Countries.
     Development of business and/ or governance models facilitating the roll-out of the
      piloted innovation at larger scale in several countries; if relevant, models may not only
      consider financing the purchase of the digital solutions but also the establishment of
      other framing conditions or propose public intervention (e.g. data provision) or public-
      private partnerships or cooperative (digital) service provision and taking.
Proposals must implement the multi-actor approach, involving at least scientists, , SMEs, and
representatives of the agricultural sector. Proposals are expected to demonstrate how
networking activities fostering the exchange of experiences and knowledge transfer are
organised. Exchange/ collaborate with Digital Innovation Hubs196 and the consideration of the
potential of social innovation to increase efficiency and effectiveness in the wider application
of the developed innovative digital solutions are encouraged. Special attention may also be
given to certain crops and / or sub-branches, and/or specific production processes for which
currently less dedicated precision farming technologies are available on the market.
Proposals may involve financial support to third parties to provide direct support (e.g. in the
form of cascading grants) to researchers, developers, SMEs, start-ups and other
multidisciplinary actors in particular for populating, testing and validating use cases and/ or
other actions contributing to the objectives of the project. A maximum of € 60 000 per third
party might be granted. Conditions for third parties support are set out in Part B of the
General Annexes. Consortia need to define the selection process of organisations, for which
financial support will be granted. Maximum 20% of the EU funding can be allocated to this
purpose. The financial support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
196
         For more information on Digital Innovation Hubs, please see https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-
         market/en/digital-innovation-hubs.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Enabling sustainable fisheries and aquaculture
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-02-05-two-stage: Innovative food from marine
and freshwater ecosystems
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 18.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal objectives, the farm to fork strategy
for a fair healthy and environmentally friendly food system, the EU bioeconomy strategy and
blue growth strategy, the successful proposal will support environmentally friendly, inclusive,
safe and healthy seafood production through innovation in the supply chain.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Implementation of the ecosystem approach for sustainable management of marine or
      freshwater fisheries or in aquaculture development.
   Wider and more diverse range of seafood (including from fresh waters) available to
      European consumers, and greater overall seafood consumption.
   Tools to limit the waste and discarding of seafood during production, processing,
      transport and consumption, including the minimisation of the environmental impacts of
      fisheries and aquaculture through better gears or practices.
   Verification of existing and development of new seafood processing methods that add
      nutritional and economic value and minimise the environmental impact.
   Improved professional skills and competences of those working and being trained to
      work within the blue economy.
Scope: Despite the vast diversity of biota in the European seas, rivers and lakes, consumers
prefer only a few species for consumption. This is even more pronounced for aquaculture
production where only a very limited number of fish and shellfish species are farmed.
Moreover, some of the farmed species are higher predators and, despite improvements in
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
feeds, fishing for feed is still a sad reality. Waste of seafood during production, processing,
transport and consumption is massive; valorisation of fish and shellfish biomass is still far
from achieving its full potential in the context of a circular economy.
Innovation under this topic should explore and test solutions for more sustainable fishing
and/or aquaculture practices and diversify production through low trophic level fisheries
and/or aquaculture. This could include animals (herbivorous, filter-feeders), algae (micro- and
macro-), bacteria and fungi. Issues of biology, feeding, metabolism, disease, pathology,
environmental sustainability, gear technology, processing, and marketing of products may be
addressed.
Innovation should additionally focus on improving the environmental impact of fisheries
and/or aquaculture, e.g. with more selective and less impacting fishing gear, low carbon
fishing approaches, nutritious and safe feeds, recirculating aquaculture systems, integrated
multitrophic aquaculture, disease control and sustainable solutions in fish and shellfish
rearing. It may also identify captured species of high abundance and high nutritional value
and reach out to consumers to promote their consumption.
Innovative processing, including digital and packaging solutions as well as formulation and/or
fortification, may also be considered to minimise loss of fish and shellfish biomass, add
nutritional and economic value to the chain (including by-products), enhance the shelf life of
the products, and reduce food waste.
The projects that will be selected may also address issues of proximity between seafood
production and consumption, e.g. by exploring possibilities to turn artisanal fisheries more
environmentally friendly and economically viable. Innovative processing possibilities may
also be explored.
A strong communication component and a genuine co-creation approach with stakeholders
and end users, including from industry, consumers and NGOs, are key for a successful
introduction, in the medium-term, of innovative and sustainably produced seafood in the EU
and in Horizon Europe associated countries. Training and education activities should be
included.
International co-operation with partners from non-associated third countries is strongly
encouraged as a win-win scenario, while contributing to the European competitiveness and
resilience.
Where relevant, proposals may seek synergies and capitalise on the results of projects funded
under Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, its
continuation European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, and other funding streams.
Social innovation should be considered when the solution is at the socio-technical interface
and requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Destination – Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors
This destination and its topics target climate-neutral circular and bioeconomy transitions,
covering safe integrated circular solutions at territorial and sectoral levels, for important
material flows and product value chains, such as the textile, electronics, plastics and
construction sectors, as well as key bioeconomy sectors such as sustainable bio-based
systems, sustainable forestry, small-scale rural bio-based solutions, and aquatic value
chains. With this approach, the destination supports the European Green Deal, and other
European initiatives such as the Industrial Strategy, SME Strategy, Circular Economy Action
Plan, Bioeconomy Strategy, Biodiversity Strategy, Farm to Fork Strategy, Textile Strategy,
Plastics Strategy, the Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials, and the Forest Strategy.
More specifically, the focus on circularity197 aims at less waste and more value by extending
the lifetime and retaining the value of products and materials. It supports a sharing, reusing,
and material-efficient economy, in a safe way, and minimises the non-sustainable use of
natural resources. The cascading use of materials and innovative upcycling of waste to new
applications is encouraged. The safe and sustainable use of biomass and waste 198 for the
production of materials and products, including nutrients, can reduce Europe’s dependence on
non-renewable resources, cut GHG emissions, offer long-term circular carbon sinks and
substitutes to fossil-based and carbon-intensive products, and reduce pressures on biodiversity
and its wide range of ecosystem services. The potential of biological resources goes beyond
biomass processing into renewable products. It includes the use of organisms and their parts
in “green” (i.e. more environmentally friendly) bio-based industrial processes. Marine and
land-based biotechnology can provide new sustainable and safe food and feed production
methods, greener industrial products and processes, new health-related products, and can help
characterise, monitor and sustain the health of marine and terrestrial ecosystems. The
potential of marine resources and biotechnology will contribute to the coming “blue
economy”, accelerating the transition towards a circular and climate-neutral economy that is
sustainable and inclusive. The concepts of the circular economy, bioeconomy and blue
economy converge and altogether provide an opportunity to balance environmental, social
and economic goals, with their sustainability ensured by the life cycle assessment approaches.
Acknowledging the multiple benefits of circularized material/substance and energy flows,
such circularity however has to be achieved in a safe, non-hazardous way without (re-
)connecting epidemiological pathways or introducing pathogen/toxin enrichment cycles when
involving biogenic materials. Established circularized material/substance flows have to be
complemented with accompanying research in their safety and non-hazardous to health,
197
        In synergy with Horizon Europe Clusters 4 and 5, in particular, Cluster 4 dealing with industrial and
        technological aspects and raw materials supply, including construction with lower environmental
        footprint, through modularisation, digital technologies, circularity and advanced materials, while
        Cluster 6 has a systemic approach across sectors including civil society, covering the whole value
        chain: including technological, business, governance and social innovation aspects.
198
        EU Waste Framework legislation: https://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/legislation/
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
society, economy and nature. In addition, a local and regional focus 199 is crucial for a
circular economy and bioeconomy that is sustainable, regenerative, inclusive and just.
Innovative urban and regional solutions and value chains can create more and better quality
jobs and help our economies rebound from the COVID-19 crisis.
A systemic and science-based circular transition with the help of research, innovation and
investments will address all issues from material selection and product design via resource
efficiency along the value chain to an optimised after-use system, incorporating reuse, repair
and upgrade, refurbishment, remanufacturing, collection, sorting and new forms of recycling
and upcycling also to improve the waste cycle management. It will tackle all barriers and
mobilise all key stakeholders. The development of definitions, taxonomies, indicators and
targets will inform and support policy and decision making. The use of advanced life cycle
methods such as the European Commission Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), data and
information will enable economic actors, including consumers, to make sustainable choices.
The development and deployment of specific technological and non-technological circular
solutions, including new business models, will cover intra- and inter-value chain collaboration
between economic actors. The development of a working after-use system for plastic-based
products, incorporating reuse, collection, sorting, and recycling technologies will provide
insights into the transition towards a circular economy for key material flows including
plastics. The Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) 200 under the European Circular
Economy Action Plan will expand the circular economy concept beyond traditional resource
recovery in waste and water sectors and support the implementation, demonstration and
replication of systemic circular solutions for the transition towards a sustainable, regenerative,
inclusive and just circular economy at local and regional scale. Water use will be tackled from
a circularity perspective, aiming at pollution prevention, resource efficiency and business
opportunities.
Bio-based innovation lays the foundations for the transition away from a fossil-based
carbon-intensive economy by encompassing the sustainable sourcing, industrial 201 202 and
small scale processing and conversion of biomass from land and sea into circular bio-based
materials and products with reduced carbon and environmental footprint including lower
impacts on biodiversity and long-term circular carbon sinks in sustainable products
substituting carbon-intensive ones, with improved end-of-life including biodegradability in
199
        In synergy with Horizon Europe Cluster 4, with focus on the industrial dimensions; and Cluster 5,
        covering cross-sectoral solutions for decarbonisation (including on community level), whereas Cluster 6
        targets systemic regional and local (i.e. territorial) circular and bioeconomy approach.
200
        https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=circular
201
        In synergy with Horizon Europe Clusters 4, 5 (including their European Partnerships), whereas Cluster
        4 targets industrial dimension (including digitisation and circular and climate neutral / low carbon
        industry, including developing bio-integrated manufacturing), and Cluster 5 covers cost-efficient, net
        zero-greenhouse gas energy system centred on renewables (including R&D necessary to reduce CO 2
        emissions from the power and energy-intensive industry sector, solutions for capturing, utilisation and
        storage of CO2 (CCUS), and bioenergy and other industrial sectors), while Cluster 6 covers the research
        and innovation based on sustainable biological resources (bioeconomy sectors), in particular for new
        sustainable feedstock development and through the development of integrated bio-refineries).
202
        In synergy with the European Partnership on Circular Bio-based Europe (CBE), under Horizon Europe
        Cluster 6.
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
specific natural as well as controlled environments. It also capitalises on the potential of living
resources, life sciences and industrial biotechnology for new discoveries, products, services
and processes, both terrestrial and marine. Bio-based innovation can bring new and
competitive economic activities and employment to regions and cities in the recovery from
the COVID-19 crisis, revitalising urban, rural and coastal economies and strengthening the
long-term circularity of the bioeconomy, including through small non-food bio-based
solutions. Furthermore, targeted and well-tailored investments can increase and diversify the
income of primary producers and other rural actors (e.g. SMEs).
To enable the bio-based innovation, environmental objectives and climate neutrality will build
on a robust understanding of environmental impacts and trade-offs of bio-based systems at the
European and regional scale, including the comparisons to similar aspects on the fossil and
carbon-intensive counterparts. Systemic impacts of bio-based systems on biodiversity and its
wide range of ecosystem services as well as how we restore and use them, need to be
assessed, and negative impacts avoided in line with the “do no harm” principle of the
European Green Deal. Implementing sustainable and just bio-based value chain requires
symbiosis across primary production and industrial ecosystems in regions, Member States and
Associated Countries and improved environmental performance of products, processes,
materials and services along value chains and life cycles.
The multifunctional and sustainable management of European forests as well as the
environmentally sustainable use of wood and woody biomass as a raw material have a crucial
role to play in the achievement of the EU’s climate and energy policies, the transition to a
circular and sustainable bioeconomy as well as the preservation of biodiversity and the
provision of ecosystem services such as climate regulation, recreation, clean air, water
resources and erosion control among many others. Furthermore, forestry and the forest-based
sector offer important opportunities for wealth and job creation in rural, peripheral and urban
areas. The condition of European forests is increasingly threatened by a growing number of
social, economic and environmental and climatic pressures. The European Green Deal and the
EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 recognise that the EU’s forested area needs to improve,
both in quality and quantity, for the EU to reach climate neutrality and a healthy environment.
The multifunctionality and the sustainable forest management under rapid climate change will
be enabled through a variety of approaches, including the use of intelligent digital solutions,
enhanced cooperation in forestry and the forest-based sector as well as the establishment of an
open-innovation ecosystem with relevant stakeholders.
Aquatic biological resources and blue biotechnology are crucial to delivering on the Green
Deal’s ambition of a ‘blue economy’, which alleviates the multiple demands on the EU's and
the Associated Countries’ land resources and tackles climate change.
The immense marine and freshwater biodiversity both faces and offers solutions to multiple
challenges such as climate, biodiversity loss, pollution, food security, green products, and
health but remains largely unexplored. Unprecedented advances in the biotechnology toolbox
(e.g. -omics, bioinformatics, synthetic biology) have triggered an increased interest in the
potential of aquatic bioresources. Further research and innovation will be key to unlocking the
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
value of the marine and freshwater biological resources available in Europe, including its
outermost regions by learning from the functioning and processes of aquatic living organisms
to provide a sustainable products and services to the society, whilst avoiding systemic impacts
on biodiversity. Algae biomass is becoming increasingly important not only as food but also
as a sustainable source of blue bioeconomy products such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and
speciality chemicals. Although only a small fraction of marine microbial diversity has been
characterised to date, advances in genetic and sequencing technologies are opening new
avenues for the understanding and harnessing marine microbiomes such as for the
biodiscovery of new products and services for the environment and society.
Expected impacts
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to developing
circular economy and bioeconomy sectors, achieving sustainable and circular management
and use of natural resources, as well as prevention and removal of pollution, unlocking the
full potential and benefits of the circular economy and the bioeconomy, ensuring
competitiveness and guaranteeing healthy soil, air, fresh and marine water for all, through
better understanding of planetary boundaries and wide deployment and market uptake of
innovative technologies and other solutions, notably in primary production (forestry) and bio-
based systems.
Specifically, the topics will target one or several of the following impacts, for circular
economy, bio-based sectors, forestry and aquatic value chains:
   Regional, rural, local/urban and consumer-based transitions towards a sustainable,
      regenerative, inclusive and just circular economy and bioeconomy across all regions of
      Europe based on enhanced knowledge and understanding of science, in particular
      regarding biotechnology-based value chains, for all actors, including policy makers, to
      design, implement and monitor policies and instruments for a circular and bio-based
      transitions.
   European industrial sustainability, competitiveness and resource independence by
      lowering the use of primary non-renewable raw materials and reducing greenhouse gas
      emissions and other negative environmental footprint (including on biodiversity),
      enabling climate-neutrality and higher resource efficiency (e.g. by circular design,
      improved waste management, cascading use of biomass) along and across value chains,
      developing innovative and sustainable value-chains in the bio-based sectors, substituting
      fossil-based ones, increasing circular practices in textiles, plastics, electronics and
      construction, developing recycling technologies and industrial symbiosis, increasing
      circular bio-based systems from sustainably sourced biological resources replacing
      carbon-intensive and fossil-based systems, with inclusive engagement of all
      stakeholders;
   Improved consumer and citizen benefits, including in the rural settings by establishing
      circular and bio-based systems based on sustainability, inclusiveness, health and safety;
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
      reaching a significantly higher level of involvement of all actors (manufacturers,
      retailers, consumers, public administration, primary biomass producers etc.);
     Multi-functionality and management of forests in Europe based on the three pillars of
      sustainability (economic, environmental and social);
     Enlarged potential of marine and freshwater biological resources and blue
      biotechnology to deliver greener (climate-neutral circular) industrial products and
      processes, and to help characterise, monitor and sustain the health of aquatic ecosystems
      for a healthy planet and people.
When considering their impact, proposals also need to assess their compliance with the “Do
No Significant Harm” principle203 according to which the research and innovation activities of
the project should not be supporting or carrying out activities that make a significant harm to
any of the six environmental objectives of the EU Taxonomy Regulation.
In addition to the impacts listed above, topics under this destination will address the following
impact areas of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan for 2021-2024: “Climate change mitigation
and adaptation”, “Enhancing ecosystems and biodiversity on land and in waters”, “A resilient
EU prepared for emerging threats”; “Inclusive growth and new job opportunities”; “Industrial
leadership in key and emerging technologies that work for people”.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                Call                           Budgets (EUR million)                    Deadline(s)
                                             2021                    2022
HORIZON-CL6-2021-                     126.50                                       06 Oct 2021
CIRCBIO-01
HORIZON-CL6-2022-                                              66.00               15 Feb 2022
CIRCBIO-01
HORIZON-CL6-2022-                                              76.00               15 Feb 2022 (First
CIRCBIO-02-two-stage                                                               Stage)
                                                                                   01     Sep       2022
                                                                                   (Second Stage)
Overall indicative budget             126.50                   142.00
203
         as per Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate
         sustainable investment (EU Taxonomy Regulation)
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Call - Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors
                                                                    HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)204
                    Topics                          Type       Budgets        Expected EU         Number
                                                      of        (EUR         contribution per         of
                                                   Action      million)       project (EUR         projects
                                                                               million)205        expected
                                                                 2021                               to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 06 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-01 IA                            21.50         5.00 to 10.00          3
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-02 CSA                           10.00         0.40 to 2.00           6
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-03 IA                            18.00         5.00 to 7.00           3
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-04 IA                            22.00         6.00 to 8.00           3
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-05 IA                            12.00         Around 6.00            2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-06 IA                            10.00         Around 5.00            2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-07 IA                            6.00          Around 6.00            1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-08 CSA                           9.00          Around 3.00            3
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-09 IA                            18.00         Around 9.00            2
Overall indicative budget                                    126.50
General conditions relating to this call
204
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
205
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Enabling a circular economy transition
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-01: Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI)’s
circular systemic solutions
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 5.00
contribution per      and 10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 21.50 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                      Proposals funded under this topic, and their circular systemic solutions,
                      must form part of the demonstration projects for the implementation of
                      the European Commission’s Circular Cities and Regions Initiative
                      (CCRI). This means that:
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                             Proposals have to achieve deep cooperation between them by
                                means of specific activities which will be included in at least one
                                of their work-packages;
                             Proposals have to cooperate with CCRI and its coordination service
                                by means of sharing with this initiative knowledge and experiences
                                developed during the implementation and demonstration of the
                                circular systemic solutions;
                             Proposals have to participate in the CCRI’s events.
                         Applicants have to acknowledge and integrate these obligations into their
                         proposal.
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level          General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will support the delivery of solutions to implement
the European Green Deal, the circular economy action plan and the bioeconomy strategy. The
topic will support the transition towards a sustainable, regenerative, inclusive and just circular
economy at local and regional scale across regions of Europe.
Proposals funded under this topic will form part of the demonstration projects for the
implementation of the European Commission’s Circular Cities and Regions Initiative
(CCRI)206. Proposals are expected to provide policy-makers, public and private investors and
local communities with concrete and demonstrated examples of circular systemic solutions. In
the context of this topic, a circular systemic solution is defined as a demonstration project for
deploying a circular and climate-neutral economy at urban and/or regional scale, involving
key stakeholders and, ideally, addressing more than one economic sector.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
     Improved circularity and reduced GHG emissions in economic sectors, natural
      ecosystems, and efficient valorisation of local resources in cities, regions or their
      groupings.
     Creation of business opportunities in the circular economy at urban and/or regional
      scale.
     Increased circular and climate-neutral practices among citizens and their participation in
      circular systemic solutions.
     Enhanced knowledge transfer between the cities, regions or their groupings involved in
      the proposals financed under this topic and other cities and regions in EU Member States
      and Associated Countries.
206
         https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=circular
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     Creation of jobs in the short to medium-term perspective.
     More effective widespread uptake and easier replication, scalability and visibility of
       circular systemic solutions and hence multiplication of their economic, social and
       environmental benefits to achieve the policy targets of the European Green Deal, circular
       economy action plan, EU bioeconomy strategy and the European industrial strategy at
       local, regional, national, European and international levels.
Scope: Proposals are expected to implement and demonstrate circular systemic solutions for
the deployment of the circular economy (including the circular bioeconomy) in cities, regions
or their groupings.
The implemented circular systemic solutions should address economic, social and
environmental dimensions of the transition towards a circular economy and include science,
technology and governance components. They should demonstrate circular governance
models and support the active participation of all relevant actors in cities, regions or their
groupings. Examples of relevant actors are: public administrations and utilities; private sector
services and industries, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs); scientific and
innovator communities including incubators and accelerators; financial intermediaries with a
focus on environmental and social impact; venture capitalists and business angels; civil
society, including citizens; and non-governmental organisations and philanthropy.
The implemented circular systemic solutions may consider applying the circular economy
principle not only to waste and water management, but also to other sectors including, for
example, one or more of the new circular economy action plan key product value chains, i.e.:
batteries and vehicles, electronics and ICT, packaging, plastics, textiles, construction and
buildings, food, water and nutrients. 207 The circular systemic solutions may also include
nature-based solutions. Circular systemic solutions and the economic sectors involved in them
should be selected and based on a detailed analysis of the cities, regions or their groupings’
socio-economic and environmental needs to be addressed, circular potential to be exploited
and challenges to be tackled.
Circular systemic solutions should identify, analyse and, when feasible, quantify the
economic, social and environmental benefits and trade-offs/challenges related to their
implementation and demonstration. They should include the monitoring and evaluation of the
transition towards a circular economy, identify their strengths and weaknesses as well as
causes. They should analyse the experimented regulatory obstacles and drivers and provide
clear and precise policy recommendations to improve circular economy. Each circular
systemic solution should address environmental externalities and contribute to preserving and,
where possible, increasing the well-being and the health conditions of the local communities
involved in the transition towards a circular economy.
It is crucial that the circular systemic solutions implemented and their business models have a
high replicability and scalability potential. This is fundamental to facilitate that circular
207
          https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/
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systemic solutions demonstrated in specific areas will be replicated in others. During their
implementation and by the end of their life cycle, the selected proposals are expected to share
with all stakeholders clear and comprehensive guidelines on the circular systemic solutions
adopted, including their strengths and weaknesses experienced.
It is essential that proposals also ensure complementarity and cooperation with existing and
future relevant European projects on the circular economy and the circular bioeconomy, with
special reference to those on local and regional scale, and avoid overlaps and repetition. In
particular, cooperation and complementarity should be ensured with the projects under the
European Green Deal Call’s topic ‘LC-GD-3-2-2020 - Demonstration of systemic solutions
for the territorial deployment of the circular economy’.208
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-02: Circular Cities and Regions Initiative’s project
development assistance (CCRI-PDA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 0.40
contribution per         and 2.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                         Proposals funded under this topic must form part of the instruments for
                         the implementation of the European Commission’s Circular Cities and
                         Regions Initiative (CCRI). This means that:
                             Proposals have to cooperate with CCRI and its coordination
                                service by means of sharing with this initiative knowledge and
                                experiences gained through the implementation of the CCRI-PDA
208
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/lc-gd-3-
         2-
         2020;freeTextSearchKeyword=green%20deal;typeCodes=1;statusCodes=31094501,31094502,3109450
         3;programCode=H2020;programDivisionCode=null;focusAreaCode=31087050;crossCuttingPriorityCo
         de=null;callCode=H2020-LC-GD-
         2020;sortQuery=submissionStatus;orderBy=asc;onlyTenders=false;topicListKey=topicSearchTablePag
         eState
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                                service;
                             Proposals have to participate in the CCRI’s events.
                         Applicants have to acknowledge and integrate these obligations into their
                         proposal.
Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will support the delivery of services and
solutions to implement the European Green Deal, the circular economy action plan, the
bioeconomy strategy. The topic will support the transition towards a sustainable, regenerative,
inclusive and just circular economy across regions of Europe at local and regional scale.
The Circular Cities and Regions Initiative’s Project Development Assistance (CCRI-PDA)
will be included in the instruments implementing the European Commission’s Circular Cities
and Regions Initiative (CCRI).209 It will be carried out in close coordination and cooperation
with the CCRI.
Investors and lenders need to gain more confidence on investment projects related to circular
economy which are still seen as risky. European added value can be achieved, for example,
where projects introduce innovation to the market regarding financing solutions minimising
transaction costs and engaging the private finance community. European added value could
also be achieved where projects demonstrably address legal, administrative and other market
opportunities and challenges for innovative and sustainable circular economy investment
schemes.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
     Delivery of innovative financing schemes that are operational and ready to finance
      circular economy investments at local and regional scale;
     Delivery of a series of sustainable circular economy projects and innovative financing
      solutions/schemes at local and regional scale across Europe;
     Demonstration of innovative and replicable investment financing solutions, documenting
      feedback/uptake from potential replicators.
Scope: The CCRI-PDA services will be provided to public and private project promoters such
as local and regional authorities or their groupings, public/private infrastructure operators and
bodies, utilities and services, industry (including SMEs). The action will support building
technical, economic and legal expertise needed for project development and leading to the
launch of concrete investments.
The purpose of the CCRI-PDA is to help project promoters develop their projects and to bring
together the technical, economic and legal expertise needed for developing circular economy
209
         The CCRI is part of the European circular economy action plan (CEAP) and aims to support circular
         solutions for the transitions towards a sustainable, regenerative, inclusive and just circular economy at
         local and regional scale https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=circular
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investment projects at local and regional scale resulting in the actual launch of investments
during the action. Ultimately, PDA projects should demonstrate the financial viability and
sustainability of circular economy investment projects at local and regional scale and provide
tangible showcases that should trigger further market replication.
The CCRI-PDA will pay for those activities necessary to prepare and mobilise finance for
investment programmes, such as feasibility studies, stakeholder and community mobilisation,
business plans and preparation for tendering procedures or setting up a specific financing
scheme/financial engineering.
Proposals should address the development or replication and implementation of innovative
financing schemes for circular economy investments at local and regional scale.
The CCRI-PDA services should support public and private project promoters to launch
investments for activities aimed at increasing circularity in economic sectors that are relevant
for the transition towards a sustainable circular economy at local and/or regional scale. The
economic sectors involved in each CCRI-PDA service should be selected according to local
and/or regional circular economy needs, resources and potential. This selection must be
clearly justified and explained.
Proposals should clearly focus their activities on the launch of significant circular economy
investment programmes at local and regional scale. Ideally, the proposed investments should
be launched before the end of the action, which means that projects should result in signed
contracts for circular economy investments at local and regional scale to that effect.
In addition, proposals should include some of the following features:
     Clearly focus their activities on the launch of significant circular economy investment
      programmes at local and regional scale;
     An exemplary/showcase dimension in their ambition to increase circularity in specific
      sector(s) at local and regional scale and/or in the size of the expected investments and
      leverage factors210;
     Deliver organisational innovation in the mobilisation of the investment programme (e.g.
      bundling, pooling or stakeholder engagement);
Moreover, all proposals should demonstrate a high degree of replicability and include a clear
action plan to communicate experiences and results towards potential replicators across EU
Member States and Associated Countries.
Indicatively, the CCRI-PDA focuses on small and medium-sized circular economy
investments of up to EUR 20 million.211
The EU contribution per proposal should not exceed 10% of the respective investment.
210
        i.e. the amount of circular economy investment triggered for each euro of Horizon Europe support.
211
        The Circular Economy Technical Assistance Facility (CETAF) will focus on projects and programmes
        with a minimum total investment volume of EUR 20 million.
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Proposals should justify the budget for the PDA provided to public and private project
promoters based on the expected investment portfolio to be set up including the expected
amount of investments to be triggered and the respective leverage factors to be achieved.
Proposals are expected to ensure synergies and complementarities with other EU financial
schemes for circular economy projects. Examples and background information on already
existing PDA facilities are available at: https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/project-development-
assistance-pda
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-03: Innovative solutions to over-packaging and
single-use plastics, and related microplastic pollution
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      5.00 and 7.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 18.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal will contribute to all impacts in this destination
related to consumers and industry, in particular to European industrial sustainability,
competitiveness and resource independence by lowering the environmental footprint, enabling
climate-neutrality and higher resource efficiency, through increased circularity and a resulting
reduction in GHG and air pollution emissions.
Project results are expected to contribute to at least three of the following outcomes:
    Increased deployment and market uptake of innovative solutions, through better design,
      alternative materials, business models promoting reuse, deposit systems, smart labelling
      in support of and complying with the current relevant legal framework and, when scope
      would cover the food chain, the future EU framework for sustainability labelling, etc.
    Increased reuse, recyclability and upcycling of packaging and single-use plastics
    Significant reduction in over-packaging and single-use plastics in consumer goods, food
      packaging and humanitarian relief items
    Significant reduction in packaging waste and single-use plastic waste
    Significant reduction in management costs for the respective waste streams
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    Significant reduction in the release of microplastics from packaging and single-use
      plastics into the environment
Scope: The amount of materials used for packaging is growing continuously and in 2017
packaging waste in Europe reached a record – 173 kg per inhabitant, the highest level ever. In
order to ensure that all packaging on the EU market is reusable or recyclable in an
economically viable way by 2030, the essential requirements for packaging relate to reducing
(over)packaging and packaging waste, designing for re-usable and recyclable packaging,
including alternative reusable products or systems, and reducing the complexity of packaging
materials.
Plastics continue to be one of the key areas in the 2020 circular economy action plan (CEAP).
This is due to their circularity potential, but also due to concerns about their environmental
footprint and the use of primarily fossil-based feedstock for their production. One of the main
sources of pollution is the amount of single-use plastics and plastics packaging that is wasted
daily and that overburdens our waste and water management systems. A particular issue
regarding plastics is the pollution from microplastics and disintegrating material, which
reaches the soils and ocean and whose possible health impacts on animals and humans still
need to be assessed in depth. Some of these microplastics are added intentionally to products
such as cosmetics, while other pollution comes from the disintegration and migration of
various types of plastics during their use and waste phases. Plastic waste is also an unintended
consequence of humanitarian response – often funded by European taxpayer money – and
leading to pollution in countries receiving aid but without the capacity to manage the waste.
In line with the EU strategy for plastics in a circular economy and the Single Use Plastics
(SUP) Directive, and in line with the priorities on plastics and packaging in the CEAP,
projects should combine at least three of the following elements: a reduction of
(over)packaging and packaging waste, design for reuse and recyclability of packaging, a
reduction of material complexity including the number of materials used (including diverse
polymers), the restriction of intentionally added microplastics, increasing the uptake of
alternatives decreasing the dependency on fossil fuels and the related pollution, and measures
to prevent the release of microplastics at all relevant stages of the product life cycle.
Projects should demonstrate at large scale and validate innovative solutions that are
quantitatively relevant and replicable under diverse economic, geographical and social
conditions, and across sectors, including humanitarian response, through better design,
alternative materials (including biobased and biodegradable), business models promoting
reuse, recycling, upcycling, deposit systems, smart labelling, sensor-based sorting, etc. to
tackle over-packaging and single-use plastics in consumer goods, food packaging and
humanitarian relief items. Where the use of alternative materials is concerned, projects should
address aspects to assure quality and safety of these new alternatives.
All solutions should be based on life-cycle approaches. Proposals should integrate life cycle
assessment using the European Commission’s Product Environmental Footprint (PEF)
method and relevant costing methods. Projects should choose a systemic approach to value
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chains and end users, including consumers as key actors. All achieved outcomes should be
demonstrated using quantitative indicators and targets wherever possible.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
Research on the above issues in the humanitarian context (relating to humanitarian relief
items) is also eligible under this topic.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-04: Increasing the circularity in textiles, plastics
and/or electronics value chains
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       6.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 22.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal will contribute to all impacts in this destination
related to consumers and industry, in particular to European industrial sustainability,
competitiveness and resource independence by lowering the environmental footprint, enabling
climate-neutrality and higher resource efficiency, through increased circularity and a resulting
reduction in GHG and air pollution emissions.
Project results are expected to contribute to at least four of the following outcomes:
    Increased deployment and market uptake of new technological solutions to waste
      management and recycling, and the measurement of recycled content
    Enhanced diffusion and demonstrated benefits of advanced digital solutions in circular
      businesses
    Emergence of new value chains using upcycled, recycled and/or biobased resources
    Increased upcycling and recycling rates for the targeted material streams
    Increased uptake of recycled material and upcycling to new higher-value products
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   Increased resource efficiency along and across value chains, causing a measurable
      reduction in GHG emissions
   Increased diffusion of new circular business practices, in particular in the uptake of
      repair, reuse and remanufacturing
   A significantly higher level of involvement of all actors (manufacturers, retailers,
      consumers, CSOs, public administration etc.) in circular practices
   Increased level of information and awareness of citizens regarding circular and climate-
      neutral products and services
   Strengthened competitiveness and job retention and creation potential of circular value
      chains under different economic and social conditions
Scope: The 2020 circular economy action plan (CEAP) highlights the four material streams
textiles, plastics, electronics including ICT equipment, and construction as particularly
important with regard to their circularity potential and their environmental footprint. The
circularity deficits for these streams are mainly due to the: lack of trust in secondary raw
materials; lack of control over supply chains; lacking focus on material efficiency and design
for circularity; unsustainable product lifetimes; lack of repair services; price gap between
primary and secondary material; lack of secondary material markets; insufficient collection
and sorting systems; insufficient and unpredictable input quality for recycling; insufficient
information about quality and quantity of materials, including knowledge about possible
microplastics pollution and substances of concern, lack of communication along the lifecycle
between manufacturers and recyclers; lack of involvement and empowerment of citizens that
would allow environmentally informed purchases.
Projects should address the priorities set in the CEAP, which states that “electrical and
electronic equipment continues to be one of the fastest growing waste streams in the EU, with
current annual growth rates of 2%. It is estimated that less than 40% of electronic waste is
recycled in the EU. Value is lost when fully or partially functional products are discarded
because they are not reparable.” Textiles are “the fourth highest-pressure category for the use
of primary raw materials and water, after food, housing and transport, and fifth for GHG
emissions, as well as one of the highest sources of emissions of synthetic microfibers in the
EU. It is estimated that less than 1% of all textiles worldwide are recycled into new textiles.”
“In the light of the complexity of the textile value chain, to respond to these challenges the
Commission will propose a comprehensive EU Strategy for Textiles.” It will be necessary to
boost “sorting, re-use and recycling of textiles, including through innovation”, while “tackling
the presence of hazardous substances”. Beside the continuous implementation of the EU
plastics strategy, the CEAP has a strong focus on microplastics, but also calls for mandatory
recycled content and the controlled use of bio-based, biodegradable plastics and alternative
materials. In view of the feasibility problems of plastic recycling, this will require the
deployment of technologies that are still in their infancy, such as the various forms of
chemical and enzymatic recycling.
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Projects should deal with one of the three priority material streams (plastics, textiles,
electronics), taking however into account the complexity of some materials currently in use
(such as composites) and that the three streams are related and to some extent overlapping
(plastics-textiles; plastics-electronics), and that specific solutions might require an integrated
approach.
Projects should demonstrate and deploy at large scale innovative solutions and designs for
increased quality, non-toxicity and durability of secondary materials and increased share of
secondary materials in new products. Projects should demonstrate increased recovery,
recycling and upcycling rates and a higher uptake of secondary materials for high value
applications. Projects should also demonstrate circular business practices, in particular in the
uptake of repair and reuse, remanufacture, product-service-systems, and in the full lifetime of
products or services. To achieve this, targeted market size, economic feasibility, cost
efficiency and social acceptance need to be addressed. To break down the barriers for this
transition, it is important that proposals involve and address the different perspectives of all
relevant actors, e.g. manufacturers, retailers, consumers and civil society organisations
(CSOs). The projects should consider the use of digital solutions and demonstrate their
benefits for increased circularity. Projects should also help produce harmonised and robust
methods to assess the amount of recycled content in sectoral products, which is key for a
future review of green claims through authorities and consumer organisations. Environmental,
social and economic impacts should be assessed from a lifecycle perspective as product,
organisation and consumption environmental footprints, using the respective methods
developed by the European Commission (Product Environmental Footprint, PEF, should be
used for the assessment of the environmental impacts) and through costing methods; relevant
data should be fed into the European Platform on Life Cycle Assessment, following the
specific Environmental Footprint data and format requirements. The functional performance
of technologies and secondary materials can be assessed through the EU Environmental
Technology Verification (ETV) scheme. Considering the microplastics and microfiber
pollution and hazardous substances that are present in the targeted waste streams, their
removal from the materials used for the products in concern as well as from the recovered
material is crucial, in addition to applying less-polluting production and consumption
procedures. Decontamination levels need to be properly addressed and accumulation
prevented. All achieved outcomes should be demonstrated using quantitative indicators and
targets wherever possible.
Projects should also develop training material to endow workers in this occupational group
with the right skillset in order to deploy the new technologies developed. Proposals should
consider the development of learning resources for the current and future generations of
employees, with the possibility to integrate them in existing curricula and modules for
undergraduate level and lifelong learning programmes. The projects should provide
contributions to relevant standards or best practices.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Innovating sustainable bio-based systems and the bioeconomy
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-05: Novel, non-plant biomass feedstocks for
industrial applications
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will contribute to the impacts of this destination and
European policies it supports, in particular the European Green Deal, the circular economy
action plan and the bioeconomy strategy. They should help to improve European industrial212
sustainability, competitiveness and resource independence by lowering environmental
footprint (including on biodiversity), enabling climate-neutrality and higher resource
efficiency (in particular upcycling and cascading use of biomass) along and across value
chains, developing innovative bio-based products. They should engage all stakeholders, and
improve their knowledge and understanding of science, in particular biotechnology-based
value chains.
Project results should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     More effective prospecting and greater use of biological diversity to generate verifiably
      more sustainable biomass feedstocks, including through improved harvesting, and
      processing, and commercially valuable climate-neutral circular bio-based, materials and
      products. This covers more robust verification of sustainability via life-cycle assessment
      approaches.
     Greater resource efficiency of production pathways, by applying upcycling and the
      cascading use of biomass residues or side-streams (e.g. as growing substrates), leading to
212
        In connection with European partnerships under Cluster 6, in particular Circular Bio-based Europe
        (CBE).
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      lower land dependence for biomass 213, and thus reducing any conflict with food/feed
      production.
     Higher capacity and engagement of SMEs, contributing to skilled job creation and
      economic benefits, and improving industrial competitiveness due to the expanded range
      of natural ingredients for the new applications in industrial sectors. Higher functional
      performance of the pursued value chains and products, and more sustainable industrial
      practices and resource independence of the EU Member States and associated countries.
Better public understanding across the EU Member States and associated countries of
biotechnology, and of the biodiversity conservation and enhancement objectives enshrined in
the EU biodiversity strategy and respect to the principles of access and benefit sharing (UN
Biodiversity Convention), via clear, inclusive and transparent communication strategies.
Scope: The innovative bioeconomy sectors need to diversify and to deliver technological and
industrial solutions based on available and sustainably accessible biomass. In particular,
current plant-based biorefining may need upgrading to leave more land available for
biodiversity protection and food production, while allowing the substitution of fossil-based
resources with bio-based ones. The scope therefore covers the production of key bio-based
products such as food and feed ingredients, including proteins, lipids and fibres, antioxidants
and other substances with biological activities, and key bio-based materials (e.g. bio-based
plastics, composites, fibres) or chemicals214, in a resource-efficient approach215. This calls for
identifying and optimising sources as microorganisms, insects, fungi or mixotrophic algae,
which requires defining certain growing conditions in suitable systems such as
biofermentors216, where they need to be efficiently processed, extracted and converted into
industrial outputs of interest. Proposals should increase circularity, in particular for the use of
biomass residues or side-streams used as feed material, and should deliver necessary upgrades
to and upscaling of the strategies for the cultivation, production and extraction systems.
Where relevant, proposals should seek links with and capitalise on the results of past and
ongoing research projects (especially under the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking or on
microbiomes). Proposals should:
  a. Develop and demonstrate techno-economic viability of the bio-based production
      platforms applying the resource efficiency principles (ensuring savings on water, energy,
      chemical inputs, biomass waste, side-streams or residues), getting more out of less by
      making use of autotrophic plants and heterotrophs, and applying the modern
      biotechnological principles. This covers the development of a bio-based microbial
      production platform for high-value biologically active substances, food/feed ingredients,
213
        Lowering the negative environmental impacts of growing biomass without use of land (zero pesticides,
        reduced emissions and energy use)
214
        Production of bioethanol and other biofuels falls outside the scope of this topic
215
        e.g. by fully exploiting the cascading use of biomass resulting from agricultural production as growing
        substrates
216
        In connection with topic HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-06 “Contained biomass solutions for
        sustainable and zero-ILUC production systems for high value applications”
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
      or bio-based materials as well as efficient separation and extraction approaches for
      products of interest.
  b. Identify and implement the best combination of appropriate technical solutions and
      practices for specific industrial value chains (justifying the choice, including on level of
      innovation and business viability), as well as the barriers and drivers derived from e.g.
      governance and market aspects, while seeking the engagement and understanding of all
      actors.
  c. Develop and transparently communicate the key parameters to monitor and measure the
      qualitative and quantitative impacts of these solutions and practices for different
      sourcing, optimization and production systems, the potential of replacing available
      traditional alternatives, if relevant, and trade-offs, including on biodiversity, and the
      associated improvement in socio-economic resilience of businesses, for the creation of
      jobs and industrial competitiveness.
  d. Develop and test mechanisms involving all actors and specifically including bio-based
      industries active in knowledge co-creation, exchange, feedback and communication.
      Demonstrate them to all actors (e.g. agricultural operators, farmers, SMEs and civil
      society) and help them implement and understand solutions for new or improved bio-
      based products and processes and for addressing other environmental impacts e.g.
      lowered pressure on land and on biodiversity sourcing.
  e. Consider contributing data and results to the European Commission’s Knowledge Centre
      for Bioeconomy hosted by the JRC
In this topic it is not mandatory to integrate the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in
research and innovation content..
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-06: Contained biomass solutions for sustainable
and zero-Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) production systems for high value
applications
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level         General Annex B.
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Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will contribute to the impacts of this destination and
the European policies it supports, in particular the European Green Deal, the circular economy
action plan and the bioeconomy strategy, They should help improve European industrial 217
sustainability, competitiveness and resource independence by developing innovative bio-
based products. They should engage all stakeholders and improve their knowledge and
understanding of science, in particular of biotechnology-based value chains, and increase
benefits for consumers.
Project results should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Lower production costs, improved safety and access to final efficient, specific, high-
      yield and high-value, climate-neutral circular applications218
     Lower dependence on land-based production systems, minimising the risk of Indirect
      Land Use Change (ILUC) 219 , with specific technical solutions and strategies for
      innovative, high-output, multi-source high-value contained applications, based on a
      variety of biological organisms 220 and their cultivation systems and technologies
      involved.
     Methodologically robust verification of sustainability of the production system via life-
      cycle assessment approaches. This covers the greater resource efficiency of production
      pathways, by applying the upcycling and cascading use of biomass residues or side-
      streams.
     More mature and advanced biotechnology solutions for the innovative culture, screening
      and processing of the selected organisms, as well as the related digital applications, thus
      contributing to European industrial competitiveness.
     Higher engagement of SMEs, for creating skilled jobs and bringing other socio-
      economic benefits for end users and/or patients, through expanding the range of natural
      ingredients for new applications in industrial sectors, enhancing the functional
      performance of the investigated value chains and products, and contributing to more
      sustainable industrial practices and resource independence of the EU Member States and
      associated countries.
     Better public understanding across EU Member States and associated countries of
      biotechnology, and of biodiversity conservation and enhancement objectives set out in
      the EU biodiversity strategy and respect for the principles of access and benefit sharing
217
         In connection with European partnerships under Cluster 6, in particular Circular Bio-based Europe
         (CBE).
218
         e.g. production of engineered proteins such as reagents, diagnostics, innovative (e.g. scalable plant-
         based) vaccines or metabolites for specific industrial products (pharmaceuticals, veterinary products,
         biological reagents)
219
         As defined by the recast Renewable Energy Directive(EU) 2018/2001 from December 2018, and Land
         use and forestry regulation for 2021-203, see https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/forests/lulucf_en
220
         Such as algae, fungi, plant cells, invertebrates, microorganisms, including complex multi-species
         communities. See a complementary topic HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-05: Novel non-plant
         feedstocks for industrial applications
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
     (UN Biodiversity Convention), via clear, inclusive and transparent communication
     strategies.
International cooperation is encouraged, to allow the exchange of best practice, while
ensuring win-win scenarios and contributing to European competitiveness.
Scope: The innovative bioeconomy sectors need to diversify and deliver technological and
industrial solutions based on available and sustainably sourced biomass. In particular, this
covers sustainable application in various industrial systems for high value products and uses,
such as in the pharmaceutical, diagnostic and veterinary sectors221, especially in the context of
biorefining and other (industrial) high-value uses222.
This calls for identifying, optimising, screening and monitoring of the growing conditions in
suitable systems such as bioreactors 223, from where they need to be efficiently processed,
extracted and converted into industrial outputs of interest. The scope covers innovative multi-
scale bioreactor designs, and related innovations such as hydroponics systems and
phenotyping platforms for increased sustainability of biomass production, and its efficient,
pathogen-free processing and use.
Where relevant, proposals should seek links with and capitalise on the results of past and
ongoing research projects (under Horizon 2020 and other EU-funded initiatives). Proposals
should:
  a. Develop bio-based production platforms applying resource-efficient principles (ensuring
     savings on water, energy, chemical inputs, biomass side-streams or residues), including
     the study of mixed multi-species communities, and applying modern biotechnological
     principles, as well as efficient separation and extraction approaches for products of
     interest.
  b. Identify and implement the best combination of appropriate technical solutions and
     practices for specific industrial value chains (justifying the choice, including on business
     viability), as well as the barriers and drivers derived from governance and market
     aspects, while seeking engagement and understanding of all actors. Participation of
     industry and SMEs is considered essential.
  c. Develop and transparently communicate: (i) the key parameters to monitor and measure
     the qualitative and quantitative impacts of these solutions and practices for different
     optimization and production systems, (ii) the potential of replacing available traditional
     alternatives, if relevant, and trade-offs, including with respect to biodiversity, patient
     perspective, and (iii) the associated improvement of socio-economic resilience of the
     businesses for the jobs creation and industrial competitiveness.
221
        e.g. antibodies, vaccines, proteins, peptides, bioactive metabolites, linking with Horizon Europe Cluster
        1 Health and topic HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-05: Novel non-plant feedstocks for industrial
        applications
222
        e.g. cosmetics, food ingredients
223
        The proposals should cover size of the chosen contained systems, to enable upscaling and replication.
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  d. Develop and test mechanisms involving all actors and specifically including the research
      community and bio-based industries in knowledge co-creation, exchange, feedback and
      communication to demonstrate and accompany all actors (e.g. civil society including
      patient and other related groups) to implement and understand of solutions for improved
      bio-based products and processes and to address other environmental impacts. Develop
      specific recommendations for policy makers, while seeking involvement of broader civil
      society.
  e. Consider contribute data and results to the European Commission’s Knowledge Centre
      for Bioeconomy hosted by the JRC.
For this topic, it is not mandatory to integrate the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis)
into research and innovation.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-07: Microbiomes for bio-based innovation and
environmental applications
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level         see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Successful proposals should contribute to the impacts of this destination,
and the European policies it supports, in particular the European Green Deal, the circular
economy action plan and the bioeconomy strategy. They should help improve European
industrial 224 sustainability, competitiveness and resource independence by developing
innovative bio-based products. They should engage all stakeholders and improve their
knowledge and understanding of science, in particular biotechnology-based value chains, and
increase benefits for consumers.
Project results should contribute to all of the following outcomes:
     Deeper understanding of the structural composition of microbiomes, their structure,
      functions, mechanisms, and potentials, as related to bio-based innovation (i.e. bio-based
      materials, biochemicals, products and services, including the environmental
      applications), as well as improved methods of their isolation and cultivation. This should
224
        In connection with European partnerships under Cluster 6, in particular Circular Bio-based Europe
        (CBE).
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
      lead to innovative solutions to engineer and control microbiomes and guarantee safety
      and efficacy for specific applications.
     Improved interdisciplinary cooperation on R&D&I between academia and industrial
      sectors (e.g. industrial biotechnology, food, pharma and ICT/data industries) and higher
      engagement of industry and SMEs.
     More systematic adoption of recent advances in molecular biology and biotechnology to
      increase industrial uptake of R&D&I on microbiota. This includes, in particular, their
      complex communities via biotechnology approaches, leading to more cost- and resource-
      efficient production of high-value complex molecules, lowering pressure on natural
      resources, or increasing their use in environmental applications.
     Greater and more inclusive understanding, awareness and trust in innovations, via
      societal dialogue and transparent communications with all stakeholders (academia,
      industry, including SMEs, NGOs, regulatory institutions, international partners etc.).
Scope: Microbiomes is the term given to the collective genomes of mixed nature-based
microorganism populations. In recent years, scientific-technological progress in genome
sequencing and other -omics technologies and in the bioinformatic analysis and interpretation
of the data has opened up the opportunity to better understand the composition of (often
difficult to cultivate with existing approaches) microbial communities, the functions and
interaction of their members, and their interaction with their environment (e.g. soil) or hosts
(humans, animals, plants).
The scope includes developing the methods for molecular cartography, the quantitative
determination of genes and metabolites and establishing the R&D resources (e.g. inventories,
catalogues, “reference microbiomes”, databases etc.). Marine microbiomes are excluded from
the scope, in order to avoid overlaps with the parallel topic225.
International cooperation is encouraged, as it can contribute to European competitiveness and
resilience.
Proposals should:
  a. Develop and apply a toolbox of technologies to identify, characterise and sustainably
      exploit (including isolation and cultivation aspects) the microbiomes and their genetic
      and metabolic diversity relevant for the bio-based sectors. Develop the related
      microbiome-based bioprocesses, e.g. to enable industrial manufacturing of high-value
      bio-based substances or materials (excluding biofuels/bioenergy applications), at
      sufficiently large scale, or for the environmental protection applications (e.g.
      decomposition of persistent and hazardous contaminants or industrial, municipal waste
      and residues).
225
        HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-07: Marine microbiome for a healthy ocean and a sustainable blue
        bioeconomy
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  b. Identify and characterise the key environmental and safety aspects, and potential
      impacts, while adhering to the binding EU and international regulatory framework.
  c. Outline the scale-up production processes for novel bio-based innovations that are
      necessary to reach a critical mass for a given application, to achieve economies of scale,
      address different market segments and potential applications, etc. This includes
      addressing process and product safety, including occupational and consumer safety
      aspects, taking into account best international practice and initiatives.
  d. Ensure the transparent and inclusive engagement of all actors, including industry and
      SMEs, the scientific community, regulatory institutions, and broader civil society,
      including NGOs, to ensure the necessary impact and awareness.
  e. Where relevant, proposals should seek links with and capitalise on the results of past and
      ongoing research projects, including on food systems, health and industrial value chains,
      as related to microbiomes.
For this topic, it is not mandatory to integrate the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis)
into research and innovation.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-08: Mainstreaming inclusive small-scale bio-based
solutions in European rural areas
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                        The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                        multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal objectives and the EU bioeconomy
strategy, successful proposals will support innovators to scale-up inclusive and small-scale
biobased solutions in rural areas contributing to regional, urban and consumer-based
transitions towards a sustainable, regenerative, inclusive and just circular economy and
bioeconomy across all regions of Europe at local and regional scale.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
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     Enhanced cooperation between the key players and knowledge holders resulting in
      sustainable business model pathways for bio-based innovations in rural areas;
     Provision of tailored and independent support to innovators in order to accelerate the
      development of marketable products and services and to improve the market penetration
      of bio-based solutions in Europe;
     Successful deployment of existing scientific and practical knowledge and more bio-
      based solutions introduced in rural areas in line with relevant policy initiatives (e.g.
      bioeconomy strategy, European Green Deal, common agricultural policy (CAP), long-
      term vision for rural areas, etc.).
Scope: Europe's future economic growth and job creations will increasingly stem from
innovation in products, services and business models. This is why there is currently
considerable investment in research and innovation. However, there are barriers to the
adoption and implementation of research results and cooperation between research, advisory
services, farmers, foresters and other actors in the supply chain is not adequately supported.
Regional platforms for innovation support services are needed to help European regions
develop their bio-based economies and to increase awareness and knowledge about emerging
opportunities as well as the environmental and socio-economic impacts relating to the
valorisation of locally or regionally available biomass.
Proposals will:
     Establish regional platforms that provide innovation support services to multi-actor
      partnerships (e.g. farmers, foresters, clusters, business support organisations, social
      partners, civil society organisations including non-governmental organisations, etc.) and
      increase regional stakeholders’ awareness and understanding of the bioeconomy, its
      potential and impacts, and help them build the capacity to identify innovative bio-based
      business models.
     Based on previous research results (e.g. BE-RURAL226 , Power4Bio 227 , BioeastUp 228 ,
      etc.), activities should help match information on regionally available biomass, waste
      and residue streams with market information and technologies to enable full utilisation
      and sustainable production of bio-based products.
     Help transfer training and knowledge on better nutrient recycling in the circular
      bioeconomy, by identifying links between different agricultural/forestry and industrial
      value chains, raising awareness and sharing best practice on the use of residues as soil
      improvers and fertiliser in the bio-based economy.
     Consider contributing data and results to the European Commission’s Knowledge Centre
      for Bioeconomy hosted by the JRC.
226
         https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/818478
227
         https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/818351
228
         https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/862699
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Clustering and cooperation with other selected projects under this topic and other relevant
topics (e.g. HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-02: Expertise and training centre on
rural innovation) is strongly encouraged.
Social innovation229 is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
Innovating for blue bioeconomy and biotechnology value chains
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-09: Unlocking the potential of algae for a thriving
European blue bioeconomy 230
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 9.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 18.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level          General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal objectives, EU bioeconomy
strategy and blue growth strategy, the successful proposal will support the development of
algae-based greener aquatic industrial products/processes and/or environmental services
sustaining the health of aquatic ecosystems for a healthy planet and people.
The project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Leveraging of the potential of algae as an industrial feedstock by upscaling and
      demonstrating the techno-economic viability of algae cultivation and biotransformation
      concepts with positive environmental, social and economic impacts. Implementation of
      the European Green Deal’s sustainable blue economy and the EU bioeconomy strategy.
229
        As defined by the European Commission: innovations that are social in both their ends and their means.
        Specifically, […] social innovations [are] new ideas (products, services and models) that
        simultaneously meet social needs (more effectively than alternatives) and create new social
        relationships or collaborations. They are innovations that are not only good for society but also enhance
        society’s capacity to act.” according to the European Commission Bureau of European Policy Advisors
        (BEPA, 2011, p. 9; see also Regulation (EU) No 1296/2013on a European UnionProgrammefor
        Employment and Social Innovation ("EaSI")).
230
        Cyanobacteria are in scope of this topic.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
   Provide market knowledge to align the development of new algae products to the uses
      and needs of various sectors.
   Strengthen the competitiveness of the European blue bioeconomy and marine
      biotechnology industry by reducing technical bottlenecks and by developing promising
      business models making the whole algae sector more attractive to investment.
   Provide scientific evidence on environmental benefits - including on ecosystem services,
      if relevant - and on risks of algae-based cultivation. Deliver - if applicable - a
      comparison between the environmental footprint of algae-based products and their land
      based counterparts.
Scope: The farm production of micro- and macro-algae is one of the most promising
emerging ocean sectors. Algae can be developed and processed into an almost endless number
of products, enabling a shift to aquatic biomass production and reducing the pressure on plant
biomass derived from agriculture and forestry. Total algae production in the EU increased by
76% between 2006 and 2016.
EU policy is set to unlock the versatility and potential of algae. The European Green Deal and
the farm to fork strategy support the role of algae in the protein transition and its contribution
to a sustainable food system. Moreover, the 2018 EU bioeconomy strategy stresses the
potential of algae as a source of innovative aquatic bio-based products such as
pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and fine and speciality chemicals. The integrated processing of
algae offers an interesting way to exploit, profitably and sustainably, most or all of its
potential, by recovering and separating the biomass components and by minimising waste
production.
Applicants should carry out activities along the following lines of research:
   Demonstrate viable concepts to enable the cost-effective cultivation and processing of
      algae into circular bio-based products and/or environmental services (e.g. medical,
      cosmetics, fine and speciality chemicals, remediation). The integration with food/feed
      production or with other processes (such as water treatment, crop and livestock farms
      and carbon sequestration) could be considered if it adds to the economic, environmental
      and social viability of the whole concept.
   Scale-up the production of algae products and bring them closer to market by addressing
      key challenges such as (i) optimising strains’ biology (including if relevant associated
      microbiomes) and the mechanisms regulating cell performance for rapid growth and
      high yields of novel valuable compounds; (ii) pest and disease control; (iii) standardising
      the product and production lines; (iv) post-harvest treatment and storage; (v) assessing
      risks of escape of propagules with the potential to affect local genetic biodiversity; and
      (vi) securing the safety of the selected applications. The efficiency and capacity of
      production systems should also be improved. Demonstrate downstream processing and
      fractionation of components that enable the practical implementation of multiproduct
      algal biorefineries.
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     Establish European strategic development plans for the proposed algae farming that
      address biodiversity and ecosystems considerations. Key factors such as the carrying
      capacity of the European seas and the availability and use of land/light/energy should be
      considered; Provide estimates of the market demand for algae products and of the market
      structure.
     Quantified assessment of environmental benefits and risks of algae farming and
      products, including a comparison with land-based products. Assessment of possible
      ecosystem services of algae farming.
Strong weight is placed on industrial leadership in the projects. The emphasis should be on
the delivery of tangible social and environmental benefits. Successful proposals should carry
out a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the proposed concept. Efforts should be dedicated to
improve the professional skills and competences of those working and being trained to work
in algae farming (e.g. through the development of training material).
Where relevant, proposals may seek synergies and capitalise on the results of projects funded
under Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, its
continuation European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, and other funding streams.
Cooperation with other selected proposals under this topic and complementary topics included
in this work programme is encouraged. This notably includes other algae-relevant topics
“HORIZON-CL6-CIRCBIO-02-04-two-stage: Photosynthesis revisited: climate emergency,
“no pollution and zero-emission” challenge and industrial application” and “HORIZON-CL6-
2022-FARM2FORK-02-05-two-stage: Innovative food from marine and freshwater
ecosystems”.
Call - Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors
                                                                     HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)231
                     Topics                          Type       Budgets        Expected EU         Number
                                                       of        (EUR         contribution per         of
                                                    Action      million)       project (EUR         projects
                                                                                million)232        expected
                                                                  2022                               to be
231
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
232
         Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
         amounts.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
                                                                                           funded
                                      Opening: 28 Oct 2021
                                     Deadline(s): 15 Feb 2022
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-01 CSA                       10.00        0.40 to 2.00        6
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-02 IA                        14.00        Around 7.00         2
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-03 CSA                       4.00         Around 2.00         2
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-04 IA                        8.00         Around 8.00         1
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-05 RIA                       8.00         Around 8.00         1
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-06 RIA                       4.00         Around 4.00         1
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-07 RIA                       18.00        Around 9.00         2
Overall indicative budget                                66.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Enabling a circular economy transition
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-01: Circular Cities and Regions Initiative’s project
development assistance (CCRI-PDA)
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 0.40
contribution per        and 2.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                        Proposals funded under this topic must form part of the instruments for
                        the implementation of the European Commission’s Circular Cities and
                        Regions Initiative (CCRI). This means that:
                            Proposals have to cooperate with CCRI and its coordination
                               service by means of sharing with this initiative knowledge and
                               experiences gained through the implementation of the CCRI-PDA
                               service;
                            Proposals have to participate in the CCRI’s events.
                        Applicants have to acknowledge and integrate these obligations into their
                        proposal.
Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will support the delivery of solutions to
implement the European Green Deal, the circular economy action plan and the bioeconomy
strategy. The topic will support the transition towards a sustainable, regenerative, inclusive
and just circular economy across regions of Europe at local and regional scale.
The Circular Cities and Regions Initiative’s Project Development Assistance (CCRI-PDA)
will be included in the instruments implementing the European Commission’s Circular Cities
and Regions Initiative (CCRI).233 It will be carried out in close coordination and cooperation
with the CCRI.
Investors and lenders need to gain more confidence in investment projects in the field of
circular economy which are still seen as risky. European added value can be achieved, for
example, where projects introduce innovation to the market regarding financing solutions
233
        The CCRI is part of the European circular economy action plan (CEAP) and aims to support circular
        solutions for the transitions towards a sustainable, regenerative, inclusive and just circular economy at
        local and regional scale https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=circular
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minimising transaction costs and engaging the private finance community. European added
value could also be achieved where projects demonstrably address legal, administrative and
other market opportunities and challenges for innovative and sustainable circular economy
investment schemes.
CCRI-PDA projects’ results are expected to contribute to the delivery of a series of
sustainable circular economy projects and innovative financing solutions/schemes at local and
regional scale across Europe.
Scope: The CCRI-PDA beneficiaries include public and private project promoters such as
local and regional authorities or their groupings, public/private infrastructure operators and
bodies, utilities and services, industry (including SMEs).
The purpose of the CCRI-PDA is to help project promoters develop their circular economy
projects and to bring together the technical, economic and legal expertise needed for
developing circular economy investment projects at local and regional scale resulting in the
actual launch of investments during the action. Ultimately, CCRI-PDA projects should
demonstrate the financial viability and sustainability of circular economy investment projects
at local and regional scale and provide tangible showcases that should trigger further market
replication.
The CCRI-PDA should provide support for those activities necessary to prepare and mobilise
finance for investment projects, such as feasibility studies, stakeholder and community
mobilisation, business plans and preparation for tendering procedures or setting up a specific
financing scheme/financial engineering.
Proposals could address the development or replication and implementation of innovative
financing schemes for circular economy investments at local and regional scale.
The CCRI-PDA should support public and private project promoters to launch investments
for activities aimed at increasing circularity in economic sectors that are relevant for the
transition towards a sustainable circular economy at local and/or regional scale. The economic
sectors involved in each CCRI-PDA service should be selected according to local and/or
regional circular economy needs, resources and potential. This selection must be clearly
justified and explained.
Proposals should clearly focus their activities on the launch of significant circular economy
investments at local and regional scale. The investments should be launched before the end of
the action, which means that projects should result in signed contracts with investors for
circular economy investments at local and regional scale to that effect.
In addition, proposals should include all following features:
    Clearly focus their activities on the launch of significant circular economy investment
      programmes at local and regional scale;
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     An exemplary/showcase dimension in their ambition to increase circularity in specific
      sector(s) at local and regional scale and/or in the size of the expected investments and
      leverage factors234;
     Delivery of organisational innovation in the mobilisation of the investment programme
      (e.g. bundling, pooling or stakeholder engagement);
In addition, all proposals should demonstrate a high degree of replicability and include a clear
action plan to communicate experiences and results to potential replicators across EU
Member States and Associated Countries.
Indicatively, the CCRI-PDA focuses on small and medium-sized circular economy
investments of up to EUR 20 million.235
The EU contribution per proposal should not exceed 10% of the related investment.
Proposals should justify the budget for the project development assistance needed based on
the expected investment portfolio to be set up. This includes the amount of investments that is
expected to be triggered and the respective leverage factors to be achieved.
Proposals are expected to ensure synergies and complementarities with other EU financial
schemes for circular economy projects. Examples and background information on already
existing PDA facilities are available at: https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/project-development-
assistance-pda
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Innovating sustainable bio-based systems and the bioeconomy
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-02: Marginal lands and climate-resilient and
biodiversity-friendly crops for sustainable industrial feedstocks and related value chains
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 14.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
234
         i.e. amount of investments in the circular economy triggered per each EUR of Horizon Europe support.
235
         The Circular Economy Technical Assistance Facility (CETAF) will focus on projects and programmes
         with a minimum total investment volume of EUR 20 million.
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Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level           General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will contribute to the impacts of this destination and
the European policies it supports, in particular the European Green Deal, the circular economy
action plan and the bioeconomy strategy, and engage all stakeholders. They should help
improve European industrial236 sustainability, competitiveness and resource independence by
lowering the environmental footprint (including on biodiversity), enabling climate neutrality
and higher resource efficiency (in particular upcycling and cascading use of biomass) along
value chains, and developing innovative bio-based products.
Projects results should contribute to all following expected outcomes:
     Identification of the co-benefits potential risks and upscaling potential of sustainable
      biomass production with a low potential for Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) with
      focus on marginal lands237. This should include non-edible (industrial) biomass use (such
      as in biorefineries of various scale and types for climate-neutral circular materials and
      products); introducing new industrial cropping systems (such as perennial crops).
     An improved understanding of the actual available land in the EU Member States and
      associated countries that could be used for biomass production that can be certified as
      ‘low ILUC’ for use in bio-based sectors; taking into account increasing resilience to
      environmental climate change effects such as soil erosion and water stress of the
      identified crops.
     An increased understanding of the biodiversity challenges and potentials, and the
      ecosystem services, with due attention to protection measures, coupled with end-user
      adoption and implementation of environmentally sound practices by all operators
      (farmers, researchers, and bio-based industry active in rural areas). This should include
      the replication of such practices across Europe.
     Improved functional performance of the specific value chains and products, and
      improved resource efficiency thanks to a better application of the cascading use of
      biomass.
Scope: Sustainable biomass provision by primary land sectors (agriculture and forestry),
supporting climate change mitigation and adaptation. This will require finding a balance
between productivity and ecosystem services, notably biodiversity and social sustainability
goals.
The topic explores two main aspects. First, enhancing ecosystem services to prepare for
increased water stress and water scarcity due to climate change (including the increasing
236
         In connection with European partnerships under Cluster 6, in particular Circular Bio-based Europe
         (CBE).
237
         Elbersen, et al. Definition and Classification of Marginal Lands Suitable for Industrial Crops in Europe
         (EU Deliverable), WUR: Wageningen, The Netherlands, 2018; p. 44
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desertification of large parts of the EU, especially of the Mediterranean and Central European
Member States). Secondly, serving multi-purpose and optimised238 biomass production, with
a specific focus on improving biodiversity-related benefits, with opportunities for European
rural development and improved industrial competitiveness.
The scope includes identifying and developing environmentally and economically viable
sources of pollinator-supporting industrial crops (e.g. by exploring the traits supporting the
pollinators such as nectar provision, or resistance to pests and diseases, as well as the
optimisation of a related agronomic practice). It also includes identifying and optimising
crops (e.g. non-edible oil and fibre crops, dryland shrubs and woody crops) that could be
adapted through modern biotechnology tools to require low-water/low-input use, and
upscaling them in related value chains, e.g. in industrial sectors such as biochemicals,
composites or elastomers, with the aim of replacing their fossil-based counterparts.
The topic aims to engage all relevant actors, especially the farming community, but also bio-
based industry and academia, and civil society, calling for working together and co-creation,
to develop solutions involving end users and taking into account a comprehensive business
case at farm/production level.
Proposals should help to increase farming systems’ resilience to climate change and boost the
sustainability of biomass provision through sound agronomic practices, with particular focus
on high resource efficiency (including water, and nutrients e.g. via nature-based solutions and
biodiversity-friendly solutions) and circular use of biomass and other natural resources.
Proposals may develop key performance indicators and life cycle assessment (LCA) criteria
for operators, or identify biodiversity hotspots along the value chains and test them against
established benchmarks as part of the overall recommendations.
Where relevant, proposals should seek links with and capitalise on the results of past and
ongoing EU Member States and associated countries research projects (especially under the
Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking and the future Circular Bio-based Europe partnership).
Proposals should:
  a. Identify and evaluate the most suitable feedstock options for different farming systems
      and pedo-climatic conditions. The agricultural diversity of EU and associated countries
      should be considered, and the selected options should contribute efficiently to climate
      change mitigation/adaptation (with a focus on water scarcity and water stress) and
      biodiversity preservation and enhancement (with special attention to marginal lands
      under high risk of desertification), while ensuring overall business case viability.
  b. Develop sustainable diversification strategies that can help optimise the production of
      agricultural feedstock in the emerging bio-based economy (e.g. through intercropping
      systems, logistics and storage). Identify and produce crops suited to marginal lands.
      Optimise intermediary/catch crops to increase biomass production sustainably, or
238
        including by the modern biotechnology approaches, as appropriate
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      optimise perennial crops and short-rotation coppice plantations in annual crops-
      dominated agricultural production systems.
  c. Identify and implement the best mix of appropriate technical solutions and practices for
      specific industrial value chains (a proposal should select and justify the choice). The
      scale-dependent effects on farms and landscapes should be analysed, as well as the
      barriers and drivers arising from governance and market issues. Make an effort to inform
      and engage all actors.
  d. Develop and communicate the methods to monitor and measure the qualitative and
      quantitative impacts of these solutions and practices for different farming systems, the
      climate neutrality/negativity potential and trade-offs, including for biodiversity, and the
      associated improvement in farm/business socio-economic resilience.
  e. Develop and test mechanisms with all actors, notably the research community and bio-
      based industry. Exchange knowledge on and demonstrate solutions for climate change
      mitigation and adaptation, water stress and biodiversity loss (including biotechnology
      approaches) to rural stakeholders (farmers, foresters) and the broader public, and help
      them implement them.
  f. International cooperation is encouraged to allow the exchange of best practice while
      ensuring win-win scenarios and contributing to European competitiveness.
For this topic, it is not mandatory to integrate the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis)
into research and innovation.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-03: Benefits of the transition towards sustainable
circular bio-based systems from linear fossil-based
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will support policy makers in their efforts to
develop sustainable pathways to replace fossil and carbon-intensive systems with circular bio-
based systems at the EU and regional scale, in line with the 2030 climate targets and
European Green Deal objectives. Project outcomes will contribute to foster European
industrial sustainability, competitiveness and resource independence.
Projects results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcome:
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    Policies are designed to enable the transition from linear fossil-based systems to circular
      bio-based systems, setting priorities.
Scope: Abandoning the current linear fossil-based economy is a prerequisite for European
Green Deal objectives and, in general, for preserving life on our planet. Biogenic resources
are key means of mitigating climate change as they can strengthen natural and anthropogenic
carbon sinks. Circular bio-based systems are part of the solution to achieving climate
neutrality, where they replace carbon-intensive and fossil-based systems and are based on
sustainably sourced biological resources. Policies must ensure that this transition from linear
fossil-based to circular bio-based systems is sustainable and aims at i) climate change
mitigation and adaptation; ii) increasing resource efficiency and circularity; iii) preserving and
restoring natural resources, their ecosystem services and biodiversity; and i) ensuring a just
transition for everyone. Policies and priorities should be comprehensive and underpinned by a
critical assessment of the environmental/social/economic impacts of the current linear fossil-
based economy. That assessment should help individuating policy priorities, as well.
To support designing policies to transition away from linear fossil-based systems towards
sustainable circular bio-based ones, proposals should:
  a. Consolidate knowledge on current trends in terms of the environmental, economic and
      social limits of a linear carbon-intensive and fossil-based economy. By limits, we mean
      technical and structural barriers and/or inability to reach local and global Sustainable
      Development Goals (e.g. SDGs, climate change mitigation targets, European Green Deal
      objectives). Cultural and social limits should also be considered, including barriers
      related to gender and age.
  b. Develop new/improve existing methodologies to assess environmental/social/economic
      impacts of linearity vs circularity in the economy, including on waste production and
      disposal, non-renewable resources exploitation and loss, geographically (and socially)
      unbalanced distribution of resources and growth, biodiversity loss at global and local
      scale. The methodologies should consider circular economy indicators, methods and
      concepts developed or under development in existing initiatives, including
      Commission’s ongoing work on the circular economy monitoring framework and R&I
      activities.
  c. Assess the environmental/social/economic impacts of the EU’s current linear fossil-
      based economy. This should include aspects related to the geographical distribution of
      oil origins and global trade, direct and indirect environmental impacts of fossil-based
      value chains on a life cycle base, including on, but not limited to, climate change,
      resource use including land, water and marine space, air/water/soil quality, ecosystems
      services and biodiversity. Costs arising from environmental and social impacts should be
      internalised in the economic impacts assessment.
  d. Develop and compare multiple scenarios of transitioning from fossil-based to circular
      bio-based systems, modelling the replacement of the fossil-based activities, with a focus
      on the most carbon-intensive ones, with bio-based systems, including innovative
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      solutions, at EU and global scale. Environmental/social/economic impacts of bio-based
      systems should be assessed with validated methodology, considering also the benefits of
      applying a circular approach to the bio-based systems. Biogenic carbon capture
      utilization (BCCU) solutions 239 for bio-based systems via nature-based solutions (e.g. in
      soils or long-term circular bio-based materials) should be part of the assessment.
      Scenarios should compare the impacts of fossil-based and bio-based solutions, and
      include social aspects and social innovation, especially at the socio-technical interfaces
      of innovative solutions.
  e. Identify knowledge gaps in the assessment of the sustainability of the transition from
      fossil-based to circular bio-based systems and in the comparison between alternative
      scenarios as described under point d).
   f. Identify priorities in the transition from fossil-based to circular bio-based systems,
      according to scenarios analysed in the project and develop guidelines and policy
      recommendations.
Proposals should include a task dedicated to sharing methodologies and findings with projects
funded within this topic.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of social sciences and humanities (SSH)
disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-04: Maximising economic, environmental and
social synergies in the provision of feedstock for bio-based sectors through
diversification and increased sustainability of agricultural production systems
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                         The proposals must use the multi-actor approach and ensure adequate
                         involvement of the forest-based sector. See definition of the multi-actor
                         approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
239
         In synergy with European partnerships under Clusters 4, 5, and 6.
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Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level         see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal and the EU bioeconomy strategy,
successful proposals will demonstrate the potential of diversification strategies in the primary
production sector for providing feedstock in bio-based value chains. They should contribute to
regional, urban and consumer-based transitions towards a sustainable, regenerative, inclusive
and just circular economy and bioeconomy in Europe at local and regional level.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Sustainable primary production systems to diversify income for farmers, while
      supporting the development of bioeconomies in rural areas within planetary boundaries.
     Targeted policies at EU / national and regional level promoting sustainable agricultural
      production systems in full respect of biodiversity protection and enhancement objectives.
     Improved knowledge of primary producers on co-benefits and potential risks of
      introducing new production systems.
     Better management of the actual available land in EU Member States and associated
      countries that has been and could be envisaged for biomass production that is certifiable
      as ‘low induced land use change (ILUC)’ for the use in bio-based sectors240.
Scope: Securing long-term supply of affordable and sustainable biomass is a key challenge for
the European bioeconomy. It is crucial to limit negative (indirect) changes in land use, which
can lead to losses of biodiversity, carbon or other ecosystem services and to move towards a
sustainable bioeconomy that operates within sustainable parameters. The diversity and
diversification of farming systems can contribute to a sustainable European bioeconomy by
securing stable revenues for farmers, lowering negative environmental impacts and increasing
resilience to climatic, economic and biological risks.
Proposals will:
     Explore alternative systems and designs to improve the overall sustainability of local and
      regional agricultural production systems in a variety of landscapes, soil and climatic
      conditions, across the EU and associated countries;
     Consider the environmental, economic and social impacts of primary production systems
      and contribute to the characterisation of diversity and its relation to expected functions
      and benefits;
     Develop sustainable diversification strategies that can optimise the production of
      agricultural feedstock in the emerging bio-based economy. These could include the co-
      production of food and non-food products (e.g. through intercropping systems),
240
         According to Directive (EU) 2018/2001
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      diversification and optimisation of crops cultivated in greenhouses for high value
      products, optimisation of intermediary/catch crops to increase the biomass production in
      a sustainable way and circular low-emission livestock or mixed farming systems.
     Optimise diversification strategies for different European agricultural production
      models/sectors with a view to minimise potential land conflicts and in line with agro-
      ecological practices.
     Consider contributing data and results to the European Commission’s Knowledge Centre
      for Bioeconomy hosted by the JRC.
Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor approach’ and ensure adequate involvement of the
farming sector and other actors in rural areas.
Social innovation241 is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, development of training material for upskilling
of reskilling of the workforce, social ownership or market uptake.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement. This topic should involve the effective
contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-05: EU-China international cooperation on
unlocking the potential of agricultural residues and wastes for circular and sustainable
bio-based solutions
Specific conditions
Expected EU                 The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per            8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                     appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                            selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action              Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility conditions      The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                            exceptions apply:
                            The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                            The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of
241
         As defined by the European Commission: innovations that are social in both their ends and their
         means. Specifically, […] social innovations [are] new ideas (products, services and models) that
         simultaneously meet social needs (more effectively than alternatives) and create new social
         relationships or collaborations. They are innovations that are not only good for society but also
         enhance society’s capacity to act.” according to the European Commission Bureau of European Policy
         Advisors (BEPA, 2011, p. 9; see also Regulation (EU) No 1296/2013on a European
         UnionProgrammefor Employment and Social Innovation ("EaSI")).
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                           the multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme
                           part.
Procedure                  The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                           exceptions apply:
                           Grants awarded under this topic will be coordinated with the Ministry
                           of Science and Technology, China (MOST).
Legal and financial        The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant        exceptions apply:
Agreements                 Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the specific grants
                           awarded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, China (MOST)
                           to the Chinese partners.
                           The respective options of the Model Grant Agreement will be
                           applied.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal, EU bioeconomy strategy and farm
to fork strategy, successful proposals will explore opportunities for the valorisation of waste,
by- and co-products. They should contribute to regional, urban and consumer-based
transitions towards a sustainable, regenerative, inclusive and just circular economy and
bioeconomy across in Europe at local and regional level.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Strengthened international cooperation with actors from China in the areas of
      agricultural residues and wastes for circular, biosecure and sustainable bio-based
      solutions
    Establishment of bio-based production systems that are optimised in view of
      sustainability, circular resource use and economic viability
    Increased resource efficiency through reduction of waste and better waste management
      practices in primary production systems.
    Increased opportunities for the valorisation of waste, by- and co-products resulting in
      environmental and economic benefits for the farming sector (e.g. development of new
      products and processes).
    Improvement in overall environmental performance (soil health, water quality, low-
      carbon livestock, reduction of emissions, biodiversity, etc.) of bio-based sectors.
Scope: Agriculture generates co-products, by-products and waste streams that are often not
treated adequately in environmental and economic terms. In crop cultivation, losses can be
observed at farm and post-harvest levels and downstream along the value chain. Co-products
or by-products are generated, for instance in the wine, fruit and vegetable, olive oil, starch and
sugar sectors, which offer potential to further valorise the resources. In livestock production,
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and in particular in large-scale production systems, appropriate management of manure and
other waste sources from livestock production and transformation is a challenge. Therefore,
this topic addresses opportunities for new processes and concepts that enable innovative uses
of these materials while quantifying the impact of deviating biomass streams from their
current flow (e.g. in terms of biodiversity impacts, soil fertility, etc.).
Proposals will:
   Evaluate existing techniques and develop new innovative approaches for the efficient
      use of agricultural wastes, co-products and by-products, thereby contributing to the
      creation of sustainable value chains in the farming and processing sectors.
   Address, if applicable, innovative solutions for protein recovery and/or microbial protein
      production from agricultural wastes/by-products for food and feed applications to meet
      the demand for new protein-based products at local and global levels.
   Examine the safety and risks of circularised substance flows, particularly the reutilisation
      of food waste and (animal) by-products, and prevention of the creation of pathogen/toxin
      enrichment cycles and introduction or reconnection of epidemiological pathways.
   Demonstrate environmentally-friendly and economically viable approaches in sector-
      specific case studies and test the possible practical take-up of proposed approaches and
      technologies.
   Examine the synergies/conﬂicts and interdependencies between the different agri-waste
      feedstock and develop coherent indicators to evaluate their quantity, quality and
      sustainability attributes, as well as the costs associated with their production, collection
      and processing.
   Consider environmental, economic and social safeguards, such as the sustainable
      extraction rates of residues, with a view to maintaining low emissions, soil health and
      fertility, as well as possible conflicts with alternative uses.
   Address, if applicable, nutrient and energy recovery and the overall minimisation of
      environmental impacts in the context of good agricultural practices and possible sanitary
      implications.
   Improve data collection (e.g. data on residue quantities, residue management and feed
      requirement) at farm-level, link them with relevant information systems (e.g. the Farm
      Accountancy Data Network (FADN)) and improve knowledge on the availability,
      demand and market prices of agricultural waste and residue streams.
   Develop training material to endow primary producers and workers with the right skillset
      in order to adapt to the proposed viable approaches.
Actions will contribute to implementing the EU-China Food, Agriculture and Biotechnology
(FAB) flagship initiative, which aims to ensure sustainability of agri-food systems, catering
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for the needs of a growing population, the reduction of food and agricultural losses and waste,
and the provision of safe and healthy foodstuffs.
Due to the scope of this topic, international cooperation is strongly encouraged, in particular
with China. This topic is envisaged to be implemented as a coordinated call but if no
agreement is reached with the Ministry of Science and Technology China (MOST) on the co-
funding of Chinese partners, it will be implemented as a normal call. Updates will be
published on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor approach’ and ensure adequate involvement of the
farming sector.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement. This topic should involve the effective
contribution of SSH disciplines.
Proposals should consider the development of learning resources for the current and future
generations of employees, with the possibility to integrate them in existing curricula and
modules for undergraduate level and lifelong learning programmes. The projects should
provide contributions to relevant standards or best practices.
Safeguarding the multiple functions of EU forests
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-06: Strengthening the European forest-based
research and innovation ecosystem
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach and ensure adequate
                       involvement of the forest-based sector. See definition of the multi-actor
                       approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
                       The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                       consortium selected for funding.
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Expected Outcome: To support the new EU forest strategy, successful proposals will assess
research needs and funding possibilities for forestry and the forest-based sector, notably for
the multifunctionality and management of forests in Europe based on the three pillars of
sustainability (economic, environmental and social). Project results are expected to contribute
to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Better insights into existing funding sources (including Horizon Europe, rural and
       regional development funds) and streamlining of research and innovation (R&I) actions
       in Europe.
   Establishment of a co-creative environment allowing stakeholders to identify jointly
       existing research gaps and future priorities to coordinate research efforts at regional,
       national and European level.
   Intensified trans-national R&I cooperation in forestry and the forest-based sector on
       research priorities, critical and key technologies.
   Creation of an open-innovation ecosystem with relevant stakeholders in the EU and
       associated countries to support the evolution of the forest-based sector.
Scope: A key R&I challenge for the coming years is to address the complexity of the forest-
based sector in environmental terms (long life cycle, ecosystem functioning and diversity,
spatial variability, interface between the soil and the atmosphere, in the middle between
cultivated and natural assets), economic terms (multiple forest owners and SMEs,
competitiveness on global markets) and policy terms (many forest-related policies including
biological diversity, climate and energy, bioeconomy, rural development, trade, agriculture,
etc.).
A successful transition of the forest-based sector towards greater sustainability needs to be
underpinned by a comprehensive scientific assessment. Better coordination of research
activities is also required to overcome fragmentation of public research efforts, to strengthen
the link between forest managers, industries and society and to streamline the activities of
European, national and regional stakeholders.
Proposals will:
   Analyse the forest-based sector in an integrated way, considering different biodiversity
       and bioeconomy issues, societal expectations and climate change risks that call for an
       intensified European and international collaboration.
   Design a suitable method for conducting foresight analysis on issues that are likely to
       have an impact on forests in European regions and globally.
   Consider the future availability of and demands for different forest resources, and assess
       their sustainability within the changing global economic, social and environmental
       conditions.
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     Provide evidence and knowledge on how existing funding sources at EU (including
      Horizon Europe, rural and regional development funds), Member State, associated
      countries’ and regional levels are mobilised to support research and innovation
      initiatives in the forest-based sector.
     Address the necessity for new knowledge to support major transitions and innovations in
      forestry and the forest-based sector in view of the new EU forest strategy and other
      major policy initiatives.
     Develop a structured framework for a European network of research funding and
      research policy organisations across the different parts of the forest-based and related
      sectors to increass cross-fertilisation between different areas of knowledge generation
      and innovation activities.
     Develop an R&I roadmap at EU-level and prepare for a possible European partnership or
      other appropriate comprehensive actions under Horizon Europe.
     Provide scenarios and information on how to maximise synergies and minimise trade-
      offs between the different funding instruments and research needs (environmental,
      economic and social dimensions)
     Assess the potential of flagship projects in selected key strategic areas in the forest-based
      sector (e.g. integrated forest research across several dimensions of sustainable forest
      management; landscape-level integration of forest research at the interface with other
      sectors (agriculture, cities, water); increased, sustainable wood production and
      mobilisation; renewable building materials for healthier living; role of new wood-based
      products to reach climate neutrality by substitution effects; contributions of the forest-
      based sector in the green recovery).
Proposals must implement the ‘multi-actor approach’ and ensure a value chain approach, with
adequate involvement of the forestry and forest-based sector.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
Innovating for blue bioeconomy and biotechnology value chains
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01-07: Marine microbiome for a healthy ocean and a
sustainable blue bioeconomy 242
Specific conditions
242
         In the context of this topic marine microbiome is understood as the global collective of all
         microorganisms in marine and aquatic environments. The term refers also to the specific communities
         of microbes that live in and on individual aquatic ecosystems, including their creatures.
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Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 9.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 18.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 3-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal, the EU bioeconomy strategy and
the blue growth strategy, the successful proposals will support the development of
microbiome-based greener aquatic industrial products/processes and/or environmental
services sustaining the health of aquatic ecosystems for a healthy planet and people.
The project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Provision of a scientific base to enable the efficient production of high‑quality marine
     microbiome data, increased data interoperability and facilitate its use by a wide range of
     stakeholders. Improvement of capacity building in bioinformatics in Europe and
     overcome fragmentation.
   Increased engagement of all actors in the marine microbiome biodiscovery pipeline,
     including industry, the scientific community, and civil society in full consideration of the
     sustainability objectives while accelerating the profitability and economic prospects of
     marine microbiome-enabled products and processes.
   Proven biodiscovery strategies based on whole microbiome communities enlarging the
     spectrum of biotechnology-enabled products and processes of value to society based on
     marine bioresources.
   Better protection and sustainable use of marine (genetic) bioresources by advancing new
     intellectual property rights (IPR) approaches to securing clear access while ensuring fair
     and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilisation.
   Increased awareness on the potential of marine microbiome to boost the sustainable blue
     bioeconomy.
Scope: The ocean is the Earth’s largest microbiome. Microorganisms represent nearly 90% of
the ocean biomass and largely determine the functioning and health of marine ecosystems.
They also contain a great variety of metabolic pathways that can yield beneficial products and
processes such as medicines, high value industrial compounds and environmental services.
The marine microbiome is one of the fastest growing segments of the blue bioeconomy and its
study is vital to advance the discovery, understanding, protection and harnessing of the ocean.
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The purpose of the action is to develop novel tools and approaches to produce, analyse and
use marine microbiome data for the discovery and production of high value sustainable
industrial products/processes and/or environmental services that sustain the health of aquatic
ecosystems.
Applicants should address:
     Scientific and technological challenges cutting across marine microbiome fields such as:
      (i) developing new methods to analyse and model microbiome communities and take full
      advantage of post-genomic technologies and bioinformatic analysis pipelines; (ii)
      developing standards and common methodologies that are coherent across marine
      microbiome exploration, monitoring and engineering, and can adapt to the capacity of
      the different sectors (science, industry, people and society); and (iii) optimising the use
      of (pre-existing) databases and research infrastructures by ensuring interoperability and
      enhanced networking.
     Bioprospecting to discover biological compounds or functions that are obtained only
      through complex interactions involving whole microbiome communities; targeted
      cultivation strategies beyond lab grown monocultures; manipulate and bioengineer
      microbiome products that ensure the sustainable use of marine bioresources; ensure open
      access and benefit sharing in balance with agreements and negotiations to protect
      intellectual property.
Collaboration between private industry and academia, and the link with end users and society
are both essential. In addition, the professional skills and competences on marine
microbiomes of those working and being trained to work within the blue bioeconomy should
be improved.
Proposals should assess the risks and ethics related to microbiome science & technology and
guarantee the preservation of biodiversity and the compliance with EU regulations on access
to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilisation
(ABS) in the EU. Fostering long-term preservation in biobanks, proper documentation of
rights for redistribution and full traceability of their use and benefits.
Dissemination, public engagement and establishing links between researchers and the various
end users should be central to the proposals. Projects should seek synergies and capitalise on
the results of past or ongoing research. Cooperation with other selected proposals under this
topic and complementary topics included in this work programme243 is encouraged.
International co-operation is strongly encouraged as a win-win scenario, while contributing to
the European competitiveness and resilience.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
243
         Another microbiome-related topic presented in this work programme is “HORIZON-CL6-2021-
         CIRCBIO-01-07: Microbiomes for bio-based innovation and environmental applications.”
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Call - Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors
                                                        HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-two-stage
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)244
                         Topics                               Type Budgets          Expected      Number
                                                                of     (EUR            EU             of
                                                             Action million) contribution projects
                                                                                   per project expected
                                                                        2022          (EUR          to be
                                                                                            245
                                                                                   million)        funded
                                           Opening: 28 Oct 2021
                Deadline(s): 15 Feb 2022 (First Stage), 01 Sep 2022 (Second Stage)
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-01-two-                          IA       21.00       6.00 to 8.00    3
stage
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-02-two-                          RIA      10.00       Around          2
stage                                                                             5.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-03-two-                          IA       12.00       Around          2
stage                                                                             6.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-04-two-                          RIA      6.00        Around          1
stage                                                                             6.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-05-two-                          RIA      12.00       Around          2
stage                                                                             6.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-06-two-                          IA       15.00       6.00 to 8.00    2
stage
Overall indicative budget                                             76.00
General conditions relating to this call
244
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
245
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Enabling a circular economy transition
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-01-two-stage: Integrated solutions for circularity in
buildings and the construction sector
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      6.00 and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 21.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal will contribute to all Destination ‘Circular
economy and bioeconomy sectors’ impacts related to consumers and industry, in particular to
European industrial sustainability, competitiveness and resource independence by lowering
the environmental footprint, enabling climate-neutrality and higher resource efficiency,
through increased circularity and a resulting reduction in GHG emissions.
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Project results are expected to contribute to at least four of the following outcomes:
   Increased deployment and market uptake of innovative climate-neutral circular solutions
      for construction, waste prevention, lifetime extension and significant improvement of
      lifecycle performance of buildings and their components, including GHG emissions
   Increased deployment and market uptake of innovative solutions to design and
      manufacture for disassembly, waste prevention and management, reuse and recycling in
      the construction sector, including production and assembling
   Enhanced diffusion and demonstrated benefits of advanced digital solutions, ensuring
      coherence with other initiatives such as digital logbooks for logistics of construction
      materials and the energy-efficient operation of buildings
   Increased recovery and recycling rates of construction and demolition waste
   Improved elimination of hazardous substances from secondary materials
   Increased upcycling of reused and recycled material in construction materials, products
      and buildings
   Increased knowledge about the overall environmental footprint of buildings and
      construction materials, including the integrated assessment of material and energy
      efficiency with regard to possible trade-offs and synergies, and increased practical
      application of the Commission’s Product Environmental Footprint method.
Scope: The 2020 circular economy action plan (CEAP) states that “the built environment has
a significant impact on many sectors of the economy, on local jobs and quality of life. It
requires vast amounts of resources and accounts for about 50% of all extracted material. The
construction sector is responsible for over 35% of the EU’s total waste generation.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from material extraction, manufacturing of construction
products, construction and renovation of buildings are estimated at 5-12% of total national
GHG emissions. Greater material efficiency could save 80% of those emissions.” Measures
should strive for the use of more climate-neutral circular materials with low environmental
footprint and tackle material recovery, upcycling, recycled content in products, durability and
adaptability of buildings, and they should have a strong life cycle and digitalisation focus.
They should also focus on circular design that facilitates reuse and recycling beforehand.
This activity should demonstrate at large scale and deploy innovative climate-neutral circular
solutions that prevent waste, expand the lifetime and improve the life cycle performance of
buildings and their components, but also improve the quality of and the confidence in reused
and recycled material. This targets materials, products, equipment and systems, their sourcing,
design, upgradability, durability, material efficiency, dismantling, recyclability, etc.
Dismantling and deconstruction should be embedded already in the design phase, with the
adoption of circular economy principles, and thus reduce construction and demolition waste
(CDW). As part of an overall digitalisation of the construction ecosystem, projects should use
digital tools such as Building Information Modelling (BIM) or Digital Twin, which are key to
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traceability and circularity, and can be further used during deconstruction. Appropriate
material recycling within construction operations, waste material identification, sorting and
decontamination solutions should be considered to improve material logistics, processing and
upgrading. Projects should aim to support the strengthening of preferably local or regional
secondary material markets. All solutions should be based on life-cycle approaches and
proposals should integrate life cycle assessment using the European Commission’s Product
Environmental Footprint (PEF) method and relevant costing methods. The projects should
also propose, test and demonstrate new business models. Projects should also develop training
material to endow workers in this occupational group with the right skillset in order to deploy
the new technologies developed. All achieved outcomes should be demonstrated using
quantitative indicators and targets wherever possible.
With regard to the territorial aspects of all proposed solutions, proposals seek to contribute to
the goals and cooperate with the services of the European Commission’s Circular Cities and
Regions Initiative (CCRI). Joint activities with CCRI projects are encouraged.
Proposals should seek to build synergies with projects funded under Cluster 4 Destination
‘Climate neutral, circular and digitised production’, section “A new way to build, accelerating
disruptive change in construction”. Projects are therefore strongly encouraged to organise
joint activities, ensure synergies and undertake clustering activities with projects under
Cluster 4.
Projects should seek to contribute to the New European Bauhaus initiative by supporting the
green and digital transitions in communities’ living environments through merging
sustainability, inclusiveness and quality of experience.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Innovating sustainable bio-based systems and the bioeconomy
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-02-two-stage: Exploring extreme environments:
novel adaptation strategies at molecular level for bio-based innovation
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
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Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level          see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Projects will contribute to the expected impacts identified for Destination
‘Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors’, and to the European policies it supports, in
particular the European Green Deal, the circular economy action plan and the Bioeconomy
and biodiversity strategies. Their results will help to improve the European industrial 246
sustainability, competitiveness and resource independence by lowering the environmental
footprint (including on biodiversity), enabling climate-neutrality and higher resource
efficiency (in particular upcycling and cascading use of biomass) along and across value
chains, developing innovative bio-based products. They will engage all stakeholders and
improve their knowledge and understanding of science, in particular biotechnology-based
value chains
Projects results should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
Deeper understanding of the molecular, biochemical and cellular mechanisms of ecological
adaptation of terrestrial and aquatic organisms in response to life under extreme or changing
environments, while strengthening the remediation options at macro level for the studied
populations, including by their interactions, thus contributing to expanding the range of
potential climate change mitigation strategies.
     Stronger innovation capacity by applying the discovered principles (including via
      biotechnology routes) to the development of more resilient innovative feedstocks needed
      for sustainable bio-based products247
     A significantly improved environmental footprint of novel feedstocks based on
      discovered principles248, and a wider range of sustainable biomass resources available to
      European industry, that are important for industrial competitiveness and SMEs
      participation, thus helping to create skilled jobs and boost the economy.
     Increased public understanding in Europe of biotechnology, the conservation of
      biodiversity, and EU biodiversity strategy goals. Respect of the principles of access and
      benefit sharing (UN Biodiversity Convention), via clear, inclusive and transparent
      communication strategies.
Scope: The topic covers R&D needed to advance and potentially exploit knowledge on the
ways terrestrial and aquatic organisms and their populations adapt, on molecular,
physiological, and ecological levels, to the effects of climate change, such as by tolerance to
extreme temperatures, drought/water stress, salinity or increased biotic pressures (new pests),
as observed at macro-scale (e.g. shifting ecological niches). The scope covers understanding
246
        In connection with European partnerships under Cluster 6, in particular Circular Bio-based Europe
        (CBE).
247
        i.e. molecular traits linked with sustainable intensification of production, quality of the concerned
        feedstocks, or enhanced defence ability
248
        e.g. through lowered requirements for pesticides or irrigation.
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the complex interactions between the affected populations (e.g. molecular signalling), and
broader outcomes on an ecological level. International cooperation is strongly encouraged to
maximise the impact.
Where relevant, proposals should seek synergies and capitalise on the results of past and
ongoing research projects. Proposals should:
  a. Identify and justify the choice of the selected organism or system under investigation,
      specifying the level and characteristics of the environmental stimuli covered (i.e.
      extreme or changing environment linked to climatic conditions).
  b. Consider the broader level of climate adaptation in the systems identified, in order to
      shed light on the possibility and magnitude of applying the discovered principles as part
      of a mitigation strategy.
  c. Engage with industrial actors including SMEs to identify and implement the best
      combination of appropriate technical solutions and in particular biotechnology for
      specific industrial value chains, for sustainable biomass generation, taking into account
      the barriers and drivers derived from governance and market aspects, while seeking
      engagement and understanding of all actors.
  d. Develop and communicate the key methods to monitor and measure the qualitative and
      quantitative impacts of these solutions and practices for different biomass sourcing,
      optimization, processing and production systems, the potential of replacing available
      traditional alternatives, if relevant, and trade-offs, including for biodiversity, and
      potential benefits in terms of the socioeconomic resilience of businesses, job creation
      and industrial competitiveness.
  e. Develop and test mechanisms with all actors, notably the research community and bio-
      based industry. Exchange knowledge on and demonstrate solutions for improved bio-
      based products and processes and for addressing other environmental impacts such as on
      biodiversity to agricultural operators, farmers, fishers, foresters, SMEs and the broader
      public, and help them implement them.
For this topic, it is not mandatory to integrate the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis)
into research and innovation.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-03-two-stage: Sustainable biodegradable novel bio-
based plastics: innovation for sustainability and end-of-life options of plastics
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
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Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level          see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will support the uptake of bio-based innovation with
high environmental and functional performance of products, processes and services along
value chains and life cycles by bio-based industry, in line with European Green Deal
objectives. Project outcomes will contribute to foster European industrial sustainability,
competitiveness and resource independence, by lowering the environmental footprint and
enabling climate-neutrality and higher resource efficiency along value chains.
Projects results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcome:
    Bio-based plastics value chains are deployed with improved functionalities and
      environmental performances, less toxicity substances, lower waste production and better
      product safety control along the whole value chain.
Scope: There is a need to develop innovative, sustainable bio-based and biodegradable
plastics with novel properties and production processes to deliver environmentally friendly
materials with the desired properties for long-term circular applications, markets and uses.
The approach should combine environmental sustainability, circularity and functionality of
the developed products and of the supply chain. Results should be aligned to recent policy
developments on plastics.
Proposals should:
  a. Develop novel sustainable bio-based biodegradable plastics with enhanced
      functionalities, circularity and environmental sustainability, based on their non-toxic
      nature and improved end-of-life behaviour, for specific applications. The bio-based
      plastic should be mechanically recyclable and its biodegradability in specific
      environments should allow for a more sustainably managed end-of-life such as either
      composting or anaerobic digestion or home composting or in ‘in-situ’ degradation (i.e.
      natural soil and marine environments) depending on applications and conditions.
  b. Develop and optimise innovative aspects of the production process, for example green
      chemistry and/or fermentative production, especially with respect to catalysts, higher
      yield, bio-based plastic quality, while ensuring the sustainability of biological feedstock
      used in the manufacturing, including biological waste and residues, and of production
      processes, aiming at a low environmental footprint and economic viability.
  c. Test the biodegradability in the specific environment where the bio-based plastic
      developed for selected applications and conditions could end its life cycle, i.e. either
      composting plant or anaerobic digester, or home composting, or in ‘in-situ’ degradation
      (i.e. natural soil and marine environments);
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  d. Consider process and product safety (i.e. production through to the use of a product) in
     value chains, especially for new products and materials, following national or EU
     regulations. The toxicological evaluation of products and the EU regulatory
     requirements for product safety should be systematically addressed as part of
     proposals/projects, in particular where uses may be linked to critical exposure routes
     (e.g. food contact materials).
  e. Demonstrate the scaled-up production processes and cost competitiveness for novel
     sustainable bio-based biodegradable plastics in order to reach a critical mass for a given
     bio-based plastic, to achieve economies of scale.
Proposals should include a task dedicated to sharing methodologies and findings with projects
funded within this topic. Where relevant, proposals should seek links with and to capitalise on
the results of past and other ongoing research projects. They should take a multidisciplinary
approach, involving many stakeholders and fields of applications and considering various
aspects along the bio-based plastics value chain, including EU rules on product safety. They
should also consider contributing data and results to the European Commission’s Knowledge
Centre for Bioeconomy hosted by the JRC.
For this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research
and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-04-two-stage: Photosynthesis revisited: climate
emergency, “no pollution and zero-emission” challenge and industrial application
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will contribute to Destination ‘Circular economy
and bioeconomy sectors’ impacts, and the European policies it supports, in particular the
European Green Deal, the circular economy action plan and the bioeconomy strategy. They
will help improve European industrial 249 sustainability, competitiveness and resource
independence to develop innovative bio-based products. They will engage all stakeholders
249
        In connection with European partnerships under Cluster 6, in particular Circular Bio-based Europe
        (CBE).
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and improve their knowledge and understanding of science, notably of biotechnology-based
value chains, and improve benefits for consumers.
Projects results should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Wider application of recent advances in molecular biology and biotechnology to increase
      photosynthetic efficiency of plants and/or algae and other autotrophic organisms,
      increasing their assimilation of carbon dioxide, boosting biomass yields, their processing
      and recovery of substance and materials of economic interest, and resulting in potential
      contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
     Increased industrial uptake of plants and photoautotrophic organisms via biotechnology
      approaches, for the production of high-value complex molecules, to improve cost- and
      resource-efficiency. Wider uptake of life sciences and biotechnology innovations,
      supporting high engagement of industry and SMEs in Europe.
     Greater understanding and application of biotechnology to address air pollution
      (especially ozone) by crops and plants related with heat waves and environmental stress.
     Greater and more inclusive understanding and awareness of innovations, via transparent
      communication and societal dialogue with all stakeholders (academia, industry, SMEs,
      NGOs, regulatory institutions, international partners etc.).
Scope: The photosynthetic capacity of plants, algae and other photosynthetic organisms to
assimilate atmospheric carbon dioxide positions them at the centre of the global climate
change adaptation and mitigation challenge250 251. Their autotrophic lifestyle also makes them
ideal platform organisms for sustainable production of biomolecules252, including molecules
of high socio-economic value, of interest to diverse industrial sectors, by increasingly
sophisticated synthetic and molecular biology approaches253.
This creates new opportunities for industrial production, beyond improved yields, while
helping increase CO2 assimilation capacity - contributing notably to the reduction of pollution
in Europe, and making it more efficient. In particular, recent research confirm a strong
correlation between plant physiological reactions during drought and heat waves, which are
increasing in frequency and intensity in Europe, notably by contributing to ozone pollution254,
the so-called ‘climate penalty of plants” 255 256.
250
        For instance, see Ort et al. Redesigning photosynthesis to sustainably meet global food and bioenergy
        demand. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA112, 8529–8536 (2015).
251
        Notwithstanding the recognized need for even stronger emission reductions.
252
        O’Neill E. and Kelly, S. 2016 Engineering biosynthesis of high-value compounds in photosynthetic
        organisms,
253
        Schander et al., A synthetic pathway for the fixation of carbon dioxide in vitro, Science 18 (Nov 2016):
        900-904
254
        Lin et al.Vegetation feedbacks during drought exacerbate ozone air pollution extremes in Europe. Nat.
        Clim. Chang.10, 444–451 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0743-y
255
        Sadiq, M. The climate penalty of plants. Nat. Clim. Chang.10, 387–388 (2020).
        https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0765-5
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                       Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
The topic covers innovative technologies with potential to boost the efficiency of
photosynthesis, reduce the ‘climate penalty of plants’, and increase their sustainable industrial
application. All photoautotrophic organisms such as plants, micro- and macro algae,
cyanobacteria and purple sulphur bacteria are in the scope.
International cooperation is strongly encouraged to allow the exchange of best practices while
ensuring win-win scenarios and contributing to European competitiveness.
Proposals should:
  a. Develop and apply a toolbox of technologies to optimise the photosynthesis pathways
      and structures of plants and algae to enable industrial manufacturing of large quantities
      of high-value bio-based compounds, substances or materials (excluding
      biofuels/bioenergy applications), while addressing the CO2 assimilation and the zero-
      pollution goals (especially ozone pollution) at sufficiently large scale.
  b. Identify and characterise the key aspects of the environmental and safety aspects, as well
      as the future scenarios of increasing environmental pressures under climate change
      conditions (water, gaseous inputs, land use etc.), for the selected crops, beyond the
      model species.
  c. Outline the necessary scale-up production processes for novel bio-based innovations in
      order to reach a critical mass for a given application (including the crop/species
      selection), to achieve economies of scale, address different market segments and
      applications.
  d. Consider process and product safety - including the occupational and consumer safety
      aspects - in value chains, in line with national or European regulationsEnsure the
      transparent and inclusive engagement of all actors, including industry and SMEs, the
      scientific community, regulatory institutions, and broader civil society, including NGOs,
      to ensure the necessary impact and awareness.
  e. Where relevant, proposals should seek links with and capitalise on the results of past 257
      and ongoing 258 research projects, taking care to avoid overlaps.
For this topic, it is not mandatory to integrate the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis)
into research and innovation.
256      Air   quality  in   Europe   –   2019   report   Report no.   10/2019 (European Environment Agency, 2019);
         https://www.eea.europa.eu//publications/air-quality-in-europe-2019
257
         E.g. FP7 project “3to4”: Converting C3 to C4 photosynthesis for sustainable agriculture
258
         E.g. Horizon 2020 call BIOTEC-02-2019: Boosting the efficiency of photosynthesis (RIA), with
         projects CAPITALISE, GAIN4CROPS and PhotoBoost.
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-05-two-stage: Life sciences and their convergence
with digital technologies for prospecting, understanding and sustainably using biological
resources
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level          see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal and other European initiatives such
as the circular economy action plan, the industrial strategy, the bioeconomy strategy and the
biodiversity strategy, the successful proposal should support the uptake of bio-based
innovation, to improve European industrial 259 sustainability, competitiveness and resource
independence. They should develop innovative bio-based products using the full benefits of
artificial intelligence and other digital technology innovation. They should engage all
stakeholders and improve their knowledge and understanding of science, notably
biotechnology-based value chains, and improve benefits for consumers.
Project results tshould contribute to all of the following outcomes:
     Use the full potential of artificial intelligence applications for prospecting, understanding
      and sustainably using biological resources within safe planetary boundaries.
     Digital tools, sensors and methods for improved efficiency, climate change adaptation
      and sustainability of industrial processes in the bio-based sectors considering the needs
      of stakeholders are integrated in innovative engineering solutions.
     Enhanced monitoring, reporting and management of natural resources using artificial
      intelligence and other digital technology applications.
Scope: Engineering biology applications have grown beyond chemical production to include
the generation of biosensor organisms for the lab, animal, and field, modification of
agricultural organisms for nutrition and pest/environmental resilience, production of
organisms for bioremediation, and live cell and gene/viral therapies. The rapid expansion of
the field has resulted in new tools and new approaches. However, we are still challenged by
the need for novel and more robust and interoperable computational tools and models for
259
         In synergy with European partnerships under Cluster 6, in particular Circular Bio-based Europe (CBE).
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
engineering biology. For example, improved models of synthetic systems (synthetic biology)
and of their interaction with their host organisms could help enable more successful
engineering.
This information infrastructure for biological design is at an early stage compared to
engineering disciplines such as mechanical and electrical engineering, as the
biomanufacturing field has emerged only recently. A critical bottleneck is a lack of
established “design rules,” core aspects of biological and biomolecular function that apply to
diverse systems and applications. Furthermore, technologies for the utilization, manufacture,
and deployment of innovative bio-based systems are still under development. These
roadblocks have hampered the development of standard computational frameworks to
represent, process and store information on biological components, predict system behaviour,
and diagnose failures. Therefore, widespread automation in the bio-based sectors remains out
of reach.
A mature computational infrastructure for biodesign requires powerful access to information
on biological parts and systems, their environments, their manufacturing processes, and their
operations in and beyond the laboratory in which they are created. This in turn requires
findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable data that enable effective aggregation
information on bio-based systems, their environments, and their processes of manufacture,
and the establishment of standard models of data processing and analysis, including
bioinformatics, biosensors, bioindicators, ‘-omics’ technologies that allow open-development
and scalable execution in the bio-based sectors.
The topic aims to prevent pollution and sustainably manage and use natural resources within
safe planetary boundaries, including in the deployment of the bioeconomy and the bio-based
sectors. The topic focuses on bioinformatics, “cheminformatics” and artificial intelligence as
approaches and tools to transform available information into biologically or
biotechnologically applicable knowledge. It also aims to efficiently integrate digital
technologies into bio-based operations to optimise value chains from a technical, economic,
social and environmental point of view.
Proposals should:
  a. Enable prospecting, understanding and sustainable use of biological resources based on
      their convergence with digital technologies that lead to optimised and more efficient bio-
      based operations.
  b. Identify and characterise advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, and
      their benefits for the utilisation, manufacture, and deployment of innovative bio-based
      systems.
  c. Develop integrated biological designs and data models for improved prospecting,
      understanding and deployment of higher efficiency and sustainability of biological
      resources and industrial bio-based operations (e.g. bioinformatics, biosensors,
      bioindicators, data analysis, ‘-omics’ technologies).
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  d. Improve the economic and environmental sustainability of bio-based operations.
  e. Focus on the integration of -omics and machine learning techniques such as active
      learning for the design-build-test-learn (DBTL) cycle.
  f. Develop improved models and model standards of synthetic systems (synthetic biology)
      and of their interaction with their host organisms to facilitate more successful
      engineering and broader application in the bio-based sectors.
  g. Establish bio computer-aided design (BioCAD) tools and design-of-experiment (DoE)
      approaches.
  h. Reinforce and maintain scientific infrastructures to integrate existing biodiversity
      information (species, habitats and environmental processes).
  i. Consider contributing data and results to the European Commission’s Knowledge Centre
      for Bioeconomy hosted by the JRC.
For this topic, it is not mandatory to integrate the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis)
into research and innovation.
Safeguarding the multiple functions of EU forests
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-06-two-stage: Harnessing the digital revolution in
the forest-based sector
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 6.00
contribution per       and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
                       If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
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                      additionally be used).
                      The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                      consortium selected for funding.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In line with the EU forest strategy and the European digital strategy,
successful proposals will demonstrate the potential of digital solutions in forestry and forest-
based value chains contributing to the multifunctionality and management of forests in
Europe based on the three pillars of sustainability (economic, environmental and social).
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Deployment of information and communication technology (ICT) innovations in forestry
      to optimise productivity as well as the delivery of ecosystem services.
    Application of innovative approaches along the forest-based value chain by more
      accurate tracing methodologies of forest resources.
    A greater competitive advantage for European industries that utilise forest resources
      more efficiently.
Scope: The improved use of information flows and intelligent digital solutions that are
increasingly available in forest monitoring, management and forestry operations, could help to
significantly improve and unlock the efficiency of wood supply chain activities. Modern
digital applications also provide promising possibilities to improve forest managers’ decision
making in a precious and complex forest environment and to improve ecosystem monitoring.
This topic addresses innovations in information systems for forest managers, forest-based
industries and policy makers as well as advances in precision forestry, harvesting systems and
forest nursery operation, optimised harvest planning, operations management, timber
transport and logistics, as well as safety, ergonomics and smart assistance for human workers.
The synergetic use of geo-spatial, statistical, and modelling technologies together with
information and communication technologies such as aerial and satellite retrievals, (in
particular from the Copernicus programme) and the ‘web of things’ combined with big-data
analytics is highly encouraged.
The aim is to harness the potential of ICT and new technologies to improve the sustainability
of forest management and logging operations with a view to sharing data throughout the wood
value chain, thereby driving greater sustainability, to offer new business models along the
value chain and to improve the traceability of forest resources for optimised and transparent
supply chains. The integration in the new technologies of climate change impacts on these
wood chains should be an essential component. Activities may also include robust and
transparent methods and tools for high resolution forest and ecosystems services assessments,
natural disturbance risk monitoring and analysis (including pests and forest fires) and disaster
response systems.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Besides activities such as prototyping, testing, demonstrating and piloting in a near to
operational environment, proposals may include limited research activities. Assessing and
deepening the understanding of economic, social and environmental impacts through an
enhanced application of digital technologies for foresters, small and medium-sized enterpirses
(SMEs) and industries, as well as end-consumers will be of special interest, including the
assessment of risks and opportunities for jobs in forestry, the wider forest-based sector and
rural communities.
Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor approach’ and ensure adequate involvement of the
primary sector and the wider forest-based value chain. Cooperation with other selected
projects under this topic and other relevant projects is strongly encouraged.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Destination – Clean environment and zero pollution
Anthropogenic pollution undermines the integrity of Earth ecosystems and severely affects
natural resources essential for human life. Keeping our planet clean and our ecosystems
healthy will not only contribute to addressing the climate crisis but also help regenerate
biodiversity, ensure the sustainability of primary production activities and safeguard the well-
being of humankind. In line with the objectives of the European Green Deal, particularly its
zero pollution ambition, and the 2030 Climate Target Plan, and other relevant EU
legislation 260 , this destination seeks to halt and prevent pollution by focussing the work
programme 2021-2022 on fresh and marine waters, soils, air, including from nitrogen and
phosphorus emissions, as well as on the environmental performance and sustainability of
processes in the bio-based systems. Synergies with other clusters (notably 1 and 5), relevant
destinations as well as missions and partnerships will be exploited.
Halting emissions of pollutants to soils and waters is of fundamental significance for the
planet. Diffuse emissions of pollutants from land and urban sources, including atmospheric
depositions, are a major stress factor for terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, threatening the
quality of surface waters and aquifers, and affecting soil quality and all water-dependent
sectors that require a holistic understanding of the pollution sources, key vectors and
pathways. Projected impacts of climate change will alter, and notably reduce, the hydrological
flows in many parts of Europe, while eutrophication could be exacerbated by increasing
temperatures. Climate change and increasing water demand will exert significant pressures on
surface and groundwater quality 261 , notably where the combined effect of water table
depletion and sea level rise will endanger the integrity of coastal aquifers and groundwater
quality. This is due to saline water intrusion or extreme events (e.g. higher tides, storm surges
or inland flooding events), which will put coastal wetlands and reservoirs, estuaries and
ecosystems at risk. While recognising its essential role in aquatic ecosystems functioning and
services, the sediments originating mostly from run-off and erosion are likely the major
source of physical pollution of water bodies (excessive turbidity, impacts of deposition,
accumulation of litter and debris) and contribute to a large extent to chemical and biological
pollution of receiving waters. Beside land use practises, the increasing intensity and
variability of precipitation will exacerbate erosion risks, affect the deposition and transport of
sediments and could lead to a remobilisation of legacy contaminants and further deteriorate
the quality of soils, sediments and water bodies, including aquifers, estuaries and coastal
areas, and of their ecosystem function and services.
Keeping nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) cycles in balance is another crucial challenge. N
and P flows from anthropogenic sources, mostly from excessive or inefficient input of
fertilisers (including manure, sewage sludge, etc.) in agriculture, currently exceed planetary
260
         cf. European Green Deal deliverables farm to fork strategy, biodiversity strategy, soil strategy, but also
         bioeconomy strategy, marine strategy, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development etc., the Missions
         on Soil Health and Food as well as on Ocean, seas and waters, etc.
261
         Member States identified that diffuse pollution is still a significant pressure that affects 35 % of the area
         of groundwater bodies, while quality standards (pesticides, herbicides…) were exceeded in 15 % of the
         groundwater bodies
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
boundaries. Their leaching and run-off negatively affect soil biodiversity, pH, organic matter
concentration and carbon sequestration capacity, and cause the eutrophication of water bodies
while ammonia and nitrous oxide emissions affect air quality and climate. As all
environmental media are concerned, a systemic approach is necessary to limit N/P emissions
from different sources, for example through the deployment of alternative fertilising products,
and considering regional conditions (geography, climate zones, economy activities, soil
properties, eco-system condition, agricultural practices, governance structures etc.), and to
bring N/P flows back within safe ecological boundaries
Protecting drinking water and managing water pollution in rural settlements, and in
increasingly dense urban areas requires innovative and holistic approaches at city/catchment
level to ensure water quality, resilient to the impacts of climate and global change, by
considering different spatial and temporal scales and contexts, aging water infrastructures, as
well as pollution derived from point and non-point sources, and natural/human-made
disasters. Protective measures should consider current and future land use, environmental
needs and socioeconomic interests as essential elements for improving water quality and its
management and governance. Re-emerging pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCB) or mercury, and contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in water bodies may have
impacts on ecological and human health, and some are not well regulated under existing
environmental legislation. Sources of these pollutants include e.g. industry, agriculture, urban
runoff, household products, coatings, paints and pharmaceuticals that are normally disposed
of to sewage treatment plants and subsequently discharged into water bodies. Micro-
pollutants, plastics, pathogens and CECs, individually or combined, represent a concern for a
safe and good quality drinking water supply. Increasing water temperatures, notably due to
climate change could deteriorate the quality of aquatic ecosystems and drinking water sources
by favouring the conditions for enhanced eutrophication as well as pathogen development or
the spread of invasive species. Emerging concerns are also growing at the level of drinking
water treatment and distribution, notably in relation with disinfection operations and possible
harmful effects of by-products and metabolites.
Addressing pollution on seas and ocean is a prerequisite for a healthy planet. The ocean is
being polluted and destroyed due to the release of substances or energy in marine waters
which initiate a range of subsequent effects. According to a new European Environment
Agency report, all four regional seas in Europe have a large-scale contamination problem,
ranging from 96% of the assessed area in the Baltic Sea and 91% in the Black Sea, to 87% in
the Mediterranean and 75% in the North-East Atlantic Ocean. The main sources of pollution
include industrial, agricultural and municipal waste runoff, other human activities (e.g.
transport), underwater noise, light, atmospheric deposition, etc. into marine waters.
Increasing the environmental performance and sustainability of processes and products plays
a significant role in keeping our planet clean. Environmental pollution resulting from human
activity is detrimental to ecosystems at different functional levels, representing, also, an
important economic burden for society. Circular bio-based systems, including biotechnology,
have the potential to substantially contribute to the European Green Deal objectives, provided
that they are developed sustainably and systemically aiming at mitigating the climate change
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
and its impacts, increasing resource efficiency and circularity, preserving and restoring
ecosystems services, natural resources, air/water/soil quality and biodiversity. Indicators of
such sustainability are needed, building on dynamic perspectives at scales ranging, in space,
from planetary to local ecosystems and, in time, from next decade to the end of century and
beyond. Environmental impacts should be traced along value chains and trades to enable
responsible production and consumption.
Expected impacts
Pollution must be halted and eliminated to guarantee clean and healthy soils, air, fresh and
marine water for all. To reach this objective, it will be paramount to advance the knowledge
of pollution sources and pathways to enable preventive measures, improve monitoring and
control, apply planetary boundaries in practice and introduce effective remediation methods.
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contribute to
the aforementioned goal to achieve a clean environment and zero pollution, and more
specifically to one or several of the following impacts:
     Advanced understanding of diffuse and point sources of water pollution in a global and
      climate change context, enabling novel solutions to protect water bodies, aquatic
      ecosystems and soil functionality, and further enhancing water quality and its
      management for safe human and ecological use, while fostering the EU’s and Associated
      Countries’ position and role in the global water scene.
     Balanced N/P flows well within safe ecological boundaries at EU and Associated
      Countries, regional and local scale, contribute to restoring ecosystems.
     Clean, unpolluted seas in the EU and Associated Countries as a result of successful
      behavioural, social-economic, demographic, governance and green-blue transitions.
     Circular bio-based systems reversing climate change, restoring biodiversity and
      protecting air, water and soil quality along supply chain of biological feedstock and
      industrial value chains, within the EU and Associated Countries and across borders.
     Innovative biotechnology creating zero-pollution bio-based solutions.
When considering their impact, proposals also need to assess their compliance with the “Do
No Significant Harm” principle262 according to which the research and innovation activities of
the project should not be supporting or carrying out activities that make a significant harm to
any of the six environmental objectives of the EU Taxonomy Regulation.
Actions should develop scientifically robust and transparent approaches and methodologies,
building on achievements from previous research activities, where possible and appropriate.
To ensure deployment, trustworthiness, swift and wide adoption by user communities, and to
support EU and national policy-makers, they should adopt high standards of transparency and
262
         as per Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate
         sustainable investment (EU Taxonomy Regulation)
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openness, going beyond ex-post documentation of results and extending to aspects such as
assumptions, models and data quality during the life of projects.
Topics under this destination will address the following impact areas of the Horizon Europe
strategic plan for 2021-2024: “Climate change mitigation and adaptation”; “Enhancing
ecosystems and biodiversity on land and in waters”; “Good health and high-quality accessible
healthcare”; “Clean and healthy air, water and soil”; “A resilient EU prepared for emerging
threats”; and “Inclusive growth and new job opportunities”.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                 Call                               Budgets (EUR million)          Deadline(s)
                                                  2021                   2022
HORIZON-CL6-2021-                         65.00                                    06     Oct
ZEROPOLLUTION-01                                                                   2021
HORIZON-CL6-2022-                                                 51.00            15     Feb
ZEROPOLLUTION-01                                                                   2022
Overall indicative budget                 65.00                   51.00
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Call - Clean environment and zero pollution
                                                        HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)263
                         Topics                               Type Budgets          Expected      Number
                                                                of     (EUR            EU             of
                                                             Action million) contribution projects
                                                                                   per project expected
                                                                        2021          (EUR          to be
                                                                                            264
                                                                                   million)        funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 06 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-                           CSA      6.00        Around          3
01                                                                                2.00
HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-                           RIA      7.00        Around          1
02                                                                                7.00
HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-                           RIA      10.00       2.00 to 4.00    3
03
HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-                           CSA      3.00        Around          1
04                                                                                3.00
HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-                           IA       6.00        Around          1
05                                                                                6.00
HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-                           RIA      7.00        Around          2
06                                                                                3.50
HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-                           CSA      6.00        Around          3
07                                                                                2.00
263
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
264
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-                      RIA       5.00       Around       1
08                                                                           5.00
HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-                      CSA       4.00       Around       2
09                                                                           2.00
HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-                      RIA       11.00      Around       2
10                                                                           5.50
Overall indicative budget                                         65.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Halting emissions of pollutants to soils and waters
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-01: Regional nitrogen and phosphorus
load reduction approach within safe ecological boundaries
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will support local administrations and policy makers
to apply a systemic approach preventing pollution from nitrogen and phosphorus, in line with
the zero pollution ambition. Project outcomes will contribute to maintaining nitrogen and
phosphorus flows well within safe ecological boundaries at EU, regional and local scale and
to restoring ecosystems. Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following
expected outcomes:
    Harmonised environmental protection policies and implementation actions delivered by
     local administrations and policy makers to achieve nitrogen and phosphorus load
     reduction targets at regional/river basin level.
    Best practices shared in EU and Associated Countries to prevent pollution from nitrogen
     and phosphorus emissions to air/soil/water including the design of inter-sectorial
     governance models and policy implementation tools to deploy the concept of nitrogen
     and phosphorus load reduction targets.
    Improved knowledge on the physical science of climate change.
Scope: The quantification of nitrogen and phosphorus emissions reduction necessary to
respect ecosystems’ health in order to achieve the objectives of EU legislation and the 2030
targets of the biodiversity and farm to fork strategies may be assessed through a nitrogen (N)
and phosphorus (P) load reduction targets approach. The scope of the topic is to develop a
regional/river basin approach. The topic is targeted to stakeholders from regions/river basins
or clusters of regions/river basins: local agencies of environmental protection, local
administrators, scientists and experts in environmental impacts models. A cluster may be
formed by two or more regions/river basins, in the EU and Associated Countries, with very
similar characteristics in terms of territorial conditions or being neighbouring regions/river
basins.
Proposals will:
  a. Develop a robust and transparent methodology to identify safe ecological limit values
     (e.g. concentration in media) of N/P applicable at regional scale to ensure good status for
     ecosystems in air/water/soil, inside and outside the local scale and apply the
     methodology to regions/river basins of the consortium. The local territorial specificity
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
      will be taken into account, in terms of territorial extension, land use, orography,
      distribution of basins and fresh water bodies, coastline, lagoons, etc. A coherent set of
      environmental indicators and their limit values at local scale will be selected for each
      region/river basin, based on legislation, existing and announced objectives and on
      scientific evidence, including datasets from the long-term environmental monitoring
      campaign and tools 265 . Indicators of N/P limit values should align to the monitoring
      capacity of N/P patterns in the environment.
  b. Review scientific knowledge of the contribution of N/P flows to climate change,
      including their impacts on carbon sink capacity of soils, of any other impact of N/P life
      cycle in the environment, of short-term and long-term dynamics of P in the soil matrix
      and its regional variation across the EU;
  c. Develop and/or improve an existing methodology to assess N/P emissions (flows) from
      all economic activities that may exist in the region/river basin (i.e. agriculture,
      aquaculture, forestry, industrial sectors, including food/drink sector, water supply,
      water/waste management, bioenergy, fossil-based energy production, mining activities,
      transport, etc.) including unintentional losses (e.g. losses and run-off of agricultural
      nutrients into the soil) and their impacts on air/water/soil environmental quality. Apply
      the methodology to regions/river basins of the consortium. Data from existing initiatives,
      consolidated reporting from national authorities, elaboration from EEA, Eionet, ESTAT,
      etc. and existing modelling capacity, either locally available or based on a twinning
      process across regions/clusters shall be considered in order to facilitate harmonisation of
      the approaches;
  d. Develop and/or improve an existing methodology to identify the N/P load reduction
      targets for all regions/river basins of the consortium to stay within local N/P limit values;
  e. Apply existing 266 /develop new methodologies to model pathways to reduce N/P
      emissions to meet load reduction targets and at the same time prevent pollution in air,
      water and soil, contribute to climate change mitigation, protect biodiversity and avoid
      pollution swapping. Pathways may include but are not limited to: i) integrated
      land/marine and bioeconomy; ii) limiting livestock stocking density; iii) integrated
      agricultural practices, including agro-ecology, aiming at limiting N/P flows and any
      other environmental impacts; iv) nature-based solutions (e.g. in waste water treatments,
      soil remediation); v) integrated industrial innovation towards circularity, industrial
      symbiosis and innovative resources use to improve efficiency and reduce N/P emissions
      from industrial sectors and any other environmental impact;
   f. Identify inter-sectorial governance models and design policy implementation tools at
      regional level, also to integrate policy requirements for environmental legislation and
      emission sources from many sectors, including measures to foster a systemic shift in
265
         For the atmospheric compartment the JRC has developed the global emissions database EDGAR
         (https://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu) and the FASST (https://tm5-fasst.jrc.ec.europa.eu) modelling tool,
266
         For example Blue 2: https://ec.europa.eu/environment/blue2_en.htm
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      societal aspects (e.g. approaches to address meat consumption, food waste prevention,
      greener mobility, consumers' awareness of environmental footprint of goods etc.).
Proposals should include a task dedicated to sharing methodologies and findings with projects
funded within this topic. If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning,
navigation and/or related timing, they must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS
(other data and services may additionally be used).
HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-02: Optimisation of nutrient budget in
agriculture
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 7.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In line with the zero pollution action plan and the farm to fork strategy,
the successful proposal will support to limit and reduce pollution due to the excess of
nutrients and nutrient losses (especially nitrogen and phosphorus) in the environment,
stemming from excess use in agriculture. It will contribute with new and enhance knowledge
to the development of integrated nutrient management plan.
Project results are expected to contribute to all following expected outcomes:
   Improve nutrient budget and flows by identification of optimal combinations of nutrients
      in different farming systems (conventional, agro-ecological and organic systems)
      following, when possible, a holistic approach of the plant and animal productions
      system.
   New approaches and methods supported with sound indicators to monitor and measure
      nutrients flows and practices with the greatest climate change mitigation potential and
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      water and nutrient leakages, and biodiversity preservation while ensuring economic farm
      viability.
     Identification and targeted implementation of individual or combined region-specific
      agricultural practices that help balance nutrient cycles and Nature Based Solutions for
      plant and animal nutrition and health optimizing the use of external inputs and
      implementation of regulated deficit strategies.
     Quantification of the potential to save particularly N and P emissions from the
      implementation of relevant individual or combined agriculture practices, e.g. organic
      agriculture, agro-ecology, conservation agriculture, improve organic and mineral
      fertilization management, etc., that enhance soils health and combat eutrophication and
      water pollution.
     Improved nutrient budget at different scales, by sound quantification of the inputs and
      outputs of water and nutrients in different agricultural systems including quantitative
      environmental and economic indicators for farms, regions and/or products.
     Enhanced models to identify contamination and pollution hotspots locally, to extrapolate
      to regional, national and global solutions.
     Strengthened transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary research and integrated scientific
      support for relevant EU policies and priorities (common agricultural policy (CAP),
      Green Deal, the zero pollution action plan, the farm to fork, etc.).
Scope: Sustainable agricultural production systems not only deliver nutritious food and other
raw materials, they are also key drivers of economic growth in rural areas. Roughly 25% of
the annually produced terrestrial agricultural biomass is used by humans, about 70%
267
    (mostly from grassland, by-products, and inedible crop residues) converted through animals
into food and manure, and the remainder goes into biofuel. Unsustainable agricultural systems
can cause a variety of adverse environmental effects, such as climate change, loss of
biodiversity, and air and water pollution due to poor management of nutrients.
When possible, the holistic consideration of plant and animal nutrition within the agricultural
production systems could contribute to more sustainability of the food chain by promoting the
minimization of nutrients leakage and improved nutritional values of fertilisers, feed and
food. This approach could cover the basic nutritional elements (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen,
oxygen), the macro elements (phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, calcium, sulphur) but also
the trace elements (zinc, copper, iron, iodine, selenium, manganese). In line with the
European Green Deal, the development of a nutrient budgeting approach could focus on the
fluxes of carbon (C).
267
         A nutrient budget quantifies the inputs and outputs of nutrients in a system and can be used to
         understand better how the system soil-water-plant-nutrients works, and provide quantitative
         environmental and economic indicators for farms, regions and products.
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However, there are substantial knowledge gaps regarding the measurement and understanding
of the impacts of nutrients flow in different farming practices (conventional, agro-ecological
and organic systems, specialised and mix farming systems) at various scales, from local to
global, and the capacity to model those impacts.
Proposals should build on existing and new knowledge, data, models (including in situ
calibration measurement), artificial intelligence and tools to:
   Optimise and harmonise nutrient and water flow models, indicators and data for
      quantification and assessment to prevent or reduce environmental pollution caused by
      nutrients, across sectors, for different types of agricultural practices (conventional,
      organic and agro-ecological agriculture), and scales – farm, local, regional and river
      basin.
   Explore and assess safe alternative nutrient sources and pathways (e.g. organic vs
      inorganic), enhance management and recycling of organic wastes and explore nutrient
      recovery opportunities (e.g. by using treated sewage sludge or wastewater) as well as
      nutrient mobilisation through microorganisms;
   Build upon available results from previous EU projects funded under the Horizon 2020
      topic CE-RUR-08-2018-2019-2020: Closing nutrient cycles.
   Enhance nutrient use efficiency at different levels.
   Analyse climate change effects of certain nutrient flows, including interactions between
      nutrient, water and carbon cycles.
   Develop biological models for nutrients flows remote sensing tools, in agricultural
      systems: for physical, chemical and biological parameters, using smart sensors and AI
      technologies.
   Develop digital platforms to allow precision nutrient management at farm scale and
      landscape scale.
Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor approach’ and ensure adequate involvement of the
farming sector and, as relevant, bio-based industry active in rural areas.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Protecting drinking water and managing urban water pollution
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-03: Preventing and managing diffuse
pollution in urban water runoff
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal’s zero pollution ambition,
successful proposals will contribute to halt and prevent pollution of freshwater and soils, and
consequently also protecting biodiversity, as addressed by several impacts under Destination
‘Clean environment and zero pollution’, in particular “Advanced understanding of diffuse and
point sources of water pollution in a global and climate change context, enabling novel
solutions to protect water bodies, aquatic ecosystems and soil functionality, and further
enhancing water quality and its management for safe human and ecological use, while
fostering the EU’s position and role in the global water scene.”
Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following expected outcomes:
   Wider use of an enhanced knowledge base required to assess and monitor pollution
     sources, transport pathways and impacts of diffuse pollution conveyed to receiving water
     bodies by urban water runoff and storm water overflows, including forward looking
     approaches aimed to anticipate and prepare for future or emerging challenges.
   Implement advanced preventive and mitigating strategies to reduce diffuse pollution of
     urban waters based on source control measures and storm water management that also
     consider climate change impacts.
   Apply effective risk assessment and risk management strategies enabling early warning
     systems and delivering ready-made outputs for decision-making and governance in
     urban areas.
   Deploy innovative concepts, cost effective technologies and advanced sensors and
     monitoring approaches for sustainable waste water collection and urban drainage
     systems preventing pollution due to urban run-off.
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   Comprehensive urban runoff and storm water management plans implementing holistic
      approaches at city/catchment level to ensure resilient urban water quality and climate
      adaptation.
   Broad uptake of advanced knowledge, breakthrough solutions and innovative
      technologies to enhance competitiveness of the EU water sector and fostering the EU’s
      position and role in the global water scene.
   Increasing the EU scientific and technological base and guidance on measures to manage
      storm water quality and evidence for policy-making and implementation.
   Science and evidence-based implementation of the European Green Deal and the
      Sustainable Development Goals, notably the SDG 6 “Ensure availability and sustainable
      management of water and sanitation for all”.
Scope: Good quality of fresh water is essential for human wellbeing and health, for supporting
healthy aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity, and crucial for agriculture and food production,
three major components of the European Green Deal. Despite significant progress in reducing
conventional water pollutants and improving freshwater quality, pollution loads from urban
point and non-point sources remain an important challenge, particularly exacerbated in water
scarce areas. Urban storm water runoff is a large contributor to diffuse pollution that impairs
the quality of receiving waters and ecosystems and public health. Impacts of climate change,
affecting e.g. the variability and intensity of precipitation, the concentration of pollutants and
the temperature of runoff water, may further aggravate the problem.
Additional knowledge is needed on sources and transport pathways of diffuse pollution
conveyed by urban runoff and storm water overflows, including emerging threats and
challenges posed by climate change. This accurate knowledge is essential for developing
preventive and mitigation strategies focussing on source control and storm water management
measures.
Proposals in this field should aim to develop holistic approaches at city/catchment level
ensuring resilient urban water runoff quality by considering different spatial and temporal
scales and contexts, and different technologies. Urban runoff water quality management plans
should consider micro-pollutants, contaminants of emerging concern, behavioural changes
and societal and technical developments, including in relation to urban planning, buildings
and mobility, construction and manufacturing materials, as well as sound risk management
approaches. The identification and selection of measures to manage storm water quality will
require engaging with relevant stakeholders, water utilities, public authorities and industry to
develop guidance for decision makers and policy makers on urban runoff and storm water
control measures and deploy easy and ready-made options for end users’ implementation.
Actions in this topic should also aim to develop innovative and integrated concepts and
technologies, including digital advances, for urban drainage systems by combining
advantages from blue-green-grey solutions and decentralised approaches to preventing and
managing water pollution from urban runoff and storm water overflows.
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In general, the participation of academia, research organisations, utilities, industry and
regulators is strongly advised, as well as civil society engagement whenever necessary, also
aiming to broaden the dissemination and exploitation routes and to better assess the
innovation potential of developed solutions and strategies.
If appropriate, applicants are advised to seek complementarities and synergies, while avoiding
duplication and overlap, with relevant actions funded under Horizon 2020 calls268, as well as
targeted topics supported in the last Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe calls, addressing
micro/nano-plastics, persistent and mobile pollutants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances (PFAS), pharmaceuticals and contaminants of emerging concerns (CECs),
pathogens and antimicrobial resistance.
In order to better address some or all of the expected outcomes, international cooperation is
encouraged.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Addressing pollution on seas and ocean
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-04: Achieving zero polluted seas and
ocean
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal’s zero pollution ambition and the
Marine Strategy Framework Directive, successful proposals will support the development and
implementation of a policy vision and the transition needed to reach clean European seas,
cutting across behavioural, social-economic and governance spheres.
     Better understanding of major obstacles and showcasing of best practices on the
      implementation of sustainable and effective marine pollution reduction, prevention,
      mitigation measures and monitoring (e.g. administrative, legal, financial, technical,
      social);
268
         Including access and use of data and information collected through long-term environmental monitoring
         activities supported by national and/or European research infrastructures.
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     Improved support, with a set of guidelines, for the needed blue green transition to reach
      the policy vision of achieving clean European seas by 2030.
Scope: To reach the policy vision of achieving clean European seas, a profound transition is
needed on how we address and manage marine pollution – a blue green transition. Many
national laws, European and international agreements, forbid dumping of harmful materials
into the environment, although enforcing these regulations remains a challenge. Proposals
should consider all of the following aspects in the move towards this transition: i)
encouraging the enforcement of existing or new pollution management related legislation; ii)
the incorporation of new circular economy principles (designing materials and processes to
enhance the recyclability and reuse of products and wastes e.g. plastics); iii) encouraging
responsible chemical-use through consumer and political actions; iv) the definition and uptake
of effective sustainability policies e.g. procurement processes – to better capture and uptake
green, blue, sustainable, and circular innovations, etc. In summary, this transition embraces all
levels e.g. legal, social, economic, industrial269, environmental and wide range of stakeholders
e.g. decision makers, scientists 270 , citizens, industry, overall all players behind man-made
pollution as well as players that can contribute with solutions (e.g. innovators, procurement
experts, service providers etc). Proposals should consider ways for improved cooperation
within and across sectors, regions and countries (the ocean and seas do not have borders),
improved sharing and integration of information, development of joint measures to achieve
zero polluted ocean and seas.
Social innovation is encouraged when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake. This topic
should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
Increasing environmental performances and sustainability of processes and products
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-05: Environmental sustainability criteria
for biological resources production and trade in bio-based systems: impacts and trade-
offs
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
269
        The need for new ways of working for Europe to strengthen its industry for the transitions, whether it be
        on skills or circularity (Industry Strategy)
270
        A new generation of sustainability scientists needs to be trained to focus on a holistic vision of the
        marine ecosystem. Centred on solving societal challenges. Improving management of marine
        ecosystem/resources.
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Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will support tracing environmental impacts of
biological resources production and trade by primary producers, traders and certification
companies to enable responsible production in the industrial bio-based systems, in line with
the 2030 Climate Target Plan and the zero pollution ambition. Project outcomes will
contribute to establish circular bio-based systems reversing climate change, restoring
biodiversity and protecting air, soil and water quality along supply chain of biological
resources and industrial value chains, within the EU and across borders. Project results are
expected to contribute to the following expected outcome:
    Certification schemes for international trade at EU and global scale of biological
      resources for bio-based systems include the environmental impacts and trade-offs along
      the bio-based supply chains.
Scope: Assessment of environmental sustainability of biological resources production and
trades in the bio-based systems is still a challenge. Indicators of such sustainability should
build on dynamic perspectives at scales ranging, in space, from planetary to local ecosystems
and, in time, from next decade to the end of century and beyond.
Proposals should:
  a. Identify the range of biological resources intended for industrial bio-based systems at EU
      and local (regional/rural/urban/coastal) scale, including primary biomass resources
      production and biological secondary raw materials from rural/urban/industrial activities.
      Industrial bio-based systems do not include food/feed, biofuels, bioenergy and
      cultural/recreation sectors. However, relevant initiatives in the field of assessment and
      certification of environmental sustainability of biological resources arising from EU
      policies in the bioeconomy sectors should be taken into account. Aspects of trade of
      biological resources within the EU and at global level should be part of the analysis.
  b. Collect data and figures on volumes of biological resources identified under a) in global
      trade flows and imports into the EU and their geographic distribution. The data
      collection should be based on existing and consolidated statistics and market databases.
  c. Improve existing and/or develop new methodology for the assessment of the
      environmental impacts and trade-offs of biological resources in the scope addressing, but
      not limiting to, the following environmental categories: i) GHG emissions/savings and
      carbon footprint; ii) emissions from nitrogen and phosphorous based fertilisers; iii) land
      use and land use change and its related impact on land carbon sink capacity; iv) marine
      space use and marine space use change; v) water use; vi) biodiversity and ecosystem
      services; vii) energy consumption, viii) any other aspects of air/water/soil environmental
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      quality. Assessments should consider the life cycle perspective and relevant regulatory
      requirements in terms of trade (across and within the EU), to the extent possible. Trade-
      offs and synergies with food production, nature-based solution to protect biodiversity or
      other resources use and ecosystem services (e.g. recreation, urban creep) should be
      included in the assessment;
  d. Align methodology in c) with indicators (e.g. environmental, demographic, geophysics
      indicators) provided by consolidated and available database, including networks of
      environmental observations, efficiently.
  e. Adapt methodology in c) to be suitable to definition/identification of environmental
      sustainability criteria compliant with the format of certification schemes in terms of
      either adopting existing certification schemes or developing of ad hoc ones. Criteria
      should be aligned with the Commission’s Taxonomy Regulation 271 . Traceability of
      biological resources at European and global scale should be essential part of
      certification.
   f. Demonstrate the developed methodologies for the assessment of environmental impacts
      and trade-offs, sustainability criteria and certification schemes to a range of biological
      resources intended for industrial bio-based systems in an operational environment and
      deliver guidelines.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Proposals’ consortia should involve primary producers of biological resources, trade bodies,
bio-based industries, agencies/companies developing certification, consumers’ organisations
and any stakeholder along the supply chain of biological resources for bio-based industries.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-06: Increasing the environmental
performance of industrial processes in bio-based sectors: construction, woodworking,
textiles, pulp and paper and bio-chemicals
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.50
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 7.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
271
         Regulation on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment (EU) 2020/852
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Readiness Level            General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will support circular bio-based systems in
industrial sectors in line with the European Green Deal and its zero pollution ambition and
2030 Climate Target Plan by increasing the environmental performance and sustainability of
processes, and their ability to reverse climate change, restore biodiversity and protect air,
water and soil quality along industrial value chains, within EU and across borders.
Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcome:
     Improvement of the environmental performance of industrial processes in the following
      bio-based sectors: construction, woodworking, textiles, pulp and paper, and bio-
      chemicals.
Scope: Proposals under this topic should focus on all of the following industrial bio-based
sectors: construction, woodworking, textiles, pulp and paper, and bio-chemicals.
Proposals should:
  a. Identify and analyse case studies for each aforementioned industrial bio-based sector at
      the local (regional, rural, urban or coastal) or international scale within the EU and
      Associated Countries, and collect data and figures on the environmental performance of
      industrial processes in these sectors.
  b. Improve existing and/or develop new methodologies to assess the environmental impacts
      of these processes. The assessment should use, when possible, the Life Cycle
      Assessment methodology (in line with the existing international standards, the European
      Commission’s Product Environmental Footprint method272 and other relevant sources of
      information), and include, but not limited to, the following environmental impacts: GHG
      emissions and carbon footprint, emissions to air/water/soil, water and primary energy
      use, biodiversity and ecosystem services. The assessment methodology should also look
      at social and economic aspects. Relevant data may feed into the European Platform on
      Life Cycle Assessment273.
  c. Assess and analyse the environmental impacts and trade-offs of bio-based processes
      identified in a) based on the methodology developed in b).
  d. Identify and evaluate possible solutions to improve the environmental performance of
      bio-based processes based on c). The aspects to be evaluated include, but are not limited
      to the following: GHG emissions reduction, resource and energy efficiency, shift to
      renewable energy sources, enhanced circularity of materials (including upcycling and
      cascading use of biomass), non-toxic substances used in the processes, replacement of
      toxic substances with non-toxic ones, minimisation of residual waste at all phases of the
      processes, efficient recovery of any waste and residual flows.
272
         https://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/smgp/dev_methods.htm
273
         https://eplca.jrc.ec.europa.eu/
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  e. Demonstrate, where possible, the best solutions identified under point d) in order to
      evaluate their effectiveness and assess monitoring procedures.
  f. Develop recommendations and guidelines to improve the environmental performance of
      processes in each of the aforementioned industrial bio-based sector. These should
      include a prioritisation of solutions and recommendations for modifications in specific
      processes and preliminary indications for monitoring procedures.
Proposals should include a task dedicated to sharing methodologies and findings with projects
funded within this topic. Moreover, they should build synergies with research and innovation
projects funded under Horizon Europe notably under “HORIZON-CL6-2021-
ZEROPOLLUTION-01-05: Environmental sustainability criteria for biological resources
production and trade in bio-based systems: impacts and trade-offs”, and where relevant, seek
complementarities and capitalise on the results of other past and ongoing research projects
(especially under the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking).
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-07: International and EU sustainability
certification schemes for bio-based systems
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: The successful proposals will support tracing environmental impacts
along value chains and trades in the bio-based systems for business-to-business
communication to enable responsible production and consumption, in line with the 2030
Climate Target Plan and the zero pollution ambition. Project outcomes will contribute to
establish circular bio-based systems reversing climate change, restoring biodiversity and
protecting air, soil and water quality along supply chain of biological resources and industrial
value chains, within the EU and across borders.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Bio-based value chains transparency in international and EU trade is enhanced through
      business-to-business labels of biological resources and bio-based materials and products.
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    Harmonization of existing international and EU certification scheme and the monitoring
     system and indicators of their effectiveness and robustness.
Scope: Climate neutral circular bio-based systems have the potential to establish a zero-
pollution economy provided that they are developed sustainably. Environmental, social and
economic impacts and trade-offs should be traced along value chains and trades to enable
responsible production and consumption. Activities under this topic should assess scope,
potential and requirements of international and EU sustainability certification schemes and
business-to-business labels applicable to biological resources including primary biomass
resources and bio-waste and residues intended for bio-based industrial value-chains and to
bio-based materials and products, also in complementarity with actions on bio-based
innovation and market measures. Industrial bio-based systems do not include food/feed,
biofuels, bioenergy and cultural/recreation sectors. However, relevant initiatives in the field of
assessment and certification of environmental sustainability arising from EU policies in the
bioeconomy sectors should be taken into account. Traceability of biological resources and
bio-based materials and products on a business-to-business level, at the EU and the global
scale, should be part of certification, including aspects on primary and secondary biomass and
bio-based intermediates in global trade flows and imports into the EU.
Proposals should:
  a. Review and analyse existing international and EU sustainability certification schemes
     and business-to-business labels for biological resources. The analysis should encompass
     schemes applied/applicable to biological resources intended for industrial bio-based
     value chains. Certified environmental, social and economic impacts and trade-offs
     should be analysed. Bio-waste and any biological secondary raw materials from
     rural/urban/industrial activities are included in the definition of biological resources.
  b. Collect data and figures on volumes of biological resources and bio-based materials and
     products in global trade flows and imports into (exports from) the EU and their
     geographic distribution, distinguishing between certified and uncertified resources and
     materials/products. The data collection should be based on existing and consolidated
     market databases.
  c. Review and analyse existing international and EU sustainability certification schemes
     and business-to-business labels for bio-based materials and products with the same level
     of detail apply to the analysis of resources (point a).
  d. Assess existing/develop new monitoring system and indicators of effectiveness and
     robustness of existing certification schemes and labels reviewed in point a) and c). The
     task should consider the life cycle analysis perspective and identify minimum
     requirements of a certification scheme to ensure its completeness covering
     environmental, social and economic aspects.
  e. Demonstrate/test effectiveness of existing (voluntary) certification schemes and labels
     and monitor their robustness; this action includes testing the monitoring system and
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      indicators assessed/developed within the project, point d, on the reviewed schemes, point
      a) and c). The results should consolidate the optimal monitoring system and indicators
      and provide a preliminary selection of (parts of) the certification schemes covering the
      minimum requirements identified in point d). The same for labels.
  f. Assess costs from the adoption of certification schemes and labels in selected industrial
      bio-based value-chains. The assessment includes selecting a range of value-chains in the
      EU and Associated Countries and the corresponding biological resources and flows of
      materials and products among those certified and reviewed in point a and c and
      collecting data and figures on the known costs: actual economic and internalised
      environmental and social ones. The evaluation of the externalised environmental and
      social costs should be part of the overall assessment, based either on primary data or/and
      on models taken from peer-reviewed literature in the related fields of economy, social
      and environmental sciences.
  g. Evaluate the feasibility of business-to-business labels that award best performances
      either of resources or material or products from either environmental or social aspects.
      The feasibility should include modelled economic costs and benefits.
  h. Analyse and develop recommendations on how to promote the best practices in the
      adoption of effective and robust certification schemes and business-to-business labels.
      Promoting actions may include deployment and take-up by industrial sectors of
      certification schemes, building trust between business stakeholders, deploying corporate
      responsibility, engagement with and awareness of bio-based sectors.
  i. Engage in cooperation with international partners and organisations, to increase impact
      and outreach, while ensuring sufficient focus on the EU’s situation.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Proposals should include a task dedicated to sharing methodologies and findings with projects
funded within this topic. Proposals’ consortia may include, but not be limited to, experts in
certification schemes and stakeholders of the international and EU trade of biomass resources
and bio-based materials and products.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-08: New genomic techniques (NGT):
understanding benefits and risks – focus on bio-based innovation
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
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                           proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action             Research and Innovation Actions
Technology                 Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level            see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will contribute to Destination ‘Clean
environment and zero pollution’ impacts, and European policies it supports, in particular the
European Green Deal, the circular economy action plan and the bioeconomy strategy, and
specifically in respect to circular bio-based systems in industrial sectors along value chains
and supply chains of biological feedstock, within Europe and globally, as well as to delivering
the innovative “zero-pollution” bio-based biotechnology solutions.
Project results should contribute to all of the following outcomes:
     Improved understanding of the benefits and risks of new genomic techniques applied for
      plants274 and/or animals275 and microorganisms and consequences for human health and
      the environment (e.g. environmental balance, biodiversity impacts), aiming at a holistic
      approach276.
     Advancing the potentials of the new genomic techniques (via technical and social
      innovation)
     Contribution to an improved and more inclusive understanding and awareness, through
      transparent communication of the risks and benefits of the new genomic techniques and
      resultant innovation, while supporting societal dialogue and engagement with all
      stakeholders (academia, industry, including SMEs, NGOs, regulatory institutions,
      international partners and consumers or civil society to ensure public knowledge and
      awareness).
Scope: There is a need to enable major advances in the life sciences and biotechnology, in
new genomic techniques, such as gene/genome editing 277 . This aims to ensure they can
contribute safely and sustainably addressing the grand societal challenges of our age, such as
climate change mitigation and adaptation, improved resource efficiency by industry and
throughout various sectors of the economy. This covers their applicability for bio-based
sectors (e.g. development of improved and more resilient feedstocks, plants and livestock to
achieve a more efficient use of resources, longer shelf life of the agricultural products,
products or agricultural by-products rendered more reusable). These advances must be aligned
274
         Such as ensuring molecular containment of genetically modified crops
275
         Such as related to gene-drive eradication of vectors of human and animal pathogens, e.g. malaria
276
         E.g. development of long-term environmental and population models concerning the spreading into the
         environment of organisms obtained by NGTs, taking into account the climate change issues.
277
         Including, if relevant, epigenomic control mechanisms
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with the relevant EU legal framework278, while aiming to support the climate ambition of zero
net emissions by 2050, as well as biodiversity protection and resource efficiency goals. A key
aspect should be the combination of safety, environmental sustainability and functionality of
the developed products. It needs to recognize the need for a holistic approach at the ecosystem
level, for both conventional and alternative production systems. R&I activities should result in
solutions to develop safe and more environmentally friendly products, allowing for
innovation, transparency and inclusiveness for all actors.
International cooperation is strongly encouraged, to exchange best practice, while
contributing to the European competitiveness.
Proposals should:
  a. Advance new genomic techniques in bio-based innovation (purely medical applications
      such as the therapeutical/clinical applications are excluded), to understand and increase
      their impact, as related, for instance, to the origin of feedstocks and its other features and
      its applicable conversion pathways (e.g. via biorefinery processing), storage, logistics,
      enhanced functionalities and environmental sustainability, safety/non-toxic nature and
      improved end-of-life behaviour (e.g. reuse/reprocessing), etc. for specific applications.
  b. Develop future scenarios taking into account in different environmental, social and
      economic drivers, to assess potential critical impacts and bottlenecks with respect to the
      EU and international governance frameworks. This should take into account the
      expected demand of primary resources needed to satisfy the growing bio-based economy
      (especially sustainable biomass), the need to protect and restore biodiversity, as well as
      the increasing environmental pressures under climate change conditions.
  c. Develop new approaches to design innovative aspects of the production process,
      screening procedures, molecular tools and digital applications.
  d. Outline the necessary scale-up production processes for novel bio-based innovations in
      order to reach a critical mass for a given application, to achieve economies of scale,
      address different market segments and applications, etc.
  e. Ensure transparent and inclusive engagement of all actors, including industry and SMEs,
      scientific community, regulatory institutions, and broader civil society, to ensure
      necessary impact.
   f. Where relevant, proposals should seek synergies and capitalise on the results of past and
      ongoing research projects.
For this topic, it is not mandatory to integrate the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis)
into research and innovation. This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH
disciplines.
278
         Including the EU Court of Justice judgment in Case C-528/16,
         http://curia.europa.eu/juris/documents.jsf?num=C-528/16
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HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-09: Environmental impacts and trade-
offs of alternative fertilising products at global/local scale.
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: The successful proposals will support awareness of environmental
performances of alternative fertilising products and their uptake by stakeholders and local
administrators, in line with the zero pollution ambition. Projects outcomes will contribute to
maintaining nitrogen and phosphorus flows well within safe ecological boundaries at the EU,
regional and local scale and to restoring ecosystems.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Orienting the production and the application of alternative fertilising products according
      with the best environmental performances and practices.
    Local administrations formulate policies to support the development of sustainable local
      value chains deploying alternative fertilising products.
Scope: The scope of this topic is the assessment of environmental impacts and trade-offs of
the production and application of a range of fertilising products derived from secondary raw
materials which could replace nitrogen- and phosphorus-based fertilisers produced from
conventional processes (including mining and fossil-based processes) in a life cycle
perspective. Examples of alternative fertilising products within the scope include products
made from secondary raw materials such as, for example: recycled nutrients from urban and
industrial waste water and sewage sludge, organic fertilising products from bio-waste, from
any biological residue or by-products, from digestate and from treated manure.
Proposals should:
  a. Collect all relevant data and figures on a range of fertilising products derived from
      secondary raw materials. Information should include all phases of their life cycle:
      production, distribution/trade, storage, application on lands and consequent
      transformation/diffusion into the different environments. The range of alternative
      fertilising products should be selected in order to cover at least one product from each
      main waste/residue raw material, i.e. at least one from each of: urban waste water,
      industrial waste water, sewage sludge, bio-waste, biological by-products, digestate and
      treated manure.
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  b. Apply and/or improve existing methodologies to assess the environmental impacts and
      trade-offs of the alternative fertilising products selected at point a) on a life cycle base,
      building on and complementing existing assessment results published by European
      Commission (project SAFEMANURE 279 ). In particular, methodology and assessment
      should include the territorial and practical factors in terms of local vs global production
      and trade, local management procedures (storage, spreading on soils) also depending on
      specific agricultural applications and practices (e.g. agro-ecological vs traditional
      approach, current legislation at national level, within the consortium). Impacts and trade-
      offs should include categories on: climate change mitigation, including in terms of
      restoring the carbon sink capacity of soils, biodiversity and ecosystems protection,
      including soil biodiversity and below-ground ecosystems, land use and land use change,
      water consumption, energy use, nitrogen and phosphorus flows into the environment and
      any other pollutants’ emission that affect air/water/soil, including microplastics.
      Methodology and assessment should rely on existing procedures, e.g. Product
      Environmental Footprint method280and other validated/certified modelling and objective
      techniques, experimental tests, consultation of peer-reviewed scientific literature;
  c. Relevant data may feed into the European Platform on Life Cycle Assessment 281 if
      feasible;
  d. Analyse technical aspects of the environmental impacts prevention and control
      operations during all phases of life cycle of the selected alternative fertilising products
      and their effectiveness. Include preliminary assessment of costs of
      installation/maintenance and social benefits of such operations. Alternative fertilising
      products under this proposal seeking market regulatory approval, should consider
      relevant regulatory requirements.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Activities should include a thorough analysis of past research projects and studies developed
under the EU funding programmes. Proposals should include a task dedicated to sharing
methodologies and findings with projects funded within this topic. Proposals’ consortia
should include stakeholders from the whole value chain such as producers of fertilisers and
farmers, as well as scientists and experts in the analysis of environmental impacts of
agricultural products.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-10: Environmental services: improved
bioremediation and revitalization strategies for soil, sediments and water
Specific conditions
279
         https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/eur-scientific-and-technical-research-reports/technical-proposals-
         safe-use-processed-manure-above-threshold-established-nitrate-vulnerable
280
         https://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/smgp/dev_methods.htm
281
         https://eplca.jrc.ec.europa.eu/
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Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.50
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 11.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal and its zero pollution ambition and
Climate Pact, the successful proposal should support circular bio-based systems reversing
climate change, restoring biodiversity and protecting soil and water quality along the supply
chain of biological feedstock and industrial value chains, within Europe and globally, as well
as deliver innovative “zero-pollution” bio-based biotechnology solutions and advanced
bioremediation methods for environmental protection.
Project results should contribute to all of the following outcomes:
    Improved bioremediation and revitalization strategies for contaminated environments,
     including soil, sediment, surface water and groundwater using recent advances in
     biotechnology;
    New approaches for efficient bioremediation and resource recycling;
    Provide science-based evidence and bio-based solutions enabling a better assessment of
     pollution threats from pollutants’ remobilisation to soil, sediment, surface water and
     groundwater;
    Reduce the main negative impacts of pollution in terms of loss of biodiversity and
     ecosystem services;
    Validated newly developed and effective bioremediation methods in different
     environmental conditions, also based on microbiome exploitation potential;
    Improved overall environmental performance (soil and sediment health, water quality,
     reduction of emissions, etc.);
    Improved environmental footprint and lower toxicity of processes, products and services
     by means of biotechnologies;
    Advanced assessment of effective methods of bioremediation with improved
     environmental, economic and social sustainability.
Scope: Environmental pollution has been a major concern over the past few decades
influencing the quality of life. Contamination of soils, sediments and water remains a major
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ecological problem. This pollution contains dangerous and persistent toxic substances that
have adverse effects on human health and the environment. Pollutants resulting from human
activity are detrimental to ecosystems at different functional levels, representing an important
economic burden for society.
Remediation strategies, such as chemical and physical approaches, are not enough to mitigate
pollution problems. Bioremediation using microbes is a sustainable, eco-friendly and socially
acceptable alternative to conventional remediation approaches and helps improve the
environment. It plays a significant role in monitoring “Zero-pollution”. Many microbes with
bioremediation potential have been isolated and characterised but, in many cases, cannot
completely degrade the targeted environmental pollutant or are ineffective in situations with
complex contamination such as mixed waste.
The topic aims at improving bioremediation and revitalization strategies for soils, sediments,
surface water and groundwater while respecting the EU legislation and regulations applicable
in this area, including the use of naturally occurring and optimised organisms.
Proposals should:
  a. Identify and analyse optimised proteins, microorganisms, microbiomes, plants, and
      animals (specifically fish and molluscs/bivalves including mussels) for sediment,
      watershed and wastewater remediation and revitalization (e.g. novel enzymes to degrade
      xenobiotic small molecules such as toxins, antibiotics and microplastics, selective uptake
      of non-degradable metal toxins, bioadsortion);
  b. Identify and characterise plant platforms, microorganisms and microbiomes that can be
      optimised for efficient remediation of a range of contaminated environments (e.g.
      enzymes optimised for efficient bioconversion and/or biosequestration of environmental
      contaminants, biological tools/systems for land-based bioremediation, phytoremediation
      for contaminated industrial sites);
  c. Identify and characterise plants transformed with pathways and metabolisms that enable
      the uptake of targeted contaminants and that have clearly visible ‘markers’ for public
      surveillance (for example, colours that clearly mark the plant as being genetically
      modified, so as to prevent people from eating these plants);
  d. Develop strategies for efficient metabolic pathways of naturally-occurring species to be
      re-introduced into the environment;
  e. Develop sustainable and cost-effective technologies for bioremediation of water
      resources used for water production and effective in situations with mixed waste (e.g.
      nature-based solutions)282, 283; and/or develop sustainable and cost-effective technologies
      for bioremediation of soil resources, including those effective in situations with mixed
      waste;
282
         The EU and nature-based solutions (link)
283
         What nature-based solutions can do for us (link)
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   f. Enable new microbial approaches, such as combinations of synthetic auxotrophies, that
       increase the safety and reduce the risk of deploying optimised microbes in the field;
  g. Develop and analyse the ability of defined consortia of bacteria, fungi algae and/or other
       organisms to most productively revitalise soil, sediment and water sources (for example,
       by researching functioning of ecosystems in the hyporheic zone, which plays a crucial
       role in the purification of bank filtered water and thus in ensuring a safe supply of
       drinking water in several countries);
  h. Identify and assess (with quantification) the key environmental, economic, social and
       safety benefits of bioremediation and revitalization strategies for soils, sediments,
       surface water and groundwater compared to standard physicochemical remediation
       approaches;
    i. Where relevant, proposals should seek synergies and capitalise on the results of past and
       ongoing research projects 284, 285
For this topic, it is not mandatory to integrate the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis)
into research and innovation
Call - Clean environment and zero pollution
                                                              HORIZON-CL6-2022-ZEROPOLLUTION-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)286
                              Topics                                     Type Budgets                       Expected   Number
                                                                           of             (EUR                 EU          of
                                                                        Action million) contribution projects
                                                                                                           per project expected
                                                                                           2022              (EUR        to be
                                                                                                                   287
                                                                                                           million)     funded
                                              Opening: 28 Oct 2021
                                             Deadline(s): 15 Feb 2022
284
         Horizon 2020 call CE-BIOTEC-04-2018: New biotechnologies for environmental remediation (RIA)
285      Horizon 2020 call
                           CE-BIOTEC-08-2020 : New biotechnologies to remediate harmful contaminants (RIA)
286
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
287
         Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
         amounts.
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HORIZON-CL6-2022-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-                      RIA       12.00      2.00 to 4.00  3
01
HORIZON-CL6-2022-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-                      IA        12.00      Around        2
02                                                                           6.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-                      IA        12.00      Around        2
03                                                                           6.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-                      RIA       15.00      2.00 to 4.00  4
04
Overall indicative budget                                         51.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Halting emissions of pollutants to soils and waters
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-01:                              Preventing          groundwater
contamination and protecting its quality against harmful impacts of global and climate
change
Specific conditions
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Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 2.00
contribution per       and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal’s zero pollution ambition,
successful proposals will contribute to halting and preventing pollution of freshwater and
soils, and consequently also protecting biodiversity, as addressed by several impacts under
Destination ‘Clean environment and zero pollution’, in particular “Advanced understanding of
diffuse and point sources of water pollution in a global and climate change context, enabling
novel solutions to protect water bodies, aquatic ecosystems and soil functionality, and further
enhancing water quality and its management for safe human and ecological use, while
fostering the European position and role in the global water scene.”
Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following expected outcomes:
   Wider use of an enhanced knowledge base and better understanding of pollution sources,
      pathways and impacts, including surface hydrology, aquifers and receiving water bodies,
      as well as the synergistic effects of multiple stressors on groundwater quality.
   Implement advanced prevention and mitigation strategies to protect groundwater against
      pollution induced by global and climate change, including anticipative approaches
      preparing for future or emerging challenges.
   Apply effective risk assessment and risk management strategies enabling early warning
      systems and delivering ready-made outcomes for decision-making and governance.
   Deploy innovative monitoring strategies, including advanced sensors, tracers and
      analytical methods, and integration of IT tools/platforms and advanced modelling.
   Broad uptake of advanced knowledge, breakthrough solutions and innovative
      technologies to enhance the competitiveness of the EU water sector and foster the EU’s
      position and role in the global water scene.
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     Increasing the EU scientific and technological base on measures to manage groundwater
      quality and providing evidence and guidance for policy-making and implementation.
     Science and evidence-based implementation of the European Green Deal and the
      Sustainable Development Goals, notably the SDG 6 “Ensure availability and sustainable
      management of water and sanitation for all”.
Scope: The European Union has made noticeable progress in terms of reducing concentrations
of nutrients in groundwater and in rivers through the implementation of dedicated policy
measures. However, Member States identified that diffuse pollution is still a significant
pressure that affects 35% of the area of groundwater bodies 288 , while quality standards
(pesticides, herbicides, etc.) were exceeded in 15% of the groundwater bodies studied.
Climate change and increasing water demand will exert significant pressures on groundwater
quality, notably where the combined effect of reduced hydrological flows, water table
depletion and sea level rise endanger the integrity of coastal aquifers and groundwater quality
due to saline water intrusion. Extreme events like higher tides, storm surges and inland
flooding events, and consequent pollutant and pathogen runoff, will put at risk wetlands and
reservoirs, estuaries and ecosystems, jeopardising an efficient and qualitatively good
groundwater recharge. Rising water tables in urban and rural areas, caused by e.g. higher sea
level, changing water use or variable precipitation patterns, could potentially affect pollution
sources (sewage, runoff infiltration, dilution of soil pollutants, salinization, etc.) and
deteriorate the quality of groundwater.
Additional knowledge is needed to understand the synergistic effects and risks of multiple
stressors and pollutants on groundwater quality to better evaluate the impacts of global and
climate change, particularly in highly vulnerable areas affected by diffuse pollution,
anthropogenic activities and/or water table fluctuations. Actions in this field should aim to
identify and assess sources and pathways of groundwater pollution to inform risk
management plans at basin/regional scales, with particular consideration of aquifer recharge
with reclaimed water and persistent pollutants.
Further developments are expected in terms of cost-efficient monitoring strategies, which
could include new tracers and sensors, increased sampling and analytical capacity, as well as
integrating IT advances and geophysical modelling.
Proposals in this area should assess possible options and anticipate novel strategies to protect
groundwater quality by considering the harmful effects of and threats from climate change.
Actions in this field should focus on preventive measures and consider technological and non-
technological solutions, and should engage with policy and decision-making bodies.
In general, the participation of academia, research organisations, utilities, industry and
regulators is strongly advised, as well as civil society engagement whenever necessary, also
aiming to broaden the dissemination and exploitation routes and to better assess the
innovation potential of developed solutions and strategies.
288
        European Environment Agency The European environment             —   state and outlook 2020
        https://www.eea.europa.eu/soer-2020/intro
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If appropriate, applicants are advised to seek complementarities and synergies, while avoiding
duplication and overlap, with relevant actions funded under Horizon 2020 calls289, as well as
targeted topics supported in the last Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe calls, addressing
micro/nano-plastics, persistent and mobile pollutants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances (PFAS), pharmaceuticals and contaminants of emerging concerns (CECs),
pathogens and antimicrobial resistance.
In order to better address some or all of the expected outcomes, international cooperation is
strongly encouraged.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-02: Piloting innovative governance
solutions to limit nitrogen and phosphorus emissions at the interface of rural/coastal and
urban/industrial environments
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                          and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                          Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                          additionally be used).
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In the context of eliminating pollution to guarantee a clean and healthy
environment and in line with the zero pollution ambition, successful proposals will deliver
governance solutions that halt nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) pollution and limit N/P
emissions to remain within safe ecological boundaries at European, regional and local scale
while restoring water, air and soil ecosystems.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
289
         Including access and use of data and information collected through long-term environmental monitoring
         activities supported by national and/or European research infrastructures.
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   Dynamic interfaces between rural/coastal and urban/industrial environments that allow
      for the exploitation of hitherto untapped synergies in eliminating and preventing N/P
      pollution
   Mainstreamed circular and sustainable use of N and P recovered from urban/industrial
      contexts and returned to agricultural/primary production in rural/coastal environments
      throughout Europe, with a view to closing N/P cycles and stimulating a market for
      recovered N and P
   Best practice on how to implement innovative governance models shared among
      relevant stakeholders across the EU
   Better informed and less fragmented policies and regulatory instruments at regional,
      national and European scale to promote re-balancing N/P flows and restoring ecosystem
      services to stay within safe ecological and planetary boundaries
Scope: In line with the overarching objective to bring N/P flows back within safe ecological
and planetary boundaries and to achieve the deliverables of the European Green Deal and
other relevant EU legislation, at regional level, this Innovation Action (Pilot) explores
innovative governance solutions to support transferring resources and services between
rural/coastal and urban/industrial environments while limiting N/P emissions and other
emissions exacerbating pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change. N/P relevant materials
and residues discarded in one environment may be a valuable resource in another context but
are not always exploited due to systemic or structural barriers. Actions may include piloting
incentives (regulatory, structural, financial, behavioural etc.), innovative supply and value
chains and novel infrastructures or other governance solutions.
Proposals should
   Develop novel or adapt existing governance models and test in an operational
      environment how these innovative tools and instruments will drive systemic change to
      promote circularity, environmental protection and closed N/P circles at the urban/rural
      interface.
   Demonstrate these innovative governance models in geographically representative
      regional clusters throughout the EU and associated countries. A cluster may be formed
      by two or more regions/river basins, in EU and associated countries, with very similar
      characteristics in terms of territorial conditions or being neighbouring regions/river
      basins, which feature similar degrees of N/P emission pressures as well as physical,
      social and economic specificities and governance structures. All relevant stakeholders
      (local authorities, farmers and other rural stakeholders, urban/industrial actors,
      environmental protection organisations, academia etc.) should be involved.
   Showcase how innovative governance models at relevant levels can contribute to
      achieving EU objectives, such as the targets of the farm to fork and biodiversity
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
      strategies on reducing fertiliser use by 20% and nutrient losses by 50% until 2050290, by
      fostering ecologically responsible and sustainable use, recovery and exchange of N/P
      relevant resources, services and infrastructures between urban/industrial and
      rural/coastal environments while taking into account local specificities.
     Identify opportunities to exchange N/P flows between both environments and
      demonstrate novel governance/structural approaches to fully exploit synergies that help
      bring these flows back within safe ecological boundaries by building on past and
      ongoing Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects that develop a regional N/P load
      target approach while keeping within safe ecological boundaries.
     Implement innovative practices and technologies at different governance and stakeholder
      levels in order to promote increased dialogue and collaboration, to encourage
      behavioural change and public acceptance of recovered products as well as more
      effective problem-solving mechanisms.
     Assess these novel governance approaches, develop guidelines and recommendations for
      all concerned stakeholders on how to best implement these novel governance
      approaches, disseminate results and best practice, and envisage regional twinning and
      mentoring schemes.
     Review existing EU policies and contribute to designing harmonised, coherent and
      efficient policies and regulatory instruments that facilitate eliminating and preventing
      N/P pollution and conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the ecological and economic
      cost of non-action.
Applicants are encouraged to select different regional clusters per project and to diversify
their proposed consortium by involving a wide range of relevant stakeholders, such as
primary producers, representatives of administrations at different levels, actors from related
industries, value chains, environment organisations, academia, citizens, etc. Proposals should
further include a task dedicated to sharing methodologies and findings with projects funded
within this topic.
This topic is part of the demonstration projects for the implementation of the European
Commission’s Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) and should be carried out in
close cooperation with it.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
290
         cf.    https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal/actions-being-taken-
         eu/farm-fork_en
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HORIZON-CL6-2022-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-03: EU-China international cooperation
on nature-based solutions for nutrient management in agriculture
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Eligibility conditions    The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                          exceptions apply:
                          The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                          The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                          multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
                          If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning,
                          navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must
                          make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and
                          services may additionally be used).
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Procedure                 The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                          exceptions apply:
                          Grants awarded under this topic will be coordinated with the Ministry
                          of Science and Technology, China (MOST).
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the specific grants
                          awarded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, China (MOST)
                          to the Chinese partners.
                          The respective options of the Model Grant Agreement will be applied.
Expected Outcome: In line with the zero pollution ambition, the farm to fork strategy, in
particular promoting the global transition to sustainable food systems, successful proposals
will support the development of Green Alliances on sustainable agro-food systems in relation
to nutrient management that halt nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) pollution and limit N/P
emissions to remain within safe ecological boundaries at European, regional and local scale.
Moreover, selected proposals are expected to reinforce the transdisciplinary research and
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
integrated scientific support for relevant EU policies and priorities (common agricultural
policy (CAP), Green Deal objectives, etc.).
Project results are expected to contribute to all following expected outcomes:
     Strengthened international cooperation with actors from China in the areas of nutrient
      management to halt pollution and limit N/P emissions to remain within safe ecological
      boundaries at different scales while restoring water, air and soil ecosystems.
     Develop and test Nature based Solutions (NBS) 291 to plant nutrition and health, with
      innovative technologies that optimise the use of external inputs and helps European
      farmers in the implementation of regulated deficit strategies.
     Support for the implementation of the nutrient budget methodologies with new or
      improved technologies for different agricultural systems considering environmental,
      social and economic factors at different scales farms, regions and/or products.
     Identification and management of potential new sources and pathways of nutrients
      through distribution/sharing of organic wastes at local level to reduce nutrient loads to
      soil and water bodies.
     Uptake of knowledge and innovations in implementing a sustainable management of
      natural resources.
Scope: The success implementation of a sustainable nutrient management plan requires the
availability of the technologies to support farmers in their decision-making and applications
of the nutrients plans, based on the type of production system, environmental conditions, soil
type, water availability and socio-economic aspects of both crops and nutrients. Nature-based
solutions (NBS) and innovative agricultural and environmental tools can improve nutrient
management and strategies for, among other things, meeting the objectives of the European
Green Deal, including the farm to fork strategy, and the biodiversity strategy, the circular
economy action plan and the zero pollution action plan for air, water and soil.
Proposals should build on existing and new knowledge, data, models (including in situ
calibration measurements) and available tools to:
     Develop smart nutrient management plans and methods to prevent, mitigate and when
      possible eliminate pollution in soils, water and air caused by nutrients and water
      management practices, across sectors, for different types of agricultural practices
      (conventional, organic and agro-ecological agriculture), and scales – farm, local,
      regional and river basin.
291
        As defined by the European Commission: Solutions that are inspired and supported by nature, which
        are cost-effective, simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits and help build
        resilience. Such solutions bring more, and more diverse, nature and natural features and processes into
        cities, landscapes and seascapes, through locally adapted, resource-efficient and systemic interventions.
        Hence, nature-based solutions must benefit biodiversity and support the delivery of a range of
        ecosystem services. In https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=nbs
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   Explore and assess the potential of alternative nutrient sources (organic vs inorganic),
      enhance management and recycling of organic wastes and explore nutrient recovery
      opportunities, for different agricultural systems.
   Analyse the effect of NBS on climate change and crop productivity including nutrient
      availability, and interactions between nutrients and carbon cycles.
   Develop models and tools to monitor nutrients flow based on remote sensing
      technologies and data, in agriculture and forestry systems: for physical, chemical and
      biological parameters.
   Engage with technology development actors, farmers and investors organising large
      scale online hackathon activities to support tech services for farmers at farm and local
      level in their nutrient management plans e.g. by allowing targeted field application of
      fertilisers (organic / inorganic), and addressing geographical imbalances in nutrient
      flows.
   Develop Decision Support Systems to assess and understand the performance and
      relative merits of NBS for nutrient management.
Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor approach’ and ensure adequate involvement of the
farming sector and, as relevant, bio-based industries active in rural areas.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
Actions will contribute to implementing the EU-China Food, Agriculture and Biotechnology
(FAB) flagship initiative, which aims to ensure sustainability of agri-food systems, catering
for the needs of a growing population, the reduction of food and agricultural losses and waste,
and the provision of safe and healthy foodstuffs.
Due to the scope of this topic, international cooperation is strongly encouraged, in particular
with China. This topic is envisaged to be implemented as a coordinated call but if no
agreement is reached with the Ministry of Science and Technology China (MOST) on the co-
funding of Chinese partners, it will be implemented as a normal call. Updates will be
published on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Proposals are requested to collaborate with other relevant projects selected under other
relevant topics/calls. In addition, proposals follow FAIR data principles, ensuring that
resulting knowledge will be accessible through the Oppla portal.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Protecting drinking water and managing urban water pollution
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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HORIZON-CL6-2022-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-04: Securing drinking water quality by
protecting water sources against pollution, providing innovative monitoring and
treatment solutions and ensuring safe distribution
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level       General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal’s zero pollution ambition,
successful proposals will contribute to halt and prevent pollution of freshwater and soils, and
consequently also protecting biodiversity, as addressed by several impacts under Destination
‘Clean environment and zero pollution’, in particular “Advanced understanding of diffuse and
point sources of water pollution in a global and climate changing context, enabling novel
solutions to protect water bodies, aquatic ecosystems and soil functionality, and further
enhancing water quality and its management for safe human and ecological use, while
fostering the European position and role in the global water scene.”
Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following expected outcomes:
   A wider use of a better understanding and an enhanced knowledge base required to
     assess pollution sources, pathways and combined effects on drinking water systems,
     including forward looking approaches aimed to anticipate and prepare for future or
     emerging challenges.
   Implement advanced preventive and mitigating strategies and measures to protect
     drinking water sources, treatment and supply against harmful effects of global and
     climate change.
   Apply effective risk assessment and risk management strategies enabling early warning
     systems and delivering ready-made outputs for decision-making and governance.
   Exploit advanced, integrated and cost-effective water quality sensors and analytical
     methods.
   Deploy innovative and robust monitoring systems and real-time information on drinking
     water quality, from sources to supply.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
   Disseminate and use a robust knowledge on the occurrence, persistence and
      degradability of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water with due
      consideration to operational parameters, chemicals, materials and biofilms interactions,
      including the pathways related to human exposure.
   Spread the use of advanced and cost-effective drinking water treatment and disinfection
      processes and technologies, including transformative approaches.
   Broad uptake of advanced knowledge, breakthrough solutions and innovative
      technologies to enhance competitiveness of the EU water sector and fostering the EU’s
      position and role in the global water scene.
   Increasing the EU scientific and technological base and guidance on measures to manage
      drinking water quality and evidence for policy-making, safety planning and
      implementation.
   Science and evidence-based implementation of the European Green Deal and the
      Sustainable Development Goals, notably the SDG 6 “Ensure availability and sustainable
      management of water and sanitation for all”.
Scope: The European Union policy framework has secured public safety and health objectives
by the Drinking Water, Bathing Water and Floods Directives (EU, 1998, 2006, 2007), and the
ongoing development and implementation of minimum requirements for water reuse. Despite
the valuable output of implemented measures, some persistent problems are still a major, and
sometimes unknown, risk factor for human and ecosystem health. Past contaminated sites and
industrial activities managing hazardous chemicals, such as highly persistent compounds,
together with agriculture and food production (pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics etc.), and
household activities release a number of substances that individually or combined represent a
concern for the safety of drinking water supplies. Detrimental effects of natural/human-made
disasters and increasing water temperatures due to climate change could deteriorate the
quality of drinking water sources by favouring the conditions for enhanced eutrophication
leading to algal and cyanobacterial outbreaks as well as pathogen development or the spread
of invasive species. Emerging concerns are also rising at the level of drinking water treatment
and distribution, notably in relation to disinfection operations, materials and products, ageing
infrastructure, biofilm growth and possible harmful effects of unintentionally formed by-
products and metabolites.
Actions in this field should aim to expand the knowledge base required to identify, assess and
prevent pollution threats (micro-pollutants, pathogens, toxins, algal blooms, etc.) and the
combined effects of multiple stressors on water sources, including risk assessment and
management, to protect drinking water preparation and distribution. Particular attention to
extreme weather events and possible synergistic effects affecting hydraulic flows,
temperatures and pollutants’ loads should be considered, whenever appropriate.
Advanced water quality assessment needs further development of sensors sensitivity,
automated routine monitoring and fast analytical responses that fully integrate IT advances.
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Proposals in this topic should aim to extend the current analytical capacity to enable among
other issues the detection of suspect and non-targeted pollutants, resulting in robust and
reliable monitoring systems for consideration in future legislation. They should also consider
the requirements of the revised Drinking Water Directive as regards catchment management.
Unintended disinfection by-products (DBP) and interactions with chemical reagents used for
drinking water treatment (DWT), engineering and contact materials as well as the combined
effects of biofilms formation are emerging as hazardous chemical risks that could affect
human health. Proposals in this field should further extend the knowledge base of
mechanisms and reactions leading to DBP formation by analysing raw water quality and
precursors, as well assessing DWT operational parameters, including disinfection needs,
methods and doses. Advanced DWT solutions should explore integrated systems coupling
different treatment technologies and strategies enabling the optimization of the operational
DWT effectiveness while removing DBP risks.
In general, the participation of academia, research organisations, utilities, industry and
regulators is strongly advised, as well as civil society engagement whenever necessary, also
aiming to broaden the dissemination and exploitation routes and to better assess the
innovation potential of developed solutions and strategies.
If appropriate, applicants are advised to seek complementarities and synergies, while avoiding
duplication and overlap, with relevant actions funded under Horizon 2020 calls292, as well as
targeted topics supported in the last Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe calls, addressing
micro/nano-plastics, persistent and mobile pollutants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances (PFAS), pharmaceuticals and contaminants of emerging concerns (CECs),
pathogens and antimicrobial resistance. Whenever possible, proposals should consider already
developed digital solutions for real-time water monitoring systems. Activities related to water
reclamation and reuse, indirect potable use or alternative water sources are beyond the scope
of this topic.
In order to better address some or all of the expected outcomes, international cooperation is
encouraged.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
292
         Including access and use of data and information collected through long-term environmental monitoring
         activities supported by national and/or European research infrastructures.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Destination – Land, ocean and water for climate action
Assessing the impacts of climate change on our land and marine environments, natural
resources, agriculture and food systems, and identifying mitigation options and adaptation
pathways, requires interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research and investments across a
broad range of activities. Research is needed to better understand who or what is exposed and
sensitive to these changes, their underlying vulnerability, the associated costs and adaptive
capacity. Research is also required to provide mitigation options that reduce the risk of long-
term climate change
The conservation and enhancement of Earth’s natural carbon sinks such as soils and plants,
forests, farmed lands, wetlands and the oceans is crucial. The European Green Deal green
oath to “do no harm”, requires a careful examination of the trade-offs and synergies among
the sustainability goals, including health protection, food and nutrition security, ecosystem
services and biodiversity preservation both on land and at sea. R&I has a significant role to
play to support the design and implementation of policies that will ensure the achievement of
EU climate objectives.
Agriculture has a significant role to play to reduce and mitigate GHG emissions and to
enhance carbon sinks. It also needs to strengthen its capacity to adapt to climate change and
its resilience. The forestry sector faces similar challenges.
Freshwater resources are increasingly under stress as a consequence of overuse and climate
change with wide-ranging consequences for human societies and ecosystems. It is therefore
necessary to define the safe operating space in terms of water quantity and availability, reduce
the vulnerability to change and enhance our adaptive capacity.
Strengthening the ocean and climate nexus is another priority for the EU. There is growing
political awareness of the importance of ocean and polar regions as an integral part of the
Earth’s climate system and of the need to ensure the integrity and resilience of these
ecosystems.
While new knowledge leading to a better understanding of the impacts of climate change is
necessary, a strong priority needs to be granted to the large-scale deployment and uptake of
solutions for climate adaptation and mitigation. Environmental observations and related
solutions will be necessary throughout, from understanding to deployment.
Understanding the impacts of climate change on primary production and natural systems is a
pre-requisite for policy and societal action on climate change adaptation and mitigation. At
present, our understanding of the interactions between climate change and ecosystem
management, protection and restoration is limited, yet it is crucial to enabling sound decision
making for mitigation and adaptation measures. Monitoring and evaluation of the impacts of
climate change, land use change and associated biodiversity loss on a range of key issues
related to agriculture and forestry are crucial with respect to the transition to net-zero
emissions in the EU. R&I are also needed to close knowledge gaps in support of decision-
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making aimed at preserving the integrity of ocean and aquatic ecosystems through a better
understanding of the drivers of change and of emerging threats. Moreover, since water
availability is vulnerable to climate change, it is necessary to improve the projections of
changes to the water cycle at different relevant scales and projections of the frequency and
intensity of extreme events. We also require improved long-term observations and assessment
of the effects of climate change on diverse water uses and on the state of ecosystems and their
services.
Reducing GHG emissions and enhancing carbon sinks in primary production and natural
systems are key elements of the European Green Deal. Achieving sustainable land
management and efficient use of natural resources that foster climate change mitigation
implies finding the right balance between productivity, climate, biodiversity and
environmental goals in the agriculture and forestry sectors, with a long-term perspective. R&I
activities will support solutions for climate- and environmentally-friendly practices, to reduce
emissions of major greenhouse gases and the environmental footprint of land use changes and
agricultural activities. R&I, new technologies and business models are expected to unlock the
full potential of LULUCF293 activities in the mitigation of climate change. Results of funded
activities will benefit land and forest management and the delivery of multiple services
provided by land and forests, such as the provision of goods as long-term carbon stocks in
harvested wood products, peatlands and wetlands, the protection of soils, water and
biodiversity and finally climate change adaptation and mitigation. Ocean is also a large
storage system for the global reservoirs of climate-regulating factors. R&I will advance
knowledge innovations to foster ocean-based solutions/mitigation options, helping to close the
emissions gap.
Climate action calls also for fostering adaptation to climate change of ecosystems, primary
production, food systems and the bioeconomy. Climate change is exacerbating existing risks
to livelihoods, biodiversity, human and ecosystem health, infrastructure and food systems.
There are growing concerns regarding the role of climate change in the spreading of new plant
and terrestrial and aquatic animal diseases, which can jeopardise food safety and security.
Human activities relying on the availability and use of water are particularly impacted by
variable and extreme weather events, which may at the same time lead to desertification.
Agriculture and forestry in the EU are vulnerable to climate change. There is in particular
growing evidence about the effects of climate change, and of extreme weather events, on
agricultural production and crop yields, which need to be mitigated, and also on the forest
sector. Coastal areas are also threatened by sea level rise, saline water intrusion, biodiversity
loss, ocean acidification, extreme events and a shrinking cryosphere. R&I will, therefore, be
critical to foster adaptation and build resilience in agriculture, forestry and coastal areas. They
will aim to deliver on the urgent need to foster the adaptation of primary production, notably
by providing farmers and other actors in bioeconomy value chains with better-adapted crop
varieties and animal breeds with lower impacts on the related ecosystems. R&I efforts are
critical to avoiding, reducing and reversing desertification. Water adaptation strategies and
approaches will be developed and tested. Appropriate solutions including water allocation
293
         LULUCF stands for land use, land use change and forestry.
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
schemes will be developed for businesses, farmers and ecosystems. Potential trade-offs, and
measures to mitigate and avoid them, will be assessed to ensure environmental sustainability
and to keep the objectives of enhancing soil fertility, increasing carbon storage in soils and
biomass, benefitting agricultural productivity and food security and reducing biodiversity
loss. R&I will also aim at better understanding how institutions and behaviour shape
vulnerability and offer opportunities for adaptation.
Expected impact
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to
climate action on land, oceans and water and more specifically to one or several of the
following impacts:
     Better understanding and enhancing the mitigation potential of ecosystems and sectors
      based on the sustainable management of natural resources;
     Advanced understanding and science to support adaptation and resilience of natural and
      managed ecosystems, water and soil systems and economic sectors in the context of the
      changing climate;
     Efficient monitoring, assessment and projections related to climate change impacts,
      mitigation and adaptation potential in order to bring out solutions for tackling emerging
      threats and support decision-making in climate change mitigation and adaptation policies
      at European and global levels;
     Fostered climate change mitigation in the primary sector , including by the reduction of
      GHG emissions, maintenance of natural carbon sinks and enhancement of sequestration
      and storage of carbon in ecosystems;
     Improved adaptive capacity of water and soil systems and sectors including by unlocking
      the potential of nature-based solutions;
     Better managed scarce resources, in particular soils and water, thus mitigating climate
      related risks, in particular desertification and erosion, thanks to informed decision-
      makers and stakeholders and integration of adaptation measures in relevant EU policies.
When considering their impact, proposals also need to assess their compliance with the “Do
No Significant Harm” principle294 according to which the research and innovation activities of
the project should not be supporting or carrying out activities that make a significant harm to
any of the six environmental objectives of the EU Taxonomy Regulation.
This destination contributes to support R&I on climate for areas covered by Cluster 6 notably
on the implementation of climate change mitigation and adaptation solutions while
Destination “Climate sciences and responses for the transformation towards climate
neutrality” in Cluster 5 concentrates on activities related to climate science and modelling.
294
         as per Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate
         sustainable investment (EU Taxonomy Regulation)
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Topics under this destination will have impacts in the following impact areas of the Horizon
Europe strategic plan for 2021-2024 295 : “Climate change mitigation and adaptation”;
“Enhancing ecosystems and biodiversity on land and in water”; “Clean and healthy air, water
and soil”; “Sustainable food systems from farm to fork on land and sea”; ”A resilient EU
prepared for emerging threats”; “A secure and open EU society”; and “Inclusive growth and
new job opportunities”.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                  Call                                  Budgets (EUR million)      Deadline(s)
                                                       2021               2022
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01 108.00                                  10.00          06 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01                                         75.00          23 Feb 2022
Overall indicative budget                     108.00                85.00
295
       Footnote indicating link to the document.
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Call - Land, ocean and water for climate action
                                                                   HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)296
                   Topics                         Type of       Budgets (EUR        Expected      Number
                                                   Action           million)           EU             of
                                                                                  contribution projects
                                                                 2021     2022     per project expected
                                                                                      (EUR          to be
                                                                                            297
                                                                                   million)        funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 06 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-                     RIA            10.00             3.00 to 5.00    3
01
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-                     COFUND 10.00             10.00 20.00         to 1
02                                                                                126.00
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-                     RIA            15.00             7.00 to 8.00    2
03
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-                     CSA            23.00             Around          1
04                                                                                23.00
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-                     RIA            7.00              Around          1
05                                                                                7.00
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-                     RIA            12.00             Around          1
06                                                                                12.00
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-                     CSA            3.00              Around          1
07                                                                                3.00
296
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
297
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-                RIA            8.00              Around       2
08                                                                           4.00
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-                RIA            10.00             Around       2
09                                                                           5.00
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-                RIA            10.00             Around       1
10                                                                           10.00
Overall indicative budget                                  108.00 10.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-01: Improved understanding, observation and
monitoring of water resources availability.
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
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Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In support of the European Green Deal and EU water-related policies,
successful proposals will contribute to foster the adaptation of water resources to climate
change, in particular Destination ‘Land, ocean and water for climate action’ impacts
“Advance the understanding and science, and support adaptation and resilience of natural and
managed ecosystems, water and soil systems and economic sectors in the context of the
changing climate” and “Improve tools and technologies for efficient monitoring, assessment
and projections related to climate change impact”
Projects results are expected to contribute to several of the following expected outcomes
   Enhanced knowledge base regarding water related climate change impacts, vulnerability,
     risk and adaptation assessments in Europe and abroad.
   Provide a more complete picture of future water vulnerabilities, including both water
     quantity and quality aspects, by better considering the interactions among climate change
     and variability, land surface and groundwater hydrology, water engineering, and human
     systems, including societal adaptations to water scarcity
   Support decision makers defining the safe operating space in terms of water quantity and
     availability, i.e., defining sustainable water management and climate change adaptation
     measures, meeting growing water supply, food, and energy needs, and controlling the
     high inter-annual variability in water availability
   Improve Member States’ preparedness for climate change impacts with respect to floods
     and droughts and support more accurate decision making for flood and drought risk
     reduction and response.
   Improve knowledge of ecological flows in the context of the Water Framework Directive
     and especially of the impacts of management, infrastructure and climate on ecological
     flows; improve prediction of drought events and water scarcity and enhance the
     assessment of the impacts of drought on water quality and biodiversity.
   Minimise the disparities associated with data collection and reporting between
     researchers and data agencies, enhance the interoperability, in particular through the
     mainstreaming of community-accepted standards, metadata schemas and data
     management best practices in line with the FAIR principles, between data providers and
     data users and strengthen coordination among various monitoring services
   Foster commitments between climate change and water scientists, monitoring services,
     industry, water utilities and other socioeconomic communities to collect, standardise,
     and widely disseminate information on water use in different sectors.
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Scope: Freshwater resources are under increasing stress as a consequence of overuse and
climate change with wide-ranging consequences for human societies and ecosystems. To
reduce the vulnerability of ecosystems, society and water consuming economic sectors
(agriculture, energy, industry) to climate change, it is necessary to enhance the knowledge on
water resource availability and use, on future changes to climate and hydrological systems
and on risks of extreme weather events.
Actions should address one or more of the following issues:
    A comparative assessment of the state-of-the-art integrated river basin models that are
     currently used for assessing water availability and vulnerability in the context of climate
     change. Models should be capable of simulating both surface and groundwater quantity
     and quality issues, as well as water supply and use and land use changes. They should be
     also able to take into account the socio-economic impacts of future climate change
     scenarios, as well as the costs and benefits associated with the adaptation strategies
     defined in response to those. In assessing water availability, an estimation should be
     made of the environmental flows necessary to sustain the health of both terrestrial and
     aquatic ecosystems. The impacts of various management and hydraulic infrastructure
     systems on the ecological flows of water and sediments should also be considered in this
     estimation. Assessments should be carried out in several river basins within and outside
     Europe, which are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts and are facing
     significant water related problems, with a view to providing policy recommendations for
     long term infrastructure investments and management strategies beyond the river basins
     addressed.
    Improve accuracy and spatiotemporal resolution of regional scale projections of changes
     in precipitation, soil moisture, runoff and groundwater availability for management
     purposes, and quantification of the related uncertainties. Projections of changes in the
     frequency and intensity of extreme events such as severe storms, heat waves, floods,
     including flash floods and droughts should be also made. The potential of recent global
     observation studies and data collections, in cooperation with relevant EU earth
     observation initiatives, such as ESA, should be considered.
    Development of techniques, monitoring tools and innovative sensors for advance
     measurement and calculation of current available water balances and future needs and
     monitoring, leveraging on advanced computation technologies (e.g. high performance
     computing, edge analytics, cloud computing, and grid computing), artificial intelligence
     and Internet of Things
    Development of a long-term observation framework and capacity, in collaboration with
     the Copernicus programme and GEOSS and any other relevant global observation
     initiatives, to support integrated analysis of water resource availability in Europe,
     including the development of community-driven, open access, end-to-end data
     infrastructures. This framework should be linked the European Open Science Cloud, as a
     pan-European cross-sectoral data space for research and innovation, and should include
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      all relevant in situ and earth observations needed to monitor and assess the impacts of
      climate change on water resource availability and to support integrated model
      developments and adaptation planning responses. Both surface and groundwater
      resources as well as water quantity and water quality issues should be considered.
      Particular attention should be given to ensuring availability of data to measure and/or
      assess relevant water use. In developing this framework, a thorough review of existing
      observational systems and initiatives at both EU and global level developed over recent
      years should be undertaken, and experiences and lessons learnt from previous long term
      water related research studies across a wide range of river basins within and outside
      Europe should be considered. Cooperation with relevant European water observation
      institutions and initiatives, such as ESA, EEA and JRC, is important.
Actions should bring together a multidisciplinary and multi‐institutional team of researchers
to pursue a combination of ﬁeld data collection, innovative data analysis methods, artificial
intelligence and the development of data‐driven reduced-complexity models for scientiﬁc
understanding and to guide management decisions, and to support relevant stakeholders and
policy makers.
All in-situ data collected through actions funded from this call should follow INSPIRE 298
principles.
In general, the participation of academia, research organisations, utilities, industry and
regulators is strongly advised, as well as civil society engagement whenever necessary, also
aiming to broaden the dissemination and exploitation routes and to better assess the
innovation potential of developed solutions and strategies.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-02: European Partnership Water Security for the
Planet (Water4All)
Specific conditions
Expected EU                 The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per            20.00 and 126.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                     appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                            selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action              Programme Co-fund Action
Eligibility                 The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                  exceptions apply:
298
         https://inspire.ec.europa.eu/
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                       If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
Legal and              The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of    apply:
the Grant              Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The support
Agreements             to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. As financial
                       support provided by the participants to third parties is one of the
                       primary activities of this action in order to be able to achieve its
                       objectives, the 60 000 EUR threshold provided for in Article 204 (a) of
                       the Financial Regulation No 2018/1046 does not apply.
Total indicative       The total indicative budget for the duration of the partnership is EUR
budget                 126 million.
Expected Outcome: In support of the European Green Deal and EU water-related policies, the
successful proposal will contribute to foster the adaptation of water resources to climate
change, contributing therefore to Destination ‘Land, ocean and water for climate action’
impact “Advance the understanding and science, and support adaptation and resilience of
natural and managed ecosystems, water and soil systems and economic sectors in the context
of the changing climate”, as well as preserve and restore ecosystems and biodiversity, prevent
pollution in land and seas, enhance food security, foster sustainable and circular management
of water resources and innovative governance.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Increased protection of water resources and ecosystems and strengthening of
     biodiversity, by developing a more systemic and integrative policy which considers
     cross-sectoral interactions (water, biodiversity, agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture,
     energy, health).
    Enhanced resilience, mitigation and adaptation of water systems to climate change and
     multiple interacting stressors.
    Pooled resources (EU, Member States, Associated Countries, European platforms and
     economic sectors) and alignment within a shared and co-developed strategic research
     and innovation agenda (SRIA) and related implementation plans and better embedding
     of national and regional knowledge and innovation ecosystems within that of the EU.
    Leverage impacts of policies on the water security crisis, by upscaling projects (from
     research to demonstration) and supporting policy implementation based on cooperation,
     across stakeholders and sectors.
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    Strengthened alignment between funders’ programmes and timelines and knowledge
      transfer, and addressing the lack of continuity of funding from research to
      implementation and difficulties in securing long-term investments.
    Greater cooperation across sectors, with multi-stakeholder engagement and
      empowerment, to co-develop and co-implement solutions and to drive the necessary
      societal transformations required for securing water for all.
    Reinforced role of the EU in the international water agenda (implementation of UN
      SDGs) and in strengthening water diplomacy.
    Science and evidence-based implementation of the European Green Deal and EU water-
      related policies.
Scope: Water resources are vital for all human activities and the environment. Ensuring that
enough water of high quality is available for all purposes remains a key challenge globally
and within Europe.
Global trends project world-wide growth in water use by 55% by 2050, due to growing
demands from manufacturing, thermal electricity generation, agriculture and domestic use, all
increasing the pressure of human activities on our freshwater resources. Furthermore, water
quality is declining due to agricultural, industrial, mining and urban pollution, impacting the
availability of water of sufficient quality for users. According to the recently released Global
Assessment by the Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and ecosystem services
(IPBES), freshwater biodiversity is declining rapidly. Hydrological extreme events, such as
floods and droughts, are going to increase, according to the latest IPCC conclusions,
exacerbating the water crisis and impacts across all economic sectors.
Achieving good status of Europe’s surface waters and providing enough water for all, is not
only important for the implementation of EU water related policies, it is also an essential
element for achieving other EU related policies, such biodiversity, agriculture, climate and
energy related policies. Water is also central to all components of the European Green Deal.
There is, therefore, a need to produce science-based knowledge to support the European
Green Deal and other EU policies by monitoring problems related to water and developing
feasible technical and managerial solutions.
Water is a dedicated UN Sustainable Development Goal (namely SDG6) but it will not be
achieved by 2030 at current rates, considering trends in financing, capacity and political
commitments. This will also undermine progress towards most of the other SDGs, particularly
the goals related to poverty, hunger, health, clean energy, cities, climate, life below water and
life on land, but also gender equality and peace, which are all related to water.
The diversity of challenges we are now facing to secure water for all, requires a new co-
funded partnership that brings together all public and private research funders and supports a
more efficient collaboration and integration of EU, Member States and Associated Countries
R&I activities related to water. This will ensure a transition to a healthy planet, respectful of
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planetary boundaries, a resilient Energy Union, and implementation of an EU policy of
climate neutrality, in line with Horizon Europe priorities.
It also requires the alignment and/or integration of different research and innovation agendas
and of EU and national programmes, coordination of funding agencies and commitments to
implement a long-term strategy that would deliver major changes and impacts. Based on a
shared and co-constructed SRIA, such a partnership should combine bottom-up and top-down
approaches to reconcile needs whilst pooling resources from different sources. It should foster
consortium building and help leverage between existing initiatives under common broader or
specific objectives. This will give direction and shape to a common water implementation
strategy.
A European partnership is also necessary to deliver an objective and impact-driven approach
and build critical mass in resources (human and financial), expertise and capacities in the
longer-term, in line with the challenge faced. This would allow for the mobilisation of
additional national resources with access to other instruments / financing / investments along
the same strategic research agenda (e.g. real-life testing sites, research infrastructures, and
innovation hubs or competitiveness clusters), contributing from collaboration that benefits
existing European, national and local ecosystems.
Tackling the global challenges also requires different forms of cooperation (to maximise the
types and number of partners involved). This would allow implementation of a larger range of
types of actions, such as development of academic and applied research, innovative solutions,
including collaboration with enterprises in projects, transfer of innovation to enterprises,
addressing the science/policy interface, while having better access to research infrastructures
and connections to implementation tools (financial, regulatory), demonstration and training.
The co-funded European Partnership Water Security for the Planet (Water4All) should
address the following vision: “Boosting the systemic transformations and changes across the
entire research – water innovation pipeline, fostering matchmaking between problem owners
and solution providers to ensure water security for all in the long term”.
Water4All should propose a portfolio of multi-national, multi-faceted and cross-sectoral
approaches, encompassing policy, environmental, economic, technological and societal
considerations to enable water security for all in the long term. It should therefore be
implemented through a joint programme of activities ranging from research and innovation
programme coordination to new knowledge and innovation development, transfer to policy-
making, operational implementation and demonstration of the efficiency of solutions. It
should be structured according to the following pillars:
    Identify research and innovation priorities to strengthen alignment of EU and national
      RDI programmes and increase the impact and policy relevance.
    Develop new knowledge and innovative solutions for a systemic and inclusive approach
      to water challenges at operational scale (e.g. river basin, water catchment).
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    Transfer knowledge and innovation to i) policy-makers and ii) operators / managers so
      that they are able to implement the proposed solutions.
    Demonstrate the efficiency and the sustainability of the proposed solutions at local level,
      in close cooperation with the relevant actors (including policy-makers and decision-
      makers).
    Increase and strengthen international cooperation to develop a critical mass in relation to
      the global challenges faced.
This will create a continuum from the identification of the challenges to the demonstration of
proposed solutions, ensuring a more rapid translation of research and innovation into concrete
applications and uptake by relevant managers and citizens.
Water4All should rely on a core group composed of R&I programme owners and funders
from ministries in charge of R&I policy and agencies, policy makers from ministries in charge
of environmental policy and environmental / water protection agencies, from the EU,
neighbouring countries and beyond the EU, as core members, in close cooperation with a
wide range of other research and economic actors (multinational corporations, suppliers &
SMEs, research & technology developers, water utilities, civil society organisations). Partners
are expected to provide financial and/or in-kind contributions for the governance structure, the
joint calls, and other additional activities. To achieve the international cooperation objectives,
collaboration with non-European countries is strongly encouraged.
The partnership is open to all EU Member States, as well as to countries associated to Horizon
Europe and will remain open to such countries wanting to join.
To ensure the coherence and complementarity of activities, and to leverage knowledge
investment possibilities, the partnership is expected to foster close cooperation and synergies
with other ongoing EU and nationally funded R&I activities, the Horizon Missions on
Healthy Soils; on Ocean, seas and waters; on Climate Adaptation and on Cities, relevant
Horizon Europe partnerships (Chemical Risk Assessment, Driving Urban Transition,
Waterborne, Biodiversity, Blue Economy, Safe and Sustainable Food System, Agro-ecology
living labs) and other programmes/initiatives (such as Cohesion Policy funds, LIFE
programme, COST actions, Development and International Cooperation funds,
ESA/Copernicus, KIC Climate, PRIMA, follow-up of BONUS). Proposers are expected to
describe in details the way to implement such collaborations.
Proposals should pool the necessary financial resources from the participating national (or
regional) research programmes with a view to implementing joints call for transnational
proposals resulting in grants to third parties.
The Commission envisages to include new actions in future work programme(s) to continue
providing support to the partnership for the duration of Horizon Europe.
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HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-03: Key oceanic and polar processes driving
regional & global climate change
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 7.00
contribution per      and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 3-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Procedure             The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                      only in order of ranking but at least also to those that are the highest
                      ranked within set topics, provided that the proposals attain all thresholds.
Expected Outcome: In support to the European Green Deal and climate initiatives, and the EU
Arctic Policy, successful proposals will contribute to strengthening the ocean - climate nexus
and our understanding of the ocean and polar regions, as an integral part of the Earth’s climate
system. Successful proposals will further the science for understanding key processes that link
the ocean to climate and people. They will allow for a better understanding of the nature and
magnitude of these processes, and the impact of human activity on them. Given their specific
vulnerability to climate change, this knowledge may help formulate the appropriate policy
action to better protect the ocean and the polar regions and help ensure their health, integrity
and resilience.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Increased predictability and reduced uncertainty associated with key oceanic and polar
     processes and advanced understanding and science of the ocean-climate nexus.
   Contribution to the next generation observation and modelling of key ocean-climate
     processes and indicators.
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    Contribution to the implementation of the EU Arctic Policy, the All-Atlantic Ocean
      Research Alliance, the European Commission-European Space Agency flagship action
      on polar changes & global impacts, European climate policies and a substantial
      contribution to key international assessments, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on
      Climate Change (IPCC), Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and
      ecosystem services (IPBES), World Ocean Assessment (WOA) and other major regional
      and global initiatives.
Scope: The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a key component of the
Earth climate. It can significantly imprint the vertical structure of global ocean heat uptake
and drives a large part of the deep-ocean oxygenation and deep storage of anthropogenic
carbon. The AMOC is expected to slow down with climate change with strong impact on the
oceanic heat storage, carbon pump, and ventilation. Such change in the AMOC is also
expected to impact the polar regions that are already experiencing warming at a faster rate
than other places. Indeed, the current climate in polar regions is influenced by interactions
between the ice sheets, the ocean, sea ice and atmosphere, and their response to anthropogenic
climate forcing. Both the Arctic and Antarctic are connected to global climate through several
feedback mechanisms, such as the AMOC, snow albedo effect, sea level rise from melting
glaciers and ice sheets, changing terrestrial ecosystems that lead to changes in fluxes of
carbon dioxide, and methane nutrients. Several of these processes exhibit tipping points (e.g.
methane hydrate release in a warming Arctic Ocean, thawing permafrost and release of
carbon). Potential tipping points in the polar regions include a significant slowdown of the
AMOC and a destabilization of Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets. There is deep
uncertainty regarding the contribution the melting of the Antarctic ice sheet will make to
mean global sea level rise towards the end of this century. The potential consequences vary
greatly from region to region making the information needed at local and regional level highly
relevant for supporting local and regional adaptation decisions. The Southern Ocean controls
the natural release of CO2 from the ocean, helps to absorb anthropogenic CO2 and modulates
transport of heat towards the Antarctic ice cap. The largest anthropogenic storage of CO2 is in
the North Atlantic. The observational record is not long enough to determine if changes
observed in the circulation of the Atlantic and Southern Oceans are due to natural variability,
or are a response to anthropogenic forcing.
Actions should aim at developing innovative approaches to address only one of the following
options:
  a. Regional & global components of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation
      (AMOC)
Actions should further the research on how and why the AMOC has changed over time, and
how it will evolve in the future. Actions should endeavour to understand the entire system of
the AMOC, as well as its links with the world ocean circulation system, in particular with the
polar oceans. Actions should enable the sustained and sustainable observation of the AMOC
by improving, developing and/or deploying existing and novel methods and technologies to
observe the AMOC and its functions in the Earth system, and may include the development of
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advanced methods and digital technologies such as machine learning algorithms and multiple
observational constraints. Observations should address climate change indicators, including
indicators of past climate change, measurements of ocean heat content and currents, carbon
dioxide solubility and fluxes, modifications of ocean circulation and climate feedbacks.
Action should address observational gaps of existing AMOC observing systems, focusing for
example on formation regions, ocean boundaries and topographic constriction points, which
are not or only poorly observed by large-scale observation systems such as the Argo array of
profiling floats, or current generation satellite altimeters. Emerging technologies such as
ocean gliders, remote mooring telemetry and autonomous vehicles offer opportunities to
streamline traditional transport mooring arrays. This will lead to a more precise assessment
(key for e.g. IPCC reports) of the risk of rapid changes using the newly released CMIP6
database and high-resolution models developed, inter alia, within the EU Horizon 2020
framework programme. Actions should add new observations of biogeochemical parameters
(including carbon) and ecosystem-relevant quantities to observing arrays, thus providing
synergy and optimisation of the long-term research infrastructure. Actions should also include
reconstructions of deep boundary current intensities at different time scales to better
discriminate/characterise anthropogenic impact from natural variability during the
observational period. Actions should focus on improving models to better understand short-
term variability and impacts on European and global climate. Moreover, action should
interpret the recent changes in this context, to understand how close we may be to a climate
tipping point.
  a. Improving understanding and observation of Antarctic key processes and the Southern
      Ocean circulation
Actions should endeavour to reduce the deep uncertainty regarding the Antarctic contribution
to global mean sea level rise towards the end of this century. Action should further the science
and understanding of the dynamics of the Antarctic ice sheet and its climatic triggers, which
constitute the major source of uncertainty about sea level rise. Actions should endeavour to
understand the sensitivity of the low-latitudinal oceans to freshwater fluxes in order to
advance the comprehension of the dynamics and functioning of the southern sources of deep
waters, the Antarctic bottom water (AABW) circulation and thus counteract the deficit of
scientific knowledge limiting the complete understanding of decadal to millennial time-scale
climate change. Actions should focus on the potential importance of feedbacks between the
northern and southern sources of deep waters. Actions should endeavour to close the gap
towards producing an integrated view of the planet's climate system and the role of Antarctica
in it. Actions should focus on understanding the Antarctica climate variability, Antarctic
surface mass balance and the forces that control future change and responses to change,
including tipping points. Actions should research the Antarctic ice sheet dynamics and
integrate this knowledge into coupled ice sheet-climate models adapted to the Antarctic and
Southern Ocean region, in order constrain and improve the accuracy and precision of
predictions of future changes in global and regional temperatures, ocean acidification and sea
level rise. Actions should reduce the gap in ocean observations in the Antarctica allowing for
improved sea ice and weather forecasting and other environmental predictions that could
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improve the quality of various applications including search and rescue, coupling with
numerical weather and seasonal predictions, historical reconstructions (reanalysis),
aquaculture and environmental management including environmental emergency response.
Actions should endeavour to understand how ice-shelf loss in Antarctica link with and impact
on the ocean’s circulations system, in particular the AMOC, and the relationship between the
relative strength of the Antarctic circumpolar current (ACC) and AMOC.
For both options, international cooperation is strongly encouraged, with a strong linkage with
the ongoing activities under the All-Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance, with participation
from bordering countries and countries – beyond the EU Member States and countries
associated to Horizon Europe – that took part in the Arctic Science Ministerial. Actions under
this topic should plan on a close collaboration among each other and with the EU Polar
Cluster. Actions should build upon and link with past Horizon 2020 projects, EU PolarNET2,
Copernicus, Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks (SAON), Scientific Committee on
Antarctic Research (SCAR) and Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS), and other
international Ocean Observing Initiatives. The R&I needs to be conducted in a
multidisciplinary and ecosystem-based approach. All in-situ data collected through actions
funded from this call should follow INSPIRE principles and be made available through open
access repositories supported by the European Commission (Copernicus, GEOSS, and
EMODnet).
This topic links with research conducted under Cluster 5 (‘Climate, Energy and Mobility’)
Destination ‘Climate sciences and responses’ and Cluster 6 (‘Food, Bioeconomy, Natural
Resources, Agriculture and Environment’) Destination ‘Land, ocean and water for climate
action’ and Destination ‘Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital
solutions in support of the European Green Deal’, Deploying and adding value to
Environmental Observations.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-04: Demonstration network on climate-smart
farming – linking pilot farms
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       23.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 23.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
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                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: The conservation and enhancement of Earth’s natural terrestrial carbon
sinks such as soils and plants, forests, farmed lands and wetlands is crucial. The European
Green Deal gives research and innovation (R&I) a significant role to play in supporting the
design and implementation of policies that will ensure the achievement of the EU’s climate
objectives. Project implementation is expected to contribute to mitigation and adaptation to
climate change and help achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
    Expand the knowledge base of climate related practices, resulting in increased
      application of climate neutral farming approaches, assessing and evaluating different
      methods with all relevant actors involved;
    Speed up involvement and adoption by farmers of innovative / smart farming practices
      that mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and that foster adaptation of the
      sector to climate change. In the long term, this will support a more substantial
      contribution of the farming sector to mitigation of GHG emissions and to carbon storage;
    Increased involvement of Member States’ and Associated Countries agricultural
      knowledge and innovation system (AKIS) in climate-related farming issues, including
      through linking to the European innovation partnership "agricultural productivity and
      sustainability" (EIP-AGRI) national / regional / local projects and to advisors, with a
      view to wider dissemination and interaction within the Member States.
Scope: A wide adoption of practices contributing to mitigation of climate change and carbon
storage by farmers is a priority to ensure that the EU reaches GHG mitigation objectives by
2030 and climate neutrality by 2050. Farming is also vulnerable to impacts of climate change;
hence adaptation is of utmost importance. Mainstreaming the use of climate-smart practices
has been recognised as a priority at the global level, including at the G-20. In particular, the
engagement of farmers in this effort needs to be increased. Therefore, a strong involvement of
Member States’ AKIS is needed, as well as the development of targeted advice to farmers on
climate issues.
The aim is to establish a three level network in a phased manner over Cluster 6 work
programmes 2021/2022 and 2023/2024. The first level is a network which will engage front-
runner farmers introducing on-farm trials and demonstration of innovations, using existing
knowledge both in the EU and Associated Countries. The second level is a network to connect
to all advisors on the subject in the Member States, building on achievements of Horizon
2020 projects and EIP-AGRI operational groups and the development of Member States’
AKIS, to ensure the provision of targeted advice. The third level of the network will engage
and strengthen the capacity of experimental research stations on climate issues.
The present topic deals with the level of commercial farms. This level will engage
commercial farms led by sustainability-oriented farmers who are eager to pilot existing or
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new ready-for-practice techniques and demonstrate them to other farmers. The second level
will aim at sharing broadly climate neutral ready-for-practice solutions through a
collaborative innovation ecosystem, involving all advisors and the main AKIS actors and
AKIS coordination bodies in Member States. The second level will be implemented through
Topic HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01-03 “Demonstration network on climate-smart
farming – boosting the role of advisory services”.
Proposals should:
   Network existing nationally or regionally funded trial farms, including those linked to
      universities and research institutes, and other farms not yet part of networks;
   Exploit existing and develop new solutions through practice oriented on-farm testing and
      demonstration in a co-creative approach with the pilot farmers and their advisors;
   Collect and compare tool-kits for assessing GHG balances at farm level, performance
      monitoring, decision tools, climate services, etc. for possible use on average farms;
   Support the implementation of the EU carbon farming manual as foreseen in the farm to
      fork strategy and the implementation of the third party certification of carbon removals,
      as foreseen in the circular economy action plan;
   Foster knowledge exchange within and among Member States and regions and establish
      links with the EIP-AGRI and Member States’ AKIS networks and coordination bodies;
   Link the demonstration farms into an EU demonstration farm network including all
      Member States to stimulate effective cross-fertilisation among Member States. Include a
      sufficient number of farmers and their advisors per country, taking into account the size
      of the Member State and ensuring a broad EU coverage;
   Proposals should include a task to collaborate with project of topic HORIZON-CL6-
      2022-CLIMATE-01-03 “Demonstration network on climate-smart farming – boosting
      the role of advisory services” and a topic to be published in Cluster 6 work programme
      2023/2024;
   The project should operate for at least seven years and build on the outcomes of the
      climate-related projects from various funding sources. The project must implement the
      multi-actor approach and may involve social innovation.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-05: Agroecological approaches for climate change
mitigation, resilient agricultural production and enhanced biodiversity
Specific conditions
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Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 7.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
                       If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal should contribute to the European Green Deal and
international objectives to foster climate change mitigation and adaptation in agriculture. It
should in particular support the farm to fork's strategy objective of a transition to a fair,
healthy and resilient European agriculture, notably its objective to promote agroecology, by
unfolding its potential as a farming system based on the sustainable management of natural
resources. Activities should improve the knowledge base to inform decision-makers and other
relevant stakeholders on how agroecology can contribute to these objectives, while remaining
a profitable activity for farmers.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Increased and robust evidence of the potential of agroecology for climate change
     (mitigation and adaptation), its climate neutrality potential, impact on biodiversity, and
     the potential for improving farm socio-economic resilience. This should be achieved
     through quantitative and qualitative assessments allowing to identify and monitor the
     implementation and performance of optimal combinations of agroecological practices
     and strategies, as well as trade-offs or gains, barriers and drivers, for different crops and
     systems representative of the diversity of EU and Associated Countries farming, and at
     the farm and landscape level;
   Qualitative and quantitative data availability of the social, economic and environmental
     sustainability and performance of agroecological strategies, contributing to a dependable
     and transparent knowledge base for EU policy design and implementation (common
     agricultural policy (CAP), European Green Deal, objectives of the farm to fork and
     biodiversity strategies, etc.);
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     Increased understanding, adoption and implementation of agroecological practices by
      farmers;
     Improved understanding of the definition of agroecology and of its application to EU
      and Associated Countries farming.
Scope: Achieving sustainable agricultural production that fosters both climate change
mitigation and adaptation of agriculture to climate change is a policy objective that implies
finding a balance with productivity and wider sustainability goals, such as preserving and
enhancing biodiversity. Agroecology299 can provide an important contribution to achieving
these objectives, while at the same time enhancing food and nutrition security, thus
contributing to achieving the objectives of the farm to fork and biodiversity strategies and the
Sustainable Development Goals. Agroecology is a holistic approach that relies on and
maximises the use of ecological processes to support agricultural production. By working
more with nature and ecosystem services, agroecology has the potential to increase the
circularity, diversification and autonomy of farms, and drive a full transformation of farming
systems, from input substitution and beyond. The effectiveness of agroecology is context-
specific and practices need to be implemented on a significant proportion of farms to deliver
tangible impacts on sustainability. Specific methods and indicators are needed to monitor and
quantify the positive effects of these practices on climate change mitigation and adaptation at
the farm and landscape levels, along with its impacts on yield stability, farm viability and
biodiversity, for different farming systems and pedo-climatic conditions. Moreover,
improving farmers’ uptake of agroecological practices calls for specific support measures and
for the design of specific business cases at the farm and landscape levels.
Activities should improve knowledge of the contribution of agroecological practices to
climate change mitigation, increased adaptation of farming to climate change, and
preservation and enhancement of biodiversity, while ensuring farm profitability, thus
providing an important contribution to policy design. Proposals should cover the wide range
of crops and farming systems present in the EU and Associated Countries agricultural sector,
from conventional to organic. Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor approach', and
ensure adequate involvement of the farming sector. Projects funded under this topic should
build on the results of relevant projects funded under Horizon 2020 and should ensure
collaboration with projects funded under calls HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-02-01-
two-stage: Agroecological approaches for sustainable weed management and HORIZON-
CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-03: Digitalisation as an enabler of agroecological farming
systems in this work programme.
Proposals should identify, evaluate and deliver a method that allows identification of the
optimal combinations of agroecological practices and the most suitable agroecological
strategies that efficiently contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation while
ensuring biodiversity preservation or enhancement and overall farm profitability. Proposals
should improve existing indicators and develop new ones where relevant, to monitor and
measure the qualitative and quantitative impacts of these strategies, including their climate
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neutrality potential and trade-offs or gains in biodiversity, and the associated improvement in
farm socio-economic resilience. Proposals should develop tools to identify and monitor both
the implementation of agroecological practices in farm management and the full-farm
agroecological approaches, analysing the scale-dependent effects from farm to landscape
level, as well as the opportunities and challenges derived from regulation and market aspects.
Proposals should develop and test innovative mechanisms to accompany farmers in
implementing and/or switching to agroecological practices that contribute to mitigating
climate change and other negative environmental impacts. Proposals should undertake an
analysis of the social, environmental and economic sustainability performance of such
strategies and analyse the potential to integrate such practices in business cases at farm level,
including exploring the potential of labelling of products linked to agroecological practices in
support of and complying with the current relevant legal framework and, where the scope of
activities would cover the food system, the future EU framework for food sustainability
labelling to promote and scale-up their uptake.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-06: Resilient livestock farming systems under
climate change
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       12.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal will contribute to the European Green Deal and
international objectives to foster climate change mitigation, pollution prevention and control,
and adaptation in agriculture. It will in particular support the farm to fork strategy objective
for a transition to a fair, healthy and resilient European agriculture. It will contribute to
climate action on land and more specifically towards climate neutrality by reducing
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and enhancing natural carbon sinks: better understanding
and mobilising the mitigation and adaptation potential of livestock farming and related sectors
based on the sustainable management of natural resources.
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The following outcomes are expected:
    Enhanced adoption by farmers and other relevant actors of innovations that increase the
      mitigation and adaptation capacity of livestock farming systems to climate change, at
      animal, population and farm level, therefore improving the resilience of production
      systems as well as animal health and welfare.
    Improved capacity to assess the environmental and socio-economic impact of mitigation
      and adaptation practices and options at different scales, alone and in combination.
    Consolidated transition towards a resilient livestock production with novel integrated
      approaches (in terms of management, breeding, feeding, local resources use, etc.)
      defined for different climate change scenarios.
Scope: Terrestrial livestock production is considered a large contributor to anthropogenic
GHG emissions worldwide and emissions of pollutants to air and water. Although emission
intensity in Europe is lower in comparison to many other regions of the world, options to
better assess and improve the emissions balance of terrestrial livestock production, weather
intensive or extensive/low input, including organic, are necessary, including the evaluation of
appropriate indicators of GHG emissions in different breeds, environments and production
systems, in order not to rely solely on a reduction of the demand in food of animal origin to
improve the emission balance of the sector. A variety of options have been identified, but are
not yet common practice, and the potential of breeding to contribute to an improved GHG
balance was not much investigated so far. In addition, the likelihood of further climate change
occurring, and the increasing scale of potential climate impacts require addressing agricultural
adaptation of the livestock sector as well.
The proposals should investigate at different levels (animal, herd, farm and sector, region) and
with a coherent approach, practices and innovations that enable a reduction of the net GHG
emissions by terrestrial livestock, while striving to ensure farm viability and resilience of
productions systems, including adaption to climate change, and taking into account the impact
on the environment and biodiversity. Trade-offs within and between the different levels
should be addressed. At animal level, the research should use systems biology to study
interactions between host and environment (e.g. feed and microbes) and how this interplay
affects the efficiency of feed utilisation (energy and proteins) and GHG emissions, not least
methane. Proposals should define and investigate traits/phenotypes, and the potential of
breeding, to reduce GHG animal emissions or/and adapt to climate change. At farm level,
different husbandry practices should be addressed. At sector/regional level, a system approach
should investigate how different actors can cooperate to improve the GHG balance of
livestock production, optimising the use of resources, including feed (e.g. production and
origin), improving circularity. In addition to biophysical research, the proposals should
address the potential socio-economic impact of the proposed practices and innovations, and
look at options to facilitate their uptake. Proposals should develop or refine related tools for a
proper assessment of practices and proposed innovations. Proposals should take into account
novel farming systems and future scenarios, different breeds, particularly local breeds, various
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management approaches, climatic conditions and regional specificities. Proposals should
address at least cattle and pigs and may address any other relevant species.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement. Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor
approach’ and ensure adequate involvement of the farming sector, terrestrial livestock
breeders, advisers and other relevant actors.
The proposals should take into account other EU-funded projects, including those funded
under the ERA-NETs SusAn300 and ERA-GAS301.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-07:                       International     Research     Consortium on
(agricultural) soil carbon
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          International organisations with headquarters in a Member State or
                          associated country are exceptionally eligible for funding.
                          Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                          exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
Expected Outcome: Activities should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     establishment of an International Research Consortium (IRC) on soil carbon and related
      issues;
     creation of a knowledge platform for sharing information on relevant research activities
      and results concerning methodologies for soil carbon balance monitoring, and practices
      for increasing soil carbon (e.g. carbon farming);
     better coordination of research activities and of methods for monitoring soil carbon stock
      changes at global level, thereby maximising complementarities and avoiding duplication
      of efforts;
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   validated methods to support national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories;
   increased transparency with regard to progress towards commitments on soil carbon
      under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
On the long(er) term, activities will contribute to meeting international commitments
concerning carbon sinks (Paris agreement), as well as to the European Green Deal overall
objective to become the world's first climate neutral continent by 2050.
Scope: Soil health is threatened both in Europe and globally by the effects of human activities
and climate change. It is estimated that between one fourth and one third of global soils suffer
from degradation. Soil degradation negatively impacts on food production, biodiversity or
soil’s capacity to retain water and store carbon. Urgent action is needed to stabilise and
increase soil carbon in soils, thereby also drawing down atmospheric CO2 and monitor its
status in more reliable ways, at a range of scales from field to region and at a low cost. Yet,
knowledge and methodological gaps exist in relation to measuring soil carbon stocks and
changes in soil carbon as well as with regard to effective measures for increasing soil carbon.
Furthermore, research and innovation (R&I) efforts are dispersed and results not widely
known or taken up.
International research cooperation is needed to pool resources and scale up efforts for
monitoring soil carbon stock changes, remote sensing and modelling. Activities should
include
   building a formal research cooperation between EU and international partners on soil
      carbon. While initially focusing on carbon in agricultural soils, the partnership should
      progressively expand during the lifetime of the project to address also other land uses
      (e.g. forests, pastures, public areas for recreation including in urban settings);
   an analysis of results of on-going R&I and knowledge sharing through a single online
      knowledge platform with access to information and data from different existing
      repositories;
   building a roadmap for R&I priorities at international level based on identified
      knowledge gaps as well as identifying and developing joint flagship initiatives;
   establishing the methodological basis for a harmonised monitoring and verification of
      soil organic carbon balance.
For activities involving satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or
related timing, the selected project should use as much as possible Copernicus and/or Galileo /
EGNOS (taking into account possible limitations on their use by international partners). Other
data and services may be used additionally.
Activities should be implemented in synergy with major soil related European initiatives
including the European Joint Programme EJP Soil and a planned mission in the area of Soil
Health and Food.
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In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-08: Agroforestry to meet climate, biodiversity and
farming sustainability goals
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
                       If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal should contribute to the European Green Deal and
international objectives to foster climate change mitigation and adaptation in agriculture. It
should in particular support the farm to fork's strategy objective of a transition to a fair,
healthy and resilient European agriculture, notably its objective to promote agroforestry as a
sustainable farming practice that can foster climate change mitigation and carbon sinks in the
primary sector, by optimising and deploying agroforestry for climate neutrality and
mobilising its mitigation potential as a farming system based on the sustainable management
of natural resources. Activities should improve the knowledge base to inform decision-makers
and other relevant stakeholders on how agroforestry can contribute to better manage scarce
resources such as soil and water in a changing climate. As such, activities should deliver
dependable and transparent knowledge base for EU policy design and implementation
(common agricultural policy (CAP), European Green Deal objectives, farm to fork and
biodiversity strategies, etc.).
Project results are expected to contribute to at least two of the following expected outcomes
(depending on the activities covered):
   Improved qualitative and quantitative data availability of the contribution of agroforestry
      to climate change (mitigation and adaptation), soil conservation and (agro-)biodiversity
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      (including genetic diversity within species) and to greater economic, environmental and
      social sustainability of farming;
    Improved configuration and management of agroforestry systems, including systems
      involving animal production, through models and tools;
    Enhanced capacities of various actors to measure the economic, environmental and
      social performance of agroforestry, in particular at farm level and in relation with the
      support scheme designed under the CAP as regards environment and climate objectives,
      through appropriate methods and indicators;
    A strengthened and more robust agroforestry innovation ecosystem and increased end-
      user acceptance and implementation of agroforestry in the EU and Associated Countries.
Scope: Achieving sustainable agricultural production that fosters both climate change
mitigation and adaptation and biodiversity preservation and enhancement is a policy objective
that implies finding a balance with farm productivity, socio-economic viability and wider
sustainability goals. Agroforestry systems include both traditional and modern land-use
systems where trees are managed together with crops and/or animal production systems in
agricultural settings. These systems have the potential to increase ecosystem services -
including soil carbon sequestration, water retention, erosion control, soil nutrients, pollination,
pest- and disease-control - and biodiversity, while improving farming productivity,
profitability and sustainability of farmers’ incomes. Implementation of agroforestry in the EU
and Associated Countries needs to be boosted in order to maximise this potential. The
management of agroforestry systems is critical for their positive impact on climate and the
environment as well as to ensure a balance with productivity and profitability for farmers.
This is essential to promote the uptake and long-term sustainability of agroforestry.
Proposals should increase knowledge of the contribution of agroforestry to ecosystem services
underpinning climate change mitigation and adaptation, increased biodiversity and farming
resilience and boost the implementation of this type of farming systems in different pedo-
climatic zones across the EU and Associated Countries. Proposals must implement the 'multi-
actor approach' and ensure involvement of farmers and all other relevant actors in the value
chain. Proposals should cover the conventional, agroecological and organic sectors. Proposals
should build on and expand existing knowledge, tools and initiatives developed by Horizon
2020 projects, and where relevant ensure coordination with those projects/initiatives.
Proposals should include a clear plan to collaborate with other projects selected under this
topic. In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is strongly
encouraged. In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in
research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Proposals should address at least five of the following activities:
    Design agroforestry systems for climate change (mitigation and adaptation) and
      increased (agro-)biodiversity that also ensure farming resilience to fluctuating climate,
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  environmental and socio-economic conditions, farm income stability and enhanced
  ecosystem services, in different regions and pedo-climatic conditions;
 Develop methods and indicators that allow the identification of newly established
  agroforestry systems and monitor their performance over time. Analysis of trade-offs
  and synergies (e.g. between ecosystem services and between the environmental and
  socio-economic benefits) should be included;
 Develop models and tools adapted to real farm conditions and considering the full
  amount of food, feed (for systems including livestock), timber or biomass and ecosystem
  services produced, to allow the configuration and efficient management of agroforestry
  systems that take into account aspects such as tree renewal, adaptation to biotic and
  abiotic stresses, selection and improvement of agricultural varieties and animals most
  suited for agroforestry, recovery and improvement of biodiversity, soil water related
  aspects, and erosion control, in different regions and pedo-climatic zones;
 Building on existing tools and methods where available, enhance quantification of the
  contribution of agroforestry to ecosystem services underpinning climate change
  (mitigation and adaptation) in relation to aspects such as carbon sequestration potential,
  stability of organic carbon in the soil (top- and sub-soil), reduction of greenhouse gas
  emissions, soil erosion control, pest and disease control, increased organic matter in
  (top- and sub-) soil, and nutrient recycling, and develop indicators. When animals are
  present, animal production, health and welfare aspects should be considered;
 Enhance quantification of the contribution of agroforestry to increased
  (agro)biodiversity, including on pollinators, and the linkages with soil quality and water
  quality and quantity, and develop indicators, as well as guidance for species selection;
 Improve knowledge of the economic, environmental and social performance of
  agroforestry systems and their contribution to sustainable food and feed / non-food
  biomass production, analysing their productivity and profitability for farmers and factors
  influencing farmers’ decision-making, and considering aspects such as crop / tree and
  livestock / tree combinations, factors explaining yield response variability, tree size,
  animal production, a mix of traditional and new systems and applications, etc. Identify
  needs for new equipment, machinery and management tools;
 Building on existing tools where relevant, develop a model to measure the impact of
  policies on agroforestry, both in terms of barriers or incentives to maintain existing
  agroforestry systems and to establish new ones. Sharing of experience among
  stakeholders as regards relevant common agricultural policy (CAP) support to
  agroforestry should be promoted. The potential of labelling of products linked to
  agroforestry in support of and complying with the current relevant legal framework and,
  when the scope of activities would cover the food system, the future EU framework for
  sustainability food labelling, should be investigated;
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   Design and implement a plan to boost networking and research and innovation (R&I)
     support to agroforestry at regional level, building on and expanding existing networks
     and initiatives where available and relevant, and involving policy makers, regional
     authorities, institutions, researchers, consumers and other key stakeholders;
   Develop a training package and guidelines to support farmers in designing business
     plans linked to value chain development to put in place and manage agroforestry systems
     in different regions.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-09: Enhancing science-based knowledge on EU
forests’, including old-growth forests, capacities to mitigate climate change
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
                       The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                       consortium selected for funding.
Expected Outcome: In line with the EU Green Deal objectives and the EU forest strategy,
successful proposals will support the preservation and enhancement of carbon stocks and
sinks while supporting biodiversity, genetic diversity within and among tree species, and
providing renewable resources for a circular and sustainable bioeconomy contributing to
fostering climate change mitigation in the primary sector and carbon sinks and optimising and
deploying nature-based solutions for climate neutrality.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Forest managers adapting to sustainable management practices in view of climate
     change, bioeconomy, genetic diversity and biodiversity objectives;
   Improved knowledge on scenarios and sustainable pathways for forestry and the forest-
     based sector including measures and management strategies taking into account regional
     differences in Europe and changes in species composition;
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    Increased forest-based carbon removals through forest management practices and uses of
      long-lived wood products;
    Better understanding on how forest management impacts carbon sequestration in
      comparison to non-managed forests;
    Pathways to achieve the ambition of the Paris Agreement ambition to limit climate
      warming;
    Transfer of knowledge from science to practice (good practice).
Scope: Carbon sequestration by forest ecosystems has attracted much interest as a mitigation
approach, as it can be considered as a relatively inexpensive option to address climate change
in the short- medium- and long term. Forest lands, covered by the regulation on land use,
land-use changes and forestry, are expected to contribute to the achievement of Europe's
climate ambition for 2030. As shown in the in-depth analysis in support of the “Clean Planet
for all” communication, this contribution needs to be increasing to achieve climate neutrality
by 2050.
This topic aims to increase the science-based knowledge for an efficient implementation of
good management practices that ensure the multiple functions of various forest types in
Europe and to increase forest carbon stocks in the short-, medium-, and long-term.
Proposals will:
    Contribute to a better understanding of favourable management practices for both soil
      and vegetation, within-species genetic diversity upon, species selection and rotations to
      enhance and climate-proof forest carbon stocks (considering both in situ carbon
      sequestration and carbon storage in long-lived wood products) and sinks, while
      considering the broad range of other forest values and ecosystem services.
    Consider the dynamics of the carbon stored in the different pools (above-ground
      biomass, below-ground biomass, deadwood, litter, soil organic carbon fractions,
      harvested wood products) under different forest management regimes and at different
      scales (EU-wide, national, local) to identify possible adaptations to current European
      models of sustainable forest management, so that the forest-based sector can optimise
      climate action, and to facilitate the monitoring and reporting of GHG emissions.
    Improve the integration of European forests, including forest practices, in global and
      regional climate modelling.
    Contribute to progress in the certification and authenticity verification of carbon
      removals that are nature-based (i.e. through forest protection, afforestation and
      sustainable forest management) or through the forest biomass used for longer-lived and
      higher-substitution products.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
   Design and monitor the efficacy of forest-based mitigation plans, combining the growing
     potential of satellite-based remote sensing with surface monitoring.
   Develop recommendations for up-take in practice, including specifying which
     silvicultural measures to apply to which types of forest in order to maximise their
     mitigation potential while ensuring the provision of other ecosystem services, under the
     current and future climate, while fully respecting ecological principles favourable to
     biodiversity and soil conservation.
   Analyse socio-economic aspects of forest-based mitigation strategies, including forest
     managers’ and users’ perception and factors influencing their decision making such as
     consumer choices, sectorial integration and international/domestic competition.
   Improve knowledge on the environmental integrity, the social acceptability and the
     economic feasibility of forest-based mitigation actions such as afforestation,
     reforestation, forest restoration, forest protection, sustainable forest management and
     enhanced wood harvest and use, especially for long-lived products.
Proposals must implement the ‘multi-actor approach’ and should include a task to collaborate
with other projects financed under the topic HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01-05: Forestry
- European observatory of climate change impacts and demonstration network of climate
smart restoration pilots.
This topic should involve effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-10:                    EU-China      international    cooperation on
increasing the resilience of forests
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility conditions    The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                          exceptions apply:
                          The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                          The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                          multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
                          If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning,
                          navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
                          make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and
                          services may additionally be used).
Procedure                 The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                          exceptions apply:
                          Grants awarded under this topic will be coordinated with the Ministry
                          of Science and Technology, China (MOST).
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the specific grants
                          awarded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, China (MOST)
                          to the Chinese partners.
                          The respective options of the Model Grant Agreement will be applied.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal objectives and the EU forest
strategy, successful proposals will support the resilience and adaptation of forests and the
forest-based sector contributing to advance the understanding and science, and support
adaptation and resilience of natural and managed ecosystems, water and soil systems and
economic sectors in the context of the changing climate.
Project results are expected to contribute to all following expected outcomes:
    Strengthened international cooperation with actors from China in the areas of forest
      adaptation to climate change
    Comprehensive knowledge base on the impact of climate change on forests and their
      capacity to adapt
    Increased adaptation efforts in climate change hotspots in the EU/associated countries
      (mountains, Mediterranean, Northern Scandinavian Peninsula, Central and Eastern
      Europe, outermost regions) and China
    Informed decision-making by forest managers adopting sustainable forest management
      practices.
    Knowledge transfer and capacity building at science-policy-practice interface.
Scope: Adaptation and increased resilience of forests is essential for the forests to maintain
their function as carbon sinks, to protect existing stocks and to ensure that forests will
continue to provide important ecosystem services and to support the forest-based
bioeconomy. Due to the high variation of European and Chinese forests, diversity of
landscapes as well as governance and ownership structures, adaptation strategies need to be
adapted to regional conditions and circumstances, with focus on the most vulnerable forests in
climate change hotspots.
Proposals will:
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
    Develop and refine projections at regional scale, improve the modelling of effects on
      natural vegetation, both at individual and ecosystem level and support science-based
      decisions with a view to the sustainable management of forests, including activities
      related to afforestation, reforestation and regeneration.
    Design adaptation plans to increase the resilience of forests by active management of the
      species composition and the genetic diversity within these species (including through
      assisted species migration, and forest regeneration and afforestation with species already
      adapted and / or further improved to tolerate or even benefit from future climate
      conditions) while supporting forest production and ecosystem services under climate
      change in the various regions and forest types of Europe.
    Analyse socio-economic aspects of forest adaptation, including forest managers’ and
      users’ perception and factors influencing their decision making such as consumer
      choices, sectorial integration and international/domestic competition and analyse the
      potential of incentives and tools to reach forest managers and to encourage changes
      towards preventive strategies/measures by taking into account the different forms of
      forest governance and ownership.
The project must implement the multi-actor approach and ensure an adequate involvement of
the primary production sector and the wider forest-based value chain.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Proposals should include a task to collaborate with projects financed under the topic
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01-05: Forestry: European observatory of climate change
impacts and demonstration network of climate smart restoration pilots. Actions will
contribute to implementing the EU-China Food, Agriculture and Biotechnology (FAB)
flagship initiative, which aims to ensure sustainability of agri-food systems, catering for the
needs of a growing population, the reduction of food and agricultural losses and waste, and
the provision of safe and healthy foodstuffs.
Due to the scope of this topic, international cooperation is strongly encouraged, in particular
with China. This topic is envisaged to be implemented as a coordinated call but if no
agreement is reached with the Ministry of Science and Technology China (MOST) on the co-
funding of Chinese partners, it will be implemented as a normal call. Updates will be
published on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
Call - Land, ocean and water for climate action
                                                               HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)302
                    Topics                           Type       Budgets       Expected EU         Number
                                                       of        (EUR        contribution per         of
                                                    Action      million)      project (EUR         projects
                                                                                million)303       expected
                                                                  2022                              to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 28 Oct 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 23 Feb 2022
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01-01 IA                              10.00        4.00 to 5.00          2
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01-02 RIA                             15.00        Around 15.00          1
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01-03 CSA                             20.00        Around 20.00          1
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01-04 RIA                             15.00        Around 15.00          1
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01-05 RIA                             15.00        Around 15.00          1
Overall indicative budget                                      75.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
302
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
303
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01-01: Climate sensitive water allocation systems and
economic instruments.
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      4.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In support of the European Green Deal and EU water-related policies,
successful proposals will contribute to foster the adaptation of water resources to climate
change, in particular Destination ‘Land, ocean and water for climate action’ impact “Advance
the understanding and science, and support adaptation and resilience of natural and managed
ecosystems, water and soil systems and economic sectors in the context of the changing
climate”.
Projects results are expected to contribute to several of the following expected outcomes
    Achieve transparent water sharing and adjust water allocation across environmental and
     human uses towards long-term water replenishment capacity and availability,
    Adopt inclusive, forward-looking and climate risk-informed water allocation planning
     and management processes, foster adoption of digital technologies in water management
    Guide decision makers in transboundary rivers to share transboundary waters equitably,
     reaping the benefits of appropriate water allocation regimes.
    Identify water efficiency deficiencies and achieve improvement by at least 50% by 2030,
     in regions under water stress, now or in the future, and for water bodies at risk of failing
     to achieve good ecological or quantitative status.
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
    Reduce the water footprint of water-using sectors, especially agriculture, energy and
      industry.
    Promote financing mechanisms to smoothen the transition to more appropriate water
      pricing policies in water supply and sanitation and in the different economic sectors,
      such as agriculture, energy and industry, taking into consideration the opportunities
      available in various EU (e.g. CAP, Cohesion Policy funds, etc.) and national funding
      mechanisms and policies.
    Help structure an appropriate policy dialogue to support water allocation reforms and
      increase stakeholders engagement.
    Support the implementation of the European Green Deal and the Sustainable
      Development Goals, notably the SDG 6 “Ensure availability and sustainable
      management of water and sanitation for all”.
Scope: Current water allocation regimes are largely shaped by historical preferences and
usage patterns. They are therefore usually not well equipped to deal with the growing water
needs and intensifying competition of the different water use sectors, the impacts of climate
changes, especially water scarcity and/or shifts in societal preferences, such as increasing
value placed on water related ecological services. It is therefore important to assess current
water allocation systems in different regions and sectors and to develop pertinent water
allocation models that are able to perform well under both average and extreme conditions
and could demonstrate adaptive efficiency in order to adjust to climate conditions.
Actions under this topic should address ways to value water appropriately, taking into account
the multiple and diverse values of water to different groups and sectors, and ways to develop
appropriate tariffs and prices to ensure access to water which should be available and
affordable to all, while also securing adequate pricing policies allowing for systematic
renewal of water service infrastructure. Actions should develop and demonstrate in relevant
river basins and sectors, innovative tools / instruments on intelligent water allocation schemes
relevant for decision-making recommendations (e.g. on permits). The opportunities for
developing water allocation schemes based on digital technologies should be explored.
The challenges for water allocation regimes, especially in developing countries, are also
aggravated by weak water policies which contributes to structural water scarcity, increasing
the risk of shortages for users and the environment. The interaction of policies, regulation and
implementation mechanisms should be especially assessed, as well as, the interplay between
conventional and non-conventional water resources (e.g. wastewater reuse, desalination, etc.).
Water allocation scheme in transboundary river basins should also be addressed with a view
to developing an internationally accepted and standardised mechanism for allocation of water
in cross-border river basins, by taking into account the various socio-economic and
environmental disparities among these countries and making transboundary waters an area of
cooperation rather than conflict.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Climate change impacts on freshwater resources can have significant impacts on agricultural
production resulting in destabilising effects on agricultural markets, food security and other
non-agricultural uses. Current water allocation regimes in agriculture should be reviewed in
this context, with a view to developing the necessary combination of various adaptation
measures, such as, water pricing, water use restrictions, improvement of water use efficiency,
economic incentives, water reuse, shifting to less water-requiring crops and fallowing, etc., to
cope with the reduction of water availability anticipated in climate change scenarios.
International cooperation with non-associated third countries with transboundary rivers is
encouraged.
In general, the participation of academia, research organisations, utilities, industry and
regulators is strongly advised, as well as civil society engagement whenever necessary, also
aiming to broaden the dissemination and exploitation routes and to better assess the
innovation potential of developed solutions and strategies.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01-02: Understanding the oceanic carbon cycle
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 15.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 3-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In support to the European Green Deal and its biodiversity and climate
initiatives, successful proposals will contribute to strengthening the ocean - climate nexus by
reinforcing the scientific capacity to further our understanding of the natural ocean carbon
sinks and their potential role in mitigating and adapting to climate change, help identify
lasting solutions to climate change by paying greater attention to nature-based solutions for
healthy and resilient seas and ocean. The ocean is a large storage system for the global
reservoirs of climate-regulating factors. Successful proposals will also close knowledge gaps
in support of decision-making aimed at preserving the integrity of ocean and aquatic
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
ecosystems through a better understanding of the drivers of change in the ocean and emerging
threats.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Furthered ocean exploration and increased understanding, predictability and reduced
      uncertainty associated with the oceanic carbon cycle and the role, capacity, spatial and
      temporal changes and trends over time in the ocean and its ecosystems in absorbing and
      storing CO2 from the atmosphere.
   Improved understanding of the potential of the ocean and its ecosystems for contributing
      to the next generation of carbon cycling models, such as those used by the
      Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to set global climate policy.
   Significant contribution to closing the knowledge gaps in the ocean carbon cycle and
      substantial contributions made to key international assessments, such as the
      Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Intergovernmental Science-Policy
      Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), World Ocean Assessment
      (WOA) and other major regional and global initiatives.
Scope: The ocean has a key role in regulating atmospheric CO2 concentrations and currently
take up about 25% of annual anthropogenic carbon emissions. The oceanic carbon cycle is
composed of processes that exchange carbon between various pools within the ocean, as well
as between the atmosphere, Earth interior, and the seafloor. The oceanic carbon cycle is a
result of many interacting forces across multiple time and space scales. The oceanic carbon
cycle is a central element of the global carbon cycle and contains three main processes (or
pumps): the solubility pump, the carbonate pump, and the biological pump. In order to better
understand, quantify and predict the ocean’s potential for carbon uptake, actions should
further research the oceanic carbon cycle. The deep sea and its water column may be the
largest carbon sink on Earth but its large-scale carbon uptake potential and future is still
unknown. Ocean carbon sequestration options include the management of natural ocean
processes, i.e. actions to maintain the integrity of natural carbon stores and actions that
enhance the long-term (century-scale) removal and sequestration of greenhouse gases from
the atmosphere by marine systems, primarily by biological means. Actions should aim at
developing innovative approaches to understand the complex processes underlying the
oceanic carbon cycle, its efficiency, climate sensitivity, and emerging feedbacks. Actions
should further the understanding of the resilience to climate change and temporal and regional
variability of the natural carbon inventory in the ocean. Actions should further the
understanding of how the biological pump and the deep ocean carbon sink will respond to the
rapid and ongoing anthropogenic changes to our planet—including warming, acidification,
and deoxygenation of ocean waters. Actions should advance the scientific understanding of
marine pelagic and benthic invertebrate and vertebrate carbon, the carbon services they
provide (i.e. trophic cascade carbon, biomixing carbon, carbon mineralisation, bony fish
carbonate, whale pump, twilight zone carbon, biomass carbon, deadfall carbon and marine
vertebrate mediated carbon), and the intricate biological pathways involved in carbon cycling
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
and the associated implications for climate regulation. Actions should assess and model the
marine vertebrate carbon services and should link them to population dynamics, with a view
to gathering enough evidence to enable their inclusion in the models of carbon cycling.
Actions should assess and model the as yet poorly quantified carbonate-forming invertebrate
species in the deep sea, such as reef-building scleractinians, as well as their resilience to
cumulative impacts of global changes. Actions should contribute to ocean observations and
the Digital twin of the oceans by providing an ocean carbon-modelling environment. Actions
should improve the sampling of regions and metrics for marine organisms and should gather
evidence and data to estimate and quantify the global CO2 sequestration potential of
protecting and restoring populations of invertebrates and vertebrates to previous levels.
Actions should explore the efficiency and global magnitude of the biological pump and how
this will be affected by climate change. Actions should deliver quantification and
predictability of the ocean carbon sink and in so doing, should contribute to resolving the
uncertainty in the magnitude and sign of projections of future global ocean primary
production. The regional variability in the amplification or reduction of the efficiency of the
ocean carbon sink is an important element that actions should take into consideration, as the
climate effects on the carbon sink (both on the physical and biological drivers) will have a
strong regional correlation. The importance of polar regions in the carbon cycle needs to be
kept in mind. Actions should further the regional predictive skill beyond five years.
Actions should further investigate tipping points and irreversibility in the ocean carbon cycle
(both for the upper ocean and the intermediary & deep ocean), the biogeochemical feedbacks,
the changes that will occur in the 21st century, both globally and regionally, and how the
multiple stressors will affect the primary production (monitoring strategies to have access to
all the compartments - upper, intermediary and deep ocean). Among the stressors, the effects
of trawling, drilling, overfishing, deep-sea mining and dredging on carbon cycling and
sediment dynamics should be included and investigated using marine monitoring techniques.
Actions should look into the policy implications of the findings of this research.
For this action, the multifaceted nature of the ocean carbon cycle necessitates collaboration
across disciplines, taking an ecosystem approach. At a minimum, actions should link science
on the changing ocean physics and chemistry, and more generally on climate, with the study
of the marine biota and their evolution. International cooperation is strongly encouraged.
Actions under this topic should plan on a close collaboration among each other and should
build upon and link with Horizon 2020 projects and other European and international ocean
observing initiatives, including the Integrated Ocean Carbon Research, IOC-R. All in-situ
data collected through actions funded from this call should follow INSPIRE principles and be
available through open access repositories supported by the European Commission
(Copernicus, GEOSS, and EMODnet). Where relevant, creating links to and using the
information and data of the European Earth observation programme Copernicus, the Group on
Earth Observations (GEO) and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) is
expected.
This topic links with research conducted under Cluster 5 (‘Climate, Energy and Mobility’)
Destination ‘Climate sciences and responses’; Cluster 6 (‘Food, Bioeconomy, Natural
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Resources, Agriculture and Environment’) Horizon Europe Mission Ocean, seas and waters,
Destination ‘Biodiversity and ecosystem services’, Destination ‘Clean environment and zero
pollution’, Destination ‘Land, ocean and water for climate action’, Destination ‘Resilient,
inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and urban communities’ and Destination
‘Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in support of the
European Green Deal’; Horizon Europe Mission Ocean, seas and waters.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01-03: Demonstration network on climate-smart
farming – boosting the role of advisory services
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per      20.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                      The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                      multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: The conservation and enhancement of Earth’s natural terrestrial carbon
sinks such as soils and plants, forests, farmed lands and wetlands is crucial. The European
Green Deal gives research and innovation (R&I) a significant role to play in supporting the
design and implementation of policies that will ensure the achievement of the EU’s climate
objectives. Project implementation is expected to contribute to mitigation and adaptation to
climate change and help achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
    Expand the knowledge base of climate related practices, resulting in increased
     application of climate neutral farm approaches, assessing and evaluating different
     methods with all relevant actors involved in Member States and Associated Countries;
    Speed up involvement and adoption by farmers of innovative / smart farming practices
     that mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and that foster the adaptation of the
     sector to climate change. In the long term, this will support a more substantial
     contribution of the farming sector to mitigation of GHG emissions and to carbon storage;
    Increased involvement of Member States’ and Associated Countries agricultural
     knowledge and innovation system (AKIS) in climate-related farming issues, including
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
      through linking to the European innovation partnership "Agricultural productivity and
      sustainability" (EIP-AGRI) national / regional / local projects and the advisors, with a
      view to wider dissemination and interaction within the Member States.
Scope: A wide adoption of practices contributing to mitigation of climate change and carbon
storage by farmers is a priority to ensure that the EU reaches GHG mitigation objectives by
2030 and climate neutrality by 2050. Farming is also vulnerable to impacts of climate change;
hence adaptation is of utmost importance. Mainstreaming the use of climate-smart practices
has been recognised as a priority at the global level, including at the G-20. In particular, the
engagement of farmers in this effort needs to be increased. Therefore, a strong involvement of
Member States’ AKIS is needed, as well as the development of targeted advice to farmers on
climate issues.
The aim is to establish a three level network in a phased manner over Cluster 6 work
programmes 2021/2022 and 2023/2024. The first level is a network which will engage front-
runner farmers introducing on-farm trials and demonstration of innovations, using existing
knowledge. The second level is a network to connect all advisors on the subject in the
Member States, building on achievements of Horizon 2020 projects and EIP-AGRI
operational groups and the development of Member States’ AKIS, to ensure the provision of
targeted advice. The third level of the network will engage and strengthen the capacity of
experimental research stations on climate issues.
The present topic deals with the advisory level. Learning from experiences on “real” farms led
by sustainability-oriented farmers eager to pilot existing or new practice-ready techniques,
this level will aim at enhancing up advisors’ competences by sharing widely climate neutral
ready-for-practice solutions across the EU. This requires interaction between collaborative
innovation ecosystems and will involve the main AKIS actors and AKIS coordination bodies
in each Member State.
Proposals should:
    Use advisors to spread solutions from practice oriented on-farm testing and
      demonstration in project work programme HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-04
      “Demonstration network on climate-smart farming – linking pilot farms” and help
      develop new solutions through taking part in practice-oriented innovation projects such
      as EIP Operational Groups;
    Collect and provide tool-kits for GHG balances at farm level, performance monitoring,
      decision tools, climate services, etc. for possible use by a wide range of farms;
    Support the implementation of the EU carbon farming manual as foreseen in the farm to
      fork strategy and the implementation of the third party certification of carbon removals,
      as foreseen in the circular economy action plan;
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
   Foster knowledge exchange within Member States and regions and establish links with
      the EIP-AGRI and AKIS networks and AKIS coordination bodies of Member States and
      Associated Countries;
   Link advisors in an EU climate-smart farming network including advisors in all Member
      States to stimulate effective cross-fertilisation among Member State advisors. Include a
      sufficient number of various types of advisor per country, taking into account the size of
      the Member State and ensuring a broad EU coverage;
   Proposals should include a task to collaborate with other projects involved in the
      network HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-04 “Demonstration network on climate-
      smart farming – linking pilot farms” and a topic to be published in Cluster 6 work
      programme 2023/2024);
   The project should operate for at least seven years and build on climate-related projects
      from various funding sources. The project must implement the multi-actor approach and
      may involve social innovation.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01-04: Fostering the resilience of agricultural
production: from observation of changes to the development of resilience strategies
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          15.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility conditions    The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                          exceptions apply:
                          The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                          consortium selected for funding.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The
                          support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                          The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 200
                          000 as it is one of the main objectives of the action to provide
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
                         financial support to third parties/in order to cover the expenses related
                         to developing resilience strategies.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal climate ambition, project
implementation is expected to contribute to mitigation and adaptation to climate change and
help achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
    Establishment of a comprehensive capacity to observe the short-term to long-term
     drivers of change and their impacts on agriculture in key areas;
    Better informed policies and strategies regarding mitigation and adaptation to climate
     change;
    Better resilience of European food security to shocks such as those arising from various
     drivers of change, including climate change, including through the development of
     strategies and policies.
Scope: Resilience of the farming sector to exogenous shocks needs to be boosted. Impacts of
climate change in the short- to medium-term are gaining more importance and there is an
urgent need to develop resilience strategies. It is also necessary to set up a capacity to observe
the short-term to long-term impacts of climate change and reinforce strategies to deal with
those impacts.
    An observatory of the impacts of drivers of change on food security should be set up.
     The observatory should cover at least the following issues related to the impact of
     climate change: 1) biodiversity and genetic resources, with a focus on agro-biodiversity
     and invasive species and genetic resources under pressure as a consequence of climate
     change and 2) sustainable productivity (including impact on photosynthesis), animal and
     plant diseases and nutritional composition
    The observatory should make use of various types of data, at various geographical scales
     and should include, as appropriate, citizen observations. It should cover the main
     biogeographical regions of Europe;
    The observatory should contribute to establish / reinforce strategies to deal with those
     impacts.
    The impact of shocks should be modelled as relevant for use in policy-relevant areas in
     order to improve resilience of the agro-food sector.
    Project should contribute to the development of a contingency plan for ensuring food
     supply and food security that is to be put in place in times of crisis as foreseen in the
     farm to fork strategy.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
   Case study strategies should be developed in a participatory manner to foster the
      resilience in the short- to long term at various geographic scales. These resilience
      strategies should also take into account the mitigation and adaptation objectives of the
      EU. Preparation of the strategies may be supported through grants to third parties. In this
      case, the proposal must define the process of selecting entities for which financial
      support will be granted, typically in the order of 60.000 – 200.000 EUR per party. It is
      expected that up to 30% of requested EU contribution will be devoted to grants to third
      parties.
   Proposals should ensure that the approach proposed is compatible with and improves the
      tools used at the European Commission.
   The possible participation of the JRC in the project will ensure that the approach
      proposed will be compatible with and improve the tools used at the European
      Commission
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01-05: Forestry - European observatory of climate
change impacts and demonstration network of climate smart restoration pilots
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          15.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility conditions    The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                          exceptions apply:
                          If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning,
                          navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must
                          make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and
                          services may additionally be used).
                          The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                          consortium selected for funding.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The
                          support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
                          The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 150
                          000 as it is one of the main objectives of the action to provide
                          financial support to third parties.
                          In this case, consortia must define the selection process of
                          organisations, for which financial support will be granted. It is
                          expected that up to 40% of the project budget will be devoted to
                          grants to third parties.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal objectives and the EU forest
strategy, successful proposals will increase the knowledge on climate change impacts and
enhance the practical knowledge on adaptive management practices contributing to efficient
monitoring, assessment and projections related to climate change impacts, mitigation and
adaptation potential in order to bring out solutions for tackling emerging threats and support
decision-making in climate change mitigation and adaptation policies at European and global
levels. Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Better knowledge on impacts and effects of drivers and pressures on Europe’s forests in
      the context of climate change.
    Combination of modern monitoring tools (remote sensing) and traditional approaches
      (demo sites) in European forests.
    Enhanced practical knowledge on restoration, afforestation, reforestation and forest
      protection addressing forest composition and forest management practices that support
      mitigation, adaptation, optimal use of genetic diversity within and among tree species,
      and (biodiversity), maximising the synergies and minimising trade-offs.
    Better knowledge on best practices for effective adaptation and mitigation strategies,
      including synergies with biodiversity management goals and soil carbon impacts.
    Increased capacity and exchange of scientific knowledge, proven experience and know-
      how, tools and practices.
    Engagement of the society in forest restoration through information, participation and
      merging of societal engagement with scientific evidence and professional expertise.
Scope: A holistic approach is needed to ensure that climate, biodiversity and bioeconomy
goals can be integrated at different scales in practice and with the engagement of local
communities, forest owners and industries. Intensive monitoring of impacts and sharing of
experiences in the context of climate change is an important decision support at the science-
practice interface to implement adapted forest management practices successfully.
Proposals will:
    Establish a European network to gather information on current developments in demo
      and long-term observation sites;
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
    Reinitiate EU participation in the International Co-operative Programme on the
     Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests (ICP Forests) for long-
     term observations of forest ecosystems;
    Develop an evidence-based overview on current and planned forest restoration activities
     across Europe and their socio-economic and environmental impacts;
    Quantify possible synergies and trade-offs between contrasting forest management
     objectives at different spatial, temporal scales in different social environmental contexts
     in Europe;
    Analyse typical restoration cases to systematise knowledge on implementation successes
     and failures in specific regional settings, and distil best practices cases and business
     models for upscaling;
    Engage with key stakeholders and citizens to develop regionalised restoration
     trajectories through assessment of regional restoration pathways;
    Consider forward-looking forest conversion through adaptive forest management to
     mitigate/prevent future adverse effects;
    Improve communication and network/capacity building and exchange of experience,
     engagement with key stakeholders including national and regional policymakers and
     enable knowledge exchange beyond the forest community;
    Pilot climate-smart forestry measures and support forest restoration of damaged areas
     and degraded ecosystems in view of the diverse forest conditions, value chains and
     societal needs found across Europe.
Proposals may involve financial support to third parties, particularly for setting up of the
observatory and for supporting the implementation and scaling-up of climate-smart
restoration pilots. All European climate/biogeographical regions should be covered.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is strongly encouraged.
The involvement of citizens and civil society in co-creating solutions (e.g. as part of user-led
innovation or citizen science), alongside other actors, is encouraged as part of the project’s
methodology / approach.
Proposals should include a task to collaborate with other projects financed under the topics
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-09: Enhancing science-based knowledge on EU
forests’, including old-growth forests, capacities to mitigate climate change and associated
risks and HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-10: EU-China international cooperation on
increasing the resilience of forests.
Projects should consider to collaborate with the EU Observatory on Deforestation and Forest
Degradation, managed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Destination – Resilient, inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and
urban communities
Places and people matter to the achievement of a more sustainable Europe. The Sustainable
Development Goals and the ecological and digital transitions brought forward by the
European Green Deal 304 and digital strategy 305 , alongside the recent pandemic, bring
challenges and opportunities that differ for different places and people. Rural (including
mountains and sparsely populated areas) and coastal areas, play a key role in managing,
protecting and using natural resources. The provision of both private and public goods from
these areas depends on the resilience and attractiveness of rural and coastal communities and
the capacity of people who live and work there to access a sufficient level of well-being. The
COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted deficiencies in digital infrastructures and economic
opportunities that hamper resilience. Urban communities generally offer better access to many
services but are also more vulnerable to supply-chain disruptions, as shown during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, they have a key role to play in fostering sustainable
production and consumption as major demand drivers. In all communities, social and
behavioural drivers play an important role in enabling or slowing down transitions.
Knowledge and innovative solutions need to be developed to enhance every community’s
resilience and capacity to contribute to and benefit from the upcoming transitions in an
economy that works for all territories and ensures a fair and just transition leaving no one
behind.
Under this destination, transdisciplinary R&I with a strong social and behavioural sciences
dimension, and attention to gender aspects, will foster a sustainable, balanced and inclusive
development of rural306, coastal and urban areas in three different ways. Firstly, it will aim to
increase our understanding of the differential impacts of climate, environmental, socio-
economic and demographic changes on rural, coastal and urban areas in order to identify ways
to turn these changes into equal opportunities for people wherever they live, enhancing
territorial cohesion and enabling a just transition. Secondly, it will explore innovative ways to
tailor policy responses to the place-based challenges identified at various levels of
governance. Thirdly, it will support bottom-up community-led innovation to empower
communities to develop, test and upscale solutions that answer global challenges in locally
adapted ways. Achieving policy goals require providing people with more equitable access to
the knowledge and skills required to make informed choices and be actively engaged in the
sustainable and circular management of natural resources, from production or service
provision to consumption. Rural, coastal and urban communities, in particular women, youth,
the most vulnerable groups like indigenous people and those hit the hardest by the COVID-19
pandemic, need to see their labour conditions, quality of life and long-term socio-economic
prospects improved in the context of major transitions and rising threats to climate, resources
304
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
305
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/shaping-europe-digital-
         future_en
306
         R&I will support the implementation of an EU-level long-term vision for rural areas to be published in
         the 2nd quarter of 2021.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
and health. Their capacity to drive community-led innovations must be enhanced and their
resilience increased across the diversity of European territories including remote places such
as mountains and sparsely populated areas. Mobilising the forces of digital transformation,
start-up ecosystems, nature-based solutions, as well as social and policy innovation will
facilitate necessary changes and support smart, environment and climate friendly and resilient
lifestyles.
Activities under this destination are complementary to Cluster 2 activities with attention to
spatial differences and specifics in relation with democracy (Destination ‘Innovative research
on democracy and governance’), socio-economic transformations (Destination ‘Innovative
research on social and economic transformation’) and cultural heritage (Destination
‘Innovative research on the European cultural heritage and the cultural and creative
industries). They are also complementary to Cluster 5’s Destination ‘Cross-sectoral solutions
for the climate transition’ on cities and communities that should explore place-based
approaches to climate, energy and mobility specifically for all places.
To maximise the intended impacts and to ensure uptake by the communities, actions in the
cluster should aim for high standards of transparency and openness for the solutions
developed, going beyond ex-post documentation of results and extending to aspects such as
assumptions, processes, models and data during the life of projects.
Expected impacts
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to
resilient, inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and urban communities and more
specifically one or several of the following expected impacts:
    Rural, coastal and urban areas are developed in a sustainable, balanced and inclusive
      manner thanks to a better understanding of the environmental, socio-economic,
      behavioural, cultural and demographic drivers of change as well as deployment of
      digital, nature-based, social and community-led innovations.
    Rural, coastal and urban communities are empowered to act for change, better prepared
      to achieve climate neutrality, adapt to climate change, and turn digital and ecological
      transitions into increased resilience to various types of shocks, good health and positive
      long-term prospects, including jobs, for all including women, young people and
      vulnerable groups.
    Rural communities are equipped with innovative and smarter solutions that increase
      access to services, opportunities and adequate innovation ecosystems, including for
      women, youth and the most vulnerable groups, improve attractiveness and reduce the
      feeling of being left behind, even in the most remote locations like mountains.
    The sustainable development of coastal areas including coastal protection and resilience
      reaps the benefits of social, digital and community-led innovations, to deliver nature-
      based and scientifically validated solutions to existing coastal socio-economic and
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
      environmental threats. In this way, applications of new social, economic and governance
      frameworks are enabled.
     Tourism, recreational and leisure activity development in natural and coastal areas
      respects long-term environmental carrying capacity, and social goals.
     Urban and peri-urban communities – including the most vulnerable individuals and
      families – can access, afford and choose healthier, nutritious and environmental-friendly
      food.
When considering their impact, proposals also need to assess their compliance with the “Do
No Significant Harm” principle307 according to which the research and innovation activities of
the project should not be supporting or carrying out activities that make a significant harm to
any of the six environmental objectives of the EU Taxonomy Regulation.
Topics under this destination will have impacts in the following impact areas of the Horizon
Europe strategic plan for 2021-2024[ 308 ]: “Climate change mitigation and adaptation”;
“Enhancing ecosystems and biodiversity on land and in water”; “Sustainable food systems
from farm to fork”; “Good health and high-quality accessible healthcare”; “A resilient EU
prepared for emerging threats”; “A competitive and secure data-economy”; and “Inclusive
growth and new job opportunities”.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                 Call                              Budgets (EUR million)                 Deadline(s)
                                                 2021                   2022
HORIZON-CL6-2021-                         53.00                                       06 Oct 2021
COMMUNITIES-01
HORIZON-CL6-2022-                                                 42.00               23 Feb 2022
COMMUNITIES-01
HORIZON-CL6-2022-                                                 33.00               23 Feb 2022
COMMUNITIES-02-two-stage                                                              (First Stage)
                                                                                      06 Sep 2022
                                                                                      (Second Stage)
Overall indicative budget                 53.00                   75.00
307
         as per Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate
         sustainable investment (EU Taxonomy Regulation)
308
         Link to the strategic plan
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Call - Resilient, inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and urban communities
                                                           HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)309
                        Topics                              Type     Budgets       Expected       Number
                                                              of      (EUR             EU             of
                                                            Action   million)    contribution      projects
                                                                                  per project     expected
                                                                       2021          (EUR           to be
                                                                                  million)310      funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 06 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-01 RIA                               15.00       7.00 to 7.50     2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-02 CSA                               5.00        Around 5.00      1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-03 RIA                               10.00       Around 5.00      2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-04 RIA                               6.00        Around 6.00      1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-05 IA                                12.00       Around           1
                                                                                 12.00
HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-06 CSA                               5.00        Around 5.00      1
Overall indicative budget                                            53.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
309
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
310
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-01:                         Grasping     rural    diversity   and
strengthening evidence for tailored policies enhancing the contribution of rural
communities to ecological, digital and social transitions
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 7.00
contribution per     and 7.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action       Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                     and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                     Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                     additionally be used).
                     The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                     Proposals focusing on one type of activity or sector (e.g. primary
                     production) are out of scope.
                     The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                     consortium selected for funding.
                     The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
                          The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                          multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will contribute to fostering a sustainable,
balanced and inclusive development of rural areas, supporting the implementation of the
European Green Deal311, in particular its fair and just transition component, the European
digital strategy312, the European pillar of social rights313 and the EU long-term vision for rural
areas314. It will do so by improving the understanding of the environmental, socio-economic,
behavioural, cultural and demographic drivers of change in rural areas. Stronger evidence on
which to build their strategies and initiatives will empower rural people to act for change and
get prepared to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, adapt to climate change, and turn digital
and ecological transitions into increased resilience, good health and positive long-term
prospects, including jobs, for all including women, young people and vulnerable groups.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     more evidence-based, place-based, integrated and tailored policies, strategies and
      governance frameworks at local, regional, national and EU levels to drive the sustainable
      transition of rural areas and communities, building on the specific outcomes below;
     a refined understanding by policy-makers and rural actors of the diversity of rural
      situations, and of the challenges and opportunities associated with megatrends, potential
      major shocks and upcoming transitions, in particular climate, environmental and social
      challenges, to tailor policy interventions to local realities;
     a refined understanding by policy-makers and rural actors of functional characteristics of
      territories, functional relations between rural places and other rural and/or urban places
      within a territorial continuum and the importance of these relations for sustainable
      development, to design synergistic approaches favouring a networked and interlinked
      development; and
     a refined assessment by policy-makers of the impact of all current and upcoming policies
      on rural communities (rural proofing315), including sectoral or thematic policies (such as
      climate, energy, mobility, digitalisation, health and social inclusion), or policy
      frameworks designed to accompany sustainability transitions in general, to tailor
      interventions to maximise possibilities for rural communities to contribute to and benefit
      from these transitions.
311
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
312
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/shaping-europe-digital-
         future_en
313
         https://ec.europa.eu/commission/priorities/deeper-and-fairer-economic-and-monetary-union/european-
         pillar-social-rights/european-pillar-social-rights-20-principles_en
314
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/new-push-european-democracy/long-term-
         vision-rural-areas_en
315
         See Point 1 ‘Promoting rural prosperity’ of the Cork 2.0 Declaration (2016)
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Scope: The EU aims to lead just digital, economic and ecological transitions that will leave no
one behind. Close to one third of EU citizens live in rural areas, which represent 83% of the
EU territory and supply the whole of society with essential goods and services. These broad
figures hide a variety of situations, challenges and opportunities regarding the aforementioned
transitions that the current evidence base insufficiently captures.
The design of positive governance frameworks and policy interventions for rural communities
is hampered by i) the lack of conceptual frameworks that properly grasp the role of rural areas
and communities in sustainable development and sustainability transitions; ii) a lack of data
on several aspects at the right geographic scale, in particular on climate and environment
performance and on social challenges, quality of life and well-being. The lack of data at the
right geographical scale (local in many cases) is hampered by the technical and economic
difficulties of finer data collection.
Proposals should explore innovative and out-of-the box ways to describe and characterise
rural areas or various forms or degrees of rurality in multi-dimensional ways, screening a
wide range of possible (including new) data sources going beyond conventional indicators
such as population density and settlement configuration. They should analyse national and
other definitions and approaches and engage with stakeholders to understand their
perspectives on rurality. Proposals should define and describe functional linkages between
various localities and territories and explore and develop ways to apply functional geography
approaches to rural areas (e.g. developing the concept of functional rural area), learning from
past work316 and failures on such approaches. Trade-offs in selected approaches should be
analysed in regional and national contexts highlighting geographical differences.
Proposals should screen and benchmark the performance and cost efficiency (infrastructure
needs, ease and frequency of updates etc.) of data collection methods and technologies
including new ones (e.g. digital technologies, geolocation and geospatial techniques, crowd
sourcing, citizen science) that could be used to collect the necessary rural data at the local
level across a majority of EU Member States and Associated Countries in Europe, at
affordable costs and select viable options for testing these options. They should strengthen
rural evidence and rural data collection, documentation and access, in particular in the
environmental, climate and social fields by generating data and designing, testing and
implementing methods to:
     calculate climate and environmental indicators for rural communities, including rural
      dwellers and secondary-homers;
     upgrade socio-economic (including culture) assessment, analysis, monitoring and
      evaluation tools (stats, indicators, including the measurement of well-being, quality of
      life and attractiveness including gender and age differences);
316
         Such        as      ROBUST          (https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/727988)  and      COASTAL
         (https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/773782) under Horizon 2020 and projects funded under the ESPON
         programme https://www.espon.eu.
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     assess resilience to major threats, with particular emphasis on resilience and
      vulnerability factors under the COVID-19 pandemic.
This should result in enriched, upgraded and regularly updated platforms, data and indicators
mapping, describing and monitoring economic (including sectors, jobs and income), social
(including quality of life and well-being) and environmental (including climate mitigation and
adaptation and energy) characteristics of rural areas and communities at sub-regional, local or
functional levels, contributing to relevant actions of the long-term vision for rural areas in this
domain. The analysis carried out should help to grasp the diversity and specificity of rural
places in the EU and Associated Countries, their inter-relations, their preparedness for
transitions, major shocks and megatrends, their capacity to take advantage of these trends in
adaptive and resilient ways.
Proposals should benchmark climate and environmental policies and existing frameworks to
describe and measure well-being, quality of life and attractiveness, assess their relevance for
rural areas and communities and make recommendations for adapting these frameworks. They
should in particular propose innovative schemes to reach climate neutrality by 2050 while
taking advantage of the ecological transition and preserving ecosystems (nature-based
solutions), landscapes etc. Finally, they should support rural proofing317 by developing tools
completing those already existing on territorial impacts (e.g. under the EU Better
Regulation 318 ), to assess the impact of EU policies and programmes on rural areas and
communities.
Proposals must implement the multi-actor approach, bringing together from the start multiple
types of scientific expertise in both hard sciences (e.g. climate, energy, and environment) and
social sciences and humanities (e.g. geography, sociology, behavioural sciences, policy,
foresight) together with a variety of rural community representatives. This topic should
involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines. Projects outputs should be scalable at
least to the EU as a whole, hence they should be developed using data from a representative
diversity of rural contexts across the EU. Proposals should strengthen evidence on rural areas
and communities in a multi-dimensional way (proposals focused on one particular sector -e.g.
primary production- or dimension of sustainability would not be considered as addressing the
challenge appropriately). Proposals should engage with both national authorities and rural
communities on their understanding of rurality and on project developments. Proposals should
foresee a task to work jointly with other projects funded under this topic and with the
European Commission, its common agricultural policy 319 networks 320 and other relevant
317
        Rural proofing means to ‘systematically review other macro and sectoral policies through a rural lens,
        considering potential and actual impacts and implications on rural jobs and growth and development
        prospects, social well-being, and the environmental quality of rural areas and communities’, Cork 2.0
        Declaration, A better life in rural areas.
318
        Better regulation tool #33 on territorial impacts: https://ec.europa.eu/info/files/better-regulation-
        toolbox-33_en
319
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-policy_en
320
        Currently      ENRD         and       EIP-AGRI       (https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-
        policies/common-agricultural-policy/rural-development_en#enrd) to be replaced by the networks to be
        funded under the future CAP: https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-
        agricultural-policy/future-cap_en
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
networks (e.g.: future Farm Sustainability Data Network (FSDN)321) and projects (including
research projects322) contributing to building rural evidence.
The possible participation of the JRC in the project will consist of connecting project
activities to on-going work on integrated territorial strategies and or various domains
mentioned in the topic to ensure complementarities and synergies, in particular advising on
the data collection methods to be tested and on filling-in data gaps at high spatial granularity
(NUTS3, LAU or grid levels). The contribution is framed on the context of the Knowledge
Centre for Territorial Policies.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-02: Expertise and training centre on rural
innovation
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          Due to the scope of this topic, legal entities established in all member
                          states of the African Union are exceptionally eligible for Union funding.
                          The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                          Proposals focusing on one type of activity or sector (e.g. primary
                          production) are out of scope.
                          Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                          exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
                          The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                          The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                          multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will contribute to fostering a sustainable,
balanced and inclusive development of rural areas, supporting the implementation of the
European Green Deal323, in particular its fair and just transition component, the European
321
         Commission Communication ‘A farm to fork strategy’ (in particular section 3.2) https://eur-
         lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0381
322
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/research-area/agriculture-and-forestry/rural-and-
         farming-dynamics-and-policies_en; projects funded under HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-
         13 "Modelling land use and land management in the context of climate change"
323
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
                                              Part 9 - Page 399 of 571
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
digital strategy324, the European pillar of social rights325 and the EU long-term vision for rural
areas 326 . It will do so by accelerating the deployment of digital, nature-based, social and
community-led innovations in rural areas through capacity building and enhanced knowledge
exchange, leading to rural communities that will be better equipped with innovative and
smarter solutions that increase access to services, opportunities and adequate innovation
ecosystems. Enhanced capacities and better knowledge flows and innovation support will
empower rural people to act for change and get prepared to achieve climate neutrality by
2050, adapt to climate change, and turn digital and ecological transitions into increased
resilience, good health and positive long-term prospects, including jobs, for all including
women, young people and vulnerable groups.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     enhanced capacity of rural communities and rural people to innovate for change thanks
      to the specific outcomes below;
     improved skills and knowledge of rural citizens, entrepreneurs, organisations, local
      action groups327 and community leaders of existing tools to develop and implement rural
      innovation (including social innovation) strategies and innovative actions to implement
      these strategies in rural communities, in all domains of relevance to rural life and
      economy;
     shortening of the innovation cycle in rural communities and businesses leading to
      quicker results and transitions in rural communities, strengthened human capital,
      including more lively networks and improved attractiveness of rural communities, in
      particular for women and young people;
     enhanced valorisation by rural communities of the results of rural innovation projects
      funded under various programmes; and
     enhanced dialogue and cooperation on rural innovation worldwide, with sharing of
      learning resources.
Scope: Proposals should provide capacity building on rural innovation towards rural
communities and actors in the EU and beyond, seeking to valorise the outcomes of projects
funded under various programmes. The latter may include Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, the
common agricultural policy (LEADER, EIP-AGRI operational groups), regional policy
(community-led local development, INTERREG, smart specialisation strategies), preparatory
actions such as the Smart rural project328 or SMARTA329 and other EU or non-EU relevant
324
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/shaping-europe-digital-
         future_en
325
         https://ec.europa.eu/commission/priorities/deeper-and-fairer-economic-and-monetary-union/european-
         pillar-social-rights/european-pillar-social-rights-20-principles_en
326
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/new-push-european-democracy/long-term-
         vision-rural-areas_en
327
         https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/leader-clld/lag-database_en
328
         https://www.smartrural21.eu/
329
         https://ruralsharedmobility.eu/
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
actions. Projects from these programmes should be considered as relevant if they produced
practical tools to develop and/or implement strategies and roadmaps in various domains
(energy, digital, climate adaptation and mitigation, mobility, environment, social, education
and care, food etc.), innovation approaches such as living labs, activities related to smart
villages; training packages, videos etc. innovation activities in general and innovative
solutions. Proposals should pay special attention to social innovation 330 , which has been
demonstrated to have a high potential to meet rural challenges. Social innovation is
recommended when the solution is at the interface between social and technical solutions and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake. Capacity
building should target in particular communities developing smart village strategies 331 as
foreseen under the common agricultural policy for 2021-2027332 or similar initiatives, paying
attention to the needs of various groups within these communities (e.g. women, youth etc.).
They should map and promote funding opportunities and prepare the ground for rural
communities to take part in innovation actions funded under Horizon Europe or other
innovation support actions that can be used to support ecological, digital or social transitions
in rural areas (whether or not they are targeted to these areas).
Proposals should organise the capitalisation and exchange of knowledge between projects
funded under Horizon Europe working on innovation for rural communities. They should feed
in and translate results from the research and innovation actions as these results become
available. They should allow the portfolio of projects to reflect on rural innovation processes,
lessons learnt and ways to improve innovation processes and innovation systems for rural
communities in a multi-dimensional and multi-sectoral way. They should also ensure a lively
interface between actions supporting rural community-led innovation funded under Horizon
Europe (e.g. HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-01 and HORIZON-CL6-2022-
COMMUNITIES-02-01-two-stage in the work programme 2021-2022) and common
agricultural policy networks 333 . The project duration should be adapted to ensure such
capitalisation is possible (a duration of at least five years is recommended). They may engage
in collaboration with projects funded under other relevant calls334.
Proposals should explore with rural communities and benchmark various options and business
models to create viable, networked and long-term rural innovation expertise and training
mechanisms, centre(s) or hub(s) in Europe, able to capitalise on new knowledge and tools
created and process them into training packages and sessions for rural communities in Europe
330
        Social innovation is defined for this topic as “the reconfiguring of social practices, in response to
        societal challenges, which seeks to enhance outcomes on societal well-being and necessarily includes
        the engagement of civil society actors”. (SIMRA)
331
        https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/enrd-thematic-work/smart-and-competitive-rural-areas/smart-villages_en
332
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-policy/future-cap_en
333
        Currently       ENRD        and    EIP-AGRI        (https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-
        policies/common-agricultural-policy/rural-development_en#enrd) to be replaced by the networks to be
        funded under the future CAP: https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-
        agricultural-policy/future-cap_en
334
        e.g. HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-26 ‘Deepening the functioning of innovation support’,
        HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-08 ‘Mainstreaming inclusive small-scale bio-based solutions in
        European rural areas’; HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-09 ‘Revitalisation of European local
        communities with innovative bio-based business models and social innovation’ etc.
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
and beyond. They should engage with international partners, including relevant international
organisations (e.g. FAO, OECD) and partners in priority regions of the world for EU
international cooperation on rural development (e.g. Africa) or with outstanding expertise in
rural development, on resources to support the sustainable development of rural communities.
Proposals may include partners from these countries in capacity building activities.
Proposals must implement the multi-actor approach, bringing together the required
competencies in communication, dissemination, exploitation and training alongside genuine
knowledge of rural communities’ context. Training contents and packages should be provided
in multiple languages and multimedia formats allowing their wide dissemination in the EU
and beyond. They should be developed, tested and validated taking into account the specific
needs of various types of rural actors (including women, young people, entrepreneurs,
community-leaders, elderly etc.) in various types of rural areas (e.g. close to cities, remote
etc.) and cover a wide variety of important aspects of rural life that rural communities may
want to innovate on (e.g. energy, mobility, education, services, health, climate, environment
etc.). Proposals focusing on one type of activity or sector (e.g. primary production) would not
be considered as addressing the challenge appropriately. Synergies may be developed with
other actions targeting community-based innovations in specific domains, innovation support
or education and training.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-03: Smart XG, last-mile and edge solutions
for remote farming, forestry and rural areas
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                      Proposals focusing on one type of activity or sector (e.g. primary
                      production) are out of scope.
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                      The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                      multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Expected Outcome: In line with the ambitions of the Green Deal, the Digital Age and an
Economy that works for people, leaving no one behind, the farm to fork strategy and the
European strategy for data in particular, successful proposals will strengthen the capacities of
famers, foresters and rural community through connectivity gains. They will therefore
contribute to i) fostering a sustainable, balanced and inclusive development of rural areas
thanks to the deployment of digital, nature-based, social and community-led innovations; ii)
empowering people to act for change and get prepared to achieve climate neutrality by 2050,
adapt to climate change, and turn digital and ecological transitions into increased resilience;
and iii) equipping rural communities with innovative and smarter solutions that increase
access to services, opportunities and adequate innovation ecosystems.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Reduce (the risk of) digital divides between different types of farms, sectors and regions.
     Contribute to increase the competitiveness and social and environmental sustainability of
      the agricultural and forestry sectors and rural areas through innovative 5G, last-mile and
      edge solutions.
     Facilitate decision-making, in particular for municipalities, farmers, foresters and their
      associations, in the selection of internet connectivity solutions under consideration of
      technical, economic and environmental aspects.
     Increase energy efficiency through analysing and developing connectivity options and
      contributing to climate mitigation.
Scope: Missing access to fast broadband still presents a development challenge to many rural
and remote areas. Frequently, the investments costs appear to be too high in comparison to the
final number of end users in certain regions. Sometimes only investing in the “last-mile”
presents a bottleneck to the connectivity. End-user needs vary not only between communities,
but also between individual businesses and households, making it more challenging to find a
common solution.
5G connectivity is a prerequisite for the running of several real-time applications, including of
applications in the agricultural and forestry sectors, and has thus theoretically the potential to
increase the economic and environmental performance of the sectors.
Overall, a range of possibilities to establish different types of broadband access at e.g.
community-, farm- or field level are available going along with different investment and
running costs.
Edge technologies allow under certain conditions the processing and analysis of data in
remote systems, independently from larger data centres, which are frequently far away from
rural communities. Edge technologies have the potential to reduce energy consumption.335
335
        See e.g. “A European Strategy for Data” published by the European Commission in Q1 2020
        (https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/policies/building-european-data-economy).
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Communities and businesses in rural areas considering upgrading their internet connectivity
are confronted with decision-making challenges regarding the choice of technologies in which
they should invest in to achieve best outcomes at system level under consideration of
technical, economic, environmental and social aspects and the location-specific requirements
and systemic resilience.
Proposals should cover all of the following aspects:
     Assessing the socio-economic and environmental effects of innovative and existing
      5G/4G/3G provision options (at regional-, community-, and farm-level) and making
      them feasible for non-scientists).
     Developing innovative cost-effective and environmentally friendly solutions to 5G-and
      last-mile provision in remote areas tailored to the needs of communities, farms and
      forestry.
     Assessing the socio-economic and environmental effects of innovative and existing edge
      technology options (at regional-, community-, and farm-level) and making them feasible
      for non-scientists.
     Developing innovative cost-effective and environmental friendly edge solutions tailored
      to the needs of communities, farms and forestry, including an energy balance at system
      level.
     Developing innovative business models (including at systemic level and cross-sectoral
      approaches).
Proposals are expected to undertake a comprehensive stocktaking exercise of solutions
towards 5G, last-mile and edge solutions existing in the EU and globally (including satellite-
based solutions336 and other solutions, such as drones-assisted broadband provision), and of
related studies and assessments. This review may also cover connectivity solutions developed
in other domains, such as expedition, emergency or military services.
The aspects of regional and/or systemic resilience and energy efficiency should be elaborated,
including the contribution to climate mitigation. Different regional contexts in the EU and
Associated Countries as it regards environmental framing conditions, as well as the structure
of the society and economy are to be reflected. To tailor solutions to practitioners’ and
citizens’ needs, proposals must implement the multi-actor approach.
Project results are to be made feasible to rural communities, farmers and foresters
associations, and policy-makers. A decision-making support tool, which includes assistance in
business model development, is to be provided. – Practitioner-orientation has to form a key
element of the project(s).
336
         See e.g. OECD (2017) “THE EVOLVING ROLE OF SATELLITE NETWORKS IN RURAL AND
         REMOTE BROADBAND ACCESS”, for reflections on the potential of satellite-based broadband
         provision for rural areas.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Proposals are not expected to develop innovative technology solutions for the general use of
5G, but should reflect and build – as far as possible – on the (interim) results of relevant
projects funded under Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe Cluster 4, the Digital Europe
Programme, the Connecting Europe Facility and other research and innovation projects, to
develop innovative solutions tailored to the needs of remote farming, forestry and rural
communities.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-04: Socio-economic empowerment of the
users of the sea
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       Proposals focusing on one type of activity or sector (e.g. primary
                       production) are out of scope.
                       The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                       consortium selected for funding.
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will contribute to fostering a sustainable,
balanced and inclusive coastal development, supporting the implementation of the European
Green Deal, incorporating a better understanding of the environmental, socio-economic,
behavioural, cultural and demographic drivers of change. Conducted research activities and
innovative results will empower people to act for change through education and upgraded
skills, leading to positive long-term prospects, including jobs, for all including women, young
people and vulnerable groups. Among several potential coastal sectors being addressed, the
proposal will ensure inclusion of tourism, recreational and leisure activity development in
coastal areas to respect long-term environmental carrying capacity, and social goals.
Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
   Better understanding of the environmental, socio-economic, behavioural, cultural and
     demographic drivers of change for users of the sea in coastal areas is taken into account
     by the policy making community.
   Better understanding of the nature connectedness of coastal communities and
     preconditions, hurdles and success factors for social transition and nature-based social
     innovation inspired the policy making community to take measures.
   Socio-economic resilience and well-being of coastal communities (including gender
     related) are measured, understood and enhanced through a properly developed and
     established link with coastal ecosystem services and cultural heritage.
   Empowerment of coastal communities and sectors to innovate for the ecological
     transition and feel part of it, through a multi-actor approach.
   Design of transition mechanisms and identification of the means to make necessary
     changes socially acceptable, that among others may include curiosity-driven citizen
     science initiatives and outcomes connected to specific societal and blue bioeconomy-
     related socio-economic challenges on coastal climate adaptation and mitigation, coastal
     pollution, coastal biodiversity, circularity and sustainability or other aspects of coastal
     (eco)tourism and cultural events etc.
   Creation of a well-connected community, involving companies, local businesses, social
     innovators, private investors, researchers, citizens and policy makers, which will bring
     together on the one hand research actions and results and on the other implementation
     actions, new initiatives, and policy developments for their own companies or local
     communities.
   Improved skills in ocean literacy education and awareness raising, social sciences, green
     skills and digital transformation to process and integrate large network input of gradually
     more ‘Green and Blue Literate’ citizens that are more engaged to take direct and
     sustainable action.
   Contributions to Maritime Spatial Planning and Integrated Maritime Policy, including
     the Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
   Contribute to the UN SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 3, SDG 5, SDG 10, SDG 11 and with a
     specific emphasis on UN SDG 14.
Scope: The multi- and trans-disciplinary proposals should undertake a thorough analysis of
gaps in ocean literacy, marine environment connectedness like monetary and non-monetary
values of the marine environment, socio-economic vulnerability and resilience (including
gender-related) and preparedness for the social transition of coastal communities and
stakeholders in order to advance understanding of the preconditions and success factors for
social transition and nature-based social innovation. Proposals should deal with environmental
and socio-economic challenges related to coastal climate adaptation and mitigation, coastal
pollution, coastal ecology, coastal habitability and entrepreneurship, blue spaces and well-
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
being, coastal (eco)tourism and cultural events, coastal food and energy production and
consumption among others. Proposals should identify opportunities based on coastal
ecosystem services and active engagement and participation of the users of the sea in
designing, implementing and maintaining nature-based solutions (including monitoring
activities on the performance and impacts of the solutions), taking into account cultural
heritage aspects where relevant. SSH approaches should serve through a multi-actor approach
to orient and contextualise coastal STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and
mathematics) activities related to the above-mentioned challenges in terms of social and
economic impact as well as in terms of the deep impact of human behaviour, culture
(including indigenous knowledge and practices) and history (including religion literacy) on all
societal innovation and integrated sustainable coastal zone development and management.
Proposals should engage or create appropriate multi-stakeholder platforms who should jointly
evaluate cultural, societal and economic marine or coastal practices that are not compatible
with sustainability principles, avoiding duplication with other projects, existing initiatives or
platforms. They should jointly identify required cultural and societal changes for a sustainable
use of the sea, design transition mechanisms and identify the means to achieve necessary
changes. Attention needs to be given to different learning arrangements (e.g. multi-actor
networks, producer-consumer association, hybrid innovative networks, territorial alliances,
twinning approaches) as well as to innovative governance mechanisms at various levels, and
their potential implications for social transition and nature-based social innovation. Activities
should cover diverse types of coastal areas across the EU and Associated Countries and non-
European (Black Sea and Mediterranean) countries. In line with the objectives of the EU
Global Approach to Research and Innovation337, proposals are strongly encouraged to include
third country participants, especially those established in Black Sea and Mediterranean
countries.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
The involvement of sea-based businesses, and economic and local development bodies is
required to implement the multi-actor approach (cf eligibility conditions). Engaging with
managing authorities of European Structural and Investment Funds during the project would
help increase implementation of the project outcomes and support further uptake.
Projects should build on existing knowledge and integrate results from multiple origins,
including other EU, international or national projects. Some cooperation activities with
projects financed under Destination ‘Biodiversity and ecosystem services’ and topics of the
Green Deal Call could be included, as well as with relevant projects from other EU
programmes or with relevant EU initiatives and thematic networks.
This topic should be linked to the Horizon Europe Missions Ocean, seas and waters and
Adaptation to Climate Change including Societal Transformation, the Partnership for a
337
         Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European
         Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the Global Approach to
         Research and Innovation. Europe's strategy for international cooperation in a changing world.
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/strategy_on_research_and_innovati
         on/documents/ec_rtd_com2021-252.pdf
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
climate neutral, sustainable and productive Blue Economy, the Biodiversity Partnership or
other partnerships where relevant.
Social innovation338 is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
The possible participation of the JRC 339 in the project will consist of contributing to the
analysis of patterns and practice of participation of local and urban communities into place-
based ecosystems developing integrated sustainable development strategies and action.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-05: Integrated urban food system policies –
how cities and towns can transform food systems for co-benefits
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per         12.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                         Proposals focusing on one type of activity or sector (e.g. primary
                         production) are out of scope.
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                         The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                         multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal priorities and the farm to fork
strategy for a fair healthy and environmentally friendly food system, as well as of the EU's
Climate ambition for 2030 and 2050, the successful proposal will support the development of
policies, business models and market conditions contributing to the sustainable, balanced and
inclusive development of urban and peri-urban areas and to the empowerment and resilience
of their communities, who can access, afford and choose healthier, nutritious and
environmental-friendly food.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
338
        https://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/policy/innovation/social_en
339
        For the participation of the JRC, see General Annex B.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
    City-region food systems and of the urban-rural linkages across Europe are better
      understood and taken into account in urban policies;
    The concept of local food environments is better understood and taken into account in
      local planning, with a view to driving people towards healthier food choices and
      transforming urban food systems to be healthier, circular and resilient;
    More cities and towns build on good practice initiatives (e.g.: signatory cities of the
      Milan Urban Food Policy Pact) to develop integrated urban food policies and planning
      frameworks linking health, environment and food systems, bridging the national and the
      local level and including risk prevention and reduction plans to anticipate and manage
      food systems shocks, as well as to develop resilience;
    Strengthened urban food systems governance through increased multi-stakeholder
      engagement in designing and implementing urban food policies in cities and towns
      across Europe, representing different cultural and geographical settings;
    More Higher Education Institutes engaging in structured and long-term collaborations
      with local/regional actors to help transform their urban food system through
      participatory R&I;
    Improved decision-making by government actors willing to commit to change their local
      food systems, based on ready-to-use knowledge on the typologies, evolution, outcomes
      and impacts of integrated local food policies, throughout and within Europe, and in
      comparison with other regions.
Scope: Urban areas face a serious challenge to ensure healthy, affordable, safe and sustainably
produced food to their residents. Many cities and their inhabitants are disconnected from their
food – e.g. where it comes from, how it is produced, the impact food production and
consumption have on the environment, climate and health, and the complexity and fragility of
food value chains –. The way in which cities deal with food is highly variable and often
fragmented, but integrated urban food policies and social innovations providing co-benefits
are progressively emerging throughout Europe.
A key issue to be addressed is that of poorly planned urban food environments that drive
citizens, and children in particular, towards unhealthy packaged food that is high in calories,
sugars, salt and saturated fat, which contributes to obesity and diet-related illnesses.
Furthermore, different shocks disrupting urban food systems worldwide can exacerbate the
already limited access to healthy food, in particular for the urban poor.
Cities have the potential to make healthy and sustainable food available, affordable and
attractive to all, which will in turn reduce consumption-based GHG emissions, in a win-win
situation for people and the planet.
Proposals under this topic should address the following four issues and be targeted to help at
least 5 cities/towns lacking integrated food systems policies to take ambitious and decisive
action:
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
  a. Understanding: map local food systems, policies and actions, with a special focus on
      assessing short supply chains and urban food environments (including harmful
      marketing and advertising and unequal access to healthy food for the urban poor), and on
      developing         local        indicators           and       monitoring        frameworks.
      This should be built on existing tools such as the “Food systems dashboard framework”
      and should include the development of food systems stakeholder maps, maps of the
      formal and informal food flows and retail channels and, especially relevant in case of
      food shock crisis, maps identifying the most vulnerable people and their access to
      nutritious                                                                              food.
      This should include analysing the local responses to emergencies and take into account
      the environmental, social and economic dimension.
  b. Governance: develop and evaluate innovative, multi-actor, urban food systems
      governance processes and capacities for science-backed integrated policy making and
      implementation actions that deliver on farm to fork strategy objectives and Food 2030
      co-benefits for health, environment, climate, circularity and inclusion, while minimizing
      trade-offs. Special attention should be given to improving food environments, providing
      increased food access to vulnerable groups and fostering short supply chains.
  c. Engaging: mobilise a wide diversity of food system actors from farm to fork (i.e. public
      and private, the financial sector, civil society and academia). Higher education
      institutions and research centres, in particular, should be engaged to collaboration with
      local actors to support evidence-based food policy development and to help provide local
      solutions to integrated food system challenges.
  d. Mutual learning: reinforce or create new networks of cities and towns to share good
      practices and learn from and support each other. This implies involving cities with well-
      developed food policies to provide guidance and lessons learned, as well as new forms
      of collaboration/twinning.
Proposals should address inequalities in urban food systems, whether they be due to gender,
race and other social categories.
Conducting inter and trans-disciplinary research and involving a wide diversity of food
system actors is required to implement the multi actor approach (cf eligibility condition). In
particular, a strong involvement of citizens and civil society, together with urban designers,
design thinkers, social innovators, planners, social scientists and public authorities to
strengthen relationships between urban planning and food choices and to develop new
methods and approaches to innovation have to be ensured.
Proposals should set out a clear plan on how it will collaborate with other projects selected
under this and any other relevant topic/call, e.g. by participating in joint activities, workshops,
as well as common communication and dissemination activities.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-06:                             Inside     and      outside:      educational
innovation with nature-based solutions
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                         and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                         Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                         additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal will contribute to the EU’s goal of leading just
digital, economic and ecological transitions that will leave no one behind, supporting in
particular European Green Deal priorities such as the biodiversity strategy for 2030. It will
support the empowerment of rural, coastal and urban communities to act for change and to
contribute to the Green Deal objectives through education and upgraded skills regarding the
design, implementation and benefits of nature-based solutions (NBS) 340 . By doing so,
communities will be better prepared to adapt to climate change through the deployment of
NBS, and turn digital and ecological transitions into increased resilience and positive long-
term prospects, including jobs for all, notably for young people.
Project results are expected to contribute to all following expected outcomes:
     Increased awareness of the value of NBS to educate children and young people in an
      innovative and holistic way, developing 21st century competencies, values and attitudes
      through an active and engaging pedagogy.
     NBS teaching programmes and materials are more widely available across the EU.
340
        As defined by the European Commission: Solutions that are inspired and supported by nature, which
        are cost-effective, simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits and help build
        resilience. Such solutions bring more, and more diverse, nature and natural features and processes into
        cities, landscapes and seascapes, through locally adapted, resource-efficient and systemic interventions.
        Hence, nature-based solutions must benefit biodiversity and support the delivery of a range of
        ecosystem services. In https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=nbs.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
     Local communities across the EU are stimulated to co-create NBS, thus contributing to
      greater upscaling and impact of these solutions.
     Increase awareness and long-term public engagement on NBS and their benefits,
      enhancing citizens' capacity to act as responsible and participative actors in a
      knowledge-based society.
Scope: Citizens and experts have identified better awareness of the opportunities, benefits,
and limitations of nature-based solutions (NBS) as one of the main factors that could facilitate
the transition to more sustainable cities and territories, and help build physical and mental
resilience. Examples of NBS include green roofs and green walls that cool down cities in the
summer; parks that may contribute to air purification and provide leisure and exercise
opportunities to citizens; green corridors connecting natural areas; urban food gardens, etc.
NBS build on nature and ecosystems to deliver social, ecological, and economic benefits,
increasing biodiversity and contributing to climate change adaptation and mitigation. Their
large educational potential remains quite unexplored, whilst innovative programmes and
resources around NBS for children and families have only recently started to appear in formal
and informal education. Building on scientific evidence and experiences from NBS projects in
cities and involving teachers in different countries, an educational pilot study in 2020
exploited research results to develop educational programmes and resources, raising
awareness on NBS and their benefits in primary and secondary schools341.
The scope of the present topic is to upscale that pilot, broaden its geographical and
educational reach, and increase its impact. The successful proposal should set up a
multidisciplinary, pan-European network of education professionals, researchers, public
authorities, multipliers and civil society to integrate and help create awareness and
mainstream NBS-related EU research and innovation into primary and secondary schools,
vocational training and higher education centres (e.g. architecture and engineering),
influencers, mass media and other multipliers.
The successful proposal should develop learning scenarios, formal and informal education
activities and training programmes for teachers to mainstream biodiversity and NBS in
education at all levels, in a broad range of disciplines (not exclusively STEM), adaptable,
freely available in all European languages, to be used inside and outside (remote learning,
classroom, in/with nature, outdoors).
Actions should build on the results of the pilot project and the growing corpus of EU-funded
project results, networks and initiatives to develop innovative, open-access educational
programmes and materials to raise awareness on NBS and their social, economic and
environmental benefits among children, young people and their families in an
interdisciplinary, problem-based learning approach. They should combine the use of ICT (e.g.
games, apps, etc), remote learning, audio-visual productions and social media with real-life
experiences in nature and local NBS, such as educational green roofs and urban gardens. All
341
         www.scientix.eu/pilots/nbs-project.
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programmes and materials should be tested in a network of pilots and should convey a call for
action for students to engage with local stakeholders (e.g. involving celebrities as NBS
'ambassadors', where appropriate) and reflect on the different ethical, economic,
environmental and social aspects related to NBS, including gender aspects. Responsible
research and innovation (RRI) guidelines and tools should be applied. The work that the JRC
may have developed on a competence framework for sustainability during the lifetime of the
project should also be taken into account.
Relationships should be considered between educational programmes, together with
practitioners and policy-makers (e.g. linking up living-lab models and embedding
demonstration approaches and NBS projects in conjunction with local schools, universities
and colleges).
Proposals should ensure that all evidence, information and project outputs will be openly
accessible through the Oppla (the EU repository for NBS) and Scientix (the community for
science education) portals342.
Applicants should create synergies with projects under the same topic and other relevant
ongoing or up-coming projects, notably the Horizon 2020 NBS project portfolio and its task
forces; ‘HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-05: The economics of nature-based solutions:
cost-benefit analysis, market development and funding’; ‘HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-
03: Network for nature: multi-stakeholder dialogue platform to promote nature-based
solutions’; ‘HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-05: Assessing the socio-politics of
nature-based solutions for more inclusive and resilient communities’; ‘HORIZON-CL6-2022-
COMMUNITIES-02-02-two-stage: Developing nature-based therapy for health and well-
being’. To this end, proposals should include dedicated tasks and appropriate resources for
coordination measures, foresee joint activities and joint deliverables.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
Call - Resilient, inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and urban communities
                                                           HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)343
342
        https://oppla.eu/ and www.scientix.eu, respectively.
343
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
                      Topics                             Type     Budgets      Expected      Number
                                                           of       (EUR          EU             of
                                                         Action   million)   contribution    projects
                                                                              per project    expected
                                                                    2022         (EUR          to be
                                                                              million)344     funded
                                       Opening: 28 Oct 2021
                                     Deadline(s): 23 Feb 2022
HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-01 RIA                            6.00       Around 3.00     2
HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-02 RIA                            5.00       Around 5.00     1
HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-03 IA                             9.00       Around 9.00     1
HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-04 IA                             10.00      Around          1
                                                                             10.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-05 RIA                            12.00      Around 6.00     2
Overall indicative budget                                         42.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                  The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                               C.
Award criteria                                          The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                        D.
Documents                                               The documents are described in General
                                                        Annex E.
Procedure                                               The procedure is described in General
                                                        Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                 The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
344
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-01: Boosting women-led innovation in
farming and rural areas
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per           million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                    Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                           proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action             Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility                The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                 exceptions apply:
                           The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                           The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                           multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will contribute to fostering a sustainable,
balanced and inclusive development of rural areas, supporting the implementation of the
European Green Deal 345 , the EU farm to fork strategy 346 , the European pillar of social
rights 347 , the European gender equality strategy 348 and the EU long-term vision for rural
areas349. It will do so by increasing the understanding of the social and behavioural drivers of
change, especially in relation with gender norms and relations and by favouring the
deployment of women-led innovations in farming and rural communities. Improved
knowledge of the specifics of women-led innovation, more supportive innovation ecosystems
and smart solutions coming from women-led innovations will empower rural people to act for
change and get farming and rural communities prepared to achieve climate neutrality by 2050,
adapt to climate change, and turn digital and ecological transitions into increased resilience,
good health and positive long-term prospects, including jobs for all, in particular women.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     more effective policy and governance frameworks and knowledge and innovation
      systems to boost women’s roles in the sustainable development of rural areas and in
      innovation in farming, in the rural economy and in rural communities;
345
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
346
         https://ec.europa.eu/food/farm2fork_en
347
         https://ec.europa.eu/commission/priorities/deeper-and-fairer-economic-and-monetary-union/european-
         pillar-social-rights/european-pillar-social-rights-20-principles_en
348
         https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_20_358
349
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/new-push-european-democracy/long-term-
         vision-rural-areas_en
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
    improved understanding, awareness and recognition of women’s role in the future of the
      farming sector (in particular ecological transitions), rural economies and communities
      and related innovation by policy-makers, rural citizens, innovation support services and
      scientists;
    combating and transforming gender norms and stereotypes, fostering broad social
      equalities and advancing Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality; and
    enhanced capacity of rural women to innovate for change, including improved skills,
      solutions to challenges faced by rural women, stronger networks and enhanced
      knowledge flows from, between and towards women innovators in rural areas and in
      farming, facilitating the uptake and dissemination of successful innovations and
      innovation-support tools, in particular those contributing to ecological transitions.
Scope: The role that European women play in rural development and in farming is still widely
under-researched. And so is their role as entrepreneurs and innovation leaders, the specifics of
the innovations they develop and how the current governance framework contributes to
boosting their innovation capacity or to hampering it. Current evidence suggests that this role
is underestimated and that the potential of rural women to contribute to sustainability
transitions remains partially untapped, in particular due to a lack of targeting in policy
frameworks and innovation support systems.
Proposals should analyse the role that women play and will play in the future of rural areas
considering megatrends in European rural economies and communities in general and in
farming in particular (proportion of official and non-official farm labour, involvement in
innovative activities, role in social capital, specific social challenges and risks, relation to
environment and environmentally-friendly farming practices etc.), highlighting differences
between and within studied countries. They should analyse the specifics of women-led or
gendered innovations in farming and in rural communities (specific needs and challenges,
sectors and activities, scope, outcomes and benefits, hurdles and obstacles, knowledge and
support sources and various forms of social capital involved), the relevance of the agricultural
and rural knowledge and innovation systems for women, including education, training and
advice. To this end, proposals should actively support a number of practical user-centred
women-led interactive innovation initiatives to create knowledge of the specifics of women-
led innovation processes, favour exchanges across initiatives and derive new knowledge and
practical tools for women, support organisations and policy makers at national (including
Associated Countries) and EU level to enhance change.
Proposals should benchmark EU and national policy and legal frameworks on farming and
rural development for their gender equality performance, taking into account the new
European gender equality strategy. They should also formulate recommendations on how to
improve legal, policy or governance frameworks in rural economies in general and in farming
in particular to support women-led innovation and women’s role in farming and rural
economies.
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Proposals should be transdisciplinary, with a key role for social sciences and humanities
(SSH) such as sociology, psychology, economics and innovation studies. This topic should
involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines. Social innovation should be considered
alongside other types of innovation350. Proposals must implement the multi-actor approach,
involving women rural innovators and supportive organisations in all tasks alongside
scientists, innovation support services and other relevant actors all along the project. The
consortia and practical innovation initiatives supported should be located in a set of different
locations representing the diversity of European rural socio-economic conditions. Proposals
should include a task to coordinate with other proposals funded under this topic, as well as
under topics on the ‘expertise and training centre on rural innovation’ (HORIZON-CL6-2021-
COMMUNITIES-01-02), ‘smart solutions for smart rural communities’ (HORIZON-CL6-
2022-COMMUNITIES-02-01-two-stage), other relevant projects351 and with future common
agricultural policy networks352, to build synergies in engagement activities and dissemination
and exploitation of results.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-02: Assessing                                     and     improving       labour
conditions and health and safety at work in farming
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                         The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                         multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
350
        Social innovation is defined for this topic as “the reconfiguring of social practices, in response to
        societal challenges, which seeks to enhance outcomes on societal well-being and necessarily includes
        the engagement of civil society actors”. (SIMRA)
351
        These could include for example projects that will be funded under HORIZON-CL6-2022-
        COMMUNITIES-01-02: Assessing and improving labour conditions and health and safety at work in
        farming; ‘HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-26: Deepening the functioning of innovation
        support’ and ‘HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-14: Improving preparation of multi-actor
        projects to enable the relevant actors to work in a co-creative way’.
352
        Currently      ENRD         and     EIP-AGRI         (https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-
        policies/common-agricultural-policy/rural-development_en#enrd) to be replaced by the networks to be
        funded under the future CAP: https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-
        agricultural-policy/future-cap_en
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will contribute to fostering a sustainable,
balanced and inclusive development of rural areas, supporting the implementation of the EU
farm to fork strategy353, the European pillar of social rights354 and the long-term vision for
rural areas 355. It will do so by increasing the understanding of the social and behavioural
drivers of change, especially in relation with social inclusion, labour, health and safety
aspects, and by favouring the deployment of innovations that improve labour conditions,
health and safety in farming, equipping the sector with smarter and innovative solutions that
increase opportunities for most vulnerable groups, improve attractiveness of farm work and
reduce the feeling of being left behind. Improved knowledge leading to more supportive
policy frameworks alongside practical innovations will empower people and businesses to act
for change and get prepared to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, adapt to climate change,
and turn digital and ecological transitions into increased resilience, good health and positive
long-term prospects, including jobs, for all including women, young people and vulnerable
groups.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     enhanced understanding and awareness by policy makers, farmers organisations, trade
      unions and health authorities of farmers’ and farm workers’ health and safety, and on the
      implications of the perceptions of their work on the future of the sector and hence on
      long-term food security;
     improved policy and governance frameworks favouring safer and more inclusive
      working environments for farmers and farm workers;
     wider use of corporate social responsibility innovations by farm businesses; and
     improved health, safety and labour conditions in farming thanks to better performing
      European and national policy and legal frameworks and innovative bottom-up initiatives.
Scope: Proposals should analyse health and safety at work issues in the farming sector with a
specific focus on working conditions (and how they will evolve with digital transitions,
climate change, health risks, regulatory developments on chemicals, farmers mental health,
injuries, etc.) and labour conditions (seasonal patterns, working time, income and work
outside legal contracts, including mobile EU and non-EU workers) also in relation to the
perceived attractiveness of farming or working in farming as a job. They should analyse work
risks and the vulnerability of farm workers of different genders and ages. They should engage
with current and potential future farmers and farm workers on their perception of work in
farming and their perspectives and plans for the future, including farm inheritance/take over,
seeking to understand the attractiveness of the job (e.g. in relation to wages, stability,
seasonality etc.). They should assess the impact of the type of labour force involved (family,
353
        https://ec.europa.eu/food/farm2fork_en
354
        https://ec.europa.eu/commission/priorities/deeper-and-fairer-economic-and-monetary-union/european-
        pillar-social-rights/european-pillar-social-rights-20-principles_en
355
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/new-push-european-democracy/long-term-
        vision-rural-areas_en
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
local, external) on society and on the farm (including from the workers’ perspectives) and the
consequences in case of external shocks such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
Proposals should explore the potential of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and
social economy and entrepreneurship to improve the situation of farm workers, including
business models that reward improved working conditions through premium prices or other
forms of reward, including for non-productive functions such as social inclusion,
empowerment and care (non-EU good practices could be considered). They should analyse
consumers’ willingness to pay for more ethical working conditions and enabling conditions
for market development in this arena. To this end, they should support social innovation356,
social entrepreneurship or corporate social responsibility pilots in a limited number of
localities to serve as role models or positive examples to learn from and be scaled-up.
They should explore the policy implications of the outcomes (including regulation and
control); benchmark policy design and delivery and make recommendations for improved
policy frameworks at the right level of governance considering the various competencies
involved (EU, national, regional etc.). Finally, they should develop training and education
actions to raise farmers, farm workers, trade unions and farmers organisations awareness of
health-protecting innovations that can be scaled up.
Proposals must implement the multi-actor approach, bringing together multiple science fields,
in particular the social sciences and humanities (SSH) (e.g. sociology, behavioural sciences,
psychology etc.), actors with complementary knowledge of health, employment, farm
contracts, taxation etc., farmers and farmer organisations or trade unions and support groups
for farmers facing difficulties. This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH
disciplines. Proposals should cover a representative variety of countries and sectors at least in
the EU, covering in particular countries and sectors in which intra-EU and non-EU mobile
workers are a significant part of the sector’s labour force. Attention should be paid to gender
and age disparities in the cases analysed and pilots supported. For gender-related issues, the
project may engage in collaboration with projects funded under HORIZON-CL6-2022-
COMMUNITIES-01-01: Boosting women-led innovation in farming and rural areas.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-03: Integration of marine ecosystem service
valuation, conservation and restoration in socio-economic models
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 9.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
356
         Social innovation is defined for this topic as “the reconfiguring of social practices, in response to
         societal challenges, which seeks to enhance outcomes on societal well-being and necessarily includes
         the engagement of civil society actors”. (SIMRA)
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal, the successful proposal will
contribute to fostering a sustainable, balanced and inclusive development of coastal areas,
thanks to deployment of digital, nature-based, social and community-led innovations, to
deliver nature-based and scientifically validated solutions to existing coastal socio-economic
and environmental threats. People are empowered to act for change through upgraded skills
and innovative governance that favours an integrated and interlinked territorial development.
Coastal communities are better prepared to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, adapt to
climate change, and turn digital and ecological transitions into increased resilience to various
types of shocks, good health and positive long-term prospects, including jobs, for all
including women, young people and vulnerable groups. Tourism, recreational and leisure
activity development in coastal areas respects long-term environmental carrying capacity, and
social goals.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
    Nature-based and community-led socio-economic development in the coastal sector,
      revitalising social capacities in fragile communities and supporting environmental
      improvements, based on integrated marine ecosystem service valuation, management,
      conservation and restoration.
    Lasting cooperation between local communities and coastal sectors and authorities
      through enhanced governance and social innovation in different regional contexts.
    Properly assessed and transdisciplinary scientifically validated, supported and monitored
      social innovation experiments related to coastal climate adaptation and mitigation,
      biodiversity, water quality, pollution, seafood production, ecotourism etc.
    Innovative socio-economic models resulting from the projects, based on a long-term
      perspective using a participatory process of visioning and experimentation, are
      implemented in integrated coastal zone management.
    Improved employment prospects through job creation, development and training of
      knowledgeable regional/local ambassadors for natural habitat restoration and
      transformation.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
    Scientifically validated recommendations for tourism development in coastal areas
      reflecting long-term carrying capacity and social goals.
    Nature-based scientifically validated solutions to existing socio-economic and
      environmental threats, are embedded in new regulations and European Directives like
      the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive, the Water Framework Directive, the Marine
      Strategy Framework Directive and the NATURA 2000 Directives.
Scope: Coastal ecosystems play an important role in nutrient recycling/regulation, sediment
stabilisation and transfer, food production, reducing risks and impacts of climate change, etc.
They are the basis of important socio-economic activities such as tourism and wellbeing,
fisheries and aquaculture, housing and transport, trade, renewable energy. Integrated coastal
zone management requires more and better integration of ecosystem services’ valuation,
management, conservation and restoration in socio-economic models through partnerships
and collaborations between a range of multi-sector organisations, authorities and coastal
communities for a balanced sustainable development and management of potentially vibrant
coastal areas.
The multi- and trans-disciplinary proposals should design, scientifically guide and develop
nature-based coastal socio-economic models, businesses and marine spatial planning, based
on the limits and potential of coastal ecosystem services. These scientific activities should aim
to avoid traditional conflicts between human-based activities, reduce urban pressures, protect
and restore coastal ecosystems, and support critical ecosystem services in order to ensure
good environmental or ecological status, social cohesion and resilience. The proposals should
stimulate and benefit from increased nature connectedness of coastal communities; cultural
heritage including traditional skills, nature-based social and frugal innovation, active
engagement and employments of knowledgeable regional/local ambassadors for natural
habitat restoration and transformation, ocean literacy training towards and within companies,
digital transformation and collaborative (e)governance improvements. Activities could
usefully include innovative business models integrating land-based and sea-based production
or service provision with simultaneous benefit for the local economy, local jobs and the
environment.
The proposals should cover a representative set of coastal areas or regions across Europe
varying according to size and geographical, environmental, socio-economic, institutional and
administrative conditions (regional, inter-regional, macro-region, cross-border). Interactive
research approaches should be used to engage with relevant stakeholders, local businesses and
citizens and elaborate options for cooperation, networking and integrated governance seeking
to enhance partnership. Proposals could seek to create long-lasting relationships within and
between the case study areas benchmarked by the project in order to generate knowledge
exchange to foster synergistic relationships in different coastal areas of Europe.
The potential use of instruments provided by the European Structural and Investment Funds
for the period 2021-2027 should be explored. Some cooperation activities with projects
financed      under     topic    HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-04,                  Destination
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‘Biodiversity and ecosystem services’ and Green Deal Call topics could be included; as well
as with relevant projects from other EU programmes or with relevant EU initiatives and
networks.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
Proposals must involve coastal actors and other land and sea-based businesses, and economic
and local development bodies to implement the required multi-actor approach (cf eligibility
conditions). Engaging with managing authorities of the European Structural and Investment
Funds during the project would help increase implementation of the project outcomes and
support further uptake.
This topic should be linked to the Horizon Europe Missions Ocean, seas and waters and
Adaptation to Climate Change including Societal Transformation, the Partnership for a
climate neutral, sustainable and productive Blue Economy, the Biodiversity Partnership or
other partnerships where relevant.
Social innovation357 is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-04: Social innovation in food sharing to
strengthen urban communities’ food resilience
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per         10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                         The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                         multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal priorities and the farm to fork
strategy for a fair healthy and environmentally friendly food system, as well as of the EU's
Climate ambition for 2030 and 2050, the successful proposal will support the development of
policies, business models and market conditions contributing to the sustainable, balanced and
inclusive development of urban and peri-urban areas and to the empowerment and resilience
357
        https://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/policy/innovation/social_en
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of their communities, who can access, afford and choose healthier, nutritious and
environmental-friendly food.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all following expected outcomes:
     The concept of urban food-sharing economy and of its impacts on the society, the planet
      and the economy at urban and peri-urban level are better understood, as well as the
      drivers to its development and the implementation gaps;
     Urban and peri-urban communities develop or strengthen their food-sharing economies
      as a step towards more innovative, inclusive, sustainable and resilient local food systems
      and supply chains that can also address emerging problems, such as the challenges posed
      by the measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic;
     Prevention and reduction of food waste.
Scope: With the recent Covid-19 pandemic, it is now evident that the risk of disruptions of
food systems needs to be given greater attention. Strengthening the resilience of communities
(in particular the most vulnerable and isolated, and those at risk of food poverty) to potential
food system disruptions is at the heart of this topic.
The Pandemic has contributed to the emergence of territorialised and community-based food
economies spontaneously created by citizens. These new sharing and circular economies are
based on the redistribution of value, knowledge-sharing and reciprocal support, and are often
supported by local governments.
Urban food sharing initiatives have been multiplying across a wide range of diversified cities,
far beyond the wealthiest ones, and are often facilitated by new technologies such as apps,
websites and social media. Such initiatives develop strategies that support an increase in
resilience, social justice and empowerment of vulnerable and marginalised populations.
However, urban food sharing is still an unexplored – and debated – field; there is currently no
agreed definition and many activities can be considered as part of it (e.g., kitchen spaces, meal
sharing, food business incubators, collaborative delivery services, food donation). The lack of
political interest, financing and sufficient data, as well as the existence of regulatory barriers
and risks (both real and perceived), are holding back the rise of new food systems economies
that work for all people and the planet.
The proposals should foster social innovation, with a special focus on building a more
widespread and resilient food sharing economy, where different practices can be considered,
while working on 5 distinct areas:
     Mapping, tracking and monitoring: building on the work of the EU-funded project
      ‘Sharecity’358, proposals should investigate the food sharing landscapes of at least 100
      EU/Associated Countries cities to understand how food sharing landscapes differ within
358
        https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/646883/
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      and across countries; moreover, proposals should develop automated systems to search,
      collect and – especially – update existing urban and peri-urban initiatives;
    Cost-benefit analysis: proposals should define appropriate measures and indicators to
      assess the social, economic and environmental benefits of urban and peri-urban food
      sharing, including developing new indices to describe the specificity of food sharing
      economy. This should include the production of new knowledge on the challenges,
      implementation gaps and innovative mechanisms to foster for sustainable food sharing in
      cities, towns and neighbourhoods;
    Comparative governance analysis: proposals should investigate how different food
      sharing landscapes evolve and, also through a scenario analysis, how to transform the
      existing regulatory regimes, governance structures and habits, to promote sustainable
      food sharing;
    Strategic planning: proposals should exploit the potential for replicability/scale up of
      existing food sharing initiatives across the EU and associated countries and bring
      innovation into urban food systems design to integrate sustainable food sharing and build
      the urban food systems of the future;
    Challenging the existing theories: proposals should study the relationship between the
      evolution of social norms, culture and local conditions, including their change due to the
      global pandemics, and the rise of food sharing initiatives.
Furthermore, proposals should support the definition of innovative local strategies to
overcome the barriers to food and nutrition security in urban areas and boost community
resilience. This can include the creation and evaluation of distributive food systems (e.g.
mutual aid programmes, local food systems networks) based on local needs and capacities,
where value, knowledge and power would be redistributed fairly across actors and territories;
tailored solutions - including social innovations, frugal innovation, technologies, new/adapted
business models -, as well as new market places.
Proposals should address inequalities in urban food systems, whether they be due to gender,
race and other social categories.
Proposals should implement the multi-actor approach by conducting inter and trans-
disciplinary research and involving a wide diversity of food system actors, with a special
attention to consumers and civil society organisations. They should ensure a strong
involvement of citizens and civil society, as well as of academia, industry and public
authorities in the development of the methods and approaches to innovation.
Proposals should explain and map how the co-benefits relevant to the four Food 2030
priorities will be achieved: Nutrition for sustainable healthy diets, Climate and environment,
Circularity and resource efficiency, Innovation and empowerment of communities.
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Proposals should set out a clear plan on how they will collaborate with other proposals
selected under this and any other relevant topic/call, e. g. by participating in joint activities,
workshops, as well as common communication and dissemination activities.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-05: Assessing the socio-politics of nature-
based solutions for more inclusive and resilient communities
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                         and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                         Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                         additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal will contribute to the EU’s goal of leading just
digital, economic and ecological transitions that will leave no one behind, supporting in
particular European Green Deal priorities such as the biodiversity strategy for 2030. R&I will
contribute to develop rural, coastal and urban areas in a sustainable, balanced and inclusive
manner thanks to the deployment of nature-based solutions (NBS) 359 and to a better
understanding of the environmental, socio-economic, behavioural and cultural drivers of
change. R&I will also further support the empowerment of communities to deploy NBS to
adapt to climate change and turn digital and ecological transitions into increased resilience,
well-being and positive long-term prospects, such as jobs for all (including for women, young
people and vulnerable groups).
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
359
        As defined by the European Commission: Solutions that are inspired and supported by nature, which
        are cost-effective, simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits and help build
        resilience. Such solutions bring more, and more diverse, nature and natural features and processes into
        cities, landscapes and seascapes, through locally adapted, resource-efficient and systemic interventions.
        Hence, nature-based solutions must benefit biodiversity and support the delivery of a range of
        ecosystem services. In https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=nbs.
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     Enhanced contribution of nature-based solutions (NBS) to social and economic targets,
      especially in vulnerable communities and notably regarding the transformative change
      needed to address the biodiversity and climate crises.
     New NBS governance models and co-creation approaches and tools, as well as NBS
      design and technologies that enhance social benefits while providing ecological and
      economic benefits.
     NBS are better suited to respond to different socio-political contexts and have higher
      replicability in the diverse environmental, economic and social conditions across Europe.
Scope: Nature-based solutions (NBS) are already being delivered with increasing evidence on
their effectiveness, but implementation issues persist, hindering NBS uptake and upscale.
There is a need to move beyond seeing the implementation challenge as primarily a technical
issue, to develop our understanding of the economic, social, political, moral and cultural
dimensions of designing and implementing NBS360.
Most of the available approaches seem inadequate to fully take into consideration synergies
and trade-offs among different actions, notably in what concerns the social and cultural
benefits of NBS. They often also fail to understand the social, political and institutional
contexts and the material and discursive elements that shape NBS implementation. This, in
turn, affects the long-term success of NBS, notably in contributing to the transformative
change needed to address the biodiversity and climate crises. This understanding is
particularly crucial when implementing NBS to support vulnerable communities and regions
to cope with transformative change in old-industrialised, low-income, outermost or disaster-
hit areas. NBS can also contribute to addressing inequities and well-being in communities and
regions who need it most, especially in terms of the post-COVID19 recovery. Additionally,
our understanding of how diverse actors – who may operate at different scales and through
multiple networks – are engaged in the development and implementation of NBS is still
limited, especially when the deployment of NBS implies collaboration across different
regions, administrative areas or simply different types of land owners.
The successful proposals should:
     Gain a wider understanding of the role of actors involved in NBS, considering: a)
      particular groups of actors that have been under-researched (e.g. land holders such as
      churches, charitable organizations, educational establishments, utilities, etc.); b) sectors
      of the economy (e.g. agriculture, forestry, tourism, finance, etc.) and c) landscapes (e.g.
      coastal areas, river catchments, wetlands, etc.);
     Investigate how different NBS designs and governance can contribute to environmental
      justice, prevent environmental racism and gentrification, insure the inclusion and active
      participation of women, youth, minority groups, immigrant communities, etc.;
360
        The economic aspects of NBS are the focus of HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-05: The economics
        of nature-based solutions (NBS): cost-benefit analysis, market development and funding.
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   Develop innovative governance models: a) exploring different forms of engagement,
     inclusion and stewardship; b) enabling the breaking of silos in public administration and
     between different administrative domains; and c) tackling other legal, management and
     administrative issues;
   Propose ways in which NBS governance and design can contribute to transformative
     change and to a just transition in support of the Sustainable Development Goals;
   Understand and propose solutions to functional conflicts in land-use for better and more
     integration between NBS, land-use planning and other (possibly conflicting) sectors,
     their policies and planning processes;
   Explore governance techniques (e.g. standards, certification, incentives, subsidies, etc.)
     that develop private and voluntary governance alongside formal regulatory and planning
     powers, with a view to mainstreaming NBS in the public and private sectors.
   Identify the possibilities for, and limits to, the full co-creation approach in NBS
     (including co-design, co-implementation, co-maintenance and co-monitoring), their
     underlying governance arrangements and instruments;
   Provide approaches based on citizen science, big data or artificial intelligence tools to
     better communicate the science of NBS and promote citizen engagement in the co-
     creation, co-implementation and co-monitoring of NBS;
   Understand how the meanings and values attached to nature in urban, rural, coastal,
     periurban or post-industrial areas affect the long-term success of NBS. To this end,
     investigate what counts as nature, what is valued and why this varies amongst
     individuals and communities as well as how this can be taken into account in the
     development of NBS.
   Investigate the impact of citizens’ perceptions and expectations towards NBS on
     management decisions and delivery of ecosystem services, while considering also the
     role of NBSs in generating new kinds of connections and values for nature and with
     what consequences.
Proposals should address all of the above points.
Proposals should bring together from the start multiple types of scientific expertise in both
natural sciences and social sciences and humanities (e.g. geography, sociology, political
ecology, behavioural sciences, anthropology, philosophy, etc). In particular, this topic should
involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
Projects should seek to contribute to the New European Bauhaus initiative by supporting the
green and digital transitions in communities’ living environments through merging
sustainability, inclusiveness and quality of experience. Small-scale pilots could be envisaged
to explore NBS which are innovative either in their functional scope, socio-economic reach,
integrative approaches or application in new settings.
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Applicants should create synergies with projects under the same topic and other relevant
ongoing or up-coming projects, notably the Horizon 2020 NBS project portfolio and its task
forces; HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-05: The economics of nature-based solutions: cost-
benefit analysis, market development and funding; HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-06:
Nature-based solutions, prevention and reduction of risks and the insurance sector;
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-03: Network for nature: multi-stakeholder dialogue
platform to promote nature-based solutions; HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-02-02-
two-stage: Developing nature-based therapy for health and well-being; HORIZON-CL6-
2021-COMMUNITIES-01-06: Inside and outside: educational innovation with nature-based
solutions. To this end, proposals should include dedicated tasks and appropriate resources for
coordination measures, foresee joint activities and joint deliverables.
Proposals should ensure that all evidence, information and project outputs will be accessible
through the Oppla portal (the EU repository for NBS)361.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is strongly encouraged,
in particular with the Latin American and Caribbean region and the USA.
Call - Resilient, inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and urban communities
                                              HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-02-two-stage
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)362
                         Topics                               Type Budgets          Expected      Number
                                                                of     (EUR            EU             of
                                                             Action million) contribution projects
                                                                                   per project expected
                                                                        2022          (EUR          to be
                                                                                            363
                                                                                   million)        funded
                                           Opening: 28 Oct 2021
                Deadline(s): 23 Feb 2022 (First Stage), 06 Sep 2022 (Second Stage)
361
        https://oppla.eu/.
362
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
363
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-02-01-                      IA       14.00      Around        2
two-stage                                                                    7.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-02-02-                      RIA      19.00      Around        3
two-stage                                                                    6.00
Overall indicative budget                                         33.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-02-01-two-stage: Smart solutions for smart
rural communities: empowering rural communities and smart villages to innovate for
societal change
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          7.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 14.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
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Eligibility conditions        The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                              exceptions apply:
                              If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning,
                              navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must
                              make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and
                              services may additionally be used).
                              The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                              The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                              multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Technology                    Where relevant, activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-7 by the end
Readiness Level               of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial           The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant           exceptions apply:
Agreements                    Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The
                              support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                              The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60
                              000. Maximum 20% of the EU funding can be allocated to this
                              purpose.
Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will contribute to fostering a sustainable,
balanced and inclusive development of rural areas, supporting the implementation of the
European Green Deal364, in particular its fair and just transition component, the European
digital strategy365, the European pillar of social rights366 and the EU long-term vision for rural
areas367. It will do so by supporting digital, social and community-led innovations and by
equipping rural communities with innovative and smarter solutions that increase access to
services, opportunities and adequate innovation ecosystems, including for women, youth and
the most vulnerable groups, improve attractiveness and reduce the feeling of being left
behind, even in the most remote locations like mountains. The increased availability of smart
solutions and support to community-led innovations will empower people to act for change
and get prepared to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, adapt to climate change, and turn
digital and ecological transitions into increased resilience, good health and positive long-term
prospects, including jobs, for all including women, young people and vulnerable groups.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
364
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
365
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/shaping-europe-digital-
        future_en
366
        https://ec.europa.eu/commission/priorities/deeper-and-fairer-economic-and-monetary-union/european-
        pillar-social-rights/european-pillar-social-rights-20-principles_en
367
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/new-push-european-democracy/long-term-
        vision-rural-areas_en
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     Enhanced capacity of rural communities and rural people to innovate for change thanks
      to the specific outcomes below;
     Enlarged set of smart solutions for rural communities (practical and transferable
      innovative solutions to challenges faced by rural communities in a variety of fields e.g.
      social services, health, energy, mobility, climate adaptation and mitigation, biodiversity
      and ecosystem management, education, access to culture, etc.).
     Upgraded approaches, methods, tools and skills to design, implement, monitor and
      evaluate community-led innovations contributing to the implementation of smart
      village368 strategies and social innovation369 initiatives improving i) rural people’s well-
      being, ii) rural community resilience to shocks, iii) rural contributions to the United
      Nations Sustainable Development Goals and to the EU long-term vision for rural
      areas370.
     Strengthened human capital, including networks, enhanced relations and knowledge
      exchange between smart villages and rural community innovators on transferable
      innovations and innovation processes.
Scope: Proposals should start from past work conducted in the framework of i) EU action on
smart villages371, including the related preparatory actions372; and ii) Horizon 2020 projects
dedicated to social innovation in rural areas373. Proposals should support a large number of
rural community-led, social innovation or smart village pilot initiatives in a set of locations in
the EU and Associated Countries representative of the diversity of social and geographical
contexts. They should prototype, test, pilot and demonstrate innovations that answer the most
pressing rural challenges found at these locations, with particular attention to social and
environmental challenges.
Proposals should explore various forms of innovations: technical, technological, business,
organisational and social. Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the
interface between social and technical solutions and requires social change, new social
practices, social ownership or market uptake. Proposals should exploit in particular the
368
         Smart villages are defined for this call as “communities in rural areas that use innovative solutions to
         improve their resilience, building on local strengths and opportunities”. A more complete definition is
         available on p.2 of the briefing note from February 2019: https://digitevent-
         images.s3.amazonaws.com/5c0e6198801d2065233ff996-registrationfiletexteditor-1551115459927-
         smart-villages-briefing-note.pdf
369
         Social innovation is defined for this topic as “the reconfiguring of social practices, in response to
         societal challenges, which seeks to enhance outcomes on societal well-being and necessarily includes
         the engagement of civil society actors”. (SIMRA)
370
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/new-push-european-democracy/long-term-
         vision-rural-areas_en
371
         https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/enrd-thematic-work/smart-and-competitive-rural-areas/smart-villages_en;
         https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/smart-and-competitive-rural-areas/smart-villages/smart-villages-portal_en
372
         http://www.pilotproject-smartvillages.eu;
         https://www.smartrural21.eu
373
         In particular:
         SIMRA:                 https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/677622            -             RURITAGE:
         https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/776465 RURACTION: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/721999
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potential of digital technologies to answer rural communities’ challenges, respecting the
principles of the declarations on “joining forces to boost sustainable digital transformation in
cities and communities” 374 and on “a smart and sustainable digital future for European
agriculture and rural areas”375. Proposals should build on the work of projects funded under
the topic DT-ICT-09-2020376 and avoid duplications.
Criteria for selecting the pilot initiatives supported should include the contribution to rural
people’s well-being, rural community resilience to shocks, Sustainable Development Goals
and the EU’s long-term vision for rural areas as well as the potential transferability or
replicability of the innovations to other European villages facing similar conditions. The
experience gained from supporting these community-led innovation pilot initiatives should
lead proposals to formulate upgraded approaches, methods and tools that should be widely
disseminated in close coordination with the ‘expertise and training centre on rural innovation
funded under HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-02. Proposals should also capitalise
on i) rural innovation processes and knowledge and innovation systems or ecosystems needed
to support rural community-led or social innovation and smart villages; and ii) lessons learnt
to improve policies and governance frameworks, especially on instruments supporting the
development of social capital, social networks, social economy and social innovation and with
attention to various needs of various target groups.
Proposals must implement the multi-actor approach, bringing together scientists alongside
rural community organisations, action groups or networks with a demonstrated ability to
connect to a large number of local communities and disseminate and exploit project results.
The consortium should bring together a multiplicity of competences and science disciplines
with an effective contribution of SSH disciplines, to ensure a skilled accompaniment of a
wide range of innovation areas likely to come from the pilot initiatives (climate mitigation
and adaptation, social care and services, energy, mobility, culture, education etc.) and
innovation approaches and technologies (technical, organisational, social, digital…). It should
demonstrate substantial prior experience in facilitating community-led bottom-up innovation
initiatives.
As an option, proposals may provide financial support to third parties, particularly for SMEs
or entities who would develop specific innovative solutions needed in the pilot initiatives.
Consortia who decide to use this option should define the selection process of entities for
which financial support will be granted.
Proposals should include a task to cooperate with other projects funded under this topic, other
relevant innovation projects and with the ‘expertise and training centre on rural innovation’
funded under HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-02 from the beginning of the
project (taking up tools and training kits) until its end (dissemination of upgraded tools and
smart solutions) and with the projects funded under HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-
374
         https://www.living-in.eu/declaration
375
         https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/eu-member-states-join-forces-digitalisation-
         european-agriculture-and-rural-areas
376
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/dt-ict-
         09-2020
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01-01 for issues related to women-led innovation. Proposals should also foresee close
coordination with the common agricultural policy networks377 to maximise the contribution of
project activities to the achievement of future common agricultural policy (2021-2027)
objectives378, in particular in relation with smart villages379. Finally, proposals are encouraged
to liaise with the relevant European Institute of Technology knowledge and innovation
communities380.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-02-02-two-stage:                                 Developing        nature-based
therapy for health and well-being
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 19.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                          and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                          Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                          additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal will contribute to the EU’s goal of leading just,
digital, economic and ecological transitions that will leave no one behind, supporting in
particular European Green Deal priorities such as the biodiversity strategy for 2030. R&I will
support the development of nature-based therapy to help communities turn the ecological
transition into opportunities for good health and well-being, increased resilience, and positive
long-term prospects such as the creation of green jobs.
Project results are expected to contribute to all following expected outcomes:
     Sharper view of green space management, nature protection, agriculture and forestry
      sectors as care providers and their possible linkages with the healthcare, social and
      educational sectors;
377
        Currently       ENRD        and    EIP-AGRI        (https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-
        policies/common-agricultural-policy/rural-development_en#enrd) to be replaced by the networks to be
        funded under the future CAP: https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-
        agricultural-policy/future-cap_en
378
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-policy/future-cap_en
379
        https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/enrd-thematic-work/smart-and-competitive-rural-areas/smart-villages_en
380
        https://eit.europa.eu/our-communities/eit-innovation-communities
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
    Stronger evidence base for the causal relationships between nature and health and well-
      being for more effective nature therapy prescriptions;
    Cost-effective nature therapy prescriptions are more widely used in the health care
      sector;
    Greater citizen and policy-maker awareness of the positive benefits of nature for health
      and well-being;
    Wider utilization by healthcare professionals and citizens of nature therapy as a form of
      preventive medicine.
Scope: Nature affects human health in different ways. In particular, urban environments can
have a negative impact on physical and mental health. This is due to urban stressors such as
increased noise levels, higher crime rates and higher levels of pollution. The total global
burden of disease attributable to mental illness has recently been estimated to be as high as
32% of total years lived with disability and 13% of disability-adjusted life-years, on par with
cardiovascular and circulatory diseases. It is important, therefore, to determine the degree to
which nature experience might lessen and address this burden. Even more so in view of the
fact that the opportunities and time spent in nature are decreasing.
However, despite many putative positive correlations identified between nature and health
and well-being, the causal understanding of relationships between health and nature exposure
are not well understood. The long-term effects are also less well studied and recognised in
policies. Social, economic and cultural factors strongly mediate the strength and direction of
linkages between health and nature. Age, gender and especially socio-economic status may
modify the association between greenness and health behaviours and outcomes and need to be
better understood to create more effective nature therapy. Additionally, mental health benefits
may vary with the type of interaction with nature and the form of sensory input. Furthermore,
the health and well-being benefits of exposure to nature are affected by cultural perspectives
and experiences relating to social interaction and contact with the natural environment.
A successful proposal should:
    Develop a common framework to increasingly recognise and promote contact with
      nature, including protected areas and other green and blue spaces, as a cost-effective
      response for the prevention and treatment of human health and well-being;
    Propose an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral approach, including the involvement of
      the health care sector, land owners, as well as green space management and nature
      protection sectors;
    Improve schemes monitoring nature-health linkages to enhance the evidence base and
      tools for the health care sector, green space management, nature protection, urban
      planning and landscape architecture;
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
     Develop longitudinal prospective methods, (quasi-) experiments or well-controlled
      interventions, to provide more evidence of the causal relationships between nature and
      health and well-being:
         Understanding of when people explicitly choose to go to an urban green space and
             what experiences they have there (e.g., active versus passive activities).
         Determining the type of interactions and dose of interactions necessary for long-
             term health and well-being benefits.
         Understanding the mediators of the health-nature relationship, such as age, gender,
             socio-economic status or culture.
         Considering the difference between greenness quantity and quality and determining
             which aspects of natural features are relevant to mental health.
         Understanding how different geographical locations and factors such as population
             density affect the health-nature relationships;
     Test nature therapy sessions, identify best-practices and develop the necessary tools and
      guidelines for integration of nature-based care in the public health sector;
     Identify legal and administrative arrangements, partnerships, and financial mechanisms
      for implementation of nature therapy sessions.
The proposals should address all of the above points.
Proposals should bring together from the start multiple types of scientific expertise in both
health and natural sciences, as well as social sciences and humanities, together with a variety
of community and health sector representatives, businesses, civil society organisations and
citizens.
Proposals should ensure that all evidence, information and project outputs will be accessible
through the Oppla portal (the EU repository for nature-based solutions)381.
Applicants should create synergies with projects under the same topic and other relevant
ongoing or up-coming projects, notably the Horizon 2020 NBS project portfolio and its task
forces; HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-05: The economics of nature-based solutions: cost-
benefit analysis, market development and funding; HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-03:
Network for nature: multi-stakeholder dialogue platform to promote nature-based solutions;
HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-05: Assessing the socio-politics of nature-based
solutions for more inclusive and resilient communities; HORIZON-CL6-2021-
COMMUNITIES-01-06: Inside and outside: educational innovation with nature-based
solutions. To this end, proposals should include dedicated tasks and appropriate resources for
coordination measures, foresee joint activities and joint deliverables.
381
         https://oppla.eu/.
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is strongly encouraged,
in particular with the USA, Japan and the LAC region.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Destination – Innovative governance, environmental observations and
digital solutions in support of the Green Deal
Transformative changes such as the ones required within the Green Deal are dynamic
processes that require appropriate governance. At the same time, to ensure coordination and
for collaborative decision-making, governance requires multiple channels and networks that
provide readily available data and information coming from different sources.
R&I activities under this destination aim at both: experimenting with new ways to govern the
transition process and modernising the governance, in particular by making information and
knowledge available and accessible. R&I for governance to support the Green Deal shall
provide insights into institutional barriers such as lock-ins, path dependency, political and
cultural inertia power imbalances and regulatory inconsistencies or weaknesses.
Innovative governance supporting the Green Deal objectives needs to recognise, cope with
and promote resilience in the face of on-going shocks and disruptions both globally and
across Europe, whether these be climatic, ecological, economic, social, geo-political or related
to health. Critical risk assessment and reduction strategies need to be incorporated, including
the diversification of infrastructures, resources and knowledge through more self-sufficiency
and autonomy.
Taking advantage of the use, uptake, deployment and exploitation of environmental
observations382 as well as digital solutions, assessed through the “do not harm” principle of
the Green Deal, is key for innovative governance models and a more science-based policy
design, implementation and monitoring. To maximise impacts of R&I on the ground and
spark behavioural and socio-economic change, the knowledge and innovation produced
throughout the whole cluster should be widely disseminated to key stakeholders of the
relevant sectors of the cluster. In particular, the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation
Systems (AKIS) needs to be reinforced to accelerate the required transformative changes.
Data and information obtained through Environmental Observation is of great value when
assessing the state of the planet and is delivering crucial information to support the Green
Deal and the climate and ecological transition. Integration of this information from different
sources (space-based, airborne including drones, in-situ and citizens observations) with other
relevant data and knowledge while ensuring (better) accessible, interoperable or deployable
information, delivers information necessary for shaping the direction of the development of
policies in the broad context of Cluster 6 of Horizon Europe. A strong link to the European
Earth observations programme Copernicus (in Cluster 4) and the European Space Agency’s
(ESA) Earth observation programme, as well as support to the Group on Earth Observations
(GEO), its European regional initiative (EuroGEO) and the Global Earth Observation System
of Systems (GEOSS) is foreseen for topics on environmental observations under this
destination. R&I activities relevant to ocean, seas and coastal waters will complement and
382
        The capacity to observe the environment, including space-based, in-situ-based (air, sea, land)
        observation, and citizen observations
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
support the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and UN Decade on
Restoration, the G7 Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative, the pan-Commission Destination
Earth initiative, the European Global Ocean Observing System (EOOS) and the GOOS 2030
strategy.
Digital innovation, in complementarity with Cluster 4 and Digital Europe Programmes
activities, should bring benefits for citizens, businesses, researchers, the environment, society
at large and policy-makers. The potential of the ongoing digital transformation, and its wider
impacts, positive and negative, need to be better understood and monitored in view of future
policy design and implementation, governance, and solution development
This destination will develop innovative digital and data based solutions to support
communities and society at large, and economic sectors relevant for this cluster to achieve
sustainability objectives. R&I activities will add value to the knowledge and cost-
effectiveness of innovative technologies in and across primary production sectors, food
systems, bioeconomy, ocean and biodiversity.
Knowledge and advice to all actors relevant to this cluster are key to improve sustainability.
For instance, primary producers have a particular need for impartial and tailored advice on
sustainable management choices. Knowledge and Innovation Systems are key drivers to
enhance co-creation and thus speed up innovation and the take-up of results needed to achieve
the Green Deal objectives and targets. This will include promoting interactive innovation and
co-ownership of results by users, as well as strengthening synergies with other EU Funds in
particular the CAP, reinforcing the multi-actor approach and setting up structural networking
within national/regional/local AKISs. AKIS goes beyond agriculture, farming and rural
activities and covers environment, climate, biodiversity, landscape, bio-based economy,
consumers and citizens, i.e., all food and bio-based systems including transformation and
distribution chains up until the consumer.
Expected impact
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to
innovative governance and sound decision making in policy for the green transition, and more
specifically to one or several of the following impacts:
     Innovative governance models enabling sustainability and resilience notably to achieve
      better informed decision-making processes, societal engagement and innovation;
     Green Deal related domains benefit from further deployment and exploitation of
      Environmental Observation data and products ;
     A strengthened Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS)383;
383
         The European Commission is a member and co-chair of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), as
         such      the     European      Commission       adopted     the GEO     Canberra    Declaration
         (https://earthobservations.org/canberra_declaration.php and Commission Decision C(2019)7337/F1)
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
     Sustainability performance and competitiveness in the domains covered by Cluster 6 are
      enhanced through further deployment of digital and data technologies as key enablers;
     More informed and engaged stakeholders and end users including primary producers and
      consumers thanks to effective platforms such as Agriculture Knowledge and Innovation
      Systems (AKIS)
     Strengthened EU and international science-policy interfaces to achieve the Sustainable
      Development Goals
When considering their impact, proposals also need to assess their compliance with the “Do
No Significant Harm” principle384 according to which the research and innovation activities of
the project should not be supporting or carrying out activities that make a significant harm to
any of the six environmental objectives of the EU Taxonomy Regulation.
Topics under this destination will have impacts in the following areas: “Climate change
mitigation and adaptation”; “Clean and healthy air, water and soil”; “Enhancing ecosystems
and biodiversity on land and in water”; “Sustainable food systems from farm to fork on land
and sea”; “High quality digital services for all”; and “A Competitive and secure data-
economy”.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                   Call                                 Budgets (EUR million)                 Deadline(s)
                                                      2021                   2022
HORIZON-CL6-2021-                             223.00                                         06 Oct 2021
GOVERNANCE-01
HORIZON-CL6-2022-                                                     147.00                 10        Mar
GOVERNANCE-01                                                                                2022
Overall indicative budget                     223.00                  147.00
        and committed to contribute to the GEO objectives, including to the Global Earth Observation System
        of Systems (GEOSS).
384
        as per Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate
        sustainable investment (EU Taxonomy Regulation)
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Call - Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in
support of the Green Deal
                                                            HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)385
                        Topics                              Type     Budgets     Expected EU Number
                                                              of      (EUR        contribution        of
                                                           Action    million)      per project     projects
                                                                                     (EUR         expected
                                                                       2021                386
                                                                                   million)         to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 06 Oct 2021
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-01 CSA                                3.50        Around 3.50      1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-02 RIA                                17.00       Around 6.00      3
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-03 CSA                                5.00        Around 5.00      1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-04 CSA                                4.00        Around 4.00      1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-05 CSA                                4.00        Around 4.00      1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-06 RIA                                8.00        2.00 to 3.00     3
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-07 CSA                                5.00        Around 2.50      2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-08 CSA                                5.00        Around 2.50      2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-09 CSA                                5.00        Around 2.50      2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-10 CSA                                4.00        Around 4.00      1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-11 CSA                                2.00        Around 2.00      1
385
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
386
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-12 RIA                           10.00       Around       1
                                                                            10.00
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-13 RIA                           10.00       Around 5.00  2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-14 RIA                           20.00       3.00 to 5.00 4
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-15 CSA                           2.00        Around 2.00  1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-16 IA                            13.00       Around       1
                                                                            13.00
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-17 IA                            10.00       3.00 to 5.00 2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-18 RIA                           10.00       Around       1
                                                                            10.00
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-19 RIA                           4.00        2.00 to 4.00 1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-20 RIA                           4.00        2.00 to 4.00 1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-21 RIA                           12.00       Around 6.00  2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-22 RIA                           15.00       Around 7.50  2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-23 CSA                           4.00        Around 2.00  2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-24 RIA                           15.00       Around       1
                                                                            15.00
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-25 CSA                           10.00       Around       1
                                                                            10.00
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-26 CSA                           5.00        Around 5.00  1
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-27 CSA                           8.00        Around 4.00  2
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-28 CSA                           8.50        Around 3.00  3
Overall indicative budget                                       223.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
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                 Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Innovating with governance models and supporting policies
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-01: Mobilising the network of national
contact points in Cluster 6
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.50
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.50 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      Applicants must be Horizon Europe national support structures (e.g.
                      NCP) responsible for Cluster 6 ‘Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources,
                      Agriculture and Environment’ and officially nominated by a Member
                      State or Associated Country.
                      Only if and for as long as Horizon Europe structures have not been
                      officially nominated, will national support structures responsible for
                      Societal Challenges 2 (SC2) and 5 (SC5) be eligible.
Procedure             The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal priorities, the successful proposal
will interconnect national contact point (NCP) service across Europe and will help develop
innovative governance models enabling sustainability and resilience notably to achieve better
informed decision-making processes, societal engagement and innovation.
    An improved and more interconnected national contact point (NCP) service across
      Europe, in the areas covered by Horizon Europe Cluster 6 ‘Food, Bioeconomy, Natural
      Resources, Agriculture and Environment’, thereby simplifying access to Cluster 6
      Horizon Europe calls, lowering the entry barriers for newcomers, and raising the average
      quality of proposals submitted.
    A more harmonised level of NCP support services across Europe.
    Enhanced integration of all the crosscutting issues throughout Horizon Europe.
    Increased participation of less active member states, associated countries, regions and
      stakeholders in the actions funded under Horizon Europe Cluster 6 programme to
      leverage the full R&I potential.
    Connection with NCP Academy activities.
    Increased cooperation of NCPs with the enterprise Europe network.
Scope: Proposals should aim to facilitate trans-national co-operation between national contact
points (NCPs) in the areas covered by Horizon Europe Cluster 6 ‘Food, Bioeconomy, Natural
Resources, Agriculture and Environment’, with a view to identifying and sharing good
practices and raising the general standard of support to programme applicants, taking into
account the diversity of actors that make up the constituency of this cluster. In addition, the
action is expected to provide important feedback on issues relating to programme planning,
design and evaluation.
Proposal should aim to facilitate trans-cluster cooperation in the areas covered by Pilar 2, with
a view to identifying synergies, to make it possible to share good practices and tools. Close
coordination and cooperation are key to achieve the objectives and impacts of the NCP
networks.
The activities of this topic should build on the knowledge and tools already generated by the
NCP networks developed under Horizon 2020.
In view of the changes brought about by the adoption of Horizon Europe, the network of
NCPs is expected to organise transnational events to communicate with all interested actors
regarding new research activities; to draw lessons from previous research programmes on best
practice for cooperation; to help interested stakeholders prepare for new funding schemes and
structures.
The network is expected to organise NCP Information Days, NCP trainings, brokerage events
for interested actors, dissemination of relevant results and provide appropriate tools and
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
instruments to support NCPs, researchers and other actors. Activities will support researchers
and other actors in the areas of food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and
environment to connect into all clusters of Pillar 2 and across the three pillars of Horizon
Europe. To achieve its expected outcomes and objectives, the NCP network should cooperate
with, but should not duplicate actions foreseen in other thematic and horizontal Horizon
Europe NCP networks, and in other networks such as the Enterprise Europe Network.387
Proposals should include a work package to implement matchmaking activities to link up
potential participants from widening countries with emerging consortia in the domain of
Cluster 6 ‘Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment’.
Matchmaking should take place by means of online tools, brokerage events, info days and
bilateral meetings between project initiators and candidate participants from widening
countries. Other matchmaking instruments may be used as appropriate. Attention should be
paid to increase participation of newcomers throughout Europe less active member states,
associated countries, regions and stakeholders. Where relevant, synergies should be sought
with the enterprise Europe network to organise matchmaking activities in accordance with
Annex IV of the NCP minimum standards and guiding principles.”
Special attention should be given to enhancing the competence of NCPs, including helping
new and less experienced NCPs rapidly acquire the know-how built up in other countries.
This should contribute to increase the quality of proposals submitted, including those from
countries where success rates in Horizon 2020 Societal Challenges 2 and 5 were lower than
average.
The consortium should have a good representation of experienced and less experienced NCPs.
Submission of a single proposal is encouraged and it should cover the whole duration of
Horizon Europe.
Countries not participating as beneficiaries of the action may benefit from the activities
carried out by the network.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-02: Furthering food systems science and
federating researchers across the European Research Area
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 17.00 million.
387
        Building notably on the booklet of good practices for the NCP-EEN Cooperation developed by NCPs
        CaRE the network of SC5 NCPs http://www.ncps-care.eu/?wpdmpro=booklet-good-practices-for-the-
        ncp-een-cooperation
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                      The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                      multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Procedure             The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                      apply:
                      To ensure a balanced portfolio, grants will be awarded to applications not
                      only in order of ranking but at least also to one project within Action a)
                      that is the highest ranked, one project highest ranked within Action b) and
                      one project highest ranked within Action c), provided that the applications
                      attain all thresholds.
Expected Outcome: The selected project results are expected to contribute to the following
outcomes:
   New game changers to provide sustainable diets and nutrition for all, ways to meet the
     Green Deal targets, establish cross cutting priorities, establish knowledge as a legitimate
     player/enabler in public debate, accelerate scientific progress, redesign farming systems,
     cope with unforeseen system shocks, and develop smart diversification.
   A food systems transformation, which achieves co-benefits for nutrition and health,
     climate mitigation and adaptation, environment, biodiversity, circularity, inclusion and
     overall sustainability.
   Novel understanding on how, and to which degree, such a transformation can be
     catalysed and sustained in the long term, and how the resulting trade-offs can be
     mitigated.
   Knowledge and understanding of how to move towards true cost accounting of food and
     food systems services that adequately integrate social and environmental externalities
     and embed environmental accounting (e.g. LCA).
   New insights, methods and tools to assess and manage the full systemic complexity of
     food systems and their multiple drivers, their dynamics and the issues and opportunities
     that relate to them.
   Ways to measure food system performance across all three dimensions of sustainability,
     which can provide more informed decision and policymaking, and implementation.
   An increase in the scientific understanding of food systems, in particular their systemic
     aspects, as to how they function, and how to transform them for co-benefits and
     minimised trade-offs.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
    Engagement of academia and the necessary practitioners in science, innovation and
     beyond, that can deliver the necessary scientific methodologies and approaches to
     support policymakers to put complex transformations into practice.
    The establishment of a broad interdisciplinary network of researchers, scientists,
     universities and research centres covering a wide diversity of food systems-related
     disciplines, as well as those dealing with complex systems, to further systems science in
     this area.
    A strengthened European Research area for food systems transformation for co-benefits
Scope: This topic should support and strengthen the science, and the science-policy interface
relevant to food systems, in particular in relation to delivering on farm to fork and Green Deal
policy priorities. Successful proposals are expected to address one of the three inter-connected
transformation actions:
Action a) Advance food systems science through:
    Mapping of existing food systems and typologies and design of new/existing indicator
     sets that could be applied at different spatial levels (local to global), with a focus on
     Europe.
    Development of methods and means to assess food system sustainability, such as
     establishing an overall food systems sustainability score incorporating common agreed
     Life Cycle Analysis methodologies.
    Development of innovative cause-effect simulation models that include all food system
     sectors and actors beyond the economic focus and which can integrate the three pillars of
     sustainability to explore the potential impact of different food systems transition options
     and scenarios delivering co-benefits, while minimising trade-offs.
    Providing sound evidence for policy and regulatory science needs to deliver food
     systems transition towards sustainability; including on how to transition to a true cost of
     food and food systems services that adequately embed social and environmental
     externalities relevant to various levels (global to local).
Action b) Contribute to building up a food systems European Research Area – part 1 -
through:
    Launching new and assessing ongoing food systems foresight activities (building on
     existing ones including the fifth SCAR Foresight), detecting emerging trends, and
     delivering early warnings to policy makers and other relevant actors.
    Establish a project for policy support capacity to extract, summarise and disseminate
     findings and achievements of relevant EU Horizon projects and clusters of projects to
     policy makers, food systems actors and the public.
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   Perform measurement of, and increase research impact of food system science (for
      example by assisting scientists to adopt inter and transdisciplinary approaches), and
      encourage the exchange of scientists for mutual learning and knowledge transfer across
      disciplines
   Foster citizen science in support of food systems transformation by assessing existing
      attempts, communicating successes, and catalysing new citizen science initiatives across
      Europe, in particular by engaging with youth, women, and under-represented
      communities
Action c) Contribute to building up a food systems European Research Area – part 2 – by
creating an interdisciplinary pan-European academic network for food system science that
integrates the social sciences and humanities, natural science and engineering, and design.
This should:
   Federate universities, academics and researchers across Europe to support and engage in
      inter and trans-disciplinary research, foster debate, reflexivity and responsible research
      and innovation (RRI) in support of food systems transition and improved policymaking
      at all levels from global to local.
   Develop and share freely available open access educational material/curricula to be used
      by Higher Education Institutes (bachelors and post-graduate levels) to help strengthen
      their exiting food systems-related teaching and research with an inter and
      transdisciplinary systems dimension that integrates all three aspects of sustainability, and
      farm to fork policy and Green Deal priorities.
   Support researcher training, mobility, mutual learning and knowledge sharing, and open
      science approaches.
   Disseminate and communicate scientific outcomes adapted for multiple audiences
      including researchers, policy makers, industry, science media and society. This will also
      include the organisation of a major international annual/bi-annual conference dedicated
      to advancing food systems science.
   Establish a high-level liaison with EU and relevant international initiatives.
Proposals must involve a wide diversity of food system actors and conducting inter-
disciplinary research to implement the required multi actor approach (cf eligibility
conditions).
All projects should explain and map how co-benefits should be achieved relevant to the four
Food 2030 priorities: nutrition for sustainable healthy diets, climate and environment,
circularity and resource efficiency, innovation and empowerment of communities.
All projects should ensure a clustering mechanism with each other and feedback mechanisms
with other governance topics and provide general scientific advice for related food systems
oriented Horizon Europe projects.
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All projects should set out a clear plan on how they should collaborate with other projects
selected under this and any other relevant topic/call, by participating in joint activities,
workshops, as well as common communication and dissemination activities and channels.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-03: Preparatory action for the Horizon
Europe Food System Partnership
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: In line with the objectives of the European Green Deal priorities and the
farm to fork strategy for a fair healthy and environmentally friendly food system, the
successful proposal will support the establishment of innovative governance models, to
establish the EU Horizon Europe Partnership entitled “Safe and sustainable food systems for
people planet and climate, to underpin the needed transition to sustainable food systems,
provide solutions to the farm to fork strategy by connecting national, regional and European
research and innovation programmes and food systems actors, to deliver co-benefits for
nutrition and health, climate and biodiversity, circularity and communities.
The results of the project will support European Green Deal priorities and the farm to fork
strategy for a fair healthy and environmentally friendly food system, and for tackling the EU's
Climate ambition for 2030 and 2050.
    It is a Horizon Europe food systems governance topic that is dedicated to the alignment
      of European R&I policy priorities, programmes, agendas, and the leveraging of R&I
      investments to transform food systems for co-benefits.
    It will seed the creation of a more structured Food Systems European Research Area as
      a preparatory action towards the build-up of the EU Horizon Europe Partnership entitled
      “Safe and sustainable food systems for people planet and climate”, expected to be
      launched in 2023, that will mobilise public authorities designing and implementing more
      coherent and ambitious EU R&I policy.
Scope: This project should:
    Convene R&I funders to help shape a more impactful and ambitious European Food
      Systems Research Area.
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 Maximise alignment, leverage focus, and impact by exploring and building on common
  R&I policy priorities with and between R&I public funders in Member States.
 Support the relevant SCAR Strategic and Collaborative Working Groups, in particular
  the SCAR Food Systems Working Group and relevant Joint Programming Initiatives, to
  map potential co-funders on regional and national level and play a leading role as a
  convenor of stakeholders in framing the partnership.
 Liaise with other relevant Horizon Europe partnerships to avoid overlap and benefit from
  collaboration, taking advantage of SCAR.
 Support the development of a partnership approach and a strategic research and
  innovation agenda based on operational objectives that are specific, measurable,
  attainable, realistic and time-bound (SMART).
 Foresee a mechanism to engage in a responsive and flexible way with EU and national
  farm to fork policy makers, relevant EU Agencies, industry, academia, civil society
  organisations, philanthropic organisations, education establishments, and finance sectors
  to leverage investments and support the deployment of good practices and responsible
  research and innovation-driven business opportunities, as well as outcomes for the public
  good.
 Liaise with international organisations and initiatives (e.g. FAO, WFP, WHO, OECD,
  WEF, Project Drawdown, etc.) and private funders (EIT FOOD KIC and relevant
  European Technology Platforms and foundations), urban and regional food systems
  strategies (including actions relevant to smart specialization).
 Foster programmes that should encourage the greater take up of digitalisation and social
  sciences and humanities, to improve social legitimacy and focus more on consumer and
  citizens needs and aspirations, and foster behavioural changes at all levels.
 Assess existing and foster improved food systems education and training programmes
  across member states, in cooperation with Higher Education Institutes (HEI) and
  professional/vocational training centres to fill skills and knowledge gaps.
 Explain and map how co-benefits should be achieved relevant to the four Food 2030
  priorities: nutrition for sustainable healthy diets, climate and environment, circularity
  and resource efficiency, innovation and empowerment of communities.
 Establish a branded network of European universities, where rectors develop and adhere
  to code of practice and action plan that motivates the organisation, staff and students to
  foster Food 2030 inspired food system transition for co-benefits relevant to their internal
  corporate practices, local/regional communities, link to similar international networks
  for example in the EU-AU Partnership on food and nutrition security and sustainable
  agriculture.
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The project should set out a clear plan on how it should collaborate with other projects
selected under this and any other relevant topic/call, by participating in joint activities,
workshops, as well as common communication and dissemination activities.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-04: Strengthening bioeconomy innovation
and deployment across sectors and all governance levels
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per           million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                    Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                           proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action             Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility                The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                 exceptions apply:
                           The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                           The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                           multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will contribute to the development of a Strategic
Deployment Agenda for the Bioeconomy, including Food Systems, one of the actions in the
2018 bioeconomy strategy and Action Plan. The European bioeconomy strategy and Action
Plan388 aims to deploy innovations across Europe to ensure that the bioeconomy as a whole is
a vehicle for inclusive and sustainable growth at the local level, and is a key contributor to
EU's Climate ambition for 2030 and 2050. It will contribute to improved governance for
innovation ecosystems and enable advances in sustainability and resilience.
Project results are expected to contribute to all following expected outcomes:
     Improved understanding about which measures should be taken, by EU, Member States,
      and others to strengthen the innovation ecosystem within and across food systems and
      bio-based sectors, based on a detailed mapping exercise and on a comprehensive view on
      issues related to deployment
     Improved impact and efficiency of bioeconomy innovation and innovation systems
These outcomes will also support the farm to fork strategy for fair, healthy and
environmentally friendly food systems, the EU Green Deal policy priorities and the EU's
Climate ambition for 2030 and 2050.
388
         https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1583773927512&uri=CELEX:52018DC0673
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Scope: Innovation today and the initiatives and structures that are part of it at EU, national,
regional, and local level already contribute to the uptake and deployment of innovative
solutions for example by supporting testing, demonstration, and training, and by investing in
the infrastructure that enables these activities. However, more action is needed to (1) address
the fragmentation of this innovation ecosystem across food systems and bio-based sectors, (2)
to create linkages between the different levels of governance, and (3) to improve the
interfacing between the research communities, the innovation communities, investors and
citizens. Actions that address these areas of improvement across the bioeconomy are to be
preferred because their crosscutting nature and trans-disciplinarity might be a further source
of innovation and system transformation, and because they enable sharing of best practices
across sectors and actors.
Proposals are expected to:
    Identify instruments and initiatives that contribute to spreading knowledge and
      deploying innovations in and across food systems and bio-based sectors, at EU, national,
      regional, and local level. Identify links with other policies (e.g. education) and
      instruments (e.g. financial instruments, regulation);
    Analyse possible interactions and complementarities between initiatives, instruments and
      policies;
    Identify opportunities for improved governance and for enhanced cooperation between
      instruments and initiatives within the bioeconomy’s innovation ecosystems, across the
      EU, Member States and private sector;
    Recommend actions to improve bioeconomy innovation and the deployment of new
      knowledge, technologies and practices, in particular by strengthening cooperation
      between entities and activities that support different forms of innovation.
Proposals should:
    Map the structures, instruments and initiatives that make up the innovation ecosystem of
      the bioeconomy with respect to food systems, bio-based sectors (including the blue
      economy), at local, regional, national and EU level
    Put in place networking and matchmaking activities to allow these structures,
      instruments and initiatives to raise their profile, to identify opportunities for new
      collaborations both amongst themselves, and across the different sectors of the
      bioeconomy
    Provide advisory support to these structures, instruments and initiatives to align
      themselves to policy priorities at different levels of governance, and in full awareness of
      existing schemes of sustainability and circularity indicators of the bioeconomy
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   Identify best practices to improve the exploitation of outcomes from funded research
     within innovation communities, innovators and entrepreneurs, and public and private
     investment communities
   Examine the possibilities for improved reporting on the state-of-play and results of
     innovation in the bioeconomy
   Address specific barriers to reducing the fragmentation of the innovation ecosystem
   Deliver specific recommendations related to thematic financial instruments and tools
     applicable to sectors of the bioeconomy and to innovation. Targets of this activity should
     be previously mapped public and private investors, entrepreneurs and all the structures,
     institutes, programs and initiatives. Advice should focus on the effective and integrated
     use of financial tools to support innovation in the long term, and on the contribution to
     building a sustainable and responsible financing framework in Europe
   Where appropriate, link to Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects that demonstrate
     innovative and cross-sectoral solutions, as well as to relevant EU initiatives (for example
     those linked to : European Innovation Partnerships, European Innovation Council,
     European Institute of Innovation & Technology).
   Engage with policy makers and other stakeholders/initiative-owners that are responsible
     for innovation support at different levels of governance, to co-create recommendations to
     improve bioeconomy innovation and the deployment of new knowledge, technologies
     and practices
Proposals should set out a clear plan on how they foresee to collaborate with other projects
selected under this and any other relevant topics/calls, by participating in joint activities,
workshops, as well as common communication and dissemination activities.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-05: Fostering strategic advice and synergies
between national and EU research and innovation agendas, including SCAR foresight
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
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Expected Outcome: Improved coordination of national research programmes on food,
agriculture and the wider Bioeconomy with a view to integrate them better within the
European Research Area (ERA) through:
    Regular portfolio analysis to support a better structured organisation, facilitation and
      reporting of SCAR Strategic and Collaborative Working Groups`(SWGs/CWGs)
      activities on the various themes of main relevance for Horizon Europe, the common
      agricultural policy, the Green Deal, Digital Europe and the farm to fork and biodiversity
      strategies. This will lead to enhanced R&I cooperation between Member States and
      Associated Countries and to synergies at national and EU level;
    Improved linkages between Horizon Europe, the CAP and the Green Deal, including its
      farm to fork and biodiversity strategies through enhancing Agricultural Knowledge and
      Innovation Systems (AKIS) in the countries and a more efficient European Innovation
      Partnership (EIP-AGRI) on Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability, bridging the
      gap between science and practice;
    More inclusive SCAR SWGs and CWGs, fostering mutual learning, covering as much as
      possible all European Member States and Associated Countries and serving the
      development and implementation of foresight based research and innovation policy
      strategies on European and national level.
Scope: The main focus of the successful proposal should be to support the work of the SCAR
SWGs and CWGs. This includes notably the organisation and facilitation of the activities,
particularly meetings and workshops of SCAR SWGs, CWGs and potential ad hoc task
forces, according to the initiatives taken by the Working Groups themselves.
This should in the short- to medium-term improve the quality of outputs of the SCAR SWGs
or CWGs in the different areas covered, thus having a positive impact on achieving the
objectives of the European Green Deal, the farm to fork strategy, the common agricultural
policy, the biodiversity strategy, the wider food systems and bioeconomy research and
innovation policies and the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems in Member
States and Associated Countries.
Main activities are the collection of a portfolio of ongoing or finished projects at national,
regional and EU level relevant to the various themes covered in the work plans of the SCAR
SWGs and CWGs, as well as on other issues that may arise in light of policy developments
and priorities. This includes the search, the summarising and analysis of relevant project
content and outputs in order to help prepare the activities of each SWG/CWG, including their
regular meetings, according to the specific theme(s) covered. This should support the depth of
strategic discussions in the Working Groups. At the end of each year, an annual overview
document of all portfolios per theme should be made.
Activities should consider the linkages to Horizon Europe partnerships and missions, to Joint
Programming Initiatives and ERA-Nets, other relevant policies (e.g. Education policy) and
interesting Member States/Associated Countries networking activities. Support for phasing-in
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of SCAR SWGs or CWGs that may be set up in the future also forms part of the scope. Ad
hoc task forces may be used to support specific activities for short time periods.
This proposal should furthermore ensure broader dissemination of the outputs of the SCAR
SWGs and CWGs, including the portfolio analysis, to any actor interested in their respective
domains, both in classical ways (e.g. with reports, factsheets, videos, workshops, conferences,
etc.) as by using up to date IT tools and websites, providing on a case by case basis interactive
linkages with the young generation of scientists, innovators and citizens for example by
hackathons. These materials and tools should be widely spread and also be made available to
the SCAR Steering Group and the SCAR Plenary. It includes helping to prepare the input
from the SWGs/CWGs for the SCAR Foresights and to help disseminate outcomes, as well as
supporting its take-up by SCAR Working Groups and possible ad hoc task forces, including
linking to international R&I partnerships (EU-AU) and processes, such as the UN Food
Systems Summit follow-up.
The consortium should be representative of the EU Member States and Associated Countries.
Entities in EU Member States and Associated Countries not integrated in the consortium
should be identified and the reasons for not participating in the Consortium clearly explained
in the proposal. These countries should nevertheless be invited and encouraged to participate
in the project activities (e.g. meetings, workshops).
A project duration of 4 years is expected.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
The foreseen services stated under the tender specifications (Annex II to the invitation to
tender) of the on-going public procurement procedure on “Framework Services Contract for
Strategic Analysis and Support for Enhanced Research Cooperation in Agriculture and Food”
(see procurement documents available at https://etendering.ted.europa.eu/cft/cft-
display.html?cftId=7758) are out of the scope of this topic.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-06:                         Environmental      and   social cross-
compliance of marine policies
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will enhance new knowledge and design or improve
tools to achieve better informed decision-making processes and better integrated policies,
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
supporting the implementation of the European Green Deal, with particular focus on
supporting the Water Framework Directive, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and
Nature Directives. In this way proposals will contribute to the development or improvement
of innovative governance models enabling sustainability and resilience and of EU and
international science-policy interfaces.
Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
   Better understanding of policy (in)coherence, potential weaknesses in cross-compliance,
     trade-offs and underexploited synergies between marine/maritime policies, legislation
     and regulation is used by the policy making community
        to halt biodiversity decline and enhance biodiversity and ecosystem restoration and
           conservation for the benefit of local communities
        to favour nature-based climate adaptation and mitigation measures
        to achieve progress towards zero pollution.
   Analytical contributions, orientations and proposals to improve international, European,
     national or regional marine/maritime policies, legislation, regulation and their
     implementation, are provided to the policy making community in order to fully integrate
     the environmental, social and health requirements and considerations, enabling a better
     integration and harmonisation of policies.
   Better understanding of (a potentially regulatorily consolidated) lack of biodiversity,
     pollution or climate related considerations and socio-economic power balances in
     decision making that could disadvantage biodiversity and ecosystem conservation and
     restoration and ecosystem services’ benefits to local communities or disadvantage
     pollution prevention, reduction and remediation; is used to the benefit of international
     cooperation and development aid for local communities.
   Better understanding of the effects of different climate adaptation measures on good
     ecological, environmental or conservation status, is leading to tangible support for
     nature-based and socially acceptable climate adaptation and mitigation strategies with
     low carbon footprint.
   Better understanding of the weaknesses in consistency between emission control
     regulation and fresh water and marine environmental quality standards for chemical
     substances and user or prohibition guidelines at local level (communes, garden
     maintenance companies etc.), as well as food quality and safety or other health standards
     is used by the policy making community.
   Better understanding of the weaknesses in cross-compliance between common
     agricultural policy and the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Marine Strategy
     Framework Directive (MSFD) such as in relation to eutrophication in fresh and marine
     waters has inspired the policy making community to introduce improvements.
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     The policy making community exploited a better insight in how the Member States’
      Maritime Spatial Plans, River Basin Management Plans and MSFD measures link
      together concerning climate adaptation and mitigation, biodiversity and ecosystem
      conservation and restoration, and pollution.
Scope: Proposals should focus on implementation research on environmental and social cross-
compliance of a broad range of marine and maritime policies to detect inconsistencies
between different policies, legislation and regulations as barriers for the Green Deal and its
strategies (EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, Climate Adaptation Strategy, the zero pollution
ambition) in the marine domain.
Actions should address one or more of the following options:
1. Environmental and social cross-compliance and coherence of marine policies for nature-
based climate adaptation and mitigation
A sufficient scientific knowledge base is needed to be able to judge and avoid potential
exemptions of Water Framework Directive and Marine Strategy Framework Directive
requirements or conflicts with NATURA 2000 legislation for new coastal infrastructure
licences for climate adaptation and mitigation actions. The implementation of Article 4(7) of
the WFD on how to deal with new physical modifications to (including coastal) water bodies
currently differs considerably from one Member State to another389.
Proposals should analyse European, national or regional marine/maritime policies, legislation
and regulation, in particular related to the Water Framework Directive, Marine Strategy
Framework Directive and Nature Directives versus marine sectorial and marine spatial
planning legislation, regulation and implementation focusing on climate adaptation and
mitigation. Proposals should review the knowledge on the effects of different climate
adaptation and mitigation measures on good ecological, environmental or conservation status,
also taking into account the benefits of traditional and indigenous knowledge and experience
on climate adaptation and mitigation ecosystem services for integration in policy
implementation.
Proposals should identify weaknesses in cross-compliance and coherence of marine/maritime
policies, legislation and regulation to favour nature-based climate adaptation and mitigation
measures. They should make proposals for improvement and define research and innovation
needs to cover gaps in knowledge to assess effects of different climate adaptation and
mitigation measures on good ecological, environmental or conservation status to support
environmentally friendly decision making.
2. Environmental and social cross-compliance and coherence of marine policies to halt
biodiversity decline and enhance restoration and conservation for the benefit of local
communities
389
        WFD fitness check EC Staff Working Document SWD(2019) 439 final
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Proposals should analyse international, European, national or regional marine/maritime
policies, legislation and regulation (Convention on Biological Diversity, Biodiversity Beyond
National Jurisdiction, Environmental Impact Assessment etc.) versus marine sectorial (such as
International Seabed Authority, international fisheries regulation, fossil fuel
exploration/exploitation, marine wildlife trade, agriculture, waste, etc.) and marine spatial
planning legislation, regulation and implementation focusing on biodiversity and ecosystem
conservation and restoration, including Marine Protected Area assignments.
Proposals should identify weaknesses in cross-compliance and coherence of marine/maritime
policies, legislation and regulation to halt biodiversity decline and enhance restoration and
conservation for the benefit of local communities. They should make proposals for
improvement to support environmentally friendly decision making at all governance levels,
also taking into account the benefits of traditional and indigenous knowledge and experience
on biodiversity and ecosystem services for integration in policy implementation.
3. Environmental and social cross-compliance and coherence of marine policies to achieve
progress towards zero pollution
Proposals should focus on implementation research on environmental and social cross-
compliance and coherence of a broad range of marine and maritime policies to detect
inconsistencies between different policies, legislation and regulations in order to achieve
progress in the elimination of historical and future pollution. Proposals should analyse
international, European, national or regional marine/maritime policies, legislation and
regulation, versus marine sectorial legislation, regulation and implementation focusing on all
kinds of pollution. They should make proposals for improvement to eliminate inconsistencies
at all relevant governance levels and define potential scientific needs to achieve them.
The size of requested EU contribution should be commensurate to the breadth of the project
scope.
The proposals should cover a representative set of coastal areas or regions across Europe
varying according to size and geographical, environmental, socio-economic, institutional and
administrative conditions (regional, inter-regional, macro-region, cross-border).
Interactive research approaches should be used to engage with local, regional, national and –
where relevant - international authorities, as well as local communities, citizens and other
relevant stakeholders, considering gender, age and socio-economic background, where
relevant.
Projects should build on existing knowledge and integrate results from multiple origins,
including other EU, international (for example UN) or national projects or studies. Some
cooperation activities with projects financed under topics from Destinations “Biodiversity and
Ecosystem Services” and “Clean environment and zero pollution” and Green Deal calls (like
LC-GD-7-1-2020 Restoration of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) could be included.
This topic should also be linked to the Horizon Europe Missions Ocean, seas and waters and
Adaptation to Climate Change including Societal Transformation, the Partnership for a
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climate neutral, sustainable and productive Blue Economy, the Biodiversity Partnership, the
Partnership Water security for the planet (Water4All) or other partnerships where relevant.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-07: Regional governance models in the
bioeconomy
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.50
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will contribute to the expected impacts of
Destination ‘Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in
support of the Green Deal’, and the European policies it supports, in particular the European
Green Deal, and EU bioeconomy strategy, by supporting the establishment of the innovative
governance models notably to achieve better-informed decision-making processes, social
engagement and innovation. In addition, the topic supports the strengthened EU and
international science-policy interfaces to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Creation of a supporting governance structure and related capacities for regional
      authorities, contributing to the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) 390 and
      aiming at developing comprehensive and innovation- and sustainability-driven
      bioeconomy strategies.
     Support to local economic and implementing authorities, including at bioeconomy
      clusters’ level, to improve engagement of regional and local actors, considering
      hierarchy of use, trade-offs, synergies, business models, participatory approaches etc.
      with improved environmental, social and economic impacts.
     Support to the development of regional/local strategies, aiming at exploiting and
      developing balanced local potentials and innovation (in terms of feedstock,
      infrastructures (e.g. biorefineries) for logistics, services and production, investments)
      within the framework of local development and investment as well as environmental
      protection plans.
     Integration of the opportunities created by the local bio-based economy within broader
      bioeconomy transition, e.g. by linking ecosystem/nature services’ valorisation with
390
        https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=circular
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
      sustainable biomass production, processing, product design and manufacture, circular
      use and upcycling to new applications.
     Development of the best practice guidelines for local operators and innovation
      developers, supporting climate-neutrality and low environmental footprint improvements
      of bio-based products and services;
     Development of novel business models and related social measures to enable consumers,
      industry and public bodies to switch to socially and environmentally responsible
      behaviour within their choices (e.g. regulatory measures, corporate responsibility
      initiatives, education); ensuring synergies, transparency and inclusiveness of all actors;
Scope: Improved and informed governance including social innovation contributes to
reducing resource consumption and results in an increased innovation capacity of all actors,
and reducing the risk of leaving anyone behind. This should take into account the regional and
local peculiarities, including feedstock availability, industrial development, consumption
patterns, market measures and available investment streams (financial models), while
ensuring effective sharing of best practices across European regions. This also helps to
advance innovation at local scale and engage all actors.
This action should support the implementation of sustainable bio-based value chains, in
regional settings (toolbox of instruments including strategies, plans and programmes,
including the social dimension). Proposals should benefit from social creativity and
opportunities at regional scale unleashed for bio-based systems, ensuring their low
environmental footprint, and providing for its operational verification. Robust environmental
protection plans should underpin the effort undertaken.
The local dimension refers to regional scales, in terms of rural/urban/coastal areas, to be
identified/defined in their specific characteristics to act as optimal frameworks for coherent
and replicable strategies of bio-based systems. The proposals should seek complementarities
with related actions391 on the governance of bio-based innovation and ensure inclusiveness
and the engagement of all actors.
Proposals should:
  a. Analyse and structure the regional bioeconomy-related policy mix (e.g. regional
      operational programmes, bioeconomy strategies under the common agricultural policy
      instruments, innovation action plans, business models, environmental protection plans)
      to understand the potentials, bottlenecks, and opportunities, capacities etc. for
      feedstocks, infrastructure, investment, human skills, innovation actors (including
      community knowledge) etc. to enable sufficient impacts/benefits/positive trade-offs and
      performances of the specific bioeconomy/bio-based value chains;
391
         Such as the POWER4BIO and BE-Rural projects funded under Horizon 2020 or the projects under the
         call SwafS-14-2018-2019-2020: Supporting the development of territorial responsible research and
         innovation.
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  b. assess existing/develop a new policy monitoring system and key performance indicators
     of the effectiveness and robustness of existing governance schemes, to allow replication
     across Europe (e.g. income generation for all stakeholders, labour conditions,
     environmental indicators, social engagement, innovation parameters etc);
  c. ensure efficient exchange of best practice and engagement of all actors (regional and
     local authorities, SMEs, civil society organisations including NGOs, knowledge
     providers) via robust and transparent communication and awareness-rising campaigns;
  d. analyse social and economic barriers and potentialities to enable the transition towards
     socially and environmentally responsible behaviour within all ranges (e.g. regulatory
     measures, corporate responsibility initiatives, education), ensuring inclusiveness of all
     actors (NGOs, civil society etc, considering gender and age, where relevant.)
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-08: Improving understanding                             of and
engagement in bio-based systems with training and skills development
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.50
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Successful proposal(s) will contribute to the expected impacts of
Destination ‘Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in
support of the Green Deal’, and the European policies it supports, in particular the European
Green Deal and EU bioeconomy strategy, by supporting the establishment of the innovative
governance models notably to achieve better-informed decision-making processes, social
engagement and innovation. In addition, the topic supports the strengthened EU and
international science-policy interfaces to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Creation of guidelines for training and mentoring programmes in specific European
     regions and local communities, on knowledge and skills useful in the bioeconomy, and
     in particular bio-based sectors.
    Increased awareness, understanding and engagement of all actors (especially
     stakeholders involved in adult learning, retraining and skills’ development) with focus
     on co-creation, and social innovation.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
   Support to the local balanced local potentials and innovation (in terms of feedstock,
      infrastructures, capacities) within the framework of local development and investment as
      well as fostering sustainability-driven policy.
   Integration of the opportunities created by the human-centric principles, offered by art,
      culture and (eco)-design, in respect to the bio-based feedstocks, including traditional and
      novel biological materials.
   Support to the feedback loops from the society to the policy makers, by developing the
      best practice guidelines for local operators and innovation developers, supporting
      climate-neutrality and low environmental footprint improvements of bio-based products
      and services;
   Development of skills leading to the novel business models and related social measures
      to enable consumers, industry and public bodies to switch to socially and
      environmentally responsible behaviour within their choices (e.g. regulatory measures,
      corporate responsibility initiatives, education); ensuring synergies, transparency and
      inclusiveness of all actors.
Scope: Improved and informed governance including social innovation contributes to
reducing resource consumption and results in an increased innovation capacity of all actors,
and reducing the risk of leaving anyone behind. This should take into account the need to
promote social engagement, supporting the permanent learning and re-training, in the area of
bio-based economy.
This needs to take into account local specificities, such as the sustainable biological resources
available (both traditional materials such as wood, cork or straw), but also innovations such as
sustainable bio-textiles, bio-composites, 3-D printed biomaterials, recycled agro-food residues
etc. This also helps to advance innovation and awareness including on social level, looking on
the role of design, arts and culture, as technological capacities. The improved understanding
of the social attitudes in diverse European regions forms an important part of this action.
This action should support the implementation of sustainable bio-based value chains, in the
regional settings, by developing guidelines and creating feedback loops to the respective
policy makers. Proposals should benefit from social creativity and opportunities for bio-based
systems unleashed at regional scale ensuring their low environmental footprint and
sustainability. Robust environmental evaluation should underpin the effort undertaken.
The proposals should seek complementarities with related actions on governance of bio-based
innovation and ensure inclusiveness and engagement of all actors, especially SMEs, civil
society organisations including NGOs and broader civil society (e.g. educational institutions,
museums, science, art centres).
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake. Proposal
could explore intersectionality approaches and consider aspects like gender, ethnicity, migrant
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or refugee status, social class, sexual orientation and disability to ensure inclusion of
marginalised groups in decision-making, citizen engagement and training activities.
Proposals should:
  a. Analyse and develop guidelines on the regional bioeconomy-related skills/(re)-
     training/adult learning programmes to allow replication across Europe, taking into
     account the diversity of regional/local approaches, including the existing support
     measures (e.g. bioeconomy strategies, sectorial public and industry programmes and
     initiatives).
 b. Assess and integrate the contribution from the humanities/art/design/culture into
     bioeconomy/bio-based economy sectors (e.g. role of innovation and sustainability for the
     new bio-based materials, new functionalities, safety, user-friendliness, understanding);
  c. Ensure efficient exchange of best practice and engagement of all actors (e.g. regional
     and local authorities, SMEs, civil society organisations including NGOs, University
     alliances and professionals’ associations, knowledge providers, artists, designers and
     architects) via robust and transparent communication and awareness-rising campaigns;
 d. Analyse and develop recommendations on social and economic barriers and
     potentialities (e.g. job creation capacity and its quality) to enable the transition towards
     socially and environmentally responsible behaviour within all ranges (e.g. regulatory
     measures, corporate responsibility initiatives, education), ensuring inclusiveness of all
     actors (NGOs, civil society, including women, ethnic and religious minorities, migrants
     and refugees, the LGBTIQ community, disabled persons, youth and the elderly, etc);
  e. Link with relevant activities under H2020, BBI JU, BIOEAST Initiative and EIT
     Knowledge and Innovation Communities, in particular their education efforts.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-09: Revitalisation of European                                local
communities with innovative bio-based business models and social innovation
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.50
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Successful proposal(s) will contribute to the expected impacts of
Destination ‘Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in
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support of the Green Deal’, and the European policies it supports, in particular the European
Green Deal, and EU bioeconomy strategy, by supporting the establishment of the innovative
governance models notably to achieve better-informed decision-making processes, social
engagement and innovation. In addition, the topic supports the strengthened EU and
international science-policy interfaces to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all following expected outcomes:
    Higher awareness of stakeholders (e.g. by development of a programme that focuses on
      helping local stakeholders, including primary biomass producers, civil society
      organisations including NGOs and SMEs to be integrated in and benefit from bio-based
      value chains) – identifying local actors and improve communication between them,
      showing opportunities for collaboration along the bio-based value chain.
    Increased opportunities to develop skilled jobs and small-scale establishments in the
      bioeconomy, thus helping to revitalise local communities (by supporting the local and
      regional rural development, economic and implementing authorities, to raise awareness
      of bio-based options)
    Advancement of the role of ‘social enterprise’ model for local communities, including
      the low-income populations, benefiting from creativity linked to bio-based solutions and
      promoting inclusiveness and cooperation at all levels.
    Increased opportunities created by the local bio-based economy within broader
      bioeconomy transition, e.g. by linking valorisation of ecosystem/nature services’ (e.g.
      recreation) with sustainable biomass production, processing, product design and
      manufacture, circular use and upcycling to new applications.
    Supporting the development of for small businesses and for business-to-consumers
      communication of innovation, climate-neutrality and low environmental
      footprint/benefits/trade-offs and performances of bio-based products and services (e.g.
      by development of best practice guidelines);
    Supporting novel business models and related social measures to enable consumers,
      industry and public bodies to switch to socially and environmentally responsible
      behaviour within their choices (e.g. guidelines on regulatory measures, corporate
      responsibility initiatives, education); ensuring synergies, transparency and inclusiveness
      of all actors)
Scope: The action advances the role and impact of bio-based innovation to accelerate the
transition from a linear fossil-based economy, which leads to overuse and depletion of natural
resources, into a resource-efficient and circular bio-based systems operating safely within
planetary boundaries. Improved and informed governance and especially social innovation
contributes to reducing resource consumption and results in an increased innovation capacity
of all actors, while reducing the risk of leaving anyone behind, particularly in the areas and
communities in need of revitalisation. This also helps to advance innovation at local scale and
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engage all actors (especially the ‘social enterprise’ model relevant for vulnerable
populations).
Proposals should benefit from social creativity and opportunities at regional scale unleashed
for bio-based systems, ensuring their low environmental footprint, in terms of feedstock,
resources, processes, materials and products. Impacts and trade-offs, such as the carbon
footprint and environmental footprint of the whole value chains should be part of the
assessment of the bio-based systems. The proposals should seek complementarities with
related actions 392 , under rural development programs on the governance of bio-based
innovation and ensure inclusiveness and engagement of all actors.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake. Proposal
could explore intersectionality approaches and consider aspects like gender, ethnicity, migrant
or refugee status, social class, sexual orientation and disability to ensure inclusion of
marginalised groups in citizen engagement and the development of tools and guidelines.
Proposals should:
  a. select a range of bio-based systems where value chains can be tailored to specific needs
      in respect to the revitalisation of local communities (understood both in territorial and
      social sense), to their environmental and social impacts (benefits and trade-offs) from
      trade in the primary materials to the final products;
  b. focus on relevant new or updated business models and local capacities (feedstocks,
      infrastructure, human skills, etc), and innovation actors (including community
      knowledge and marginalised groups), to enable sufficient impacts/benefits/positive
      trade-offs and performances of the specific value chains;
  c. assess existing/develop new monitoring system and indicators of the effectiveness and
      robustness of existing governance schemes, to allow replication across Europe (e.g.
      income generation for all stakeholders, labour conditions, environmental indicators,
      social engagement, innovation parameters etc);
  d. ensure efficient engagement of all actors (public authorities, SMEs, NGOs, knowledge
      providers) via robust and transparent communication and awareness-rising campaigns;
  e. analyse social and economic barriers and potentialities to enable the transition towards
      socially and environmentally responsible behaviour within all ranges (e.g. regulatory
      measures, corporate responsibility initiatives, education), ensuring inclusiveness of all
      actors (NGOs, civil society etc).
392
         such as the topic “HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-02: Expertise and training centre on
         rural innovation”
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HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-10: Raising awareness of circular and
sustainable bioeconomy in support of Member States to develop bioeconomy strategies
and/or action plans
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Successful proposal(s) will contribute to the expected impacts of
Destination ‘Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in
support of the Green Deal’ “Innovative governance models enabling sustainability and
resilience notably to achieve better informed decision-making processes, social engagement
and innovation”. This action will support Member States that do not have a bioeconomy
strategy and/or an action plan in developing one as part of their preparation for a sustainable
economic, social and environmental transition to climate neutrality as called for in the
European Green Deal.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Increased awareness of decision makers and public administrators in different ministries
      about the various bioeconomy sectors, the role of the bioeconomy in the EU policies, the
      benefits of the bioeconomy and particularly the circular bio-based sector, including
      products substituting fossil-based and carbon-intensive products and reducing of
      respective emissions of GHGs and other pollutants.
    Improved inter-ministerial interaction and engagement in Member States that are
      developing or are preparing to develop their Strategy and/or Action Plan through
      exchange of good practices and experiences at meetings and conferences.
    Increased awareness of the bioeconomy and its potential among a broad range of
      national stakeholders, such as the general public, knowledge providers, universities,
      investors, industry, primary producers and NGOs, through tools such as for example
      workshops, living lab activities, exhibitions.
    Better interconnection of stakeholders into national bioeconomy hubs with the aim of
      providing a framework and the assurance that even without national level strategic
      orientation they are in line with the EU objectives.
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    Improved information about current policy instruments and solutions to bridge between
      strategies and actual policy, including exploitation of opportunities offered by the current
      EU policy framework (e.g. related to circular economy, energy, innovation, agriculture).
Scope: The European Green Deal, the Commission’s growth strategy, has set Europe on its
path to be the first climate neutral continent by 2050 and achieve a green transition that must
be just, fair and inclusive. One of the seven core pathways to deliver on climate neutrality,
identified in the Clean Planet Strategy is the bioeconomy. The updated EU bioeconomy
strategy has highlighted the relevance of developing national bioeconomy strategies and
action plans to deploy a sustainable and circular bioeconomy across Europe taking into
account economic, social and environmental aspects.
To date, there are still Member States, including many from Central and Eastern Europe that
do not have a national bioeconomy strategy and/or action plan despite their high biomass
resource base and new bioeconomy potential. This topic should support Member States to
develop strategies and/or action plans by improving knowledge and raising awareness of a
sustainable, circular bioeconomy, its challenges and opportunities as well as experiences
made elsewhere.
Moreover, the topic should help to bring together national stakeholders in deploying and
fostering the bioeconomy related research and innovation developments by engaging local
stakeholders into the participation in macro-regional and European thematic networks and
into building the common European Research Area.
The focus of the topic should be two-fold: reaching out to decision makers and public
administrators in different ministries as well as to a wide range of stakeholders crucial for the
development of the national strategies and bioeconomy deployment across Europe. These
stakeholders could consist for example of investors, industries, SMEs, feedstock providers
(e.g. waste, side streams, farmers, foresters, fishermen). It is also relevant to cooperate and
establish links with relevant existing initiatives such as the BIOEAST, EUBIONET, BBI JU
and the Circular Bio-based Europe (CBE) Partnership.
This topic should ensure that Member States without bioeconomy strategies and/or action
plans become equally empowered to make the transition to climate neutrality as those that
already have a bioeconomy strategy in place.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-11: Education on the bioeconomy including
bio-based sectors for young people in primary and secondary education in Europe
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
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Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Successful proposal(s) will contribute to the expected impacts of
Destination ‘Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in
support of the Green Deal’s and support the European Green Deal priorities and the updated
European bioeconomy strategy with the aim to accelerate the transition to a sustainable and
circular bioeconomy in Europe. This will contribute to achievement of a climate-neutral
Europe by 2050.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Increased awareness of the environmental, social and economic benefits of sustainable
     and circular bioeconomy and its sectors, in particular bio-based sectors among young
     people at pre-school, elementary and high school level.
   Increased interest among new generations to join education and training on sustainable
     and circular behaviours and to become responsible consumers that will take on a
     sustainable and circular lifestyle; and new ways of attracting talent in the life science,
     technology and the bioeconomy opportunities.
   Innovative approaches to provide a toolkit with educational and information material,
     such as videos, games, social media, prize competitions, including nomination of
     “Bioeconomy Youth Ambassadors” campaigns for children and young adults in high
     schools.
   Preparing the younger generation to assume their role in the transition to a circular and
     sustainable bioeconomy, e.g. through the uptake of innovative solutions.
   Strengthened cooperation between teachers, parents and youth by developing new
     approaches.
Scope: The updated European bioeconomy strategy highlights the importance of education
and increasing public awareness of all areas of the bioeconomy as crucial to understanding the
challenges and the opportunities offered by the bioeconomy.
This topic should focus on the bioeconomy in general but with a specific focus on circular
bio-based sectors and their potential, to prepare citizens for a future that should assume a
sustainable and circular lifestyle (in terms of consumption, recycling, etc.) and to inspire
young people to pursue education in life science, technology and bioeconomy related areas.
The actions should promote the bioeconomy and bio-based solutions that provide
environmental, climate-neutral and socio-economic benefits through education, training and
awareness raising on sustainable production, consumption and lifestyles by engaging children
and young adults.
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Strengthening the knowledge and sensitivity of future generations to environmental issues,
sustainability and circularity through information and education programmes targeting
younger generation can contribute to raising a future generation of decision-makers and a
workforce that are informed and interested in bioeconomy.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-12: EU agriculture within a safe and just
operating space and planetary boundaries
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility conditions    The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                          exceptions apply:
                          The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                          consortium selected for funding.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The
                          support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                          The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60
                          000.
Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will set out a credible pathway to contributing to
innovative governance and sound decision making in policy for the transition of European
agriculture required by the European Green Deal.
Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
   Boost EU and Associated Countries analytical and modelling capacity in agriculture in
     both bio-physical and socio-economic domains
   Develop an analytical and policy framework and timeframe for the European farming
     sector to operate within safe and just operating space and planetary boundaries and
     achieving EU climate change policy objectives
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     Analyse policies and develop policy recommendations for the agricultural policies in
      Europe in 2030
Scope: In order to enable the transition to sustainable agriculture, it is crucial to establish the
necessary policy framework and related monitoring and evaluation activities. This implies the
development of appropriate tools for measurement and monitoring of socio-economic and
biophysical data in order to model and project scenarios and derive the necessary targets,
trajectories and relevant policy measures and the development of relevant analysis.
Projects should:
     operationalise the concept of safe and just operating space, including planetary
      boundaries, in the case of the EU agriculture and at different spatial scales;
     boost the analytical and modelling capacity of the EU and Associated Countries in the
      farming sector with a view to informing impact assessments and formulating policy
      recommendations, with a particular focus on conditions and policy measures for the EU
      farming sector to respect planetary boundaries, in particular regarding climate change
      and biodiversity, and safe and just operating space;
     work at various geographical scales, from local, national, EU to global levels, and
      simulations and projections should range from short / medium term (to capture the
      accelerating impact of climate change) to long term policy scenarios;
     Within a foresight exercise, develop post-2027 science-based targets for European
      farming allowing the sector to remain within the planetary boundaries and a safe and just
      operating space, and the conditions to achieve the targets, and develop a roadmap and
      the related policy framework to reach those objectives;
     mobilise running Horizon 2020 projects and build on their main results. It should aim to
      bridge gaps in modelling approaches relevant to the exercise, including those identified
      by the Horizon 2020 project Suprema. Projects should link in particular with the projects
      financed under RUR-03-2018 (CONSOLE393, Contract2.0394 and EFFECT395) and RUR-
      04-2018-2019 (Mind Step396, BESTMAP397 and AGRICORE398);
     include a task to collaborate with other projects financed under this topic and under topic
      HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-13 “Modelling land use and land
      management in the context of climate change”;
393
         https://console-project.eu/
394
         https://www.project-contracts20.eu/
395
         http://project-effect.eu/
396
         https://mind-step.eu/
397
         http://bestmap.eu/
398
         https://agricore-project.eu/
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    work in a multidisciplinary manner and involve a broad community of scientists
      including climate, land, biodiversity, health, human, economic and environment
      sciences;
    establish a regular dialogue with the European Commission regarding objectives,
      timeline and main deliverables with the goal to provide analyses, analytical tools,
      simulations and policy recommendations for the common agricultural policy (CAP) post
      2027, as well as other relevant EU programmes (for instance EU climate and
      biodiversity policies). The possible participation of the JRC in the project will ensure
      that the approach proposed will be compatible with and improve the tools used at the
      European Commission. Project duration should not be shorter than four years;
    ensure that the proposed approach will be compatible with and improve the tools used at
      the European Commission.
As an option, necessary additional analysis and modelling may be supported through grants to
third parties. In this case, the proposal must define the process of selecting entities for which
financial support will be granted, of up to 60.000 EUR per third party. Grants to third parties
may be utilised to ensure a comprehensive coverage of technical issues and the participation
of pluralistic approaches to the analytical work on a series of key issues.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-13:                         Modelling     land    use and     land
management in the context of climate change
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                       consortium selected for funding.
                       If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
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Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will set out a credible pathway to contributing to
innovative governance and sound decision making in policy for the transition required by the
European Green Deal.
Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
   Boosting of economic and environmental modelling of land use and management and
     carbon sequestration in Europe and use of modelling for policy purposes (mainly climate
     policy, agricultural policy, land use policy).
   Contribution to the formulation, implementation and monitoring of land-related issues of
     agriculture and forestry policies, in particular linked to climate change.
Scope: To ensure the sustainable management of land resources in the long term there is a
need for an integrated framework that addresses society's objectives appropriately by
understanding the trade-offs between uses and by incentivising actions / behaviours /
investments contributing to desirable targets. Land use and management has a key role to play
in Europe in terms of boosting carbon storage, producing biomass for the bioeconomy,
reducing urban sprawl and attaining the objective of climate neutrality by 2050 while ensuring
food and nutrition security, biodiversity commitments and well-being in general. There are
however substantial knowledge gaps regarding, in particular, the understanding of the impacts
of farming / forestry practices at various scales, from local to global, and the capacity to
model these impacts (economic and environmental). Work should include the analysis of land
use dynamics and trends between arable land, permanent grassland, land abandonment /
marginal lands, forest areas, for which quantifications and an identification of drivers and
impacts should be done in an integrated manner.
Projects should:
   work on land use dynamics and explore the effects of policy measures that can influence
     such dynamics, in particular agricultural, land use and climate policies.
   focus activities mainly on agriculture and forest land use/cover and should extend to
     interactions of the former with other main land uses/covers and drivers. This should
     ensure usability of the results in larger contexts. While focusing on Europe, proposals
     are encouraged to draw on good examples from elsewhere.
   work at various spatial scales – farm level, regional to EU levels - and simulations and
     projections should range from medium-term to long-term policy scenarios and should
     cover the whole of the EU and its Member States and possibly Associated Countries.
   The possible participation of the JRC in the projects will ensure that the proposed
     approach will be compatible with and/or improve existing databases and tools used at the
     European Commission and ensure open access to data.
   include a task to collaborate with other projects financed under this topic and under topic
     HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-12 “EU agriculture within a safe and just
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
      operating space and planetary boundaries”. They should also liaise with relevant Horizon
      2020 modelling projects (including LandSupport399).
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Deploying and adding value to Environmental Observations
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-14: User-oriented solutions building on
environmental observation to monitor critical ecosystems and biodiversity loss and
vulnerability in the European Union
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.00
contribution per         and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                         and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                         Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                         additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal will support the delivery of services and solutions
for the implementation of the European Green Deal and the biodiversity strategy, through the
deployment and exploitation of environmental observations400, benefiting a broad range of
end users and helping them restore biodiversity and ecosystems under threat, thus contributing
to the global observation and monitoring of the living realm.
Proposals are expected to contribute to at least four of the following outcomes:
     Better informed policy formulation for biodiversity & ecosystem services on
      European/national and regional level, built on enhanced understanding of better
      quantified and characterised changes in biodiversity and ecosystem services and the
      prediction of their trajectories;
399
         https://www.landsupport.eu/
400
         The capacity to observe the environment, including space-based, in-situ-based (air, sea, land)
         observation, and citizen observations
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
     Enhanced understanding of the adverse cumulative impacts of climate change and
      anthropogenic activities on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and in particular on
      habitats and key species at risk of extinction in sensitive ecosystems to define enhanced
      management, adaptation and mitigation actions;
     Enhanced planning and ecosystem-based management of land and sea with the
      objectives to minimise the adverse effects of climate change and anthropogenic activities
      on ecosystems and biodiversity;
     Dependable data, information and knowledge to support adaptation and mitigation of
      biodiversity loss resulting from climate change and anthropogenic activities, through
      maximised exploitation of information and data from European data infrastructures,
      European programmes (such as EMODnet401 and European research infrastructures402)
      and GEO403 initiatives;
     Support to the development of the European service sector regarding end-user climate
      services related to biodiversity and ecosystems and deliver usable results to the
      monitoring framework of the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030;
     A contribution to the EC-ESA joint Earth system science initiative404 (in particular to the
      flagship action on biodiversity and ocean health);
     Improved governance of biodiversity monitoring and reporting, in particular together
      with the ‘Rescuing biodiversity to safeguard live on Earth’ partnership 405 , the EC
      Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity and GEOBON406.
Scope: The projects are expected to further the harmonisation, mobilisation, and uptake of
monitoring and environmental data to better characterise and understand the natural and
anthropogenic pressures on biodiversity, the extent of the destruction of natural biological
resources and its connection with ecosystem conditions within safe planetary boundaries.
There is a need for knowledge of both better quantified and more precisely characterised
changes in biodiversity and related ecosystem services (in coastal, marine, terrestrial and
freshwater ecosystems), and of ecosystem status and quantified impacts of the main direct
drivers of changes (i.e. land and sea use changes, pollutions, climate change, invasive alien
species and exploitation of natural resources) on European natural capital.
The projects should deliver new Earth observation (EO) data services building on the
potential of EO capabilities in order to address end-user needs facing the deterioration and
destruction of their living environment and ecosystems. The projects under this topic should
tackle issues raised within the European Green Deal calls 407 and provide solutions to halt
401
         https://www.emodnet.eu/en
402
         https://www.esfri.eu/
403
         http://www.earthobservations.org/index.php
404
         https://eo4society.esa.int/communities/scientists/ec-esa-joint-initiative-on-earth-system-science/
405
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/files/european-partnership-rescuing-biodiversity-safeguard-life-earth_en
406
         https://geobon.org/
407
         https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/news/european-green-deal-call
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
biodiversity loss and protect vulnerable ecosystems, and ensuring ecosystem capacity to
continue to provide services to society and the environment. The projects should make
mapping tools and information solutions available, which are needed by a wide variety of end
users in order to meet targets for conservation and restoration of diverse terrestrial, coastal
and marine ecosystems. Hence, the development of tools to support decision-making and
participatory management are crucial in this context. Solutions related to improving
ecosystem health and resilience should be integrated into best practice monitoring activities
within respective monitoring governance schemes. This should enable stakeholders and policy
makers to take the right conservation and restoration measures, in particular with the use of a
holistic ecosystem-based management in response to the urgent need for halting biodiversity
loss and, consequently, alterations to ecosystem functions and sustain the delivery of precious
ecosystem services.
Building on existing services and frameworks provided through GEO, EuroGEO 408, European
research infrastructures, European Ocean Observing Systems, EMODnet, Copernicus, ESA409
Earth Observation programmes and EGNSS, this topic should address the downstream part of
the value chain to support mitigation and adaptation to climate change impact on biodiversity
and ecosystems. The consortia should engage with end users and stakeholders, contribute to
customising of data and exploitation platforms, deliver scaling-up and replication of existing
service models, and brokerage of knowledge and dissemination to the public. The successful
proposals should build on outcomes of EU funded projects such as Horizon 2020 projects like
ECOPOTENTIAL 410 , initiatives like EuropaBON 411 and programmes like LIFE 412 , and
should feed into the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity, and deliver usable results to the
monitoring framework of the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-15:                               Preparing       for      pre-commercial
procurement (PCP) for end-user services based on environmental observation in the
area of climate change adaptation and mitigation
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
408
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/knowledge-publications-tools-and-data/knowledge-
        centres-and-data-portals/eurogeo_en
409
        https://www.esa.int/
410
        http://www.ecopotential-project.eu/ps://www.esa.int/
411
        https://europabon.org/
412
        https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/life
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will support the preparation, facilitation and
pavement of the way for pre-commercial procurement in the area of climate change
adaptation and mitigation to enable up-scaling and wide use of end-user services to respond to
common needs in this area. The successful proposal will be contributing to the European
Green Deal objectives by further deploying and exploiting the use of environmental
observations413.
In order to do so the project is expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
     Creation of a critical mass of procurers of solutions and services in the area of climate
      change adaption and mitigation, which will undertake joint, cross-border or coordinated
      procurements;
     Description of the common needs of the public procurers for end-user services in the
      area of climate change adaption and mitigation;
     Reduced fragmentation of public sector demand via creation of a network(s) of public
      procurers capable of collectively implementing PCPs and/or public procurement of
      innovative solutions (PPIs);
     Increased awareness in the network of procurers of relevant standards, certification and
      GEO data sharing principles;
     Leverage of additional investment in research and innovation in the domain of
      environmental observation and the Copernicus Climate Change Service;
     Increased awareness and successful use of public procurement to boost innovation and
      increased exchange of experience in procurement practices and strategies (organising
      trainings and other information exchange tools) in the specific area of climate services.
Scope: The project is expected to prepare a pre-commercial procurement due to be part of the
Cluster 6 work programme for 2023 in the domain of climate change services using the
information and data from the Copernicus programme, GEO initiatives, other relevant
initiatives such as EMODnet, European Commission Knowledge Centre on Earth Observation
hosted at JRC, European research infrastructures and the broad range of environmental
information.
The action should deliver all the necessary elements in preparation of the PCP as described in
Annex H of the general annexes to this work programme.
Proposals should lead to the establishment of a critical mass of public and/or private procurers
in the area of climate change adaptation and mitigation, to overcome the fragmentation of
demand for solutions and services and to lead to a more rapid market uptake of such solutions
and their early deployment. Demonstrated engagement from participants for a further Europe-
wide take-up and rollout of results during and following the proposal are expected. Proposals
413
         The capacity to observe the environment, including space-based, in-situ-based (air, sea, land)
         observation, and citizen observations
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should implement an open market consultation to gain insights into state-of-the-art
technologies and ongoing developments, including prototypes and demonstration services
coming out of relevant Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, ESA and national projects. This could
include new approaches for market consultations with suppliers, paying special attention to
SME suppliers.
Proposals should engage public and/or private procurers from each country participating (at
national, regional or local level) that have responsibilities and budget control in the relevant
area(s).
The network(s) of public and/or private procurers created should investigate the feasibility of,
test and prepare the launch of joint or coordinated procurements (PCP), which would
ultimately develop innovative, fully tested, fit-for-purpose and cost-effective end-user
services in the area of climate change adaptation and mitigation. These solutions should be
based on a complete set of common needs and specifications. Finally, to facilitate future
replication, a set of well-documented practices should be made available.
Preparation activities for the joint or coordinated PCP will be supported, but not the costs of
the procurement resulting from any PCP procedures.
Project duration should be 24 months.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-16: Tools to support the uptake and
accessibility/exploitability of environmental observation information at European and
global level
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 13.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 13.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
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Expected Outcome: A successful proposal will enhance access and usability of environmental
observation 414 information and promote pre-operational European services through global
infrastructures in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal, the European strategy
for data and the European digital strategy, thus deploying and adding value to environmental
observations and contributing to a strengthened Global Earth Observation System of Systems
(GEOSS).
Proposals are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
     Conversion of existing environmental platforms into fully interoperable digital
      ecosystems, taking advantage of the progresses made in artificial intelligence, machine
      learning and high performance computing;
     Enhance the FAIRness (findability, accessibility, interoperability and re-usability) of
      environmental observation data, for example, through annotations turning them into
      relevant, open and accessible knowledge and provide support to decision makers
      involved in implementing the objectives of the European Green Deal 415, the new EU
      climate adaptation strategy416 and European strategy of data417;
     Improve the environmental observation knowledge at regional and local level across all
      European regions, leveraging existing platforms to foster the usability and practicability
      of digital services in support to the Horizon Europe missions and partnerships;
     Better access for European stakeholders to global environmental observation data,
      actionable information and knowledge, especially to the data derived from European
      programmes such as Copernicus418, Galileo419/EGNOS420 and INSPIRE421 to establish a
      common European Green Deal data space, fully interlinked with the common European
      data space for research and innovation and the European Open Science Cloud;
     Contribution to the Destination Earth initiative422.
Scope: The project is expected to enhance access and usability to environmental observation
information and promote pre-operational European services through global infrastructures,
notably through the GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems) infrastructure.
Proposals should turn existing platforms into consolidated digital systems which provide
analytical tools, including machine learning for large-scale analysis, improve the value of
environmental observations (including in-situ data) to enrich the knowledge base needed to
414
         The capacity to observe the environment, including space-based, in-situ-based (air, sea, land)
         observation, and citizen observations
415
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
416
         https://ec.europa.eu/clima/news/commission-launches-online-public-consultation-new-eu-strategy-
         adaptation-climate-change_en
417
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/european-data-strategy_en
418
         https://www.copernicus.eu/en
419
         https://www.gsc-europa.eu/
420
         https://egnos-user-support.essp-sas.eu/new_egnos_ops/
421
         https://inspire.ec.europa.eu/
422
         https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/destination-earth-destine
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
facilitate the reduction of anthropogenic impacts and to assure on optimal management of the
transition to a climate neutral economy and a more resilient society.
Proposals should build on the relevant existing infrastructures 423 and facilitate access and
exploitation of EO derived data. The tools and services developed under the proposal(s)
should be made available for future integration in the common topical European open
infrastructure, Destination Earth. Proposals should deliver a plan for the sustained uptake of
services by the European commercial sector and leverage the tools developed for the benefit
of users from a variety of different sectors (e.g. public, private, civil society, citizen science).
Proposals should contribute to support the EC-ESA initiative on Earth system science424.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-17: Common European Green Deal data
space to provide more accessible and exploitable environmental observation data in
support of the European Green Deal priority actions
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.00
contribution per          and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                          and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                          Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                          additionally be used).
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal will contribute to unleashing the potential of
environmental and climate data through dedicated European data spaces in line with the
objectives of the European Green Deal and the European strategy for data, by further
deploying digital and data technologies as key enablers and strengthening EU and
international science-policy interfaces as well as contributing to the Global Earth Observation
System of Systems (GEOSS).
423
         Such as the Copernicus DIAS, the European Open Science Cloud, EMODNet, the European research
         infrastructures, the Euro Data Cube, the GEOSS Infrastructure, INSPIRE and GBIF (Global
         Biodiversity Information Facility).
424
         https://eo4society.esa.int/communities/scientists/ec-esa-joint-initiative-on-earth-system-science/
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Proposals are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
     Available FAIR425 data, information and knowledge in support of the European Green
      Deal priority actions on climate change, circular economy, zero pollution, biodiversity,
      deforestation and compliance assurance;
     Consolidated arrangements for European Green Deal data access, sharing and
      interoperability, in line with the FAIR principles for data, to facilitate the combination of
      data for policy analysis fostering as such innovative data analytic solutions;
     Concrete solutions and tools using data analytics and machine learning techniques to
      support to the European Green Deal priority actions;
     Increased convergence of the use of high performance computing, cloud, edge,
      computing, data analytics and artificial intelligence resources for Earth system
      modelling.
Scope: Successful proposals are expected to contribute towards unleashing the potential of
environmental, biodiversity and climate data through dedicated European data spaces. This
should allow to exploit the major potential of environmental observation 426 data in support of
one or more of the European Green Deal priority actions: climate change, circular economy,
zero pollution, biodiversity, deforestation and compliance assurance. Successful proposals are
expected to address these challenges and contribute across all environmental areas to help
harness the power of big data and artificial intelligence for the benefits of the European Green
Deal. The proposals should also help in the convergence of use of high performance
computing, cloud, data and artificial intelligence resources for Earth system modelling.
Proposals should contribute to the implementation of the European strategy for data in the
domain of environment/climate and could act as a digital enabler for the European Green Deal
in those domains. To provide a sustainable perspective for the results achieved, the data and
services developed under the proposals should firmly aim to be connected into the common
topical European open infrastructure, Destination Earth. Proposals should leverage
environmental, geospatial and climate-related data, which are a prerequisite to better
understand issues and trends on how our planet and its climate are changing and to address
the role humans play in these changes. Proposals should contribute to the release and use of
those data to strengthen evidence-based analytical capabilities for policy-making and
implementation, including through building on the planned efforts of the European
Commission Knowledge Centres on Earth Observation, Biodiversity and Bio-economy hosted
at JRC. Proposals should deliver open access to data useful for decision-making by public
administrations, investors, insurers, businesses, cities, rural communities, citizen scientists,
civil society and citizens, and for the development of new instruments to integrate climate
change into risk management practices across the EU. Proposals should build on significant
gains in our knowledge over the past decades on data management, to contribute to
425
         Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable
426
         The capacity to observe the environment, including space-based, in-situ-based (air, sea, land)
         observation, and citizen observations
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defragmenting data flows across topics, time and space, and develop best practices in the use
of existing relevant platforms such as the Copernicus DIAS and the GEOSS infrastructure, or
platforms in development under e.g. Destination Earth427, and communities in order to help
prioritise and direct the efforts undertaken in the context of the European strategy for data.
Digital and data technologies as key enablers
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-18: Mapping and improving the data
economy for food systems
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                          The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                          multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: This action will enhance the sustainability performance and
competitiveness in the domains covered by Cluster 6 through further deployment of digital
and data technologies as key enablers. It will help to achieve better informed decision-making
processes, social engagement, governance and innovation. It will help deliver solutions to
advance the European Green Deal priorities, the EU's Climate ambition for 2030 and 2050
and the farm to fork strategy for a fair healthy and environmentally friendly food system. In
particular, it will contribute to improving the data economy for food systems.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the expected outcomes:
     address the lack of solid knowledge about the data economy in food systems, its
      development, its fairness and inclusiveness, and its impacts including on EU policy
      objectives such as those related to food and nutrition security (FNS), sustainable and
427
         https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/destination-earth-destine
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
      resilient food systems428, climate change, health, competitiveness, fair trading practices,
      privacy, and consumer protection
     increase insights in the state-of-play, the actual and potential impacts (positive and
      negative), the drivers, barriers and enablers of digital transformation, its fairness and
      inclusiveness
     accelerate the positive impacts of the digital transformation, and broaden the group of
      citizens, communities, companies and other food system stakeholders that benefit from
      it.
Scope: Data driven innovation is fast reshaping the way we produce and consume food. It
enhances the potential to manage natural resources more efficiently and to care for the
ecosystems that our food production relies on without exceeding finite boundaries. It
improves the transparency of our food systems, processes and products from farm to fork,
enables a more resilient, safe, circular and customised supply and more personalised diets. It
motivates policy-makers, regulators and researchers to make better use of data for monitoring
and for generating new insights.
Proposals should gather expertise from a broad range of disciplines and food system
participants to obtain new insights and achieve a deepened and more comprehensive
understanding of the data economy for food systems. New insights and understanding should
relate to the data economy’s structure, its functioning, its present and potential development
and its performance versus relevant EU policy objectives, as a basis for future policy
recommendations, improved governance and monitoring.
The research that is conducted should therefore go well beyond technology insights and
include a holistic assessment of the state-of-play of the data economy, data driven innovation
and data reuse 429 in EU food systems, of the drivers, barriers and enablers of digital
transformation, and of ongoing and expected trends, including behavioural. Proposals should
assess actual and expected impacts (positive and negative) of this transformation on the
performance of EU food systems versus the 3 dimensions of sustainability and versus relevant
EU policy objectives, including “the European Green Deal” (and therein “the EU Farm-to-
Fork Strategy”), an “Economy that works for people” and “a Europe fit for the digital age”. In
their assessment of impact, proposals should include a review of the inclusiveness of the
ongoing digital transformation in EU food systems (e.g. participation of micro-companies and
SMEs, role of gender), and study the fairness of the data economy (e.g. presence of power
asymmetries based on data holdings, unfair competition and practices, fair distribution of
added value among actors, empowerment of consumers, including the most vulnerable).
Proposals will perform 5-10 detailed end-to-end case studies of data flows and reuse in
specific parts of our food systems, from farm to fork.
Proposals will put in place a broad stakeholder dialogue to facilitate and discuss new insights,
to boost mutual learning and cooperation, to increase awareness among policy makers and
428
          Including the EU farm to fork strategy and the priorities of the FOOD 2030 initiative
429
          https://content.iospress.com/articles/information-polity/ip419
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
stakeholder representatives about the benefits and pitfalls of digital transformation, and to
generate new ideas and approaches to improve governance of the data economy in food
systems. The stakeholder dialogue should attract and involve players from all parts of the data
value chain and representing different sectors and markets. Special care should be taken to
involve SMEs, young entrepreneurs, young farmers, start-ups, cities and consumers, and to
include relevant actors that are not directly linked to the food value chains (e.g. social media
companies, knowledge brokers, educators).
Proposals should develop a framework for the data economy in food systems, as a basis for
monitoring its future development, its performance and impacts.
Proposals should formulate recommendations (including technological, societal, economic,
legal) for policy makers (EU, national, regional, local) and other stakeholders. They should do
this with a view to accelerating the uptake of data driven innovation and data reuse in a
socially acceptable way and to improving the development, functioning, governance,
monitoring, impact and fairness of the data economy in food systems, within the context of
overall EU policy objectives. These recommendations should also take into account trends
and opportunities430 that the research identified, that are expected to be important drivers of
change in food systems, and for which improved governance, adapted legal frameworks, new
policy initiatives and enhanced societal engagement (from citizen science to prosumer
approaches) can significantly increase the positive and mitigate the negative impacts of future
changes. This includes efforts to explain and map how the recommendations generate co-
benefits for the four Food 2030 priorities: nutrition for sustainable healthy diets, climate and
environment, circularity and resource efficiency, innovation and empowerment of
communities.
These recommendations should also address the need for more (and more effective) exchange
and reuse of data assets across parts of EU food systems, national boundaries and language
barriers, public and private sectors, and for a wider adoption of data driven-innovations. They
should also help to mitigate power asymmetries based on data holdings, ensure fairer
competition in the data economy, maximise benefits for citizens and food system actors and
enable more open access to data. More specifically, an EU data space for Food systems, in
which data is shared for the common good (“data commons”), should be examined to support
the objectives of the EU Farm-to-Fork Strategy. Integration of such a data space, with the
European Open Science Cloud, the common European data space for research and innovation,
should aim at allowing the research community to create new knowledge in this domain.
Proposals should set out a clear plan on how they plan to collaborate with other projects
selected under this and any other relevant call, by participating in joint activities, workshops,
as well as common communication and dissemination activities.
430
        Trends and opportunities can be cross-cutting (example: demands for a better trade-off between the
        need for data-driven innovation and the need for personal data protection and data sovereignty) or
        specific to food systems (examples: demands for greater transparency about the food people eat with
        regards to health and sustainability; demands for more circular, resilient and customized food supply; a
        greater prevalence and uptake of personalized nutrition solutions)
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-19: Development of the markets and use of
digital technologies and infrastructure in agriculture – state of play and foresight:
digital and data technologies for the agricultural sector in a fast changing regulatory,
trade and technical environment
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                      The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                      multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In line with the farm to fork Strategy and the headline ambitions of a
Digital Age – the European Strategy for data in particular - and the headline ambition an
Economy that works for people, leaving no one behind, the successful proposal(s) will
support the capacities to understand and develop the markets and use of digital technologies
in agriculture. They will therefore contribute a) to the enhancement of the sustainability
performance and competitiveness in agriculture through further deployment of digital and
data technologies as key enablers, and b) to the development of innovative governance
models enabling sustainability and resilience notably to achieve better informed decision-
making processes, and innovation through research and innovation in the field of digital
technologies and infrastructure in agriculture.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Increase transparency in the markets for digital and data technologies in the agricultural
     sector and in data sharing in the agricultural value chain, and support competition;
   Lower the risk of investments in digital and data technologies in the agricultural sector;
   Strengthen policy-making and-monitoring and foresight capacities in agriculture and
     digital and data technologies;
   Contribute to an increased uptake of digital and data technologies in the agricultural
     sector and indirectly contribute to an increase in environmental and economic
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
      performance of the agricultural sector through increased and enhanced used of digital
      technologies and data.
Scope: The potential of digital technologies in the agricultural sector to enhance its
sustainability and economic performance and to enhance working conditions has been
acknowledged. The uptake of digital technologies in the agricultural sector and the
development of supplementing data-technology-based solutions in the EU are increasing.
However, there is hardly comprehensive, independently collected data about the actual uptake
and use of digital technologies by farmers, the trade of sector-related digital technologies, and
about the extent and structure of the provision of digital and data services in the agri-food
supply chain, which is of global outreach.
To the same time, policies and the regulatory framework directly or indirectly influencing the
deployment of digital and data technologies in the EU is evolving in a fast pace and will
continue to do so.431 Also trade regimes are continuously changing. For stakeholder in the
agricultural and the digital sector to invest in digital and data technologies, it is important to
be able to assess the possible implications of changing regulatory and market conditions on
the development, purchase and use of digital and data technologies in the agricultural sector.
An increase in information on markets and on the actor networks, and of the storage and the
flows of goods and data, increases transparency, strengthens the consumers`/ users` position
and boost competition.
Capacities in modelling and in carrying out foresight analyses for the development of markets
and of the situation in the agricultural sector is also one pre-requisite for tailored policy-
making.
Proposals should cover all of the following aspects:
     Development of innovative approaches to assess the uptake of digital technologies and
      digital infrastructure (including platforms) in the agricultural sector globally with special
      attention to the situation in the EU and associated countries;
     Development of innovative approaches to forecast the markets and the uptake of digital
      technologies and digital infrastructure (including platforms) globally with special
      attention to the situation in the EU under consideration of fast-changing regulatory
      framing conditions in the fields of data-, digital and machinery technologies and of
      agricultural policies;
     Demonstration of the qualitative and quantitative implications for the use of digital and
      data technologies by farmers and other actors along the supply chain in a way that
      demonstration results can be steadily adapted to changing framing conditions.
      Demonstrations should allow for the reflection of scenarios.
431
         See, e.g. the announcements in the Digital package published by the European Commission in February
         2020, and the Data Strategy in the package, in particular. https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-
         market/en/policies/building-european-data-economy.
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Proposals are expected to consider innovation in digital technologies brought onto the market
during the life-time of the project. They must implement the multi-actor approach involving
targeted stakeholders, including farmers, agri-businesses, policymakers etc. to test
demonstration and communication tools. They should also provide a basis for the
development of business cases, e.g. for the integration and sharing of databases across entities
and infrastructure.
For the assessment of the uptake of digital technologies by farmers, statistic approaches
evolving in the EU are to be considered; assessment approaches may vary between continents
and regions.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-20: Data economy in the field of agriculture
– effects of data sharing and big data
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          2.00 and 4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: In line with the farm to fork strategy and the Headline ambitions of a
Digital Age –the data Strategy in particular - and the headline ambition an Economy that
works for people, leaving no one behind, the successful proposals will support capacities to
understand, develop and demonstrate the data economy in agriculture and its effects. This
topic aims to contribute a) to the enhancement of the sustainability performance and
competitiveness in agriculture through further deployment of digital and data technologies as
key enablers, and b) to the development of innovative governance models enabling
sustainability and resilience notably to achieve better informed decision-making processes
through research and innovation related to data economy in agriculture.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Awareness and informed decisions based on the demonstration of the costs, benefits,
      risks, and added value as well as the economic and societal potential of agricultural data
      sharing taking an EU perspective.432
     Increase in transparency in data sharing in the agricultural value chain.
     Increased sharing of agricultural data, and the effective and efficient use of private and
      public data for private and public purpose, particularly through the demonstration of the
432
         The main focus is with the agricultural sector and public interests in the EU. However, as data flows
         and trade relations are global, analyses have to go beyond the EU context.
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      costs, benefits, risks, and added value as well as the economic and societal potential of
      agricultural data sharing taking an EU perspective.433
     Contribute to an increased uptake of digital and data technologies in the agricultural
      sector and indirectly contribute an increase in environmental and economic performance
      of the agricultural sector through increased and enhanced used of digital technologies
      and data.
     Strengthen policy-making             and-monitoring        capacities     in   agriculture   and    data
      technologies.
Scope: Used effectively, agricultural data has the potential to increase the performance of the
sector and of businesses along the supply chain in a sustainable way as well to as to serve
public good purposes. For instance, agricultural data forms a key input to precision farming
applications and can form input to the analysis on environmental conditions as well as to other
fields, e.g. bioinformatics. Thus, agricultural data has a value and presents an interesting
element for the data economy.
A crucial parameter to the effectiveness and efficiency of the application of data technologies
is the quantity and quality of agricultural data serving as basis for such analyses. However,
agricultural data, which stems from multiple sources and includes business, personal and
public data, is not straightforward accessible, not even for fees/ financial resources.
Next to technical issues related to e.g. data interoperability, questions on the ownership of
agricultural data and the readiness to share the data present a burden to the use of agricultural
data. Farmers, for instance, need to trust that their farm data is handled and share carefully,
and have to see their and societal benefits to share the data, and have a stake in the economic
benefits of agricultural data.
Currently, some companies in the agri-food value chain are collecting agricultural data, e.g.
through farmers as customers. Not always is the use of that data, e.g. for product development
or farm-tailored advertisement, fully transparent. Moreover, some companies with high
numbers of customers, easily gain enormous market power and generate income through the
use of the collected data and the application of data technologies.
Developments in the agricultural sector as well as in EU policies 434 , which are/ will be
addressing those circumstance to increase the readiness to data sharing to increase the benefit
for the economy and society and to overcome power imbalances and a lack of transparency in
the use of data, occur rapidly. These changing framing conditions offer opportunities as well
as challenges to the agricultural sector as well as to the data economy.
Proposals should cover all of the following aspects:
433
        The main focus is with the agricultural sector and public interests in the EU. However, as data flows
        and trade relations are global, analyses have to go beyond the EU context.
434
        Key policy ambitions related to the data economy and the use of data for the society/ the public good
        are reflected in a “European Strategy for Data” published by the European Commission in February
        2020 (see https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/policies/building-european-data-economy).
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   Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the effects of various data sharing and marketing
     and use options (considering among others private and public data, private and public
     actions, and big data opportunities) for the actors along the agri-food supply chain and
     the development of scenarios for the data economy.
   Implications of the ongoing policy-making process at EU level including the
     development of relevant legislation in the analyses.
   Effects of multi-level governance systems in the EU under consideration of the situation
     and conditions in various Member States as well as effects of international (trade)
     relations.
   Consideration of multiple data-sharing business- and governance approaches and
     technical solution in data sharing in the agricultural sector.
   Consideration of climate adaptation and reducing administrative burden in the
     assessment of the potential of agricultural data sharing for the sector and the society.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-21: Potential of drones as multi-purpose
vehicle – risks and added values
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per         6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level          see General Annex B.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The
                         support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                         The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60
                         000.
Expected Outcome: In line with the farm to fork strategy and the Headline ambitions of a
Digital Age and an Economy that works for people, that works for all, leaving no one behind,
the biodiversity strategy, the successful proposals will support the effective and efficient
deployment of drones, including in the field of environmental monitoring. They will therefore
contribute a) to the enhancement of the sustainability performance and competitiveness in
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
agriculture, forestry and rural areas through further deployment of digital and data
technologies as key enablers, and b) to the development of innovative governance models
enabling sustainability and resilience, notably to achieve better informed decision-making
processes through research and innovation in the field of drones.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Strengthened capacities for sustainable smart farming, forestry and rural communities
      through exploiting the potential of drones and other remotely piloted aircraft systems.
   Strengthened the capacities for plant, plant-health, livestock, livestock-heath, and agri-
      environmental monitoring (including tree health) through the use of drones and other
      remotely piloted aircraft systems.
   Reduced risk of the use of drones and other remotely piloted aircraft systems.
Scope: The increased use of drones for sectoral and societal purposes can be observed in the
EU. Also in the field of agricultural production, drones are used in the EU, whereby to
different extents across Member States because of environmental, socio-economic and also
regulatory framing conditions. While the use of drones can bring advantages to agricultural
production, e.g. to collect data on crop conditions, it also goes along with risks emanating
from the use of the unmanned vehicle itself, or the activity it is carrying out. For several
reasons, e.g. a lack of cost-effectiveness, the potential of drones is not fully exploited by the
agricultural sector in the EU. When exploring the opportunities to increase the use of drones,
the consideration of aspects related to the safe use and the interests of the society at large,
which might be negatively affected by the use of drones, is of outermost importance. To the
same time, drones can also deliver services of common interests, which have the potential to
be well linked to the agricultural use of drones, for instance, the collection of environmental
information in agricultural landscapes, such as about landscape features, water quality or soil
quality, and biodiversity in and around utilised agricultural areas. Exploring possibilities to
use drones as multi-purpose vehicle in rural areas, e.g. for reasons of cost-effectiveness is of
interest.
Proposals should cover all of the following aspects:
   Stock-taking of innovation in the use of drones as multi-purpose vehicle in agricultural
      production, forestry and the development of rural communities globally, the advantage
      and disadvantages of different approaches, and perform comparative analyses with the
      situation of the use of drones in the EU.
   Development of innovative approaches to use drones and other remotely piloted aircraft
      systems as multi-purpose vehicle in agriculture, e.g. for production assessment, cover-
      crop seeding, pest and disease detection, harvesting planning as well as innovative
      approaches to use drones as multi-purpose vehicle linking agricultural and wider
      environmental observation interests (including the assessment of landscape features,
      forests, water quality, and soil carbon) and for rural services.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
     Assessment of the potential of the use of drones and other remotely piloted aircraft
      systems in the agricultural sector and socio-economic and environmental effects under
      consideration of different regulatory scenarios.
     Development of business models to the use of drones and other remotely piloted aircraft
      systems in agriculture, which may include agriculture / forestry / community
      development interlinkages.
     Development of innovative approaches to assess and reduce the risks related to the use
      of drones in the agricultural sector, especially in the context of spraying.
Projects are expected to take into consideration the results of other related Horizon 2020/
Europe projects, such as AW-Drones435 and ROMI436, as well as of other relevant projects and
initiatives.
Proposals may involve financial support to third parties e.g. to academic researchers, hi-tech
startups, SMEs, rural communities and other multidisciplinary actors, to, for instance,
develop, test or validate developed assessment approaches or collect or prepare data sets or
provide other contributions to achieve the project objectives. A maximum of € 60 000 per
third party might be granted. Conditions for third parties support are set out in Part B of the
General Annexes. Consortia need to define the selection process of organisations, for which
financial support may be granted. Maximum 20% of the EU funding can be allocated to this
purpose. The financial support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-22: Assessing the impacts of                              digital
technologies in agriculture – cost, benefits and potential for sustainability gains
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.50
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                       consortium selected for funding.
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
435
         Funded under Horizon2020 call MG-2-3-2018.
436
         Funded under Horizon2020 call SFS-05-2017.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In line with the farm to fork strategy and the Headline ambitions of a
Digital Age and an Economy that works for people, leaving no one behind, the biodiversity
strategy, the successful proposals will support the development of capacities for assessing and
demonstrating environmental and socio-economic effects of digital technologies in
agriculture. They will therefore contribute to the enhancement of the sustainability
performance and competitiveness in agriculture through further deployment of digital and
data technologies as key enablers through research and innovation in the field of the
assessment of impacts of digital technologies in agriculture.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Awareness and informed decisions based on the demonstration of the costs and benefits
      of the use of digital technologies for the agricultural sector.
    Facilitated uptake of digital technologies by farmers, including through decision-making
      support and the analysis of farmers’ motivations.
    Strengthen the capacities of farmers` advisors in the field of digital technologies.
    Strengthening the capacities to design, implement, monitor and evaluate policy measures
      in the fields of agriculture, environment and climate, as basis for better tailored, more
      effective and efficient policy measures in the fields of digitalisation in agriculture, and
      sustainability.
Scope: Digital technologies in agriculture and their potential to increase farms` economic and
sustainability performance, facilitate work and enhance working conditions has received huge
attention in the political sphere in recent years. Agriculture has to play a key role in achieving
environmental and climate ambitions in the EU, and digital technologies offer opportunities to
increase the sustainability performance of the agricultural sector. However, there is still a
huge “gap” between the portfolio of digital technologies offered at the market and the actual
uptake and use by farmers in the EU. Moreover, while the potential of digital technologies to
better tailor agricultural production is widely acknowledged, there is little knowledge about
the actual reduction of negative environmental and climate effects due to their application.
Studies show that among key uptake barriers hindering the farmers to make use of digital
technologies are a) a lack of knowledge about those tools in general, as well as their costs and
benefits, b) a lack of overview of the strengths and weaknesses of certain tools in the huge
portfolio offered on markets and the suitability to address farm-specific needs, and c) a lack of
believe in the added value of digital technologies for the management of a farm. An additional
barrier to the uptake of digital technologies by farmers presents the effort needed to become
familiar with new tools. For many farmers the real demonstration of effects as well as “hard
figures” of production effects are important to be convinced to apply a certain method/
technology. Also cultural aspects play a role in the perception of digital technologies.
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
The effectiveness of digital technologies as it regards sustainability gains between laboratory
conditions and the environmental and socio-economic reality vary.
Independent assessments of the effects of the use of the range of digital technologies tools
under ideal and real-life conditions are essential for policy development, monitoring and
evaluation. For many environmental parameters, the final impacts of farming can only be
assessed with a huge time lag/ delay or are hardly measurable at all. The more important it is,
to have figures, which impacts certain farming practices may have.
In addition, policy-makers and administrations are challenged by estimating rates for
supporting the use of digital technologies in agriculture as well as the effects of employment
structures in rural areas.
Against this background, independent quantitative and qualitative assessments of the multiple
costs and benefits and potential sustainability gains of digital technologies are essential. It is
also important to make those assessment results of possible effects of digital technologies
feasible, assessable and usable, particularly for farmers, their advisors, and policy-makers, as
it may form a stepping stone to facilitate the uptake of digital technologies in the sector and
may facilitate the design of tailored policy measures.
Proposals should cover all of the following aspects:
     Demonstration of the costs and benefits for farmers/farms of the use of digital
      technologies for individual production steps (e.g. in per ha calculations and livestock
      surveillance) as well as for following a “whole-farm approach” which is applied, e.g. in
      the use of some Farm Management Systems under real testing conditions and with
      quantitative and qualitative assessments.
     Analyses and developed assessment approaches representative for the EU under
      consideration of the various biogeographical conditions, and several types of farms and
      farmers under consideration of different business models, e.g. cooperative purchase of
      equipment, use of contractor services etc.
     Stock-taking of results of former or still ongoing Horizon 2020 projects falling directly
      or indirectly under the scope of this theme, e.g. Smart-AKIS 437 , to capitalise those
      findings and draw lessons learnt.
     Provision of innovative decision-making support on the selection and use of digital
      technologies.
     Generation of information and knowledge for the design of policy measures.
     Recommendations, under which conditions/ in which way digital technologies deliver
      best results for a farmer and on business models for financing/ for financing their use.
437
         The Thematic network Smart-AKIS was funded under call Horizon2020 ISIB-02-2015, see
         https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/696294.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
     Generation of innovative tools making the results of the projects easily accessible and
      usable for the different target groups (at least farmers and advisors), e.g. cost calculators.
     Facilitated qualitative and quantitative assessment of the (positive and negative)
      environmental effects (e.g. reduction of inputs/ emissions) of the use of digital
      technologies in agriculture.
Projects are expected to foster the development of capacities for assessing the contribution of
agriculture to sustainability ambitions through the development of assessment approaches,
analyses, and knowledge generation on the impacts, especially the costs, benefits and
potential sustainability gains and losses, through the application of digital technologies.
Projects are expected to make a significant contribution to establish a basis for the
development, implementation and evaluation of sustainability- and data-related policies at
regional, national and EU level and reaching related objectives, including Green Deal
ambitions, CAP, the White Paper on Artificial Intelligence, and Sustainable Finance.
Proposals should cover all of the following aspects:
     Testing of digital technologies in agriculture under real production conditions.
     Consideration of farmers´/ producers´/ contractors´ behaviour.
     Representativeness of analyses and developed assessment approaches for the EU and
      associated countries for several types of farms and farmers.
     Links to relevant EU policy monitoring and evaluations and statistical systems.
     Exploration of the potential of digital technologies use in agriculture as means for
      independent monitoring.
     Recommendations under which conditions/ in which way digital technologies deliver
      best sustainability performance.
Tools developed within the project(s) are to be linkable to Agricultural Knowledge and
Innovation Systems in Member States.
The multi-actor approach must be implemented, involving at least scientists and
representatives of the agricultural sector. They are encouraged to envisage collaboration with
Digital Innovation Hubs 438 supported under the Digital Europe Programme is regarded as
beneficial for the overall results of the projects.
If involving machinery companies, selected projects should build their work on digital
technologies and machinery from at least three companies and brands.
The possible participation of the JRC in the project will ensure that the approach proposed
will be compatible with and improve the tools used at the European Commission.
438
        For more information on Digital Innovation Hubs, please see https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-
        market/en/digital-innovation-hubs.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Strengthening agricultural knowledge and innovation systems
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-23: Broaden EIP Operational Group
outcomes across borders by means of thematic networks, compiling and sharing
knowledge ready for practice
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                       multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In support of the Green Deal, CAP and farm to fork objectives and
targets, the successful proposal will focus on knowledge sharing in a language that is easy to
understand and is targeted to farmers and foresters. Primary producers have a particular need
for impartial and tailored knowledge on the management choices related to the needs,
challenges or opportunities they experience. This speeds up innovation and the uptake of
results, and is key to improve sustainability. It adds value to the knowledge and cost-
effectiveness of innovative practices and techniques in and across primary production sectors,
food systems, bioeconomy and biodiversity. This will lead to more informed and engaged
stakeholders and users of project results including primary producers and consumers thanks to
effective platforms such as Agriculture Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS 439).
Despite the continued funding of scientific projects, innovative ideas and methods from
practice are not captured and spread, and often research findings are not integrated into
agricultural and forestry practice. Proposals, acting at EU level to remedy this, are essential
because national and sectoral AKISs are insufficiently connected and organised to fully meet
the challenge of intensifying thematic cooperation between researchers, advisors and
farmers/foresters. This exchange of knowledge will foster economically viable and
439
        AKIS means the organisation and knowledge flows between persons, organisations and institutions who
        use and produce knowledge for agriculture and interrelated fields (Agricultural Knowledge and
        Innovation
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
sustainable agriculture and forestry and build trust between the main AKIS actors. It will scale
up local solutions up to the EU level and may even influence policy design wherever useful.
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
  1. The collection and distribution of easily accessible practice-oriented knowledge on the
      thematic area chosen, in particular the existing best practices and research findings that
      are ready to be put into practice, but not sufficiently known or used by practitioners.
  2. The conservation of practical knowledge for the long term - beyond the project period –
      in particular by using the main trusted dissemination channels that farmers/foresters
      consult most often, delivering as much audio-visual material and as many “practice
      abstracts” in the common European innovation partnership "Agricultural productivity
      and sustainability" (EIP-AGRI) format as possible, including also education and training
      materials.
  3. Increasing the flow of practical information between farmers/foresters in the EU in a
      geographically balanced way, creating spill-overs and taking account of the differences
      between territories. In order to better reach and capture knowledge from the targeted
      farmers/foresters, the networks may organise 'cross-fertilisation' through sub-networks
      covering, for example, a region, a language or a production system.
  4. Achieving greater user acceptance of collected solutions and a more intensive
      dissemination of existing knowledge, by connecting actors, policies, projects and
      instruments to speed up innovation and promote the faster and wider co-creation and
      transposition of innovative solutions into practice.
  5. The cross-cutting objective of modernising the sector by fostering and sharing of
      knowledge, innovation and digitalisation in agriculture and rural areas, and encouraging
      their uptake440, as well as contributing to the European Green deal and Farm to Fork
      objectives. Examples are climate issues, pesticide use, water use and pollution, short
      supply chains linking to the consumer, farm viability, animal welfare, generational
      renewal, and much more.
Scope: Proposals should address the following activities:
     Tackling the most urgent needs of farmers and foresters by building on the experience
      and outcomes of at least 5 EIP-AGRI441 Operational Groups of at least 3 Member States,
      scaling it up at European level choosing a related common theme on which to collect,
      summarise, share and translate the existing knowledge from science and practice in an
      easy-to-understand way for practitioners.
     Compiling a comprehensive description of the state of current farming and forestry
      practices on the chosen theme with a view to explain the added-value of the proposal and
      the relevance of the theme. Proposals must pay attention to the cost/benefit aspects of the
440
         Art 5 CAP post 2020 proposal
441
         EIP-AGRI : European Innovation Partnership (EIP) 'Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability’
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
      practices collected and summarised, and clarify how the project avoids duplication with
      ongoing or completed projects and networks.
     Delivering an extensive range of useful, applicable and appealing end-user material for
      farmers and foresters. This info should be easy to access and understand, and feed into
      the existing dissemination channels most consulted by farmers and foresters in the
      countries.
     All materials should also be provided in the common EIP-AGRI format to the EIP-AGRI
      as 'practice abstracts', as well as to the national/regional/local AKIS channels and to the
      EU-wide interactive knowledge reservoir (HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-
      24) in the requested formats.
     Besides giving the details about the EIP-AGRI Operational Groups which are
      involved442, wherever possible and relevant to the chosen theme, provide also details on
      how further synergies shall be built with running and future EIP-AGRI Operational
      Groups and interactive innovation groups operating in the context of the EIP-AGRI.
     Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor approach', with a consortium based on a
      balanced mix of actors with complementary knowledge in particular activating
      farmers/foresters, farmers' groups and advisors and run for minimum three years.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-24: Supporting knowledge exchange between
all AKIS actors in the Member States by means of an EU-wide interactive knowledge
reservoir
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per        15.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                        The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                        multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In support of the Green Deal, common agricultural policy and farm to
fork objectives and targets, the successful proposal will focus on appropriate management of
442
        According to the requirements of the multi-actor approach
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data and information derived from different sources that are readily available. The expected
outcome of this topic is to multiply the use of practice-oriented knowledge, build capacities
and to demonstrate innovative solutions to accelerate the transition to a sustainable
management and use of natural resources in farming and forestry. This will lead to more
informed and engaged stakeholders and users of project results including primary producers
and consumers thanks to effective platforms such as Agriculture Knowledge and Innovation
Systems (AKIS443).
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
1. Making information and knowledge readily available and easy accessible to farmers,
foresters, advisors and other users 444 of practice-ready knowledge. This will support the
policy objectives linked to Cluster 6, such as the European Green Deal, the farm to fork
strategy and the CAP, the biodiversity strategy and the wider bioeconomy research and
policies by supporting the transition process across the EU in new and coherent ways;
2. The CAP cross-cutting objective of modernising the sector by fostering and sharing of
knowledge, innovation and digitalisation in agriculture and rural areas, and encouraging their
uptake 445 . This project will provide overall support related to concrete practice-oriented
knowledge co-creation, the (digital) organisation of it and the sharing of approaches to do so
among Member States;
3. The outcomes will be connecting actors, policies, projects and instruments to speed up
innovation and the sharing of knowledge, in particular by:
(a) creating added value by better linking research, education, advisors and farming practice
to trusted information sources and encouraging the wider use of available knowledge and
innovation;
(b) connecting innovation actors and projects; resulting in faster and wider co-creation and
transposition of innovative solutions into practice and communicating to the scientific
community about the research needs of practice.
Scope: Proposals should address the following activities:
     Collect and enable sharing – as a minimum – of the outcomes of all multi-actor projects
      from Horizon 2020 and those from Horizon Europe, and of all EIP-AGRI Operational
      Group innovative projects 2014-2020 and of those to come in the 2021-2027 period.
      This should be done by developing, operating and fine-tuning the use of an open access
      and open source digital EU-wide knowledge reservoir for practice interoperable with the
      European innovation partnership "Agricultural productivity and sustainability" (EIP-
      AGRI). The knowledge reservoir should be refined to make the tool as interactive and
443
         AKIS means the organisation and knowledge flows between persons, organisations and institutions who
         use and produce knowledge for agriculture and interrelated fields (Agricultural Knowledge and
         Innovation).
444
         See definition of the 'multi-actor approach' in the introduction to this work programme part.
445
         Article 5 of the CAP post 2020 proposal
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      interoperable as possible with Member States’ growing number of websites and
      knowledge reservoirs for agriculture and forestry practice, and integrate as much as
      possible practice-oriented project outcomes from any other funding source. Where
      needed, this may entail policy dialogues and small studies;
     Develop this tool, which is to be owned and exploited by the EU, enabling it to serve the
      knowledge interactions within the EIP-AGRI network, in particular with a view to
      explore how to encourage emergence of new EIP-AGRI innovation projects by
      connecting projects and actors. To this end, the project should collaborate with the EIP-
      AGRI networks at Member State and at EU level;
     Share the output of the EU knowledge reservoir as widely as possible, using existing
      dissemination channels for farmers and foresters and national/regional/local AKIS
      channels, with the support of AKIS coordination bodies and platforms in Member States.
      Explore the possibilities for translation of its content into EU languages;
     Develop interactive communication activities on the outcomes of clusters of projects in
      the reservoir, so that the knowledge comes to life through workshops and encounters
      between AKIS’ actors, in particular those who have common interests across the EU.
      This will be the way to find out whether the knowledge reservoir meets end-users’
      expectations. Through peer-to-peer activities and mixed actor events on dedicated parts
      of the content of the knowledge reservoir, enable innovations to arise from existing
      work, using the inputs and suggestions received from key actors all over the EU;
     Use the collected material to develop educational material for students, farmers,
      foresters, advisors and others 446 , and for encouraging on-farm demonstrations. Give
      input for training of advisors and farmers (or other users). All this material is to be
      exploited across Europe through real life, one-to-one and virtual activities;
     The project should collaborate with all 27 EU Member States’ AKIS’ coordinating
      bodies447 and related networks, and strongly connect to the EIP-AGRI at EU level. Make
      use of the AKIS coordination in each Member State to connect actors all over Europe
      working on specific subjects. This collaboration should serve to verify whether the
      reservoir indeed meets the expectations of Member States’ AKIS’ actors;
     Make use of local connections in all 27 EU Member States to interpret the
      national/regional contexts, including in particular the innovation strand of national CAP
      Networks. Use the knowledge and innovation experts in the SCAR-AKIS Strategic
      Working Group to discuss the project strategy and progress at the various stages of the
      project;
446
         See the requirements for the 'multi-actor approach' in the introduction to this work programme part.
447
         “AKIS coordination bodies “ in the CAP plans are responsible for the management of the Member
         States AKIS’ strategies
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     Projects should have a minimum duration of 7 years, and build on the developments of
      the projects EURAKNOS448 and EUREKA449, and - if relevant - of similar international
      initiatives. They must implement the multi-actor approach, including as a minimum the
      EIP-AGRI and national CAP networks and AKIS actors from many Member States as
      well as IT-experts with experience in knowledge reservoirs. Proposals should include
      tasks to collaborate with these Horizon 2020 projects to take over the agreed IT
      standards and languages according to the outcomes of the feasibility discussions in
      EURAKNOS and EUREKA.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-25: Improving national AKIS organisation
in a co-creative process across the EU
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per           10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                    Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                           proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action             Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility                The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                 exceptions apply:
                           The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                           The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                           multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In support of the Green Deal, CAP and farm to fork objectives and
targets, the successful proposal will focus on appropriate governance to interlink Agriculture
Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS450) actors and connect them with practice-oriented
information derived from different sources that are readily available. The expected outcome
of this topic is to develop sound AKIS governance in Member States. Member States’
authorities and AKIS actors need insights and tools to advance knowledge exchange, build
capacities. Innovative governance solutions should accelerate the transition to a more
sustainable management and use of natural resources in farming and forestry. This will lead to
better informed and engaged stakeholders and users of innovative project results thanks to
effective AKIS and related platforms.
Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
448
         https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/817863
449
         https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/862790
450
         AKIS means the organisation and knowledge flows between persons, organisations and institutions who
         use and produce knowledge for agriculture and interrelated fields (Agricultural Knowledge and
         Innovation).
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Member States need to find new ways to govern the transition process and at the same time
modernise governance. Special attention shall go into making information and knowledge
more readily available and accessible and to improving knowledge flows between AKIS
actors, as foreseen in the AKIS strategies of the post 2020 Common Agricultural Policy451.
The task of the future AKIS coordination bodies and platforms is to find adequate governance
to share knowledge and innovation supporting the European Green Deal and farm to fork
objectives, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals while trying to solve institutional
barriers and lock-ins, political inertia and power imbalances.
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes
1. New know-how to be used by policy makers and other AKIS actors 452 to improve
knowledge flows and develop a well-functioning AKIS in their country. This supports policy
objectives linked to Cluster 6, such as the European Green Deal, the Farm to Fork Strategy
and the Common Agricultural Policy. Examples are farm viability and generational renewal,
agro-ecology, climate mitigation and adaptation, pesticide reduction, reduction of water use
and pollution, and much more.
2. The CAP post 2020 cross-cutting objective of modernising the sector by fostering and
sharing knowledge, innovation and digitalisation in agriculture and rural areas, and
encouraging their uptake453 . Support related to knowledge creation, organisation and sharing
will become available under the post 2020 CAP. This project must help Member States to
benchmark among them in order to choose the most effective AKIS interventions adapted to
their local/regional/national situations. It should improve learning on how to organise their
AKIS to improve its functioning.
3. The outcomes should be approaches to better connect actors, policies and projects and
instruments to speed up innovation and the uptake of knowledge, in particular to:
(a) create added value by better linking research, education, advisors and farming practice and
encourage the wider use of available knowledge and innovation;
(b) connect innovation actors and projects at all levels; resulting in faster and wider co-
creation and transposition of innovative solutions into practice and communicate to the
scientific community the research needs of practice.
Scope: Proposals should address the following activities:
     Compare the various types of AKIS454 within the EU at national, regional and local level
      to discover how they effectively and efficiently enhance interaction between AKIS
      actors through activities at various geographical levels. Special attention shall be paid to
      making practice-oriented information and knowledge better available, shared and
      accessible and on how to improve knowledge flows between AKIS actors, including
451
        Art 102 of the post 2020 CAP on AKIS strategies
452
        See the requirements for the 'multi-actor approach' in the introduction to this Work Programme part
453
        Art 5 CAP post-2020 proposal
454
        Art 3 and 102 of the CAP post-2020 proposal
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      informing research on needs from practice and finding ways to reward scientists for
      results useable in practice in particular. Project activities should help learning processes
      for practitioners within the country and regions, as well as support them to benefit from
      well-functioning AKISs. Project proposals must also support development of various
      cross-border approaches between AKISs to enhance knowledge flows and initiatives to
      incentivise innovation projects among countries and regions within the EU, and to learn
      from each other.
     A specific part of the project should be dedicated to sharing the various ways and good
      examples of how advisors can be intensively integrated in AKIS 455 , including for
      innovation support456.
     Assess current AKIS, using practical tools and indicators capable of monitoring the
      functioning of Member States’ AKIS. This should include institutional arrangements and
      ways to stimulate researchers to exchange information with practice and have an
      effective impact on the transition to a more sustainable agriculture by adjusting the focus
      of their research to more practical approaches and interaction with practice. Provide
      advice and support on how to measure improving the functioning of the AKIS, making
      use of a coherent and effective approach while taking into account the
      national/regional/local historical and cultural contexts.
     Provide all outcomes and materials to the European Innovation Partnership 'Agricultural
      Productivity and Sustainability' (EIP-AGRI), including in the common 'practice abstract'
      format for EU wide dissemination, as well as to national/regional/local AKIS channels
      and to the EU-wide interactive knowledge reservoir (HORIZON-CL6-2021-
      GOVERNANCE-01-24) in the requested formats.
     Cover all 27 EU Member State in the project, and make use in all those countries of
      experts who understand and are able to make an accurate interpretation of the
      national/regional contexts of practitioners. Use the knowledge and innovation experts in
      the SCAR-AKIS Strategic Working Group to discuss the project’s strategy and progress
      in the various stages of the project. Projects should have a minimum duration of 7 years
      and must implement the multi-actor approach. Since innovation support is an essential
      element in a well-functioning AKIS, cooperation with the project under HORIZON-
      CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-26 is expected.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-26: Deepening the functioning of innovation
support
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
455
         advisors’ integration within AKIS is a newly introduced obligation in Art 13(2) as also measured by
         result indicator 2
456
         Art 13(4) of the CAP post 2020 proposal
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contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                         The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                         multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In support of the Green Deal, common agricultural policy and farm to
fork objectives and targets, the successful proposal will focus on how to discover innovative
ideas and how to enable the relevant actors to work out these ideas in a co-creative way as
from the very start of the making of the proposal. The expected outcome of this topic is to
develop sound, coherent and well-prepared innovation generation and support methods, which
enable individual grassroots innovative ideas to come to fruition. It should help project
coordinators to find methods to use the complementary knowledge of partners to develop
ready-to-use solutions. Member States’ authorities and actors of the agricultural knowledge
and innovation system (AKIS) need insights and tools to improve the interaction, connections
and drafting skills for preparation of innovation project proposals. This will eventually lead to
useable and practice-oriented innovative project results, better informed practitioners
motivated to implement those results and, as a consequence, increased impact of funding for
multi-actor research and innovation and European innovation partnership (EIP) Operational
Groups.
Member States AKISs need to be equipped to advance knowledge, build capacities and co-
create innovative solutions to accelerate the transition to a sustainable and circular
management and use of natural resources. To this end, the CAP post-2020 introduced for all
Member States an obligation to have innovation support services in place 457 , to speed up
innovation by helping to develop individual innovative grassroots ideas into interactive
innovation projects458. Such services can serve as one stop shops for innovation and should
help future users of project results to prepare multi-actor innovative projects with a view to
testing the potential innovation they have in mind. Member States need to find new ways to
organise innovation support which fuels the generation of solutions for the transition process
towards more sustainable farming and forestry. This can be done in particular in the form of a
one-stop-shop for innovation, which can provide practical information on the subject of the
potential project, existing scientific knowledge and project management as well as tips and
tricks on how to develop such projects into a coherent project proposal. Being able to connect
the most relevant actors with complementary knowledge is also an essential element, and will
457
        Art 13(4) of the post 2020 CAP proposal
458
        Such as Horizon Multi-actor projects or EIP-AGRI Operational Groups
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help to attain the objectives of the potential project. Deepening innovation support will need
to take into account institutional barriers and lock-ins, political inertia and tackle power
imbalances between potential actors involved in co-creative innovation processes.
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
1. Helping innovation support services to tackle innovative ideas related to the policy
objectives linked to Cluster 6, such as farm viability, agro-ecology, climate issues, pesticide
reduction, reduction of water use and pollution, short supply chains, generational renewal, etc,
as well as the European Green Deal, the Farm to Fork Strategy and the CAP, the Biodiversity
Strategy and the wider bioeconomy research and policies.
2. Contribute to the CAP cross-cutting objective of modernising the sector by fostering and
sharing knowledge, innovation and digitalisation in agriculture and rural areas, and
encouraging their uptake 459 . Projects shall provide overall support to generate practical
approaches ultimately leading to better capturing of emerging needs and/or innovative
opportunities, knowledge co-creation, in relation to the new obligation for Member States
under the CAP post-2020460 to have innovation support services in place, taking into account
national and regional contexts.
3. The outcomes shall connect actors, policies, projects and instruments to speed up creation
of innovative solutions, in particular by:
(a) creating added value by better linking research, education, advisors and farming practice
and encouraging the wider use of available knowledge which can serve the innovative idea;
(b) connecting innovation actors and projects; resulting in faster co-creation of ready-to-use
innovative solutions, spreading them into practice and communicating the research needs of
practice to the scientific community.
Scope: Proposals should address the following activities:
     Develop approaches to set up and improve the functioning of innovation brokers, which
      have the capacities to find individual innovative grassroots ideas at an early stage as well
      as practice needs or innovative opportunities. These innovative ideas should then be
      developed with the support of the owner of the idea and a number of relevant actors with
      complementary knowledge into an EIP-AGRI interactive innovation project510, using
      methods ensuring co-ownership of the initiators and partners in the project. Seed funding
      as used for EIP-AGRI Operational Group projects is often a good solution to accompany
      this process, but also other approaches such as “innovation advice” or “innovation
      coaching” are an option to investigate461.
459
         Art 5 CAP post 2020 proposal
460
         Art 13(4) CAP post 2020 proposal
461
         See EIP-AGRI seminar on AKIS : https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/en/event/eip-agri-seminar-cap-
         strategic-plans-key-role-akis
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     Explore how such innovation support approaches could be embedded in the
      national/regional AKIS, in particular through useful connections with advisors, and how
      they can be linked to other broader innovation support mechanisms, including research,
      advisors and CAP networks at Member State or regional level462.
     Investigate and compare among Member States how the governance of such innovation
      support could be organised at the level of the managing authorities (single “one-stop-
      shop” service or mixed model with several smaller and/or bigger innovation support
      services, or…) taking into account the great variety of contexts in Member States and
      regions.
     Cover all 27 EU Member States in the project to ensure learning from diversity. Make
      use in all those countries of experts who understand and are able to make an accurate
      interpretation of the national/regional contexts and its impact to help develop the ideal
      solution for that Member State.
     Projects should have a minimum duration of 6 years, investing most in the very first
      years, and use the support from the knowledge and innovation experts of the SCAR-
      AKIS Strategic Working Group to discuss project strategy and progress in the various
      stages of the project. They must implement the multi-actor approach, including existing
      experienced innovation support services as partners which can share their methods and
      help develop solutions in other contexts.
     As foreseen in the Multi-Actor Approach requirements 463 , provide all outcomes and
      materials to the European Innovation Partnership 'Agricultural Productivity and
      Sustainability' (EIP-AGRI), including in the common 'practice abstract' format for EU
      wide dissemination, including as well as to national/regional/local AKIS channels and to
      the EU-wide interactive knowledge reservoir (HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-
      01-24) in the requested formats.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-27: Developing EU advisory networks on
consumer-producer chains
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
462
         Art 102 of the CAP post 2020 proposal
463
         See introduction of the Work Programme
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Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                         The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                         multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In support of the Green Deal, CAP and farm to fork objectives and
targets, the successful proposal will focus on advisor exchanges across the EU to increase the
speed of knowledge creation and sharing, capacity building, of demonstration of innovative
solutions, as well as helping to bring them into practice, which accelerates the needed
transitions. Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) in which advisors are
fully integrated464 are key drivers to speed up innovation and the uptake of research results by
farmers.
Primary producers have a particular need for impartial, ready-to-use and tailored knowledge
on the management choices related to the needs, challenges or opportunities they experience.
This speeds up innovation and the uptake of results, and is key to improve sustainability. It
adds value to the knowledge and cost-effectiveness of innovative practices and techniques in
and across primary production sectors, food systems, bioeconomy and biodiversity. This will
lead to more informed and engaged stakeholders and users of project results including
primary producers and consumers thanks to effective platforms such as Agriculture
Knowledge and Innovation Systems.
Transformative changes such as those required within the European Green Deal are dynamic
processes that require appropriate governance of AKIS actors. Advisors are key actors
strongly guiding and with powerful influence over producers’ decisions. A novelty in the
post-2020 CAP plans465 is that advisors now must be integrated within the Member States’
AKIS, and that the scope of their actions has become much broader. They must now be able
to cover economic, environmental and social domains, as well as be informed on up-to-date
science and technology. They should be able to translate this knowledge into opportunities
and use and adapt those to specific local circumstances. This specific topic focuses on the
important role advisors can play to exploit the potential of connecting consumers with
producers through short supply chains, an upcoming issue in the more sustainable and
diversified agriculture of the future.
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
  1. Production of supporting services and sharing of materials to facilitate the upscaling of
      short supply chains, such as knowledge networks and peer-to-peer counselling, master
      classes, inspiration tours, advice modelling, communication and education materials,
      sharing of effective business models and making use of possible accelerators serving
      both producers and consumers, SWOT analysis schemes, (new) business model
      analyses, etc
464
        Article 13(2) of the CAP post 2020
465
        Art 13(2) of the post-2020 CAP regulation
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  2. Development of interaction with regional, national and EU policy makers, potentially
      leading to an EU network to discuss institutional barriers to producer-consumer chains,
      including bottlenecks, lock-ins, political inertia, ambiguous regulations, inequality
      between Member States and power imbalances;
  3. The policy objectives linked to Cluster 6, as well as the European Green Deal, and in
      particular the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Common Agricultural Policy, with the
      objective to increase farmer viability and raise consumer awareness on connecting
      producers and consumers in short food supply chains;
  4. The CAP cross-cutting objective of modernising the sector by fostering and sharing of
      knowledge, innovation and digitalisation in agriculture and rural areas, and encouraging
      their uptake466 . This project shall provide overall support related to knowledge creation,
      organisation and sharing of novel information across borders. It shall help to fill gaps on
      emerging advisory topics which is useful in particular in relation with the new obligation
      for Member States to integrate advisors within their AKIS which shall cover a much
      broader scope than in the former period;
5. The outcomes should speed up the introduction, spread and bringing into practice of
innovative solutions related to consumer-producer chains overall, in particular by:
(a) creating added value by better linking research, education, advisors and farming practice
and encouraging the wider use of available knowledge across the EU;
(b) learning from innovation actors and projects, resulting in faster sharing and
implementation of ready-to-use innovative solutions, spreading them into practice and
communicating to the scientific community the bottom-up research needs of practice.
Scope: Proposals should address the following activities:
     Connect advisors with knowledge on short supply chains who have a broad and
      extensive network of farmers across all EU Member States into an EU advisory network
      on short food supply chains to better connect consumers with producers, securing
      producers’ income, building on the outcomes of the EIP-AGRI Workshop “Cities and
      Food – Connecting Consumers and Producers” and the Focus Group on Short Food
      Supply Chains467.
     Share effective and novel short chain approaches and experiences among this EU
      advisory network. These approaches must be sustainable in terms of economic,
      environmental and social aspects.
     Focus on cost-benefit elements. Collect and document good examples in this regard,
      connecting with farmers, intermediates and consumers in Member States to be able to
      take into account financial aspects and local conditions. Select the best practices, learn
466
        Art 5 CAP post-2020 proposal
467
        https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/en/event/eip-agri-workshop-cities-and-food-%E2%80%93-
        connecting
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     about the key success factors, possible quick wins and make them available for (local)
     exploitation, to ensure financial win-wins for producers and consumers.
   Integrate the advisors of the EU short food supply chain network into the Member
     States’ AKIS as much as possible. They can provide encouragement as innovation
     brokers in local short chain projects of European innovation partnership "Agricultural
     productivity and sustainability" (EIP-AGRI) Operational Groups. They should give
     hands-on training to farmers and local advisors, lead national thematic and learning
     networks on the subject, deliver and implement action plans with interested farmers,
     inspire new and incoming farmers or farms at the cross-roads of intergenerational
     renewal, connect with education and ensure broad communication, support peer-to-peer
     consulting, develop on-farm demonstrations and YouTube demo films, and provide
     specific back-office support for generalist advisors within the national/regional AKIS.
   Explore if the some or all activities of the EU advisory network on short supply chains
     can be upscaled at the level of a number of Member States under a cooperative format.
     Wherever possible, develop digital advisory and accelerator tools for common and open
     use across the EU. Determine whether common instruments can be created to incentivise
     the implementation of short food supply chains linking producers with consumers, for
     instance in the framework of smart villages, or to incentivise novel food strategies for
     cities, villages and rural areas, etc.
   Include all 27 EU Member States in the EU advisory network. Make use in all those
     countries of experts who understand and are able to make an accurate interpretation of
     the national / regional contexts to help develop the best solutions for that Member State
     or region. Use the support from the knowledge and innovation experts of the SCAR-
     AKIS Strategic Working Group to discuss project strategies, coordination and progress
     in the various stages of the 2 projects. Projects should run at least 5 years. They must
     implement the multi-actor approach.
   Provide all outcomes and materials to the EIP-AGRI, including in the common 'practice
     abstract' format for EU wide dissemination, as well as to national / regional / local AKIS
     channels and to the EU-wide interactive knowledge reservoir (HORIZON-CL6-2021-
     GOVERNANCE-01-24) in the requested formats.
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-28: Thematic networks to compile and share
knowledge ready for practice
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.50 million.
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                          The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                          multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In support of the Green Deal, CAP and farm to fork objectives and
targets, the successful proposal will focus on knowledge sharing in a language that is easy to
understand and is targeted to farmers and foresters. Primary producers have a particular need
for impartial and tailored knowledge on the management choices related to the needs,
challenges or opportunities they experience. This speeds up innovation and the uptake of
results, and is key to improve sustainability. It adds value to the knowledge and cost-
effectiveness of innovative practices and techniques in and across primary production sectors,
food systems, bioeconomy and biodiversity. This will lead to more informed and engaged
stakeholders and users of project results including primary producers and consumers thanks to
effective platforms such as Agriculture Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS468).
Despite the continued funding of scientific projects, innovative ideas and methods from
practice are not captured and spread, and often research findings are not integrated into
agricultural and forestry practice. Proposals, acting at EU level to remedy this situation, are
essential because national and sectoral AKISs are insufficiently connected and organised to
fully meet the challenge of intensifying thematic cooperation between researchers, advisors
and farmers/foresters. This exchange of knowledge will foster economically viable and
sustainable agriculture and forestry and build trust between the main AKIS actors.
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
     The cross-cutting objective of modernising the sector by fostering and sharing of
      knowledge, innovation and digitalisation in agriculture and rural areas, and encouraging
      their uptake469 , as well as European Green Deal and Farm to Fork objectives;
     The collection and distribution of easily accessible practice-oriented knowledge on the
      thematic area chosen, in particular the existing best practices and research findings that
      are ready to be put into practice, but not sufficiently known or used by practitioners.
     Conserve practical knowledge for the long term - beyond the project period – in
      particular by using the main trusted dissemination channels that farmers/foresters consult
      most often.
468
        AKIS (Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System) means the organisation and knowledge flows
        between persons, organisations and institutions who use and produce knowledge for agriculture and
        interrelated fields
469
        Art 5 of the post 2020 CAP regulation
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     Increase the flow of practical information between farmers/foresters in the EU in a
      geographically balanced way, creating spill-overs and taking account of the differences
      between territories. In order to better reach and capture knowledge from the targeted
      farmers/foresters, the networks may organise 'cross-fertilisation' through sub-networks
      covering, for example, a region, a language or a production system;
Achieve greater user acceptance of collected solutions and a more intensive dissemination of
existing knowledge, by connecting actors, policies, projects and instruments to speed up
innovation and promote the faster and wider co-creation and transposition of innovative
solutions into practice.
Scope: Proposals should address the following activities:
     Summarise, share and present - in a language that is easy to understand and is targeted to
      farmers and foresters – the existing best practices and research findings that are ready to
      be put into practice, but not sufficiently known or used by practitioners. The specific
      themes of the networks can be chosen in a 'bottom-up' way on the condition that they
      tackle the most urgent farmers’ or foresters' needs.
     Compile a comprehensive description of the state of current farming practices on the
      chosen theme to explain the added-value of the proposal and the relevance of the theme.
      Proposals shall focus on the cost/benefit aspects of the practices collected and
      summarised, and clarify how the project avoids duplication with ongoing or completed
      projects and networks.
     Deliver an extensive range of useful, applicable and appealing end-user material for
      farmers and foresters. This info should be easy to access and understand, making use of
      audio-visual material wherever possible, including also materials serving education and
      training;
     This range of material should feed into the existing dissemination channels most
      consulted by farmers and foresters in the countries.
     As many “practice abstracts” in the common European innovation partnership
      "Agricultural productivity and sustainability" (EIP-AGRI) format as possible, as well as
      other type of materials should be provided to the EIP-AGRI, as well as to national /
      regional / local AKIS channels and to the EU-wide interactive knowledge reservoir
      (HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-22), all in the requested formats;
     Besides giving the details on the EIP-AGRI Operational Groups which are strongly
      recommended to be involved470, wherever possible and relevant to the chosen theme,
      provide also details on how further synergies will be built with future EIP-AGRI
      Operational Groups and interactive innovation groups operating in the context of the
      EIP-AGRI.
470
         According to the requirements of the multi-actor approach
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     Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor approach', with a consortium based on a
      balanced mix of actors with complementary knowledge clearly activating
      farmers/foresters, farmers' groups and advisors; and run for minimum 3 years.
Call - Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in
support of the Green Deal
                                                            HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)471
                       Topics                              Type of    Budgets       Expected      Number
                                                           Action      (EUR            EU             of
                                                                      million) contribution projects
                                                                                   per project expected
                                                                        2022          (EUR          to be
                                                                                            472
                                                                                   million)        funded
                                           Opening: 28 Oct 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 10 Mar 2022
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-                          CSA          8.00        Around          1
01                                                                                8.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-                          COFUND 23.00             23.00       to 1
02                                                                                150.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-                          RIA          6.00        Around          1
03                                                                                6.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-                          CSA          3.00        Around          1
04                                                                                3.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-                          CSA          4.00        Around          1
05                                                                                4.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-                          RIA          10.00       Around          3
06                                                                                3.00
471
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
472
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-                     IA            20.00      Around       6
07                                                                           3.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-                     IA            14.00      3.00 to 5.00 3
08
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-                     RIA           10.00      Around       2
09                                                                           5.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-                     RIA           8.00       Around       2
10                                                                           4.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-                     RIA           15.00      5.00 to 7.50 3
11
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-                     CSA           9.00       Around       3
12                                                                           3.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-                     CSA           4.00       Around       2
13                                                                           2.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-                     CSA           5.00       Around       1
14                                                                           5.00
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-                     CSA           8.00       Around       2
15                                                                           4.00
Overall indicative budget                                         147.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                  The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Innovating with governance models and supporting policies
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-01: Mobilisation of society to transform food
systems for co-benefits
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                          The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                          multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In line with the European Green Deal priorities and the farm to fork
strategy for a fair healthy and environmentally friendly food system, as well as with the EU's
Climate ambition for 2030 and 2050, the successful proposal will involve the mobilisation of
society to transform food systems for co-benefits. This will lead to innovative governance
models enabling sustainability and resilience, which achieve better-informed decision-making
processes, societal engagement, and innovative solutions.
With the overarching aim to help transform food systems for co-benefits to nutrition and
health, climate, environment, biodiversity, circularity and communities, the project will:
     Build on the Fit4Food2030473 initiative to further the mobilisation of all relevant Food
      System public and private sector stakeholders, researchers, non-governmental
      organisations, educators, knowledge brokers, media and society, to work together via an
      interlinked structure at the level of cities, regions, and countries across Europe, and that
      supports mutual learning and good practices.
473
         https://fit4food2030.eu/
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
     A new and improved structured network of evidence-based policy labs throughout
      Europe so as to raise awareness, foster joint action, good practices and knowledge
      sharing amongst stakeholders relevant to food system policy developments and
      implementation at various levels: local, regional, national, EU and international level.
      Key to this will be the inclusion of decision and policy makers, scientists, and public
      authorities to ensure the sustainability and legitimacy of the governance process.
     Increased pan-European citizen engagement, social innovation and co-creation through
      local or regional living labs; promote food systems science education for children and
      youth while respecting national competence in the area of education and health, and
      measure the food systems transition progress in society.
Scope: Successful proposals are expected to:
     Establish a pan-European Food 2030 multi-actor and public engagement mechanism to
      raise food system awareness and foster more citizen (including youth) involvement and
      interest in science, research and innovation, necessary to foster support for a food system
      transformation that delivers co-benefits.
     Engage a network of science museums to co-create and deploy a Food 2030 “food
      systems lab” inspired by the Oceans Plastic Lab474 to be deployed across Europe linking
      in particular to EU presidencies, important global meetings (e.g.: COP), and other
      relevant place-based initiatives (like I-Capital, Green Capital, etc.).
     Support emerging relevant citizen science projects at local level (neighbourhoods, towns
      and cities), conduct hackathons, hold science cafés, and set up a dedicated video channel
      to display food systems success stories, all with the aim of raising awareness of the need
      to transform food systems and to co-create citizen-inspired solutions.
     Develop and deploy innovative interactive food systems education material in support of
      both the informal and formal education of children and youth (including gender-specific
      messaging) across Europe while respecting national competence in the area of education
      and health, in cooperation with relevant European school networks, associations and
      local media outlets.
     Facilitate the cooperation of relevant EU Horizon Europe projects to arrive at a common
      language and explore/set common goals, discuss potential farm to fork strategy and
      Green Deal interventions, all with a view to strengthen co-ownership and cooperation,
      share and communicate knowledge, boost innovation and increase take-up of improved
      policy schemes among the food system actors, and society.
     Measurement of food systems transition progress by, for example, conducting surveys or
      employing sentiment analyses that demonstrates society’s level of interest and
      willingness to transform food systems for co-benefits and the perceive trade-offs.
474
         https://oceanplasticslab.net/
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     Explain and map how co-benefits will be achieved relevant to the four Food 2030
      priorities475: nutrition for sustainable healthy diets, climate and environment, circularity
      and resource efficiency, innovation and empowerment of communities.
Involving a wide diversity of food system actors and conducting inter-disciplinary research is
expected to implement the required multi actor approach (cf eligibility conditions).
The project should set out a clear plan on how it will collaborate with other projects selected
under this and any other relevant topic/call, by participating in joint activities, workshops, as
well as common communication and dissemination activities.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-02: European Partnership for a climate
neutral, sustainable and productive Blue Economy
Specific conditions
Expected EU                 The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per            23.00 and 150.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                     appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                            selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 23.00 million.
Type of Action              Programme Co-fund Action
Eligibility                 The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                  exceptions apply:
                            If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning,
                            navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must
                            make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and
                            services may additionally be used).
Legal and financial         The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant         apply:
Agreements                  Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The
                            support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                            As financial support provided by the participants to third parties is one
                            of the primary activities of this action in order to be able to achieve its
                            objectives, the 60 000 EUR threshold provided for in Article 204 (a) of
                            the Financial Regulation No 2018/1046 does not apply.
Total indicative            The total indicative budget for the duration of the partnership is EUR
budget                      150 million.
475
        https://ec.europa.eu/research/bioeconomy/index.cfm?pg=policy&lib=food2030
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Expected Outcome: The partnership is expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
In line with the objectives of the European Green Deal and Digital Europe priorities, the
successful proposal will contribute to the sustainability and resilience of the blue economy by
supporting the establishment of innovative governance models. It will also contribute to
strengthening the EU and international science-policy interfaces in marine- and maritime-
related domains as well as the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) by
supporting the further deployment and exploitation of Environmental Observation data and
products and of digital and data technologies.
    EU and national multi-level cooperation and alignment across and within regional seas
      of research and innovation programmes, priorities and investments are enhanced, based
      on established strategic research and innovation agendas and related cooperation
      activities, including international agreements and outreach; as well as cooperation with
      other Horizon Europe initiatives, European partnerships and missions.
    Europe’s role in ocean science, research, social and technological developments,
      innovation and productivity in the marine domain is clearly strengthened by 2030 and
      transformative governance enables the advances of the role of Europe in business,
      finance and social developments in the marine/maritime domain.
    By 2030, Europe has contributed significantly and in a measurable way to the climate
      neutrality of the blue economy, the European Green Deal objectives and its different
      strategies.
    The science-based implementation of EU marine-related legislation, regulations and
      objectives is supported, as well as the advanced sustainability of activities, practices and
      existing and new products and services of the blue economy value chains throughout
      European regional seas and the Atlantic.
    Transformative change is promoted and enabled through actionable science and
      sustainable, fair and just solutions for the blue economy and for communities, involving
      a participatory and multi-stakeholder approach.
    The deployment of digital, nature-based and social innovations as well as community-led
      and purpose-driven technology for the blue economy is supported.
    Ocean literacy in the EU and beyond is increased.
    Sustained ocean and coastal observations and availability of FAIR data for
      environmental, climate and blue economy purposes are substantially increased.
    Global cooperation with key partners bordering the different EU sea basins is
      strengthened.
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Scope: Europe’s seas and ocean do not stop at national borders, nor do the challenges they
face. Many of the issues are common throughout European seas and the Atlantic, even
globally. A major effort is needed to increase the development of ocean science, research,
technological developments and innovation, both to protect the ocean and to increase the
resilience of its ecosystems and to ensure a strong sustainable blue economy and science-
based design of marine spatial planning, involving all stakeholders. No nation can face this on
its own and undertake the investments in research, technology and innovation that are needed
to steer new business, governance and social developments476.
Many of the identified research priorities and activities of the EU and individual countries are
similar and, therefore, require alignment over all European seas and ocean. Existing and new
funding streams from national, public and private sources will need to be pooled, together
with EU funding, in order to maximise efforts and achieve efficiency gains. To address these
issues, sea basin-specific Research and Innovation Agendas (RIAs) have been developed for
the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, and the Black Sea 477. An
impact-driven and coherent approach needs to be designed to combine all of these research
and innovation agendas, in order to structure the European landscape, so that common issues
can be addressed jointly, and national marine strategies are developed in a consistent way.
The partnership should catalyse the transformation of Europe’s blue economy towards climate
neutral status by 2050. By aligning national, regional and EU R&I priorities and bringing
together science, industry, governance and society, it should deliver knowledge and solutions
to make the blue economy sustainable. Responding to national and EU policy goals (e.g.
European Green Deal, Marine Strategy Framework Directive), the partnership should aim to
achieve a healthy ocean, a sustainable and productive blue economy and the well-being of
citizens.
The partnership should increase scientific contributions, applicable in a legal/regulatory
context, related to biodiversity, ecosystem conservation and restoration, climate mitigation
and adaptation, and pollution, including eutrophication, noise, marine litter and hazardous
substances, and should facilitate the use of scientific knowledge by regulators and policy-
makers, contributing to the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, the farm to fork strategy, the
mission in the area “Ocean, seas and waters”, the circular economy action plan and the zero
pollution ambition.
The partnership should promote technological, nature-based, social, economic and cultural
innovation and experiment with new planning, governance, business and finance models. It
should also contribute to the future EU initiative on ocean observation, to the development of
a common European ocean data space, to the Ocean Digital Twin and to the implementation
of the European Ocean Observing System (EOOS).
476
        The final evaluation of the BONUS programme, the mid-term review of the EU Atlantic Strategy, the
        OECD report on the Blue Economy, the IPCC report on the ocean and cryosphere, etc. support this.
477
        The Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda for the Black Sea is a milestone feature of the EU’
        Black Sea Synergy policy and a scientific pillar of the Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea.
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The partnership should put the emphasis on the development of basin- or Europe-wide
holistic, integrated, systemic and cross-sectoral approaches and foster co-creation processes
involving all relevant stakeholders and actors, while remaining operationally manageable. It
should engage local, regional and national authorities, industry and businesses, including
SMEs, knowledge institutions and citizens through Open Science and an inclusive
governance, policy and decision-making. It should harness the full potential of social sciences
and humanities (SSH), social innovation and citizen engagement to deliver portfolios of
solutions, measures and tools and facilitate their replication, and upscaling. In particular, this
topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
It should contribute to improve the quality of life and long-term socio-economic prospects of
coastal communities, including women, youth and the most vulnerable groups like indigenous
people, in the context of major transitions and rising threats to climate, resources and health,
including by increasing their resilience to crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. In line with the
European Commission’s political vision of leaving no one behind, the wide diversity and
heterogeneity in levels of socio-economic, technological, institutional, innovation and skills
potential should be taken into account.
The European Partnership for a climate neutral, sustainable and productive blue economy
should be implemented through a joint programme of activities for high impact, relevance and
capacity building, ranging from research to coordination and networking activities, including
training, demonstration, communication and dissemination activities in all research and
innovation projects of the partnership. Emphasis should be given to demonstration, upscaling
and experimentation calls. To ensure effective and smooth implementation, three dedicated
pillars of activities within the partnership are needed:
   i. Implementation of joint activities in particular calls for proposals with co-funding from
      the Union.
  ii. Implementation of joint activities without co-funding from the Union.
 iii. A broad set of activities supporting coordination, international cooperation and outreach,
      uptake of results etc.
These activities should be structured along the following main building blocks of activities:
    Development of work programmes as implementation steps of the high-level Strategic
      Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA). This SRIA should be included in the proposal,
      outlining implementation modalities and building on existing SRIAs or equivalent in the
      EU sea basins. It should include the demonstration of the achievability of policy targets
      at sea-basin scale.
    Joint calls for challenge-driven R&I to address critical issues for a sustainable climate-
      neutral blue economy with integrated and multi-stakeholder approaches.
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    Setting-up a multi-stakeholder community of practice to facilitate science-policy-
      business-society dialogues, share experiences and disseminate results and innovations on
      key issues for social transition and sustainable development.
    Undertaking communication and dissemination measures to make R&I results accessible
      for all stakeholder groups and users and prepare guidelines, references, tools and
      trainings for replication and mainstreaming; communicating to citizens and civil society
      at large, and involving them to achieve policy goals.
    Synthesising R&I results and achievements from clusters of projects.
    Setting-up (a) knowledge hub(s) to support capacity-building on integrated approaches.
    Setting-up rigorous monitoring to follow progress of projects and taking stock of diverse
      solutions, good practice cases and the contribution to the achievement of the objectives
      of the partnership and the related policy targets.
    Exploring interfaces with public procurement and investment programmes by
      developing links with other programmes, private funds, etc. to support take-up and
      larger-scale implementation of tested approaches and solutions.
Given the global dimension of ocean policy, membership and other modalities of participation
from organisations and institutions in non-associated third countries is strongly encouraged, in
particular key partners bordering the different EU sea basins. International cooperation should
contribute to align strategies and research agendas, strengthen data collection, monitoring and
sharing, as well as access to infrastructures, promote good practice for maritime policies,
promote the exchange and export of key technologies and gradually open up cooperation with
new countries outside of Europe. It should support the EU’s strong commitment to the UN
Decade of Ocean Science, the G7 Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative, the All-Atlantic
Ocean Research Alliance, the BLUEMED Initiative, the Black Sea Synergy and other
international initiatives.
The partnership should cover the Atlantic, the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the Mediterranean
and the Black Sea. It is expected to include and be open to all relevant public marine/maritime
funding organisations and ministries from EU Member States and associated countries as core
members, in close cooperation with the private sector, including SMEs and foundations.
Appropriate links to other relevant ministries and organisations, including civil society, will
be established.
Partners are expected to provide financial and/or in-kind contributions for the governance
structure, the joint calls and other dedicated implementation actions and efforts for national
coordination. The partnership is expected to mobilise EU, national and regional capacities to
leverage investments, including from the private sector, increase up-scalability and market
accessibility for the developed solutions and thus increase the return to investments.
To ensure the coherence and complementarity of activities, and to leverage knowledge
investment possibilities, the partnership is expected to foster close cooperation and synergies
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with other relevant proposed European Partnerships, notably “Rescuing biodiversity to
safeguard life on Earth”, “Safe and Sustainable Food Systems”, “Water security for the planet
(Water4All)”, “Zero-emission waterborne transport”, “Clean Energy Transition” and others
where relevant, as well as the EIT Climate KIC and the EIT FOOD. The partnership will also
be linked to the relevant objectives of the mission in the area of “Ocean, seas and waters”.
Proposers are expected to describe in details the way to implement such collaborations.
Proposals should pool the necessary financial resources from the participating national (or
regional) research programmes with a view to implementing joint calls for transnational
proposals resulting in grants to third parties. Financial support provided by the participants to
third parties is one of the primary activities of this action in order to be able to achieve its
objectives. Therefore, the 60 000 EUR threshold provided for in Article 204 (a) of the
Financial Regulation No 2018/1046 does not apply. It is expected that the partnership
organises joint calls on an annual base and therefore it should consider ample time for the
implementation of the co-funded projects. The EU contribution for this action will be
implemented in annual instalments of around EUR 20-30 million.
Engaging with managing authorities of European Structural and Investment Funds, as well as
others like LIFE, Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III) and Neighbourhood,
Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), during partnership
implementation would help increase the implementation of the project outcomes and support
and facilitate further uptake.
The Commission envisages to include new actions in future work programme(s) to continue
providing support to the partnership for the duration of Horizon Europe.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-03: Multi-layer governance performance of
marine policies
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: The successful proposal(s) will enhance new knowledge and design or
improve tools to achieve better informed decision-making processes, social engagement and
innovation, supporting the implementation of the European Green Deal. Proposals will
contribute to the development or improvement of innovative multi-layer governance models
enabling sustainability and resilience and of EU and international science-policy interfaces.
Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
   Better understanding by the policy making community of the institutional barriers such
     as lock-ins, path dependency, bounded rationality, political inertia and power imbalances
     in the formulation and implementation of marine policies.
   The policy making community exploited analyses and better understanding of formal
     and informal policy governance work streams or processes, including public consultation
     and encompassing local, regional, national, European and global ocean governance
     aspects.
   Stronger e-government and easily achievable open government data facilitate greater
     access to public services.
   Appropriate communication, exchange, coordination and management is enabled at
     regional, national and European level.
   Improved collaborative governance performance allowing social and technical
     innovations to provide opportunities for the social contract between the State and the
     citizenry through increased transparency, enabling better spatial planning and natural
     resource management, ultimately leading to increased trust in policy making.
Scope: The management of the ocean, seas and coasts is largely carried out in a fragmented
manner, at institutional as well as legal governance level and through several related sectors.
Poor coordination between sectoral approaches, low institutional capacity, weak
implementation of international conventions and lack of technical knowledge and of financial
resources for regional, cross-regional and national processes are common issues in Member
States and partner countries, affecting coastal communities severely in terms of food security
and livelihoods (loss of jobs). Current policy governance models and work streams, including
public consultation, at different governance levels, need to be analysed in relation to their
performance and further challenged to intensify regional and local integration in the policy
dialogue, as the (total, regional and local) transitions towards a sufficiently protected marine
natural capital and health and wellbeing of citizens should also be just and inclusive.
Proposals should address the need to meet increasing public demands and to address declining
public trust.
Proposals should conceptualise and operationalise strategies to address identified barriers to
collaborative governance related to the ocean and seas based on a long-term perspective using
a participatory process of visioning and experimentation, accompanied by strong and justified
recommendations on the required capacity building.
Proposals should improve or develop and leverage innovative digital tools, towards a stronger
e-government and easily achievable open government data.
The proposals should cover comparisons within, across and between different spatial
governance layers (local, regional, inter-regional, macro-regional, cross-border, international)
to cover a representative set of governance structures across Europe varying according to size
and geographical, environmental, socio-economic, institutional and administrative conditions.
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This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
Interactive research approaches should be used to engage with local, regional, national and
international authorities, as well as local communities, citizens and other relevant
stakeholders, considering gender, age and socio-economic background, where relevant.
Projects should build on existing knowledge and integrate results from multiple origins,
including other EU, international (for example UN) or national projects or studies. Some
cooperation activities with projects financed under topic HORIZON-CL6-2021-
GOVERNANCE-01-06 on environmental and social cross-compliance of marine policies
could be included. This topic should also be linked to the Horizon Europe Mission Ocean,
seas and waters and the Partnership for a climate neutral, sustainable and productive Blue
Economy or other partnerships where relevant.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-04: Consumer-focused labelling options for
bio-based products
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will support the deployment of business-to-
consumers communication by producers and traders of bio-based products to enable
responsible production and consumption in line with the objectives of the European Green
Deal, the EU bioeconomy strategy and the European Climate Pact. Project outcomes will
contribute to improve the sustainability performance and competitiveness in the bio-based
systems and to the establishment of the innovative governance models notably to achieve
better-informed decision-making processes, social engagement and innovation. Project results
are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Transparency of bio-based products and information to consumers and public authorities
     are provided through effective and robust business-to-consumers labelling on product
     traceability, quality, carbon footprint, biodiversity impacts and other environmental
     footprints.
   Consumers, industry and public bodies are enabled to switch towards socially and
     environmentally responsible behaviour within their choices in a transparent and inclusive
     way.
   Improved understanding of metrics on value generated per unit of biological resources.
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Scope: The project is expected to advance the role and impact of bio-based innovation to
accelerate the transition from a linear fossil-based economy, which leads to overuse and
depletion of natural resources, into resource-efficient and circular bio-based systems operating
within safe planetary boundaries. Improved and informed governance and social innovation
contribute to reducing resource consumption and result in an increased innovation capacity of
all actors. Informed consumers may pursue the objectives of circular economy, asking for
efficiency and inclusiveness of services provided through less resources and goods, changing
consumption patterns (e.g. reducing meat consumption), preventing food waste and separating
bio-waste from other waste streams so that it can be (partly) converted to bio-based materials.
Proposals will focus on consumer-oriented labelling options for industrial bio-based products
with low environmental footprint, in terms of resources, processes and materials used.
Industrial bio-based products do not include food/feed, biofuels, bioenergy and
cultural/recreation sectors. However, relevant initiatives in the field of consumer-focussed
labelling of sustainability of bio-based products, arising from EU policies in the bioeconomy
sectors, should be taken into account.
Proposals should:
  a. Select a range of bio-based systems where value chains can be monitored in their
      environmental and social impacts (benefits and trade-offs) from the primary materials
      trade to the final products.
  b. Develop pre- and co-normative research to design or update standards and labels for
      business-to-consumers communication of climate-neutrality and environmental
      impacts/benefits/trade-offs and performances of materials and products. Environmental
      impacts should include carbon footprint, climate neutrality, biodiversity impacts and any
      other environmental footprint relevant for the specific bio-based value chain and final
      products. Metrics on value generated, in the final product, per unit of biological
      feedstock used, including bio-waste, will be assessed.
  c. Develop guidelines on the design of labels for bio- based products that include the
      perspectives of public authorities (national, regional, local) and consumers.
  d. Assess existing/develop new monitoring system and indicators of effectiveness and
      robustness of existing business-to-consumers labels and certification schemes.
  e. Demonstrate/test effectiveness of existing (voluntary) business-to-consumers labels and
      certification schemes and monitor robustness. This action includes the identification of
      labels and certification schemes and testing of the monitoring system and indicators
      assessed/developed.
  f. Assess costs and benefits from the adoption of business-to-consumers labels and
      certification schemes in selected bio-based systems.
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  g. Assess and develop smart options for the consumers in the digital age (e.g. mobile
     applications) aiming at sound understanding and practical use in support of and
     complying with the current relevant legal framework.
  h. Analyse social measures to enable consumers to switch towards socially and
     environmentally responsible behaviour within their choices (e.g. regulatory measures,
     corporate responsibility initiatives, education), ensuring inclusiveness of all actors
     (NGOs, civil society etc) and taking into account differences between gender, age and
     socio-economic background.
The proposals should seek complementarities with related actions on bio-based innovation
and market measures478, e.g. synergies with the food systems if appropriate479 or any other
sector, and ensure inclusiveness and engagement of all actors along bio-based value chains.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-05: Innovative tools and methods to evaluate
the design and support, monitoring and implementation of effective CAP strategic plans
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                         consortium selected for funding.
Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will contribute to innovative governance and
sound decision making in agricultural policies for the green transition. In particular, they will
contribute to achieving better informed decision-making processes, to establishing and
monitoring innovative governance models enabling sustainability and resilience through
enhanced and shared use of new knowledge, tools, foresight, and environmental observations
as well as digital, modelling and forecasting capabilities. They will also contribute to
strengthened EU science-policy interfaces to support the European Green Deal and to achieve
the sustainable development goals.
478
        E.g. topic “HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-07: International and European sustainability
        certification schemes for bio-based systems”
479
        E. g. topic “HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-17: Increasing the transparency of EU food
        systems to boost health, sustainability and safety of products, processes and diets”
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Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     policymakers are supported with cutting-edge tools and methods to design, monitor and
      implement tailored and results-based common agricultural policy (CAP) strategic plans
      that fully reflect the ambition of the Green Deal, in particular the farm to fork strategy
      and the biodiversity strategy;
     accountability of the CAP strategic plans is improved through SMART 480 targets for
      improved performance against clear baselines, which are coherent with EU objectives
      and international commitments; and
     good practices on the application of innovative tools and methods are widely shared and
      used across Member States.
Scope: Agri-food systems are key sectors for the delivery of the objectives of the European
green deal while the CAP is the most important EU policy mechanism with the capacity to
have a significant impact on the agricultural dimension of these systems at European level.
In the new results-based delivery model of the CAP, Member States are in charge of tailoring
CAP interventions to maximise their contribution to EU objectives and to achieve agreed
targets. In developing their CAP strategic plans, Member States need to analyse their specific
situation and needs, set their targets and design the interventions that will allow them to reach
these targets, while being adapted to the national and specific regional contexts.
They also have a say in designing the compliance and control framework applicable to
beneficiaries while continuing to ensure effective monitoring and enforcement of the
attainment of all policy objectives.
Proposals should:
     Review and benchmark existing tools and/or methods used in different Member States to
      support the development, implementation and monitoring of effective CAP strategic
      plans.
     Develop, test and demonstrate a set of innovative tools and/or methods, both qualitative
      and quantitative, to evaluate the design and support the implementation and monitoring
      of effective CAP strategic plans.
     The proposed tools and/or methods should:
         take into account all objectives and policy instruments post-2020 CAP;
         enable analysis of coherence between the multiple instruments of the CAP as well
            as with other EU policies and international commitments;
480
        specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound
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         be compatible with and/or innovative in relation to the tools and methods used by
           the European Commission.
   Apply and evaluate potentials and limitations of the proposed tools to different case
      studies within Member States, with attention given to balanced geographical coverage
      and taking into account the diversity of farming systems across the EU, including the
      outermost regions, and different government structures, e.g. regional / federal
      administration approaches.
   Develop methodological protocols and guidelines for the users of the tools and methods.
The possible participation of the JRC in the project will ensure access to and improve the
tools, methods and databases supporting the design and evaluation of CAP strategic plans
based on scientific evidence. In particular it will contribute to the adjustment, further
development, and application of existing modelling tools used by the Commission for the
foresight analysis of CAP strategic plans, their coherence with the CAP, other EU policies
and commitments, and their impact at EU, national, regional and farm level.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-06:                        Water     governance,     economic and
financial sustainability of water systems
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see
Readiness Level        General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In support of the European Green Deal and EU water-related policies,
successful proposals will contribute to innovative governance and sound decision making in
water policy, in particular Destination ‘Innovative governance, environmental observations
and digital solutions in support of the Green Deal’s impact “Innovative governance models
enabling sustainability and resilience notably to achieve better informed decision-making
processes, social engagement and innovation”.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Improve policy implementation for securing sustainable water use across sectors, while
      insuring transparency and inclusiveness
   Promote a better integrated planning approach across water-using sectors
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    Help to link water management to the economic and social development sectors.
    Support coordination between water policies and other relevant policies and coordination
      of planning measures across relevant EU and national instruments for sustainable water
      use
    Empower citizens by increasing their motivation and capacity to influence effective
      water governance decisions.
    Help society to implement through governance, the technological, economic, political,
      and social measures that will set a course toward the achievement of a desirable, more
      sustainable and secure water future.
    Support the implementation of the European Green Deal and the Sustainable
      Development Goals, notably SDG 6 “Ensure availability and sustainable management of
      water and sanitation for all”
Scope: Changing the way water is used, managed and shared with people, our environment
and our economy, addressing trade-offs and ensuring policy coherence, and helping shape the
appropriate institutional environment to deal with the complexity of multiple water challenges
and the design of the water systems of the future, requires effective development and
implementation of sound water management and governance strategies. The governance and
institutional set up must be designed to respect the needs of the natural aquatic environment in
terms of water quantity (water allocation) and quality, reconcile the competing demands of
the economy over water resources and drive the transition in water using sectors towards
operation within the sustainability limits.
Water problems are commonly the results of governance problems. Technical solutions often
exist, but clarity is often lacking as to who does what, at which level and how. Implementing
appropriate governance schemes or designing new multi-level governance and institutional
settings for the implementation of sound water management, will help to achieve sustainable
use of natural resources, as well as prevent pollution and protect biodiversity.
This topic aims to validate innovative multi-level water governance practices among various
stakeholders to strengthen policy integration, coherence and coordination and assess their
impacts on economy, social well-being and environment.
Actions should assess current governance approaches and organisational models in different
river basins to optimise water governance and integrate it with other sectors, such as energy,
agriculture, land use and urbanisation, and to overcome fragmentation in public policy
formulation and decision-making. They should also aim to understand how different
operational governance contexts at various levels, influence the effective realisation of
sustainable water management in practice and explore the interaction among governance
approaches at different spatial and temporal scales with a view to understanding potential
conflicts and strengthening synergies.
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Research should also address ways to value water and develop appropriate tariffs and pricing
policies to ensure both access to water and sufficient funds for systematic renewal of water
service infrastructure, as well as ecosystems restoration.
Innovative mechanisms should be developed to promote stakeholder engagement and
involvement of public participation in defining and developing methods for collaborative
approaches, as well as to promote social innovation, effective communication platforms,
encourage exchange of know-how, expertise, eliminate frustration, minimize risks of
distortion, and increase citizens’ responsibility.
The role of appropriate economic policy instruments, financing and business models
(investments, risk management, water pricing, cost-benefits…) in governance towards
ensuring long term financial sustainability and increasing investments in the water sector,
should be also assessed.
Actions to effectively implement appropriate governance approaches in practice, taking into
consideration research insights, and to support the implementation of relevant governance
indicators, such as, those developed by OECD, including the assessment of their performance,
should be also supported.
In general, the participation of academia, research organisations, utilities, industry and
regulators is strongly advised, as well as civil society engagement whenever necessary, also
aiming to broaden the dissemination and exploitation routes and to better assess the
innovation potential of developed solutions and strategies.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
Deploying and adding value to Environmental Observations
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-07: New technologies for acquiring in-situ
observation datasets to address climate change effects
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
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Expected Outcome: Through the development of new technologies a successful proposal will
contribute to addressing the lack of ground observation (in-situ observation)481 necessary to
cope with climate change effects in hard-to-reach areas, areas facing extreme physical
conditions and critical areas for human health and security. As such contributing to the
European Green Deal objectives and a strengthened Global Earth Observation System of
Systems (GEOSS), by deploying and adding value to environmental observation482.
Proposals are expected to contribute to at least four of the following outcomes:
     Lower cost of in-situ observation in terms of capital cost, deployment/recovery, and
      maintain leading;
     Improved geographical coverage and long-time series of in situ environmental
      observations;
     Tested and validated new in-situ measurement technologies in hard-to-reach under-
      sampled areas;
     Dedicated technical protocols ensuring validation, interoperability, and synchronisation
      between in-situ and remote sensing systems in compliance with the GEOSS and
      Copernicus requirements;
     Established collaboration with environmental observation data providers to ensure
      proper gap filling and adequate responses in terms of acquisition protocols;
     Coherent business model(s) involving industrialists, research centres, and users ensuring
      the sustainability of systems developed;
     Contribute to reinforcing the in-situ component of the GEO initiative, the Copernicus
      programme and the EC-ESA initiative on Earth system science, and to strengthen in-situ
      observations to adequately complement the space-based observations planned through
      Copernicus Expansion Missions.
Scope: The geographical coverage and acquisition of long time series of in-situ observation of
the various components of the Earth’s systems should be improved in order to ensure a proper
monitoring and modelling of the environmental processes. This is recognised in the context of
the Copernicus programme, by the GOOS 2030 Strategy, and was reiterated at global level at
the GEO Ministerial Summit483 in November 2019 in the Canberra Ministerial Declaration484.
This topic is intended to support innovative technological solutions building on cutting-edge
technologies in the domain of measurement and testing, big data and ICT to acquire necessary
481
        All non-space based observations which may include remote sensing from ground-based, marine or
        airborne platforms
482
        The capacity to observe the environment, including space-based, in-situ-based (air, sea, land)
        observation, and citizen observations
483
        http://www.earthobservations.org/geoweek19.php
484
                 https://earthobservations.org/documents/geo16/MS%204.2_Draft%20Canberra%20Declaration
        _final.pdf
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parameters from in-situ measurements required to ensure an integrated monitoring and model
data assimilation necessary to respond to the climate transition and the European Green Deal
challenges. This call covers marine and/or terrestrial measurements in hard-to-reach areas or
areas with extreme physical conditions such as the polar regions, the tropical regions and
desert regions, the deep-sea, and the high-altitude regions where the lack of in-situ data makes
global assessment and mitigation of climate change effects very challenging. Proposals could
also address geographical and high temporal resolution gaps in observations such as the real-
time monitoring of aeroallergens or other atmospheric aerosols affecting health. The
proposals should be conducted, inter alia, in collaboration with Copernicus and other, relevant
activities 485 and communities in order to guaranty coherent approaches regarding the
acquisition of new in-situ data and development of related monitoring systems – in particular
in view of supporting the calibration of remote-sensing data. During the development of the
systems, special attention should be given to data management, standardisation and
dissemination issues.
The development of new in-situ observation systems should be conducted in close
collaboration with the commercial sector. The sustainability of the systems beyond the
duration of the project should be part of the work plan of the proposal and be the subject of
concrete actions with the relevant partners in the proposal (users, industrialists, research
organisations, including European research infrastructures).
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-08: Uptake and validation of citizen
observations to complement authoritative measurement within the urban environment
and boost related citizen engagement
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 14.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level          see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal will contribute to the wide deployment of and
adding value to environmental observations486, by improving the uptake and validation of data
collected by citizens and by increasing citizen involvement and engagement, thus contributing
485
         European research infrastructure, EMODnet, INSPIRE, GEOSS, EGNSS, ESA etc.
486
         The capacity to observe the environment, including space-based, in-situ-based (air, sea, land)
         observation, and citizen observations
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to the European Green Deal objectives and a strengthened Global Earth Observation System
of Systems (GEOSS).
Proposals are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
     A more widespread participation of citizens, (e.g. new and/or existing
      associations/groupings of citizens observers) in the monitoring, observation, and
      protection of the urban environment, complementary to governmental measures;
     Greater availability of qualitative and quantitative in-situ data for long time series and
      better geographical coverage, contributing to the in-situ component of existing
      observation systems (such as Copernicus 487 , European research infrastructures 488 and
      GEOSS);
     Broader use of data and information collected by citizens in policy and research, with
      crowdsourcing and citizen observations acknowledged as valuable information
      complementary to authoritative observations;
     Increased use of existing toolkits and development of new toolboxes (methodologies,
      methods, technologies) for broad use, which could include the development of efficient
      passive sampling systems;
     Leveraged use of wearables for citizens and other low-cost technologies in the domain of
      environmental observation.
Scope: Successful proposals are expected to support citizen engagement, specifically the
active role of citizens in the collection and use of data and information within the urban
environment to complement the data and information collected through other means of
observation (space-based, airborne, etc.). The proposals selected under this topic should
increase societal awareness about the urban environment and lead to an increase in actions
necessary to protect it. The proposals should contribute to more comprehensive and available
data and information of good quality to assess the state of the urban environment in support of
the climate transition and the European Green Deal and to the GEO initiatives related to urban
environment and urban resilience.
The information derived by the selected projects should help in shaping policies targeting the
monitoring and greening of the urban environment, in addition to monitoring schemes already
set out by public authorities at different levels (regional, national, European, even global).
Proposals should pay particular attention to encouraging the validation and uptake of citizen
observations for policy and compliance use.
487
        https://www.copernicus.eu/en
488
        https://www.esfri.eu/
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The proposals should ensure that the observations/data produced will be available on relevant
existing platforms such as GEOSS, European research infrastructures, INSPIRE 489 and
EMODNet490.
The sustainability of the (existing) validation methods should be ensured for a broader use in
the future, through the development of toolboxes, containing tested methodologies, methods
and technologies.
The social and cultural dimensions of the citizen observation should be given due
consideration within the proposals and therefore be looking into possibilities to engage
citizens through e.g. social innovative491, cultural or art-related initiatives. This should be in
the context of further engaging and raising the interest and awareness of all citizens in
observing their environments, but also in looking into the possibilities for co-creation of
solutions for the urban environment. Particular attention should be paid to engaging women
and marginalised groups, such as ethnic minorities and disabled persons, in co-creation
efforts.
Particular attention should be directed to cooperation between different groups of engaged
citizen observers, strengthening mutual learning and the exchange of good practices (in
particular with respect to data quality). This could include the build-up of skills, capacity and
networking possibilities between citizen associations to help them get involved in citizen
observations. Applicants should seek cooperation with local, regional, national and European
environmental agencies.
Selected projects are expected to be developed in co-creation and to build upon the results of
the WeObserve project492, as well as demonstrating measures to communicate and cooperate
with other relevant citizen science projects493 funded under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe
as far as possible.
The Commission Staff Working Document ‘Best Practices in Citizen Science for
Environmental Monitoring’494 published on 27 July 2020 is of interest in the context of this
topic.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
Projects should seek to contribute to the New European Bauhaus initiative by supporting the
green and digital transitions in communities’ living environments through merging
sustainability, inclusiveness and quality of experience. Projects, by considering the social and
489
         https://inspire.ec.europa.eu/
490
         https://www.emodnet.eu/en
491
         Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and requires
         social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake .
492
         https://www.weobserve.eu/
493
         e.g.       https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/421641-environmental-observations-informing-citizens-and-
         supporting-policymaking-through-innov
494
                   https://ec.europa.eu/environment/legal/reporting/pdf/best_practices_citizen_science_environm
         ental_monitoring.pdf
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cultural dimensions of citizen observation of the urban environment, are well placed to
contribute to the objectives of the initiative by bringing the European Green Deal into
citizens’ lives and living spaces.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-09: Environmental observations solutions
contributing to meeting “One Health” challenges
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal will contribute to the deployment of and adding
value to environmental observations 495 , focussing on how the use of environmental
observation can contribute to the ‘One Health’ domain, in line with the European Green Deal
objectives.
Proposals are expected to contribute to at least three of the following outcomes:
     Better insights in how to foster the use of environmental observation in the large domain
      of One Health 496 and the areas within this domain that could benefit the most from
      environmental and Earth observation;
     An increase of the capacity to trace environmental parameter changes on how they
      impact on the emergence of diseases;
     Monitoring of the evolution of ecosystem barriers and reinforcement of their
      sustainability, specifically in densely populated or intensively used areas;
     Contributing to understanding the emergence and tackling the spread of new infectious
      diseases affecting human, animal or plant health, and the interlinkages that may exist
      between them and building up of more resilient ecosystems;
     Better insights into the concept of alert and early warning systems, including, where
      possible, the next steps taken (e.g. exploitation/scaling up) in working with the outcomes
      of the EIC Horizon Prize on Early Warning for Epidemics497.
495
        The capacity to observe the environment, including space-based, in-situ-based (air, sea, land)
        observation, and citizen observations
496
        https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/one-health
497
        Reference to prize winner when available (expected in Sept/Oct 2021)
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Scope: The general scope of this topic is to explore areas of the One Health policy that would
benefit from the use of environmental observation and how environmental observations can
be used for further shaping policies in the context of e.g. human health, animal health
(including zoonoses) and plant health.
The proposal should build on the holistic integrative concept of ‘One Health’ that includes not
only the health of humans, but also of animals, soil and plants including ecosystems and
environmental health. Information deriving from environmental observation combined with
health data over the broad range of the One Health concept should be delivered through an
integrated approach aggregating all the components of the One Health with the intention to
support related policies within the health area in a comprehensive way.
A specific focus of the proposal should be on the monitoring of the evolution of ecosystem
barriers in densely populated, industrialised or agricultural areas. The proposal should also
investigate how environmental observations could provide information that can contribute to
improving the effectiveness, sustainability and resilience of these ecosystem barriers in facing
emerging diseases. The proposal should include the reanalysis of long time series of
environmental observations and their correlation with the emergence or spread of diseases.
It should also work on the concept of alert or early warning systems based on observation that
would contribute informing governments and authorities, and finally operators, on the health
risks related to the destruction of ecosystems and biodiversity with a One Health approach,
including a consideration of disease hazards, human (or animal) exposure and vulnerability.
Research on the risk for human health and ecosystems of new contaminants could help early
detection and reduce negative effects within the One Health domain. A particular area of
interest in this context is the follow up to the EIC Horizon Prize on Early Warning for
Epidemics498 and how the insights gained from the outcomes of the prize could be further
developed.
Links to the European Earth observation programme Copernicus, the Global Earth
Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), and the EU satellite navigation programme
(EGNSS) are relevant and expected.
Digital and data technologies as key enablers
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-10: Piloting approaches and tools                                         to
empower citizens to exercise their “data rights” in the area of food and nutrition
Specific conditions
Expected EU                  The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per             4.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
                             appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
498
        https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/wp/2018-2020/main/h2020-wp1820-eic_en.pdf
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
project                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action                Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility conditions        The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                              exceptions apply:
                              The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                              The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                              multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Technology                    Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-6 (according to the activity)
Readiness Level               by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial           The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant           exceptions apply:
Agreements                    Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The
                              support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                              The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 300
                              000 in order to cover the expenses related to the development and
                              implementation of the pilots .
Expected Outcome: A successful proposal will support the deployment of digital and data
technologies as key enablers for the European Green Deal priorities, the EU's Climate
ambition for 2030 and 2050 and the farm to fork strategy for a fair healthy and
environmentally friendly food system. It will help to bring about innovative and inclusive
governance, better informed decision-making processes, social engagement, and innovation.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the expected outcomes:
     empower citizens to exercise their “data rights” and to contribute to a just transition of
      food systems
     pilot digital solutions in food systems and nutrition with enhanced personal data
      protection and data sovereignty and which achieve a fairer distribution of wealth and
      benefits
     advance alternative approaches to food system data sharing that promote innovation and
      increase competition
Scope: Proposals should support the implementation of the European Data Strategy499 in food
systems. The European Data Strategy has the ambition to make the EU the leading role model
for a society empowered by data, for the benefit of all. It outlines a future in which the way
that data is collected and used, places the individual first, in accordance with European values,
499
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/european-data-strategy_en
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
fundamental rights and rules. It also emphasises that citizens will only trust and embrace
much needed data-driven innovations – in food systems and beyond - if they are confident
that any personal data sharing in the EU is compliant with strict data protection rules and
respectful of their data sovereignty500. Current centralised platforms for big and social data
management in food systems tend to consolidate the dominance of existing incumbent actors.
They allow limited control over the data by citizens (e.g. food purchasing data, data from
wearables on activity and health, online behaviour regarding diet and food, data from
personalised nutrition solutions), and enable lock-ins by limiting data portability.
Proposals should build on recent research and innovation 501 about new architectures for
managing online identity, personal and other data as an alternative to current dominant
models. They should pilot new approaches to digital solutions in food systems and nutrition,
which enhance personal data protection and data sovereignty, and which achieve a fairer
distribution of wealth and benefits. The pilots should test and fine-tune new approaches that
address the lack of sovereignty of European citizens on food and nutrition related data, and
allow them to decide what is done with their data (purchasing data, data on dietary behaviour,
nutritional health data, physical activity data). This data also includes the data that is
generated by smart connected devices used by citizens. The tools and concepts of the pilots
can include consent management tools, personal information management apps (including
fully centralised solutions building on blockchain), as well as personal data cooperatives or
trusts acting as novel neutral intermediaries in the personal data economy.
Proposals and their pilots should demonstrate the feasibility of achieving a more acceptable
trade-off between the need for data-driven innovation in food and nutrition and the need for
personal data protection and data sovereignty. They should be focused on 2 key areas of
digital transformation and data driven innovation in food systems (such as online food retail,
home delivery of food, personalised nutrition, digital tracking of food and nutrition related
consumer behaviour, food advertising) whose future development is likely to have significant
impact on reaching the objectives and targets of the EU’s Farm-to-Fork Strategy, on meeting
the EU's Climate ambition for 2030 and 2050 and on contributing to a just transition 502 .
Proposals should explain and map how the pilots will achieve co-benefits relevant to the four
Food 2030 priorities: nutrition for sustainable healthy diets, climate and environment,
circularity and resource efficiency, innovation and empowerment of communities. Gender
aspects should be considered, where relevant.
Proposals may provide support to third parties to develop and implement the pilots. This
support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. As a reference, 50% of the
EU funding can be allocated to financial support to the third parties, through grant amounts
that are in the EUR 150 000 to 300 000 range. The amounts are deemed sufficient to pilot
solutions that enough impact to be able to advance alternative approaches to food system data
500
         Compliance with strict data protection rules and data sovereignty are referred to as “data rights” in the
         title
501
         For example: Horizon 2020 projects DECODE and LEDGER developed distributed and open platforms
         for citizen-friendly data governance (using technologies including blockchain, distributed ledger) and
         promoted open disruptive innovation.
502
         See EU Green Deal
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
sharing. Proposals should focus their support for the pilots on third party projects from
outstanding academic research groups, start-ups and SMEs, so that multiple third parties can
be funded in parallel contributing to the same key area of digital transformation and data
driven innovation, using short research cycles targeting the most promising ideas. Each of the
selected third parties projects should pursue its own pilot and objectives, while the proposal
should provide the programme logic and vision, the necessary technical support, as well as
coaching and mentoring, in order that the collection of third party projects and pilots
contributes towards a significant advancement and impact in the key area. The focus should
be on advanced research that can be brought quickly to the market; apps and services that
innovate without a research component are not covered by this model.
Proposals should make explicit their capacity to attract top talent, to bring about disruptive
innovation in line with EU policy objectives, to engage with a broad range of with food
system actors and stakeholders as well as with communities and citizens, to deliver a solid
value-adding services package to the third party projects, as well as their expertise and
capacity in managing the full life-cycle of the open calls transparently. They should explore
synergies with other research and innovation actions, supported at regional, national or
European level, to increase the overall impact.
Where possible they should make data available for broader communal use (as part of “data
commons for food and nutrition”) and seek integration of the data and value-added services
on those data through federated infrastructure such as the European Open Science Cloud.
This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-11: Upscaling (real-time) sensor data for
EU-wide monitoring of production and agri-environmental conditions
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 5.00
contribution per      and 7.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 15.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                      consortium selected for funding.
                      If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
                       additionally be used).
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In line with the farm to fork strategy and the headline ambitions of a
‘Digital Age’ and an ‘Economy that works for people’, leaving no one behind, and the
biodiversity strategy, the successful proposals will support smart-farming and agri-
environmental monitoring. They will therefore contribute a) to the enhancement of the
sustainability performance and competitiveness in agriculture through further deployment of
digital and data technologies as key enablers, and b) to make agriculture benefit from further
deployment and exploitation of Environmental Observation data and products through
research and innovation related to sensors and sensor data.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Strengthening capacities for smart farming, and thus to enhance the environmental and
      economic performance of the agricultural sector.
   Strengthening capacities for agri-environmental (climate) monitoring, particularly of soil
      and crop conditions.
   Provision of inputs to the work of the Horizon Europe candidate partnership
      “Agriculture of Data” and the potential R&I mission on soil health.
Scope: Sensors are increasingly used to enhance agricultural production e.g. through the
assessment of environmental and crop conditions as well as through livestock monitoring. The
information value of data collected through sensors can be increased through the analysis of
the data in combination with other data sets. Reference data may, e.g. be formed by data sets
generated by sensors at other places or by satellite and earth observation data or other data
sets reflecting on environmental conditions. Data generated locally through sensors is often
more precise, in comparison to global / EU-wide / national / or regional data sets.
The interpretation of local data sets benefits from such supra-regional data sets allowing e.g.
for comparison of crop conditions, e.g. as basis for developing approaches to adapt
agricultural production to climate change or for market analyses. In addition, there is the
possibility to upscale the more detailed through sensors locally generated information through
the application of data technologies, allowing to generate a data, information and knowledge
base. Such bases can serve as input for analyses to serve the agricultural sector as well as
environmental, climate, and wider policy monitoring purposes.
Of particular interest in agricultural production are approaches of real-time data generation
and processing allowing for instance to better tailor certain production steps, combine
different production steps or operate Internets of Things (IoT). Edge computing can play a
key role to facilitate and enhance such sensor-based analyses and production approaches.
Proposals should cover all of the following aspects:
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
    Development of innovative approaches to use in-situ data collected through sensors used
      in agricultural production as input to the application of data technologies.
    Development of approaches to analyse the data in real time through processing at the
      source (edge computing) associated with analytics (including AI) in combination with
      e.g. earth observation data.
    Development of innovative approaches to benchmark and tailor agricultural production
      through sensor data sharing at regional level including the development of business
      models.
    Development of approaches to generate EU-wide data sets through the upscaling of data
      collected through sensor used in agricultural production (in combination with other data
      sets, such as satellite data).
    Demonstration of how sensor-generated data can be further capitalised for the
      development of the agricultural sector, other sectors and the public good (including
      policy-making and implementation).
Based on a stock-taking analysis, proposals should (also) focus on crops currently covered
less by (private sector) sensor developments. Approaches towards livestock monitoring and/or
approaches towards monitoring of agri-environmental conditions through livestock data
should be considered. Proposals should reflect on different bio-geographic conditions in
Europe.
Proposals are expected to demonstrate governance and management structures allowing for a
steady adaptation of the work schedule of the projects (like a rolling plan); this is expected to
allow to adapt the work to the most recent developments and innovations in the field of
sensors and sensor data in the public and private domain.
Proposals are expected to reflect on possibilities to interlink (interim) project results or parts
of them to the functioning of the forthcoming common European agriculture data space and/or
the common European data space for research and innovation, the European Open Science
Cloud in cooperation with the European Commission. The potential of internet of things (IoT)
technologies should be considered.
The possible participation of the JRC in the project will ensure that the approach proposed
will be compatible with and improve the tools used and or developed at the European
Commission.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Strengthening agricultural knowledge and innovation systems
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-12: Thematic networks to compile and share
knowledge ready for practice
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                        The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                        multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In support of the Green Deal, CAP and Farm to Fork objectives and
targets, the successful proposal will focus on knowledge sharing in a language that is easy to
understand and is targeted to farmers and foresters. Primary producers have a particular need
for impartial and tailored knowledge on the management choices related to the needs,
challenges or opportunities they experience. This speeds up innovation and the uptake of
results, and is key to improve sustainability. It adds value to the knowledge and cost-
effectiveness of innovative practices and techniques in and across primary production sectors,
food systems, bioeconomy and biodiversity. This will lead to more informed and engaged
stakeholders and users of project results including primary producers and consumers thanks to
effective platforms such as Agriculture Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS 503).
Despite the continued funding of scientific projects, innovative ideas and methods from
practice are not captured and spread, and often research findings are not integrated into
agricultural and forestry practice. Proposals, acting at EU level to remedy this situation, are
essential because national and sectoral AKISs are insufficiently connected and organised to
fully meet the challenge of intensifying thematic cooperation between researchers, advisors
and farmers/foresters. This exchange of knowledge will foster economically viable and
sustainable agriculture and forestry and build trust between the main AKIS actors.
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
503
        AKIS means the organisation and knowledge flows between persons, organisations and institutions who
        use and produce knowledge for agriculture and interrelated fields (Agricultural Knowledge and
        Innovation)
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
     The cross-cutting objective of modernising the sector by fostering and sharing of
      knowledge, innovation and digitalisation in agriculture and rural areas, and encouraging
      their uptake504 , as well as European Green Deal and Farm to Fork objectives;
     The collection and distribution of easily accessible practice-oriented knowledge on the
      thematic area chosen, in particular the existing best practices and research findings that
      are ready to be put into practice, but not sufficiently known or used by practitioners.
     Conserve practical knowledge for the long term - beyond the project period – in
      particular by using the main trusted dissemination channels that farmers/foresters consult
      most often.
     Increase the flow of practical information between farmers/foresters in the EU in a
      geographically balanced way, creating spill-overs and taking account of the differences
      between territories. In order to better reach and capture knowledge from the targeted
      farmers/foresters, the networks may organise 'cross-fertilisation' through sub-networks
      covering, for example, a region, a language or a production system;
     Achieve greater user acceptance of collected solutions and a more intensive
      dissemination of existing knowledge, by connecting actors, policies, projects and
      instruments to speed up innovation and promote the faster and wider co-creation and
      transposition of innovative solutions into practice.
Scope: Proposals should address the following activities:
     Tackle the most urgent farmers’ or foresters' needs by summarising, sharing and
      presenting - in a language that is easy to understand and is targeted to farmers and
      foresters – the existing best practices and research findings that are ready to be put into
      practice, but not sufficiently known or used by practitioners. The specific themes of the
      networks can be chosen in a 'bottom-up' way on the condition that they.
     Compile a comprehensive description of the state of current farming practices on the
      chosen theme to explain the added-value of the proposal and the relevance of the theme.
      Proposals must focus on the cost/benefit aspects of the practices collected and
      summarised, and clarify how the project avoids duplication with ongoing or completed
      projects and networks.
     Deliver an extensive range of useful, applicable and appealing end-user material for
      farmers and foresters. This info should be easy to access and understand, making use of
      audio-visual material wherever possible, including also materials serving education and
      training;
     This range of material should feed into the existing dissemination channels most
      consulted by farmers and foresters in the countries.
504
         Art 5 of the post 2020 CAP regulation
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
     As many “practice abstracts” in the common European innovation partnership
      "Agricultural productivity and sustainability" (EIP-AGRI) format as possible, as well as
      other type of materials should be provided to the EIP-AGRI, as well as to national /
      regional / local AKIS channels and to the EU-wide interactive knowledge reservoir
      (HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-24);
     Besides giving the details on the European innovation partnership (EIP) Operational
      Groups which are strongly recommended to be involved 505 , wherever possible and
      relevant to the chosen theme, provide also details on how further synergies will be built
      with future EIP Operational Groups and interactive innovation groups operating in the
      context of the EIP-AGRI.
     Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor approach', with a consortium based on a
      balanced mix of actors with complementary knowledge clearly activating
      farmers/foresters, farmers' groups and advisors; and run for minimum 3 years.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-13: Broaden EIP Operational Group
outcomes across borders by means of thematic networks, compiling and sharing
knowledge ready for practice
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                         The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                         multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In support of the Green Deal, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
and farm to fork objectives and targets, the successful proposal will focus on knowledge
sharing in a language that is easy to understand and is targeted to farmers and foresters.
Primary producers have a particular need for impartial and tailored knowledge on the
management choices related to the needs, challenges or opportunities they experience. This
speeds up innovation and the uptake of results, and is key to improve sustainability. It adds
value to the knowledge and cost-effectiveness of innovative practices and techniques in and
505
         According to the requirements of the multi-actor approach
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
across primary production sectors, food systems, bioeconomy and biodiversity. This will lead
to more informed and engaged stakeholders and users of project results including primary
producers and consumers thanks to effective platforms such as Agriculture Knowledge and
Innovation Systems (AKIS).
Despite the continued funding of scientific projects, innovative ideas and methods from
practice are not captured and spread, and often research findings are not integrated into
agricultural and forestry practice. The proposals, acting at EU level to remedy this, are
essential because national and sectoral agricultural knowledge and innovation systems
(AKISs) are insufficiently connected and organised to fully meet the challenge of intensifying
thematic cooperation between researchers, advisors and farmers/foresters. This exchange of
knowledge will foster economically viable and sustainable agriculture and forestry and build
trust between the main AKIS actors. It will scale up local solutions up to the EU level and
may even influence policy design wherever useful.
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
  1. The cross-cutting objective of modernising the sector by fostering and sharing of
      knowledge, innovation and digitalisation in agriculture and rural areas, and encouraging
      their uptake506, as well as contributing to the European Green deal and farm to fork
      objectives. Examples are climate issues, pesticide use, water use and pollution, short
      supply chains linking to the consumer, farm viability, animal welfare, generational
      renewal, etc.
  2. The collection and distribution of easily accessible practice-oriented knowledge on the
      thematic area chosen, in particular the existing best practices and research findings that
      are ready to be put into practice, but not sufficiently known or used by practitioners.
  3. Conserve practical knowledge for the long term - beyond the project period – in
      particular by using the main trusted dissemination channels which farmers/foresters
      consult most often, delivering as much audio-visual material and as many “practice
      abstracts” in the European innovation partnership "Agricultural productivity and
      sustainability" (EIP-AGRI) common format as possible, including also education and
      training materials;
  4. Increase the flow of practical information between farmers/foresters in the EU in a
      geographically balanced way, creating spill-overs and taking account of the differences
      between territories. In order to better reach and capture knowledge from the targeted
      farmers/foresters, the networks may organise 'cross-fertilisation' through sub-networks
      covering, for example, a region, a language or a production system;
  5. Achieve greater user acceptance of collected solutions and a more intensive
      dissemination of existing knowledge, by connecting actors, policies, projects and
      instruments to speed up innovation and promote the faster and wider co-creation and
      transposition of innovative solutions into practice.
506
         Art 5 CAP post 2020 proposal
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Scope: Proposals should address the following activities:
     Build on the experience and outcomes of at least 5 EIP-AGRI Operational Groups of at
      least 3 Member States and choose a common theme related to the themes of the 5
      Operational Group projects. Projects should tackle the most urgent needs of farmers and
      foresters. Collect, summarise, share and translate the existing knowledge from science
      and practice, resulting from the EIP-AGRI Operational Groups and beyond, in an easy-
      to-understand language for practitioners.
     Compile a comprehensive description of the state of current farming practices on the
      chosen theme to explain the added value of the proposal and the relevance of the theme.
      Proposals must focus on the cost/benefit aspects of the practices collected and
      summarised, and clarify how the project avoids duplication with ongoing or completed
      projects and networks.
     Deliver an extensive range of useful, applicable and appealing end-user material for
      farmers and foresters. This info should be easy to access and understand, and feed into
      the existing dissemination channels most consulted by farmers and foresters in the
      countries.
     All materials should also be provided to the EIP-AGRI in the common 'practice abstract'
      format, as well as to national/regional/local AKIS channels and to the EU wide
      interactive knowledge reservoir (HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-24) in the
      requested formats;
     Besides giving the details on the EIP-AGRI Operational Groups which are strongly
      recommended to involve507, wherever possible and relevant to the chosen theme, provide
      also details on how further synergies will be built with future EIP-AGRI Operational
      Groups and interactive innovation groups operating in the context of the EIP-AGRI.
     Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor approach', with a consortium based on a
      balanced mix of actors with complementary knowledge clearly activating
      farmers/foresters, farmers' groups and advisors and run for minimum 3 years.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-14: Improving preparation of multi-actor
projects to enable the relevant actors to work in a co-creative way
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
507
         According to the requirements of the multi-actor approach
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                         The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                         multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In support of the Green Deal, Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and
farm to fork objectives and targets, the successful proposal will focus on improving the
preparation of multi-actor projects to enable the relevant actors to work in a more co-creative
way. The expected outcome of this topic are approaches for developing sound, coherent and
well-prepared multi-actor projects, enabling project coordinators to use the complementary
knowledge of partners to prepare actions to find ready-to-use solutions. Member States’
authorities and AKIS actors need insights and tools to improve the interaction, connections
and drafting skills in particular in the stage before putting down the multi-actor project
proposals for selection. This will lead to better informed and engaged stakeholders and users
of innovative project results leading to more effective Agriculture Knowledge and Innovation
Systems (AKIS) and related platforms.
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
1. Improve the drafting of multi-actor project proposals508 and in particular the involvement of
relevant actors with complementary knowledge in a balanced way in the preparatory stage.
2. The policy objectives linked to Cluster 6, such as for instance agroecology, climate,
pesticide reduction, reduction of water use etc, as well as the European Green Deal, the Farm
to Fork Strategy and the CAP, the Biodiversity Strategy and the wider bioeconomy research
and policies,.
3. The CAP cross-cutting objective of modernising the sector by fostering and sharing
knowledge, innovation and digitalisation in agriculture and rural areas, and encouraging their
uptake 509 . It will provide overall knowledge to the CAP supported projects related to
knowledge creation, organisation and sharing.
4. The outcomes will be connecting actors, policies, projects and instruments to speed up
innovation, in particular:
(a) create added value by better linking research, education, advisors and farming practice and
encourage the wider use of available knowledge and innovation;
(b) connect innovation actors and projects at all levels; resulting in faster and wider co-
creation and transposition of innovative solutions into practice and communicate to the
scientific community the research needs of practice.
508
        See definition of the 'multi-actor approach' in the introduction to this work programme part
509
        Art 5 CAP post 2020 proposal
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Scope: Proposals should:
     Develop ways to improve in particular the preparation of Horizon Europe multi-actor
      projects to better include at an early stage the needed variety of relevant practice actors
      in a balanced way and to be able to find useful information for the topic, with the view
      of strengthening co-creation between all actors even before the start and selection of the
      project. Make use of potential capacities of national/regional AKIS and AKIS
      coordination bodies to this effect.
     In particular, test out the effect of providing seed funding to fund the preparation phase
      as happens successfully in European innovation partnership "Agricultural productivity
      and sustainability" (EIP-AGRI) Operational Groups510 to improve the overall multi-actor
      quality of project proposals.
     Find ways to improve the connection and interaction between Horizon Europe Multi-
      actor projects and EIP-AGRI Operational Group innovation projects on specific topics
      before the very start of the multi-actor project, thus improving the interaction between
      the local/regional/ national level and the EU level and the quality of project proposals.
      Explore what are multi-actor consortia experiences and questions related to the
      preparation phase, to better understand which hurdles should be solved to ultimately
      result in more integration of EIP-AGRI Operational Groups in Horizon Europe Multi-
      actor projects and a better uptake of the results of EU multi-actor projects at
      national/regional/local level and vice versa. This should help sharing knowledge across
      the EU at all levels and between the projects from different funding sources and
      ultimately result in better prepared project proposals.
     Resulting from experience gained during the project, develop guidelines and pathways,
      maybe at institutional level, to improve the overall quality of the preparation phase of
      multi-actor projects. As soon as possible, find effective and efficient ways to profit from
      the initiatives of the EU-wide interactive knowledge reservoir (HORIZON-CL6-2021-
      GOVERNANCE-01-24), boosting women-led innovation in farming and rural areas
      (HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01-01) and the project interlinking national
      AKISs (HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-23). Make use of Member States’
      knowledge and innovation experts in the SCAR-AKIS Strategic Working Group to
      discuss the project strategy and progress in the various stages of the project.
     Cover all 27 EU Member States in the project. Make use in all those countries of experts
      who understand and are able to make an accurate interpretation of the national/regional
      contexts of practitioners and its impact on improving preparation of multi-actor projects.
     Provide all outcomes and materials to the EIP-AGRI, including in the common 'practice
      abstract' format for EU wide dissemination, as well as to national/regional/local AKIS
      channels and to the EU-wide interactive knowledge reservoir (HORIZON-CL6-2021-
      GOVERNANCE-01-24) in the requested formats.
510
         Art 114 and 71 (1)(a) of the CAP post 2020 proposal
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The project should run for 5 years and result in guidance on how to improve preparation of
multi-actor projects to enable the relevant actors to work in a more co-creative way. The
project must implement the multi-actor approach, including partners of multi-actor consortia,
of EIP-AGRI Operational Groups, policy makers and AKIS coordination bodies and AKIS
actors in Member States. Outcomes should be presented to policy makers at all levels, with a
view to adapt policies and governance to improve multi-actor project proposals. The results of
the projects should also be disseminated to all those who may start up multi-actor projects or
EIP-AGRI Operational Groups.
HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-15: Developing EU advisory networks on
water use
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                         The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                         multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: In support of the Green Deal, Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and
farm to fork objectives and targets, the successful proposal will focus on advisor exchanges
across the EU to increase the speed of knowledge creation and sharing, capacity building, of
demonstration of innovative solutions, as well as helping to bring them into practice, which
accelerates the needed transitions. Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) in
which advisors are fully integrated are key drivers to speed up innovation and the uptake of
research results by farmers.
Transformative changes such as the ones required within the Green Deal are dynamic
processes that require appropriate governance of AKIS actors. Advisors are key actors
strongly guiding and with a big influence over producers’ decisions. A novelty in the post-
2020 CAP plans511 is that advisors now must be integrated within the Member States’ AKIS,
and that the scope of their actions has become much broader. They must now be able to cover
economic, environmental and social domains, as well as be informed on up-to-date science
and technology. They should be able to translate this knowledge into opportunities, and use
511
        Art 13(2) of the post 2020 CAP regulation
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and adapt those to specific local circumstances. This specific topic focuses on the important
role advisors can play related to climate change effects on water shortage, water pollution and
avoiding salty soils, a quickly upcoming issue in the more sustainable agriculture of the
future.
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
  1. The most urgent policy objectives linked to Cluster 6, as well as the European Green
      Deal, and in particular the Farm to Fork Strategy and the CAP, with a view to increase
      farmer viability, help raise awareness and tackle societal challenges in helping the
      reduction of water pollution and use;
  2. The CAP cross-cutting objective of modernising the sector by fostering and sharing of
      knowledge, innovation and digitalisation in agriculture and rural areas, and encouraging
      their uptake512 . This topic will help to fill gaps on emerging advisory topics beyond the
      classical sectorial advice, which is useful in particular in relation with the new obligation
      for Member States to integrate advisors within their AKIS which must cover a much
      broader scope than in the former period. It will provide overall support related to
      knowledge creation, organisation and sharing.
  3. Development of interaction with regional policy makers and of a potential EU network
      to discuss institutional barriers to practical water-related issues, such as bottlenecks,
      lock-ins, political inertia, ambiguous regulations, inequality between Member States and
      power imbalances;
  4. Production of supporting services and materials to facilitate the upscaling of prevention
      of water shortage and pollution, such as water audit schemes, novel water retention
      practices, water knowledge networks and peer-to-peer counselling, master classes,
      advice modules, communication and education materials, effective business models for
      farm management on dry soils, etc
  5. The outcomes should speed up introduction, spreading and bringing into practice of
      innovative solutions related to avoiding water shortage and pollution overall, in
      particular by:
        a. creating added value by better linking research, education, advisors and farming
            practice and encouraging the wider use of available knowledge across the EU;
        b. learning from innovation actors and projects, resulting in faster sharing and
            implementation of ready-to-use innovative solutions, spreading them into practice
            and communicating to the scientific community the bottom-up research needs of
            practice.
Scope: Proposals should address the following activities:
512
         Art 5 CAP post 2020 proposal
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
     Connect advisors having a broad and extensive network of farmers across all EU
      Member States in an EU advisory network dedicated to water use, including avoiding
      water shortage and pollution, with a view to sharing experiences on how to best tackle
      the issues, building on the outcomes of the EIP-AGRI “Focus Group on Water and
      Agriculture” 513 , the EIP-AGRI Workshop: “Connecting innovative projects: Water &
      Agriculture”514, and the H2020 “Thematic network to improve water management”515
     Share effective and novel approaches among the EU advisory network on water use,
      which are sustainable in terms of economic, environmental and social aspects.
     Take strong account of cost-benefit elements. Collect and document good examples in
      this regard, connecting with farmers, intermediates and consumers in Member States to
      be able to take into account financial aspects and local conditions. Select the best
      practices, learn about the key success factors, possible quick wins and make them
      available for (local) exploitation, to ensure financial win-wins for producers, citizens and
      water companies.
     Integrate the advisors of the EU water use network into their Member State AKIS as
      much as possible. They should encourage as innovation brokers innovative projects on
      water use solutions in European innovation partnership "Agricultural productivity and
      sustainability" (EIP-AGRI) Operational Groups. They should give hands-on training to
      farmers and local advisors, lead national thematic and learning networks on the subject,
      deliver and implement action plans to make water use more efficient, reduce farmers’
      water use and pollution, inspire new and incoming farmers or farms at the cross-roads of
      intergenerational renewal, connect with education and ensure broad communication,
      support peer-to-peer consulting, develop on-farm demonstrations and YouTube demo
      films, and provide specific back-office support for generalist advisors within the national
      / regional AKIS.
     Explore if the activities of the EU advisory network on water use can be up scaled at the
      level of a number of Member States under a cooperative format. Wherever possible,
      develop digital advisory tools for common use across the EU. Seek if common tools can
      be created to incentivise the implementation of the learnings from this project.
     Include all 27 EU Member States in the EU advisory network, using local AKIS
      connections which can more accurately interpret the national/regional contexts to help
      develop the best solutions for that Member State or region. Use the support of the
      Member States’ knowledge and innovation experts of the SCAR-AKIS Strategic
      Working Group to discuss project strategy and progress in the various stages of the 2
      projects. Projects should run at least 5 years. They must implement the multi-actor
      approach.
513
         https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/en/publications/eip-agri-focus-group-water-and-agriculture-final
514
         https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/en/event/eip-agri-workshop-connecting-innovative-projects
515
         https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/en/news/thematic-network-improve-water-management-fertigated-
         crops
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               Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
 Provide all outcomes and materials to the EIP-AGRI, including in the common 'practice
  abstract' format for EU wide dissemination, as well as to national / regional / local AKIS
  channels and to the EU-wide interactive knowledge reservoir (HORIZON-CL6-2021-
  GOVERNANCE-01-24) in the requested formats.
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Other actions not subject to calls for proposals
Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article 195(e)
1. Dedicated support for the IPBES secretariat
The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
(IPBES) is a science-policy interface on biodiversity and ecosystem services that aims to
build capacity for and strengthen the use of science in policymaking. The Commission will
pay a contribution on behalf of the EU to the IPBES secretariat with the aim of supporting the
IPBES mechanism to further develop work on capacity and knowledge foundations, to
communicate and evaluate the Platform's activities, deliverables and findings, including
policy tools, and to synthesise, review, assess and critically evaluate relevant information and
knowledge on biodiversity and ecosystem services, generated by governments, academia,
scientific organizations, nongovernmental organizations and indigenous and local
communities from the EU and worldwide. This action must start in 2022 to guarantee the
EU’s continuous support to the IPBES secretariat.
Legal entities:
IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services)
secretariat, UN Campus, Platz der Vereinten Nationen 1, D-53113 Bonn, Germany
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: First Quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 5.00 million from the 2022 budget (Dedicated support for the IPBES
secretariat)
2. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s ‘Programme on
the Circular Economy in Cities and Regions’
The Programme will cooperate closely with and contribute to the implementation of the
Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI)516 by providing cities and regions with circular
economy diagnostic and solutions, in particular on the governance of the circular economy,
which includes regulatory, capacity, information aspects, amongst others. The Programme
516
         https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=circular
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
will contribute to the identification of policy recommendations and targeted actions to
implement circular economy initiatives at territorial level, promote multi-stakeholder
dialogues and disseminate results and best practice. In particular, the cooperation with the
CCRI will be based inter alia on the exchange of information, knowledge and experiences on
the implementation of the Programme and CCRI activities, including the participation of the
Programme’s representatives in CCRI events, and vice-versa.
The OECD Programme on the Circular Economy in Cities and Regions 517 supports cities and
regions in their transition towards a circular economy, through:
     Learning: engaging in multi-stakeholder policy dialogues with cities and regions to
      identify challenges and opportunities, providing socio-economic and environmental
      analysis and tailored policy recommendations. To date, a number of policy dialogues
      have been carried out, such as in Glasgow (United Kingdom), Granada (Spain),
      Groningen (Netherlands), Umeå (Sweden), Valladolid (Spain) and Ireland, including
      more than 300 stakeholders.
     Sharing: favouring peer-to-peer learning, best practice and lessons from circular
      economy experiences within and outside Europe. A global coalition of more than 100
      cities and regions are engaged in the overall dynamics of the Programme, including by
      contributing to the OECD Roundtable on the Circular Economy in Cities and Regions, a
      networking platform to favour experience exchanges across stakeholders, and to
      Webinars on the Circular Economy in Cities and Regions. Moreover, a new Report on
      the Circular Economy in Cities and regions collects practices, challenges and solutions
      across 51 cities and regions from OECD countries.
     Measuring: providing a self-assessment measurement framework for decision making
      and evaluation of circular economy strategies. 518 The Programme developed a Checklist
      for Action to support the implementation of the policy recommendations, with more
      specific guidance and milestones and a Scoreboard on the Governance of the Circular
      Economy for governments to self-assess existing enabling conditions for a circular
      economy, identify challenges and set priorities towards a more effective, efficient and
      just circular-economy transition.
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195(e) of the
Financial Regulation to enable the OECD to support through fundamental services for circular
economy policies at the local and regional scale EU policy priorities such as the European
Green Deal 519 , the new EU circular economy action plan 520 and the EU bioeconomy
strategy 521 . The evaluation committee will be composed fully by representatives of EU
institutions.
517
         http://www.oecd.org/regional/
518
         https://www.oecd.org/regional/cities/circular-economy-cities.htm
519
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
520
         https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/
521
         https://ec.europa.eu/research/bioeconomy/index.cfm?pg=policy&lib=strategy
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Legal entities:
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2, rue André Pascal,
75016 Paris, France
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: Fourth quarter 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 1.00 million from the 2021 budget (Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD)’s ‘Programme on the Circular Economy in Cities and
Regions’)
Indirect Management
1. Circular city centre (C3)
Cities have great potential to be cradles and catalysts for circular developments, which can
address many of the linear problems in EU cities today, and make cities more regenerative,
resilient, clean and liveable. However, many cities are finding substantial barriers to advance
in their transition to a circular economy. A recently published OECD report on the circular
economy in cities and regions522 noted amongst other that (i) the lack of a holistic vision is a
major obstacle for 67% of surveyed cities and regions, often due to poor leadership and co-
ordination, and/or the lack of political will, (ii) cultural barriers represent a challenge for 67%
of surveyed cities and regions along with lack of awareness (63%) and inadequate information
(55%) for policymakers to take decisions, businesses to innovate and residents to embrace
sustainable consumption patterns, (iii) the lack of human resources is a challenge for 61% of
surveyed cities and regions.
The Urban Agenda Partnership on the Circular Economy came to similar findings. In its
Circular Economy Final Action Plan523, in the section on Better Knowledge, it noted that “a
vast amount of cities in the EU currently lacks a holistic and comprehensive strategy, plan or
roadmap for the circular economy that goes beyond the utility and waste management sector.
Only a very small number of European cities have fully embarked on the transition to a
circular economy and developed such detailed visions, strategies and roadmaps. When it
comes to implementation however, even front-runner cities find themselves in the initial
phase of learning, experimenting and discovery”.
522
         https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/10ac6ae4-en/index.html?itemId=/content/publication/10ac6ae4-en
523
         https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/system/files/ged/ua_ce_final_action_plan_part_i.pdf (section 2.3.1)
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Finally, the InnovFin Advisory study on Access-to-finance conditions for projects supporting
Circular Economy524 highlighted the need for circular economy investment advisory service
destined to support circular economy projects with respect to access to finance and technical,
circular economy focused project preparation. In particular, it pointed to the need to develop a
systemic approach for the transition to circular economy, including building-up of knowledge,
intelligence and creating awareness among relevant stakeholders on the importance and value
added of circular properties.
The objective of this action is to support the launch and deployment of a new European
Circular City Centre (C3) implemented by the EIB advisory services under the InvestEU
Advisory Hub. The C3 will collect and disseminate existing and develop new circular city
awareness raising, capacity building and knowledge sharing material, provide light advisory
services to cities and arrange circular city webinars and other knowledge sharing and
awareness building events.
The C3 light advisory services will have a particular focus on supporting cities in:
i) preparation of circular strategies and roadmaps; ii) identification, screening and preparation
of circular investment programmes and projects; and iii) improving the bankability of their
circular projects and identifying suitable funding sources. The C3 will focus on innovative
activities and projects in key sectors at local and regional scale that use the most resources
and/or generate most waste, and where the potential for circularity is high, as outlined in the
new circular economy action plan 525 . Eligible activities and projects should include the
piloting, scale up and commercialization of innovative circular technologies, products,
materials and business models. Conversely, activities and projects in sectors with no or only
minor impact on the circular economy transition in cities and regions as well as activities and
projects focussing exclusively or mainly on energy efficiency, renewable energy generation
(fuels, heat or power) or energy recovery from waste are not in the scope of the action.
The C3 and related services are expected to mobilise cities, circular stakeholders and project
promoters and enable them to take their first steps in their circular transition. The C3 will also
support cities in the first stages of circular project identification and preparation and thereby
contribute to the transition from talking about the circular economy to implementing this
crucially important change.
The C3 will cooperate closely with and act in complementarity to the Circular Cities and
Regions Initiative (CCRI)526 and the related projects527 and to the parallel action proposed for
the Circular Economy Technical Assistance Facility (CETAF), also implemented by the EIB
advisory services. It will contribute to the CCRI and CETAF implementation by building
awareness, sharing knowledge and providing advice to cities and regions on how to promote
the circular economy transition in their territories. In particular, the cooperation with the
524
         https://www.eib.org/attachments/pj/access_to_finance_study_on_circular_economy_en.pdf
525
         https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/
526
         https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=circular
527
         Including the HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-02: Circular Cities and Regions Initiative’s Project
         Development Assistance (CCRI-PDA) and the HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01-01 – Circular
         Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI)’s circular systemic solutions.
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
CCRI will be based inter alia on the exchange of information, knowledge and experiences on
the implementation of the C3 and CCRI activities, including the participation of C3
representatives in CCRI events, and vice-versa.
The EIB is already engaged in awareness building, advisory and lending to circular cities, and
has accumulated considerable experience in this area. As one example, the EIB under the
European Investment Advisory Hub528 have recently developed and implemented the Circular
City Funding Guide website529, intended to support the access to financing for the circular
transition in cities.
Given the increased policy focus on supporting and facilitating the circular transition in the
EU, and the important role cities will have in such a transition, there is a need and rationale to
expand its support activities in this field. This action would enable the EIB to increase its
reach and impact of fundamental services that support EU policy priorities such as the
European Green Deal530, the new EU circular economy action plan531 and the EU bioeconomy
strategy532.
The indicative start of the action is Q2 2021, following the conclusion of an advisory
agreement with the EIB Group for the implementation of the Invest EU Advisory Hub. The
envisaged horizon for use of the funds under this action is 2027.
Legal entities:
European Investment Bank, 98-100, Boulevard K. Adenauer, L-2950 Luxembourg, Grand
Duchy of Luxembourg
Form of Funding: Indirectly managed actions
Type of Action: Indirectly managed action
Indicative timetable: Second quarter 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 5.00 million from the 2021 budget (from the 2021 budget )
2. Circular economy technical assistance facility (CETAF) for local and regional circular
economy investments
Cities have great potential to be cradles and catalysts for circular developments which can
address many of the linear problems in EU cities today, and make cities more regenerative,
resilient, clean and liveable. However, many cities are finding substantial barriers to advance
in their transition to a circular economy. A recently published OECD report on the circular
economy in cities and regions533 noted amongst other that “a vast majority of the 51 surveyed
528
        https://eiah.eib.org/
529
        https://www.circularcityfundingguide.eu/
530
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
531
        https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/
532
        https://ec.europa.eu/research/bioeconomy/index.cfm?pg=policy&lib=strategy
533
        https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/10ac6ae4-en/index.html?itemId=/content/publication/10ac6ae4-en
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
cities and regions reported challenges related to insufficient funding (73%), as well as
financial risks (69%), lack of critical scale for business and investments (59%), and lack of
private sector engagement (43%)”.
The Urban Agenda Partnership on the Circular Economy came to similar findings. In its
Circular Economy Final Action Plan534, in the section on Better Funding, it noted that “the
lack of available funding, including for project preparation and investment, as an important
barrier for the circular economy transition in cities”.
The InnovFin Advisory study on Access-to-finance conditions for projects supporting
Circular Economy535 highlighted the need for circular economy investment advisory service
destined to support circular economy projects with respect to access to finance and technical,
circular economy focused project preparation.
The objective of this action is to fund the Circular Economy Technical Assistance Facility
(CETAF) to be deployed through the European Investment Bank (EIB) advisory services
under the InvestEU Advisory Hub, aimed at supporting investment projects and programmes
substantially contributing to the circular economy transition in cities and regions across
Europe. The CETAF, which shall follow the example of the ELENA (European Local ENergy
Assistance) facility in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors, will provide
technical assistance (TA) grants for the preparation and development of projects in key
sectors for the circular economy at local and regional level. More specifically, CETAF will
focus on innovative activities and projects in key sectors that use the most resources and/or
generate most waste and where the potential for circularity is high, as outlined in the new
circular economy action plan 536 . Eligible activities and projects shall include the piloting,
scale up and commercialization of innovative circular technologies, products, materials and
business models. Conversely, activities and projects in sectors with no or only minor impact
on the circular economy transition in cities and regions as well as activities and projects
focussing exclusively or mainly on energy efficiency, renewable energy generation (fuels,
heat or power) or energy recovery from waste are not in the scope of the action.
The CETAF is expected to catalyse investment in circular economy projects and programmes
in cities and regions. The expected outcome of this action is technically and economically
viable as well as bankable investment projects and programmes with a minimum total
investment volume of EUR 20 million.537 A minimum ratio/leverage factor between the total
investment amount and the amount of the TA grant shall be defined as well as a minimum
own contribution from project promoters to the overall cost of project preparation and
development. Eligible recipients of TA grants are both public and private entities.
534
        https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/system/files/ged/ua_ce_final_action_plan_part_i.pdf (section 2.3.1)
535
        https://www.eib.org/attachments/pj/access_to_finance_study_on_circular_economy_en.pdf
536
        https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/
537
        The Circular Cities and Regions Initiative Project Development Assistance (CCRI-PDA) will focus on
        small and medium-sized circular economy investments of up to 20 million.
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                     Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
The facility will cooperate closely with and act in complementarity to the Circular Cities and
Regions Initiative (CCRI)538 and the related projects539 and to the parallel action proposed for
the Circular City Centre (C3), also implemented by the EIB advisory services, by supporting
project promoters to bridge the gap between their circular economy strategies/plans and
concrete investment programmes and projects. In particular, the cooperation with the CCRI
will be based inter alia on the exchange of information, knowledge and experiences on the
implementation of the CETAF and CCRI activities and on the participation of CETAF
representatives in CCRI events, and vice-versa.
The EIB has long-time experience in providing financing and technical assistance for
sustainable urban and regional investment projects and programmes with both climate and
circular economy relevance. Related TA mandates successfully implemented by the EIB
include the EU funded URBIS540, ELENA and JASPERS541 facilities. The EIB has also been
a driving force in different platforms dedicated to the promotion of the CE, with particular
focus on cities. As an example, the EIB, with support from the European Investment Advisory
Hub, took a lead role in the design, preparation and implementation of the Circular City
Funding Guide542.
Given the increased policy focus on scaling and speeding up the circular transition in the EU,
and the important role of cities and regions will have in such a transition, the EIB is in a good
position to provide a significant contribution through technical assistance in this field. The
CETAF would enable the EIB to further support EU policy priorities such as the European
Green Deal 543 , the new EU circular economy action plan 544 and the EU bioeconomy
strategy 545 by supporting concrete investments in circular economy solutions at local and
regional scale.
The indicative start of the action is Q2 2021 following the conclusion of an advisory
agreement with the EIB Group for the implementation of the Invest EU Advisory Hub. The
envisaged horizon for use of the funds under this action is 2027.
Legal entities:
European Investment Bank, 98-100, Boulevard K. Adenauer, L-2950 Luxembourg, Grand
Duchy of Luxembourg
Form of Funding: Indirectly managed actions
Type of Action: Indirectly managed action
538
        https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=circular
539
        Including the HORIZON-CL6-CIR-2021-00-00: Circular Cities and Regions Initiative’s Project
        Development Assistance (CCRI-PDA) and the HORIZON-CL6-CIR-2021-00-00 – Circular Cities and
        Regions Initiative (CCRI)’s circular systemic solutions.
540
        https://eiah.eib.org/about/initiative-urbis.htm
541
        https://jaspers.eib.org/
542
        https://www.circularcityfundingguide.eu/
543
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
544
        https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/
545
        https://ec.europa.eu/research/bioeconomy/index.cfm?pg=policy&lib=strategy
                                              Part 9 - Page 555 of 571
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Indicative timetable: Second quarter 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 10.00 million from the 2021 budget
Public Procurements
1. Indicators and methods for measuring the transition to climate-neutral circularity, its
benefits, challenges and trade-offs
Objective
A commonly accepted and sufficiently inclusive definition of circularity and measurement
methods can support the transition to a more circular economy in multiple ways. Among other
things, it can facilitate the development and access to finance, credit risk assessment, and the
transferability and replicability of projects and investments across regions and jurisdictions.
The introduction of robust indicator frameworks that quantify progress towards circularity is
however challenging, with countries and businesses showing widely different approaches and
degrees of advancement. The practice of measuring, assessing and taking informed decisions
based on the climate, environmental and social impacts of business activities, products and
services is not yet widespread and well-established. Methods are gradually emerging. The
Commission developed the Product and Organisation Environmental Footprint method,
allowing to calculate environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions, throughout
the value chain. Harmonised European standards for life cycle assessments can provide the
basis for environmental product declarations (EPD), and national LCA-databases (e.g.
Ökobaudat) and evaluation systems (e.g. BNB) exist in some Member States. A common
method can visualise the advantages and trade-offs of a circular economy and provide
knowledge needed to understand the opportunities a circular economy gives compared to a
linear economy. It can provide the tools to manage response actions and mitigating measures.
Projects shall enhance the knowledge base for policy makers to design, implement and
monitor policies and instruments for transition to a circular economy. This enhancement
should focus on the following elements:
    Definitions, scope and taxonomy of circular economy, criteria and benchmarks for
     defining the level and progression towards circularity reflecting current and future
     technology developments, taking into account the work on sustainable finance and
     taxonomy;
    Assessment of the potential and impacts of circular economy transition on climate
     mitigation (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions reduction), zero pollution and ecosystem
     protection as well as competitiveness, job creation and raw material security objectives.
     This includes analysis of material and consumption flows broken down to sector level
     for sectors with the highest material flows and impacts. Modelling of different scenarios
     of transition should be done. The assessments should in first instance focus on the key
     product value chains mentioned in the circular economy action plan 2020, i.e. electronics
     including ICT, batteries and vehicles, packaging, plastics, textiles, construction and
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
      buildings, and food, water and nutrients. This work should take into account existing546
      and ongoing work within the European Commission and the EEA;
     Further development of indicators and methods at product, service and organisation level
      for measuring resource use, including consumption and material footprints and risks
      (including a weighting by their life-cycle environmental footprint) to account for
      optimisation of material consumption and environmental impacts associated with
      production and consumption patterns;
     Assessment of capital flows and investment needs in the circular economy and analysis
      of barriers and risks that prevent circular economy financing;
     Assessment of regulatory barriers at regional, national and EU level, and of policy
      measures to overcome them;
     Policy tools including incentives and their applicability at different governance levels to
      trigger and foster effective transition processes.
All elements will be analysed at EU, national and regional level. Ongoing work within the
European Commission, and ESTAT on updating the circular economy monitoring framework,
including consumption and material footprints (including a weighting by their life-cycle
environmental footprint), as well as relevant existing international and European standards,
should be taken into account. The ultimate outcome is knowledge and a toolbox that will
subsequently enable decision-makers in public institutions and businesses to formulate targets
and measure progress, set up institutions and policies necessary for transition processes at
different scales. The contractor may consider links with related activities including the EU
Bioeconomy Monitoring System and/or contribute to the European Commission’s Knowledge
Centre for Bioeconomy hosted by JRC. The contractor is also strongly encouraged to organise
joint activities, ensure synergies and undertake clustering activities with projects under C5-
D1-CSR-04-2021, “Modelling the role of the circular economy for climate change mitigation”
and relevant H2020 projects, in particular under CE-SC5-25-2020, “Understanding the
transition to circular economy and its implications on the environment, economy and society”.
Expected results
     Robust indicators and methods for measuring transition to climate-neutral circularity, its
      benefits, challenges and trade-offs, including definitions, criteria and benchmarks for
      assessing the progress towards circularity, consistent with existing or currently
      developed standards in this field
     An enhanced knowledge base and toolbox for policy makers, enabling them to design
      and compare, implement and monitor policies and instruments for a circular transition
546
         Cf.      Monitoring       Framework        of     indicators   for     the     circular economy;
         https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/circular-economy/indicators/monitoring-framework.
                                             Part 9 - Page 557 of 571
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
   Systemic insight into the opportunities, challenges and risks, and instruments of
      circularity
   Facilitated implementation of the EU taxonomy for sustainable finance
This action is expected to be implemented via the launch of a new Framework Contract for a
maximum duration of 4 years and an estimated ceiling of EUR 1.00 million.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Third quarter of 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 1.00 million from the 2021 budget
2. Circular value chain analysis focusing on intra- and inter-value chain collaboration
Objective
Businesses are often reluctant to engage in collaborative partnerships and to share business-
related information with others, which would be necessary in order to develop circular
economy business models and projects. This is due to real and perceived risks of exposing
sensitive business information as well as inadequate knowledge about circular economy
opportunities, and the lack of capacity to identify and implement specific actions, and to
limited incentives for cooperation within existing linear value chains. Understanding the risks
of information sharing and complexity of international value chains is important when
developing policies for a resource efficient and circular economy. In addition to the positive
impacts on knowledge creation, setting up collaborative partnerships and networks to prepare
innovative circular economy initiatives can align business interests and improve the definition
of roles and responsibilities between the various partners.
Digital technologies can track the journeys of products, components and materials and make
the resulting data securely accessible to authorised actors. The European data space for smart
circular applications will provide the architecture and governance system to drive applications
and services such as product passports, resource mapping and consumer information. As part
of the governance of the sectoral actions, the Commission will cooperate closely with
stakeholders in key value chains to identify barriers to the expansion of markets for circular
products, and ways to address those barriers. In synergy with the objectives laid out in the
industrial strategy, the Commission will enable greater circularity in industry by promoting
the use of digital technologies for tracking, tracing and mapping of resources; promoting the
uptake of green technologies through a system of solid verification by registering the EU
Environmental Technology Verification scheme as an EU certification mark. The new SME
Strategy will foster circular industrial collaboration among SMEs, building on training, advice
under the Enterprise Europe Network on cluster collaboration, and on knowledge transfer via
the European Resource Efficiency Knowledge Centre.
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The contractor should analyse existing and potential circular value chains to identify patterns
in intra-value chain and inter-value chains interactions and collaboration between all relevant
actors and mapping material flows. The contractor is expected to describe and categorise
these interactions and collaborations, and provide insight into the opportunities and challenges
as well as conditions of success. The role of trust between different actors, the importance of a
sufficient level of knowledge and data sharing, the role of digital technologies and the
importance of incentives on regional, national, European and/or global level are key topics
that should be addressed. Results need to be included in existing Commission knowledge
bases such as the EC JRC RMIS. Circular economy requires transparency about associated
materials and financial flows of the product and its components during their entire life cycles.
The contractor should also help improve the methodology for the analysis of circular value
chains, and develop advanced instruments for this purpose, focusing on intra- and inter-value
chain collaboration and including the mapping of material flows. Recommendations for
policy makers to design, implement and monitor policies and instruments for a circular
transition should be presented in the form of a toolbox.
Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and
requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.
Expected results
    Setup of collaborative partnerships and networks to develop innovative circular economy
      solutions
    An enhanced knowledge base for policy makers to design, implement and monitor
      policies and instruments for a circular transition, with a particular focus on trust-building
      and the role of advanced digital technologies in responsible data management
    Systemic insight into the opportunities, challenges and instruments of circularity
      regarding all elements of intra and inter-business value chains
    Identification and analysis of instruments to trigger changes in the behaviour of
      economic operators
    Development of advanced instruments for the analysis of circular value chains, focusing
      on intra- and inter-value chain collaboration and including the mapping of material flows
This action is expected to be implemented via the launch of a new Framework Contract for a
maximum duration of 3 years and an estimated ceiling of EUR 1.00 million.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Second quarter of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 1.00 million from the 2022 budget
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
3. Development of life-cycle information
Objective
Life-cycle assessment is a key element of the evaluation of the environmental performance of
products and production processes. If properly applied it is a powerful decision-making tool
for economic operators and policy makers. Wide application of this tool is prevented by the
lack of scientifically robust life-cycle data, especially in the sectors where technologies,
materials, production processes, value chains and business models evolve fast, often driven by
EU policies. Several recent EU policy initiatives emphasise the need for a life-cycle approach
in managing the environmental performance of products, technologies and companies.
The objective of this public procurement is to develop scientifically robust life-cycle data for
the rapidly innovating sectors of bioeconomy, renewable energy and construction. These data
will be publicly available for application by economic actors and policy makers, and underpin
relevant policies at EU, national and regional level.
Expected results
The contractor is expected to develop aggregated and disaggregated life cycle datasets and to
provide additional support to the users in the form of a helpdesk and dedicated online training
activities. The development of the datasets shall include methodological adaptations of
existing datasets and creation of new datasets for sectors and value chains currently not
available in existing LCA databases. The resulting datasets shall be fully compliant with the
latest version of the guide for Environmental Footprint compliant datasets547. The possibility
of developing different versions of some datasets in order to comply with sector-specific
needs shall also be taken into account. The level of granularity of datasets is set at national
and sectoral level as a default with the possibility to deviate if justified on the basis of the
analysis of variance of life cycle impacts. The contractor shall keep data updated for the
duration of contract. Data shall be made publicly available through the European Platform for
LCA548.
The expected impact of this public procurement action is that LCA will become easier to
apply and affordable for all potential users. Consequently, it will be applied more frequently
in industrial and policy setup. Life-cycle information on materials, products and technologies
will spread along value chains in business-to-business and business-to-consumer interactions.
New policy initiatives will use LCA, and specifically the PEF and OEF, to set environmental
performance benchmarks and standards. The broad application of PEF/OEF in policies and
decision-making will lead to improved environmental management and reduced
environmental impacts, and a new competitive edge to EU companies and industries on the
global market.
Form of Funding: Procurement
547
         Available at : https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/guide-ef-compliant-data-sets
548
         https://eplca.jrc.ec.europa.eu/
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                      Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Fourth quarter of 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 5.00 million from the 2021 budget
4. Support the transition towards circular economy at local and regional scale
The circular economy concept should be a central component in local and regional
economies, which have a suitable scale for closing resources loops, creating sustainable
circular ecosystems and designing participatory community-based innovation schemes. An
increasing number of cities, regions, industries and businesses are engaged in testing and
improving circularity in their territories, economic sectors, value chains and services.
Nevertheless, the concrete implementation of systemic solutions for the territorial deployment
of the circular economy still needs to be demonstrated and replicated in other areas. In
particular, a major challenge is to apply effectively the circular economy concept in urban and
regional policy areas beyond traditional resource recovery in waste and water sectors.
The Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) is part of the European circular economy
action plan and aims to support circular solutions for the transition towards a sustainable,
regenerative, inclusive and just circular economy at local and regional scale. The CCRI’s
activities aim to contribute to the implementation of the European Green Deal 549, the circular
economy action plan550 and the bioeconomy strategy.551
The objective of this other action is to strengthen the coordination and support service for the
implementation of the CCRI. It will also ensure the cooperation among the CCRI’s projects
covered under the Green Deal Call and Horizon Europe and relevant initiatives and
stakeholders. This other action will complement the Horizon 2020 SC2 WP 2020 Other
Action 2 and the 2020 Green Deal Call Other Action 7, being all used to implement the
activities of the coordination and support service for the implementation of the CCRI via the
framework contract established under Horizon 2020 SC2 WP 2020 Other Action 2.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Fourth quarter 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 1.00 million from the 2021 budget
5. Studies, conferences, events and outreach activities
A number of specific contracts will be signed under existing framework contracts in order:
(i) to support the dissemination and exploitation of project results;
549
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
550
         https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/pdf/new_circular_economy_action_plan.pdf
551
         https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=circular
                                              Part 9 - Page 561 of 571
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                    Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
(ii) to contribute to the definition of future challenge priorities;
(iii) to carry out specific evaluations of programme parts
(iv) to organise conferences, events and outreach activities.
Should existing framework contracts prove unsuitable or insufficient to support the
abovementioned activities, one or more calls for tender may be launched as appropriate.
Subject matter of the contracts envisaged: studies, technical assistance, conferences, events
and outreach activities.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative budget: EUR 0.50 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 0.52 million from the
2022 budget
6. Enhancing stakeholder involvement in the EU Bioeconomy policy
Political debates on the bioeconomy need to be conducted with the involvement of wider
society at EU level. Currently, the EU Bioeconomy policy lack a continuous stakeholder
involvement that ensures full participation of stakeholders and consideration of all
perspectives.
The objective of this action is to carry out a scoping study to have a better understanding of
the gaps related to bioeconomy stakeholder involvement at EU level, and to define how an
improved stakeholder involvement could work. Detailed recommendations, such as on goal
and specific objectives, governance arrangements, selection mechanisms of the members,
activities and frequency, interactions with policy-makers, etc. are thus expected in this action.
One option to enhance the stakeholder involvement would be to create a ‘European
Bioeconomy Council’. A European Bioeconomy Council would set up the frame for
conducting discussions on the bioeconomy with the involvement of a wide range of
stakeholders at EU level, including leading experts from industry, NGOs, civil society. The
Council would foster an open and structured dialogue between them, covering the full
spectrum of the European bioeconomy.
The action should assess synergies with the European Bioeconomy Policy Forum (EBPF)552.
In case the action concludes that a European Bioeconomy Council would be an appropriate
instrument for enhancing bioeconomy stakeholder involvement, it could be launched in 2-3
years’ time (in 2024 or 2025) following the recommendations made by the action.
Form of Funding: Procurement
552
         The EPBF is a dedicated forum that brings together Member States and EU institutions in order to
         develop bioeconomy policy solutions and coordinate approaches.
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: 4th quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.25 million from the 2022 budget
Subscription Actions
1. GEO subscription 2021-2022
An annual contribution to the 2021 and 2022 activities of the GEO Secretariat, as a
subscription to a body of which the Union is a member, according to Article 239 of the
Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (2018).
As a full member of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) the Commission will pay a
contribution on behalf of the EU to the GEO Trust Fund, which is the budgetary structure
agreed by the GEO members to fund the GEO secretariat (hosted by the World
Meteorological Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland), to ensure the implementation of the
Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) according to its annual work plan and
the continuity of the leadership and participation of the EU in GEO.
Type of Action: Subscription action
Indicative budget: EUR 1.20 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 1.20 million from the
2022 budget
Scientific and technical services by the Joint Research Centre
1. Leveraging European data-sharing and exploitation practices within GEOSS (Global
Earth Observation System of Systems)
The European Strategy for Data (COM(2020)66 final) and the upcoming ePrivacy Regulation
and Data Act outline an ambitious agenda for the establishment of a single market for data in
Europe. In compliance with this legal framework, it is proposed that the JRC, building on its
experience on data handling, supports DG R&I in its contribution to the Group on Earth
Observations (GEO) helping to export the European good practices and ethical guidelines on
data exchange and exploitation to the international Earth observation community within GEO
for a better leadership of Europe in the domain of EO data sharing and uptake. It will
contribute as well to increase the European contribution to GEOSS via Destination Earth and
the European Green Deal data space.
Building on a multitude of emerging technologies, data sources, standards, licenses and
actors, multiple data ecosystems are already emerging in Europe. These new developments
would benefit from coordination between those initiatives and in depth adaptations of GEOSS
with a view to the delivery of Earth observation (EO) services and products in the different
GEO Engagement priorities and in particular, the ones related to the Paris Agreement. The
provision of such services should be coordinated between regional GEOs and in particular
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EuroGEO, the European contribution to GEO, and AOGEO, the Asia-Oceania regional GEO
initiative.
The developments will take advantage of the European Open Science Cloud facility and other
infrastructures, and of the most recent technological evolutions such as IoT, edge computing,
data interoperability, data-sharing tools and enablers, architectures and governance
mechanisms to sustain GEOSS in the long term, and coordination between the European
Horizon 2020 projects such as e-shape, the various initiatives and flagships of the 2020-2022
GEO work programme and the European Space Agency (ESA) GEO portal enhancements.
This activity is directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of an
evidence base for R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders, including via
the European Commission Knowledge Centre on Earth Observation and the Destination Earth
initiative. The improvement brought to the GEOSS infrastructure will contribute to leverage
into GEOSS services, data of the Copernicus programme, and applications developed through
Horizon 2020 EO projects such as e-shape, including through promoting the use of existing
applications and in developing new ones in the area of climate services.
The administrative arrangement for technical and scientific services with the JRC will cover
the cost of the technical coordination and support of the uptake of European data-sharing and
exploitation solution within the GEOSS infrastructure. It will also cover the provision of
expertise to the GEO governance for activities relevant to the evolution of GEOSS, including
participation in the work of the different GEO governance bodies. The development and
testing of Earth observation information systems developed through Horizon 2020, such as
the GEOSS infrastructure, falls under the mandate of the JRC, which is to deliver
Commission's in-house science services.
Indicative duration: 36 months
Form of Funding: Direct action grants
Type of Action: Provision of technical/scientific services by the Joint Research Centre
Indicative timetable: Third quarter 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 2.60 million from the 2021 budget
Expert contract actions
1. External Expertise
This action will support the use of appointed independent experts for the monitoring of
running actions (grant management, grant decision, public procurement actions, financial
instruments) funded under Horizon Europe and previous Framework Programmes for research
and Innovation and where appropriate include ethics checks
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
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Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative budget: EUR 2.00 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 1.70 million from the
2022 budget
                                     Part 9 - Page 565 of 571
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                   Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Budget553
                                                          Budget             2021              2022
                                                          line(s)      Budget (EUR       Budget (EUR
                                                                            million)         million)
Calls
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01                                                       194.50
                                                       from                      194.50
                                                       01.020260
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-02                                                        20.00              20.00
                                                       from                       20.00              20.00
                                                       01.020260
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01                                                                           95.00
                                                       from                                          95.00
                                                       01.020260
HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-02-two-                                                                      46.00
stage
                                                       from                                          46.00
                                                       01.020260
HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01                                                    186.00
                                                       from                      186.00
                                                       01.020260
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01                                                                      164.00
                                                       from                                        164.00
                                                       01.020260
HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-02-                                                                       66.50
two-stage
                                                       from                                          66.50
                                                       01.020260
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CIRCBIO-01                                                      126.50
                                                       from                      126.50
553
       The budget figures given in this table are rounded to two decimal places.
       The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
       budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
                                           Part 9 - Page 566 of 571
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             Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
                                             01.020260
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-01                                                   66.00
                                             from                             66.00
                                             01.020260
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CIRCBIO-02-two-                                              76.00
stage
                                             from                             76.00
                                             01.020260
HORIZON-CL6-2021-                                                      65.00
ZEROPOLLUTION-01
                                             from                      65.00
                                             01.020260
HORIZON-CL6-2022-                                                             51.00
ZEROPOLLUTION-01
                                             from                             51.00
                                             01.020260
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01                                           108.00  10.00
                                             from                     108.00  10.00
                                             01.020260
HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01                                                   75.00
                                             from                             75.00
                                             01.020260
HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01                                        53.00
                                             from                      53.00
                                             01.020260
HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-01                                               42.00
                                             from                             42.00
                                             01.020260
HORIZON-CL6-2022-COMMUNITIES-                                                 33.00
02-two-stage
                                             from                             33.00
                                             01.020260
HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01                                        223.00
                                             from                     223.00
                                             01.020260
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HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01                                                     147.00
                                                   from                            147.00
                                                   01.020260
Contribution from this part to call                                          1.50
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-01 under
                                                   from                      1.50
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                   01.020260
Contribution from this part to call                                          2.50
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-01 under
                                                   from                      2.50
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                   01.020260
Contribution from this part to call                                          5.00
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-01                under
                                                   from                      5.00
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                   01.020260
Contribution from this part to call                                          0.38
HORIZON-MISS-2021-COOR-01 under
                                                   from                      0.38
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                   01.020260
Contribution from this part to call                                         31.61
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02 under Part
                                                   from                     31.61
12 of the work programme
                                                   01.020260
Contribution from this part to call                                                  9.25
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CIT-01 under Part
                                                   from                              9.25
12 of the work programme
                                                   01.020260
Contribution from this part to call                                         31.70
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02 under
                                                   from                     31.70
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                   01.020260
Contribution from this part to call                                                 27.36
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01 under
                                                   from                             27.36
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                   01.020260
Contribution from this part to call                                         46.86
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02                under
                                                   from                     46.86
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                   01.020260
Contribution    from    this   part   to   call                                     73.86
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                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01               under from                                 73.86
Part 12 of the work programme                     01.020260
Contribution from this part to call                                          4.52
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-04 under
                                                  from                       4.52
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                  01.020260
Contribution from this part to call                                          2.14
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05 under
                                                  from                       2.14
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                  01.020260
Contribution from this part to call                                          4.77
HORIZON-MISS-2021-NEB-01 under Part
                                                  from                       4.77
12 of the work programme
                                                  01.020260
Contribution from this part to call                                         13.57
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02 under
                                                  from                      13.57
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                  01.020260
Contribution from this part to call                                                19.46
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01 under
                                                  from                             19.46
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                  01.020260
Contribution from this part to call                                          4.52
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-03 under
                                                  from                       4.52
Part 12 of the work programme
                                                  01.020260
Contribution from this part to call                                                 4.21
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEANCLIMA-
                                                  from                              4.21
01 under Part 12 of the work programme
                                                  01.020260
Contribution from this part to call                                                 7.53
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOCIALCAT-01
                                                  from                              7.53
under Part 12 of the work programme
                                                  01.020260
Contribution from this part to call                                                 0.37
HORIZON-MISS-2022-NCP-01 under Part
                                                  from                              0.37
12 of the work programme
                                                  01.020260
Other actions
Grant to identified beneficiary according to                                 1.00   5.00
                                      Part 9 - Page 569 of 571
 ---pagebreak---                             Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                  Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Financial Regulation Article 195(e)               from                       1.00  5.00
                                                  01.020260
Indirectly managed action                                                   15.00
                                                  from                      15.00
                                                  01.020260
Public procurement                                                           7.50  1.77
                                                  from                       7.50  1.77
                                                  01.020260
Subscription action                                                          1.20  1.20
                                                  from                       1.20  1.20
                                                  01.020260
Provision of technical/scientific services by                                2.60
the Joint Research Centre
                                                  from                       2.60
                                                  01.020260
Expert contract action                                                       2.00  1.70
                                                  from                       2.00  1.70
                                                  01.020260
Contribution from this part to Expert                                        0.29  0.48
contract action under Part 12 of the work
                                                  from                       0.29  0.48
programme
                                                  01.020260
Contribution from this part to Public                                        6.89  0.33
procurement under Part 12 of the work
                                                  from                       6.89  0.33
programme
                                                  01.020260
Contribution from this part to Provision of                                  2.05
technical/scientific services by the Joint
                                                  from                       2.05
Research Centre under Part 12 of the work
                                                  01.020260
programme
Contribution from this part to Grant                                         1.29
awarded without a call for proposals
                                                  from                       1.29
according to Financial Regulation Article
                                                  01.020260
195 under Part 12 of the work programme
Contribution from this part to Indirectly                                    0.38
                                      Part 9 - Page 570 of 571
 ---pagebreak---                            Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                 Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
managed action under Part 12 of the work from                               0.38
programme                                         01.020260
Contribution from this part to Grant to                                     0.03
identified    beneficiary    according      to
                                                  from                      0.03
Financial Regulation Article 195(e) under
                                                  01.020260
Part 12 of the work programme
Contribution from this part to Service Level                                0.60     0.21
Agreement under Part 12 of the work
                                                  from                      0.60     0.21
programme
                                                  01.020260
Contribution from this part to Specific grant                                       19.21
agreement under Part 12 of the work
                                                  from                              19.21
programme
                                                  01.020260
Estimated total budget                                                  1165.91   1063.45
                                      Part 9 - Page 571 of 571
 ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak--- NA ---documentbreak---                   EN
               ANNEX X
               “Annex X
            Horizon Europe
      Work Programme 2021-2022
10. European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
                   ”
 ---pagebreak---                                          Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                              European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
Table of contents
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 4
Destination: CONNECT - Interconnected Innovation Ecosystems ............... 6
Call - Interconnected Innovation Ecosystems (2021) ............................................................ 8
  Conditions for the Call ........................................................................................................... 8
  HORIZON-EIE-2021-CONNECT-01-01: Preparatory action for setting up joint
  programmes among innovation ecosystems actors ................................................................ 9
  HORIZON-EIE-2021-CONNECT-01-02: Building capabilities in innovation procurement
  .............................................................................................................................................. 11
Call - Interconnected Innovation Ecosystems (2022.1) ....................................................... 13
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 13
  HORIZON-EIE-2022-CONNECT-01-01: Towards more inclusive networks and initiatives
  in European innovation ecosystems ..................................................................................... 14
  HORIZON-EIE-2022-CONNECT-01-02: Integration of social innovation actors in
  innovation ecosystems.......................................................................................................... 18
Call - Interconnected Innovation Ecosystems (2022.2) ....................................................... 20
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 20
  HORIZON-EIE-2022-CONNECT-02-01: Implementing co-funded action plans for
  interconnection of innovation ecosystems ........................................................................... 21
  HORIZON-EIE-2022-CONNECT-02-02: Stimulating innovation procurement ................ 24
Destination: SCALEUP - Elevating the scalability potential of European
business ............................................................................................................... 28
Call - Elevating the scalability potential of European business (2021) ............................. 30
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 30
  HORIZON-EIE-2021-SCALEUP-01-01: Expanding Acceleration Ecosystems ................ 31
  HORIZON-EIE-2021-SCALEUP-01-02: Scaling up deep tech ecosystems ....................... 33
  HORIZON-EIE-2021-SCALEUP-01-03: Women TechEU ................................................ 35
Call - Elevating the scalability potential of European business (2022.1) .......................... 37
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 37
  HORIZON-EIE-2022-SCALEUP-01-01: Expanding Entrepreneurial Ecosystems ............ 38
Call - Elevating the scalability potential of European business (2022.2) .......................... 41
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 41
  HORIZON-EIE-2022-SCALEUP-02-01: Expanding Investments Ecosystems.................. 42
  HORIZON-EIE-2022-SCALEUP-02-02: Women TechEU ................................................ 44
                                                           Part 10 - Page 2 of 62
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                                    European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
Destination: INNOVSMES - Partnership on Innovative SMEs ................... 47
Call - Partnership on Innovative SMEs ............................................................................... 49
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 49
  HORIZON-EIE-2021-INNOVSMES-01-01: European Partnership on Innovative SMEs . 50
Other actions not subject to calls for proposals ............................................. 55
  1. Intellectual Property Helpdesk (IP Helpdesk) .................................................................. 55
  2. Use of individual experts on assisting with the monitoring of actions (2021) ................. 56
  3. Mapping and scoping of frugal and reverse innovation ................................................... 56
  4. Innovative practices in legislation around emerging tech ................................................ 56
  5. EIC FORUM support ....................................................................................................... 57
  6. Creating and nurturing angel investing in the EU ............................................................ 58
  7. Commission expert group on EIC FORUM ..................................................................... 59
  8. Use of individual experts on assisting with the monitoring of actions (2022) ................. 59
  9. Commission fee as EUREKA member (administrative costs) ......................................... 60
  10. Establishment of an indicator system and defining relevant data collection methods ... 60
Budget ................................................................................................................. 61
                                               Part 10 - Page 3 of 62
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                                    European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
Introduction
The European Union and the world face a series of profound and rapid changes including in
climate, in the digital transition and in geopolitics. The COVID-19 pandemic is causing
unique health, social and economic challenges with a pressing urgency for action. The crisis
has spurred researchers, entrepreneurs, industry, public authorities and institutions, civil
society organisations and people across the globe into close cooperation to identify and co-
develop innovative solutions and achieve post-pandemic stability. More than ever in recent
history, collaboration for innovative solutions is necessary for social and economic recovery,
environmental sustainability and resilience.
The European Innovation Ecosystems work programme aims to create more connected,
inclusive and efficient innovation ecosystems1 that support the scaling of companies and spur
innovation to address important challenges in a responsible way.
The work programme contains actions under three (3) destinations: CONNECT, SCALEUP
and INNOVSMES.
    The actions in the CONNECT destination focus on building interconnected, inclusive
     innovation ecosystems across Europe by drawing on the existing strengths of national,
     regional and local ecosystems and encouraging the involvement of all actors and
     territories to set, undertake, and achieve collective ambitions towards challenges for the
     benefit of society, including green, digital, and social transitions and the European
     Research Area.
    The actions in the SCALEUP destination focus on reinforcing network connectivity
     within and between innovation ecosystems for sustainable business growth with high
     societal value.
    The action in the INNOVSMES destination will support the European Partnership on
     Innovative SMEs, which will help innovative SMEs to increase their research and
     innovation (R&I) capacity and productivity and successfully embed in global value
     chains and new markets.
In addition, it contains a number of other actions supporting the policy and programme goals
of European Innovation Ecosystems.
This work programme can contribute to all key strategic orientations and impact areas of
Horizon Europe2 and to tackling the innovation gap. It will also work in complementarity with
the European Innovation Council (EIC), the European Institute of Innovation and Technology
(EIT), the “Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area” work
programme and innovative activities across Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe Programme,
1
        Definition as per Article 2(47) of the Horizon Europe Regulation.
2
        Horizon Europe Strategic plan 2021-2024
                                              Part 10 - Page 4 of 62
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                               European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
as well as other relevant funding and policy initiatives at EU, national, regional and local
level, such as the Enterprise Europe Network and the regional smart specialisation strategies.
At the policy level, the EIC Forum will work in a flexible manner to foster enabling
framework conditions and flows of information, knowledge, talent and best practices among
actors of innovation ecosystems and the EIC, to harness fully the potential of innovation. It
will aim at promoting a coherent and inclusive approach to EU innovation ecosystems’ policy
and instruments and, as such, will operate in complement to the actions in this work
programme.
The National Contact Point for the European Innovation Ecosystems work programme will be
supported under the European Innovation Council work programme.
Proposals are invited against the following three (3) destinations:
                                       Part 10 - Page 5 of 62
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                                    European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
Destination: CONNECT - Interconnected Innovation Ecosystems
The urgent challenges of today are inherently complex and systemic and will not be solved by
individual actors or territories in isolation. To foster enabling innovation ecosystems across
Europe requires a systemic approach that is inclusive and collaborative, involves diverse
actors, institutions and places, maximises the value of innovation to all and ensures equitable
diffusion of its benefits.
This destination offers a holistic package of actions that:
   foster the implementation of co-funded multi-annual programmes of activities among
      Member States, Associated Countries and EU regions;
   encourage the inclusion of more stakeholders from across the quadruple helix 3
      (academia, industry, public bodies, civil society and citizens) and a wider participation
      of territories in existing successful initiatives and networks towards the deployment of
      innovation;
   stimulate innovation procurement to help the market uptake of innovative solutions and
      the integration of social innovation that responds to the needs of people and society.
The destination is open for any thematic area and will focus on building interconnected,
inclusive innovation ecosystems across Europe by drawing on the existing strengths of
national, regional and local ecosystems and encouraging the involvement of all actors and
territories to set, undertake, and achieve collective ambitions towards challenges for the
benefit of society, including green, digital, and social transitions and the European Research
Area.
In particular, the actions under this destination should promote the creation of links:
   with all key innovation stakeholders, including the private sector, in particular between
      SMEs, start-ups and other innovators with investors, industry and public and/or private
      buyers for faster access to funds and markets and the public sector including authorities
      in charge of national, regional or local innovation policies and programmes and bodies
      responsible for smart specialisation; also between innovators with foundations, civil
      society organisations and citizens to ensure that the innovations match the needs values
      and expectations of society, thereby accelerating deployment and up-take towards
      tackling societal challenges and with universities and research and technology
      organisations (RTOs) as sources of innovation and talent;
3
         A model of cooperation between industry, academia, civil society and public authorities, with a strong
         emphasis on citizens and their needs.
                                              Part 10 - Page 6 of 62
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                                    European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
   among ‘innovation leaders’ and ‘strong innovators’ with ‘moderate’ and ‘modest
      innovators’4 across the EU and Associated Countries5 to tackle the innovation gap6;
   with networks such as National Contact Points, Enterprise Europe Network, social
      innovation networks7, clusters, pan-European platforms such as Startup Europe, regional
      or local innovation actors, public but also private, in particular incubators and innovation
      hubs that could moreover be interconnected to favour partnering among innovators.
The applicants should consider and actively seek synergies with, and where appropriate
possibilities for further funding from other relevant EU, national and/or regional innovation
programmes, including Cohesion policy funds, other public and private funds or financial
instruments.
Expected impact
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to
interconnected innovation ecosystems, and more specifically to the following impact:
   Interconnected, inclusive and more efficient innovation ecosystems across Europe that
      draws on the existing strengths of European, national, regional and local ecosystems and
      pulls in new, less well-represented stakeholders and less advanced in innovation
      territories, to set, undertake, and achieve collective ambitions towards challenges for the
      benefit of the society, including green, digital, and social transitions.
Proposals are invited against the following topics:
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                    Call                                  Budgets (EUR million)             Deadline(s)
                                                         2021              2022
HORIZON-EIE-2021-CONNECT-01 8.00                                                            26 Oct 2021
HORIZON-EIE-2022-CONNECT-01                                          7.00                   26 Apr 2022
HORIZON-EIE-2022-CONNECT-02                                          12.50                  27 Sep 2022
Overall indicative budget                       8.00                 19.50
4
         References: Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS), European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS), Global
         Innovation Index (GII).
5
         Associated countries are described in General Annex B.
6
         The work programme will act in complementarity with the “Widening participation and strengthening
         the European Research Area” work programme.
7
         Such as the Social Innovation Community (SIC) and the PITCCH Network, funded via an INNOSUP
         action.
                                              Part 10 - Page 7 of 62
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                                    European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
Call - Interconnected Innovation Ecosystems (2021)
                                                                   HORIZON-EIE-2021-CONNECT-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)8
                    Topics                            Type      Budgets       Expected EU         Number
                                                       of         (EUR       contribution per         of
                                                    Action      million)      project (EUR         projects
                                                                                 million)9        expected
                                                                   2021                             to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 06 Jul 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 26 Oct 2021
HORIZON-EIE-2021-CONNECT-01-01 CSA                             4.00         Around 0.50           8
HORIZON-EIE-2021-CONNECT-01-02 CSA                             4.00         Around 0.50           8
Overall indicative budget                                      8.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
8
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
9
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
                                             Part 10 - Page 8 of 62
 ---pagebreak---                              Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-EIE-2021-CONNECT-01-01: Preparatory action for setting up joint
programmes among innovation ecosystems actors
Specific conditions
Expected EU contribution        The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around
per project                     EUR 0.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
                                appropriately.
Indicative budget               The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action                  Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility conditions          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The
                                following exceptions apply:
                                The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                                Consortia must have at least three (3) independent legal
                                entities.
Legal and financial set-up      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
of the Grant Agreements         exceptions apply:
                                Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Open the dialogue, prepare the ground and facilitate the agreement among Member
      States, Associated Countries and EU regions, in cooperation with the private sector and
      research and innovation actors, towards more dynamic, inclusive, gender diverse, and
      connected innovation ecosystems, via co-creation, co-planning and co-investments
      around promising areas of joint and European interest;
   Prepare the implementation of joint long-term programme of activities (action plans)
      fostering collaboration and creation of common knowledge assets among EU, national,
      regional and/or local level innovation ecosystems’ stakeholders, enhancing synergies and
                                         Part 10 - Page 9 of 62
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                                   European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
      complementarities of their programmes and encouraging the alignment of their
      innovation agendas;
    Ensure the inclusiveness of all key innovation players from across the quadruple helix10,
      and all EU territories;
Foster any other funding leverages, including national or regional public funds, to
complement Horizon Europe support for innovation ecosystems.
Scope:
Target group(s): National, regional and/or local authorities together with private actors,
including public-owned enterprises, and research and innovation actors.
The topic will allow national, regional and/or local authorities from Member States,
Associated Countries and/or EU regions in charge of innovation policies and programmes, in
cooperation with private and research and innovation actors, to prepare joint multi-annual
programmes of activities (action plans) with the aim of strengthening their efficiency,
capacities and interconnection and jointly tackle challenges at EU, national, regional and local
level.
The topic will allow applicants to prepare and agree on a common programme of activities
(action plans); the applicants are encouraged to consider a project duration of up to two years
and in their proposals they should:
    identify areas and activities of cooperation, to improve the efficiency and performance of
      Europe’s innovation ecosystems, fostering their interconnection and scale-up while
      tackling EU, national, regional and/or local challenges; the proposals may focus on a
      thematic/technological area of common interest and innovation priorities with an EU
      added-value, and/or around one or more EU priorities; the proposals are encouraged to
      contribute to one or more EU priorities and challenges, including climate action, green
      deal and digital transformation, and should pay attention to gender equality objectives;
    plan their long-term commitment; the applicants are encouraged to consider planning
      commitments of at least five (5) years, towards engaging in the joint cooperation
      activities set up in the frame of the projects;
    explain the potential for growth and competitiveness foreseen in the targeted sector
      and/or expected impact in EU challenge(s) through the proposed cooperation;
    ensure inclusiveness and diversity with the involvement of all innovation actors
      applicants, enhance complementarities of EU, national and/or regional funds and
      programmes and encourage the alignment of their innovation agendas;
10
        A model of cooperation between industry, academia, civil society and public authorities, with a strong
        emphasis on citizens and their needs.
                                            Part 10 - Page 10 of 62
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                                   European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
    provide a justification on the need for those joint activities that should be scalable at
     European level and demonstrate their strong EU added value;
    explain how the proposed action plans complement and reinforce their national and/or
     regional and/or local innovation plans, policies and/or strategies in synergy, including
     with their smart specialisation strategies;
    explain the process that they plan to follow, with an open, clear, realistic and impact-
     oriented approach, including relevant guidance mechanisms and tools;
    present what common knowledge assets are expected from the proposed action plans,
     and the benefit of the intended beneficiaries of the plans;
    present the targeted milestones to be achieved.
The proposals for the development of a joint long-term action plan may include the following
two (2) phases:
    A first phase to foster close dialogue among key stakeholders for strategy/partnership
     building, mapping and analysis of existing national and/or regional and/or local
     innovation agendas/strategies/policies/plans/activities, the relevant active/inactive actors
     (including financial actors and citizens) and ways to motivate their inclusiveness,
     identification of areas of competitive advantage for sustainable economic growth
     mapping of gaps, needs and opportunities. Any activities are encouraged to consider
     existing tools, knowledge and expertise. Responsible Research and Innovation expertise
     may be relevant in this regard11;
    A second phase dedicated to the concretising, setting up and finalising the joint action
     plan(s) and allocation of the activities over a period of the proposed action plans.
The implementation of the proposed action plans is not part of this topic. For the
implementation part, the successful proposals under the topic may seek further financial
support from other programmes, including Horizon Europe programme and/or other public
and/or private programmes.
HORIZON-EIE-2021-CONNECT-01-02:                        Building     capabilities  in    innovation
procurement
Specific conditions
Expected EU contribution           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around
per project                        EUR 0.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
                                   appropriately.
Indicative budget                  The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
11
        E.g. projects supported under SwafS-14-2018-2019-2020 in Horizon 2020.
                                           Part 10 - Page 11 of 62
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                               European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
Type of Action                  Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility conditions          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The
                                following exceptions apply:
                                The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                                Consortia must have at least three (3) independent legal
                                entities.
Legal and financial set-up      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
of the Grant Agreements         exceptions apply:
                                Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Raise awareness, knowledge and practical use of legal procedures to implement the
      practices of innovation procurement;
   Leverage capacity building, skills and legal knowledge among public and private buyers;
   Explore and scale up the best examples of innovation procurement practices,
   Contribute to the establishment of innovation friendly legal frameworks, and market-
      oriented procedures;
   Ensure long-term and sustainable innovation procurement strategies;
   Foster public and private partners’ collaboration in the co-design processes to match
      their needs and identify existing technologies that could result in procurement of
      innovation.
Scope:
Target group(s): Public and private buyers, public-owned enterprises, SMEs and start-ups,
research and technological organisations.
Despite legal reforms and incentives in the area of public procurement of innovative
solutions, the lack of awareness, skills and knowledge within public and private buyers
remains the important problem obstructing implementation of innovation procurement in
practice. While there is an overriding necessity to change traditional procurement approaches,
the need for dedicated training and guidance, exchange of best practices and capacity building
in this area becomes necessary to reveal innovation procurement potential. The proper design
of strategies and procedures, in line with the existing legal frameworks, would define marked-
oriented proposals, facilitate the implementation of innovation procurement, and ensure its
long-term success. Moreover, it will leverage potential new markets and contribute to tackle
societal challenges in a more efficient and sustainable way.
                                        Part 10 - Page 12 of 62
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                                    European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
The proposals should focus on the following activities:
    accessible dedicated training portfolios, to improve skills and capacities to design
     innovative procurement;
    awareness-raising and enhanced knowledge on innovation procurement legal
     frameworks for public buyers and evaluators of innovative procurements;
    enhanced innovation knowledge and skills within buyers, raising awareness about co-
     design process between SMEs and buyers (public and private) that may help to discover
     the most up-to-date innovative technological solutions, and assist in their development
     and further acquisition;
    scale up best examples on the definition of needs and design of programmes, procedures
     and long-term strategies in the field of innovation procurement;
    set up new experts networks and/or local competence centres or advance existing ones,
     including the coaching services to set up innovation procurement, legal assistance, the
     support on the definition of resources and tools, and the exchange of best practices;
    public and private buyers’ cooperation and partnerships with the innovation deployment
     actors, particularly innovative SMEs and start-ups community, research institutions and
     technological organisations in order to tap into the under-exploited innovative potential
     of these type of companies.
Call - Interconnected Innovation Ecosystems (2022.1)
                                                                   HORIZON-EIE-2022-CONNECT-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)12
                    Topics                            Type      Budgets       Expected EU         Number
                                                       of         (EUR       contribution per         of
                                                    Action      million)      project (EUR         projects
                                                                                million)13        expected
                                                                   2022                             to be
                                                                                                   funded
12
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
13
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
                                             Part 10 - Page 13 of 62
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                               European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
                                      Opening: 11 Jan 2022
                                    Deadline(s): 26 Apr 2022
HORIZON-EIE-2022-CONNECT-01-01 CSA                       4.00         Around 0.50        8
HORIZON-EIE-2022-CONNECT-01-02 CSA                       3.00         Around 0.50        6
Overall indicative budget                                7.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                             The conditions are described in General
                                                     Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                     Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and               The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                            C.
Award criteria                                       The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                     D.
Documents                                            The documents are described in General
                                                     Annex E.
Procedure                                            The procedure is described in General
                                                     Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant              The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-EIE-2022-CONNECT-01-01: Towards more inclusive networks and
initiatives in European innovation ecosystems
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 0.50
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
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conditions             exceptions apply:
                       Consortia must have at least three (3) independent legal entities, of
                       which at least one (1) is established in 'modest' or 'moderate' innovator
                       region and at least one (1) in 'strong' or 'innovation leader' innovator
                       region. The Regional Innovation Scoreboard is taken as a reference, and
                       in the case of entities representing national authorities, the European
                       Innovation Scoreboard. The applicants must use as a reference the latest
                       version of the documents mentioned above at the time of the call
                       closure. Associated Countries which are not included in the European
                       Innovation Scoreboard and are ranked below 25 on the Global
                       Innovation Index 2020 are considered as ‘moderate’ or ‘modest
                       innovators’. In cases of Associated Countries not included in any of the
                       previously mentioned references, the participation rank of the country
                       in the Horizon Europe programme (H2020 country profile) will be
                       taken as a reference and countries ranked below the average will be
                       considered as ‘moderate’ or ‘modest innovators’.
                       Legal entities established in Widening countries may join already
                       selected actions, subject to the agreement of the respective consortium
                       and provided that legal entities from such countries are not yet
                       participating in it.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements             Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.
Expected Outcome:
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Increased inclusiveness by enlarging the participation of more diverse innovation actors
     and broaden the participation among EU and Associated Countries territories, in already
     existing successful initiatives and networks that interconnect European innovation
     ecosystems and promote the deployment and scale-up of innovative solutions;
    Reduce the innovation divide in Europe and reinforce the innovation aspect of the
     European Research Area14 in the areas of inclusiveness and connectivity, improving the
     innovation capacities of Member States and Associated Countries and enabling them to
     engage in joint efforts for sustainable growth and economic development15.
Scope:
14
        European Research Area (ERA).
15
        In complementarity with the “Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area”
        work programme.
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                                    European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
Target group(s): Public national, regional and/or local authorities, private organisations,
public-owned enterprises, professional associations, clusters, accelerators, innovation hubs,
incubators, technology parks, and/or any other representatives that lead initiatives/networks
that support the deployment of innovation.
The topic aims to increase Europe’s innovation efficiency and capacity via expanding the
cooperation and enlarging the participation of more diverse innovation stakeholders and
territories in existing successful initiatives and networks that support innovation deployment
in Member States, Associated Countries, at national, regional and/or local level.
In Europe, there are various excellent and well-established initiatives and/or networks that
support innovation deployment and foster value co-creation via interconnected flows of
information, knowledge and talent. However, some innovation-related stakeholders and EU
and Associated Countries’ territories are not aware of them, the nature of their activities, ways
to get involved, and support they offer. Despite serious efforts deployed at national, regional
and European level 16 , the EU sees too many innovation actors to still miss from the
innovation ecosystems (including investors, foundations, public and private buyers, social
innovators, civil society organisations non-governmental organisations, as well as women-
innovators), and significant internal disparities exist in terms of innovation performance at
territorial level. The widening countries17 are among those that are lagging behind; most of
them being moderate and modest innovators18.
To tap into Europe’s yet unexploited innovation potential, greater involvement of all
innovation actors and EU and Associated Countries’ territories who are moderate and modest
innovators can be instrumental and networking and connection with partners across Europe is
imperative. In addition, inclusive ecosystems should also be more gender-responsive,
fostering the participation of women innovators, as well as taking into consideration overall
gender equality and diversity objectives in the innovation initiatives developed19.
The proposals should:
    present the existing initiatives and/or networks, their role and activities towards uniting,
      and representing a bigger ecosystem of stakeholders with a joint clearly defined purpose
      to support key stakeholders, including SMEs and start-ups towards innovation
16
         Two examples at EU level are the H2020 INNOSUP calls and projects on “Peer learning of innovation
         agencies” and “Supporting experimentation in Innovation agencies” which have been running since
         2014 and 2019 respectively. The main objectives are the exchange, experimentation and uptake of
         excellent and experimental SME innovation support services by innovation agencies and similar
         intermediary organisations.
17
         Widening countries under Horizon Europe are:
         Member States: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta,
         Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Greece, Portugal.
         Associated Countries: please refer to General Annex B for information on Associated Countries.
18
         References: Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS), European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS), Global
         Innovation Index (GII).
19
         A positive correlation has been observed in Member Sates between their European Innovation
         Scoreboard and their Gender Equality Index, and an increased share of research performing institutions
         with adopted gender equality plans is also positively correlated with a country’s innovation potential -
         GENDERACTION project Deliverable D3.2 (Monitoring of ERA Priority 4 implementation).
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                             European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
  deployment; potential initiatives and/or networks that will be supported may include,
  inter alia, clusters, accelerators, innovation hubs and platforms;
 demonstrate that they successfully operate in Europe and explain the reasons for which
  they are considered to be successful in supporting innovation deployment;
 describe the process applicants plan to follow in order to implement a solid “opening-
  up” strategy of the initiatives and/or networks they represent, with the aim:
    a. to increase the participation of more diverse innovation stakeholders currently
        missing or underrepresented within and among territories;
    b. to enlarge and broaden the participation and enhance the commitment for
        involvement of more EU and Associated Countries; applicants are thus encouraged
        to facilitate collaborative links with moderate and modest innovators from these
        countries;
 explain how expansion to new territories and/or inclusion of new stakeholders would
  bring added value both at initiative/network level and at EU level;
 describe the proposed activities to achieve the topic outcomes, including:
    a. ways to better identify the specific needs of key innovation stakeholders, including
        start-ups and SMEs, as well as the participating countries and/or regions in order to
        allow the customization of the provided services by the network/initiatives; this
        may include surveys, studies and data/intelligence/market analysis where
        necessary;
    b. design and development of joint strategies and/or new supporting services, tools
        and resources to facilitate and expand the support provided to innovation
        stakeholders (including high-quality start-ups and SMEs), training and soft skills
        development, networking and coordination structures and tools to facilitate
        innovation development, as well as tools for the access to and sharing of best
        practices, resources, knowledge, talents, markets, expertise, and services, common
        knowledge assets, mutual learning and exchanges of best practices, the design of
        pilot schemes with the view of filling possible gaps in relation to the provided
        services, and promoting gender balanced participation;
    c. joint awareness raising and communication campaigns to reach out to more
        stakeholders in different territories;
 present the variety of involved stakeholders (e.g. universities, investors, public and
  private buyers, foundations, social innovators and women-led businesses, civil society
  organisations) and the new ones that they bring in, in comparison to their current and
  other initiatives with a proper justification on the need for their involvement;
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   explain the diversion of involved Member States and Associated Countries with the
      participation of legal entities from countries and/or regions that are moderate and modest
      innovators; provide information on how this could help those lagging behind in terms of
      innovation performance to attain a competitive position in the European and global value
      chains;
   demonstrate the complementarity and encourage the alignment of the proposed
      initiatives/networks with other national and/or regional and/or local policies and
      strategies, including the smart specialisation strategies.
HORIZON-EIE-2022-CONNECT-01-02: Integration of social innovation actors in
innovation ecosystems
Specific conditions
Expected EU contribution         The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around
per project                      EUR 0.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
                                 appropriately.
Indicative budget                The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action                   Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility conditions           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The
                                 following exceptions apply:
                                 The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                                 Consortia must have at least three (3) independent legal
                                 entities.
Legal and financial set-up       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
of the Grant Agreements          exceptions apply:
                                 Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Active participation of social innovation actors in innovation ecosystems, by ensuring
      their interlinking and connection with all other actors, including the SMEs and start-ups,
      accelerators and business incubators, industry, investors, philanthropy societies and the
      public sector, with the aim to ensure access to their entrepreneurial knowledge and skills
      required to run successful projects;
   Wider access to alternative means of financing social innovations achieved by promoting
      its impact and mobilising a broad range of partners;
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                                   European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
    Tested innovation models with potential of scaling up and replicability, and that are
     available for widespread use, possibly through the policy actions.
Scope:
Target group(s): Social innovation actors/social entrepreneurs 20 , SMEs, start-ups,
accelerators and business incubators, investors, industry, foundations and philanthropy
societies, universities and RTOs public-owned enterprises.
The action aims to raise awareness and ease the access of social entrepreneurs to the resources
of pan-European, national, regional and local innovation ecosystems. In addition, the action
aims to have a lasting spill-over effect by bringing attention to the benefits of social
innovation projects to the society as a whole, and to strategic priorities and objectives of the
Commission in particular.
The proposals should focus on the following activities:
    the transfer of knowledge and building capacities among the innovation actors (including
     universities, accelerators and incubators, networks of start-ups), so that they would be
     better equipped to work with the social entrepreneurs; examples may include: activities
     aiming at creating and improving connections of social entrepreneurs to stakeholders in
     innovation ecosystems (e.g. gathering, production and diffusion of relevant information
     materials), study visits and exchange of good practices, training activities, webinars,
     seminars, conferences, etc., developing business support services for social
     entrepreneurs (e.g. toolkits, templates, manuals and other support material), awareness
     raising activities among the network’s members and towards the wider audience,
     engagement of social entrepreneurs in business and entrepreneurial skills and knowledge
     enforcement trainings;
    creation and/or connection of social innovation hubs/centres of excellence; integration of
     social innovation dimension to existing tech-oriented hubs;
    detection of possible innovation models with potential of scaling and replicability at
     national, regional, and local level. Although one size does not fit all, the examples of
     social innovator’s scaling path may help public authorities to design and implement new
     evidence-based policies; help in detecting the local partners (e.g. other organisation
     and/or individuals – micro franchisees) to deploy the model;
    creation or utilization of the already existing open platform that use digital technologies
     to connect a global network of social entrepreneurs to promote the best practices,
     alternative financing opportunities and improve their skills.
20
        Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in
        which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This
        concept may be applied to a wide range of organisations, which vary in size, aims, and beliefs. Social
        entrepreneurs are either non-profits, or they blend for-profit goals with generating a positive "return to
        society".
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                                    European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
Call - Interconnected Innovation Ecosystems (2022.2)
                                                                   HORIZON-EIE-2022-CONNECT-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)21
                    Topics                            Type of       Budgets     Expected EU       Number
                                                       Action        (EUR       contribution          of
                                                                    million)     per project       projects
                                                                                    (EUR          expected
                                                                      2022
                                                                                  million)22        to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 14 Jun 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 27 Sep 2022
HORIZON-EIE-2022-CONNECT-02-01 COFUND 8.00                                     Around 2.00        4
HORIZON-EIE-2022-CONNECT-02-02 COFUND 4.50                                     Around 1.50        3
Overall indicative budget                                          12.50
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
                                                           Annex E.
21
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
22
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Procedure                                            The procedure is described in General
                                                     Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant              The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-EIE-2022-CONNECT-02-01: Implementing co-funded action plans for
interconnection of innovation ecosystems
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per         2.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action           Programme Co-fund Action
Eligibility conditions   The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                         exceptions apply:
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                         Consortia must have at least three (3) independent legal entities.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               The funding rate is 50% of the eligible costs as the beneficiaries will
                         carry out the proposed activities mainly themselves and the activities
                         will not include financial support to third parties.
                         Grants award under this topic will have to submit the following
                         deliverable(s):
                         Annual work plans subject to approval by the Commission. For the
                         first year the annual work plan needs to be submitted together with
                         the respective proposal.
Expected Outcome:
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
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    Open 23 , efficient inclusive and interconnected innovation ecosystems across Europe,
     building on their diversities and complementarities, enhancing the joint definition of
     visions and strategies with input from across the quadruple helix 24 , encouraging the
     alignment of their innovation agendas, and strengthening of their efficiency and potential
     to innovate;
    Enhanced synergies, complementarities and collaboration among all European
     innovation ecosystems’ stakeholders around promising areas and challenges of joint and
     European interest, creation of common knowledge assets;
    Increased innovation capacities in Member States and Associated Countries, allowing
     innovators to bring their ideas into the market and enable innovations to be scaled up at
     EU level, and facilitating the link with the private sector and research and innovator
     actors;
    Better links between innovation leaders and strong innovators with moderate and modest
     innovators across the EU and Associated Countries;
    More innovation co-investments, fostering other funding leverages, including national or
     regional public funds and/or other private funds, to complement Horizon Europe
     support.
Scope:
Target group(s): National and/or regional innovation authorities together with private actors,
all relevant key stakeholders of innovation ecosystems from across the quadruple helix,
including innovative SMEs, start-ups, social innovators, public-owned enterprises, academia,
RTOs, technology transfer centres, investors, foundations, clusters, associations and the civil
society, the Enterprise Europe Network.
The aim of this topic is to foster the creation of efficient, open, inclusive and interconnected
European innovation ecosystems.
The topic will support strategic-oriented long-term programmes of activities (action plans) to
enable authorities in charge of public national, regional or local innovation policies and
programmes, with the participation of the private sector and research and innovation actors, to
implement joint activities towards innovation deployment, while tackling challenges at EU,
national, regional and local level.
The applicants are encouraged to consider a project duration of at least five (5) years and
proposals should:
23
        The notion of “openness” can be defined as “the pooling of knowledge for innovative purposes where
        the contributors have access to the inputs of others and cannot exert exclusive rights over the resultant
        innovation” (Chesbrough, H., & Appleyard, M. 2007. Open Innovation and Strategy. California
        Management Review, 50(1): 57–76).
24
        A model of cooperation between industry, academia, civil society and public authorities, with a strong
        emphasis on citizens and their needs.
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    present the applicants’ joint strategic visions and their proposed innovation programme
     of activities (action plans); during the proposal submission the participants should have
     already reached an agreement on what they want to achieve, in order to be able to
     present concrete action plans; the plans can be further detailed at annual level during the
     implementation of the action;
    describe the activities necessary, the process that will be followed and the assets that will
     be mobilised; activities should be open, clear, realistic, impact-oriented and ensure:
       a. participation of private actors, either for the joint implementation of proposed
           activities, and/or their possible co-funding; for example, via links and cooperation
           with innovative SMEs, start-ups, industry, private entities supporting innovation
           and innovators, including clusters, associations, as well as investors and
           foundations;
       b. inclusiveness and diversity by expanding to territories that are less advanced in
           innovation deployment (modest and moderate innovators 25 ) and with the
           involvement of all innovation actors, especially those that are currently less active
           or missing in the innovation ecosystems (e.g. investors, foundations, public and
           private buyers, social innovators, civil society organisations including non-
           governmental organisations, as well as women-led start-ups and SMEs);
       c. complementarity and synergies with other funds (EU, public and/or private) and
           innovation-related strategies/policies/programmes/plans at national and/or regional
           level, including their smart specialisation strategies, as well as other relevant
           programmes (e.g. EIT/KICs, EEN); applicants should outline the scope for
           synergies and/or additional funding, in particular where this makes the projects
           more ambitious or increases their impact and expected results.
    explain the need and the reasons for selecting the proposed programme of activities that
     should be scalable at European level and demonstrate their strong EU added value; the
     proposed plan:
       a. should include core activities, for example: networking and coordination structures
           and tools to facilitate innovation development and access to and sharing of best
           practices, resources, talents, markets, expertise, services and knowledge, including
           open and collaborative knowledge bases and common knowledge assets (methods,
           data, processes); market analysis and development and activities towards better
           access to new markets and finance for innovative SMEs and start-ups; training and
           skills development; interconnection of open innovation infrastructures; supportive
           activities towards scale up, exploitation and dissemination of innovative solutions;
           joint public procurement initiatives; social innovators’ and civil society integration,
25
        References: Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS), European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS), Global
        Innovation Index (GII).
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                                   European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
            as interlocutors for society and important inputs to the development of innovations
            and promotion of gender diversity;
       b. may include additional joint activities non-eligible for co-funding with Horizon
            Europe budget but in line with the expected outcomes of the topic; the budget of
            these activities however will not be considered for the final Commission
            contribution.
    explain the reasons for selecting the proposed strategic areas of cooperation, and how
     this cooperation will improve the efficiency and performance of Europe’s innovation
     ecosystems, fostering their interconnection and scale-up; the action plans may focus on a
     thematic/technological area and innovation priorities of common interest, and/or may be
     shaped around one or more EU challenges 26 and/or priorities; the proposals are
     encouraged to contribute to one or more EU priorities and challenges, including climate,
     digital and social transitions, and should pay attention to gender equality objectives; the
     potential for growth and competitiveness foreseen in the targeted sector and/or expected
     impact in EU challenge(s) through the proposed cooperation should be clarified in the
     proposal;
    present how the consortium plans to implement these joint activities; the topic will not
     co-fund financial support to third parties, however the applicants may consider including
     such activities in their action plan (as additional joint activities non-eligible for co-
     funding), to be funded by other sources (national and/or regional and/or local or private);
    include clear targets in terms of outcomes for the measures/activities underpinned by
     verifiable indicators (applicants may wish to refer to the Sustainable Development
     Goals, the EU taxonomy on sustainable finance, or other relevant policy frameworks);
    ensure their long-term commitment towards engaging in the joint cooperation activities
     set up in the frame of their projects.
HORIZON-EIE-2022-CONNECT-02-02: Stimulating innovation procurement
Specific conditions
Expected EU                 The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per            1.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                     appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                            selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.50 million.
Type of Action              Programme Co-fund Action
26
        It may develop the connections established among the Innosup05 Initiative from Horizon 2020 Peer
        learning of Innovation agencies.
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                                European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
Eligibility conditions   The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                         exceptions apply:
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                         Consortia must have at least three (3) independent legal entities.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               The funding rate is 50% of the eligible costs as the beneficiaries will
                         carry out the proposed activities mainly themselves and the activities
                         will not include financial support to third parties.
                         Grants award under this topic will have to submit the following
                         deliverable(s):
                         Annual work plans subject to approval by the Commission. For the
                         first year the annual work plan needs to be submitted together with
                         the respective proposal.
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Establishing long-term national and regional innovation procurement policy frameworks
     and integration of innovation procurement in sectoral policies;
   Establishing action plans, including spending targets and monitoring systems to be
     implemented by different levels of public authorities; defined set of incentives
     mechanisms to stimulate innovation procurement;
   Adoption and scale-up of joint procurement initiatives managed by national, regional,
     local authorities enabling innovations to be commercialised in the public (and also
     private) sector (and therefore providing market opportunities to European innovators and
     encouraging cross-European procurement);
   Further engagement of public buyer’s community with SMEs, start-ups, incubators and
     accelerators, research institutions in driving innovation demand and detecting the
     innovative solutions;
   Improved SMEs’ skills and capacity to identify buyers’ needs, to facilitate access to the
     public buyers;
   Improved buyers’ skills and capacity to match their needs and challenges to possible
     technological solutions at the market and design innovative procurements;
   Effective adoption of co-creation models to stimulate SMEs’ response to buyer’s needs
     and challenges;
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   Reduced gap between pilots, up-take and scale-up of projects.
Scope:
Target group(s): Public national, regional and/or local authorities, public-owned enterprises,
SMEs and start-ups, incubators, accelerators, research institutions and technological
organisations.
The aim of this topic is to boost the innovation procurement in Europe by engaging public and
private buyers in the purchase of innovative solutions.
Public purchasers are important actors for the innovation ecosystem, however, the potential of
procuring innovative solutions is severely underexploited and untapped. With their 14% of
GDP purchasing power are not only potential launching customers of innovative solutions,
they can also drive innovation by asking the market to develop new ones (market research and
engagement) and by co-financing the innovation process (pre-commercial procurement,
procurement of Research and Development services, Competitive Dialogue, Innovation
Partnership, etc.). There are a number of obstacles, which prevent public buyers from buying
innovative solutions: insufficient administrative capacity, lack of awareness, legal challenges
in the transposition into Member State legislation, and risk-adverse approach to procurement,
important differences among Member States but also among various level of buyers, e.g.
local, regional, national and depending on the sector (health, infrastructure, education,
municipality services, etc.). Similarly, the reach and benefits of innovation procurement
procedures, in terms of results and outputs, are very often limited to the direct beneficiary,
rather than spill-over more widely, even in the regional and/or national context.
The applicants are encouraged to consider a project duration of at least five (5) years and the
proposals should focus on strategic oriented joint innovation programmes (multi-annual
action plans), that will include activities aimed to enable national and/or regional and/or local
authorities and/or municipalities, in association with the public and private buyers, to:
   develop long-term innovation procurement policy frameworks and integration of
      innovation procurement in sectoral policies;
   develop action plans, including spending targets and monitoring system to be
      implemented by different levels of public authorities; develop a set of incentives
      mechanisms to stimulate innovation procurement;
   develop and improve data collection and monitoring of results to demonstrate the
      positive long-term impact for society in adopting the innovative solutions;
   design a strategy and supporting tools for the further exploitation of the results and
      outputs of innovation procurement procedures by other EU actors;
   support matchmaking, brokering and expertise gathering entities (including specialised
      buyers, facilitators/brokers, competence centres) at national but also at regional/city or
      sector level encouraging dialogue and co-design;
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                            European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
 create and establish capacity in Member States and Associated Countries, support the
  competence building and preparation of innovation procurement (including legal advice,
  tender preparation, training);
 contribute to the development of innovative solutions/products (development of product
  benchmarks, setting up of piloting spaces);
 facilitate exchange of best practices on the legal set up, design and implementation of
  innovative public procurement.
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                                European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
Destination: SCALEUP - Elevating the scalability potential of European
business
In today’s competitive landscape, innovative companies thrive through the support of an
ecosystem that provides additional capabilities, data, customers and knowledge. Network
connectivity within and between innovation ecosystems greatly contributes to sustainable
business growth with high societal value. An ecosystem focused on the meeting concrete
needs of companies helps them to stimulate their expansion at European and global level and
lead to accelerated growth.
This destination aims at strengthening and expanding cooperation between innovation players
to better support the next generation of innovative companies whose solutions will lead the
shift towards a more competitive EU and a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient world.
The actions of this destination will help innovation ecosystems to support companies to better
sustain their growth and gain new competitive advantage. Besides stronger innovation
performance, increased competitive sustainability and more rapid transitions to a green and
digital society, ecosystem integration can provide companies with access to new markets and
customers and contribute to disruptive strategies. By being actively engaged in their local,
national and European networks, companies can increase their overall growth potential.
Expected impact
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to
elevating the scalability potential of business, and more specifically to one or several of the
following impacts:
   Enhanced network connectivity within innovation ecosystems by reinforcing their
      capacity to support existing and emerging innovators and companies;
   Strengthened and expanded cooperation between innovation ecosystems worldwide;
   More inclusive and gender equal innovation ecosystems.
Proposals are invited against the following topics:
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                  Call                             Budgets (EUR million)           Deadline(s)
                                                  2021               2022
HORIZON-EIE-2021-SCALEUP-01 13.75                                                 10 Nov 2021
HORIZON-EIE-2022-SCALEUP-01                                     5.00              10 May 2022
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HORIZON-EIE-2022-SCALEUP-02                                  15.00  04 Oct 2022
Overall indicative budget              13.75                 20.00
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Call - Elevating the scalability potential of European business (2021)
                                                                    HORIZON-EIE-2021-SCALEUP-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)27
                    Topics                          Type        Budgets       Expected EU         Number
                                                       of        (EUR        contribution per         of
                                                   Action       million)      project (EUR         projects
                                                                                million)28        expected
                                                                  2021                              to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 13 Jul 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 10 Nov 2021
HORIZON-EIE-2021-SCALEUP-01-01 CSA                            5.00         Around 1.00            5
HORIZON-EIE-2021-SCALEUP-01-02 RIA                            5.00         Around 5.00            1
HORIZON-EIE-2021-SCALEUP-01-03 CSA                            3.75         Around 0.075           50
Overall indicative budget                                     13.75
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
27
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
28
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Documents                                            The documents are described in General
                                                     Annex E.
Procedure                                            The procedure is described in General
                                                     Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant              The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-EIE-2021-SCALEUP-01-01: Expanding Acceleration Ecosystems
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      Legal entities established in Widening countries may join already
                      selected actions, subject to the agreement of the respective consortium
                      and provided that legal entities from such countries are not yet
                      participating in it.
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                      Consortia must have at least three (3) independent legal entities, of
                      which at least one (1) is established in 'modest' or 'moderate' innovator
                      region and at least one (1) in 'strong' or 'innovation leader' innovator
                      region. The Regional Innovation Scoreboard is taken as a reference, and
                      in the case of entities representing national authorities, the European
                      Innovation Scoreboard. The applicants must use as a reference the latest
                      version of the documents mentioned above at the time of the call
                      closure. Associated Countries which are not included in the European
                      Innovation Scoreboard and are ranked below 25 on the Global
                      Innovation Index 2020 are considered as ‘moderate’ or ‘modest
                      innovators’. In cases of Associated Countries not included in any of the
                      previously mentioned references, the participation rank of the country
                      in the Horizon Europe programme (H2020 country profile) will be
                      taken as a reference and countries ranked below the average will be
                      considered as ‘moderate’ or ‘modest innovators’.
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                                 European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
                        The consortium must consist of business acceleration service providers.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements              Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Enhanced openness, competitiveness, and global potential of developing innovation
      ecosystems and creation of local jobs with high-value added;
    Balanced business activity across Europe;
    Improved quality and outreach of business acceleration services in developing
      innovation ecosystems.
Scope:
Target group(s): Business-acceleration providers such as incubators, accelerators, company-
builders, innovation agencies, business clubs and networks, regional public authorities and
educational institutions.
Incubators, accelerators and different types of ‘company-builders’ play a crucial role in
providing start-ups with growth support. Due to the diverse innovation landscape in Europe,
start-ups from better-connected innovation ecosystems benefit from more local accelerators
with greater funding opportunities and more qualified business support services compared to
their counterparts elsewhere 29 . This geographical gap often requires start-ups from less
connected ecosystems to move to more established hubs elsewhere in Europe 30 .
Consequently, there are fewer scale-ups in less connected innovation ecosystems, creating
unbalanced business activity and employment opportunities. The Expanding Acceleration
Ecosystems should reverse this flow by making ‘modest’ and ‘moderate’ innovation
ecosystems more attractive to international companies interested in setting up their businesses
outside the established centres and tapping into the potential of local ecosystems.
The action supports co-designed programmes of activities, of at least two (2) calendar years,
proposed jointly by business acceleration entities located in less connected innovation
ecosystems (‘modest’ and ‘moderate’) and innovation hubs (‘strong innovators’ and
29
        Although there is no credible benchmarking study on Europe's accelerators, most worldwide or
        European rankings do not include accelerators from Europe’s less connected ecosystems, e.g.
        DispatchedEurope and Crunchbase.
30
        Startup Heatmap Europe, 2019,
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                                   European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
innovation leaders’)31, to improve the quality of business acceleration services, their network
outreach and scale-up support, such as:
    share business acceleration related best practices, knowledge, tools and methods;
    exchange of promising start-ups and SMEs, including women-led businesses, involving
      participation in acceleration programmes abroad and introduction to foreign financing
      institutions;
    exchange of accelerator programme experts, including evaluators, thematic experts,
      mentors and investors;
    establishing links between local actors in developing ecosystems, particularly research,
      education institutions and local authorities and incoming start-ups, international
      accelerators and experts to enhance transfer of technology and knowledge to supply
      them with innovative solution;
    establishing a virtual platform with an overview of accelerator programmes, financial
      resources, mentors, events in partner ecosystems.
To ensure that the impact of the action goes beyond consortium members and their respective
countries, it is encouraged that the consortium works closely with innovation agencies from
their respective territories and beyond, and seeks for synergies with relevant EU initiatives
such as the European Europe Network.
HORIZON-EIE-2021-SCALEUP-01-02: Scaling up deep tech ecosystems
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          At least one Pan-European Research Infrastructure32 to be part of the
                          consortia.
31
        References: Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS), European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS), Global
        Innovation Index (GII).
32
        As described by the HLEG to assess the progress of ESFRI and other world class research
        infrastructures towards implementation and long-term sustainability in their report Supporting the
        transformative impact of research infrastructures on European research (2020) Annex 3.
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                                   European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve Technology Readiness Level (TRL)
Readiness Level          2-6 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Procedure                The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                         exceptions apply:
                         The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Legal and                The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of      apply:
the Grant                Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. At least
Agreements               60% of budget must be distributed in the form of grants to third parties.
                         The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 75 000.
                         This amount is justified as providing grants to third parties is the
                         primary activity of the action and this amount is necessary to fund
                         projects of sufficient scale.
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Enhanced development of deep tech 33 ecosystems around pan-European research and
     technology infrastructures to generate, scale and deploy breakthrough technologies with
     market and social value;
    Increased involvement of industry, including SMEs, with research and technology
     infrastructures to raise the technology level and competitiveness of companies and
     generate market opportunities, including through the generation of start-up or spin-off
     companies;
    Improved valorisation of the socio-economic impact of past investments in pan-
     European research and technology infrastructures from the European Structural and
     Investment Funds.
Scope:
Target group(s): Pan-European research and technology infrastructures, industry including
small and medium enterprises, clusters, universities, RTOs, business schools, national /
regional innovation funding agencies.
Pan-European research and technology infrastructures, as providers of advanced services and
procurers of cutting-edge technologies, have an innovation potential related to the
development of components, instruments, services and knowledge that could be better
exploited to push the edge of existing technologies and lead to their deployment for socially
33
        Deep tech is technology that is based on cutting-edge scientific advances and discoveries and is
        characterised by the need to stay at the technological forefront by constant interaction with new ideas
        and results from the lab. Deep tech is distinct from ‘high tech’ which tends to refer only to Research &
        Development intensity.
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                                European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
useful or market-oriented purposes. The aim of the action is to explore how to fully utilise and
build on the experience and knowledge of existing or previous relevant initiatives 34at pan-
European and, where appropriate national or sub-national level, that have exploited the
ecosystem-building potential of interactions with industry during the construction, operation
and upgrading of research infrastructures. The proposal should pilot the possibility to seed the
development of innovation ecosystems around diverse technological areas related to pan-
European research and technology infrastructures by providing grants to pilot projects in three
to five different technological areas.
The proposals should:
    identify deep tech opportunities related to pan-European research infrastructures with
      breakthrough potential;
    assess the feasibility and scalability of the identified opportunities;
    suggest a selection and clustering of those opportunities and nascent ecosystems that
      demonstrate sufficient maturity to provide a clear potential for industrial
      implementation;
    identify those opportunities with strongest potential towards industrial application with
      societal or market value;
    run and evaluate calls to provide grant funding to pilot projects in the identified
      technological areas;
    assess the outcome of the pilot grants.
HORIZON-EIE-2021-SCALEUP-01-03: Women TechEU
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per        0.075 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.75 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Admissibility           The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        Applicants are not required to include in their proposal a plan for the
                        exploitation and dissemination of results.
                        The page limit of the application is 10 pages. Applicants must submit a
34
        For example Horizon 2020 Grant agreement ID: 777222
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                                 European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
                         short online application that includes a description of the business plan,
                         along with a clearly defined growth strategy respectful of inclusion and
                         gender-balance, and a description of the activities planned for the
                         following five years. The proposal must also include a brief video
                         pitch.
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         Participation is limited to early-stage deep tech start-ups founded, or
                         co-founded by women, holding a top management position (CEO, CTO
                         or equivalent) in the company at the time of submission. The applying
                         legal entity must be registered and established in an EU Member State
                         or a Horizon Europe Associated Country for at least six months at the
                         time of the submission. All deep tech domains are eligible.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant      apply:
Agreements               Funding for grants awarded under this topic will take the form of a
                         fixed lump sum of EUR 75 000.
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
    Support deep tech innovation as a basis for a modern, knowledge-driven, resource-
     efficient and competitive economy;
    Promote female leadership in the deep tech industry to build fairer, more inclusive, and
     more prosperous innovation ecosystems in Europe.
Scope:
Women TechEU supports 35 early-stage deep tech European start-ups. The initiative
complements the activities funded under the European Innovation Council (EIC), paving the
way for the participation of their start-ups in future EIC calls.
Women TechEU targets highly innovative start-ups founded, or co-founded by women,
holding a top management position (CEO, CTO or equivalent) in the company at the time of
submission. The company must be registered and established in an EU Member State or a
Horizon Europe Associated Country for at least six months at the time of the submission.
All deep tech36 domains are eligible, with the emphasis being on overall gender balance and
the position held by women in the start-up.
35
        The topic will be supported with a budget transfer of EUR 2 million from the European Innovation
        Council Work Programme 2021 (EIC WP 2021).
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                                     European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
Support provided to Women TechEU beneficiaries under this initiative is made up of the
following components:
    financial support to the company as an individual grant of EUR 75 000 supporting
      activities such as upgrading the business model, updating the business plan and growth
      strategy, finding partners and investors, market validation, etc.;
    mentoring and coaching provided by the EIC Business Acceleration Services (BAS),
      under the new ‘Women Leadership Programme’, which includes dedicated networking
      and pitching events;
    the possibility to participate in dedicated activities organised by InvestEU and the
      Enterprise Europe Network (EEN).
At the end of the funded project, and after completing the Women Leadership Programme,
beneficiaries will submit an evaluation report. Women TechEU beneficiaries will become part
of a community of peers, and given opportunities to expand their network and showcase their
business at pitching and networking events, to give visibility to their work and attract further
funding.
Call - Elevating the scalability potential of European business (2022.1)
                                                                     HORIZON-EIE-2022-SCALEUP-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)37
                     Topics                           Type       Budgets          Expected EU           Number
                                                        of        (EUR          contribution per            of
                                                    Action       million)        project (EUR           projects
                                                                                   million)38           expected
                                                                   2022                                   to be
                                                                                                         funded
                                            Opening: 25 Jan 2022
36
         Deep tech is technology that is based on cutting-edge scientific advances and discoveries and is
         characterised by the need to stay at the technological forefront by constant interaction with new ideas
         and results from the lab. Deep tech is distinct from ‘high tech’ which tends to refer only to Research &
         Development intensity.
37
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
38
         Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
         amounts.
                                              Part 10 - Page 37 of 62
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                               European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
                                   Deadline(s): 10 May 2022
HORIZON-EIE-2022-SCALEUP-01-01 CSA                      5.00         Around 1.00         5
Overall indicative budget                               5.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                             The conditions are described in General
                                                     Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                     Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and               The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                            C.
Award criteria                                       The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                     D.
Documents                                            The documents are described in General
                                                     Annex E.
Procedure                                            The procedure is described in General
                                                     Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant              The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-EIE-2022-SCALEUP-01-01: Expanding Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       Consortia must have at least three (3) independent legal entities, of
                       which at least one (1) is established in 'modest' or 'moderate' innovator
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                                 European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
                        region and at least one (1) in 'strong' or 'innovation leader' innovator
                        region. The Regional Innovation Scoreboard is taken as a reference, and
                        in the case of entities representing national authorities, the European
                        Innovation Scoreboard. The applicants must use as a reference the latest
                        version of the documents mentioned above at the time of the call
                        closure. Associated Countries which are not included in the European
                        Innovation Scoreboard and are ranked below 25 on the Global
                        Innovation Index 2020 are considered as ‘moderate’ or ‘modest
                        innovators’. In cases of Associated Countries not included in any of the
                        previously mentioned references, the participation rank of the country
                        in the Horizon Europe programme (H2020 country profile) will be
                        taken as a reference and countries ranked below the average will be
                        considered as ‘moderate’ or ‘modest innovators’.
                        The consortium must consist of at least one educational institution and
                        at least one representative of the private sector.
                        Legal entities established in Widening countries may join already
                        selected actions, subject to the agreement of the respective consortium
                        and provided that legal entities from such countries are not yet
                        participating in it.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements              Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.
Expected Outcome:
Projects results are expected to contribute to some of the following expected outcomes:
    Improved flows of innovation resources between innovation ecosystems at various levels
     of developments;
    Improved quality of entrepreneurial education and local talents equipped with skills to
     support business acceleration and digitalisation39;
    Enhanced entrepreneurial activity in developing innovation ecosystems and its scale up
     across Europe or internationally;
    Increased youth (self) employability;
    Raised awareness of diverse business cultures and opportunities across sectors and / or
     geographies.
Scope:
39
        See Entrepreneurship Competence Framework for more information on entrepreneurial competences.
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                                   European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
Target group(s): Vocational schools, higher education establishments, public authorities in
the field of education and employment, SMEs, corporations.
The transforming economy and rapid development of technology have changed employment
conditions and the set of skills needed to grow one’s own business. More than ever should
educational institutions work hand in hand with the business sector to prepare students for a
rapidly changing working environment by nurturing their entrepreneurial competences.
Compared to dense areas around economic centres, the entrepreneurial skills and activity gap
is bigger in peripheral areas with lower economic activity, confirming the importance of
closely interlinked ecosystems for sustaining entrepreneurial activity and employment rates.
The Expanding Entrepreneurial Ecosystems should enhance entrepreneurial skills of youth in
‘modest’ and ‘moderate’ innovation ecosystems by supporting entrepreneurial education
through programmes designed in closed collaboration with the private sector and business
acceleration entities. The proposals should leverage on the best practices of the private sector
in Europe’s well performing innovation hubs and the existing collaboration with educational
institutions. Only by building local talents, including female talents, and providing them with
knowledge and opportunities to contribute to the local private sector or develop their own
businesses, the local innovation ecosystem can expand based on sustainable and inclusive
growth. The proposals should valorise high levels of technical skills in developing innovation
ecosystems with hands-on knowledge and experiences in business management and
international scale-up process.
The action supports co-designed programmes of activities, of at least two (2) study years,
proposed jointly by educational institutions from ‘modest’ and ‘moderate’ innovation
ecosystems and the private sector from innovation hubs (‘strong innovators’ and ‘innovation
leaders’)40, to nurture entrepreneurial skills by activities, for example:
    engagement of business experts into the implementation of educational programmes;
    engagement of students and graduates from various disciplines and departments into the
      respective companies’ structures, and engagement of educational staff in companies’
      business processes, both with a target of gender-balanced participation;
    organisation of co-ideation challenges, where students can propose innovative solutions
      in the field of partners’ expertise and are provided with resources and support to develop
      the product and its business development strategy.
To ensure that the impact of the action goes beyond consortium members and their respective
countries, it is encouraged that the consortium works closely with innovation agencies from
their respective territories and beyond, and seeks for synergies with relevant EU initiatives
such as the European Institute of Technology and Innovation.
40
         References: Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS), European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS), Global
         Innovation Index (GII).
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                                    European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
Call - Elevating the scalability potential of European business (2022.2)
                                                                    HORIZON-EIE-2022-SCALEUP-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)41
                    Topics                          Type        Budgets       Expected EU         Number
                                                       of        (EUR        contribution per         of
                                                   Action       million)      project (EUR         projects
                                                                                million)42        expected
                                                                  2022                              to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 21 Jun 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 04 Oct 2022
HORIZON-EIE-2022-SCALEUP-02-01 CSA                            5.00         Around 1.00            5
HORIZON-EIE-2022-SCALEUP-02-02 CSA                            10.00        Around 0.075           133
Overall indicative budget                                     15.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
                                                           Annex E.
41
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
42
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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                               European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
Procedure                                            The procedure is described in General
                                                     Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant              The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-EIE-2022-SCALEUP-02-01: Expanding Investments Ecosystems
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                      Consortia must have at least three (3) independent legal entities, of
                      which at least one (1) is established in 'modest' or 'moderate' innovator
                      region and at least one (1) in 'strong' or 'innovation leader' innovator
                      region. The Regional Innovation Scoreboard is taken as a reference, and
                      in the case of entities representing national authorities, the European
                      Innovation Scoreboard. The applicants must use as a reference the latest
                      version of the documents mentioned above at the time of the call
                      closure. Associated Countries which are not included in the European
                      Innovation Scoreboard and are ranked below 25 on the Global
                      Innovation Index 2020 are considered as ‘moderate’ or ‘modest
                      innovators’. In cases of Associated Countries not included in any of the
                      previously mentioned references, the participation rank of the country
                      in the Horizon Europe programme (H2020 country profile) will be
                      taken as a reference and countries ranked below the average will be
                      considered as ‘moderate’ or ‘modest innovators’.
                      Legal entities established in Widening countries may join already
                      selected actions, subject to the agreement of the respective consortium
                      and provided that legal entities from such countries are not yet
                      participating in it.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
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                                    European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
set-up of the Grant       apply:
Agreements                Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the
                          Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions
                          under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for
                          Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the
                          Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy
                          Community (2021-2025). 43.
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Increased access to capital and investments in less connected innovation ecosystems,
      enhancing their openness, competitiveness, and global potential;
    Increased venture investments and enabled late-stage growth of local start-ups in less
      connected and developing innovation ecosystems;
    Facilitated investors’ access to the flow of local deals;
    Improved investors’ knowledge on regulatory frameworks and networks to support joint
      cross-border ventures in new markets.
Scope:
Target group(s): Business-acceleration providers such as incubators, accelerators, company-
builders, innovation agencies, business clubs and networks, public and private VCs and their
networks, national and regional promotional banks.
The lack of funding is one of the most problematic aspects of business growth in less
connected innovation ecosystems and there are huge disparities between company needs and
the available funding. Existing interventions by public and private funders are limited and
further resources are necessary to bridge the gap. The lack of funding is harmful for local
start-ups’ survival rate and the development of regional scale-ups, especially for women-led
companies. While the established European start-up hubs attract significant money and
attention, the innovation ecosystems in other areas try to keep pace with fewer resources. In
the struggle for resources, many start-ups face the choice to either close their business or
move elsewhere, while foreign investors struggle to enter new markets due to insufficient
information about the market, its opportunities and regulatory frameworks.
The Expanding Investments Ecosystems should attract foreign investors into “modest’ and
‘moderate’ innovation ecosystems by raising awareness of local innovation ecosystems and
43
        This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for
        Horizon      Europe,     under     ‘Simplified     costs    decisions’  or    through     this link:
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-
        decision_he_en.pdf
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their start-ups, as well as the potential of the whole region, to capital providers from across
Europe.
The action supports co-designed programmes of activities, of at least two (2) years, proposed
by business acceleration service providers and/or investor networks and clubs, located in less
connected innovation ecosystems (‘modest’ and ‘moderate’) and innovation hubs (‘strong
innovators’ and innovation leaders’) 44 , to facilitate the entry of funders in less connected
innovation ecosystems through activities, for example:
    market orientation / introduction programmes for European investors, including
      establishment of central points of information for foreign investors providing them with
      knowledge on the ecosystem's establishment conditions, incentives, tax and legislation;
    assistance to foreign EU and international investors / Venture Capitalists, including
      women investors, during the whole process of investment, from the pre-entry stage until
      the exit, by ensuring support in administrative, legal, linguistic and cultural issues;
    organisation of European and worldwide international business forums, conferences and
      events to attract and connect international with local investors;
    peer-matching of investors and other networking activities to encourage joint ventures;
    a repository of best practices of market entry facilitation for international investors;
    a list of recommendations for local authorities and European regulators to better address
      investors’ entry challenges and facilitate cross-border deals.
To ensure that the impact of the action goes beyond consortium members and their respective
countries, it is encouraged that the consortium works closely with innovation agencies from
their respective territories and beyond, and seeks for synergies with relevant EU initiatives
such as the Enterprise Europe Network.
HORIZON-EIE-2022-SCALEUP-02-02: Women TechEU
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per         0.075 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Admissibility            The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
44
        References: Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS), European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS), Global
        Innovation Index (GII).
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conditions            exceptions apply:
                      Applicants are not required to include in their proposal a plan for the
                      exploitation and dissemination of results.
                      The page limit of the application is 10 pages. Applicants must submit a
                      short online application that includes a description of the business plan,
                      along with a clearly defined growth strategy, and a description of the
                      activities planned for the following five years. The proposal must also
                      include a brief video pitch.
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      Participation is limited to early-stage deep tech start-ups founded, or
                      co-founded by women, holding a top management position (CEO, CTO
                      or equivalent) in the company at the time of submission. The applying
                      legal entity must be registered and established in an EU Member State
                      or a Horizon Europe Associated Country for at least six months at the
                      time of the submission. All deep tech domains are eligible.
Legal and financial   The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant   apply:
Agreements            The EU contribution will take the form of a fixed lump sum of EUR 75
                      000 as defined in the Decision authorising the use of financing not
                      linked to costs for the Women TechEU actions under the Horizon
                      Europe Programme (2021-2027).
Evaluation            The final score of a proposal will be the median of the individual scores
Procedure             of the individual evaluators; and the report will comprise a collation of
                      the individual reports, or extracts from them. Where appropriate, a
                      Panel Review will be organised remotely.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
   Support deep tech innovation as a basis for a modern, knowledge-driven, resource-
     efficient and competitive economy;
   Promote female leadership in the deep tech industry to build fairer, more inclusive, and
     more prosperous innovation ecosystems in Europe.
Scope: Women TechEU targets highly innovative start-ups founded, or co-founded by
women, holding a top management position (CEO, CTO or equivalent) in the company at the
time of submission. The company must be registered and established in an EU Member State
or a Horizon Europe Associated Country for at least six months at the time of the submission.
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All deep tech45 domains are eligible, with the emphasis being on overall gender balance and
the position held by women in the start-up.
Support46 provided to Women TechEU beneficiaries under this initiative is made up of the
following components:
    financial support to the company as an individual grant of EUR 75 000 supporting
      activities such as evaluating and refining products/services, design, user experience,
      upgrading the business model, updating the business plan and growth strategy, finding
      partners and investors, market validation, etc.;
    mentoring and coaching provided by the EIC Business Acceleration Services (BAS),
      under the new ‘Women Leadership Programme’, which includes dedicated networking
      and pitching events;
    the possibility to participate in dedicated activities organised by InvestEU and the
      Enterprise Europe Network (EEN).
At the end of the funded project, and after completing the Women Leadership Programme,
beneficiaries will submit a short final report. Women TechEU beneficiaries will become part
of a community of peers, and given opportunities to expand their network and showcase their
business at pitching and networking events, to give visibility to their work and attract further
funding.
45
        Deep tech is technology that is based on cutting-edge scientific advances and discoveries and is
        characterised by the need to stay at the technological forefront by constant interaction with new ideas
        and results from the lab. Deep tech is distinct from ‘high tech’ which tends to refer only to Research &
        Development intensity.
46
        The topic will be supported with a budget transfer of EUR 10 million from the European Innovation
        Council Work Programme 2022 (EIC WP 2022).
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Destination: INNOVSMES - Partnership on Innovative SMEs
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represent the backbone of the European
economy. They represent 99.8% of all enterprises in the EU non-financial business sector and
two thirds of employment. However, SMEs in Europe face obstacles to growth, expansion
and scaling up, including lack of skills, administrative burden, and access to finance. Many
lack capacity for innovation and struggle to enter international markets.
Greater cooperation with partners in Europe and beyond can help to address many of these
issues. However, opportunities for bottom-up, international collaborations are limited. SMEs
can struggle to find support for their internationalisation efforts. At national level, support is
often limited to collaboration among partners within the same Member State. Levels of
investment to support internationalisation in innovative SMEs vary and there is suboptimal
co-ordination of national schemes. Overall, these issues weaken the resilience of the European
innovation ecosystem.
The proposal for the topic under this destination should cover a specific niche that other EU,
national and regional interventions do not address for the benefit of innovative SMEs in
Europe: cooperation among European and/or international partners, with at least one
innovative SME as the project leader. The proposed initiative would help innovative SMEs to
increase their research and innovation (R&I) capacity and productivity and to become
embedded in global value chains and new markets. It would achieve this by supporting
innovative SMEs in developing products, processes and services through funding market-led,
cross-border, R&I collaborative projects and providing accompanying measures. It would
enable global collaboration and the commercialisation of new knowledge. It would thereby
strengthen the overall resilience of the European innovation ecosystem.
In line with the Horizon Europe objectives47 it aims to generate knowledge, support the access
to and uptake of innovative solutions by SMEs (including to address global challenges),
facilitate technological development, demonstration, knowledge and technology transfer, and
strengthen deployment and exploitation of innovative solutions.
In line with Horizon Europe Strategic Planning, the partnership aims to contribute to global
and European policies. In particular the strategic priorities of the European Commission with
a special focus on the ‘European Green Deal’ and ‘An economy that works for people’
including the SME Strategy for a sustainable and digital Europe, as well actions towards
tackling the COVID-19 crisis and the post-COVID era.
Expected impact
The proposal for the topic under this destination should set out a credible pathway to
contributing to the following expected impact:
47
         HE Regulation, Article.3.2.(b), (c).
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To help innovative SMEs to grow and successfully access European and international markets
and to embed in global value chains by :
   Strengthening the resilience of the European innovation ecosystem;
   Addressing the productivity and internationalisation gap between innovative SMEs and
     large companies and aiming to improve SMEs’ global scale-up potential leading to
     increased employment and turnover;
   Leveraging investment for innovative SMEs.
Proposals are invited against the following topic:
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                 Call                               Budgets (EUR million)      Deadline(s)
                                                   2021               2022
HORIZON-EIE-2021-                         34.99                 37.89         01      Sep
INNOVSMES-01                                                                  2021
Overall indicative budget                 34.99                 37.89
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Call - Partnership on Innovative SMEs
                                                                HORIZON-EIE-2021-INNOVSMES-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)48
                    Topics                          Type of          Budgets        Expected      Number
                                                     Action           (EUR             EU             of
                                                                     million)     contribution projects
                                                                                   per project expected
                                                                  2021     2022       (EUR          to be
                                                                                            49
                                                                                   million)        funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 01 Sep 2021
HORIZON-EIE-2021-INNOVSMES-                        COFUND 34.99 37.89 Around                      1
01-01                                                                             72.88
Overall indicative budget                                         34.99 37.89
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
48
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
49
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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                                                     Annex E.
Procedure                                            The procedure is described in General
                                                     Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant              The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-EIE-2021-INNOVSMES-01-01: European Partnership on Innovative SMEs
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per        72.88 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 72.88 million.
Type of Action          Programme Co-fund Action
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
Legal and financial     The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant     apply:
Agreements              The starting date of grants awarded under this topic may be as of the
                        submission date of the application. Applicants must justify the need
                        for a retroactive starting date in their application. Costs incurred from
                        the starting date of the action may be considered eligible.
                        The funding rate is 30 % of the eligible costs.
                        Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                        The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                        Financial support provided by the participants to third parties is one of
                        the primary activities of this action in order to be able to achieve its
                        objectives. The EUR 60 000 threshold provided for in Article 204(a)
                        of the Financial Regulation No 2018/1046 does not apply.
Total indicative        The total indicative budget for the partnership is up to EUR 250
budget                  million.
Expected Outcome:
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Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Improved knowledge transfer in the innovative SMEs ecosystem, through increased and
      sustained collaboration between SMEs, public research partners and academia;
    Mitigation of difficulties in access to finance for innovative SMEs and thus contribute to
      enhanced growth and expansion of innovative SMEs;
    Improved innovative SME access to new international markets or value chains thus
      leading to improved market share and sales for innovative SMEs increasing their
      employment capacity;
    Increase public research and innovation funding to innovative SMEs, to spur more high
      quality collaborations and more innovative solutions;
    Pull together national efforts to spur internationalisation and collaboration in innovative
      SMEs, avoiding unnecessary duplication leading to a simplified offer to beneficiaries,
      achieving a more balanced geographic participation, ensuring complementarity and
      improved innovation ecosystems across Europe.
Scope:
The proposal should provide mainly two types of activities. Firstly, regular calls for proposals
resulting in collaborative research and innovation activities. These activities should result in a
faster time to market, de-risking investment, supporting business growth, contributing to EU
and global priorities and supporting access to markets and knowledge. Secondly, through
coordination and support activities, the creation of synergies between and synchronisation of
national programmes, and a better cooperation and knowledge exchange between national
intermediaries.
While collaborative research and innovation activities for internationalisation of innovative
SMEs exist to some extent at Member State and EU level the alignment of national
programmes and more effective and efficient processes of intermediaries and funding bodies
are not addressed in instruments and programmes other than the Eurostars 1 and 2
programmes, supported under previous framework programmes. The initiative should draw
on the experiences, and build on the successes, of those predecessor programmes.
There is a clear added value and ‘selling point’ for the initiative to further address gaps
towards a better alignment and increased focus on internationalisation. This reflects the
definition of European Partnerships in the Horizon Europe regulation 50 as initiatives where
the union and its partners ‘commit to jointly support the development and implementation of a
programme of research and innovation activities, including those related to market, regulatory
or policy uptake.’
The below list of specific activities, going beyond research and innovation activities, can
therefore be implemented under the partnership and are anticipated as expected outputs:
50
         Definition as per Article 2(47) of the Horizon Europe Regulation.
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    Support transnational near-market collaborative research and innovation addressing
      technological and societal challenges;
    Enhance SME readiness (absorptive capacities in all participating countries),
    Attract wide range of beneficiaries by country and SME type and age;
    Create synergies among national programmes by streamlining their execution;
    Enhance cooperation and knowledge exchange at level of national intermediaries.
The proposed initiative will help innovative SMEs to increase their research and innovation
capacities and productivity and to become embedded in global value chains and new markets.
It will achieve this by supporting innovative SMEs in developing products, processes and
services through funding market-led, cross-border, research and innovation collaborative
projects and providing accompanying measures. The initiative addresses collaboration in
Europe and beyond, and the commercialisation of new knowledge. Thereby it will strengthen
the overall resilience of the European innovation ecosystem.
The overall objective of the initiative is to implement a Co-funded European Partnership for
Innovative SMEs to stimulate economic growth and job creation by enhancing the
competitiveness of innovative SMEs while contributing to deliver a positive economic,
societal and environmental impact in Europe and beyond.
In order to address that objective, the initiative should:
    Enable innovative SMEs to develop all forms of innovation, including breakthrough
      innovation, and strengthen market deployment of innovative solutions;
    Foster the internationalisation of innovative SMEs;
    Connect national programmes to unlock the potential of all partners.
Type and range of activities
A main activity would be to run calls for proposals, organise the evaluation process and
enable collaborative cross-border research and innovation projects. Beyond providing funding
to innovative SMEs for cross-border R&I collaboration, they should include further
promotion of the programme in underrepresented Member States, including but not limited to,
through dissemination events, mutual learning seminars or roadshows.
The initiative should exploit synergies with cohesion policy funds and significantly support
the widening aspect. In any case, links with regional smart specialisation strategies should be
a priority.
Accompanying measures such as Innowwide should be included in the proposal.
Expected partner composition and geographical coverage
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   National administrations and National Funding Bodies (NFBs).
The private sector and research actors would need to be mainly drawn from the activities of
the national and/or regional funding organisations. The effort, networks and judgements of
these organisations are key to initiate cross-border research collaborations, to help prepare
applications and to fund successful participants. The success of the initiative depends largely
on these organisations.
A dedicated implementation structure may notably support them through various activities
and services such as to organise calls, manage funding, monitor payments and projects and
implement dissemination events, roadshows, matchmaking events, webinars etc.
The initiative should have an extended geographical coverage beyond Member States and
Associated Countries, and the potential to evolve towards a global programme under Horizon
Europe, including through possible involvement of additional partners during the lifetime of
the programme. Third countries are welcome to participate in the Partnership. The initiative
should promote the ambition towards more projects involving other partners than those in
geographical proximity and the sufficient utilisation of the potential of the extended Eureka
network.
Types and levels of contributions from partners
Proposals should mobilise the necessary financial resources from participating national (or
regional) research programmes with a view to implementing joints call for transnational
proposals resulting in grants to third parties.
Member States are invited to maximise the financial support provided to innovative SMEs
through increased national funding during the selection process.
International dimension
Proposals should focus on supporting international, projects led by innovative SMEs. They
should enable international cooperation, enabling small businesses to learn, combine and
share expertise and benefit from working beyond national borders.
In line with the ambitions of the partnership to foster international collaboration and the
provisions of the model grant agreement, projects involving one legal entity established in a
Member State or Associated Country as beneficiary and one legal entity established in a non-
associated third country as partner may be supported in the same manner as under Eurostars 2.
A substantial majority of the projects supported must involve at least two beneficiaries from
Member States or Associated Countries.
Synergies
Focussing on helping innovative SMEs to grow and successfully embed in international
markets and value chains by developing methodologies and technologies, the partnership is
expected to collaborate closely with other relevant European Partnerships, missions and the
European Innovation Council in order to ensure coherence and complementarity of activities.
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Proposals must describe the methodology for their collaboration and the aims the project
wants to achieve with this kind of collaboration.
Proposals should include only their commitments for the grant covered by the present work
programme.
The Commission envisages to include new actions in its work programmes 2023-2024 and
2025-2027 to award a grant to identified beneficiaries with the aim of continuing to provide
support to the partnership for the duration of Horizon Europe.
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Other actions not subject to calls for proposals
1. Intellectual Property Helpdesk (IP Helpdesk)
SMEs, including start-ups, and researchers do not always have sufficient knowledge of how to
best use Intellectual Property51 to facilitate in the future the exploitation of research results,
either in a commercial or non-commercial manner. A smart use of intellectual property may
help resilience of the European economy by increasing the chances that the scaling up and
exploitation will take place in the EU. It will also help creators and inventors to obtain
adequate reward for their intellectual efforts.
This action supports the better use of Intellectual Property by SMEs in setting up an IP
Helpdesk based on the existing one and possibly extending its scope. The Helpdesk must offer
access to knowledge via a website, propose trainings as well as individual advice in relation to
cross-border IP issues and developing an IP strategy. The Helpdesk should work seamlessly
with the EIC acceleration services, as well as selected other innovation ecosystem services. It
should in particular coordinate the website offering with the EUIPO and the other EU funded
IP support services (namely Helpdesks and IP Scan) and implement promotional activities in
coordination with the action Awareness raising on Intellectual property (IP) management for
European R&I.
The IP Helpdesk must aim at the following:
    Improving SME’s knowledge about IP showing specifically how to use IP as strategic
     and structuring element for business development;
    Supporting applicants for IP issues that are relevant in cross-border research and
     commercial relationships supported by EU funds (IP rights management as to the results
     of common projects);
    Supporting the management, dissemination and/or valorisation of technologies and other
     intellectual assets;
    Increasing the participation of the target group(s): entrepreneurs, SMEs and start-ups
     (applicants, together with the universities), start-up hubs, universities (applicants), NCPs,
     Enterprise Europe Network partners, Chambers of commerce, professional associations,
     EIC coaches, Business accelerators (applicants providers).
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Fourth quarter of 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 3.00 million from the 2021 budget (IP Helpdesk)
51
        On SME challenges with IP see the EUIPO study IP SME scoreboard 2019.
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2. Use of individual experts on assisting with the monitoring of actions (2021)
This action will support the use of appointed independent experts for the monitoring of
actions (grant agreement, grant decision, public procurement actions, financial instruments)
and where appropriate include ethics checks.
A special allowance will be paid to the experts appointed in their personal capacity who act
independently and in the public interest.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative timetable: Second quarter of 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.10 million from the 2021 budget (Use of individual experts on
assisting with the monitoring of actions (2021))
3. Mapping and scoping of frugal and reverse innovation
Originating from developing and emerging economies, frugal and reverse innovation52 offer
new opportunities for interactions between European and emerging markets, and the potential
to serve better the needs of people and society while generating economic benefit. Within the
context of Europe’s sustainability agenda and the European Green Deal, frugal and reverse
innovation offer simple solutions to many of today’s most complex global challenges.
This action supports a study resulting in a mapping and scoping of the present volume of
frugal and reverse innovation. It should provide orientations to support the development of a
common language with a sufficiently broad definition of the concepts to inform potential
future policy measures and support a more comprehensive approach at EU level. In doing so,
this action can serve as a basis to bring together the different actors of frugal and reverse
innovation, and help create a well-connected and robust sustainable innovation ecosystem in
Europe.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: First quarter of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.30 million from the 2022 budget (Frugal / Reverse Innovation)
4. Innovative practices in legislation around emerging tech
The action should contribute to the general objective of the EIC Forum, which aims at
fostering enabling framework conditions by enhancing flows of information and knowledge
52
        Under the successive H2020 Innovation in SMEs WPs 2016-2017 and 2018-2020, the EU-funded
        www.cubein.eu project actively has been supporting a better understanding of innovation in emerging
        economies. It has also been targeting reverse innovation as crucial topic.
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on empowering innovation ecosystems policies and tools. With a special view on EIC
beneficiaries, the study should focus on legal and policy initiatives in the intersection of
emerging technologies and provide a better understanding of how the regulatory environment
at EU, national and regional level may affect market uptake of emerging deep-tech solutions.
While there are a limited number of studies focusing on innovation friendly frameworks and
regulatory barriers to companies’ innovation performance, none of them directly touches upon
issues related to emerging deep tech and EIC beneficiaries. The work should build upon and
be complementary with other relevant initiatives including those ongoing in Horizon Europe
and the EIC as well as the Policy Support Facility. This project is expected to develop
scenarios and guidance for the future use of experimental legislation with a special focus on
regulatory sandboxes, based on compiling a repository of relevant legislative practices,
incentives and impediments at EU and national level, including the outcomes of a
benchmarking exercise in view of integrating the innovation aspect in EU policymaking.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: First quarter of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.30 million from the 2022 budget (Innovative practices in
legislation)
5. EIC FORUM support
The EIC Forum will foster in an informal manner, enabling framework conditions and flows
of information, knowledge, talent and best practices among actors of innovation ecosystems
and the EIC, to fully harness the potential of innovation. The Forum will act as an interface
between the sections of Pillar III of Horizon Europe, ensuring coordination between the EIC
and the EIT, as well as with other relevant sections of Pillar I and II. By involving also other
relevant Directorates Generals (DGs) from the Commission, the Forum will aim at promoting
a coherent and inclusive approach to EU innovation ecosystems, by co-creating and co-
designing policies and instruments.
The action will support the work of the EIC Forum and/or its working groups. Their aim will
be to gather new or more robust evidence and / or to produce analyses in support of policy
discussions.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: First quarter of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.50 million from the 2022 budget (EIC FORUM support )
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6. Creating and nurturing angel investing in the EU
Given their involvement in early stages of companies, Business Angels play a crucial role in
funding, coaching and supporting the growth potential of such companies. This tender53 aims
to strengthen and increase women's representation54 in innovation and investment ecosystems
for start-up and scale-up companies in the EU in view of their development and growth by
supporting angel investors and their syndicates in countries where those remain weak and
encouraging cross-border collaboration with countries with more developed angel investor
communities.
Services to be contracted include:
    Developing and implementing a number of capacity-building and tailor-made angel
      investment programmes focusing notably on women. Beneficiaries of this programme
      will become active business angels in their countries, potentially functioning as seeds of
      new angel investment syndicates;
    Supporting the creation and development of new or existing Business Angel syndicates,
      and provide assistance for them to realise investments. The supported syndicates will
      strive to ensure gender parity;
    Provide assistance to the realisation of a number of national or sub-national schemes for
      co-investment vehicles with Business Angels;
    Preparing standardised investment term-sheets to facilitate and harmonise cross-border
      angel investing in the EU and support new angel investors in realising their first
      investments;
    Match-making angel investors with European start-ups, particularly at an early stage;
    Organising workshops to support the development of the above-mentioned tasks.
The implementation of the procurement will be monitored through a number of objective
KPIs specified in the tender.
The tender will build on the results of the ‘Awareness-raising and capacity-building for
business angels and other early-stage investors’ Coordination and Support Action (CSA)
launched under the Horizon 2020 Work Programme 2016-201755. The resulting contract will
coordinate actions with relevant ongoing initiatives and organisations such as those managed
by Business Angels Europe, European Business Angel Network, the European Women in
Venture Capital, the Enterprise Europe Network, and Invest Europe.
53
         The topic will be supported with a budget transfer of EUR 2 million from the European Innovation
         Council Work Programme 2022 (EIC WP 2022).
54
         The proportion of women business angels of the total number of angel investors in Europe remains
         extremely low. See "The Barriers and Opportunities for Women Angel Investing in Europe", "Gender
         Smart Financing. Investing In and With Women: Opportunities for Europe", and the State of European
         Tech Reports 2018 and 2021for more information.
55
         https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/727812/results/fr
                                              Part 10 - Page 58 of 62
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                               European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Second quarter of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 2.00 million from the 2022 budget (Creating and nurturing angel
investing in the EU)
7. Commission expert group on EIC FORUM
This action will support the EIC FORUM operation with the implementation of the activities
of its working groups. The appointed independent experts will assist with the implementation,
evaluation and design of programmes.
A special allowance will be paid to the experts appointed in their personal capacity who act
independently and in the public interest. This amount is considered to be proportionate to the
specific tasks to be assigned to the experts, including the number of meetings to be attended
and possible preparatory work.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative timetable: First quarter of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.30 million from the 2022 budget (EIC Forum Experts)
8. Use of individual experts on assisting with the monitoring of actions (2022)
This action will support the use of appointed independent experts for the monitoring of
running actions (grant agreement, grant decision, public procurement actions, financial
instruments) funded under Horizon Europe and previous Framework Programmes and where
appropriate include ethics checks.
A special allowance will be paid to the experts appointed in their personal capacity who act
independently and in the public interest.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative timetable: First quarter of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.20 million from the 2022 budget (Monitoring)
                                        Part 10 - Page 59 of 62
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                              European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
9. Commission fee as EUREKA member (administrative costs)
This action will cover the Commission fee as a member of Eureka (administrative costs). This
action will support coordination activities aimed at increasing complementarities and synergy
between EUREKA and the Horizon Europe in areas of common interest.
EUREKA is an international network established in 1985 as an agreement between 18
countries to foster European competitiveness and integration and to encourage Research &
Development cooperation. Since then, it expanded to include over 45 countries in Europe and
beyond who share the same goals and have national funding available to organisations who
apply through our programmes.
The EU is a member of EUREKA and, as such, contributes to the budget of the EUREKA
Secretariat.
Type of Action: Subscription action
Indicative timetable: Second quarter of 2021 and first quarter of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.30 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 0.50 million from the
2022 budget
10. Establishment of an indicator system and defining relevant data collection methods
The Commission services have decided to not implement this action.
Form of Funding: Direct action grants
Type of Action: Provision of technical/scientific services by the Joint Research Centre
                                      Part 10 - Page 60 of 62
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                                  European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
Budget56
                                                       Budget               2021               2022
                                                       line(s)        Budget (EUR       Budget (EUR
                                                                          million)           million)
Calls
HORIZON-EIE-2021-CONNECT-01                                                       8.00
                                                   from                           8.00
                                                   01.020302
HORIZON-EIE-2022-CONNECT-01                                                                           7.00
                                                   from                                               7.00
                                                   01.020302
HORIZON-EIE-2022-CONNECT-02                                                                         12.50
                                                   from                                             12.50
                                                   01.020302
HORIZON-EIE-2021-SCALEUP-01                                                      13.75
                                                   from                          13.75
                                                   01.020302
HORIZON-EIE-2022-SCALEUP-01                                                                           5.00
                                                   from                                               5.00
                                                   01.020302
HORIZON-EIE-2022-SCALEUP-02                                                                         15.00
                                                   from                                             15.00
                                                   01.020302
HORIZON-EIE-2021-INNOVSMES-                                                      34.99              37.89
01
                                                   from                          34.99              37.89
                                                   01.020302
Other actions
Public procurement                                                                3.00                3.10
56
       The budget figures given in this table are rounded to two decimal places.
       The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
       budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
                                            Part 10 - Page 61 of 62
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                              European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
                                             from                     3.00  3.10
                                             01.020302
Expert contract action                                                0.10  0.50
                                             from                     0.10  0.50
                                             01.020302
Subscription action                                                   0.30  0.50
                                             from                     0.30  0.50
                                             01.020302
Provision      of     technical/scientific
services by the Joint Research Centre
Estimated total budget                                               60.14 81.49
                                       Part 10 - Page 62 of 62
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                       ANNEX XI
                        “Annex XI
                     Horizon Europe
             Work Programme 2021-2022
11. Widening participation and strengthening the European
                      Research Area
                            ”
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                Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area
Table of contents
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 7
DESTINATION 1: IMPROVED ACCESS TO EXCELLENCE ................ 12
Call - Teaming for Excellence ............................................................................................... 15
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 15
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ACCESS-01-01-two-stage: Teaming for Excellence ............. 16
Call - Twinning Western Balkans ......................................................................................... 20
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 21
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-02-01: Twinning Western Balkans Special ........... 22
Call - Twinning ....................................................................................................................... 25
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 25
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-03-01: Twinning .................................................... 26
Call - Excellence Hubs ........................................................................................................... 28
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 28
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ACCESS-04-01: Excellence Hubs ......................................... 30
Call - European Excellence Initiative (EEI): Strengthening capacity for excellence in
higher education institutions and surrounding ecosystems ................................................ 34
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 34
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-05-01: Capacity building to strengthen networks of
  higher education institutions and cooperation with surrounding ecosystems ...................... 35
Call - Support for R&I policy making in the Western Balkans......................................... 38
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 38
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-06-01: Support for R&I policy making in the
  Western Balkans ................................................................................................................... 39
Call - Hop On Facility ............................................................................................................ 42
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 42
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ACCESS-07-01: Hop On Facility .......................................... 43
DESTINATION 2: ATTRACTING AND MOBILISING THE BEST
TALENTS .......................................................................................................... 46
Call - ERA Chairs .................................................................................................................. 48
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 48
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-01-01: ERA Chairs .............................................. 49
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Call - Fostering balanced brain circulation (BBC) - ERA Fellowships ............................ 52
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 53
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-02-01: Fostering balanced brain circulation – ERA
  Fellowships........................................................................................................................... 54
Call - Fostering balanced brain circulation (BBC) - ERA Talents .................................... 57
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 57
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-03-01: Fostering balanced brain circulation – ERA
  Talents .................................................................................................................................. 58
Call - Fostering balanced brain circulation – ERA Fellowships ........................................ 62
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 62
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-04-01: Fostering balanced brain circulation – ERA
  Fellowships........................................................................................................................... 63
DESTINATION 3: REFORMING AND ENHANCING THE EU
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION SYSTEM ................................................ 68
Call - European Research Area ............................................................................................ 71
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 71
  PRIORITIZING INVESTMENT AND REFORM .............................................................. 72
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-09: Support for policy makers – Programme level
  collaboration between national R&I programmes................................................................ 72
  IMPROVING ACCESS TO EXCELLENCE ...................................................................... 74
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-20: Towards a Europe-wide training and networking
  scheme for research managers .............................................................................................. 74
  TRANSLATING R&I RESULTS INTO THE ECONOMY ............................................... 75
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-30: Implementation of a new macro-economic
  modelling concept ................................................................................................................ 76
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-32: Standardisation Booster for fostering exploitation
  of FP-funded research results ............................................................................................... 76
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-33: R&I intensive IP management: Scenarios for the
  future .................................................................................................................................... 77
  DEEPENING THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH AREA....................................................... 78
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-40: Modelling and quantifying the impacts of open
  science practice .................................................................................................................... 78
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-41: Global cooperation on FAIR data policy and
  practice ................................................................................................................................. 80
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-43: Capacity-building for institutional open access
  publishing across Europe ..................................................................................................... 83
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-44: Societal trust in science, research and innovation
  .............................................................................................................................................. 84
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-45: Support to changes in the assessment of research
  and researchers to reward the practice of open science........................................................ 86
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  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-50: Protection of Higher Education Institutions and
  research organisations against conventional and non-conventional threats ......................... 87
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-60: A capacity-building and brokering network to
  make citizen science an integral part of the European Research Area ................................. 88
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-61: Supporting and giving recognition to citizen
  science in the European Research Area ............................................................................... 91
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-70: Developing a STE(A)M roadmap for Science
  Education in Horizon Europe ............................................................................................... 93
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-80: Centre of excellence on inclusive gender equality
  in Research & Innovation ..................................................................................................... 95
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-81: Policy coordination to advance the
  implementation of the ERA gender equality and inclusiveness objectives within Member
  States .................................................................................................................................... 96
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-90: The challenges of research ethics and integrity in
  response to crisis: the coronavirus pandemic and beyond ................................................... 98
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-91: Ensuring reliability and trust in quality of
  Research Ethics expertise in the context of new/emerging technologies ........................... 101
Call - European Research Area .......................................................................................... 104
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 104
  PRIORITIZING INVESTMENT AND REFORM ............................................................ 106
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-10: Support for policy makers – Programme level
  collaboration between national R&I programmes.............................................................. 106
  TRANSLATING R&I RESULTS INTO THE ECONOMY ............................................. 108
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-30: Testing of the ERA Hub concept – pilot phase 108
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-31: Innowwide Bridging Facility ........................... 110
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-32: An experimentation space for the uptake and use
  of R&I results for EU resilience and future preparedness ................................................. 112
  DEEPENING THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH AREA..................................................... 113
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-40: Stepping-up institutional and territorial changes
  towards open and responsible research and innovation ..................................................... 113
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-41: Increasing the reproducibility of scientific results
  ............................................................................................................................................ 116
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-42: Supporting the development of aligned policies
  for open access books and monographs ............................................................................. 118
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-44: Developing and piloting training on the practice
  of open and responsible research and innovation ............................................................... 119
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-50: Developing an effective ERA talent pipeline . 122
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-51: Acceleration Services in support of the
  institutional transformation of Higher Education Institutions............................................ 123
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-60: A European competence centre for science
  communication ................................................................................................................... 126
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-70: Open schooling for science education and a
  learning continuum for all .................................................................................................. 128
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  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-80: Living Lab for gender-responsive innovation . 130
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-81: Support to the implementation of inclusive gender
  equality plans ...................................................................................................................... 131
  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-91: The empirical and behavioural approach to
  research ethics and integrity ............................................................................................... 133
OTHER ACTIONS NOT SUBJECT TO CALLS FOR PROPOSALS .......................... 136
GRANT TO IDENTIFIED BENEFICIARIES ................................................................. 136
  1. Support the Slovenian Presidency for the organization of an ERA Conference ............ 136
  2. Support to RESAVER Pension Fund ............................................................................. 136
  3. ERA Talent Platform ...................................................................................................... 137
  4. The EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) and European City of Science 2022 actions .... 141
  5. European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) 2022 ..................................... 143
  6. Science Advice for Policy by European Academies ...................................................... 143
  7. Presidency event - Conference on international cooperation in research and innovation
  ............................................................................................................................................ 146
  8. NCP Network including proposal pre-check ................................................................. 148
  9. Framework Partnership Agreement with COST (European Co-operation in Science and
  Technology) ....................................................................................................................... 151
  10. Implementation of COST actions - Specific Grant under Framework Partnership
  Agreement .......................................................................................................................... 152
  11. Presidency conferences with a European regional dimension - WIRE ........................ 153
PRIZE .................................................................................................................................... 154
  1. EU Award for (Academic) Gender Equality Champions ............................................... 154
  2. Horizon impact award .................................................................................................... 156
EXPERT CONTRACT ACTIONS..................................................................................... 157
  1. External expertise for monitoring of Widening and ERA actions ................................. 157
  2. Monitoring experts for Horizon 2020 legacy ................................................................. 158
  3. Use of individual experts in support of the new ERA's objectives ................................ 158
  4. Commission expert group on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender equality
  in EU R&I .......................................................................................................................... 159
  5. External expertise for ad hoc tasks related to the implementation of Horizon Europe
  Ethics Appraisal scheme .................................................................................................... 160
  6. Use of individual expert(s) on ad hoc tasks related to the implementation of the European
  Valorisation policy ............................................................................................................. 160
  7. Support for policy makers – Horizontal support to the Strategic Coordinating Process for
  partnerships ........................................................................................................................ 161
PUBLIC PROCUREMENT ................................................................................................ 161
  1. EU data for R&I policy .................................................................................................. 161
  2. Development of the European Innovation Scoreboard .................................................. 162
  3. Overview of regulatory sandboxes and innovation-enabling approaches to regulation 162
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 4. Implementation of Workshop series with industry and other stakeholders as well as
 discussions with Member States to prepare ERA common industrial technology roadmaps
 ............................................................................................................................................ 163
 5. Implementation of the Horizon Policy Support Facility ................................................ 163
 6. ERA Talent Platform – the international dimension ...................................................... 164
 7. Observatory on Knowledge Ecosystems and Research Careers .................................... 165
 8. Development of the ERA Talent Platform: website, proof of concept, online services,
 design, maintenance, communication ................................................................................ 167
 9. Technical support to Retirement Savings Vehicle for European Research Institutions and
 research performing individuals (RESAVER) ................................................................... 168
 10. Monitoring and evaluating the Horizon 2020 complementary support for the European
 Universities initiative ......................................................................................................... 169
 11. Studies and communication ......................................................................................... 170
 12. Monitoring gender equality in Research and Innovation - Development, implementation
 and dissemination of indicators (She Figures)’ .................................................................. 170
 13. Service Facility in Support of the Strategic Development of International Cooperation
 in Research and Innovation ................................................................................................ 171
 14. Implementation of the ERA Monitoring Mechanism .................................................. 172
 15. EU Gender Equality Competence Facility ................................................................... 172
Budget ............................................................................................................... 174
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Introduction
Overall description of common policy objectives and rationale based on specific
programme and strategic plan
This part of the Work Programme will implement concrete measures in support of Widening
participation and strengthening the ERA (European Research Area) and is divided in two
components:
I: Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence;
II: Strengthening the European Research Area.
It will optimise the impact of Pillar 2 by contributing to the objectives of the entire framework
programme. It is going to amplify geographical diversity, build the necessary capacity to
allow successful participation in the R&I process and promote networking of and access to
excellence. Synergies will be pursued with the programme parts on European Innovation
Ecosystems and the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT). In addition, this
programme part will advance the dissemination and exploitation of research results by
reinforcing the interaction between education and research and strengthen collaborate links
across Europe and open up European R&I networks. It will contribute to improving research
management capacities in the Widening Countries and Outermost Regions, support national
policy reforms as well as valorise the potential of the Union’s talent pool through targeted
actions. This part of the work programme is based on the results of the strategic planning
process and is fully aligned with the strategic objectives of the ERA communication
(COM(2020) 628 final)1 published on 30/09/2020 that aims at building a common scientific
and technological area for the EU.
Although the EU is a global leader in research and innovation, its performance has stagnated
since 2012, and major players, from Asia in particular, are catching up and gradually occupy a
more prominent position on the global R&I and technological landscape. While R&I is the
engine of long-term productivity growth, Europe continues to lag behind in turning the
outcomes of its excellent research into disruptive innovation. There is a growing disparity
between countries and regions in terms of R&I performance, which calls for fully mobilising
research, innovation and technological capacities in less developed regions.
Structural R&I policy reforms plus better national, regional and institutional cooperation in
the production and diffusion of high-quality knowledge are vital. For example, more and
better links between R&I actors across Europe are needed, if Europe as a whole wants to
capitalise on excellence from across the continent, maximise the value of public and private
investments, and their impacts on productivity, economic growth, job creation and well-being.
1
         https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0628&from=EN
                                              Part 11 - Page 7 of 176
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The Union now needs to raise the bar on the quality and impact of its R&I system, requiring a
renewed ERA across the EU and associated countries, strongly supported by the Horizon
Europe and national and regional programmes.
Article 181(2) of the TFEU specifically points out that, a well-integrated yet tailored set of
Union measures is needed, combined with reforms and performance enhancements at national
and regional level (through smart specialisation strategies) and along with effective
institutional changes within research funding and performing organisations, including
universities, will lead to outstanding knowledge production. Therefore, the enabling
conditions related to the governance of smart specialisation introduced under the new
generation of cohesion policy programmes is a key delivery tool of these reforms. By joining
efforts at Union level, synergies can be exploited across Europe and the necessary scale can
be found to make support to national policy reforms more efficient and impactful.
The activities supported under this part specifically address ERA policy priorities, notably
deepening the ERA while generally underpinning all parts of Horizon Europe. In this regard,
they aim at encouraging more investments, improving the access to excellence, translating
R&I results into the economy and improving research management capabilities.
Activities will also foster brain circulation across the ERA through mobility of researchers
and innovators, to address current imbalances, and will support the development of networks
of scholars, scientists, researchers and innovators, policy makers and research managers to put
all their (intangible) assets to the service of the ERA and by supporting the development of
domain-specific science roadmaps.
The goal is a Union, where knowledge and a highly-skilled workforce circulate freely,
research outputs are shared rapidly and efficiently, where researchers benefit from attractive
careers and gender equality is ensured, where Member States and associated countries
develop common strategic research agendas, aligning national plans, defining and
implementing joint programmes, and where the outcomes of R&I are understood and trusted
by informed citizens and benefit society as a whole.
This part will contribute de facto to all SDGs, but directly to the following: SDG 4 - Quality
Education; SDG 5 - Gender Equality; SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; SDG
17 - Partnership for the Goals.
Moreover, it will contribute to achieving Horizon Europe expected impacts along the four key
strategic orientations set in the strategic plan, and support the implementation of key policy
objectives of the European Commission notably the European Green Deal and the EU’s
digital strategy.
Horizon Europe is the research and innovation support programme in a system of European
and national funding programmes that shares policy objectives. Through the programme,
special attention will be given to ensuring cooperation between universities, scientific
communities and industry, including small and medium enterprises, and citizens and their
representatives, in order to bridge gaps between territories, generations and regional cultures,
                                          Part 11 - Page 8 of 176
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especially caring for the needs of the young in shaping Europe’s future. Calls could be EU
Synergies calls, meaning that projects that have been awarded a grant under the call could
have the possibility to also receive funding under other EU programmes, including relevant
shared management funds. In this context, project proposers should consider and actively seek
synergies with, and where appropriate possibilities for further funding from, other R&I-
relevant EU, national or regional programmes (such as ERDF, ESF+, JTF, EMFF, EAFRD,
ERASMUS+ and InvestEU), where appropriate, as well as private funds or financial
instruments. The ERDF focuses amongst others on the development and strengthening of
regional and local research and innovation ecosystems and smart economic transformation, in
line with regional/national smart specialisation strategies. It can support building research and
innovation capacities and uptake of advanced technologies and roll-out of innovative
solutions from the Framework Programmes for research and innovation through the ERDF.
The EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) [currently available in all Member States]
aims at financing projects that directly tackle the economic and social impacts from the
Coronavirus crisis and support the green and digital transition. For project ideas that directly
contribute to these objectives and that have a strong focus in one member state it is advisable
to check access to the RRF for a fast and targeted support.
Part I: Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence - Overall strategic approach
Research and Innovation (R&I) policy can only strive towards more excellence if everyone
progresses. The EU’s R&I system needs to promote a more inclusive approach in which all
can participate and from which all can benefit. Existing disparities between R&I leading and
lagging countries can be tackled by introducing structural policy reforms. Closer links
between research and innovation and institutional cooperation to produce high-quality
knowledge are also paramount to help bridging these disparities. By building upon their
excellence pockets and connecting them to broader networks of excellence less R&I advanced
countries will be able to upgrade their R&I systems, making them stronger and allowing the
EU as a whole to advance together. All possible means need to be mobilised and coordinated
towards this end. According to the Horizon Europe regulation in this programme component
the less advanced countries eligible for hosting the co-ordinator of widening actions are
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta,
Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and all Associated Countries with equivalent
characteristics in terms of R&I performance (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo 2 ,
Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Morocco,
Tunisia, Ukraine, Faroe Islands) and the Outermost Regions (defined in Art. 349 TFEU).
Hereinafter, these countries including the Outermost Regions will be named 'widening
countries' in the following document.
In the field of climate science as well as clean-tech and energy&transport technologies,
disparities between R&I leading and lagging countries are particularly large. Widening
countries are often faced with a relatively larger challenge in terms of decarbonisation, while
2
        This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and
        the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
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their R&I Innovation systems are not yet sufficiently developed to fully tackle the challenges,
and reap the opportunities, that the transition to a climate-neutral economy brings. This Work
Programme component therefore particularly encourages to improve access to excellence and
reform the innovation system in these domains.
This programme part is especially responding to the second policy priority of the ERA
communication i.e., improving access to excellence: towards more excellence and stronger
R&I systems across the whole of the EU where best practice is disseminated faster across
Europe. It will support the widening countries to increase the performance of their R&I
systems towards excellence through building on dedicated Horizon Europe measures and
complementarities with smart specialisation strategies under Cohesion Policy. Nevertheless, it
is not made-up exclusively for participants from widening countries since it pursues a pan-
European approach of collaboration and mutual knowledge sharing in the spirit of solidarity.
The key objectives of this component of the work programme are the following:
1. Encourage institutional reforms and transformation processes of the R&I system at national
and regional level in widening countries in line with ERA principles
2. Mobilise national investments in R&I capacity in widening countries
3. Raise the bar for excellence of R&I actors in widening countries in partnership with
outstanding European and international institutions (‘win-win situation’)
4. Increase number of participations and success rates of widening actors in research and
innovation projects in other parts of Horizon Europe (notably in pillars 2 and 3)
5. Promote the creation of new innovation ecosystems and scale up existing ones by a set of
measures, which include, among other, place based and international collaboration between
academia and business in widening countries
6. Foster brain circulation, including inter-sectoral mobility for researchers and innovators and
turn it into brain gain for widening countries
These objectives will be achieved by combining revamped traditional widening actions with a
number of novel elements included in the advancing Europe package agreed by the legislators
in March 2019.
Part II: Strengthening the European Research Area - Overall strategic approach
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates more than ever the importance of R&I cooperation to
deliver solutions to society’s most demanding problems and needs. Delivering Europe’s
recovery together with the green and digital twin transitions is paramount. To match these
challenges, a new level of ambition that better links R&I with the economy, as well as with
education and training, and puts the EU’s scientific knowledge to work is necessary.
The new ERA communication calls for deepening existing priorities and initiatives through
new and stronger approaches. The green and digital transitions and the recovery call for
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cooperation between the Commission and the Member States. They require the setting of new
priorities, launching ambitious joint initiatives and developing common approaches between
policies.
To address these ambitious priorities and initiatives, Annex 11 of the Horizon Europe Work
Programme, sets out to reform and enhance the EU R&I system in line with four of the
objectives of the ERA Communication. Investments and reforms will be prioritised, access to
excellence will be improved and R&I results will be translated into the economy. These
actions will result in deepening the ERA. The principle of excellence, meaning that the best
researchers with the best ideas obtain funding, remains the cornerstone for all investments
under the ERA.
The goal is a Union where knowledge and a highly skilled workforce circulate freely, where
research outputs are shared rapidly and efficiently, where researchers benefit from attractive
careers, and gender equality is assured; where common strategic research agendas are aligned
to national plans and where the outcomes of research and innovation are understood, trusted
and increasingly used, by informed citizens to the benefit of society. Envisaged activities
complement the direction of the ERA Communication.
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DESTINATION 1: IMPROVED ACCESS TO EXCELLENCE
Introduction
The ERA Communication (COM(2020) 628 final, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0628&from=EN) has established the need of
improving access to excellence as one of the four main strategic goals. In particular striving
towards more excellence requires a stronger R&I system where best practice is disseminated
faster across Europe. The strategic plan for Horizon Europe aims at underpinning
geographical diversity, building the necessary capacity to allow successful participation in the
R&I process and promoting networking and access to excellence thus optimising the impact
of Pillar 2 and contributing to the objectives of the entire programme.
This destination will address “improving access to excellence” through a portfolio of
complementary actions that aim at building up R&I capacities in widening countries, also
through national and regional R&I reforms and investments, to enable them to advance to the
competitive edge at European and international level. This portfolio constitutes the widening
dimension of a broader European Excellence Initiative that reaches out beyond this
programme part and will be implemented together with ERASMUS+.
Each of the five proposed actions is addressing a different target group of potential
beneficiaries with a customised intervention logic. The use and appropriate design of
partnerships with leading institutions abroad will be a key vector for accessing excellence.
The intervention logic is designed to work points at a multitude of scales ranging from
individual researcher through career development, focussed networks, institutional
development to a systemic impact on national R&I systems.
Capacity building will go beyond purely scientific capacities since it includes the
development of management and administrative capacities for the benefit of institutions
(notably in Twinning and the Strengthening Capacities for Excellence in Universities) that are
eager to take over consortium leadership roles especially under Pillar 2. Teaming actions will
create new or modernise existing centers of excellence by means of a very close and strategic
partnership with leading institutions abroad. The impact will be amplified by the
conditionality of a securing a complementary investment (especially for infrastructure,
building, hardware) from the structural funds or other sources. Once established the centres
will function as lighthouses with far reaching impact and role models for attracting the best
talents. Further, they will demonstrate the success of modern governance and management,
and, hence stimulate generalised reforms in the national R&I environment.
In a complementary manner with a focus on the transformation of the academic and higher
education system the university related scheme will foster reforms in widening countries
embedded in dynamic European university alliances. Scientific excellence in the more
traditional sense is the aim of Twinning where focused networks with excellent partners will
develop new promising R&I domains and test novel approaches in smaller joint research
projects.
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Innovation excellence is the focus of excellence hubs where innovation ecosystems in
widening countries and beyond will team up and strive for creating better linkages between
academia, business, government and society that will foster a real placed based innovation
culture in widening countries on the grounds of a strategic agenda in line with regional or
national smart specialisation strategies. In this context, synergies will be sought with the
programme parts on European Innovation Ecosystems and the European Institute of
Innovation & Technology (EIT).
Furthermore, research and innovation performance is correlated with the efficiency of the
national research and innovation system and the capacity and the effectiveness of the National
Contact Points (NCPs). Special attention should be given to the less experienced entities in
low R&I performing countries to bridge the knowledge gap and rapidly acquire know-how
accumulated in other countries thus enabling better access to funding opportunities in the EU
Framework Programmes and beyond.
A dedicated support mechanism is envisaged in this Work programme part with the specific
objective to strengthen the activities of NCPs to support international networking and to
improve the quality of proposals from legal entities from low R&I performing countries.
The NCP action will include the establishment of an NCP network for the ERA component of
this work programme part.
In addition, particular attention will be paid to cross-cutting objectives set for Horizon
Europe, such as gender equality and open science practices, through the different funded
actions.
Expected impact
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
to the following expected impacts:
   Increased science and innovation capacities for all actors in the R&I system in widening
      countries
   Structural changes leading to a modernised and more competitive R&I systems in
      eligible countries
   Reformed R&I systems and institutions leading also to increased attractiveness and
      retention of research talents
   Mobilisation of national and European resources for strategic investments
   Higher participation success in Horizon Europe and more consortium leadership roles
   Stronger linkages between academia and business and improved career permeability
   Strengthened role of the Higher Education sector in research and innovation
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   Greater involvement of regional actors in R&I process
   Improved outreach to international scale for all actors
   A more consistent level of NCP support services across Europe
   An improved and professionalised NCPs in the widening countries, that would help
     simplify access to Horizon Europe calls, lowering the entry barriers for newcomers, and
     raising the average quality of proposals submitted
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
              Call                           Budgets (EUR million)                   Deadline(s)
                                           2021                    2022
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-                                         180.00              05 Oct 2021 (First
ACCESS-01-two-stage                                                              Stage)
                                                                                 08     Sep    2022
                                                                                 (Second Stage)
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-                21.00                                        05 Oct 2021
ACCESS-02
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-                149.00                                       18 Jan 2022
ACCESS-03
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-                                         50.00               15 Mar 2022
ACCESS-04
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-                30.00                                        04 Nov 2021
ACCESS-05
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-                5.00                                         29 Sep 2021
ACCESS-06
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-                                         40.00               20 Apr 2022
ACCESS-07                                                                        10 Nov 2022
Overall indicative budget           205.00                   270.00
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Call - Teaming for Excellence
                                                  HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ACCESS-01-two-stage
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)3
                         Topics                               Type Budgets          Expected      Number
                                                                of      (EUR           EU             of
                                                             Action million) contribution projects
                                                                                   per project expected
                                                                         2022         (EUR          to be
                                                                                             4
                                                                                    million)       funded
                                           Opening: 29 Jun 2021
                Deadline(s): 05 Oct 2021 (First Stage), 08 Sep 2022 (Second Stage)
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ACCESS-01-01-                            CSA      180.00      8.00        to 12
two-stage                                                                         15.00
Overall indicative budget                                             180.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
3
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
4
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ACCESS-01-01-two-stage: Teaming for Excellence
Specific conditions
Expected EU         The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 8.00
contribution per    and 15.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project             appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                    selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 180.00 million.
budget
Type of Action      Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility         The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    In order to achieve the expected outcomes, participation as coordinators to
                    the call is limited to legal entities established in Widening countries, as
                    defined in the Horizon Europe regulation.
                    A Teaming project must involve at least two beneficiaries: a) the main
                    applicant organisation (the coordinator) which will be a university or a
                    research organisation, a national or regional authority or a research funding
                    agency, and b) at least one leading university or research organisation
                    established in another Member State or Associated Country as an
                    advanced partner.
                    The project must have a complementary funding (e.g. national and/or
                    regional funding, European funding, such as from Cohesion policy
                    programmes, or private sources). Its total amount must at least equal the
                    total requested Horizon Europe contribution.
Procedure           The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                    apply:
                    Since funding for projects funded under this topic is coming from more
                    than one source, this action is an EU Synergy grant and the following
                    conditions will apply:
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                     The project proposal will undergo a joint evaluation of both project parts
                     funded under Horizon Europe and under any chosen complementary
                     funding source, such as from Cohesion policy programmes. The operations
                     supported by a complementary source must comply with the scope of the
                     supporting programme, and they must provide an effective contribution to
                     the achievement of programme’s specific objectives. In addition, when
                     Cohesion policy funding is mobilised, it must be consistent with the
                     relevant smart specialisation strategy.
                     A clear description of the project part supported by a complementary
                     funding must be included in the proposal, where relevant including the
                     eligible category of research and development, technical specifications of
                     infrastructure, preliminary planning for building and installations, cost-
                     benefit analysis, etc.
                     In kind contributions are not considered complementary funding.
                     All recruitments have to follow a transparent, merit based and open
                     recruitment procedures
                     The following rules for dealing with ex-aequo applications apply: in the
                     first place, ex aequo proposals will be prioritised according to geographical
                     diversity criteria, as indicated in Point 4) of General Annexes Part F
                     (Procedure/Evaluation procedure and ranking). The method described in
                     its 1), 2), 3) and 5) will then be applied to the remaining equally ranking
                     proposals in the group. This rule establishing the priority order serves to
                     better spread the impact of the action and to strengthen the efficiency of
                     the ‘Widening participation and spreading excellence’ programme.
                     Seals of Excellence will be awarded to applications exceeding all of the
                     evaluation thresholds set out in this work programme, but cannot be
                     funded due to lack of budget available to the call.
Expected Outcome: Disparities in R&I performance are due to, among other reasons, the
insufficient critical mass of science and lack of centres of excellence having sufficient
competence to engage countries and regions strategically in a path of innovative growth.
Teaming is responding to this challenge establishing new centers of excellence or
modernising existing ones with the help of leading European partnering institutions. This will
help countries to increase their R&I intensity and to attain a competitive position in the
European R&I system and globally, especially by becoming drivers of change.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Increased scientific capabilities of the beneficiary institution and the host country
     enabling them to successfully apply for competitive funding in the EU and globally,
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   Improved the R&I culture of the country hosting the co-ordinator (indicators such as
      research intensity, innovation performance, values towards R&I) through centers of
      excellence as lighthouses and role models,
   Stimulus for institutional and systemic reforms and R&I investments at national level
      taking into account the enabling conditions on governance of smart specialisation
      introduced under cohesion policy programmes as far as applicable,
   Strengthened and mutually benefitting collaboration with partners from leading scientific
      institutions from abroad,
   Development and promotion of new research strands in relevant domains,
   Developed and enhanced research and innovation capacities and the uptake of advanced
      technologies,
   Contribution to the achievement of the specific objectives of the supporting
      national/regional/EU programme as complementary funding,
   Enhanced innovation and integration of planned processes, services and products of the
      centre,
   Enhanced co-operation and synergies with other EU projects.
Scope:
Teaming is one of the actions that stimulates Europe exploiting its potential by maximising
and spreading the benefits of research and innovation. It is vital for Europe's competitiveness
and its ability to address societal challenges.
The Teaming action is designed to support the creation of new centres of excellence or
upgrading the existing ones in low R&I performing countries, building on partnerships
between leading scientific institutions in Europe and the main beneficiary institutions in low
R&I performing countries that display the willingness to engage together for this purpose.
This can help countries that are lagging behind in terms of research and innovation
performance attaining a competitive position in the global value chains. Leading scientific
institutions are advanced and established partners that have developed an outstanding
reputation in research and innovation excellence in the chosen scientific domain. Institutions
that are still in the process of development or modernisation, e.g. those that are still receiving
support as coordinators from widening actions under Horizon 2020, are normally not
considered leading institutions, unless a proper justification is provided for in the proposal.
In order to maximise impact of research and innovation on society, environment and economy
at large and to contribute in particular to the achievement of the Union’s objectives, Union
funding must be coherent and work in synergy. This notion is highly relevant for Teaming
action, where a complementary funding from a national (or regional or European or private
source) is required. The implementation of Teaming action is expected to become an
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influential and meaningful bridge particularly between smart specialisation strategies and
excellence in R&I with the aim of strengthening the European Research Area and contributing
to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Whatever the source of the required complementary funding, a Teaming project, as a notable
flagship in its host country, exemplifies not only the achievements in R&I, capacity building
or competitiveness, but also sets and facilitates synergies in practise.
The evaluation of the complementary funding part may use additional criteria required by,
where relevant, the Cohesion Policy programmes and/or legislation. The managers of the
complementary funding should apply to the operations the categories, maximum amounts and
methods of calculation of eligible costs established under Horizon Europe. In addition, they
should be able to apply Art.25 (d) of the revised General Block Exemption Regulation.
Proposals may be evaluated by an additional panel of experts with specific knowledge on
complementary funding sources.
In the first stage of evaluation the R&I excellence and the conceptual approach for the Centers
of Excellence will be evaluated. Applicants have to present a strategic vision on how to
develop R&I excellence beyond the state of the art in the chosen domain and on how the co-
ordinator will benefit from the partnership with a leading institution from abroad. In addition,
the conceptual approach should outline how the access to complementary funding from other
sources will be ensured, in the respect of national, regional and/or European strategies or
policy priorities (e.g. notably smart specialisation strategies, Green Deal, Digital
transformation). Proposals also should sketch out briefly how the autonomy of the envisaged
center will be ensured and the necessary human resources recruited and retained.
Proposals invited to the second stage must include an investment plan for the full project
including a binding commitment for the necessary complementary funding.
At a detailed level the full proposal should:
    Present a strategy for how the centre will develop excellence in the chosen relevant R&I
      domain that will put it at the competitive edge beyond the state of the art enabling future
      success in competitive calls,
    Demonstrate the growth potential and expected socio-economic outreach of the Centre
      of Excellence for the benefit of the host country or region,
    Demonstrate how the project will contribute to encouraging and supporting reforms of
      the R&I system at regional and or/national level,
    Elaborate on the structure of the consortium and how this will create a win-win situation,
    Demonstrate how the newly established/upgraded Centre will have full autonomy in
      decision-making. In particular, the Centre of Excellence should have the maximum
      degree of autonomy in terms of taking its own decisions, being in legal, administrative,
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     operational, personnel and academic matters. The Centre should be able to fix and pay
     competitive salaries for its personnel,
   Elaborate on the steps that will be taken to ensure long-term self-sustainability after the
     end of the Horizon Europe grant,
   Propose a robust human resource strategy that addresses gender equality (in line with the
     research institutions respective gender equality plans) and international component,
     ensuring appropriate management capacities for the effective and efficient running of the
     Centre of Excellence,
   In order to assure the autonomy of the Centre of Excellence (CoE), if relevant, the
     project might benefit of having the CoE coordinating the project within the duration of
     the Grant,
   Present an investment plan including the letter(s) of commitment for complementary
     funding from the competent national/regional authorities or private sources to commit
     financial resources (e.g. resources coming from programmes co-financed by the ERDF
     or other sources ) for implementing the future Centre, in particular regarding investment
     in infrastructure and equipment. The letter(s) of commitment for complementary funding
     of the project will be an integral part of the evaluation of the proposal,
   The grant awarded from the Horizon Europe budget should provide substantial support
     for the start-up and implementation phase of the future Centre of Excellence including
     the recruitment of the managerial, technical and scientific personnel. It should also cover
     expenses related to team members of the future Centre of Excellence (e.g. their salaries,
     recruitment costs5, management costs, travel and subsistence costs),
   A minor research component can be accepted not exceeding 10% of the total Horizon
     Europe grant that may include a preparatory research project. Such small research
     project embedded in the Teaming action should be aligned with the objectives of the
     project and e.g. serve the purpose of developing and testing new methodologies and
     instruments and/or the integration of new scientific personnel. If preparatory research
     activity is planned to carry out, the outline of a respective work plan at an appropriate
     level of detail should be presented,
   The duration of the grant should be up to six years.
Specific attention should be paid to gender equality objectives, in line with the organisations’
commitments through their adopted gender equality plans, and in line with ERA objectives.
Call - Twinning Western Balkans
                                                                                  HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-02
5       This can be considered under the category of ‘other direct costs’
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Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)6
                       Topics                             Type      Budgets     Expected EU       Number
                                                           of        (EUR       contribution          of
                                                        Action      million)     per project       projects
                                                                                    (EUR          expected
                                                                      2021
                                                                                  million)7         to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 29 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 05 Oct 2021
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-02-01 CSA                               21.00       0.80 to 1.50       14
Overall indicative budget                                          21.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
                                                           Annex E.
Procedure                                                  The procedure is described in General
                                                           Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                    The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
6
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
7
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-02-01: Twinning Western Balkans Special
Specific conditions
Expected EU         The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 0.80
contribution per    and 1.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project             appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                    selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 21.00 million.
budget
Type of Action      Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility         The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    The coordinator must be a legal entity established in one of the following
                    countries: Republic of Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
                    Kosovo[This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is
                    in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo
                    declaration of independence], Montenegro, Republic of North Macedonia,
                    and Republic of Serbia.
                    Furthermore, at least 70% of the budget for research activities must be
                    allocated to the coordinator from the above stated eligible countries.
Procedure           The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                    apply:
                    The following rules for dealing with ex-aequo applications apply: in the
                    first place, ex aequo proposals will be prioritised according to geographical
                    diversity criteria, as indicated in Point 4) of General Annexes Part F
                    (Procedure/Evaluation procedure and ranking). The method described in
                    1), 2), 3) and 5) will then be applied to the remaining equally ranking
                    proposals in the group. This rule establishing the priority order serves to
                    better spread the impact of the action and to strengthen the efficiency of
                    the ‘Widening participation and spreading excellence’ programme.
Expected Outcome: The special Twinning call for Western Balkans will contribute to the
wide policy initiative to support of Western Balkan countries. The European Commission
adopted on 6th of October a comprehensive Economic and Investment Plan for the Western
Balkans (COM(2020) 641, 6/10/2020) , which aims to spur the long-term economic recovery
of the region, support a green and digital transition, foster regional integration and
convergence with the European Union.
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Twinning aims to enhance networking activities between the research institutions of the
Western Balkan Countries and top-class leading counterparts at EU level by linking it with at
least two research institutions from two different Member States or Associated Countries.
Therefore, building on the huge potential of networking for excellence through knowledge
transfer and exchange of best practice between research institutions and partners. Twinning
actions intend to help raise the research profile of the institution from the Western Balkan
country as well as the research profile of its staff including a special focus on strengthening
the research management and administrative skills of the coordination institution from the
Western Balkan Country.
In order to support reaching the goals of the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western
Balkans and to ensure the sustainability of investment in the region, the Commission will
propose a dedicated Agenda for the Western Balkans on Innovation, Research, Education,
Culture, Youth and Sport ('Innovation Agenda for the Western Balkans').
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Improved excellence capacity and resources in Western Balkan countries enabling to
      close the still apparent research and innovation gap within Europe.
    Enhanced strategic networking activities between the research institutions of the Western
      Balkan countries and at least two internationally-leading counterparts at EU level.
    Raised reputation, research profile and attractiveness of the coordinating institution from
      the Western Balkan country and the research profile of its staff.
    Strengthened research management capacities and administrative skills of the staff
      working in institutions from the Western Balkan country.
    Improved creativity supported by development of new approaches in R&I collaboration,
      increased mobility (inwards and outwards) of qualified scientists.
Scope: The purpose of the special Twinning call is to raise the bar for excellence of all R&I
actors in these countries. It will be implemented as one special call for Western Balkan
countries with a limited eligibility for hosting the co-ordinator for the following countries
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia in
2021.
This special Twinning aims to enhance networking activities between the research institutions
of the Western Balkan countries and leading counterparts at EU level. It links the coordinator
located in a Western Balkan country with at least two leading research institutions from two
different Member States or Associated Countries in the role of the advanced partners.
Therefore, it builds on the huge potential of networking for excellence through knowledge
transfer and exchange of best practice between research institutions and partners.
Twinning proposals should have to clearly outline the scientific strategy for stepping up and
stimulating scientific excellence and innovation capacity in a defined area of research as well
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as the scientific quality of the partners involved in the twinning exercise. This scientific
strategy should include arrangements for formulating new (or ongoing) joint research
project(s) in the scientific area of choice and describe how Twinning will take this research to
a new stage, by enlarging its scope and/or the research partnership. If relevant, any links with
sustainable development objectives are to be outlined.
Such a strategy should include a comprehensive set of activities to be supported. These should
include at least a number of the following: a) short-term staff exchanges; b) expert visits and
short term on-site or virtual training; c) workshops; d) conference attendance; e) organisation
of joint summer school type activities; f) dissemination and outreach activities. As far as
appropriate these activities should take into account the gender equality plans of the
participants.
Proposals should also focus on strengthening the research management and administration
skills of the coordinating institution from the Western Balkan country. A dedicated work
package or task should emphasise specific activities, which will help the staff of the
coordinating institution to improve their proposal preparation and project
management/administration skills. If not yet in place, setting up/upgrading a research
management/administration unit within the coordinating institution would be beneficial. This
will be achieved by fully utilising the experience and best practices of the internationally
leading partners and is expected to be a concrete deliverable of the Twinning exercise.
A research component not exceeding 30% of the total Horizon Europe grant may include an
exploratory research project. This will open opportunities for integrating smaller research
projects and by this strengthening the commitment and the engagement of the twinning
partners.
The Twinning proposals should illustrate quantitatively and qualitatively the expected
potential impact of the twinning exercise within the coordinating institution (and possibly at
regional/national level) based on indicators, such as expected future publications in peer
reviewed journals, collaboration agreements with businesses, intellectual property, new
innovative products or services, number of international students and of local students’
national and international mobility, number of women scientists and their roles in the
institutions.
It should be explained how the leading scientific institutions in the partnership will contribute
in terms of provision of access to new research avenues, creativity and the development of
new approaches, as well as acting as a source of increased mobility (inwards and outwards) of
qualified scientists. The benefits for the leading scientific institutions and the way they would
materialise through the partnership should be substantiated.
Specific attention should be paid to gender equality objectives, in line with the organisations’
commitments through their adopted gender equality plans, and in line with ERA objectives, as
far as appropriate.
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The research part of the project should be presented through a dedicated work package and
plan including the scientific objectives, tasks and roles of the partners.
The duration of the Twinning project should be up to 3 years.
Call - Twinning
                                                               HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-03
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)8
                       Topics                             Type      Budgets     Expected EU       Number
                                                           of        (EUR       contribution          of
                                                        Action      million)     per project       projects
                                                                                    (EUR          expected
                                                                      2021
                                                                                  million)9         to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 20 Jul 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 18 Jan 2022
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-03-01 CSA                               149.00      0.80 to 1.50       100
Overall indicative budget                                          149.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
8
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
9
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-03-01: Twinning
Specific conditions
Expected EU         The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 0.80
contribution per    and 1.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project             appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                    selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 149.00 million.
budget
Type of Action      Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility         The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    In order to achieve the expected outcomes, participation as coordinators to
                    the call is limited to legal entities established in Widening countries, as
                    defined in the Horizon Europe regulation. Furthermore, at least 70% of the
                    budget for research activities must be allocated to the coordinator from a
                    widening country.
                    Proposals also submitted under call HORIZON-WIDERA-ACCESS-02
                    Twinning Western Balkans are not eligible.
Procedure           The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                    apply:
                    The following rules for dealing with ex-aequo applications apply: in the
                    first place, ex aequo proposals will be prioritised according to geographical
                    diversity criteria, as indicated in Point 4) of General Annexes Part F
                    (Procedure/Evaluation procedure and ranking). The method described in
                    1), 2), 3) and 5) will then be applied to the remaining equally ranking
                    proposals in the group. This rule establishing the priority order serves to
                    better spread the impact of the action and to strengthen the efficiency of
                    the ‘Widening participation and spreading excellence’ programme.
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Expected Outcome: To prevent further disparities, maximize investment in R&D and enhance
economic growth, Horizon Europe is taking relevant actions under Widening participation
and spreading excellence objective. Twinning actions are one of the main instruments of this
objective.
Twinning aims to enhance networking activities between the research institutions of the
Widening countries and top-class leading counterparts at EU level by linking it with at least
two research institutions from two different Member States or Associated Countries.
Therefore, building on the huge potential of networking for excellence through knowledge
transfer and exchange of best practice between research institutions and partners. Twinning
actions intend to help raise the research profile of the institution from the Widening country as
well as the research profile of its staff including a special focus on strengthening the research
management and administrative skills of the coordination institution from the Widening
country.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Improved excellence capacity and resources in Widening countries enabling to close the
      still apparent research and innovation gap within Europe.
    Enhanced strategic networking activities between the research institutions of the
      Widening countries and at least two internationally-leading counterparts at EU level.
    Raised reputation, research profile and attractiveness of the coordinating institution from
      the Widening country and the research profile of its staff.
    Strengthened research management capacities and administrative skills of the staff
      working in institutions from the Widening country.
    Improved creativity supported by development of new approaches in R&I collaboration,
      increased mobility (inwards and outwards) of qualified scientists.
Scope: Twinning proposals should have to clearly outline the scientific strategy for stepping
up and stimulating scientific excellence and innovation capacity in a defined area of research
as well as the scientific quality of the partners involved in the twinning exercise. This
scientific strategy should include arrangements for formulating new (or ongoing) joint
research project(s) in the scientific area of choice and describe how Twinning will take this
research to a new stage, by enlarging its scope and/or the research partnership. If relevant, any
links with sustainable development objectives are to be outlined.
Such a strategy should include a comprehensive set of activities to be supported. These should
include at least a number of the following: short-term staff exchanges; expert visits and short
term on-site or virtual training; workshops; conference attendance; organisation of joint
summer school type activities; dissemination and outreach activities. As far as appropriate
these activities should take into account the gender equality plans of the participants.
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Proposals should also focus on strengthening the research management and administration
skills of the coordinating institution from the Widening country. This should take the form of
a dedicated work package or task, placing emphasis to specific activities, in view of helping
the staff of the coordinating institution to improve their proposal preparation and project
management/administration skills. If not yet in place, setting up/upgrading a research
management/administration unit within the coordinating institution would be beneficial. This
will be achieved by fully utilising the experience and best practices of the internationally
leading partners and is expected to be a concrete deliverable of the Twinning exercise.
A research component not exceeding 30% of the total Horizon Europe grant may include an
exploratory research project. This will open opportunities for integrating smaller research
activities and by this strengthening the commitment and the engagement of the twinning
partners.
The Twinning proposals should illustrate quantitatively and qualitatively the expected
potential impact of the twinning exercise within the coordinating institution (and possibly at
regional/national level) based on indicators such as expected future publications in peer
reviewed journals, collaboration agreements with businesses, intellectual property, new
innovative products or services, number of international students, number of women scientists
and their roles in the research institutions.
It should be explained how the leading scientific institutions in the partnership will contribute
in terms of provision of access to new research avenues, creativity and the development of
new approaches, as well as acting as a source for increased mobility (inwards and outwards)
of qualified scientists and young researchers including doctoral candidates. The benefits for
the leading scientific institutions and the way they would materialise through the partnership
should be substantiated.
Specific attention should be paid to gender equality objectives, in line with the organisations’
commitments through their adopted gender equality plans, and in line with ERA objectives, as
far as appropriate.
The research part of the project should be presented through a dedicated work package and
plan including the scientific objectives, tasks and roles of the partners.
The duration of the Twinning project should be up to 3 years.
Call - Excellence Hubs
                                                                HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ACCESS-04
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)10
10
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
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                      Topics                              Type      Budgets     Expected EU       Number
                                                           of        (EUR       contribution          of
                                                        Action      million)     per project       projects
                                                                                   (EUR           expected
                                                                      2022
                                                                                  million)11        to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                          Opening: 03 Nov 2021
                                        Deadline(s): 15 Mar 2022
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ACCESS-04-01 CSA                               50.00       3.00 to 5.00       10
Overall indicative budget                                          50.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
                                                           Annex E.
Procedure                                                  The procedure is described in General
                                                           Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                    The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
11
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ACCESS-04-01: Excellence Hubs
Specific conditions
Expected EU        The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.00
contribution per   and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project            appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                   selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 50.00 million.
budget
Type of Action     Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility        The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions         exceptions apply:
                   In order to achieve the expected outcomes, participation as coordinators to
                   the call is limited to legal entities established in Widening countries as
                   defined in the Horizon Europe regulation.
Procedure          The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                   apply:
                   The following rules for dealing with ex-aequo applications apply: in the
                   first place, ex aequo proposals will be prioritised according to geographical
                   diversity criteria, as indicated in Point 4) of General Annexes Part F
                   (Procedure/Evaluation procedure and ranking). The method described in
                   1), 2), 3) and 5) will then be applied to the remaining equally ranking
                   proposals in the group. This rule establishing the priority order serves to
                   better spread the impact of the action and to strengthen the efficiency of
                   the ‘Widening participation and spreading excellence’ programme.
Other              Consortia must include at least two different place based R&I ecosystems
requirement        in at least two different countries eligible to host the co-ordinator under the
                   widening part of Horizon Europe. Each ecosystem needs to include four
                   different categories of actors i.e. a) academic institutions (universities
                   and/or non-university research centers or labs), b) business entities (active
                   established firms with relevant revenues), c) public authorities or
                   authorised agencies and d) societal actors (civil society organisations,
                   associations, citizens, end users, media, cultural actors etc.). This
                   quadruple helix approach needs to be presented in the proposal either by
                   one or more umbrella organisations (e.g. clusters) or representative
                   individual entities representing each of the four categories. Ecosystems
                   with a large number of members are to be preferably represented by a
                   limited number of key players (at least two, thereof one research and one
                   business partner) whereas proposed activities are open for participation of
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                     other members, too. Such member need to confirm their engagement in the
                     project by letters of endorsement (signed by the member sheet). At least
                     one of the business entities needs to be an established firm (no start-up)
                     with significant and proven operational income to be verifiable by balance
                     sheets or business reports of at least two consecutive years. In addition,
                     consultants and start-ups may participate if duly justified.
Expected Outcome: Excellence hubs are an initiative to strengthen regional innovation
excellence in placed based innovation ecosystems by cross-border collaboration on a common
strategy and/or alongside value adding chains. Place based innovation ecosystems are
interconnected companies, research institutions, governmental bodies and societal actors that
are mutually reinforcing each other in a territorial context and together raise the level of
innovation excellence in their regional fabric.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Excellent and sustainable place based innovation ecosystems in Widening countries and
      beyond in relevant domains of cutting-edge science and innovation
    Long term joint R&I strategies underpinned by concrete action plans of European
      relevance
    Common investment plans for R&I including infrastructures leveraging national,
      regional and European funds as well as private capital in a synergetic manner
    R&I pilot projects alongside a joint strategy and in line with regional and national
      strategies, notably regional innovation strategies for smart specialisation (RIS3)
    New competencies and skills for researchers, entrepreneurs and professionals in R&I
      intensive domains
    Strengthened linkages between science and business
    Poles of attraction for talents in catching up regions and countries
    Improved knowledge transfer and development of entrepreneurial skills.
    Uptake of innovative technologies
    New business opportunities especially for SMEs and new employment.
Scope: Excellence hubs are part of the European excellence initiative and complement the
science oriented schemes Teaming, Twinning, ERA Chairs and the European excellence
initiative for universities by a dedicated innovation component. Excellence hubs will focus on
innovation by allowing innovation ecosystems in widening countries and beyond, to team up
and create better linkages between academia, business, government and society. This will
foster a real placed based innovation culture in widening countries based on a strategic agenda
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aligned with regional or national smart specialisation strategies. In this context, synergies will
be sought with the programme parts on European Innovation Ecosystems and the European
Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT).
This action is embedded into the broader European initiative on ERA hubs and will help to
bridge the innovation divide in this context. It responds to the third priority in the ERA
communication on translating R&I results into the economy and will especially support R&I
policies aiming at boosting the resilience and competitiveness of our economies and societies.
This means ensuring Europe’s competitive leadership in the global race for technology based
on excellence while improving the environment for business R&I investment, deployment of
new technologies and enhancing the take up and visibility of research results in the economy
and society as a whole. This action addresses regions as R&I actors since they are the place
where the innovation and industrial ecosystems breath and develop, making the links between
Europe and industry/SMEs, research centres, innovation stakeholders as well as citizens.
Regionally developed innovation ecosystems connected across Europe will be the driver of
new European strategic value chain.
Unlike Teaming projects that are centred around a single beneficiary Excellence hubs are
networks of place based innovation ecosystems in widening countries involving larger
communities of actors in a regional context based on the quadruple helix principle (see
below). Individual participants and ecosystems from other EU member states, associated
countries and international co-operation partners may join in duly justified cases e.g. given by
a specific expertise needed or the involvement in a relevant value adding chain.
Projects should be established around the following core components:
    Cross-border joint R&I strategy aligned with regional smart specialisation strategies
      and/or European policy priorities such as the green and digital transition
    R&I project consolidating academia business linkages and providing evidence for
      strategy building and investment
    Action and investment plans for implementation of the strategy
    Conceptual design and pre-planning for pilots and demonstrators (if applicable) in line
      with the strategy
    Accompanying measures e.g. to raise visibility, citizen engagement, technology transfer,
      entrepreneurship training, staff exchange, mutual learning etc.
Excellence hubs should improve access to excellence for R&I actors in widening countries
and elaborate joint R&I strategies that are aligned with national, regional (notably RIS3)
and/or European strategies or policy priorities (e.g. Green Deal, Digital transition). These
strategies will be underpinned by concrete actions plans and an investment strategy that
reaches out beyond the project’s lifetime and will leverage national, regional and European
funds as well as private (venture) capital. Investment plans may include pertinent R&I
infrastructures as well as demonstrators and pilots.
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The research component should be developed by joint pilot research projects in a domain
covered by the joint strategy that will facilitate long term cross border and inter-sectoral
collaborative links between partners notably academia and business and advancement in
science and technology development with market potential. In a particular R&I projects
should serve the purpose to close knowledge gaps and develop evidence to underpin the
development of the strategy and the investment plans. For example, in the R&I projects lab
prototypes might be developed leading to the design of pilot plants or demonstrators (see
above). However, the realisation of such pilots and demonstrators must be financed by other
sources in particular programmes co-financed by the ERDF. The approach how to access such
co-funding at a later stage should be sketched out in the proposal. Notably for the case of
ERDF the proposal should demonstrate the alignment with the pertinent regional smart
specialisation.
Accompanying measures are complementary activities that may promote knowledge and
technology transfer, mutual learning and skills development especially in research and
innovation management and entrepreneurship as well as citizen engagement. Mutual
secondments and staff exchange within and between ecosystems will help to build trust and
long term collaborative links.
Proposals should outline the nexus of collaborative links and if applicable competitive
relations of commercial actors within each of the ecosystems in a conceptual model.
Ecosystems or individual partners from outside the widening countries may participate in the
consortium as long as they prove added value by facilitating access to excellence for the
widening countries. Proposals should convincingly demonstrate the relevance of the chosen
scientific domain by its alignment with regional (in particular RIS3), national and/or
European R&I strategies and policy priorities. Applicants may choose between a more
regional orientation e.g. proven by a common denominator in their regional smart
specialisation strategy and/or a more global orientation towards European policy priorities
such as the green or digital transition.
The description of R&I content based on this choice should include a long-term vision beyond
the state of the art of the chosen R&I domain. On top of that, proposal need to demonstrate
the win-win effects of the partnership established by the consortium and the benefits for
employment and post crisis recovery. For the implementation, proposals should present a
coherent package of actions well proportioned in terms of strategy development, research,
innovation and outreach activities.
Excellence hubs as a new action under the widening component are complementary but
different to initiatives such as Digital hubs or the EIT regional innovation scheme (RIS)
because of their strategic orientation, broader scope and alignment with widening eligibility
criteria.
The expected duration of the project is up to 4 years.
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Call - European Excellence Initiative (EEI): Strengthening capacity for excellence in
higher education institutions and surrounding ecosystems
                                                               HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-05
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)12
                       Topics                             Type      Budgets     Expected EU       Number
                                                           of        (EUR       contribution          of
                                                        Action      million)     per project       projects
                                                                                    (EUR          expected
                                                                      2021
                                                                                  million)13        to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 29 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 04 Nov 2021
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-05-01 CSA                               30.00       1.50 to 2.00       15
Overall indicative budget                                          30.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
                                                           Annex E.
12
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
13
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-05-01: Capacity building to strengthen networks
of higher education institutions and cooperation with surrounding ecosystems
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per     1.50 and 2.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project              appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                     selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 30.00 million.
Type of Action       Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     In order to achieve the expected outcomes, participation as coordinators
                     to the call is limited to legal entities established in Widening countries,
                     as defined in the Horizon Europe regulation.
                     Entities who already benefit from the European Universities initiative
                     pilot funding of Horizon 2020 can participate, but are excluded from
                     receiving funding through this action.
Expected Outcome: The European Universities initiative, currently piloted under Erasmus+
and supported through Horizon 2020 has created enormous dynamism across higher education
sector to jointly create critical mass and implement institutional transformation strategies
towards universities of the future, involving also surrounding ecosystems. The European
Universities will be drivers of a European Excellence Initiative in the future with a distinct
widening module.
Through the European Excellence Initiative, Horizon Europe’s support aims at the
transformation of higher education sector and their surrounding ecosystems, including non-
university research centres. The Excellence Initiative would thereby mobilise local and
regional government’s investments in higher education sector (in its broadest sense). It will
also include research activities in strategically relevant domains with a centre of gravity in
widening countries. The widening dimension and relevance will be closely monitored on the
grounds of an overall distribution KPI.
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Pending the evaluation of the European Universities pilot portfolio in 2021-2022, the
European Excellence Initiative in 2021 will focus on capacity building for networks of higher
education institutions and partners in the local ecosystem, with a view of preparing the
networks towards the full roll-out of the European Universities initiative in the years to come
as announced in the European Skills Agenda adopted by the Commission on 1 July 2020.
Further to its proposals adopted on 30 September 2020 for the new ERA for Research and
Innovation and the European Education Area, supported by the Council in its Conclusions, the
Commission will engage further with the sector towards developing a higher education
transformation agenda.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Integrated and longer term cooperation between the partner higher education institutions
     (HEI) in the network, and with actors in surrounding ecosystems, jointly creating critical
     mass to contribute better to major societal challenges;
    Tangible progress towards institutional transformation / modernisation of HEI (in its
     broadest sense), including through pilots or study cases, with a particular emphasis on
     the entities located in widening countries;
    Strengthened cooperation with a view to raising excellence, global competitiveness, and
     general attractiveness for international talents and investments, including gender equality
     provisions; this includes preparations to embark onto the potential future European
     Universities initiative;
    Contribute to a portfolio of successful cooperation models for modernisation/
     transformation at research and innovation level, in synergy with HEI’s education
     dimension; identify remaining barriers at regional/national/EU level hampering
     cooperation between HEI and modernisation of HEI; act as a regional role model of
     successful transformation;
    Facilitate future synergies between the European Education Area and the European
     Research Area, in particular in relation to the European Universities alliances.
Scope: The capacity building towards the European Excellence Initiative aims to significantly
strengthening cooperation between at least two organisations from higher education sector in
a Widening country (or different Widening countries), by linking it with at least two
internationally-leading institutions from two different Member States or Associated
Countries.
  1. Enhance the scientific and technological capacity of the linked institutions with a
     principal focus on the entities from the Widening Country/-ies;
  2. Help raise the excellence profile of the HEI from the Widening country as well as the
     excellence profile of its staff;
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   3. Strengthen considerably the networks towards realising integrated cooperation between
      the participating entities in the research and innovation dimension, in synergy with the
      entities’ education and training dimensions.
Proposals are expected to clearly outline the cooperation and strategy for stepping up and
stimulating scientific excellence and innovation capacity in defined areas of research and
innovation as well as the scientific quality of the partners involved in the exercise. This
strategy should include arrangements for institutional transformation according to a shared
agenda that could include (a) developing shared research & innovation strategies and
roadmaps to create directional and interdisciplinary critical mass, in order to more effectively
create impact for society; (b) sharing capacity and resources, through collaborative settings
preparing the network towards the establishment of a European Universities alliance or
similar long-term network, (c) strengthening attractiveness of researchers’ careers, towards a
pipeline of talents crucial for an effective European Research Area, including reform in career
assessment; (d) co-operation with surrounding ecosystem actors for the transmission of
knowledge and talents, e.g. through creation or reinforcing of technology transfer offices and
cooperation platforms; (e) transition to knowledge- and digitally-driven universities,
conducting Open Science; (f) creating proximity to and engaging citizens for solving societal
challenges; (g) supporting institutional change through inclusive gender equality plans. Where
relevant, any links with sustainable development objectives are to be outlined.
The way forward with and within the different priority areas for transformation of universities
remains the choice of the beneficiaries. For all areas listed above, where appropriate, legal,
regulatory, and financial barriers hampering cooperation among HEI in research and
innovation as well as recommendations on the way forward should be identified. More
detailed information, including examples of activities that can be supported within these
different priority areas can be found in the accompanying information document 14, which is
published together with this work programme.
The common strategy should include a comprehensive set of activities to be supported. These
should include at least a number of the following: short term staff exchanges; expert visits and
short-term on-site or virtual training; workshops; conference attendance; organisation of joint
summer school type activities; dissemination and outreach activities; research management
and administration; capacity building for research management and technology transfer;
explorative research projects (led by widening partners) to develop new research strands etc.;
capacity building for the application of open science practices.
Proposals should target the higher education sector; this may include any type of university,
research organisations, academies of science, polytechnic universities, universities of applied
science, and specialised public laboratories. HEI partners in surrounding ecosystems, such as
businesses, societal actors or other non-academic entities are encouraged to be involved as
partner organisations.
14
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-
        call/2021/information_horizon-widera-2021-access-05-01_en.pdf
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Call - Support for R&I policy making in the Western Balkans
                                                               HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-06
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)15
                       Topics                             Type      Budgets     Expected EU       Number
                                                           of        (EUR       contribution          of
                                                        Action      million)     per project       projects
                                                                                    (EUR          expected
                                                                      2021
                                                                                  million)16        to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 29 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 29 Sep 2021
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-06-01 CSA                               5.00        4.00 to 5.00       1
Overall indicative budget                                          5.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
                                                           Annex E.
Procedure                                                  The procedure is described in General
15
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
16
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-06-01: Support for R&I policy making in the
Western Balkans
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      4.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome:
The actions funded under this topic will coordinate national and regional R&I, Education,
Culture, Youth and Sport initiatives by pooling resources and contributing to the alignment of
national and regional research, innovation, education, cultural youth and sport policies and
thus contributing to the objectives of the Widening programme.
Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
   Support to the Western Balkans Steering Platforms for Research and Innovation, and
     Education and Training as valuable instruments of policy dialogue with the region (incl.
     support to the annual Ministerial meeting of the Western Balkans Platforms on
     Education and Training, Research and Innovation and Culture);
   Facilitation of the implementation of the Western Balkans Agenda on Innovation,
     Research, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport:
         Highlighting the strategic importance of the Western Balkans and facilitating
           actions aiming to support the region’s EU integration process, covering Research,
           Innovation, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport.
         Aiming to promote regional economic growth and prosperity through planned
           investments, to be directed towards game-changing innovations and actions that
           create a sustainable and human centric development and digital future. Support the
           ongoing process of reforming education, training and research systems, and the
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           development of the cultural and creative sectors with more and better opportunities
           for capacity building.
         Contributing to the closer integration of the Western Balkan partners with the EU’s
           priorities, most notably the Green Deal, the Digital transformation, including the
           enhancement of ICT and digital skills along the lines of the Digital Agenda for the
           Western Balkans and the renewed Digital Education Action Plan, the European
           Education Area and an Economy that works for and connects people and
           communities.
   Providing support to the accession process and facilitate the association of Western
      Balkan countries to relevant European funding programmes.
   Identification of common priorities agreed among the participating national and regional
      R&I, education and cultural programmes as well as activities in the field of youth and
      sport, taking into account international developments where relevant;
   Contribution to joint initiatives, resulting in the funding of cross-border innovation
      actions, design/implement a portfolio of complementary actions which would enable
      Western Balkans stakeholders and policy makers to better internationalise and integrate
      in EU actions and policy making;
Implementation of and financial support to other joint activities supporting R&I, regulatory or
societal uptake of results.
Scope:
The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed the important role of research and innovation to tackle
the immediate crises but also to ensure a sustainable and inclusive recovery while boosting
the resilience of production sectors, the competitiveness of economies, and the transformation
of the socio-economic systems across Europe. The Western Balkans are trying to catch up on
Research, Development and Innovation (RDI). Closer links between research and innovation
and institutional cooperation to produce high-quality knowledge, underpinning economic and
societal solutions are paramount to help bridging the R&I gap between the EU Member States
and (potential) Candidate Countries. Actions stemming from this Call will foster the capacity
building in the Western Balkans to allow successful participation in the R&I process, improve
the Technology Transfer Process, promote networking of and access to excellence, thus
optimising the participation in and impact of Horizon Europe across the region. Activities
from this Call will strengthen and foster the development of the human capital base in the
region, they will promote the establishment of open, inclusive and responsible national
research and innovation systems, support an institutional change through the development of
inclusive gender equality plans in line with Horizon Europe and the ERA objectives, as well
as support evidence based policy making.
The expected duration of the project is up to four years.
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Underpinning the Western Balkans Agenda on Innovation, Research, Education, Culture,
Youth and Sport, this action will foster a comprehensive policy approach, while seeking
synergies across the entire Horizon Europe and other EU funding programmes. An action
funded under this call will support the coordination and synchronised interaction among a
multitude of instruments and programmes targeting the Western Balkans region. This should
not only facilitate an increased participation of Western Balkan entities in relevant European
funding programmes but also create economies of scale, complementarity, synergies, and
avoid overlapping of actions.
An action stemming from this topic will support a platform for the various services addressing
education, culture, youth, sport, research and innovation in the Western Balkans in their
programming and implementation. All these areas are key for finding new solutions to the
challenges we are facing across South East Europe. The actions should also aim to support the
implementation of people-to-people cooperation projects with and within the Western
Balkans, supporting partnerships between higher education institutions as well as creative
professionals and industries and European incubation networks for creativity-driven
innovation.
This action aligns with ERA and Widening objectives in that it aims to strengthen links with
EU partners and opens up to EU networks, contributes to improving research and innovation
management capacities in the Western Balkans, and it supports national policy reforms
through targeted actions. A key element in this is the support to the development and
implementation of Smart Specialisation Strategies and macro-regional strategies in
cooperation with the JRC and the Policy Support Facility.
Initiatives in the fields of research, innovation, education, culture, youth and sport create new
opportunities, reduce the skills mismatch, help to tackle climate change, support sustainable
economic growth, the competitiveness of businesses and industries and the intercultural
dialogue, enables digital transformation and provides better public services for all Europeans.
The challenges of today require international efforts, addressing them jointly is in of broader
and direct interest.
Proposals are invited to demonstrate engagement from relevant programmes and initiatives to
pool resources and to ensure complementarity between activities and policies with those of
the Framework Programme and relevant initiatives.
Proposals should seek parallel synergies with national (or regional) research programmes and
initiatives as well, where appropriate, facilitate access to resources from national agencies,
pertinent foundations, charities and transnational initiatives.
The proposal should also demonstrate potential impact on national, regional and transnational
research and innovation.
Participation of key legal entities from associated third countries, particularly from the
Western Balkans, is encouraged.
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Call - Hop On Facility
                                                               HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ACCESS-07
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)17
                       Topics                             Type      Budgets     Expected EU       Number
                                                           of        (EUR       contribution          of
                                                        Action      million)     per project       projects
                                                                                    (EUR          expected
                                                                      2022
                                                                                  million)18        to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 27 Jan 2022
                                 Deadline(s): 20 Apr 2022, 10 Nov 2022
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ACCESS-07-01 RIA                               40.00       0.20 to 0.50       80
Overall indicative budget                                          40.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
                                                           Annex E.
Procedure                                                  The procedure is described in General
17
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
18
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ACCESS-07-01: Hop On Facility
Specific conditions
Expected EU         The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 0.20
contribution per    and 0.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project             appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                    selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 40.00 million.
budget
Type of Action      Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility         The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    Legal entities established in Widening countries may join already selected
                    actions, subject to the agreement of the respective consortium and
                    provided that legal entities from such countries are not yet participating in
                    it.
                    The proposal must be submitted by the co-ordinator of a consortium
                    funded under Pillar 2 or a EIC Pathfinder call of Horizon Europe with a
                    valid grant agreement that does not have any participant from a country
                    eligible to host the co-ordinator under the Widening component
                    (Widening country). The proposal must include the accession of one
                    additional partner from a widening country.
Procedure           The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                    apply:
                    The proposal will be evaluated by independent experts focussing on the
                    added value of the new partner and the work-package or task assigned to
                    this institution in the context of the ongoing project. The ongoing project
                    as such is not subject of the evaluation.
                    In case of proposals receiving equal score in the ranking procedure, a
                    preference will be given to those proposals with a particular relevance to
                    green or digital transitions of the economy.
Total indicative    The indicative allocation of the budget to each call deadline is EUR 20.00
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budget               million.
Expected Outcome: The Hop On Facility is based on Article 20 (3) of the HE Common
Understanding providing that the work programme may foresee the possibility for legal
entities from low R&I performing countries to join already selected collaborative R&I
actions, subject to the agreement of the respective consortium and provided that legal entities
from such countries are not yet participating in it. The scheme further aims at achieving the
Inclusiveness ambition of the future ERA policy by involving research institutions from
widening countries under Horizon Europe Pillar 2 actions.
Main selection criteria are excellence and added value of the new partner performing a
relevant additional task in the project. All consortium partners need to agree on the accession
of the new partner whereas the R&I relevance and complementarity needs to be demonstrated.
The accepted application will trigger a GA amendment with the service in charge of the
related topic.
Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
   At system level, it mobilises excellence in the Widening countries, increases visibility of
      the participants from the Widening countries, improves knowledge circulation, and
      reduces lack of participation of the Widening countries in specific thematic domains.
   At organisation level, it opens up silos of established closed consortia, improves research
      excellence of the Widening country’s institutions in specific fields, enlarges outreach of
      the participants’ R&I actions and provides access to new talent pools.
   At the level of the beneficiary, new competencies and skills for working in transnational
      projects including research management and dissemination and exploitation are
      acquired.
Scope: The Hop On Facility integrates one additional participant from a Widening country to
an ongoing project under Pillar 2 or the EIC pathfinder scheme while topping up a relevant
task or work package and the cost incurred by the additional participant. This will happen on a
voluntary basis without affecting the freedom of choice for the consortium and the principle
of excellence. The Hop On Facility is open to all topics under Pillar 2 and the EIC pathfinder.
Applications with activities that contribute to the policy objective of the transition towards a
green and digital economy are especially encouraged.
The action will be part of an existing project with a valid Grant Agreement. Applications must
demonstrate the R&I added value of the new partner and present a visible and distinct work
package for the acceding partner. Proposal should include a detailed description of the profile
of the new partner and its role in the existing project. The additional partner and task should
be presented in a distinct font or colour in a document based on the Description of the Action
(DOA) of the ongoing action. Selected consortia will be invited to submit an amendment
request for accession of a new partner, modification of the description of the action and
upgrade of the budget.
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The budget increase must be exclusively account at the benefit of the new partner with the
exception of a coordination fee of up to 10% of the increased budget to be allocated to the
coordinator of the consortium.
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DESTINATION 2: ATTRACTING AND MOBILISING THE BEST
TALENTS
Introduction
In line with the strategic priority of “Deepening the ERA” this part will support further
progress on the free circulation of knowledge in an upgraded, efficient and effective R&I
system. The destination will be pursued both at the level of individual researchers e.g. helping
to develop the skills that researchers need for excellent science and, connecting all actors
across Europe and at the level of institutions and smaller research teams around future ERA
Chair holders.
ERA Chairs will support universities or research organisations from eligible countries to
attract and maintain high-quality human resources under the direction of an outstanding
researcher and research manager (the 'ERA Chair holder'), and to implement structural
changes to achieve excellence on a sustainable basis.
The institutional dimension will be complemented by opportunities for brain circulation for
research and innovation talents across the ERA and across sectors, aiming at reverting the
brain drain from widening countries. It will focus support to early career and experienced
talents to explore unknown personal territories for professional development and training, by
being mobile in the European Research Area in other sectors and in less obvious knowledge
hubs across Europe, notably in widening countries. It will put emphasis on intersectoral
mobility for early career researchers and innovators and foster a better exploitation of existing
(and possibly jointly managed) research infrastructures in the targeted countries through
mobility of researchers and innovators. Reinforcing and strengthening the interaction between
education and research, such as through the research and innovation dimension of European
Universities, training and mobility. Furthermore, specific attention will be paid to promoting
gender balance among the supported talents.
Expected impact:
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
to the following expected impact:
    Effective institutional reforms in research institutions in widening countries
    Better use of existing research infrastructures
    Excellent talents attracted in institutions and research infrastructures
    Reverted brain drain
    Improved linkages and increased mobility between academic and business, notably by
      overcoming sectoral barriers
    Free circulation of knowledge and expertise in line with ERA priorities
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   Improved gender balance and equal opportunities
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                    Call                             Budgets (EUR        Deadline(s)
                                                        million)
                                                          2022
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-01 80.00                                    15 Mar 2022
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-02 8.00                                     12 Oct 2021
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-03 24.00                                    15 Nov 2022
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-04 8.00                                     14 Sep 2022
Overall indicative budget                          120.00
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Call - ERA Chairs
                                                             HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)19
                        Topics                             Type      Budgets    Expected EU       Number
                                                             of       (EUR       contribution         of
                                                           Action    million)     per project      projects
                                                                                     (EUR         expected
                                                                       2022
                                                                                   million)20       to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 29 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 15 Mar 2022
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-01-01 CSA                                80.00      1.50 to 2.50      32
Overall indicative budget                                            80.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
                                                           Annex E.
19
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
20
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-01-01: ERA Chairs
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      1.50 and 2.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 80.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      In order to achieve the expected outcomes, participation as coordinators
                      to the call is limited to legal entities established in Widening countries,
                      as defined in the Horizon Europe regulation.
Procedure             The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      The following rules for dealing with ex-aequo applications apply: in the
                      first place, ex aequo proposals will be prioritised according to
                      geographical diversity criteria, as indicated in Point 4) of General
                      Annexes Part F (Procedure/Evaluation procedure and ranking). The
                      method described in 1), 2), 3) and 5) will then be applied to the
                      remaining equally ranking proposals in the group. This rule establishing
                      the priority order serves to better spread the impact of the action and to
                      strengthen the efficiency of the ‘Widening participation and spreading
                      excellence’ programme.
Legal and             The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of   apply:
the Grant             The composition, levels of remuneration and timeline of implementation
Agreements            of the ERA Chair holder research team should be indicated and the
                      appointment of team members must follow an open, transparent and
                      merit-based recruitment process with no more than 50% of the team
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                      appointees having previous contractual links with the coordinator.
Expected Outcome: Progress towards more and better links between research and innovation
actors across European Research Area and beyond is a requirement if Europe as a whole is to
capitalise on excellence from across the continent. To foster brain circulation for researchers
and innovators the intervention point of the ERA Chairs actions is attracting in a sustainable
manner outstanding scientists and innovators to universities or research organisations in
catching up countries and regions. This measure of “brain gain” and creation of pockets of
excellence will impact on the culture and performance of host institutions.
The leadership of the ERA Chair holder and the creation of a permanent and excellent
research group in the chosen scientific field will ensure excellence, visibility and better
integration in the European Research Area, as well as fostering competitiveness in research
funding and promoting institutional reforms aligned with ERA priorities.
Projects are expected to contribute to some of the following outcomes:
At system level:
   Increase in number of R&I talents moving to host organisations in Widening countries
   Increase in international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral mobility of researchers and
     innovators
   Encouraging institutional reforms in research institutions and in the national R&I system
     in widening countries
   Strengthening of Widening countries’ human capital base in R&I with more
     entrepreneurial and better trained researchers and innovators
   Better communication of R&I results to society
   Better quality and capacity of research and innovation contributing to Europe's
     competitiveness and growth
   Improved excellence capacity and resources in Widening countries and close the still
     apparent research and innovation gap within Europe
At organisation level:
   Research excellence of the institution in the specific fields covered by the ERA Chair
     holder.
   Increased attractiveness of the institution for internationally excellent and mobile
     researchers.
   Creation of a permanent and excellent research group in the chosen scientific field with a
     spill-over effect on the institution;
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    Improved capability to succeed in competitive research funding in the EU and globally,
      at least, in the fields of choice;
    Greater contribution to the knowledge-based economy and society
Scope: Research organisations located in widening countries interested in establishing an
ERA Chair shall submit a proposal with the prospective ERA Chair holder who should be an
outstanding researcher and/or innovator in the chosen scientific domain. The scientific field
can be any domain of research and innovation addressed under the Treaty on the Functioning
of the European Union21.
The institution in the Widening country shall be the coordinator and can opt between a joint
application with the legal entity currently employing the future ERA Chair or submitting a
proposal as a single applicant. For the former, partner institutions can be located in any
country (including countries outside the EU) except the country of the coordinator and ERA
Chair holders can be citizens of any country in the world.
Proposals should include a CV in Europass form22 of the future ERA Chair holder and detail
the scientific and technical support he/she will provide to the coordinator and how the
proposed activities will upgrade from the current situation. If there is a partner institution
proposals should outline any additional support to be provided by it to the coordinator.
Proposals should also describe any relevant investments of the coordinator in research
projects, facilities and infrastructures and how those will be achieved and/or a better use of
the installed research capacity (in particular of EU co-funded research infrastructures &
facilities). Existing or foreseen arrangements for compliance with ERA priorities 23 including
the European Charter for Researchers & Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of
Researchers24 are to be outlined in the proposal.
ERA Chair holders should be excellent researchers and/or innovators in the chosen field of
research 25 . They should establish a research team fully integrated in the coordinator's
institution to significantly improve its research performance in the scientific domain of choice
and to be more successful in obtaining competitive funding. The selection of personnel to the
research team is to be conducted by an international recruitment panel leaded by the ERA
Chair and outlined in proposals. The ERA Chair holder should also have a position within the
organisation/university, allowing her/him to make appropriate resource allocation decisions,
supervise team members and freely apply for research funding. When this is compatible with
the nature of the coordinator, he/she is expected to take on some teaching duties.
21
         http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:12012E/TXT&from=en
22
         https://europa.eu/europass/en/create-europass-cv
23
         http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2012:0392:FIN
24
         http://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reco/2005/251/oj
25
         Corresponding to profiles R3 or R4 of researchers careers as set out in the “European Framework for
         Research                            Careers”                          provided                      at
         https://cdn5.euraxess.org/sites/default/files/policy_library/towards_a_european_framework_for_researc
         h_careers_final.pdf
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To allow for the determination of the commitment of the future ERA Chair holder and of the
coordinator institution, proposals shall include: 1) a letter signed by the prospective ERA
Chair holder expressing his/her commitment to the proposal and willingness to take on the
underlying tasks and obligations; 2) a letter from the head of the coordinator institution
committing to the proposal and stating that the ERA Chair holder is to receive adequate
support to take on her/his tasks and duties including, for example, access to research facilities,
supervision of researchers, teaching duties (if any) and capacity to apply freely to national and
international funding.
The ERA Chair holders might move on a temporary or permanent basis to the coordinator’s
premises. To this end, secondments or any other legal arrangements (e.g., leave without pay,
sabbatical licences) are possible including part-time work and multiple stays. All contractual
arrangements and the timeline of ERA Chairs stays at the coordinator should be indicated in
the proposal as well as the salary, travel and daily allowances and/or other perks to be offered.
If, at any stage, the preferred option is an employment contract, the future contractual
arrangements with the coordinator should be detailed.
To ensure the sustainability of the action, the ERA Chair research team should have
conditions to thrive after the end of the Horizon Europe funding. This should be clearly
demonstrated in the proposal and include the appointment of the leader of the newly created
research group on a permanent basis within the coordinator organisation (to which the ERA
Chair holder might apply) during the initial 3 years of the duration of the grant. This is to be
conducted through an open recruitment procedure to be monitored by the European
Commission.
Grants have an expected duration of up to 5 years and cover expenses related to the ERA
Chair holder and a number of team members (e.g. their salaries, recruitment costs 26 ,
administrative costs, travel and subsistence costs) and research costs up to 10% of the EU
contribution. Costs to be claimed by a partner institution should be mainly linked to personnel
seconded to the coordinator. The grant should also provide a contribution towards measures
aimed at facilitating structural changes in the institution (e.g. costs for trainings, meetings,
publications and managing Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).
Specific attention should be paid to gender equality objectives, in line with the organisations’
commitments through their adopted gender equality plans, and in line with ERA objectives, as
far as appropriate.
Call - Fostering balanced brain circulation (BBC) - ERA Fellowships
                                                            HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-02
26
        That can be considered under the category of "other direct costs"
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Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)27
           Topics                         Type of Action              Budgets       Expected      Number
                                                                        (EUR           EU             of
                                                                       million) contribution projects
                                                                                   per project expected
                                                                         2022         (EUR          to be
                                                                                    million)       funded
                                           Opening: 29 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 12 Oct 2021
HORIZON-WIDERA-                  TMA                   Postdoctoral 8.00                          50
2022-TALENTS-02-01               Fellowships         - European
                                 Fellowships
Overall indicative budget                                             8.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
                                                           Annex E.
Procedure                                                  The procedure is described in General
                                                           Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                    The rules are described in General Annex G.
27
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
                                            Part 11 - Page 53 of 176
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Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-02-01: Fostering balanced brain circulation –
ERA Fellowships
Specific conditions
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action         TMA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       See these exceptions and specific conditions for the MSCA
                       Postdoctoral Fellowships at the end of the MSCA Work Programme
                       part.
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       See these exceptions and specific conditions for the MSCA
                       Postdoctoral Fellowships at the end of the MSCA Work Programme
                       part. These training and mobility actions will be mono-beneficiary
                       grants. The legal entity acting as a coordinator (host organisation) must
                       be established in a widening country.
Award criteria         The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                       exceptions apply:
                       For application of the general award criteria, including weighting and
                       thresholds, see exceptions and specific conditions for the MSCA
                       Postdoctoral Fellowships at the end of the MSCA Work Programme
                       part.
Procedure              The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                       exceptions apply:
                       See exceptions and specific conditions for the MSCA Postdoctoral
                       Fellowships at the end of the MSCA Work Programme part.
Legal and financial    The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant    apply:
Agreements             See exceptions and specific conditions for the MSCA Postdoctoral
                       Fellowships at the end of the MSCA Work Programme part.
Total indicative       The expected EU contribution depends on the number of person-
                                        Part 11 - Page 54 of 176
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budget                  months requested. For the applicable unit contributions, see specific
                        conditions for the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships at the end of the
                        MSCA Work Programme part.
Expected Outcome: This action builds on the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2021 action
(HORIZON-MSCA-PF-2021). The target group are host organisations located in Widening
Countries.
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
For supported ERA Fellows:
   Increased set of research and transferable skills and competences, leading to improved
     employability and career prospects of fellows within academia and beyond;
   New mind-sets and approaches to R&I work forged through interdisciplinary, inter-
     sectoral and international experience;
   Enhanced networking and communication capacities with scientific peers, as well as
     with the general public, that will increase and broaden the research and innovation
     impact;
For participating organisations in the Widening Countries:
   Increased alignment of working conditions for researchers in accordance with the
     principles set out in the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for
     the Recruitment of Researchers;
   Enhanced quality and sustainability of research training and supervision;
   Increased global attractiveness, visibility and reputation of the participating
     organisation(s);
   Stronger R&I capacity and output among participating organisations; better transfer of
     knowledge;
   Regular feedback of research results into teaching and education at participating
     organisations.
For Widening countries:
   Increased attractiveness for researchers to entities in widening countries, by providing
     competitive grants and spreading attractive working and employment practices;
   More postdoctoral researchers attracted to widening countries.
                                         Part 11 - Page 55 of 176
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Scope: Fellowships should be provided to excellent researchers28, undertaking cross-border
mobility either to or between EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries.
Applications are expected to be made jointly by the researcher together with a beneficiary in
the academic or non-academic sector located in a Widening Country.
ERA Fellowships should take place in a Widening Country. Fellowships are open to
researchers of any nationality who wish to engage in R&I projects by either coming to Europe
from any country in the world or moving within Europe to a Widening Country.
In order to apply for the ERA Fellowships call, applicants need to submit their proposal to the
Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships 202129. To be eligible to
this call the host organisation must be located in an eligible widening country. The application
to the (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships 2021 will be automatically resubmitted to this call in
case the proposal fails to reach an adequate place in the ranking to be funded. This simplified
submission procedure to the ERA Fellowships call presents applicants moving to Widening
countries with an additional funding opportunity but there is the possibility to opt out during
the application stage.
The proposals submitted under the ERA Fellowships must fulfil all the admissibility and
eligibility conditions of the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2021 and pass all the thresholds
for that call.
ERA Fellowships will be implemented applying the award criteria, scoring and threshold for
Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions. The ranking order for the ERA Fellowships call will follow
the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2021 call scores and evaluation procedure and proposals
will also retain the scores and comments included in the Evaluation Summary Report (ESR)
of this call. The MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2021 model grant agreement will be used to
the ERA Fellowships.
Secondments
Researchers receiving an ERA Fellowship may opt to include a secondment phase, within the
overall duration of their fellowship in any country worldwide. The secondment phase can be a
single period or be divided into shorter mobility periods. Secondments cannot exceed one
third of the standard fellowship duration and should be in line with the project objectives,
adding significant value and impact to the fellowship.
Placements in the non-academic sector
ERA Fellowships can provide an additional period of up to six months to support researchers
seeking a placement at the end of the project to work on R&I projects in an organisation from
the non-academic sector established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated
Country. While this possibility is also available to fellows recruited in the non-academic
28
         The part of the MSCA Work Programme referring to synergies with the Euratom Research and Training
         Programme 2021-2025 does not apply to the ERA Fellowships.
29
         specifically to Topic HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01-01, TMA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European
         Fellowships
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sector, such a placement should be implemented at a different non-academic host organisation
established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. The request for
such a placement should be an integral part of the proposal, explaining the added-value for the
project and for the career development of the researcher, and will be subject to evaluation. It
must be substantiated by a Letter of Commitment from the European non-academic
organisation hosting the secondment 30 . This incentive aims at promoting career moves
between sectors and organisations and thereby stimulate innovation and knowledge transfer
while expanding career opportunities for researchers.
Training activities
The training activities implemented under the ERA Fellowships should include training for
key transferable skills31, foster innovation and entrepreneurship, (e.g. commercialisation of
results, Intellectual Property Rights, communication, public engagement and citizen science)
and promote Open Science practices (open access to publications and to research data, FAIR
data management, etc.).
Career Development Plan
In order to equip ERA Fellows with skills that enhance and expand their career opportunities
inside and outside academia, a Career Development Plan should be established jointly by the
supervisor(s) and the researcher. In addition to research objectives, this plan should comprise
the researcher's training and career needs, including training on transferable skills, teaching,
planning for publications and participation in conferences and events aiming at opening
science and research to citizens. The Plan has to be submitted as a project deliverable at the
beginning of the action and can be updated when needed.
Call - Fostering balanced brain circulation (BBC) - ERA Talents
                                                              HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-03
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)32
                        Topics                              Type       Budgets        Expected EU          Number
                                                              of        (EUR           contribution            of
                                                           Action      million)         per project        projects
30
        In the grant agreement, the non-academic host organisations must participate as associated partners.
31
        As an illustration, Eurodoc published a list of such transferable skills at: http://eurodoc.net/skills-report-
        2018.pdf
32
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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                                                                    2022        (EUR        expected
                                                                              million)33      to be
                                                                                             funded
                                        Opening: 29 Jun 2022
                                      Deadline(s): 15 Nov 2022
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-03-01 CSA                             24.00     1.00 to 3.00    12
Overall indicative budget                                         24.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-03-01: Fostering balanced brain circulation –
ERA Talents
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 1.00
contribution per      and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
33
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
                                         Part 11 - Page 58 of 176
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                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 24.00 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Other conditions        Applicable contribution
                        The grant covers expenses related to the ERA Talents participating
                        organisations and individual talents hosted/seconded (administrative
                        costs, training costs, travel and subsistence costs and salaries for seconded
                        staff, and costs associated with dissemination & communication and
                        transfer of knowledge).
Eligibility and         Participating organisations
admissibility           Applications must be submitted by a consortium including at least three
conditions              independent legal entities in three different EU Member States or Horizon
                        Europe Associated Countries, at least two of which established in a
                        different Widening Country. Participation as coordinators to the call is
                        limited to legal entities established in Widening countries, as defined in
                        the Horizon Europe regulation.
                        Participating organisations must include partners from both academic and
                        non-academic sectors 34 , and may include umbrella organisations or
                        national/regional associations thereof.
                        Secondments
                        Secondments should be between different sectors (from academic to non-
                        academic or vice versa) and they should all include a widening
                        dimension. Secondments beyond the project duration cannot be funded.
                        Secondments can only take place between legal entities independent from
                        each other.
                        Secondments must last between 3 and 24 months for the same staff
                        member (independently of the number of organisations the staff is
                        seconded to). The secondment of a staff member may be split into several
                        stays with one or several beneficiaries.
34
        'Academic sector' means public or private higher education establishments awarding academic degrees,
        public or private non-profit research organisations for whom one of the main objectives is to pursue
        research or technological development, and International European Research Organisations (IERO).
        'Non-academic sector' means any socio-economic actor not included in the academic sector and
        fulfilling the requirements of the Horizon Europe Rules for Participation. This includes all fields of
        future workplaces of researchers and research and innovation talents, from industry to business,
        independent research infrastructures (e.g. ERICs), government, civil society organisations, cultural
        institutions, hospitals, etc.
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Expected Outcome: The ERA Talents action aims to boost interoperability of careers and
employability of research and innovation talents across sectors, with a centre of gravity in
widening countries. Projects are expected to contribute to several of the following outcomes:
    Strengthened human capital base in R&I of Widening countries, with more
      entrepreneurial and better-trained researchers, innovators and other R&I talents;
    A more balanced talent circulation, both geographical and cross-sectoral;
    Boosted R&I capacity and R&I support capacity, as well as contribution to increased
      excellence of the research-performing organisation in widening countries;
    A more structured and impactful collaboration between academia and businesses;
    Increased set of research, entrepreneurial and other transferable skills and competences;
    Improved employability and sustainable career prospects of diverse talents within
      academia, industry and beyond.
Scope: Cross-sectoral talent circulation and academia-business collaboration for knowledge
transfer is requiring systematising and structuring efforts. Through ERA4You, as one of the
ERA Policy Actions 35 , the European Commission aims to support and incentivise such
transformations, towards a more balanced circulation of talents, both trans-nationally and
across sectors. Within this scope, ERA Talents aims to support training and mobility of
researchers, innovators, and other research and innovation talents across sectors with a
particular focus on widening countries. The grant covers expenses related to the ERA Talents
participating organisations and individual talents hosted/seconded (administrative costs,
training costs, travel and subsistence costs and salaries for seconded staff, and costs associated
with dissemination & communication and transfer of knowledge).
Experimentation. Complementary to ERA Chairs, Excellence Hubs, ERA Fellowships and
MSCA Staff Exchanges, the ERA Talents scheme promotes innovative inter-sectoral
collaboration in research and innovation through cross-sectoral exchange of staff, with a focus
on widening countries. This call particularly encourages experimentation by diverse and
heterogeneous consortia in order to develop best practices for intersectoral talent circulation at
the benefit of widening countries. Grants awarded under this topic will be invited to
collaborate with each other and participate in mutual learning exercises.
Intersectoral mobility. Actions are invited to develop activities in view of realising one or
more of the following European Commission’s objectives regarding intersectoral mobility.
The European Commission aims at selecting a portfolio of complementary actions where
possible.
    Strengthening academia/non-academia cooperation, and reinforcing innovation
      ecosystems, focussing on establishment of public-private links, private sector
35
        Council recommendation on a Pact for research and innovation in Europe and Council conclusions on
        future governance of ERA, including ERA Policy Agenda
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      involvement booster, activities for the transfer of researcher know-how to businesses, as
      well as activities that foster closer involvement of business sector staff in training of
      academic staff.
    Improving training and lifelong learning for researchers, innovators, and other research
      and innovation talents, characterised by opportunities for upskilling and interdisciplinary
      skill development. In particular, (i) training for specific in-demand skills by industry or
      other non-academic sectors in specific thematic areas, such as Missions and
      Partnerships, greening of society, to improve employability and interoperability, and (ii)
      training to build R&I support capacity (‘other research and innovation talents’), such as
      knowledge brokers, data stewards, research managers, research infrastructure operators,
      knowledge and technology transfer officers, etc.
    Boosting researcher entrepreneurship, focused on development of entrepreneurial skills
      (e.g. business economics, business creation, knowledge transfer, intellectual property
      rights and other relevant legal framework) for researchers and commercialisation or
      other valorisation training and support for researchers, through preparatory activities for
      entrepreneurship and support for researcher start-up creation.
Participating organisations. ERA Talents actions must involve organisations from the
academic and non-academic sectors. The consortium partners contribute directly to the
implementation of a joint training and mobility methodology by seconding and/or hosting
eligible staff members. The collaborative approach of ERA Talents should exploit
complementary competences of the participating organisations and create synergies between
them. The participation of Ukrainian researchers in these activities is especially encouraged.
Seconded staff. Support is provided for inter-sectoral mobility of R&I staff leading to
knowledge transfer and increased employability between participating organisations. Costs to
be claimed by beneficiaries should be mainly linked to seconded personnel in the form of
salaries, training, travel, and subsistence packages. The joint training and mobility
methodology presented by the applicant consortium should include an approach to identify a
diverse audience of research and innovation talents engaging in the action, outlined in the
application. The ERA talent should have a secondment term within one (or more) of the
participating organisations. Supported staff members must be actively engaged in or linked to
R&I activities or R&I support activities for at least 6 months (full-time equivalent) at the
sending institution before the first period of secondment.
Proposers are requested to provide an estimate of the number of ‘ERA talents’ the action is
going to provide with a mobility opportunity. Secondments are open to researchers,
innovators, and other research and innovation talents – such as administrative, managerial and
technical staff supporting R&I activities in their organisations – from any career stage,
excluding though doctoral candidates (PhD students). For innovators and other R&I talents,
emphasis needs to be put on staff at an early career stage. The consortium needs to
demonstrate clear benefit of the proposed secondment methodology for widening countries,
                                         Part 11 - Page 61 of 176
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                    Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area
including the perspective to allocate at least 70% of the budget for secondments for the
benefit of widening countries.
Return and reintegration. A mandatory return phase for every cross-border secondment from
a widening country has to be included in the secondment methodology, equal to the duration
of the secondment, but not more than 12 months. Support, excluding salaries, for such return
phase on the grant is allowed for up to 12 months after the first secondment, within the
duration of the grant. A return phase is not mandatory for mobility within the same country or
secondment from a non-widening to a widening country.
Strengthening careers and collaboration. For participating staff members, the project should
offer new skills acquisition and career development perspectives. Participating organisations
must ensure that the seconded staff (ERA talents) are adequately mentored. Preference will be
given to actions that propose secondment mechanisms offering improved and more
sustainable career prospects to the ERA talents (e.g. with follow-up position at the sending
organisation after the secondment duration), thus maximising the impact of the action for
knowledge sharing and long-term collaboration. Specific attention should be paid to gender
equality objectives, in line with the organisations’ commitments through their adopted gender
equality plans, and in line with ERA objectives, as far as appropriate.
Exchanges should mainly occur between academic and non-academic sector entities (or vice-
versa) from different EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. Same-
country exchanges are also possible under the condition that they serve the specific purpose of
maintaining or reinforcing regional innovation ecosystems.
Grants have an expected duration of up to 4 years.
Call - Fostering balanced brain circulation – ERA Fellowships
                                                             HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-04
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)36
           Topics                         Type of Action              Budgets       Expected      Number
                                                                       (EUR            EU             of
                                                                      million) contribution projects
                                                                                   per project expected
                                                                        2022          (EUR          to be
                                                                                    million)       funded
36
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
                                            Part 11 - Page 62 of 176
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                 Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area
                                      Opening: 12 May 2022
                                     Deadline(s): 14 Sep 2022
HORIZON-WIDERA-              TMA                   Postdoctoral 8.00                      50
2022-TALENTS-04-01           Fellowships        - European
                             Fellowships
Overall indicative budget                                         8.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-TALENTS-04-01: Fostering balanced brain circulation –
ERA Fellowships
Specific conditions
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 8.00 million.
Type of Action         TMA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Admissibility          The conditions are described in General Annex A. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       See these exceptions and specific conditions for the MSCA
                       Postdoctoral Fellowships at the end of the MSCA Work Programme
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                        part.
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        See these exceptions and specific conditions for the MSCA
                        Postdoctoral Fellowships at the end of the MSCA Work Programme
                        part. These training and mobility actions will be mono-beneficiary
                        grants. The legal entity acting as a coordinator (host organisation) must
                        be established in a widening country.
Award criteria          The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        For application of the general award criteria, including weighting and
                        thresholds, see exceptions and specific conditions for the MSCA
                        Postdoctoral Fellowships at the end of the MSCA Work Programme
                        part.
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        See exceptions and specific conditions for the MSCA Postdoctoral
                        Fellowships at the end of the MSCA Work Programme part.
Legal and financial     The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant     apply:
Agreements              See exceptions and specific conditions for the MSCA Postdoctoral
                        Fellowships at the end of the MSCA Work Programme part.
Total indicative        The expected EU contribution depends on the number of person-
budget                  months requested. For the applicable unit contributions, see specific
                        conditions for the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships at the end of the
                        MSCA Work Programme part.
Expected Outcome: This action will build on the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022
action (HORIZON-MSCA-PF-2022). The target group are host organisations located in
Widening Countries.
Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
For supported ERA Fellows:
   Increased set of research and transferable skills and competences, leading to improved
     employability and career prospects of fellows within academia and beyond;
   New mind-sets and approaches to R&I work forged through interdisciplinary, inter-
     sectoral and international experience;
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    Enhanced networking and communication capacities with scientific peers, as well as
      with the general public, that will increase and broaden the research and innovation
      impact;
For participating organisations in the Widening Countries:
    Increased alignment of working conditions for researchers in accordance with the
      principles set out in the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for
      the Recruitment of Researchers;
    Enhanced quality and sustainability of research training and supervision;
    Increased global attractiveness, visibility and reputation of the participating
      organisation(s);
    Stronger R&I capacity and output among participating organisations; better transfer of
      knowledge;
    Regular feedback of research results into teaching and education at participating
      organisations.
For Widening countries:
    Increased attractiveness for researchers to entities in widening countries, by providing
      competitive grants and spreading attractive working and employment practices;
    More postdoctoral researchers attracted to widening countries.
Scope: Fellowships should be provided to excellent researchers37, undertaking cross-border
mobility either to or between EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries.
Applications are expected to be made jointly by the researcher together with a beneficiary in
the academic or non-academic sector located in a Widening Country.
ERA Fellowships should take place in a Widening Country. Fellowships are open to
researchers of any nationality who wish to engage in R&I projects by either coming to Europe
from any country in the world or moving within Europe to a Widening Country.
In order to apply for the ERA Fellowships call, applicants need to submit their proposal to the
Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022. To be eligible to
this call the host organisation must be located in an eligible widening country. The application
to the (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 will be automatically resubmitted to this call in
case the proposal fails to reach an adequate place in the ranking to be funded. This simplified
submission procedure to the ERA Fellowships call presents applicants moving to Widening
countries with an additional funding opportunity but there is the possibility to opt out during
the application stage.
37
         The part of the MSCA Work Programme referring to synergies with the Euratom Research and Training
         Programme 2021-2025 does not apply to the ERA Fellowships.
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The proposals submitted under the ERA Fellowships must fulfil all the admissibility and
eligibility conditions of the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 and pass all the thresholds
for that call.
ERA Fellowships will be implemented applying the award criteria, scoring and threshold for
Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions. The ranking order for the ERA Fellowships call will follow
the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 call scores and evaluation procedure and proposals
will also retain the scores and comments included in the Evaluation Summary Report (ESR)
of this call. The MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 model grant agreement will be used to
the ERA Fellowships.
Secondments
Researchers receiving an ERA Fellowship may opt to include a secondment phase, within the
overall duration of their fellowship in any country worldwide. The secondment phase can be a
single period or be divided into shorter mobility periods. Secondments cannot exceed one
third of the standard fellowship duration and should be in line with the project objectives,
adding significant value and impact to the fellowship.
Placements in the non-academic sector
ERA Fellowships can provide an additional period of up to six months to support researchers
seeking a placement at the end of the project to work on R&I projects in an organisation from
the non-academic sector established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated
Country. While this possibility is also available to fellows recruited in the non-academic
sector, such a placement should be implemented at a different non-academic host organisation
established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. The request for
such a placement should be an integral part of the proposal, explaining the added-value for the
project and for the career development of the researcher, and will be subject to evaluation. It
must be substantiated by a Letter of Commitment from the European non-academic
organisation hosting the secondment 38 . This incentive aims at promoting career moves
between sectors and organisations and thereby stimulate innovation and knowledge transfer
while expanding career opportunities for researchers.
Training activities
The training activities implemented under the ERA Fellowships should include training for
key transferable skills39, foster innovation and entrepreneurship, (e.g. commercialisation of
results, Intellectual Property Rights, communication, public engagement and citizen science)
and promote Open Science practices (open access to publications and to research data, FAIR
data management, etc.).
Career Development Plan
38
         In the grant agreement, the non-academic host organisations must participate as associated partners.
39
         As an illustration, Eurodoc published a list of such transferable skills at: http://eurodoc.net/skills-report-
         2018.pdf
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In order to equip ERA Fellows with skills that enhance and expand their career opportunities
inside and outside academia, a Career Development Plan should be established jointly by the
supervisor(s) and the researcher. In addition to research objectives, this plan should comprise
the researcher's training and career needs, including training on transferable skills, teaching,
planning for publications and participation in conferences and events aiming at opening
science and research to citizens. The Plan has to be submitted as a project deliverable at the
beginning of the action and can be updated when needed.
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DESTINATION 3: REFORMING AND                                     ENHANCING           THE   EU
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION SYSTEM
Introduction
Horizon Europe has a new level of ambition – to maximise the impact of EU research and
innovation funding for European science, economy and the wider society. It marks a paradigm
change in the design of the EU R&I Framework Programmes (FP) from an activity-driven to
an impact-driven programme. Coupled to this ambition is the relaunching of the European
Research Area (ERA) as described in the recently published Commission Communication
entitled A new ERA for Research and Innovation (COM/2020/628 final of 30.09.2020).
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the importance of R&I cooperation to deliver
solutions to society’s most demanding needs. Delivering Europe’s recovery is a priority as are
the green and digital twin transitions. To match these challenges, a new level of ambition that
links better R&I with the economy, as well as with education and training, is necessary to put
the EU’s scientific knowledge to work.
The new ERA calls for deepening existing priorities and initiatives through new and stronger
approaches. The green and digital transitions and the recovery call for cooperation between
the Commission and the Member States. They require the setting of new priorities, launching
ambitious joint initiatives and developing common approaches between policies.
To address these requirements, Destination 3 of Annex 11 of the Horizon Europe Work
Programme, will support efforts to reform and enhance the EU R&I system. Destination 3 is
built around four strands corresponding to the four objectives set out in the ERA
Communication: 1. Prioritise investments and reforms; 2. Improve access to excellence; 3.
Translate R&I results into the economy and 4. Deepen the ERA. The principle of excellence,
meaning that the best researchers with the best ideas that respond best to the societal
challenges obtain funding, remains the cornerstone for all investments under the ERA.
Strand 1 recognises the importance of prioritising investments and reforms to accelerate the
green and digital transformation and to increase competitiveness as well as the speed and
depth of the recovery. It offers support for policy makers and addresses the need for better
analysis and evidence, including simplifying and facilitating the inter-play between national
and European R&I systems.
Strand 2 addresses the need to improve access to excellence and to increase the performance
of R&I systems, building on dedicated Horizon Europe measures as well as
complementarities with smart specialisation strategies under the Cohesion Policy.
Strand 3 addresses the importance of translating R&I results into the economy. R&I policies
should aim to boost the resilience and competitiveness of our economies and societies.
Strand 4 addresses the challenge of deepening the ERA and includes Open Science, Higher
Education and Researchers, Citizen Science, Science Education, Gender and Ethics. It aims at
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underpinning a new ERA benefiting from knowledge creation, circulation and use. This
empowers higher education institutions and research organisations to embrace a
transformative process; where a highly skilled workforce circulate freely; where research
outputs are shared; where gender equality is assured; where the outcomes of R&I are
understood, trusted and increasingly used, by educated informed scientists and citizens to the
benefit of society.
Expected impact:
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
to the following expected impacts:
    Reform and Enhance the EU R&I system
    Prioritisation of investments and reforms, realisation of the recovery and the twin
      transitions
    Improved access to excellence
    Greater quality of the scientific production and stronger translation of R&I results into
      the economy
    Deepen the ERA
    Coordinated national and regional R&I programmes by pooling national resources and
      contributing to the alignment of national research and innovation policies
    Improved knowledge for policy making about the networking patterns of research
      support staff and research management
    Synergies between research & innovation and higher education policies and programmes
    Modernised higher education sector, benefitting from targeted transformations in higher
      education, research, and innovation
    Increased number of interconnected knowledge ecosystems, strong in knowledge
      creation, circulation and use
    Researchers benefit from attractive careers
    Inclusive gender equality is promoted in the European research and innovation system
    A more open and inclusive research and innovation system
    Increased capacity in the EU R&I system to conduct open science and to set it as a
      modus operandi of modern science
    Increased engagement of citizens with research and innovation
    Increased alignment of strategic research with society needs, expectations and values
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   Identified synergies between second and third level education, and between education
     and business;
   Increased trust in science and R&I outcomes, and greater two-way communication
     between science and society
   Knowledge and a highly skilled workforce circulate freely
   Improved capacities within the EU R&I system to conduct open science
   A more open and inclusive research and innovation system
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this destination:
                 Call                                Budgets (EUR million)           Deadline(s)
                                                   2021                 2022
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01 61.50                                                     23 Sep 2021
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01                                        59.00              20 Apr 2022
Overall indicative budget                 61.50                   59.00
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Call - European Research Area
                                                                    HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)40
                    Topics                          Type       Budgets        Expected EU         Number
                                                       of        (EUR        contribution per         of
                                                   Action      million)       project (EUR         projects
                                                                                million)41        expected
                                                                 2021                               to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 23 Sep 2021
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-09 CSA                             10.50        2.00 to 3.00           4
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-20 CSA                             3.00         Around 1.50            2
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-30 RIA                             1.00         Around 1.00            1
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-32 CSA                             2.00         Around 2.00            1
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-33 CSA                             1.00         Around 1.00            1
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-40 RIA                             2.00         Around 2.00            1
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-41 CSA                             2.00         Around 1.00            2
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-43 CSA                             3.00         Around 3.00            1
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-44 RIA                             2.00         Around 2.00            1
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-45 CSA                             2.00         Around 2.00            1
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-50 RIA                             2.00         Around 1.00            2
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-60 CSA                             4.00         Around 4.00            1
40
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
41
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-61 CSA                         5.00        Around 5.00         1
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-70 CSA                         5.00        1.50 to 1.75        3
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-80 RIA                         5.00        Around 5.00         1
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-81 CSA                         3.00        Around 3.00         1
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-90 CSA                         4.50        Around 4.50         1
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-91 CSA                         4.50        Around 4.50         1
Overall indicative budget                                 61.50
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
PRIORITIZING INVESTMENT AND REFORM
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-09: Support for policy makers – Programme level
collaboration between national R&I programmes
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
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project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.50 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                       exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
The actions funded under this topic will coordinate national and regional R&I programmes by
pooling national resources and contributing to the alignment of national research and
innovation policies. The expected outcomes:
    Identification of common research and innovation priorities agreed among the
      participating national and regional R&I programmes, taking into account international
      developments where relevant;
    Implementation of multiannual joint calls, resulting in the funding of transnational
      collaborative R&I projects;
    Implementation of other joint activities supporting the market, regulatory or societal
      uptake of results;
    Contribution to participating states meeting Global Challenges, including relevant
      contribution to the SDGs.
Scope: Since the introduction of the European Research Area (ERA) and starting of FP6,
Programme level collaboration among Member States and their research and innovation
programmes has become a cornerstone of the ERA, with annual investment from Member
States of more than EUR 800 million per year. More than 250 networks among research
funders have been created over time, serving different research needs but always coordinating
public research investments across borders and allowing researchers to apply for calls for
transnational research projects funded by the participating states.
The new policy approach to European Partnerships limits co-funding to Member State
collaboration to Union and Horizon Europe priorities. Therefore, the ERA part of the Horizon
Europe provides the possibility for Member States, Associated Countries and civil society
organisations such as foundations, to maintain existing and establish new collaborations on
priorities of their choice.
The successful proposal should align national and regional research funding programmes
(managed by national or regional programme owners / managers) on agreed common
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priorities and implement joint calls for transnational R&I projects as well as other joint calls.
Applicants have to demonstrate clear commitments from participating programmes to pool
resources and ensure complementarity between activities and policies with those of the
Framework Programme and relevant European Partnership Initiatives.
Proposals should pool the necessary resources from the participating national (or regional)
research programmes as well as, where appropriate, leverage resources from pertinent
foundations, charities and transnational initiatives, with a view to implementing calls for
proposals resulting in grants to third parties without EU co-funding in this area.
The proposal should also demonstrate potential impact at national, regional and transnational
level research and innovation. The proposal should demonstrate that activities exclude
overlaps with on-going actions co-funded by the EU under Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe.
Participation of legal entities from third countries and/or regions including those not
automatically eligible for funding is encouraged.
The actions should envisage a duration which is appropriate to the ambition and complexity
of the proposed topic.
IMPROVING ACCESS TO EXCELLENCE
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-20: Towards                            a  Europe-wide      training and
networking scheme for research managers
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.50
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
   Improved knowledge for policy making about the training and networking patterns of
      research support staff and research management
   Measures to increase awareness amongst research management staff about existing
      training, networking and mobility opportunities at EU, national, and regional levels
   Ultimately, increased capacity and compatibility of cooperation and funding systems
      throughout the ERA for research management, and support to scientists.
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    Improved awareness of the EU policy drivers and the EU research peculiarity in the
      Higher Education Institutions and Research organisations
    Preparation of the establishment of (a) central hub(s) to provide the EU research system
      with the most appropriate “fit for purpose” skills in EU research management, with
      active involvement of entities located in widening countries
    Provide recommendations aiming at facilitating a clear career path for research managers
      at national and EU levels, enhancing their role towards the achievement of the new ERA
      objectives, including those addressed in the related Council Conclusions on the New
      European Research Area (13567/20).
Scope: Research management can take many shapes: research policy advisers, research
managers, financial support staff, data stewards, research infrastructure operators, knowledge
transfer officers, business developers, knowledge brokers, innovation managers, etc. Entities
and regions who are proven strong and excellent hubs in knowledge creation and innovation
usually rely on a strong population of research managers.
This topic aims at improving training and skills development of research management staff, to
develop better research and innovation management capacity and guidance for researchers
across the entire ERA, as well as pave the way towards institutional acknowledgement of the
research management profession.
Proposals are expected to map and analyse the EU landscape of research management and the
financial framework to support it. They should address a wide scope of activities, such as
trainings, study visits, staff exchange, internships, exchange of good practices, development
of guidelines for new research managers and policy recommendations on how to deliver on
research management under the new ERA.
It could include piloting a European network for research managers, including research
infrastructures managers, through the integration of existing capabilities of Research
Organisations, Higher Education Institutions and institutes, networks or umbrella
organisations in research management. Projects are expected to generate a wide outreach to
the European community of research managers, active across the ERA.
Proposals should explore the possibility to create new training paths dedicated to research
support/management staff, or to optimise integration of existing recognised institutional
training and certification programmes for research managers. Both these solutions should aim
also at developing recommendations to strengthen existing schemes at EU level.
TRANSLATING R&I RESULTS INTO THE ECONOMY
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
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HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-30: Implementation of a new macro-economic
modelling concept
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
    Better integration of research and innovation activities in macro-economic models,
     leading to better measurement of their impact and a better understanding of the channels
     through which research and innovation lead to impact (direct and indirect) in Europe.
    Improved macro-economic modelling for the evaluation of R&I policy, at the different
     levels of policy intervention (EU, national, regional), and reinforced alignment between
     the development of models and policy use, for example in the context of assessing policy
     options.
    Reinforcement of the scientific community focused on the role of research and
     innovation in the EU economy based on macro-economic models and increased
     interactions between this community and policy makers in charge of R&I policy in
     Europe.
Scope: This action will operationalise the recommendations of the “Expert Group to advise on
further development of the macro-economic modelling agenda” run during the period 2019-
2020, which can be found in the report of the Group42. Based on these, it will implement a
renovated macro-economic modelling concept to improve the treatment of R&I and R&I
policies in macroeconomic models, by developing a modelling framework consistent with the
most recent empirical evidence and the theoretical state of the art.
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-32: Standardisation                              Booster         for    fostering
exploitation of FP-funded research results
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
42
        The report is available here: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/47086c5e-f249-
        11ea-991b-01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF/source-153127582.
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contribution per         2.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The
                         support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                         The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60
                         000.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
   Increased participation of research performers in standardisation activities
   Increased development of new standards or revision of existing standards to reply to new
     industrial and market conditions through contribution of EU research performers
   Increased uptake of new technologies resulting from boosting standardisation activities
Scope: The Standardisation Booster will help beneficiaries, whose H2020 and Horizon
Europe research results appear likely to lead to the revision or creation of a standard, to test
the relevance of their results for standardisation activities. This booster will be open for on-
going and closed H2020 and Horizon Europe projects. This service will help these
beneficiaries to engage with standardisation bodies and contribute to the preparation and
elaboration of standardisation activities, such as participating in a focus group, setting up a
new technical committee, drafting a technical specification or a technical report, participating
in awareness events.
The Standardisation Booster will serve as a standardisation proof of concept scheme. The
consortium will manage the scheme and should be able to engage with high-level independent
experts in standardization in order to assess the standardization potential of research results.
The consortium will select H2020 or Horizon Europe projects with a high likelihood of
leading to the preparation and elaboration of standardisation activities, while ensuring
geographical and gender balance.
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-33: R&I intensive IP management: Scenarios for
the future
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
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project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
   A mapping of the forthcoming technology process trends and the IP framework relevant
     for R&I that will go with these
   An assessment of the current intellectual property methods and how fit for purpose they
     are taking into account the transformation of research results into markets / socio-
     economic benefits
   Development of scenarios with potential new protection mechanisms that will benefit
     both the research community and society.
   Set of guidelines to R&I actors, notably the research generators, for the protection and
     use of intellectual property assets.
   Set of recommendations for policy makers regarding the future needs for framework
     conditions relevant for R&I.
   Establishment of a communication channel with the aim of promoting an open dialogue
     on R&I driven intellectual property needs, bringing together various stakeholders and
     practitioners and providing a feedback loop between practitioners and policy makers
     regarding emerging needs.
Scope: Technology sovereignty requires, together with investment, an in-depth understanding
of the research and innovation landscape. The current Open Innovation strategies, the ever
growing Open Science practices and the artificial intelligence revolution create an ecosystem
where the innovations happen faster than ever (machine learning, big data etc.).This topic will
look at ways to overcome the existing gaps researchers have to face when following
unconventional discovery methods (e.g. artificial intelligence, computer inventions etc.).
DEEPENING THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH AREA
OPEN SCIENCE
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-40: Modelling and quantifying the impacts of open
science practice
Specific conditions
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Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Legal and                 The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of       apply:
the Grant                 Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional obligations
Agreements                regarding open science practices: Beneficiaries must ensure early and
                          open sharing of the strategies, methodologies, models, and raw and
                          analysed data deriving from their activities. Beneficiaries must
                          acknowledge and incorporate these obligations in the proposal,
                          outlining the efforts they will make towards meeting them and in Annex
                          I to the Grant Agreement.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
    Structured evidence of scientific, societal and economic impacts of open science
     practice, complemented by the new methods, tools and data required to measure them.
    Better knowledge on how impacts develop and how a diversity of benefits can be
     achieved at scientific, societal and economic levels.
    Better understanding on how the practice of open science can contribute to the increased
     reproducibility of research results.
These targeted outcomes in turn contribute to medium and long-term impacts:
    Prioritisation of policy actions for open science, and improved policy making on open
     science.
    Maximised impact of open science.
    Increased capacity in the EU R&I system to conduct open science and to set it as a
     modus operandi of modern science.
Scope: Open science consists of sharing knowledge and data as early as possible in the
research process, in open collaboration with all relevant actors, including citizens. The
mainstreaming of open science practice43 is driven by expected impacts: (i) on the research
43
        Open science practice includes: providing open access to research outputs (such as publications, data,
        software, models, algorithms, and workflows); early and open sharing of research (for example through
        preregistration, registered reports, pre-prints, crowd-sourcing of solutions to a specific problem);
        participation in open peer-review; measures to ensure reproducibility of results; and involving citizens,
        civil society and end-users in the co-creation of R&I agendas and content, including citizen science.
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system, e.g. increased efficiency, better reliability, and better responsiveness towards societal
challenges; (ii) on the innovation system, e.g. faster innovation when results are shared
earlier, and innovations more directed towards societal challenges; (iii) on the interface
between science and society, e.g. more productive interactions among academia and other
knowledge actors, and higher trust of society in the science system when researchers and
citizens are engaged. While past projects have started building an evidence base, this remains
fragmented and incomplete. A broad and comprehensive evidence base would help define
new policies for open science, drive further uptake and help communicate on open science.
Proposals are expected to:
    systematise and evaluate the validity and robustness of existing literature, data and
      evidence of impacts of open science practice, including potential legal and licensing
      issues;
    leverage and valorise the body of knowledge resulting from the Science and Society
      (FP6), Science in Society (FP7) and Science with and for Society (Horizon 2020)
      programmes;
    complement existing evidence and develop scientific methodologies and models to
      capture impacts, notably those relating to socio-economic, including gender equality
      related, environmental and public health aspects. It is in particular expected to develop
      and implement methods for measuring the contribution of open science practice to the
      reproducibility of research results, and the implications of involving citizens, civil
      society and end-users in R&I;
    perform cost/benefit analyses of open science practice and conduct research to identify
      by which causality/mechanisms the impacts develop.
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-41: Global cooperation on FAIR data policy and
practice
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
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                          exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements                Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional dissemination
                          obligations:
                          Beneficiaries must make proactive efforts to freely share, in a timely
                          manner and as appropriate, all relevant results with the other grants
                          awarded from the same call topic, and with the EOSC Partnership44.
                          Beneficiaries must acknowledge and incorporate these obligations in
                          the proposal, outlining the efforts they will make towards meeting them,
                          and in Annex I to the Grant Agreement.
                          Beneficiaries will be subject to the additional exploitation obligations:
                          Beneficiaries must make all relevant results generated in the action
                          available for re-use, through a well-defined mechanism, to the EOSC
                          Partnership. Beneficiaries must acknowledge and incorporate these
                          obligations in the proposal, outlining the efforts they will make towards
                          meeting them and in Annex I to the Grant Agreement.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
    Strengthened international cooperation to increase and mainstream FAIRness45 of data
     and digital objects.
    Connection of disconnected initiatives on data management, data stewardship and FAIR
     data practices, across borders and disciplines, as enablers of open science.
    Increased FAIR data sharing within and across scientific disciplines and innovation
     sectors.
These targeted outcomes in turn contribute to medium and long-term impacts:
    Proliferation of interdisciplinary research that helps address societal challenges.
    More efficient research practices as a result of an increased reproducibility of research
     and reduced duplication of efforts.
    Better informed citizens and society about the results and value of research.
    Improved quality of R&I within the EU.
    Contributions to sustainable growth and faster innovation in Europe, and beyond, in the
     context of the global economy.
44
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/files/european-open-science-cloud-eosc_en
45
        ‘FAIRness’ is the compliance with the requirements of FAIR data.
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Scope: Technological advancements have made science more data intensive and
interconnected, with researchers producing and sharing increasing volumes of research data.
To produce high quality research data, researchers have to follow good data management and
data stewardship practices. Beyond proper data collection, annotation and archival, good data
management and stewardship include long-term care of valuable digital assets, either alone or
in combination with newly generated data. To maximise the value of science, research data
should be FAIR: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. The FAIR principles,
introduced in 2014, are a minimal set of community-agreed guiding principles that allow both
machines and humans to find, access, interoperate and re-use research data. It is recognised
that FAIR data play an essential role in the objectives of Open Science to improve and
accelerate scientific research, to increase the engagement of society, and to contribute
significantly to economic growth. Accordingly, the EU’s Open Science policy46 contains the
ambition to make FAIR data sharing the default for scientific research and this can be
accelerated by focusing on specific scientific disciplines. Although the FAIR principles were
initially applied to research data, their coverage extends to all digital objects that are essential
to research practice (e.g. algorithms, models, tools, workflows), and to other public sector
data. However, initiatives for good data management and stewardship practices and FAIR
practice remain fragmented across borders and disciplines. In addition, interoperability
remains the least developed to date. Interoperability standards, at discipline-level first, and
then across disciplines, are an essential catalyst to foster interdisciplinary science to tackle the
global societal challenges of our age. Finally, FAIR digital objects related to the research
process are increasingly indispensable to ensure the reproducibility, integrity and re-use of
data.
Proposals should support international cooperation on the FAIRness of both data & digital
objects in a discipline-specific manner. Applicants should map current initiatives and best
practices, globally, within a given scientific discipline, and should facilitate the exchange of
best practices across disciplines. They should support case studies and pilots to implement
both domain-specific and domain-independent recommendations in FAIR practice (from the
Research Data Alliance –RDA-, the Committee on Data of the International Science Council -
CODATA-, etc.). They should develop, pilot and possibly deploy interoperability standards
and guidelines for increasing FAIRness in specific scientific disciplines, and across different
disciplines. They should also develop assessment and evaluation methodologies to appraise
FAIRness within disciplines and to develop domain-specific benchmarks.
To ensure complementarity of outcomes, proposals are expected to cooperate and align with
activities of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) Partnership and to coordinate with
relevant initiatives and projects contributing to the development of EOSC. In particular, in
areas such as data interoperability, metadata and vocabularies or the use of persistent
identifiers, proposals should coordinate the work and establish a feedback mechanism with
the awarded proposal(s) from the topic HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-05 in order to
ensure alignment with EOSC policies and to identify common useful tools and resources as
well as relevant data repositories that comply with EOSC guidelines.
46
         https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/open-science
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Proposals are also expected to engage and/or align where appropriate with projects funded
under topics HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-03 and HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01-
04. Finally, if appropriate, proposals should further seek alignment with disciplinary use cases
for FAIR as will be developed under topics HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-06,
HORIZON-INFRA-2021-EOSC-01-07, and HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01-03.
Any prospective alignments should be clearly acknowledged in the proposals, which should
foresee dedicated activities and earmark appropriate resources for such activities.
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-43: Capacity-building for institutional open access
publishing across Europe
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
   Improved understanding of the current landscape of institutional scientific publishing
     activities across Europe.
   Coordination amongst institutional publishing services and initiatives across Europe at
     the non-technological level and improve their overall service efficiency, in particular in a
     multilingual environment.
   Actionable recommendations for strategies regarding institutional publishing in research
     performing organisations across the European Research Area.
These targeted outcomes in turn contribute to medium and long-term impacts:
   Increased equity, diversity and inclusivity of open science practices in the European
     Research Area.
   Increased capacity in the EU R&I system to conduct open science and set it as a modus
     operandi of modern science.
Scope: Recent years have witnessed a sharp increase in open access publishing activities.
Commercial scientific publishers and other service providers have turned their attention to
open access publishing, responding to increased demand for open access by funders and
research performing organisations. Research institutions have also developed their own open
access publishing activities and services. These are either new and based on open access
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publishing, or are existing publishing activities transitioning into the new digital and open
access environment. Libraries are often involved, while new types of mission-driven open
access university presses are also emerging in Europe and beyond. Such initiatives do not
require article fees for publishing, and are often supported by their institutions. They enable
open access publishing of journals and other types of outcomes in various languages and are
important in supporting multilingualism in Europe. At the same time, they often have not
gained the prestige bestowed on established publishing venues, usually produced in
collaboration with well-known commercial scientific publishers. Moreover, institutional
publishing in the social sciences and the humanities is often in languages other than English,
which is both an asset and a limitation.
This action aims to support institutional publishing initiatives across Europe to improve the
quality of their non-technological services to researchers, and to overcome fragmentation,
specifically:
1. Activities that provide a comprehensive map of the current landscape of institutional
publishing activities across Europe, through the collection of robust empirical evidence on
service provision mechanisms, funding processes, gaps, among other things to be specified;
2. Activities that improve the coordination, quality and services of existing and substantial
institutional open access publishing in EU member states and associated countries. This can
be achieved, in particular, by establishing minimum shared standards and good practices for
the non-technological aspects of their services, such as developing high quality journal
policies and procedures to make services more efficient and more attractive for researchers
(editorial scopes, peer-review policies, organisation of editorial and publishing business
processes, translation, among others), developing appropriate business/funding models that
support the long-term provision of services, etc.;
3. Explicit and actionable recommendations for strategies and policies to be adopted by
research institutions to support the further flourishing of their mission-driven, open access
publishing activities in a coordinated fashion across Europe.
Duration: The action should be no longer than 36 months.
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-44: Societal trust in science, research and
innovation
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
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Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
    Recommendations for policy makers, research funding and performing organisations,
      higher education institutions and other research and innovation actors for tackling
      societal mistrust in science, research and innovation;
    Recommendations for strengthening the co-creation of R&I contents by society, and for
      the spreading of good practices and evidence of their effects.
These targeted outcomes in turn contribute to medium and long-term impacts:
    Increased public trust in science;
    Increased alignment of strategic research with society needs, expectations and values.
Scope: Societal trust in the research system and confidence in its outcomes is vital to ensure
the EU’s contribution to attain the Sustainable Development Goals and to achieve the
European Green Deal targets; for the uptake of innovation in society; and for continued public
support for investment in R&I.
Trust depends on scientists and engineers’ capacity to demonstrate high standards of research
integrity, an ethical mind-set, critical thinking and rigorous exploration of ideas in an open,
transparent manner; and their desire to maximise the societal relevance, robustness and
overall quality of outcomes. This, in turn, is fostered by conducive institutional governance
arrangements and policy environments. In addition, citizen and civil society’s involvement in
co-creating R&I agendas and contents makes research more relevant and responsive to society
and strengthens co-ownership and trust in scientific evidence and innovation.
However, not all research is conducted in line with these high standards. Rules and guidelines
are sometimes missing or ignored, research protocols and raw data are not always published,
methodological limitations may be inadequately addressed, inappropriate statistical analyses
may lead to exaggeration of conclusions, papers are generally only published when significant
results are obtained, and self-interest may interfere in peer-review processes. A significant
part of research cannot be reproduced and therefore cannot be relied upon to build a solid base
for policy or innovation, and this leads in turn to a decrease in societal trust in research and
innovation. Compounding this, research often addresses issues of limited direct relevance to
end-users, or comes to conclusions that are wildly out of step with societal needs and values,
including gender equality related ones, because societal input to setting the research agenda
and taking part in research is often treated as an afterthought – long after innovations and
research trajectories have been decided.
To better understand the nature and scale of the sources and consequences of mistrust of
society in science and the challenges of science-society co-creation, a series of expert
workshops, small-scale studies and participatory research actions should take into account
existing knowledge (including from projects funded under previous Framework Programmes)
and should lead to new and robust evidence and analysis, as a basis for further policy action.
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Evidence from relevant Eurobarometers, and national science barometers, should form
particularly important inputs to this action.
The action should involve a broad range of potential users and stakeholders and the general
public in co-creation (e.g. civil society, businesses, research/academia, public authorities and
policy makers), develop policy guidance and recommendations, and implement innovative
means of communicating and disseminating the findings and messages. As such, Responsible
Research and Innovation could be a relevant research approach. Close co-operation should be
sought with relevant projects to encourage uptake and early sharing of knowledge and
evidence.
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-45: Support to changes in the assessment of
research and researchers to reward the practice of open science
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
    Consolidated information on initiatives for reforming the assessment of research and
      researchers, taking better account of open science practice47.
    Connection of existing initiatives at European level, facilitating mutual learning, and
      stimulating consensus building among the stakeholders.
    Pilots on new metrics, methods and institutional changes for reforming the assessment of
      research and researchers, which lead to better rewarding the practice of open science, as
      well as related issues such as gender equality, science education, and academia-industry
      collaboration.
These targeted outcomes in turn contribute to medium and long-term impacts:
    Researchers incentivised to practice open science.
    Increased impact of open science.
47
         Open science practices include: providing open access to research outputs (such as publications, data,
         software, models, algorithms, and workflows); early and open sharing of research (for example through
         preregistration, registered reports, pre-prints, crowd-sourcing of solutions to a specific problem);
         participation in open peer-review; measures to ensure reproducibility of results; and involving citizens,
         civil society and end-users in the co-creation of R&I agendas and content, including citizen science.
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   Increased capacity in the EU R&I system to conduct open science and set it as a modus
      operandi of modern science.
Scope: The current evaluation and funding system of research and researchers is limiting open
science practice, as it is still largely based on inappropriate indicators, favouring quantity of
results of individual researchers rather than quality of (collaborative) open research practice
and socio-economic impact of research. For the focus to shift to quality over quantity, and to
more efficient and impactful research, changes are required in the institutions performing and
funding research and innovation. One way of doing this is for research funding and
performing organisations to develop and implement strategies and policies that reward the
practice of open science in the evaluation of research and researchers.
A few institutions in Europe, including some universities, are currently taking steps to reward
the practice of open science, by reforming the assessment system of their research and
researchers. The proposals should build on these various institutional initiatives, on the results
of projects funded under earlier Framework Programmes such as the “Science with and for
Society” part of Horizon 2020, as well as on policy work conducted by the Open Science
Policy Platform and by several umbrella organisations of research performing and research
funding organisations. The proposals are expected to support the sharing of information at
European level across institutions and umbrella organisations, to identify good practices, and
to develop guidance and recommendations on institutional changes with respect to rewarding
researchers for open science practices. The proposals should also pilot the development,
implementation and monitoring of new methods, associated metrics, strategies and policies,
by clusters of funders and/or research performing organisations, for research and research
career assessment that integrates open science practices, in several EU member states and
associated countries.
To ensure complementarity of outcomes and synergies, applicants are expected to cooperate
with projects to be funded under topic HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01-01.
HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS AND RESEARCHERS
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-50: Protection of Higher Education Institutions
and research organisations against conventional and non-conventional threats
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
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Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Increase the awareness of Higher Education Institutions and research organisations to
      conventional and non-conventional threats
    Boost the capacities of Higher Education Institutions and research organisations to deter
      and respond to non-conventional threats
    Improve the resilience of Higher Education Institutions and research organisations
Scope: The EU Higher Education Institutions and research organisations continue to face
serious threats, such as to academic freedom, freedom of research and institutional autonomy,
as well as increasing distrust in science and scientific experts, next to various forms of foreign
interference. In addition, acute threats increasingly take non-conventional forms, such as
cyber-attacks, infiltration or disinformation campaigns. These actions seek to access research
findings, destabilise and endanger our higher education and research institutions and
undermine our fundamental European values. To respond to these threats, the EU Higher
Education Institutions and research organisations need to boost significantly their capacities in
detecting and tackling these threats and they need to be well informed and geared with simple
and effective tools ensuring security while respecting the openness of research and
innovation. Given the very nature of the topic, continued exchange with member states and
relevant stakeholders is necessary in order to expand the knowledge of conventional and non-
conventional threats to Higher Education Institutions and research organisation, and develop
appropriate actions.
Proposals are expected to: (i) analyse possible threats and identify mitigation measures; (ii)
increase awareness of threats within higher education institutions and research organisations;
(iii) promote networking and optimising of infrastructure and resources to ensure adequate
preparedness and prevention at European level.
In the framework of the new ERA, this action should also complement and reinforce EU
action for academic freedom as well as the European Pact for Research and Innovation,
which aims at deepening the implementation of the new ERA’s objectives, setting out
commonly agreed values and principles and indicating the areas where Member States will
jointly develop priority actions.
CITIZEN SCIENCE
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-60: A capacity-building and brokering network to
make citizen science an integral part of the European Research Area
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
                        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
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project               proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                      exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements            Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional dissemination
                      obligations:
                      Beneficiaries must make proactive efforts to freely share, in a timely
                      manner and as appropriate, all relevant results with the other grants
                      awarded from this work programme part subject to the same additional
                      dissemination obligations. Beneficiaries must acknowledge and
                      incorporate these obligations in the proposal, outlining the efforts they
                      will make towards meeting them, and in Annex I to the Grant
                      Agreement.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
   Strengthened links and collaboration between citizen science initiatives and other
     research and innovation actors;
   Increased capacity to conduct excellent research and innovation through citizen science,
     while maximising other potential benefits of citizen science;
   Data infrastructures better aligned to the needs of citizen science, and improved data
     practices employed by citizen science initiatives;
   Europe positioned as a leader in citizen science throughout the entire research and
     innovation system with flourishing and mutually beneficial global collaborations.
These targeted outcomes in turn contribute to medium and long-term impacts:
   Increased engagement of citizens in research and innovation;
   Increased public trust in research and innovation;
   Increased capacity in the EU R&I system to conduct open science and to set it as a
     modus operandi of modern science;
   Increased openness of the EU R&I system.
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Scope: Citizen Science is a rapidly emerging mode of research and innovation that shows
huge promise in terms of collecting new qualities and quantities of data, harnessing collective
intelligence, improving science-society literacy, and improving the relationship between
science and society. However, it is embedded institutionally only to a limited extent, at an
early stage of developing data infrastructures, and lacks the capacities and sustainable
resourcing required to live up to its potentials.
This action will become a central point of exchange between citizen science in Horizon 2020,
Horizon Europe, and other EU-level and sub-national programmes and initiatives. It should
amplify significant outcomes of citizen science in areas such as Horizon Europe’s Missions,
should they be confirmed, Clusters and Partnerships, the Sustainable Development Goals, and
the Green Deal, across all parts of the research and innovation system. It should maintain up-
to-date repositories of initiatives, good practices and tools, and become a stage for discussion
and collaboration.
It should offer extensive in situ brokering, skills, training, and capacity building services to
citizen science practitioners, civil society, public authorities, businesses/SMEs, formal and
informal education establishments, and research funding and performing organisations, with a
view to raising their awareness, knowledge and skills to collaborate with, support, and
implement citizen science.
Co-ordination of and support for citizen science to work towards FAIR (and in many cases
open) data should cut across activities. The action should become a key interlocutor between
citizen science initiatives and existing thematic databases and infrastructures. It should
support - and ‘connect the dots’ between - existing efforts to make citizen science data FAIR
and open, make new efforts to liaise between citizen science and infrastructures where they
are needed, identify unmet needs, and develop policy recommendations. Overall the action
should move citizen science towards open science as its modus operandi.
Underlying these activities should be efforts to reduce disparities in awareness and actual
practice of citizen science across disciplines in the ERA (e.g. at local, regional, national and
EU levels). Moreover, significant efforts should be made to be inclusive in citizens’
involvement in terms of geography, gender, ethnicity, disability, age, socio-economic
background etc. In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation and
mutual learning that promise tangible scientific, societal or policy impacts is advised.
The action should build on and valorise the results of earlier projects in the Science and
Society (FP6), Science in Society (FP7) and Science with and for Society (Horizon 2020)
programmes, in particular projects focused on public engagement, responsible research and
innovation, and citizen science , as well as of national and regional initiatives, and should aim
to provide a seamless transition between previous supporting actions and this new action.
The action should be no shorter than 3 years.
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HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-61: Supporting and giving recognition to citizen
science in the European Research Area
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements            Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional dissemination
                      obligations:
                      Beneficiaries must make proactive efforts to freely share, in a timely
                      manner and as appropriate, all relevant results with the other grants
                      awarded from this work programme part subject to the same additional
                      dissemination obligations. Beneficiaries must acknowledge and
                      incorporate these obligations in the proposal, outlining the efforts they
                      will make towards meeting them, and in Annex I to the Grant
                      Agreement.
                      Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The support
                      to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants or prize.
                      The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000.
                      The respective options of the Model Grant Agreement will be applied.
                      Beneficiaries should refer to General Annex B of the Work Programme
                      for further information and guidance.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
   Significant number of experimental citizen science initiatives kick-started;
   Significant number of citizen science initiatives supported to become sustainable;
   Significant number of newcomers to the Framework Programme and a significant
     number of citizens involved in co-producing scientific knowledge;
   Increased recognition of excellent citizen science initiatives throughout the European
     Research Area;
   Improved evidence base for making policy on citizen science.
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These targeted outcomes in turn contribute to medium and long-term impacts:
   Increased engagement of citizens with science and researchers with citizens;
   Increased public trust in science;
   Increased alignment of strategic research with society needs, expectations and values;
   Better understanding among citizens of the process of building scientific knowledge
      through experimentation;
   Increased capacity in the EU R&I system to conduct open science and to set it as a
      modus operandi of modern science;
   A more open and inclusive research and innovation system.
Scope: Citizen Science is a rapidly emerging mode of research and innovation that shows
huge promise in terms of collecting new qualities and quantities of data, harnessing collective
intelligence, improving science-society literacy, and improving the relationship between
science and society. However, financial support is not well adapted to the needs of small-scale
and experimental activities and many citizen science initiatives that have proven their worth
fail to sustain over the longer term. In addition, citizen science is under-recognised for its role
in bridging between science and society, under-utilised where it is needed such as in relation
to the Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals, and practitioners of citizen science
are insufficiently recognised within the EU research and innovation system as conducting
high-quality activities that can have numerous side-benefits.
In order to help remedy these weaknesses in the European research and innovation system,
this action will launch two calls for proposals through financial support to third parties:
   Kick-starting: This will kick-start and provide support services to at least 100 citizen
      science activities that are at the conceptual or pilot stage and which show promise in
      terms of innovative theme or approach, collecting and analysing data, or generating other
      important benefits.
   Sustaining: This will support at least 25 on-going or recent citizen science activities to
      find ways to sustain their activities; these will have shown their worth in terms of
      innovative theme or approach, collecting and analysing data, generating other important
      benefits, or have particular potential to scale up across member states or the ERA.
The two calls may be launched over one or more waves but it should not be necessary to be
supported by the ‘kick-starting’ call to apply for ‘sustainable’ call. Efforts should be made to
evaluate the response to the open calls, capture the benefits arising from the citizen science
activities it kick-starts (social, economic, democratic, scientific, etc.), and develop intelligence
about factors that support or hinder the sustainability of successful citizen science initiatives.
In addition, this action should launch a European Union Prize for Citizen Science (funded by
the action through financial support to third parties) open to all citizen science initiatives
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involving research and innovation actors, including civil society organisations, in the
European Union. The action should prepare, publicise and launch the competition, organise a
high-profile award ceremony and showcase the breadth and scope of excellent citizen science
activities taking place across the European Union. In close liaison with the Commission
throughout the process, the action should decide on the award categories, setup the panel of
experts that will evaluate the contestants, and develop the conditions for participation and the
award criteria that enable identification of excellent/best-in-class examples of citizen science
in terms of their contribution to the scientific evidence base and/or other benefits (e.g.
societal, economic, democratic). The action should also set up a comprehensive
communication strategy around the prize. Prizes should be awarded to several winners (e.g.
for different categories) and be funded through financial support to third parties. Each prize
should be in the range of EUR 10 000 – 60 000.
Across all three of parts (kick-starting, sustaining, and the citizen science prize), the action
should consider citizen science across all areas of research and innovation and take into
account all of the different forms of participation that citizen science can entail without
prejudice to any. Significant efforts should be made to be inclusive in terms of geography,
gender, ethnicity, disability, age, socio-economic background etc. The large majority of the
funding should be allocated to the activities to kick-start and sustain citizen science initiatives.
The action should develop policy recommendations, policy briefs, and other research and
innovation results/outputs and disseminate its experiences and learnings widely.
The action should build on and valorise the results of earlier projects in the Science and
Society (FP6), Science in Society (FP7) and Science with and for Society (Horizon 2020)
programmes, in particular projects focused on public engagement, responsible research and
innovation, and citizen science, as well as of national and regional initiatives, and should aim
to provide a seamless transition between previous supporting actions and this new action.
The project should last a minimum of 4 years.
SCIENCE EDUCATION
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-70: Developing a STE(A)M roadmap for Science
Education in Horizon Europe
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      1.50 and 1.75 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
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Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
    Better knowledge on policy deficiencies and better understanding of needs;
    Identify synergies between second and third level education, and between education and
      business;
    Contributions to future Policy actions;
    Promoting an integrated learning continuum between second and third level education
      and between education and business;
    Convince students and citizens about the opportunities within policy areas such as the
      Green Deal, Digitisation and Health.
Scope: Europe needs more scientists and Europe needs a science literate society. The COVID-
19 pandemic demonstrated the importance of Europe’s scientists and medics in keeping our
society safe and healthy. The comprehensive recovery package to help the EU rebuild
highlights the importance and necessity of major EU policies on the European Green Deal, the
Digital transition and Health, all of which call for more highly educated European scientists.
In order to increase the uptake in science careers, to feed the talent pipeline, a plan of action is
needed to encourage more interest in STE(A)M for young and old alike, with a focus on also
increasing female participation and deconstructing gender stereotypes. The use of artistic
approaches to STEM involving creative thinking and applied arts (the “A” in STEAM) could
prove particularly useful in this regard. Convince students and citizens of the importance of
policies such as the Green Deal and Digitisation and the opportunities that exist within these
areas. Science is not just about hard science; it encompasses a world of technology not always
obvious to the student and undergraduate. It is important to take into account the needs of
industry in education and to develop work ready students and graduates. Introduce the
concept of open schooling. Support formal, informal and non-formal science education
initiatives, in synergy with the European Education Area.
This action should develop and deliver a STEAM roadmap for Science Education in Horizon
Europe, in synergy with Erasmus. The action should develop strategies to increase the uptake
of science careers to feed the talent pipeline, demonstrate the breadth of content available for
consideration, align the needs of society and industry with education to prepare students to
become active citizens and ready for the world of work, develop synergies between second
and third level education and promote science education mainstreaming in funded projects.
The action should consider current policy initiatives and identify gaps and overlaps or
duplication of effort. Reference and consideration should be given to previously funded
projects. Applicants should develop links with Scientix 48 , as well as with projects funded
under SwafS-26-2020 (Innovators of the future: bridging the gender gap), and consider links
with other policy domains.
48
         https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/730009
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                  Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area
GENDER EQUALITY
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-80: Centre of excellence on inclusive gender
equality in Research & Innovation
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome:
Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
   Advancement of knowledge, policy and practice on inclusive gender equality in research
      and innovation institutions across Europe, with an intersectional, geographically
      inclusive, and multi-sectorial approach.
   Reduced disparities across Member States and strengthening of the European Research
      Area and its gender equality and inclusiveness objective.
Scope: As having a Gender Equality Plan (GEP) in place is becoming an eligibility criterion
for legal entities applying to Horizon Europe, and, as the new European Research Area
Communication of 30 September 2020 is foreseeing stronger measures to promote inclusive
gender equality plans, there is a strong need for expert policy and knowledge support for
inclusive GEP implementation, in research and innovation (R&I) organisations (including
research funding and performing organisations, incl. companies and SMEs) across EU
Member States. In order to adapt to different national and local situations, and help foster
effective transformation in countries and institutions less advanced in the field of gender
equality in R&I, a first European centre of excellence on inclusive gender equality in R&I
will be created.
Building on projects and actions supported through Horizon 2020, including projects ACT,
GE Academy, GENDERACTION, and the pilot European knowledge and support facility for
fostering institutional change through gender equality plans funded under the SwafS work
programme 2020, as well as on initiatives developed by existing national or regional centres
of excellence and knowledge centres on gender equality in R&I in Europe, and by European
R&I stakeholder umbrella organisations, proposals are expected to cover the following:
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    Establish a sustainable European Centre of Excellence and think tank to advance and
     disseminate knowledge on inclusive gender equality policies in R&I, addressing three
     levels of inclusiveness, i.e.: the intersectional level, considering intersecting social
     categories such as ethnicity (including migration and refugees), disability, sexual
     orientation and gender identity (LGBTIQ issues) or else social origin; the sectorial level,
     to better address innovation and the private sector; and geographical inclusiveness. This
     Centre could work as a single entity or as core centre and network of hubs in different
     Member States, and should involve experts from different Member States, including
     widening countries.
    Provide expertise and support to Member States, R&I organisations, and the European
     Commission, in the design, implementation and assessment of institutional change
     through inclusive gender equality plans, including through the design and delivery of
     tailored training activities on inclusive gender equality in R&I, and the development of
     an enhanced Community of Practice on gender equality and diversity in R&I
     organisations, including R&I performing and funding organisations.
    Provide expert support for the collection of pan-European data on gender equality in
     R&I and the development of new indicators, including on intersectionality. Collected
     data should cover also information on the uptake and implementation of gender equality
     plans in EU Member States and Associated countries, and contribute to the She Figures49
     publication.
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-81: Policy coordination to advance the
implementation of the ERA gender equality and inclusiveness objectives within Member
States
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome:
Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
    Development of a consistent and sustainable coordination network of national
     representatives on gender equality and inclusiveness in support of the implementation of
49
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/she-figures-2018_en
                                            Part 11 - Page 96 of 176
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                  Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area
      the ERA Communication policy objectives, leading to better coordination of Member
      States' efforts.
Scope: The new European Research Area (Communication of 30 September 2020 on “A new
ERA for Research and Innovation”) is foreseeing strong measures to promote inclusive
gender equality plans in Research and Innovation (R&I) organisations, in line with the
European Strategy for Gender Equality for the period 2020-2025, to which R&I, and Horizon
Europe, must contribute actively. As the new ERA Communication and the Council
Conclusions of 1 December 2020 on the new ERA underline, there is a need for policy
coordination to advance the implementation of the ERA gender equality and inclusiveness
objectives within the Member States. Ensuring the active promotion of equal opportunities for
all includes opening up gender equality policies in R&I to diversity, and more specifically to:
social categories and grounds for discrimination intersecting with gender, such as ethnicity,
disability, sexual orientation or else socio-economic status; geographical inclusiveness; and
opening to the innovation and private sector. This new inclusive approach to gender equality
is also embedded in the new European Commission Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025.
Building on related projects and actions supported through Horizon 2020, including project
GENDERACTION, the action focuses on the establishment of a sustainable network of
national representatives from all EU Member States and Associated Countries, both from
national bodies (e.g. ministries) and from national research funding organisations, to support
the implementation of the gender equality and inclusiveness objectives of the ERA. During its
lifetime, the action should:
    Develop various innovative and engagement activities, connect citizens, experts and
      policy makers, as well as contribute to policy making at national and European
      administration level.
    Provide support and advancing the knowledge of representatives of widening countries
      is of particular importance. The action should also develop knowledge and build
      capacities, competences and expertise for gender equality and mainstreaming in R&I
      with a variety of European and national stakeholders. Special consideration will be given
      to mutual learning exercises to enhance the competence of national gender equality
      representatives, including helping less experienced national gender representatives to
      acquire expertise.
    Establish a transnational Community of Practice of R&I funding organisations for the
      promotion of a gender-inclusive culture change in R&I institutions across Europe, linked
      through a Memorandum of Understanding. Specific attention should be paid to
      promoting the development of incentives or setting requirements at research funding
      level to foster institutional change in organisations, as well as establishing a zero-
      tolerance policy on gender-based violence including sexual harassment in R&I
      organisations.
    A specific focus should also be placed on promoting the integration of the gender
      dimension into R&I content, with an opening to intersectionality. For this, the action
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     should foresee mobilising national expertise on the integration of the sex and gender
     analysis in R&I content to support the different Horizon Europe National Contact Points
     in all EU Member States.
   The work by this action should be performed in coordination with ERA-related official
     groups, and in collaboration with the European Commission, in line with ERA
     objectives.
The participation of at least 23 Member States, and in addition, of national representatives
from Associated Countries, to the consortium, is strongly encouraged, and the project must
engage and deploy activities with all EU Member States and, as much as possible, with all
Associated Countries.
ETHICS AND INTEGRITY
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-90: The challenges of research ethics and integrity
in response to crisis: the coronavirus pandemic and beyond
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.50
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.50 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                       exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
                       Due to the scope of this topic, in addition to the minimum number of
                       participants set out in the General Annexes, proposals must include at
                       least two participants from China, Korea and/or African countries non-
                       associated to Horizon Europe. Participants from countries, which are
                       not eligible for funding according to the General Annexes, may take
                       part in the project as associated partners.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements             Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional dissemination
                       obligations:
                       Proposals must include structured cooperation with the e-platform
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                           Embassy of Good Science 50 , and the European Networks ENERI
                           (European Network of Research Ethics Committees and Research
                           Integrity Offices) 51 and ENRIO (European Network of Research
                           Integrity Offices)52.
                           The output material of the action must be made available on the e-
                           platform Embassy of Good Science.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
Crises, and in particular health related ones, have become a dramatic reality for the EU and
globally since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Scientific knowledge focuses the
attention, as it is a key element to address the urgency of the situation in an effective way and
improve preparedness for the future. The extremely heavy human, social, cultural and
economic consequences associated with the time pressure sets exceptional conditions calling
for an adaptation of the way and procedures to work, and decide and prioritise which
inevitably raises associated ethical questions. Some research topics have an intrinsically
complex ethics dimension, for example research on the imposing of protection measures,
health care prioritization, consequences for family life, and gender impacts on health.
In this context, the activity proposed is expected to propose an operational ethics and integrity
framework, which preserves the key ethics principles while supporting a rapid and effective
response to a crisis and improving overall preparedness.
Scope: The first priority is to analyse what characterises, from an ethics perspective, a crisis
of a global, sudden and unexpected nature of the type of the Covid-19 pandemic, and isolate
what are the related ethics and integrity challenges as regards the production, sharing and use
of scientific knowledge and data53 in designing and implementing responses as well as in
anticipating future global urgencies.
Derogations of human rights and freedoms, albeit in the interests of the public good, must be
temporary, proportionate, used only as last resort, and critically there must be clear
transparent criteria for their suspension e.g. in the form of sunset clauses to emergency
legislation. The greatest danger – during and after the end of any formal ‘state of emergency’
– is a ‘new normal’ of eroded rights and liberties.54 For example, the pressing need to collect
large amounts of personal data raises important questions regarding the preservation of
50
        www.embassy.science
51
        http://eneri.eu/
52
        http://www.enrio.eu/
53
        The need for the sharing of data was emphasised in the Commission Communication on the on
        additional         COVID-19           response         measures,       COM(2020)        687        final,
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/communication-additional-covid-19-response-measures.pdf
54
        Statement on European Solidarity and the Protection of Fundamental Rights in the COVID-19
        Pandemic,        European     Group       on     Ethics    in    Science   and    New     Technologies
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/research_and_innovation/ege/ec_rtd_ege-statement-covid-
        19.pdf
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privacy55, and should be assessed carefully against the need to ensure information of data
subjects and the possibility to pursue alternative means.
An important element that characterises major crises is that they go beyond the impact on the
wellbeing of persons and touches the society more globally notably in terms of solidarity and
social justice, as well as gender equality. Mid and long-term social, cultural and economic
consequences are also more prominent in these unusual research contexts. The issues related
to the role of ethics and integrity experts (as advisors, for example), informed consent, undue
inducement, the right to know, and to opt out should be among the elements to tackle.
Based on this analysis, the action should draw the lessons and examine how to adapt
processes followed under normal conditions (e.g. for informed consent, regulatory approvals
etc.).
The scope should also cover the ethics of the scientific work on public health measures (such
as behavioural studies, communication strategies, gender impacts on health56), including those
aiming at an increased preparedness. The objective is to cover emerging ethics issues related
to new concepts like “immunisation certification” that are at the centre of vivid debates
involving fundamental values.
The action should clearly highlight what cannot be accepted or neglected in the name of
coping with the urgency and the magnitude of the impact of a crisis (including the moral
distress of the front line personnel, a large majority of which are women). Another important
example is the need to always conduct, prior to the start of a research, an independent ethical
review, which remains a necessary safeguard for the individuals involved and enhance the
trust from the impacted communities and the society as a whole 57 . Emergency needs
adaptation should not lower ethics and integrity standards.
The work should be based on existing know how and identification of preparedness need. The
joint advise on “Improving Pandemic Preparedness and Management” 58 by the Group of
Chief Scientific Advisors (GCSA), the European Group on Ethics in Science and New
Technologies (EGE) and Peter Piot, special advisor to the President of the European
Commission, should be considered. In a bottom-up approach, involving all relevant
stakeholders (e.g. researchers, research funders, policy-makers, publishers and citizens)
through the organisation of participatory events (workshops, consultations, ‘town hall’
meetings) the activities should propose ways and means to encourage changes in the research
culture, and promote openness, communication and dialogue. This must be done in
cooperation with ENRIO (European Network of Research Integrity Offices) 59 and ENERI
55
        The full respect of the data protection law with regard to contact racing technologies was reaffirmed in
        the Commission Communication on the on additional COVID-19 response measures.
56
        See European Institute for Gender Equality (2020) Covid-19 and gender equality,
        https://eige.europa.eu/topics/health/covid-19-and-gender-equality.
57
        Ibid. The Commission Communication calls for a “robust authorisation process” to ensure safety.
58
        https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/a1016d77-2562-11eb-9d7e-
        01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF/source-171481573
59
        http://www.enrio.eu/
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                    Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area
(European Network of Research Ethics Committees and Research Integrity Offices) 60. The
cooperation with other relevant networks can be envisaged.
The action should result in (A) the identification of policy options at EU level (including
those to address possible legislation gaps) and practical ways to support the work of relevant
stakeholders notably the ethics committees and integrity bodies. The European Code of
Conduct for Research Integrity61 should be a main reference.
The work undertaken should also result in (B) operational (“how-to”) guidelines to support
the work of research teams.
The need to complement the European Code62 with specific guidelines should be assessed and
a proposal (C) for short documents complementing the Code should be made, focusing for
example on fast track processes (ethics review, publication etc.).
In addition, this action should produce (D) traditional and online training material (reflecting
the guidelines) for students, early career and experienced researchers. Case studies (for
example on mobile tracing apps) should be included in order to facilitate practical learning.
The material, as well as all other outputs of the action, must be made available on the e-
platform Embassy of Good Science63. Where relevant the EU Digital education plan64 should
be taken into account.
Although the main focus should be on the recent Covid-19 pandemic, it is also important to
have in mind the wider objective of addressing the ethics of global crisis of the same kind
(manmade or not). The action should in this regard present a generalised version of the
produced recommendations and guidelines and training material.
Publicly available results from relevant EU funded research projects 65 (e.g. SHERPA,
SIENNA, Panelfit, SOP4RI) should be taken into account. Structured cooperation with the e-
platform Embassy of Good Science and the European Networks ENERI and ENRIO, with
clear attribution of research ethics and research integrity responsibilities, is necessary.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, cooperation with actors from China, Korea and/or
African countries non-associated to Horizon Europe is required.
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-91: Ensuring reliability and trust in quality of
Research Ethics expertise in the context of new/emerging technologies
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 4.50
60
        http://eneri.eu/
61
        http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/other/hi/h2020-ethics_code-of-conduct_en.pdf
62
        Ibid.
63
        www.embassy.science
64
        https://ec.europa.eu/education/education-in-the-eu/digital-education-action-plan_en
65
        Detailed information of the mentioned EU funded projects can be found on CORDIS web site
        (https://cordis.europa.eu/ )
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contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.50 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                         exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
                         Due to the scope of this topic, in addition to the minimum number of
                         participants set out in the General Annexes, proposals must include at
                         least two participants from China, Korea and/or African countries non-
                         associated to Horizon Europe. Participants from countries, which are
                         not eligible for funding according to the General Annexes, may take
                         part in the project as associated partners.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements               Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional dissemination
                         obligations:
                         Proposals must include structured cooperation with the e-platform
                         Embassy of Good Science 66 , and the European Networks ENERI
                         (European Network of Research Ethics Committees and Research
                         Integrity Offices) 67 and ENRIO (European Network of Research
                         Integrity Offices)68.
                         The output material of the action must be made available on the e-
                         platform Embassy of Good Science.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
Ensuring the adherence to the highest standards of research ethics is a key element of national
and EU research policy. Because of its universal impact on our society and its primary role in
innovation, the need for ethics rigour, the pillar of public trust in the scientific endeavour, is
essential. Overall, research ethics is the foundation of high quality research and a prerequisite
for achieving excellence in research and innovation in Europe and beyond.
In order to ensure that the research activities meet these expectations, they need to comply
with the relevant legislations (e.g. on personal data protection, clinical trials, animal research
66
        www.embassy.science
67
        http://eneri.eu/
68
        http://www.enrio.eu/
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                     Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area
etc.) and ethics principles. Assessing the compatibility with ethics principles requires the
involvement of ethics experts that usually provide, as an ethics committee/panel an opinion or
an approval. These experts, including early career researchers, come from all disciplines in
science, from the public and private sector, as well as from citizens associations and NGOs.
Reliability and trust in the quality and expertise of the ethics experts is therefore key. This
requires beyond the questions related to the independence and the possible conflicts of
interest, that the experts have the necessary knowledge and understanding of the issues at
stake to be able to assess the activity under review.
The recent rapid development of new technologies with high potential socio-economic
impact 69 constitutes in this regard an important challenge: ensuring that technological
transformations go hand in hand with the protection and promotion of fundamental rights thus
ensuring that people can prosper, enjoy their rights and freedoms and live without
discrimination. 70 In this context, because of the continuous globalisation of the research
activities involving those new technologies, the risk of ethics dumping, the exportation of
unacceptable practices outside the EU is a growing concern.
The action proposed should address these issues in mobilising the research ethics community
and develop the necessary education, awareness and training actions as well as propose
possible adaptation of the ethics review process.
Scope: The first objective should be to identify the main ethics challenges resulting from the
most impactful new and emerging technologies, including the specific challenges arising from
research activities involving those new technologies in collaboration with non-EU partners
and outside the EU.
From this analysis, the action should develop education, awareness actions and trainings for
research ethics experts. This should be done by involving the key stakeholders. Structured
cooperation with the e-platform Embassy of Good Science 71 and the European networks
ENERI (European Network of Research Ethics Committees and Research Integrity Offices)72
and ENRIO (European Network of Research Integrity Offices) is necessary. The cooperation
with other relevant networks can be envisaged. In addition, where feasible these activities
should be based on the analysis of case studies, including from non-EU countries where
relevant research activities take place, to facilitate the development of practice-oriented
trainings as well as the identification of good practices. The material produced, as well as all
other outputs of the action, must be made available in the platform Embassy of Good Science,
a one stop shop for all Commission produced ethics and research integrity reference materials
69
         Applicants may consult : https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/what-are-technologies-will-reshape-our-world-
         independent-experts-identify-100-them-2019-jun-13_en
70
         Presidency conclusions - The Charter of Fundamental Rights in the context of Artificial Intelligence
         and Digital Change, Brussels, 21 October 2020 (OR. en) 11481/20 FREMP 87 JAI 776
71
         www.embassy.science
72
         http://eneri.eu/
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and trainings, which can be readily used by all Members States and beyond. Where relevant,
the EU Digital Education Action Plan73 should be taken into account.
The action should be based on the results coming from projects funded by the EU 74 on the
ethics dimension of new technologies and other relevant domains (notably SIENNA,
PANELFIT, SHERPA, I-CONSENT, ENERI, and TRUST) as well as benefit from the work
of the project SOP4RI, working on standard operating procedures and VIRT2UE working on
a train-the-trainer programme. For the ongoing projects, cooperation and synergies should be
established, via a dedicated horizontal coordination work package. This work package should
also pay particular attention to the cooperation with the projects resulting from call H2020-
SwafS-2020-1 TechEthos, HYBRIDA and ROSiE. 75 The involvement of the stakeholders
such as ENERI and ENRIO should also be used to launch a debate on the impact of the new
ethics challenges on the ethics review process to determine how its role and working practices
could evolve to maintain effectiveness.
In addition, this cooperation with the main actors should aim at disseminating widely the
material produced. The action should in this context foresee the training of the 250-300
Horizon Europe ethics appraisal scheme experts, paying close attention to gender balance, as
well as to gender equality and diversity related ethical aspects, and make use of their feedback
to improve the trainings. More largely, the institutions organising ethics reviews (universities,
research centres, etc.) should be invited to ensure that the experts they rely on are also trained,
as part of their quality process and standard operating procedures.
Finally, the action should aim at valorising the work produced beyond the community of
ethics and integrity experts and in particular by promoting its use for the students and young
researchers that will constitute the next generation of ethics experts and reviewers. In this
perspective, cooperation should be sought with large university/research networks (such as
EUA, YERUN, LERU, CESAER, EARMA etc.) in order to enrich the relevant ethics related
curriculum with the material produced by the action.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, cooperation with actors from China, Korea and/or
African countries non-associated to Horizon Europe is required.
Call - European Research Area
                                                                    HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)76
73
        https://ec.europa.eu/education/education-in-the-eu/digital-education-action-plan_en
74
        Detailed information of the mentioned EU funded projects can be found on CORDIS web site
        (https://cordis.europa.eu/ )
75
        Ibid.
76
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
                                            Part 11 - Page 104 of 176
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                  Topics                           Type       Budgets       Expected EU          Number
                                                      of       (EUR       contribution per           of
                                                  Action      million)      project (EUR          projects
                                                                              million)77         expected
                                                                2022                               to be
                                                                                                  funded
                                         Opening: 19 Jan 2022
                                       Deadline(s): 20 Apr 2022
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-10 CSA                           7.50        2.00 to 3.00             3
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-30 CSA                           3.00        Around 1.50              2
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-31 CSA                                       Around 0.00              0
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-32 CSA                           3.00        Around 3.00              1
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-40 CSA                           5.00        Around 5.00              1
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-41 RIA                           4.00        Around 2.00              2
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-42 CSA                           2.00        Around 2.00              1
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-44 CSA                           3.50        Around 3.50              1
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-50 CSA                           3.00        1.50 to 2.00             2
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-51 CSA                           10.50       2.50 to 3.50             3
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-60 CSA                           3.00        Around 3.00              1
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-70 CSA                           5.50        1.50 to 2.00             3
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-80 RIA                           3.00        Around 3.00              1
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-81 CSA                           3.00        0.50 to 1.00             4
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-91 CSA                           3.00        Around 3.00              1
Overall indicative budget                                   59.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
       All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
       The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
       budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
77
       Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
       amounts.
                                          Part 11 - Page 105 of 176
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                                                       Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                       Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                 The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                              C.
Award criteria                                         The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                       D.
Documents                                              The documents are described in General
                                                       Annex E.
Procedure                                              The procedure is described in General
                                                       Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
PRIORITIZING INVESTMENT AND REFORM
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-10: Support for policy makers – Programme level
collaboration between national R&I programmes
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 7.50 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                      exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
Expected Outcome: The actions funded under this topic will coordinate national and regional
R&I programmes by pooling national resources and contributing to the alignment of national
research and innovation policies. Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected
outcomes:
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    Identification of common research and innovation priorities agreed among the
      participating national and regional R&I programmes, taking into account international
      developments where relevant;
    Implementation of multiannual joint calls, resulting in the funding of transnational
      collaborative R&I projects;
    Implementation of other joint activities supporting the market, regulatory or societal
      uptake of results;
    Contribution to participating states meeting Global Challenges, including relevant
      contribution to the SDGs.
Scope: Since the introduction of the European Research Area (ERA) and starting with FP6,
Programme level collaboration among Member States and their research and innovation
programmes has become a cornerstone of the ERA, with annual investment from Member
States of more than € 800 million per year. More than 250 networks among research funders
have been created over time, serving different research needs but always coordinating public
research investments across borders and allowing researchers to apply for calls for
transnational research projects funded by the participating states.
The new policy approach to European Partnerships limits co-funding to Member State
collaboration to Union and Horizon Europe priorities. Therefore, the ERA part of the Horizon
Europe provides the possibility for Member States, Associated Countries and civil society
organisations such as foundations, to maintain existing and establish new collaborations on
priorities of their choice.
The successful proposal should align national and regional research funding programmes
(managed by national or regional programme owners / managers) on agreed common
priorities and implement joint calls for transnational R&I projects as well as other joint calls.
Proposers have to demonstrate clear commitments from participating programmes to pool
resources and ensure complementarity between activities and policies with those of the
Framework Programme and relevant European Partnership Initiatives.
Applicants should pool the necessary resources from the participating national (or regional)
research programmes as well as, where appropriate, leverage resources from pertinent
foundations, charities and transnational initiatives, with a view to implementing calls for
proposals resulting in grants to third parties without EU co-funding in this area.
The proposal should also demonstrate potential impact at national, regional and transnational
level research and innovation. The proposal should demonstrate that activities exclude
overlaps with on-going actions co-funded by the EU under Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe.
Participation of legal entities from third countries, and/or regions including those not
automatically eligible for funding is encouraged.
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The actions should envisage a duration which is appropriate to the ambition and complexity
of the proposed topic.
TRANSLATING R&I RESULTS INTO THE ECONOMY
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-30: Testing of the ERA Hub concept – pilot phase
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.50
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
    Test the new ERA Hubs78 concept across different geographies and structures in Europe,
     based on common compliance criteria; the process should act as an incentive for
     advanced ecosystems to seek recognition, and for less advanced ecosystems to reach the
     criteria facilitating support from European, national and regional level.
    Better coordinate relationships between the European Research Area and relevant
     national or regional stakeholders in order to ensure the smart directionality introduced in
     the new ERA.
    Develop a common platform for collaboration and best practice sharing across borders,
     sectors and disciplines on knowledge production, circulation and use, and facilitate
     cross-fertilisation and smart directionality among ecosystem actors to achieve
     transformative changes and advance Europe together.
    Increase both the interoperability of the European ecosystems and the intra-operability
     within each territorial ecosystem, aiming to improve coordination, and foster excellence.
    Facilitate a better circulation and absorption of talents in countries/regions, as well as
     improve knowledge circulation and uptake of research results;
    Provide a toolbox of best practices for researchers, innovators, industry and institutions
     across Europe to cooperate.
78
        See COM(2020)628, Commission Communication, A new ERA for Research and Innovation
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Scope: A vibrant ecosystem is an essential condition for growth. In order to take full
advantage of possible synergies and complementarities between the EU and national and
regional ecosystems for knowledge production, circulation and use, there is a need to make
compatible and interoperable the policy frameworks that govern existing structures for
knowledge transfer and sharing, and address common criteria for assessing work, processes
and outputs. Reinforcing the networking interconnecting geographically or thematically, the
ecosystem actors on the basis of smart specialisation and other strategic considerations, such
as value chains, will consequently stimulate excellence and complete the coverage across
Europe.
This action should build on the preparatory work of the previous Work Programme on
Knowledge Ecosystems, which provides among others a mapping of existing ecosystem
actors engaged in knowledge production, circulation and use across Europe, as well as
designing the ERA Hubs concept as a toolbox of pre-defined common standards of work,
processes and outputs, and key performance indicators on operational, programme and
strategic impacts. The concept should be tested on collaborations, platforms, or other
structures bringing together ecosystem actors, and increase networking between those
structures in a coordinated approach, around a common agenda and compliance criteria. The
rollout of the concept across Europe is expected to support and coordinate the efforts at local
and regional level for the implementation of a pan-European ERA Hubs initiative.
The scope of this action is to pilot the ERA Hub concept with a limited number of ecosystems
through implementation in countries and regions where knowledge ecosystem structures
aligned to the ERA Hubs concept already exist, combined with countries or regions where an
integrated place-based approach is missing. The main goal of the action is to fine-tune
through experimentation the designed concept of ERA Hubs and its technical specifications
and compliance criteria, share practices, as well as provide a toolkit of best practices and
activities that ensure a strong basis for a potential scale-up in different geographies across the
EU territory in the next phase.
Projects will be assigned to entities or networks of structures involved in knowledge
production, circulation and use activities at European, national, regional or city level, which
should take the coordination role in orchestrating the actors of an ecosystem working together
to implement the ERA Hubs concept, in pursuit of intra-operability with the territorial
ecosystem and a common agenda supporting the economic transitions and smart specialisation
strategies, as well as job creation and skills development to better absorb talent in a country or
region. These structures could be entities that have the competences and/or the willingness to
become pioneers, benchmarks and ambassadors of the new concept and should include higher
education institutions or their tech transfer offices, research institutes, business schools,
private companies, not for profit organisations, or entities already part of pan-European
networks or coming from different funding communities, in order to better connect those
communities.
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Support from institutional, regional, or national sources is highly encouraged (proven through
e.g. letters of commitment), in order to make considerable progress in the deployment of the
ERA Hubs initiative in the respective country or region.
The action should include the development of an independent monitoring mechanism to
assess the progress of the ecosystem actors engaged in a common agenda and implementation
of the ERA Hubs concept in a dedicated country or region. On the basis of the assessment,
projects should also provide recommendations on how to deploy the ERA Hubs in different
geographies and regions.
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-31: Innowwide Bridging Facility
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          0.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 0.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility conditions    The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                          exceptions apply:
                          Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                          exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The
                          support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.The
                          maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
   Contributing to implementing the political priorities of the new European Commission,
      in particular in relation to the objective of ‘A stronger Europe in the world’, and in
      relation to the EU communication on the comprehensive Strategy with Africa, aiming to
      support building knowledge economies
   Economic growth and job creation in the EU and in Africa, contributing to the AU
      Agenda 2030 and relevant EU policies, and enhancing the visibility of EU R&I at the
      international scene
   Transfer and internationalisation of demonstrated technologies and know-how, both to
      and from the EU and Africa
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Scope: Competition has become global and so is innovation. To compete effectively in new
and emerging markets, European and African SMEs need to develop partnerships with their
strategic counterparts to generate joint business opportunities in new product-market
combinations. Developing a new product-market combination with a strategic partner can be
very challenging for SMEs on both continents in terms of technological & financial risks, and
market barriers. Before starting, it is essential to assess first the technical feasibility as well as
developing a deep understanding of the business environment, including the financial, legal,
market and cultural aspects in the targeted markets. This instrument will allow European and
African SMEs to develop a partnership beyond conventional market studies, sales channels
and export aids. This Horizon Europe funded ‘INNOWWIDE Bridging Facility’ precisely
covers these risks, by supporting innovative European and African SMEs in conducting
Viability Assessment Projects (VAPs) in Europe and Africa, creating the favourable
conditions needed to increase the uptake of European and African innovative solutions in each
other’s markets. An SME friendly bottom-up approach applies, with no specific technical
areas to be addressed.
The VAPs will be selected following a series of open calls organised by the action. The
proposal for undertaking the action should define the organisational process for selecting the
VAPs for which financial support will be granted, including the process of selecting,
allocating and reporting on the use of independent experts and ensuring no conflicts of
interest.
At least 75% of the EU funding shall be allocated to financial support for the third parties
carrying out the selected VAPs.
The calls should specify that each VAP should include a wide variety of activities to explore
the practical, technological and commercial viability of an innovative solution in particular in
terms of how it needs to meet local conditions and demands.
Proposals must detail the different types of activities for which a third party may receive
financial support such as market studies, partner search and networking, approaches for
client/user involvement including societal, behavioural and cultural aspects, and other
activities aimed at overcoming barriers for market introduction and uptake.
Proposals must clearly detail the criteria for awarding financial support and simple and
comprehensive criteria for calculating the exact amount of such support, which may not
exceed EUR 60 000 for each VAP. The award criteria must be objective and non-
discriminatory.
Each VAP shall be led by an entity established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe
associated country and shall involve at least one entity established in an African country.
The open calls must be published widely, and Horizon Europe standards with respect to
transparency, equal treatment, no conflict of interest and respect of confidentiality must be
adhered to. The results of the calls must be published without delay, including, for each VAP,
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a description of the project, the legal name and country of the third party, the start date and
duration of the project, and the amount of the award.
Proposals should specify how they will promote the calls, how they will monitor and report
on call results and how they will assess the quality of the outcomes and experiences from the
VAPs, as well as how they will provide regular in-depth analyses and which indicators will be
used for measuring the impacts achieved. Analyses should draw up R&I policy conclusions
on questions such as which additional joint R&I activities in third countries should be
supported, what framework conditions for R&I cooperation need improving, and what further
R&I support services should be implemented.
The Commission does not intend to implement the action and will not fund the topic
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-31.
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-32: An experimentation space for the uptake and
use of R&I results for EU resilience and future preparedness
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant       exceptions apply:
Agreements                Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The
                          support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.The
                          maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
   A methodology and toolbox to design and implement testing of policy relevant findings
     stemming from European R&I that can contribute to EU resilience and future
     preparedness.
   A knowledge base of EU research findings, with high capacity to inform policy and
     engage citizens and research communities, that are tested, including the methodologies
     for testing (small scale experiments, randomised control trials etc).
   Lessons learnt to enhance the use of R&I results to enable fast response in the face of
     future crises and strengthen economic and social resilience, for example through
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      supporting policy reforms, new regulation, social innovation, behavioural change, new
      technology adoption and the integration of the gender dimension.
Scope: R&I results and new scientific knowledge can inform policy making and help address
societal challenges through new technological and societal solutions, as well as through
providing policy recommendations and policy options with a proper (scientific) understanding
of the underlying conditions. Testing policy recommendations and findings of scientific
research through experiments and novel methodologies increases understanding of the
implications, risks and opportunities of possible new solutions, enabling societies to respond
faster and more effectively to crises and built resilience and social cohesion.
This action aims at increasing the visibility and fostering the use of R&I results with high
policy relevance to contribute to the recovery and resilience of Europe, while engaging
research communities and citizens in an “experimentation space” for new, science based,
socially inclusive and gender responsive policy initiatives and solutions.
The action will match policy relevant findings for EU resilience stemming from research
(such as from EU H2020, HE and previous programmes as well as other EU programmes, and
national level publicly funded research) with national, regional and local needs, and carry out
the experimentation phase in co-creation with the research communities and citizens. At the
core of the action is the design of appropriate trial mechanisms that will test research findings
which can be translated to policy and new societal solutions, and thereby provide policy
makers and citizens with a high degree of confidence and trust in responding to new
challenges.
The project consortium may consider links with related knowledge management activities by
the European Commission, including the European Commission’s Knowledge Centres and the
Knowledge for Policy Platform hosted by the Joint Research Centre.
DEEPENING THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH AREA
OPEN SCIENCE
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-40: Stepping-up institutional                           and territorial
changes towards open and responsible research and innovation
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
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Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                        exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements              Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                        The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                        The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60.000.
                        The respective options of the Model Grant Agreement will be applied.
                        Beneficiaries should refer to General Annex B of the Work Programme
                        for further information and guidance.
                        Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional dissemination
                        obligations:
                        Beneficiaries must make proactive efforts to freely share, in a timely
                        manner and as appropriate, all relevant results with the other grants
                        awarded from this work programme part subject to the same additional
                        dissemination obligations. Beneficiaries must acknowledge and
                        incorporate these obligations in the proposal, outlining the efforts they
                        will make towards meeting them, and in Annex I to the Grant
                        Agreement.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
   Consolidated evidence base on sustainable institutional and territorial changes towards
     open and responsible research and innovation;
   A central point of expertise providing services and support for research and innovation
     institutions, and territories, to open up to society;
   A significant number of institutions and territories in the European Research Area (ERA)
     become more porous to society, align with the needs, values and expectations of society,
     improve the excellence of their research and innovation, promote gender equality, and
     reduce instances of ethical misconduct;
   Reduction in disparities between institutions and territories in terms of their attention to
     open and responsible research and innovation.
These targeted outcomes in turn contribute to medium and long-term impacts:
   Open and responsible research and innovation practices mainstreamed throughout
     territorial and institutional settings;
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    Increased impact of EU R&I outputs and the conversion of knowledge and ideas into
      products and services.
Scope: Research and innovation institutions play a key role in creating an enabling
environment for opening research and innovation towards society, sharing research outputs,
improving research integrity and gender equality, and promoting science education, societal
engagement (such as citizen science and other forms of co-design and co-creation) and two-
way science communication. At territorial level, interactions between different institutions
from across the quadruple helix 79 , and including societal actors such as civil society
organisations and non-governmental organisations, are essential to ensuring that the processes
and outcomes of research and innovation are aligned with the needs, values and expectations
of society.
However, European research and innovation actors lack a consolidated evidence base and
guidance based on EU investments in this area to date to support them, there are significant
differences in attention to different aspects of responsibility and openness between institutions
and territories, rewards and incentives at the workforce and institutional level are often
misaligned or even disfavour openness to society, and there is no central point of reference or
provider of services and expertise to turn to.
This action consists of three parts, all of which must be addressed:
The first involves consolidating the evidence base and develop innovative guidance and other
materials, which can support institutions and territories to implement sustainable institutional
changes and open up to society80. It should take into account and build on the learning and
knowledge developed by Horizon 2020’s Science with and for Society programme 81 and
potentially other sources of knowledge.
The second part involves financial support to third parties, by launching ‘cascading grant’
call(s) to support institutions and territories from across the ERA to implement sustainable
institutional changes towards open and responsible research and innovation. This may require
consultancy or other kinds of support services to be developed and rolled out to successful
institutions. A significant number of institutional changes (e.g. 70-100 individual institutional
changes) should be expected in beneficiary organisations and territories. As such, a significant
proportion of the funding should be allocated to the ‘cascading grant’ mechanism. One or
more call(s) for proposals should be launched, which could focus on specific disciplines,
79
         A model of cooperation between industry, academia, civil society and public authorities, with a strong
         emphasis on citizens and their needs.
80
         Institutional changes are characterised as: 1) a change to how the institution governs/structures itself, 2)
         expected to have meaningful impact within the institution concerned, 3) intended to last beyond the
         lifetime of funding (i.e. not one-off activities). See https://op.europa.eu/s/olV2.
81
         Particularly relevant projects to build upon were supported by: ISSI-5-2014, GARRI-1-2014, ISSI-5-
         2015, SwafS-04-2016, SwafS-05-2017, SwafS-05-2018-2019, SwafS-14-2018-2019-2020, SwafS-23-
         2020. Moreover, this action should build on the evidence base for benefits developed by the MoRRI
         and Super_MoRRI projects. Projects focused on implementing Gender Equality Plans under SwafS
         (including those supported by topics GERI-4-2014, SwafS-03-2016-2017, SwafS-09-2018-2019-2020)
         may also be of relevance. The RRI-Tools project, from FP7’s Science in Society programme, may also
         be relevant: https://rri-tools.eu/.
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MoRRI country clusters82, or other pertinent criteria, but with the underlying goal of reducing
disparities between institutions and territories in terms of their attention to different
dimensions of openness and responsibility.
The third part involves acting as a central point of expertise and support services on open and
responsible research and innovation for institutions and projects under Horizon Europe and
within the European Research Area. This point of expertise should have appropriate high-
level visibility, and the ability to interact and support all parts of the research and innovation
system (all parts of quadruple helix, disciplines, sectors). In order to achieve the expected
outcomes, international networking is advised to support co-operation on the issue at global
level and provide expertise in support of institutions and projects.
The action should evaluate its impacts and develop recommendations useful to policy makers
and those responsible for the governance of research and innovation institutions. The action
should raise awareness of the benefits of open and responsible research and innovation to
organisations across the ERA. It should develop close co-operation with other relevant
projects, with a view to fostering collaboration and the early sharing of knowledge and
evidence.
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-41: Increasing the reproducibility of scientific
results
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements                Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional dissemination
                          obligations:
                          Beneficiaries must make proactive efforts to freely share, in a timely
                          manner and as appropriate, all relevant results with the other grants
                          awarded from the same call topic. Beneficiaries must acknowledge and
                          incorporate these obligations in the proposal, outlining the efforts they
                          will make towards meeting them, and in Annex I to the Grant
                          Agreement.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
82
        https://op.europa.eu/s/olV4
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   Structured understanding of the underlying drivers, of concrete and effective
     interventions - funding, community-based, technical and policy - to increase
     reproducibility of the results of R&I; and of their benefits;
   Effective solutions, policy-, technical- and practice-based, to increase the reproducibility
     of R&I results in funding programmes, in communities and in the dissemination of
     scientific results;
   Greater collaboration, alignment of practices and joint action by stakeholders to increase
     reproducibility, including but not limited to training, specialised careers and guidelines
     for best practice.
These outcomes should contribute to medium and long-term impacts:
   Increased proportion of reproducible results from publicly funded R&I;
   Increased re-use of scientific results by research and innovation;
   Greater quality of the scientific production.
Scope: Reproducibility refers to the possibility for the scientific community to obtain the
same results as the originators of a specific finding. As such, reproducibility is core to
scientific progress, and there is debate on whether there is a ‘crisis of reproducibility’ in
contemporary science. At a time when funding levels for R&I are under scrutiny globally, and
societal trust in the outcomes of research and innovation become increasingly essential, there
is a need to address inefficiencies in the research process, to avoid useless and costly
repetition, to maximise return on investment in R&D&I, to prevent the propagation of
mistakes, and to facilitate the translation of results into innovations.
Therefore, this topic aims to fund activities to
a) determine how increased reproducibility generates gains and savings in the R&I process
and improve overall performance - alongside the demonstrated positive effects on their
quality, integrity and trust-worthiness, and
b) find, experiment and mainstream concrete solutions and best-practices to increase the
reproducibility of research funded with European taxpayers’ money, including through the
more systematic integration of sex and gender as variables whenever relevant.
Consequently, actions should help understand and promote reproducibility by:
1) creating an open knowledge base of results, methodologies and interventions on the drivers
and consequences of reproducibility for the R&I system; and to fill the main gaps in such
knowledge;
2) develop, validate, pilot and deploy practices and practical tools for funders, publishers and
scientists;
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3) promote uptake, greater collaboration, and increased alignment of the activities of
stakeholders - scientific and technical communities, publishers and funders among others - to
increase reproducibility.
Finally, projects should assist further policy development on reproducibility, based on scoping
work by the Commission83. While solutions should be applicable to Europe, attention should
be paid to reproducibility in global science.
It is expected that the funded action(s) will adhere to best practices in open science and
reproducibility (e.g. re-use existing results, fully document the research process), and provide
a final reflection based on their own experience at the forefront of reproducibility.
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-42: Supporting the development of aligned policies
for open access books and monographs
Specific conditions
Expected EU                 The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per            million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                     Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                            proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action              Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility                 The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                  exceptions apply:
                            Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                            exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
    Improve the understanding of the current landscape of scientific book and monograph
      publishing in different fields of science in which it plays an important role, and in
      particular the bottlenecks in strategies and policies for their open access.
    Support aligned funder and institutional policies for open access monographs and books
      within the open science culture in the European Research Area and facilitate their
      coordination.
These targeted outcomes in turn contribute to medium and long-term impacts:
    Address and increase equity, diversity and inclusivity in open science practices 84 inside
      the European Research Area.
83
         i.e. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/341654
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    Increased capacity in the EU R&I system to conduct open science and to set it as a
      modus operandi of modern science.
Scope: Monographs, books and other types of long-text formats are very important outputs in
some disciplines, such as in the Social Sciences and the Humanities. Whilst many disciplines
rely nearly exclusively on the production of articles, professional advancement requirements,
as well as the nature of the research and the writing process in some disciplines, result in the
unwavering significance of long-text formats and monographs, both in the digital and in the
print formats.
Open access for monographs and other long-text formats has been a slow process in multiple
aspects. This is likely because of the higher costs and business models of book publishing, as
well as a hesitancy on the side of researcher to trust important parts of their work in terms of
volume to the new open access publishing environment. Additionally, funder policies and
strategies focus a lot less on monographs than on journal articles, and they are often
recommendations and not requirements.
This action aims to support the development of aligned institutional and funder policies and
strategies regarding open access to books and monographs in Europe. In this context, the
action should support: 1. activities that foster greater understanding of bottlenecks in the
development of policies and strategies for open access to books and monographs by
institutions and funders; 2. the coordination of policies amongst funders and research
institutions, and the sharing of good practices in policies and strategies for open access to
books and monographs; 3. actionable and evidence-based recommendations and resources for
comprehensive institutional and funder policies for open access to books and monographs.
The action may also envisage international cooperation with entities outside the EU Member
States and associated countries.
The action should be no longer than 24 months.
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-44: Developing and piloting training on the
practice of open and responsible research and innovation
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.50
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
84
         Open science practices may include: providing open access to research outputs (such as publications,
         data, software, models, algorithms, and workflows); early and open sharing of research (for example
         through preregistration, registered reports, pre-prints, crowd-sourcing of solutions to a specific
         problem); participation in open peer-review; measures to ensure reproducibility of results; and
         involving citizens, civil society and end-users in the co-creation of R&I agendas and content, including
         citizen science.
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Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.50 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Legal and               The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of     apply:
the Grant               Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional dissemination
Agreements              obligations:Beneficiaries must make proactive efforts to disseminate
                        policy recommendations aimed at relevant research institutions and
                        levels of governance. Beneficiaries must acknowledge and incorporate
                        this obligation in the proposal, outlining the efforts they will make
                        towards meeting them, and in Annex I to the Grant Agreement.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
    Consolidated evidence base on open and responsible research and innovation85 training
      for researchers at all stages of their careers across the European Research Area.
    Development and piloting of high-quality training to a significant number of researchers
      on diverse aspects of open and responsible research and innovation.
    Establishment of a platform for further development of training, mutual learning, and
      dissemination of recommendations to authorities and institutions responsible for
      researcher training.
These targeted outcomes in turn contribute to medium and long-term impacts:
    Improved skills leading to greater employability and career prospects for researchers.
    Improvements in the excellence of the science conducted, improved capacity within the
      European Research Area to tackle societal challenges, greater interaction between
      science and society, improved overall effectiveness of EU research and innovation
      funding.
    Improved engagement and cooperation of researchers, with communicators, journalists,
      industry, policy maker and civil society.
Scope: In order to ensure the excellence of EU research and innovation, the research
workforce needs to strengthen skills related to integrity, avoidance of various forms of bias,
including gender bias, non-discrimination and inclusion, FAIR data management, data
robustness and reproducibility, dissemination and exploitation of results, and interdisciplinary
research. It requires skills to communicate science and research results, in the media
(including social media) and to policy makers, and skills to participate in public debates. It
also requires skills to engage the public to develop research and innovation agenda, the ability
85
        Responsible research and innovation involves multi-actor and public engagement in research and
        innovation, easier access to scientific results, the take up of gender and ethics in the research and
        innovation content and process, and formal and informal science education.
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to work in multi-actor collaborations covering all parts of the quadruple helix 86 where
interests and motivation for engaging in research may be diverse, and actively involve citizens
in research activities such as citizen science to expand the scope and the potentials of science
itself. These skills are needed at all stages of researchers’ careers, from undergraduate
onwards (including as part of doctoral training).
This action consists of three parts, all of which must be addressed:
The first part consists of consolidating existing evidence87 on researcher training on open and
responsible research and innovation, at all stages of their careers, from undergraduate
onwards (including as part of doctoral training), and identifying gaps in existing practices in
the European Research Area. This will include mutual learning activities within and outside
the European Research Area to ensure established and emergent good practices are
considered. Existing initiatives, such as the European Charter and Code 88 and the EU
Principles for Innovative Doctoral Training89, should be taken into account.
The second part consists of developing training modules, courses or other kinds of
interventions on open and responsible research and innovation that will be piloted to a
significant number of students and researchers in different kinds of research organisations and
higher education organisations across Europe, and at all stages of their studies and careers.
The learning outcomes will be evaluated, with a view to refining the training ready for more
widespread deployment (e.g. at national, institutional levels, or in MSCA actions). Attention
should be paid to the gender dimension of the training/learning outcomes, and to ensure that
the training is adapted and piloted to researchers of all backgrounds (age, ethnicity,
geography, gender, etc.).
The third part consists of establishing a platform, sustainable beyond the lifetime of project
funding, to continue knowledge exchange, develop guidance, and further develop training on
open and responsible research and innovation. Part of the work must include the wide
dissemination of policy recommendations aimed at relevant research institutions and levels of
governance.
Working closely with relevant on-going actions, quadruple helix stakeholders, and science
outreach stakeholders, is advised. The action is also expected to build on and valorise results
from projects already funded under the “Science with and for Society” part of Horizon 2020.
HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS AND RESEARCHERS
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
86
        A model of cooperation between industry, academia, civil society and public authorities, with a strong
        emphasis on citizens and their needs.
87
        In addition to relevant national-level initiatives, or even initiatives outside the EU, this includes Horizon
        2020 projects supported through topics SEAC-2-2014 and topic SwafS-08-2019-2020 under Science
        with and for Society; the Horizon 2020 Innovative Training Networks supported through the MSCA-
        ITN topics as well as the COFUND projects for doctoral programmes under the Marie Skłodowska-
        Curie Actions, and the Erasmus+ European University Alliances and Horizon 2020 top-up pilot.
88
        https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter
89
        https://www.euraxess.be/belgium/jobs-funding/doctoral-training-principles
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HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-50: Developing an effective ERA talent pipeline
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          1.50 and 2.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Several projects may work in parallel and contribute to several of the
following expected outcomes:
    Creation of a common academic researchers’ career structure, taking into account new
      developments and diversification of careers in academia, based on practices in Member
      States, linking it to the updated European Skills Competences and Occupations (ESCO)
      framework90
    Enabling widespread recognition of the ESCO qualifications profile, more precisely the
      competences that PhD trainees and postdocs in various stages of their careers have
      obtained, both within and outside academia regardless of sector, discipline or location
    Mainstreaming of tenure track like systems, as an attempt to improve career
      development and solve part of the precarity of research careers in academia
    Mainstreaming practices for higher education institutions to involve non-academic sector
      from the onset in training & career development of PhD students
    Mainstreaming value creation and intersectoral mobility schemes within higher
      education institutions to promote jobs and growth.
Scope: The European Research and Innovation system needs to optimise its support for the
constant flow-through of highly skilled talents to match the demand of society and the
economy. Establishing an enhanced framework for researchers' careers within the EU towards
a pipeline of highly skilled, creative, and resilient talents will accelerate the achievement of a
knowledge-based society and economy.
The talent pipeline’s main initiator remains the curiosity-driven approach to science,
delivering creative and resilient individuals that can cope with change, for the benefit of
society as a whole. The autonomy of organisations that are at the basis of the talent pipeline is
an additional essential success factor for the ERA to provide visible value through excellence
in research and innovation.
90
         https://ec.europa.eu/esco/portal/home
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The framework aims at addressing: (i) the recognition of the research profession and PhD
qualifications within and outside academia, the structuring of the researcher scientific career
(i.e. to improve interoperability between academia and other employers), (ii) the
diversification of the careers of talents trained as researcher, (iii) solutions to the
precariousness of researchers’ careers in academia including a model tenure-track system
accompanied by possible standard principles, and (iv) strengthened interaction with business
to facilitate access to the labour market.
The common framework for research careers is expected to be based on dynamic competence
profiles of researchers in various stages of their diverse careers in order to enable widespread
recognition of the competences that PhD trainees and postdocs have obtained, both within and
outside academia independent of sector or discipline and geographical location. It should be
translated in the new European competence framework91, which will need to be mainstreamed
across Europe.
We expect projects to take measures to improve flow-through of talent within academia and
to and from the non-academic sector or to other highly needed positions in academia, to (i)
improve transferable skills training, involving non-academic actors in education and training
of researchers from the onset, (ii) improve talent transfer to actors in the surrounding
ecosystem, (iii) improve value creation practices among higher education institutions, (iv)
communicate about the competences and qualifications of researchers and their talents to
economic actors and society as a whole, (v) initiatives enabling the sustainable and dynamic
interaction within and between the ecosystem actors for knowledge production, circulation
and use, and stimulating career fluidity through inter-institutional and inter-sectoral mobility
(bi-directionally), (vi) embed additional elements in the assessment schemes for both
organisations and individuals at all career stages, (vii) propose methodologies on how to
introduce skills requirements from the business, social and public sector to academia.
Activities should include the establishment of pilot (for instance) local talent management
centres and training hubs that strengthen involvement of the non-academic sector in defining
the priorities of researchers’ training and lifelong learning upskilling. Attention should be paid
to addressing gender equality related issues throughout the different strands of the proposed
framework.
Duration: The action should be no longer than 2 years.
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-51: Acceleration Services in support of the
institutional transformation of Higher Education Institutions
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.50 and 3.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
91
         COM(2020)628, Commission Communication, A new ERA for Research and Innovation
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                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.50 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes in relation
to acceleration services in support of the institutional transformation of higher education
institutions (HEI):
    A methodology towards acceleration services that can help HEI or alliances/networks of
      HEIs in pursuing institutional transformations, including a monitoring mechanism to
      assess quality of the delivered services.
    A coaching service with best practice examples and guidance for individual HEIs as well
      as networks of HEIs, aligned with the common transformation agenda, facilitating access
      to finance from various sources.
    Tested acceleration services with user groups (HEI umbrella organisations, individual
      HEIs, or networks of HEIs, including partners from surrounding ecosystems), supporting
      HEI or networks of HEIs in developing a strategy to pursue institutional transformations
      in the field of R&I.
    An investment strategy mechanism, implemented with the user group, facilitating access
      to funding from national, regional, or EU resources to deliver on the Higher Education
      Transformation Agenda.
    Progress of the user groups of the acceleration services regarding the implementation of
      the chosen areas of the transformation agenda, measured through a monitoring
      mechanism.
    Policy feedback to the European Commission and Member States on the acceleration
      services, and widespread dissemination of the pilot results to other target groups
Scope: The overall aim of the Higher Education Institutions acceleration services is to help
institutions to successfully implement a strategy and roadmap for transformation, by creating
a shared knowledge base, coaching service and virtual meeting place for them to connect with
peers and other ecosystem actors, as well as with investors and public funders. The
acceleration services should consist of (i) a coaching and support mechanism for HEIs to
pursue institutional transformation in various areas, (ii) a methodology for an investment
strategy to facilitate access of higher education institutions and surrounding ecosystem to
support to deliver on the chosen transformations, (iii) a monitoring mechanism to assess
progress in the transformation efforts. Projects should address all three aspects and test them
with user groups.
HEIs, including universities, are crucial drivers of knowledge ecosystems, and increasingly
also of innovation ecosystems. The new ERA is expected to strengthen the R&I dimension of
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HEIs through a comprehensive institutional Higher Education Transformation Agenda in
synergy with the European Education Area, reinforcing their role as drivers of change,
fostering their recovery, enabling shared objectives between the EU and Member States’
initiatives to support higher education institutions in their efforts to transform on their
education, research, innovation and service to society missions. To deliver on the
transformation agenda for HEIs a large-scale concerted action in support of the institutional
transformation efforts of HEIs will be required, including a standard methodology to develop
roadmaps of EU, national and regional actions and investment measures for institutions or
alliances.
Projects should build on the results of previous analyses that set out a framework for
empowering HEIs across Europe in their research and innovation mission, facilitating
ongoing transformation processes based on universities’ needs (“Towards a 2030 Vision on
the Future of Universities in the field of research and innovation in Europe”, October 202092),
and the analyses performed under the previous Work Programme (in particular the study
“Knowledge ecosystems in the new ERA: a comprehensive analysis of the state of play, the
design of monitoring mechanisms, and creation of a toolbox of support measures”, 2021).The
projects should link and build on the results of the initiative of the European Institute of
Innovation and Technology (EIT) on Innovation Capacity Building for Higher Education
launched in 2021 that has the objective to unlock the full innovation potential of higher
education institutions (HEIs).
The Higher Education Transformation Agenda developed under the previous Work
Programme is expected to include the most important priorities and challenges for HEIs
regarding institutional transformations towards the future, including (trans)national
cooperation with other HEIs, and the growing importance of engagement with a broad range
of sectors and societal actors inherent to the multiple dimensions of HEI (education, research,
innovation, service to society). Acceleration services should address all possible R&I areas of
the Higher Education Transformation Agenda such as: (a) empower HEIs towards developing
shared R&I strategies that deliver on Europe’s challenges with critical mass; (b) facilitate the
sharing of capacity, infrastructure and resources through collaborative settings, such as the
European Universities initiative; (c) improve the attractiveness of researchers’ careers,
including through reform of the career assessment and incentives regimes; (d) facilitate co-
operation with surrounding R&I ecosystem actors; (e) support the transition to knowledge-
and digitally-driven HEIs that mainstream Open Science practices and include research and
innovation outputs in teaching; (f) engage citizens in solving societal challenges; (g) support
institutional change through inclusive gender equality plans.
Projects are expected to a methodology how to deploy such acceleration services including (i)
access to coaches, mentors, expertise and training from academia or outside academia, with
different profiles that match with the areas from the transformation agenda, which the project
puts at the disposal of individual HEIs or networks of universities in need of institutional
transformation in the field of R&I; these experts, coaches, mentors, etc should provide
92
         https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/a3cde934-12a0-11eb-9a54-
         01aa75ed71a1/language-en
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support for (ii) strategy development, (iii) roadmap development, and (iv) mapping of
required support resources, as well as provide (v) detailed advice on access to funding from
EU, national, and regional sources to allow the HEIs to deliver on the transformations; this
should in particular include support and access to financial instruments for excellent research
and innovation capacity, and support for disruptive innovation from academic sector, incl.
spin-offs from universities and public research organisations, and cooperation agreements
between academic and business sector. This should lead to a standard methodology to develop
specific investment agendas for individual institutions or networks of HEI that consists of
different funding and financial instrument branches, aligned with the priorities and areas of
the common transformation agenda, and realising concerted support to the institutional
transformation efforts universities want to engage in.
The acceleration services should be piloted together with large user groups (either individual
HEI, networks or alliances of universities and surrounding ecosystem actors, or umbrella
organisations of HEI), and progress of the users in the implementation of the chosen areas of
the transformation agenda should be measured. Actions should therefore include an
evaluation mechanism that enables to assess the strategies from individual HEIs or alliances
of universities, pursuing institutional transformation towards universities of the future, for
instance under supervision of an ‘acceleration board’ of independent experts. The evaluation
mechanism should also monitor progress of the HEIs in the implementation of the chosen
areas from the transformation agenda.
Projects should disseminate widely the methodology and the results of the pilot with user
groups, as well as provide policy recommendations to the Commission and Member States on
the acceleration services, in view of future targeted and synergetic actions in support of
Higher Education sector.
The duration of the action should not exceed 5 years.
SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-60: A European competence centre for science
communication
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
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    Consolidation of knowledge and development of guidelines, tools, innovative strategies,
      and recommendations to improve science communication for all research and innovation
      actors;
    Establishment of a European competence centre for science communication, sustained
      beyond the lifetime of funding;
    Increased networking and mutual learning, higher quality, more trustworthy, and more
      rapidly mobilised science communication by national authorities, businesses, civil
      society organisations, other stakeholders and projects.
Scope: Science communication is a scientific discipline, an activity conducted by career
scientists and science outreach organisations, and a specific career pathway followed by
journalists. It has the potential to improve science-society relations by increasing the
transparency of science, building trust in the processes and outcomes of science, and raising
scientific literacy. It can also improve the uptake of science by society and support evidence-
based policy making.
Science and science communication have been undergoing radical changes over recent years,
creating opportunities that may, in turn, pose new challenges. For instance, traditional media
are increasingly being superseded by social media with more user-edited content; rapid
diffusion of open access or pre-peer review papers gives the general public access to research
that was previously locked behind paywalls; and open data enable a wider set of actors to
interact with, analyse and interpret research results than in the past.
The covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of communicating scientific
knowledge and recommendations to respond to a fast-moving and critical threat. It is
important to learn from this and other experiences when science communication has been
essential to conveying scientific knowledge and recommendations on critical issues, to
explaining how hypotheses, experiments and uncertainties are also part of the scientific
method, to build capacities and strengthen networks, and to ensure greater ability in the future
to react rapidly and effectively to critical situations.
This action has two parts, both of which must be addressed:
The first part consists of consolidating the evidence base on science communication from on-
going and past projects and initiatives 93 , covering a wide range of existing and potential
critical areas for research and innovation for society. Particular attention should be paid to
contextual issues (geography, gender, age, socio-economic status, etc.) that affect the uptake
or effectiveness of science communication. Policy reports and recommendations, guidelines,
and innovative strategies should be developed for all research and innovation actor types;
potential targets should include government agencies and public authorities, research funding
and performing organisations, and civil society organisations. An important outcome should
93
         In particular, but not limited to, projects supported by Horizon 2020’s SwafS-19-2018-2019-2020 topic,
         but other relevant projects and initiatives within and outside the Framework Programmes should also be
         considered.
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be the publication of one or more user-friendly handbook(s) for effective science
communication, backed by an interactive and pedagogical online toolkit, for use by Horizon
Europe projects. This part should involve all parts of the quadruple helix 94 in co-creation
activities, to ensure that the outcomes are usable in different contexts, for different purposes,
and by different research and innovation actors; considerable efforts to disseminate the
findings across the European Research Area should be undertaken.
The second part will consist of establishing a centre of knowledge, expertise, advice,
resources, and tools on science communication in the European Research Area. It should link
to - and support - existing communities of knowledge and practice, with the goal of improving
co-ordination and mutual learning between them. It should support potential user groups
including R&I projects, public authorities, government agencies, the private sector, and civil
society organisations, to improve and initiate trusted and impactful science communication.
An important element will be preparing the European Research Area to react quickly to
situations requiring science communication, and the ability to provide rapid advice and
support, as required. The centre should work towards the sustainability of its activities beyond
the lifetime of funding, including through the provision of a basket of services and other
activities that have market value; a business plan should therefore be elaborated from the very
earliest stages of the project.
The action should build on the knowledge, networks and capacities developed by Horizon
202095 and by national and regional initiatives and work closely with relevant projects. A
minimum project duration of 4 years should be envisaged.
SCIENCE EDUCATION
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-70: Open schooling for science education and a
learning continuum for all
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         1.50 and 2.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.50 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
94
         A model of cooperation between industry, academia, civil society and public authorities, with a strong
         emphasis on citizens and their needs.
95
         Including topic SwafS-19-2018-2019-2020.
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    Promote creation of new partnerships that foster networking, sharing and applying
      science and technology research findings amongst teachers, researchers and
      professionals across different enterprises;
    Engage learners in meaningful real-life problem-solving situations, within education, the
      workplace and other learning environments;
    Encourage science studies and science careers by supporting cross-community networks
      of stakeholders to address issues such as the Green Deal, Health and Digitalisation;
    Increase female participation in science studies and science careers and deconstruct
      gender stereotypes;
    Foster, share and apply science and innovation research to different genres of enterprises
      eg start-ups, SMEs, entrepreneurs;
    Encourage mentoring across the different groups involved in the partnerships in order to
      take full advantage of science, technology, research and innovation;
    Encourage industry-funded innovation to become part of lifelong learning programmes
Scope: Science education should be an essential component of compulsory education for all
students. Policies should support students, teachers, parents and the wider community to
improve access to and provide everyone with the opportunities to pursue excellence in
learning and learning outcomes and to ensure young people and adult learners alike are
motivated to learn and to be fully equipped to engage in scientific discourse and facilitate
further study in science education.
The proposed action targets the creation of new partnerships in local communities to foster
improved science education for all citizens and to contribute to a learning continuum for all. It
seeks to promote partnerships between for example teachers, students, scientists, researchers,
innovators, professionals in enterprise and other stakeholders in science related fields to work
together on real-life challenges and innovations within local communities with a view to
engaging them in teaching and learning processes and to promote science education as part of
local community development.
This action aims to support a range of activities based on collaboration at local level between
formal, non-formal and informal science education providers, enterprises and civil society in
order to integrate the concept of open schooling, including all educational levels, in science
education.
The action should consider current policy initiatives. Reference and consideration should be
given to previously funded projects. Applicants should develop links with Scientix 96 and
consider links with other policy domains such as projects funded under SwafS-26-2020
(Innovators of the future: bridging the gender gap).
96
        https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/730009
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Currently, Europe faces a shortfall in science-knowledgeable people at all levels of society at
a time when it needs ever more scientists and a science literate society. The coronavirus
pandemic demonstrates the importance and necessity of having highly qualified scientists,
researchers, innovators and medics to keep our society safe and healthy. To increase the
uptake of science careers to feed the talent pipeline, and to improve science literacy in our
adult population and support a learning continuum for all, a collaborative action on Open
Schooling is proposed.
GENDER EQUALITY
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-80: Living Lab for gender-responsive innovation
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
    Advancement of knowledge and practice on gender-responsive innovation in Europe
    Strengthening of the innovation and inclusiveness dimensions of the European Research
     Area.
Scope: Women remain disproportionately under-represented among innovators and start-up
entrepreneurs and hold less than 10% of patent applications97, while the integration of the
gender dimension into product design, technologies and innovations in general, remains very
limited despite its potential for opening new markets and its core importance for solving
global challenges and European priorities. Moreover, a positive correlation between the
European Innovation Scoreboard and the Gender Equality Index has been reported, and a
higher proportion of research organisations with a gender equality plan in a given country is
similarly correlated with a higher Innovation Score98.
A “Living Lab” will be put in place, gathering innovators as well as social science and gender
scholars to investigate and generate new and disruptive ideas to promote women innovators
and develop gender-responsive innovation. This novel knowledge and collaboration scheme
97
        She      Figures     2018,     DG       Research     and      Innovation,   European      Commission:
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/she-figures-2018_en
98
        https://genderaction.eu/the-higher-a-country-scores-on-gender-equality-the-higher-its-innovation-
        potential/
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will build on projects and actions supported under Horizon 2020, including the EU Prize for
Women Innovators and its network of awardees, project GENDERACTION,
recommendations from the Horizon 2020 Expert Group to update and expand “Gendered
Innovations/Innovation through Gender”99 and outputs of projects funded under the SwafS-
26-2020 (Innovators of the future: bridging the gender gap) topic. It will also complement
initiatives led by the European Innovation Council, as well as EIT-led activities aimed at
supporting women-led innovation.
Proposals are expected to address the following:
    Establish a sustainable learning and collaboration hub between various innovation
      ecosystem actors, including, e.g., women innovators, social innovators, education
      institutions, science and technology museums, foundations, start-ups and larger
      companies, as well as social science researchers and gender scholars from a variety of
      scientific disciplines.
    Develop real-life action research with above-mentioned stakeholders, based on the co-
      development and testing of user-centred and open and social innovation processes
      promoting gender equal participation, as well as integrating the gender dimension into
      their contents, with an opening to intersectional approaches considering social categories
      intersecting with gender such as ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or else social
      origin. A special focus should be placed on information technology and AI-related fields
      and Commission priorities such as the European Green Deal and the preparedness and
      response to future pandemics.
    Propose concrete new methods and solutions for the development of gender-responsive
      innovation in Europe.
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-81: Support to the implementation of inclusive
gender equality plans
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          0.50 and 1.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
99
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                          The scheme must involve at least one leading university or research
                          organisation in gender equality, and at least three less advanced
                          institutions from Widening Member States or Associated Countries
                          including countries from the Western Balkans
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
     Enhance the reputation, attractiveness, inclusiveness and research excellence of less
      advanced institutions as a result of implementing inclusive gender equality plans.
     Transform institutions to advance inclusive gender equality within the European
      Research Area (ERA).
Scope: The institutional change strategy implemented through gender equality plans has had
very positive impacts in many research organisations and been a catalyser at national and EU
level, as the latest ERA progress report has shown. However, there is a heterogeneity in the
implementation of Gender Equality Plans across the EU, and persisting structural barriers in
R&I institutions which must be addressed, through a renewed approach.
The inclusion scheme aims to strengthen and go beyond the minimum requirements for a
Gender Equality Plan (GEP) as defined in Horizon Europe eligibility criteria, and to support
the implementation of inclusive GEPs in line with the new ERA Communication and gender
equality objectives100.
Actions should clearly outline the approach for boosting gender equality strategies, including
new areas such as intersectionality and diversity, outreach beyond the organisation, gender
budgeting, or gender and innovation among others, building on knowledge and expertise
developed through related Horizon 2020 projects and tools (e.g. GEAR Tool, ACT
Communities of practice). Advanced organisations will mentor on best practices, processes,
monitoring and actions to undertake in the inclusive GEPs.
Proposals are expected to address the following:
     Methods for exchanging and implementing good practices and materials, tailored to
      individual organisations’ needs for the development of inclusive GEPs;
     Support for reinforcing their networking in the area of gender equality and inclusiveness,
      especially with already existing Communities of Practice;
     Activities such as on-site visits, on-site or virtual training; workshops; dissemination and
      outreach and capacity building activities.
     Implementation of specific actions in the less advanced institutions specifically
      addressing the opening to intersectionality and diversity, including in the integration of
      intersectional sex and gender analysis into R&I content.
100
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/strategy/era_fr
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The partners involved in the twinning exercise are expected to revolve either around a specific
thematic area or have widening partners with similar national/regional background for a better
contextualization.
ETHICS AND INTEGRITY
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-91: The empirical and behavioural approach to
research ethics and integrity
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                          exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
Legal and financial       The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant       apply:
Agreements                Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional dissemination
                          obligations:
                          Proposals must include structured cooperation with the e-platform
                          Embassy of Good Science 101 , and the European Networks ENERI
                          (European Network of Research Ethics Committees and Research
                          Integrity Offices) 102 and ENRIO (European Network of Research
                          Integrity Offices)103.
                          The output material of the action must be made available on the e-
                          platform Embassy of Good Science.
                          .
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
101
        www.embassy.science
102
        http://eneri.eu/
103
        http://www.enrio.eu/
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Trust in science is key for an inclusive, open and democratic society.104 To sustain that trust, it
is pivotal all research is conducted in line with the highest standards on research ethics and
integrity. Research misconduct, in any stage of the research process, can undermine public
trust in research and may amount to severe socio-economic consequences.
Several factors may lead researchers to breach research ethics and integrity standards and
engage in questionable research practices. While some of these factors are systemic and
institutional, individual factors may contribute to researchers’ behaviour within the
institutional environments in which they operate. While researchers mostly act with integrity ,
they sometimes (and often unintentionally) end up engaging in questionable practices that
could lead to transgressions, engulfing research teams, departments, institutions and on rare
occasions, even national research systems. In order to develop a comprehensive preventive
policy and support research organizations and research funders to uphold the highest
standards of research ethics and integrity, there is a need to explore in depth the behavioural
and organizational factors that may facilitate researchers engaging in questionable practices
and misconduct and develop methodologies to address those factors.
This action aims to improve the understanding of researchers’ behaviours and incorporate this
knowledge in measures aiming at enhancing promotion of ethics and integrity principles
through shared responsibility (individual and institutional), improved education and training
processes and qualified mentoring and support. Guaranteeing a generalised and consistently
high level of research ethics and integrity, could drastically improve the relevance, robustness,
accessibility and dissemination of research results and enhance societal trust in the scientific
process.
Scope: In order to elucidate behavioural factors that may lead researchers to breach standards
of research ethics and integrity, this action should perform a literature review, map the
existing knowledge on behavioural ethics and moral psychology and identify research
outcomes and research needs.
Based on the results of the literature review the action should develop a casuistry-based
methodology to address research misconduct. This methodology should also take into account
personal and institutional responsibilities for the promotion of research integrity and relevant
research and efforts on the rehabilitation and reintegration of researchers. Particular attention
should be paid to issues related to the mental health and wellbeing of researchers, especially
for those employed in uncertain work conditions (short-term contracts, early career
researchers, students, etc.), including with respect to bullying and sexual harassment as well
as other forms of gender-based violence.
Based on the results of the literature review, the action should conduct a public consultation
process with all involved stakeholders and ensuring adequate representation of young students
and early career researchers. The literature review and the consultation process should also
incorporate real life experiences from researchers, members of ethics and misconduct
104
         Bonn Declaration on Freedom of Scientific Research, adopted at the Ministerial Conference on the
         European       Research       Area         on      20      October     2020       in      Bonn,
         https://www.bmbf.de/files/10_2_2_Bonn_Declaration_en_final.pdf.
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committees, Integrity and Ethics officers (and the local and national level).Participation of the
private sector is strongly encouraged, especially as behavioural studies on ethical conduct in
industry have been widely published and discussed.
Publicly available results from relevant EU funded research projects 105 (e.g. SOP4RI,
Integrity, PRO-Ethics, TRUST, PRO-RES, Path2Integirty) should be taken into account.
Structured cooperation with the e-platform Embassy of Good Science106 and the European
Network ENRIO, is necessary.
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is strongly advised, in
particular with countries which have concluded an international agreement on science and
technology with the European Union. Participants from countries, which are not eligible for
funding according to the General Annexes, may take part in the project as associated partners.
The action should develop:
    i. An identification of current needs in improving institutional research culture, taking into
       account the potential unequal impacts on people of different genders;
  ii. Specific course material to enhance and supplement current efforts on research ethics
       and integrity that stem from (but not limited to) EU-funded projects (see
       https://www.embassy.science/);
 iii. Guidelines to facilitate adoption of the gained knowledge in host institutions - as a
       supplement to existing Standard Operating procedures (see SOP4RI,
       https://www.sops4ri.eu/). These guidelines should also cover responsible mentoring,
       supervision and role modelling;
 iv. Methodologies for measuring the short-, medium- and long-term impact of ethics and
       integrity trainings in the attitudes and behaviours of students and researchers and their
       ethical conduct in research and innovation; and
  v. A best practice manual, based on case studies of implemented measures that analyse
       what works and what does not work in various contexts, to enable practice-oriented
       learning.
All outputs of the action must be available on the e-platform Embassy of Good Science web
site (https://www.embassy.science/)
105
          Detailed information of the mentioned EU funded projects can be found on CORDIS web site
          (https://cordis.europa.eu/ )
106
          www.embassy.science
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OTHER ACTIONS NOT SUBJECT TO CALLS FOR PROPOSALS
GRANT TO IDENTIFIED BENEFICIARIES
1. Support the Slovenian Presidency for the organization of an ERA Conference
As part of the implementation of the renewed ERA, the Slovenian Presidency will organise a
major ERA conference in the second half of 2021. This high-level conference will engage in
major political debates related to ERA as well as its future governance. This grant will
support the government of Slovenia, and more concretely the Ministry of Education, Science
and Sport, in organizing this conference.
Legal entities:
Government of Slovenia, Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, Masarykova 16, 1000
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: Q4 / 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.10 million from the 2021 budget
2. Support to RESAVER Pension Fund
RESAVER Pension Fund is the first multi-country, multi-employers pension fund that
enables mobile employees of the research institutions to remain affiliated to the same
supplementary pension fund (2nd pillar and 3rd pillar) when moving between different
countries and changing jobs.
The pension fund is based on the IORP II directive ((2016/2341/EC) Institutions for
Occupational Retirement Provision) which provides a framework for institutions providing
occupational pensions in all EU countries. The pension fund complies with national social and
labour law and does not interfere with Member States prerogative in the area of 1st pillar
pension.
The purpose of the grant is to provide financial support towards the functioning of the
RESAVER pension fund in its core activities - over a period of three years - in order to carry
out a set of activities detailed in a work programme.
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The beneficiary may provide financial support to third parties. The support to third parties can
only be provided in the form of grants or prizes. The maximum amount to be granted to each
third party is EUR 60 000.
Legal entities:
'RESAVER Pension Fund OFP' (Retirement Savings Vehicle for European Research
Institutions), 22, Rue de Pascale, 1040 Brussels. Belgium
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: Q4 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.85 million from the 2021 budget
3. ERA Talent Platform
The new ERA Communication outlines that EURAXESS services, network and portals will
be broadened into an ERA Talent Platform, an online one-stop-shop, with improved structure
and governance, exploiting links to Europass, the EU platform for people to manage their
learning and careers and the EURES network of European public employment services. The
Council Conclusions on the Future of the ERA calls on the Commission and Member States
to develop EURAXESS as the ERA pilot action to foster “inclusiveness” within the ERA into
an ERA Talent Platform fit to address existing barriers to unbalanced mobility patterns by
supporting researchers in their career development within the ERA, connecting researchers
and institutions, and improving employability and talent absorption and mobility schemes.
The scope of the action is to further intensify the services provided by the EURAXESS
network, by reforming its structure and expanding its mandate towards taking care of the
career development of researchers in Europe, with particular focus on talented researchers and
opening new career trajectories for them in academia, industry and business. This is expected
to happen through the set -up of dedicated physical and/or virtual centres/hubs affiliated to the
existing network, acting as one-stop-shops based on multidisciplinary teams and cross-
country and cross-border coordinated structures on a common agenda and standards of work,
processes and tools for talent management services.
The support for the career development of talented researchers needs to take into account
different layers of specialization, such as a basic career orientation service or more advanced
services, consisting in personalized assistance, such as organization of trainings and providing
access to career advisor, mentoring and coaching sessions. The advanced services need to be
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empowered with competences drawn from or accessed through EURAXESS centres’
partnerships with multiplier and enabler organizations.
The centres to be specialised in talent management services should also assist institutions and
have within their portfolio the organization of networking activities to connect researchers
with employers and the local/regional R&I community. Additional services for institutions
should include, among others, the creation of communities of practice on the sub-processes of
talent management (recruitment, selection, integration in the culture of the host country,
rewards and skills, recognition and motivation of high-potential researchers, etc.). Such
centres should facilitate best practice sharing and are expected to keep their R&I communities
informed and engaged on new ERA policy measures in the respective areas.
The support for talented researchers should be complemented by enhanced services for the
social-cultural and labour integration of researchers and their families in the host country.
The reform and expansion of the services need to be reflected on the EURAXESS portal and
national portals, which should develop into a Talent Platform addressing both researchers and
institutions, including newly designed sections, tools and training materials making
EURAXESS a recruitment, career development and social networking website, designed for
research professionals. A specific focus should be placed on fostering gender equality in
talent recognition, including through targeted support for women researchers, and also
addressing mobility-related dual career and work-life balance issues.
The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. The maximum amount
to be granted to each third party is EUR 60.000.
Legal entities:
OEAD GMBH - AGENTUR FUR BILDUNG UND INTERNATIONALISIERUNG -
FN320219K, Ebendorferstraße 7, 1010 Wien, Austria
Government of Flanders (VL O), Department of Economy, Science and Innovation (EWI),
Koning Albert II-laan 35, Box 10, 1030 Brussels, Belgium
Service Public Federal de Programmation Politique Scientifique, 30 Boulevard Simon
Bolivar, Brussels 1000, Belgium
UNIVERSITE DE LIEGE, 325777171, Place du 20 Aout 7, Liege 4000, Belgium,
BE0325777171
SOFIISKI UNIVERSITET SVETI KLIMENT OHRIDSKI (СУ Св.Климент Охридски),
2263021177, Bul Tzar Osvoboditel 15, Sofia 1504, Bulgaria
AGENCIJA ZA MOBILNOST I PROGRAME EUROPSKE UNIJE (AGENCY FOR
MOBLITY AND EU PROGRAMMES), 080631323, Frankopanska 26, Zagreb 10000,
Croatia, HR25385906011
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IDRYMA EREVNAS KAI KAINOTOMIAS (RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
FOUNDATION), ANDREA MICHALAKOPOULOU 29 A, 1075 NICOSIA, CYPRUS
STREDISKO SPOLECNYCH CINNOSTI AV CR v.v.i., 60457856, Narodni 1009/3, Prague
1 11000, Czech Republic, CZ60457856.
KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET, 29979812, Norregrade 10, Kobenhavn 1165, Denmark,
DK29979812
SIHTASUTUS EESTI TEADUSAGENTUUR, EE4, 90000759/1125175, Soola 8, Tartu
51013, Estonia
The University of Turku (UTU) FI, 20014 Turun yliopisto, Finland
CONFERENCE DES PRESIDENTS D UNIVERSITE, FR3, 504248626, Boulevard Saint
Michel 103, Paris 75005, France
DEUTSCHES ZENTRUM FUER LUFT - UND RAUMFAHRT EV (DLR), Linder Hoehe,
51147 Koeln, Germany
ETHNIKO KENTRO EREVNAS KAI TECHNOLOGIKIS ANAPTYXIS (CERTH),
represented by Director of Central Directorate and Chairman of the Board of Directors of
CERTH, Athanasios KONSTANDOPOULOS (Party no. 1), CHARILAOU THERMI ROAD
6 KM, THERMI THESSALONIKI 57001, Greece, EL099785242
BAY ZOLTAN ALKALMAZOTT KUTATASI KOZHASZNU NONPROFIT KFT.,
KONDORFA UTCA 1, BUDAPEST 1116, Hungary, HU23497980
THE ICELANDIC CENTRE FOR RESEARCH, Borgartún 30. 105 Reykjavik. Iceland
IRISH UNIVERSITIES ASSOCIATION LTD, 264534, Merrion Square 48, Dublin D2,
Ireland, IE8264534J
APRE AGENZIA PER LA PROMOZIONE DELLA RICERCA EUROPEA, VIA CAVOUR
71 , 00184 ROMA (IT)
VALSTS IZGLITIBAS ATTISTIBAS AGENTURA, VALNU IELA 1, RIGA 1050, Latvia
Lietuvos mokslo taryba - The Research Council of Lithuania (RCL), Lithuania, Gedimio pr.3,
LT-01103, Lithuania
University of Luxembourg (UL), Maison du Savoir 2, Avenue de l’Université, L-4365 Esch-
sur-Alzette, Luxemburg
MINISTRY FOR EQUALITY, RESEARCH AND INNOVATION (MFER – MCST) , Villa
Bighi, Kalkara KKR 1320 – Malta
STICHTING EP-NUFFIC, NL6, 41150085, Kortenaerkade 11, Den Haag 2518 AX,
Netherlands, NL002877612B01
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NORGES FORSKNINGSRAD (RCN), DRAMMENSVEIEN 288, OSLO 0283, Norway,
VAT number: NO970141669MVA
NARODOWA AGENCJA WYMIANY AKDEMICKIEJ, Polna 40, Warsaw 00-635, Poland,
PL 904106543
FUNDACAO PARA A CIENCIA E A TECNOLOGIA, 503904040, Avenidad Carlos I 126,
Lisboa 1249-074, Portugal, PT503904040
UNITATEA EXECUTIVA PENTRU FINANTAREA INVATAMANTULUI SUPERIOR, A
CERCETARII, DEZVOLTARII SI INOVARII, 12354176, Mendeleev Street 21-25,
Bucharest 010362, Romania
SAIA, n. o., 31821596, Sasinkova 10, Bratislava 1 812 20, Slovakia, SAIA, n. o.
CENTER REPUBLIKE SLOVENIJE ZA MOBILNOST IN EVROPSKE PROGRAME
IZOBRAZEVANJA IN USPOSABLJANJA, 1833006000, Ob Zeleznici 30A, Ljubljana
1000, Slovenia, SI33171629
FUNDACION ESPANOLA PARA LA CIENCIA Y LA TECNOLOGIA, ES3, 577, Calle
Pedro Teixeira 8, Planta 2, MADRID 28020, Spain, ESG82999871
GOETEBORGS UNIVERSITET (UGOT), VASAPARKEN, GOETEBORG 405 30, Sweden,
SE202100315301
AGJENCIA KOMBETARE E KERKIMIT SHKENCOR DHE INOVACIONIT, RRUGA
PAPA"GJON PALI" II NR.3, TIRANA 1001, Albania, ALL62127451O
SCIENTIFIC AND INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP ASSISTANCE CENTER, 1, Sevak
Street, 0014, Yerevan, Armenia
UNIVERZITET U BANJOJ LUCI, 1511001I4/161100, Bulevar Vojvode Petra Bojovica BB,
Banja Luka 78000 , Bosnia and Herzegovina, BA0401017720006
THE FAROESE RESEARCH COUNCIL (GRANSKINGARRADID), Bryggjubakki 12,
Torhshavn FO-110, Faroe Islands, FO527920
Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation, Aleksidze Str 1, 0193 Tbilisi, Georgia
IP&D INNOVATION PROJECTS AND DEVELOPMENT, A. NUTMAN STREET 35,
REHOVOT 76656, Israel, IL513423244
DRUSHTVO ZA EDUACIJA CENTAR ZA INOVACII TRANSFER NA ZNAEENJE
DOOEL SKOPJE AD, 6953476, Rilksi Congress 49 14, Skopje 1000, Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, MK4058014518960
ACADEMIA DE STIINTE A MOLDOVEI, STEFAN CEL MARE 1, CHISINAU 2001
University of Montenegro (UoM) , Cetinjska 2, Podgorica, 81000, Montenegro
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MASINSKI FAKULTET - UNIVERZITETA U NISU (MASINSKI FAKULTET -
UNIVERZITETA U NISU), 07174713, Aleksandra Medvedeva 14, Nis 18000, Serbia,
RS100662813
EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICH, GESETZSR414110,
Raemistrasse 101, Zuerich 8092, Switzerland, CHE115203630MWST
UGPE (European Project Management Unit) within the Ministry of Higher Education and
Scientific Research, 7ième Etage. Bur. 710, DG R&I Horizon2020 - 50 Av. Mohamed V,
1002, Tunis -TUNISIE
TURKIYE BILIMSEL VE TEKNOLOJIK ARASTIRMA KURUMU, 278, Ataturk Bulvari
221, Ankara 06100, Turkey, TR1750003600
THE BRITISH COUNCIL, GB22, RC000060/CH209131, 1 Redman Place, Stratford,
London, E20 1JQ, United Kingdom
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: Q3 / 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 4.00 million from the 2022 budget
4. The EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) and European City of Science 2022 actions
Expected Outcomes:
   Bring together more than 5000 delegates from more than 50 countries within and outside
      Europe;
   Showcase latest developments in research and innovation and offer open forum for lively
      discussion and debate on the future of European science, policy and innovation;
   Encompass three interconnected programmes: scientific research and innovation,
      science-to-business and scientific careers;
   Parallel Science in the City festival targets local citizens to extend and enhance dialog
      and exchange on science and its role in society.
Scope:
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In addition to the ESOF conference, Leiden, the host city of ESOF 2022, includes two new
initiatives:
   A festival: “European Science in the City” to be organised in close collaboration with the
      European Commission. The goal of the new event, associated with the more general
      “Science in the City” festival of ESOF, will be to showcase for the general public and
      European citizens the results of R&I projects supported by the European Commission,
      including the Horizon Europe programme. The “European Science in the City” festival
      will be promoted together with the ESOF conference.
   A year of events: the European City of Science (ECS) - a true all-year programme with
      various events and activities programmed by the host city in the spirit of the European
      Capital of Culture or the European Green Capital. In this perspective, the yearlong
      programme of the European City of Science will target a wide population of European
      citizens beyond simple local or regional impact.
Support offered to the organisers of ESOF2022 and its associated events, notably the
European City of Science (ECS) to ensure that a structured and expanded dialogue among all
societal actors (researchers, citizens, policy makers, business and third sector organisations,
including all social groups) will be developed. In this context, special emphasis is placed on
exploring and supporting citizen science as an important dimension of open science and as a
way to promote further Responsible Research and Innovation through outreach activities,
science education and various forms of public engagement with science.
An inclusive and integrated combination of seminars, workshops, debates and round table
discussions using new interactive and engaging formats is included and centred on Horizon
Europe key societal challenges.
Legal entities:
Foundation Leiden European City of Science 2022 , Zijldijk 8, 2362 AE Warmond,
Netherlands.
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: Q4/2021
Indicative budget: EUR 2.00 million from the 2021 budget
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5. European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) 2022
The European Union Contest for Young Scientists is a science competition for 14 to 20 year
olds. It brings together first prize winners of national science contests for pre-Higher
Education Institution school science projects to compete for prizes and awards. The
contestants are judged by a jury of eminent scientists selected by the European Commission.
The jury award 1st, 2nd and 3rd monetary prizes as well as other prestigious prizes donated to
the contest by international research organisations and other similar bodies. The EU Contest
takes place each year in a different location. This Contest provides additional stimulus to
young people who have already demonstrated that they are applying science to solve
problems. Many go on to become successful scientists. It attracts a considerable level of co-
funding in the host country, and high levels of international media attention. The proposal
could also consider a pilot scheme for other constituents such as early career researchers. The
proposal could also consider a pilot scheme for other constituents such as early career
researchers.The organisation of the contest is based on the General Guidelines on the
organisation of the European Union Contest for Young Scientists and its Annex 1 – Rules of
the contest. These are updated annually by the European Commission.
https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/eucys_en.
Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The support to third parties can
only be provided in the form of grants or prizes. The maximum amount to be granted to each
third party is EUR 60 000.
Legal entities:
Foundation Leiden European City of Science 2022 , Zijldijk 8, 2362 AE Warmond,
Netherlands.
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: Q4 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 2.00 million from the 2021 budget
6. Science Advice for Policy by European Academies
Expected impact:
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   Enhanced capacity for sound evidence-informed policy-making by providing reliable,
     state-of-the art, policy-relevant and publicly accessible scientific evidence available to
     the Group in a timely, efficient and transparent manner;
   A demonstrably more open and inclusive dialogue about major societal challenges via a
     transparently managed, interdisciplinary approach and a wide engagement of the
     scientific community;
   Increased societal awareness of the role of science advice-to-policy- and to decision-
     making, by developing capabilities to accurately communicate science advice, including
     the degree of uncertainty of specific scientific knowledge;
   Improved transparency of the EU policy-making process, including through the
     possibility of active engagement with the wider public and involvement of the entire
     scientific community
Scope: Better Regulation is a priority for the European Commission (‘the EC’) and so is the
use of scientific evidence to inform policy-making. Scientific advice is necessary and it must
be excellent, independent, timely, relevant to European Union (EU) policy-making and as
interdisciplinary as required to address all dimensions of the policy issue at stake.
In this regard, the Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (‘the SAPEA’)
Consortium has a proven record of working in partnership mode to provide scientific evidence
to the European Commission’s Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (‘the Group’), within the
framework of the Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism (‘SAM’). SAM consists of the
Group, the external scientific evidence provider SAPEA and a dedicated secretariat
established in DG RTD. As evidence-informed policy is among the priorities of the 2019-
2024      European     Commission          One       of     the    priorities  for    this College:
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/political-guidelines-next-
commission_en.pdf
Building on its experience, the SAPEA consortium will:
   Provide at the request of the Commission targeted scientific evidence in a timely and
     transparent manner to inform the production of science advice by the Group of Chief
     Scientific Advisors. The evidence should be of the highest scientific quality, developed
     by complete and independent evidence analysis and synthesis respecting timelines and
     policy needs;
   Strengthen the links between European science academies and ensure active
     participation of all academies that are associated in the networks that make up the
     Consortium, and include experts from other organisations. In carrying out this process,
     the Consortium will ensure optimal geographical and gender diversity, coverage of all
     relevant science fields, and interdisciplinary. An open and inclusive approach will be
     used involving experts who are not Academy Fellows, both early career and senior of
     various, relevant backgrounds. These approaches aim at increasing the range of the
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     available scientific evidence to be considered and the excellence of the expertise
     provided;
   To consider for the Evidence Review Report scientific evidence published in peer
     reviewed scientific journals, edited volumes, and monographs submitted by independent
     experts in the area under consideration. Scientific evidence submitted by other interested
     entities should only be considered, if relevant and meeting high quality and if these
     entities provide proof that they are registered in the EU Transparency Register..
   Develop novel and improve existing forms of scientific input to address short-term needs
     of the Group in a timely, reliable, policy-relevant and efficient manner, e.g. fast
     evidence-gathering tools and literature reviews, short term evidence reports, and expert
     consultation on high-priority, short-term policy initiatives.
   Develop further SAPEA’s internal database to access an up-to-date pool of top-quality
     experts in various fields, in combination with other networking approaches that can be
     called upon at short notice.
   In coordination with the secretariat supporting the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors,
     engage with citizens, stakeholders, scientific communities and policy-makers to
     disseminate and promote the work of the Group, and to monitor, assess and report on the
     impact and uptake thereof;
   Increase awareness of the significance of science-to-policy advice and ensure outreach to
     larger audiences, including in the Member States, through targeted communication
     actions, novel information products, media outreach, and policy monitoring processes,
     whilst ensuring consistent internal and external communication;
   Include an ‘early alert’ mechanism to signal topics and challenges that may become
     relevant for the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors and the Commission, identified
     through techniques such as horizon scanning and consultation including through through
     the academy networks.
   Formulate in the Evidence Review Report (ERR) clear options and conclusions (not
     policy recommendations) in response to the given policy question.
The project duration is up to 3 years.
Legal entities:
Acatech (Deutsche Akademie der Technikwissenschaften), Unter den Linden 14, 10117
Berlin, Germany
FEAM - Federation of European Academies of Medicine, Palais des Académies, Rue Ducale
1, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Euro-CASE, Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées | Porte C, Avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt,
75008 Paris, France
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Academia Europaea Bergen, Jekteviksbakken 31 in 5006 Bergen, Norway
Young Academy of Europe e.V., Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
Academia Europaea, Room 251, Senate House, University of London, Malet Street, London,
WC1E 7HU
EASAC (European Academies, Science Advisory Council), c/o the Norwegian Academy of
Science and Letters, Drammensveien 78, Oslo, Norway
ALLEA, c/o Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jägerstrasse 22/23,
10117 Berlin, Germany
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: Q2 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 2.20 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 2.20 million from the
2022 budget
7. Presidency event - Conference on international cooperation in research and
innovation
Expected Outcome: the project is expected to organise an international conference which will
contribute to all of the following outcomes, based on the elements listed below, as a key step
in the implementation of the Global Approach to Research and Innovation, as set out in the
Commission Communication of 18 May 2021 and the Council Conclusions of 28 September
2021:
   Create a shared European dynamic to strengthen international R&I partnerships, while
      promoting reciprocity and shared values and principles;
   Strengthen concertation between Member States and with the Commission on their
      approaches and actions to support international cooperation, guiding the international
      elements of both Horizon Europe and of Member States’ own programmes, in particular
      by focusing joint efforts on global challenges and strengthening the role of multilateral
      alliances in these areas;
   Launch a multilateral dialogue with international partners on the implementation of the
      EU’s Global Approach to research and innovation to identify a pathway to achieve a
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      level playing field in terms of values, principles, reciprocity and framework conditions,
      notably through establishing a more permanent dialogue around these issues;
   Increase the visibility of research innovation and higher education actions in the
      framework of external action.
Expected Impact: the proposal should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the
following impact of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan:
   Achieve a critical mass of global research efforts focused on common challenges
      facilitated by common approaches to research and innovation.
Scope: To meet these objectives, the conference programme is proposed as follows:
First block: Exchanges between Member States and with the Commission in the form of a
meeting of European Ministers for Research and Innovation on “What are the stakes for
international cooperation in R&I in a changing world” (What coordination mechanisms?
What strategies are needed with the rest of the world?):
   Target audience: EU Member State Ministers for Research and Innovation, European
      Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth.
Second block: Launch of a multilateral dialogue with international partners on the theme of “a
new research and innovation partnership based on shared values and principles. The
discussion will also bring in the perspective of higher education:
   Target audience: EU Member State Ministers, European Commissioner for Innovation,
      Research, Culture, Education and Youth; Ministers/Ambassadors of countries having
      concluded Science and Technology Agreements with the EU, Associated Countries;
      international organisations such as the OECD and UNESCO.
Legal entities:
Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), 44 boulevard de Dunkerque, CS 90009,
13572 Marseille Cedex 02, France
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: Q1 /2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.40 million from the 2021 budget
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8. NCP Network including proposal pre-check
Research and innovation performance is correlated with the efficiency of the national research
and innovation system and the capacity and the effectiveness of the National Contact Points
(NCPs). Special attention should be given to less experienced entities in low R&I performing
countries to bridge the knowledge gap and enable better access to funding opportunities in the
EU Framework Programmes and beyond.
A dedicated support mechanism under this Work programme part with specific objective to
strengthen the activities of NCPs to support international networking and to improve the
quality of proposals from legal entities from low R&I performing countries is envisaged.
Proposals should aim to facilitate trans-national co-operation between NCPs with a view to
identifying and sharing good practices and raising the general standard of support to
programme applicants, taking into account the diversity of actors that make up the
constituencies of both the Widening and ERA parts. They also should show that the activities
put forward will deliver tangible benefits to potential applicants.
Activities should capitalise on relevant work of the previous NCP network project in this
sector. To help close the innovation divide, a substantial component of the proposed activities
must be devoted to activities aimed at helping NCPs in those countries that have been
participating at low levels in the FP programmes up to now. These activities should help these
NCPs rapidly acquire the know-how on NCP operations accumulated in other countries
including, for example, training, mentoring, and twinning. They may also include awareness
raising actions aimed at increasing visibility of well-qualified potential applicant
organisations in the Widening countries.
Support will be given to a consortium of identified NCPs in the area of the ‘Widening
Participation and strengthening the European Research Area’ part coordinated by an
organisation with a proven track record in managing an network of NCPs in the Widening
domain. The members of the core consortium are identified in this call. Additional NCP
organisations especially from Associated Countries may participate as linked third parties.
The implementation will include following actions: info days, training and workshops;
tailored consultations and advice; support to matchmaking platform; proposal pre-screening
(checks on eligibility and viability of concept) and actions dedicated to networking and
matchmaking activities capitalising on the experience of the former NCP WIDENET project.
For matchmaking activities the consortium will closely collaborate with NCP networks
working on ohter parts of Horizon Europe notably pillar 2. A mutual learning process among
NCPs will help building capacity by helping less experienced NCPs to enhance their
competence (training, workshops). For these activities beneficiaries may provide financial
support to third parties in the form of grants.
The implementation will be carried out in work packages distinguished for the two
programme part components (Widening and ERA). The Widening part will especially take
into account the requirements of the Advancing Europe package.
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For the proposal pre-check part it ranges from seminar style training for proposal writing for
larger groups to written advice on individual proposals (e.g. on clarity of objectives,
consistency with work programme, balanced budget etc.) but not on scientific content and
coaching of individuals. The action may include advice for applications outside the widening
programme to a limited extent and based on strategic choices such as areas under Pillar 2,
where application success rate from Widening countries were below average in comparable
fields of Horizon 2020. As far as the matchmaking is concerned, possible synergies with
existing platforms, e.g. Funding & Tenders Portal and EURAXESS should be explored, as
well as dedicated events for brokerage and partner search in a physical or virtual mode.
Special attention should be given to enhancing the competence of NCPs, including helping
less experienced NCPs rapidly acquire the know-how built up in other countries. The
consortium should have a good representation of experienced and less experienced NCPs.
Legal entities:
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE, 2A, Aleksandar Dondukov blvd., 1000,
Sofia, Bulgaria
Agencija za Mobilnost i Programe Europske Unije, Frankopanska 26, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
Research and Innovation Foundation, 123 Strovolos Avenue, 2042 Nicosia, Cyprus
TECHNOLOGICKE CENTRUM AKADEMIE VED CESKE REPUBLIKY, Ve Struhach
1076/27, 160 00 Praha, Czechia
Estonian Research Council, Soola 8, Tartu 51004, Estonia
Academy of Finland, Hakaniemenranta 6, PO Box 131, FI-00531 Helsinki, Finland
DEUTSCHES ZENTRUM FUER LUFT- UND RAUMFAHRT EV, Linder Hohe, 51147,
Koln, Germany
Foundation for Research & Technology - Hellas, Nikolaou Plastira 100, Vassilika Vouton GR
- 700 13 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Nemzeti Kutatási, Fejlesztési és Innovációs Hivatal, 1077 Budapest, Kéthly Anna tér 1.,
Hungary
Rannsoknamidstod Islands (The Icelandic Centre for Research), Borgartun 30; 105
Reykjavik; Iceland
AGENZIA PER LA PROMOZIONE DELLA RICERCA EUROPEA, Via Cavour, 71, 00184
Roma, Italy
Latvia Council of Science, SMILSU IELA 8, PO box: 000, 1050, RIGA Latvia
Research Council of Lithuania, Gedimino pr. 3,LT-01103, Vilnius, Lithuania
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THE MALTA COUNCIL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Villa Bighi, Triq il-Marina,
Kalkara KKR 1320, Malta
National Centre for Research and Development, Nowogrodzka 47A, 00-695 Warszawa,
Poland
FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Av. D. Carlos I, 126, 1249-074, Lisbon,
Portugal
CENTRUM VEDECKO-TECHNICKÝCH INFORMÁCIÍ SR, Lamačská cesta 8-A; 811 04
Bratislava; Slovak Republic
Ministry of education, science and sport, Masarykova 16, SI - 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Serrano 117, 28006,
Madrid, Spain
AGJENCIA KOMBETARE E KERKIMIT SHKENCOR DHE INOVACIONIT – NASRI,
RRUGA PAPA"GJON PALI" II NR.3, TIRANA 1001 Albania
Scientific and Innovation Partnership Assistance Center, Sevak str. 1, Yerevan 0014, Armenia
THE FAROESE RESEARCH COUNCIL (GRANSKINGARRADID), Bryggjubakki 12,
Torhshavn FO-110, Faroe Islands
NATIONAL TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION AUTHORITY, 2ND DERECH AGUDAT
SPORT HAPOEL BUILDING, JERUSALEM 6812511, Israel
AGENTIA NATIONALA PENTRU CERCETARE SI DEZVOLTARE, 1001 OFF 180
STEFAN CEL MARE BVLD, CHISINAU 2004, Moldova
Ss. CYRIL AND METHODIUS UNIVERSITY IN SKOPJE, BLVD GOCE DELCEV 9,
SKOPJE 1000, North Macedonia
MINISTARSTVO PROSVETE, NAUKE I TEHNOLOSKOG RAZVOJA - MPNTR,
Nemanjina 22-26, BELGRADE 11000, Serbia
MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, AVENUE
MOHAMED V 50, TUNIS 1002 Tunisia
TURKIYE BILIMSEL VE TEKNOLOJIK ARASTIRMA KURUMU – TUBITAK, Ataturk
Bulvari 221, ANKARA 06100, Turkey
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
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operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative budget: EUR 8.00 million from the 2021 budget
9. Framework Partnership Agreement with COST (European Co-operation in Science
and Technology)
COST (European Co-operation in Science and Technology) is an EU funded pan European
programme that enables researchers to set up their interdisciplinary research networks in
Europe and beyond. The programme was established in 1971 in an intergovernmental mode.
It will be implemented by a member state owned organisation i.e. the COST Association
under a Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA). This FPA will outline an action plan for
the full duration of Horizon Europe until 2027 describing the strategic objectives and key
milestones for the implementation of COST. This FPA is based on Article 195 of the
Financial Regulation that allows the use of a named beneficiary for activities with specific
characteristics that require a particular type of body on account of its technical competence,
its high degree of specialisa-tion or its administrative powers, on condition that the activities
concerned do not fall within the scope of a call for proposals.
While the networks are open to international partners from outside Europe, COST provides a
unique low entry mechanism for researchers from countries catching up in the R&I in the EU
and from its Eastern and Southern neighbours while remaining open for researchers from all
European countries and international partners. For many researchers (especially at the
beginning of their career) from widening countries, the participation in COST networking
actions is the sole opportunity for getting in touch with European and international research
initiatives and to benefitting from exposure to leading scientists in their field. The approach of
COST is not funding research itself but pooling resources and research results by networking
and hence upscaling.
The specific objectives of this support mechanism are to:
    Increase participation of widening countries (inclusiveness target countries (ITC)
      according to COST internal terminology) in European research activities and higher
      success rates;
    Contribute towards improving the R&I culture of the widening country (indicators such
      as research intensity, innovation performance, values towards R&I);
    Improve scientific capabilities of widening countries to increase their chances in
      participating and successfully obtaining competitive funding from the EU and other
      international sources;
    Trigger scientific breakthroughs and new research strands by pooling interdisciplinary
      resources across Europe;
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   Boost the career of young and female researchers by networking and brain circulation in
      line with ERA principles and the development of leadership skills;
   Strengthen the research management capacities and administrative skills of participating
      researchers;
   Develop operational synergies with other widening actions and create links to thematic
      parts of Horizon Europe, notably Pillar 2.
Legal entities:
COST Association , Avenue du Boulevard - Bolwerklaan 21, 1210 Brussels
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
10. Implementation of COST actions - Specific Grant under Framework Partnership
Agreement
The EC funds almost the entire programme under a Framework Partnership Agreement
(FPAs) with underlying Specific Grant Agreements (SGAs). In the FPA and the SGAs the
beneficiary COST Association commits to a mandatory conditionality to spend at least 50%
of the budget at the benefit of researchers from countries eligible from the Widening countries
and to run 80% of the activities with a significant widening dimension. The primary purpose
of this grant is the implementation of the COST networking actions. Other services may be
implemented as far as complementary and appropriate. The personnel costs operations
incurred by the COST Association as the implementing structure are eligible as direct cost up
to a maximum of 20 million Euro as far as they are necessary for the implementation of the
COST networking actions and related other support activities. For the same purpose cost for
other goods and services and subcontracting are eligible up to a maximum of 2 million Euro.
COST networking actions will be implemented by third party grant holders using financial
support to third parties.
The beneficiary may provide financial support to third parties in the form of grants. The
maximum amount to be granted to each third party must be necessary to meet the objectives
of the SGA and will be fixed in the grant agreement in line with the COST Vademecum. It
will be used for the implementation of networking tools defined in a closed list that is fixed in
the description of the action.
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The COST Association will organise competitive open calls and an independent evaluation
and selection procedure according to its own rules in agreement with the European
Commission. At proposal stage at least 50% of the participants must be located in widening
countries.
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: CSA for 3 years
Indicative budget: EUR 153.00 million from the 2021 budget
11. Presidency conferences with a European regional dimension - WIRE
A two-day conference (WIRE) will be organised under the EU French Presidency (Presidency
Conference) in 2022. The event will gather actors active in the innovation and education
ecosystem with the aim of improving science-based competitiveness.
The conference will debate knowledge based regional development and will offer potential
solutions of streamlining resources aimed for this. Representatives of education organizations,
research organizations, start-ups, clusters, policy makers and other related interested parties
will exchange views and best practices that could lead to a higher impact of innovation across
users and society at large. Best practices, trends and visions will be considered.
Legal entities:
Université Paris-Saclay, 3 rue Joliot Curie, Bâtiment Breguet, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: 1st Quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.50 million from the 2022 budget
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PRIZE
1. EU Award for (Academic) Gender Equality Champions
Expected Outcomes:
   Enable the creation of a European community of academic and research champions in
     institutional transformation towards inclusive gender equality.
   Strengthening of the inclusiveness and connectivity objectives under the new European
     Research Area.
Award and certification schemes implemented in different countries, in the EU and beyond,
have been shown to be useful tools for advancing gender equality in academic, research and
innovation organisations, with some awarding schemes effectively being used as drivers for
competition in attracting students and researchers and/or as prerequisite for having access to
funding. Building on the feasibility study for a European award/certification system for
gender equality in research organisations, including universities, carried out by Horizon 2020
project CASPER, an annual Award scheme is established. The “EU Award for Gender
Equality Champions” is meant as a booster and complement to the requirement for higher
education and research organisations applying to Horizon Europe to have in place a Gender
Equality Plan (GEP) in place, and as an enabler for the new priority on inclusive gender
equality plans and the transformation agenda for universities set in the new European
Research Area, in synergy with the European Education Area and in line with the new
European Strategy for Universities.
The Prize will be awarded to up to four academic or research organisations, and contestants
can apply to one among the following three prize categories:
   Sustainable Gender Equality Champions: Organisations that can demonstrate a
     significant and sustained record of activity and a high level of achievement through the
     implementation of their GEP;
   Newcomer Gender Equality Champions: Organisations that have recently started
     implementing a GEP and can demonstrate the most progress in its implementation and
     achieved results;
   Inclusive Gender Equality Champions: Organisations that have developed the most
     innovative inclusive GEP addressing intersections with other social categories such as
     ethnicity, social origin, sexual orientation and gender identity (LGBTI+) or disability.
Each prize winner will receive EUR 0.1 million: EUR 0.4 million maximum in total, from the
2022 budget.
The contestants will have to provide proof of eligibility and a written presentation of their
achievements, as well as support their applications with a link to a video. The submission
consists of a complete application.
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Essential award criteria:
Eligible applications will be evaluated by a Jury consisting of a group of independent experts,
with expertise on gender equality plan implementation and intersectional approaches in
research and higher education institutions, appointed by the Commission.
The prize will be awarded, after closure of the contest, to the contestants who in the opinion
of the jury best address a set of cumulative criteria set for each of the three prize categories.
Eligibility criteria:
The contestant must be a university, higher education institution, or research performing
organisation (public or private) located in an EU Member State or a country associated to
Horizon Europe107.
Applicants that have already received an EU or Euratom prize cannot receive a second prize
for the same activities.
The specific rules of the contest will be published each year by the European Commission (on
the Funding & Tenders Portal but also actively publicised elsewhere to maximise
participation), which will directly launch and manage the contest and award the prize based
on the judgement of independent experts.
Expected results: The prizes will boost public awareness of the importance of addressing
gender equality in academic and research organisations through institutional change,
incentivise a high degree of commitment to the implementation of inclusive GEPs, and create
a community of champions inspiring other academic and research organisations into become
gender equality champions themselves.
Indicative timetable of contest(s):
                           Stages                                   Date and time or indicative period
                  Opening of the contest                                   Second quarter of 2022
        Deadline for submission of application                              Third quarter of 2022
      Evaluation and solutions demonstration (if                                      N/A
                         applicable)
                    Award of the prize                                      Fourth quarter of 2022
Form of Funding: Prizes
107
        In accordance with the Horizon Europe Rules for participation, due to the specific policy requirements,
        to the nature and objectives of the action, the type of legal entity and the place of establishment are
        limited to research performing organisations among legal entities falling under the eligibility criterion
        on the requirement to have a Gender Equality Plan in place (see General Annexes to the Horizon
        Europe Work Programme)
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Type of Action: Recognition Prize
Indicative timetable: Q4/2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.40 million from the 2022 budget
2. Horizon impact award
Expected Outcomes:
   To celebrate the successful uptake and use of EU funded project results, thus boosting
      and promoting their achieved impact.
   To showcase best practices, create role models and inspire R&I beneficiaries to use their
      research results to create value for the society at large.
The Commission will award on an annual basis a recognition prize to reward beneficiaries
that have successfully used their research results to create value for society. The beneficiaries
must be able to show proof of effective exploitation and uptake of their research results. This
action aims to illustrate the wider socio-economic benefits of the EU investment in R&I and
to encourage project beneficiaries to best manage and use their research results.
In particular, six winners will be selected by the evaluation jury for their achievements. The
prizes are monetary and each of the six winners will receive EUR 25.000.
Total of six prizes of EUR 0.025 each: EUR 0.15 million from the 2021 budget, and EUR
0.15 million from the 2022 budget.
All applicants are required to submit letter(s) of support coming from the user community that
can provide testimony on achieved impact.
Essential award criteria: The prize will be awarded, after closure of the contest, to the
contestant(s) who in the opinion of the jury best addresses the following cumulative criteria:
1. Pathway from results to societal benefits:
Applicants will need to detail how the R&I results were directly or indirectly exploited after
the lifetime of the project. They will need to describe the activities that were done to ensure
that the R&I results lead to societal benefits. They will need to describe the scale and the
sustainability of their actions.
2. Achieved impact:
Applicants will need to demonstrate the already existing impact and created societal benefits.
They will need to detail concrete examples of how their research results have benefitted the
society and who are the user communities that have profited from it. The achieved impact
must be already materialized. The letter of support will serve as a testimony of the described
impact.
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Eligibility criteria: The contest is open to all legal entities (i.e. natural or legal persons,
including international organisations) or groups of legal entities that participated as
beneficiaries in FP7 or Horizon 2020 108 . The projects must have ended by close of the
contest109. Natural persons such as ERC principal investigators or MSCA fellows and legal
entities principally created by past beneficiaries for the exploitation of the project results, are
also eligible.
Applicants that have already received an EU or Euratom prize cannot receive a second prize
for the same activities
For the common Rules of Contest for Prizes please see the Funding and Tenders Portal.
The specific Rules of Contest will be published in 2021 110 and in 2022 by the European
Commission, which will directly launch and manage the contest and award the prizes based
on the judgement of independent experts.
Indicative timetable of contest(s):
                           Stages                                       Date and time or indicative period
                  Opening of the contest                                          Q1-Q2 (2021/2022)
        Deadline for submission of application                                    Q2-Q3 (2021/2022)
      Evaluation and solutions demonstration (if                                        N/A
                         applicable)
                    Award of the prize                                            Q3-Q4 (2021/2022)
Form of Funding: Prizes
Type of Action: Recognition Prize
Indicative timetable: Q4 2021 and Q2 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.15 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 0.15 million from the
2022 budget
EXPERT CONTRACT ACTIONS
1. External expertise for monitoring of Widening and ERA actions
This action will support the use of appointed independent experts for the monitoring of
actions (grant agreement, grant decision, public procurement actions, financial instruments)
108
        In accordance with the Horizon Europe Rules for participation, due to the specific policy requirements,
        to the nature and objectives of the action, the type of legal entity is limited
109
        Refers to the end date of the project as in the Grant Agreement.
110
        The Horizon Impact Award has not been implemented in 2021
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funded under Horizon Europe and previous Framework Programmes for Research and
Innovation and where appropriate include ethics checks.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative budget: EUR 0.60 million from the 2022 budget
2. Monitoring experts for Horizon 2020 legacy
This action is for financing external experts in charge of reviewing legacy projects from
Horizon 2020 related to SEWP and Swafs.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative budget: EUR 0.40 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 0.40 million from the
2022 budget
3. Use of individual experts in support of the new ERA's objectives
This action will support the provision of independent expertise to improve the evidence base
and collect advice on various aspects related to the Reforming and Enhancing the EU
Research and Innovation System and the pursued of the revitalised European Research Area.
Individual experts will work in the following domains:
   Experts to contribute to the development of the ERA Scoreboard, to enable monitoring
     of progress of the realisation of ERA’s objectives;
   Experts to map out the academic freedom landscape in Europe and to divise an
     appropriate system for monitoring its development;
   Experts on Human Resources and researchers’ careers, experts on services for
     researchers such as those of the EURAXESS services network, as well as experts in
     employment conditions and contracts, social security and remuneration; the experts will
     contribute to the development of a wide range of actions related to the strengthening of
     research careers, including researchers’ mobility, improvement of the attractiveness of
     researchers’ work conditions, careers, remuneration, assessment;
   Experts in legal matters related to cross-border institutional cooperation, and cooperation
     within knowledge ecosystems, to support the development of a legal toolbox that
     facilitates such cooperation;
   Experts in various areas of higher education institutional transformation, in order to
     monitor transformation and strengthen synergies between education, research and
     innovation.
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The ERA Scoreboard will provide internationally comparable quantitative data and indicators
to monitor progress on the realisation of the new ERA at EU and national level, revise
priorities and actions in the ERA Roadmap and provide evidence and analysis for the
European Semester. The Scoreboard will be issued on an annual basis.
Academic freedom is a prerequisite for scientific excellence and for fostering strong
collaborative links between researchers, international partners, scientific organisations and
businesses. Academic freedom and the values that it encompasses lead to the creation of
resilient R&I ecosystems that cherish, among others, openness, freedom of discussion,
autonomy by engaging into open science, peer reviews, research verifiability and replicability,
autonomous research agenda setting. The independent experts will contribute to reinforce the
future European Pact for Research and Innovation, which aims at deepening the
implementation of the new ERA’s objectives, setting out commonly agreed values and
principles and indicating the areas where Member States will jointly develop priority
actions.In the frame of the implementation of the “European Charter for Researchers and the
Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers” (C&C), the European Commission
relies on independent experts to perform the peer review assessments on which the continuous
monitoring mechanism for the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R) award
and renewal is based. The creation of a larger pool of experts is envisaged, including in legal,
HR, skills, social security, remuneration and employment conditions matters, as well as in
science education, skills, financial instruments, innovation, value creation, cooperation and
ecosystems, foreign interference, science diplomacy and international competitiveness. This
should allow greater flexibility and crossed interactions between various intervention fields,
including legal, technical, and operational ones.
Experts in cross-border institutional cooperation and mobility of R&I talents should allow
gathering evidence and advice to facilitate cross-border cooperation between higher education
institutions and between higher education institutions and other actors of the ecosystem, as
well as facilitate circulation of talents.
A special allowance of EUR 450/day will be paid to the experts appointed in their personal
capacity who act independently and in the public interest.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative timetable: Q4 2021 and Q3 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 1.00 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 1.20 million from the
2022 budget
4. Commission expert group on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender
equality in EU R&I
The Expert Group will deliver a study on the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis and the
pandemic containment measures put in place at institutional, national and EU level, on the
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work and productivity of women researchers and on gender equality in the EU R&I system in
general.
A special allowance of EUR 450/day will be paid to the experts appointed in their personal
capacity who act independently and in the public interest. This amount is considered to be
proportionate to the specific tasks to be assigned to the experts, including the number of
meetings to be attended and possible preparatory work.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative timetable: Q4 / 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.20 million from the 2021 budget
5. External expertise for ad hoc tasks related to the implementation of Horizon Europe
Ethics Appraisal scheme
This action will support the use of independent experts to advise on or assist with the
implementation of the Horizon Europe Ethics Appraisal scheme in view of ensuring and
maintaining its quality and effectiveness.
Since the above tasks requires specialised knowledge in research ethics/integrity and the
related national and European legal framework (e.g. Data protection and privacy, Informed
Consent, Artificial Intelligence and Emerging technologies, Benefit sharing, etc.) a special
allowance of EUR 450/day will be paid to the experts appointed in their personal capacity
who act independently and in the public interest.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative budget: EUR 0.10 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 0.10 million from the
2022 budget
6. Use of individual expert(s) on ad hoc tasks related to the implementation of the
European Valorisation policy
This action will support the use of independent experts to advice on or assist with the
implementation of the European Valorisation policy. Individual experts will work in the
following areas:
    European knowledge valorisation strategy and specific dimensions and results of its
      development and implementation, in particular for the delivery of the European Research
      Area
    IP strategy for European R&I
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    Industry-academia knowledge exchange and collaboration
    Citizen engagement and knowledge valorisation through collaboration with cities and
     communities
    Science and research informing policies
    Other specific aspects with a key role in the European Knowledge Valorisation policy
The tasks require specialised knowledge in R&I Valorisation, intellectual property
management, exploitation and dissemination of research results, open innovation, university-
business collaboration, citizen engagement for innovation etc.
A special allowance of EUR 450/day will be paid to the experts appointed in their personal
capacity who act independently and in the public interest.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative budget: EUR 0.10 million from the 2021 budget
7. Support for policy makers – Horizontal support to the Strategic Coordinating Process
for partnerships
This action will offer horizontal support to the strategic coordinating process for partnerships,
focusing on issues related to the implementation of the process, mutual learning across the
community involved and strengthening the evidence base for strategic discussions.
It will support the continued monitoring of the new approach to European Partnerships, the
identification of gaps, emerging opportunities and potential novel approaches in the
partnerships landscape and support the preparedness of Member States' and Associated
Countries' Horizon Europe participation in the Strategic Coordinating Process. It will
contribute to the implementation of the revised policy approach for European Partnerships in
Horizon Europe.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative timetable: Q3 and Q4 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.40 million from the 2022 budget
PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
1. EU data for R&I policy
Overall, the set up of an initiative to allow MS and the European Commission to share
microdata related to R&I projects, and the progressive integration of R&I project data with
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other sources of related data, are fundamental to strengthen ERA and reinforce our research
and innovation systems by informing better evidence based policy making. The main tasks
are: (1) Data sharing and interoperability of different sources of competitive or non-
competitive Research and Innovation funding in Europe, and integration with relevant
external data sources; (2) Digital enabling infrastructure; (3) Data analysis and visualisation
tools (The EU Dashboard); (4) Capacity building. These activities will be complemented with
other data activities aimed at acquiring, interlinking and visualising R&I related data.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q4 2021 and Q2 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 1.50 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 1.50 million from the
2022 budget
2. Development of the European Innovation Scoreboard
This action will support the continuation and enhancement of the European Innovation
Scoreboard, which provides a comparative analysis of innovation performance in EU
countries, other European countries, and regional neighbours.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q4 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.75 million from the 2021 budget
3. Overview of regulatory sandboxes and innovation-enabling approaches to regulation
The study will analyse innovation-enabling approaches to regulation with a focus on
regulatory sandboxes. It will establish a state-of-play regarding the use of regulatory
sandboxes and experimentation clauses in the European Union, with a benchmarking
internationally and vs. other experimentation-enabling instruments. The study will identify
key features, benefits and risks related to regulatory sandboxes, present best practices
regarding the implementation and evaluation of regulatory sandboxes and analyse how
learning from regulatory sandboxes at national level can contribute to evidence-based policy-
making at EU level. It will also briefly present an overview of sandboxes and similar
instruments in European Programmes.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q2 2021
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Indicative budget: EUR 0.20 million from the 2021 budget
4. Implementation of Workshop series with industry and other stakeholders as well as
discussions with Member States to prepare ERA common industrial technology
roadmaps
This action is a key element to implement priority action 5 under ERA with which the
Commission will work with stakeholders from relevant industries to develop by end of 2022
common industrial technology roadmaps which ensure a better transfer of R&I into the real
economy and make EU industry more competitive. Industrial technology roadmaps will
address R&I for the development of key industrial technology roadmaps across Horizon
Europe clusters, ranging from circular industries over health equipment to clean transport and
social innovation. They will gauge the prospects of future technological development, collect
relevant evidence and co-design R&I investment agendas from basic research to deployment.
The Commission will co-create Industrial technology roadmaps with Member States,
industrial companies, RTOs, universities and other stakeholders. The preparation of roadmaps
within the deadline stipulated by ERA will require 4-5 meetings per roadmap with industry
and other stakeholders and 4-5 meetings with representatives from Member States (ERA
Forum for Transition). In order to inform, steer and organize these discussions, the
Commission requires support services for the preparation, implementation and summary of
discussions, organisation of the meeting venue and administrative support.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q4 / 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 1.00 million from the 2021 budget
5. Implementation of the Horizon Policy Support Facility
In order to make research and innovation deliver on their full potential to be the key drivers of
economic growth and of the transition towards a sustainable society, ambitious policy reforms
of national R&I systems are necessary. Through the Policy Support Facility (PSF), the
Commission assists Member States and countries associated to Horizon in developing and
implementing those reforms. It offers, on a voluntary basis, high-level expertise and tailor-
made advice to national public authorities. An overview of past activities can be found at
https://rio.jrc.ec.europa.eu/en/policy-support-facility. The PSF has demonstrated that it serves
as enabler for concrete policy changes.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q4 2021 and Q2 2022
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Indicative budget: EUR 1.50 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 1.50 million from the
2022 budget
6. ERA Talent Platform – the international dimension
The new ERA Communication outlines that EURAXESS services, network and portals will
be broadened into an ERA Talent Platform, an online one-stop-shop, with improved structure
and governance, exploiting links to Europass, the EU platform for people to manage their
learning and careers and the EURES network of European public employment services. The
Council Conclusions on the Future of the ERA calls on the Commission and Member States
to develop EURAXESS as the ERA pilot action to foster “inclusiveness” within the ERA into
an ERA Talent Platform fit to address existing barriers to unbalanced mobility pattern by
supporting researchers in their career development within the ERA, connecting researchers
and institutions and improving employability and talent absorption and mobility schemes.
The scope of this action is to complement the ERA Talent Platform with an additional
dimension and module addressing international and European researchers living and working
outside of Europe. It is expected to consist of the development of a portfolio of support
services and associated tools, designed to create transnational ties with researchers and
scientific communities within the global R&I ecosystem.
This action will build on the EURAXESS Worldwide structure of international hubs and it is
expected to be a physical and virtual networking, knowledge-sharing and advocacy platform
of services and tools that will serve as a diplomacy asset internationally and promoting
instrument of European R&I landscape, attracting international talent and European
researchers back home.
This action should be in strong connection with the European dimension of the Talent
Platform. Collaboration is foreseen between EURAXESS Worldwide international hubs and
EURAXESS Bridgehead Organisations/ National Coordinators and centers across Europe. It
is expected to bridge researchers working outside of Europe to their peers in the home
countries, also to activate scientific communities and connect them with business and
professional associations, as well as R&I employers and funders.
The international dimension of the ERA Talent Platform should also be fostered through
networking events, information sessions or trainings, as well as online instruments and tools,
with a mission, inter alia to:
(i) promote the European values and R&I landscape as a favourable environment for excellent
research,
(ii) facilitate knowledge and skills transfer, scientific collaboration and recruiting processes,
while lifting obstacles to return,
(iii) strengthen S&T links with home countries through policy feedback tools and dialogues,
as well as
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(iv) improve data to a better understanding of European researchers living and working
outside of Europe, as well as on mobility and research careers policy in general.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q3 /2021 - Q3 / 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 2.50 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 2.50 million from the
2022 budget
7. Observatory on Knowledge Ecosystems and Research Careers
This action is expected to build on the preparatory work of the previous Work Programme, in
particular the study “Knowledge ecosystems in the new ERA: a comprehensive analysis of the
state of play, the design of monitoring mechanisms, and creation of a toolbox of support
measures” (2021), both at the level of knowledge ecosystems, and research careers and
mobility. In particular, it should build (1) on the knowledge ecosystems mapping excercise
and liaise and coordinate activities with the beneficiaries of the “Testing of the ERA Hub
concept – pilot phase” action mentioned elsewhere in this work programme. It will contribute
to the understanding of successful knowledge ecosystems across Europe through a recurrent
monitoring process and development of an interactive online platform as an Observatory on
Knowledge Ecosystems and ERA Hubs testing, endorsing and implementing structures. Next
to this, (2) it will need to enable real-time monitoring of national systems of remuneration ad
employment conditions, social security policies, portability of grants and pensions, as well as
research mobility patterns of researchers, both geographically and intersectoral mobility. The
observatory should integrate, analyse and map data related to the emergence of ecosystem
actors engaged in knowledge production, circulation and use and will reflect how they
interact, network and coordinate each other on common agendas, smart specialization
strategies, value chains, etc.
Four main targets are foreseen:
    Single actors in knowledge ecosystems (higher education institutions, research
      organisations, business, other actors)
    Ecosystems (platforms, collaborations, and other structures between above mentioned
      actors)
    ERA Hubs (structures and practices enabling interactions between knowledge
      ecosystems), and how the concept helps the ecosystems to work and interact better
    Tracking of researchers in terms of mobility, careers, skills, and working conditions
This action is expected to ensure a recurrent stock taking exercise of existing knowledge
ecosystems, including, but not limited to, ERA Hubs, endorsing and implementing
collaboration capacities (platforms and other structures of cooperation between ecosystem
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actors) at European, national and regional level. The exercise needs to be based on surveys,
data collection processes and tools, as well as analyses that need to provide quantitative and
qualitative high-level insights, such as on the available types of structures, functions,
expertise, the geographical coverage and gaps in the territory, the broader context in which
they are functioning, including framework conditions, investment and key operational
characteristics.
The Observatory should function as an online platform and real-time assessment of the state
of play, reflecting the inventory of knowledge ecosystem actors according to predefined
criteria as set in above mentioned Knowledge Ecosystems study. It should also propose a
forward-looking perspective to complement and reinforce the ecosystem landscape and
maximize its impact. It should identify challenges and needs in order to fill in the gaps in the
territory, any white space where no such capacities are currently active, and the gaps in
expertise and best practices with a view to mainstream them. Benchmarking in the broader
geopolitical context (e.g. Silicon Valley) should be also provided.
Expected impact: Actions are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Provide evidence-based policy support through recurrent monitoring, data collection and
      analysis on knowledge ecosystem actors across Europe through dedicated processes and
      tools.
   Gain insight into the dynamics and evolution of the knowledge ecosystems across
      Europe and measure progress in terms of geographical coverage, patterns of cooperation,
      interaction, networking and functioning at European, national and regional level;
   Measure progress of testing and implementing the ERA Hubs concept, as well as
      identify gaps in the territory where such actions could be further needed and stimulated;
   Gain insight in the mobility of researchers, both in terms of the regional/national
      capacity of attracting and retaining R&I talents, and flow-through of talents between
      sectors;
   Measure progress of countries, regions, and institutions, in terms of acquisition of new
      skills and competences by early-career researchers, matching skills needs of employers,
      in terms of working conditions (remuneration, contract duration, social security
      provisions), and in terms of research careers and career assessment.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q3 / 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 2.75 million from the 2022 budget
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8. Development of the ERA Talent Platform: website, proof of concept, online services,
design, maintenance, communication
EURAXESS is one of the key initiatives enhancing researcher careers and, as such, is one of
the operational instruments of the European Research Area (ERA). It particularly contributes
to removing the barriers to mobility and making Europe more attractive to researchers. As an
ERA implementation measure, the EURAXESS portal and instruments under its umbrella will
be expanded towards a comprehensive recruitment, career development and social networking
web-platform - ERA Talent Platform, dedicated to researchers and institutions seeking for
R&I talent or willing to improve their institutional talent management policies and practices.
This action will build on the preparatory work under the previous Work Programme, in
particular the Study on ERA Priority 3 (“Taking stock, evaluating the achievements and
identifying the way forward for the ERA Priority 3 policy measures with a focus on European
Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (C&C),
the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R) and EURAXESS”, 2020). The newly
designed portal is expected to support institutional transformations on recruitment, working
conditions and career development of researchers, and it should be aligned to the reviewed
European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of
Researchers, as well as the updated Skills Agenda. It should also be interoperable with other
European websites and platforms such as EURES and the new Europass, as well as adopt new
functionalities required in line with the European Skills, Competences Qualifications and
Occupations (ESCO), the enhanced framework of research careers, ERC panel descriptors,
etc.
The primary purpose of the ERA Talent Platform is to create a virtual hub for researchers and
institutions, R&I employers and funders. The newly designed EURAXESS website should be
seen as an interface that facilitates matching between researchers and employers, candidates
and jobs, beneficiaries and benefits, research and funding. The action will also develop
activities to provide a new facelift to sections of the website and the instruments under its
umbrella, inter alia additional modules for RESAVER and the upgrade of the Human
Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R) e-tool based on the Charter and Code future
revisions and developments. The ERA Talent Platform is also expected to integrate an
additional online instrument - a portal gathering EU and national programmes and schemes
for intersectoral mobility, which should provide easy access for individuals who want to
engage into intersectoral mobility or want to be employed as intermediate between academic
and non-academic sector, notably businesses.
The secondary purpose of the newly designed website is to create tools that facilitate
automatized data gathering on researchers, research careers, and institutions (R&I employers
and funders), in order to allow the Commission to produce high quality data and evidence in
support of future ERA policy developments, relevant legislation and actions.
This action requires collaboration with a large group of stakeholders, including EURAXESS
Bridgehead Organisations/ National Coordinators, national portal administrators and
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EURAXESS Worldwide. It should encompass different activities, such as the development of
a proof of concept with the re-conceptualisation of the EURAXESS portal and associated
national portals and tools under its umbrella, graphical and functional enhancements, as well
as technical development and maintenance. Activities should also include services by external
information system provider(s) who, on the basis of inputs provided by the responsible
Commission services, guarantee the smooth running of the platform.
Web communication and online promotion activities with stakeholders related to the rollout
of the newly designed platform and the portals and tools under its umbrella should also be
foreseen as part of this action.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q4 2021 and Q3 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 2.75 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 1.00 million from the
2022 budget
9. Technical support to Retirement Savings Vehicle for European Research Institutions
and research performing individuals (RESAVER)
As asserted in Article 22 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone, as a
member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through
national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and
resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his
dignity and the free development of his personality. Nevertheless social security in most
member states is under pressure and mobile employees, researchers in particular, experience
additional obstacles in accumulating an adequate amount of pension provisions. Most
prominent issues experienced by mobile researchers in relation to accumulation of
occupational pensions (second pillar) are the vesting period, transferability of assets and
administrative burden during accumulation phase and at retirement.
RESAVER Pension Fund has been created with the ambition to tackle the issues listed above
by facilitating free circulation of researchers and removing pension as an obstacle to mobility
which corresponds to the strategic objectives of the Union policy as stipulated in Article 179
TFEU on the establishment of a European Research Area.
RESAVER Occupational fund became operational in May 2017 and since then the fund has
welcomed research organisations from Hungary, Austria, Netherlands, Italy and Cyprus. In
parallel with geographical expansion, RESAVER has the ambition to engage in mutually
beneficial collaborations with local occupational pension funds for the benefit of mobile
employees. In order to answer to the needs of mobile researchers that do not receive
occupational pension employee benefits, or receive an insufficient level of contributions, a
personal pension product is expected to be developed that should utilise the existing structure
to the extent possible. In addition, investment strategy should be fine-tuned continuously in
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order to correspond to the specific needs of researchers and research performing
organisations.
In this context following technical support is needed: pension fund management,
implementation of additional countries and organisations in the pension fund, providing
advice to the board concerning the legal framework, coordinate the development of a third
pillar product, support the project in ad hoc tasks, contribute to the establishment of
partnerships with local pension funds and coordination of investment strategy adjustments.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q4 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 1.00 million from the 2021 budget
10. Monitoring and evaluating the Horizon 2020 complementary support for the
European Universities initiative
The European Universities initiative piloted under Erasmus+ and supported under Horizon
2020 offers a testbed for the Higher Education Transformation Agenda to support
modernisation of higher education institutions, and explore new integrated ways of
cooperation between universities and with other actors in their surrounding ecosystem. In
view of the potential full deployment of the European Universities initiative as of 2023, the
Commission will monitor progress and identify and address remaining barriers to the
transformation agenda.
This action is expected to focus on the R&I dimension of the pilot projects and needs to be
implemented in synergy with a similar exercise for the education dimension.
The analysis should include progress made by the project portfolio on areas in the
transformation agenda, and in implementing measures for borderless cooperation and
circulation of knowledge and talents. Project(s) are expected to provide recommendations to
developing future effective synergies with the Erasmus programme and with national or
regional funding mechanisms.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q3 / 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 0.50 million from the 2021 budget
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11. Studies and communication
Activities should support the implementation of the ERA Communication objectives and may
include studies, support and communication activities that are needed to analyse and enhance
the EU space R&I environment, for example
   higher education in the EU versus needs of the space R&I community;
   dissemination of scientific results;
   analysis of the portfolio of EU-funded projects in the field of research careers,
      universities, research assessment, researcher mobility;
   collection of project feedback, in particular with respect to key exploitable results;
   organisational support for consulting the R&I stakeholders community on R&I needs;
   production and dissemination of communication material and the organisation of events
      related the ERA, synergies with the EEA, European R&I agendas and Horizon Europe;
   support to Member States ensuring coherent communication activities on                      the
      implementation of the ERA policy agenda across target groups.
Activities are expected to include surveys as appropriate implemented through public
procurement, and/or appointing (groups of) independent experts. These limited numbers of
contracts may be implemented on the basis of framework contracts, in order to further ensure
that the Commission is provided with appropriate and timely analyses, which in turn should
facilitate the proper integration of policy studies into the preparation of new policy initiatives.
Cooperation with the presidencies of the Council of the European Union and stakeholders is
envisaged and could include direct support to ERA-related presidency events.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q3 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.95 million from the 2022 budget
12. Monitoring gender equality in Research and Innovation - Development,
implementation and dissemination of indicators (She Figures)’
The European Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, will continue collecting
sex-disaggregated data and monitoring with appropriate indicators, the implementation of
gender policies, objectives, guiding targets and actions at institutional, national and EU level.
The study will update data and indicators on human resources in Science and Technology,
Research & Development personnel, seniority grades, education, work-life balance, the
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inclusion of the gender dimension in research and innovation content, boards' composition,
funds, institutional change, gender and innovation, collected insofar.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q2 / 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.50 million from the 2021 budget
13. Service Facility in Support of the Strategic Development of International
Cooperation in Research and Innovation
The Strategic Development of International Cooperation in Research and Innovation aims to
provide services that support the policy development, priority setting, follow-up and
implementation of the strategy for international cooperation in research and innovation.
A new framework contract for services will be launched and it would reflect on the new
political priorities “making Europe stronger in the world” and facilitate strategic international
cooperation in research and innovation. It would also support the monitoring of Associated
Countries’ alignment with the ERA principles, and it would facilitate strengthening the
coordination and alignment of the Member States international R&I strategies with the EU.
   Activity description: international cooperation in R&I is a cross-cutting activity
      relevant for the whole HE programme. The framework contract should reflect on the
      new political priorities “making Europe stronger in the world”. The objective is to
      provide services that support the policy development, priority setting, and follow-up and
      implementation of the strategy for international cooperation in R&I.
   Information related to the activity: it is a contribution to the implementation of
      international dimension of HE and it would facilitate strengthening the coordination and
      alignment of the Member States international R&I strategies with the EU. It would also
      support the monitoring of Associated Countries’ alignment with the ERA principles.
   Impact: The activities under the framework contract should result in in-depth and well-
      informed policy dialogues, improved framework conditions for cooperation in R&I,
      strategic priority setting for R&I, coordination between internal and external policies and
      better coordination and alignment with member states’ R&I international strategies
The service facility will be implemented through a new framework contract for services to be
launched and signed for a duration of 4 years, with an estimated budget ceiling for its entire
duration of 25 million euro, as well as through other existing framework contracts (i.e. for
communication related activities). Several specific contracts will be signed under this
framework contract.
Form of Funding: Procurement
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Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q4/2021
Indicative budget: EUR 7.00 million from the 2021 budget and EUR 7.00 million from the
2022 budget
14. Implementation of the ERA Monitoring Mechanism
The Council Conclusions on the Future Governance of the European Research Area (ERA)
calls on the Commission and Member States to develop a new ERA online policy platform
with the aim to have a consistent, robust and quality tested national reporting system, taking
into account current instruments. Furthermore, the Council recommendation on a Pact for
Research and Innovation in Europe (Pact for R&I), defines that the platform should inform on
(i) the implementation of the ERA policy agenda at Union and national level; and on (ii) other
relevant investments, reforms and activities supporting the principles and ERA priority areas
set out in the Pact for R&I. The Commission and the Member States should share information
through the ERA policy online platform on their current and planned policies and
programmes that contribute to implementing the ERA policy agenda, and more broadly
contribute to the principles and priorities set out by the Pact for R&I. In that sense, the online
platform could serve as a kind of “hub” for sharing information around the new ERA and ease
exchange between all actors.
Considering this, the online policy platform should be structured around the various elements
that ensure the future monitoring of and reporting on the ERA implementation, including a
scoreboard and dashboard and a tool for reporting from the Member States and the
Commission on the implementation of the ERA policy agenda (e.g. annual reports to the
Member States). Moreover, it should provide for easy access to and information on the
priorities areas of the Pact for R&I, the ERA policy agenda, including its list of joint actions
and their state of implementation, and on Member States. A clear structure should ensure
compatibility and comparability of information per country and per action.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q3/Q4 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 1.20 million from the 2022 budget
15. EU Gender Equality Competence Facility
This EU Gender Equality Competence Facility will follow up on the pilot European
knowledge and support facility for fostering institutional change through gender equality
plans, and the GE Academy project, funded under the 2020 work programme of Horizon
2020, under the Science-with-and-for-society programme.
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In support to the requirement for public bodies, research organisations and higher education
establishments applying to Horizon Europe to have a Gender Equality Plan (GEP) in place as
an eligibility criterion, and the new ERA policy agenda, this facility will act as a competence
centre and deploy support to public bodies, research organisations and universities on how to
design, implement, evaluate, and sustain a gender equality plan.
This practical support will include the development of an enhanced digital, interactive
platform to offer i) access to gender knowledge and expertise on gender equality plans,
including to national-level contact points appointed through the pilot European knowledge
and support facility for fostering institutional change through gender equality plans; ii) as well
as trainers on gender equality in research and innovation certified through the GE Academy
project.
This support will include providing guidance, information and assistance at institutional level,
as well as disseminating the good practices and best tools in the field, adapted to specific
country contexts and organisations’ needs
The platform will include digital training modules and an extensive range of useful,
applicable and appealing end-user material for the implementation of GEPs. It will take into
account and build on the GEAR tool developed by the European Institute for Gender Equality
(EIGE) and DG Research and Innovation. Activities should be implemented in close
cooperation and complementarity with the EIGE.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q2/Q3 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 1.00 million from the 2022 budget
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Budget111
                                                       Budget               2021               2022
                                                       line(s)        Budget (EUR        Budget (EUR
                                                                          million)           million)
Calls
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ACCESS-                                                                        180.00
01-two-stage
                                                   from                                            180.00
                                                   01.020401
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-                                                       21.00
02
                                                   from                           21.00
                                                   01.020401
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-                                                      149.00
03
                                                   from                          149.00
                                                   01.020401
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ACCESS-                                                                          50.00
04
                                                   from                                              50.00
                                                   01.020401
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-                                                       30.00
05
                                                   from                           30.00
                                                   01.020401
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-                                                        5.00
06
                                                   from                            5.00
                                                   01.020401
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ACCESS-                                                                          40.00
07
                                                   from                                              40.00
                                                   01.020401
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-                                                                                 80.00
TALENTS-01
                                                   from                                              80.00
111
       The budget figures given in this table are rounded to two decimal places.
       The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
       budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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                 Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area
                                                01.020401
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-                                                                  8.00
TALENTS-02
                                                from                                  8.00
                                                01.020401
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-                                                                 24.00
TALENTS-03
                                                from                                 24.00
                                                01.020401
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-                                                                  8.00
TALENTS-04
                                                from                                  8.00
                                                01.020401
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01                                                  61.50
                                                from                        61.50
                                                01.020402
HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01                                                           59.00
                                                from                                 59.00
                                                01.020402
Other actions
Grant     to    identified     beneficiary                                168.55      6.70
according to Financial         Regulation
                                                from                      161.00      0.50
Article 195(e)
                                                01.020401
                                                from                         7.55     6.20
                                                01.020402
Prize                                                                        0.15     0.55
                                                from                         0.15     0.55
                                                01.020402
Expert contract action                                                       1.80     2.70
                                                from                         0.40     1.00
                                                01.020401
                                                from                         1.40     1.70
                                                01.020402
Public procurement                                                          19.20    19.40
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                                              from                        19.20     19.40
                                              01.020402
Estimated total budget                                                  456.20     478.35
                                      Part 11 - Page 176 of 176
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      ANNEX XII
       “Annex XII
     Horizon Europe
Work Programme 2021-2022
       12. Missions
            ”
 ---pagebreak---                                    Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                                             Missions
Table of contents
Introduction ....................................................................................................... 10
Mission: Adaptation to climate change ........................................................... 12
Call - Better prepared regional and local authorities to adapt to climate change ........... 14
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 14
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-01-01: Better prepared regional and local authorities to
  adapt to climate change ........................................................................................................ 15
Call - Research and Innovation actions in support of the implementation of the
Adaptation to Climate Change Mission ............................................................................... 20
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 20
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02-01: Development of climate change risk assessments
  in European regions and communities based on a transparent and harmonised Climate Risk
  Assessment approach ........................................................................................................... 21
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02-02: Support to the regions in developing pathways
  towards climate resilience and corresponding innovation agendas ..................................... 27
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02-03: Towards asset level modelling of climate risks and
  adaptation ............................................................................................................................. 34
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02-04: Large scale demonstrators of climate resilience
  creating cross-border value .................................................................................................. 36
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02-05: Local engagement of citizens in the co-creation of
  societal transformational change for climate resilience ....................................................... 40
Call - Research and Innovation actions in support of the implementation of the
Adaptation to Climate Change Mission ............................................................................... 43
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 44
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01-01: User driven applications and tools for regional and
  local authorities, and other end users focusing on climate impacts, data and knowledge. .. 46
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01-02: Unlocking of financial resources for investments
  into climate resilience ........................................................................................................... 50
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01-03: Best practices on and piloting insurance solutions
  for climate adaptation in EU regions and communities ....................................................... 54
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01-04: Transformation of regional economic systems for
  climate resilience and sustainability ..................................................................................... 57
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01-05: Boost the sponge function of landscape as a way to
  improve climate-resilience to water management challenges .............................................. 61
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01-06: Testing and demonstrating transformative
  solutions on climate resilience, mainstreaming nature based solutions in the systemic
  transformation ...................................................................................................................... 63
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                                                               Missions
Other Actions not subject to calls for proposals.................................................................. 67
  Procurement actions ............................................................................................................. 67
  1. Building the Implementation Platform for the Adaptation to Climate Change Mission . 67
  2. Climate Adaptation Stakeholders Forum ......................................................................... 68
  Service Level Agreement ..................................................................................................... 69
  1. European Environmental Agency (EEA) support to the Mission in developing the
  monitoring and tracking system and visualisation of the progress in the resilience building,
  expanding ClimateADAPT .................................................................................................. 69
  2. Top up Service Level agreement with the EEA to support the building up and hosting of
  the Mission Platform website as integrated part of Climate-Adapt ..................................... 70
Mission: Cancer ................................................................................................. 71
Call - Preparing UNCAN.eu, a European initiative to understand cancer ...................... 73
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 73
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-UNCAN-01-01: Preparing UNCAN.eu, a European initiative to
  understand cancer ................................................................................................................. 74
Call - Research and Innovation actions supporting the implementation of the Mission on
Cancer ..................................................................................................................................... 76
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 76
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-CANCER-02-01: Develop new methods and technologies for
  cancer screening and early detection .................................................................................... 78
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-CANCER-02-02: Develop and validate a set of quality of life and
  patient preference measures for cancer patients and survivors ............................................ 80
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-CANCER-02-03: Better understanding of the impact of risk factors
  and health determinants on the development and progression of cancer ............................. 83
Call - Research and Innovation actions supporting the implementation of the Mission on
Cancer ..................................................................................................................................... 86
  Conditions for the Call ......................................................................................................... 86
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-01-01: Improving and upscaling primary prevention of
  cancer through implementation research .............................................................................. 87
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-01-02: Strengthening research capacities of
  Comprehensive Cancer Infrastructures ................................................................................ 91
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-01-03: Pragmatic clinical trials to optimise treatments
  for patients with refractory cancers ...................................................................................... 95
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-01-04: Towards the creation of a European Cancer
  Patient Digital Centre ........................................................................................................... 97
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-01-05: Establishing of national cancer mission hubs and
  creation of network to support the Mission on Cancer ...................................................... 101
Other Actions not subject to calls for proposals................................................................ 102
  Grants to identified beneficiaries ....................................................................................... 102
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                                                                   Missions
  1. European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies: Organisation of workshops
  related to tackling cancer in Member States and Associated Countries in 2022-2023 ...... 102
  Procurement actions ........................................................................................................... 104
  1. Procurement actions to support the mission on cancer .................................................. 104
  2. Monitoring ...................................................................................................................... 104
  3. Informing citizens on and engaging them in the EU Mission on Cancer ...................... 105
Mission: Restore our Ocean, seas and waters by 2030 ................................ 106
Call - Preparation for deployment of ‘lighthouse demonstrators’ and solution scale ups
and cross-cutting citizen and stakeholder involvement .................................................... 109
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 109
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-01-01: Preparation for deployment of lighthouse
  demonstrators and solution scale ups and cross-cutting citizen and stakeholder involvement
  ............................................................................................................................................ 110
Call - Protect and restore marine and fresh water ecosystems and biodiversity ........... 113
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 114
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-01: European Blue Parks ........................................ 116
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-02: Danube river basin lighthouse – restoration of
  fresh and transitional water ecosystems ............................................................................. 119
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-03: Atlantic and Arctic basin lighthouse - restoration
  of marine and coastal ecosystems and increased climate resilience .................................. 123
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-04: Danube river basin lighthouse – coordination
  activities ............................................................................................................................. 127
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-05: Atlantic and Arctic basins lighthouse –
  coordination activities ........................................................................................................ 131
Call - Prevent and eliminate pollution of our ocean, seas and waters ............................. 134
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 134
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-03-01: Mediterranean sea basin lighthouse - actions to
  prevent, minimise and remediate litter and plastic pollution ............................................. 136
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-03-02: Mediterranean sea basin lighthouse – coordination
  activities ............................................................................................................................. 140
Call - Sustainable, carbon-neutral and circular Blue economy ....................................... 143
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 143
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-04-01: Lighthouse in the Baltic and the North Sea basins
  - Low impact marine aquaculture and multi-purpose use of marine space ........................ 145
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-04-02: Baltic and North Sea basin lighthouse –
  coordination activities ........................................................................................................ 149
Call - Mission Enabling activities: Digital knowledge system, public mobilisation and
engagement, dynamic investment ecosystem ..................................................................... 153
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 153
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                                                                   Missions
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05-01: Underlying models for the European Digital Twin
  Ocean .................................................................................................................................. 155
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05-02: The relation of young generations with the sea and
  water: values, expectations, and engagement ..................................................................... 158
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05-03: Piloting citizen science in marine and freshwater
  domains .............................................................................................................................. 159
Call - Actions for the implementation of the Mission Restore our ocean and waters by
2030 ........................................................................................................................................ 162
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 162
  Objective 1 - Protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity ..... 164
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-01: European Blue Parks – Protection and restoration
  solutions for degraded coastal and marine habitats ............................................................ 164
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-02: Danube river basin lighthouse – Protection and
  restoration of wetlands, flood plains, coastal wetlands and salt marshes and their
  biodiversity ......................................................................................................................... 167
  Objective 2 - Prevent and eliminate pollution of our ocean, seas and waters ................... 172
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-03: Mediterranean sea basin lighthouse - Actions to
  prevent, minimise and remediate chemical pollution ......................................................... 172
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-04: Prevent and eliminate litter, plastics and
  microplastics: Innovative solutions for waste-free European rivers .................................. 176
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-05: Marine litter and pollution – Smart and low
  environmental impact fishing gears ................................................................................... 179
  Objective 3 - Sustainable, carbon-neutral and circular Blue economy .............................. 182
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-06: Lighthouse in the Baltic and the North Sea basins
  – bringing sustainable algae-based products and solutions to the market .......................... 182
  Mission Enabling activities: Digital Ocean and Water Knowledge System, public
  mobilisation and engagement, dynamic investment ecosystem ......................................... 185
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-07: Integration of biodiversity monitoring data into
  the Digital Twin Ocean ...................................................................................................... 186
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-08: Student and school activities for the promotion of
  education on ‘blue’ sustainability and the protection of marine and freshwater ecosystems
  ............................................................................................................................................ 189
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-09: Towards a European e-DNA library of marine and
  freshwater species .............................................................................................................. 193
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-10: Towards local community-driven business
  models: regenerative ocean farming .................................................................................. 195
Other Actions not subject to calls for proposals................................................................ 198
  Grants to identified beneficiaries ....................................................................................... 198
  1. EU Public Infrastructure for the European Digital Twin Ocean .................................... 198
  2. Europeanisation of Plastic Pirates Citizen Science Initiative ......................................... 203
  Procurement actions ........................................................................................................... 205
  1. Mission Ocean and Waters events ................................................................................. 205
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                                                              Missions
  2. Mission ocean, seas and waters implementation support platform – overall Mission
  coordination and monitoring; European Blue parks technical assistance; citizen
  engagement; communication.............................................................................................. 206
  3. Studies in support to the implementation of the Mission ............................................... 208
  4. Studies fostering cross programme synergies and links in support of the implementation
  of the Mission ..................................................................................................................... 208
  Other budget implementation instruments ......................................................................... 209
  1. Individual experts assisting the Commission for evaluation of Mission 'Restore our ocean
  and waters by 2030' ............................................................................................................ 209
Mission: Climate neutral and smart cities .................................................... 210
Call - Supporting the transition towards climate neutrality within cities ...................... 214
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 214
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-01-01: Supporting national, regional and local authorities
  across Europe to prepare for the transition towards climate neutrality within cities ......... 215
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-01-02: Collaborative local governance models to accelerate
  the emblematic transformation of urban environment and contribute to the New European
  Bauhaus initiative and the objectives of the European Green Deal ................................... 218
Call - Research and Innovation actions to support the implementation of the Climate-
Neutral and Smart Cities Mission....................................................................................... 220
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 220
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-01: Urban planning and design for just, sustainable,
  resilient and climate-neutral cities by 2030 ........................................................................ 222
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-02: Unleashing the innovation potential of public transport
  as backbone of urban mobility ........................................................................................... 228
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03: Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) for the
  Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission Platform ......................................................... 232
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-04: Positive Clean Energy Districts ............................... 236
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-05: Global cooperation and exchange on urban climate
  neutrality............................................................................................................................. 241
Call - Research and Innovation actions for support the implementation of the Climate-
neutral and Smart Cities Mission ....................................................................................... 243
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 243
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-CIT-01-01: Designing inclusive, safe, affordable and sustainable
  urban mobility .................................................................................................................... 244
Other Actions not subject to calls for proposals................................................................ 248
  Grants to identified beneficiaries ....................................................................................... 248
  1. Specific Grant Agreements to the Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) for the
  Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission Platform ......................................................... 248
  2. Global Mission on Urban Transitions under Mission Innovation .................................. 252
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                                                               Missions
  Scientific and technical services by the Joint Research Centre.......................................... 253
  1. Scientific and technical services to the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission ...... 253
Mission: Soil health and food ......................................................................... 255
Call - Preparing the ground for healthy soils: building capacities for engagement,
outreach and knowledge ...................................................................................................... 259
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 259
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-01-01: Preparing the ground for healthy soils: building
  capacities for engagement, outreach and knowledge ......................................................... 260
Call - Research and Innovation and other actions to support the implementation of a
mission in the area of Soil health and Food ...................................................................... 263
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 263
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-01: From knowledge gaps to roadmaps on soil mission
  objectives ............................................................................................................................ 265
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-02: Validating and further developing indicators for soil
  health and functions ........................................................................................................... 267
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-03: Linking soil health to nutritional and safe food .... 269
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-04: Social, economic and cultural factors driving land
  management and land degradation ..................................................................................... 272
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-05: Incentives and business models for soil health ..... 274
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-06: Engage with and activate municipalities and regions
  to protect and restore soil health......................................................................................... 276
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-07: National engagement sessions and support to the
  establishment of soil health living labs .............................................................................. 280
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-08: Next generation soil advisors ................................ 283
Call - Research and Innovation actions to support the implementation of the Soil health
and Food Mission ................................................................................................................. 286
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 286
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-01: Building the mission's knowledge repository and
  advancing the European Soil Observatory ......................................................................... 288
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-02: Improving food systems sustainability and soil health
  with food processing residues ............................................................................................ 290
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-03: Soil biodiversity and its contribution to ecosystem
  services ............................................................................................................................... 292
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-04: Remediation strategies, methods and financial
  models for decontamination and reuse of land in urban and rural areas ............................ 295
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-05: Monitoring, reporting and verification of soil carbon
  and greenhouse gases balance ............................................................................................ 297
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-06: Network on carbon farming for agricultural and
  forest soils .......................................................................................................................... 300
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-07: Foster soil education across society ...................... 303
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                                                                Missions
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-08: Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) for a
  Living Lab network support structure ................................................................................ 305
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-09: Citizen science for soil health ............................... 309
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-10: Innovations for soil improvement from bio-waste 311
Other Actions not subject to calls for proposals................................................................ 314
  Procurement actions ........................................................................................................... 314
  1. Mission Implementation platform .................................................................................. 314
  Scientific and technical services by the Joint Research Centre.......................................... 315
  1. Technical and scientific support for the development of an EU soil monitoring
  framework .......................................................................................................................... 315
Missions' joint actions ..................................................................................... 316
Joint action between Mission Ocean, Seas and Waters and Mission Adaptation to
Climate Change .................................................................................................................... 316
  Call - Joint Demonstration ................................................................................................. 316
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 316
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEANCLIMA-01-01: Mission Climate adaptation and Mission
  Ocean and waters - Joint demonstration for coastal resilience in the Arctic and Atlantic sea
  basin ................................................................................................................................... 317
Destination: Complementing missions through national activities ............ 322
Call - Coordination of complementary actions for missions ............................................ 323
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 323
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-COOR-01-01: Coordination of complementary actions for
  missions .............................................................................................................................. 324
Destination: Deployment of NEB lighthouse demonstrators in the context of
missions ............................................................................................................. 327
Call - Support the deployment of lighthouse demonstrators for the New European
Bauhaus initiative in the context of Horizon Europe missions ........................................ 329
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 329
  HORIZON-MISS-2021-NEB-01-01: Support the deployment of lighthouse demonstrators
  for the New European Bauhaus initiative in the context of Horizon Europe missions ...... 330
Missions' cross-cutting actions in support of the achievement EU Missions
goals .................................................................................................................. 335
Call - A European Social Innovation Catalyst Fund to Advance EU Mission Objectives
by Replicating and Scaling-up Existing, Demonstrably Successful Social Innovations 336
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                                                      Missions
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 336
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOCIALCAT-01-01: A European Social Innovation Catalyst Fund
  to Advance EU Mission Objectives by Replicating and Scaling-up Existing, Demonstrably
  Successful Social Innovations ............................................................................................ 337
Call - National Contact Points Network ............................................................................. 342
  Conditions for the Call ....................................................................................................... 342
  HORIZON-MISS-2022-NCP-01-01: Creating a transnational network of National Contact
  Points (NCPs) for EU Missions ......................................................................................... 343
Other Actions not subject to calls for proposals .......................................... 345
Indirectly managed actions ................................................................................................. 345
  1. EIB Innovation Finance Advisory to support the implementation of EU Missions ...... 345
Procurement actions ............................................................................................................ 347
  1. Informing citizens and stakeholders about EU Missions and engaging them in the
  implementation of EU Missions ......................................................................................... 347
Other budget implementation instruments ........................................................................ 348
  1. External expertise for advice on the next phases of the design and implementation of
  missions for Horizon Europe ............................................................................................. 348
  2. External expertise for advice on the next phases of the design and implementation of
  missions for Horizon Europe.............................................................................................. 350
  3. Experts assisting the monitoring of actions .................................................................... 352
  4. Expert group for advice on the monitoring of EU Missions .......................................... 352
Scientific and technical services by the Joint Research Centre ....................................... 353
  1. Scientific and technical services to the Mission on ‘Climate-neutral and smart cities’ . 353
Grant to identified beneficiaries ......................................................................................... 354
  1. OECD Benchmarking Study on Missions Implementation .......................................... 354
Budget ............................................................................................................... 356
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                                                     Missions
Introduction
Missions aim to address some of the greatest challenges facing our society. They are bold and
inspirational with clear objectives that are time-bound, realistic, measurable and targeted.
Rooted in research and innovation, missions aim to tackle societal challenges with systemic
solutions, leading to societal transformations and social impact.
Missions will help deliver key EU policy priorities such as the European Green Deal,
Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, NextGenerationEU, the EU Industrial Strategy and A Europe
fit for the Digital Age, amongst others.
To achieve their goals and promote societal change, missions will implement the reuse and
reproducibility of research results such as FAIR research data and open access to scientific
publications. Also, the missions will closely involve citizens in their preparation,
implementation and monitoring throughout their duration, also showcasing the added value of
the EU.
Missions are a novel instrument in Horizon Europe - the Framework Programme for Research
and Innovation. For their successful implementation they will work in synergy and
coordination with other missions, parts of Horizon Europe, in particular with European
Partnerships and Clusters, and including also bottom-up parts such as the Marie Skłodowska-
Curie Actions, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology or the European
Research Council, as well as with other EU funding instruments and policies. Furthermore,
they will need to be implemented in close synergy with funding, programmes and strategies
both at Member State / Associated Country and regional level, as well as with civil society
and the private sector.
Five mission areas have been included in the Horizon Europe Regulation (Adaptation to
Climate Change, including Societal Transformation; Cancer; Healthy Ocean, Seas, Coastal
and Inland Waters; Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities; Soil Health and Food). Mission boards,
comprised of external experts with a wide variety of backgrounds, have been established to
advise the Commission on possible missions within the scope of these areas. On the basis of
reports from the five mission boards, the Commission has identified the following titles for
missions in the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan, subject to further refinement:
    Adaptation to Climate Change1;
    Cancer2;
    Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities3;
1
         also known with the title: "Adaptation to Climate Change: support at least 150 European regions and
         communities to become climate resilient by 2030"
2
         also known with the title "Cancer:improving the lives of more than 3 million people by 2030 through
         prevention, cure and for those affected by cancer includinf their families, to live longer and better"
3
         also known with the title "100 Climate-Neutral and Smart cities by 2030"
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                                                    Missions
    Ocean, Seas and Waters4;
    Soil Health and Food5.
The five identified missions have gone through a preparatory phase, during which
implementations plans were developed, which included detailed objectives, specific
interventions, investment strategy and performance indicators for each mission. The
implementation plans have been assessed against objective criteria 6 and all missions have
now entered full implementation7.
This work programme part contains actions for each of the five missions during their
preparatory phase, and has now been updated with the full R&I agenda, as missions have
entered their implementation phase. The actions included in this work programme have
established the foundations and they are now supporting the missions’ implementation phase.
Critical to the success of the missions will be the extent of wide engagement across the EU
and Associated Countries and beyond. To facilitate this, missions will make use of networks
in place and, where necessary develop networks with the partner countries to coordinate
complementary actions for missions, with the possibility that this might be extended at a later
date with national hubs.
Furthermore, in 2022, additional horizontal actions will be programmed to ensure
coordination and synergies across the five missions.
To achieve their objectives, missions may necessitate societal engagement that goes beyond
dialogue and leads to action. They may call for the involvement of not only citizens, but also
academics, entrepreneurs, social partners and public administrators as co-designers, co-
developers, and co-implementers. In addition, they may require changes in societal practices
at European scale at an unprecedented speed. To address these specific needs and to promote
synergies across the activities and constituencies of the Missions, the Commission intends to
set up in 2022 a European Social Innovation Catalyst fund. The Catalyst would enlist experts
in social innovation and leverage additional public and private money. These experts would
select the most promising existing, demonstrably successful social innovations for the
replication and upscaling of these social innovations in service of the Missions.
4
        alos known as "Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030"
5
        also known with the title "A Soil Deal for Europe: 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition
        towards healthy soils by 2030"
6
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-
        and-open-calls/horizon-europe/missions-horizon-europe/assessment-criteria_en
7
        COM(2021) 609 final
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                                                    Missions
Mission: Adaptation to climate change
In February 2021, the EC adopted a EU strategy on adaptation to climate change that sets
out how the EU can adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change and become climate
resilient by 2050.
Pushing further on the belief that we must adjust now to tomorrow's climate, the EU is
launching a specific mission to foster the resilience of all, be it regions, cities, citizens or
companies, to climate change. The Mission Adaptation to Climate Change, will enable
Europe to prepare for unavoidable climate impacts and accelerate the transformation to a
climate-resilient Europe. The implementation plan specifies the goal and objectives as well as
implementation details of the mission “Adaptation to Climate Change”8.
Rooted in research and innovation, the Mission will set out concrete objectives and deliver
tangible solutions to Europeans.
A regional approach
The EU wants to mobilise all actors, such as EU Member States, regional and local
authorities, research institutes, investors and citizens to create real and lasting impact.
By supporting European regions to become climate resilient, the Mission will help them to
be prepared for inevitable changes and extreme events.
While some regions and cities in Europe are well prepared to climate change, others are
striving for solutions to address their vulnerabilities. Less developed regions that are more
vulnerable to climate impacts and often have low adaptive capacity will receive particular
attention. The intention is to ask front-runners European regions in research performance and
on climate adaptation to share their experience and accompany them in finding solutions
adapted to their own climatic situation and economy.
The R&I support will be provided in different ways:
1. Provide general support to European regions and communities to better understand, prepare
for and manage climate risks and opportunities
2. Accelerate transformations to climate resilience: cooperate with at least 150 regions and
communities to accelerate their transformation to a climate resilient future, supporting them in
the co-creation of innovation pathways and the testing of solutions
3. Demonstrate systemic transformations to climate resilience: deliver at least 75 large-scale
demonstrations of systemic transformations to climate resilience across European regions and
communities.
8
                https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/climat
        _mission_implementation_plan_final_for_publication.pdf
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For 2021, the Mission will focus on developing a common risk assessment framework, based
on which a first set of regions and communities will be supported to better understand their
climate risks and to outline an agenda and a roadmap to build their local climate resilience. A
few demonstrations of replicable climate resilience solutions will also be funded.
In 2022, the Mission will concentrate on coordinating the portfolio of climate adaptation
innovations and identifying the remaining gaps across the areas of innovation and
transformation. It will provide state of the art knowledge and data on climate impacts and
risks; support the development and testing of solutions capable to address one or more of the
systems identified as key for climate resilience building, and demonstrate solutions, including
to transform coastal areas, towards climate neutrality and climate resilience, while protecting
water.
As foreseen under art 29 of the rules of participation, the Mission will follow a portfolio
approach in its related calls, in that “the evaluation committee shall rank the proposals that
have passed the applicable thresholds, according to: (a) the evaluation scores; (b) their
contribution to the achievement of specific policy objectives, including the constitution of a
consistent portfolio of projects. In particular, the Mission calls will foster the development of
a balanced portfolio of solutions across the different climate risks, the different innovation
areas as identified in the Mission Implementation Plan and the different biogeographical
regions, as defined by the EEA.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this mission:
                 Call                             Budgets (EUR million)              Deadline(s)
                                                 2021                 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-01 5.00                                                     14 Sep 2021
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02 110.00                                                   12 Apr 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01                                      115.32              27 Sep 2022
Overall indicative budget               115.00                  115.32
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Call - Better prepared regional and local authorities to adapt to climate change
                                                                     HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)9
                   Topics                          Type       Budgets         Expected EU          Number
                                                     of        (EUR          contribution per         of
                                                  Action      million)        project (EUR         projects
                                                                                million)10        expected
                                                                2021                                to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 14 Sep 2021
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-01-01 CSA                           5.00 11       Around 5.00             1
Overall indicative budget                                   5.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
9
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
10
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
11
        Of which EUR 1.50 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 1.00 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 2.50
        million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget.
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Documents                                                 The documents are described in General
                                                          Annex E.
Procedure                                                 The procedure is described in General
                                                          Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                   The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-01-01: Better prepared regional and local authorities to
adapt to climate change
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                        consortium selected for funding.
                        If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                        and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                        Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                        additionally be used).
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to some12 of the following expected outcomes:
    regional and local authorities gear up their preparations for meeting current and future
     objectives and requirements when it comes to climate adaptation and climate risk
     management, in the Climate Law13 - namely in the new EU strategy on adaptation to
     climate change14 - and in the Union Civil Protection Mechanism legislation15 ;
12
        See scope section for more details on the outcomes and objectives to be addressed.
13
        COM(2020) 80 final
14
        COM(2021) 82 final
15
        COM(2020) 220 final
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    regional and local authorities, citizens and other stakeholders improve their
      understanding of climate risk and have improved access to relevant climate science, data
      and information from public and private sources and services (e.g. from regional climate
      projections and predictions, Copernicus, GEOSS and European Research Infrastructures
      (ERI)16);
    regional and local authorities have access to a range of funding and financing
      opportunities to create an enabling environment for adaptation action;
    regional and local authorities embrace a transformative, inclusive and systemic
      approach, including societal transformation dimension, towards climate change
      adaptation action and just transition (in the wider sustainability context);
    citizens and stakeholders are aware of climate impacts and risks, and engaged in the co-
      creation and sharing of data, knowledge and solutions fundamental for the
      transformation to become climate resilient (including by building on citizen science,
      social dialogue and social innovation approaches);
    regional and local authorities adopt an integrated approach to solutions addressing
      climate change adaptation and climate resilience, namely no/low-regret adaptation
      solutions with co-benefits of adaptation actions for mitigation, zero pollution,
      biodiversity (e.g. nature-based solutions), resource efficiency, the economy, society,
      cultural heritage, human health and well-being;
    regional authorities and communities are equipped to assess adaptation gaps in a
      systematic and forward-looking manner.
Scope: This action should provide services to support regional and local authorities in their
preparation to meet the current requirements of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism
legislation, and the foreseen adaptation objectives in the Climate Law, underpinning the new
EU strategy on adaptation to climate change in terms of research and innovation, data and
knowledge, and capacity and skills.
Furthermore, this action should take stock of past, ongoing and future activities related to
climate change adaptation, including innovative approaches to climate adaptation plans to
implement a mix of solutions – based on technological, non-technological, and social
innovations – and to explore transformative pathways. This would give an indication of best
practices and solutions already available, gaps and barriers to address climate change
adaptation in a more holistic matter; as well as options for transformative and innovative
approaches.
In particular, the action should help regional and local authorities to:
16
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/strategy/european-research-
         infrastructures_en#initiatives
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   a. better understand their climate risks, solutions available to mitigate such risks and ways
      to achieve climate resilience, including by some of the following activities:
        1. facilitating access to services specific to climate risk assessments at regional and/or
             local level, focusing on particularly vulnerable regions;
        2. assisting in the elaboration of climate risk management plans, including provisions
             for their monitoring and evaluation;
        3. providing a tailor-made overview of potential technological, non-technological, and
             social solutions – in particular breakthroughs, disruptive and radically new
             innovations – (which includes their effectiveness, inclusiveness, costs and benefits)
             and establishing close synergies with the Horizon 2020 European Green Deal call,
             in particular the topic on Climate-resilient Innovation Packages for EU regions
             (LC-GD-1-3-2020), and the topic on developing end-user products and services for
             all stakeholders and citizens supporting climate adaptation and mitigation (LC-GD-
             9-2-2020), as well as drawing on the results from relevant projects from Horizon
             2020 and the LIFE Programme;
        4. identifying and mapping of priority research and innovation areas where gaps exist;
        5. facilitating a process designed to co-develop a vision of what a transformation
             towards climate resilience might mean in their regional and/or local context taking
             a systems approach (key community systems and enabling conditions), and
             including an analysis of levers, barriers and tipping points for transformation;
        6. jointly (consortium participants, regional/local authorities and relevant
             stakeholders) assess adaptation capacity, behavioural insights, changes in social
             practices, skills and conditions (e.g., framework, governance, finance) needed to
             undergo a transformation towards climate resilience, with the objective to develop a
             self-assessment tool available to those authorities that are not able to receive the
             services from the consortium.
   b. establish approaches and processes that enable co-design , co-development, and co-
      implementation with citizens and stakeholders (including academia, industry, social
      partners, public authorities and regulatory agencies) in line with the recently adopted
      Climate Pact17, through some of the following activities:                 18
                                                                                   ); 19 for the development
      and testing of transformative inclusive solutions towards climate resilience (exploring
      synergies with living labs foreseen in relevant Horizon Europe partnerships);
        1. cross-fertilisation of cutting-edge science on climate change impacts and risks that
             is locally/regionally relevant and comprehensible;
17
         COM(2020) 788
18
         https://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/citizen-science-on-air-quality
19
         User-centred, open innovation ecosystems based on a systematic user co-creation approach integrating
         research and innovation processes in real life communities and settings.
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        2. fostering co-production of data at local level and knowledge and co-design of
             climate services to support a transformation towards climate resilience;
        3. supporting the implementation of citizen science, citizen observatories, social
             innovation and other means of joint knowledge gathering and monitoring to support
             a transformation towards climate resilience (e.g. the projects on air quality
   c. assisting regional and local communities in the preparation of large-scale living labs
   d. facilitating the establishment of inclusive and deliberative governance processes
      supporting just transitions;
   e. map and facilitate synergies by identifying funding and financing opportunities for the
      creation of important R&I-related enabling conditions in support of reaching climate
      resilience, including in the context of establishing close synergies with the preparatory
      action on Coordination of complementary actions for missions in this Work Programme,
      (topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-COOR-01):
        1. Data and operational climate services, including National Meteorological Services,
             Copernicus Climate Change Service, and Copernicus Emergency Management,
             Horizon 2020 and Europe relevant projects, as well as relevant action of GEOSS
             (Global Earth Observation System of Systems);
        2. the region-specific smart specialization strategies (ERDF/CF PO1) and regional
             operational programmes for Strategic Objective 2;
        3. the Digital Europe Programme, in particular the digital twin on climate change
             adaptation;
        4. the skills agenda and the European Social Fund (ESF+) to create the needed
             capacities and skills;
        5. Horizon Europe instruments, including those of bottom-up nature like the European
             Research Council or the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, and its partnerships and
             missions;
        6. other relevant EU, national and or regional programmes and instruments (e.g. Just
             Transition Fund, Recovery and Resilience Facility, European Structural and
             Investment Funds, Erasmus+ programme, European Solidarity Corps, Invest EU,
             and relevant financing by the European Investment Bank).
Actions should address all the three main objectives under the scope, tackling some of the
specific outcomes (sub-bullets under the three main objectives). Therefore, the consortium20
should possess the expertise necessary to successfully deliver on the three main objectives.
Regional and local authorities are not expected to be consortium participants, but to receive
20
         Possible participants: experts from a variety of sectors (private, public, academia) with experience on
         the services to be provided by the topic. National, regional or local authorities could also be part of the
         consortium if they possess the expertise required to deliver the services outlined in the topic.
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services from the consortium; in other words, they are the target groups of the project’s
activities.
The services covered by this topic should be accessible to as many regional and local
authorities as possible. The consortium is expected to accompany the authorities and relevant
stakeholders through the delivery of the services needed and to the achievement of clear
outcomes. Priority should be given to regions or locations with the high vulnerability 21 ,
limited resources and/or low adaptive capacity22 to climate change impacts. Demand could be
higher than what can be supplied within the limits of this action, therefore proposals should
include criteria for how to identify the regional and local authorities most in need of these
services. These criteria will ensure that a variety of locations are represented, in as many
countries as possible, reflecting the diversity in climatic risks in Europe, as well as differences
in socio-economic and demographic conditions, and in approaches to mitigating such risks.
Such criteria should also take into account the characteristics of the populations concerned
and the vulnerability of the locations in order to subsequently understand the effectiveness of
the services provided by the consortium.
The project is expected to have a duration of three years. Early in the project the consortium
should define a list of regional and local authorities that would benefit from the project’s
activities. By the end of the project, the consortium should propose a strategy to maintain the
services offered through a platform, entity or partnership with relevant organisations.
Consortium participants should establish synergies with relevant projects funded under this
Work Programme as well those originating from Horizon 2020, in particular the Green Deal
Call (topics in area 1, as well as LC-GD-9-2-2020 and LC-GD-10-1-2020), should be
explored and established during the course of the project. In particular, projects resulting from
the calls mentioned above, as well as from Cluster 3 on Disaster Resilient Societies should be
foreseen, Cluster 5 on Climate, Energy and Mobility, and Cluster 6 on Food, Bioeconomy,
Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment. In addition, the consortium should draw,
when appropriate, upon the capabilities, expertise and data available at the Joint Research
Centre in the area of Smart Specialization and urban sustainable development strategies, and
the European Environment Agency through the European Climate Adaptation Platform
(Climate-ADAPT), the European Topic Centre on Adaptation and the EIONET network of
Member States.
The possible participation of the JRC in the project will consist of connecting to the regions,
local communities and cities, which in their smart specialisation / local-urban development
strategies are interested in the priority themes relevant for the mission.
21
         Vulnerability is the propensity or predisposition to be adversely affected. Vulnerability encompasses a
         variety of concepts and elements including sensitivity or susceptibility to harm and lack of capacity to
         cope and adapt (IPCC, 2018 – SR Global Warming of 1.5 ºC).
22
         Adaptive capacity is the ability of systems, institutions, humans and other organisms to adjust to
         potential damage, to take advantage of opportunities, or to respond to consequences (IPCC, 2018 – SR
         Global Warming of 1.5 ºC).
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                                                    Missions
Call - Research and Innovation actions in support of the implementation of the
Adaptation to Climate Change Mission
                                                                     HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)23
                   Topics                          Type       Budgets           Expected EU            Number
                                                     of        (EUR           contribution per             of
                                                  Action      million)          project (EUR           projects
                                                                                  million)24           expected
                                                                2021                                     to be
                                                                                                        funded
                                           Opening: 11 Jan 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 12 Apr 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02-01 RIA                           20.00 25        15.00 to 20.00             1
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02-02 RIA                           30.00 26        25.00 to 30.00             1
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02-03 RIA                           5.00 27         1.50 to 2.50               2
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02-04 IA                            50.00 28        15.00 to 25.00             2
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02-05 RIA                           5.00 29         3.00 to 5.00               1
23
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
24
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
25
        Of which EUR 5.76 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 1.96 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.47
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 11.56 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.24 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
26
        Of which EUR 8.65 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 2.94 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.71
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 17.34 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.36 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
27
        Of which EUR 1.44 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.49 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 2.89
        million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.12 million from the 'Civil Security
        for Society' budget and EUR 0.06 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
28
        Of which EUR 14.41 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 4.90 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 1.18
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 28.91 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.61 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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                                                   Missions
Overall indicative budget                                  110.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                         Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                         Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                   The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                C.
Award criteria                                           The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                         D.
Documents                                                The documents are described in General
                                                         Annex E.
Procedure                                                The procedure is described in General
                                                         Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                  The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02-01: Development of climate change risk assessments
in European regions and communities based on a transparent and harmonised Climate
Risk Assessment approach
Specific conditions
Expected EU contribution          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between
per project                       EUR 15.00 and 20.00 million would allow these outcomes to be
                                  addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude
                                  submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
                                  amounts.
Indicative budget                 The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action                    Research and Innovation Actions
29
        Of which EUR 1.44 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.49 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.12
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 2.89 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.06 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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Eligibility conditions              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The
                                    following exceptions apply:
                                    The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of
                                    the consortium selected for funding.
                                    If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning,
                                    navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries
                                    must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other
                                    data and services may additionally be used).
Award criteria                      The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                                    exceptions apply:
                                    The following additions to the general award criteria apply:
                                    The quality criterion shall in addition assess the proposed
                                    approach put in place to provide support to third parties, notably
                                    the approach to reach out to at least 50 diverse regions (defined
                                    NUTS2 by the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics30)
                                    and / or communities 31, across the countries participating in
                                    Horizon Europe, as this shall assure that the mission spread
                                    knowledge and experience fast by engaging diverse
                                    environments.
Legal and financial set-up          The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
of the Grant Agreements             exceptions apply:
                                    Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                                    The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of
                                    grants. The minimum amount allocated to financial support to
                                    third parties must be 60 % of the requested EU contribution.
                                    The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR
                                    300,000 to allow the project to engage local actors / authorities
                                    in the regions to conduct a local climate multi-risk assessment
                                    using the developed prototype.
Exceptional page limits to          The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
proposals/applications
Other requirement                   The multi-risk and multi sector assessment framework tool
30
        https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32003R1059&from=EN
31
        as            defined           in           the          Mission          Implementation         Plan
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/climat_mission
        _implementation_plan_final_for_publication.pdf
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                                     produced must be open source.
                                     The project must ensure that the data will comply with the
                                     FAIR32 principles for data producers and publishers.
Expected Outcome: The project is expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
    An operational, consistent and more advanced multi-risk assessment framework tool
      across scales and levels of governance that can be used by all regions and communities33
      in Europe, so they are better equipped to develop their climate resilience plans (if not
      available yet) or improve the ones that might be already existing.
    Harmonised multi-hazard/ risk assessments at the regional scale, on which the
      development or improvement of community-based emergency and risk management
      plans can be based.
    Enhanced adaptive capacity of European regions and communities, reduced vulnerability
      to climate change, variability and extremes, and strengthened scientific knowledge on
      climate risk assessment.
    Needs for further development of standards, implementation support and guidance for
      standards (e.g. design maps for climatic actions) are clearly formulated.
Scope: The proposal should address two distinctive actions, in a sequence indicated below.
1st Action- Development and beta testing of the climate risk and vulnerability
assessment framework tool
This topic relates to the Mission’s first objective 34 : preparing and planning for climate
resilience and the need for a better understanding of climate change related risks and their
interactions with other types of risks.
The total budget for the first action should be 20% of the total requested EU contribution. The
multi-risk and multi sector assessment framework tool should be developed for broad
application to all European regions and communities. The harmonised framework and the
methodology and guidelines to assess the climate change risks and impacts should be
designed to be accessed by non-experts users and the relevant stakeholders, with user-friendly
features.
32
         FAIR founding principles for data producers and publishers- Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability,
         and Reusability
33
         Following the definition of Regions in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS)
         classification, regions are considered to be the territories at NUTS 2 level. For practical implementation
         purposes, the concept of ‘communities’ has been added as groupings of people with social ties, shared
         values or interests, engaged in joint action. Communities can be of different size and are not always
         geographically confined.
34
         Please consult the Mission’s Implementation Plan for more information on this
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The approach proposed should make an efficient use of the currently available high-resolution
data and services, in particular, envisaging an exploitation of those provided by Copernicus35,
initiatives within the Group on Earth observation (GEO) and EuroGEO, and the ones of
Destination Earth36, particularly its climate change adaptation digital twin and its way how to
involve non-experts. Big data and artificial intelligence should be also integrated in the tool in
an innovative way to better quantify and assess climate risks. All developments should take
advantage of and where possible align with the JRC Risk Data Hub37 terminology, indicators,
data structure so that newly generated risk, vulnerability and loss data can be integrated in its
GIS web platform, as well can be integrated with Destination Earth. The proposal should also
work closely with national authorities to ensure the integration of the information, knowledge
and experience existing at national and regional level.
While a large amount of data and information is available, there are still significant
knowledge gaps when it comes to mid-and long term projections of frequency and severity of
extreme events at regional and local level, specific impacts within various types of territories
(urban, rural, geographic specificities) and land use, cascading and spill-over effects, and the
integration of socio-economic (including vulnerability and the impacts/effectiveness of the
adaptation solutions) and in-situ data.
The proposal should provide a benchmark and comparison of the already ongoing climate risk
assessment frameworks and identify common ground and gaps to be filled. Basing the results
on reputable, quality controlled data such as the one made available by C3S on the Climate
ADAPT portal of the European Environment Agency, will be a way to ensure that a common
data layer is used by all risk assessment frameworks.
The development of the climate risks and impacts assessment framework tool should be based
on the state-of-the-art multi-sector risk framework 38 , with its three components (hazard,
exposure, vulnerability), considering the rich available experience in the private sector (e.g.
insurance) and public institutions (e.g. UNDRR Global Risk Assessment Framework,
GRAF39) and building upon existing risk assessment frameworks, such as PESETA studies
and EEA assessment reports and the Climate-ADAPT’s climate data explorer, relevant
CEN/ISO technical standards (e.g. the Eurocodes), and take also into account ongoing work
on standardisation of climate and disaster loss data.
The proposed harmonised framework should clearly tap into the wealth of existing national
and regional risk assessment strategies and methodologies and should be defined after some
consultation and validation with the relevant national and regional stakeholders who are
35
         More specifically, Copernicus Climate Services, C3S , which already provides free of charge quality
         controlled data about the past, present and future climate for Europe and the whole planet to its nearly
         100.000 users. The recently signed contribution agreement between ECMWF and the European
         Commission ensures that such an operational climate data provision will remain free and open for at
         least the next 7 years.
36
         https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/destination-earth
37
         https://drmkc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/risk-data-hub#/
38
         Recommendations             for      National       Risk        Assessments    of       the        JRC:
         https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC114650
39
         see https://unfccc.int/wim-excom/areas-of-work/crm-approaches
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normally in charge of the climate risk assessment processes. The proposal should also identify
and support ways by which the framework may be widely applied, supporting the
implementation of the EU Adaptation Strategy and possibly also by incorporating it in the
guidance and procedures of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), or a combination
of both, and exploring the role of the data and knowledge services embedded in the Climate
ADAPT platform.
2nd Action- Using the climate risk assessments framework tool in regions and
communities, to conduct climate risks, vulnerabilities and impacts assessments as a basis
for development or revision of local emergency and risk management plans
The proposal should provide direct financial support in the form of grants to at least 50
regions and communities in conducting multi-hazard/ risk assessment profiles or upgrading
and refining existing ones, making use of climate services, using the framework tool
developed under Step I. This action should start no later than 12 months after the project kick-
off. A close cooperation with pre-established regional networks should be pursued to ensure
maximum dissemination and use of the climate risk assessment tool. 60% of the total amount
of the EU requested contribution must be made available to provide direct support to regions
and communities. To implement the support to financial support to third parties, the
consortium should include partners with relevant operational and financial experience and
viability.
Through the provision of financial support to third parties, the proposal should provide a
number of selected local and regional administrations with access to development of their
climate risk profiles, guidance for the development of comprehensive risk management, based
on the designed framework and other service oriented initiatives such as Copernicus Climate
Change Service C3S, the Copernicus Emergency Management Service and GEO/EuroGEO.
Priority should be given to regions or locations with high vulnerability40, limited resources
and/or low adaptive capacity41 to climate change impacts. Demand could be higher than what
can be supplied within the limits of this action, therefore proposals to this call should include
a process and criteria for how to identify the regions and communities most in need of these
services. These criteria will ensure that a variety of locations are represented, in as many
countries as possible, reflecting the diversity in climatic risks in Europe, as well as differences
in socio-economic and demographic conditions, and in approaches to mitigating such risks.
Such criteria should also take into account the characteristics of the populations concerned
and the vulnerability of the locations. Respective national governments should be consulted in
this process selecting the regions and communities.
40
        Vulnerability is the propensity or predisposition to be adversely affected. Vulnerability encompasses a
        variety of concepts and elements including sensitivity or susceptibility to harm and lack of capacity to
        cope and adapt (IPCC, 2018 – SR Global Warming of 1.5 ºC).
41
        Adaptive capacity is the ability of systems, institutions, humans and other organisms to adjust to
        potential damage, to take advantage of opportunities, or to respond to consequences (IPCC, 2018 – SR
        Global Warming of 1.5 ºC).
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The proposal should also highlight opportunities for adjustments of existing community early
warning systems, where they exist, to consider changing patterns of climate extreme events
and ensure rapid responses and the protection of the concerned people, in particular those at
high risk such as children, senior citizens, people with chronic diseases and socially
disadvantaged groups. It should support local administrations and local businesses (in
particular SMEs) to develop or revise community-based emergency and risk management
plans to ensure critical infrastructure is safe and essential services operable and accessible
under critical conditions and to prepare resilience strategies to minimise the economic impact
(e.g. temporary or permanent shutdown) from climate events resulting in further negative
impacts for the wider community through loss of income, employment and livelihoods.
Citizens and civil society organisations will be encouraged to provide inputs towards the risk
assessments.
The proposal should contribute to filling pre-defined knowledge gaps through harmonisation
and integration of existing data allowing for generating of trends and effective predictive
modelling of extreme events affecting local communities. Furthermore, data enabling
characterising vulnerability (population, infrastructure), disaster loss data, adverse impacts of
extreme events, or effectiveness of the adaptation solutions shall be integrated in the risk
assessment at local level. 20% of the total requested EU contribution should be allocated to
the consortium, for maintenance and update of the risk assessment framework tool, back
office support to the regions and communities that aim to develop their risk assessment plans
and are using the tool, and developing a proposal for scaling up and improving the risk
assessment framework tool. During its duration, the project should include an open support
line or help desk for all interested European regions and communities, beyond those that will
be selected for direct support in conducting their risk assessments through the cascading
funds.
The knowledge generated in the course of the project should be broadly disseminated, made
open source, and shall be made public (including eventually developed IT tools), free and
open licensed, helping citizens, public institutions and businesses to understand and
appreciate their risk exposure, possible implications of climate disruptions on social,
economic and environmental processes and key community systems, possible business
opportunities. Future actions under the Climate Adaptation Mission should leverage the
knowledge generated from this action, in providing support to more regions and communities.
The generated knowledge and outcomes should also feed into the improved design and
development of this harmonised risk assessment framework.
The possible participation of the JRC in the project will consist of making the JRC Risk Data
Hub available and adapting it as needed for hosting and publishing the disaster loss,
vulnerability and risk data that is collected under the mission, as far as it is aligned with its
terminology, indicators, and data structure.
The European Commission intends to establish a network and coordination activities amongst
all the projects funded for the implementation of the Climate adaptation Mission, and also
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those funded under the Horizon 2020 European Green Deal call42 and under Horizon Europe
when particularly relevant to climate adaptation knowledge and solutions, that will be
coordinated by the soon to be established Mission Implementation Platform. The project that
will be selected under this topic will be requested to contribute to this effort. Applicants
should acknowledge this request and already account for these obligations in their proposal,
making adequate provisions in terms of resources and budget to engage and collaborate with
the Mission governance.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02-02: Support to the regions in developing pathways
towards climate resilience and corresponding innovation agendas
Specific conditions
Expected EU contribution             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between
per project                          EUR 25.00 and 30.00 million would allow these outcomes to be
                                     addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude
                                     submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
                                     amounts.
Indicative budget                    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 30.00 million.
Type of Action                       Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility conditions               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The
                                     following exceptions apply:
                                     The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of
                                     the consortium selected for funding.
                                     If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning,
                                     navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries
                                     must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other
                                     data and services may additionally be used).
Award criteria                       The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                                     exceptions apply:
                                     The following additions to the general award criteria apply:
                                     The quality criterion shall in addition assess the proposed
                                     approach put in place to provide support to third parties, notably
                                     the approach to reach out to at least 100 diverse regions (defined
                                     NUTS2 by the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics43)
42
        This refers to projects granted under call H2020-LC-GD-2020, topic LC-GD-1-3-2020. The projects are
        still in grant preparation at the time of writing. They will be operational right at the official planned start
        of the Mission. In addition to the development of innovation packages improving climate resilience, a
        Coordination and Support Action will foster their adoption and wide reapplication in at least 10
        vulnerable and low-capacity regions. A Coordination and Support Action is already included in the
        Horizon Europe work programme 2021 to provide additional support to regional and local authorities
43
        https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32003R1059&from=EN
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                                    and / or communities 44 , across the countries participating in
                                    Horizon Europe, as this shall assure that accelerating climate
                                    resilience building by engaging diverse environments
Legal and financial set-up          The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
of the Grant Agreements             exceptions apply:
                                    Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                                    The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of
                                    grants. The minimum amount allocated to financial support to
                                    third parties must be 70 % of the requested EU contribution.
                                    The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR
                                    300,000 to allow the project to mobilise local actors with local
                                    knowledge on which to base the development of the regional
                                    agendas.
Exceptional page limits to          The page limit of the application is 70 pages.
proposals/applications
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
    In the participating regions and communities:
         The pathways to a climate resilient future and their corresponding innovation
            agendas that regions and communities 45 will have developed as output of this
            project are used to shape relevant research and innovation strategies, and to
            mobilise research and innovation actions to develop, test and up-scale systemic
            solutions increasing local climate resilience as identified.
         The pathways to a climate resilient future and their corresponding innovation
            agendas that regions and communities will have developed as output of this project
            are reflected in political commitments to prepare the ground for the large-scale
            diffusion of solutions, including policy actions promoting enabling conditions,
            addressing barriers and leveraging funds.
         The process developing these pathways and innovation agendas to a climate
            resilient future will have further mobilised and inspired the engagement of citizens,
            academia, the private sector and other stakeholders, including trough social
44
        as           defined            in           the          Mission          Implementation            Plan
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/climat_mission
        _implementation_plan_final_for_publication.pdf
45
        Following the definition of Regions in the Nomenclature of the Territorial units for Statistics (NUTS)
        classification, regions are considered to be the territories at NUTS2 level. For practical implementation
        purposes,the concept of 'communities' has been added as groupings of people with social ties, shared
        values or interests, engaged in joint action. Communities can be of different size and are not always
        geographically confined.
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            innovation, in the transformative journey to climate resilience within the regions
            and communities and beyond.
    Within and beyond the participating regions and communities:
        The process developing these pathways and innovation agendas to a climate
            resilient future will have provided a better understanding of cross-border
            interdependencies, risks and opportunities, as well as led to an increase in inter-
            regional coordination and collaboration to achieve cross-border climate-resilience
            and harmonization of the strategies to achieve climate resilience.
        The process developing these pathways and innovation agendas to a climate
            resilient future will have provided a better understanding of how to best structure,
            facilitate and support the processes of deliberating and co-designing transformative
            pathways to climate resilience in a wide range of environmental, economic,
            political and cultural contexts.
        The communication and sharing of relevant information and lessons learned will
            have triggered other regions and communities to also engage in their own processes
            of deliberating and co-designing transformative pathways to climate resilience.
Scope: This topic relates to the Mission’s second objective, and aims to have at least 100
regions and communities46 that will have formulated their vision of a climate resilient future
and the transformative adaptation pathways, plans and innovation portfolios to reach it.
This action aims at providing the necessary knowledge, expertise, and services to support
regions in the formulation of their climate resilient future and of their place-based
transformative adaptation pathways, plans and innovation portfolios.
Regional and local authorities will be in the lead of the process developing their respective
pathways towards climate resilience and corresponding innovation agendas. They will be
supported (i) by the overall consortium selected under this topic that will provide the general
framework and tailored support to selected regions and communities and facilitate the
orchestration of activities across regions and communities, and (ii) by a local, regional and /or
national partner organisation with experience of working on climate adaptation, including
societal transformation, that will be engaged through support to third parties in the for of
grants (for minimum 70% of the EU requested contribution and of the maximum amount of
EUR 300 000 per region) for each of the participating regions and communities.
The proposal should focus on building capacity of regions and communities to take leadership
on their own transformative adaptation pathways. Direct and substantive support and
capability building should be provided to the regions and communities, both by the overall
46
        Following the definition of Regions in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS)
        classification, regions are considered to be the territories at NUTS 2 level. For practical implementation
        purposes, the concept of ‘communities’ has been added as groupings of people with social ties, shared
        values or interests, engaged in joint action. Communities can be of different size and are not always
        geographically confined.
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consortium and the local partner organisation. The inclusion of a local partner organisation
should ensure optimal mobilisation of local/regional/national knowledge, initiatives and
stakeholders and build local human resources and organisational capacity to support each
region’s transformational change process, developing local capacity with long-term local
impact beyond the project duration.
The development of regional pathways towards climate resilience should build on
assessments of trends and projections of future climate change risks (which are not to be
provided by this project). The pathways, plans and innovation portfolios should reflect the 10
areas of innovation and transformation outlined by the Mission in adequate proportion to their
relevance to each region and community, as well as any other area that may be identified as
relevant by the respective regions and communities47. They should also take account of the
priorities identified in the national and regional climate change adaptation strategies and
programmes, national Recovery and Resilience Plans, relevant regional smart specialisation
strategies established under Cohesion Policy and other programmes, such as the Common
Agricultural Policy.
The process developing the pathways should be inclusive and participatory, engaging all
relevant stakeholders, including public administrations, private sector, universities, civil
society, social partners, and in particular citizens and vulnerable groups. The process should
entail:
   i. deliberations on the regions or communities’ vision for climate resilience and
  ii. an assessment of the community systems 48 that need to change and of the enabling
      conditions required to achieve the envisaged transformations,
 iii. the analysis, visualisation and deliberation of different possible futures possibly
      including different solutions and innovations, that are robust and cost-effective across
      these possible futures.
 iv. the elaboration of a set of deliberately designed innovative adaptation
      solutions/interventions operating at different scales and working on different parts of the
      system, intended to unlock transformations to greatly strengthened climate resilience.
      The process should provide, for each region and community, indication of the portfolio
      of innovations and actions intended, including scenarios, intervention points, and the
      description of a range of concrete innovations and activities including plans and
      strategies on how to fund/finance these. The development of these pathways should also
      take into account the cultural approach and the specific social impediment and
      opportunity for the design of the pathway to a climate resilient future able to involve
      citizens and stakeholders and create conditions for political decisions.
47
         As           per          the          published          Mission        Implementation Plan
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/implementation-plans-eu-missions_en
48
         As           per          the          published          Mission        Implementation Plan
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/implementation-plans-eu-missions_en
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When designing these innovation actions and transformative activities, particular attention
should be paid to possible synergies with other regional, national or EU programmes and
funds or other parts of Horizon Europe. As for possibly relevant EU programmes,funds and
initiatives the following are an example of what should be considered:
    CAP and LIFE;
    the Renovation Wave to ensure that critical and social infrastructure is climate proof;
    the European Climate and Health Observatory to foster information exchange and
      cooperation in preparing for and adapting to the impacts of climate change on human
      health;
    the ERDF and Cohesion Funds (policy objectives 1 and 2) to promote the
      transformations of more climate resilient regional economies in the context of smart
      specialisation strategies, including support from JRC facilitating the Smart Specialisation
      Strategies Platform;
    the Skills Agenda and the European Social Fund (ESF+) to innovate and facilitate the
      necessary education, training and capacity building to create the needed capacities and
      skills for a more climate resilient employment;
    the Digital Europe Work Programme, in particular its efforts to establish the Green Deal
      Data Space and the Data Space for Smart Communities, the development of the
      Destination Earth Digital Twins, and the relevant Testing and Experimentation Facilities
      to facilitate access to and better management of data and knowledge;
    Data and operational climate services, including National Meteorological Services,
      Copernicus Climate Change , Copernicus Emergency Management, and other relevant
      Copernicus services, Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe relevant projects, as well as
      relevant actions, projects and initiatives of and through EuroGEO 49 , GEOSS (Global
      Earth Observation System of Systems) and the European Space Agency (ESA)
      programmes;
    Horizon Europe instruments, including those of bottom-up nature like the European
      Research Council or the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, and its partnerships (in
      particular the partnerships on biodiversity, water, and sustainable food systems) and
      missions (in particular the missions on oceans, smart cities and healthy soils);
    other relevant EU, national and or regional programmes and instruments (e.g. Just
      Transition Fund, Recovery and Resilience Facility, European Structural and Investment
      Funds, Erasmus+ programme, European Solidarity Corps, Invest EU, Neighbourhood,
      Development and International Cooperation programmes and relevant financing by the
      European Investment Bank).
49
         The European component of GEO (Group on Earth Observations): https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-
         and-innovation/knowledge-publications-tools-and-data/knowledge-centres-and-data-portals/eurogeo_en
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The support provided by the project should be accessible to as many regions and communities
as possible but should support at least 100 regions and communities. Priority should be given
to regions or locations with the high vulnerability50, limited resources and/or low adaptive
capacity51 to climate change impacts. Demand could be higher than what can be supplied
within the limits of this action, therefore proposals to this call should include a process and
criteria for how to identify the regions and communities most in need of these services. These
criteria must ensure that a variety of locations are represented, in as many countries as
possible, reflecting the diversity in climatic risks in Europe, as well as differences in socio-
economic and demographic conditions, and in approaches to mitigating such risks. Such
criteria should also take into account the characteristics of the populations concerned and the
vulnerability of the locations. Respective national governments should be consulted in this
process selecting the regions and communities.
It is expected that the project will have a duration of about 5 years. The process selecting the
regions and communities should start as soon as possible. To allow for flexibility and overall
balance, it may be considered to on-board the 100 regions and communities in a distributed
manner over the course of the first 3 years. The first set of regions and communities should be
fully engaged within 15 months after the start of the project. The time estimated for each
region and community to develop their pathway and innovation agenda for the transformation
to climate resilience is estimated to be within 18-24 months of having been on-boarded.
Proposals should describe how the consortium would:
    Define and implement a common impact framework guiding the work with the regions
       and communities that is to reflect, among other things, the following
          The impact created by implementing each individual element and combinations of
            elements of the portfolio of innovations and activities.
          The impact of working together on portfolio design and on learning, on
            collaborative ways of working, behaviours and mindsets across diverse stakeholder
            groups.
          The impact of the portfolio of innovations and activities on system dynamics and
            how to increase the understanding of how to unlock change faster and how to make
            better quality decisions and to share lessons learned.
    Structure and organise the selection of regions and communities and their local partner
       organisations.
50
         Vulnerability is the propensity or predisposition to be adversely affected. Vulnerability encompasses a
         variety of concepts and elements including sensitivity or susceptibility to harm and lack of capacity to
         cope and adapt (IPCC, 2018 – SR Global Warming of 1.5 ºC).
51
         Adaptive capacity is the ability of systems, institutions, humans and other organisms to adjust to
         potential damage, to take advantage of opportunities, or to respond to consequences (IPCC, 2018 – SR
         Global Warming of 1.5 ºC).
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   Support the regions and communities in the various steps of the process developing the
      pathways and innovation agendas, including how it would
         provide third party support to them through grants and means to engage
            local/regional/national partners to support the respective regional and/or local
            administrations;
         help facilitate the engagement of relevant stakeholders and citizens;
         ensure the necessary access to relevant information, in particular on the range of
            possible innovations or solutions;
         provide tailor-made analysis, visualisation and deliberation of different possible
            futures for each participating region and community;
         support the composition of portfolios of innovation and activities and an
            underpinning finance strategy.
   Orchestrate cross-regional exchanges to learn from each other, address cross-border
      interdependencies, and create opportunities for future collaboration.
   Undertake continuous efforts to learn from and improve the processes of deliberating
      and co-designing transformative pathways to climate resilience in a wide range of
      environmental, economic, political and cultural contexts.
   Communicate and share relevant information and lessons learned more broadly, in
      particular through Climate-ADAPT and the Policy Support Facility to be established
      under the Covenant of Mayors.
In order to implement the financial support to third parties, the consortium should include
partners with relevant operational and financial experience and viability.
The project could leverage JRC support to provide guidance and support to regions and
communities in the development of smart specialisation strategies and in identifying links to
EU Regional Funds to implement their climate adaptation plans and strategies. In particular,
the regions and communities supported under this action could tap in JRC support in the
development of specific synergetic actions in the area of climate adaptation among Horizon
Europe, national research and innovation programmes, the EU Regional and cohesion policy
programmes and the Next generationEU recovery instrument.
The project awarded under this topic should collaborate with on-going Horizon 2020 projects,
including those funded through the Green Deal call, in view to tailor a Mission Adaptation
portfolio of services addressing the partner regional and local needs. Furthermore, the
activities of the projects supported under this topic will have strong complementarities with
the activities of the research actions that the Mission will support elsewhere. For this reason,
the proposal should collaborate with other projects funded by the Mission.
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The European Commission intends to establish a network and coordination activities amongst
all the projects funded for the implementation of the Climate adaptation Mission, and also
those funded under the Horizon 2020 European Green Deal call52 and under Horizon Europe
when particularly relevant to climate adaptation knowledge and solutions, and that will be
coordinated by the soon to be established Mission Implementation Platform. The project that
will be selected under this topic will be requested to contribute to this effort. Applicants
should acknowledge this request and already account for these obligations in their proposal,
making adequate provisions in terms of resources and budget to engage and collaborate with
the Mission governance.
In order to adhere to the FAIR principles, the proposals should consider the possibility to
leverage the existing open-data and develop the tailoring procedure on the cloud platforms
such as the DIASs or the Copernicus Climate Data Store. Through the Sectoral Information
System53 of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), a large number of examples exist
of how climate data could be transformed into user-relevant information for different sectors.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02-03: Towards asset level modelling of climate risks
and adaptation
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 1.50
contribution per          and 2.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                          and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                          Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                          additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
52
        This refers to projects granted under call H2020-LC-GD-2020, topic LC-GD-1-3-2020. The projects are
        still in grant preparation at the time of writing. They will be operational right at the official planned start
        of the Mission. In addition to the development of innovation packages improving climate resilience, a
        Coordination and Support Action will foster their adoption and wide reapplication in at least 10
        vulnerable and low-capacity regions. A Coordination and Support Action is already included in the
        Horizon Europe work programme 2021 to provide additional support to regional and local authorities
53
        https://climate.copernicus.eu/data-action
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    Beyond state of the art asset-level models for critical infrastructures will allow for a
      better assessment of adaptation options
    Public authorities will be enabled to compare different adaptation approaches on the
      basis of a model information system on critical infrastructure
    An analysis of gaps in European data regarding the assessment of direct 54 and indirect55
      economic consequences of damages to critical infrastructures.
Scope: This topic relates to the Mission’s first objective: preparing and planning for climate
resilience and the need for a better understanding of climate change related risks.
To fully comprehend climate change related risks, information on assets is necessary. Asset-
level modelling requires combining meteorological/hydrological hazard models with
information on assets (their location and ideally their construction costs and quality, as well as
historical loss data). Assets can be publicly or privately owned infrastructure, including
critical infrastructure, as well as natural and land areas or housing areas. This topic addresses
the provision of asset-level information to public authorities, on critical infrastructures.
The proposal should consider the effect of multiple hazards (including complex, cascading
and compound disasters) and should develop improved assessment models, including
improved model coupling. For instance, coupling hazard, exposure and vulnerability,
stemming from sources such as Copernicus and its Copernicus Climate Change Service
(C3S) 56 , with assessments of impacts and of potential adaptation measures, thereby
completely integrating the causal chain from climate stressors to adaptive responses into one
unifying modelling framework.
The proposal should consider several critical infrastructures (for example electricity supply,
ICT, transport systems) across several regions and how its functioning might be impeded by
climate change induced risks. The models developed should include reconstruction costs, the
costs of not providing the intended service as well as knock-on effects on other systems. The
model should be designed as a decision support tool for public authorities allowing them to
assess costs of various adaptation solutions across several regions.
The proposal must demonstrate that it goes beyond state of the art and should identify data
gaps and discuss approaches to overcome the data gaps in the future. In particular, the
proposal should look at
a) resolution and completeness of data for exposure assessments
b) data on construction costs, construction quality and characteristics (notably protection
against extreme weather events) as well as on planned redundancies.
54
         Costs for re-construction of the damaged asset
55
         Consequences on other systems if a critical infrastructure is not functioning
56
         see https://climate.copernicus.eu/climate-data-sustainable-infrastructure
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c) data on the use of the infrastructures (for example how many trains, cars or households are
served)
The proposals should give due regard to the Commission technical guidance57 on the climate
proofing of infrastructure in the period 2021-2027, notably as regards climate resilience, the
climate vulnerability and risk assessment, as well as the identification, economic and
technical appraisal, and implementation of relevant adaptation measures.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02-04: Large scale demonstrators of climate resilience
creating cross-border value
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         15.00 and 25.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 50.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                         consortium selected for funding.
                         A clear written commitment is required from the participating regions in
                         which the action proposed will be implemented, expressed by a letter of
                         intent annexed to the proposal and signed by the corresponding
                         authority/ies.
                         If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                         and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                         Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                         additionally be used).
Expected Outcome:
Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
    Systemic demonstration of a climate-resilient society, fully adapted to the unavoidable
     impacts of climate change by 2050, based on full scale technological and social
     innovation solutions on the ground providing reinforced adaptive capacity and
57
        Commission            Notice          C(2021)            5430          final       of        29.7.2021:
        https://ec.europa.eu/clima/sites/default/files/adaptation/what/docs/climate_proofing_guidance_en.pdf
        and https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_21_3943
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      minimised vulnerability to climate impacts, in line with the Paris Agreement and the
      European Climate Law58 ;
     Innovative climate resilience socio-technological solutions are scaled up and largely
      deployed through collaboration and twinning between front-runners and less
      experienced regions , vulnerable to similar climate risks and impacts;
     Suitable solutions for just societal transformation and building climate resilience at the
      regional and local level are developed and adopted, through tailor-made measures
      matching the local needs, as climate impacts, adaptive capacities and disaster risk
      reduction capabilities differ greatly across regions.
Scope: This topic relates to the Mission’s third objective, aiming to deliver at least 75 deep
demonstrations of systemic transformations to climate resilience.
Proposals under this topic must deploy large-scale demonstrations of scientifically sound
innovative solutions, combining technological and social innovation, with concrete
measurable impacts leading to an increase of the resilience and adaptation capacity to climate
change across the territory of the European Union and associated countries59.
As climate impacts, adaptive capacities and disaster risk reduction capabilities differ greatly
across regions, scientific development and innovation should address specific needs at
regional and local scale, fully acknowledging place-based governance, socio-economic and
identity characteristics and other place-based data, with tailor-made responses and measures,
which are required for a positive and just societal transformation towards climate resilience.
To get the Mission kick-started, this topic is based on a full openness, bottom–up principle.
For this call, no thematic focus is pre-defined to leave each proposal define the most relevant
climate vulnerabilities and risks to be addressed in the regions involved, for example extreme
precipitations events or extreme droughts.
Inter-regional collaborative actions to demonstrate and scale up effective solutions are highly
encouraged, where regions front-runners that are most experienced in climate resilience
building would collaborate in addressing interregional challenges with regions less
experienced that are vulnerable to similar climate impacts, creating a common place to
test and deploy the most suitable solutions and to exchange best practices. Proposals should
include at least demonstration in three regions where adaptation actions will be deployed to
increase the resilience of these regions to the negative effects of climate change. These three
minimum regions must be located in different EU Member States or Horizon Europe
associated countries, with at least one demonstration taking place in a less developed region
60
   . For each of the demonstrators that will take place in front-runner regions, the proposal
should support replication of the successful demonstration in at least two more less
experienced regions. The consortium may include other type of partners, such as private or
58
         COM/2020/80 final
59
         adding the reference of the official HE document where the Associated countries are listed
60
         defined as those eligible for cohesion funds by REGULATION (EU) 2021/1058
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public research organisations and enterprises, to ensure that all needed capabilities are
available.
The contribution from Horizon Europe budget to projects under this topic is intended to
stimulate substantial additional investments from national and European public funding
programmes and from private sources. A written commitment to apply for complementary
funding is required from the participating regions in which the action proposed will be
implemented in case the project will be selected for funding. This should be expressed by a
letter of intent annexed to the proposal signed by the corresponding authority/ies from the
participating regions. The letter should state the willingness of the Regional authority to seek
(when possible) complementary funding from other national and European programmes for
investments aiming at increasing resilience and adaptation to climate change. This will
include in particular European Regional Development and Cohesion Fund and the Next
generation EU.
To unlock / identify links to EU Regional Funds to implement their climate adaptation plans
and strategies contributing to a sustainable and inclusive growth, regions involved in the
proposals could leverage JRC guidance and support to EU regions and Member States in the
development of smart specialisation strategies. In particular, the regions could tap in to JRC
support in the development of specific synergetic actions in the area of climate adaptation
among Horizon Europe, national research and innovation programmes, cohesion policy
programmes and the Next generationEU recovery instrument.
The possible participation of the JRC in the project will also consist of supporting the analysis
of nature-based solutions (e.g. biodiversity for climate resilience), which are beyond standard
quick fixes and need careful evaluation taking into account regional aspects.
In agreement with the authorities responsible for the territories where the actions will be
implemented, the consortium should develop a scalability plan including the diffusion of
innovative solutions, and a process for commitments (including funding and governance) in
adopting large-scale and long-term resilience building. The consortium should seek
guarantees for the non-reversibility, sustainability and continuity of the actions after the end
of the project.
Proposals should (when relevant) build upon existing knowledge and adaptation solutions,
including from beyond EU, designed and developed from previous projects on climate
adaptation funded by European and National programmes in particular the European Union
Framework programmes for Research and Innovation (such as Horizon 2020), as well as
Copernicus, the Group on Earth Observations, the LIFE programmes and the EIT Climate
KIC 61 and support the upscaling of successful pilots.
Proposals should be consistent with the EU actions taken to boost its resilience over the past
years and in particular the strategies or plans developed by EU Member States and associated
countries.
61
        Deep Demonstrations - Climate-KIC
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Projects funded under this topic should aim for clear, discernible results in short- to medium-
term, embedding them in a perspective of long-term systemic change. Interventions should
result in large impact and visible actions, with a focus on rapid scalability and deployment of
effective solutions. While the project duration is expected to be 4-5 years, projects should
provide a detailed description of the results that will be in place by the end of the third year
and the timeline to exploit the full results. Actions are expected to deliver visible results in-
situ by the end of the project. Project progress, including its scalability and exploitation plan,
will be monitored continuously by the granting authority on a yearly basis as part of the
monitoring process of the Climate Adaptation Mission. The project should also commit to
sustain longer term results and to follow up beyond the end of the project duration, through
the involvement of the relevant authorities, as climate resilience building at large territorial
scale, in particular through large scale nature-based solutions, implies that certain results can
only manifest themselves longer term.
Proposals should include a mechanism and the resources to establish operational links with
the Climate-ADAPT platform62 (run by the European Environment Agency (EEA) together
with DG CLIMA) that will act as a central element for the monitoring, support and
visualisation of the Mission progress in European Regions. To this purpose, projects will feed
their results to the Climate-ADAPT and EEA assessments.
Projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and joint
activities with other projects funded under other topics in the Mission Climate Adaptation as
well as in other relevant Missions, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could,
for example, involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the
development and adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. Of particular
importance in this context are topics HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-01: European Blue
Parks and HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-03: Atlantic and Arctic basin lighthouse -
restoration of marine ecosystems. To this extent, proposals should provide for dedicated
activities and earmark appropriate resources.
The European Commission intends to establish a network and coordination activities amongst
all the projects funded for the implementation of the Climate adaptation Mission, and also
those funded under the Horizon 2020 European Green Deal call63 and under Horizon Europe
when particularly relevant to climate adaptation knowledge and solutions, and that will be
coordinated by the soon to be established Mission Implementation Platform. The projects
under this topic will be requested to contribute to this effort. Applicants should acknowledge
this request and already account for these obligations in their proposal, making adequate
provisions in terms of resources and budget to engage and collaborate with the Mission
governance.
62
         https://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/about/climate-adapt-profile-final_2019.pdf
63
         This refers to projects granted under call H2020-LC-GD-2020, topic LC-GD-1-3-2020. The projects are
         still in grant preparation at the time of writing. They will be operational right at the official planned start
         of the Mission. In addition to the development of innovation packages improving climate resilience, a
         Coordination and Support Action will foster their adoption and wide reapplication in at least 10
         vulnerable and low-capacity regions. A Coordination and Support Action is already included in the
         Horizon Europe work programme 2021 to provide additional support to regional and local authorities
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HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02-05: Local engagement of citizens in the co-creation
of societal transformational change for climate resilience
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          3.00 and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                          consortium selected for funding.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all the following outcomes:
    Well established mechanisms to meaningfully involve and engage citizens and
      stakeholders in the transformation to climate resilience in the regions and communities
      participating in the Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change;
    Innovative problem-oriented climate adaptation solutions are co-designed and co-created
      through solid approaches to engage citizens, civil society, academics, experts, social
      partners, policy-makers, entrepreneurs and other relevant actors;
    Empowerment of citizens in contributing to the Mission in their region and community,
      including by enabling them to collect and analyse relevant data, to act on reducing the
      effects of climate change, and by limiting the impact of disinformation campaigns
      perpetrated to contrast citizens’ engagement for climate resilience;
    An enhanced and increased toolbox of innovative mechanisms and approaches of
      engaging citizens and stakeholders in transformative processes, and a better
      understanding of their success factors in different cultural, social, political and
      environmental contexts;
    Alliances of high impact, in order to increase the likelihood of long-term sustainability
      and social acceptability of citizen-led actions in the context of the Mission adaptation.
Scope: This topic contributes to the three objective of the Mission and correspond to one of
the thematic research areas described in the Mission Implementation Plan64.
64
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/implementation-plans-eu-missions_en
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With the engagement of citizens and stakeholders at the very heart of the Mission approach,
the central aim of this topic is to support regions and communities in the meaningful and
effective engagement of citizens and stakeholders in all phases of the Mission and in all steps
of the region’s transformational journey to climate resilience.
To ensure this support, proposals should address all of the following aspects:
    To provide direct support to the regions and communities sharing relevant state-of-
      the-art knowledge, best practices and emerging innovations on how best to engage
      citizens and stakeholders and providing guidance and support regarding the
      implementation of citizens and stakeholders engagement activities.
    To undertake research and test innovative solutions using the citizens and
      stakeholder engagement activities ongoing in the regions and communities as case
      studies to better understand their success factors and to explore and experiment with new
      innovative ways of engaging citizens and stakeholders in transformative processes, and
      to feed this information back to all regions and communities.
    To ensure synergies between the Mission and other relevant initiatives in engaging
      citizens and stakeholders at local, national, and European level and to share relevant
      knowledge and experience made in the Mission more broadly.
The proposal should cover a broad range of approaches, mechanisms and initiatives to
meaningfully and effectively engage citizens and stakeholders in each step of the
transformative journey to climate resilience in both problem framing and solving of the issues
at stake, including but not limited to:
    The engagement of citizens and stakeholders in the co-production of the assessment of
      climate impacts and risks; in an inclusive deliberation of the regions’ climate resilient
      vision and the co-design of plausible futures scenarios for their regions and
      communities; or the communication strategies that mobilise individuals and collectives
      into greater civic involvement as needed to trigger transformative change.
    The engagement of citizens and stakeholders in the co-design, co-development and co-
      implementation of innovative solutions to reach climate resilience, for example through
      citizen science approaches, as a value-adding, cost-effective, responsible and impactful
      ways to address some of local and regional communities’ and society’s greatest
      challenges.
    The engagement of citizens and stakeholders in the gathering and analysis of relevant
      data and the monitoring of climate risks, transformational changes and the co-evaluation
      of the progress of the Mission itself, for example through citizen observatories.
The proposal should use the opportunities offered by the Mission’s endeavour and its
activities ongoing in the regions and communities as test bed and should use activities related
to local engagement of citizens on climate adaptation across the Mission’s geographical scope
as case-studies to:
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    Understand how best to employ the various approaches and mechanisms to engage
      citizens and stakeholders in different cultural, social, political and environmental
      contexts and how participatory practices can be leverage points for more effective policy
      interventions and research in relation to at least one of the three objectives of the
      Mission.
    Better understand the role and optimal use of citizens and stakeholder engagement in
      processes of societal transformations such as the transformation to climate resilience
      envisaged by this Mission.
    Test and experiment with innovative approaches and mechanisms of citizens and
      stakeholder engagement, including the exploration of participatory platforms (such as
      the one used for the Conference on The Future of Europe) to maintain a continuous
      debate and co-creation online and hybrid spaces at different geographical scales.
    Identify and addressed the market potentials and the critical elements preventing a larger
      uptake of citizen observations, for example building on the citizen observation
      roadmap 65 developed through the Horizon 2020 project WeObserve, with concrete
      policy recommendations on how to tackle these elements.
The proposal should ensure synergies with the many initiatives at local, national and
European level for which citizen engagement is an increasingly important cornerstone, in
particular where these citizen-led initiatives are related to climate change adaptation. At
European level, this includes, among others, initiatives such as the Conference on the Future
of Europe, the Climate Pact, Education for Climate Coalition, the European Democracy
Action Plan 66 , the New European Bauhaus, ESF+, New Skills Agenda, the Biodiversity
Strategy 2030 and other Missions, the European Green Deal Call 67 and Horizon Europe Calls
for Proposals68. In this context the action should, inter alia,
    Provide opportunities to build partnerships with and learn from existing participatory
      and deliberative processes carried out (e.g., Convention Citoyenne pour le climat, the
      Bürgerrat Klima – Die Ergebnisse, the Antwerp experiment to fight poverty and
      unemployment while reaching city Climate targets), 69 , at national, regional and local
      levels.
    Liaise with previous and on-going projects in the context of citizen observations, for
      example with WeObserve project and the projects granted under the Horizon 2020 Green
      Deal call topic 10.3.2.
65
         https://zenodo.org/record/4646774#.YVbDG5pByUn
66
         https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0790&from=EN
67
         E.g. European Green Deal Call topic LC-GD-10-3-2020
68
         E.g.       https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2021-
         2022/wp-5-culture-creativity-and-inclusive-society_horizon-2021-2022_en.pdf
69
         https://nws.eurocities.eu/MediaShell/media/353-green-web_final.pdf
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    Cooperate with key stakeholders of the EU strategy to tackle disinformation (i.e.
      signatories of the Code of Practice on disinformation 70 , European Digital Media
      Observatory71) to limit the impact of disinformation campaigns perpetrated to support
      climate change denial
The proposal should increase citizen empowerment, in contributing to the objectives of
Mission Adaptation, by engaging them, supporting them and providing them the opportunities
to co-create actions that they can perform, and by ensuring their access to training and
customised services in the partner regions. The proposals should contribute to enhance the
capacity of citizens and civil society at large, to affect the decision-making process, at
different stages of the policy cycle, from data collection to policy design, implementation and
evaluation) and in the spirit of the Aarhus Convention72, as well as to genuinely empower
citizenry on local matters of care and concern.
For this, the consortium selected to deliver on this action needs to build strong relationships
between the local partners collaboration with national, local and regional authorities, social
partners, managing authorities and intermediate bodies of Cohesion Policy, stakeholders of
Smart Specialisation Strategies, Commission Representations, Europe Direct Information
Centres, EIT Climate-KIC regional offices, Erasmus+ Offices, EU Covenant of Mayors
Office, Global Covenant of Mayors.
The possible participation of the JRC in the project will consist of analysing the appreciation
of ecosystems with corresponding respectful socio-economic behaviour, for which a careful
evaluation needs to take into account regional aspects.
The project funded under this topic is strongly encouraged to participate in networking and
joint activities with other projects funded under other topics in the Mission Climate
Adaptation as well as in other relevant Missions, as appropriate. These networking and joint
activities could, for example, involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of
knowledge, the development and adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities.
Of particular importance in this context is topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05-03:
Piloting citizen science in marine and freshwater domains. To this extent, proposals should
provide for dedicated activities and earmark appropriate resources.
Call - Research and Innovation actions in support of the implementation of the
Adaptation to Climate Change Mission
                                                                        HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01
70
         https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/code-practice-disinformation
71
         https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/european-digital-media-observatory
72
         https://ec.europa.eu/environment/aarhus/index.htm
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Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)73
                   Topics                          Type       Budgets           Expected EU            Number
                                                     of        (EUR           contribution per             of
                                                  Action      million)          project (EUR           projects
                                                                                  million)74           expected
                                                                2022                                     to be
                                                                                                        funded
                                          Opening: 12 May 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 27 Sep 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01-01 RIA                           6.00 75         2.00 to 3.00               2
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01-02 RIA                           6.00 76         5.00 to 6.00               1
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01-03 RIA                           6.00 77         2.00 to 3.00               2
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01-04 RIA                           6.00 78         5.00 to 6.00               1
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01-05 RIA                           3.00 79         2.00 to 3.00               1
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01-06 IA                            88.32 80        12.00 to 20.00             5
73
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
74
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
75
        Of which EUR 1.42 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.76 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.12
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 3.57 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.13 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
76
        Of which EUR 1.42 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.76 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 3.57
        million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.12 million from the 'Civil Security
        for Society' budget and EUR 0.13 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
77
        Of which EUR 1.42 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.76 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.12
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 3.57 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.13 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
78
        Of which EUR 1.42 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.76 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.12
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 3.57 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.13 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
79
        Of which EUR 0.71 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.38 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.06
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 1.79 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.06 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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Overall indicative budget                                  115.32
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                        Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                  The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                               C.
Award criteria                                          The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                        D.
Documents                                               The documents are described in General
                                                        Annex E.
Procedure                                               The procedure is described in General
                                                        Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                 The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
In 2022, the Mission will support the development and testing of solutions addressing one or
more of the systems identified in the Mission Implementation Plan as key for climate
resilience building. It will foster the development of a balanced portfolio of solutions across
the different climate risks and the different biogeographical regions, as defined by the EEA.
The Mission will provide state of the art knowledge and identify key remaining gaps on
enabling conditions for building climate resilience in all phases (plan, respond, adapt). These
include embedding digital technologies in climate risk monitoring, modelling and simulation,
unlocking financial resources to improve the bankability of the adaptation solutions, defining
best practices for the provision of climate-relevant insurance products, including in financial
instruments to manage temporary risks, whether market or climate-induced, and untapping the
potential of novel and innovative approaches to transfer climate risks to insurance sector
actors.
Proposals for topics under this Mission should set out a credible pathway to adapting to
Climate Change in Europe, and more specifically to all of the following impacts:
80
        Of which EUR 20.95 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 11.19 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR
        1.76 million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 52.57 million from the 'Climate,
        Energy and Mobility' budget and EUR 1.84 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society'
        budget.
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    Accelerate the transformation to a climate resilient future in a number of regions
    Deploy at full scale the systemic transformations locally needed to build climate
      resilience.
In the spirit of the Mission Implementation Plan, all proposals should also adopt a
participatory approach that takes full consideration of the local dimension of climate change
and climate adaptation strategies, and entails collaboration and engagement with the local
communities that are affected, in the first place, by climate challenges. Engagement of
citizens should therefore be foreseen in the design and/or implementation of the solutions,
strategies and developments.
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01-01: User driven applications and tools for regional
and local authorities, and other end users focusing on climate impacts, data and
knowledge.
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 2.00
contribution per          and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                          and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                          Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                          additionally be used).
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
    Better access to, and transformation of, the already openly available climate data in the
      C3S Climate Data Store81, Climate ADAPT and relevant Horizon 2020 projects or other
      initiatives (such as GEOSS82) into user-relevant climate change services, in combination
      with locally sourced data and information, where available. Long-term safeguarding of
      developed solutions by integration in the operational infrastructure and services of the
      Climate Data Store should also be explored.
81
         https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/#!/home
82
         GEOSS: Global Earth Observation System of Systems(earthobservations.org)
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    Beyond-state-of-the-art relevant information (including climate, socio-economic,
      demographic information) services and tools tailored to Mission users’ needs (decision
      makers, local and regional authorities and other end users), with customizable data-
      manipulation tools available for use and re-use.
    Quality-controlled climate data services that the Mission could build upon, supported
      and maintained as customizable, user-oriented components of operationally supported
      EU services (such as the C3S). Projects might want to refer to, and follow guidance,
      from the project under the topic on “Supporting and standardising climate services”83.
    Tested FAIR data governance and management mechanisms that enable the sharing,
      community validation and use of locally sourced data (e.g. citizen-generated data) and
      information, in combination with authoritative data and information as part of the
      European Green Deal Data Space.
    Demonstrated application in at least 5 EU regions or communities 84.
Scope: This topic relates to the Mission’s first and second objective: i) preparing and planning
for climate resilience and the need for a better understanding of climate change related risks
and ii) supporting at least 150 European regions and communities in developing their vision
of a climate-resilient future and innovation pathways to reach it.
The successful proposal will develop new technologies addressing access to key climate data
and information services; such technologies will use improved user-defined and user-friendly
tools tailored to regional and community level applications for adaptation to climate change
able to build climate resilience in all sectors/services involved; the focus will be on case-
specific climatological and physical conditions critical for the areas mentioned in the Mission
Implementation Plan85.
Therefore, proposals86 should address all of the following:
    Set forth improved user-defined data manipulation tools that can be used, reused and
      further developed, thereby contributing to an ecosystem of readily available tools and
      integrated information services. The tools developed should be designed as a component
      of decision support tool for public authorities integrating socio-economic aspects and
83
         HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01-06
84
         As            defined           by            the         Mission           Implementation            Plan
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/climat_mission
         _implementation_plan_final_for_publication.pdf               and           in            the          FAQ
         publishedhttp://here:https://ec.europa.eu/info/events/information-session-mission-adaptation-climate-
         change-2021-nov-23_en
85
         Ecosystems and nature-based solutions, land use and food systems, water management, critical
         infrastructure, health and human wellbeing, and local economic systems (pages 7-9 of the
         Implementation                                                                                       Plan)
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/climat_mission
         _implementation_plan_final_for_publication.pdf
86
         Possible participants: experts from a variety of sectors (private, public, academia) with experience on
         the services to be provided by the topic. National, regional or local authorities are encouraged to be part
         of the consortium.
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     allowing them to assess risk-reduction benefits of various adaptation solutions across
     several regions.
    Consider impacts of climate change on key community systems highlighted in the
     Mission Implementation Plan87, across several climate regions and how their functioning
     might be affected by climate change induced risks.
    Develop a gap-analysis of accessibility, usability, customization and adaptability of
     existing European relevant information (including climate, socio-economic,
     demographic information) services with respect to user needs at regional and community
     levels. Prepare and implement training and capacity building, adapted for non-experts
     local end-users (beyond the 5 regions where the tools are demonstrated) to support them
     in using or tailoring the tools developed by the project.
    Identify data availability and data accessibility gaps, and overcome barriers and
     limitations of existing approaches. In particular, proposals are encouraged to take into
     account:
        Consistency in the definition of climate risk indicators in view of the Mission
            objectives and projects addressing climate change risks88;
        Socio-economic data at the local level and integrating it to the tools and services
            developed or improved for regional and local end-users;
        The experience from the Sectoral Information System 89 demonstrators of the
            Copernicus Climate Change Service and from relevant Horizon 2020 projects;
        Access to EU digital infrastructures;
        Destination Earth, European Open Science Cloud, Copernicus DIAS and GEOSS.
    Address the provision of user-relevant climate change indicators linked to socio-
     economic and demographic data to public authorities and Mission end users.
    Factor in the effect of multiple hazards (including complex, cascading and compound
     disasters) in support of the activities set out in the topic focused on the “Development of
     climate change risk assessments in European regions and communities based on a
87
        Ecosystems and nature-based solutions, land use and food systems, water management, critical
        infrastructure, health and human wellbeing, and local economic systems. Implementation plan :
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/climat_mission
        _implementation_plan_final_for_publication.pdf
88
        Namely topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02-01 “Development of climate change risk assessments
        in European regions and communities …” and HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02-03 “Towards asset
        level modelling of climate risks and adaptation”
89
        The Sectoral Information System (SIS) component of C3S transforms the climate data contained in the
        CDS and tailors it to the requirements of users, with a specific focus on intermediaries and policy
        makers. C3S has engaged with various sectors and showed how the CDS infrastructures could be used
        to address the needs of users, see fact sheets at https://climate.copernicus.eu/c3s-multimedia.
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      transparent and harmonised Climate Risk Assessment approach (HORIZON-MISS-
      2021-CLIMA-02-01).”
    Give due regard to the Commission technical guidance 90 on the climate proofing of
      infrastructure in the period 2021-2027, notably as regards climate resilience, the climate
      vulnerability and risk assessment, as well as the identification, economic and technical
      appraisal, and implementation of relevant adaptation measures.
    Provide coordination between the targeted regions/communities with respect to their
      climate data needs, to identify overlaps, synergies and cost-sharing opportunities.
    Ensure the solutions’ long-term viability through integration within the toolbox of the
      Climate Data Store and/or other operationally supported technical infrastructures.
    Discuss with and engage local communities and all relevant stakeholders (e.g., experts,
      policy-makers etc.) in a given region, in knowledge-sharing and production, testing the
      technology itself and making sure all knowledge, relevant to climate resilience, is
      represented.
Priority should be given to regions or communities with high vulnerability91, limited resources
and/or low adaptive capacity92 to climate change impacts. Demand for this type of services
could be higher than what can be supplied within the limits of this action. Therefore proposals
to this call should present the process and criteria how the target regions and communities are
identified. These criteria will ensure that a variety of locations are represented, in as many
countries as possible, reflecting the diversity in climatic risks in Europe, as well as differences
in socio-economic and demographic conditions, and in approaches to mitigating such risks.
Such criteria should also take into account the characteristics of the populations concerned
and the vulnerability of the locations, as well as the priority attributed by national and
regional governments. Consultation of national and regional governments in selecting the
regions and communities is recommended (for example, by providing a letter of support by
the relevant authorities as an annex to the proposal).
Dedicated activities          should      be    included       for   facilitating     replication   in   further
regions/communities.
In line with the overall principles of the Mission, proposals should take in full consideration
the local dimension of climate change and climate adaptation strategies, clarify how they
would ensure a meaningful engagement with local communities as well as stakeholders to
90
         Commission            Notice          C(2021)            5430          final        of        29.7.2021:
         https://ec.europa.eu/clima/sites/default/files/adaptation/what/docs/climate_proofing_guidance_en.pdf
         and https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_21_3943
91
         Vulnerability is the propensity or predisposition to be adversely affected. Vulnerability encompasses a
         variety of concepts and elements including sensitivity or susceptibility to harm and lack of capacity to
         cope and adapt (IPCC, 2018 – SR Global Warming of 1.5 ºC).
92
         Adaptive capacity is the ability of systems, institutions, humans and other organisms to adjust to
         potential damage, to take advantage of opportunities, or to respond to consequences (IPCC, 2018 – SR
         Global Warming of 1.5 ºC).
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ensure, among others, the mobilization of local knowledge, and outline how they would
contribute to achieving a just transition to climate resilience
This topic requires the effective contribution of Social Science and Humanities (SSH)
disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of
relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the
societal impact of the related research activities.
The European Commission intends to establish a network and coordination activities amongst
all the projects funded for the implementation of the Climate adaptation Mission, under the
Horizon 2020 European Green Deal call and under Horizon Europe relevant for adaptation,
and that will be coordinated by the soon to be established Mission Implementation Platform.
These networking and joint activities could, for example, involve the participation in joint
workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and adoption of best practices, or
joint communication activities. The project under this topic will be requested to contribute to
this effort. Applicants should acknowledge this request and already account for these
obligations in their proposal, making adequate provisions in terms of resources and budget to
engage and collaborate with the Mission governance.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01-02: Unlocking of financial resources for investments
into climate resilience
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      5.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    An increased leveraging of finance into climate resilience investments in the context of
      the Mission Adaptation to Climate Change.
    An increased and improved range of investment concepts that are proven to have helped
      public authorities in leveraging finance into climate resilience investments.
    An increased capacity of public authority staff for developing investible climate
      resilience projects.
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    A better understanding of mechanisms that would accelerate the transformation of the
      economic system and financial sector to internalise and reward climate resilient
      investments.
Scope: This topic contributes to the three objective of the Mission and corresponds to one of
the thematic research and innovation areas described in the Mission Implementation Plan
aiming to mobilise and improve the articulation of funding and financing from various public
and private sources at different levels (EU, national, regional and local)93.
This topic is expected to support regions and communities participating in the Mission with
developing investment strategies, including identifying, innovating and, to the extent possible
testing, solutions that help to mobilise financing and resources, throughout their
transformational journey to climate resilience. The applied research and the experimentation
with innovative solutions as further outlined below should be at the centre of the project.
The mobilisation of significant financial resources is key in addressing the climate resilience
challenge. The economic case for investing in climate adaptation is powerful, with cost-
benefit ratios ranging from 1:2 to 1:10 whereas early action on adaptation brings a “triple
dividend” of avoided losses, economic and socio-environmental benefits 94 . Yet, the
investment gap in climate adaptation, with investment needs in the EU estimated to range
between EUR 35 billion and 500 billion annually95, is reportedly one of the most important
barriers to further progress towards climate resilience. Reasons for this include large upfront
costs, difficulties with internalising benefits and insufficient incentives to attract private
investors under the existing market architecture where short-term mind-set makes investing
for the future difficult, as well as a lack of capacity to identify, combine, apply for and
negotiate the various financing streams at local and regional level96,97.
To address these challenges, the proposal is expected to:
    Provide direct pragmatic, hands-on advisory support to the regions and
      communities on how to mobilise, access and combine in practice various financing
      sources for climate resilience.
    Undertake research and test innovative financing solutions using the activities
      ongoing in the regions and communities as case studies to better understand their success
      factors and boundary conditions and to explore and experiment with new innovative
      ways of mobilising and financing for climate resilience, feeding this information back to
      all regions and communities.
    While undertaking the above, to ensure synergies between the Mission and other
      relevant programmes and initiatives engaged in mobilisation and articulation of
93
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/implementation-plans-eu-missions_en
94
         After Global Center on Adaptation https://gca.org/programs/climate-finance/
95
         https://www.eib.org/en/publications/the-eib-climate-adaptation-plan
96
         https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/financing-urban-adaptation-to-climate-change
97
         https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/0ec85025-fc85-11ea-b44f-01aa75ed71a1
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     finances for climate resilience transformations at local, national, and European level and
     to share relevant knowledge and experience made in the Mission more broadly.
Regarding the provision of direct support to the regions and communities, and the Mission’s
aim to help facilitate the translation of adaptation strategies into investments on the ground,
the proposal should cover a broad range of financing approaches, mechanisms and initiatives,
from different governmental levels and private sources, covering as much as possible all
innovation areas of the Mission, including but not limited to:
    Develop, for and with at least 20 EU regions or communities98, innovative investment
     strategies covering identification of a potential project pipeline, financial, economic,
     legal and governance analysis and design of the process to launch investments;
    Provide hands-on technical and financial expertise, inspired by best practices across
     Europe to deliver at least 10 credible and scalable investment plans, from the above 20
     regions or communities;
    Build the capacity of at least 20 public authority staff (one in each of the regions or
     communities) to design, develop and implement bankable projects on climate resilience,
     and provide them with the necessary tools (e.g. models, data), knowledge and
     networking opportunities;
    Hold at least 4 webinars addressed to regions and communities all over Europe (as many
     as possible should participate), on how to design bankable projects and to identify, apply
     for and negotiate various financing streams, and provide them with tools, networking
     and knowledge transfer.
Regarding the undertaking of research and testing of innovative solutions, the proposal should
use the opportunities offered by the Mission’s endeavour and its activities ongoing in the
regions and communities as test bed and should use activities related to the mobilisation of
resources across the Mission’s geographical scope as case-studies to:
    Understand how best to employ the various approaches of financing in different
     geographical, cultural, social, political, economic, and environmental contexts.
    Identify barriers to the mobilisation of financing for climate resilience, carry out research
     into those and develop recommendations on how best to address them.
    To the extent possible, test and experiment with innovative finance solutions.
    Explore mechanisms that would accelerate the transformation of the economic system
     and financial sector to internalise and reward climate resilient investments. This should
     involve cooperation with the financial sector.
98
        Regions and communities which should not necessarily be beneficiaries in the consortium, however
        they should be strongly connected to the work and the support that the consortium will provide
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     Test the above (recommendations to address barriers, mechanisms and integration of the
      macroeconomic impacts into models and tools) with at least 3 banks/financial services
      providers over at least 3 regions or communities, and explore innovative credit/financial
      scoring with the aim of integrating climate resilience perspective into assessment
      criteria.
Regarding the synergies between the Mission and other relevant initiatives aiming at the
mobilisation of finances and resources for climate adaptation and resilience, the proposal
should:
     Establish links and build on the various other relevant programmes and initiatives, such
      as the EU taxonomy for sustainable activities and the European Cities Facility (EUCF)99.
     Build synergies in particular with the EIB’s announced Climate Adaptation Investment
      Advisory platform (ADAPT) that is to provide advisory services that have the potential
      to strengthen climate resilience of cities, infrastructure networks, coastal areas and river
      basins, farming practices and other vulnerable activities.100
     Support the Mission Implementation Platform in making accessible the different
      potential funding sources for climate resilience related activities and possible financial
      designs for climate resilience portfolios.
     Learn from and complement the efforts of the projects related to the Mission funded
      under the Green Deal Call101 and the call HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-01, as well as
      to relevant projects and structures of other Missions, such as the NetZeroCities project
      and the Cities Mission Platform.
The main sources of funding to be considered in the context of this topic include (i)
governmental sources, mostly grants including EU funding instruments, national, regional and
local budgets; (ii) banks and other financial institutions providing loans and guarantees, either
directly or in partnership with local retail banks; and (iii) private stakeholders, including
foundations, real estate developers, companies, individuals (e.g. via crowdfunding or as house
owners).
In line with the overall principles of the Mission, proposals should take in full consideration
the local dimension of climate change and climate adaptation strategies, clarify how they
would ensure a meaningful engagement with local communities as well as stakeholders to
ensure, among others, the mobilization of local knowledge, and outline how they would
contribute to achieving a just transition to climate resilience.
Proposals should include a process and criteria for how to identify the regions and
communities most relevant to become test beds for the proposed solutions, starting from those
where Mission relevant activities are already ongoing. Priority should be given to regions or
99
         European City Facility | UBC Sustainable Cities Commission (ubc-sustainable.net)
100
         https://www.eib.org/en/publications/the-eib-climate-adaptation-plan
101
         REGILIENCE, ARSINOE, IMPETUS, TransforAr
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communities with high vulnerability , limited resources and/or low adaptive capacity to
climate change impacts. These criteria will ensure that a variety of locations are represented,
in as many countries as possible, reflecting the diversity in climatic risks in Europe, as well as
differences in socio-economic and demographic conditions, and in approaches to mitigating
such risks. Such criteria should also take into account the characteristics of the populations
concerned and the vulnerability of the locations, as well as the priority attributed by the
national and regional governments. Consultation of national and/or regional governments in
selecting the regions and communities is recommended (for example, by providing a letter of
support by the relevant authorities as an annex to the proposal).
The European Commission intends to establish a network and coordination activities amongst
all the projects funded for the implementation of the Climate adaptation Mission, under the
Horizon 2020 European Green Deal call and under Horizon Europe relevant for adaptation,
and that will be coordinated by the soon to be established Mission Implementation Platform.
These networking and joint activities could, for example, involve the participation in joint
workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and adoption of best practices, or
joint communication activities. The project under this topic will be requested to contribute to
this effort. Applicants should acknowledge this request and already account for these
obligations in their proposal, making adequate provisions in terms of resources and budget to
engage and collaborate with the Mission governance.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01-03: Best practices on and piloting insurance
solutions for climate adaptation in EU regions and communities
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
     A set of weather and climate risk insurance products to be used or replicated across EU
      regions and communities.
     Mechanisms to record, collect and share climate-related risk and losses data integrated
      within the Risk Data Hub 102, the Copernicus services, and other initiatives.
     Guidance on insurance pricing that reflect risks reduction measures, and to ensure
      affordable insurance cover.
102
        Risk Data Hub - European Commission (europa.eu)
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     Trial innovative risk transfer solutions to deal with climate-induced risk, including
      parametric insurance and insurance of nature-based solutions.
     Advance public sector modernization when it comes to the demand for insurance
      solutions for climate adaptation.
     Open up opportunities in the insurance market for cutting edge risk transfer solutions.
     Reinforced policy frameworks to facilitate the allocation of substantial additional
      national and regional budgets to increase the penetration in the EU of insurance solutions
      to deal with climate-induced risks.
Scope: This topic relates to all three objectives of the strategy, and is part of the key enabling
conditions described in the Mission Implementation Plan103, to test novel insurance solutions,
insurance products and risk-transfer mechanisms. The applied research and the
experimentation with innovative solutions as further outlined below under points 1 and 2
should be at the centre of the project.
Insurance is a key tool to compensate for losses after extreme climate events, yet its use in the
climate adaptation domain is limited at the moment for a variety of reasons. Recent studies
show that between 1980-2019, direct economic losses in EU-27 from climate-related events
totalled at least EUR 419 billion104. Only 35% of these losses were insured on average across
the EU.
Proposals should address both the following aspects:
1. Best practices and filling the gaps on insurance coverage for climate adaptation
The proposal should address barriers to the use of insurance for climate adaptation, and
improve the insurance cover in regions and communities.
Therefore, proposals should:
     Prepare a collection of weather and climate risk insurance products and best practices
      that could be included to existing products or replicated as new products in EU regions
      and communities
     Develop and implement mechanisms to collect and share comprehensive and
      harmonized data on climate-related risk and losses. Such mechanisms and data should be
      integrated with the Risk Data Hub
     Develop guidance capturing best practice on insurance pricing encouraging users to
      invest in adaptation and ensuring affordable insurance cover
     Feed into the deliberations of the Climate Resilience dialogue making available draft
      deliverables, as relevant.
103
         Page 9 climat_mission_implementation_plan_final_for_publication.pdf (europa.eu)
104
         EIOPA’s pilot dashboard addresses the natural catastrophe protection gap | Eiopa (europa.eu)
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     Provide direct support to at least three regions by:
         Sharing relevant state-of-the-art knowledge, best practices and emerging
            innovations on insurance solutions,
         Presenting advice on insurance gaps to be addresses by public budgets in the
            regions, and
         Providing guidance and support regarding the type of insurance product that would
            best address the climate risks the region or community is and will face; look for
            actual products for these regions.
2. Trialing and experimentation of insurance solutions in EU regions and communities
As climate impacts become more severe and frequent European regions and communities
need to lead by example by procuring insurance solutions to transfer risks and compensate for
loses. The proposal should build on the guidance developed under the first element and start
piloting insurance solutions that can increase Europe’s resilience and preparedness to face
unavoidable consequences of climate change.
The proposals should:
     Develop a pilot of innovative insurance solutions in at least three regions or communities
      (vulnerable to different climate risks and located in different geographical areas) to
      address their climate risks. Such solutions could be new ones or from improving existing
      ones.
     Inform their plans with the guidance and recommendations from the deliverables under
      point 1.
     Demonstrate sustainability of the solutions piloted beyond the life of the project.
The project should work closely and establish synergies with other projects within the
Mission and other relevant initiatives in the domain of climate adaptation insurance, such as
the Climate Resilience dialogue, work being done by the European Insurance and
Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), relevant Horizon 2020 projects105.
The consortia should include as associated partners 106 at least one insurance and/or re-
insurance company in order to pilot the proposed actions. Furthermore, this topic requires the
effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as
well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant
effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities.
In line with the overall principles of the Mission, proposals should take in full consideration
the local dimension of climate change and climate adaptation strategies, clarify how they
105
        Horizon 2020 Insurance, NAIAD, ReSet, among others
106
        as per Horizon Europe general annexes: entities participating in the action but without the right to
        charge costs or claim contributions
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would ensure a meaningful engagement with local communities as well as stakeholders to
ensure, among others, the mobilization of local knowledge, and outline how they would
contribute to achieving a just transition to climate resilience.
The European Commission intends to establish a network and coordination activities amongst
all the projects funded for the implementation of the Climate adaptation Mission, under the
Horizon 2020 European Green Deal call and under Horizon Europe relevant for adaptation,
and that will be coordinated by the soon to be established Mission Implementation Platform.
These networking and joint activities could, for example, involve the participation in joint
workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and adoption of best practices, or
joint communication activities. The project under this topic will be requested to contribute to
this effort. Applicants should acknowledge this request and already account for these
obligations in their proposal, making adequate provisions in terms of resources and budget to
engage and collaborate with the Mission governance.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01-04: Transformation of regional economic systems
for climate resilience and sustainability
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       5.00 and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    Relevant economic sectors affected by climate change are transformed and ready to face
      the future anticipated climate changes risks;
    An increased and improved range of climate-resilient business models, value chains, and
      re-skilling opportunities (including training capabilities) are understood, socially
      acceptable and made available to all regions and communities;
    An increased capacity of local businesses, social partnerns and industries for sustainable
      coping with climate change;
    An increased capacity of national, regional and/or local governments, consumers
      organizations and other social partners, industries and businesses in empowering
      consumers to make informed choices and play active roles in transition to climate
      resilience;
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     A better understanding of mechanisms that would drive transformation of the economic
      systems thanks to innovation, intended not only as technical innovation but also
      including social and user-driven innovation.
Scope: This topic contributes to the three objective of the Mission and correspond to one of
the thematic research areas described in the Mission Implementation Plan107. It is to support
regions and communities participating in the Mission in all steps of their transformational
journey to climate resilience with finding, innovating, and testing solutions that help their
economic systems to become sustainable and climate resilient. The applied research and the
experimentation with innovative solutions as further outlined below should be at the centre of
the project.
Climate change affects macroeconomic outcomes, financial markets and institutions primarily
through physical risks (gradual warming and extreme events) and transition risks. Possible
channels of impact of climate change on the European economy include, for example, decline
in agricultural productivity and yields, lower labour productivity due to extreme heatwaves
and lower human capital accumulation due to increased health issues and mortality, new or
increased occupational health and safety risks to workers, disruption to transport and
production chains, or changes in sectoral composition of labour markets leading to higher
structural unemployment.108
The transformation of economic systems towards climate resilience will have to find
pathways to climate resilience and sustainability for all relevant sectors that are affected by
climate change, including climate-resilient business models, value chains, up-skilling and re-
skilling dynamics, and always considering at the heart of the debate the acceptance of the
innovations to be implemented by the society. These pathways should be aligned with the
regions’ smart specialisation strategies and integrated in the overall climate adaptation
strategy of regions.
The support that the projects are to provide the regions and communities should include the
following main aspects (further detailed below):
     To provide direct support to the regions and communities sharing relevant state-of-
      the-art knowledge, best practices and emerging innovations and solutions relevant to the
      transformation of all regional economic systems that are affected by climate change in
      the regional economic systems to become climate resilient.
     To undertake research and test innovative solutions, not only technically but also
      socially feasible, using the activities ongoing in the regions and communities as case
      studies to better understand their success factors and to explore and experiment with new
      innovative ways of preparing regional economic systems and their industries to become
      climate resilient and sustainable, building strengths on consumer protection and to feed
      this information back to all regions and communities.
107
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/implementation-plans-eu-missions_en
108
         European Central Bank (ECB) Occasional Paper Series No 217 / September 2021
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     While undertaking the above, ensure synergies between the Mission and other
      relevant programmes and initiatives supporting transformations of economic systems
      to sustainability and resilience at local, national, and European level and to share
      relevant knowledge and experience made in the Mission more broadly.
Regarding the provision of direct support to the regions and communities, the proposal
should cover a broad range of approaches, mechanisms and initiatives to prepare the
economic systems across the production and consumption to become climate resilience,
including but not limited to:
     support at least 20 regions or communities in the development of pathways for the
      transformation of all relevant sectors of their economic system that are affected by
      climate change;
     support to building public-private cooperation in the relevant industry helping them to
      transition to become at the same time resilient to climate change and compliant with the
      Sustainable Finance Taxonomy;
     improve skills intelligence to ensure up-to-date information on the skills needed to
      support the transformation to climate resilience, e.g. by developing a skills forecasting
      system, and fostering skills strategies aligning efforts across employment, consumption,
      education, research, industry and regional development policies;
     inform about alternative ways to more resilient regional and local economies, such as the
      approach of community wealth building109 that emphasise more democratic ownership of
      the economy at local level, e.g., by developing local industrial strategies which stimulate
      co-operatives and social businesses or the creation of regional investment vehicles and
      holding companies;
Regarding the undertaking of research and test innovative solutions, the proposal should
consider as test beds the opportunities offered by regions and communities already engaged in
the Mission’s endeavour and expand from there to address activities related to the
transformation of economic systems across the Mission’s geographical scope as case-studies
to:
     understand how best to employ the various approaches and mechanisms in different
      cultural, social, political, economic and environmental contexts;
     test and experiment with innovative approaches encouraging place-based industrial
      innovation and experimentation allowing at least 20 regions or communities to develop
      and test new solutions (including with SMEs and consumers where relevant), drawing on
      their local characteristics, strengths and specialisms110;
109
         Owning the future: After Covid-19, a new era of community wealth building
110
         A New Industrial Strategy for Europe, COM(2020) 102 final
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     establish a continuous monitoring and data gathering on what goes well and what goes
      wrong, which local initiatives are not successful and how to re-orient them;
     improve measurement, modelling and policy tools to capture synergies between the
      circular economy and climate change adaptation;
     design and test short courses to reskill workers and master courses to train experts
      towards emerging jobs and new skills requirements related to the transition to climate
      resilience;
Regarding the synergies between the Mission and other relevant initiatives supporting
transformations of economic systems to sustainability and resilience at local, national, and
European level the proposal should describe:
     how it would bring to bear the different elements of the various other relevant
      programmes and initiatives within the context of the Mission, e.g., cohesion policy,
      regional smart specialisation strategies and ERDF funds, the New Industrial Strategy, the
      New Skills Agenda and ESF+ funds, the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Farm to
      Fork Strategy and the EU taxonomy for sustainable activities;
     how it would feed back the experience and lessons learnt within the Mission back to the
      other relevant programmes and initiatives.
Proposals should include a process and criteria to identify the regions and communities most
relevant to become test beds for the proposed solutions, starting from those where Mission
relevant activities are already ongoing. Priority should be given to regions or communities
with high vulnerability111, limited resources and/or low adaptive capacity112 to climate change
impacts. Proposals should present the process and criteria to target regions and communities
selected. These criteria will ensure that a variety of locations are represented, in as many
countries as possible, reflecting the diversity in climatic risks in Europe, as well as differences
in socio-economic and demographic conditions, and in approaches to mitigating such risks.
Such criteria should also take into account the characteristics of the populations concerned
and the vulnerability of the locations, as well as the priority attributed by the national and
regional governments. Consultation of national and/or regional governments in selecting the
regions and communities is recommended (for example, by providing a letter of support by
the relevant authorities as an annex to the proposal).
In line with the overall principles of the Mission, proposals should take in full consideration
the local dimension of climate change and climate adaptation strategies, clarify how they
would ensure a meaningful engagement with local communities as well as stakeholders to
111
         Vulnerability is the propensity or predisposition to be adversely affected. Vulnerability encompasses a
         variety of concepts and elements including sensitivity or susceptibility to harm and lack of capacity to
         cope and adapt (IPCC, 2018 – SR Global Warming of 1.5 ºC)
112
         Adaptive capacity is the ability of systems, institutions, humans and other organisms to adjust to
         potential damage, to take advantage of opportunities, or to respond to consequences (IPCC, 2018 – SR
         Global Warming of 1.5 ºC)
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ensure, among others, the mobilization of local knowledge, and outline how they would
contribute to achieving a just transition to climate resilience.
The consortium proposed to deliver on this action should include relevant industrial
knowledge, with a capacity to understand and drive systemic, broadly defined innovation,
including from the relevant innovation ecosystems and private sector; it should also count on
expertise in social innovation, in user-driven innovation, in Living Labs dynamics, in
transformative innovation.
The European Commission intends to establish a network and coordination activities amongst
all the projects funded for the implementation of the Climate adaptation Mission, under the
Horizon 2020 European Green Deal call and under Horizon Europe relevant for adaptation,
and that will be coordinated by the soon to be established Mission Implementation Platform.
These networking and joint activities could, for example, involve the participation in joint
workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and adoption of best practices, or
joint communication activities. The project under this topic will be requested to contribute to
this effort. Applicants should acknowledge this request and already account for these
obligations in their proposal, making adequate provisions in terms of resources and budget to
engage and collaborate with the Mission governance.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01-05: Boost the sponge function of landscape as a way
to improve climate-resilience to water management challenges
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per       2.00 and 3.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    Best available and improved or new solutions to improve sponge function of soil, ground
      water and surface water systems are used and/or made available to all regions and
      communities across EU for replication.
    Solutions for improving climate-resilience to extreme events have been developed,
      tested and brought closer to the market.
    Regions and communities have been actively engaged and involved in development and
      testing of a transformative solutions for climate resilience building.
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Scope: This topic contributes to the second objective of the Mission on Adaptation to Climate
Change (as well as the Mission ‘Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030’ as well as the
Mission ‘A soil deal for Europe’) and corresponds to one of the thematic research areas
described in the Climate Adaptation Mission Implementation Plan 113 . It is to support
knowledge dissemination amongst regions and communities and to test solutions that help the
management of areas (both land-use, soil, ground water and surface water), in particular in
facing present and future extreme weather events, through developing integrated approach to
increase the sponge functioning of areas by the restoration of natural retention functions of the
soil, ground water and small tributaries of surface water systems in river basins, with special
attention to the potential of natural and semi-natural habitats restoration and enlargement.
When the natural sponge function of an area is efficient, water falling down as precipitation
will have the opportunity to infiltrate the soil, where it is stored and filtered at the same time.
It can either percolate to the deeper ground water, slowly released to the surrounding small
streams and/or serve as a source for the vegetation at that location. The whole system of soil,
water and vegetation (ecosystem) will buffer the release of water during intensive rainfall on
one hand and will serve as a source of fresh, clean water in times of drought. Both soil, water
and air quality as well as biodiversity will benefit from it. Providing better water and soil
management will be beneficial for both rural and urban areas, and many sectors depending on
enough clean surface and ground water such as drinking water production, agriculture,
forestry, transport, tourism and leisure, etcetera.
Changes in the way land is managed can address interconnected issues like flooding, drought,
wildfires, human health, and regional temperature shifts, all aspects related to building climate
resilience.
Effectively increasing or restoring the natural water retention function of the landscape, both
through improving the way soil, ground water, surface water and ecosystems are managed,
will generate many ecosystem services for a relative low price, bringing benefits to a whole
array of different functions. This adding up of services by restoration of the natural retention
function of the landscape, brings a benefit which is (much) larger than the costs of restoration
in combination with the cost of coping with the present and future damages caused by
extreme climate events such as extreme droughts and intensive rainfall, either long term or
through cloud-bursts. Investing in restoration of the sponge function of the landscape can save
farmers, municipalities, insurers, and tax payers substantial amounts of money, while
reducing risk, and providing multiple benefits (such as flood and drought resilience, reduced
erosion, increase biodiversity, moderation of local temperatures, while also improving
availability of clean water and improve local economies).
The proposals should address all the following aspects:
• To collect the best available knowledge, including local knowledge, and where appropriate
‘traditional knowledge’, and define the best approaches on possible ways, positive impacts
and challenges, strengths and weaknesses, in improving the sponge functioning of landscape
113
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/implementation-plans-eu-missions_en
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as a way to improve its ability to contribute to water management, in particular in facing
extreme events. The review of existing knowledge should also include experiences matured in
different parts of Europe and from Horizon 2020 projects.
• To undertake research and test innovative solutions using the activities ongoing in the
regions and communities as case studies, to better understand their success factors and to
explore and experiment new innovative ways of improving water retention capacity through
nature-based solutions, in comparison to alternative solutions, such as those including gray
infrastructure. Opportunities offered by passive management of land as low cost approach
should be also considered and included.
• To ensure synergies between the Adaptation Mission and other relevant programmes and
initiatives, in supporting building climate resilience to cope with extreme weather events at
local, regional, national, and European level and to share relevant knowledge and experience
developed in the Mission more broadly.
The European Commission intends to establish a network and coordination activities amongst
all the projects funded for the implementation of the Climate adaptation Mission, under the
Horizon 2020 European Green Deal call and under Horizon Europe relevant for adaptation,
and that will be coordinated by the soon to be established Mission Implementation Platform.
Projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and joint
activities with other projects funded under other topics in the Mission Climate Adaptation as
well as in other Missions, namely the Soil Mission and Ocean and Waters Mission, as
appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for example, involve the
participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and adoption
of best practices, or joint communication activities. To this extent, proposals should provide
for dedicated activities and earmark appropriate resources.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01-06: Testing and demonstrating transformative
solutions on climate resilience, mainstreaming nature based solutions in the systemic
transformation
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per      12.00 and 20.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 88.32 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
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                          and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                          Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                          additionally be used).
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6 to 7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Procedure                 The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                          exceptions apply:
                          Seals of Excellence will be awarded to applications exceeding all of the
                          evaluation thresholds set out in this work programme, but cannot be
                          funded due to lack of budget available to the call.
Eligibility and           The conditions are described in General Annex B.
admissibility             In addition to the standard eligibility conditions, proposals must include
conditions                demonstration activities to be carried out in 5 different regions located in
                          3 different MS or associated countries, involving and including in the
                          consortium partners from these three countries.
                          At least 1 of the proposed demonstrations must take place in a region
                          eligible for Cohesion funds.114
Expected Outcome: Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     regions and communities have been involved in development and testing of a whole
      range of transformative solutions
     climate resilience solutions have been developed, tested and brought closer to the market
Scope: This topic relates to the Mission’s second objective, aiming to mobilise at least 150
regions in testing the solutions most locally needed to build climate resilience.
The proposal should develop and test innovative solutions, combining technological and
social innovation, leading to an increase of the resilience and adaptation capacity to climate
change in the involved regions and communities, assuring that nature based solutions are
explored as priority and at the very heart of the development whenever possible.
In line with the Mission Implementation Plan and also with the new EU Climate Adaptation
Strategy, implementing nature-based solutions on a larger scale would increase climate
resilience. Blue-green (as opposed to grey) infrastructures represent multipurpose, “no regret”
solutions, which simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits and
help build climate resilience. The Strategy also underlines that to improve their uptake, their
benefits need to be better quantified and communicated. Their essential role for sustaining
114
         Territories eligible for Cohesion funds are defined under               the Cohesion   policy:
         https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/graph/poster2021/eu27.pdf?
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healthy water, oceans and soils was recognised, together with their potential to reduce costs,
provide climate-resilient services, and improve compliance with Water Framework Directive
requirement for good ecological status, if they were to play a bigger role in land-use
management and infrastructure planning.
As climate impacts, adaptive capacities and disaster risk reduction capabilities differ greatly
across regions, the proposed scientific development and innovation should address specific
needs identified at regional and local scale with tailor-made responses and measures, fully
acknowledging place-based governance, socio-economic and identity characteristics and other
place-based data.
In line with the Mission objective to build systemic climate resilience, the proposal should
address the multi-risks locally identified as climate vulnerability, addressing in a systemic
approach one or more of the systems identified as key for climate resilience building in the
Mission Implementation Plan Mission. For example, the proposed systemic solution could
include one or more of the following:
   restoration of ecosystems and the establishment of ecological corridors, taking into
      account also the benefits and trade-offs for biodiversity, in particular in relation to soil
      and coastal erosion;
   solutions to better manage water scarcity and mitigate the impacts of droughts or to
      better manage water flooding, such as greening of infrastructures, tree planting,
      increasing of permeable green surfaces, or river deculverting in cities, peatland, wetland
      and floodplain restoration;
   solutions for a more climate resilient agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture and forestry as
      well as climate resilient food systems, such as culture rotation, silvo-pasture and other
      agroecology approaches in farmland, in particular in relation to droughts and water
      multi-usage and management;
   solutions for building and/or managing new critical infrastructure and/or upgrading
      existing ones through green/blue/hybrid infrastructure, in particular in relation to
      climate-proofing it towards extreme events;
   climate-proofing the development of incentive schemes fostering efficient use and
      allocation of water and solutions to reduce the vulnerability to water-related risks;
   regeneration of public spaces to create climate resilient neighbourhoods, in particular in
      relation to heat-waves and flooding events and their potential risks for human health and
      well-being;
   inclusion of digital solutions and services to better predict, monitor and report on climate
      events, in particular towards vulnerable and marginalised populations;
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     economic analysis and business models to support decisions making, in particular in
      relation on investments balance between reducing risks through building climate
      resilience and improving climate risk preparedness and climate emergency management.
Under the Mission approach, collaborations to develop and test effective solutions between
regions/communities facing similar challenges are highly encouraged. To this purpose, the
proposals should include at least 5 regions/communities, collaborating in addressing the
common climate change related to the challenges identified, creating a common place to test
and deploy the most suitable solutions and to exchange best practices. These 5 minimum
regions must be located in at least 3 different EU Member States or Horizon Europe
associated countries, with at least 1 of the proposed demonstrations taking place in region
covered under the EU Cohesion Programme115.
The proposals should clearly identify the biogeographical area, as defined by the EEA116, for
which the proposed solution is relevant and should explore possible reapplication to other
regions, starting from those located in the same biogeographical areas. To support a large
impact, the proposed solutions should be widely re-applicable. To this purpose, identification
and inclusion of at least three “replicating” regions/communities, interested in reapplying
the lessons learnt in their territories is strongly encouraged, including the consortium
providing support for the technical exchanges and the knowledge uptake in the “replicating”
regions.
In addition to the local/regional authorities owning the climate challenge, the consortium may
include other type of partners, such as private or public research organisations and enterprises,
to ensure that all needed capabilities are available to develop and implement real life actions.
In line with the overall principles of the Mission, proposals should take in full consideration
the local dimension of climate change and climate adaptation strategies, clarify how they
would ensure a meaningful engagement with local communities as well as stakeholders to
ensure, among others, the mobilization of local knowledge, and outline how they would
contribute to achieving a just transition to climate resilience.
Proposals should build (when relevant) upon previous developed or existing knowledge and
adaptation solutions, designed and developed from previous projects, including from beyond
EU, addressing climate change adaptation and funded by European and National programmes,
in particular the European Union Framework programmes for Research and Innovation (such
as Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe under their different pillars and clusters), as well as the
LIFE programme. Moreover, proposals should look into opportunities to scale up the
solutions demonstrated and to foster their broad deployment across in Europe through the
LIFE programme, and its integrtaed projects in particular, and through the ERDF
programmes, also leveraging the opportunities provided by the Seal of Excellence labeling.
115
         Cohesion Policy 2021-2027 - Regional Policy - European Commission (europa.eu)
116
         As defined by EEA dataset which contains the official delineations used in the Habitats Directive
         (92/43/EEC) and for the EMERALD Network set up under the Convention on the Conservation of
         European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention)
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Proposals should include a mechanism and the resources to establish operational links with
the Climate-ADAPT platform (run by the European Environment Agency (EEA) together
with DG CLIMA) that will act as a central element for the monitoring, support and
visualisation of the Mission progress in European Regions. To this purpose, projects will feed
their results to the Climate-ADAPT and EEA assessments.
Projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and
joint activities with other projects funded under other topics in the Mission Climate
Adaptation as well as in other relevant Missions, as appropriate. These networking and joint
activities could, for example, involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of
knowledge, the development and adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities.
To this extent, proposals should provide for dedicated activities and earmark appropriate
resources.
The European Commission intends to establish a network and coordination activities amongst
all the projects funded for the implementation of the Climate adaptation Mission, under the
Horizon 2020 European Green Deal call and under Horizon Europe, and that will be
coordinated by the soon to be established Mission Implementation Platform. The projects
under this topic will be requested to contribute to this effort. Applicants should acknowledge
this request and already account for these obligations in their proposal, making adequate
provisions in terms of resources and budget to engage and collaborate with the Mission
governance.
To ensure a balanced portfolio covering the different climate risks as identified in the
Mission Implementation Plan and to maximize the footprint across all the different
biogeographical areas117, grants will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking
but selecting the highest ranked proposals for each biogeographical area, provided that the
applications attain all thresholds. To this purpose, the biogeographical area focus of each of
proposal should also be specified in the free keywords section of the proposal.
Other Actions not subject to calls for proposals
Procurement actions
1. Building the Implementation Platform for the Adaptation to Climate Change Mission
Under this public procurement, the following services are expected to be provided:
     Well-coordinated support to the general operation and activities of the Climate
      Adaptation Mission, as valid service to the European Commission in the broad range of
      activities involved with the implementation of the Mission and as facilitator and provider
      of horizontal services for all involved actors and regions along all the actions they will
      undertake in relation to their climate resilience building;
117
         As defined by: https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/figures/biogeographical-regions-in-europe-2
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     A structured dialogue platform, bringing together all relevant actors and assuring that the
      actions pre-dating the Mission launch118 will be embedded in the Mission work plan as
      aligned towards a common objective, in order to create a common basis on which the
      foreseen consolidation phase of the Mission will build in the future;
     Monitoring and evaluation assistance to the Commission, including the establishment of
      monitoring tools and KPI for the Mission and the monitoring and reporting on progress
      made, and for preparing the mid-term evaluation of the Mission. This monitoring and
      evaluation will also support the regions in managing their portfolio of innovations, with
      the evaluation of their successfulness and possible adjustments and broad sharing of the
      knowledge generated.
     Assistance to the Commission with the overall communication on the Mission, helping
      to identify and create synergies and add value to communication, dissemination and
      exploitation activities of individual projects of the Mission's portfolio, and boost
      scientific, societal and economic impacts.
     Facilitation of exchanges with equivalent bodies established for the other Missions, in
      particular for the other Green Deal Missions, to exploit synergies.
     A supporting system for the Climate Adaptation Mission which will facilitate its
      building phase and which would provide the basis for the supporting system for the full
      deployment of the Mission after potential review of fit for purpose and appropriate
      adjustments.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: 1Q 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 10.00 million from the 2021 budget119
2. Climate Adaptation Stakeholders Forum
The following services are expected to be provided:
- organisation of the first Mission Forum, which will allow for exchange of views on the
direction of the Mission from a broad range of relevant actors, to receive input from the
regions, including on intentions by regions to participate in the Mission, and to make links
between Member States’ intentions on Climate Adaptation measures and the use of EU funds
under shared management,
118
         Horizon 2020 projects, in particular the Mission-related projects selected for funding under the Green
         Deal H2020 call
119
         Of which EUR 2.88 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
         Environment' budget,EUR 0.98 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.24 million
         from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget,EUR 5.78 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility'
         budget,EUR 0.12 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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- a Climate Resilience Dialogue which will bring together various stakeholders in the
insurance sector to develop a common set of recommendations and voluntary commitments to
measure, monitor and promote natural disaster insurance penetration and promote resilience-
building national insurance regimes.
The service will be procured under an existing Framework Contract.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: 1Q 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.30 million from the 2021 budget120
Service Level Agreement
1. European Environmental Agency (EEA) support to the Mission in developing the
monitoring and tracking system and visualisation of the progress in the resilience
building, expanding ClimateADAPT
This action aims at designing and implementing a support system (as a new feature of
Climate- ADAPT) tailored to the specific needs of the Mission with the following objectives:
• To become a key source of knowledge on climate risks and transformative adaptation
options for the regions
• To serve as a policy support facility providing guidance and tools for the participating
regions (e.g. NUTS2) and local authorities (communities) and creating a forum for the sharing
of knowledge and experience.
• To support the monitoring and the evaluation of achievement of the missions’ objectives
• To communicate the mission progress enabling the visualisation of the impacts on the
resilience of the participating regions.
• To harvest/leverage former Service Level Agreement with the EEA in the domain of
unlocking data and knowledge for climate adaptation
The action should be implemented through a Service Level Agreement with the EEA, as
foreseen under Article 59.2 of the Financial Regulation.
Type of Action: Service Level Agreement
Indicative timetable: Q1 2022
120
        Of which EUR 0.09 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget,EUR 0.03 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.01 million
        from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget,EUR 0.17 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility'
        budget,EUR 0.00 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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                                                  Missions
Indicative budget: EUR 2.08 million from the 2021 budget121
2. Top up Service Level agreement with the EEA to support the building up and hosting
of the Mission Platform website as integrated part of Climate-Adapt
Extend the scope of the Service Level Agreement with the European Environmental Agency
(EEA) in support to the Mission already included in WP2021.
The top up will in particular cover the development in Climate ADAPT of the necessary IT
infrastructure to support the Mission Implementation Platform in its endeavour to coordinate
the Mission activities and to monitor and track the Mission progress.
The IT infrastructure will be hosted by Climate ADAPT and will provide the basis for the
Mission Implementation Platform to develop its services, in particular intended to monitor the
Mission progress and support the regions in managing their portfolio of innovations.
The role of the EEA will be limited to host the IT development, while the Mission
Implementation Platform will be responsible to provide the resources to monitor the Mission
progress, animate the Mission community, to interact with the regions and communities and
support them with the evaluation of their successfulness and possible adjustments, to share of
the knowledge generated.
Type of Action: Service Level Agreement
Indicative budget: EUR 0.88 million from the 2022 budget122
121
        Of which EUR 0.60 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget,EUR 0.20 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 1.20 million
        from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget,EUR 0.05 million from the 'Civil Security for Society'
        budget,EUR 0.03 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
122
        Of which EUR 0.21 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget,EUR 0.11 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.52 million
        from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget,EUR 0.02 million from the 'Civil Security for Society'
        budget,EUR 0.02 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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                                                       Missions
Mission: Cancer
The goal of the mission on cancer is to improve the lives of more than 3 million people by
2030, through prevention, cure and for those affected by cancer including their families, to
live longer and better. The objectives include: Understand; Prevent what is preventable;
Optimise diagnostics and treatment; Support quality of life; Ensure equitable access in all
aforementioned areas. The Mission on Cancer will address all cancers including poorly
understood cancers123 in men and women, cancers in children, adolescents/young adults and
the elderly, cancers in socio-economically vulnerable people, living in either cities, rural or
remote areas, across all Member States and Associated countries.
This would be through a health-in-all policies approach 124 ; through infrastructure support,
regional, social and citizen community development; through investments, support and
commitments from public and private sources, including from Member States, Associated
countries and industry; through cooperation with third countries; and through synergies with
other existing EU programmes including EU4HEALTH, EURATOM, Digital Europe,
Erasmus+, EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2021-2027 and others and
initiatives related to cancer.
The Mission on Cancer is coherent with and will be an essential and integral component of
the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan125. It will provide directions and objectives for research and
innovation and effective Commission policy to alleviate the burden of cancer.
It also relates to the European Green Deal, including the Farm to Fork strategy 126 . The
mission proposes research and policy directions and objectives to identify effective strategies
for the development and implementation of cancer prevention, including on environmental
factors (e.g. exposure to workplace carcinogens, air pollution, unhealthy diet, nutrition and
low physical activity).
Furthermore, it is also in line with the industrial127 and digitalisation strategy128. The mission
proposes a further upscaling and digitalisation of services, innovation in diagnostics and
interventions, and developing living labs, contributing to the positive impact of efforts by
industry and SMEs on the health of citizens. Envisaged opportunities are in the fields of:
cancer biomarkers; cloud computing and digital applications, smart apps/sensors. The mission
also supports the integration of AI, machine learning and deep learning approaches to
123
         Includes refractory cancers or cancer subtypes, at any stage of the disease in any age group and part of
         society with a 5-year overall survival that is less than 50% from time of diagnosis.
124
         Health in All Policies is an approach to public policies across sectors that systematically takes into
         account the health implications of decisions, seeks synergies, and avoids harmful health impacts in
         order         to        improve          population         health        and        health         equity.
         https://www.who.int/social_determinants/publications/health-policies-manual/key-messages-en.pdf
125
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12154-Europe-s-Beating-
         Cancer-Plan
126
         https://ec.europa.eu/food/farm2fork_en
127
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/european-industrial-
         strategy_en
128
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age_en
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                                                       Missions
facilitate a better understanding of cancer, to improve prevention screening and early
detection, diagnosis, clinical decision-making, administration of combinational therapies, and
clinical management of patients living with and after cancer.
Calls for proposals and procurement actions under this mission should contribute to setting
out a credible pathway for implementing the Mission on Cancer, thereby contributing to the
mission objectives.
The implementation plan specifies the goal and objectives as well as implementation details
of the mission “Cancer”129.
In addition to the calls described below, the Commission envisages several actions that will be
included in a future work programme update130: In the field of prevention the Commission
envisages an action on implementation research on cancer prevention. In the area of diagnosis
and treatment, the Commission envisages the implementation of clinical trials on treatments,
using personalised medicine approaches and a focus on improving quality of life. The
Commission further envisages actions to support the creation of a Network of Comprehensive
Cancer Infrastructures (CCIs) with a focus on integrating the research dimension. In the field
of quality of life, the Commission envisages to support the setting up the European Cancer
Patient Digital Centre and to further expand on actions addressing unmet needs of cancer
patients and survivors. Furthermore, actions are foreseen to create National Cancer related
Mission Hubs, to support the monitoring of the Mission’s implementation, citizens
engagement and communication.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this mission:
                     Call                                    Budgets (EUR million)                 Deadline(s)
                                                           2021                   2022
HORIZON-MISS-2021-UNCAN-01                        3.00                                             20 Oct 2021
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CANCER-                         125.65                                           26       Apr
02                                                                                                 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-                                                   126.00                 07 Sep 2022
01
Overall indicative budget                         128.65                    126.00
129
                  https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/cancer
         _implementation_plan_for_publication_final_v2.pdf
130
         The listed areas for potential actions are tentative and non-binding.
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                                                    Missions
Call - Preparing UNCAN.eu, a European initiative to understand cancer
                                                                     HORIZON-MISS-2021-UNCAN-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)131
                    Topics                          Type       Budgets        Expected EU         Number
                                                      of         (EUR        contribution per         of
                                                   Action      million)       project (EUR         projects
                                                                               million)132        expected
                                                                  2021                              to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 20 Oct 2021
HORIZON-MISS-2021-UNCAN-01-01 CSA                             3.00 133     Around 3.00            1
Overall indicative budget                                     3.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
                                                           Annex E.
131
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
132
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
133
        Of which EUR 3.00 million from the 'Health' budget.
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                                                    Missions
Procedure                                                 The procedure is described in General
                                                          Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                   The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2021-UNCAN-01-01: Preparing UNCAN.eu, a European initiative to
understand cancer
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Project results will contribute to the following expected outcome: a
blueprint for the establishment of UNCAN.eu.
This entails that:
     Based on an agreed strategic research and innovation agenda, academic and clinical
      research centres, innovators 134 , Member States and Associated countries including
      national and regional funding agencies, policy makers, private investors, public and
      social sector organisations, citizen and patient advocacy organisations, and
      national/regional health systems, adopt the operational concept for UNCAN.eu described
      below, and are willing to cooperate and invest both financially and with other resources
      (in kind, data, knowledge);
     Clear answers on the European-added value, organizational, logistical, financial, and
      cultural feasibility, utility and sustainability of UNCAN.eu are given.
Scope: Overall and despite important progress, understanding of cancer remains incomplete,
for both common and rare cancers. This requires a new level of investment in innovative
research, including high-potential/high-risk projects. Therefore, a Mission on Cancer proposes
a Europe-wide platform, UNCAN.eu, utilising existing, relevant research infrastructures and
134
         Innovators turn research results into new and better services and products in order to remain
         competitive in the global marketplace and improve the quality of life of Europe’s citizens.
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                                                      Missions
investing in the development of models and technologies interrogating the interactions of
poorly understood cancers135 and their host.
A fully-fledged UNCAN.eu initiative will:
     Underpin all future Mission on Cancer priorities that require a better understanding of
      poorly understood cancers;
     Agree on a strategic research and innovation agenda between afore-mentioned relevant
      stakeholders
     Integrate innovative models and technologies with longitudinal patient data (e.g. medical
      images), samples and biomarkers to deliver concrete benefits for people at risk of cancer,
      living with and after cancer;
     Allow for data interoperability and re-utilisation, while guaranteeing full protection for
      the data subjects and applying FAIR data principles.
A comprehensive understanding of the organizational, logistic, cultural and financial
feasibility, utility and sustainability would be necessary before embarking on such an
endeavour.
This coordination and support action aims to develop the operational concept for such an
initiative.
The proposal should address:
     Integration with ESFRI European Research Infrastructures, European Reference
      Networks, as well as other international cancer-centred research and data initiatives (e.g.
      1+Million Genomes136, SPECTA137, etc.), as well as data exchange with national cancer
      data ecosystems;
     Sustainable and interoperable data platforms facilitating data access in compliance with
      data protection legislation and ethical principles, which will be developed in the
      framework of a future Health Research and Innovation Cloud, a thematic cloud under the
      European Open Science Cloud (EOSC)138, which will also address the data requirements
      of the European Health Data Space (EHDS)139 and be interoperable with it;
     Integration with other platforms proposed under the Mission on Cancer and the Europe’s
      Beating Cancer Plan, such as a network of comprehensive cancer infrastructures and a
      virtual European cancer patient digital centre;
135
         Both common and rare cancers, or cancer subtypes, at all stages of cancer, any age or part of society.
136
         https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/european-1-million-genomes-initiative
137
         https://www.eortc.org/specta/
138
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/strategy/goals-research-and-innovation-policy/open-
         science/eosc_en
139
         https://ec.europa.eu/health/ehealth/dataspace_en
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                                                     Missions
     Mechanisms for determining clinical priorities and development of new models and
      technologies to interrogate the interactions of cancers and their host;
     Mechanisms for regular training on operating the UNCAN.eu platform as well as data
      management to all data holders and users;
     Potential links with Horizon Europe health cluster partnerships, in particular: the
      Innovative Health Initiative; the partnership on Personalised Medicine; the
      Transformation of Health and Care Systems partnership as well as the partnership on
      Rare Diseases and the Partnership for the Assessment of Risk from Chemicals.
     Providing a mechanism for regular consultation with EU regions, Member States and
      Associated countries, who should be engaged from the early steps of development;
     Potential links with EU4Health actions relevant for cancer;
     Links to federated data spaces of genomic data and medical images under the Digital
      Europe programme;
     Equitable access. Broad representation, in particular of less-developed regions or regions
      from countries striving to boost their research and innovation potential, is highly
      encouraged;
     Engagement with citizen and patient advocacy organisations;
     Utility, feasibility, sustainability;
     Due consideration to newly EU-funded initiatives such as HealthyCloud, EOSC-Life and
      the EHDS Joint Action. Links with topic HORIZON-INFRA-EOSC-2021-01-07;
      objectives are encouraged as well as with topic HORIZON-INFRA-SERV-2021-01-02
      objectives.
Call - Research and Innovation actions supporting the implementation of the Mission on
Cancer
                                                                    HORIZON-MISS-2021-CANCER-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)140
                     Topics                            Type      Budgets       Expected EU         Number
140
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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                                                  Missions
                                                     of         (EUR           contribution per            of
                                                   Action      million)          project (EUR           projects
                                                                                  million)141          expected
                                                                 2021                                    to be
                                                                                                        funded
                                         Opening: 22 Dec 2021
                                        Deadline(s): 26 Apr 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CANCER-02-01 RIA                           60.00 142        4.00 to 15.00            10
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CANCER-02-02 RIA                           11.00 143        Around 11.00             1
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CANCER-02-03 RIA                           54.65 144        4.00 to 15.00            6
Overall indicative budget                                    125.65
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                         Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                         Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                   The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                C.
Award criteria                                           The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                         D.
Documents                                                The documents are described in General
                                                         Annex E.
Procedure                                                The procedure is described in General
                                                         Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                  The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
141
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
142
        Of which EUR 15.19 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 44.10 million from
        the 'Health' budget and EUR 0.71 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
143
        Of which EUR 2.79 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 8.08 million from
        the 'Health' budget and EUR 0.13 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
144
        Of which EUR 13.84 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 40.17 million from
        the 'Health' budget and EUR 0.65 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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                                                 Missions
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CANCER-02-01: Develop new methods and technologies for
cancer screening and early detection
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        4.00 and 15.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 60.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Prevention is the most cost-effective long-term cancer control strategy. In
EU-27 and Associated countries, population-based screening programmes exist for three types
of cancer (breast, cervical and colorectal cancer), which are often not risk-based. Screening
and early detection should become faster, more precise, accessible and affordable. This
requires new, sound methods and technologies, including data analytics tools and computing
capacities, as well as a robust communication strategy.
The COVID-19 pandemic with its detrimental impact on cancer screening and early detection
has demonstrated the need for new and improved screening and early detection solutions.
Proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are directed at and
contributing to all of the following expected outcomes
     Healthy citizens and cancer patients will benefit from faster, earlier, more precise,
      personalised, accessible and affordable screening and early detection of cancer.
     Health care professionals will be able to deliver earlier, faster, more precise screening
      and early detection of cancer.
     Health policy makers will have the evidence to review population-based screening
      programmes and screening and early detection methodologies in everyday medical
      practice, and to include new, evidence-based screening and early detection methods,
      technologies and solutions.
Scope: Research is needed to develop and validate non-invasive, or minimally invasive cancer
screening and detection methodologies for everyday medical practice and population-based
screening programmes 145, including enhanced participation of the target population. These
programmes should become faster, more precise and personalised, affordable and accessible.
Proposals should address all of the following:
145
        Refers to secondary prevention
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                                                     Missions
     Based on weaknesses, gaps and possibilities for further development of existing
      screening and early detection methods and technologies (including those used in
      population-based screening programmes), develop and validate non-invasive (or
      minimally-invasive) cancer screening and detection methodologies. This includes
      ‘integrated diagnostics’146 based on, for example, imaging, tissue, fluid or exhaled breath
      gas biomarkers, and agile screening methodologies including digital technologies (such
      as self-sampling, mobile screening units, digital apps or smart wearables, sensors,
      telemedicine and remote monitoring technologies combined with sophisticated data
      analytics tools), duly considering digital and health literacy of people.
     Proposals should assess the potential uptake of these methods and technologies in
      national health systems, clearly identify the target population and consider
      implementation needs (including health workforce skills). Applicants should also
      consider aspects of effectiveness, affordability and accessibility when proposing
      solutions, particularly to enhance participation of the target population.
     Proposals should consider the use of living labs or other implementation research models
      that use open knowledge and (social) innovation systems and support end-user
      engagement.
     The influence of age and early-life factors and determinants; genetic risk; socio-
      economic status; behavioural, including lifestyle risk factors; environmental factors; as
      well as social, cultural, sex and gender aspects, including inequalities, should be taken
      into account across all aspects mentioned above. In addition, differences within and
      between countries and regions should also be reflected.
Expected stage at project start: Technological Readiness Level 4 and above.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
Due consideration should also be given to other relevant EU-funded initiatives147. Successful
applicants will be asked to liaise with these different initiatives where applicable 148, with the
Commission acting as a facilitator.
The funded actions should build upon resources made available by the Knowledge Centre on
Cancer149, and complement actions under the future Innovative Health Initiative, EIT Health
146
         Combines information from radiology, imaging, pathology, genetics, genomics, phenotyping,
         laboratory testing, information technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, etc.
147
         Such as HealthyCloud, EOSC-Life and the European Health Data Space (EHDS) Joint Action. Topics
         HORIZON-INFRA-EOSC-2021-01-06 (FAIR and open data sharing in support of cancer research),
         HORIZON-INFRA-SERV-2021-01-01 (Research infrastructures services to support research
         addressing cancer), HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-01 (Improved supportive, palliative,
         survivorship and end-of-life care of cancer patients), HORIZON-HLTH-2021-CARE-05-02 (Data-
         driven decision-support tools for better health care delivery and policy-making with a focus on cancer).
148
         Applicants are not expected to contact these initiatives before the submission of proposals.
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                                                    Missions
Knowledge Innovation Community initiatives150, and the Digital Europe programme (Cancer
Imaging Initiative, Genomics)151.
Furthermore, all projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in
networking and joint activities with other ongoing projects under the mission on cancer and
other cancer relevant projects, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for
example, involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the
development and adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also
involve networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate. Of particular importance in this
context is topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-COOR-01-01, “Coordination of complementary
actions for missions”.
The Commission may facilitate Mission-specific coordination through future actions.
Therefore, proposals should include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and
may consider covering the costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite
to detail concrete joint activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be
defined during the grant agreement preparation phase and project duration. In this regard, the
Commission will take on the role of facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with
relevant initiatives and stakeholders, if appropriate.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CANCER-02-02: Develop and validate a set of quality of life and
patient preference measures for cancer patients and survivors
Specific conditions
Expected EU                  The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per             11.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                      appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                             selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget            The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 11.00 million.
Type of Action               Research and Innovation Actions
Legal and financial          The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant          apply:
Agreements                   Beneficiaries will be subject to the additional access rights: The
                             selected beneficiaries must provide the results from the survey,
                             including validation of the metrics, within two years from the start of
                             the project for the purpose of developing EU policies and
149
        Especially through the ’European Guidelines and Quality Assurance Schemes for Breast, Colorectal and
        Cervical Cancer Screening and Diagnosis‘, and the ’European Cancer Information System (ECIS)’, see
        https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/cancer_en
150
        https://eithealth.eu/who-we-are/
151
        https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32021R0694&qid=1623079930214
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                                                Missions
                          programmes.
Expected Outcome: Cancer patients and survivors have specific and currently largely unmet
needs. These require deeper insights into quality of life aspects, patient preferences and unmet
needs so that health and care systems can better address them. This will improve patients’ and
survivors’ quality of life and ensure that they can achieve personal and professional goals,
including return to work if they wish so, while respecting individual, social and cultural rights
and values. New metrics, self-reported evidence from the perspective of those who are
affected, and an expanded high-quality data collection and analysis, using appropriate digital
tools, are needed to adequately capture quality of life aspects of cancer patients and survivors.
This should serve to orient clinical practice as well as health, social care, and employment
policies with the goal of delivering innovation and improving the quality of life of cancer
patients, survivors and their families to the highest possible levels, and facilitating their return
to work and active participation in society.
Proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are directed and contributing
to all of the following expected outcomes
   Cancer patients, survivors and caregivers will benefit from enhanced quality of life,
      more effective and less burdensome treatments with better supportive care and
      counselling approaches.
   Health care professionals, supportive workers, counsellors and industry will be better
      aware of the (unmet) needs, expectations and preferences of cancer patients, survivors
      and their relatives and be compelled to address them.
   Regulators and institutions will have a set of metrics, which they can include in decision
      making about risks and benefits of new health interventions.
   Health Policy Makers will have a set of metrics at their disposal, which they can include
      in their health information and performance measurement systems.
   Labour market and social protection policy makers will benefit from additional evidence
      to consider in the design of labour market and social protection policies that are
      facilitating return to work and active participation in society.
Scope: The long-term goal of the Mission on Cancer is to support the development of a
framework of newly defined, harmonised and systematic surveys, as well as to collect new
and update existing quality of life data and registries information, using appropriate digital
tools. These surveys should be launched regularly across all countries and be reviewed with
researchers, care providers, health insurance companies, industry as well as policy makers so
that more timely, supportive and affordable care can be provided and relevant policy
measures can be taken.
Proposals should address all of the following:
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                                              Missions
   Conduct analyses of existing quality of life data from studies, surveys and registries
      together with patients and with a particular focus on patients’ needs, including return to
      work. These analyses serve to identify problems, fill gaps and validate sets of minimal
      quality of life measurement tools and approaches for different types of cancer.
   Set up collaborative approaches with patients, communities and multidisciplinary
      research teams (for example in the form of living labs, making use of citizen science,
      social innovation or other participatory research methods). Within this co-design
      process, quality of life measurement tools and approaches should be developed to
      capture key elements of quality of life from the perspective of those affected by cancer,
      which are not captured (adequately) with established metrics.
   These metrics should cover subjective perceptions of the positive and negative aspects of
      cancer patients’ symptoms, including physical, mental, emotional, social, cognitive
      functions, disease symptoms and treatment side effects as well as needs for palliative
      care.
   Prepare and conduct a pilot of newly defined, harmonised and systematic quality of life
      surveys across the EU-27 and Associated countries, reflecting both its diversity (social,
      cultural, geographic, demographic, health and social protection systems) and unique
      differences in incidence and mortality of cancer indications. The surveys should gather
      data using established quality of life metrics and serve to validate the newly developed
      metrics focussing on cancer, making use of digital tools for data gathering and analysis
      where relevant.
   These surveys should form the basis for a comprehensive comparison of the quality of
      life of cancer patients and survivors across and within countries, as well as between
      different groups, and prepare the ground for future regular, more extensive high-quality
      data collection.
   The influence of age and early-life factors and determinants; genetic risk, socio-
      economic status; environmental factors; behavioural, including lifestyle risk factors; as
      well as social, cultural, sex and gender aspects including inequalities (e.g. access to
      care), should be taken into account across all aspects mentioned above.
   The most promising quality of life and preference measures and metrics should be
      validated.
This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH
experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce
meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research
activities.
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Due consideration should also be given to other relevant EU-funded initiatives152. Successful
applicants will be asked to liaise with these different initiatives where applicable, with the
Commission acting as a facilitator153.
The funded actions should build upon resources made available by the Knowledge Centre on
Cancer154, and complement actions under the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan 155, and possibly
Horizon Europe Partnerships156.
All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and
joint activities with other ongoing projects under the mission on cancer and other cancer
relevant projects, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for example,
involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also involve
networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate. Of particular importance in this
context is topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-COOR-01-01, “Coordination of complementary
actions for missions”.
The Commission may facilitate Mission-specific coordination through future actions.
Therefore, proposals should include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and
may consider covering the costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite
to detail concrete joint activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be
defined during the grant agreement preparation phase and project duration.
In this regard, the Commission will take on the role of facilitator for networking and
exchanges, including with relevant initiatives and stakeholders, if appropriate.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CANCER-02-03: Better understanding of the impact of risk
factors and health determinants on the development and progression of cancer
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         4.00 and 15.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
152
        Such as HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-01 (Improved supportive, palliative, survivorship and
        end-of-life care of cancer patients), HORIZON-HLTH-2021-CARE-05-02 (Data-driven decision-
        support tools for better health care delivery and policy-making with a focus on cancer).
153
        Applicants are not expected to contact these initiatives before the submission of proposals.
154
        Especially through the ’European Guidelines and Quality Assurance Schemes for Breast, Colorectal and
        Cervical Cancer Screening and Diagnosis‘, and the ’European Cancer Information System (ECIS)’, see
        https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/cancer_en
155
        Including the planned Cancer Inequalities Registry, see work programme for 2021 for EU4Health
        Programme at https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/default/files/funding/docs/wp2021_annex_en.pdf.
156
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-
        and-open-calls/horizon-europe/european-partnerships-horizon-europe_en
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Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 54.65 million.
Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic will contribute to the achievement of the mission’s goal
through a better understanding of the impact of risk factors157 and health determinants on the
development and progression of cancer (including metastasis). The focus should be on poorly
understood158 cancers and cancer subtypes, including in children and adolescents. To that end,
proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are directed, tailored towards
and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes
     Researchers and health professionals will understand which risk factors and determinants
      spur the development and progression of cancer and how. This forms the basis for the
      design and optimisation of prevention, screening and early detection interventions for
      poorly understood cancers and cancer subtypes, including in children and adolescents.
     Researchers and innovators from different disciplines and sectors will support the
      development of the UNCAN.eu 159 platform by producing, integrating and correlating
      comprehensive data from multiple sources (ensuring accessibility and re-usability of
      data, models and tools created).
Health Policy Makers use the improved understanding of risk factors and determinants in the
design of cancer-related health policies in the EU-27 and Associated countries and beyond,
including for prevention, screening and early detection.
Scope: Despite important progress, overall understanding of cancer remains incomplete, for
both common and rare cancers and the growing number of cancer subtypes, including in
children and adolescents. This requires a new dimension and level of investment in innovative
research, including high-potential, potentially disruptive and high-risk projects. There is a
need to better understand which risk factors and determinants affect the development and
progression of cancer and how.
Proposals should address all of the following:
     Develop a systematic understanding of cellular processes with a focus on the transition
      from a healthy state to cancer initiation and progression, at the individual or population
      level.
157
         Relevant risk factors include both internal and external ones, such as genetic predisposition, those in the
         environment, at work, because of pollution (chemicals, noise, air, radiation, etc.), lifestyle, diet,
         physical inactivity, obesity, nutrition, microbiota, infectious agents, etc. At all stages of cancer, across
         all age and societal groups.
158
         Includes refractory cancers and cancer subtypes, at any stage of the disease in any age group and part of
         society, with a 5-year overall survival less than 50% from time of diagnosis.
159
         Under the mission work programme a Europe-wide platform, UNCAN.eu, will be established, utilising
         existing, relevant research infrastructures. The platform should enable integration of innovative models
         and technologies with longitudinal patient data, samples and biomarkers for identification and
         translation to patients.
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     Demonstrate access to and use of multiple comprehensive databases in and well beyond
      health research and health domains, such as lifestyle, omics, clinical, indoor and outdoor
      exposure, environmental, urban areas and sprawl, climate, agricultural crop and land use,
      geo-positioning, and remote sensing. Proposals should build on longitudinal cohorts,
      case-control studies, biobanks, registries and many other initiatives160, and use state-of-
      the art digital tools for data analyses and modelling, wherever possible.
     Analyse and integrate existing knowledge and high-quality data from biomedical and
      clinical studies, using advanced technologies such as computer modelling, AI and
      machine learning with the objective to identify factors and determinants triggering the
      transition from the healthy state to the initiation and progression of poorly understood
      cancers and cancer subtypes, including in children and adolescents.
     The influence of age, including in utero and early-life factors and determinants;
      environmental factors; genetic and epigenetic risk; socio-economic status; behavioural,
      including lifestyle risk factors; as well as social, cultural, sex and gender aspects
      including inequalities, should be taken into account across all aspects mentioned above.
     Due consideration should be given to newly EU-funded initiatives such as the
      Knowledge Centre on Cancer, HealthyCloud, EOSC-Life, the European Health Data
      Space (EHDS) Joint Action, 1+ Million Genomes / Beyond One Million Genomes
      (B1MG), the future Innovative Health Initative and EIT Health Knowledge Innovation
      Community initiatives 161 . Links with topic HORIZON-INFRA-EOSC-2021-01-06
      objectives (FAIR and open data sharing in support of cancer research) are encouraged as
      well as with topic HORIZON-INFRA-SERV-2021-01-01 (Research infrastructures
      services to support research addressing cancer). Successful applicants will be asked to
      liaise with these different initiatives where applicable162, with the Commission acting as
      a facilitator.
     The funded actions should develop synergies with the Partnership for the Assessment of
      Risk from Chemicals (PARC), the “Human Biomonitoring 4 EU” initiative
      (HBM4EU)163 and the European Human Exposome Network164.
All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and
joint activities with other ongoing projects under the mission on cancer and other cancer
relevant projects, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for example,
involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also involve
networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate. Of particular importance in this
160
         Many retrospective, prospective cohorts, case-control studies and initiatives -in health and well-beyond
         health- at local, regional, national, European and international level, exist.
161
         https://eithealth.eu/who-we-are/
162
         Applicants are not expected to contact these initiatives before the submission of proposals.
163
         https://www.hbm4eu.eu/
164
         https://www.humanexposome.eu/
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context is topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-COOR-01-01, “Coordination of complementary
actions for missions”.
The Commission may facilitate Mission-specific coordination through future actions.
Therefore, proposals should include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and
may consider covering the costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite
to detail concrete joint activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be
defined during the grant agreement preparation phase and project duration. In this regard, the
Commission will take on the role of facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with
relevant initiatives and stakeholders, if appropriate.
Call - Research and Innovation actions supporting the implementation of the Mission on
Cancer
                                                                   HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)165
                     Topics                           Type      Budgets          Expected EU           Number
                                                        of        (EUR         contribution per            of
                                                     Action      million)        project (EUR           projects
                                                                                  million)166          expected
                                                                  2022                                   to be
                                                                                                        funded
                                          Opening: 24 May 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 07 Sep 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-01-01 RIA                             50.00 167      3.00 to 8.00             10
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-01-02 CSA                             10.00 168      Around 10.00             1
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-01-03 RIA                             60.00 169      4.00 to 6.00             10
165
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
166
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
167
        Of which EUR 9.13 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 39.86 million from
        the 'Health' budget and EUR 1.01 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
168
        Of which EUR 1.83 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 7.97 million from
        the 'Health' budget and EUR 0.20 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
169
        Of which EUR 10.95 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 47.83 million from
        the 'Health' budget and EUR 1.22 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-01-04 CSA                           3.00 170         Around 3.00              1
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-01-05 CSA                           3.00 171         Around 3.00              1
Overall indicative budget                                    126.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                 The conditions are described in General
                                                         Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                         Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                   The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                C.
Award criteria                                           The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                         D.
Documents                                                The documents are described in General
                                                         Annex E.
Procedure                                                The procedure is described in General
                                                         Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                  The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-01-01: Improving and upscaling primary prevention
of cancer through implementation research
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.00
contribution per       and 8.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative             The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 50.00 million.
budget
170
        Of which EUR 0.55 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 2.39 million from
        the 'Health' budget and EUR 0.06 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
171
        Of which EUR 0.55 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 2.39 million from
        the 'Health' budget and EUR 0.06 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Procedure             The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                      apply:
                      In order to ensure a balanced cancer mission project portfolio and achieve
                      the mission’s goal, grants will be awarded to applications not only in order
                      of ranking but at least also to two projects within applications that fully
                      address cancer in children, adolescents or young adults (meaning people
                      between birth and the age of 24), provided that the applications attain all
                      thresholds.
Evaluation and        The evaluation committee will be composed partially by representatives of
award                 EU institutions.
procedure
Expected Outcome: For an increasing number of cancer indications potential mechanisms and
means to prevent the onset of cancer have been identified172. However, with cancer incidence
steadily increasing across all age groups, parts of society, European Member States,
Associated Countries and elsewhere 173 , decisive action on primary prevention should be
stepped up and made a collective responsibility. Implementing and upscaling of primary
cancer-centred prevention programmes would contribute to achieving this goal.
Adoption and efficacy of primary cancer prevention programmes in real-life has been
insufficient, due to factors related to local context, such as organisation and digitalisation of
healthcare services, resources, cultural, and geographical situation. To appropriately adapt
interventions and scale-up to different geographical, economic and cultural settings, proposals
should aim at delivering results through implementation research 174 , which are directed,
tailored towards and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Citizens will benefit from the outcomes of evidence-based, tailored and affordable
      primary prevention programmes targeting known cancer risk factors and health
      determinants, including behavioural factors, that are tailored to the specific needs of
      local communities and effectively adopted;
     Healthcare professionals and patient organisations will be able to provide evidence-
      based information targeted at individuals and families on cancer prevention, including
      through vaccination, improved health literacy, issuing of better guidelines and
      counselling;
172
        Depending on geographical, economic and cultural settings, ~26-50% cancers are preventable and
        ~20% cancers can be detected early.
173
        European Cancer Information System (ECIS), GloboCan (https://gco.iarc.fr/)
174
        Implementation research uses scientific methods to investigate and address the various factors that
        affect the implementation in real-life settings and help evidence-based interventions or policies to be
        optimally implemented and scaled-up. See also: https://www.gacd.org/about/what-we-
        do/implementation-science.
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     Regional and national policymakers and authorities will engage in implementing and
      scaling-up the most suitable prevention programmes, including possible legislative
      policies;
     Civil society, charities, foundations, and innovators will seize opportunities to further
      upscale and innovate primary prevention programmes at local, urban, rural, regional,
      national or international level.
Scope: Investments are needed to establish, scale-up or improve primary cancer prevention
programmes. The barriers that prevent their uptake and effective implementation should be
identified and addressed. Also, primary cancer prevention programmes should be tailored to
the particular needs of the target populations, taking into account socio-economic, cultural
and geographical conditions. Digital tools and datasets may be considered where needed.
Proposals should address all of the following:
     Focus on implementation and upscaling of evidence-based primary cancer prevention
      interventions, at local, regional or national level, addressing known risk or protective
      factors and determinants175. Proposals should clearly justify and describe the existing
      evidence supporting the chosen intervention, including evidence of cost-effectiveness
      and affordability, across health or other sectors.
     As effective prevention includes behavioural change, due consideration should be given
      to the factors that facilitate or impede behavioural change.
     Identify and address the bottlenecks and barriers that might influence uptake and
      implementation of cancer prevention programmes in accessible, affordable and equitable
      ways, and their impact in a defined public health context.
     Provide evidence and recommendations to inform policy and decision-makers and
      propose a pathway to integrate the intervention into local, regional or national health
      systems, policies and practices.
     Applicants are required to co-create with relevant stakeholders, including representatives
      of citizens, people at risk of cancer, patients, survivors, health practitioners, payers, and
      policymakers in the design and conduct of research and evaluation of its outcomes. Such
      partners will be integral to the success and sustainability of the programme and it is
      essential that they are engaged early in the definition of problems and barriers.
     Proposals should align with commitments or planned commitments at a regional or
      country level to implement evidence-based interventions. Researchers should collaborate
      closely with responsible authorities. The latter should provide the interventions and the
      financial means.
175
         All known risk factors and health determinants, including socio-economic and commercial ones, e.g.:
         tobacco; alcohol; genetics; bacterial and viral pathogens; chemicals from air, soil, water, and food;
         physical inactivity; diet and nutrition; gut dysbiosis; behavioural patterns; exposure to ionising
         radiation, UV, radon; occupational exposure; socio-economic background, education, employment.
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     Approaches, methodologies and frameworks used should be specific to implementation
      science, and based on appropriate outcomes, such as feasibility, acceptability,
      sustainability, uptake and cost effectiveness.
     The design of the proposed interventions should take the gender dimension and ethics
      into account, and contribute to reducing health inequalities.
     The organisational and resource requirements (data, digital tools, personnel and
      financing) necessary for the implementation of the intervention must be described,
      tracked and evaluated in detail. The research and system-wide scientific monitoring
      should allow future users (researchers, healthcare providers, policy makers, and the
      public) to review the step-by-step, partial outcomes of the intervention, thus facilitating a
      wider adoption of these practices. The appropriate contextual, financial and political-
      economic analyses should be provided.
Clinical trials and translational research are not within the scope of this topic.
This topic requires the effective contribution of social sciences and humanities (SSH)
disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of
relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the
societal impact of the related research activities.
Applicants should demonstrate awareness of relevant projects on implementation research in
primary cancer prevention176. Successful applicants will be asked to liaise with these different
initiatives where applicable177, with the Commission acting as a facilitator. Where applicable,
funded actions should make use of resources made available by the Knowledge Centre on
Cancer178.
Furthermore, all projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in
networking and joint activities with other ongoing projects under the mission on cancer and
other cancer relevant projects, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for
example, involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the
development and adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also
involve networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate.
The Commission may facilitate Mission-specific coordination through future actions.
Therefore, proposals should include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and
may consider covering the costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite
to detail concrete joint activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be
176
         For example CANCERLESS, CBIG-SCREEN, CHILI, EQUITYCANCER-LA, EU-TOPIA-EAST,
         PRESCRIP-TEC.                See             also:            https://www.gacd.org/community/research-
         network/projects?diseases=cancer&programme-countries=
177
         Applicants are not expected to contact these initiatives before the submission of proposals.
178
         Especially through the ’European Guidelines and Quality Assurance Schemes for Breast, Colorectal and
         Cervical Cancer Screening and Diagnosis‘, and the ’European Cancer Information System (ECIS)’, see
         https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/cancer_en
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defined during the grant agreement preparation phase and project duration. In this regard, the
Commission will take on the role of facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with
relevant initiatives and stakeholders, if appropriate.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-01-02:                          Strengthening      research     capacities    of
Comprehensive Cancer Infrastructures
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: The Mission Board of the EU Mission on Cancer has defined
Comprehensive Cancer Infrastructures as ‘national or regional infrastructures that provide
resources and services to support, improve and integrate cancer care, research, training of
care professionals and education for cancer patients, survivors and families/carers.’
Today, the level of development of Comprehensive Cancer Infrastructures and their
capacities, such as their digital, research and innovation-related capacities, vary considerably
across Member States and Associated Countries, leading to inequalities, in particular in terms
of research, quality and access to care.
The Horizon Europe Mission on Cancer will complement the set-up across Member States
and several Associated Countries of an EU network of Comprehensive Cancer Centres that
will be established through the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan by 2025. The Mission aims to
achieve the target of ensuring that 90% of eligible cancer patients have access to
Comprehensive Cancer Infrastructures by 2030. In that context, this topic should set up,
across Member States and several Associated Countries, a capacity-building programme for
countries of the EU network of Comprehensive Cancer Centres to be established through the
Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan179, to support them in improving or developing their existing or
future Comprehensive Cancer Infrastructures, focussing on developing their digital, research
& innovation-related capacities and their integration with cancer care.
Proposals under this topic should aim at delivering results that are directed at and contributing
to all of the following expected outcomes:
179
         In particular, preparatory activities to establish National Comprehensive Cancer Centres and EU
         Network linking these Centres, preparatory activities to establish an EU Network of Expertise on
         Cancers and Cancer Conditions, Action on "EU Cancer Treatment Capacity and Capability Mapping"
         see       work       programme         for      2021       for   EU4Health     Programme       at
         https://ec.europa.eu/health/system/files/2021-06/wp2021_annex_en_0.pdf
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     Research and health policy makers will benefit from support to further develop or set up
      Comprehensive Cancer Infrastructures, leading to improvement in terms of research and
      access to care;
     Research and healthcare professionals will benefit from a better integration between
      research and care;
     Researchers will benefit from innovative infrastructures to perform research and
      participate in studies;
     Citizens, including patients and their caregivers will have enhanced access to screening,
      diagnostics and treatments, improved care pathways and more integrated care. Their
      involvement and participation to clinical trials will be facilitated.
Scope:
Building inter alia on the work carried out in several joint actions 180 , the work of
organisations in the area of accreditation and certification181, the work that will be carried out
under the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan 182 , as well as existing 183 and potential future
mappings, a capacity-building programme should be set up for Member States and several
Associated Countries in the EU network of Comprehensive Cancer Centres, to be established
through the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, in order to help them develop or further improve
digital, research & innovation-related capacities of future or existing Comprehensive Cancer
Infrastructures.
Proposals should address all of the following:
     The capacity-building programme should be organised over the course of three years,
      with at least one training session taking place in each Member State and those
      Associated Countries in the EU network of Comprehensive Cancer Centres, to be
      established through the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. In the planning of the capacity-
      building programme, sufficient time should be allocated to ensure proper follow-up and
      implementation of the recommendations provided to the participating countries.
     Each training session shall be tailored to the needs of the participating country. These
      needs shall be identified and discussed with the participating country prior to the session.
      This concerns in particular the required participants / stakeholder groups, duly reflecting
      health and research system specificities.
180
         Joint Action on Cancer Control, European Partnership for Action against Cancer, Innovative
         Partnership for Action Against Cancer and Joint Action on Rare Cancers
181
         For instance OECI, ECC
182
         In particular, preparatory activities to establish "National Comprehensive Cancer Centres and EU
         Network linking these Centres", Preparatory activities to establish and "EU Network of Expertise on
         Cancers and Cancer Conditions", and the actions "EU Cancer Treatment Capacity and Capability
         Mapping" as well as "EU Cancer Inequalities Registry", see work programme for 2021 for EU4Helath
         Programme at: https://ec.europa.eu/health/system/files/2021-06/wp2021_annex_en_0.pdf
183
         https://www.nivel.nl/sites/default/files/bestanden/1003997.pdf
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 The capacity-building programme should start                in countries with no      existing
  Comprehensive Cancer Infrastructure, followed               by those with some        existing
  Comprehensive Cancer Infrastructures but needing           substantial improvement,  and then
  support the further development of Comprehensive           Cancer Infrastructures in countries
  with an already established system.
 The training sessions shall consist of balanced theoretical and practical parts, including
  simulations, case studies, group exercises, mutual learning exercises and on-the-spot
  visits (when possible) to gather practical experience.
 At the end of each training session, a report shall be produced indicating the areas
  identified for improvement and suggesting recommendations and a follow-up for the
  participating country. This should include information on available EU (funding)
  instruments as well as any other suitable sources of support for the areas identified for
  improvement.
 After the initial session, the project should provide an on-demand support service to the
  participating country(ies) to ensure proper follow-up and support for the implementation
  of the recommendations provided.
 Proposals should consider, as part of this follow-up, to invite the country to participate to
  a supplementary and more focused session. The possibility of a twinning activity with
  another country which is more advanced on the areas identified for improvement should
  be explored as part of this follow-up.
 Proposals should consider including the following areas of development or improvement
  of future or existing Comprehensive Cancer Infrastructures in their capacity building
  activities:
     Enhanced involvement in and quality of scientific research, including development
        and participation to clinical trials and epidemiological studies (e.g. clinical trial
        design, process of trial approval, ethical aspects, recruitment, staffing and training
        requirements including digital skills, organisational aspects, regulatory
        requirements, core facilities, patient participation and empowerment (in the
        planning and implementation of patient-oriented cancer research);
     Better integration between research and care programmes;
     Improvement of patient care pathways and integrated care;
     Development and use of indicators (e.g. quality, outcomes) and registries;
     Implementation of quality assurance and related standards;
     Support in accreditation and certification;
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         Networking capacities (within and across Member States), including through
            improvement of data exchange capacities (e.g. interoperability and data protection
            related aspects);
         Gender-related aspects (with respect to representation in research and career
            pathways and any other relevant aspects).
     At the end of the capacity-building programme, an overall report shall be produced,
      highlighting transferable best practices and lessons learned from the capacity-building
      programme and the support provided.
Due consideration should be given to other relevant EU-funded initiatives184. This capacity-
building programme should be built and conducted in full synergy and complementarity with
the actions foreseen under the Europe‘s Beating Cancer Plan185, with the Commission acting
as a facilitator.
The funded action should build upon resources made available by the Knowledge Centre on
Cancer186.
Furthermore, the project funded under this topic is strongly encouraged to participate in
networking and joint activities with other ongoing projects under the mission on cancer and
other cancer relevant projects, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for
example, involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the
development and adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also
involve networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate.
The Commission may facilitate Mission-specific coordination through future actions.
Therefore, proposals should include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and
may consider covering the costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite
to detail concrete joint activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be
defined during the grant agreement preparation phase and project duration. In this regard, the
Commission will take on the role of facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with
relevant initiatives and stakeholders, if appropriate.
184
        For instance, the future European Partnership on Transforming Health and Care Systems
        (https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-
        and-open-calls/horizon-europe/european-partnerships-horizon-europe/candidates-european-
        partnerships-health_en)
185
        In particular, preparatory activities to establish "National Comprehensive Cancer Centres and EU
        Network linking these Centres". Preparatory activities to establish an "EU Network of Expertise on
        Cancers and Cancer Conditions" and the "EU Cancer Treatment Capacity and Capability Mapping", see
        work programme for 2021 for EU4Health programme at: https://ec.europa.eu/health/system/files/2021-
        06/wp2021_annex_en_0.pdf. Applicants are not expected to contact these initiatives before the
        submission of proposals.
186
        Especially through the "European Guidelines and Quality Assurance Schemes for Breast, Colorectal
        and Cervical Cancer Screening and Diagnosis" and the "European Cancer Information System (ECIS)",
        see https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/cancer_en
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HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-01-03: Pragmatic                        clinical  trials  to    optimise
treatments for patients with refractory cancers
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 4.00
contribution per      and 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative            The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 60.00 million.
budget
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Procedure             The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following exceptions
                      apply:
                      In order to ensure a balanced cancer mission project portfolio and achieve
                      the mission’s goal, grants will be awarded to applications not only in order
                      of ranking but at least also to two projects within applications that fully
                      address cancer in children, adolescents or young adults (meaning people
                      between birth and the age of 24), provided that the applications attain all
                      thresholds.
Evaluation and        The evaluation committee will be composed partially by representatives of
award                 EU institutions.
procedure
Expected Outcome: While cancer research and innovation have generated novel treatment
options, cancer patients across Europe need access to more effective and patient-centred
interventions which keep up with increasing demands in a complex and fragmented oncology
healthcare landscape with spiralling healthcare costs.
Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic with its detrimental impact on cancer control has
demonstrated the need for different clinical trial designs with fewer inclusion and exclusion
criteria that would allow evaluation of real-world effectiveness driving better and more
affordable treatment solutions that are widely accessible across EU regions, Member States
and Associated Countries.
Pragmatic clinical trials focus on choosing between care options. Pragmatic trials evaluate
effectiveness, the effect of treatment in routine (real-world) clinical practice. Some examples
include treatment versus active surveillance in patient management, combination of treatment
interventions, determination of optimal dose and dose schedule, de-escalation of treatment
intervention, comparative effectiveness of different treatment interventions.
Proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that direct, tailor towards and
contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
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     Cancer patients and their caregivers will have access to optimised and affordable
      treatment interventions that increase their quality of life, across EU regions, Member
      States and Associated Countries;
     Healthcare professionals and academia will generate clinical evidence, by evaluating
      effectiveness in randomised or cluster-randomised academic investigator-initiated 187
      pragmatic clinical trials, how to best perform and deploy evidence-based treatment
      interventions that improve outcomes in real life for routine healthcare, including quality
      of life, for cancer patients who often present with co-morbidities;
     National healthcare providers, policymakers and authorities in EU Regions, Member
      States and Associated Countries will have the evidence to implement optimised and
      affordable treatments in their healthcare systems, including in everyday medical practice.
Scope: Proposals should address all of the following:
     Design and conduct randomised or cluster-randomised academic investigator-initiated
      pragmatic clinical trials to deliver effective and evidence-based treatment interventions
      for implementation by healthcare systems at the level of local communities, EU Regions,
      Member States and Associated Countries, taking into account socio-economic and
      biological stratification, such as biology of the disease, gender, cancer stage, and age.
     The chosen treatment intervention(s)188 should be adapted to the particular needs of the
      target population and to the specificities of the provision of care at local, regional, or
      national level, duly reflecting the diversity across Member States and Associated
      Countries. Furthermore, affordability and accessibility should be taken into account.
     The successful proposals will address treatment interventions for patients with refractory
      cancers (cancers with a 5-year overall survival of less than 50% from time of diagnosis)
      at any stage of the disease, for any cancer subtype, in any age group or part of society.
     The successful proposals should clearly justify and describe the evidence supporting the
      chosen treatment intervention.
     The primary and secondary endpoints of the pragmatic clinical trial should target overall
      survival, patient-preferred clinical benefit, patient-reported outcomes and quality of life
      issues considered important by and for cancer patients and their caregivers. Such
      endpoints should be defined together with patients and their caregivers through research
      models that use open knowledge, (social) innovation systems and support end-user
      engagement (e.g. living labs).
     Implementers of pragmatic clinical trials and trial results should include physicians,
      academia, patients and their caregivers, patient representatives, payers, charities and
187
         Clinical trials in which a health technology (e.g. a medicinal product, a medical device, an in-vitro
         diagnostic medical device, a surgical or other medical intervention) is tested in humans, independently
         from commercial interest and for public health benefits.
188
         Any therapeutic intervention supported by evidence from exploratory clinical trials.
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      foundations, research organisations, civil society, regional and national research and
      innovation organisations, and health authorities.
   Successful pragmatic clinical trials, including their analyses, should be completed within
      5 years after the start of the project. Translational research is not within the scope of this
      topic.
   In all instances, sex- and gender-related issues must be taken into account. All data
      should be disaggregated by sex, gender, age and other relevant variables, such as by
      measures of socio-economic status.
This topic requires the effective contribution of social sciences and humanities (SSH)
disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of
relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the
societal impact of the related research activities.
All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and
joint activities with other ongoing projects under the mission on cancer and other cancer-
relevant projects, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities could, for example,
involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and
adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. This could also involve
networking and joint activities with projects funded under other clusters and pillars of
Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes, as appropriate.
The Commission may facilitate Mission-specific coordination through future actions.
Therefore, proposals should include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and
may consider covering the costs of any other potential joint activities, without the prerequisite
to detail concrete joint activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be
defined during the grant agreement preparation phase and project duration.
In this regard, the Commission will take on the role of facilitator for networking and
exchanges, including with relevant initiatives and stakeholders, if appropriate.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-01-04: Towards the creation of a European Cancer
Patient Digital Centre
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
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Expected Outcome: The overall goal of the Mission on Cancer189 and the Europe’s Beating
Cancer Plan190 includes a better quality of life for patients and their families living with, and
after, cancer.
Project results will support the creation of a virtual European Cancer Patient Digital Centre
(ECPDC), which is a federated network of patient controlled (national) health data
infrastructures enabling the voluntary exchange of patients and survivors’ health data in a
standardised approach, for primary and secondary use.
To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are directed,
tailored towards and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Citizens, including cancer patients and survivors, are able to donate, access and manage
      their own clinical data, including patient-reported outcomes (PRO), and have control
      over the access to these data in a secure, standardised, ethical and interoperable manner.
     Citizens, including cancer patients and survivors, their families and caregivers have
      access to and use the ECPDC as a global centre of knowledge on cancer, including on
      prevention, diagnosis, treatment guidelines, treatment side-effects, access to cross-border
      health care, psychosocial and legal support, including guidance and support on returning
      to work, addressing financial issues and asserting survivors’ rights.
     Tools are provided to clinicians allowing them to collaborate with patients to develop the
      best methods of care and personalized treatments regardless of their location.
     Citizens, including cancer patients and survivors, receive information on personalised
      care through the ECPDC, which monitors data trends and provide insights on treatment
      side effects and other outcome measures based on standardised patient-reported outcome
      and experience measures, by aggregating and analysing large data sets using state-of-the-
      art secure cloud computing and data analytics and visualisation methods and tools,
      including AI.
     Citizens, including cancer patients and survivors, are empowered in co-deciding on their
      care as well as in participating in research. The rights of patients are reinforced and their
      confidence in sharing their data for cancer research, innovation and policy development
      is increased.
     Researchers, citizens, including cancer patients and survivors, and policy-makers have
      access to a valuable resource of aggregated patient data that are evolving over time, to
      correlate different sources of information and whereby disease trajectories of patient’s
      and survivor’s health could be inferred. This will improve the knowledge and
      understanding of cancer and its impact on the lives of citizens, including cancer patients
      and survivors, thus contributing to the development of improved diagnostics, treatment,
      care and quality of life support and to the development of policies.
189
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/implementation-plans-eu-missions_en
190
         https://ec.europa.eu/health/system/files/2021-02/eu_cancer-plan_en_0.pdf
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Scope: Patient-controlled health data networks in Europe show a high level of heterogeneity
with regard to the involvement of EU Member States, as well as the types and interoperability
of collected data, organisation and governance of data storage, its access and security, and the
possibility to reuse data for research purposes.
Proposals should address the existing challenges and develop a roadmap towards the creation
of the ECPDC as a virtual, federated network of national infrastructures of patient-controlled
health data (‘national or regional nodes’), taking into account synergies with the future
UNCAN.eu platform, integrated within a larger European network of infrastructures, to which
each Member State should have a single access portal.
The proposals should draw on existing expertise at the EU191 and national level and on EU-
and Member State/Associated Country-tailored procedures for access, use and re-use of
patient data. Moreover, synergies with the European Network of Cancer Registries 192 should
be established to ensure the ECPDC will create an ecosystem on knowledge of cancer. It
could also include a call centre function.
In particular, proposals should take account of the results of a recently launched call on a pilot
project for an EU infrastructure ecosystem for the secondary use of health data for research,
policy-making and regulatory purposes193, the future EU legislation on European Health Data
Space (EHDS)194, the future Cancer Survivor Smart-Card195, the cancer use case under the
1+Million Genomes initiative (1+MG) 196 , the Cancer Imaging Initiative 197 as well as the
European Open Science Cloud 198 . Successful applicants will be asked to liaise with these
different initiatives where applicable199, with the Commission acting as a facilitator.
Accordingly, proposals should cover all of the following activities:
     Actively engage and facilitate assessment of relevant existing patient-controlled health
      data networks at the EU and Member State/Associated Country level, to assess how the
      ECPDC will integrate and interact with existing national care pathways and the IT
      systems. A multidisciplinary team, including also users such as patients, care
      professionals and researchers, should be involved in the development of the proposed
      federated network.
     Develop a roadmap outlining the necessary intermediate steps towards the creation of the
      federated network of national health data infrastructures, including technical
      requirements, governance aspects and timelines.
191
        https://tehdas.eu/
192
        https://www.encr.eu/
193
        Funding & tenders (europa.eu)
194
        Future EC proposal on the use of data for healthcare and re-use of data for policymaking, regulatory
        purposes and research, to be adopted in 2022
195
        As published on the Funding & Tenders Portal
196
        1+ Million Genomes | Shaping Europe’s digital future (europa.eu)
197
        Funding & tenders (europa.eu)
198
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/strategy/strategy-2020-2024/our-digital-future/open-
        science/european-open-science-cloud-eosc_en
199
        Applicants are not expected to contact these initiatives before the submission of proposals
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     Design and perform a testing phase of the network before its release, allowing the
      adjustment of its tools/functionalities, validate the proposed approach and inform on how
      it could be scaled and sustained.
     Analyse and provide solutions for extraction of health data, e.g. from the electronic
      health records, genomic databases (e.g. 1+MG)200, the Cancer Imaging Initiative201 and
      the future Cancer Survivor Smart-Card202. Data protection rules should be taken into
      account.
     Analyse and provide solutions for cross-border transfer of personal data and options to
      access and store patient data, taking into account the eIDAS, GDPR, other EU and
      national legislations, and the integration of the ECPDC within the European Health Data
      Space.
     Establish robust communication and effective information exchange between diverse
      actors such as cancer patients and survivors, formal and informal caregivers, policy
      makers and researchers.
The funded actions should build upon resources made available by the Knowledge Centre on
Cancer203, and complement actions under the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan 204, including the
Cancer Imaging Initiative205, and the future European Health Data Space206.
Furthermore, all projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in
networking and joint activities with other ongoing projects under the mission on cancer
(especially with UNCAN.eu) and other cancer relevant projects, as appropriate. These
networking and joint activities could, for example, involve the participation in joint
workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and adoption of best practices, or
joint communication activities. This could also involve networking and joint activities with
projects funded under other clusters and pillars of Horizon Europe, or other EU programmes,
as appropriate.
The Commission may facilitate Mission-specific coordination through future actions.
Therefore, proposals should include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and
may consider covering the costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite
to detail concrete joint activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be
defined during the grant agreement preparation phase and project duration. In this regard, the
Commission will take on the role of facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with
relevant initiatives and stakeholders, if appropriate.
200
         1+ Million Genomes | Shaping Europe’s digital future (europa.eu)
201
         Funding & tenders (europa.eu)
202
         Funding & tenders (europa.eu)
203
         Especially     through      the    ’European       Cancer     Information    System     (ECIS)’, see
         https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/cancer_en
204
         Including the planned Cancer Inequalities Registry, see work programme for 2021 for EU4Health
         Programme at: https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/default/files/funding/docs/wp2021_annex_en.pdf.
205
         Funding & tenders (europa.eu)
206
         https://ec.europa.eu/health/ehealth-digital-health-and-care/european-health-data-space_en
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HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-01-05: Establishing of national cancer mission hubs
and creation of network to support the Mission on Cancer
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: The integration of the Mission on Cancer with activities at national,
regional and where relevant at local level will be of utmost important to ensure its success.
Taking into account the differences of national health and research and innovation systems,
the coordination and support of cancer mission-related activities at national, regional and
where relevant at local level are essential in this regard. At the same time, synergies with
actions under Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan need to be generated.
The successful proposal should aim at delivering results that are directed at and contributing
to all of the following expected outcomes:
     The activities of the Mission on Cancer are integrated with activities at national,
      regional, and local levels;
     Actors in national, regional or local health and research and innovation systems are
      engaged in the policy dialogue on cancer;
     Citizens, including patients, and national, regional and local stakeholders are engaged in
      the policy dialogue on cancer.
Scope: A national cancer mission hub will be established in each Member State and
Associated Country. Its activities will include awareness raising and coordination of the
Mission's activities among and with relevant actors in national, regional or local research and
innovation and health systems, while also generating and leveraging synergies with Europe’s
Beating Cancer Plan, thus fostering an enhanced policy dialogue on cancer control at national,
regional or local level. Hence, the activities will be complementary to the ones of the National
Contact Points that focus on Horizon Europe Work Programmes207. National cancer mission
hubs will be established either by building on existing structures (e.g. mirror groups) or by
creating new ones.
Notably these hubs will:
207
         Home | Horizon Europe NCP Portal
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     Facilitate integration of the activities of the Mission on Cancer at national, regional, and
      local levels e.g. identifying synergies between European, national, regional and local
      policies and initiatives related to cancer;
     Facilitate engagement of relevant actors and stakeholders at national, regional or local
      level going beyond the research and innovation and health systems to cover all relevant
      areas in cancer control and support policy dialogues on cancer (examples include
      employment, education, socio-economic aspects);
     Support citizen engagement activities at national, regional and local levels, including
      new participatory formats.
The proposed activities of national cancer mission hubs should be closely linked with those of
the established National Contact Points (NCPs) under Horizon Europe, the National Focal
Points (NFP) supporting the EU4Health programme and those of the contact points of other
EU funding programmes208.
The national cancer mission hubs should operate for the whole duration of the Cancer
Mission. As the volume and nature of activities is likely to evolve over time, the support for
national mission hubs will be provided in two phases. This first phase will have a duration of
3 years (2023-2025). The support provided in the second phase will build on the achievements
and needs identified during the first phase.
The Commission may facilitate Mission-specific coordination through future actions, such as
the successful proposal TRAMI resulting from the topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-COOR-01-
01, “Coordination of complementary actions for missions”. Therefore, the successful proposal
should include a budget for the attendance to regular joint meetings and may consider
covering the costs of any other potential joint activities without the prerequisite to detail
concrete joint activities at this stage. The details of these joint activities will be defined during
the grant agreement preparation phase and project duration. In this regard, the Commission
will take on the role of facilitator for networking and exchanges, including with relevant
initiatives and stakeholders, if appropriate.
Other Actions not subject to calls for proposals
Grants to identified beneficiaries
1. European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies: Organisation of workshops
related to tackling cancer in Member States and Associated Countries in 2022-2023
Expected outcome:
     Synergies between actions of the Mission on Cancer and the Europe’s Beating Cancer
      Plan with national, regional and local initiatives are strengthened.
208
         e.g. EURATOM, Digital Europe Programme
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     National eco-system for sustained implementation of Mission on Cancer and Europe’s
      Beating Cancer Plan.
Scope:
The European Observatory is expected to design and co-organise workshops in countries in
2022-2023 in order to:
     Engage actors from health, research and other relevant sectors in the implementation of
      actions under the Mission on Cancer and the Europe's Beating Cancer Plan at national,
      regional and/or local level;
     Build principles, models and participatory practices into the design of missions’
      governance, notably in actions at national, regional and local level in support of the
      national mission hubs;
     Build synergies between actions of the Mission on Cancer and the Europe’s Beating
      Cancer Plan with national, regional and local initiatives.
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195 (e) of the
Financial Regulation and Article 20 of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme, and Rules
for Participation to the legal entity identified below, as the European Observatory has the
unique required expertise and capacity to implement the action, including access to countries
where missions have been developed, and expertise in the transformation of health and care
systems.
Legal entities:
European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, WHO European Centre for Health
Policy, Place Victor Horta 40 (bte 30), 1060 Brussels – Belgium
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: 3rd Quarter 2022 - 3rd Quarter 2023
Indicative budget: EUR 1.00 million from the 2022 budget209
209
         Of which EUR 0.18 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.80 million from the
         'Health' budget,EUR 0.02 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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Procurement actions
1. Procurement actions to support the mission on cancer
Description: Complementing the intervention area Understanding and Prevent the
preventable, procurement actions are foreseen in the intervention areas: Optimising diagnosis
and treatment, and Quality of life. The fifth intervention area, Equitable access, will be
systematically addressed in each of these procurement actions. Results of procurement actions
are expected to provide clear and quick answers to fine-tune bold yet realistic mission actions
under preparation, including implementation, timing, infrastructural challenges, and
governance.
     Optimise diagnosis and treatment
A study on the comprehensiveness of cancer care infrastructures in EU-27 and Associated
countries to assess both national and regional capacity to support cancer control, including
quality standards, staffing and resources (such as training of healthcare professionals,
digitalisation and equipment), and economic aspects.
     Quality of life
A study on feasibility, utility and sustainability of a virtual European cancer patient digital
centre (with references to the European Health Data Space, Digital Europe, ESFRI 210
Infrastructures and JRC Work Programmes).
In addition, a number of specific contracts may be signed under existing framework contracts
in order to: (i) support the dissemination and exploitation of project results; (ii) contribute to
the definition of future challenge priorities; (iii) undertake citizen surveys, (iv) carry out
specific evaluations of programme parts; and (v) organise conferences, events and outreach
activities.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: 4th Quarter 2021– 2nd Quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 2.00 million from the 2021 budget211
2. Monitoring
A study to develop a framework for the monitoring of the implementation of the Mission on
Cancer, in synergy with the monitoring framework of the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. It
has been verified that no previous study exists and that no other Commission service,
institution or other entities have already procured a study in this regard.
210
         https://lifescience-ri.eu/home.html
211
         Of which EUR 2.00 million from the 'Health' budget.
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Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: 3rd Quarter 2022 - 1st Quarter 2023
Indicative budget: EUR 0.56 million from the 2022 budget212
3. Informing citizens on and engaging them in the EU Mission on Cancer
The success of missions depends to a great extent on the engagement of citizens including
patients. Therefore, the objective of this action - a further development of the current
communication and citizens’ engagement actions for the Mission on Cancer - is to engage
citizens in the implementation of the Mission on Cancer. Actions will include:
     a series of interactive offline and online events and citizen engagement activities in the
      Member States and Associated Countries;
     setting up of a digital platform to ensure transparency and to facilitate citizen
      engagement, including building of a cancer community through a multilingual approach;
     methodology development on how to engage patients and citizens: experimentation on
      Living Lab methodology, applied research on citizen involvement.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: 3rd Quarter 2022 - 1st Quarter 2023
Indicative budget: EUR 2.00 million from the 2022 budget213
212
        Of which EUR 0.10 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.45 million from the
        'Health' budget,EUR 0.01 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
213
        Of which EUR 0.37 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 1.59 million from the
        'Health' budget,EUR 0.04 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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Mission: Restore our Ocean, seas and waters by 2030
This Mission will provide a systemic approach for the restoration, protection and preservation
of our ocean, seas and waters. The objective of this Mission is to restore, protect and preserve
the health of our ocean, seas and waters by 2030. The Mission is designed to deliver on the
European Union’s 2030 quantified and measurable targets for protecting and restoring
ecosystems and biodiversity, for zero pollution, and for decarbonisation and net greenhouse
gas emissions reduction towards climate-neutrality, within the EU’s ocean, seas and waters.
The Mission will support many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): in particular
restoring our ocean and waters related actions will directly contribute to SDG 14 - Life below
water and SDG 6 - Clean water and sanitation, as well as to SDG13 - Climate action.
The Mission will also contribute to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable
Development 214 by fostering research and cooperation across European sea basins, including
the EU Outermost Regions and beyond, and mobilise scientists, as well as citizens for a
sustainable and healthy ocean, seas and waters.
The implementation plan specifies the goal and objectives as well as implementation details
of the Mission “Restore our Ocean, seas and waters by 2030"215.
The Mission Work Programme, under Horizon Europe, will contribute to the recovery of our
ocean and waters by 2030 and more specifically to the following objectives:
  1. Protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity, in line with the
      EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030216;
  2. Prevent and eliminate pollution of our ocean, seas and waters, in line with the EU Action
      Plan Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil217;
  3. Make the sustainable blue economy carbon-neutral and circular, in line with the
      proposed European Climate Law 218 and the holistic vision enshrined in the
      Communication on a new approach for a Sustainable Blue Economy219.
The Mission will be implemented in two phases:
     In the first ‘development and piloting’ phase (2022-2025), research and innovation will
      lay the foundations for implementing the three Mission objectives and enabling actions,
      paving the way to further citizens participation and engagement. Research and
      innovation activities will support transformative and innovative solutions to be tested,
214
        https://www.oceandecade.org/
215
                 https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/ocean
        _and_waters_implementation_plan_for_publication.pdf
216
        COM/2020/380 final
217
        COM/2021/400 final
218
        COM/2020/563 final
219
        COM/2021/240 final
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      piloted and validated. Enabling activities will generate new knowledge, observation and
      monitoring data.
     In the second ‘deployment and upscaling’ phase (2026-2030), the solutions will be
      further deployed, replicated and scaled up.
The Mission on ocean, seas and waters supports research and innovation in a system of
European and national funding programmes sharing policy objectives. To foster synergies
between R&I funding instruments (European and national), align R&I investments, ensure
access to excellence and translate research results for the benefit of the society and the
economy, applicants should consider and actively seek complementarities with, and where
appropriate possibilities for further funding from other R&I-relevant EU, national or regional
programmes for a sustainable blue economy, notably EMFF/EMFAF, LIFE, ERDF, ESF+,
JTF, CEF Inland Waterways or Maritime and InvestEU, as well as private funds or financial
instruments. All actions of the Mission are expected to disseminate their results according to
FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) principles compatible with ongoing EU
initiatives such as the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) and the
European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). In line with this approach, specific actions within the
Mission will be devoted to widening access to data and knowledge of oceans, seas and
freshwater through the Digital Twin Ocean.
The Commission envisages developing a call in 2022 with the following set of topics 220
and/or actions
in the areas covered by the objectives of Mission ‘Restore our ocean and waters by 2030’ and
will include this in a future work programme update:
     Environmentally friendly and sustainable fisheries,
     European Blue Parks,
     Danube River Basin Lighthouse - Restoration of freshwater ecosystems,
     Atlantic and Arctic Basin Lighthouse - restoration of marine ecosystems,
     Mediterranean sea basin lighthouse – Actions to prevent, minimize and remediate
      pollution from excess nutrients and chemicals,
     Blue carbon: nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation,
     Lighthouse in the Baltic and North sea basins - Coordinated approach for algae
      production,
     Lighthouse in the Baltic and the North sea basins,
     Biodiversity monitoring in the European Digital Twin Ocean,
220
         The listed areas for potential actions are tentative and non-binding.
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   Dynamic investment ecosystem leveraging private funds from philanthropic donors.
All proposals submitted to the calls listed below are required to show how their proposed
activities and results will achieve the Mission’s objectives, in line with the timeframe of the
Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the ‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the
‘deployment and upscaling phase’.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this mission:
                 Call                               Budgets (EUR million)         Deadline(s)
                                                  2021                 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-01 5.00                                                   14 Sep 2021
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02 57.00                                                  12 Apr 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-03 19.00                                                  12 Apr 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-04 19.00                                                  12 Apr 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05 9.00                                                   12 Apr 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01                                       106.00           27 Sep 2022
Overall indicative budget                109.00                  106.00
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Call - Preparation for deployment of ‘lighthouse demonstrators’ and solution scale ups
and cross-cutting citizen and stakeholder involvement
                                                                     HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)221
                    Topics                          Type       Budgets        Expected EU         Number
                                                      of        (EUR         contribution per         of
                                                   Action      million)       project (EUR         projects
                                                                               million)222        expected
                                                                 2021                               to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 14 Sep 2021
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-01-01 CSA                             5.00 223     Around 5.00            1
Overall indicative budget                                     5.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
221
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
222
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
223
        Of which EUR 2.50 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 2.50 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget.
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Documents                                            The documents are described in General
                                                     Annex E.
Procedure                                            The procedure is described in General
                                                     Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant              The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-01-01: Preparation for deployment of lighthouse
demonstrators and solution scale ups and cross-cutting citizen and stakeholder
involvement
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                      consortium selected for funding.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Enhanced preparation for an effective deployment of the mission research and
     innovation core in the Member States / Associated countries and communities: improved
     capacity to identify areas and solutions for effective ‘lighthouse demonstrators’ and
     improved capacity to identify solutions for scale ups, comparability and coherence of
     outcomes across Member States / Associated countries and effective and timely
     deployment and de-risking of scale ups to fully and timely achieve the mission
     objectives;
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     Transformative and systemic portfolio approach to solutions addressing the challenges
      which the ocean, seas and waters are facing, fostering collective social responsibility and
      demonstrating implementation of ecosystem based management224;
     Increased awareness of stakeholders and citizens about the mission’s objectives,
      programmes and tools and about the possibilities for their contribution to the mission, as
      well as improved access of stakeholders (scientific community, businesses, local and
      regional communities, NGOs and others) to programmes and instruments supporting
      restoration, conservation and sustainable use of the ocean, seas and waters;
     Full and early uptake and support of the mission by the governments of the Member
      States and Associated countries, regional and local communities, scientific community,
      businesses and other stakeholders and citizens.
Scope:
This action aims to prepare the implementation of Mission Ocean, Seas and Waters, with a
particular focus on providing support for effective and timely deployment of the mission
research and innovation core225 and for crosscutting citizen and stakeholder 226 involvement
during the identification, design and implementation of the mission.
The research and innovation core of the mission should aim at discovering and identifying
novel solutions and innovations needed to address the societal challenges at the core of the
mission and demonstrating through a network of ‘lighthouse demonstrators' 227 their
effectiveness and feasibility, for their future scale up and full deployment. The mission
research and innovation core should be developed in line with and deliver on the Green Deal
priorities and also contribute directly to the digital transition.
224
         Ecosystem based management [defined in CBD (2000)] is a management and resource planning
         procedure that integrates the management of human activities and their institutions with the knowledge
         of the functioning of ecosystems” (“a resource planning and management approach that integrates the
         connections between land, air and water and all living things, including people, their activities and
         institutions” (cf., Farmer et al., 2012, for a review of the concept of ecosystem approach in marine
         management). EAM is the underlying principle for environmental management strategies as formulated
         in the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD),
         Maritime Spatial Planning Directive (MSPD) and the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
225
         It is noted that the Mission objectives should go beyond the Mission research and innovation core
         element that consists of a network of lighthouse demonstrators and stakeholder and citizen engagement.
         For a full achievement of the Mission objectives an effective and timely scale up of the solutions and
         innovations from ‘lighthouse demonstrators’ would be needed with the involvement of many industrial,
         business and civil society partners and with large scale mobilisation of resources and actors throughout
         the European Union.
226
         Examples of relevant stakeholders include public administrations and utilities; private sector services
         and industries, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), scientific and innovator communities;
         financial intermediaries; civil society and philanthropy.
227
         ‘Lighthouse demonstrators’ should be understood rather broadly as topical, area-based or other
         demonstrators that would have the capacity to substantially, effectively and timely contribute to the
         achievement of the Mission objectives in particular by discovering, identifying, testing, piloting,
         democratising and de-risking innovative solutions to the societal challenges that are within the scope of
         the Mission, with emphasis on systemic approach and ecosystem level solutions.
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In close co-operation with the Mission Core Network 228 , this action should prepare the
ground for effective Mission deployment and for the identification, future scale-up and full
deployment of these ‘lighthouse demonstrators’, including the following activities:
     Develop, test and pilot methodologies for:
         i. the identification and selection of place-based ‘lighthouse demonstrators’ (to test,
            pilot, demonstrate, upscale and de-risk solutions and innovations in specific, real
            conditions), building on existing European innovation assets and R&I
            infrastructure229.
        ii. assessing the feasibility of the scale up of projects, actions or already ongoing
            initiatives, existing solutions or infrastructures focusing on ecosystem restoration
            and ecosystem based management, on zero pollution in marine and water
            ecosystems and on decarbonisation of Blue Economy sectors, including a systemic
            perspective and allowing for input of various types of expertise230 and promoting
            multi-actor and multidisciplinary approaches.
       iii. preparing for the digital transformation and integrating the ‘lighthouse
            demonstrators’ with the European digital initiatives231.
       iv. the development of inter-connected ‘lighthouse demonstrator’ networks allowing
            efficient exchanges of expertise and best practices and close cooperation to explore
            synergies, complementarities and solutions and innovations for deployment and
            scale up.
     Develop, test and pilot a set of methodologies for inclusion in lighthouse demonstrators
      and national mission hubs. These methodologies should be twofold. Firstly, they should
      enable the ‘lighthouse demonstrators’ and national mission hubs to achieve high quality
      and fit-for-purpose demonstration and ensure efficient preparation for scaling up of
      innovations from TRL 5, including digital solutions. Secondly, these methodologies
      should enable the co-creation and management of actions and projects with citizens and
      relevant stakeholders, based on co-creative working methods to ensure the highest
      degree of deployment of solutions and their fast and effective adoption by the
      beneficiaries. The action should also identify areas where use of such methodologies and
      approaches would be most effective in achieving tangible results.
     Develop and pilot a concept for an EU-wide network of citizens/stakeholder assemblies
      to bring all key actors together to ensure a successful implementation of the proposed
228
         As described by the Horizon Europe Missions Work Programme 2021 call: HORIZON-MISS-2021-
         COOR-01 - Coordination of complementary actions for missions (HORIZON-MISS-2021-COOR-01)
229
         Such as, Copernicus marine and climate change services, EMODNET, ESFRI research infrastructures,
         ERICs, H2020 projects.
230
         Such as, natural sciences, social sciences, landscape planning, commerce and industry, law and
         regulations and policy.
231
         Such as, Destination Earth (https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/destination-earth-destine)
         (Digital Twins on extreme events, climate adaptation and ocean), EOSC and Green Dataspaces.
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      mission. This would also require the necessary facilitators232 to ensure the most suitable
      delivery of bottom up participation and ownership. The action should develop a roll out
      plan for this network, including other resources needed to enable effective citizen and
      stakeholder involvement in ‘lighthouse demonstrators’, national mission hubs and other
      related activities of the mission resulting in tangible contributions from these actors to
      the mission. This concept should include trainings and qualification requirements for
      facilitators, as well as best practices on how to manage and resource this network.
     Map and facilitate synergies in the context of the below initiatives, by identifying
      opportunities for the creation of important R&I-related enabling conditions and skills in
      support of reaching the mission objectives:
         i. the skills agenda (ESF+) to create the needed capacities and skills;
        ii. The ERASMUS+ programme;
       iii. Horizon Europe instruments, including those of bottom-up nature like ERC,
             MSCA, EIT KICs, as well as its European partnerships and other missions;
       iv. the European Innovation Fund,
        v. the Digital Europe Programme;
       vi. the Space Programme; and
      vii. other relevant EU, national and or regional programmes and instruments.
     Contribute to the mission outreach, dissemination and communication strategy and plan
      by providing visionary visual examples tailor made for various audiences of what a
      successful ‘lighthouse demonstrators’ could bring to communities in terms of public
      goods solutions (e.g. how would success look like in 10 years’ time, if those envisaged
      solutions would be successfully deployed).
The possible participation of the JRC in the project will consist of connecting to the regions
and cities, which in their smart specialisation / urban development strategies are interested in
the priority themes relevant for the mission. This includes how the deployment of ‘lighthouse
demonstrators’ could be co-created with these regions and cities so they contribute not only to
the mission goals as such, but also to the transition to innovation for a green economy and
local jobs under a place-based approach.
Call - Protect and restore marine and fresh water ecosystems and biodiversity
                                                                    HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02
232
         Citizen assemblies are typically supported by a team of impartial facilitators who guide participants
         through the process.
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Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)233
                    Topics                          Type       Budgets         Expected EU            Number
                                                      of        (EUR         contribution per             of
                                                   Action      million)        project (EUR            projects
                                                                                 million)234          expected
                                                                 2021                                   to be
                                                                                                       funded
                                           Opening: 22 Dec 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 12 Apr 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-01 IA                             17.00 235     Around 8.50                2
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-02 IA                             17.00 236     Around 8.50                2
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-03 IA                             17.00 237     Around 8.50                2
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-04 CSA                            3.00 238      Around 3.00                1
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-05 CSA                            3.00 239      Around 3.00                1
233
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
234
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
235
        Of which EUR 4.05 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 1.78 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.43
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 10.52 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.22 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
236
        Of which EUR 4.05 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 1.78 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR
        10.52 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.43 million from the 'Civil
        Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.22 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society'
        budget.
237
        Of which EUR 4.05 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 1.78 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.43
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 10.52 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.22 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
238
        Of which EUR 0.71 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.31 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.08
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 1.86 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.04 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
239
        Of which EUR 0.71 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.31 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.08
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 1.86 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.04 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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Overall indicative budget                               57.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                             The conditions are described in General
                                                     Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                               The conditions are described in General
                                                     Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and               The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                            C.
Award criteria                                       The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                     D.
Documents                                            The documents are described in General
                                                     Annex E.
Procedure                                            The procedure is described in General
                                                     Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant              The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals for topics under objective 1 - Protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems
and biodiversity should set out a credible pathway for the Mission on ocean, seas and waters
to achieve its objectives, in line with the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the
Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Marine Spatial Planning Directive (MSPD), thus
contributing more specifically to the following impacts:
   Protect a minimum of 30% of the EU’s sea area and integrate ecological corridors, as
     part of a true Trans-European Nature Network;
   Strictly protect at least 10% of the EU’s sea area;
   Restore at least 25,000 km of free-flowing rivers;
   Provide evidence for new legislation and the implementation of the existing ones, e.g:
     through enhancing tools for monitoring and assessment;
   Support international cooperation among countries, regions and other key actors to
     enable global transformative changes for our society and economy needed to achieve
     green and digital transitions;
   Support WFD, MSFD and MSPD implementation, which provide indicators and
     mechanism for assessments and measures to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES).
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Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-01: European Blue Parks
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.50
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 17.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 to 7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In support of the implementation of the Green Deal and the Biodiversity
Strategy. Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Protect, restore and sustainable use of marine biodiversity, ecosystems and related
     services, including blueprints for the creation of socio-economic benefit and required
     socio-economic transition processes through innovative solutions for ecosystem-based
     management;
   Enhanced integrity and resilience of the ecosystem and restored European blue natural
     capital;
   A blueprint for the extension of marine protected areas or their status shifted from
     “protected” to “strictly protected” and creation of ecological corridors as part of a blue
     Trans-European Nature Network, and a strategy to build such network;
   Connected support for well-managed marine protected areas;
   Reinforced EU leadership in international efforts to combat biodiversity loss in line with
     the EU key priorities and international commitments, including through the protection,
     conservation, restoration and sustainable use of marine ecosystems and biodiversity.
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Scope: Proposals under this topic will focus on innovation actions in protection, conservation
and enhancement of the EU's blue natural capital that have the potential to be up scaled and
reproduced at European level and beyond. Proposals will develop a strategic approach
towards identifying needs, sharing innovation and transferring solutions between initiatives to
create well managed marine protected areas. Proposals are expected to focus on marine
biodiversity hot spots 240 and enable ecological corridors leading to a truly coherent and
resilient blue Trans-European Nature Network241, and promoting and supporting investments
in infrastructure that “builds with nature”. Projects will test and demonstrate novel methods,
business models with revenue streams, social innovation to enable flexible socio-ecological
management of protected areas to cope with a rapidly changing environment for coastal,
offshore and deep-sea marine ecosystems, taking into account their connectivity and the need
to preserve their inherent natural dynamics. Management and governance will ensure the
sustainability of aquatic ecosystem protection initiatives. The proposals will duly consider
national, local and regional protection and restoration initiatives, including relevant activities
carried out under Regional Sea Conventions 242 , to ensure effective management and
governance of such initiatives and facilitate dialogue with all relevant stakeholders and show
options to link such initiatives in a mutually supportive network243.
Based on scientific evidence underpinning the extension of networks of marine protected
areas, activities to map EU marine biodiversity, highlighting the high biodiversity value or
potential ones, and assessing coherence of the existing networks will be carried out. The
action should not be limited to specific areas, but rather be a large-scale activity that supports,
inter alia, also the implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs).
Proposals will build upon the existing digital knowledge systems for access to data,
monitoring and forecasts and knowledge dissemination. MPA networks developed within
regional seas conventions could also be considered for further actions. The proposed
innovation actions for the Blue Parks will focus on the best-suited and most effective
protection that will enable conservation and restauration, as per the biogeographical area or
marine region. Identification of the best suited areas for marine protected areas under strict
protection would be welcomed. Any proposal for new protected areas needs to concentrate on
areas of very high biodiversity value or potential244 and be consistent with the Commission
Guidance to Members States on the designation of additional protected areas, including a
definition of a strict protection.
When identifying additional areas to be protected, particular account needs to be taken of the
links between its ecosystems functions and their capacity to offer a wide range of services, in
particular to contributing to mitigate and adapt to climate change, which are particularly
vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and need to be made more resilient. Priority
should be given not only to the protection of coastal biogenic habitat based carbon-rich
240
         EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030
241
         idem
242
         https://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine/international-cooperation/regional-sea-
         conventions/index_en.htm
243
         E.g.: https://www.mpas-europe.org/
244
         For example, significant areas of carbon-rich ecosystems should be strictly protected.
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ecosystems, but also of pelagic and benthic ecosystems, which have a more extensive
coverage and therefore can provide a significant contribution restore ecosystem processes and
functions including to mitigate climate change. Such ecosystems have inherent capacity to
store carbon, but may also need to be protected to avoid the release to the atmosphere of the
carbon that they currently store245. Particular attention should also be given to creating the
adequate conditions for the movement of species or habitats and more generally for increasing
nature’s capacity to adapt to climate change.
The projects will look at all ecosystem functions and processes using a coherent and systemic
approach and avoid the risk of trade-offs of focusing on one or very few ecosystem services at
the expense of others.
Projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and joint
activities with other projects funded under other topics in the Mission Ocean, seas and waters
as well as in other relevant Missions, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities
could, for example, involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge,
the development and adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. Of
particular importance in this context is topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02-04: “Large
scale demonstrators of climate resilience creating cross-border value”. For this purpose,
proposals should provide for dedicated activities and earmark appropriate resources.
A strong cooperation is expected with Cluster 6 topic HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-12
(Improved science based maritime spatial planning and identification of marine protected
areas).
Projects funded under this topic would benefit from networking and exchanges of information
with the projects funded under other Cluster 6 topics: HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-10
(Demonstration of measures and management for coastal and marine ecosystems restoration
and resilience in simplified socio-ecological systems); HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-03
(Understanding and valuing coastal and marine biodiversity and ecosystems services);
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-04 (Assess and predict integrated impacts of cumulative
direct and indirect stressors on coastal and marine biodiversity, ecosystems and their
services); HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01-02: Understanding the oceanic carbon cycle
as well as with activities supported under the H2020 Green Deal call, notably LC-GD-7-1-
2020 Restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services.
The involvement of national and local authorities and coastal communities will be required in
order to ensure that the solutions designed are best suited, co-created and with the necessary
ownership for their successful implementation. Citizen engagement is a pillar concept for the
Mission. Activities should, therefore, promote a proactive involvement of local communities,
innovative management practices, developing adequate facilitation and mediation skills
applied through a proactive approach that targets local populations and land & sea use
planning decision‐makers, MPAs managers, and all relevant stakeholders, allowing for co-
245
         For example, in the marine environment the extensive shelf sediments provide significant potential for
         carbon sequestration if they are healthy and left undisturbed. Similarly, coastal wetlands and seagrass
         meadows store blue carbon and offer natural solutions for coastal defence.
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creation of solutions. Citizen engagement related activities should also be gender-responsive
and socially inclusive.
Proposals are expected to contribute to the implementation of the existing legislation, notably
in relation to Marine Protected Areas, by addressing environmental or anthropogenic
pressures.
Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve the Mission’s
objectives, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-02: Danube river basin lighthouse – restoration of
fresh and transitional water ecosystems
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.50
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 17.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       In addition to the standard eligibility conditions, the consortium must
                       involve and include partners from at least three countries of the Danube
                       river basin in which demonstration activities will be taking place.
                       If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 to 7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Legal and              The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of    apply:
the Grant              Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The support
Agreements             to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. The financial
                       support to third parties may only be awarded to local and/or regional
                       authorities from an ‘associated region’. The maximum amount to be
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                           granted to each “associated region” is EUR 100,000, to showcase the
                           feasibility, replicability and scale up of the solutions developed in the
                           “associated region”246 within the project. Each “associated region” must
                           benefit from the Financial Support to Third Parties provided under this
                           topic within the duration of the project only once.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Restoration of at least 25,000 km of free-flowing rivers, in line with the EU Biodiversity
      Strategy, the EU Zero Pollution Plan and the Water Framework Directive as well as
      other EU instruments and policies that concern freshwater ecosystem protection;
     Reduction of artificial river flow barriers, improved eco-system connectivity in the
      Danube river basin (Danube river, its delta and its main tributaries), enhancement of
      water quality, enhancement of management of riparian zones and optimised sediment
      flow to the Black Sea;
     Enhanced restoration of freshwater ecosystems in the Danube river basin with nature-
      based solutions, including on the Danube delta and the Black sea;
     Increased population of the main fish, mollusc and other freshwater and Danube delta
      (transitional waters) species, especially emblematic species such as sturgeon;
     Improved protection of local communities and ecosystems from extreme events (flood,
      droughts, storms) in the Danube river basin and its delta, in particular with nature based
      solutions;
     Support the scaling up of ecosystem and biodiversity restoration in the ‘associated
      regions’ within the Danube river basin and Black Sea;
     Increased share of local revenue and business activities from the restored ecosystems in
      the overall local economic activities.
Scope: Proposals will show an effective and economically profitable way to freshwater
ecosystem restoration and their sustainable use in the Danube river basin (including the
transitional waters of Danube river delta), focusing on the reduction of the impact of artificial
river flow barriers on wildlife movement, restoration and protection of biodiversity and
valuable ecosystems (biodiversity hotspots), protection of inhabited areas against floods,
measures to reduce impact of drought on freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity as well as
sustainable management of river sediments. Nature-based solutions for freshwater ecosystem
246
         ‘Associated regions’ are understood as areas with similar ecosystems (e.g. neighbouring regions and/or
         regions in a different river basin) and/or less-developed regions, to build capacity to implement the
         innovative solutions to restore freshwater ecosystems. The proposals should ensure that the associated
         regions are located in Member States/Associated countries other than those that are part of the project
         consortium. An “associated region” must benefit from the Financial Support to Third Parties provided
         under this topic only once.
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restoration and sustainable use will be at the forefront of the proposals. Successful projects
will at the same time show the way to profitable and sustainable use of the restored freshwater
and Danube delta ecosystems and demonstrate how sustainable local activities can be built on
and connected with these restored ecosystems and biodiversity to ensure socio-economic
benefits to the local communities whilst adhering to the 'do not harm principle' for all
activities including pollution.
Proposals must:
   Carry out demonstration activities in 3 different countries of the Danube river basin,
      involving and including in the consortium partners from these three countries;
   Identify areas and locations where the solutions are replicable and draw up an action
      plan and roadmap to replicate and scale up the ecosystem and biodiversity restoration
      solutions and actions.
The proposals will focus on demonstration of active and passive restoration of freshwater
ecosystems, including in the transitional waters of the Danube river delta at a large scale. The
demonstration activities will combine measures to increase ecosystem connectivity and
ecological flow of the Danube river and/or its main tributaries and delta, improvement of
protection of communities against floods using nature based solutions on the Danube river
and/or its main tributaries, mitigation of the impact of droughts on freshwater ecosystems and
biodiversity using nature based solutions.
To address the impact-driven approach of the Mission and the nature of Innovation Actions,
proposals are expected to work with and engage at least 5 ‘associated regions’ to showcase
the feasibility, replicability and scale up of the solutions developed within the projects in other
areas. ‘Associated regions’ are understood as areas with ecosystems that can benefit from the
demonstration activities (e.g. neighbouring regions and/or regions in a different sea basin)
and/or less-developed regions, with the need to build capacity to implement the innovative
solutions to restore freshwater ecosystems. The proposals should ensure that the associated
regions are located in Member States/Associated countries other than those that are part of the
project consortium. An “associated region” must benefit from the Financial Support to Third
Parties provided under this topic only once. The partners will proactively reach out to the
associated regions to enable them to follow closely the project and its demonstration
activities. The projects should continuously share their outcomes and knowledge with those
‘associated regions’ and provide them with technical assistance to build capacity and to
implement freshwater ecosystem restoration solutions in their territory that contribute to
achieving the Mission objectives. The technical assistance to the ’associated regions’ should
include the provision of technical advisory services necessary to the prepare roadmaps, plans
and projects to restore freshwater ecosystems in the associated regions addressing possible
barriers and showing the feasibility of implementing innovative solutions.
The maximum amount of Financial Support to Third Parties is EUR 100,000 per ’associated
region’ for the entire duration of the action. Proposals should outline the selection process of
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the third parties to which financial support would be granted based on principles of
transparency, objectivity and fairness.
The proposals are expected to integrate actions to support the social and economic transitions
towards sustainable, inclusive and long term management of the restored ecosystems,
including natural, social, economic and cultural elements and business models for generating
revenue from the restored ecosystems and involve for that purpose local business
communities, in particular SMEs, investors and other business stakeholders.
Training and communication activities towards stakeholders, including regional and local
authorities from the ‘associated regions’ should be included in each proposal. Local actors,
including where appropriate, the European Volunteer Corps and Mission Citizen Assemblies,
should be involved in the demonstration of ecosystem restoration activities and any actions
for social and economic transitions towards sustainable inclusive and long term management
of the restored ecosystems, like citizen science.
The proposal may include actions to prevent and reduce pollution from different sources (such
as chemicals, excess nutrients). The proposals should build on research and innovation
developed in the frame of related projects in the current and previous EU framework
programmes, such as Horizon2020, including Research Infrastructures and the Strategic
Research and Innovation Agenda for the Black Sea (SRIA), LIFE and national and regional
programmes in the Danube river basin as well as the activities of Water4All Partnership and
Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership and the Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea,
in particular in the framework of land-sea interactions.
The projects funded under this topic will:
    build links with other Mission activities and other relevant activities within the
     lighthouse and its area to maximize synergies, as well as with the European Blue Parks,
     other Mission lighthouses and their activities;
    build links with the Mission implementation monitoring system that will be part of the
     Mission Implementation Support Platform and with the Danube river basin lighthouse
     support facility and platform, for reporting, monitoring and coordination of all relevant
     implementation activities in the lighthouse area as well as with the Blue Parks technical
     support platform;
    support the Ocean and water knowledge system, in particular by contributing to
     biodiversity monitoring, modelling and knowledge creation and data.
Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve the Mission’s
objectives, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’.
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HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-03: Atlantic and Arctic basin lighthouse                                           -
restoration of marine and coastal ecosystems and increased climate resilience
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.50
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 17.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                         In addition to the standard eligibility conditions, the consortium must
                         involve and include partners from at least three countries of the Atlantic
                         and Arctic sea basin in which demonstration activities will be taking
                         place.
                         The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                         consortium selected for funding.
                         If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                         and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                         Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                         additionally be used).
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 to 7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level          see General Annex B.
Legal and                The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of      apply:
the Grant                Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The support
Agreements               to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. The financial
                         support to third parties may only be awarded to local and/or regional
                         authorities from an ‘associated region’. The maximum amount to be
                         granted to each “associated region” is EUR 100,000, to showcase the
                         feasibility, replicability and scale up of the solutions developed in the
                         “associated region”247 within the project. Each “associated region” must
247
        ‘Associated regions’ are understood as areas with similar ecosystems (e.g. neighbouring regions and/or
        regions in a different river basin) and/or less-developed regions, to build capacity to implement the
        innovative solutions to restore freshwater ecosystems. The proposals should ensure that the associated
        regions are located in Member States/Associated countries other than those that are part of the project
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                           benefit from the Financial Support to Third Parties provided under this
                           topic within the duration of the project only once.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Implementable blueprints for making communities climate-proof and weather-resilient,
      in particular by adapting to extreme weather events in coastal areas and sea level rise and
      other climate change impacts;
     Technological, logistical, social and economic innovation for the restoration of marine,
      coastal and river ecosystems;
     Blueprints for implementing such innovation through basin-scale cooperation in the
      Atlantic and Arctic, including through transition arrangements that create socially and
      economically sustainable propositions for local stakeholders;
     Contribute to the implementation of the European Green Deal, the EU Adaptation
      Strategy248, the EU Biodiversity Strategy, as well as the Galway Statement, the Belém
      Statement, the OSPAR Convention 249 in connection with the implementation of EU
      marine environment, biodiversity and Arctic policies, the Atlantic Action Plan 2.0 with
      the aim to work for the benefit of all communities of stakeholders around the Atlantic
      and the Arctic and the Arctic Action Plan enhancing collaborative efforts to address the
      challenges in the Arctic;
     Contribute to better informed citizens and decision makers, for a better governance.
Scope: Proposals are expected to focus on marine ecosystem restoration at a large scale
through:
- reduction of pressures (e.g. from fishing, pollution, extraction, barriers, and other human
activities);
- application of ecosystem-based management, nature-based and building with nature
restoration measures boosting resilience to climate change (e.g. sea level rise, floods, loss of
permafrost in the Arctic) and mitigating its impacts;
- other effective locally adapted restoration measures and appropriate combinations of all the
above.
The proposals should focus on demonstration activities for the restoration of marine and
coastal ecosystems through nature-based solutions that boost coastal resilience, such as oyster
reefs, kelp forests, wetlands and salt marshes. The proposals are also expected to explore
         consortium. An “associated region” must benefit from the Financial Support to Third Parties provided
         under this topic only once.
248
         COM/2021/82 final
249
         Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic
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different pressures and climate change adaptation needs in a systemic way, such as the soil
erosion and its impact on coastal areas resulting in marine ecosystem pressures.
In addition, combination of nature-based restoration measures with sustainable and circular
technological solutions, as well as sustainable aquaculture practices may be considered.
Proposals may involve coastal communities particularly vulnerable to the risks of extreme
weather events and sea level rise, including islands and the EU Outermost Regions that
urgently need restoration measures to adapt to climate change thus ensuring their population
safety and climate proof and weather resilient infrastructure.
The proposals are expected to involve local actors and communities in active and passive
marine ecosystem restoration and protection and holistic socio-ecological management of
restored and valuable ecosystems, including where appropriate European volunteer/solidarity
corps and citizens science activities in the restoration activities. Citizen engagement is a pillar
concept for the Mission. Communities need to undergo significant changes in order to become
climate-proof, and measures need to be co-owned in order to be best accepted. The
involvement of local authorities and local communities will be required in order to ensure that
the solutions designed are best suited, co-created and with the necessary ownership. Activities
should, therefore, promote the involvement of local communities in order to hear from them
the impact of intended actions, and to co-create measures that meet the Mission’s aims while
taking local communities’ needs and values on board.
Proposals must:
    Carry out demonstration activities in 3 different countries of the Atlantic and Arctic
      basin, involving and including in the consortium partners from these three countries;
    Identify areas and locations where the solutions are replicable and draw up an action
      plan and roadmap to replicate and scale up the ecosystem and biodiversity restoration
      solutions and actions.
To address the impact-driven approach of the Mission and the nature of Innovation Actions,
proposals are expected to work with and engage at least 5 ‘associated regions’ to showcase
the feasibility, replicability and scale up of the solutions developed within the projects in other
areas. ‘Associated regions’ are understood as areas with ecosystems that can benefit from the
demonstration activities (e.g. neighbouring regions and/or regions in a different sea basin)
and/or less-developed regions, with the need to build capacity to implement the innovative
solutions to restore marine ecosystems. The proposals should ensure that the associated
regions are located in Member States/Associated countries other than those that are part of the
project consortium. An “associated region” must benefit from the Financial Support to Third
Parties provided under this topic only once. The partners will proactively reach out to the
associated regions to enable them to follow closely the project and its demonstration
activities. The projects should continuously share their outcomes and knowledge with those
‘associated regions’ and provide them with technical assistance to build capacity and to
implement freshwater ecosystem restoration solutions in their territory that contribute to
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achieving the Mission objectives. The technical assistance to the ’associated regions’ should
include the provision of technical advisory services necessary to the prepare roadmaps, plans
and projects to restore maecosystems in the associated regions addressing possible barriers
and showing the feasibility of implementing innovative solutions.
The maximum amount of Financial Support to Third Parties is EUR 100,000 per ’associated
region’ for the entire duration of the action. Proposals should outline the selection process of
the third parties to which financial support would be granted based on principles of
transparency, objectivity and fairness.
The proposals should build on research and innovation developed in the frame of related
projects in the current and previous EU framework programmes, such as Horizon 2020 (e.g.
the ongoing projects and activities which are part of the All-Atlantic Ocean Research
Alliance250), LIFE and national and regional programmes in the Atlantic/Arctic basins as well
as the activities of the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership and the Atlantic Action Plan
2.0. Projects may benefit from the expertise and knowledge of the Joint Research Centre,
especially in the areas of large scale monitoring and assessment set-up, technical input on
harmonised methodologies and making links with relevant policy frameworks.
The projects funded under this topic will address all following issues:
     build links with other Mission activities and other relevant activities within the
      lighthouse and its area to maximize synergies, as well as with the European Blue Parks,
      other Mission lighthouses;
     build links with the Mission implementation monitoring system that will be part of the
      Mission Implementation Support Platform and with the Danube river basin lighthouse
      support facility and platform, for reporting, monitoring and coordination of all relevant
      implementation activities in the lighthouse area as well as with the Blue Parks technical
      support platform;
     support the Ocean and water knowledge system, in particular by contributing to
      biodiversity monitoring, modelling and knowledge creation and data.
Projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and joint
activities with other projects funded under other topics in the Mission Ocean, seas and waters
as well as in other relevant Missions, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities
could, for example, involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge,
the development and adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. Of
particular importance in this context is topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02-04: “Large
scale demonstrators of climate resilience creating cross-border value”. For this purpose,
proposals should provide for dedicated activities and earmark appropriate resources.
Similarly, projects funded under this topic would benefit from networking and exchanges of
information with the projects funded under Cluster 6 following topics: HORIZON-CL6-2021-
250
         https://allatlanticocean.org/whoweare
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BIODIV-01-10 (Demonstration of measures and management for coastal and marine
ecosystems restoration and resilience in simplified socio-ecological systems); HORIZON-
CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-12 (Improved science based maritime spatial planning and
identification of marine protected areas).
Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve the Mission’s
objectives, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-04: Danube river basin lighthouse – coordination
activities
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
Award criteria         The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                       exceptions apply:
                       The following additions to the general award criteria apply:
                       The capacity of the proposed approach to systematically link up,
                       coordinate and network with projects under future Work programme
                       topics to ensure effective project portfolio management within the area
                       of the Mission lighthouse throughout the lifetime of the Mission. This is
                       necessary to ensure effective coordination within the Mission lighthouse
                       as a part of the portfolio management of the Mission.
Legal and              The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of    apply:
the Grant              Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the following
Agreements             action(s):
                       HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-02: Danube river basin lighthouse
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                        – restoration of freshwater ecosystems.
Evaluation and          The evaluation committee will be composed partially by representatives
award procedure         of EU institutions.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
    Structuring effect to consolidate and engage a wide community of relevant stakeholders
      across the entire Danube river basin, including its delta, able to ensure an effective
      governance structure for the achievement of the Mission objectives;
    An effective governance structure ensuring coherence and alignment of policies,
      initiatives and actions at EU, national and local level;
    Well-coordinated activities underpinned by a consistent monitoring framework to assess
      the implementation and achievement of the Mission objectives;
    Effective provision of technical services, governance and business models to support and
      guarantee a sustainable socio-economic development of the entire Danube river basin,
      including its delta;
    Well-functioning basin scale innovation ecosystem attractive to investors and
      businesses;
    Increased awareness about the Mission and involvement of citizens in its implementation
      in the Danube river basin and beyond.
Scope: The Mission Ocean, seas and water WP part under Horizon Europe, defines
“lighthouses” as “hubs and platforms supporting the development and deployment of
transformative innovative solutions in all forms – technological, social, business, governance,
ensuring fast progress towards the achievement of Mission objectives and important impact
on society in the river and sea basins through science and technology”. The Mission
lighthouse should adhere to the lighthouse implementation charter, ensuring its political
commitment to the implementation of the lighthouse.
Proposals under this topic will bring together complementary public and/or private
organisations and networks, and integrate heterogeneous expertise to support the rolling out of
a “lighthouse” within the Danube river basin, including its delta, and provide a broad portfolio
of services ensuring the development and deployment of innovative solutions addressing the
objectives of the Mission Ocean, seas and waters in the lighthouse area.
Building on and bringing together existing governance structures and networks and relevant
existing activities, proposals are expected to address all following activities:
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     Danube river basin lighthouse governance and networking: liaise with the Mission
      secretariat 251 to ensure a coherent and timely implementation of the Mission in the
      lighthouse area; contribute to the implementation of the lighthouse charter 252, consisting
      in a political commitment of MSs/ACs, regions and, whenever relevant, of third
      countries and other stakeholders, for instance through workshops and other gatherings,
      networking and provide support actions initiated or carried out by the European
      Commission services to establish the lighthouse implementation charters; set-up and
      support and effective and participatory governance structure for the Danube river
      (including its delta) basin lighthouse involving key players (public and private entities,
      including SMEs, civil society organisations as well as citizen representatives/citizen
      assemblies and local communities) at basin level and ensure cooperation and networking
      of stakeholders for achieving the three objectives 253 of the Mission Ocean, seas and
      waters; provide networking opportunities and exchanges of good practices within the
      Danube river basin and with other HE Missions and HE Partnerships; liaise and network
      with other Mission lighthouses to ensure exchanges of good practices and sharing of
      innovative solutions (cross-fertilisation); liaise with relevant projects implemented by
      other Missions in the lighthouse area and ensure exchanges of good practices; support
      the alignment of Regional Smart Specialisation Strategies and Next Generation EU
      initiatives and projects with the Mission objectives and explore synergies between the
      Mission and Smart Specialisation strategies and Next Generation EU initiatives and
      projects;
     Communication, monitoring and contribution to overall Mission implementation: design
      and carry out at basin scale communication actions to promote Mission Ocean, seas and
      waters and its activities targeting different stakeholders and the general public, both at
      basin scale and at the regional/local level including in the ‘associated regions’ 254 ;
      contribute to monitoring of Mission implementation in the lighthouse area (including a
      liaison with projects under Mission lighthouse topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-
      02-02: Danube river basin lighthouse – restoration of fresh and transitional water
      ecosystems) and provide relevant information and data to the Mission Implementation
      Platform (see Other actions, Public Procurements, topic Mission Ocean, seas and waters
      implementation support platform – overall Mission coordination and monitoring;
      European Blue parks technical assistance; citizen engagement; communication); carry
      out quantitative and qualitative analysis and studies in relation to the Mission and other
      relevant activities implemented at basin level; liaise with the Mission Implementation
251
         Mission secretariat consisting of European Commission staff, is located within the European
         Commission services and is managed by the Mission Manager, for details on Mission governance see
         Commission Decision of 24.6.2021 (2021) 4472 final.
252
         Lighthouse implementation charter is a political commitment of Member States/Associated Countries
         and regions to implement the lighthouse objectives.
253
         Mission Ocean, seas and waters objectives: 1) Protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems
         and biodiversity; 2) Prevent and eliminate pollution of our oceans, seas and waters; 3) Sustainable,
         carbon-neutral and circular Blue economy.
254
         For the concept and role of “associated region” please see topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-
         02: Danube river basin lighthouse – restoration of freshwater ecosystems
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      Platform to ensure coherent and timely implementation of the Mission in the lighthouse
      area;
     Develop and foster Danube river basin innovation ecosystem: identify R&I needs at
      basin level; liaise with the ocean and water knowledge system and foster sharing of
      observation data, information and computing toolboxes; disseminate and raise awareness
      about suitable innovative solutions to address these needs, (at least 2 dissemination
      activities per year at a basin level); organise demonstration and testing activities for the
      innovative solutions (at least 2 activities per year implemented within the basin area);
      support access to finance and mobilise suitable investors, through e.g.: pitching events,
      networks of investors, venture capital funds, local Entrepreneurial Discovery processes,
      etc.; support knowledge and technology transfer, including through training and skill
      development (at least 2 activities per year at a basin level); support cooperation of
      lighthouse projects with ‘associated regions255’;
     Support mission implementation with technical expertise and know-how: develop a
      coherent catalogue of services providing (on-site or remote) technical expertise and
      know-how for testing, validating, scaling-up, reproducing, customising and deploying
      innovative solutions under the lighthouse objective, ensuring interoperability with the
      Ocean and water knowledge system; develop, make publicly available and curate a
      catalogue of projects and initiatives funded at EU, national and regional level and to the
      extent possible, include also privately funded initiatives and projects;
Proposals should include an outreach plan to actively advertise its activities and services to
the citizens and local communities and to targeted stakeholders, including to relevant
industries and SMEs.
Proposals are expected to build on and integrate all relevant existing governance structures,
networks and capacities within the Danube river basin and its delta, such as organisations
involved in the Macroregional strategy for the Danube region and/or in the Strategic Research
and Innovation Agenda for the Black Sea (Black Sea SRIA); the International Commission
for the protection of the Danube river; European Research Infrastructures 256, with a view of
ensuring comprehensive and inclusive lighthouse governance.
Due to the transboundary nature of waters, basin-scale coordination and cooperation across
regions, is required for solutions to be effectively implemented and to resolve shared
problems.
Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve the Mission’s
objectives, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’.
255
         For the concept and role of “associated region” please see topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-
         02: Danube river basin lighthouse – restoration of freshwater ecosystems.
256
         See           https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/strategy/strategy-2020-2024/our-digital-
         future/european-research-infrastructures_en
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                                             Missions
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-05: Atlantic and Arctic basins lighthouse –
coordination activities
Specific conditions
Expected EU          The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per     million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project              Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                     proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget    The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action       Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions           exceptions apply:
                     If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                     and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                     Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                     additionally be used).
Award criteria       The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                     exceptions apply:
                     The following additions to the general award criteria apply:
                     The capacity of the proposed approach to systematically link up,
                     coordinate and network with projects under future Work programme
                     topics to ensure effective project portfolio management within the area
                     of the Mission lighthouse throughout the lifetime of the Mission. This is
                     necessary to ensure effective coordination within the Mission lighthouse
                     as a part of the portfolio management of the Mission.
Legal and            The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of  apply:
the Grant            Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the following
Agreements           action(s):
                     HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-03: Atlantic and Arctic basin
                     lighthouse - restoration of marine and coastal ecosystems and increased
                     climate resilience
Evaluation and       The evaluation committee will be composed partially by representatives
award procedure      of EU institutions.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
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                                                   Missions
     Structuring effect to consolidate and engage a wide community of relevant stakeholders
      across the Atlantic and Arctic sea basins able to ensure an effective governance structure
      for the achievement of the Mission objectives;
     An effective governance structure ensuring coherence and alignment of policies,
      initiatives and actions at EU, national and local level;
     Well-coordinated activities underpinned by a consistent monitoring framework to assess
      the implementation and achievement of the Mission objectives;
     Effective provision of technical services, governance and business models to support and
      guarantee a sustainable socio-economic development of the Atlantic and Arctic seas
      basins;
     Well-functioning basin scale innovation ecosystem attractive to investors and
      businesses;
     Increased awareness about the Mission and involvement of citizens in its implementation
      in the Atlantic and Arctic seas basins and beyond.
Scope: The Mission Ocean, seas and water WP part under Horizon Europe, defines
“lighthouses” as “hubs and platforms supporting the development and deployment of
transformative innovative solutions in all forms – technological, social, business, governance,
ensuring fast progress towards the achievement of Mission objectives and important impact
on society in the river and sea basins through science and technology”. The Mission
lighthouse should adhere to the lighthouse implementation charter, ensuring its political
commitment to the implementation of the lighthouse.
Proposals under this topic will bring together complementary public and/or private
organisations and networks, and integrate heterogeneous expertise to support the rolling out of
a “lighthouse” within Atlantic and Arctic seas basins and provide a broad portfolio of services
ensuring the development and deployment of innovative solutions addressing the objectives of
the Mission Ocean, seas and waters in the lighthouse area.
Building on and bringing together existing governance structures and networks and relevant
existing activities, proposals are expected to address all following activities:
     Atlantic and Arctic seas basins lighthouse governance and networking: liaise with the
      Mission secretariat257 to ensure a coherent and timely implementation of the Mission in
      the lighthouse area; contribute to the implementation of the lighthouse charter 258, for
      instance through workshops and other gatherings, networking and provide support
      actions initiated or carried out by the European Commission services to establish the
257
         Mission secretariat consisting of European Commission staff, is located within the European
         Commission services and is managed by the Mission Manager, for details on Mission governance see
         Commission Decision C(2021) 4472 final of 24.06.2021.
258
         Lighthouse implementation charter is a political commitment of Member States/Associated Countries
         and regions to implement the lighthouse objectives.
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      lighthouse implementation charters; set-up and support and effective and participatory
      governance structure for the Atlantic and Arctic seas basins lighthouse involving key
      players (public and private entities, including SMEs, civil society organisations as well
      as citizen representatives/citizen assemblies and local communities) at basin level and
      ensure cooperation and networking of stakeholders for achieving the three objectives259
      of the Mission Ocean, seas and waters; provide networking opportunities and exchanges
      of good practices within the Atlantic and Arctic seas basins and with other HE Missions
      and HE Partnerships; liaise and network with other Mission lighthouses to ensure
      exchanges of good practices and sharing of innovative solutions (cross-fertilisation);
      liaise with relevant projects implemented by other Missions in the lighthouse area and
      ensure exchanges of good practices; support the alignment of Regional Smart
      Specialisation Strategies and Next Generation EU initiatives and projects with the
      Mission objectives and explore synergies between the Mission and Smart Specialisation
      strategies and Next Generation EU initiatives and projects;
     Communication, monitoring and contribution to overall Mission implementation: design
      and carry out at basin scale communication actions to promote Mission Ocean, seas and
      waters and its activities targeting different stakeholders and the general public, both at
      basin scale and at the regional/local level including in the ‘associated regions’ 260 ;
      contribute to monitoring of Mission implementation in the lighthouse area (including a
      liaison with projects under Mission lighthouse topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-
      02-02: Danube river basin lighthouse – restoration of freshwater ecosystems) and
      provide relevant information and data to the Mission Implementation Platform (see
      Other actions, Public Procurements, topic Mission Ocean, seas and waters
      implementation support platform – overall Mission coordination and monitoring;
      European Blue parks technical assistance; citizen engagement; communication); carry
      out quantitative and qualitative analysis and studies in relation to the Mission and other
      relevant activities implemented at basin level; liaise with the Mission Implementation
      Platform to ensure coherent and timely implementation of the Mission in the lighthouse
      area;
     Develop and foster Atlantic and Arctic seas basins innovation ecosystem: identify R&I
      needs at basin level; liaise with the ocean and water knowledge system and foster
      sharing of observation data, information and computing toolboxes; disseminate and raise
      awareness about suitable innovative solutions to address these needs, (at least 2
      dissemination activities per year at a basin level); organise demonstration and testing
      activities for the innovative solutions (at least 2 activities per year implemented within
      the basin area); support access to finance and mobilise suitable investors, through e.g.:
      pitching events, networks of investors, venture capital funds, local Entrepreneurial
      Discovery processes, etc.; support knowledge and technology transfer, including through
259
         Mission Ocean, seas and waters objectives: 1) Protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems
         and biodiversity; 2) Prevent and eliminate pollution of our oceans, seas and waters; 3) Sustainable,
         carbon-neutral and circular Blue economy.
260
         For the concept and role of “associated region” please see topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-
         03: Atlantic and Arctic basin lighthouse - restoration of marine ecosystems.
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                                                     Missions
      training and skill development (at least 2 activities per year at a basin level); support
      cooperation of lighthouse projects with ‘associated regions261’;
     Support mission implementation with technical expertise and know-how: develop a
      coherent catalogue of services providing (on-site or remote) technical expertise and
      know-how for testing, validating, scaling-up, reproducing, customising and deploying
      innovative solutions under the lighthouse objective, ensuring interoperability with the
      Ocean and water knowledge system; develop, make publicly available and curate a
      catalogue of projects and initiatives funded at EU, national and regional level and to the
      extent possible, include also privately funded initiatives and projects;
Proposals should include an outreach plan to actively advertise its activities and services to
the citizens and local communities and to targeted stakeholders, including to relevant
industries and SMEs.
Proposals are expected to build on and integrate all relevant existing governance structures,
networks and capacities within the Atlantic and Arctic seas basins, such as organisations
involved in All-Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance as set up under the Galway Statement and
Belém Statement and all relevant partners working on the actions in the frame of the All-
Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance, as relevant, as well as on the efforts under the Atlantic
Action Plan 2.0., with a view of ensuring comprehensive and inclusive lighthouse
governance.
Due to the transboundary nature of waters, basin-scale coordination and cooperation across
regions, is required for solutions to be effectively implemented and to resolve shared
problems.
Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve the Mission’s
objectives, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’.
Call - Prevent and eliminate pollution of our ocean, seas and waters
                                                                      HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-03
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)262
                     Topics                          Type        Budgets          Expected EU      Number
261
         For the concept and role of “associated region” please see topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-
         03: Atlantic and Arctic basin lighthouse - restoration of marine ecosystems.
262
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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                                                   Missions
                                                     of        (EUR          contribution per             of
                                                  Action      million)         project (EUR            projects
                                                                                 million)263          expected
                                                                2021                                    to be
                                                                                                       funded
                                          Opening: 22 Dec 2021
                                        Deadline(s): 12 Apr 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-03-01 IA                             16.00 264     Around 8.00                2
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-03-02 CSA                            3.00 265      Around 3.00                1
Overall indicative budget                                    19.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                          Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                          Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                    The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                 C.
Award criteria                                            The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                          D.
Documents                                                 The documents are described in General
                                                          Annex E.
Procedure                                                 The procedure is described in General
                                                          Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                   The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
263
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
264
        Of which EUR 3.81 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 1.68 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.40
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 9.90 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.21 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
265
        Of which EUR 0.71 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.31 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.08
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 1.86 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.04 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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                                              Missions
Proposals for topics under objective 2 - Prevent and eliminate pollution of our ocean, seas and
waters should set out a credible pathway for the Mission Ocean, seas and waters objectives,
and contributing more specifically to the following impacts:
   Reduce by at least 50% plastic litter at sea;
   Reduce by at least 30% microplastics released into the environment;
   Reduce beach litter to less than 20 items per 100 meters of coastline
   Provide evidence for new legislation and the implementation of the existing ones;
   Support cooperation among countries, regions and other actors to enable transformative
     changes for our society and economy needed to achieve the European Green Deal
     objectives and the Zero Pollution Action Plan.
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-03-01: Mediterranean sea basin lighthouse - actions to
prevent, minimise and remediate litter and plastic pollution
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 16.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      In addition to the standard eligibility conditions, the consortium must
                      involve and include partners from at least three countries of the
                      Mediterranean sea basin in which demonstration activities will be
                      taking place.
                      The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                      consortium selected for funding.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 to 7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements            Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
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                           The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                           The financial support to third parties may only be awarded to local
                           and/or regional authorities from an ‘associated region’.
                           The maximum amount to be granted to each “associated region” is EUR
                           100,000, to showcase the feasibility, replicability and scale up of the
                           solutions developed in the “associated region” 266 within the project.
                           Each “associated region” must benefit from the Financial Support to
                           Third Parties provided under this topic within the duration of the project
                           only once.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Reduced pollution from litter, plastic and microplastic, in the Mediterranean Sea basin in
      line with the objectives of the EU Zero Pollution Plan and the Convention for the
      protection of the Mediterranean sea against pollution;
     Reduce beach litter to less than 20 items per 100 meters of coastline in line with the
      Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requirement;
     Accelerated uptake of innovative solutions to prevent and minimize litter, plastic and
      microplastic pollution;
     Effective monitoring of marine litter quantities, in line with EU methodologies, such as
      Single Use Plastics Directive and assessment of the impact of implemented measures;
     Support WFD and MSFD implementation, which provide indicators and mechanism for
      assessments and measures to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES);
     Empowered citizens taking action against pollution.
Scope: In line with the EU Zero Pollution Action Plan for Air, Water and Soil, proposals
should demonstrate scalable breakthrough innovations (technological, business, social and
governance) to prevent and minimize marine and freshwater pollution from litter, plastics and
microplastics.
Following the zero pollution hierarchy, proposals should focus on demonstrating replicable
solutions to prevent and minimise pollution in the Mediterranean Sea including its major river
catchment areas and taking into consideration land-sea interactions through measures, such
as:
266
         ‘Associated regions’ are understood as areas with similar ecosystems (e.g. neighbouring regions and/or
         regions in a different sea basin) and/or less-developed regions, to build capacity to implement the
         innovative solutions to restore freshwater ecosystems. The proposals should ensure that the associated
         regions are located in Member States/Associated countries other than those that are part of the project
         consortium. An “associated region” must benefit from the Financial Support to Third Parties provided
         under this topic only once.
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   Upstream prevention of litter, plastic and microplastic generation by design;
   Substitutes or alternative less polluting substances and materials (especially alternatives
      to plastics and microplastics) for the most prevalent litter found in freshwater and at sea;
   Circular design of fishing gear, including improved reparability and durability (while
      improving selectivity to reduce discard of bycatches and improved energy efficiency) in
      close cooperation with the business community in the respective industrial ecosystems;
   Solutions for identifying, tracking and recovery of accidental loss of containers and
      fishing gear;
   Efficient collection (incl. in ports and coastal areas), sorting, recycling and re-use of
      waste, waste water treatment and adequate port reception facilities.
Proposed solutions for pollution prevention, elimination and remediation shouldn’t increase
the level of anthropogenic underwater noise.
Proposed solutions should be in line with the EU taxonomy regulation and delegated acts.
Proposals must:
   Carry out demonstration activities in 3 different countries of the Mediterranean sea
      basin, involving and including in the consortium partners from these three countries;
   Identify areas and locations where the solutions are replicable and draw up an action
      plan and roadmap to replicate and scale up the pollution solutions and actions.
To address the impact-driven approach of the Mission and the nature of Innovation Actions,
proposals are expected to work with and engage at least 5 ‘associated regions’ to showcase
the feasibility, replicability and scale up of the solutions developed within the projects in other
areas. ‘Associated regions’ are understood as areas with ecosystems that can benefit from the
demonstration activities (e.g. neighbouring regions and/or regions in a different sea basin)
and/or less-developed regions, with the need to build capacity to implement the innovative
solutions to to prevent, eliminate and remediate pollution to prevent, eliminate and remediate
pollution in the associated regions addressing possible barriers and showing the feasibility of
implementing innovative solutions.
The proposals should ensure that the associated regions are located in Member
States/Associated countries other than those that are part of the project consortium. An
“associated region” must benefit from the Financial Support to Third Parties provided under
this topic only once. The partners will proactively reach out to the associated regions to
enable them to follow closely the project and its demonstration activities. The projects should
continuously share their outcomes and knowledge with those ‘associated regions’ and provide
them with technical assistance to build capacity and to implement freshwater ecosystem
restoration solutions in their territory that contribute to achieving the Mission objectives. The
technical assistance to the ’associated regions’ should include the provision of technical
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advisory services necessary to the prepare roadmaps, plans and projects to prevent, eliminate
and remediate pollution in the associated regions addressing possible barriers and showing the
feasibility of implementing innovative solutions.
The maximum amount of Financial Support to Third Parties is EUR 100,000 per ’associated
region’ for the entire duration of the action. Proposals should outline the selection process of
the third parties to which financial support would be granted based on principles of
transparency, objectivity and fairness.
The proposals should build on research and innovation developed in the frame of related
projects in the current and previous EU framework programmes, such as Horizon 2020,
including the activities funded under the Green Deal 2020 call, LIFE and national and
regional programmes in the Mediterranean sea basin as well as the activities of the
Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership 267 , as the sea basin initiative WestMed 268 and the
macroregional strategy EUSAIR 269 , with thematic networks, as well as with the BlueMed
Pilot Action on Healthy Plastic Free Mediterranean Sea270, the implementation of the Union
for the Mediterranean Ministerial Declaration on Sustainable Blue Economy as well as
projects and actions funded under the PRIMA Partnership271. Projects may benefit from the
expertise and knowledge of the Joint Research Centre, especially in the areas of large scale
monitoring and assessment set-up, technical input on harmonised methodologies and making
links with relevant policy frameworks.
The proposals will demonstrate novel methods and social innovation practices resulting in
holistic socio-ecological governance and management plans that address the transfer of
innovative solutions into the market and economic value/supply chains, by creating
commercially viable and investable propositions. The proposals need to build in capacity to
reach local/regional and national systems of multi-stakeholders and to enhance their
interconnections at basin scale. Multi stakeholder engagements will require active
participation from academia to research performing organisations, from citizens to civil
society, from young innovators to start-ups, industry, SMEs and other businesses. Activities
focused on citizen engagement should also be gender-responsive and include groups at risk of
social exclusion to promote a wider uptake of the developed solutions, where relevant.
The projects funded under this topic will address all following issues:
     build links with other Mission activities and other relevant activities within the
      lighthouse and its area to maximize synergies, as well as with the European Blue Parks,
      other Mission lighthouses;
     build links with the Mission implementation monitoring system that will be part of the
      Mission Implementation Support Platform and with the Mediterranean sea basin
267
         https://www.jpi-oceans.eu/climate-neutral-sustainable-and-productive-blue-economy
268
         https://www.westmed-initiative.eu/?lang=fr
269
         https://www.adriatic-ionian.eu/
270
         http://www.bluemed-initiative.eu/
271
         Home - PRIMA (prima-med.org).
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     lighthouse support facility and platform, for reporting, monitoring and coordination of
     all relevant implementation activities in the lighthouse area as well as with the Blue
     Parks technical support platform;
   support the Ocean and water knowledge system, in particular by contributing to
     monitoring, modelling and knowledge creation and data.
Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve the Mission’s
objectives, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-03-02:                   Mediterranean    sea  basin    lighthouse     –
coordination activities
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Award criteria        The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      The following additions to the general award criteria apply:
                      The capacity of the proposed approach to systematically link up,
                      coordinate and network with projects under future Work programme
                      topics to ensure effective project portfolio management within the area
                      of the Mission lighthouse throughout the lifetime of the Mission. This is
                      necessary to ensure effective coordination within the Mission lighthouse
                      as a part of the portfolio management of the Mission.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements            Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the following
                      action(s):
                      HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-03-01: Mediterranean sea basin
                      lighthouse - actions to prevent, minimise and remediate litter and plastic
                      pollution
Evaluation and        The evaluation committee will be composed partially by representatives
award procedure       of EU institutions.
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                                                 Missions
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
     Structuring effect to consolidate and engage a wide community of relevant stakeholders
      across the Mediterranean sea basin able to ensure an effective governance structure for
      the achievement of the Mission objectives;
     An effective governance structure ensuring coherence and alignment of policies,
      initiatives and actions at EU, national and local level;
     Well-coordinated activities underpinned by a consistent monitoring framework to assess
      the implementation and achievement of the Mission objectives;
     Effective provision of technical services, governance and business models to support and
      guarantee a sustainable socio-economic development of the Mediterranean sea basin;
     Well-functioning basin scale innovation ecosystem attractive to investors and
      businesses;
     Increased awareness about the Mission and involvement of citizens in its implementation
      in the Mediterranean sea basin and beyond.
Scope: The Mission Ocean, seas and water WP part under Horizon Europe, defines
“lighthouses” as “hubs and platforms supporting the development and deployment of
transformative innovative solutions in all forms – technological, social, business, governance,
ensuring fast progress towards the achievement of Mission objectives and important impact
on society in the river and sea basins through science and technology”. The Mission
lighthouse should adhere to the lighthouse implementation charter, ensuring its political
commitment to the implementation of the lighthouse.
Proposals under this topic will bring together complementary public and/or private
organisations and networks, and integrate heterogeneous expertise to support the rolling out of
a “lighthouse” within Mediterranean sea basin and provide a broad portfolio of services
ensuring the development and deployment of innovative solutions addressing the objectives of
the Mission Ocean, seas and waters in the lighthouse area.
Building on and bringing together existing governance structures and networks and relevant
existing activities, proposals are expected to address all following activities:
     Mediterranean sea basin lighthouse governance and networking: liaise with the Mission
      secretariat 272 to ensure a coherent and timely implementation of the Mission in the
      lighthouse area; contribute to the implementation of lighthouse charter, consisting in a
      political commitment of MSs/ACs, regions and, whenever relevant, of third countries
      and other stakeholders, for instance through workshops and other gatherings, networking
272
         Mission secretariat consisting of European Commission staff, is located within the European
         Commission services and is managed by the Mission Manager, for details on Mission governance see
         Commission Decision C(2021) 4472 final of 24.06.2021.
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      and provide support actions initiated or carried out by the European Commission
      services to establish the lighthouse implementation charters; set-up and support and
      effective and participatory governance structure Mediterranean sea basin lighthouse
      involving key players (public and private entities, including SMEs, civil society
      organisations as well as citizen representatives/citizen assemblies and local
      communities) at basin level and ensure cooperation and networking of stakeholders for
      achieving the three objectives 273 of the Mission Ocean, seas and waters; provide
      networking opportunities and exchanges of good practices within Mediterranean sea
      basin and with other HE Missions and HE Partnerships; liaise and network with other
      Mission lighthouses to ensure exchanges of good practices and sharing of innovative
      solutions (cross-fertilisation); liaise with relevant projects implemented by other
      Missions in the lighthouse area and ensure exchanges of good practices; support the
      alignment of Regional Smart Specialisation Strategies and Next Generation EU
      initiatives and projects with the Mission objectives and explore synergies between the
      Mission and Smart Specialisation strategies and Next Generation EU initiatives and
      projects;
     Communication, monitoring and contribution to overall Mission implementation: design
      and carry out at basin scale communication actions to promote Mission Ocean, seas and
      waters and its activities targeting different stakeholders and the general public, both at
      basin scale and at the regional/local level including in the ‘associated regions’ 274 ;
      contribute to monitoring of Mission implementation in the lighthouse area (including a
      liaison with projects under Mission lighthouse topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-
      03-01: Mediterranean sea basin lighthouse - actions to prevent, minimise and remediate
      litter and plastic pollution and provide relevant information and data to the Mission
      Implementation Platform (see Other actions, Public Procurements, topic Mission Ocean,
      seas and waters implementation support platform – overall Mission coordination and
      monitoring; European Blue parks technical assistance; citizen engagement;
      communication); carry out quantitative and qualitative analysis and studies in relation to
      the Mission and other relevant activities implemented at basin level; liaise with the
      Mission Implementation Platform to ensure coherent and timely implementation of the
      Mission in the lighthouse area;
     Develop and foster Mediterranean sea basin innovation ecosystem: identify R&I needs
      at basin level; liaise with the ocean and water knowledge system and foster sharing of
      observation data, information and computing toolboxes; disseminate and raise awareness
      about suitable innovative solutions to address these needs, (at least 2 dissemination
      activities per year at a basin level); organise demonstration and testing activities for the
      innovative solutions (at least 2 activities per year implemented within the basin area);
273
         Mission Ocean, seas and waters objectives: 1) Protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems
         and biodiversity; 2) Prevent and eliminate pollution of our oceans, seas and waters; 3) Sustainable,
         carbon-neutral and circular Blue economy.
274
         For the concept and role of “associated region” please see topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-03-
         01: Mediterranean sea basin lighthouse - actions to prevent, minimise and remediate litter and plastic
         pollution
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      support access to finance and mobilise suitable investors, through e.g.: pitching events,
      networks of investors, venture capital funds, local Entrepreneurial Discovery processes,
      etc.; support knowledge and technology transfer, including through training and skill
      development (at least 2 activities per year at a basin level); support cooperation of
      lighthouse projects with ‘associated regions275’;
     Support mission implementation with technical expertise and know-how: develop a
      coherent catalogue of services providing (on-site or remote) technical expertise and
      know-how for testing, validating, scaling-up, reproducing, customising and deploying
      innovative solutions under the lighthouse objective, ensuring interoperability with the
      Ocean and water knowledge system; develop, make publicly available and curate a
      catalogue of projects and initiatives funded at EU, national and regional level and to the
      extent possible, include also privately funded initiatives and projects.
Proposals should include an outreach plan to actively advertise its activities and services to
the citizens and local communities and to targeted stakeholders, including to relevant
industries and SMEs.
Proposals are expected to build on and integrate all relevant existing governance structures,
networks and capacities within the Mediterranean sea basin, such as the Union for
Mediterranean 276, the BlueMed initiative 277, the UNEP-MAP 278, the macroregional strategy
EUSAIR 279 with a view of ensuring comprehensive and inclusive lighthouse governance.
Due to the transboundary nature of waters, basin-scale coordination and cooperation across
regions, is required for solutions to be effectively implemented and to resolve shared
problems.
Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve the Mission’s
objectives, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’.
Call - Sustainable, carbon-neutral and circular Blue economy
                                                                      HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-04
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)280
275
         For the concept and role of “associated region” please see topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-03-
         01: Mediterranean sea basin lighthouse - actions to prevent, minimise and remediate litter and plastic
         pollution
276
         https://ufmsecretariat.org/
277
         http://www.bluemed-initiative.eu/
278
         https://www.unep.org/unepmap
279
         https://www.adriatic-ionian.eu/
280
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
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                   Topics                          Type        Budgets         Expected EU            Number
                                                      of        (EUR         contribution per             of
                                                  Action       million)        project (EUR            projects
                                                                                 million)281          expected
                                                                 2021                                   to be
                                                                                                       funded
                                          Opening: 22 Dec 2021
                                        Deadline(s): 12 Apr 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-04-01 IA                              16.00 282    Around 8.00                2
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-04-02 CSA                             3.00 283     Around 3.00                1
Overall indicative budget                                     19.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
Documents                                                  The documents are described in General
                                                           Annex E.
Procedure                                                  The procedure is described in General
                                                           Annex F.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
281
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
282
        Of which EUR 3.81 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 1.68 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.40
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 9.90 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.21 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
283
        Of which EUR 0.71 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.31 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.08
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 1.86 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.04 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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Legal and financial set-up of the Grant              The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals for topics under objective 3 - Sustainable, carbon-neutral and circular Blue
economy should set out a credible pathway for the Mission Ocean, seas and waters objectives,
and contributing more specifically to the following impacts:
   Eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from maritime economic activities in the EU and
     sequester those emissions that cannot be avoided (net zero maritime emissions);
   Develop zero-carbon and low-impact aquaculture, and promote circular, low-carbon
     multi-purpose use of marine and water space, thus contributing to the EU Circular
     Economy Action Plan;
   Provide evidence for new legislation and the implementation of the existing ones
     legislation and policies;
   Support international cooperation among countries, regions and other actors to enable
     global transformative changes for our society and economy needed to achieve the
     European Green Deal’s climate and the Sustainable Blue economy Strategy objectives.
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-04-01: Lighthouse in the Baltic and the North Sea
basins - Low impact marine aquaculture and multi-purpose use of marine space
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 16.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      In addition to the standard eligibility conditions, the consortium must
                      involve and include partners from at least three countries of the Baltic
                      and North sea basin in which demonstration activities will be taking
                      place.
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 to 7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
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Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements                Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                          The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                          The financial support to third parties may only be awarded to local
                          and/or regional authorities from an ‘associated region’. The maximum
                          amount to be granted to each “associated region” is EUR 100,000, to
                          showcase the feasibility, replicability and scale up of the solutions
                          developed in the “associated region”284 within the project. Each
                          “associated region” must benefit from the Financial Support to Third
                          Parties provided under this topic within the duration of the project only
                          once.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Optimal and carbon-neutral use of marine space in these two European marine areas
      with high concentration of maritime activities;
     Increased sustainable and environmentally sound aquaculture production, particularly of
      algae and other low-trophic level aquatic organisms;
     Ensure safety of farmed seafood and increase consumers’ trust;
     Data-based systems enabling a market-wide monitoring and data analysis service for
      aquaculture;
     Increase share of renewable energy consumption along the full value chain of
      aquaculture and minimise its dependence on fossil fuel;
     Enhanced knowledge to minimise the carbon footprint and environmental impact of
      aquaculture;
     Advance professional skills and competences of those working and being trained to work
      within the blue economy.
Scope: Proposals will show the way to profitable and sustainable seafood farming away from
the densely populated coasts of the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. Such farming will not
depend on fossil fuels; a focus should be on low trophic level species; increased production
will not lead to increased pressure on the ecosystem, therefore will not compromise the
achievement of Good Environmental Status. Aquaculture farms will also share space with
284
        ‘Associated regions’ are understood as areas with similar ecosystems (e.g. neighbouring regions and/or
        regions in a different sea basin) and/or less-developed regions, with the view to build capacity to
        implement the innovative solutions to restore freshwater ecosystems. The proposals should ensure that
        the associated regions are located in Member States/Associated countries other than those that are part
        of the project consortium. An “associated region” must benefit from the Financial Support to Third
        Parties provided under this topic only once.
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other offshore economic activities in a synergistic way. Proposals should demonstrate
solutions for increasing circularity by the production of low-emission, zero- or low-carbon
and toxic-free farming of aquatic organisms in an optimally used marine space. They should
test and demonstrate novel aquaculture methods and techniques, spanning from engineering
and robotics to breeding, and from spatial planning to a holistic governance of multiple
maritime activities. They should include viable concepts for market access and commercial
operation, and outreach to consumers and investors, to avoid that innovative solutions stop
operating once grant funding stops. Proposals should also explore options for creating eco-
friendly and sustainable artificial reefs in or near the wind energy and aquaculture premises,
offering suitable habitats and shelter for fish and other biota. Proposals should also work on
approaches for efficient and cost-effective monitoring of both the inputs of the aquaculture
industry (such as water quality) and its outputs (such as emissions, including the reporting
requirements under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). In
particular, proposals should focus specifically on developing data-based management systems
that offer services, including risk analysis, to individual aquaculture producers for monitoring
and minimizing diseases and alien species, managing inputs, optimizing sustainable
production and demand management.
Proposals should include case studies in promising sites both in the Baltic Sea and in the
North Sea. At least one case study in each proposal should include a commercially viable
pilot farm for seaweeds within wind farms. Additionally, at least one case study in each
proposal should include a commercially viable pilot farm for molluscs within wind farms.
Additional pilots for farms of other marine organisms are not excluded but are not a
requirement, including use of Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA). Proposed
solutions should be in line with the EU taxonomy regulation and delegated acts.
Proposals must:
    Carry out demonstration activities in 3 different countries of the Baltic and North Sea
      basin, involving and including in the consortium partners from these three countries;
    Identify areas and locations where the solutions are replicable and draw up an action
      plan and roadmap to replicate and scale up the pollution solutions and actions.
To address the impact-driven approach of the Mission and the nature of Innovation Actions,
proposals are expected to work with and engage at least 5 ‘associated regions’ to showcase
the feasibility, replicability and scale up of the solutions developed within the projects in other
areas. ‘Associated regions’ are understood as areas with ecosystems that can benefit from the
demonstration activities (e.g. neighbouring regions and/or regions in a different sea basin)
and/or less-developed regions, with the need to build capacity to implement the innovative
solutions for low-impact marine aquaculture and multi-purpose use of marine space in the
associated regions addressing possible barriers and showing the feasibility of implementing
innovative solutions. The proposals should ensure that the associated regions are located in
Member States/Associated countries other than those that are part of the project consortium.
An “associated region” must benefit from the Financial Support to Third Parties provided
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under this topic only once. The partners will proactively reach out to the associated regions to
enable them to follow closely the project and its demonstration activities. The projects should
continuously share their outcomes and knowledge with those ‘associated regions’ and provide
them with technical assistance to build capacity and to implement solutions for low-impact
marine aquaculture and multi-purpose use of marine space in their territory that contribute to
achieving the Mission objectives. The technical assistance to the ’associated regions’ should
include the provision of technical advisory services necessary to the prepare roadmaps, plans
and projects for low-impact marine aquaculture and multi-purpose use of marine space in the
associated regions addressing possible barriers and showing the feasibility of implementing
innovative solutions.
The maximum amount of Financial Support to Third Parties is EUR 100,000 per ’associated
region’ for the entire duration of the action. Proposals should outline the selection process of
the third parties to which financial support would be granted based on principles of
transparency, objectivity and fairness.
The proposals should build on research and innovation developed in the frame of related
projects in the current and previous EU framework programmes, such as Horizon 2020, LIFE,
EMFF and its continuation the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, and
other funding streams as well as national and regional programmes in the Baltic and North sea
basins and the activities of the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership. The proposals will
demonstrate novel methods and social innovation practices resulting in holistic socio-
ecological governance and management plans. The proposals need to build in capacity to
reach local/regional and national systems of multi-stakeholders and to enhance their
interconnections at basin scale. Multi stakeholder engagements will require active
participation from academia to research performing organisations, from citizens to civil
society, from young innovators to start-ups, SMEs and other businesses. Activities focused on
citizen engagement should also be gender-responsive and include groups at risk of social
exclusion to promote a wider uptake of the developed solutions, where relevant.
The projects funded under this topic will:
    build links with other Mission activities and other relevant activities within the
      lighthouse and its area to maximize synergies, as well as with the other Mission
      lighthouses;
    build links with the Mission implementation monitoring system that will be part of the
      Mission Implementation Support Platform and with the Baltic and North sea basin
      lighthouse support facility and platform, for reporting, monitoring and coordination of
      all relevant implementation activities in the lighthouse area;
    support the Ocean and water knowledge system, in particular by contributing to
      monitoring, modelling and knowledge creation and data.
A strong communication component and an active involvement of stakeholders, including
from the aquaculture and energy industry, fishers, consumers and NGOs, in a co-creation
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approach is essential for the uptake of the produced outputs. Training and education activities
should be included. Market analysis and commercialisation strategies (customer
identification, distribution, branding etc.) will be a strong asset.
The outcomes should address the European Green Deal 285 objectives, the Farm to Fork
Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system 286, the EU Bioeconomy
Strategy287, the Communication on a new approach for a Sustainable Blue Economy288 and
the Guidelines for sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture 289 , the Marine Strategy
Framework Directive290 and the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive291.
Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve the Mission’s
objectives, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-04-02: Baltic and North Sea basin lighthouse –
coordination activities
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Award criteria            The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following
                          exceptions apply:
                          The following additions to the general award criteria apply:
                          The capacity of the proposed approach to systematically link up,
                          coordinate and network with projects under future Work programme
                          topics to ensure effective project portfolio management within the area
                          of the Mission lighthouse throughout the lifetime of the Mission. This is
                          necessary to ensure effective coordination within the Mission lighthouse
                          as a part of the portfolio management of the Mission.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
285
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
286
        https://ec.europa.eu/food/horizontal-topics/farm-fork-strategy_en
287
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/research-area/environment/bioeconomy/bioeconomy-
        strategy_en
288
        COM/2021/240 final
289
        COM/2021/236 final
290
        https://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine/eu-coast-and-marine-policy/marine-strategy-framework-
        directive/index_en.htm
291
        https://ec.europa.eu/oceans-and-fisheries/ocean/blue-economy/maritime-spatial-planning_en
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set-up of the Grant     apply:
Agreements              Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the following
                        action(s):
                        HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-04-01: Lighthouse in the Baltic and
                        the North Sea basins – Low-impact marine aquaculture and multi-
                        purpose use of marine space.
Evaluation and          The evaluation committee will be composed partially by representatives
award procedure         of EU institutions.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
    Structuring effect to consolidate and engage a wide community of relevant stakeholders
      across the Baltic and North sea basins able to ensure an effective governance structure
      for the achievement of the Mission objectives;
    An effective governance structure ensuring coherence and alignment of policies,
      initiatives and actions at EU, national and local level;
    Well-coordinated activities underpinned by a consistent monitoring framework to assess
      the implementation and achievement of the Mission objectives;
    Effective provision of technical services, governance and business models to support and
      guarantee a sustainable socio-economic development of the Baltic and North sea basins;
    Well-functioning basin scale innovation ecosystem attractive to investors and
      businesses;
    Increased awareness about the Mission and involvement of citizens in its implementation
      in the Baltic and North sea basins and beyond.
Scope: The Mission Ocean, seas and water WP part under Horizon Europe, defines
“lighthouses” as “hubs and platforms supporting the development and deployment of
transformative innovative solutions in all forms – technological, social, business, governance,
ensuring fast progress towards the achievement of Mission objectives and important impact
on society in the river and sea basins through science and technology”. The Mission
lighthouse should adhere to the lighthouse implementation charter, ensuring its political
commitment to the implementation of the lighthouse.
Proposals under this topic will bring together complementary public and/or private
organisations and networks, and integrate heterogeneous expertise to support the rolling out of
a “lighthouse” within Baltic and North sea basins and provide a broad portfolio of services
ensuring the development and deployment of innovative solutions addressing the objectives of
the Mission Ocean, seas and waters in the lighthouse area.
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Building on and bringing together existing governance structures and networks and relevant
existing activities, proposals are expected to address all following activities:
     Baltic and North sea basins lighthouse governance and networking: liaise with the
      Mission secretariat292 to ensure a coherent and timely implementation of the Mission in
      the lighthouse area; contribute to the implementation of the lighthouse charter, consisting
      in a political commitment of MSs/ACs, regions and, whenever relevant, of third
      countries and other stakeholders, for instance through workshops and other gatherings,
      networking and provide support actions initiated or carried out by the European
      Commission services to establish the lighthouse implementation charters; set-up and
      support and effective and participatory governance structure for the Baltic and North Sea
      basins lighthouse involving key players (public and private entities, including SMEs,
      civil society organisations as well as citizen representatives/citizen assemblies and local
      communities) at basin level and ensure cooperation and networking of stakeholders for
      achieving the three objectives 293 of the Mission Ocean, seas and waters; provide
      networking opportunities and exchanges of good practices within the Baltic and North
      sea basins and with other HE Missions and HE Partnerships; liaise and network with
      other Mission lighthouses to ensure exchanges of good practices and sharing of
      innovative solutions (cross-fertilisation); liaise with relevant projects implemented by
      other Missions in the lighthouse area and ensure exchanges of good practices; support
      the alignment of Regional Smart Specialisation Strategies and Next Generation EU
      initiatives and projects with the Mission objectives and explore synergies between the
      Mission and Smart Specialisation strategies and Next Generation EU initiatives and
      projects;
     Communication, monitoring and contribution to overall Mission implementation: design
      and carry out at basin scale communication actions to promote Mission Ocean, seas and
      waters and its activities targeting different stakeholders and the general public, both at
      basin scale and at the regional/local level including in the ‘associated regions’ 294 ;
      contribute to monitoring of Mission implementation in the lighthouse area (including a
      liaison with projects under Mission lighthouse topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-
      04-01: Lighthouse in the Baltic and the North Sea basins – Low-impact marine
      aquaculture and multi-purpose use of marine space) and provide relevant information
      and data to the Mission Implementation Platform (see Other actions, Public
      procurements, topic Mission Ocean, seas and waters implementation support platform –
      overall Mission coordination and monitoring; European Blue parks technical assistance;
      citizen engagement; communication ); carry out quantitative and qualitative analysis and
292
         Mission secretariat consisting of European Commission staff, is located within the European
         Commission services and is managed by the Mission Manager, for details on Mission governance see
         Commission Decision C(2021) 4472 final of 24.06.2021
293
         Mission Ocean, seas and waters objectives: 1) Protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems
         and biodiversity; 2) Prevent and eliminate pollution of our oceans, seas and waters; 3) Sustainable,
         carbon-neutral and circular Blue economy.
294
         For the concept and role of “associated region” please see topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-04-
         01: Lighthouse in the Baltic and the North Sea basins – Low-impact marine aquaculture and multi-
         purpose use of marine space.
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      studies in relation to the Mission and other relevant activities implemented at basin level;
      liaise with the Mission Implementation Platform to ensure coherent and timely
      implementation of the Mission in the lighthouse area;
     Develop and foster Baltic and North sea basins innovation ecosystem: identify R&I
      needs at basin level; liaise with the ocean and water knowledge system and foster
      sharing of observation data, information and computing toolboxes; disseminate and raise
      awareness about suitable innovative solutions to address these needs, (at least 2
      dissemination activities per year at a basin level); organise demonstration and testing
      activities for the innovative solutions (at least 2 activities per year implemented within
      the basin area); support access to finance and mobilise suitable investors, through e.g.:
      pitching events, networks of investors, venture capital funds, local Entrepreneurial
      Discovery processes, etc.; support knowledge and technology transfer, including through
      training and skill development (at least 2 activities per year at a basin level); support
      cooperation of lighthouse projects with ‘associated regions295’;
     Support mission implementation with technical expertise and know-how: develop a
      coherent catalogue of services providing (on-site or remote) technical expertise and
      know-how for testing, validating, scaling-up, reproducing, customising and deploying
      innovative solutions under the lighthouse objective, ensuring interoperability with the
      Ocean and water knowledge system; develop, make publicly available and curate a
      catalogue of projects and initiatives funded at EU, national and regional level and to the
      extent possible, include also privately funded initiatives and projects;
Proposals should include an outreach plan to actively advertise its activities and services to
the citizens and local communities and to targeted stakeholders, including to relevant
industries and SMEs.
Proposals are expected to build on and integrate all relevant existing governance structures,
networks and capacities within the Baltic and North sea basins, such as organisations involved
in HELCOM, OSPAR, BONUS, BANOS, EU Macroregional Strategy for the Baltic sea,
Arctic and Baltic Ocean Monitoring and Forecasting Centre 296 , with a view of ensuring
comprehensive and inclusive lighthouse governance.
Due to the transboundary nature of waters, basin-scale coordination and cooperation across
regions, is required for solutions to be effectively implemented and to resolve shared
problems.
295
         For the concept and role of “associated region” please see topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-04-
         01: Lighthouse in the Baltic and the North Sea basins – Low-impact marine aquaculture and multi-
         purpose use of marine space.
296
         OSPAR Commission | Protecting and conserving the North-East Atlantic and its resources, HELCOM,
         About us - Bonus EEIG (bonusportal.org), BANOS CSA - Bonus EEIG, EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea
         Region - Regional Policy - European Commission (europa.eu), Arctic – Monitoring Forecasting Centre
         (ARC MFC) | CMEMS (copernicus.eu).
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Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve the Mission’s
objectives, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’.
Call - Mission Enabling activities: Digital knowledge system, public mobilisation and
engagement, dynamic investment ecosystem
                                                                     HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)297
                    Topics                          Type       Budgets          Expected EU            Number
                                                      of        (EUR          contribution per             of
                                                   Action      million)         project (EUR           projects
                                                                                 million)298           expected
                                                                 2021                                    to be
                                                                                                        funded
                                           Opening: 22 Dec 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 12 Apr 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05-01 IA                             7.00 299       Around 7.00                1
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05-02 RIA                            1.00 300       Around 1.00                1
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05-03 CSA                            1.00 301       Around 1.00                1
Overall indicative budget                                    9.00
297
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
298
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
299
        Of which EUR 1.67 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.73 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.18
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 4.33 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.09 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
300
        Of which EUR 0.24 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.10 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.62
        million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.03 million from the 'Civil Security
        for Society' budget and EUR 0.01 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
301
        Of which EUR 0.24 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.10 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.03
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.62 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.01 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals for topics under enabling activities should set out a credible pathway for the
achievement of the objectives of the Mission Ocean, seas and waters, and contribute more
specifically to all following impacts:
   Boost the R&I capacities and knowledge in the marine and freshwater domains including
     a better understanding of social and economic implications;
   Increase observation and monitoring capacity, integrate data and modelling;
   Increase citizen participation and engagement in the transformations needed to achieve
     the European Green Deal objectives;
   Enhance cooperation at international level to address global challenges to the ocean, seas
     and waters;
   Enhance competitiveness of the European sustainable Blue economy sectors and
     contribute through investments, smart specialization approach and interregional
     partnerships into novel solutions underpinning their transformation towards
     sustainability, circularity and climate-neutrality;
   Provide evidence for policy-making;
   Support cooperation among countries, regions and other actors to enable transformative
     changes for our society and economy needed to achieve the European Green Deal
     objectives.
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                                              Missions
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05-01: Underlying models for the European Digital
Twin Ocean
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per        7.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 7.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Eligibility conditions The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning,
                        navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must
                        make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and
                        services may additionally be used).
                        The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                        consortium selected for funding.
Technology              Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6 to 8 by the end of the project
Readiness Level         – see General Annex B.
Legal and financial     The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant     apply:
Agreements              Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the following
                        action(s):
                           LC-GD-9-3-2020 (Iliad, action number 101037643)
                           HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05-01: Underlying models for
                             the European Digital Twin Ocean
                           HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01-03: FAIR and open data
                             sharing in support of healthy oceans, seas, coastal and inland
                             waters
                        Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the following
                        action(s):
                        EU Public Infrastructure for the European Digital Twin Ocean - under
                        Other Actions "Grants to identified beneficiaries"
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Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     A suite of models, including at least a high-resolution global ocean circulation model
      and coastal models at the land-sea interface ready for configuration and simulation;
     Interoperable standards and APIs so that the twin models can be interfaced with
      Copernicus models (coupling, forcing, boundary conditions, …) or external models
      (hybrid twins) and run in conjunction;
     Enhanced on-demand ocean forecasting and ocean climate prediction capacities;
     Scientific toolboxes to be used in a (co-)working virtual environment;
     Improved capability to support EU legislation on the marine environment;
     Capacity to support the three priorities of the Mission (biodiversity, zero pollution, zero
      carbon) and supporting the lighthouses;
     A sustainable and integrated set of models and services that contribute to and benefit
      from developments in the Digital Europe Programme, contributing to Destination Earth;
     Significant contribution to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable
      Development.
The outputs of the project should rely on the state of art of science in ocean modelling and
digital tools, existing assets at EU level (e.g. from EuroGOOS, Copernicus, EMODnet,
Regional Sea Conventions, etc.) and EU and international data management standards.
Scope: The objective is to prepare the next generation of EU digital ocean models (Twin
Ocean) complementary to the Copernicus marine service. They should be integrated into the
architecture of the European Digital Twin Ocean, a public infrastructure (linked action with
topic “EU Public Infrastructure for the European Digital Twin”: EU Public Infrastructure for
the European Digital Twin Ocean, included under Other actions) to ensure access to required
input and validation data (e.g. from EMODnet, EuroGOOS etc.), high performance and
distributed cloud computing facilities. It will support the development of the Mission
lighthouses and will be aligned with developments of Destination Earth under the Digital
Europe programme. Projects may benefit from the experience and knowledge of the Joint
Research Centre in the areas of marine ecosystem modelling at European scale that is
supporting impact assessments by dedicated scenario simulations linked with policy
frameworks.
The project should address all activities and tasks as described below, in cooperation and
complementarity with the linked action302 and other relevant actions:
302
         linked action with topic “EU Public Infrastructure for the European Digital Twin Ocean”, included
         under Other actions of this Call
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                                                 Missions
1. Ocean twin: The project should develop the reference models suite for the European Digital
Twin Ocean and should include:
     the preparation and development of model and data assimilation schemes, enabling
      simulation and development of what-if scenarios based on, but not be limited to, a global
      high-resolution kilometric ocean physics model from the IMMERSE project 303 , that
      complement the Copernicus forecasting capacities and support on-demand simulation
      services;
     a suite of configurable coastal models to reach the local scale, as part of the twin ocean
      suite or the toolkit (see below) in line with state-of-art science proposed in the UN
      Decade of Ocean Science.
The project should ensure that these models can be used coupled with biogeochemistry,
marine ecosystem models (including higher trophic layers) and other integrated models of the
marine environment/human activities, etc., used already by policymakers and their scientific
advisors. It should be based on state-of-art science, bringing significant innovation to existing
EU programmes modelling capacities in support to policy making and implementation
(MSFD, Habitats Directive, Common Fisheries Policy, etc.).
2. Developer’s toolkit: the ocean twin should be complemented with a toolkit to favour its
exploitation including by additional models or software following specified quality standards.
It should include:
     a scientific software library with open and free, easy-to-use software, models, AI
      algorithms (e.g.: addressing coastal circulation, particle tracking, aquaculture cultivation
      and emissions, ecosystems, hydrodynamics, etc.) that can be enriched progressively;
     a virtual development environment, dedicated to scientific validation where groups of
      users can assess their results, develop validation and product quality campaigns for their
      models and explore what-if scenarios;
     tools to retrieve data and products in suitable form for producing indicators for EU
      reporting (e.g.: Application Programming Interfaces for MSFD 304 , Habitats, Birds
      directives reporting).
3. Use: The Ocean twin models suite should enable the development of what-if scenarios and
simulations to support the Mission Ocean lighthouses. Therefore, it should be demonstrated
and validated end-to-end with beta-testers on one what-if scenario in line with the Mission
priorities and representative of the complexity of lighthouses.
For all of the above, the proposal should favour access to public-oriented models and
algorithms free of licensing restrictions. The necessary service pre-operations, should be put
in place including at least an online scientific helpdesk (cascading to Copernicus Marine
303
         https://immerse-ocean.eu/
304
         Marine Strategy Framework Directive
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Service and EMODnet if needed). The project should set up the required scientific
governance and technical coordination to link closely with the project related to the twin
architecture (topic “EU Public Infrastructure for the European Digital Twin”, linked action,
included under Other actions), Copernicus and EMODnet for the implementation, with the
other components of the Destination Earth initiative, with the EC/ES Joint Earth System
initiative and with the Mission lighthouses to develop fit-for-purpose solutions in the frame of
the Mission as well as with projects funded under the Green Deal call in 2020 topic LC-GD-
9-3-2020 Towards a digital twin of the ocean. The Mission Implementation Support Platform
will support and facilitate synergies between the lighthouses and the European Digital Twin
ocean developments and ensure appropriate communication.
Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve the Mission’s
objectives, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05-02: The relation of young generations with the sea
and water: values, expectations, and engagement
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Provide input and evidence-based outcomes for shaping future initiatives, policies and
      strategies that address societal changes, future needs and expectations of young
      generations with regard to the sustainability of aquatic ecosystems and enhance ocean
      literacy among them;
   Better understanding of the connection of young generations with the ocean, seas and
      waters, ultimately leading to new products and services, thus supporting the innovative
      potential of marine/maritime related sectors;
   Provide insights and help sketch social interaction blueprints for novel participatory
      approaches and networking opportunities, aiming to bring the younger generation closer
      to the sea and water and create or fortify their emotional link with it;
   Contribute to the objectives of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable
      Development.
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                                                 Missions
Scope: A forward-looking perspective (foresight study) on cultural and emotional relations of
tomorrow’s generations with the sea and freshwater, based on surveys, testimonies,
contributions, observations of and evidence-gathering from this specific social group, would
contribute towards shaping transformative marine/maritime policies, guiding future initiatives
in this field and allowing innovative solutions for aquatic ecosystems, addressing the future
expectations of the youth for them, to surface. The study should be gender and geo-sensitive
and consider socio-economic differences and inequalities between certain social groups in its
analysis.
Proposals under this topic will address both aspects below:
   Provide an analysis by exploring a future being shaped by changes in our lifestyles and
      behaviours, climate and environmental concerns and the emergence of new socio-
      economic values and needs, to better understand the cultural and emotional relation of
      the next generations with the marine environment and freshwaters;
   identify expectations and develop future perspectives, highlighting their implications for
      future strategies and policies, socio-economic activities, including education, and future
      investments; consider different youth variables such as gender, age, ethnicity, education,
      socio-cultural and geographical aspects, etc.
Proposals should contribute to stimulate thinking and relevant action through the production
of an evidence-based study and help reshape and recalibrate initiatives already in the field and
future related policies and strategies; interaction with all relevant main marine and freshwater
research and innovation stakeholders (public authorities, companies, universities, research
facilities, citizens, etc.) and networks or initiatives on the ground, through whose input visions
and strategies can emerge and converge, is sought.
Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve the Mission’s
objectives, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05-03:                     Piloting     citizen science in   marine   and
freshwater domains
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Evaluation and           The evaluation committee will be composed partially by representatives
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award procedure         of EU institutions.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Up scaled and continued excellent citizens science initiatives particularly targeting
      young people in all EU Member States and Associated Countries;
     Increased citizen awareness about the challenges faced by the ocean and waters;
     Mobilised and empowered citizens to take actions to improve the monitoring of the
      health of the ocean and waters and to act against pollution;
     Promoted digital applications and testing kits enabling citizens to collect data and
      observations;
     Promoted (digital) data collection and participatory research involving citizens for the
      monitoring and restoration of ocean and waters;
     Standardised protocols, standardised testing procedures for citizen reporting, and locally-
      relevant programmes;
     Contribution made to a special data layer for data provided by citizens, including real-
      time recordings of discharges and levels of pollutants and litter for different sites, to be
      harmonised and made publicly available through EMODnet and hence the European
      Digital Twin Ocean, and aligned with the Destination Earth initiative of the Digital
      Europe programme.
Scope: Proposals should connect EU citizens and local communities with the ocean, seas and
waters, facilitate broad ownership and education and co-design the transitions within the
communities that will allow the European Green Deal targets to be reached.
Proposals should also help to create a stronger emotional connection between society and
aquatic ecosystems and collective responsibility, as well as elicit interest in taking action. To
change hearts as well as minds, proposals should develop communication actions to inspire
awe and wonder, and connect with the things people deeply value. Actions should seek to
address the emotional connection, rather than simply attempting to ‘plug’ the knowledge gap.
Proposals should empower and activate citizens, in particular young people, to take action,
promote the practice of social innovation and ocean and water citizen stewardship, where
appropriate and possible involving the voluntary European Solidarity Corps305. They should
leverage social innovation throughout the co-design, co-development, co-implementation, and
co-monitoring of solutions for sustainable use of the ocean and waters. To promote better
public understanding and engagement, the project will support education and training
activities, and launch regular citizen science campaigns together with the Member States and
305
         See European Solidarity Corps | European Commission (europa.eu).
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Associated countries, building on and enhancing the EU’s work to date on ocean literacy. To
create stronger public connection and engagement with the ocean and waters, the Mission will
draw on the power of arts, media and culture.
Proposals should identify and pilot best practices in citizen science to restore our ocean and
waters and how to upscale them across the Member States and Associated Countries. The data
collected should support the monitoring requirements under the Water Framework
Directive306 and Marine Strategy Framework Directive307 and follow their specific monitoring
guidelines. Collected data should be made accessible across Member States and Associated
Countries.
Activities should include the development of standardised protocols and standardised testing
procedures for citizen reporting, as well as locally relevant programmes to demonstrate their
application.
The projects should feed data and knowledge to the Digital Twin Ocean and EMODnet308 and
be designed and predispose a data layer fed by citizens’ observations to allow for a transfer of
scientific findings to policy making at the EU, national and sub-national level.
Proposals should contribute to an increasing understanding about the following issues:
     Effectiveness of citizen science for participatory research and innovation;
     Impact of citizen science campaigns on citizens’ behaviour and knowledge and their
      relation with the ocean and waters;
     potential contributions of specific stakeholders, such as fishermen, sailors, recreational
      divers, etc.
Differences in gendered behaviour around ecologically conscious and sustainable practices
should equally be taken into account and addressed, where appropriate.
Proposals should build on activities implemented by the EU sea basin strategies Atlantic
Action Plan 2.0, WestMed Initiative and the Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea
and respective priorities on Ocean literacy, including those promoted by the Blue Schools
initiative. They should create links with macro regional strategies and in particular with their
pillars dealing with aquatic environments.
Projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and joint
activities with other projects funded under other topics in the Mission Ocean, seas and waters
as well as in other relevant Missions, as appropriate. These networking and joint activities
could, for example, involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge,
the development and adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities. Of
particular importance in this context is topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02-05: “Local
306
         https://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-framework/index_en.html
307
         https://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine/eu-coast-and-marine-policy/marine-strategy-framework-
         directive/index_en.htm
308
         https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/en
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                                                    Missions
engagement of citizens in the co-creation of societal transformational change for climate
resilience”.
To this extent, proposals should provide for dedicated activities and earmark appropriate
resources.
Call - Actions for the implementation of the Mission Restore our ocean and waters by
2030
                                                                     HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)309
                    Topics                          Type       Budgets         Expected EU            Number
                                                      of        (EUR         contribution per             of
                                                   Action      million)        project (EUR            projects
                                                                                 million)310          expected
                                                                 2022                                   to be
                                                                                                       funded
                                          Opening: 12 May 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 27 Sep 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-01 IA                             17.00 311     Around 8.50                2
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-02 IA                             17.00 312     Around 8.50                2
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-03 IA                             17.00 313     Around 8.50                2
309
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
310
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
311
        Of which EUR 3.12 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 2.31 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.36
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 10.83 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.38 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
312
        Of which EUR 3.12 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 2.31 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR
        10.83 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.36 million from the 'Civil
        Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.38 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society'
        budget.
313
        Of which EUR 3.12 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 2.31 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.36
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 10.83 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.38 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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                                                   Missions
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-04 IA                             10.00 314     Around 10.00               1
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-05 IA                             10.00 315     Around 2.50                4
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-06 IA                             17.00 316     Around 8.50                2
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-07 IA                             10.00 317     Around 10.00               1
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-08 CSA                            3.00 318      Around 3.00                1
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-09 CSA                            2.00 319      Around 2.00                1
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-10 CSA                            3.00 320      Around 1.00                3
Overall indicative budget                                    106.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                          Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                          Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                    The criteria are described in General Annex
314
        Of which EUR 1.84 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 1.36 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.21
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 6.37 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.22 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
315
        Of which EUR 1.84 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 1.36 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.21
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 6.37 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.22 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
316
        Of which EUR 3.12 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 2.31 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.36
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 10.83 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.38 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
317
        Of which EUR 1.84 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 1.36 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.21
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 6.37 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.22 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
318
        Of which EUR 0.55 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.41 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.06
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 1.91 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.07 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
319
        Of which EUR 0.37 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.27 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.04
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 1.27 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.04 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
320
        Of which EUR 0.55 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.41 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.06
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 1.91 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.07 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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exclusion                                            C.
Award criteria                                       The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                     D.
Documents                                            The documents are described in General
                                                     Annex E.
Procedure                                            The procedure is described in General
                                                     Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant              The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Objective 1 - Protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity
Proposals under this heading are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve
the Mission objective 1, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’. In line
with the conclusions of the informal European summit of 10 March 2022, the participation of
researchers of Ukrainian nationality who have received a temporary protection status in the
European Union is encouraged.
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-01: European Blue Parks – Protection and
restoration solutions for degraded coastal and marine habitats
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.50
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 17.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 to 7 by the end of the project –
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Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Legal and              The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of    apply:
the Grant              Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional obligations
Agreements             regarding open science practices: If projects collect in-situ data and
                       marine observations, beneficiaries must make them openly available
                       through the European Marine Observation and Data network
                       (EMODnet), based on FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable,
                       reusable) principles
Expected Outcome: In support of the implementation of the European Green Deal and the
Biodiversity Strategy, project results are expected to contribute to all of the following
expected outcomes:
    Protected, restored and sustainably used and managed marine biodiversity, blue natural
      capital, marine and coastal ecosystems;
    Reinforced ecosystem services from restored and protected marine areas;
    Seabed protection and restoration solutions, including to preserve seabed carbon
      sequestration capacity;
    Socio-economic transition processes through innovative solutions for ecosystem-based
      management of marine protected areas;
    Enhanced resilience of coastal and marine ecosystems;
    A blueprint for the extension of marine protected areas and/or for the shift of their status
      from “protected” to “strictly protected”;
    A blue print for the identification of ecological corridors as part of a blue Trans-
      European Nature Network, and a strategy to build such a network;
    Contribution to the Mission’s Digital Ocean and Water Knowledge system through
      marine observations and open data and knowledge sharing ;
    Reinforced EU leadership in international efforts to combat biodiversity loss, in line with
      the EU key priorities and international commitments, including through the protection,
      conservation, restoration and sustainable use of marine ecosystems and biodiversity.
Scope: Proposals under this topic will address the degradation of coastal and marine habitats,
including degraded seabed habitats and will develop and demonstrate protection and
restoration solutions to upgrade and enhance the EU's blue natural capital.
Innovation actions have to show the potential to be up-scaled and reproduced at European
level and beyond.
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Proposals are expected to duly address the connection between marine ecosystems, including
seabed habitats, and their biodiversity. Nevertheless, in exceptional cases, proposals may
address either specific vulnerable species or habitats that are under strong pressures or that
have the most potential to capture and store carbon. Proposals should be site-specific and the
scale and range of the sites for demonstration activities has to be ecologically relevant and
impactful and show a significant replication potential.
When identifying and restoring degraded areas, particular attention needs to be paid to
ensuring that ecosystem services these areas can provide, are resilient to climate change.
The proposals should also address the creation and long term maintenance of adequate
conditions for habitats and/or for the movement of species and more generally, for increasing
nature’s capacity to adapt to climate change.
The proposed innovation actions for the Blue Parks will seek the most effective and efficient
protection and restoration measures, tailored to the specific biogeographical area or marine
region. Activities leading to the creation of protected areas should concentrate on areas of
high biodiversity value or potential321 and be consistent with the EU Guidance to Members
States on the designation of additional protected or strictly protected areas322.
Proposals must cover a wide range of ecosystem functions and services using a coherent and
systemic approach and avoid the risk of trade-offs of focusing on one or very few ecosystem
services at the expense of others. In this respect, seabed protection and restoration should be
integrated, including preservation of seabed carbon sequestration capacity.
The involvement of national and local authorities and coastal communities will be required in
order to ensure that the solutions designed are best suited, co-created and with the necessary
ownership for their successful implementation. Citizen engagement is a pillar concept for the
Mission and a key element in relation to conservation and restoration actions. Activities
should, therefore, use innovative co-creation management practices and awareness-raising
actions to promote a proactive involvement of local communities including land and sea use
planners, Marine Protected Area managers, and other stakeholders, in order to allowing for
co-creation of solutions. Awareness raising actions to inspire and generate co-ownership for
protection of local habitat and biodiversity should be included as well as partnerships and
coalitions with existing initiatives. Proposals could include blue reforestation activities with
suitable aquatic plants in degraded habitats. Citizen engagement related activities should also
be gender-responsive and socially inclusive.
Proposals are expected to contribute to the implementation of the existing legislation, notably
in relation to Marine Protected Areas, identifying limiting factors and gaps as well as
recommendations addressing environmental or anthropogenic pressures.
Proposals should build links with the Mission implementation monitoring system that will be
part of the Mission Implementation Support Platform and with the Blue Parks technical
321
        For example, significant areas of carbon-rich ecosystems should be strictly protected.
322
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support platform for reporting, monitoring and coordination of all relevant implementation
activities. In this regard, projects should cooperate closely with projects funded under Mission
Ocean topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02-01: European Blue Parks.
Proposals will build upon existing knowledge systems and upon the Mission Digital and
Water Knowledge system for access to data, monitoring and forecasts and knowledge
dissemination. . The proposals should also build on research and innovation developed in the
frame of related projects in the current and previous EU framework programmes, such as but
not limited to Horizon 2020, LIFE, EMFF/EMFAF and national and regional programmes as
well as the activities of the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership and the Biodiversa+
Partnership323.
Projects funded under this topic would benefit from cooperation, networking and exchanges
of information with the projects funded under other Cluster 6 topics: HORIZON-CL6-2021-
BIODIV-01-12 (Improved science based maritime spatial planning and identification of
marine protected areas), HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-10 (Demonstration of measures
and management for coastal and marine ecosystems restoration and resilience in simplified
socio-ecological systems); HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-03 (Understanding and valuing
coastal and marine biodiversity and ecosystems services); HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-
04 (Assess and predict integrated impacts of cumulative direct and indirect stressors on
coastal and marine biodiversity, ecosystems and their services); HORIZON-CL6-2022-
CLIMATE-01-02: Understanding the oceanic carbon cycle as well as with activities
supported under the H2020 Green Deal call, notably LC-GD-7-1- 2020 Restoring biodiversity
and ecosystem services.
Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve the Mission’s
objectives, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-02: Danube river basin lighthouse – Protection and
restoration of wetlands, flood plains, coastal wetlands and salt marshes and their
biodiversity
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.50
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 17.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
323
         BiodivERsA: European Biodiversity Partnership: Biodiversa+.
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conditions               exceptions apply:
                         If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                         and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                         Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                         additionally be used).
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:In addition to the
                         standard eligibility conditions, the consortium must involve and include
                         entities from at least three Member States and/or Associated Countries
                         of the Danube river basin in which demonstration activities will be
                         taking place.
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 to 7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level          see General Annex B.
Legal and                The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of      apply:
the Grant                Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional obligations
Agreements               regarding open science practices: If projects collect in-situ data and
                         marine observations, beneficiaries must make them openly available
                         through the European Marine Observation and Data network
                         (EMODnet), based on FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable,
                         reusable) principles
                         Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. Support to
                         third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. Financial
                         support to third parties may only be awarded to local and/or regional
                         authorities from an ‘associated region’. The maximum amount to be
                         granted to each “associated region” is EUR 100,000, to showcase the
                         feasibility, replicability and scale up of the solutions developed within
                         the project in the “associated region”324. Each “associated region” shall
                         benefit from the Financial Support to Third Parties provided under this
                         topic within the duration of the project only once.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Contribute to the European Green Deal, the EU Biodiversity Strategy, the EU Zero
      Pollution Action Plan and the Water Framework Directive as well as other EU
      instruments and policies that concern freshwater ecosystem protection;
324
        ‘Associated regions’ are understood as areas with similar ecosystems (e.g. neighbouring regions and/or
        regions in a different river basin) and/or less-developed regions, with the view to build capacity to
        implement the innovative solutions to restore freshwater ecosystems. The proposals should ensure that
        the associated regions are located in Member States/Associated countries other than those that are part
        of the project consortium. An “associated region” shall benefit from the Financial Support to Third
        Parties provided under this topic only once.
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     Contribute to the implementation of the protection and restoration of wetlands, flood
      plains and coastal wetlands and salt marshes under the 1971 Ramsar Convention on
      Wetlands of International Importance325;
     Reverse the deterioration of the state of wetlands, flood plains coastal wetlands and salt
      marches in the Danube river basin and in the adjacent Black Sea area, including by
      developing solutions to restore lateral connectivity of rivers with their associated
      floodplains and wetlands;
     Improve protection of local communities and ecosystems from extreme events (flood,
      droughts, storms) in the Danube river basin and its delta, in particular with nature based
      solutions linked to wetlands, flood plains, coastal wetlands and salt marshes;
     Improved monitoring of carbon sequestration capacity of wetlands and coastal wetlands
      and salt marshes and about the impacts of the changing climate system and different
      management methods on the capacity of these ecosystems to sequester carbon;
     Support the scaling up of wetlands, flood plains and coastal wetlands and salt marshes
      ecosystems and biodiversity restoration in the ‘associated regions’;
     Increased share of local revenue and business activities from the restored and protected
      wetlands, flood plains, coastal wetlands and salt marshes ecosystems in the overall local
      economic activities.
Scope: : Wetlands are ecosystems that are flooded by water, either permanently, for years or
decades or seasonally (for weeks or months).
In the Danube river basin area and the Danube river delta more than 70% of its wetlands,
flood plains, coastal wetlands such as salt marshes have been lost and/or disconnected 326 and
the remaining wetlands are under pressure from human activities, such as discharges of
sewage and waste water, drainage for agricultural use and pollution. Yet, wetlands are among
the most productive ecosystems and they are important hotspots of biodiversity. They provide
key ecosystem services, such as water retention and purification, serve as a buffer in case of
floods and droughts, remove excess nutrients and reduce of eutrophication as well as
contribute to the management of riverine sediments. They have also a potential as carbon
sinks reducing the input of greenhouse gas emissions in the future.
The proposals will focus on demonstration of active and passive restoration of wetlands, flood
plains, coastal wetlands such as salt marshes including in the transitional waters of the
Danube river delta at a large scale. The demonstration activities will combine measures to
restore and protect wetlands, flood plains or coastal wetlands such as salt marshes, measures
to re-connect wetlands, improvement of protection of communities against floods using nature
based solutions involving wetlands, flood plains, coastal wetlands (e.g.: salt marshes) and
325
         1971 Ramsar Conversion on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl habitat.
         scan_certified_e.pdf (ramsar.org), see also The Convention on Wetlands and its mission | Ramsar.
326
         See Wetlands | ICPDR - International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River, Gómez-
         Baggethun et al. (2019).
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mitigation of impacts of droughts on these ecosystems and on connected riverine ecosystems,
together with reduction of impacts of pollution, in particular from adjacent agricultural and
industrial activities and urban pollution in particular from discharges of waste waters. The
demonstration activities should entail a holistic approach of returning the ecosystem to the
conditions prior to its disturbance, including where appropriate, re-introduction of species,
restoration of lateral connectivity to a river, removal of pressures as well as a long term
protection and monitoring.
Proposals must:
    Carry out demonstration activities in 3 different Member States and/or Associated
      Countries of the Danube river basin, involving and including in the consortium entities
      from these three countries;
    Identify areas and locations where the solutions are replicable and draw up an action
      plan and roadmap to replicate and scale up the ecosystem and biodiversity restoration
      solutions and actions.
The projects will include monitoring of carbon sequestration capacity of the wetlands, coastal
wetlands such as salt marshes covered by the projects and of the impacts of changes in the
climate system on this capacity as well as assessment of the impact of different ecosystem
management methods and human activities in these ecosystems on their carbon sequestration
capacity. The projects will also include monitoring of the resilience of the habitats targeted
(e.g.: extreme events such as floods, droughts, storms) and improved delivery of a range of
ecosystem services.
To address the impact-driven approach of the Mission and the nature of Innovation Actions,
proposals are expected to work with and engage at least 5 ‘associated regions’ to showcase
the feasibility, replicability and scale up of the solutions developed within the projects in other
areas. ‘Associated regions’ are understood as areas with ecosystems that can benefit from the
demonstration activities (e.g. neighboring regions and/or regions in a different sea basin)
and/or less-developed regions, with the need to build capacity to implement the innovative
solutions to restore freshwater ecosystems. The proposals should ensure that the associated
regions are located in Member States/Associated countries other than those that are part of the
project consortium. An “associated region” shall benefit from the Financial Support to Third
Parties provided under this topic only once. The involvement of “associated regions” that
have not yet participated in Mission projects is encouraged. The partners will proactively
reach out to the associated regions to enable them to follow closely the project and its
demonstration activities. The projects should continuously share their outcomes and
knowledge with those ‘associated regions’ and provide them with technical assistance to build
capacity and to implement wetlands, flood plains coastal wetlands such as salt marshes
restoration and protection solutions in their territory that contribute to achieving the Mission
objectives.
The technical assistance to the ’associated regions’ should include the provision of technical
advisory services necessary to the prepare roadmaps, plans and projects to restore and protect
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wetlands, flood plains and/or coastal wetlands such as salt marshes, including a reduction of
human pressures on these ecosystems and pollution in the associated regions restoring the
continuity, natural free-flow and hydro morphology of the river by addressing possible
barriers and showing the feasibility of implementing innovative solutions. The projects should
support data and knowledge sharing through and as well benefit from the Ocean and Water
Knowledge System to foster cross-regions, pan-European approaches.
The maximum amount of Financial Support to Third Parties is EUR 100,000 per ’associated
region’ for the entire duration of the action. Proposals should outline the selection process of
the third parties to which financial support would be granted based on principles of
transparency, objectivity and fairness.
The proposals are expected to integrate actions to support the social and economic transitions
towards sustainable, inclusive and long term management of the restored and protected
ecosystems, including natural, social, economic and cultural elements and business models for
generating revenue from the restored and protected ecosystems and involve for that purpose
local business communities, in particular SMEs, investors and other business stakeholders.
Training and communication activities towards stakeholders, including regional and local
authorities from the ‘associated regions’ should be included in each proposal. Local actors,
including where appropriate, the European Volunteer Corps and Mission Citizen Assemblies,
should be involved in the demonstration of ecosystem restoration and protection activities and
any actions for social and economic transitions towards sustainable inclusive and long term
management of the restored ecosystems, like citizen science.
The proposal should consider actions to prevent and reduce pollution from different sources
(such as chemicals, excess nutrients, industrial and urban waste waters). The proposals should
build on research and innovation developed in the frame of related projects in the current and
previous EU framework programmes, such as but not limited to Horizon2020 and Horizon
Europe (e.g.: Alfawetlands; WetHorizons; Rewet; AMBER, MERLIN and WaterLands large-
scale projects from the H2020 Green Deal topic LC-GD-7-1- 2020 Restoring biodiversity and
ecosystem services) and with project funded under the Cluster 6 topic HORIZON-CL6-2021-
BIODIV-01-09: Assessing and Consolidating Recent Advances on Freshwater Ecosystem
Restoration, including Research Infrastructures and the Strategic Research and Innovation
Agenda for the Black Sea (SRIA), LIFE, Interreg projects (such as Danube Flood Plain 327),
Danube Regional Project (wetlands)328, actions on the protection and restoration of wetlands
and flood plains carried out by the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube
river 329 and national and regional programmes in the Danube river basin as well as the
activities of Water4All Partnership and Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership and the
Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea, in particular in the framework of restoration
and management of wetlands, flood plains and coastal wetlands such as salt marshes and their
sustainable management.
327
         Interreg Danube (interreg-danube.eu)
328
         THE DANUBE REGION (undp-drp.org)
329
         Wetlands | ICPDR - International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River
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The projects funded under this topic will:
     build links with other Mission activities and other relevant activities within the
      lighthouse and its area to maximize synergies, as well as with the European Blue Parks,
      other Mission lighthouses and their activities;
     build links with the Mission implementation monitoring system that will be part of the
      Mission Implementation Support Platform and with the Danube river basin lighthouse
      support facility and platform, for reporting, monitoring and coordination of all relevant
      implementation activities in the lighthouse area as well as with the Blue Parks technical
      support platform;
     support the Ocean and water knowledge system, in particular by contributing to
      biodiversity monitoring, modelling and knowledge creation and data.
     contribute to the possible extension of the LULUCF Regulation 330 to marine and
      freshwater ecosystems.
Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will support the European
Green Deal and how they will achieve the Mission’s objectives, in line with the timeframe of
the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the ‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the
‘deployment and upscaling phase’.
Objective 2 - Prevent and eliminate pollution of our ocean, seas and waters
In line with the conclusions of the informal European summit of 10 March 2022, the
participation of researchers of Ukrainian nationality who have received a temporary
protection status in the European Union is encouraged.
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-03: Mediterranean sea basin lighthouse - Actions to
prevent, minimise and remediate chemical pollution
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.50
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 17.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
330
         EUR-Lex - 32018R0841 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu)
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conditions               exceptions apply:
                         If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                         and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                         Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                         additionally be used).
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply: In addition to the
                         standard eligibility conditions, the consortium must involve and include
                         entities from at least three Member States and/or Associated countries
                         of the Mediterranean sea basin in which demonstration activities will be
                         taking place.
Technology               Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 to 7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level          see General Annex B.
Legal and                The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of      apply:
the Grant                Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional obligations
Agreements               regarding open science practices: If projects collect in-situ data and
                         marine observations, beneficiaries must make them openly available
                         through the European Marine Observation and Data network
                         (EMODnet), based on FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable,
                         reusable) principles
                         Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. Support to
                         third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. Financial
                         support to third parties may only be awarded to local and/or regional
                         authorities from an ‘associated region’. The maximum amount to be
                         granted to each “associated region” is EUR 100,000, to showcase the
                         feasibility, replicability and scale up of the solutions developed within
                         the project in the “associated region”331. Each “associated region” shall
                         benefit from the Financial Support to Third Parties provided under this
                         topic within the duration of the project only once.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Innovative, reproducible solutions to reduce and remediate pollution from chemicals
      (such as mercury, persistent organic pollutants, plant protection products (pesticides,
      biocides), per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances - PFAFs, antifoulants as well as
331
        ‘Associated regions’ are understood as areas with similar ecosystems (e.g. neighbouring regions and/or
        regions in a different river basin) and/or less-developed regions, with the view to build capacity to
        implement the innovative solutions to restore freshwater ecosystems. The proposals should ensure that
        the associated regions are located in Member States/Associated countries other than those that are part
        of the project consortium. An “associated region” shall benefit from the Financial Support to Third
        Parties provided under this topic only once.
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      other chemical pollutants)332 in the Mediterranean Sea basin in line with the target of
      reduction by at least 50% of the use and risk of chemical pesticides and to the objectives
      of the EU Zero Pollution Action Plan and the Convention for the protection of the
      Mediterranean sea against pollution and the Chemical Strategy for Sustainability;
     Accelerated uptake of innovative solutions to prevent and minimize chemical pollution;
     Effective monitoring of chemical pollution in line with existing methodologies under the
      Marine Strategy Framework Directive[333] and under the Water Framework Directive;
     Support Water Framework Directive and Marine Strategy Framework Directive
      implementation, which provide indicators and mechanism for assessments and measures
      to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) and Good Chemical Status;
     Contribution to the Mission’s Digital Ocean and Water Knowledge system through
      marine observations and open data and knowledge sharing;
Empowered citizens taking action against pollution.
Scope: In line with the EU Zero Pollution Action Plan for Air, Water and Soil, proposals
should demonstrate scalable breakthrough innovations (technological, business, social and
governance) to prevent and minimize marine and freshwater pollution from chemical
pollutants. Following the zero pollution hierarchy, proposals should focus on demonstrating
replicable solutions to prevent and minimise pollution in the Mediterranean Sea including its
major river catchment areas and taking into consideration land-sea interactions through
measures, such as:
     Upstream prevention of pollution from chemicals;
     Substitutes or alternative less polluting substances and materials for the most prevalent
      chemical pollutants found in freshwater and at sea.
Proposed solutions for pollution prevention, elimination and remediation should not increase
the level of anthropogenic underwater noise and air emissions.
Proposed solutions should be in line with the EU taxonomy regulation and delegated acts.
Proposals must:
     Carry out demonstration activities in 3 different Member States and/or Associated
      Countries of the Mediterranean sea basin, involving and including in the consortium
      entities from these three countries;
     Identify areas and locations where the solutions are replicable and draw up an action
      plan and roadmap to replicate and scale up the pollution solutions and actions.
332
         See for instance Chemicals in European waters — European Environment Agency (europa.eu).
333
         add reference
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To address the impact-driven approach of the Mission and the nature of Innovation Actions,
proposals are expected to work with and engage at least 5 ‘associated regions’ to showcase
the feasibility, replicability and scale up of the solutions developed within the projects in other
areas. ‘Associated regions’ are understood as areas with ecosystems that can benefit from the
demonstration activities (e.g. neighbouring regions and/or regions in a different sea basin)
and/or less-developed regions, with the need to build capacity to implement the innovative
solutions to prevent, eliminate and remediate pollution to prevent, eliminate and remediate
pollution in the associated regions addressing possible barriers and showing the feasibility of
implementing innovative solutions.
The proposals should ensure that the associated regions are located in Member
States/Associated countries other than those that are part of the project consortium. An
“associated region” shall benefit from the Financial Support to Third Parties provided under
this topic only once. The involvement of “associated regions” that have not yet participated in
Mission projects is encouraged. The partners will proactively reach out to the associated
regions to enable them to follow closely the project and its demonstration activities. The
projects should continuously share their outcomes and knowledge with those ‘associated
regions’ and provide them with technical assistance to build capacity and to implement in
their territory that contribute to achieving the Mission objectives. The technical assistance to
the ’associated regions’ should include the provision of technical advisory services necessary
to the prepare roadmaps, plans and projects to prevent, eliminate and remediate pollution from
chemicals in the associated regions addressing possible barriers and showing the feasibility of
implementing innovative solutions.
The maximum amount of Financial Support to Third Parties is EUR 100,000 per ’associated
region’ for the entire duration of the action. Proposals should outline the selection process of
third parties to which financial support would be granted based on principles of transparency,
objectivity and fairness.
Proposals should build on research and innovation developed in the frame of related projects
in the current and previous EU framework programmes, such as but not limited to Horizon
2020, including the activities funded under the Green Deal 2020 call, LIFE and national and
regional programmes in the Mediterranean sea basin as well as on the future focus and
activities of the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership334, the sea basin initiative WestMed335
and the macroregional strategy EUSAIR336, with thematic networks, the implementation of
the Union for the Mediterranean Ministerial Declaration on Sustainable Blue Economy as
well as projects and actions funded under the PRIMA Partnership337.
Proposals will demonstrate novel methods and social innovation practices resulting in holistic
socio-ecological governance and management plans that address the transfer of innovative
solutions into the market and economic value/supply chains, by creating commercially viable
334
         https://www.jpi-oceans.eu/climate-neutral-sustainable-and-productive-blue-economy
335
         https://www.westmed-initiative.eu/?lang=fr
336
         https://www.adriatic-ionian.eu/
337
         Home - PRIMA (prima-med.org).
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and investable propositions. The proposals need to build in capacity to reach local/regional
and national systems of multi-stakeholders and to enhance their interconnections at basin
scale. Multi stakeholder engagements will require active participation from academia to
research performing organisations, from citizens to civil society, from young innovators to
start-ups, industry, SMEs and other businesses. Activities focused on citizen engagement
should also be gender-responsive and include groups at risk of social exclusion to promote a
wider uptake of the developed solutions, where relevant.
Projects funded under this topic will address all following issues:
   build links with other Mission activities and other relevant activities and partnerships
      within the lighthouse and its area to maximize synergies, as well as with the European
      Blue Parks, other Mission lighthouses;
   build links with the Mission implementation monitoring system that will be part of the
      Mission Implementation Support Platform and with the Mediterranean sea basin
      lighthouse support facility and platform, for reporting, monitoring and coordination of
      all relevant implementation activities in the lighthouse area as well as with the Blue
      Parks technical support platform;
   support the Ocean and water knowledge system, in particular by contributing to
      monitoring, modelling and knowledge creation and data.
Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve the Mission’s
objectives, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-04: Prevent and eliminate litter, plastics and
microplastics: Innovative solutions for waste-free European rivers
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       Five innovative solutions must be identified and tested in real
                       conditions.
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Technology                 Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 to 8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level            see General Annex B.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements                 Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional obligations
                           regarding open science practices: If projects collect in-situ data and
                           marine observations, beneficiaries must make them openly available
                           through the European Marine Observation and Data network
                           (EMODnet), based on FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable,
                           reusable) principles
                           Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. Support to
                           third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. Financial
                           support to third parties may only be awarded to local and/or regional
                           authorities from an ‘associated region’. The maximum amount to be
                           granted to each “associated region” is EUR 100,000, to showcase the
                           feasibility, replicability and scale up of the solutions developed within
                           the project in the “associated region”338. Each “associated region” shall
                           benefit from the Financial Support to Third Parties provided under this
                           topic within the duration of the project only once.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
     Reduced pollution from litter, plastics and microplastics in European rivers;
     Accelerated uptake of innovative solutions to prevent and minimize pollution of rivers
      by litter, plastics and microplastics;
     Effective monitoring of litter, plastics and microplastics in freshwaters to implement the
      Water Framework Directive and Marine Strategy Framework Directive;
     Reduction by at least 50% plastic litter at sea and by at least 30% microplastics released
      into the environment;
     Contribution to the Mission’s Digital Ocean and Water Knowledge system through
      marine observations and open data and knowledge sharing.
Scope: In line with the EU Towards Zero Pollution Action Plan for Air, Water and Soil,
proposals should demonstrate scalable breakthrough innovations (technological, business,
338
         ‘Associated regions’ are understood as areas with similar ecosystems (e.g. neighbouring regions and/or
         regions in a different river basin) and/or less-developed regions, with the view to build capacity to
         implement the innovative solutions to restore freshwater ecosystems. The proposals should ensure that
         the associated regions are located in Member States/Associated countries other than those that are part
         of the project consortium. An “associated region” shall benefit from the Financial Support to Third
         Parties provided under this topic only once.
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social and governance) to prevent and minimize pollution from litter, plastics and
microplastics in European rivers.
Following the zero pollution hierarchy, proposals under this topic are expected to identify a
set of innovative, cost-effective and sustainable solutions to be tested, validated and
demonstrated to prevent and minimise pollution from litter, plastics and microplastics in
major European rivers that flow out into the European seas and in their catchment areas,
taking into consideration land-river interactions through measures, such as:
    Upstream prevention of pollution from litter, plastics and microplastics;
    Substitutes or alternative less polluting substances and materials for the most prevalent
      litter, plastics and microplastics found in rivers;
    Solutions to prevent or eliminate litter, plastics and microplastics from rivers.
The project will select and test at least five innovative and cost-effective solutions developed
under EU, national, regional programmes or privately funded, for preventing and/or
eliminating litter, plastics and microplastics from rivers for their effectiveness in preventing
and eliminating this pollution in European rivers and for their scalability in other areas. The
five solutions will include both solutions preventing as well as solutions eliminating litter,
plastics and microplastics from rivers. At least 2 solutions should focus on elimination of
microplastics from rivers.
Selected solutions for pollution prevention, elimination and remediation should not increase
the level of anthropogenic underwater noise and air pollution. The selected solutions should
be in line with the EU taxonomy regulation and delegated acts.
To address the impact-driven approach of the Mission and the nature of Innovation Actions,
proposals are expected to work with and engage at least 5 ‘associated regions’ to showcase
the feasibility, replicability and scale up of the solutions developed within the projects in other
areas. ‘Associated regions’ are understood as areas with ecosystems that can benefit from the
demonstration activities (e.g. neighbouring regions and/or regions in a different sea basin)
and/or less-developed regions, with the need to build capacity to implement the innovative
solutions for waste-free rivers in the associated regions, addressing possible barriers and
showing the feasibility of implementing innovative solutions.
Proposals should ensure that the associated regions are located in Member States/Associated
countries other than those that are part of the project consortium. An “associated region” shall
benefit from the Financial Support to Third Parties provided under this topic within the
duration of the project only once. The involvement of “associated regions” that have not yet
participated in Mission projects is encouraged. The partners will proactively reach out to the
associated regions to enable them to follow closely the project and its demonstration
activities. The projects should continuously share their outcomes and knowledge with those
‘associated regions’ and provide them with technical assistance to build capacity and to
implement in their territory that contribute to achieving the Mission objectives. The technical
assistance to the ’associated regions’ should include the provision of technical advisory
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services necessary to the prepare roadmaps, plans and projects for waste-free rivers in the
associated regions addressing possible barriers and showing the feasibility of implementing
innovative solutions.
The maximum amount of Financial Support to Third Parties is EUR 100,000 per ’associated
region’ for the entire duration of the action. Proposals should outline the selection process of
the third parties to which financial support would be granted based on principles of
transparency, objectivity and fairness.
‘Associated regions’ are understood as areas with ecosystems that can benefit from the scale
up activities (e.g. neighbouring regions and/or regions in a different sea basin) and/or less-
developed regions, with the need to build capacity to implement the innovative solutions to
prevent, eliminate and remediate pollution in the associated regions addressing possible
barriers and showing the feasibility of implementing innovative solutions.
The project funded under this topic will address all following issues:
    build links with other Mission activities and other relevant activities within the
     lighthouse and its area to maximize synergies, as well as with the European Blue Parks,
     other Mission lighthouses;
    build links with the Mission implementation        monitoring system that will be part of the
     Mission Implementation Support Platform             and with the Mediterranean sea basin
     lighthouse support facility and platform, for     reporting, monitoring and coordination of
     all relevant implementation activities in the      lighthouse area as well as with the Blue
     Parks technical support platform;
    support the Ocean and water knowledge system, in particular by contributing to
     monitoring, modelling and knowledge creation and data.
Proposals should build on research and innovation developed in the frame of related projects
in the current and previous EU framework programmes, such as but not limited to Horizon
2020, including the activities funded under the Green Deal 2020 call, LIFE and national and
regional programmes on European rivers, as well as the activities of the European Rivers
Network.
Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve the Mission’s
objectives, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-05: Marine litter and pollution – Smart and low
environmental impact fishing gears
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.50
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
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project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                       Three innovative solutions must be identified and tested in real
                       conditions.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 to 8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
    Portfolios of solutions for low-environmental impact fishing gears and minimised end-of
     life waste, including through recycling and reuse;
    Reduced marine pollution caused by waste from fishing activities, in line with among
     others the Single Use Plastic Directive and the Port Reception Facilities Directive;
    Preserved marine fauna and reduction of accidental catches (mainly of Endangered,
     Threatened and Protected (ETP) species), including the harmful effects of ghost fishing
     gears;
    Improved and preserved marine habitats, including seabed, and reduced negative effects
     of abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gears;
    Improved mapping, tracking and recovery of abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded
     fishing gears.
    Contributed to the implementation of EU legislation, e.g.: the Directive on the reduction
     of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment (Directive 2019/904)31;
    Increased users’ choices and responsible user behaviours.
Scope: Proposals under this topic are expected to identify a set of suitable innovative smart
and sustainable solutions to be tested, validated and demonstrated in real conditions, to
address negative impacts of fishing gears on marine life and habitats and promote long-term
sustainability in our ocean and seas.
Interdisciplinary approaches and close cooperation between researchers, fishing industry,
fisheries managers and other stakeholders will be fundamental to the development,
introduction and acceptance of innovative, smart and sustainable fishing technologies.
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Proposals are expected to address one of the following issues:
     Circular aspects: design cost-effective and sustainable fishing gears applying a life-cycle
      approach, using environmentally-friendly materials (e.g. recycled, recyclable,
      biodegradable, durable, upgradable) and including recycling and reusing opportunities of
      end-of-life gears and recovered ghost gears;
     Environmental impacts: reducing harmful impacts of fishing gears on marine fauna,
      habitats and seabed: e.g. minimizing pollution including from hazardous chemicals and
      microplastics; reducing negative effects on sensitive and endangered species by reducing
      bycatches and ghost fishing and through improving mapping, tracking and recovery of
      abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gears. All proposals should also take into
      account selectivity requirements of the fishing gears. In addition, all proposals should
      address emission reduction objectives, including energy efficiency and resources
      consumption in gear manufacturing process and in fishing operations.
Each project will test in real conditions at least three sustainable, cost-effective and innovative
solutions developed under EU, national, regional programmes or privately funded, for
sustainable and low-impact fishing gears (e.g.: Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020; LIFE, the
EU Maritime, Fishery and Aquaculture Fund – EMFAF and its predecessor) as well as
outcomes of EU funded projects (e.g.: NetTag 339 ; Oceanets 340 , Bluenet 341 , marGnet 342 ,
Biogeras343). These three solutions will either address environmental impacts of fishing gears
or the circular aspects of fishing gears and use of sustainable materials.
Awareness raising actions should be included to provide users of fishing gear containing
plastic proper information about, for example, the availability of re-usable alternatives and re-
use systems, appropriate waste management options available and best practices, as well as
about the plastic content in fishing gear.
The projects funded under this topic will address all following issues:
     build links with other Mission activities and other relevant activities within the
      lighthouse and its area to maximize synergies, as well as with the European Blue Parks,
      other Mission lighthouses;
     build links with the Mission implementation monitoring system that will be part of the
      Mission Implementation Support Platform and with the sea and river basin lighthouse
      support facilities and platforms, for reporting, monitoring and coordination of all
      relevant implementation activities in the lighthouse area as well as with the Blue Parks
      technical support platform;
339
         https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/featured-projects/nettag_en
340
         https://oceanets.eu/
341
         https://www.bluenetproject.eu/
342
         https://www.margnet.eu/
343
         https://biogears.eu/
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     support the Ocean and water knowledge system, in particular by contributing to
      monitoring, modelling and knowledge creation and data.
SMEs, early-stage business and scale-ups involved in Mission projects entailing innovative,
scalable and sustainable business ventures from traditional and emerging blue economy
sectors are invited to join the BlueInvest community and benefit from the BlueInvest Fund344.
Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve the Mission’s
objectives, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’.
Objective 3 - Sustainable, carbon-neutral and circular Blue economy
Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve the Mission’s
objectives, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’. In line
with the conclusions of the informal European summit of 10 March 2022, the participation of
researchers of Ukrainian nationality who have received a temporary protection status in the
European Union is encouraged.
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-06: Lighthouse in the Baltic and the North Sea
basins – bringing sustainable algae-based products and solutions to the market
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.50
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 17.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                         and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                         Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                         additionally be used).
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:In addition to the
344
        BlueInvest provides equity from the European Maritime, Aquaculture and Fisheries Fund, matching
        guarantees from InvestEU, capital from the European Invest Fund and its parent the European
        Investment Bank to venture capital or impact funds who will crowd in other investments. See:
        https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/maritimeforum/en/frontpage/1451
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                          standard eligibility conditions, the consortium must involve and include
                          entities from at least three Member States and/or Associated Countries
                          of the Baltic and North sea basin.
Technology                Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 to 8 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level           see General Annex B.
Legal and                 The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of       apply:
the Grant                 Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional obligations
Agreements                regarding open science practices: If projects collect in-situ data and
                          marine observations, beneficiaries must make them openly available
                          through the European Marine Observation and Data network
                          (EMODnet), based on FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable,
                          reusable) principles
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Increased market presence and further development of sustainable algae-based solutions
      and products for various uses and needs (e.g. human consumption, animal feed,
      pharmaceutical applications, waste-water treatment, innovative, circular and sustainable
      textiles applications or applications for agriculture);
     Enhanced knowledge base on algae-based solutions and products expected to reach
      European markets in the short to medium term;
     Enhanced public awareness and understanding of consumer acceptance issues of new
      algae based products:
     Identified and reduced market-entry barriers and barriers to uptake and scale up
      innovative and sustainable algae-based solutions and products
     Expansion and integration of innovative and circular industrial ecosystems and industrial
      clusters345 by bringing innovative and sustainable algae-based solutions and products to
      the market, integrating and linking up actors throughout the value chain to explore
      synergies.
Scope: Proposals are expected to show the way for innovative and sustainable algae-based
solutions and products for uses such as human consumption, animal feed, pharmaceutical
applications, waste water treatment, innovative, circular and sustainable textiles applications
or applications for agriculture to the market. Algae-based products and solutions for energy
applications are excluded from the scope of the topic.
The projects will address all following issues:
345
        Industrial clusters defined as per Homepage | European Cluster Collaboration Platform
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     Develop and demonstrate innovative and sustainable algae-based applications and assess
      their sustainability and circularity along the whole value chain;
     Identify technological, regulatory, economic and other barriers to bring algae-based
      products or solutions into the market and propose measures to overcome them, including
      where suitable through the use of regulatory sandboxes;
     Develop and test commercialisation strategy for algae-based innovative products or
      solutions for applications for human consumption, animal feed, pharmaceutical
      applications, water treatment, innovative, circular and sustainable textiles applications
      and for agriculture;
     Address cost-efficiency and cost reduction for algae transformation and processing;
     Bring together relevant actors and fora346 to establish an integrated, dynamic and circular
      industrial ecosystem around innovative algae-based products or solutions, involving
      when relevant, cluster organisations of industrial clusters/ecosystems and/or smart
      specialisation regions347 .
Interdisciplinary approaches and close cooperation between researchers, academia, algae
aquaculture industry, and industries developing innovative and sustainable algae-based
solutions and products, as well with users and consumers of those products and solutions will
be fundamental to the development, introduction and acceptance of these products in the
market.
Proposals should build on research and innovation projects’ results in the current and previous
EU framework programmes, such as but not limited to Horizon 2020, LIFE, EMFF and its
continuation the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, the Knowledge
Innovation Community on food, and other EU funding streams as well as national, regional
and cross-border programmes in the Baltic and North sea basins and the activities of the
Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership.
Proposals need to build in capacity to reach local/regional and national systems of multi-
stakeholders and to enhance their interconnections at basin scale. Multi stakeholder
engagements will require active participation from academia to research performing
organisations, from citizens to civil society, from young innovators to start-ups, SMEs and
other businesses.
Projects funded under this topic will:
     build links with other Mission activities and other relevant activities within the
      lighthouse and its area to maximize synergies, as well as with the other Mission
      lighthouses;
346
         Such as the Blue Bioeconomy Forum.
347
         https://clustercollaboration.eu/ and https://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/
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     build links with the Mission implementation monitoring system that will be part of the
      Mission Implementation Support Platform and with the Baltic and North sea basin
      lighthouse support facility and platform, for reporting, monitoring and coordination of
      all relevant implementation activities in the lighthouse area;
     support the Ocean and water knowledge system, in particular by contributing to
      monitoring, modelling and knowledge creation and data
A strong communication component and an active involvement of stakeholders, including
from the aquaculture and algae industry, relevant business organisations, consumers and users
and NGOs, in a co-creation approach is essential for the uptake of the produced outputs.
Training and education activities should be included. Market analysis and commercialisation
strategies (customer identification, distribution, branding etc.) will be essential.
The outcomes should address the European Green Deal 348 objectives, the Farm to Fork
Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system349, the EU Bioeconomy
Strategy350, the Communication on a new approach for a Sustainable Blue Economy351 and
the Strategic guidelines for a more sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture352, the Marine
Strategy Framework Directive353 and the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive354.
SMEs, early-stage business and scale-ups involved in Mission projects entailing innovative,
scalable and sustainable business ventures from traditional and emerging blue economy
sectors are invited to join the BlueInvest community and benefit from the BlueInvest Fund355.
Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve the Mission’s
objectives, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’.
Mission Enabling activities: Digital Ocean and Water Knowledge System, public
mobilisation and engagement, dynamic investment ecosystem
Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve the Mission’s
objectives, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’. In line
with the conclusions of the informal European summit of 10 March 2022, the participation of
348
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
349
         https://ec.europa.eu/food/horizontal-topics/farm-fork-strategy_en
350
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/research-area/environment/bioeconomy/bioeconomy-
         strategy_en
351
         COM/2021/240 final
352
         COM/2021/236 final
353
         https://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine/eu-coast-and-marine-policy/marine-strategy-framework-
         directive/index_en.htm
354
         https://ec.europa.eu/oceans-and-fisheries/ocean/blue-economy/maritime-spatial-planning_en
355
         BlueInvest provides equity from the European Maritime, Aquaculture and Fisheries Fund, matching
         guarantees from InvestEU, capital from the European Invest Fund and its parent the European
         Investment Bank to venture capital or impact funds who will crowd in other investments. See:
         https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/maritimeforum/en/frontpage/1451
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researchers of Ukrainian nationality who have received a temporary protection status in the
European Union is encouraged.
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-07: Integration of biodiversity monitoring data into
the Digital Twin Ocean
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per      10.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project               appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                      selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action        Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                      additionally be used).
Technology            Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 to 7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level       see General Annex B.
Legal and             The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of   apply:
the Grant             Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the following
Agreements            action(s):
                      HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05-01: Underlying models for the
                      European Digital Twin Ocean
                      HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-IBA-01 EU Public Infrastructure for
                      the European Digital Twin Ocean
                      HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01-03: FAIR and open data sharing in
                      support of healthy oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters
                      Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional obligations
                      regarding open science practices: If projects collect in-situ data and
                      marine observations, beneficiaries must make them openly available
                      through the European Marine Observation and Data network
                      (EMODnet), based on FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable,
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                          reusable) principles
                          Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                          The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                          The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000.
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Identified relevant “sleeping” or inaccessible biodiversity data and establishment of
      partnerships with data owners to unlock data on marine life, and human activities that
      affect it, through the digital ocean twin;
     Harmonised data, protocols and vocabularies, amongst biodiversity monitoring networks
      and actors, including citizens science programmes, and national authorities monitoring
      programmes;
     Secured, sustained and reliable data flows from biodiversity monitoring programmes,
      including research projects, national and international monitoring programmes, into
      DTO data repositories, from data collectors to data integrators, and their
      integration/assimilation in existing models;
     Economies of scale and enhanced standardisation through pilot sea-basin scale
      monitoring for species across the trophic chains (plankton, including microbes, fishes,
      marine mammals, reptiles and birds, other if considered important);
     Tools to better support assessment of multiple human activities pressures on biodiversity
      through exploring and assessing different modes of operation, different policies
      development and their effect on biodiversity;
     Support to the Mission’s Blue Parks and biodiversity actions in the Mission Lighthouses.
Scope: Proposals should expand the collection of ocean datasets related to biodiversity
(species, habitats, ecological interactions, human activities, and their impacts), possibly using
the cascading grant scheme, putting in place agreements with owners of previously
inaccessible or neglected data including biodiversity, fisheries, international programmes
(e.g.: ICOS, OBIS, MBON, ARGOS, (marine GEO BON356), Nature Directives and MSFD
reports, citizen science, national monitoring programmes, as well as ocean weather data,
observations related to blue carbon, etc. Proposals should collect, process or reformat as
necessary, and feed existing ocean and future datasets into the DTO infrastructure.
Proposals should address all activities and tasks as described below, in cooperation and
complementarity with the linked actions and other relevant actions.
356
         https://geobon.org/tag/marine-biodiversity-observation-network/
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1. Increasing flow of relevant biodiversity data based on literature, evaluations of EU
regulations and results of relevant EU projects and studies and data collected by industry for
regulatory purposes (Environmental Impact Assessment Directives):
   Identify existing, but restricted or hard to access, data on marine biodiversity and
     pressures;
   List and assess efforts to define biodiversity monitoring priorities, their effectiveness and
     their follow-up;
   Assess the impact of missing data on the ability of digital solutions (biodiversity /
     ecosystem models and applications) to represent reality and forecast future scenarios ;
   Unlock existing identified barriers and opportunities to ensure a sustained access to new
     sources of biodiversity data and its further integration and use specially in the mission
     and EU policies implementation;
   Assess innovative cost-effective technologies (e.g. High-throughput DNA sequencing),
     automatic recognition of electromagnetic or acoustic images) for large scale monitoring
     of biodiversity changes in key habitats. This is not aiming in developing new
     technologies or testing sensors, but assessing the potential of cost-effective technologies
     to provide large scale monitoring, by test casing them and achieving substantial data
     contributions.
2. Development of the biodiversity digital component and its integration in the DTO
architecture:
   Consolidate data standards, near-real time data quality control procedures,
     communication protocols between data centres for instant data access, create new
     standards if necessary;
   Place agreements with data owners to Integrate more biodiversity data sources into the
     DTO architecture and environment with focus on data that presently are not available
     under FAIR principles identified in point 1.
   Extract and harmonise those data to feed the DTO data repository and allowing the flow
     of data to continue and remain sustained after the end of the project;
   Develop to the extent possible data models to facilitate their future automatic
     integration/assimilation, allowing the flow of data to continue and remain sustained after
     the end of the project;
   Develop and improve the data ingestion and assimilation mechanisms to feed into
     biodiversity/ecosystem models.
3. Case-studies:
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    Demonstrate the end-to-end approach for biodiversity monitoring based on the digital
     environment provided by the DTO and the proposed biodiversity data sources by:
    Integrating and assimilating new data sources into existing models and artificial
     intelligence algorithms, assessing the outcomes, and implementing required quality
     control. It should help assess the overall easiness, identify levels of improvement, etc.
     and map the additional biodiversity data needs to be prioritised. The end-to-end
     approach could address fishing practices to reduce by-catches or habitat damage,
     adaptation to climate change, species migrations, impact of human activities (e.g.:
     tourism, transportation, renewable energy, etc.), development and monitoring of marine
     protected areas, adapting human activities to migrations of cetaceans and birds, etc.
    Develop digital tools and services (e.g. through AI, socio-ecological modelling, etc.) to
     support policy-making and to be integrated in DTO environment.
    Open calls (cascading grants to data holders (international networks, citizen science
     networks, universities –under specific conditions- favouring providers from data-poor
     regions, covering important data gaps) to facilitate sustained and long-term ingestion of
     locked data (indicate conditions).
4. Define performance indicators to measure the success of the project and define achievable
targets regarding increasing biodiversity data flows into the DTO by 2030.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-08: Student and school activities for the promotion
of education on ‘blue’ sustainability and the protection of marine and freshwater
ecosystems
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Legal and             The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of   apply:
the Grant             Beneficiaries will provide financial support to third parties.The support
Agreements            to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. The financial
                      support to third parties may only be awarded to primary and/or
                      secondary schools recognised under national law of the Member States
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                          and/or Associated countries and which are already accredited members
                          of the Network of European Blue Schools 357 established under the
                          EU4Ocean coalition on ocean literacy 358 , or which intend to become
                          accredited as members of the Network of European Blue Schools at the
                          moment of submission of the application for grant, on the basis of
                          relevant projects and curriculum development proposed under this topic.
                          The maximum amount to be granted to each primary and/or secondary
                          school is EUR 10,000, to student-led and implemented projects that
                          develop and implement ideas contributing to the achievement of the
                          objectives of Mission ‘Restore our ocean and waters by 2030”359 and at
                          the same time, reinforce and contribute to the work of the EU4Ocean
                          Coalition for Ocean Literacy and its dedicated European Network of
                          Blue Schools Each school shall benefit from the Financial Support to
                          Third Parties provided under this topic within the duration of the project
                          only once.
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Increased mobilisation and engagement of children and youth in primary and secondary
      schools across the EU and in the Associated countries in the implementation of Mission
      objectives;
     Student and school projects implementing the Mission objectives and engaging and
      mobilising students, teachers and schools in the pursuit of ocean and water literacy,
      sustainability and Mission objectives, that at the same time contribute to the growing
      Network of European Blue Schools established under the EU4Ocean Coalition for
      Ocean Literacy;
     Increased ocean and water literacy among children and youth, teachers and schools,
      improved understanding of the value and of ocean and waters and enhanced sense of
      responsibility among the youth and teachers towards this planet and its boundaries;
      Ramp up accreditation of schools in the Network of European Blue Schools and
      engagement in their related activities, based on methodologies of Open Schooling,
      engaging with the community and communicating the results of their projects and in the
      implementation of Mission objectives and bring the ocean and water into the classroom
      at the EU- and Associated countries level.
357
         https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/maritimeforum/en/node/5494: The European network of Blue Schools was
         developed under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and is carrying on under the European
         Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund.
358
         https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/maritimeforum/en/frontpage/1482
359
         The objectives of ‘Mission Restore our ocean and waters by 2030’ are set out in the Mission
         Implementation Plan published by the European Commission at Final outline implementation plans
         (europa.eu).
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Scope: Previous studies and pilot projects indicate that youth and school mobilisation and
engagement and ocean and water literacy activities need to be linked with clearly defined
goals and be focused on concrete actions and projects. Mission “Restore our ocean and waters
by 2030” offers the opportunity to develop and implement projects by the students
themselves, with the support and contribution of their schools, teachers and wider community,
based on the established principles and practices of ocean literacy and the general framework
on education for sustainability. These projects are expected to contribute, beyond being a pre-
requisite for accreditation under the Network of European Blue Schools, to the
implementation of Mission objectives.
Proposals under this topic will address the following:
   In cooperation with the Network of European Blue Schools established under the
     EU4Ocean coalition, expand and broaden the ocean and water literacy programmes for
     primary and secondary schools within the European Union and in the Associated
     Countries to allow them to become agents for change and sustainability of the ocean,
     seas and waters;
   Expand the Network of European Blue Schools further to all European Union Member
     States and to any Associated Countries, coastal or landlocked, and increase links
     between the established Blue Schools and other primary and secondary schools invite
     other primary and secondary schools aspiring to become accredited members of the
     European Network of Blue Schools through the development of common activities (i.e.:
     twinning projects, etc.) and through the sharing of their experiences;
   Promote the Mission, its objectives and activities in primary and secondary schools in
     the European Union and Associated Countries; promote methodologies of Open
     Schooling, engaging with the community and communication of project results, as
     important aspects of citizens participation and promotion of Mission objectives;
   Develop a pipeline of student and school projects implementing the Mission objectives
     and engaging and mobilising students, teachers and schools for the Mission and
     monitoring the progress of their implementation;
   Provide technical assistance and expertise for the proposed projects implementing the
     Mission objectives and expand ocean and water literacy and education for ocean and
     water sustainability;
   Highlight the contribution of student and school projects to achieving the Mission
     objectives through dissemination campaigns;
To address the impact-driven approach of the Mission, should include at least three calls for
students and school projects, which will be supported through grants to third parties under this
topic. The selection process for these student and school projects will be based on principles
of transparency, fairness and objectivity, and will take into account the processes and
requirements for schools accreditation as members of the Network of European Blue
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Schools.The student and school projects that should benefit from the financial support to third
parties under this topic will demonstrate and cover the following elements:
     Demonstrably and measurably contribute to the implementation of the Mission
      objectives and targets set out in the Mission Implementation Plan, among others through
      development and implementation of innovative solutions and products contributing to
      those objectives;
     Entail strong and innovative ocean and water literacy activities aimed at students,
      teachers and parents of the school(s) concerned and promote methodologies of Open
      Schooling, engaging with the community and communication of project results;
     Be accredited members of the European network of Blue schools at the time of
      application for the financial support for third parties under this topic or demonstrate how
      they intend to meet the pre-requisites to become accredited members of the Network of
      European Blue Schools in order to receive the European Blue School accreditation by
      the time of the completion of the project with respect to which they are applying for a
      financial support to third parties under this topic.
     Entail a proposal for cooperation and/or twinning with other schools, in particular with
      the Network of European Blue Schools and those aspiring to become accredited
      members of the Network of European Blue School;
     Entail commitment to a Climate Pact Pledge 360 leading to decarbonisation or at least
      carbon neutrality of the project and of the proposed school activities.
Proposals will develop and ensure:
     transparent, fair and objective selection and evaluation system for the student and school
      projects, and include, among the assessment criteria, a high degree of circularity, carbon
      neutrality and positive environmental impact of the project;
     full publication of the projects selected for funding and schools benefiting from the
      financial support to third parties under this topic, among others by publicising their
      results in the dedicated Network of European Blue Schools webpage361.
The student and school projects benefiting from the Financial Support to Third parties are
entitled to receive technical assistance, which entails technical advisory services for the
implementation and progress monitoring of the projects. The primary or secondary school
which proposed the student or school project shall be the beneficiary of the Financial Support
to Third parties which should be used exclusively for the implementation of the school and/or
student project. A primary or secondary school shall benefit from the Financial Support to
Third Parties provided under this topic only once. The maximum amount of Financial Support
to Third Parties is EUR 10,000 per school for the entire duration of the action.
360
         See Pledges (europa.eu)
361
         Maritime Forum (europa.eu)
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Projects funded under this topic will:
   build links with other Mission activities and other relevant activities within the Mission
     lighthouses’ areas and Blue Parks to maximize synergies;
   contribute to the aims and work pursued under the EU4Ocean Coalition and its dedicated
     Network of European Blue Schools and complement it;
   build links with the Mission implementation monitoring system that will be part of the
     Mission Implementation Support Platform and with the basin lighthouse support
     facilities and platforms, for reporting, monitoring and coordination of all relevant
     implementation activities in the lighthouses’ areas.
Participation of students of Ukrainian nationality who have received a temporary protection
status in the European Union is encouraged.
Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve the Mission’s
objectives, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-09: Towards a European e-DNA library of marine
and freshwater species
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per         2.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the following
                         action(s):
                         HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05-01: Underlying models for the
                         European Digital Twin Ocean
                         HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-IBA-01 EU Public Infrastructure
                         for the European Digital Twin Ocean
                         HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01-03: FAIR and open data sharing
                         in support of healthy oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters
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Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Contribution to the development of the next generation marine monitoring programmes
     and mapping initiatives that focus on collecting and analysing environmental DNA-of
     marine and freshwater species;
   Assessment of all relevant activities, actions and projects that entail collecting and
     analysing environmental DNA from marine and freshwater species implemented in the
     European Union and in the Associated countries for their synergies;
   Assessment of the feasibility of creation of an integrated European e-DNA library of all
     marine and freshwater species that would be based on FAIR principles and publicly
     available and support marine biodiversity monitoring programmes and mapping
     initiatives. Compatibility with the European Marine Observation and Data Network
     (EmodNet) and the future Ocean and Water knowledge system (Digital Twin Ocean)
     will be part of the assessment;
   Assessment of ongoing international efforts on standards and interoperability of data,
     methods, techniques, etc.
   Fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of marine genetic resources linked
     to biodiversity, in line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030;
   Promote synergies and harmonisation between projects and initiatives to collect and
     analyse DNA of marine and freshwater species for their future successful scale up.
Scope: Genomic techniques represent a major source of innovation in marine monitoring
techniques. They offer the potential to provide accurate, real time and cost-efficient
monitoring and observation of the marine environment and its biological diversity that can be
used for policy making and policy implementation, such as in the case of status assessment
requirements.
This topic aims at coordinating and networking ongoing activities at EU level, assessing the
needs and requirements for establishing an EU e-DNA repository/library of marine and
freshwater species and developing plans for its efficient data curation and storage to ensure
the provision of accurate time series, data standards and harmonisation for marine biodiversity
monitoring and observation.
Interdisciplinary by nature, proposals should integrate in the consortium relevant scientific
expertise (e.g.: in marine monitoring and observation, genomics, blue biotechnology, marine
biology and ecology, big data analysis, machine learning methods) as well as European
Research Infrastructures and relevant end users, such as environmental agencies, regional
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convention programmes, institutes in charge of the implementation of the Marine Strategy
Framework Directive362, national and regional authorities.
Use cases are expected to demonstrate the value of establishing an e-DNA library of marine
and freshwater species at EU level and their contribution to EU biodiversity strategies.
Proposals are expected to link with the Digital Ocean and Water Knowledge System (Digital
Twin ocean) to address how to digitally record and manage EU e-DNA data and meta-data
through appropriate standards, formats, data policy that facilitate open data and knowledge
sharing for further use for biodiversity monitoring and modelling. Cooperation, networking
and exchange of information is also expected with projects funded under Cluster 6 topic
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-03 (Understanding and valuing coastal and marine
biodiversity and ecosystems services), in particular its workstream on genomics and
taxonomic technologies for the inventory and fast identification of marine species, topic
HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-01 (European participation in global biodiversity
genomics endeavours aimed at identifying all biodiversity on Earth) as well as any other
relevant projects focusing in this area.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-10: Towards local community-driven business
models: regenerative ocean farming
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Procedure             The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                      exceptions apply:
                      To ensure a balanced portfolio covering all three sea basins covered by
                      the Mission 'Restore our ocean and waters by 2030' (Atlantic and Arctic
                      sea basin, Mediterranean sea basin, Baltic and North sea basin), grants
                      will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but at least
                      also to one project that is the highest ranked within each sea basin,
                      provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements            Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional obligations
362
        MSFD, 2008/56/EC) MSFD
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                       regarding open science practices: If projects collect in-situ data and
                       marine observations, beneficiaries must make them openly available
                       through the European Marine Observation and Data network
                       (EMODnet), based on FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable,
                       reusable) principles
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
   Evidence-based business plans for the development of entrepreneurship and successful
     local community-driven regenerative ocean farming initiatives;
   Job creation and new skills development;
   Provision of new ecosystem services from marine and coastal ecosystems;
   Preserved local marine and costal ecosystems, biodiversity and genetic diversity;
   Increased resilience of coastal and marine areas to climate change and generation of
     positive climate change mitigation effects;
   Improved marine and coastal habitats, biodiversity and enhanced conservation capacity;
   Increased knowledge on impact of regenerative ocean farming on local marine and
     coastal environment conditions.
Scope: This topic aims at supporting the development of sustainable locally-led initiatives for
regenerative ocean farming, accelerating their uptake, anticipating and planning necessary
future investments. Activities will focus on assessing the technical and operational feasibility
as well as the economic viability of site-specific community-driven regenerative ocean
farming initiatives.
The “community-driven” approach under this topic puts strong emphasis on skills and
capacity of coastal communities and relevant actors to manage the natural resources they
depend upon in a sustainable way, as well as on the establishment of partnerships and
cooperation to build local expertise and enhance knowledge that will support the community.
This, in turn, will contribute to preserve and protect marine and coastal habitats, build climate
change resilience, develop livelihood opportunities and stimulate investments.
Activities under this topic will, therefore, contribute to the achievement of Mission Objective
3 “Making the blue economy sustainable, carbon neutral and circular” by fostering
technological, socio-economic and human-centric transformations in “blue” sectors in Europe
whilst protecting and preserving blue natural capital (Mission Objective 1).
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Regenerative ocean farming is a form of mariculture that involves restoration and
regeneration 363 of seaweed forest habitats and/or other marine habitats in nearshore or
offshore ocean environment, following sustainable mariculture principles such as marine
permaculture, with zero feeds and fertilisers inputs in the system, with the effect of
sequestration of carbon and nutrients and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems.
Regenerative ocean farming may include seaweed and/or combinations of seaweed, shellfish
and/or other low trophic organisms.
Proposals will address all key issues concerning the technical, organisational, financial,
environmental and socio-economic feasibility of new community-driven regenerative ocean
farming initiatives in at least three sites, each located in a different Mission sea basin364 and
will:
     demonstrate the technical and operational feasibility of site-specific regenerative ocean
      farming, with a focus on innovation and on sustainable and low impact harvesting
      methods and technologies;
     demonstrate the social and economic viability and relevance of regenerative ocean
      farming for related local communities;
     identify challenges and barriers, including legislative, regulatory and standard related
      issues, to the implementation of regenerative ocean farming and propose possible
      solutions;
     assess the site-specific socio-economic impact of community-driven regenerative ocean
      farming;
     assess market potential along the value chain and identify possible end-
      users/applications;
     assess the capacity of related ecosystem services to generate socio-economic value;
     develop and implement training and skill development actions involving local
      communities.
In addition to environmental and climate-related impact, sustainability issues (e.g.: resources
and energy use) should be integrated in the plans of the regenerative ocean farming initiatives.
The integration of the gender dimension is to be considered.
363
         Regeneration is understood as the ability of an ecosystem – specifically, the environment and its living
         population – to renew and recover from damage, among others through photosynthesis which results in
         increased plant biomass in the ecosystem.
         Mission Ocean and Waters sea basins are: 1) Atlantic and Arctic sea basin; 2) Mediterranean sea basin;
         3) Baltic and North Sea basin
364
         Regeneration is understood as the ability of an ecosystem – specifically, the environment and its living
         population – to renew and recover from damage, among others through photosynthesis which results in
         increased plant biomass in the ecosystem.
         Mission Ocean and Waters sea basins are: 1) Atlantic and Arctic sea basin; 2) Mediterranean sea basin;
         3) Baltic and North Sea basin
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Projects should actively involve local stakeholders along the value chain, such as fishermen,
SMEs and start-ups and relevant commercial actors, marine planners, coastal area inhabitants,
local governments, indigenous groups, NGOs. Close cooperation with research organisations
and academia is expected to provide sound scientific evidence as well as the implementation
of open innovation approaches.
Activities to build consensus and engagement should be included with the view to, ultimately,
create strategic partnering opportunities for developing sustainable and scalable business
models and ventures showing the potential to boost the wellbeing of coastal areas and their
communities.
For each site, activities will deliver thorough technical, organisational and financial plans
underpinning the development of community-driven regenerative ocean farming initiatives.
The project should build on the experience and results of previous projects financed through
Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, LIFE, INTERREG365 and other EU and national programmes,
for instance GENIALG 366 , as well as where appropriate on the activities and action of
Fisheries Local Action groups367.
Actions to raise interest of philanthropic organisations are encouraged.
SMEs, early-stage business and scale-ups involved in Mission projects entailing innovative,
scalable and sustainable business ventures from traditional and emerging blue economy
sectors are invited to join the BlueInvest community and benefit from the BlueInvest Fund368.
Proposals are expected to show how their activities and results will achieve the Mission’s
objectives, in line with the timeframe of the Mission phases, i.e.: by 2025 for the
‘development and piloting’ phase and 2030 for the ‘deployment and upscaling phase’.
Other Actions not subject to calls for proposals
Grants to identified beneficiaries
1. EU Public Infrastructure for the European Digital Twin Ocean
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195(f) of the
Financial Regulation and Article 20 of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and Rules
for Participation. The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility
365
        https://www.submariner-network.eu/grass showing how macroalgae can be grown sustainably in Baltic
        (includes map); https://www.interreg2seas.eu/en/ValgOrize grows and tests algae to see how it tastes
        https://genialgproject.eu/
366
        https://www.submariner-network.eu/grass showing how macroalgae can be grown sustainably in Baltic
        (includes map); https://www.interreg2seas.eu/en/ValgOrize grows and tests algae to see how it tastes
        https://genialgproject.eu/
367
        https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/en/map-week-%E2%80%93-fisheries-local-action-groups-flags
368
        BlueInvest provides equity from the European Maritime, Aquaculture and Fisheries Fund, matching
        guarantees from InvestEU, capital from the European Invest Fund and its parent the European
        Investment Bank to venture capital or impact funds who will crowd in other investments. See:
        https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/maritimeforum/en/frontpage/1451
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conditions, award criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for
grants, financial and operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts
A to G of the General Annexes.
The objective is to integrate existing EU ocean observing and monitoring programmes, such
as Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS)369 and EMODnet370, into a single digital framework,
with a view to providing public access and use to the widest possible range of ocean
observation datasets, data products and services and prepare a co-working environment for
knowledge creation. This should form the digital backbone of the European Digital Twin
Ocean (DTO), a public infrastructure be aligned within the Destination Earth initiative of the
Digital Europe Programme to host existing and new sources of data and modelling capacities
for oceans and freshwater. It will support the development of the Mission lighthouses while
preparing a robust infrastructure that can be scaled up to an overarching knowledge system.
The action’s results are expected to lead to:
     a sustainable digital architecture that integrates Copernicus and EMODnet services into a
      European Digital Twin Ocean to be aligned with the Destination Earth initiative of the
      Digital Europe Programme, which enables the Mission’s objectives through: seamless
      navigation and use of ocean data and data products; facilities to upload, configure and
      run integrated models; interoperability with other programmes, providing additional
      models and data (including international programmes, industry, citizen data, etc); and
      users’ profiles management, including their assets (data, models), and configuration for
      scenario development and assessment;
     support to implementation of EU legislation and international commitments;
     a (co-)working virtual environment to use data and hosted models, targeting to start with
      the 3 objectives of the Mission (biodiversity, zero pollution, zero carbon) and supporting
      the lighthouses;
     the architecture for the oceanic component of Destination Earth Developments built
      under the Digital Europe programme;
     significant contribution to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable
      Development.
The outputs of the action should rely on state of art science for preparing and running models’
configurations, organising an ocean data lake compliant with EU and international data
management standards based on innovative digital tools.
The action will be a linked action with the actions funded under topics European Green Deal
Call LC-GD-9-3-2020 (Iliad project371); HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-01-07: Underlying
369
         https://marine.copernicus.eu/
370
         https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/
371
         Iliad project, action number 101037643
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models for the European Digital Twin Ocean; and HORIZON-INFRA-2022-EOSC-01-03:
FAIR and open data sharing in support of healthy oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters.
The following tasks (from 1 to 4) should be addressed:
1. System architecture: the action should design, develop and pre-operationally validate an
integrated and robust digital framework and new infrastructure and services, based at least on
Copernicus and EMODnet, addressing at least all the following items:
     a platform providing users with access to all services that can be smoothly and
      seamlessly integrated under the europa.eu domain and standards REGULATION (EU)
      2019/517 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 19
      March 2019 on the implementation and functioning of the .eu top-level domain name
      and amending and repealing Regulation (EC) No 733/2002 and repealing Commission
      Regulation (EC) No 874/2004
      Consolidated text: Regulation (EC) No 733/2002 of the European Parliament and of the
      Council of 22 April 2002 on the implementation of the .eu Top Level Domain ,
      http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2002/733/2008-12-11, (current version 19/10/2019)
      Commission Regulation (EC) No 874/2004 of 28 April 2004 laying down public policy
      rules concerning the implementation and functions of the .eu Top Level Domain and the
      principles governing registration, http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2004/874/oj, (Current
      consolidated version: 16/04/2015)
     an ocean data lake linking all existing data with the capacity to exploit them with
      innovative digital technologies;
     a DTO engine to configure, schedule and run suites of algorithms and models, including
      through a European cloud and high performance computing capacities (HPC);
     a co-working environment where users can register, navigate seamlessly across datasets,
      access, use and develop digital knowledge services.
2. Improved accessibility of data. The action should address all issues that follow:
     provide access to all data, data products, and model outputs through: the ability to
      search, view and use data and model outputs according to the FAIR372 principles through
      the platform; application programming interfaces allowing efficient access through
      Machine-to-Machine communication and applications of Artificial Intelligence, big data
      analysis and High-Performance Computing techniques;
     use accepted European or international standards;
     work with EMODnet ingestion services to prepare the infrastructure to incorporate data,
      taking into consideration the need to translate to European standards from: EU
      biodiversity repositories (e.g.: geographical nodes of OBIS); EU freshwater data
372
         Findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable.
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     repositories; (assess the need for developing new standards; and Major non European
     repositories of interest for the Mission;
   shift data access from shopping basket to instant access, particularly for large volumes;
   speed up access to data;
   prepare Application Programming Interfaces to deliver data for EU reporting (e.g. the
     European Environment Agency’s Reportnet).
3. DTO engine: Improved accessibility to ocean models and software:
The project should develop a working environment to prepare configurations of runs on-
demand: with combination of models or software, necessary input data, assimilation schemes
or ensemble configurations, for the purpose of what-if scenarios (capacity to run nested,
coupled models, ensemble configurations etc.) that includes all the following aspects:
   protocols and interfaces to access and use to hybrid (cloud + HPC) facilities;
   optimized data transfers, computing time and costs on cloud and HPC between
     Copernicus, EMODnet architectures and external IaaS infrastructures used for cloud and
     HPC;
   ability to draw on users’ own data and data from Copernicus and EMODnet;
   standards and APIs, to host and run external ocean models using external data sources
     ready-to-configure and be run in the DTO engine;
   compatibility with ongoing developments within Copernicus and this Mission;
   protocols and interfaces compatible with the developments and technologies under
     Destination Earth, Copernicus DIAS, EOSC, GEANT or initiatives such as GAIA-X or
     EuroHPC.
4. A Co-working virtual environment where users can meet, discover and exploit data,
software and models easily; this environment should be both easy to use for non-experts with
innovative user experience, as well as efficient for scientific experts with additional
functionalities if so-needed, such as:
   manage users in terms of characteristics, specific allocated assets, online support
     possibly cascading to Copernicus and EMODnet for expertise;
   ensure that users can create sessions of work to develop what-if scenarios / simulations
     based on the DTO engine and data available in the system; and share it with restricted
     access with identified collaborators;
   scientific standard tools to visualize and exploit results of algorithms, software or models
     applied on data by the users, for the purpose of scientific validation and assessment of
     what-if scenarios;
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   socializing tools to facilitate co-design, co-working practices and knowledge sharing, to
      facilitate the uptake of the future architecture by the lighthouses.
For the above, the necessary service pre-operations should be put in place. The action should
be compliant with Copernicus, EMODnet best practices, and with INSPIRE, FAIR and OGC
standards. The action should set up the required scientific governance and technical
coordination to link closely with Copernicus and EMODnet daily for the implementation,
with the other components of the Destination Earth initiative and with the EC/ESA joint Earth
System science initiative.
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals;
Type of Action: Grant awarded without call for proposals according to Financial Regulation
Article 195 (f), Innovation Actions;
Indicative budget: EUR 3.00 million;
Legal and financial set-up of the grant agreement: Subcontracting is not restricted to a limited
part of the action.
Indicative timetable: Q1/2022
Legal Entities:
   MERCATOR OCEAN, 2 avenue de l’Aérodrome de Montaudran, 31 400 Toulouse,
      France;
   Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee, Wandelaarkaai 7, 8400 Oostende, Belgium
These two legal entities, namely Mercator Ocean International (MOI), implementing the
Copernicus Marine Service, and the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), key implementing
entity of EMODnet have been identified because of the high level of technical expertise
needed and because they are already implementing the two infrastructures expected to be
integrated for the Digital twin development. These two legal entities are expected to closely
cooperate with one another and form a consortium to implement this action.
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant awarded without call for proposals according to Financial Regulation
Article 195 (f)
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: Q1/2022
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Indicative budget: EUR 3.00 million from the 2021 budget373
2. Europeanisation of Plastic Pirates Citizen Science Initiative
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195(f) of the
Financial Regulation and Article 20 of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and Rules
for Participation. The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility
conditions, award criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for
grants, financial and operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts
A to G of the General Annexes.
Expected Outcome: The results of the action are expected to contribute to all of the following
expected outcomes:
     Tried and tested EU wide approaches to using citizen science to understand and monitor
      plastic pollution in European rivers, coasts and seas.
     Increased capacity to collect, organise and verify (imperfect) data in research hubs for
      transnational cooperation.
     Tested replicable best practice models for linking excellent science and citizen
      engagement for the Mission’s objective of restoring our ocean, seas and waters.
     Pan European cooperation with citizens and in particular young people on plastics in the
      aquatic and marine environment.
     Citizens engaged and empowered for the challenges posed by the twin green and digital
      transition, and increased society participation in the European Research Area.
The action should support the scale and rollout of the Plastic Pirates – Go Europe! 374
initiative launched by the Trio-Presidency of Germany, Portugal and Slovenia into a pan-
European citizen science initiative. The action should thus respond to the Council’s call “on
the Commission and Member States to further develop and implement the ‘plastic pirates’
citizen science campaign as the ERA pilot action to foster ‘interaction’ within the ERA in
order to raise awareness among citizens, in particular young citizens, on the impact and
benefits of R&I in their daily lives [as well as] encouraging cooperation with the proposed
Mission on Healthy Oceans, Seas, Coastal and Inland Water”. 375
The action should implement a federated approach that allows the participation of all Member
States. The action should support a synchronised and coordinated litter sampling and
collection campaign across the EU during 2022, accompanied by corresponding
373
         Of which EUR 0.71 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
         Environment' budget,EUR 0.31 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 1.86 million
         from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget,EUR 0.08 million from the 'Civil Security for Society'
         budget,EUR 0.04 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
374
         https://www.plastic-pirates.eu
375
         Council       conclusions     13567/20       on     the     New       European       Research  Area:
         https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-13567-2020-INIT/en/pdf
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                                                  Missions
communication and media activities at local, national and EU levels. The available resources
should be used to support the collection campaign across the EU at local level as well as for
the accompanying communication measures.
Citizen science is a rapidly emerging mode of research and innovation that shows huge
promise in terms of collecting new qualities and quantities of data, harnessing collective
intelligence, improving science-society literacy, and improving the relationship between
science and society.
Citizen science initiatives can reach a more complete potential if implemented on a
transnational level, collecting vast amounts of cross-country data in a harmonised and
standardised manner. The action should therefore apply standardised approaches to sampling,
data collection and storage with open access of data in line with the FAIR 376 principles, which
extends the existing data collected by the Plastic Pirates initiative across Europe, linking
freshwater and marine. It should contribute to a more comprehensive assessment and
monitoring of the sources, pathways and hotspots of plastic litter in Europe’s rivers, coasts
and seas. The action should thereby support excellent science and support the implementation
and monitoring of EU policy objectives such as the Zero Pollution Action Plan for Water, Air
and Soil, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and Water Framework Directive. The
action should connect to existing European data portals such as EMOD-Net and feed into the
development of European Digital Twin Ocean to ensure long-term availability and relevance
of the data collected for research and policy.
The action should increase transnational cooperation in citizen science and develop a
mechanism for working with local partners in each EU Member State and Associated Country
adapting and translating the already existing outreach and educational material for schools in
local languages and ensure a European-wide coordinated approach to data collection,
sampling and validation.
Legal entity/entities:
Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR)
Linder Hoehe
51147 Cologne
The Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. has been identified, due to its high
level of expertise, network and administrative powers. DLR Project Management Agency
already coordinated the following European campaign “Plastic Pirates – Go Europe!" which
was developed by the Trio-Presidency of Germany, Portugal and Slovenia. Within this
campaign, DLR already acted as the “neutral” secretariat coordinating all actors from the
Trio-Presidency states. Likewise, DLR already coordinated the predecessor national campaign
in Germany – called „Plastikpiraten – Das Meer beginnt hier!“ on behalf of the German
376
        FAIR founding principles for data producers and publishers- Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability,
        and Reusability
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Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), which has been successfully running
since 2016. Due to its experience in the predecessor campaigns, BMBF mandated DLR to
support the European rollout the Plastic Pirates. DLR has ready-to-use information material
for teachers and students (e.g. developed and annually updated material and practical
guidelines for field trips and teaching, in English and German), which will allow an
immediate start of the sampling.
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant awarded without call for proposals according to Financial Regulation
Article 195 (f)
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: Q12022
Indicative budget: EUR 2.00 million from the 2021 budget377
Procurement actions
1. Mission Ocean and Waters events
The objective is to organise Mission Ocean and Waters conference and other relevant events
that will bring together key stakeholders and Mission partners, including Member States,
regions, research bodies and academia, civil society and organisations and promote the
Mission activities and projects among key Mission partners, stakeholders and citizens.
The action’s results are expected to lead to:
     Increased knowledge and awareness of the Mission and its activities among Member
      States, regions and communities and key Mission partners and general public;
     Increased support and acceleration of the implementation of Mission activities, such as
      Mission lighthouses;
     Provide cooperation and networking opportunities among key Mission partners, Member
      States authorities, regions and communities for the implementation of the Mission;
     Support ocean and water literacy, citizen science and public and stakeholder
      mobilisation and engagement with regard to Mission activities.
Form of Funding: Procurement
377
         Of which EUR 0.48 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
         Environment' budget,EUR 0.21 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.05 million
         from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget,EUR 1.24 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility'
         budget,EUR 0.03 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q3-Q4/2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.52 million from the 2022 budget378
2. Mission ocean, seas and waters implementation support platform – overall Mission
coordination and monitoring; European Blue parks technical assistance; citizen
engagement; communication
Public procurement for the Mission implementation support platform, which will provide a
one-stop-shop to assist with the overall Mission implementation, including knowledge,
science to policy advice, financial advice and technical assistance, assisting with capacity
building, support to outreach, scale up and dissemination of information, knowledge and
innovations at all levels. The Mission Implementation Support Platform will in particular
provide access to knowledge to all citizens, as well as support and technical assistance to
Mission Partners that will implement the Mission. The Mission Implementation Support
Platform will set up the Mission implementation monitoring and reporting framework,
integrate monitoring and reporting from Mission activities and ensure quantitative and
qualitative analysis, and focus in particular on planning and tracking progress towards
achievement of the Mission’s objectives.
The Mission Implementation Support Platform will support and integrate citizen engagement
and communication and dissemination activities for the Mission overall, in cooperation and
coordination with the Mission lighthouse platforms. The platform will be expected to set up a
process to allow actions and solutions from partners and other actors contributing to Mission
objectives to integrate in the Mission (e.g. through Mission label or pledging platform) and to
integrate this process in the Mission lighthouses, in cooperation with the lighthouse platforms.
The platform will foster and coordinate across the actions and lighthouses, the collection of
observations, data, knowledge and digital solutions into the ocean and water digital system.
The latter will ensure for the Platform data dissemination, digital knowledge development and
technical assistance.
The Platform will build, organize and assist a group of private and public investors and
donors designed to facilitate and design investable propositions and trigger investments across
the Mission’s activities.
The Platform will also cooperate with regions across the EU and participating countries, and
with relevant organisations of regions, local authorities and stakeholders, including those
sponsored by the EU, in order to prepare and effect the transfer of approaches and results
from the Mission’s lighthouses.
378
        Of which EUR 0.10 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget,EUR 0.07 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.01 million
        from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget,EUR 0.33 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility'
        budget,EUR 0.01 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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The Mission Implementation Support Platform will comprise the European Blue Parks
platform, a technical and scientific assistance mechanism for local and regional initiatives
implementing the Blue Parks (more effective marine protected areas, new areas under ‘strict
protection’ and the creation of new marine protected areas or their extension), such as:
    guidance for biodiversity assessment and monitoring
    advice on ‘blue carbon sequestration’ and climate mitigation potential of passive and
      active ecosystem restoration
    technical and scientific assistance in designing, setting up and governance of local and
      regional protection initiatives, identification of sustainable economic opportunities and
      access to sustainable finance
    technical and financial assistance and expertise for the design and implementation of
      innovative and sustainable business models and business plans
    advice on and support building a community of engaged and sustainable investors and
      socio-economic actors benefiting from ecosystem services with view to their
      contribution and a pipeline of conservation investment opportunities
    support to networking and knowledge transfer between projects and areas within Blue
      Parks
    education, outreach and citizen engagement;
    ensure monitoring of implementation of the Blue Parks and quantitative and qualitative
      analysis.
It will provide expertise for the scientific basis for the expansion of networks of marine
protected areas, including studies, mapping and assessments of EU marine biodiversity and of
coherence of networks of marine protected areas. It will support the decisions over active and
passive restoration in marine protected areas and effective management of marine protected
areas through innovative approaches to assessing and managing most important pressures.
The platform will support the creation and integration into the Ocean and water digital
knowledge system of data, monitoring and forecasts as well as knowledge dissemination that
supports the Blue Parks and cross-fertilization among the actions of the Mission.
The Blue Parks platform is expected to closely collaborate with and build on the activities of
the EU Knowledge Centres and Observatories such as the JRC knowledge centres for
biodiversity and for territorial policies.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: 1st Quarter 2022 – 2nd Quarter 2024
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Indicative budget: EUR 5.34 million from the 2021 budget379
3. Studies in support to the implementation of the Mission
The implementation of the Mission requires support studies that will ascertain in detail the
status quo of the implementation of the Mission objectives in particular in the following areas:
     Restoration of the continuity of the ecological flow of European rivers, with the view of
      reaching the target of 25,000 km of free flowing rivers by 2030, as set out in the
      European Biodiversity Strategy;
     Data and model availability on European rivers and other freshwater ecosystems with a
      view to including freshwater systems in Digital Twin Ocean;
     The state of knowledge of extent, nature, functioning and type of European wetlands and
      how their greenhouse gas emissions and sequestration due to their management,
      destruction and regeneration are reported to UNFCCC;
     State of development and implementation of nature based solutions for coastal
      protection, bioremediation and carbon sequestration in Europe.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q3-Q4/2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.88 million from the 2022 budget380
4. Studies fostering cross programme synergies and links in support of the
implementation of the Mission
The implementation of the Mission requires support studies foster links between different EU
and national programmes and determine synergies between these programs to ensure effective
implementation of Mission objectives and actions, in particular:
     Conduct portfolio analysis of projects funded from different EU, national and regional
      programmes with a view to their contribution to Mission objectives and in support of key
      Mission actions and activities;
     Flagging system for Mission relevant projects;
379
        Of which EUR 1.27 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget,EUR 0.56 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.13 million
        from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget,EUR 3.31 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility'
        budget,EUR 0.07 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
380
        Of which EUR 0.16 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget,EUR 0.12 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.56 million
        from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget,EUR 0.02 million from the 'Civil Security for Society'
        budget,EUR 0.02 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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     Identify key synergies among projects funded from different EU, national and regional
      programmes that contribute to Mission objectives and have a potential to support of key
      Mission actions and activities;
     Accelerate access to public, private and blended finance for activities and projects
      contributing to Mission objectives.
     Develop strategies at national and local level for dissemination and exploitation of
      project results portfolios.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: Q3-Q4/2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.38 million from the 2022 budget381
Other budget implementation instruments
1. Individual experts assisting the Commission for evaluation of Mission 'Restore our
ocean and waters by 2030'
This action will support the use of appointed independent experts for the analysis, monitoring
and evaluation of actions implemented as a part of the Mission ‘Restore our ocean and waters
by 2030’, contributing to and complementing the Horizon Europe programme level
monitoring framework and evaluation efforts, in particular the key impact pathways and joint
evaluation studies. Their work could also contribute to prospective analyses for the
implementation of this Mission.
A special allowance of EUR 450/day will be paid to the experts appointed in their personal
capacity who act independently and in the public interest. This amount is considered to be
proportionate to the specific tasks to be assigned to the experts, including the number of
meetings to be attended and possible preparatory work.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative timetable: Q3-Q4/2022 (6 months)
Indicative budget: EUR 0.12 million from the 2022 budget382
381
        Of which EUR 0.07 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget,EUR 0.05 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.24 million
        from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget,EUR 0.01 million from the 'Civil Security for Society'
        budget,EUR 0.01 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
382
        Of which EUR 0.02 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget,EUR 0.02 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.00 million
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Mission: Climate neutral and smart cities
This part of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2021-2022 is dedicated to the
implementation of the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission, hereafter referred to as the
Cities Mission. In line with the provisions under the implementation plan of the Cities
Mission that specifies its goals and objectives383, actions envisaged by the topics of this Work
Programme will provide a strong and direct support to cities384 that will commit to climate
neutrality 385 and enable them to roll out their climate action plans and achieve climate
neutrality by 2030, in synergy with significant progress towards zero pollution. In turn, the
cities benefitting from these actions will act as experimentation and innovation hubs for other
cities to become climate-neutral by 2050.
Climate neutrality for cities is associated with important co-benefits and urban qualities such
as reduced air and noise pollution, improved health and well-being, reduced urban
environmental footprints, enhanced urban greening and improved water management. It is
also associated with policy coherence across sectors and with participatory and inclusive
decision-making. Therefore, in addition to a significant contribution to the objective of the
European Green Deal386 to make Europe climate-neutral by 2050, the actions funded will also
contribute to the UN Agenda 2030387, the EU Zero Pollution Action Plan388, the Fit for 55
strategy389, the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030390, the EU Strategy on adaptation to climate
change391 and the New European Bauhaus initiative 392. In the process, they will support cities
in their twin green and digital transitions.
         from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget,EUR 0.08 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility'
         budget,EUR 0.00 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
383
                   https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/cities_
         mission_implementation_plan.pdf
384
         The Cities Mission targets entities whose local authorities or their mandated representatives represent
         one city defined as a Local Administrative Unit (LAU), or a “greater city” or metropolitan region,
         taking account of Functional Urban Areas (FUA) where relevant. Entities of more than 50 000
         inhabitants may apply. To maximise the impact in terms of overall greenhouse gas reduction,
         applications are encouraged in particular from cities where the majority of the population lives in an
         urban centre of at least 100 000 inhabitants.
385
         Climate neutrality is defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as a “concept
         of a state in which human activities result in no net effect on the climate system. Achieving such a state
         would require balancing of residual emissions with emission (carbon dioxide) removal as well as
         accounting for regional or local biogeophysical effects of human activities that, for example, affect
         surface albedo or local climate.” For the purpose of the Cities Mission, climate neutrality for a city
         should be assessed based on: (1) scope 1 GHG emissions, i.e. emissions within the geographic
         boundary from buildings, industry, transport, waste treatment, agriculture and forestry and from other
         activities, and (2) scope 2 GHG emissions, i.e. indirect emissions due to consumption of grid-supplied
         electricity within the geographic boundary and indirect emissions due to consumption of grid-supplied
         heat or cold within the geographic boundary.
386
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
387
         https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda
388
         https://ec.europa.eu/environment/strategy/zero-pollution-action-plan_en
389
         https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_3541
390
         https://ec.europa.eu/environment/strategy/biodiversity-strategy-2030_en
391
         https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/adaptation/what_en
392
         https://europa.eu/new-european-bauhaus/index_en
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Topics under the call “Supporting the transition towards climate neutrality within cities” aim
to strengthen the operational capacity of the Mission Platform393 that provides its services to
cities participating in the Cities Mission, to support the setup of national mission networks
and to foster collaborative local governance models. Topics under the call “Research and
Innovation actions to support the implementation of the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities
Mission” will provide support to innovative approaches to integrated urban planning and
design, to large-scale demonstrations of Positive Clean Energy Districts, to activities that
strengthen the innovation and inclusiveness potential of public transport and urban mobility,
and to the setup of a platform to coordinate the international dimension of the Mission.
Overall, the actions funded under the Work Programme will also foster the engagement of
citizens and urban stakeholders as well as the mainstreaming of social innovation and of user-
friendly and secure digital services.
Proposals should demonstrate, as appropriate to their scope and size, how they internalise the
principles of the Cities Mission, notably: (1) the contribution of the action to an overarching
strategy aiming at climate neutrality for cities, (2) the place of the action within a holistic and
cross-sectoral approach to climate neutrality, and (3) diversity in terms of geographical
location and size of cities.
Applicants are encouraged to show how their proposals take into account and build upon
existing programmes and/or the results of previous R&I projects. While addressing the
particular challenge of a topic and ensuring the doing no harm principles, proposals should
also contribute as relevant to the following cross-cutting priorities: (1) zero pollution, (2)
sustainable digitisation and green ICT, (3) interoperability and shared standards, and (4)
affordability, social inclusiveness and accessibility394 to leave no one behind. Due attention
should be paid to solutions addressing housing affordability, mobility poverty and other
distributional impacts of the transition, notably on households in vulnerable situations.
Proposals should emphasise systemic approaches by integrating, for instance, energy and
mobility systems, carbon-free energy vectors and storage at district level, sustainable and
carbon-free/low-emission built environment, diffusion of electrical, alternative fuels based,
carbon neutral and efficient mobility and of vehicle-to-grid technology. Strong contribution to
the implementation of the Cities Mission is expected from relevant Horizon Europe
partnerships 395 such as the European Partnership for People-centric Sustainable Built
Environment (Built4People), the European Partnership towards Zero-emission Road
Transport (2Zero) as well as the European Partnerships on Connected, Cooperative and
Automated Mobility (CCAM) and on Driving Urban Transitions to a sustainable future
(DUT). The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and its Knowledge and
Innovation Communities (KICs), with their experience in delivering holistic, transformative,
393
        Being set up through the project selected under the Horizon 2020 NetZeroCities - Accelerating cities'
        transition to net zero emissions by 2030, Grant Agreement n. 101036519 selected under the Green Deal
        call topic LC-GD-1-2-2020 “Towards Climate-Neutral and Socially Innovative Cities”.
394
        Including for persons with disabilities and older persons and ensuring access to essential services for
        all, in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights
395
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-
        and-open-calls/horizon-europe/european-partnerships-horizon-europe_en
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citizen-driven and systemic solutions and innovations to specific global challenges, will also
contribute to the Cities Mission in particular EIT Climate-KIC, EIT InnoEnergy and EIT
Urban Mobility.
Proposals should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the main objectives of the
Cities Mission, and more specifically to the following impacts:
     Capacity building among European cities, in particular the 100 cities under the Cities
      Mission, to design and roll out their Climate City Contracts 396 and reach climate
      neutrality by 2030;
     Sector integration, cross-sectorial collaboration and synergies, supported by digital
      solutions, new value chains for increased energy and resource efficiency, better
      performing grids, resilience in cities and surroundings/ urban areas, communities and
      infrastructures, and enhanced competitiveness of the European industry;
     Deployment of inclusive, replicable deep renovation, renewable energy, demand
      response, heating & cooling as well as system integration solutions including for
      different building types; establishment of participatory system integration projects,
      renewable & citizens’ energy communities and intensified city-business collaboration in
      related energy transition planning and implementation, prevention and reduction of
      energy poverty;
     Deployment and increased modal share of inclusive, clean, shared and alternative
      mobility modes and services in urban and peri-urban areas while internalizing the
      negative externalities of transport such as traffic congestion, air and noise pollution, road
      collisions and accidents, as well as contribution to avoid mobility-poverty;
     Establishment of innovative and inclusive local and/or regional governance models and
      institutional partnerships and frameworks to increase the innovation capacity of
      local/regional administrations and foster integrated cross-sectorial planning approaches
      and accelerate the take-up of innovative smart solutions in key areas such as energy,
      transport, spatial planning, environment, industry and SMEs, digitisation and (big) data
      handling;
     Development of new co-creation and co-management methods and approaches based on
      co-creation that ensure a better engagement of citizens and stakeholders, longer-term
      planning certainty and a better integration of their needs within the community's
      strategies and plans;
396
         The concept of Climate City Contract (CCC) was proposed by the Mission Board for Climate-Neutral
         and       Smart        Citites      (https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-
         opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe/missions-horizon-europe/climate-
         neutral-and-smart-cities_en#documents). The CCC is meant to enable the city authorities to develop
         clear plans for climate neutrality by 2030 and to signal their firm commitment to mainstream these
         commitments into their overall city planning processes. The CCC will include an investment plan to
         scale up and deploy innovative solutions for delivering on the commitments.
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   Establishment/development of interoperable, scalable and replicable digital innovative
     solutions across the Mission’s cities, using shared standards and data models, open
     Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), and open source software where relevant;
   Contribute to the availability of relevant data in the European common Data spaces for
     Mobility, Green Deal and Energy to enable further reuse of information to support the
     wider community;
   Increased synergies and complementarities with all the relevant EU policies,
     programmes and initiatives linked to cities, in particular the DIGITAL programme and
     the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this mission:
              Call                           Budgets (EUR million)        Deadline(s)
                                            2021                  2022
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-01 4.00                                             14 Sep 2021
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02 117.00                                           26 Apr 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CIT-01                                    42.00         06 Sep 2022
Overall indicative budget           121.00                  42.00
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Call - Supporting the transition towards climate neutrality within cities
                                                                        HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)397
                 Topics                       Type         Budgets          Expected EU           Number
                                                of          (EUR          contribution per            of
                                             Action        million)         project (EUR           projects
                                                                              million)398         expected
                                                            2021                                    to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 14 Sep 2021
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-01-01 CSA                         2.00 399       Around 2.00                1
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-01-02 CSA                         2.00 400       Around 2.00                1
Overall indicative budget                               4.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                   The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                     The conditions are described in General
                                                           Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                     The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                  C.
Award criteria                                             The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                           D.
397
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
398
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
399
        Of which EUR 2.00 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget.
400
        Of which EUR 2.00 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget.
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Documents                                                    The documents are described in General
                                                             Annex E.
Procedure                                                    The procedure is described in General
                                                             Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                      The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-01-01: Supporting national, regional and local authorities
across Europe to prepare for the transition towards climate neutrality within cities
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     National, regional and local authorities in EU Member States and countries associated to
      Horizon Europe are well prepared for the transition towards climate neutrality within
      cities by national capacity and knowledge building in close co-operation with the
      Preparatory action ‘Coordination of complementary actions for missions’.
     Accelerated systemic transition to climate-neutrality for European cities by preparing
      local authorities to meet the overarching objectives of the European Green Deal 401 and
      the specific targets established by the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy402, the
      upcoming New EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change 403, the Renovation Wave
401
         COM(2019)        640      final:    The     European      Green      Deal_https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
         content/EN/TXT/HTML//?uri=CELEX:52019DC0640&from=EN
402
         COM(2020) 789 final: Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy – putting European transport on track
         for                     the                     future_                    https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
         content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0789&from=EN
403
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12381-EU-Strategy-on
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      for Europe Strategy 404 , the European Climate Pact 405 and the 2030 Climate Target
      plan406.
     Enhanced synergies and common action points with the Urban Agenda for the EU407 in
      the areas of better regulation, funding and knowledge through interactions with the
      Urban Agenda Thematic Partnerships 408 as well as the European Urban Initiative409.
     Identification of country-specific challenges and opportunities in terms of regulatory
      framework, funding and financing, urban morphology and governance structures
      promoting exchange of best-practices.
     Enhanced synergies with R&I national/international communities and partnerships (such
      as the proposed ‘Driving Urban Transitions to a Sustainable Future’ Horizon Europe
      Partnership), including the City Science Initiative network promoting evidence-based
      policy making.
     Define user requirements, while disseminate and promote the use of self-assessment
      toolkits and mappings adapted to national, regional and local challenges and
      opportunities.
Scope: Cities are at the forefront of the transition towards greater sustainability. An increasing
number of European cities are active pursuing the transition towards climate-neutrality,
aligning with the objectives set by the European Green Deal Strategy. Furthermore, the
Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, calls for having at least 100 climate neutral cities in
Europe by 2030. The Communication on the European Climate Pact calls for a large
engagement of all relevant actors to build a greener Europe and support the achievement of
the Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development Goals 410 , bringing together regions, local
communities, civil society, industry, social partners and schools.
While willing to commit to start the path towards climate neutrality, cities are also being
confronted with national, regional and local specificities, which create both challenges and
opportunities. Member States and Associated countries are characterized by inherent
diversities and needs when addressing legislations and regulations, funding and financing
404
         COM(2020) 662 final: A Renovation Wave for Europe - greening our buildings, creating jobs,
         improving lives_ https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/eu_renovation_wave_strategy.pdf
405
         COM(2020) 788 final: European Climate Pact_https://europa.eu/climate-pact/system/files/2020-
         12/20201209%20European%20Climate%20Pact%20Communication.pdf
406
         COM(2020) 562 final: Stepping up Europe’s 2030 climate ambition_https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
         content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0562&from=EN
407
         https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/urban-agenda
408
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/eu-regional-and-urban-development/topics/cities-and-urban-
         development/urban-agenda-
         eu_en#:~:text=The%20urban%20agenda%20for%20the%20EU%20addresses%20problems%20facing
         %20cities,pass%20better%20laws
409
                   https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/brochure/explanatory_memo_eui_post_
         2020_en.pdf
410
         A/RES/70/1: Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development_
         https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/70/1&Lang=E
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needs and opportunities, as well as geographical, climatic and socio-cultural peculiarities. The
uniqueness of the European cities requires tailored national support, translating the European
objectives into the local ambitions while keeping citizens needs at the core.
Specific national networks for these cities will support translating and tailoring the goals of
the European Green Deal Strategy and all relevant initiatives launched within this framework
to the local specificities in close collaboration with national and local authorities, stakeholders
and citizens.
The proposal should:
     In coordination with the ‘Missions Core Network’411, support the set-up of dedicated
      national networks for supporting cities in their transition towards climate neutrality in
      the form of multi-stakeholders national platforms, promoting collaboration, cross-
      learning and training, exchange and replication of best practices between the European,
      national, regional and local level.
     Mobilize and support a large number of urban authorities in engaging in climate-
      neutrality transitions in line with the overarching objectives of the European Green Deal,
      the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, the upcoming New EU Strategy on
      Adaptation to Climate Change, the Renovation Wave for Europe Strategy, the European
      Climate Pact and 2030 Climate Target plan;
     Disseminate and promote the use of supporting material for cities developed by the
      Direct Action grant Scientific and technical services by the Joint Research Centre –
      Mission on ‘Climate-neutral and smart cities’, included under Other Actions in Annex
      12 of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2021-2022 and other relevant initiatives
      (e.g. relevant material developed by the one-stop-shop to be established under the
      Horizon 2020 topic LC-GD-1-2-2020 on ‘Towards Climate-Neutral and Socially
      Innovative Cities’412).
     Identify country-specific challenges, best-practices and opportunities concerning at least:
         Regulatory Framework: including interaction between national, regional and local
             legislations/regulations relevant for the transition to climate neutrality at city level.
         Funding and financing: through direct/indirect application of National Energy and
             Climate Plans (NECPs)413, Cohesion Policy Funds and Recovery and Resilience
             Facility provisions.
411
         As described by the Horizon Europe Missions Work Programme 2021 call: HORIZON-MISS-2021-
         COOR-01 - Coordination of complementary actions for missions
412
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/lc-gd-1-
         2-2020
413
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/energy-climate-change-environment/implementation-eu-countries/energy-and-
         climate-governance-and-reporting/national-energy-and-climate-plans_en
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          Urban morphology: through the mapping of geographical, climatic and socio-
             cultural contexts.
          Governance structures: through analyses of citizens’ and stakeholders’ roles in
             decision-making processes, existing living labs and hubs for innovative
             participative governance.
In order to support cities in evidence-based policy making for climate-neutrality, such
investigation could benefit from the experience of the Joint Research Centre and relevant
initiatives as the Community of Practice on Cities414 and the City Science Officers Initiative
network 415. The results should aim at supporting local authorities’ capacity building through
dedicated activities such as: trainings, webinars and peer-exchange.
Applicants must take into account and assure that national hubs build on planned or ongoing
national, regional or local activities aimed at achieving climate-neutrality in cities. The action
should substantially raise the capacities and extend capabilities of existing national networks
and hubs.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-01-02: Collaborative local governance models to accelerate
the emblematic transformation of urban environment and contribute to the New
European Bauhaus initiative and the objectives of the European Green Deal
Specific conditions
Expected EU                 The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per            million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                     Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                            proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget           The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action              Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: The action aims at contributing to the objectives and impacts as set-out in
the mission introduction, specifically focusing on the renovation of urban spaces combining
sustainability, accessibility and aesthetics in a human-centred way. The action will also
provide the ground for reflecting the values and principles promoted by the New European
Bauhaus initiative 416 into climate-neutral urban quality transformations, identifying co-
creative governance models where citizens and stakeholders’ needs and expectations are at
the centre. The New European Bauhaus was launched in the frame of the Renovation Wave
414
         The Community of Practice-CITIES (CoP-CITIES) is an initiative of the European Commission (co-led
         by the JRC and DG REGIO). It is open to external stakeholders such as cities and networks of cities,
         international        and       intergovernmental        organisations       and     research      bodies.
         https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/communities/en/community/cop-cities
415
         The initiative aims to develop and implement and Urban Science Academy to better connect
         universities-cities and businesses. It is currently framed in the context of the Community of Practice on
         Cities. https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/communities/en/community/city-science-initiative
416
         https://europa.eu/new-european-bauhaus/index_en
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for Europe Strategy 417 to act as design lab, accelerator and network at the same time to
support the effort of making the Green Deal a cultural, human centred and positive, “tangible”
experience.
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Accelerate the transition to full climate-neutrality for all European cities aligning with
      the objective of the European Green Deal, while contributing to the New European
      Bauhaus initiative;
     Contribute to the objectives of the Renovation Wave for Europe Strategy, the upcoming
      New EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change 418, the European Climate Pact419,
      the 2030 Climate Target plan420, the Davos Declaration ‘Towards a European vision of
      high-quality Baukultur’ 421 as well as of the objectives of having 100 climate neutral
      cities by 2030 as targeted by the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy422;
     Increase awareness among local authorities and citizens on the New European Bauhaus
      423
          and the benefits of a climate-neutral urban transition as an opportunity to re-think and
      co-create qualitative, sustainable, inclusive and aesthetical urban spaces.
     Support for local authorities and citizens’ in identifying emblematic projects to
      transform the quality, sustainability, inclusivity and aesthetics of public landscapes,
      building upon existing initiatives at national level.
Scope: In order to contribute to the European Green Deal objectives of climate-neutrality,
sustainability, prosperity and inclusiveness, cities will have to undergo a rapid and radical
transformation and come up with creative, sustainable and collaborative solutions. Urban
areas are characterized by diversity of resources, services, communities, interests and needs,
which converge into public spaces design and management. A well co-designed public space
provides the unique opportunity to improve its climate-neutrality (i.e. using bio-based and
natural materials, nature based solutions, introducing new green spaces and circular economy
concepts all across the construction life-cycle, new forms of work and commuting patterns,
renewable energies, energy efficient lighting, smart digital services etc.) while increasing their
attractiveness and social inclusiveness. As promoted by the New European Bauhaus initiative,
a systemic co-designed approach to ‘quality climate-neutral urban transformation’ can create
living space, where the best technical performances meet citizens’ social, emotional, cultural
and aesthetic needs and values.
417
         https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/eu_renovation_wave_strategy.pdf
418
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12381-EU-Strategy-on-
419
         COM(2020) 788 final: European Climate Pact_ https://europa.eu/climate-pact/system/files/2020-
         12/20201209%20European%20Climate%20Pact%20Communication.pdf
420
         COM(2020) 562 final: Stepping up Europe’s 2030 climate ambition_https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
         content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0562&from=EN
421
         https://davosdeclaration2018.ch/media/Context-document-en.pdf
422
         COM(2020) 789 final: Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy – putting European transport on track
         for                     the                     future_                    https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
         content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0789&from=EN
423
         https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/FS_20_1894
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Proposals should include the following activities:
     Developing innovative and collaborative models of local governance to engage with
      citizens and local stakeholders in order to identify urban emblematic projects that
      simultaneously address the three dimensions of sustainability (including circularity),
      quality of experience (including aesthetics) and inclusion (including accessibility and
      affordability).
     Supporting cities in engaging with e.g. schools, universities, culture and arts
      professionals and institutions, citizens and civil society to harvest the needs, trends,
      challenges and expectations of citizens and communities in terms of quality climate-
      neutral urban transformation, in line with the New European Bauhaus initiative’s
      objectives and to start exploring how to match those needs with the existing possibilities.
     Promoting the New European Bauhaus principles among national, regional and local
      authorities, citizens and stakeholders through dedicated local initiatives (i.e. events,
      contests, citizens’ dialogues, living labs) and the development of a dedicated platform
      for sharing of experience and good practices on participatory governance and co-design
      at local level.
The project should work in close co-operation with the Horizon Europe Preparatory action
‘Coordination of complementary actions for missions’ (HORIZON-MISS-2021-COOR-01)
and with the one stop shop platform to be established under the Horizon 2020 topic LC-GD-1-
2-2020 on ‘Towards Climate-Neutral and Socially Innovative Cities’ 424 while embedding
citizens social, emotional, cultural and aesthetic needs and values.
The project should as well work in close collaboration with other complementary support
actions that will be established in the frame of the New European Bauhaus, such as the
technical assistance425 to be published indicatively in Q2 2021 under the European Regional
Development and Cohesion Funds.
Call - Research and Innovation actions to support the implementation of the Climate-
Neutral and Smart Cities Mission
                                                                            HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)426
424
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/lc-gd-1-
         2-2020
425
         https://ted.europa.eu/
426
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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                Topics                       Type         Budgets           Expected EU               Number
                                               of          (EUR            contribution per               of
                                            Action        million)          project (EUR               projects
                                                                              million)427             expected
                                                           2021                                         to be
                                                                                                       funded
                                           Opening: 11 Jan 2022
                                        Deadline(s): 26 Apr 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-01 IA                         35.00 428       11.00 to 12.00                 3
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-02 IA                         40.00 429       12.00 to 20.00                 3
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03 FPA                                                                       1
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-04 IA                         40.00 430       15.00 to 20.00                 2
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-05 CSA                        2.00 431        Around 2.00                    1
Overall indicative budget                              117.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                          Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                          Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                    The criteria are described in General Annex
427
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
428
        Of which EUR 9.46 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 3.52 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.85
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 20.75 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.44 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
429
        Of which EUR 10.81 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 4.02 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR
        23.71 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.97 million from the 'Civil
        Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.50 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society'
        budget.
430
        Of which EUR 10.81 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 4.02 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.97
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 23.71 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.50 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
431
        Of which EUR 0.54 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.20 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.05
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 1.19 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.02 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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exclusion                                                C.
Award criteria                                           The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                         D.
Documents                                                The documents are described in General
                                                         Annex E.
Procedure                                                The procedure is described in General
                                                         Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                  The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-01: Urban planning and design for just, sustainable,
resilient and climate-neutral cities by 2030
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per        11.00 and 12.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                 appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                        selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 35.00 million.
Type of Action          Innovation Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                        consortium selected for funding.
                        If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                        and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                        Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                        additionally be used).
                        The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                        Each action must include pilot demonstrations in at least four cities432
                        situated each in different Member States or Associated Countries to
                        demonstrate how urban planning and design can be optimally deployed
432
        Their local authorities or their mandated representatives may represent one city defined as a Local
        Administrative Unit (LAU), or a “greater city” or metropolitan region, taking account of Functional
        Urban Areas (FUA) where relevant.
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                          to develop and implement their climate action plan to achieve climate
                          neutrality and significantly reduce GHG emissions433 by 2030. In line
                          with the principles of the Cities Mission, this topic targets cities with
                          more than 50 000 inhabitants with enhanced replicability and up-
                          scalability potential.
Legal and                 The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of       apply:
the Grant                 Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the following
Agreements                action(s):
                          HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03
                          Collaboration with the Mission Platform is essential and projects should
                          ensure that appropriate provisions for activities and resources aimed at
                          enforcing this collaboration are included in the workplan of the
                          proposal. The collaboration with the Mission Platform should be
                          formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding to be concluded
                          as soon as possible after the projects starting date.
                          The following cost categories will be ineligible costs: funding for major
                          infrastructure works 434 which could normally be funded under other EU
                          programs (e.g. EU Structural and Investment Funds).
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected
outcomes:
     Contribution to the implementation of the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission, the
      Zero Pollution Action Plan, the Biodiversity Strategy, Fit for 55 Strategy, Circular
      Economy Action Plan, the Urban Agenda for the EU, the New Leipzig Charter, the
      European partnership on Driving Urban Transitions for a sustainable future (DUT) and
      the New European Bauhaus Initiative, in line with the European Green Deal ambition
      and objectives;
     Transparent and efficient decision-making processes for people-centric urban planning
      and design for climate neutral cities achieved through innovative collaborative methods
      such as co-creation, living labs, crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, collective intelligence
      and collaborative economy in combination with technological innovations, data-driven
      approaches and enhanced cross-sectoral integration;
433
        A GHG reduction by at least 55% by the end of the projects as foreseen by the EU’s Fit for 55 package
        of climate and energy laws is the minimum ambition for the cities participating in demonstration actions
        under this topic
434
        Infrastructure deployed to improve the long-term functionality, sustainability, resilience and liveability
        of the city (such as e.g. constructions works, road works, urban renovations, construction of buildings
        and other major public works) well beyond the R&I needs of the project.
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    Effective management of trade-offs and ownership of transformative changes through
      the engagement and empowerment of stakeholders, citizens and inhabitants, paying
      special attention to vulnerable and at-risk for precarity social groups and communities,
      including people with disabilities, older people and youth;
    Innovative urban planning and design practices, harnessing, compiling and
      mainstreaming local knowledge, creativity, ingenuity and design quality, triggering
      behavioural and lifestyles changes and fostering co-created approaches, holistic
      responses to interlinked challenges within a city, and effective use of digital tools, such
      as Digital Twins, for solutions drawing on cross-domain data e.g. through data shared
      via data space for smart communities and sectoral data spaces;
    Solutions that ensure a more equitable, just, synergetic and optimal use of urban spaces
      integrating well-balanced built/green/blue/accessible infrastructures and biodiversity-
      friendly nature-based solutions for attractive, circular, healthy, resilient, secure and
      liveable cities with thriving citizens, communities, ecosystems and biodiversity and
      reduced urban environmental footprint.
Scope: Global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, pandemic, pollution and
irreversible depletion of natural resources demand cities to engage in urgent and decisive
systemic transitions towards climate neutrality, sustainability and resilience in line with the
European Green Deal.
Current urban planning and design practices, governance arrangements, business models and
institutional settings tend to favour sectorial rather than systemic interventions that are in line
with holistic urban ecosystem planning and policy agendas. This often results in the
deployment of conflicting solutions and interventions, with wasteful use of investments and
resources. However, the transition to climate neutrality will require significant reductions in
GHG emissions across a range of sectors such as urban mobility, energy efficiency in
buildings, water and waste management as well as the (re)design, adaption or retrofitting of
urban spaces/cities, building stock and infrastructures along with the development of more
efficient management strategies based on sensor data and novel analysis methods. Retrofitting
of buildings is an opportunity to, simultaneously and in a cost-efficient way, improve aspects
related to health, safety, accessibility and overall quality of life.
The overall aim of this topic is to support a diverse range of urban areas across Europe (e.g.
small and medium sized, port cities, cities with different geographical, climatic,
socioeconomic conditions, levels of preparedness etc.), their urban authorities, stakeholders
and citizens to identify, plan, design, fund, roll out and replicate solutions and measures in
order to achieve climate neutrality, sustainability and resilience and significantly reduce
emissions across the most relevant sectors by 2030.
Long-term integrated, visionary, people-centric urban planning and design practices are
needed to enable the transition toward just, sustainable, resilient and climate neutral cities.
This requires the setup of new collaborative frameworks, novel inter-institutional settings and
innovative services and tools harnessing local citizen knowledge, social innovation, new
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technologies and digitalisation to ensure cross-sectorial (e.g. infrastructures, transport, energy,
water, built environment and natural environment) interventions, full engagement and
informed participation of citizens and communities and trigger necessary behavioural and
lifestyles changes.
Proposals should set up innovative urban planning and design practices that result in flexile
building/design regulations and instruments, that harmonize high quality place making, mix-
land use, compact urban fabrics and well-balanced densities with equitable access to
amenities.
The new urban planning and design practices and tools should aim at climate neutrality and a
significant reduction in emissions by 2030. They should also aim to respect the urban form
and typology, its aesthetics, character and identity while facilitating circularity and the use of
innovative and clean building technologies, materials and construction techniques, in line with
the guiding principles of the European Green Deal and the New European Bauhaus initiative.
The resulting practices and tools should seek to maximize the economic, social,
environmental and health benefits for all groups and communities, including groups that are
vulnerable to exclusion, while averting spatial segregation, urban sprawl, gentrification and
real estate speculation and increasing resilience to climate related hazards.
Proposals should use as necessary existing or improved state-of-the-art tools and methods for
visualising, modelling, predicting, stimulating and analysing scenarios, assessing feasibility
and cost-effectiveness of solutions, integrating existing and emerging data and tools,
including under relevant EU laws and initiatives (e.g. air quality plans, Sustainable Energy
and Climate Action Plans, Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans, local digital twins etc.). They
should deliver evidence-based guidelines and practical recommendations for the effective and
optimal use of urban planning and design practices.
In line with the objectives of the European Green Deal, the EU Biodiversity435 and Climate
Adaptation 436 strategies, the Circular Economy 437 and the Zero Pollution 438 plans, the
portfolio of the proposed solutions should prioritize to the greatest extent possible the
deployment of biodiversity-friendly nature-based solutions 439 and ecosystem-based
approaches to harness their multi-beneficial, cost-effective, environmentally friendly,
biodiversity, health and well-being enhancing potential.
Each action must envisage pilot demonstrations in at least four cities 440 situated each in
different Member States or Associated Countries together with at least four
replication/follower cities, to demonstrate how inclusive, accessible (including for persons
with disabilities), integrated, cross-sectoral and creative human-centred planning can be
435
         Biodiversity strategy for 2030 (europa.eu)
436
         EU Adaptation Strategy | Climate Action (europa.eu)
437
         A new Circular Economy Action Plan (europa.eu)
438
         Zero pollution action plan (europa.eu), notably Flagship 2 that aims to “identify key urban greening and
         innovation needs to prevent pollution, including indoors”
439
         Taking into account as relevant the knowledge produced under the portfolio of Horizon 2020 projects
         on nature-based solutions, see Nature-based solutions | European Commission (europa.eu)
440
         City, district, or other relevant urban scales with enhanced replicability and up-scalability potential
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optimally deployed to develop and implement their climate action plans to achieve the climate
neutrality and GHG reduction objectives by the set timeline. This should include
(re)designing, adapting or retrofitting urban spaces/cities, building stock, neighbourhoods or
districts and infrastructures that urban authorities commit to implement during the life of the
project to achieve sustainability, resilience and climate neutrality, and drastically reduce their
GHG emissions by 2030 as compared to an agreed baseline established at the start of the
project to enable monitoring and assessment of the progress.
A strong and transparent monitoring system using established tools, practices, methodologies
and agreed KPIs, and the advisory services of the Mission Platform441 should be established to
measure and monitor progress.
The replication/follower cities 442 should be each situated in different Member States or
Associated Countries and should commit to a strategy of climate neutrality as soon as possible
and of course no later than 2050. They must be fully involved in the project from the
beginning and commit sufficient resources to develop under the guidance and mentoring of
the leading cities and deliver by the end of the life of the project their integrated, inclusive,
and cross-sectorial urban planning and design to achieve climate neutrality, sustainability and
resilience and significantly reduce GHG emissions across the most relevant sectors as soon as
possible, and no later than 2050. Unlike for the leading cities, actual deployment of the
solutions during the life of the project is not expected from the replication/follower cities.
Actions and applicant cities will be assessed according to the dedicated support to
replication/follower cities and the level of their ambition and commitment for inclusiveness in
the co-created planning and design elaboration processes and the actual deployment during
the life of the project of the solutions jointly decided during this process. To this end, actions
should provide the necessary evidence, such as commitment letters by the competent urban
authorities that they will honour the planning decisions and commit necessary financial
resources for their implementation during the life of the project.
To facilitate replication, upscaling and up-taking of the generated outcomes and to foster
capacity building/upskilling of public authorities, local actors and communities, actions
should engage in ambitious outreach, communication, dissemination and training activities in
coordination and complementarity with the Mission Platform.
To facilitate replication and reuse of the solutions developed as part of these actions, use of
open source software, open standards and technical specifications 443 re-use of building blocks
441
         Conceived through the Horizon 2020 project NetZeroCities - Accelerating cities' transition to net zero
         emissions by 2030, Grant Agreement n. 101036519, selected under the Horizon 2020 Green Deal call
         topic LC-GD-1-2-2020: Towards Climate-Neutral and Socially Innovative Cities and to be scaled up
         through the topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03: Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) for the
         Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission Platform
442
         Replication/follower cities do not have to comply with the “more than 50 000 inhabitants” population
         criterion that applies for the leading cities under this call
443
         For example, the Minimal Interoperablity Mechanisms (MIMs Plus) developed by Living-in.eu
         (https://living-in.eu/groups/commitments/technical) and the European Interoperability Framework
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and interoperability solutions444 and sharing data through EU data spaces are encouraged if
and where appropriate.
Actions should explore opportunities and plan, undertake and report on activities for
synergies, collaboration, clustering and possibly twinning activities with other relevant like-
minded projects funded under this topic and other relevant topics in this and future Climate-
Neutral and Smart Cities Mission (hereafter referred to as the Cities Mission) work
programmes and calls and initiatives undertaken by the Mission Platform, the European
partnership on Driving Urban Transitions for a sustainable future (DUT), the upcoming
European Urban Initiative of Cohesion Policy, the Urban Agenda for the EU445, Living-in.eu
and the New European Bauhaus Initiative as well as smart specialisation partnerships in
relevant areas.
The projects funded under this topic must establish a collaboration agreement, to identify
clear links among themselves and ensure complementarity, coordination and exchange on
relevant linked activities. The selected projects should also foresee active collaboration with
relevant and related projects funded under this call in order to address synergies and
complementarities between the projects of the Cities Mission portfolio. In particular
collaboration with the Mission Platform (HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03) is essential and
projects should ensure that appropriate provisions for activities and resources aimed at
enforcing this collaboration are included in the workplan. Detailed description of the specific
activities and common actions that will be undertaken is not required at proposal stage and
can be further defined at a second stage during the lifetime of the projects. The collaboration
with the Mission Platform should be formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding to
be concluded as soon as possible after the projects starting date.
Inter- and trans-disciplinary consortia combining expertise and capacity from public
authorities, urban stakeholders, infrastructure providers, knowledge institutions, planners,
cultural and creative organizations, entrepreneurs, societal actors and citizens are necessary to
address the challenges of this topic. Inclusion of social sciences and humanities, behavioural
sciences and gender issues as well as expertise in planning and design is essential.
To support project implementation, applicants may seek possibilities of involving the
European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) in order to valorise the relevant
expertise and physical facilities of JRC in demonstrating and testing energy, buildings and
mobility applications at the JRC living labs and research infrastructures.
444
         These include the assets and solutions available through CEF Digital Building Blocks and ISA2 and
         which will be made available on Joinup under the future DIGITAL Europe Programme Work
         Programme 2021-2022.
445
         The upcoming European Urban Initiative (foreseen Q2/2022) will offer coherent support to cities by
         addressing the wealth of support and tools available for cities under Cohesion policy and beyond, and
         will      also     provide      support      to    the      Urban      Agenda      for     the    EU
         (https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/newsroom/news/2021/05/05-10-2021-a-new-step-towards-
         setting-up-of-the-european-urban-initiative-supported-by-erdf)
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HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-02: Unleashing the innovation potential of public
transport as backbone of urban mobility
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per          12.00 and 20.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 40.00 million.
Type of Action            Innovation Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The following additional eligibility criteria apply: Applicant cities must
                          have a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP)446, fully developed or
                          in the preparatory phase, and project actions should link to it.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements                Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the following
                          action(s):
                          HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03
                          Collaboration with the Mission Platform is essential and projects should
                          ensure that appropriate provisions for activities and resources aimed at
                          enforcing this collaboration are included in the workplan of the
                          proposal. The collaboration with the Mission Platform should be
                          formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding to be concluded
                          through the CIVITAS initiative as soon as possible after the projects
                          starting date.
                          The following cost categories will be ineligible costs: funding for major
                          infrastructure works 447 which could normally be funded under other EU
                          programs (e.g. EU Structural and Investment Funds).
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
446
        https://www.eltis.org/mobility-plans
447
        Infrastructure deployed to improve the long-term functionality, sustainability, resilience and liveability
        of the city (such as e.g. constructions works, road works, urban renovations, construction of buildings
        and other major public works) well beyond the R&I needs of the project.
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     Contribute to the objectives of the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission by
      accelerating the transition towards climate neutrality in cities;
     Develop and implement a convincing approach to explore, test and evaluate the
      resilience and adaptability of urban public transport and promote its accrued use in line
      with the priorities of the European Green Deal, as part of the wider integrated urban and
      peri-urban mobility system;
     Using innovative co-creation methods involving a wide range of stakeholders (e.g.
      public transport employees, passengers, the city authority), improve the overall public
      transport offer and its attractiveness in line with users’ needs and expectations, including
      affordability, inclusiveness and ensuring equal access for reduced mobility;
     Using simulation tools and data, understand and trigger behaviour change in favour of
      public transport;
     Understand dependencies between public transport and active travel modes including
      requirements towards multi-modal hubs and access-infrastructures;
     Increase the share of public transport (modal split) in the modal distribution of motorized
      transportation by approximately 30% 448 in the cities involved in the projects 449
      compared to their baseline at the start of the project and cover different market/customer
      segments, aiming at catering for specific needs of specific target groups, e.g. a better
      social inclusion and healthier lifestyles, envisioning a social optimum and the concept of
      Mobility as a Right;
     Increase user satisfaction with public transport by 25% compared to the baseline;
     Identify lessons and mutual learning at European level facilitating replication, upscaling
      and up-taking of the tested blueprints;
     Put in place or update a local policy framework for public transport, in line with the
      Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMP) guidelines and spatial planning, including
      clear commitments from the relevant authorities to implement it in the short and medium
      term.
Scope: The European Green Deal demands ambitious decarbonisation and pollution targets
and a socially just transition to mitigate related pricing policies. The Climate-Neutral and
448
         The call acknowledges that reaching the suggested target share of public transport will be difficult for
         cities where a large portion of the population is engaged in active travel modes, and it would be
         counter-productive to the climate-objectives of the Mission to move these active travel users to public
         transport
449
         Three cities acting as living labs from different Member States or Associated Countries should be
         involved/project, together with three twining cities. An appropriate budget should be reserved to the
         twinning cities to deliver on their objectives within the project. The living labs should cover the full
         local transport catchment area or commuting zone of an urban core (or functional urban area). The key
         elements of living labs are: active user involvement, multiple-stakeholder platform for innovation in
         real-life contexts, multi-method, and co-creation approach.
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Smart Cities Mission, hereafter referred to as the Cities Mission, will support at least 100
cities in becoming climate neutral by 2030 and use these cities as innovation hubs for all cities
to become climate neutral by 2050. Achieving this objective requires a systemic approach by
the cities to reduce all GHG emissions, in particular in the mobility sector.
Public transport should continue to be the backbone of urban mobility, offer access and
remain accessible at a reasonable cost. Public transport concepts also need to consider and
include the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, scooters etc. Urban public transport needs to be
understood in a broad sense including peri-urban areas and commuter belt. At the same time,
Covid-19 and similar events can undermine trust between operators and passengers.
Attractive, safe and secure mass transit accessibility is essential for cities that expect sprawl,
population increase and economic growth. Public transport not only helps achieve
environmental goals, but also plays a key role in the economy and job creation and in
promoting territorial accessibility. In addition, public transport is intrinsic to the EU pillar of
social rights as regards “Access to essential services”. As such, it should cater to the widest
possible array of user groups and their needs. This includes persons irrespective of gender,
age, disability, income, education level, and digital experience. Moreover, where public
transport is widely accessible, there is increased road safety.
The objective of this call is to increase the uptake of replicable public transport solutions in
the living labs involved in the proposals while facilitating joint lesson-drawing and learning at
European level. The funded actions will contribute to the objectives of the Cities Mission and
to the priorities of the European Green Deal, which stresses that “transport should become
drastically less polluting, especially in cities. A combination of measures should address
emissions, urban congestion and improved public transport”.
New approaches and financing models are emerging. A secure, efficient, clean, reliable,
attractive and affordable public transport is essential to address the variety of mobility needs.
At the same time, it can become a silver bullet for reducing transport’s negative externalities.
Projects should enhance the public transport share in the modal distribution by 30% compared
to the baseline defined for each experimentation site at the start of the project and against
which progress will be assessed. The call invites proposals from consortia composed of living
labs in at least four cities450 from different Member States or Associated Countries together
with at least four twinning cities, where the responsible local authorities, public transport
providers and other relevant actors team up to test and implement packages of technological
and non-technological innovations and policy-based measures to improve the public transport
offer in line with citizens’ needs. Twinning cities can be from the same Member State or
Associated Country as the lead cities.
Proposals should aim to improve the competitiveness of public transport by implementing in
the living labs integrated, complementary and reinforcing packages of urban mobility
measures. The packages should combine “push measures” (e.g. congestion charges, parking
charges or reduced parking supply) with “pull measures” (e.g. safe and secure transport hubs,
450
         City, district, or other relevant urban scales with enhanced replicability and up-scalability potential
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bus lanes, new zero emission rolling stock, Mobility As a Service (MaaS)/multimodal
ticketing/digital payments-related incentives, facilitation of combining public transport with
active modes, and an improved integration and interoperability with new mobility services).
The projects associated to this call topic should produce a comprehensive topic guide
accompanying the SUMP guidelines, on public transport promotion, planning and inclusion
into SUMP processes.
The package of measures could include newly-emerging technologies and soft measures such
as marketing, real time information and awareness raising campaigns and co-creation of user-
oriented solutions– with particular regard to the specific needs of diverse user groups (e.g.
related to gender, age, disability, income, education level, and digital experience).
Proposals submitted could test the establishment of new operating and business models,
where public transport providers and shared and/or on-demand mobility providers cooperate
to offer services addressing user needs following the area’s typology and characteristics.
Drawing on digital solutions such as AI, Digital Twins and High Performance Computing, the
research could look into public transport policy evolution, users' behaviour over time, free
public transport and institutional and collaborative frameworks. Proposals could also consider
new business/operational models to exploit the unused capacity of public transport passenger
vehicles for freight and parcel transport (cargo hitching), exploring e.g. combination with
active modes and silent, zero tailpipe emission vehicles for the last mile/metres.
Proposals should ensure that an appropriate geographical balance across Europe is achieved
(also ensuring the inclusion of cities in less developed and peripheral regions) to maximise
impact without leaving anyone behind, and by demonstrating commitment of cooperation
with concrete activities.
To allow for a thorough evaluation, a clear baseline of the use of public transport should be
established in each participating city from the start of the project including a detailed analysis
of present and future potential user groups. Actions should provide qualitative and
quantitative information on the results of the local solutions implemented. The effectiveness
of the proposed measures in achieving the objectives set out by the topic, the local policy
objectives should be evaluated against the baseline and the possible barriers to their broad
take up, and deployment identified, together with recommendations on how to overcome
them. This should be accompanied by mechanisms for common lesson drawing and learning,
within the project, between the projects funded under this topic and through the CIVITAS
Initiative.
Proposals must plan for an active collaboration amongst the projects selected under this topic
- for dissemination, evaluation and coordination - facilitated by and within the CIVITAS
initiative through the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding. Proposals should ensure
that appropriate provisions for activities and resources aimed at enforcing this collaboration
are included in the work-plan. Detailed description of the specific activities and common
actions that will be undertaken is not required at proposal stage and can be further defined
during the grant agreement phase. Collaboration with the Mission Platform (HORIZON-
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MISS-2021-CIT-02-03) is essential and should take place through the CIVITAS initiative.
The latter should establish, through a collaboration agreement, clear links with the Mission
portfolio for synergies and complementarities.
Proposals may include demonstrations, preparatory, take-up and replication actions, research
activities, as well as tools to support local planning and policy making. A demonstrated
contribution to the implementation of the cities’ SUMP is expected, as well as integration
with relevant other plans, such as air quality plans and noise management action plans451 .
Meaningful results can be shared with the upcoming European Urban Initiative of Cohesion
policy and the Urban Agenda for the EU. Proposals could also engage with relevant smart
specialisation partnerships or EIT Urban Mobility.
To facilitate replication, upscaling and uptaking of the generated outcomes and to foster
capacity building/upskilling of public authorities, local actors and communities, actions
should engage in ambitious outreach, communication, dissemination and training activities in
coordination and complementarity with the Mission Platform.
Actions should envisage, as appropriate, collaboration with other relevant projects on testing
integrated shared automated mobility solutions for people and goods (topic HORIZON-CL5-
2022-D6-01-01) funded under the European Partnership on CCAM.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03: Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) for the
Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission Platform
Specific conditions
Type of Action          Framework Partnership Agreement
Procedure               The procedure is described in General Annex F. The following
                        exceptions apply:
                        The evaluation committee will be partially composed of representatives
                        of EU institutions.
Legal and               The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of     apply:
the Grant               Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the following action(s):
Agreements
                        HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-01
                        HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-02
                        HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-04
                        HORIZON-MISS-2022-CIT-01-01
                        The collaboration between the Mission Platform and the projects funded
451
         Under Directive 2008/50/EC and Directive 2002/49/EC
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                         under the above mentioned topics is essential to identify
                         complementarities, avoid potential overlaps and ensure synergies among
                         these projects. The collaboration should be formalised through a
                         Memorandum of Understanding to be concluded as soon as possible
                         after the projects starting date. In the case of projects funded under
                         topics HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-02 and HORIZON-MISS-2022-
                         CIT-01-01, the MoU should be established through the CIVITAS
                         initiative.
Expected Outcome: This Framework Partnership Agreement aims at contributing to the
implementation of the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission, hereafter referred to as the
Cities Mission, and its objective of achieving 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030.
This partnership will build on the precursor action funded through the Horizon 2020 Green
Deal call topic LC-GD-1-2-2020: Towards climate-neutral and socially innovative cities452.
The Framework Partnership Agreement will establish the necessary framework and
collaboration for implementing and scaling up the one-stop-shop platform dedicated to the
Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission, hereafter referred to as the Mission Platform. The
Mission Platform will cater for the needs of all the cities that commit to the objectives of the
Cities Mission and start the transition towards climate neutrality in a systemic and smart way,
as they engage in the co-creation and subsequent implementation of a Climate City Contract,
hereafter referred to as CCC. The Mission Platform will assist those cities that will be
identified and selected as a result of the open Call for Expression of Interest which will be
launched and managed by the European Commission during the last quarter of 2021 453. Cities
that are not yet able to commit to the Mission’s timeline but are willing to commit to
accelerate their transition towards climate neutrality within the timeframe 2030 to 2035
following the Cities Mission basic principles, will also receive basic support from the Mission
Platform.
The Framework Partnership Agreement is expected to create the framework conditions and
engage the needed competencies to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Operation of a fully functional Mission Platform that provides a wide range of tailor-
      made services to up to 150 cities participating in the Mission. Services cover technical,
      regulatory, financial and socio-economic expertise as well as assistance for developing
      and implementing the CCC and should complement and scale-up existing services
452
        Horizon 2020 Work Programme 2018-2020, Part 20. Cross-cutting activities, Call - Building a low-
        carbon, climate resilient future: Research and innovation in support of the European Green Deal:
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/lc-gd-1-
        2-2020.The Horizon 2020 project NetZeroCities - Accelerating cities' transition to net zero emissions
        by 2030, Grant Agreement n. 101036519 was selected under the Green Deal call topic LC-GD-1-2-
        2020 Towards Climate-Neutral and Socially Innovative Cities and started its activities on 1 October
        2021.
453
        Soon to be published on the Climate-neutral and smart cities Mission webpage :
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-
        and-open-calls/horizon-europe/missions-horizon-europe/climate-neutral-and-smart-cities_en
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     developed by the project funded under the Horizon 2020 Green Deal call topic LC-GD-
     1-2-2020: Towards climate-neutral and socially innovative cities.
   Consolidated science-based indicators and a common monitoring, reporting and
     verification framework for the cities participating in the Mission. This should build upon
     existing methodologies, including those already developed in the action funded through
     the Horizon 2020 Green Deal call topic LC-GD-1-2-2020, while ensuring coherent use
     and reporting regularly on the progress of cities towards the CCC.
   Smart and customised access for cities to the best available research, expertise, tools and
     technologies that can enable them to quickly identify and implement portfolios of
     innovative, high-impact interventions on a deep decarbonisation pathway.
   Establish and follow a common CCC process for the cities participating in the Mission.
     Share experiences and good practices and engage in mutual learning, including through
     twinning opportunities open to a wide spectrum of cities such as those in disadvantaged
     and peripheral regions.
   Calls for proposals are launched to support large-scale pilots for the deployment in
     participating Mission cities of systemic solutions working across functional silos and
     thematic areas (mobility, energy systems, built environment, industry, SMEs, material
     and      resource      flows,       natural       areas     and   nature-based       solutins,
     cultural/social/financial/institutional systems, and accessible public spaces), in support of
     transforming systems.
   Web-based services and assistance to cities that are not yet in a position to commit to
     climate neutrality by 2030, but are ready to commit to accelerate their transition to
     climate neutrality in line with the Cities Mission principles. These cities will have the
     option to co-create a CCC with all stakeholders that will commit the city to undertake in
     a systemic way all actions needed for reaching climate neutrality in the period 2030-
     2035.
   Close coordination with the European Commission to ensure that advice and support
     provided to cities remains aligned to the latest policies and initiatives and makes full use
     of available tools and services provided or supported by the Commission.
Scope: Building on the concept developed through the Horizon 2020 Green Deal call topic
LC-GD-1-2-2020: Towards climate-neutral and socially innovative cities and on the setup of
a one-stop-shop platform as a first building block for the Mission Platform, to provide
advisory services to cities committing to the transition towards climate neutrality, the
Commission calls for a Framework Partnership Agreement to establish the necessary
framework and collaboration for scaling up and implementing the concept and activities of a
Mission Platform and to fully integrate this platform into the Cities Mission. Partners should
possess good knowledge and expertise in European urban programmes and initiatives, urban
planning, technological innovation for climate neutrality, social innovation and stakeholder
engagement, knowledge valorisation and transfer, and funding and financing programmes
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such as Horizon Europe, EU structural funds, EIB, EBRD etc. Partners should build on the
experience developed by European and international umbrella organisations and networks
such as the EIT-KICs, C40, Eurocities, CIVITAS, POLIS, ENoLL, Covenant of Mayors
Europe/ Global Covenant of Mayors, European Digital Innovation Hubs, ICLEI etc.
The partners will be responsible for defining and enabling the framework conditions that will
allow for the development of a fully-fledged Mission Platform that will be focused on
delivering the Mission objective of achieving 100 climate neutral cities by 2030 and ensuring
that these cities will act as innovation hubs for other European cities to follow, thus
accelerating the transition to climate neutrality at city level. The Mission Platform will
provide tailor-made services and targeted support for the cities participating in the Mission. It
will also offer web-based assistance to European cities that are not yet ready to commit to
climate neutrality by 2030, but are ready to commit to accelerate their transition in line with
the Cities Mission principles.
Partners should develop a draft action plan to broadly address the main building blocks on
which the FPA will operate, in particular: 1) Development, up-scaling of the concept of a
Mission Platform and plan for the implementation of its associated services; 2) Co-creation of
Climate City Contracts for the cities participating in the Mission; 3) Assistance and
preparation of tailor-made investment plans, project preparation and finance for the cities
participating in the Mission; 4) Launch and management of calls for large scale EU R&I
demonstrators accelerating city climate-neutrality solutions.
The partnership will fulfil the following objectives:
    to fully develop and scale up the concept of a Mission Platform as the main delivery
      mechanism of the Cities Mission, through a demand-driven approach catering for the
      needs of up to 150 cities, providing tailored assistance and services through technical,
      regulatory, financial and socio-economic expertise as well as support to cities for
      developing and implementing their CCC including related investment plans, drawing
      where appropriate on existing tools and resources developed by the Commission, and
      ensuring alignment with evolving European policy developments and actions;
    to coordinate the group of cities embarking in the CCC process, defining and
      implementing a common framework for monitoring, reporting and verification of
      progress;
    to further facilitate the sharing of experience, good practices and mutual learning
      between cities, including additional twinning opportunities, thus enabling participating
      cities to act as experimentation and innovation hubs for other cities to follow in view of
      urban climate neutrality by 2050;
    to provide web-based assistance to European cities that are not yet ready to commit to
      climate neutrality by 2030, but are ready to engage to accelerate their transition in
      accordance with the Cities Mission principles;
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     to launch large-scale pilots to act as demonstrators for the deployment of R&I and other
      off-the-shelf solutions with potential for scale-up, moving from singular, customised
      pilot programmes to city-wide initiatives, also replicated in other cities, thus accelerating
      their capacity to deliver on climate neutrality;
     to establish cooperation and regular exchange, formalised through a Memorandum of
      Understanding, with the R&I projects that will be funded under the Climate-neutral and
      smart cities Mission Work Programme in order to identify complementarities, avoid
      potential overlaps with the pilots supported by the Mission Platform and ensure
      synergies where relevant, to the benefit of the participating cities.
To ensure a stable framework for the development of the Mission Platform, to avoid
disruptions in its services and to deliver sustained support to the time-bound objective of the
Cities Mission to achieve 100 climate-neutral cities by 2030, only one Framework Partnership
Agreement will be established. The cooperation between the European Commission and
selected partners will have a duration of five years. It will cover the period 2022-2027, until
the conclusion of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-04: Positive Clean Energy Districts
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         15.00 and 20.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 40.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                         All applying cities must have a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action
                         Plan454 (SECAP) or similar, validated by European Commission’s Joint
                         Research centre (JRC) at least 1 month before call closure (a fast-track
                         procedure can be requested if needed).
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements               Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the following
                         action(s):
454
         https://www.covenantofmayors.eu/plans-and-actions/action-plans.html
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                           HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03
                           Collaboration with the Mission Platform is essential and projects should
                           ensure that appropriate provisions for activities and resources aimed at
                           enforcing this collaboration are included in the workplan of the
                           proposal. The collaboration with the Mission Platform should be
                           formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding to be concluded
                           as soon as possible after the projects starting date.
Expected Outcome: Projects are expected to contribute to all the following outcomes:
     Contribute to the objectives of the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission by
      accelerating the transition towards climate neutrality in cities;
     Large-scale demonstration and implementation of Positive Clean Energy Districts 455 to
      prove their feasibility and cost-effectiveness in a real world environment, i.e. they will
      be fully integrated in the city context at all levels;
     Projects will be at district (project defined456) scale and will have long-term strategies
      that address the (at times conflicting) needs and requirements of inhabitants, energy,
      mobility (both passenger mobility and freight transport), ICT and environment at district
      scale 457 in order to make cities more liveable, healthier, resource efficient and climate-
      neutral. Projects will include different social and economic areas at the district level;
     Collaborative structures that bring together all important actors needed to realize
      Positive Clean Energy Districts, i.e. cities/metropolitan areas, industry/SMEs, property
      developers/financial actors, R&I organisations, energy service providers, citizens
      associations, energy agencies, etc. They will closely collaborate among each other and
      with the Horizon 2020 Smart Cities and Communities Lighthouse projects cluster, the
      supporting SCALE service contract and the Smart Cities Marketplace;
     Widening and consolidating the Positive Clean Energy cluster of practitioners and
      strengthened links with financial actors enabling the mid-term Europe-wide uptake of
      tested solutions for Positive Clean Energy Districts;
     Paradigm shift from demonstration project to mainstreamed long-term city
      transformation;
     Evidence of decreased investment risk for - and acceleration of - the rollout of Positive
      Clean Energy Districts;
455
         Refer to definition of Positive Energy Districts as elaborated under SET Plan IWP 3.2: https://jpi-
         urbaneurope.eu/ped/
456
         Based on existing city-wide diagnosis and strategies, to enhance coherence and alignment with the city'
         urban transformation long-term vision of, as well as acceptance among citizens.
457
         In this context, a ‘district’ is a designated administrative unit within a city that is managed by a local
         government.
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     Well-proven and documented packaged solutions that lower the entry barrier, create trust
      and shape the market, ultimately leading to further large-scale investment;
     City alliances that include also small and very small cities as well as cities in less
      developed and peripheral regions - to enhance opportunities for accessing knowledge,
      technology and funding, and in turn provide a factual contribution toward meeting the
      climate targets.
Scope: The topic addresses the objectives of the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission,
hereafter referred to as the Cities Mission, to (1) support, promote and showcase 100 climate-
neutral and smart European cities by 2030 and (2) make these cities act into experimentation
and innovation hubs to put all European cities in a position to become climate-neutral by
2050. The topic will thus contribute to the twin green and digital transitions promoted by the
European Green Deal and will lead by example on how to speed up the necessary
transformation towards urban climate neutrality, including in a human-centred way.
Cities are natural testbeds for innovative integrated solutions and for showcasing the different
possibilities for achieving climate neutrality and zero pollution objectives. Early mover cities
towards climate neutrality and zero pollution by 2030 will pave the way for all cities to follow
by 2050. They should therefore lead the way towards an overarching strategy aiming at
climate neutrality for cities.
The concept of Lighthouse and Fellow cities458 pioneered under Horizon 2020 yielded good
results and a similar project structure is encouraged459.
Since Positive Clean Energy Districts are a crucial element of the climate-neutral cities of the
future, the concept of scale and of representativeness of the various socio-economic
contexts/groups of citizens are of highest importance for effective and impactful urban
transformation, taking into account cross-sectoral impacts, interdependencies and co-benefits.
The expertise acquired at district scale - by facilitating and analysing the intricate interactions
between all involved layers and actors - is essential for subsequent scale-up to city scale. This
is again paramount if we want to meet the 2050 climate and zero pollution goals where cities
play a pivotal role. The scope of the projects will therefore be to:
     Test large-scale Positive Clean Energy Districts under real life conditions and analyse:
         The main aspects of successful conception and roll-out of Positive Energy Districts;
         Combinations of demand measures (e.g. energy efficiency, demand response and
             user behaviour) and supply measures (e.g. onsite RES and storage, including from
             EVs, building/district management) at district scale to identify the best cost-
             effective mix;
458
         Indicatively 2 (leading) Lighthouse cities and 2-5 fellow cities. However, if deemed more appropriate
         also other constellations are admissible)
459
         Horizon      2020:     LC-SC3-SCC-1-2018-2019-2020:         Smart   Cities    and   Communities     -
         https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/wp/2018-2020/main/h2020-wp1820-
         energy_en.pdf.
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         Synergies between the built environment, energy communities, active and e-
             mobility (e.g. integration of smart and/or bidirectional EV charging), smart grids
             (e.g. heating/cooling, electricity) and energy storage. Inclusion of resource efficient
             smart water and waste management is also an asset;
         Key elements of replicability for scaling up Positive Clean Energy Districts (in the
             same city/region and also beyond), for example the use of open standards and
             technical specifications and open source tools is encouraged.
     Demonstrate different combinations of technologies to achieve Positive Clean Energy
      Districts and analyse the most cost-efficient combinations.
     Develop business models and governance structures that are best suited for Positive
      Clean Energy Districts (e.g. studying the most effective incentive schemes for
      behavioural change, development and integration of sustainable energy communities).
     Test and adapt different management systems/platforms and citizen interaction and
      related co-creation and communication strategies that facilitate the implementation of
      Positive Clean Energy Districts.
     Optimise on-site energy storage systems (e.g. thermal, electrical) linked with local non-
      combustion RES production (including excess energy from local/ regional industry), use
      of low carbon materials, and e-mobility (both passenger mobility and freight transport).
     Integrate low to zero pollution heating and cooling systems (e.g. solar thermal district
      heating plants) making best use of local assets.
     Test Positive Clean Energy District grid solutions, demand response and other smart
      energy management strategies that help to optimise the larger energy system. To address
      the cybersecurity aspect, the task will be implemented in close collaboration with the
      projects funded under the Horizon Europe topic C5-D3-ESGS-06-2021 addressing the
      reliability and resilience of the grid.
     Establish a project structure that actively involves the local city administrations and
      mayors of other cities in co-creation, inter-city peer review process and formal
      collaborations based on officially adopted shared principles.
     Involve owners/inhabitants but also financial actors as consortium partners already in the
      development phase, with the perspective to scale up from project to real city
      transformation.
     Apart from implementing their own innovative approaches, projects are strongly
      encouraged to build and capitalise on the wealth of proven solutions of Horizon 2020
      Smart Cities and Communities Lighthouse Projects cluster 460 and advancing the chosen
      solutions towards the necessary mainstreaming on the mid/long term.
460
         https://smart-cities-marketplace.ec.europa.eu/scale
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Projects are also expected to collaborate with and contribute to the specific objectives of the
SET Plan action 3.2 - Smart cities and communities - focusing on positive-energy blocks and
districts (PED).
Proposals are expected to demonstrate very good knowledge of the European Smart Cities and
Communities ecosystem and to pay specific attention to synergies with relevant policies such
as the Renovation Wave and with other relevant initiatives such as the European Partnership
on Driving Urban Transition for a sustainable future (DUT)461, the European Partnership for
People-centric Sustainable Built Environment (Built4People)462, the Covenant of Mayors, the
Smart Cities Market Place 463 , Living-in.EU, Clean Energy Transition (LIFE), EIT
InnoEnergy, the upcoming European Urban Initiative of Cohesion policy, the Urban Agenda
for the EU, as well as relevant projects such as the Lighthouse projects of the New European
Bauhaus initiative and relevant smart specialisation partnerships.
The projects funded under this topic must establish a collaboration agreement, to identify
clear links among themselves and ensure complementarity, coordination and exchange on
relevant linked activities. The selected projects should also foresee active collaboration with
relevant and related projects funded under this call in order to address synergies and
complementarities between the projects of the Cities Mission portfolio. In particular
collaboration with the Mission Platform (HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03) is essential and
projects should ensure that appropriate provisions for activities and resources aimed at
enforcing this collaboration are included in the workplan. Detailed description of the specific
activities and common actions that will be undertaken is not required at proposal stage and
can be further defined at a second stage during the lifetime of the projects. The collaboration
with the Mission Platform should be formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding to
be concluded as soon as possible after the projects starting date.
To facilitate replication and reuse of the solutions developed as part of these actions, use of
open source software, open standards and technical specifications464, re-use of building blocks
and interoperability solutions465, and sharing of data through EU data spaces are encouraged
where appropriate.
To facilitate replication, upscaling and up-taking of the generated outcomes and to foster
capacity building/upskilling of public authorities, local actors and communities, the projects
should engage in ambitious outreach, communication, dissemination and training activities in
coordination and complementarity with the Mission Platform.
461
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-
         and-open-calls/horizon-europe/european-partnerships-horizon-europe/candidates-climate-energy-and-
         mobility_en
462
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-
         and-open-calls/horizon-europe/european-partnerships-horizon-europe/candidates-climate-energy-and-
         mobility_en
463
         https://smart-cities-marketplace.ec.europa.eu/
464
         For example, the Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms (MIMs Plus) developed by Living-in.eu
         (https://living-in.eu/groups/commitments/technical) and the European Interoperability Framework
465
         These include the assets and solutions available through CEF Digital Building Blocks and ISA2 and
         which will be made available on Joinup under the DIGITAL Europe Programme Work Programme
         2021-2022
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HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-05: Global cooperation and exchange on urban climate
neutrality
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action          Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility             The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions              exceptions apply:
                        Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                        exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
    Facilitate the management and transfer of global knowledge on the topic of climate
      action in cities, helping cities move closer to climate neutrality;
    Increase the visibility of the EU and its cities as frontrunners and collaboration-minded
      partners in urban climate action;
    Contribute to the implementation of EU policy and international commitment (European
      Green Deal, Global Approach to Research and Innovation).
Scope: Climate neutrality is a global challenge that requires international dialogue and
cooperation, including among cities. Cities account for more than 70% of CO2 emissions and
over 65% of energy consumption worldwide. As such, they play a strategic role in climate
change mitigation as hotspots of challenges and solutions. They are also uniquely positioned
to reap multiple co-benefits from climate action such as reduced air and noise pollution as
well as less congestion and more active lifestyles, leading to improved health and wellbeing
for their inhabitants.
Many cities across the world have climate action plans in place and are looking for solutions
on how to best bridge the implementation gap between their climate neutrality goals and the
pace of current transformation. These solutions can often be found via cooperation and
exchanges that transcend national and regional borders. To advance this process, the Climate-
Neutral and Smart Cities Mission, hereafter referred to as the Cities Mission, aims to set a
leading international example, with at least 100 climate-neutral cities at the heart of a wide
international knowledge and practice network focused on delivering urban solutions for
climate neutrality.
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In line with this ambition, the coordination and support action will set up a Global Knowledge
Exchange Centre on emissions reduction pathways for urban environments. This global
platform will coordinate the international outreach activities of the Cities Mission, thus
expanding and complementing the geographical scope and reach of the Mission Platform466. It
will cater to a wide spectrum of European and international urban stakeholders such as local
authorities, representatives of international organisations and other policymakers, researchers
and urban practitioners, representatives of the industry and the private sector, civil society and
citizens.
The platform will establish a geographically and thematically structured online repository of
evaluated best practices467, complemented by a moderated learning community, to facilitate
the two-way exchange of experience and practices on achieving climate neutrality between
the cities under the Cities Mission and cities worldwide. The goal is to accelerate learning,
replicability and scaling-up of solutions by helping cities to learn from first movers and tailor
their approach. As part of these activities, the platform will provide support as relevant to the
cooperation and knowledge exchange actions of the global mission on Urban Transitions468
set up under Mission Innovation. This will include coordination with the Commission and the
Global Covenant of Mayors469 as co-leads of the global mission.
The platform will also set up and curate an online database of advising and funding actions
undertaken in EU Member States and Associated Countries (at national level, but also at
regional and city level) to support the climate neutrality of non-European cities. The database
will inventory as well the advising and funding opportunities at international level that could
benefit cities in the Europe.
In the process, the platform will liaise as needed with the Mission Platform, the dedicated
national mission networks 470 , relevant Horizon Europe partnerships such as the Driving
Urban Transitions to a sustainable future (DUT) partnership, and other relevant information
and dissemination channels that can increase awareness on the global landscape for advising
and funding in the field of urban climate neutrality.
In addition, the platform will communicate experiences and milestones under the mission to
international audiences via regular and targeted communication campaigns and activities. This
466
        Conceived through the Horizon 2020 project NetZeroCities - Accelerating cities' transition to net zero
        emissions by 2030, Grant Agreement n. 101036519, selected under the the Horizon 2020 Green Deal
        call topic LC-GD-1-2-2020: Towards Climate-Neutral and Socially Innovative Cities and to be scaled
        up through the HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03: Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) for the
        Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission Platform.
467
        Also building on the yearly mapping report on EU Research & Innovation for and with Cities. See the
        June 2021 report at https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/1a11dc10-edba-11eb-a71c-
        01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF/source-220624832
468
        http://mission-innovation.net/missions/
469
        The Commission will provide funding support to the activities of the Managing Director of the global
        mission on cities through a grant to an identified beneficiary under HORIZON-MISS-2022-CIT-IBA:
        Global Mission on Urban Transitions under Mission Innovation.
470
        Set up under the Horizon Europe call topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-01-01: Supporting national,
        regional and local authorities across Europe
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will include support to the Commission with the organisation of an annual event on the
international outreach of the mission.
Under all these activities, the platform will take into account the work already done by global
city networks such as the Global Covenant of Mayors, C40 Cities and the EU’s International
Urban and Regional Cooperation Programme, by international and multilateral organisations
such as the UN-Habitat, the World Economic Forum and the World Business Council for
Sustainable Development, by international associations such as ICLEI and by global
initiatives such as the UN Race to Zero Campaign. Linkages should also be ensured with
international networks that promote piloting activities such as the European Network of
Living Labs (ENoLL) and with the initiatives for urban climate neutrality under the EU’s
Neighborhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument.
Call - Research and Innovation actions for support the implementation of the Climate-
neutral and Smart Cities Mission
                                                                         HORIZON-MISS-2022-CIT-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)471
                  Topics                       Type         Budgets          Expected EU               Number
                                                 of          (EUR           contribution per               of
                                              Action        million)         project (EUR               projects
                                                                               million)472             expected
                                                             2022                                        to be
                                                                                                        funded
                                            Opening: 28 Apr 2022
                                          Deadline(s): 06 Sep 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CIT-01-01 IA                           42.00 473      8.00 to 12.00                  4
Overall indicative budget                                42.00
471
         The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
         after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
         The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
         All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
472
         Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
         amounts.
473
         Of which EUR 9.25 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
         Environment' budget and EUR 5.72 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.84
         million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 25.32 million from the 'Climate, Energy
         and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.86 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                  The conditions are described in General
                                                          Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                          Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                    The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                 C.
Award criteria                                            The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                          D.
Documents                                                 The documents are described in General
                                                          Annex E.
Procedure                                                 The procedure is described in General
                                                          Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                   The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CIT-01-01: Designing inclusive, safe, affordable and sustainable
urban mobility
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR
contribution per         8.00 and 12.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 42.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The following additional eligibility criteria apply: Applicant cities must
                         have a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP)474, fully developed or
                         in the preparatory phase, and project actions should link to it.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
474
        https://www.eltis.org/mobility-plans
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set-up of the Grant        apply:
Agreements                 Grants awarded under this topic will be linked to the following
                           action(s):
                           HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03
                           Collaboration with the Mission Platform is essential and projects should
                           ensure that appropriate provisions for activities and resources aimed at
                           enforcing this collaboration are included in the workplan of the
                           proposal. The collaboration with the Mission Platform should be
                           formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding to be concluded
                           through the CIVITAS initiative as soon as possible after the projects
                           starting date.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Contribute to the objectives of the Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission by
      accelerating the transition towards climate neutrality in cities through the promotion of
      zero-emission, shared, active and human-centred mobility;
     Increase the extent and speed of the take-up and upscaling of innovative, best practice
      and replicable safe, affordable and sustainable urban mobility solutions in the living labs
      involved in the proposals 475 (at least four cities/project and four follower cities,
      considering geographic diversity including in terms of regions’ level of development)
      while facilitating the common lesson drawing and learning at European level, in order to
      contribute to the priority of the Zero Pollution Action Plan's objectives, the Sustainable
      and Smart Mobility Strategy and the EU road safety policy framework 2021-2030 for a
      50% reduction target for deaths and also for serious injuries by 2030;
     Solutions for at least ten unsafe areas/living labs in urban/peri-urban areas using
      innovative planning, design and implementation approaches, including but not limited to
      co-creation and/or citizen engagement, modelling and AI, digital and smart enforcement
      tools, dynamic space reallocation, with a view to reduce road safety risks, reducing
      exposure to air and noise pollution and the perceived feeling of unsafety for pedestrians
      and cyclists;
     Re-assess road and public space quality responding to needs of diverse groups (examples
      include but are not limited to: women, children, people with disabilities and older
      people); actions may include but are not limited to improving data collection for foot,
      bike and e-scooter traffic as well as the mechanisms for reporting pedestrian and cyclists,
      e-scooter injuries and deaths;
475
        At least four cities/project and at least four follower cities. An appropriate budget should be reserved to
        the twinning cities to deliver on their objectives within the project. The city partnership in the
        consortium should be cohesive. There should be special attention for cities coming from countries
        where the road deaths and serious injuries are high.
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     Address proactively potential risk raised by expected increases in cycling and e-scooters;
     Rebalancing the attribution of public space to different modes of transport so that it
      better reflects the actual or desired local modal split as well as support reaching Vision
      Zero476 and zero-emission objectives, thus increasing road safety and quality of life in
      cities;
     Public space redesign actions targeted by the awarded projects should consider the
      circular economy principles, adaptation to climate change (in particular heatwaves),
      cross-sectoral synergies and not come at the cost of removing or deterioration of parks,
      trees or green recreational areas.
Scope: The European Union is facing a multitude of interconnected demographic, public
health and environmental challenges: the climate is changing, road deaths are stagnating,
urbanization is increasing, air quality standards are still breached in over 100 cities, obesity is
rising and the population is ageing.
But there is an increasing recognition at local, national and EU level that boosting the levels
of active mobility, particularly walking and cycling, can play an important role in overcoming
many of these challenges. Such a policy will also have economic benefits. Based on
conservative estimates, even current levels of cycling in the EU produce benefits valued at
around 150 billion euros per year477.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, larger cities in Europe announced infrastructure changes to
promote cycling and walking. For instance, they temporarily widened or created new cycle
lanes to allow safe overtaking with physical distancing limits in mind while also
implementing more 30km/h limits or 20km/h zones. The scope of this action is to support
local authorities in accelerating mobility changes and address a significant concern, namely
that people returning to work after the lockdown will seek out alternatives so that allocating
public space, bicycles, pedestrians and public transport and reducing the space available for
cars will encourage people to cycle, walk or use public transport rather than take the car.
Taking into account where possible the Sustainable Urban Mobility Indicators 478 , projects
should collect data on differences between patterns, behaviours and habits in relation to the
mobility of various categories of vulnerable road users. Such data should where possible, be
integrated with cross-domain data, to ensure interdependencies and co-benefits are identified.
Projects should identify specific mobility needs and public space re-design needs, taking into
account actual and perceived safety and security of women, children and accessibility for
people with disabilities e.g. blind people in shared spaces, people in prams, wheelchairs and
other supporting vehicles. Measures should be taken to implement necessary changes within
the timeline of the project.
476
         The Vision Zero or Safe System approach requires a combination of safe infrastructure, safe speeds,
         safe road users and good quality emergency response.
477
         European Cyclist Federation, The benefits of cycling, http://bit.ly/36L0zV0
478
         https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-themes/clean-transport-urban-transport/sumi_en
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In addition, projects should also provide clear guidance to cities and Member States and
Associated Countries on how to systematically incorporate the vulnerable road users
dimension into infrastructure planning, including aspects of safety and security, accessibility,
digital and smart tools for enforcing speed limits and vehicle access, design and operation or
services and public spaces, including mobility hubs, public transport and shared mobility.
The projects associated to this call topic should envisage cooperation with the SUMP
coordination platform, ELTIS 479 and produce thematic a comprehensive topic guides
stemming from the projects and accompanying the SUMP guidelines.
Projects should also take stock of lessons learnt during the period of imposition and lifting of
Covid-related restrictions and propose suitable solutions for the future when it comes to
resilience, safety and accessibility of public infrastructure.
A thorough evaluation, with a clear baseline in each city, should provide qualitative and
quantitative information on the results of the local solutions implemented. The effectiveness
of the proposed measures in achieving local policy objectives on safety, security and
accessibility as well as on climate and pollution should be evaluated and the possible barriers
to their broad take up and deployment identified, together with recommendations on how to
overcome them. This should be accompanied by mechanisms for common lesson drawing and
learning, within the project, between the projects funded under this topic and through the
CIVITAS Initiative.
Proposals must plan for an active collaboration amongst the projects selected under this topic
- for dissemination, evaluation and coordination - facilitated by and within the CIVITAS
initiative through the signature of collaboration agreement. Proposals should ensure that
appropriate provisions for activities and resources aimed at enforcing this collaboration are
included in the work-plan of the proposal. Detailed description of the specific activities and
common actions that will be undertaken is not required at proposal stage and can be further
defined during the grant agreement phase. Collaboration with the Mission Platform
(HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03) is essential and should take place through the CIVITAS
initiative. The latter should establish, through a Memorandum of Understanding, clear links
with the Mission portfolio for synergies and complementarities.
Proposals may include preparatory, take up and replication actions, research activities, as well
as tools to support local planning and policy making. At the same time, projects would be
expected to share their results and good practice with the upcoming European Urban Initiative
of Cohesion Policy, the Urban Agenda for the EU and relevant smart specialisation
partnerships e.g. the Safe and Sustainable Mobility Partnership or EIT Urban Mobility with its
objectives to deploying user‐centric, integrated eco‐efficient and safe mobility solutions in
urban areas.
479
         https://www.eltis.org/
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Other Actions not subject to calls for proposals
Grants to identified beneficiaries
1. Specific Grant Agreements to the Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) for the
Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission Platform
The consortium of the selected Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) for the Climate-
Neutral and Smart Cities Mission Platform is invited to submit a proposal for a Specific Grant
Agreement (SGA) for the first period of the partnership (2022-2024). The expected outcomes
of the SGA should be in line with the scope of the FPA.
One single proposal for SGA should be submitted. This action aims at implementing the first
period of the FPA action plan addressing and developing in details the actions needed to
implement all the building blocks presented under topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03:
Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) for the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission
Platform and broadly outlined in the draft action plan to be submitted in this context.
The Mission Platform will assist those cities that will be identified as a result of the open Call
for Expression of Interest which was launched in November 2021 and resulted in 377
expressions of interest from cities in all 27 EU Member States and from 9 associated
countries. These cities respond to the first objective of the Mission to deliver at least 100
climate-neutral and smart European cities by 2030. Cities that are not yet able to commit to
the Mission’s timeline but are willing to commit to accelerate their transition towards climate
neutrality within a longer timeframe following the Cities Mission basic principles, will also
receive basic support from the Mission Platform. These cities respond to the second objective
of the Mission to ensure that the cities responding to the first objective act as experimentation
and innovation hubs to put all European cities in a position to become climate-neutral by
2050.
The Specific Grant Agreement will implement actions addressing both objectives of the
Mission through targeted activities, in particular:
1. Develop and scale-up the Mission Platform and its associated services (objectives 1
and 2)
    Develop and scale up the services and support offered to cities through a Mission
     Platform in order to accommodate for the needs of the whole group of cities selected to
     participate in the Mission through the Call for Expression of Interest to be launched by
     the European Commission (objective 1);
    Expand and regularly update the open-source services of the online platform, accessible
     to all cities, such as a city dashboard with relevant data for a given city, including its
     Climate City Contract (CCC); progress on metrics; an innovation readiness self-
     assessment tool; contributing to a smart repository of relevant knowledge (data, reports,
     good practices); annual barometer synthesizing the progress achieved by all cities
     participating in the Mission; a collaborative space for cities participating in pilot
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     projects; a peer-based “community social network” to facilitate peer-learning between
     cities (objective 1);
   Carry out a capacity building and mutual learning programme, supporting their move
     towards climate neutrality (objective 1);
   Provide needs-based, but not individualised training, in the form of seminars, workshops
     and/or webinars addressing the main elements of urban climate neutrality. Topics should
     respond to the needs of the group of cities, and should include: climate neutrality
     planning; governance and stakeholder engagement; GHG emission accounting and
     monitoring; key sectors and strategies for reducing emissions (energy, transport, waste);
     local energy production and renewable energy sources; the role of smart and digital
     solutions; investment (funding and financing); citizen engagement and social innovation
     (objectives 1 and 2);
   Foster mutual learning and exchange of good practice, for example in the form of
     twinning and teaming arrangements (objective 2);
   Offer mentoring and twinning opportunities for up to 100 cities to join up with the cities
     selected in the Call for Expression of Interest (objective 1),
   Help cities access the best available research, expertise, tools and technologies that can
     enable them to quickly identify and implement portfolios of innovative, high-impact
     interventions on a deep decarbonisation pathway (objectives 1 and 2).
   Provide web-based assistance to European cities that are not yet ready to commit to
     climate neutrality for their city by 2030, but are ready to engage to accelerate their
     transition in accordance with the principles of the Cities Mission (objective 2).
2. Co-creation of Climate City Contracts (objective 1)
   Engage with the cities participating in the Mission and steer the process of co-creation of
     their CCC, in close collaboration with the national/regional authorities, all relevant
     stakeholders and the European Commission;
   Support cities to explore and adopt innovative governance models, building on the
     experience of relevant initiatives, to help develop, implement and monitor progress of
     the CCC, and in particular local key stakeholders such as civil society platforms to
     engage with citizens, involve and empower them to be active participants in the co-
     creation process;
   Coordinate the group of cities committing to the CCC process facilitating the sharing of
     experience and good practices and mutual learning between cities regarding setting up
     and mainstreaming co-creation processes engaging all relevant actors for the framing,
     deployment and assessment of their vision, strategy, and an action plan to reach climate
     neutrality and increased sustainability while ensuring shared ownership;
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   Support cities and local communities in testing solutions (including new technologies,
     non-technological, nature-based and social innovations) that stem from European R&I.
     This should entail a matching of cities’ and local communities’ needs to R&I results
     through various means e.g., matchmaking, coaching and brokerage hubs.
3. Tailor-made investment plans, project preparation and finance (objective 1)
   Provide information, consulting services and further support cities to develop a tailor-
     made investment plan, including with financial and technical advisory services, to
     support access to public and private funding and financing as part of their CCC and their
     implementation;
   Taking into account and building on the good practices developed by global, European
     and national initiatives and programmes and ensuring complementarity with services
     offered by the EIB and the InvestEU Advisory hub, support cities in the preparation of
     specific investment projects for the transition to climate neutrality and provide tailored
     advice and coaching on how best to mobilise sustainable investments by the private
     sector;
   Explore the use of the possibilities offered to cities by pre-commercial procurement
     (PCP) and public procurement of innovative solutions (PPI) under Art. 26 of the Horizon
     Europe Regulation;
   Develop innovative tools and educational programmes and identify methods to measure,
     optimise and demonstrate the value of the co-benefits of climate neutrality projects as
     well as to critically assess trade-offs.
4. Large scale EU R&I demonstrators accelerating city climate-neutrality solutions
(objective 1)
   Launch and manage calls for proposals to support large scale pilots for the deployment
     in participating Mission cities of systemic solutions combining, as appropriate,
     technological, nature-based, social, cultural, regulatory and financial innovation and new
     business and governance models to underpin the climate transition, taking stock of
     existing best practices and already available solutions;
   Establish cooperation and regular exchange with the R&I projects that will be funded
     under the Climate-neutral and smart cities Mission Work Programme in order to identify
     complementarities, avoid potential overlaps with the pilots supported by the Mission
     Platform and ensure synergies where relevant, to the benefit of the participating cities.
     This collaboration should be formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding with
     the relevant projects and initiatives;
   Support activities dedicated to twinning and mentoring of at least two other cities from
     different EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries facing structural
     disadvantages or with a population smaller than 50 000 inhabitants. Activities should
     also aim for an equitable inclusion of cities in less developed and peripheral regions,
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      which are willing to embark on a climate neutrality path with a target beyond 2030 and
      are willing to engage and develop their CCC and implement it in a subsequent phase
      with an ultimate target of 2050.
The Mission Platform should build on existing actions, including relevant ones developed
through Horizon 2020 projects. It should collaborate closely with successful ongoing
initiatives that have developed knowledge and expertise, in particular with the Covenant of
Mayors and their methodologies and processes co-developed with the JRC, and the Covenant
Community Group of Cities Practitioners. The assets of the Smart Cities and Communities
context (including Living-in.eu, data space for smart communities), the Smart Cities
Marketplace and the Common Services Platform should be factored in, with regard to
engaging public, private and civil society stakeholders to support project financing and
implementation as well as the promotion of shared standards and technical specifications to
facilitate data exchange and to ensure interoperability of solutions. Synergies should be
ensured with the upcoming European Urban Initiative of the Cohesion Policy and with the
Urban Agenda for the EU and with actions funded under the DIGITAL European Programme.
The Mission Platform will coordinate with the European Commission to ensure that advice
and support provided to cities remains aligned to the latest policies and initiatives and makes
full use of available tools and services provided or supported by the Commission.
In addition, it will draw in national-level support and expertise through close cooperation with
the Cities Mission’s national networks, established under the call HORIZON-MISS-2021-
CIT-01-01.
Specific conditions:
This action allows for the provision of financial support to third parties in line with the
conditions set out in General Annex B – Eligibility of the Horizon Europe Work Programme.
Activity 4 "Large scale EU R&I demonstrators accelerating city climate-neutrality solutions",
includes the launch of open calls for proposals to support large scale pilots for the deployment
in participating Mission cities of systemic innovative solutions. For this purpose, beneficiaries
may provide financial support to third parties. The support to third parties can only be
provided in the form of grants. As a derogation to the standard limit of EUR 60 000 per third
party entity set in the Financial Regulation480 (Article 204), the Commission considers that in
order to increase the impact of the pilot projects to be supported under the call(s) that will
address the deployment of systemic innovative solutions and in order to achieve the objectives
of this action, the maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 1.5 million. The
Commission considers that the size of the pilots should range between EUR 0.5 million up to
EUR 1.5 million, depending on the expected impact of the proposed projects. The selection of
the third parties to be supported under the grant will be based on a review of the proposed
work by external independent experts. The scope of these calls will be further defined
building on and ensuring complementarities with similar initiatives developed by the project
480
         https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX%3A32018R1046&from=EN
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funded under the Horizon 2020 Green Deal call topic LC-GD-1-2-2020: Towards climate-
neutral and socially innovative cities481.
The standard evaluation criteria, thresholds, weighting for award criteria and the maximum
rate of co-financing for this type of action are provided in parts D and G of the General
Annexes.
This action will be implemented through Research and Innovation Actions (RIA).
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Specific grant agreement awarded without call for proposals in relation to a
Framework Partnership Agreement
Indicative timetable: Third quarter of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 87.24 million from the 2022 budget482
2. Global Mission on Urban Transitions under Mission Innovation
At COP26 in Glasgow, Mission Innovation launched a global mission on Urban
Transitions483. The Urban Transitions Mission is co-led by the Commission, as member of
Mission Innovation on behalf of the European Union, and the Global Covenant of Mayors. It
aims to support establishing and/or accelerating the design, development and implementation
of integrated urban energy systems in different world regions by 2030 by testing affordable
and cost-effective solutions in key emission sectors such as the built environment, transport
and mobility, and industry, with the cross-sector integration of renewable energy. Activities
will include urban living labs, deep demonstrators and enhanced R&D investment that take
into account different forms of innovation and challenge-based typologies of different urban
environments.
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals to the legal entity identified below as
the Global Covenant of Mayors. On account of its technical competence, its high degree of
specialisation and for its role as co-lead of the global mission on cities, the Global Covenant
of Mayors will provide the services of the Mission Director, responsible for the coordination
of mission activities, the involvement of Mission Innovation members and partners, and the
engagement of stakeholders towards the successful implementation of the mission statement.
481
        Horizon 2020 Work Programme 2018-2020, Part 20. Cross-cutting activities, Call - Building a low-
        carbon, climate resilient future: Research and innovation in support of the European Green Deal:
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/lc-gd-1-
        2-2020. The Horizon 2020 project NetZeroCities - Accelerating cities' transition to net zero emissions
        by 2030, Grant Agreement n. 101036519, has been selected under the Green Deal call topic "LC-GD-1-
        2-2020 Towards Climate-Neutral and Socially Innovative Cities" and started its activities on 1 October
        2021.
482
        Of which EUR 19.21 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget,EUR 11.88 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 52.60
        million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget,EUR 1.75 million from the 'Civil Security for
        Society' budget,EUR 1.79 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
483
        See mission-innovation.net/missions/
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Legal entities: Global Covenant of Mayors as part of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership
Group Inc. - Park Avenue 120, 23th floor, 10017 New York, USA with exploitation seat at
Boulevard Charlemagne 1, Mezzanine Floor, IPC Building, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant awarded without call for proposals according to Financial Regulation
Article 195 (f)
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: First quarter of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.37 million from the 2021 budget484
Scientific and technical services by the Joint Research Centre
1. Scientific and technical services to the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission
The Joint Research Center (JRC) is providing scientific and technical support during the
preparation and early implementation phases of the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities
Mission, hereafter referred to as the Cities Mission. The purpose of this action is to provide
continued scientific and technical support towards achieving climate-neutrality in the cities
participating in the Cities Mission by 2030 and in all other cities by 2050, in line with the
European Green Deal485 objectives. The activities will provide extended data, methodologies
and analysis for accelerating the transition towards climate-neutrality throughout European
cities while also assessing the progress and overall impact of the Cities Mission. This activity
will be implemented in close coordination with the Commission’s Mission Team and the
Mission Owners' Group.
This activity will focus in particular on:
     Monitoring the overall progress and impact of the Cities Mission
The JRC will elaborate the methodology for assessing the GHG reductions achieved in the
context of the Cities Mission and their impact in view of achieving the European Green Deal
targets. The methodology will further include an assessment of air quality and health co-
benefits. A tailor-made tool will allow cities to assess the air quality impacts of their GHG
mitigation measures planned and undertaken as part of their Climate City Contracts.
484
         Of which EUR 0.10 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
         Environment' budget,EUR 0.04 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.01 million
         from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget,EUR 0.22 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility'
         budget,EUR 0.00 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
485
         COM(2019)       640     final:   The     European     Green    Deal_     https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
         content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52019DC0640&from=EN
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The JRC will provide the methodology for establishing a coherent emissions baseline across
all participating cities entering phase 2 of the Cities Mission and prepare a baseline report as
reference for mission progress and impact monitoring. The methodology for calculating local
Emission Factors (EF) will be refined, particularly for electricity. Vertical integration between
cities, regions and Member States, comparability of GHG emissions accounting
methodologies and data will be ensured.
In continuation, the JRC will elaborate bi-annual progress and assessment reports.
     Methodological development
Gaps in existing guidance materials and methodologies will be closed, adapting and
expanding on existing resources for cities. This will include tailored guidance for cities on
assessing and addressing scope 3 emissions in the mission context. This work will be
undertaken in close collaboration with the relevant international fora, including the partners
under the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM).
     Provision of guidance, data and tools for follower cities (with targets after 2030)
Based on the analysis of current levels of preparedness, remaining barriers and assistance
needs under the current direct action grant, the JRC will identify priority areas of support for
the follower cities and elaborate selected tools and services (e.g. the JRC Handbook on
Sustainable Urban Development) in view of accelerating their climate neutrality transition.
The application tool developed for the purpose of the first call for Expression of Interest can
be transformed into a tool for systematic self-assessment for cities, at different stages of their
climate neutrality pathway. Proxy emissions data, including sectoral breakdowns, will be
made available for less prepared cities as a starting point for their climate action planning.
Tools for the assessment of scope 1 emissions in smaller cities will be reviewed and refined as
relevant.
The listed activities should ensure the uptake and capitalisation of the existing European
urban initiatives and policies, in particular the Urban Data Platform Plus and the upcoming
European Urban Initiative, while also considering the necessary interaction with the one-stop-
shop established under the Horizon 2020 topic LC-GD-1-2-2020 Towards Climate-Neutral
and Socially Innovative Cities486. The action should last indicatively two years.
Form of Funding: Direct action grants
Type of Action: Provision of technical/scientific services by the Joint Research Centre
Indicative timetable: Third quarter of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 2.00 million from the 2021 budget487
486
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/lc-gd-1-
         2-2020
487
         Of which EUR 0.54 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
         Environment' budget,EUR 0.20 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.05 million
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Mission: Soil health and food
There is no life without soils. If soils are healthy and sustainably managed, they provide food,
clean water, habitats for biodiversity and other important services while contributing to
climate resilience488. We take these services for granted, but in fact soils are a scarce, non-
renewable and threatened resource, all over Europe and globally. 60-70% of EU soils are
unhealthy, mainly because of unsustainable management practices. The effects of climate
change are putting further pressure on this key resource. The mission intends to support
Europe’s path to sustainable soil management as part of the wider green transition in urban
and rural areas. The mission’s goal is to establish 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the
transition towards healthy soils by 2030 for food, people, nature and climate.
To reach its goal and objectives, the identified mission foresees actions across sectors and
territories (rural, peri-urban and urban areas including across borders). It will therefore have
wide-reaching impact on practices in agriculture, forestry, food and other industries (e.g.
biobased and waste) as well as on land use planning. The mission will also tap into the
expertise from international partners and contribute to soil health globally.
To be successful, the Mission requires that stakeholders and social partners along the whole
food chain, including farmers, land managers, industries, consumers and society at large
acknowledge the wider societal and ecological value of soils and actively contribute to soil
friendly practices including through consumer choices. Many of the actions to address soil
health have a direct impact on the goals of all other missions: carbon sequestration in soil
supports climate mitigation (Mission Adaptation to Climate Change), targeted nutrient
management will lead to improvements in water quality (Mission Restore our Ocean and
Waters by 2030), soils are the foundation of green infrastructure and nature-based solutions,
e.g. for flood protection in urban areas (Mission 100 Climate-neutral and Smart Cities by
2030), while a reduction in soil pollution reduces the risk of cancer (Mission Cancer).
Proposals for topics under this mission will be part of a wider portfolio of mission activities
and should contribute to laying the foundations for a structured roll-out of mission activities.
They should set out a credible pathway to progress towards to the mission’s goal and
objectives, and more specifically to several of the following impacts:
     “Soil literacy”, awareness and societal appreciation of the vital functions of soils are
      significantly increased and result in wide societal engagement on soil health.
     The links between healthy soils, nutritious and safe food and a healthy environment are
      better understood.
         from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget,EUR 1.19 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility'
         budget,EUR 0.02 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
488
         In line with report of the mission Board Soil Health and Food the Mission's implementation plan, soil
         health is defined as "the continued capacity of soils to support ecosystem services".
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     Land managers 489, industries, consumers and society at large work together and take
      effective action on soil health across sectors and land uses, as informed by best available
      science, thereby significantly alleviating not only the immediate pressure on soils but
      also on the surrounding environment including water bodies.
     Robust soil monitoring programmes and common definitions are in place (based on
      common, harmonised and comprehensive measurements) and allow land managers and
      public authorities to take effective actions based on up-to-date information from all
      Member States and Associated Countries.
     The successful implementation of the mission supports several EU policy and
      international commitments, e.g. in relation to land degradation neutrality, food and
      nutrition security, climate and biodiversity (e.g. SDGs, UNCCD, UN CBD, Green Deal
      including the Farm to Fork Strategy, Biodiversity Strategy, new Soil Strategy, Zero
      Pollution Strategy, Forestry Strategy or the Long-term Vision for Rural Areas).
The implementation plan specifies the goal and objectives as well as implementation details
of the mission “A Soil Deal for Europe: 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition
towards healthy soils by 2030490.
Projects under this call are expected to liaise closely together with the mission secretariat and
actively contribute to the development of the European Soil Observatory (EUSO), hosted by
the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC).
Under the Work Programme 2022 call of the Soil Health and Food mission, the Commission
plans to fund amongst others actions to491:
     develop and improve tools and methods for soil monitoring
     for practice and policy-making;
     preserve and substantially increase soil carbon in different types of land use;
     reduce soil contamination and increase capacities for soil remediation (e.g. through
      knowledge, strategies and cost-effective methods and technologies);
     enhance soil relevant education and access to information.
Specific requirements for multi-actor projects:
Proposals submitted for topics requesting to follow the multi-actor approach should meet all
requirements listed below.
489
         The term "land manager" includes farmers, foresters, urban and spatial planners and other decision-
         makers in the public or private domain with regard to land use and rural areas.
490
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/implementation-plans-eu-missions_en
491
         The listed areas for potential actions are tentative and non-binding.
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The multi-actor approach described here, aims to make the R&I process and its outcomes
more demand-driven, relevant to society and socially innovative. A multi-actor project
ensures the genuine involvement of different types of actors. The choice of the key actors
participating in projects will depend on the objectives of the call topic. The actors are
essentially the (end-) users492 of project results. In the area of agriculture these can be for
example farmers and farmers' groups, foresters and foresters’ groups, advisors, food
processors, businesses, consumer associations, local communities, citizens, civil society
organisations including NGOs, social partners and government representatives. The genuine
involvement of different types of actors should take place over the course of the project to
ensure co-creation: from participation in project planning and experiments to implementation,
dissemination of results and a possible demonstration phase. This is expected to speed up the
acceptance and take-up of new ideas, approaches and solutions developed in the project. A
multi-actor project proposal should describe:
     how the project proposal's objectives and planning are targeting the needs/problems and
      opportunities of the (end-)users of the project results;
     how the project concept and in particular the composition of the consortium reflects a
      balanced choice of key actors who have complementary types of knowledge (scientific
      and practical), and will ensure a broad implementation of project results;
     how the project intends to include existing practices and tacit knowledge in scientific
      work. This should be reflected in the number of high quality knowledge exchange
      activities indicating the precise and active roles of the different non-scientific actors in
      the work. Thanks to the cross-fertilisation of competencies and ideas between actors, this
      should generate innovative findings and solutions that are more likely to be applied;
     how the project will facilitate the multi-actor engagement process by making use of the
      most appropriate methodologies;
     how the project will result in practical knowledge, approaches or tools, made easily
      understandable and accessible, and how this free material for practice will feed into the
      existing dissemination channels most consulted by the (end-) users of the project results
      in the countries and regions
For topics working in the area of agriculture and forestry (linked to Intervention Area 3 of
Horizon Europe Cluster 6):
     practice oriented knowledge resulting from projects should be assembled amongst others
      in form of ‘practice abstracts’493 in the common EIP format of the European Innovation
      Partnership 'Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability' (EIP-AGRI)494. Involvement or
492
         An“(end-) user” of project result is a person who is him/herself putting the project results into practice.
493
         see https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/en/eip-agri-common-format
494
         see https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/en
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     cooperation with EIP-AGRI Operational Groups funded under Rural Development
     Programmes should be sought, as appropriate495.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this mission:
                Call                                Budgets (EUR million)        Deadline(s)
                                                   2021                    2022
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-01 5.00                                                  20 Oct 2021
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02 62.00                                                 24 Mar 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01                                          95.00        27 Sep 2022
Overall indicative budget                 67.00                    95.00
495
       see https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/en/about/operational-groups
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                                                    Missions
Call - Preparing the ground for healthy soils: building capacities for engagement,
outreach and knowledge
                                                                        HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)496
                  Topics                        Type         Budgets         Expected EU          Number
                                                  of          (EUR          contribution per          of
                                               Action        million)        project (EUR          projects
                                                                              million)497         expected
                                                               2021                                 to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                         Deadline(s): 20 Oct 2021
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-01-01 CSA                           5.00 498      Around 5.00              1
Overall indicative budget                                  5.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                      The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                      The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                   C.
Award criteria                                              The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                            D.
496
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
497
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
498
        Of which EUR 5.00 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget.
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Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-01-01: Preparing the ground for healthy soils: building
capacities for engagement, outreach and knowledge
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                       consortium selected for funding.
                       If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
Expected Outcome:
Project activities are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   Enhanced capacities for effective mission deployment in close co-operation with the
     Mission Core Network and eventual national mission hubs supported through the topic
     ‘Coordination of complementary actions for missions’
   Increased networking and knowledge exchange between communities across Europe at
     regional/local level on soil health taking into account various types of land uses and
     based on the work undertaken in existing and new living labs and lighthouses;
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     Decision-makers from policy and the private sector are better equipped to answer to
      questions on soil quality across land uses due to increased insight into the status of soil
      health in European regions as well as improved capabilities for assessment and analyses
      and soil monitoring;
     All sectors of society are informed and/or can make informed decisions regarding soil
      management through integrated on-line resources in all Member States and Associated
      Countries and improved access to evidence-based information, data as well as resources
      and examples of best practices in education and training;
     Virtual, cross-disciplinary communities on soil stewardship are created using social
      media and making full use of the potential of digital tools.
Scope:
Life on Earth depends on healthy soils. Soil provides food, clean water and habitats for
biodiversity while contributing to climate resilience including an increased preparedness to
extreme weather events (both droughts and floods). As the largest terrestrial habitat, soil is a
unique ecosystem that is critical to aboveground and belowground biodiversity yet it is the
least studied. Partly as a result of an increasing urban lifestyle, there is very little awareness in
society on the importance of soils, their functions, the threats to soil health and what can be
done to preserve this valuable resource. A lack of education and understanding often
underpins land degradation and a loss of soil capacity to provide the functions on which we
depend. Both land managers in rural areas and urban planners need improved access to ready-
to-use knowledge and to advisory services that can support them in their efforts to manage
soils in sustainable ways.
Living labs (LLs) and lighthouses (LHs) 499 are emerging as places for engagement of
communities to co-create, test and upscale solutions in various domains. However, LLs and
LHs working on soil management are not yet widespread and information on existing
experiences is scattered.
Proposed activities will lay the ground for rapid take-up of mission activities following its
formal approval. Proposals should therefore:
     identify in close cooperation with regional authorities, stakeholders and communities
      existing “soil needs” (e.g. status, main problems and priority areas for improvement) in a
      number of contrasting regions in each Member State and Associated Country so that
      different land use systems are addressed. Insight on the status of soils and the main
      challenges to soil health should be a starting point for recommendations on priority
      actions and activities to be implemented in living labs and lighthouses;
499
         The mission report Caring for Soil is Caring for Life defines a) Living Labs as spaces for co-innovation
         through participatory, transdisciplinary and systemic research and b) Lighthouses as places for
         demonstration of solutions, training and communication.
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     develop tools to support networking and knowledge exchange of communities working
      at regional/local level on soil health and create Communities of Practice (CoP) in the
      respective regions. This should include a mapping of current and emerging Living Labs
      and Lighthouses targeting various types of land uses (e.g. in agriculture, forestry, urban
      and natural areas). The mapping of living labs and lighthouses shall ensure that a variety
      of locations are represented reflecting the diversity of soils, land uses as well as socio-
      economic and demographic conditions. Results of the mapping should be displayed
      through an interactive map showing relevant information, for example on context (land
      use type, funding sources, etc.), activities and partners involved;
     develop “model business plans” for Living Labs and Lighthouses (e.g. specifying
      ownership, funding, goals and activities) taking into account different regions at NUTS 2
      level and different land uses.
     improve the knowledge base required to assess progress in monitoring soils and meeting
      the targets proposed by the Mission Board Soil Health and Food. Activities should be
      undertaken in close collaboration with Member States Associated Countries and the EU
      Soil Observatory500. They will depend amongst others on harmonised and regular soil
      data collection, common definitions and possibly thresholds identified for each Member
      States and Associated Countries for the mission’s proposed soil health indicators;
     connect existing on-line resources on soil information to provide a single point for
      access to this information (a one-stop shop for soil literacy) in each Member State and
      Associated Country. In view of taking a systemic approach to soil health, the
      information should extend to sectors/activities that have an impact on soils (e.g. sources
      of pollution) as well as information on wider impacts of unhealthy soils (e.g. on water
      bodies). This one stop shop or platform should connect diverse organisations, projects
      and people that contribute to the sustainable management of soils by promoting soil
      advocates in different fields/roles/regions. It should also help identifying “agents of
      transition”, i.e. people supporting changes in perception, values, attitudes and behaviour
      towards more sustainable practices and management of soils while promoting the
      economic benefits from restoration opportunities;
     link this one-stop shop in each Member State and Associated Country to “best of” online
      material to inspire and connect citizens to the topics of soil health (e.g. films, websites,
      apps, games, educational tools). The material should target different groups and be
      displayed in local official languages. Links should also be established with good
      examples for online material in Europe and internationally;
     promote and reward on-going or recent examples of soil education and social innovation
      in the area of soil health to increase understanding of soils by the public at large.
500
         The EU Soil Observatory was launched 4 December 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/eu-soil-
         observatory
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                                                    Missions
In carrying out the tasks the project should tap into the expertise of partners from various
sectors (e.g. research, land managers including farmers and foresters, education,
communication, citizens and civil society, food and non-food industries, spatial planners,
public authorities) and address soil health in the context of various land uses. This is in line
with the approach taken by the proposed mission Caring for Soil is Caring for Life.
Proposals should demonstrate a route towards open access, longevity, sustainability and
interoperability of knowledge and outputs, also through close collaboration with the JRC’s
EU Soil Observatory.
They should build on existing activities and ensure cooperation with relevant projects under
Horizon 2020 such as the SMS project and the European Joint Partnership EJP Soil. Activities
should also take into account the implementation of living labs under a possible future
partnership on agroecology which is under preparation. This should ensure compatibility and
cooperation between living labs associated to the mission and the future partnership.
Activities should also support the objectives of the upcoming EU Soil Strategy, and other
major initiatives in the area of soil health.
If projects use satellite based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing
data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS. Other
data and services may be used in addition.
Call - Research and Innovation and other actions to support the implementation of a
mission in the area of Soil health and Food
                                                                      HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)501
                  Topics                        Type        Budgets          Expected EU          Number
                                                  of         (EUR          contribution per           of
                                               Action       million)         project (EUR          projects
                                                                              million)502         expected
                                                              2021                                  to be
                                                                                                   funded
                                           Opening: 22 Dec 2021
501
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
502
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
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                                                  Missions
                                       Deadline(s): 24 Mar 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-01 CSA                        5.00 503       Around 5.00                 1
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-02 RIA                        12.00 504      Around 12.00                1
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-03 RIA                        7.00 505       Around 7.00                 1
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-04 RIA                        10.00 506      Around 5.00                 2
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-05 RIA                        10.00 507      Around 5.00                 2
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-06 CSA                        10.00 508      Around 3.30                 3
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-07 CSA                        3.00 509       Around 3.00                 1
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-08 RIA                        5.00 510       Around 5.00                 1
Overall indicative budget                               62.00
General conditions relating to this call
503
       Of which EUR 3.78 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 0.89 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.22
       million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.11 million from the 'Culture, creativity
       and inclusive society' budget.
504
       Of which EUR 9.07 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 2.15 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.52
       million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.27 million from the 'Culture, creativity
       and inclusive society' budget.
505
       Of which EUR 5.29 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 1.25 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.30
       million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.16 million from the 'Culture, creativity
       and inclusive society' budget.
506
       Of which EUR 7.56 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 1.79 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.43
       million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.22 million from the 'Culture, creativity
       and inclusive society' budget.
507
       Of which EUR 7.56 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 1.79 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.43
       million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.22 million from the 'Culture, creativity
       and inclusive society' budget.
508
       Of which EUR 7.56 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 1.79 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.43
       million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.22 million from the 'Culture, creativity
       and inclusive society' budget.
509
       Of which EUR 2.27 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 0.54 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.13
       million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.07 million from the 'Culture, creativity
       and inclusive society' budget.
510
       Of which EUR 3.78 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 0.89 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.22
       million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.11 million from the 'Culture, creativity
       and inclusive society' budget.
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                                                       Missions
Admissibility conditions                                      The conditions are described in General
                                                              Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                        The conditions are described in General
                                                              Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                        The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                     C.
Award criteria                                                The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                              D.
Documents                                                     The documents are described in General
                                                              Annex E.
Procedure                                                     The procedure is described in General
                                                              Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                       The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-01: From knowledge gaps to roadmaps on soil mission
objectives
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome:
Activities under this topic will contribute to all of the following outcomes:
     improved understanding of main gaps in our knowledge as well as of causes and
      consequences, drivers and barriers to soil health in line with the mission’s objectives511;
     improved capacities to assess potential trade-offs between the mission objectives;
511
        see         Soil       Deal         mission          objectives     in       implementation        plan:
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/soil_mission_i
        mplementation_plan_final_for_publication.pdf
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                                                Missions
    establishment of dynamic roadmaps to support the development and coordination of a
      coherent portfolio of R&I and other activities for each mission objectives;
    increased capacities to develop, monitor and evaluate the mission’s activities based on a
      common understanding of needs, identified priorities for action and up-to-date
      information on new knowledge emerging from mission activities and other programmes.
Scope: For effective coordination and implementation of the mission’s activities, it is
necessary to have a detailed view of already existing knowledge, main knowledge gaps and
drivers of soil health along with a common understanding of pathways (R&I and other
actions) to act on soil health in line with the mission’s specific objectives.
Such “roadmaps” for action for each of the mission’s specific objectives should integrate the
needs from different disciplines and sectors and address various soil types, land uses and
climatic zones across Europe. Particular attention should be given to identifying R&I needs
for land uses other than agriculture that have received less attention in the past.
Proposed activities will
    provide a comprehensive, practice-oriented analysis of drivers of soil health considering
      different socioeconomic dimensions, including public policies, and cultural diversity;
    take stock, integrate and synthesize existing knowledge and knowledge gaps in relation
      to the eight specific objectives of the mission. This analysis should be constantly updated
      throughout the project as evidence from new science emerges. It should also allow to
      display the overall R&I efforts on soils geographically distributed across Member States
      and Associated Countries, proposing additional actions to overcome an unbalance, where
      relevant. Activities should result in structured, easily accessible and up-to-date overview
      of major recent and on-going R&I projects and their results in relation to the eight
      specific mission objectives. The overview should consider projects funded by the EU
      (e.g. under the EU R&I Framework Programme and the LIFE programme) as well as at
      the level of Member States and Associated Countries. Major international initiatives
      should be taken into account, as appropriate;
    develop roadmaps for mission implementation according to each of the mission's
      objectives. Roadmaps should include interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary R&I
      priorities and expected results as well as the technical and socio-economic options to
      reach each of the mission’s specific objectives, both in the short-term and in the long-
      term. The roadmaps should provide a timeline for action, including expected outputs and
      outcomes, and suggest measurable R&I key performance indicators to monitor progress
      towards each of the specific objectives. The roadmaps should be continuously updated
      over the lifetime of the project and feed into the various phases of the mission.
    provide an operational framework to oversee, monitor and assess the mission’s evolving
      R&I portfolio against the identified objectives and expected outcomes, within the
      proposed timeframe.
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                                                Missions
In carrying out activities, projects should
   build on available knowledge and activities of ongoing Horizon 2020 projects related to
      soil health;
   involve a range of actors, e.g. researchers, land managers, policy decision makers,
      economic actors, civil society, social partners and other stakeholders to identify and
      prioritize the knowledge gaps and R&I needs;
   capitalise on the potential of digital technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) and
      the internet of things (IoT);
   address synergies and trade-offs across the roadmaps (and mission specific objectives) to
      provide an integrated assessment of pathways towards healthy soils.
Activities should be undertaken in close cooperation with the mission secretariat and the
Mission Board and build upon existing national and European resources such as of the
Horizon Results Platform, the European Innovation Partnership EIP AGRI, relevant
Knowledge Centres of the Joint Research Centre and the emerging EU Soil Observatory.
Project duration should be a minimum of 4 to 5 years to allow as much as possible the
constant update of the eight roadmaps with input stemming at least from the mission’s
induction and pilot phase (2021 - 2025) and partly from the mission’s expansion and
innovation phase (2024 - 2030).
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-02: Validating and further developing indicators for
soil health and functions
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 12.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
                      requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million.
Type of Action        Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                      consortium selected for funding.
                      If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                      and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                      Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (taking into account possible
                      limitations on their use by international partners). Other data and services
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                                                     Missions
                        may additionally be used.
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     progress towards a harmonised and cost-effective framework for measuring soil health
      and for developing a soil health index, based on a widely agreed definition of soil health.
      In the long term, results may support a harmonised soil monitoring and reporting in
      Europe, as aimed for by the new EU Soil Strategy;
     significantly improved capacities for soil health monitoring and for assessing the effects
      of management practices and policy measures based on a set of robust set of indicators
      for soil health (state and change) and of proxies that are applicable to various land uses;
     support to policy development and to the creation of incentives for sustainable soil
      management through increased evidence on the links between soil health, soil functions
      and ecosystem services.
Scope: A priority for soil monitoring concerns the development, harmonization, reporting and
scaling of robust indicators to establish the status and changes in soil health. In turn, these
indicators determine the operational aspects of the monitoring system in terms of sampling
framework, sample collection and preservation, laboratory analysis and temporal aspects.
The selected project will help develop and implement a harmonised reporting structure at EU,
national and local levels for soil health. More specifically, activities will
     test the eight indicators proposed in the mission implementation plan against their
      suitability to measure in a reliable way the status and changes in soil health, in particular
      in relation to progress towards the mission’s specific objectives;
     identify alternative indicators where the ones proposed in the implementation plan of the
      Soil Mission do not prove to be appropriate (e.g. sensitivity to change, critical
      thresholds, response time, feasibility of pan-EU operation) 512 . The indicators
      recommended (be it the ones indicated in the implementation plan or alternative ones)
      should be measurable, realistic (e.g. easy to use in particular for farmers and foresters,
      urban planners), unambiguous and scalable;
     develop a methodology to combine proposed indicators into a coherent soil health index;
     identify proxies for soil health, which are “easier” to monitor or more reactive to change.
      These "next generation indicators" could be based for example on observable land use
      and soil management or on data on the uptake of practices rather than direct
      measurements of soil properties;
512
         Soil          Deal          mission           implementation         plan, section     8B:
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/implementation-plans-eu-missions_en
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                                               Missions
    demonstrate the link between the proposed soil indicators, soil functions and ecosystems
      services supported by soils (taking into account the various types of soils and land uses);
    harmonize and benchmark the proposed indicators for a range of soil types, land uses
      and climate zones in the EU and Associated Countries and define the acceptable limits or
      thresholds;
    update indicators as a result of feedback following monitoring campaigns or data inputs;
    develop recommendations for an integrated sampling framework including measuring
      frequency and density to be implemented in the upcoming LUCAS campaign (planned
      for 2025/2026) and available for policy implementation (e.g. related to EU-wide soil
      condition assessments, registers for contaminated sites, LULUCF greenhouse as
      inventories);
    support the development of a Soil Health Dashboard under the EU Soil Observatory.
In carrying out activities, due account should be taken of the potential of Earth Observation
and digital technologies (including Artificial Intelligence) for soil monitoring (see also
eligibility conditions).
Activities should be undertaken in close cooperation with the European Commission’s Joint
Research Centre, the European Environment Agency and major R&I initiatives such as the
European Joint Programme EJP Soil. The JRC’s contribution is particularly relevant in view
of further developing LUCAS Soil and the Soil Health Dashboard under the European Soil
Observatory.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-03: Linking soil health to nutritional and safe food
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 7.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                       consortium selected for funding.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
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                                                 Missions
     Improved understanding of the soil health and food nexus to promote the development of
      a coherent portfolio of food systems R&I activities in line with the FOOD 2030
      initiative.
     Further understanding of the interlinkages between farming practices, soil health and
      four food quality-related characteristics of agri-food products: nutritional
      composition, tastiness (palatability), their technological properties (i.e. soil health
      impact on plant characteristics such as protein quality that may affect technological
      properties and subsequently the final food products) and safety (the level of residues of
      pesticides, metals or mycotoxins).
     Support R&I to facilitate the transition towards healthy and sustainable dietary
      behaviour. It will contribute to the transformation of food systems to deliver co-benefits
      for climate (mitigation and adaptation), biodiversity, environmental sustainability and
      circularity, dietary shift, sustainable healthy nutrition and safe food.
     Improved knowledge on how soil health influences food quality (including nutritional
      composition, tastiness, technological properties and safety) and which methods and
      tools exist to determine this.
     Best practices linking soil health to food quality and how they can be deployed along the
      food system.
     Engaged stakeholders throughout the food system, increased public awareness and
      business interest on the connection of soil health and food quality, via interactive
      learning/experimentation through living labs throughout Europe.
     Improved links and knowledge transfer with the EJP Soil 513 and other soil-relevant
      Horizon Europe instruments and initiatives (IBF Microbiome Working Group)514 at EU
      and international level.
Scope: Soils are essential for the global food system and regulate water, carbon and nitrogen
cycles but are put under pressure from population growth and climate change. Maintaining
healthy soils helps ensure nutritious, tasty and safe foods, which are essential for achieving
the Sustainable Development Goals and in particular SDG 2, Zero Hunger.
Soils are an important element in a holistic view of human health. A great proportion of our
food comes from terrestrial environments, in which soils play a central role. Soils have an
indirect impact on human health as essential soil compounds are taken up by the food
produced on it. Unhealthy soils decrease crop harvests and produce crops with reduced
nutritional value. Soil contaminants can pose a threat to food safety, malnutrition and human
health. Little is known on interactions between nutrient and microbiome composition of soils
and the plant (including its secondary metabolite content) and health effects on human diets
(including the gut microbiome).
513
         https://ejpsoil.eu/
514
         https://www.bioeconomy-forum.org/index.php?index=15
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                                               Missions
The quality of the soil plays a central role in determining food quality as it provides the
substrate and building blocks for the growth of plants and their edible food produce, which
are then harvested for consumption. Soil health and soil quality represent a fundamental
requirement for food safety, and therefore for animal and human health, even though this
relationship is not always acknowledged enough. Growing evidence links farm management,
soil health and plant health; but the relationships between soil health, climate stress, food and
crop nutritional quality, tastiness (palatability), technological properties and human health are
less well understood.
While information already exists on the interaction between farming practices, soil health and
food, a structured synthesis is needed to obtain a comprehensive and up-to-date understanding
of the relevant achievements on this field, in order to support the implementation of the soil
mission. A clearer understanding of the possible links between soil health, plants, food and
people is the key to improving the quality and healthiness of foods grown in all types of
farming systems, including smaller scale urban farming. There is a need to build on the
existing knowledge resulting from the latest EU R&I activities and infrastructures that elicit
the link between soil, food, diets and human health.
Proposed activities will:
   Further develop and strengthen legitimacy and robustness of the nexus food quality-soil
      through an engaged, broad and effective European interdisciplinary community of
      scientists (including medical researchers), innovators and practitioners, while
      recognising regional and national specificities, contexts and needs.
   Elucidate the current state of knowledge deriving from former and still ongoing Horizon
      2020 projects and other relevant state of the art research (e.g., EJP Soil) falling under the
      the nexus of soils, farming practices, food and human health and identify research and
      innovation areas where gaps need to be filled.
   Catalyse interdisciplinary collaboration as a holistic perspective, which is necessary to
      address the issues related to the topic.
   Seek and integrate qualitative and quantitative scientific evidence through in situ and lab
      experimentation and testing, literature review, surveys, analytical modelling (etc.) to
      support farming practices that positively influence the link between soil health and food
      quality.
   Develop easy to measure key performance indicators (KPIs) that elicit the connection
      between soil health, and four food quality-related characteristics (nutritional
      composition, tastiness, technological properties and safety).
   Adapt, integrate and demonstrate innovative methods to continuously measure the
      developed KPIs.
   Investigate how well current funding opportunities at all levels (EU, national, regional)
      address soils and human health research and innovation needs.
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                                               Missions
     Build upon existing knowledge and solutions designed and developed from previous
      projects such as the EIT Food initiative515 that addresses the challenge of soil health in a
      holistic way, from farm to fork, involving multiple stakeholders, highlighting their stakes
      in soil health and identifying potential drivers to motivate them to take action in
      collaboration with farmers [1] Regenerative Agriculture | EIT Food
     Summarise the known factors influencing water, soil and plant health and how these are
      linked with food quality and human health.
     List the potential mechanisms for improved food nutritional quality through soil health
      and evaluate the current evidence.
     Provide conclusions and recommendation for future research and innovation.
Proposals are encouraged to build on past or ongoing EU-funded research and innovation
projects. Proposal should also seek collaboration with relevant initiatives, and in particular
deliver on key objectives of the Horizon Europe Soil Health and Food Mission.
Proposals should explain how they will deliver co-benefits to the four Food 2030 priorities as
well as the EU Soil Strategy for 2030.
Proposals should set out a clear plan on how they should collaborate with other projects
selected under this and any other relevant topic/call, by participating in joint activities,
workshops, as well as common communication and dissemination activities and channels.
Proposals should bring together multiple types of scientific expertise in health and natural
sciences, and social sciences and humanities. This topic should involve the effective
contribution of SSH disciplines.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-04: Social, economic and cultural factors driving land
management and land degradation
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
515
                                       Part 12 - Page 272 of 367
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                                                 Missions
     increased evidence on the main factors driving land management and land degradation as
      a basis for actions by policy makers, land managers and other stakeholders;
     availability of a toolbox for policy solutions to shape conditions and promote practices
      that are conducive to better soil health and avoid land degradation;
     enhanced capacities for risk assessment and risk management through increased
      awareness and knowledge on hotspots of land degradation, in particular in Europe.
Scope: Avoiding soil degradation and fostering soil health is for a large part conditional upon
the land management practices implemented by land managers, together with pressures on
natural and semi-natural habitats. Those practices are framed by several factors (economic,
social and cultural) and by the policies applied (agriculture, spatial planning, environment,
economic, land tenure, etc.). It is necessary to understand those factors and the manner to
influence them, so that farmers and other land managers in rural and urban areas are
supported in implementing practices that are conducive to soil health and related ecosystem
services.
Proposed activities will:
     study in-depth the role of the following factors in soil health and land degradation: (1)
      economic factors, e.g. in relation to subsidies and other policy instruments, the polluter
      pays principle, payments for ecosystem services, costs and benefits of prevention, price
      of agricultural products, income, land markets, land tenure and prices; (2) social factors,
      e.g. in relation to civil society, social cohesion, income inequality, population density,
      farm structures, rural economy, farm demography; (3) cultural aspects, e.g. in relation to
      values and norms, strength of governance and public institutions, environmental
      awareness, product preferences, representation of soil and land in Member State rural
      cultures, education;
     identify the most important aspects that drive land management and land degradation
      with a view to elaborate integrated approaches, policies and (funding) strategies
      contributing to lifting the constraints impeding soil health recovery and land
      improvement and enable sustainable land management;
     develop and test (interactive) tools to assess risks as well as identify and visualise
      hotspots of land degradation across Europe;
     provide testing grounds for the demonstration of solutions in response to specific types
      of land degradation516.
In carrying out the tasks, projects should
516
         see objectives of Soil Deal mission: https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/implementation-plans-eu-
         missions_en
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                                                             Missions
     take account of the diversity of land uses (agriculture, forests, abandoned land,
      residential, mining and industry, recreational, etc.) and of geographical diversity in the
      EU;
     work in an interdisciplinary manner and involve the effective contribution of social
      sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines (including economics, sociology, history,
      geography);
     include a task to collaborate with other projects financed under this topic;
     take due account of the potential of digital technologies including artificial intelligence;
     capitalise on activities and results from on-going, relevant Horizon 2020 and Horizon
      Europe projects such as projects financed under Horizon 2020 RUR-03-2018
      (CONSOLE517, Contract2.0518 and EFFECT519) and under topic HORIZON-CL6-2021-
      GOVERNANCE-01-13 “Modelling land use and land management in the context of
      climate change”.
While having a main focus on Europe, activities should tap into international expertise and
encourage international cooperation, as deemed necessary to implement the above listed tasks.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-05: Incentives and business models for soil health
Specific conditions
Expected EU                         The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per                    million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                             Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                                    proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget                   The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action                      Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility and                     The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
admissibility                       additional eligibility criteria apply:
conditions                          The proposals must apply the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                                    multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
517      https://console-project.eu/
518      https://www.project-contracts20.eu/
519      https://project-effect.eu/
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    increased awareness about the value of investing in soil health and its various co-benefits
      for land managers, businesses (incl. the financial and insurance sectors), local authorities
      and civil society;
    increased opportunities for investments in soil health across value chains;
    novel opportunities for developing and diversifying income for land managers;
    enhanced cooperation and new partnerships across different sectors to significantly
      improve soil health and support the manifold soil functions;
    emergence of new value chains and products based on sustainable soil practices allowing
      consumers to make more informed decisions.
Scope:
Healthy soils are the basis of many ecosystems services that we take for granted such as
sufficient and safe food, clean water, clean air and an abundant biodiversity. They also
underpin sustainable and resilient value chains (food and non-food) and contribute to our
quality of life in urban and rural areas. The importance of soil health and the wider
environmental, social and economic risks and consequences of land degradation are
increasingly recognised across society (e.g. land managers, businesses incl. the financial and
insurance sectors, local authorities and citizens overall).
The business case for investing in soils is diverse. It can include increasing revenues and
developing novel income streams such as from Carbon Farming, reducing or avoiding risks
and costs, enhancing reputation, open up finance opportunities and others. Investing in
sustainable soil management and restoration is a long-term endeavour. Incentives are
therefore needed to help sharing risks and costs, provide innovative finance options and/or
reward production and consumption that promotes sustainable land use. Payment for
ecosystem services such as carbon capture, clean water, clean air or biodiversity are possible
mechanisms but many more are being applied and developed in accordance with the various
needs (e.g. crowd-sourcing, certification schemes, funds for impact investment or from
citizens and philanthropy).
Proposed activities will
    highlight the multiple dimensions of business cases for investing in soil health by the
      private and public sectors;
    provide a detailed analysis of existing models in Europe and internationally for creating
      incentives and for generating revenues from healthy soils. Financial and non-financial
      incentives shall promote a) sustainable soil management across various land uses and
      climatic conditions, b) products based on practices promoting soil health, c)
      consumption and certification practices conductive to soil health, d) the reuse of land and
      e) sustainable soil management in the context of the EU Taxonomy Regulation and the
      Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation;
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                                                                           Missions
     showcase “good examples” from Europe and internationally for investments in soil
      health and other types of incentives as well as for “innovators” that lead the transition
      towards sustainable soil practices, taking into account along with the context in which
      the presented measures work;
     co-design with stakeholders (e.g. businesses, citizens, local authorities) new models for
      promoting soil health where existing ones do not sufficiently cover the manifold needs;
     provide testing grounds for soil business cases and identify avenues for scaling up action
      on soil health, thus making sustainable soil management more profitable for farmers,
      foresters, businesses, municipalities and other actors;
     develop a comprehensive toolbox of incentives (existing and newly proposed ones)
      including recommendations on innovative ways of blending finance streams and policy
      measures. Tools shall be tailored to the needs of various stakeholders (incl. farmers and
      farmer organisations, foresters, businesses, non-for profit organisations, municipalities,
      civil society) and address the delivery of various ecosystem services (e.g. carbon
      capture, clean water, clean air, biodiversity) and land uses (e.g. agriculture, forestry,
      urban areas);
     provide recommendations for policy measures at EU and national levels to support the
      development of business models which promote soil health;
     establish communities of practice/roundtables for environmentally and socially
      responsible soil health “investors” (including civil society);
     develop material and carry out promotion events or campaigns to raise awareness
      regarding opportunities for soil investments;
     explore the potential of digital technologies to support the development of business cases
      for soil health.
In carrying out the tasks, consortia should build on existing studies for carbon farming, in
particular those carried out under contract by the European Commission, such as the recently
published “Technical Guidance Handbook – setting up and implementing result-based carbon
farming mechanisms in the EU"520.
Proposals must apply the multi-actor approach, thus ensure the participation of a range of
stakeholders with complementary expertise.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-06: Engage with and activate municipalities and
regions to protect and restore soil health
Specific conditions
520     https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/10acfd66-a740-11eb-9585-01aa75ed71a1/language-en
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Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per         3.30 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                  appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                         selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility conditions   The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
                         exceptions apply:
                         The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                         consortium selected for funding.
Legal and financial      The rules are described in General Annex G. The following
set-up of the Grant      exceptions apply:
Agreements               Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.
                         The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of
                         grants.
                         The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60
                         000.
Eligibility and          The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
admissibility            additional eligibility criteria apply:
conditions               The proposals must apply the multi-actor approach. See definition of
                         the multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme
                         part.
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
   increased and more structured dialogue on soil health challenges and solutions at
     regional and local levels with involvement of a large number of stakeholders and citizens
     with balanced representation of interests leading to the co-creation of public (including
     policy response) and private solutions, in coherence with existing EU strategies;
   substantially increased awareness and understanding of the value of soils and soil health
     challenges and their drivers (both bio-physical and socio-economic dimensions) across
     Europe;
   increased cooperation between public and private actors, co-implementing solutions
     aimed at the protection and restoration of soil health;
   more effective exchange of experiences between municipalities and regions across
     Europe, sharing effectively experiences through an established forum or other
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      mechanisms, also in view of making best use of opportunities for sustainable soil
      managements provided by European Funds (e.g. EFRE521, EAGF522, ERDF523).
Scope:
In line with the European Green Deal priorities, with the European Commission’s
commitment to democracy and equality, and the role that Horizon Europe Missions play in
engaging citizens in R&I activities dealing with grand societal challenges, the successful
proposals will involve and activate local, and regional (when applicable) authorities to co-
design strategies and actions for the protection and restoration of soil health with citizens and
stakeholders, including through social innovation. The successful proposals should contribute
to the soil mission specific objective 8 soil literacy 524.
The main objective of this topic is to create spaces and practices for regional and local
dialogues on soil health and land management, in order to develop a shared understanding of
the nature of the challenges and co-create public (including policy response) and private
solutions for the protection and restoration of soil health.
Creating effective and societally desirable ways of changing land use to achieve soil health
outcomes will necessarily be locally specific, dynamic and allow for co-design, co-
implementation and co-assessment with citizens and relevant stakeholders to make solutions
more aligned with societal needs, values and expectations and ensure longevity.
Proposals should enable citizen participation both in the local and regional (when applicable)
decision-making process and in the implementation of activities related to soil and land
management.
The proposed activities will:
     support a large number of municipalities and regions throughout Europe, and related
      networks, including across borders, to identify, mobilise and engage a critical mass of
      relevant actors, stakeholders (e.g. farmers and farmers’ association, foresters, land
      managers, urban and spatial planners, civil society organisations, bio-industries, market
      actors and research institutions), citizens and existing networks of citizens for
      substantially stepping up the protection and restoration of soil health in all ecosystems
      (natural, managed, rural and urban);
     explore with regional and local authorities opportunities for making better use of EU
      financial instruments for sustainable soil management, taking into account programming
      options taken at the level of Member States and regions;
521
         https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/de/funding/erdf/
522
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/european-agricultural-
         guarantee-fund-eagf_en
523
         https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/erdf/
524
                   https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/soil_m
         ission_implementation_plan_final_for_publication.pdf
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     enable and support municipalities and regions to co-design strategies and actions for the
      protection and restoration of soil health with citizens, in coherence with EU soil policy
      and regional strategies for smart specialisation (RIS3525) and for smart specialisation for
      sustainability (RIS4526), as applicable;
     develop and implement effective participatory processes which enable and stimulate an
      extensive dialogue on soil and land related activities at local and regional (when
      applicable) levels. For these processes to be effective, participants should be equipped
      with appropriate tools and information, they should be strongly connected to decision-
      making bodies and they should be empowered to reflect, deliberate and propose public
      (including policies) and private solutions for sustainable land management and spatial
      planning at their local or regional levels;
     enhance knowledge sharing among municipalities and regions on best practice processes
      and outcomes, matching knowledge needs with knowledge produced;
     strengthen inclusive and extensive European networks of municipalities and regions (e.g.
      the European Land and Soil Alliance527), in interlink, synergy and complementarity with
      other relevant networks, pursuing citizen-identified soil related objectives, engaged in
      peer-to-peer learning and co-implementing the co-created solutions;
     substantially increase the capacity of these networks to contribute to meeting the
      objectives and targets of the Soil Mission;
     include a task to collaborate with the other projects funded under this topic to ensure
      complementarities, synergies and clear communication to stakeholders around the open
      calls for third party funding.
The successful proposals will ensure that regional and local governments and administrations
are closely associated from an early stage in the projects’ lifetime. The involvement of the
Committee of the Regions (CoR) and of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions
(CEMR), as well as of other relevant networks representing regional and local governments
should be sought. Clear channels for the uptake of participatory outcomes in decision-making
processes should be identified at local, regional (when applicable) national and/or EU levels
and feedback to citizens should be ensured.
Proposals should seek for a balanced representation of regions across Member States and
Associated Countries, covering a wide range of geo-climatic zones, socio-economic
conditions and land uses. Vulnerable and marginalised categories of the population, minorities
and various age groups, including both youth and the elder generation, in urban, peri-urban
and rural areas, should be adequately involved and engaged in the process. Gender balance
should be ensured in all activities.
525
         https://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/home
526
         https://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/s4
527
         https://alpinesoils.eu/gspesp/elsa/
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The proposals selected under this topic should dedicate the necessary resources to work
closely together to maximise synergies, in particular with regard to the geographic coverage
of regions. They should cooperate as well with the mission secretariat and the project funded
under HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-07. In addition, proposals should take stock of
publicly available results obtained by the EJP Soil528 on the knowledge and use of citizen
science across Europe and engage with relevant innovation networks (e.g. Smart
specialisation platforms529, EIP-AGRI530, Climate-KIC531, EIT FOOD532).
Consortia must apply the multi-actor approach to include expertise in deliberative democracy,
civic participation and public engagement. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate
as member of the consortium in particular to bring in expertise from its Competence Centre
on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy533.
Applicants should be flexible enough to accommodate for some adjustments that may be
requested by the Commission before the grant agreement signature to ensure complementarity
of activities between the three selected projects.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-07: National engagement sessions and support to the
establishment of soil health living labs
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per          million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                   Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                          proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Evaluation                The European Commission should be part of the evaluation panel.
Procedure
Expected Outcome:
This topic contributes to the Soil Deal mission’s objective to set up 100 soil health living
labs534 by 2027 that will co-create innovations (all types of innovation including social and
528
        https://ejpsoil.eu/
529
        https://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/
530
        https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/en
531
        https://www.climate-kic.org/
532
        https://www.eitfood.eu/
533
        https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/participatory-democracy_en
534
        Living labs are collaborative initiatives to co-create knowledge and innovations. More precisely, for the
        purpose of this mission, “Soil health living labs” are defined as “user-centred, place-based and
        transdisciplinary research and innovation ecosystems, which involve land managers, scientists and other
        relevant partners in systemic research and co-design, testing, monitoring and evaluation of solutions, in
        real-life settings, to improve their effectiveness for soil health and accelerate adoption.” These living
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technological) to improve soil health in all places, hence helping to restore ecosystems and
biodiversity and sustainably manage natural resources. The successful proposal will ensure an
effective launch of the first soil health living labs and lighthouses by preparing and supporting
stakeholder communities across Member States and Associated countries and ensuring land
managers 535 , industries, consumers and society at large work together and take effective
action on soil health across sectors and land uses.
More specifically, project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     a common understanding of the concept of soil health living labs in relation with mission
      objectives among potential applicants, including awareness of the selection criteria
      established for living labs and lighthouses in the implementation plan of the soil mission
      and of the most pressing soil health challenges in the different parts of Europe;
     increased awareness and skills of potential applicants on how to setup and run a soil
      health living lab and improved access to a pool of capacity building material;
     a varied range of proposals to future calls received in terms of geography, soil types and
      uses, actors involved and coverage of mission objectives, addressing the main soil health
      challenges faced in the participating regions; and
     high-quality, collaborative, multi-actor consortia selected to create the first soil health
      living labs that meet the criteria established in the mission implementation plan,
      effectively bringing a range of different actors together in joint proposals within each
      living lab area or region and across borders to create complementary transnational
      clusters of living labs.
Scope:
The implementation plan of the Soil Deal mission536 provides for the gradual creation of 100
soil health living labs in 100 different European regions. The first living labs will be funded
through annual calls under the Horizon Europe work programme 2023-2024. These calls will
support collaborative projects, each of the projects assembling three to four living labs located
in three to four different regions and countries. At the same time, Horizon Europe will also
support the creation of a European network coordination body to support stakeholders in
creating and running soil health living labs and to organise exchange of knowledge and
innovation between them.
         labs are collaborations between multiple partners that operate at regional or sub-regional level and
         coordinate experiments on several sites within a regional or sub-regional area (or working landscapes).
535
         The term "land manager" includes farmers, foresters, urban and spatial planners and other decision-
         makers in the public or private domain with regard to land use in urban and rural areas.
536
                  https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/soil_m
         ission_implementation_plan_final_for_publication.pdf
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The success of the soil mission will depend on how well the community of stakeholders and
actors is prepared to implement living labs, in particular the first ones following the 2023-
2024 work programme call.
The successful project will organise a stream of support activities including two sets of
national engagement sessions complemented by hands-on support of potential applicants
based on capacity building material.
The project should work in close cooperation with national and regional authorities, Horizon
Europe national contact points (NCPs), mission national hubs, on-going projects preparing for
the implementation of the soil mission and structures established at national level on or with
interest to soil research and innovation, especially in the context of the European Joint
Programme EJP-Soil537. It will, in particular, build on the mapping of existing living labs and
lighthouses carried out by the Soil Mission Support project (SMS538) and on the identification
of priority challenges and regional needs for living labs identified by the project to be funded
under HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-01-01539.
Through national engagement sessions the project should:
     raise awareness and build ownership of the soil mission’s objectives as well as the
      definitions, concept and criteria for soil health living labs and lighthouses, as foreseen in
      the mission’s implementation plan540;
     raise awareness on key soil health challenges identified in the different regions and steer
      a conversation on the regions or areas and sites which would be most suitable to set up
      the first living labs in each country;
     provide key information and capacity building material on the living lab approach and
      how to start and run living labs, including a range of different inspiring examples from
      the EU and beyond;
     provide coaching sessions to potential applicants to start testing and improving their
      initial ideas; and
     identify potential applicants and facilitate matchmaking between applicants in various
      countries to support the creation of transnational proposals for living labs.
To ensure equal opportunities for stakeholders in all countries, these engagement sessions
should be organised in all 27 Member States and participating Associated Countries in
national languages. The sessions should ensure the participation of a diverse group of actors
who are most suitable to take part in soil health living labs, covering various land use types
and climatic conditions in a balanced manner (e.g. urban, industrial, forestry and agriculture).
537
         https://ejpsoil.eu/
538
         https://www.soilmissionsupport.eu/
539
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-
         details/horizon-miss-2021-soil-01-01
540
         Reference to specific objectives in mission implementation plan
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In addition, engagement sessions should take into account the mission’s eight specific
objectives as described in the mission implementation plan and the diversity of soil challenges
in each country.
The two sets of national engagement sessions should take place ideally in the first trimester of
2023 (for call 2023) and in the last trimester of 2023 (for call 2024). A well-developed plan
for the organisation of the meetings should be part of the proposal, so that the consortium
selected for funding can start the engagement sessions immediately following grant agreement
signature. The proposal should include options for physical or hybrid sessions with a digital-
only option as a back-up. National engagement sessions should be complemented by a series
of capacity-building webinars.
In addition to the national engagement sessions, the successful project will act as a helpdesk
to provide on-demand support to stakeholders involved in developing proposals for soil health
living labs. It will also produce capacity building material capitalising on the national
engagement sessions for future use by other entities engaged in supporting the creation of
living labs, notably the aforementioned European network coordination body (to be set up).
The consortium should demonstrate outstanding capacities in terms of participatory
approaches, facilitation of groups composed of multiple types of stakeholders with varying
backgrounds and expertise, and running of living labs and support networks. To this end, the
consortium should be composed of partners with varying expertise and capacities to engage
with the relevant actors expected to take part in future living labs. The consortium should also
include members with a sound understanding of the subject of soil health.
The successful project is expected to last two years. In addition to its collaboration with the
Horizon 2020 project SMS and the project funded under HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-01-01,
it should work in close coordination and synergy with the mission secretariat. The project
should also engage with relevant innovation networks (Smart specialisation platforms, EIP-
AGRI, European Institute of Technology and its knowledge and innovation communities
(KICs), Enterprise Europe network etc.). Applicants should take note of the content of the
mission’s implementation plan and be flexible enough to accommodate some adjustments to
developments that will have happened between the publication of this call and the grant
agreement signature, especially on living lab definitions and selection criteria.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-08: Next generation soil advisors
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 5.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5.00 million.
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Type of Action            Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility and           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
admissibility             additional eligibility criteria apply:
conditions                The proposals must apply the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
                          multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
Expected Outcome: Project activities are expected to contribute to all of the following
outcomes:
     advisory services are strengthened in their knowledge and skill base to provide impartial
      advice on soils and their sustainable management, based on a thorough understanding of
      soil functions and ecosystems services supported by soils across land uses and climate
      zones throughout Europe;
     new forms of advice are tested and established, making more effective use of digitization
      and new models for advisor-farmer-data interactions;
     land managers (including owners leasing their land) and other practitioners in rural and
      urban areas (e.g. farmers, foresters, local authorities in charge of managing green spaces
      and natural areas) have increased opportunities for access to tailored, practice-oriented
      knowledge and for exchange of experiences on how to manage land and soils in more
      sustainable ways;
     the farming sector is better equipped to contribute to meeting targets from the Farm to
      Fork Strategy541 542 and the new EU Soil Strategy543, in particular with regard to the
      management of nutrients;
     more interactive and effective agricultural and forestry knowledge and innovation
      systems are in place;
     local/regional authorities are in a position to integrate considerations on soil health (e.g.
      reuse of soils, reduction of soil sealing, management and increase of green spaces in
      urban areas) into spatial planning and decision-making.
Scope: Land managers and land owners (including farmers, foresters, gardeners,
local/regional authorities, spatial and urban planners) often do not sufficiently apply or
promote practices that maintain and/or restore soil health because of a lack of knowledge and
tailored advice on locally adapted practices. Impartial advisors with ample theoretic and
practical knowledge on soils, their functions and management are key to address this gap. It is
therefore essential that advisors’ knowledge is constantly updated, standardised to some
extent and responds to the evolving needs of land managers and policies.
541
        https://ec.europa.eu/food/horizontal-topics/farm-fork-strategy_en
542
        https://ec.europa.eu/food/horizontal-topics/farm-fork-strategy_en
543
        Reference to be included once strategy is adopted and of November 2021
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The objective of this topic is to promote the emergence of specialised “soil advisors” and to
strengthen the skills of existing advisors and in view of promoting the uptake of innovations
for sustainable land management practices by farmers, foresters and other land managers and
owners throughout Europe.
The proposed activities will:
    identify, map, and connect – also within the framework of Agricultural Knowledge and
     Innovation Systems (AKIS) - the main actors relevant to the development, acquisition,
     exchange and application of knowledge to improve soil health related practices. This can
     include advisory services, farmers, foresters, other land managers and land owners or
     land managers’ associations as well as relevant civil society organisations, researchers,
     and public authorities;
    screen existing educational resources and tools (i.e. digital tools, networks, educational
     resources etc.) applicable to the various aspects of land management and the prevention
     of soil degradation;
    develop, test and share best practices on curricula, tools and methods to strengthen the
     skills and competences of soil advisors taking due account of novel approaches for
     interactive innovation and of the potential of digital technologies for acquiring,
     exchanging and disseminating knowledge and know-how;
    create testing grounds for new forms of soil advice and (digital) tools, peer-to-peer
     knowledge exchange and practitioner-driven experimentation, in particular on the
     management of nutrients, soil organic carbon and biodiversity. This task should be
     undertaken by making use – where available - of the FaST tool developed in Member
     States as part of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and by assessing its
     effectiveness and benefits (in economic, agronomic and environmental terms). The
     future Regulation establishing rules on support for the CAP Strategic Plans includes,
     within the provision on the farm advisory services, the Farm Sustainability Tool (FaST).
     FaST has to provide on-farm decision-support for the use of nutrients, based on the
     available data and knowledge and compliant with the existing environmental legislation.
     The legal text mentions that the FaST has to be implemented by Member States and that
     “the Commission may provide support to the MS in the design of the FaST, in order to
     ensure a level playing field between farmers and across the Union”. The FaST has to be
     implemented no later than 2024;
    develop a comprehensive toolbox of resources in various EU languages for the training
     of soil advisors and their interactions with land managers and propose strategies
     (including financial models) to sustain and update training outputs and tools developed
     and compiled throughout the project.
Proposed activities should take due account of the different situation of advisory services in
EU Member States and Associated Countries and ensure wide access (also language-wise) to
main resources for soil advisors across Europe. While focusing on agriculture where advisory
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                                                    Missions
services already exist, activities shall explore avenues for introducing soil advice into
management and decision-making regarding other land uses (e.g. forest and urban land),
taking into account different pedo-climatic and socio-economic conditions across Europe.
Projects are expected to make use of the opportunities provided by the European Innovation
Partnership “Agricultural productivity and sustainability (EIP AGRI), national AKIS and the
EU Soil Observatory (EUSO), e.g. with regard to dissemination of project outputs and
exchange of experiences. They should build as appropriate on existing education programmes
and training modules (e.g. from EIT KICs) that provide a knowledge resource relevant for the
protection and restoration of soil health and of soil ecosystem services. Similarly, they should
take into account results of relevant Horizon 2020 projects 544.
Proposals must apply the “multi-actor approach”, thus ensure a balanced mix of actors from
various sectors and include expertise from behavioural and social sciences.
Call - Research and Innovation actions to support the implementation of the Soil health
and Food Mission
                                                                      HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)545
                  Topics                        Type         Budgets         Expected EU            Number
                                                  of          (EUR         contribution per             of
                                               Action        million)        project (EUR           projects
                                                                              million)546           expected
                                                              2022                                    to be
                                                                                                     funded
                                          Opening: 12 May 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 27 Sep 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-01 IA                            6.00 547     Around 6.00                 1
544
        See e.g. projects NUTRIMAN Thematic Network: (https://nutriman.net/project) and Best4Soil -
        Boosting 4 BEST practices (https://www.best4soil.eu/)
545
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
546
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
547
        Of which EUR 4.67 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 1.01 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.16
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.17 million from the 'Culture, creativity
        and inclusive society' budget.
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HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-02 RIA                        14.00 548      Around 7.00                 2
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-03 RIA                        16.00 549      Around 8.00                 2
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-04 RIA                        21.00 550      Around 7.00                 3
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-05 RIA                        14.00 551      Around 7.00                 2
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-06 CSA                        3.00 552       Around 3.00                 1
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-07 RIA                        6.00 553       Around 6.00                 1
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-08 FPA                                                                   0
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-09 RIA                        6.00 554       Around 6.00                 1
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-10 IA                         9.00 555       Around 3.00                 3
Overall indicative budget                               95.00
General conditions relating to this call
548
       Of which EUR 10.89 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 2.36 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.37
       million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.39 million from the 'Culture, creativity
       and inclusive society' budget.
549
       Of which EUR 12.44 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 2.69 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.42
       million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.44 million from the 'Culture, creativity
       and inclusive society' budget.
550
       Of which EUR 16.33 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 3.54 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.56
       million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.58 million from the 'Culture, creativity
       and inclusive society' budget.
551
       Of which EUR 10.89 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 2.36 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.37
       million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.39 million from the 'Culture, creativity
       and inclusive society' budget.
552
       Of which EUR 2.33 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 0.51 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.08
       million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.08 million from the 'Culture, creativity
       and inclusive society' budget.
553
       Of which EUR 4.67 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 1.01 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.16
       million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.17 million from the 'Culture, creativity
       and inclusive society' budget.
554
       Of which EUR 4.67 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 1.01 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.16
       million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.17 million from the 'Culture, creativity
       and inclusive society' budget.
555
       Of which EUR 7.00 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 1.52 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.24
       million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.25 million from the 'Culture, creativity
       and inclusive society' budget.
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Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-01: Building the mission's knowledge repository and
advancing the European Soil Observatory
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5-7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Expected Outcome: In addition to supporting the roll-out of the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for
Europe’ and the development of the European Soil Observatory (EUSO), project outcomes
will support the implementation of the European Digital Strategy and the European Strategy
for Data and act as a digital enabler for the European Green Deal.
Project results should contribute to all of the following outcomes:
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    Enhanced capacities for mission implementation and use of mission results through
      efficient knowledge management.
    Enhanced access to soil relevant knowledge and data including the outcomes from R&I
      activities for a wide range of stakeholders.
    Land managers and other actors are able to take more informed soil management
      decisions and have improved access to knowledge on soils, drivers of soil health and
      land degradation as well as solutions to improve the status of soils.
    The EU Soil Observatory (EUSO) is populated with comprehensive, interoperable
      datasets and information on soil health.
    Increased potential for new business opportunities from products, technologies and
      services derived from improved access to valuable soil datasets and from their reuse.
Scope: Data and knowledge on soils are widely distributed and generally not sufficiently
structured, which hampers their discovery and usability. A particular difficulty is the
integration of outputs and results from research projects that would support a holistic
understanding of soil health challenges and potential solutions or allow for the re-use of
available knowledge and data for various purposes (e.g. follow-up research, practical
applications).
To address this bottleneck, proposals should:
    Develop a strategy, standardised methods and recommendations for the collection,
      processing, visualisation and exploitation of soil data and knowledge resulting in
      particular from R&I projects. Data and information gathered should take into account
      representation from all types of soils, geographic regions and land uses in Europe.
      Attention should be given to issues of compatibility and interoperability with relevant
      existing databases and knowledge repositories (e.g. including data from long-term
      experiments, modelling and monitoring) as well as with services from digital
      infrastructures, platforms and services.
    Develop and test a prototype for a long-term knowledge and data repository, taking due
      account of the requirements emerging from the evolvement of the EUSO. The repository
      developed under the project should be open-access, user-friendly and allow to integrate
      knowledge from research projects and harmonised scientific data from different sources
      and technologies including in-situ and remote measurements (e.g. from earth
      observation). The repository is expected to become later part of the EUSO.
    Explore and take advantage of the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine
      learning to process and use information and data while enhancing their FAIRness
      (findability, accessibility, interoperability and re-usability) and turning them into
      relevant, open and accessible knowledge to support potential users.
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   Provide examples for practice-oriented “user cases” to show how potential users (e.g.
      researchers, land managers, businesses or public authorities, decision-makers) can
      capitalise on and re-use existing information and data from the knowledge repository.
Activities should be implemented in close cooperation with the European Commission’s Joint
Research Centre (JRC) and the EUSO, also in view of ensuring the longevity, sustainability
and interoperability of data, knowledge and services. The proposals shall include dedicated
tasks and allocate appropriate resources for this coordination.
Proposals should take due account of on-going developments with regard to knowledge,
information and data management in areas relevant to the Soil Deal mission. This includes EU
R&I Horizon Europe tools for data collection and storage, Open Science and FAIR principles,
IPR and data ownership issues as well as the INSPIRE GEO portal and the EU Destination
Earth (DestinE) initiative and its data lake concept. To this end, proposals should set out a
clear plan on how to collaborate with other relevant projects and initiatives.
In this topic, the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-02: Improving food systems sustainability and soil
health with food processing residues
Specific conditions
Expected EU             The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per        million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                        proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget       The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 14.00 million.
Type of Action          Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility and         Proposals must apply the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
admissibility           multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
conditions
Expected Outcome: Project results should contribute to all of the following outcomes:
   Improved management and recycling of food-processing residues (solid and liquid) for
      increased soil health.
   Reduced discharge of nutrients (i.e., nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) into
      sewage/natural watercourses and landfills relieving eutrophication in water bodies.
   Empowered interdisciplinary design processes to create soil improvers and to valorise
      food by-products in food systems (e.g., land managers, industry, SMEs, local authorities,
      educational institutions and civil society).
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     Higher number of co-developed solutions and investments (public and private) in
      circular bioeconomy projects.
Scope: The predominantly linear economic models of food production are unstainable and
heavily rely on finite and scarce resources, such as phosphorus and water. In spite of recent
achievements in resource efficiency gain, the food production and processing industry still
requires large volumes of clean water; while also contributing to the discharge of nutrients
and organic matter into publicly owned streams and waterbodies. Those nutrients and organic
matter can be valorised and used as soil improvers,556 instead of being wasted. Food systems
actors need to recognise that the re-use of water and food by-products is key to achieve
circularity in the industry and contribute to soil health.
Circularity is a key component of the European Green Deal, especially the Circular Economy
Action Plan, the Farm to Fork and the Bioeconomy strategies, and the supporting FOOD 2030
research and innovation policy. Circularity will allow to reverse the trends of unsustainability
and provides opportunities to transform by-products into valuable resources for soils, while
taking into account the current legislation on animal by-products and fertilizers 557558 . An
untapped opportunity lies in the valorisation of food waste streams containing nutrients and
organic matter that can contribute to soil health, fertility and restoration while considering the
food waste hierarchy559. The food waste hierarchy focuses on prevention actions, followed by
reuse and recycling pathways, and should guide the development of strategies that tackle food
processing residues for soil improvement, when those residues cannot be used for other higher
value uses (e.g., re-use for animal feed or use as by-products).
Proposed activities should:
     Develop high quality standardized processes and strategies for the re-use of food
      processing residues streams for soil improvers production, which would be in
      compliance with EU regulatory requirements.
     Assess existing best practices (e.g., from H2020 projects 560 and EIT Food initiatives
      such as Regenerative Agriculture561) identifying key economic, environmental and social
      factors that enable/hinder the replicability/scalability of using food waste streams as soil
      improvers (e.g., food by-products collection and treatment, bio-waste composting) and
556
         ‘Soil improver’ means a material added to soil in situ, whose main function is to maintain or improve its
         physical and/or chemical and/or biological properties, with the exception of liming materials.
557
         Animal by-product regulation (EC) No 1069/2009
558
         EU Circular Economy Fertilising Products Regulation (EU 2019/1009).
559
         Sanchez Lopez, J., Patinha Caldeira, C., De Laurentiis, V. and Sala, S., Brief on food waste in the
         European Union, Avraamides, M. editor(s), European Commission, 2020, JRC121196t
560
         For example, LEX4BIO – Optimizing Bio-based Fertilisers in Agriculture – Knowledgebase for New
         Policies (call H2020-RUR-2018-2, https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/818309); CIRCULAR
         AGRONOMICS - Efficient Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorus cycling in the European Agri-food
         System and related up- and down-stream processes to mitigate emissions (call H2020-SFS-2017-2,
         https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/773649) ; NOMAD - Novel Organic recovery using Mobile
         ADvanced technology (call H2020-SFS-2019-1, https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/863000);
         WATERAGRI - Water Retention And Nutrient Recycling In Soils And Streams For Improved
         Agricultural Production (call H2020-SFS-2019-2, https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/858375).
561
         https://www.eitfood.eu/projects/the-regenerative-agriculture-revolution-2020
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     addresses the challenge of soil health in a holistic way, from farm to fork, involving
     multiple stakeholders (e.g., farmers, food industries) as well as by engaging ordinary
     citizens in defining their matters of concerns and co-creating solutions.
   Elaborate a list of actions and priorities to overcome efficiently potential challenges and
     trade-offs (e.g., potential biological or chemical risks, storage, transport, lack of
     awareness of circular potential), and outline innovative techniques by which food waste
     can be transformed into a safe valuable input for soil amelioration, while reducing the
     loss of nutrients in nature.
   While taking into account current EU regulatory frameworks and the role of different
     actors, set up an evaluation framework for the design, implementation and monitoring of
     the performance of actions and strategies that will lead to an optimised use of food
     processing waste streams, including the best way for applying each type of these
     residues into the soil.
   Identify public and private funding streams that can be used to support circular
     bioeconomy projects and initiatives that boost nutrient use for soil health.
   Create societal awareness by bringing together public authorities, the private sector,
     educators, researchers, media, NGO and citizens to foster circularity of the food system
     to develop activities targeted to different actors.
   Implement a participatory and multi-actor approach by engaging a wide range of food
     system actors to co-create research and improve co-ownership of results.
The proposed activities should take into account animal health legislation in order to prevent
animal and public health risks.
Proposals should demonstrate a route towards open access, longevity, sustainability and
interoperability of knowledge and outputs through close collaboration with the EU Soil
Observatory and other projects to be funded under the mission.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-03: Soil biodiversity and its contribution to ecosystem
services
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 8.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 16.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
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conditions                exceptions apply:
                          The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                          consortium selected for funding.
Eligibility and           Proposals must apply the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
admissibility             multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
conditions
Expected Outcome: This topic contributes to the objectives and targets of the EU Soil
Strategy562 which foresees that by 2050, all soils in the EU should be healthy, i.e. are in good
chemical, physical and biological conditions, and thus able to continuously provide as many
ecosystem services as possible. It also contributes to the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ 563,
in particular to its specific objective 6 “Improve soil structure to enhance habitat quality for
soil biota and crops”.
Project results should contribute to all of the following outcomes:
     Significantly improved understanding of ecosystem services related to soil biodiversity
      as well as of the role of soil biodiversity in the provision of relevant soil functions and
      ecosystem services.
     Enhanced protection, sustainable management and restoration of soil ecosystems through
      more targeted (policy) incentives and wide-spread knowledge on sustainable soil
      management practices and solutions, including a better integration of soil within land use
      planning and frameworks to evaluate ecosystem services.
     Significantly improved availability of soil biodiversity indicators which support the
      implementation, assessment and monitoring of policy at large scale (i.e. EU).
Scope: Soils underpin the delivery of a range of ecosystem services which are essential for the
environmental, social and economic wellbeing of people. Many of these services such as the
production of biomass for food and other uses, removal of pollutants, support of above-
ground biodiversity (e.g. farmland birds), provision of soil structure, nutrient cycling and
carbon storage depend on the activities of a fascinating and complex network of soil
organisms such as insects, invertebrates, bacterial and fungal organisms.
While our knowledge about individual components of soil biodiversity has significantly
increased, the links between soil biodiversity, the multifunctionality of soils and the delivery
of ecosystem services needs to be further explored. Furthermore, there is still a need to better
understand the overall organisation of soil organisms (e.g. in terms of abundance, species
richness, relationships of interdependence, evolution through time and community structure)
and how pressures and drivers (including their interactions) resulting from different forms of
562
        https://ec.europa.eu/environment/publications/eu-soil-strategy-2030_en
563
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-
        and-open-calls/horizon-europe/missions-horizon-europe/soil-health-and-food_en
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land use and climate change affect the composition, functions, resilience and adaptation
capacities of soil biota and their capacity to support multiple ecosystem services (ES).
Proposed activities should:
     Provide a comprehensive view of the composition, functions, and dynamics of the
      network of soil-living communities (e.g. species distribution, abundance, ecological
      interactions and belowground-aboveground relationship) under different types and
      intensities of land use in agricultural, forest, (semi-) natural and urban areas.
     Establish the links between soil biodiversity, soil functions and ecosystem services
      taking into account potential trade-offs between different ES.
     Propose indicators for capturing and measuring soil biodiversity (beyond red list species)
      and the provision of ES and demonstrate practical approaches for the use of these
      indicators by land managers and policy-decision makers.
     Identify drivers and pressures (including their interactions) of soil biodiversity in
      different types of land use and explore their effects on soil community composition and
      functioning and how ES provision is altered and hampered as a consequence of these
      pressures. Due attention should be given to under-studied pressures and drivers, as
      justified by proposals.
     Provide a framework to assess and value the contribution of soil biodiversity to ES in
      economic terms, building on existing work including the one undertaken under the
      initiative “Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystem Services”564 (MAES).
     Translate the knowledge created into practical applications for land managers and
      policy-decision makers to increase the uptake of practices that promote soil biodiversity
      and optimise its contribution to soil functions ES.
In carrying out activities, proposals should consider various land uses such as urban,
agriculture, forest, (semi)-natural, wetlands, drylands, industrial and mining, and highlight
those types of soils where previous research has shown significant knowledge gaps. With
regard to agriculture, work should draw on sustainable practices, applied across a range of
farming systems and benefit both conventional and organic farming. Activities should be
carried across a range of climatic/biogeographical regions in the EU and Associated Countries
and take into account different spatial scales (e.g. field, landscape). Transdisciplinary
approaches should be applied and include social sciences and humanities. The project should
follow a multi-actor approach.
Activities should be undertaken in close cooperation with the European Commission’s Joint
Research Centre (JRC) and the European Environment Agency (EEA). The cooperation with
the JRC is particularly relevant in view of further developing the LUCAS Soil survey and the
Soil Health Dashboard under the European Soil Observatory (EUSO). Proposals should
564
         https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/knowledge/ecosystem_assessment/index_en.htm
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demonstrate a route towards open access, longevity, sustainability and interoperability of
knowledge and outputs through close collaboration with the EUSO and other projects to be
funded under the Soil Deal mission.
Projects funded under this topic should also take into account major R&I initiatives such as
the European Joint Programme EJP Soil 565 , the European Biodiversity Partnership
Biodiversa+ 566 , the Global Soil Partnership 567 568 , the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative
SoilBON 569 , EuropaBON 570 and other projects working on soil biodiversity. To this end
proposals should foresee dedicated tasks and allocate appropriate resources.
In this topic, the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-04: Remediation strategies, methods and financial
models for decontamination and reuse of land in urban and rural areas
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per           million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                    Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                           proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 21.00 million.
Type of Action             Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic will help to progress towards Green Deal objectives, notably
the Zero Pollution Strategy. It contributes to the Mission 'A Soil Deal for Europe' 571 , in
particular to its specific objective 4 “Reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration”.
Project results should contribute to all of the following outcomes:
     Private and public land managers can better prioritise and plan activities and investments
      for soil restoration and decontamination based on increased knowledge on the state of
      land and soil pollution.
     Knowledge on technical solutions for soil decontamination and restoration is more
      widespread and better integrated in a wider sustainable land use and spatial planning
      approach.
565
         https://ejpsoil.eu/
566
         https://www.biodiversa.org/1759
567
         https://www.fao.org/global-soil-partnership/en/
568
         https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb1928en/
569
         https://www.globalsoilbiodiversity.org/soilbon
570
         https://europabon.org/
571
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-
         and-open-calls/horizon-europe/missions-horizon-europe/soil-health-and-food_en
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   Effective measures for soil restoration are in place and contribute to noticeable
      improvements in soil health on the medium term as well as to the circular use of land
      and to the achievement of no net land take in the EU by 2050.
   Better insights into origin, fate and hotspots of pollution are made available to support
      assessments of hazard, exposure and risks from soil pollution.
   MS regions affected by the need for a green transition are supported in their efforts to
      remediate and reuse contaminated soils such as from former mining sites and benefit
      from new opportunities for soil use.
Scope: Soil contamination is widely acknowledged as a severe hazard to humans as well as to
soil health, affecting the ability of soils to provide ecosystem services including the provision
of safe and sufficient food, clean water or habitats for biodiversity. There is a need to better
understand the precise sources (both point source and diffuse pollution) and the status of soil
pollution as well as its effects on soil health, the environment, and its socio-economy
consequences as a basis for more effective and wide-spread remediation of soils. Given the
diversity of situations regarding the type and severity of pollution as well as an incomplete
view on the scale of polluted soils, effective strategies need to be in place that allow to
prioritise investments, identify the most appropriate methods and financial strategies for
decontamination and prepare the ground for concrete actions.
Proposed activities should:
   Provide an overview of the state-of-play of the various types of soil pollution in Europe
      across the different land uses in urban and rural areas. Work should build on publicly
      available national contamination maps (e.g. in GIS format) to develop interactive,
      combined soil pollution maps that allow amongst others the identification of particular
      pollution hotspots.
   Identify, quantify and characterise sources, pathways, receptors and risks of soil
      pollution in urban and rural areas.
   Develop comprehensive strategies for soil restoration targeting various types of soil
      contamination and land uses. These strategies shall consider main areas of pollution
      (hotspots) and propose priorities for actions based on a site-specific risk-based approach.
   Identify and further develop methods, tools and approaches for the monitoring and
      remediation of polluted soils, giving due consideration to Nature Based Solutions (NBS)
      and bioremediation techniques (including biotechnologies) while considering their level
      of development (TRL) and cost-effectiveness.
   Develop financial and spatial planning models (taking into account social criteria) which
      promote the reuse of land and support the private and public sector in their decision-
      making for soil restoration and decontamination, in particular in areas with high
      investment needs.
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   Enhance the capacity for outlook and foresight reporting on soil pollution and the
      development of an EU priority list for contaminants of major and/or emerging concern
      that pose significant risks for European soil quality, and for which vigilance and priority
      action at European and national level is needed.
   Explore the potential for decontamination and reuse of former mining sites to support the
      regions most negatively affected by the green transition through synergies with the
      polluter pays’ principle and the Just Transition Fund (JTF).
In implementing the work, due account should be taken of soil contamination in urban, peri-
urban and rural areas.
Proposals should demonstrate a route towards open access, longevity, sustainability and
interoperability of knowledge and outputs through close collaboration with the JRC’s EU Soil
Observatory.
Proposals should include dedicated tasks and appropriate resources for coordination measures
and joint activities with other relevant projects funded under Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe
and the Research Fund for Coal and Steel, and in particular with other projects funded under
this topic. Potentially, projects financed under this topic could cooperate with future Living
Labs created under the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ and working in the area of soil
remediation.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-05: Monitoring, reporting and verification of soil
carbon and greenhouse gases balance
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 7.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 14.00 million.
Type of Action         Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                       consortium selected for funding.
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Expected Outcome: This topic supports the implementation of key actions of the European
Commission Communication on sustainable carbon cycles and carbon farming 572 and the
upcoming regulatory framework on carbon removals certification573.
Project results should contribute to all of the following outcomes:
     The relationships between carbon flux dynamics of typical carbon farming practices and
      its driving factors (ecophysiology of ecosystems) as well as the impact of climate change
      on soil organic carbon (and as a consequence on soil fertility and food production) are
      better understood.
     The development of standards to track payment systems for carbon farming and, of
      methods to consider the maintenance of carbon already stored in soils in carbon farming
      schemes is enhanced.
     Reduced administrative and financial burden associated with carbon farming
      management practices.
     Increased stakeholder faith and robustness of standards in voluntary (or other) carbon
      markets, leading to increased potential for revenue opportunities.
Scope: The success of carbon farming in Europe will be judged on the quantity and longevity
of the sequestration of carbon in plants and soils (by enhancing carbon capture and/or
reducing the release of carbon to the atmosphere). To upscale carbon farming successfully,
and to establish long-term business perspectives, it will be essential to standardise
methodologies and rules for monitoring, reporting and verifying (MRV) the gains or losses in
the carbon sequestered. Currently, private schemes apply very different benchmarks and rules
to the carbon credits placed on the voluntary markets. Without a high degree of transparency,
environmental integrity, and methodology standardisation buyers will be hesitant about the
quality of the offered carbon farming credits. Furthermore, land managers will find it difficult
to estimate their potential revenues and policy makers will be reluctant to allow the use of
such credits for compliance in the regulatory framework. In consequence, it will be
challenging to develop a successful market.
Carbon accumulation and storage in soil and biomass is the result of the interaction of several
biotic and abiotic factors. The development and use of biogeochemical models permits a
better scientific understanding of soil response to specific or alternative management
decisions, together with the impact of climatic variations.
It would be important to carry out complete balances of greenhouse gases (GHG), not only
CO2, to verify that the increase in carbon storage or the decrease in CO 2 emissions are not
offset by an increase in emissions of other GHG (N2O for example). Interdependence of
biogeochemical cycles should be considered, at minimum the coupling of C and N cycles.
572
         COM(2021) 800 final, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52021DC0800.
573
         The Commission will propose an EU regulatory framework for the certification of carbon removals by
         end of 2022; see https://europa.eu/!W3JmfU.
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Proposals should address various (as many as possible) types of the following land cover or
land uses, particularly agricultural lands, in the EU and Associated Countries: agricultural
croplands (both conventional and organic), grasslands and pasture land (both intensive,
organic and semi-natural/low inputs rangelands), agroforestry and regenerative managed land,
and paludiculture; forest lands (including afforested and deforested land); historical (drained,
exploited) peatlands; managed wetlands; peri-urban areas subject to conversion.
Proposals should therefore look to a range (as wide as possible) of climatic/biogeographical
regions in the EU and Associated Countries. Proposals should favour a landscape approach to
their framing and analysis. In addition, proposals should address the largest geographical area
possible.
Proposed activities should:
     Refine and develop procedures for, and execute, direct on-field measurements and
      estimation of carbon and GHG accumulation and fluxes exchange in soil and biomass,
      reflecting the specificities of the different ecosystems, climates and land uses. Special
      attention should be drawn to the integration of existing databases, the application of
      digital technologies (including Artificial Intelligence) and the combination of remote
      sensing with in-situ monitoring. Links to the EU Soil Observatory (by incorporating the
      data from on-field measurements), the LUCAS Soil module and the European-wide
      Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) GHG standardised data 574 should be
      considered.
     Develop (biogeochemical) process models575 incorporating new and diverse data streams
      (e.g. on nutrient cycles, from earth observation systems, drones and precision
      agriculture) to provide higher temporal and spatial resolution on the biological, chemical
      and physical drivers of fluxes, accumulation and storage of soil organic carbon and
      matter.
     At a landscape level, assess the effect of, and the soil’s capacity for, the implementation
      of different carbon-capture practices on land (e.g. subsoil carbon storage). Results should
      be geographically explicit (at sub-landscape, e.g. farm holding level), for example, on
      (short-term) carbon accumulation, as well as on its vulnerability related to natural and
      human disturbances, for the landscape object (land use or land cover) subject to the
      research work.
     Develop, standardise and demonstrate methodologies and rules for cost-effective
      monitoring, reporting and verifying the gains or losses in carbon sequestered in soil and
      through carbon farming at sub-landscape (e.g., farm holding level). Indicators should
      include soil carbon stability and permanence considerations.
     Assess the economic and social impacts of carbon farming on the local (landscape level)
      rural economy. Identify effective means for ensuring access to financial support (incl.
574
         https://www.icos-cp.eu/
575
         Generally referred to as Tier 3 in IPCC literature.
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      small-scale and remote farmers, gender considerations, etc.). Provide information on
      which management options are economically viable and have optimal potential for soil
      organic carbon formation. Results could lead to decision-supporting tools for policy
      makers and land managers, to support participative policy design and impact for carbon
      accumulation as well as to better quantify the effects of climate change on soil organic
      carbon (and possibly on soil fertility).
All activities should include or take into account the impacts of climate change, whenever
relevant.
In carrying out the tasks, consortia should:
     Build on existing studies for carbon farming, in particular those carried out under
      contract by the European Commission, such as the recently published “Technical
      Guidance Handbook – setting up and implementing result-based carbon farming
      mechanisms in the EU"576;
     Take into account and build on relevant previous initiatives on soil carbon monitoring
      (e.g. ESA World Soils577, Joint Research Centre’s SEPLA (Satellite based mapping and
      monitoring of European peatland and wetland for LULUCF and agriculture) project578)
      and EU projects (e.g. EJP Soil 579 , ClieNFarms 580 , HOLISOILS 581 and other relevant
      projects including under LIFE).
     Establish contact with complementary initiatives to develop integrated soil monitoring
      systems (e.g. EU Soil Observatory, Member States);
Proposals should include dedicated tasks and appropriate resources for coordination measures
and foresee joint activities with the projects selected under HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-
05 (Incentives and business models for soil health), HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-06
(Network on carbon farming for agricultural and forest soils).
Proposals should demonstrate a route towards open access, longevity, sustainability and
interoperability of knowledge and outputs through close collaboration with the EU Soil
Observatory.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-06: Network on carbon farming for agricultural and
forest soils
Specific conditions
Expected EU                 The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
576
         https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/10acfd66-a740-11eb-9585-
         01aa75ed71a1/language-en
577
         https://www.world-soils.com/
578
         The first interim report should be published in April 2022.
579
         https://ejpsoil.eu/
580
         https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101036822
581
         http://holisoils.eu
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contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.00 million.
Type of Action           Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility              The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions               exceptions apply:
                         The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the
                         consortium selected for funding.
Eligibility and          Proposals must apply the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
admissibility            multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
conditions
Expected Outcome: This topic supports the implementation of the European Commission
Communication on sustainable carbon cycles582 and the upcoming regulatory framework on
carbon removals certification583, and thereby contributes to the design and implementation of
carbon-farming practices in Europe.
Project results should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
     Increased knowledge about carbon farming practices through networking and exchange
      of experiences.
     Enhanced uptake and development of standards for carbon farming in Europe.
     Increased capacities for measuring, monitoring and standardising carbon fluxes, in
      particular at landscape level through a robust network for data collections.
Scope: The success of carbon farming in Europe will be judged on the quantity and longevity
of the sequestration of carbon in plants and soils (by enhancing carbon capture and/or
reducing the release of carbon to the atmosphere). To upscale carbon farming successfully
and to establish long-term business perspectives, it will be essential to standardise the
methodologies and rules for monitoring, reporting and verifying (MRV) the gains or losses in
carbon sequestered. Currently, private schemes apply very different benchmarks and rules to
the carbon credits placed on the voluntary markets. Without a high degree of transparency,
environmental integrity, and methodology standardisation, buyers will be hesitant about the
quality of the offered carbon farming credits. Land managers will also find it difficult to
estimate their potential revenues and policy makers will be reluctant to allow the use of such
credits for compliance into the regulatory framework. Thus it will be challenging to develop a
successful market.
582
        COM(2021) 800 final, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52021DC0800.
583
        The Commission will propose an EU regulatory framework for the certification of carbon removals by
        end of 2022; see https://europa.eu/!W3JmfU.
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Proposed activities should:
     Build and coordinate a network of key stakeholders drawn from European research
      facilities, systems developers, solution providers, land advisors and managers and others,
      involved in soil and biomass programmes linked to carbon sequestration, in particular at
      the landscape scale level.
     Develop a platform for knowledge sharing, exchange of experiences, mutual learning,
      best practices and support facilitating the development (design, implementation and
      evaluation) of result-based carbon farming schemes.
     Underpin the establishment of data collection networks (such as carbon flux
      measurements stations, ground sampling campaigns, etc.), promoting the practice of data
      sharing and standardisation, retrieval and aggregation of information.
     Identify gaps and opportunities at the landscape level in ecosystem monitoring and soil
      carbon flux mitigation practices, leveraging EU level geographically-explicit monitoring
      systems and solutions.
A substantial part of the resources of the project should be dedicated to co-creating solutions,
enhance communication and engage with stakeholders, thereby ensuring co-ownership of
solutions and supporting the interest, knowledge and uptake of carbon farming.
Special attention should be given to the promotion and integration of existing databases and
datasets, the application of digital technologies, and the combination of Earth observation
techniques (drones, airborne, satellite based) with in-situ monitoring for the enhancement of
robustness and provision of timely, accurate estimates.
Proposals should take into account and build on relevant previous initiatives on soil carbon
monitoring (e.g. ESA World Soils, SEPLA) and EU projects (e.g. EJP Soil 584 ,
ClieNFarms 585 , HOLISOILS 586 , International Research Consortium on (agricultural) soil
carbon (CSA)587, and other relevant projects including under LIFE).
Activities should be coordinated with the projects selected under HORIZON-MISS-2022-
SOIL-01-05: Monitoring, reporting and verification of soil carbon and GHG balance, and
development of carbon farming business models.
Proposals should demonstrate a route towards open access, longevity, sustainability and
interoperability of knowledge and outputs through close collaboration with the EU Soil
Observatory.
Proposals should apply a multi-actor approach, thus involve expertise from various sectors
and disciplines.
584
        https://ejpsoil.eu/
585
        https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101036822
586
        http://holisoils.eu
587
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-
        details/horizon-cl6-2021-climate-01-07
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HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-07: Foster soil education across society
Specific conditions
Expected EU                The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per           million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                    Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                           proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action             Research and Innovation Actions
Eligibility and            Proposals must apply the multi-actor approach. See definition of the
admissibility              multi-actor approach in the introduction to this work programme part.
conditions
Expected Outcome: This topic contributes to the implementation of the Mission ‘A Soil Deal
for Europe’588, in particular to its specific objective 8 “Increase soil literacy in society across
Member States”. It supports the objectives of the European Green Deal, the European Climate
Pact589 and the EU Soil Strategy for 2030 590. In addition, results obtained under this topic
should contribute to the objectives of the European Education Area 591 , the Education for
Climate Coalition 592 and improve the European sustainability competence framework
(GreenComp) to prepare people to face the challenges of a changing climate world.
Project results should contribute to all of the following outcomes:
     teaching programmes and targeted communication, education and engagement materials
      on soil are more widely available in numerous European languages;
     higher uptake and diffusion of good practices and hands-on activities related to soil
      education across the EU and Associated Countries;
     soil literacy is more firmly embedded in educational curricula at all levels and supports
      behavioural change and the adoption of sustainable practices both individually and
      collectively based on a better understanding of the vital importance of soils for human
      life and planetary health;
     increased awareness of the importance of soil and its functions, as well as of the Mission
      objectives, amongst pupils, students and professionals across Europe.
588
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-
         and-open-calls/horizon-europe/missions-horizon-europe/soil-health-and-food_en
589
         European Climate Pact: https://europa.eu/climate-pact/index_en
590
         EU Soil Strategy https://ec.europa.eu/environment/publications/eu-soil-strategy-2030_en
591
         European Education Areas: https://ec.europa.eu/education/education-in-the-eu/european-education-
         area_en
592
         Education for Climate: https://education-for-climate.ec.europa.eu/_en
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Scope: As highlighted in the EU Soil Strategy for 2030 and in the implementation plan of
Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’, soil is a scarce and non-renewable resource which is vital
to ensure life on Earth. However, the value of soil is not fully recognised in society.
Individuals are often unaware of the relevance of soil in their daily lives and of the pressures
that human activities pose on soil health. To improve society’s understanding of soils and
incentivise behavioural change, there is a need to embed soil related subjects more firmly into
the various levels of education and link enhanced information on soils with people’s values.
Activities under this topic will foster soil education in schools, universities and professional
education in EU Member States and Associated Countries.
Projects are expected to:
     Provide an overview of the current level of soil related knowledge (including on soils’
      vital functions) and the educational needs amongst pupils (primary and secondary
      levels), students (tertiary level), and society overall across the EU and Associated
      Countries.
     Develop courses/modules for soil education in primary and secondary schools as well as
      in universities (building particularly on EJP Soil 593 relevant results) and in
      professional/technical training by developing and testing pedagogical techniques for
      effective knowledge flows. Work should make use a variety of learning tools (including
      e-learning content594) and carry-out activities targeted at different age groups and types
      of learning.
     Identify, further develop, and demonstrate/pilot exemplary sustainable practices on soil
      related educational settings (e.g. vegetable gardens, composting activities, etc.), in rural,
      peri-urban and urban areas. Examples identified should be geographically balanced and
      draw on experiences from a wide number of EU Member States and Associated
      Countries, ideally targeting at least half the number of EU Member States.
     Disseminate and make widely available educational and training material gathered and
      developed throughout the project. Information and material shall be oriented to different
      target groups and available in numerous European languages, making use of advanced
      tools, channels and network for education and communication (e.g. School Education
      Gateway, EU Academy, Education for Climate platform). In addition, communication
      campaigns should be implemented to give visibility to the project, the Mission objectives
      and the importance of soil and its manifold functions.
     Enhance knowledge exchange and peer-to-peer learning amongst the different target
      groups (e.g. school pupils and university students including beneficiaries of relevant
      Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions 595 , teachers, professors, trainers, and organisations)
593
         EJP Soil: https://ejpsoil.eu/
594
         The online course developed by the Joint Research Centre on soil biodiversity is a good example of
         such a content targeting teachers and pupils which aims at raising awareness and increasing knowledge
         about soil: https://academy.europa.eu/courses/soil-a-burst-of-life-the-hidden-world-beneath-our-feet
595
         Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions: https://ec.europa.eu/research/mariecurieactions/
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      through existing networks (e.g. EIT graduates596) and empower them to act on fostering
      strong links with the Education for Climate Coalition to co-create concrete education
      solutions;
     Engage with public authorities and institutions responsible for primary, secondary and
      tertiary education on the findings resulting from the work undertaken in view of
      promoting their uptake. This should include the preparation of targeted
      recommendations for policy makers and the organisation of events such as a conference
      at EU level and a series of national conferences to exchange on the results.
Proposals should apply a multi-actor approach where soil experts, behavioural scientists,
specialists in pedagogy, in education, and in communication are working closely together
with teachers, professors and students in synergy with the Education for Climate Coalition
and relevant initiatives of National Coalitions. In addition, consortia should tap into the
expertise of organisations and institutions with experience in citizen science and in running
science shops.
Potentially, the project financed under this topic could also cooperate with Living Labs and
lighthouses that will be created in future calls under the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’.
Proposals should demonstrate a route towards open access, longevity, sustainability and
interoperability of knowledge and outputs through close collaboration with the European Soil
Observatory (EUSO)597 and other projects to be funded under the mission, in particular under
the topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-01-01598. The proposals shall include dedicated tasks
and appropriate resources for this coordination.
Activities under this topic should be in line with the Council recommendation on education
for environmental sustainability (EES), and should contribute to the European community of
practice on EES, Education for Climate Coalition599.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-08: Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) for a
Living Lab network support structure
Specific conditions
Type of Action                  Framework Partnership Agreement
Evaluation criteria,            The specific award criteria for Framework Partnership Agreements
scoring and threshold           are specified in the General Annex D of the Horizon Europe Work
596
         EIT alumni: https://eitalumni.eu/
597
         EU Soil Observatory, https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/eu-soil-observatory
598
         Preparing the ground for healthy soils: building capacities for engagement, outreach and
         knowledge,Topic ID: HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-01-01
599
         Education for Climate Coalition is a flagship project of the Education Area. It is the European
         participatory community for teachers, students and education stakeholders to act collectively on
         innovative    education solutions        for   environmental     sustainability: https://education-for-
         climate.ec.europa.eu/community/home
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                                 Programme
Evaluation Procedure             Only one proposal will be selected under this topic.
                                 The evaluation committee will be composed partially by
                                 representatives of EU institutions.
Expected Outcome: This Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) aims at supporting the
effective implementation of the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ (hereafter referred to as the
Soil Deal Mission) and in particular its overall goal of setting up a network of 100 living labs
and lighthouses by 2030.
The FPA will allow to establish an effective support structure (hereafter referred to as LL
support structure) to coordinate and promote activities under the mission’s network of living
labs and lighthouses. The LL support structure will cater for the needs of living labs and
lighthouses that will be selected through open calls in forthcoming Work Programmes of the
Soil Deal Mission (from 2023 onwards).
Following the evaluation of proposals submitted under this FPA call600, one consortium of
partners is going to be retained. The FPA will specify the objectives, the nature of the actions
planned and the procedure for awarding specific grants through subsequent calls resulting in
Specific Grant Agreements (SGA). The FPA will thereby contribute to all of the following
expected outcomes:
     The network of living labs is effectively performing and expanding, ensuring a
      comprehensive representation of all types of soils, land uses and soil health challenges
      across the EU and Associated Countries.
     Potential applicants and selected projects are well equipped with information and advice
      (e.g. formal, technical) to set up and run living labs in line with the criteria established in
      the Mission’s implementation plan601.
     Approaches between living labs and lighthouses are harmonised and the interface
      between the living labs / lighthouses and other mission activities is well established.
     Participants in living labs and lighthouses benefit from comprehensive exchange of
      experiences as well as from thematic, technical advice provided by the LL support
      structure.
     Social capital and citizen engagement on soil health challenges is increased and solutions
      developed and tested in living labs are effectively disseminated.
600
         See General Annexes of the Horizon Europe Work Programme (box listing other types of actions and
         forms of funding): https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-
         call/2021-2022/wp-13-general-annexes_horizon-2021-2022_en.pdf
601
         See      criteria   listed    in    section      8.D    of    the    mission    implementation     plan:
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/soil_mission_i
         mplementation_plan_final_for_publication.pdf
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     The uptake and scaling up of good practices by land managers is promoted by the LL
      support structure within and beyond living lab areas.
     Experiences across the Living Lab network can be assessed based due to common
      monitoring and evaluation procedures.
Scope: Living labs and lighthouses are a core element of the mission ‘A Soil Deal for
Europe’. They are meant to bring together a variety of actors to co-create and test solutions on
the ground, thereby delivering innovations with high potential for rapid uptake by land
managers and other relevant actors (e.g. industry, consumers etc.) across Europe.
This FPA will establish the conditions and identify the consortium of partners who – through
subsequent calls and one or more Specific Grant Agreements - will run a support structure for
the coordination of Living Labs funded under the Soil Deal Mission. The mission’s
implementation plan foresees that the LL support structure should start operating in 2024, at
the same time as the first waves of living labs are effective 602. In this way, the LL support
structure will provide timely and targeted services to the emerging network of living labs.
Applicants should develop a draft action plan to broadly describe how they foresee to
implement the following activities:
     Set up a structure that will act as a one-stop shop catering for the needs of living labs and
      lighthouses funded under the Soil Deal mission and providing tailor made advice to
      participants of living labs and lighthouses. The structure will serve as a contact point for
      interaction with counterparts in Europe and beyond.
     Build on the engagement sessions organised by the project funded under topic
      HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-07603 to further promote the creation of transnational
      clusters of living labs. This will include a continued methodological support provided to
      stakeholders concerning the building of the consortia, the setting-up and the running of
      the living labs under the Soil Deal Mission. Due attention shall be given to a balanced
      geographic and thematic coverage of living labs and lighthouses.
     Facilitate the exchange of knowledge and innovation among the different actors involved
      in the funded living labs and lighthouses, e.g. through the organization of workshops,
      seminars, annual network meetings, cross-visits. The facilitation could involve the
      creation of joint working groups on transversal aspects (e.g. digital knowledge,
      behavioural sciences, data management) as well as specific technical themes (e.g. on
      particular soil challenges or land uses).
602
         Calls for Living labs will be launched in Work Programme 2023 and continue throughout subsequent
         Work Programmes such as to reach the target of 100 living labs by 2030. See section 3.2 of the
         implementation                                                                                     plan:
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/soil_mission_i
         mplementation_plan_final_for_publication.pdf
603
         HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-07: National engagement sessions and support to the establishment of
         soil health living labs
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     Provide a web-portal and other tools for information, exchange of experiences and
      outreach. This should include the continuation and further development of an interactive
      map of all living labs and lighthouses funded under the soil deal mission, building on the
      work undertaken by the Horizon 2020 project SMS 604 and the project selected under
      topic HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-01-01 605 . The web-portal and associated tools
      should benefit both participants in the network of living labs and lighthouses and a wider
      public beyond the network.
     Monitor and assess activities of living labs and lighthouses and report on the main
      outcomes and experiences. This will include providing feedback on the links between
      activities under the Living lab and lighthouse network and other parts of the mission (i.e.
      the R&I programme, monitoring and citizen engagement).
     Disseminate solutions created, tested and demonstrated in living labs and lighthouses so
      that these are widely known and can be accessed by potential users outside the living lab
      areas.
Applicants under the FPA topic should demonstrate relevant expertise to implement
successfully the foreseen activities listed above. They should possess a good understanding of
the concept of soil health living labs and lighthouses as well as sound skills in project
management, coordination and monitoring, including the implementation of actions for
stakeholder and citizen engagement, communication, dissemination and knowledge sharing.
The work should be implemented in close connection with the European Partnership EIP-
AGRI606 and its activities at EU, national and regional levels. Synergies should be developed
as well with activities carried out under other relevant programmes and initiatives such as
INTERREG607 and the Smart Specialisation Platform608. Where possible, work should make
use of the Education for Climate platform593.
Partners should connect with other projects and initiatives relevant for the Soil Deal Mission’s
network of living labs and lighthouses, both in Europe and beyond. This includes EU projects
ALL-Ready 609 and AE4EU 610 , the upcoming Horizon Europe partnership on agroecology
living labs611 and like-minded international activities such as the Canadian Agroecosystem
Living Labs Network (CALL)612 and the US Long Term Agroecosystem Research Network
(LTAR)613.
604
        www.soilmissionsupport.eu
605
        HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-01-01: Preparing the ground for healthy soils – building capacities for
        engagement, outreach and knowledge.
606
        https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/en
607
        https://interreg.eu/
608
        https://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/
609
        https://www.all-ready-project.eu/
610
        https://www.ae4eu.eu/
611
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/research-area/agriculture-forestry-and-rural-
        areas/partnership-agroecology_en
612
        Living Laboratories Initiative: International engagement and partnerships - agriculture.canada.ca
613
        The Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Network (usda.gov)
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Close cooperation with Commission’s Joint Research Centre is essential in view of further
developing the European Soil Observatory (EUSO), and ensuring the longevity, sustainability
and interoperability of data, knowledge and services arising from Mission implementation.
The cooperation between the European Commission and selected partners under this FPA will
cover – through subsequent Specific Grant Agreements - the period 2023-2030. The FPA
needs to be in place during this whole period in order for the SGAs to be awarded to fund the
LL support structure that will run until the conclusion of the Soil Deal Mission in 2030.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-09: Citizen science for soil health
Specific conditions
Expected EU              The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00
contribution per         million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                  Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                         proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 6.00 million.
Type of Action           Research and Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: This topic contributes to the implementation of the Mission 'A Soil Deal
for Europe'614, in particular to its specific objective 8 “Increase soil literacy in society across
Member States”.
Project results should contribute to all the following outcomes:
     The public's awareness of the value of soil is significantly increased.
     Citizens are empowered to take an active role in science and in increasing the knowledge
      base on soils by monitoring and gathering data on soil biodiversity and becoming more
      aware of the importance of soils and the soil food web in their daily lives.
     Greater availability of local scale data on soil health. This will expand and complement
      established soil databases to support critical landscape decisions and policy
      development.
     The EU Soil Observatory scope is enlarged and populated with citizen science data.
Scope: Citizen science is an important vehicle in bringing science to the people and
promoting the goal of universal and equal access to scientific data and information. For
example, there is a tremendous potential to foster education and learning opportunities
through the involvement of students in real world issues. Citizen science also engages society
at large in key policy developments through direct participation to assess impacts.
614
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-
        and-open-calls/horizon-europe/missions-horizon-europe/soil-health-and-food_en
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Crowdsourced data is being used, for example, by UN agencies for humanitarian activities
and citizen scientists are providing data relevant to monitoring the sustainable development
goals (SDGs).
Citizen science projects amplify scientific research and support scientists to accomplish their
research objectives. Citizen science data are used extensively in a range of environmental
studies such as in the areas of above-ground biodiversity and water pollution. In relation to
soils however, citizen science has received less attention. Yet, it has huge potential to raise
awareness on the importance of soils, gather a wide range of site-specific data and thereby
complement “formal” soil sampling programmes and existing data sets.
The engagement of citizens, including land managers in soil mapping and soil monitoring
provides novel opportunities, also through the use of digital technologies. Main challenges
however remain the integration of data from citizen science with data from professional
observations due to issues of quality control, methodologies and potential observer bias.
Proposed activities should:
   Develop a strategy for the standardised collection, processing and visualisation of soil
      health data that are submitted by citizens directly from the field. Attention should be
      given to issues of location, characterisation and harmonisation of measurements and
      observations as well as the quality, compatibility and interoperability of data from
      citizens with related established databases (e.g. national monitoring programmes, earth
      observation systems and long-term experiments). Consideration should be given to
      potential privacy aspects.
   Formulate recommendations, guidelines, protocols and field guides to gather data and
      observations by the public in a more systematic way.
   Demonstrate and test user-friendly tools for the assessment of soil health related issues
      by soil users and the wider community (i.e. considering physical, chemical and
      biological properties) considering the language diversity of the EU.
   Propose and test methods for quality control of citizen science data as well as for the
      integration of heterogeneous data from citizen science activities.
   Run citizen science initiatives, ideally concurrently in all Member States, contributing to
      enhanced soil sampling, mapping, reporting and the understanding of pressures affecting
      soil health. Initiatives should address as a minimum the areas of soil biodiversity and soil
      pollution. Activities should encourage broad participation of citizen groups across
      Europe, especially young people, with a genuine interest in environmental issues, soil
      and land management.
   Create a prototype for a long-term repository of data resulting from the citizen science
      initiatives implemented under the project. The repository should display information in
      all official EU languages and take due account of the requirements emerging from the
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      evolvement of the European Soil Observatory (EUSO) 615 as an eventual host of the
      repository. The repository should be user-friendly and be capable of integrating data
      from different in-situ sources and technologies. Tools should be put in place to ensure
      quality control and assess possible systematic discrepancies during the collection of the
      data It should support the findability, accessibility, interoperability and re-usability of
      data while turning them into relevant, open and accessible knowledge for potential users
      including decision makers. Data uploaded to repository should be supported by
      metadata.
     Develop case studies demonstrating how the collected data can be used e.g. by farmers,
      other land managers, scientists, businesses, educators or institutions responsible for soil
      management.
     Provide training and build capacities for soil related citizen science initiatives.
In implementing activities, attention should be given to
  a. addressing the diversity of soil types in relation to biogeographic regions and different
      land uses across the EU.
  b. issues of integration, compatibility and interoperability with existing soil monitoring
      systems, especially LUCAS and monitoring programmes from Member States and
      Associated Countries.
  c. technical (hardware/software) considerations associated with the IT environment of the
      EU’s Joint Research Centre (JRC).
Consortia should ensure participation from partners with ample social sciences expertise.
They should also provide a clear plan on how they intend to collaborate with other soil-
focused citizen science initiatives that can further raise awareness of issues affecting soil
health as well as with the project emerging from topic HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-01.
Proposals should demonstrate a route towards open access, longevity, sustainability and
interoperability of knowledge and outputs through close collaboration with the Joint Research
Centre and its EUSO.
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-10: Innovations for soil improvement from bio-waste
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 3.00
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
615
         The EUSO is developed by the EU’s Joint Research Centre: https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/eu-soil-
         observatory
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Indicative budget        The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 9.00 million.
Type of Action           Innovation Actions
Expected Outcome: Project results should contribute to all of the following expected
outcomes:
     Enhanced entrepreneurship on circularity and regenerative processes and, in particular,
      increased number of highly innovative start-ups and industrial hubs developing and
      scaling up soil improvers616 from bio-waste617.
     Significant reduction of bio-waste for landfill.
     Improved nutrient recovery from bio-waste for soil improvers production.
     Improved environmental, health and safety performance of soil improvers from bio-
      waste and related production operations, including improved testing methods throughout
      the entire life cycle.
     New improved and demonstrated products, value chains and services available for soil
      improvers derived from bio-waste.
Scope: Bio-waste is a potential valuable resource to improve soil fertility. Fostering the
production of soil improvers and optimizing bio-waste recycling can help maximise the
uptake of circular innovations for sustainable soil products and services, in line with the new
Circular Economy Action Plan 618 and Waste Framework Directive 619 . As a result, new
business opportunities will be created, while increasing the availability in the market of soil
improvers derived from circular production systems. Projects should support the achievement
of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 11 ‘Sustainable Cities and
Communities’, whenever relevant.
Proposed activities should:
     Develop and pilot innovations to support large-scale product validation and market
      replication of soil improvers from bio-waste that allow a major step increase in
      technological maturity of products and or services (Technology Readiness Levels 7-8).
     Develop and pilot appropriate business models that consider different market outlets and
      marketing strategies for the proposed innovations while significantly decreasing bio-
      waste incinerated or destined for landfills.
616
        ‘Soil improver’ means a material added to soil in situ, whose main function is to maintain or improve its
        physical and/or chemical and/or biological properties, with the exception of liming materials.
617
        See     definition   in   the    Waste      Framework       Directive    (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
        content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32008L0098).
618
        A new Circular Economy Action Plan (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:9903b325-
        6388-11ea-b735-01aa75ed71a1.0017.02/DOC_1&format=PDF)
619
        Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste
        and repealing certain Directives (Text with EEA relevance) https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
        content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32008L0098
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     Demonstrate the safety of soil improvers, and their production phase, in accordance with
      relevant EU regulatory frameworks related to their placing on the market and generate
      data to support improved social and environmental performance.
     Analyse vulnerabilities, dependencies, and need for critical infrastructure that may
      hinder the upscaling of production and marketing of soil improvers from bio-waste.
     Monitor the pre-market processes (i.e., design, production, testing, etc.) to demonstrate
      upscaling feasibility and economic profit.
     Implement a multi-actor approach by involving a large number of stakeholders (e.g.,
      SMEs, city councils, research centres, civil society) to improve upscaling capacity.
In carrying out the tasks, consortia should take into account and build on relevant previous
EU projects (e.g., Scalibur,620 WaysTUP!,621 VALUEWASTE622) and coordinate work with
projects to be funded under HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01-02: Improving food systems
sustainability and soil health with food processing residues and HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-
02-01: Urban planning and design for just, sustainable, resilient and climate-neutral cities by
2030. The proposals shall include dedicated tasks and appropriate resources to deliver on
these coordination and collaboration activities.
When addressing a bio-waste which may include parts of animal origin it is crucial that
proposal should align to the requirements of the EU legislation on animal by-products – in
particular Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
21 October 2009 623 laying down health rules as regards animal by-products and derived
products not intended for human consumption and Commission Regulation (EU) No
142/2011 of 25 February 2011624 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009.
Proposal should consider the bio-waste hierarchy625 - a priority order in waste prevention and
management legislation and policy, which starts with prevention actions, followed by reuse
and recycling pathways. This hierarchy should guide the development of strategies that tackle
bio-waste for soil improvement.
Proposals should demonstrate a route towards open access, longevity, sustainability and
interoperability of knowledge and outputs through close collaboration with the EUSO and
other projects and initiatives to be funded under the mission.
620
         https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/817788
621
         https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/818308
622
         https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/818312
623
         https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2009/1069/2019-12-14
624
         https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/142/2021-12-05
625
         Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste
         and repealing certain Directives (Text with EEA relevance) https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
         content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32008L0098
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Other Actions not subject to calls for proposals
Procurement actions
1. Mission Implementation platform
Main tasks: to assist the EU Commission (in particular the mission secretariat) in the
implementation of the mission. This will include
     support to the overall coordination of activities under the various building blocks of the
      mission;
     developing KPIs and a framework for monitoring and reporting on the portfolio of
      projects and activities;
     monitoring and assessing activities funded under the mission in quantitative and
      qualitative ways and tracking progress towards achievement of the mission’s targets,
      objectives and overall goal;
     support to reporting on progress of the mission, in particular in view of the mid-term
      evaluation which is planned to take place in 2024;
     reaching out to stakeholders in Member States and internationally as well as support
      communication and dissemination activities. This will include the organisation of events
      to promote the involvement of a range of stakeholders in mission activities.
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative budget: EUR 3.00 million from the 2021 budget
Indicative timetable: 2nd Quarter 2022 (initial contract duration: 2022-2025, with a possible
extension until 2027)
Form of Funding: Procurement
Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative budget: EUR 3.00 million from the 2021 budget626
626
         Of which EUR 2.27 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
         Environment' budget,EUR 0.54 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.13 million
         from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget,EUR 0.07 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive
         society' budget.
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Scientific and technical services by the Joint Research Centre
1. Technical and scientific support for the development of an EU soil monitoring
framework
The JRC will
     provide technical expertise and operational capacity to support the coordination of
      activities and exchanges with Member States, Associated Countries (AC), ESTAT, the,
      the EEA and scientific community;
     oversee the mission’s activities in relation to soil monitoring and update approaches as
      new science from R&I activities become available (e.g. on specific targets or new
      methods, technologies and metrics for measuring indicators);
     engage with Member States/Associated Countries in view of further developing the
      LUCAS Soil Module and developing a shareable soil information system that supports a
      harmonised EU reporting structure for soil health monitoring. In doing so, the JRC will
      work closely together with the project selected under topic Soil-02-03;
     use data from activities funded under the mission to feed into the EUSO;
     develop an integrated sampling framework to be implemented in 2025/2026 (tbc) by the
      LUCAS campaign and be available for policy implementation (e.g. related to EU-wide
      soil condition assessments, registers for contaminated sites, LULUCF greenhouse gas
      inventories);
     make use of the potential of Earth Observation, digital tools and AI as appropriate;
     build on INSPIRE principles to ensure interoperable data sets and compatibility with
      Global Soil Partnership Global Soil Information System (GLOSIS) initiative.
Form of Funding: Direct action grants
Type of Action: Provision of technical/scientific services by the Joint Research Centre
Indicative timetable: 2nd/3d Quarter of 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 2.00 million from the 2021 budget
Form of Funding: Direct action grants
Type of Action: Provision of technical/scientific services by the Joint Research Centre
Indicative budget: EUR 2.00 million from the 2021 budget627
627
        Of which EUR 1.51 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget,EUR 0.36 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.09 million
        from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget,EUR 0.04 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive
        society' budget.
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Missions' joint actions
Joint action between Mission Ocean, Seas and Waters and Mission Adaptation to
Climate Change
This call is implemented jointly by Mission “Adaptation to Climate Change” and Mission
“Restore our ocean and waters by 2030” to ensure integrated approaches. As such, activities
under this joint call will address the objectives and impacts of these two Missions as stated in
their respective introductory statements.
Call - Joint Demonstration
                                                            HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEANCLIMA-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)628
                        Topics                               Type     Budgets       Expected       Number
                                                               of       (EUR           EU              of
                                                            Action    million)    contribution      projects
                                                                                   per project     expected
                                                                        2022         (EUR            to be
                                                                                   million)629      funded
                                          Opening: 12 May 2022
                                         Deadline(s): 27 Sep 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEANCLIMA-01-01 IA                                 20.00      Around            1
                                                                      630
                                                                                 20.00
Overall indicative budget                                             20.00
General conditions relating to this call
628
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
629
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
630
        Of which EUR 4.21 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 2.62 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR
        12.32 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.41 million from the 'Civil
        Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.43 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society'
        budget.
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Admissibility conditions                              The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                The conditions are described in General
                                                      Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                             C.
Award criteria                                        The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEANCLIMA-01-01: Mission Climate adaptation and
Mission Ocean and waters - Joint demonstration for coastal resilience in the Arctic and
Atlantic sea basin
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per       20.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                       selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 20.00 million.
Type of Action         Innovation Actions
Eligibility            The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions             exceptions apply:
                       If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                       and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                       Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                       additionally be used).
                       The following additional eligibility criteria apply: in addition to the
                       standard eligibility conditions, proposals must include demonstration
                       activities to be carried out in at least 5 different regions located in at
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                       least 3 different countries in the Atlantic and/or the Arctic geographical
                       area, involving and including in the consortium entities from these
                       countries.
Technology             Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 to 7 by the end of the project –
Readiness Level        see General Annex B.
Legal and              The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
financial set-up of    apply:
the Grant              Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. Support to
Agreements             third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. The maximum
                       amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 100,000, to showcase
                       the feasibility, replicability and scale up of the solutions developed
                       within the project in the “associated regions”. An “associated region”
                       can benefit from the Financial Support to Third Parties provided under
                       this topic within the duration of the project only once.
Expected Outcome:
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
    Upscaling of innovative solutions building climate resilience for coastal areas, making
     communities climate-proof and weather-resilient, in particular by adapting to extreme
     weather events and sea level rise;
    Collaboration and twinning between most advanced and front-runners regions on climate
     adaptation and other regions vulnerable to similar climate impacts;
    Acceleration of synergetic transformation to climate neutrality and climate resilience in
     coastal areas, supporting the development of the blue and low carbon economy;
    Technological, logistical, social and economic innovation for the restoration of marine,
     coastal and river ecosystems;
    Basin-scale cooperation, including through transition arrangements that create socially
     and economically sustainable propositions for local stakeholders, including, where
     appropriate, for indigenous people;
    Contributing to the implementation of the European Green Deal, the EU Adaptation
     Strategy , the EU Biodiversity Strategy, as well as the Galway Statement, the Belém
     Statement, the OSPAR Convention in connection with the implementation of EU marine
     environment, biodiversity and Arctic policies, the EU Arctic Joint Communication, the
     Atlantic Action Plan 2.0 with the aim to work for the benefit of all communities of
     stakeholders around the Atlantic and the Arctic and the Arctic Action Plan enhancing
     collaborative efforts to address the challenges in the Arctic;
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   Contribution to the Mission’s Digital Ocean and Water Knowledge system through
     marine observations and open data and knowledge sharing;
   Contributing to better informed citizens and decision makers, for a better governance
     and coastal resilience planning
Scope: This topic relates to the Adaptation to Climate Change Mission’s third objective,
aiming to support at least 75 full scale deep demonstrations of climate resilience and to
Mission Ocean, and waters’ objective 1 aiming at protection and restoration of marine and
freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity. It also contributes to the objectives of the Marine
Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and the Water Framework Directive (WFD) -
including in terms of Good Environmental Status and restoration of aquatic ecosystems - and
the Marine Spatial Planning Directive (MSPD).
Proposals should demonstrate solutions to build resilience to climate change in coastal areas
in the Atlantic and Arctic sea basin, through the deployment of nature-based solutions,
including nature-based infrastructures. Thus, proposals under this joint Missions topic should
identify and demonstrate solutions that contribute to the objectives of both Missions at once.
Proposals under this topic must deploy full-scale demonstrations of innovative solutions with
concrete measurable impacts leading to a measurable increase of the resilience and adaptation
capacity of the regions involved, whilst contributing to climate change mitigation and
biodiversity conservation.
Proposals should focus on demonstration activities for the restoration of marine and coastal
ecosystems through nature-based solutions/infrastructures that boost coastal resilience, such
as oyster reefs, kelp forests, seagrass, coastal wetlands and salt marshes. The proposals should
also explore different pressures and climate change adaptation needs in a systemic way, such
as the soil erosion and its impact on coastal areas resulting in marine ecosystem pressures.
Combination of nature-based measures with hybrid solutions and relevant Blue-Green
engineering may be considered, provided these combined solutions are sustainable and
integrated in coastal resilience planning and decision-making processes and provide adequate
social and environmental safeguards.
Citizen engagement is a key concept for the Missions. The proposals should involve local
actors, communities and citizens in actively shaping solutions for marine ecosystem
restoration and protection and holistic socio-ecological management of restored and valuable
ecosystems, including where appropriate European volunteer/solidarity corps and citizens
science activities in the restoration activities. As the regions and communities need to undergo
significant transformation to become climate-proof, measures need to be co-owned and
respond to local needs and shared sustainability visions. The involvement of local authorities
and local communities, including indigenous peoples, is required in order to ensure that the
solutions designed are best suited, co-created and with the necessary ownership. Activities
should, therefore, promote the involvement of local communities in order to hear from them
the impact of intended actions, and to co-create measures that meet the Missions’ aims while
taking local communities’ needs and values on board.
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Proposals may involve coastal communities particularly vulnerable to the risks of extreme
weather events, sea level rise, permafrost and/or ice melting. Islands and the EU Outermost
Regions urgently needing restoration measures to adapt to climate change thus ensuring their
population safety and climate-proof and weather resilient infrastructure may be covered by
proposals.
Proposals should:
     Carry out demonstration activities in 5 different regions belonging to the Atlantic and/or
      Arctic sea basin, involving and including in the consortium entities from these three
      countries;
     Involve at least 10 ‘associated regions 631’ as third parties to showcase the feasibility,
      replicability and scale up of the solutions developed. The consortium will proactively
      reach out to the “associated regions” to enable them to follow closely the project and its
      demonstration activities, proving knowledge transfer to them and with technical
      assistance to build capacity and to implement coastal resilience solutions in their
      territories;
     Identify further areas and locations where the solutions are replicable and draw up an
      action plan and roadmap to replicate and scale up the ecosystem and biodiversity
      restoration solutions and actions.
As a mechanism to provide knowledge transfer and technical assistance to the “associated
regions”, the selected projects will be able to provide support to third parties in the form of
grants. The maximum amount of the envisaged Financial Support to Third Parties is EUR
100,000 per third party for the entire duration of the action. Proposals should outline the
selection process of the third parties to which financial support would be granted based on
principles of transparency, objectivity and fairness.
Proposals should (when relevant) build upon existing knowledge and solutions and support
the upscaling of successful pilots, including from beyond the EU, designed and developed in
the frame of projects funded by current and previous European and national programmes, in
particular the European Union framework programmes for Research and Innovation (such as
Horizon 2020, and the All-Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance 632 ), as well as the LIFE
programme, Erasmus+, the national and regional programmes in the Atlantic/Arctic basins,
such as INTERREG633 and European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, as well as the activities of
the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership and the Atlantic Action Plan 2.0.
631
         ‘Associated regions’ are understood as areas with similar ecosystems (e.g. neighbouring regions and/or
         in a different sea basin) and/or less-developed regions, with the view to build capacity to implement the
         innovative solutions to restore ecosystems. The proposals should ensure that the associated regions are
         located in Member States/Associated countries other than those that are part of the project consortium.
         An “associated region” should benefit from the Financial Support to Third Parties provided under this
         topic only once.
632
         https://allatlanticocean.org/whoweare
633
         https://www.atlanticarea.eu/ and https://www.interreg-npa.eu/
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In addition, the projects granted under this topic will be requested to contribute to the
networking and coordination activities led by the soon to be established Mission
Implementation Platform, amongst all the projects funded under the Horizon 2020 634 , the
European Green Deal call and under Horizon Europe, when particularly relevant for climate
adaptation knowledge and solutions. Applicants should acknowledge this request and already
account for these obligations in their proposal, making adequate provisions in terms of
resources and budget to engage and collaborate with the Adaptation to Climate Change
Mission and with Mission Ocean and waters governance structures. Projects funded under this
topic are strongly encouraged to participate in networking and joint activities also with other
activities and projects within the Atlantic and/or Arctic basin on restoration of marine
ecosystems and climate adaptation.
The projects funded under this topic will:
     build links with other Mission activities and other relevant activities within the basin to
      maximize synergies, as well as with the European Blue Parks, other Missions’ activities;
     include a mechanism and the resources to establish operational links with the Climate-
      ADAPT platform (run by the European Environment Agency (EEA) together with DG
      CLIMA) that will act as a central element for the monitoring, support and visualisation
      of the Adaptation to Climate Change Mission progress in European Regions. To this
      purpose, projects will feed their results to the Climate-ADAPT and EEA assessments;
     support the Ocean and Water Knowledge System, in particular by contributing to
      biodiversity monitoring, modelling and knowledge creation and data.
As appropriate, the projects should also link with other Missions relevant initiatives. These
networking and joint activities could, for example, involve the participation in joint
workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and adoption of best practices, or
joint communication activities.
To this extent, proposals should provide for dedicated activities on knowledge exchange and
networking and earmark appropriate resources.
634
         LC-CLA-13-2020 https://cordis.europa.eu/programme/id/H2020_LC-CLA-13-2020 and LC-CLA-2020
         12a Advancing climate services | Programme | H2020 | CORDIS | European Commission (europa.eu)
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Destination: Complementing missions through national activities
The goal is to develop a coordination network to engage Member States and Associated
Countries, and in particular their respective programmes and actions, in support of the
missions and towards achieving mission objectives. Missions are rooted in research and
innovation. However, EU-level research and innovation actions alone will not be sufficient to
achieve the societal impact they aim to deliver. Complementary actions from Member States
and countries associated to Horizon Europe will significantly increase the chance of success
of missions. This network will facilitate alignment and where possible coordination of these
actions, in support of the missions and increase their impact.
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
to the Destination’s goal and objectives, and more specifically to all the following impacts:
   Increased commitment at institutional level in EU Member States and Associated
      Countries to implement complementary actions in support of missions;
   Facilitate exchanges of ideas and knowledge on how to achieve mission goals and how
      to support them through national, regional and local actions;
   Increased preparedness for mission implementation.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this mission:
                Call                     Budgets (EUR           Deadline(s)
                                             million)
                                               2021
HORIZON-MISS-2021-COOR-01 2.00                                  14 Sep 2021
Overall indicative budget              2.00
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Call - Coordination of complementary actions for missions
                                                                       HORIZON-MISS-2021-COOR-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)635
                   Topics                          Type       Budgets         Expected EU            Number
                                                     of         (EUR        contribution per            of
                                                  Action      million)        project (EUR           projects
                                                                               million)636          expected
                                                                 2021                                 to be
                                                                                                     funded
                                            Opening: 22 Jun 2021
                                          Deadline(s): 14 Sep 2021
HORIZON-MISS-2021-COOR-01-01 CSA                             2.00 637     Around 2.00               1
Overall indicative budget                                    2.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                      The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                      The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                   C.
Award criteria                                              The criteria are described in General Annex
635
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
636
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
637
        Of which EUR 0.38 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.58 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.29
        million from the 'Health' budget and EUR 0.07 million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and
        EUR 0.58 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.09 million from the
        'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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                                                      D.
Documents                                             The documents are described in General
                                                      Annex E.
Procedure                                             The procedure is described in General
                                                      Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant               The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2021-COOR-01-01: Coordination of complementary actions for
missions
Specific conditions
Expected EU            The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 2.00
contribution per       million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project                Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                       proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget      The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.00 million.
Type of Action         Coordination and Support Actions
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute the following expected
outcomes:
   Cooperation between national officials on implementation modalities of complementary
      actions across the European Union and Associated Countries;
   Appropriate mechanisms are in place to facilitate the multi-level deployment of
      complementary actions for missions;
   A common vision on the achievement of missions objectives is shared at a national,
      regional and local level across the European Union and Associated Countries.
Scope: This action aims to foster cooperation and coordination between EU-level actions and
complementary national, regional and local actions in support of the implementation of
missions.
The mission concept aims to deliver societal impact. The missions will require commitment
and a sense of ownership across the European Union. The support of Member States and
Associated Countries, regional and local actors and actions that are complementary to EU
level action is needed to deliver on the envisaged societal impacts of missions.
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This action should also leverage opportunities raised by the digital transition. It should
enhance the missions’ potential for rapid testing, piloting, demonstrating, scaling up and de-
risking of large place-based R&I projects/initiatives, after the conclusions of their preparatory
phase638.
The above described expected outcome and scope should be achieved by establishing a
Missions Core Network that will:
     Support alignment and where possible coordination between national, regional and local
      initiatives for the implementation of missions;
     Exchange best practice on how complementary national, regional and local efforts and
      related funding can contribute to missions objectives;
     Facilitate engagement of regional and local actors in support of EU-level activities or
      complementary national activities in support of the implementation of missions;
     Map the relevant national, regional and local, stakeholders, civil society organisations
      and institutions, which are key actors to support the implementation of missions and can
      support delivery of their objectives.
     Map different existing funding streams – both at EU and national or global level
      (including private sector investments) and explore their mobilisation and possible
      combining in support of mission implementation;
     Prepare for potential hubs at national level. The core network will have the role of
      advising the specific mission hubs, as missions will need new implementation
      modalities. Each mission specific hub will be linked to this cross-cutting network.
     Develop the basis for a governance model supporting the coordination of complementary
      actions to implement the missions.
The consortium should include organisations capable of coordinating national level
representatives (e.g. representative from relevant Ministries or national agencies, academia)
and relevant regional and local actors (e.g. representatives from city councils).
The network should also deliver specific events, in consultation with the European
Commission:
     ‘Meet & Monitor, Missions’ event as part of citizen engagement and supported through
      the coordination network;
     ‘Annual missions innovation fair’ – gathering relevant stakeholders such as ERC, EIC
      grantees, industry, charities, EIB, among others to meet around mission-specific
      thematic areas.
638
         The European Commission is assessing the implementation plans of the 5 Mission areas and a decision
         will be made on the basis of assessment criteria set by the HE Regulation.
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These actions should be developed in close coordination with the European Commission. The
European Commission will identify targets for the specific missions, after assessment, and
will communicate the specific missions to the Missions Core Network. The European
Commission should be an active member of the Missions Core Network.
The European Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee
should be closely associated to these activities as sources of reflection.
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Destination: Deployment of NEB lighthouse demonstrators in the context of
missions
The New European Bauhaus (NEB) initiative wants to make the European Green Deal a
cultural, human-centred, positive and tangible experience. It aims to improve how we live
together in the built environment639, by fostering innovative solutions that articulate the three
NEB core principles of sustainability, aesthetics and inclusion. Horizon Europe missions aim
to solve major environmental and societal challenges using ambitious, creative, inclusive and
interdisciplinary solutions, bringing the European Green Deal closer to citizens.
Missions share many objectives with the NEB initiative. Through a mutually supportive
relationship, the NEB and the missions will collaborate on key shared challenges. Missions
are ambitious and daring, closely involve stakeholders and citizens, and aim to produce public
goods on a European scale. There are therefore numerous similarities with the NEB initiative.
The goal is to launch five lighthouse demonstrators for the NEB initiative, providing valuable
lessons and knowledge for the missions’ deployment.
This destination will showcase how a co-design process, with architecture, design and culture
at its core, can deliver highly innovative solutions to address environmental and societal
challenges at the territorial level.
Proposals for the topic under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to
contributing to the Destination’s goal, and more specifically to all the following impacts:
     Strengthen connections between the missions and the NEB on key environmental and
      societal challenges;
     Increased preparedness for               mission       implementation        in   a    multi-level      and
      multidisciplinary approach;
     Demonstrate the benefit of applying an NEB approach (combining sustainability with
      aesthetics and inclusion) to territorial transformation.
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this mission:
                Call                         Budgets (EUR           Deadline(s)
                                                 million)
                                                   2021
HORIZON-MISS-2021-NEB-01 25.00                                      25 Jan 2022
639
        The ‘built environment’ encompasses everything people live in and around –materials, products,
        buildings, public spaces, infrastructures, service networks, and districts and settlements up to villages,
        towns and cities. The term includes attributes linked to physical and mental health (through
        accessibility, bikeability and walkability). It also includes the process of working with land, planning
        and designing its use, managing existing structures, and final stages of demolition and recycling.
        Source: https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/40541/attachments/1/translations/en/renditions/pdf
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Overall indicative budget          25.00
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Call - Support the deployment of lighthouse demonstrators for the New European
Bauhaus initiative in the context of Horizon Europe missions
                                                                        HORIZON-MISS-2021-NEB-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)640
                  Topics                        Type         Budgets         Expected EU             Number
                                                  of          (EUR          contribution per             of
                                               Action        million)        project (EUR            projects
                                                                               million)641           expected
                                                              2021                                     to be
                                                                                                      funded
                                            Opening: 28 Sep 2021
                                          Deadline(s): 25 Jan 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2021-NEB-01-01 CSA                            25.00 642     3.00 to 5.00                5
Overall indicative budget                                  25.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                      The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                      The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                   C.
640
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
641
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
642
        Of which EUR 4.77 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 7.28 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 3.67
        million from the 'Health' budget and EUR 0.85 million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and
        EUR 7.28 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget and EUR 1.16 million from the
        'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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Award criteria                                       The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                     D.
Documents                                            The documents are described in General
                                                     Annex E.
Procedure                                            The procedure is described in General
                                                     Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant              The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2021-NEB-01-01: Support the deployment of lighthouse
demonstrators for the New European Bauhaus initiative in the context of Horizon
Europe missions
Specific conditions
Expected EU         The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of between EUR 3.00
contribution per    and 5.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project             appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                    selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative          The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 25.00 million.
budget
Type of Action      Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility         The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions          exceptions apply:
                    If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation
                    and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of
                    Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may
                    additionally be used).
Award criteria      The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following exceptions
                    apply:
                    The following exceptions apply:
                       The quality criteria will include the following additional aspects:
                         demonstration of broad engagement and consultation of citizens and
                         all relevant stakeholders to define the needs analysis and the
                         understanding of implications of the challenge in the given territory
                         (e.g. neighbourhood, district, ecosystem) in terms of sustainability
                         (in line with the European Green Deal), inclusiveness (including
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                          accessibility and affordability) and            aesthetics   (including
                          functionality, comfort, attractiveness, etc.).
                        The impact criteria will include the elaboration of a two-year
                          programme for further design and implementation of the whole or
                          part of the complete territorial transformation plan as well as
                          demonstration of the long-term vision and commitment of territorial
                          agents to implement the transformation through partnerships and
                          integrated funding.
                        To ensure a balanced portfolio covering geographical areas, grants
                          will be awarded to applications not only in the order of ranking but
                          at least also to the projects that are the highest ranked covering
                          different parts of the territory of the European Union and Associated
                          Countries, provided that the applications attain all thresholds.
                        Given the nature of the action, Option 2 of the model grant
                          agreement will be applicable:
                    Purchases of equipment, infrastructure or other assets specifically for the
                    action (or developed as part of the action tasks) may be declared as full
                    capitalised costs if they fulfil the cost eligibility conditions applicable to
                    their respective cost categories. ‘Capitalised costs’ means:
                    * costs incurred in the purchase or for the development of the equipment,
                    infrastructure or other assets and
                    * which are recorded under a fixed asset account of the beneficiary in
                    compliance with international accounting standards and the beneficiary’s
                    usual cost accounting practices.
                    If such equipment, infrastructure or other assets are rented or leased, full
                    costs for renting or leasing are eligible, if they do not exceed the
                    depreciation costs of similar equipment, infrastructure or assets and do not
                    include any financing fees.
Expected Outcome: Through a mutually supportive relationship, Horizon Europe missions
and the New European Bauhaus (NEB) initiative will develop connections on a wide range of
topics. For example, there are shared objectives in areas such as climate-neutral and smart
cities, adaptation of the built environment to the effects of climate change (while respecting
existing aesthetic and historical values), including flooding and sea level rise, sustainable use
of soils through better spatial planning, urban greening and nature-based solutions, and cancer
prevention and quality of life through healthy lifestyles and a healthy living environment.
This action will offer opportunities to engage with communities on an environmentally
sustainable, socially fair, and aesthetically appealing transition, using architecture, design and
culture as core resources for a sustainable society. These shared qualities between Horizon
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Europe missions and the NEB should be capitalised on, leading to increased impact for both
initiatives, and providing guidance and insight for the missions’ implementation. Horizon
Europe missions and the NEB both emphasise the importance of involving citizens in the
green transition at the local level, in pursuit of broader societal transformation. Linking the
two initiatives can help solidify the concept in the public’s collective conscious that the
missions embody research and innovation’s capacity to positively impact their daily lives.
Proposals are expected to demonstrate all of the outcomes listed below:
   The projects should have a clear expected transformational impact both on the built
      environment, and on how people live and interact in that environment. The pilots will
      fully embrace the mission objectives and NEB principles, acting as "lighthouse
      demonstrators", serving as test-beds for the implementation of Horizon Europe mission
      objectives and innovative solutions.
   Deliver, by the end of the project, ‘tangible’ and replicable results, leading to benefits in
      the long-term.
   The grants leading to the design and deployment of the initial implementation phase are
      meant to catalyse substantial additional investments (e.g. partnerships of national,
      regional, local public and private sources, including EU Structural Funds) to ensure the
      implementation of the full-scale project after the design phase.
   A clear demonstration effect in relation to the operationalisation of the triangle of
      sustainability, inclusion and aesthetics, serving as reference for the broader
      implementation of the NEB initiative, as well as for the uptake and support of the
      Horizon Europe missions by national, regional and local authorities, other stakeholders,
      and European citizens, thus enabling a rapid scale-up of Horizon Europe missions’
      activities.
Scope: This action will contribute to the Delivery Phase of the NEB, by deploying mission-
oriented pilot projects that will act as ‘lighthouse demonstrators’ across the territory of the
European Union and Associated Countries. They should embrace the key principles of the
NEB initiative (sustainability, inclusion and aesthetics), using architecture, design and culture
as core resources for a sustainable society, and the mission-oriented approach (impactful,
measurable, targeted) in an innovative and exemplary manner. They should address one or
more relevant challenges that represent the wide scope of the NEB initiative, such as:
   Environmental and climate adaptation challenges, environmental and climate risks,
      prevention and resilience
   Economic and territorial changes linked to the green transition
   Social challenges (poverty, segregation, social exclusion, etc.)
   Challenges linked to the use, preservation and reconversion of existing infrastructure and
      heritage
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   Demographic challenges (ageing, migration, depopulation, changes in property market
    due to tourism, etc.)
Proposals should include:
   The development of an ambitious, mission-oriented, quality co-design process, based on
    citizens’ and stakeholders' participation and multidisciplinary (e.g. arts, architecture,
    design, heritage, engineering, physical and spatial planning, manufacturing, technology,
    environmental and social sciences, etc.) and multilevel collaboration (e.g. civil society,
    public and private actors), also capable of addressing the relevant objectives of the
    Horizon Europe missions.
   An ambitious and credible executive plan that identifies and analyses the challenges and
    resources of a given territory (e.g. neighbourhood, district, ecosystem) in terms of
    sustainability (in line with the European Green Deal), inclusiveness (including
    accessibility and affordability) and aesthetics (including functionality, comfort,
    attractiveness, etc.).
   The detailed outlined, through feasibility studies, of highly innovative, cutting-edge
    solutions, associating meaningful, inclusive social purpose with strong aesthetic values
    and sustainability, in line with the European Green Deal, to address emblematic
    environmental and societal challenges at the territorial level.
   Deployment of an initial set of solutions as demonstrators within a two-year timeframe,
    accompanied by a rigorous impact evaluation methodology, measuring the impact of the
    adopted methodologies. Involvement and testing of the demonstrators with international
    experts.
   A detailed roadmap for implementation, with a sustainable financial plan quantifying
    and identifying substantial additional investment based on involvement and partnerships
    with different actors (national, regional, local, public and private sources).
   Evidence of developed relationships and partnerships with responsible authorities and/or
    representatives (on planning, permits, property rights, financing, impact assessments,
    etc.).
   Exchange and dissemination of co-design methodology at European Union and
    Associated Countries level.
   Contribution to the outreach, dissemination and communication strategy and plan of the
    NEB and of Horizon Europe missions.
   The NEB initiative, launched in late 2020, will undergo rapid development in an open
    community. Potential applicants are invited to join this community under
    [https://europa.eu/new-european-bauhaus/index_en] to contribute to the discussion on
    the application of the NEB principles in the 21st, and their role in the twin green and
    digital transitions, and recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
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 Projects are expected to participate in European-level networking opportunities in the
  context of the NEB initiative.
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Missions' cross-cutting actions in support of the achievement EU Missions
goals
Missions aim to address some of the greatest challenges facing our society. They are bold and
inspirational with clear objectives that are time-bound, realistic, measurable and targeted.
Rooted in research and innovation, missions aim to tackle societal challenges with systemic
solutions, leading to societal transformations and social impact.
To achieve their objectives, missions may necessitate societal engagement that goes beyond
dialogue and leads to action. They may call for the involvement of not only citizens, but also
academics, entrepreneurs, social partners and public administrators as co-designers, co-
developers, and co-implementers.
In addition, they may require changes in societal practices at European scale at an
unprecedented speed. To address these specific needs and to promote synergies across the
activities and constituencies of the Missions.
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing
Cross cutting actions in support of the achievement EU Missions goals, and more specifically
the following impacts:
   enhanced strategic intelligence and capacities including organisation, awareness and
      communication vertically and horizontally across national, regional and local levels, for
      full deployment of missions solutions;
   effective mission implementation following shared approaches
The following call(s) in this work programme contribute to this mission:
                    Call                           Budgets (EUR    Deadline(s)
                                                       million)
                                                        2022
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOCIALCAT-01 30.00                               21 Sep 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2022-NCP-01                         1.50              27 Sep 2022
Overall indicative budget                        31.50
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Call - A European Social Innovation Catalyst Fund to Advance EU Mission Objectives
by Replicating and Scaling-up Existing, Demonstrably Successful Social Innovations
                                                                HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOCIALCAT-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)643
                       Topics                               Type     Budgets    Expected EU          Number
                                                             of        (EUR      contribution            of
                                                          Action      million)    per project        projects
                                                                                    (EUR             expected
                                                                       2022
                                                                                  million)644          to be
                                                                                                      funded
                                            Opening: 12 May 2022
                                          Deadline(s): 21 Sep 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOCIALCAT-01-01 CSA                                30.00 645 Around 30.00          1
Overall indicative budget                                            30.00
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                      The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                      The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                   C.
643
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
644
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
645
        Of which EUR 7.53 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 3.42 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 5.44
        million from the 'Health' budget and EUR 0.51 million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and
        EUR 12.72 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.38 million from the
        'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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Award criteria                                           The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                         D.
Documents                                                The documents are described in General
                                                         Annex E.
Procedure                                                The procedure is described in General
                                                         Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant                  The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOCIALCAT-01-01: A European Social Innovation Catalyst
Fund to Advance EU Mission Objectives by Replicating and Scaling-up Existing,
Demonstrably Successful Social Innovations
Specific conditions
Expected EU               The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR
contribution per          30.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed
project                   appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and
                          selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget         The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 30.00 million.
Type of Action            Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility               The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions                exceptions apply:
                          Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may
                          exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action.
                          The following additional eligibility criteria apply:In addition, consortia
                          must include at least three foundations 646 with proven experience in
                          social innovation ventures.
Legal and financial The rules are described in General Annex G. The following exceptions
set-up of the Grant apply:
Agreements                Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties.The support
                          to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
                          The maximum amount to be granted by the EU to each third party is
                          EUR 1 million in light of the estimated social innovation replication
646
        “For present purposes, foundations are […] bodies with their own source of funds which they spend
        according to their own judgement on projects or activities of public benefit.
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                        costs. The funding rate of this CSA is 25% of eligible costs as the
                        European Social Innovation Catalyst Fund aims at increasing the impact
                        of EU funding and increasing the support of public and private actors to
                        social innovation by attracting additional public and private
                        contributions.
Expected Outcome: The Project is expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
   Leveraging social innovation to achieve the objectives of the five EU Missions, namely,
      “Adaptation to Climate Change: Support at least 150 European regions and communities
      to become climate resilient by 2030”, “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030”,
      “Cancer: Improving the lives of more than 3 million people by 2030 through prevention,
      cure and for those affected by cancer including their families, to live longer and better”,
      “100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030”, and “A Soil Deal for Europe: 100
      living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition towards healthy soils by 2030”.
   Empowering citizens, local communities, and social innovators and entrepreneurs by
      offering them the possibility to become champions of the transition
   Securing significant impact with a high probability of success by replicating existing,
      demonstrably successful social innovations.
   Capitalizing on the underutilized stock of existing, demonstrably successful social
      innovations and helping local or regional projects achieve impact at continental scale.
   Increasing the impact of EU funding by attracting additional public and private
      contributions by setting up a European Social Innovation Catalyst Fund for the
      replication of existing, demonstrably successful social innovations.
   Combining quantitative and qualitative support to the Missions and to social innovation,
      respectively through funding and mentoring.
Scope: This coordination and support action serves the Missions, namely, “Adaptation to
Climate Change: Support at least 150 European regions and communities to become climate
resilient by 2030”, “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030”, “Cancer: Improving the lives of
more than 3 million people by 2030 through prevention, cure and for those affected by cancer
including their families, to live longer and better”, “100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by
2030”, and “A Soil Deal for Europe: 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition
towards healthy soils by 2030”, by replicating and enhancing existing, demonstrably
successful product, services, business model, organizational, governance, and other social
innovations capable of addressing objectives appropriate for the Missions at European scale.
Social innovation concerns the development of new products, methods, and services for and
with society involving not only citizens, but also public authorities, business and industry, and
academia—i.e., the four constituencies of the “Quadruple Helix”—in their design,
development, and execution. Social innovation engages and empowers citizens, enhances the
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resilience of communities, increases the relevance, acceptance and uptake of innovation, and
helps foster lasting changes in social practices, therefore acting as a system changer. It thus
helps answering societal and environmental challenges, connecting society with innovation.
EU Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation provide many examples of existing,
demonstrably successful social innovations in very diverse thematic areas. Quantitative and/or
qualitative indicators demonstrating success may include, e.g., reductions in energy costs
expressed in EUR, Joules, or kWh, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions or increases in
greenhouse gas capture in t(CO2eq), adoption of climate-related emergency plans or climate-
resilient cropping systems, or number of jobs secured by a reskilling programme in areas
traditionally depending on fossil fuel exploitation for employment; increases in fish
population/school sizes, reductions in counts of microplastic particulates in water samples,
area of coral reef restored in square kilometers, number of clean-up campaigns and cleaned-
up areas in square kilometers; number of fatal cancers prevented, additional years of quality
life or reduction in disability-adjusted life year (DALYs) in years; number of users switching
to carbon-neutral modes of transportation or number of climate-neutral buildings; surfaces of
rehabilitated soils in hectares, or increases in counts of species/individual of a given fungus,
plant, animal, etc. species. Yet, the development of synergies with other public or private
funding schemes may lead to the selection of social innovations elaborated independently.
The call targets
   i. for the consortium that will manage the project, a diverse assemblages of actors of social
      innovation, i.e., public authorities, academia, business, citizens and citizens’
      organizations;
  ii. for the creation of the fund, national research and innovation funding agencies,
      philanthropists, and other public or private investors; and
 iii. for the replication of social innovations, as beneficiaries of third party financing through
      open calls, social innovators, social enterprises, companies working for reaching social
      impact and/or with a specific consideration of social impact, etc.
In relation with item (i), applicants are therefore encouraged to constitute a consortium that
includes representatives of the public sector, the private sector, academia, and civil society.
E.g., respectively, national, regional, and local government administrations and agencies;
foundations, venture philanthropists, impact investors, industry, entrepreneurs, local
businesses, and social enterprises; universities and research and technology organisation;
social service providers, social innovators, Living Labs, Fab Labs, Third Places/Tiers-Lieux,
and participants in the Makers Movement. Applicants are also encouraged to build on relevant
ongoing activities undertaken by the Missions such as Missions Platforms.
In order to help Missions achieve their objectives, the consortium will undertake the
following activities, i.e.,
  1. set up a European Social Innovation Catalyst Fund (“the Fund”) to ensure adequate
      financial support for replicating existing, demonstrably successful social innovations.
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     The Fund will be funded jointly by the European Commission and by funding secured
     by the members of the consortium. The consortium is invited to combine Horizon
     Europe and other public and private funding including philanthropic sources to form a
     dedicated facility to support successful social innovations. Blending Horizon Europe and
     other public and private resources would translate into a meaningful innovation in terms
     of EU co-investment schemes for social and environmental good, building on the
     Horizon 2020 European Social Catalyst Fund pilot 647 . The EU will contribute a
     maximum of one quarter of the Fund. Accounting for financial investment calendars, the
     creation of the Fund should take no more than six months to a year;
  2. put forward open calls for proposals for the replication of existing social innovations
     demonstrated as successful based on quantitative and qualitative data that combine (i) a
     high potential to help each of the Missions achieve a selected number of their key
     objectives and (ii) a high potential for replication as documented by a replication plan.
     Notably, some of the existing, demonstrably successful social innovation projects could
     support more than one Mission by helping them achieve objectives that they share. The
     Fund will support third parties not only in terms of financing, but also of advisory,
     networking, and any other means objectively increasing the chances of success of the
     replication projects. The open call must be published widely, including on the Horizon
     Europe Participant Portal and through National Contact Points. Proposals should clearly
     indicate which mission(s) their social innovation will support;
  3. select the most promising and relevant social innovations on the basis of (i) their
     relevance to the Missions, (ii) the documentation of their success, and (iii) the credibility
     of their replication plan, including their ability to start delivering results within two to
     three years after the start of their implementation. Cross-Mission social innovation
     projects that serve several Missions at once are encouraged. Specifically, the proposal
     should define the process for selecting the plans for replication for which the consortium
     will grant financial support. This should include the process of selecting, allocating and
     reporting on the use of independent experts and ensuring no conflicts of interest. The
     description of the selection process should also clearly detail the criteria for awarding
     financial support and simple and comprehensive criteria for calculating the exact amount
     of such support. The consortium should refer to the Mission Implementation Plans when
     developing selection criteria. The selection process must also ensure that one or more
     replication plans are implemented per Mission and that the portfolio of selected projects
     covers all the Missions in a balanced, comparable, and equitable manner. The selected
     replication plans should make evident the potential to replicate different existing,
     demonstrably successful social innovations at European, national, regional and/or local
     scale in at least three different Member States and/or Associated Countries. The
     selection process should take no more than six months to a year;
647
        See also the Cordis Fact Sheet: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/870757.
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  4. support through funding and mentoring the execution of the replication plans that will
      have been selected. The EU contribution to funding the execution of each replication
      plan will account for a maximum of one quarter of its cost;
  5. oversee—rather than manage—and monitor the roll out of the replication plans by their
      authors. The roll out of the execution of the plans should take no more than two to three
      years; and
  6. measure and communicate on the impact achieved via online platforms.
The consortium may wish to run the creation of the Fund (activity 1), and the publication of a
calls for proposals and the selection of social innovations (activities 2 and 3) partially or
totally in parallel.
The proposal should include detailed management and financial plans. The consortium
should, in particular, specify how it will monitor and report call results, assess the quality of
the outcomes, allocate funding to replication plans, support the roll out of the replication plans
through funding and mentoring, and evaluate impact.
For information, it is estimated that the roll out of one social innovation at national scale takes
indicatively three years and requires around EUR 1 million per year The figures are neither
minima, nor maxima—only estimates. Indeed, the actual total budget necessary will depend
on the nature and specifics of the social innovation, and the time and scale of deployment.
The proposal should establish the capacity of the consortium to manage portfolios of projects
in different countries.
The EU estimates that a maximum 6% of the EU contribution is enough to operate the Fund.
Nonetheless, this does not preclude the consortium using a different percentage of the EU
contribution for its operation when duly justified. As the EU will contribute 25% of the total
budget and expects the consortium to spend around 6% of the EU contribution on
management costs, the EU expects around 98.5% (100% – (25% × 6%)) of the fund to
support third parties.
The consortium will cooperate with the relevant Commission services to ensure that the
Project contributes to the objectives of the Missions and, in particular, when it develops
selection criteria to select the most promising and relevant social innovations. The consortium
should constitute portfolios of projects covering all Missions in an equal manner. The
consortium will have to document that it has done so.
Actions funded by the Fund should envisage, as appropriate, cooperation with other ongoing
and future social innovation projects funded under Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe projects
for, inter-alia, cross-project co-operation, consultations and knowledge exchange, joint
activities on crosscutting issues as well as participating in joint meetings and communication
events, especially where they relate to Missions. Applicants should plan the necessary budget
to cover those activities without the need to define concrete common actions at this stage.
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Call - National Contact Points Network
                                                                        HORIZON-MISS-2022-NCP-01
Conditions for the Call
Indicative budget(s)648
                  Topics                        Type        Budgets          Expected EU             Number
                                                  of          (EUR          contribution per             of
                                               Action        million)        project (EUR            projects
                                                                              million)649            expected
                                                               2022                                    to be
                                                                                                      funded
                                            Opening: 12 May 2022
                                          Deadline(s): 27 Sep 2022
HORIZON-MISS-2022-NCP-01-01 CSA                           1.50 650       Around 1.50                 1
Overall indicative budget                                 1.50
General conditions relating to this call
Admissibility conditions                                    The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex A.
Eligibility conditions                                      The conditions are described in General
                                                            Annex B.
Financial and operational capacity and                      The criteria are described in General Annex
exclusion                                                   C.
Award criteria                                              The criteria are described in General Annex
                                                            D.
648
        The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or
        after the envisaged date(s) of opening.
        The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
        All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
        The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
        budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
649
        Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
        amounts.
650
        Of which EUR 0.37 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.18 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.27
        million from the 'Health' budget and EUR 0.03 million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and
        EUR 0.63 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.02 million from the
        'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget.
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Documents                                            The documents are described in General
                                                     Annex E.
Procedure                                            The procedure is described in General
                                                     Annex F.
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant              The rules are described in General Annex G.
Agreements
Proposals are invited against the following topic(s):
HORIZON-MISS-2022-NCP-01-01: Creating a transnational network of National
Contact Points (NCPs) for EU Missions
Specific conditions
Expected EU           The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 1.50
contribution per      million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.
project               Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a
                      proposal requesting different amounts.
Indicative budget     The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.50 million.
Type of Action        Coordination and Support Actions
Eligibility           The conditions are described in General Annex B. The following
conditions            exceptions apply:
                      The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
                      Applicants must be Horizon Europe national support structures (e.g.
                      NCP) responsible for EU Missions and officially nominated to the
                      Commission, from a Member State or Associated Country.
Expected Outcome: This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing
to all the expected impacts of all destinations of the Missions Work Programme.
To that end, proposals under this topic should aim for delivering results that are directed
towards and contributing to all of the following expected outcomes:
   An improved and professionalised NCP service across Europe, thereby helping simplify
      access to EU Missions calls, lowering the entry barriers for newcomers, and raising the
      average quality of proposals submitted.
   A more consistent level of NCP support services across Europe.
   Mobilising expertise from across all of the clusters, as well as from the other pillars of
      Horizon (a whole of programme approach) and into other policy areas thus reflecting the
      ‘beyond R&I’ nature of the missions, as well as outreach activities to the most relevant
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    national and regional networks that support dissemination of other major EU funding
    programmes and support EU-wide engagement of major relevant EU policy actions.
   Triggering societal transformations by encouraging applicants to enhance citizen
    engagement and actions widely relevant to society.
Scope:
   Proposals should aim to facilitate transnational cooperation between National Contact
    Points (NCPs) for EU Missions with a view to identifying and sharing good practices
    and raising the general standard of support to programme applicants.
   The network will organise NCP Information Days, NCP trainings, brokerage events for
    potential participants and provide suitable tools and instruments to support NCPs, as
    well as to Missions’ target group (government, researchers and innovators, education
    institutions, small and large businesses, investors and civil society). Other matchmaking
    instruments may be used as appropriate. Where relevant, synergies should be sought
    with relevant networks targeting the Missions’ target group. Activities supporting the
    societal dimension of the Missions should be put forward.
   To achieve its expected outcomes and objectives the NCP network should establish close
    cooperation and exploit synergies with other relevant thematic and horizontal HE NCP
    support structures. Close coordination and/or integration with the current Horizon
    Europe NCP Portal is expected to maximize synergies and efficiency in this respect.
   The proposed structure and activities of the EU Missions NCP network should interact
    with the mission hubs established within Member States and Associated Countries,
    which will build national structures (at national and regional level) between ministries
    and agencies for example, in ways that foster information exchanges related to the
    missions.
   Special attention should be given to enhancing the competence of NCPs, including
    helping less experienced NCPs rapidly acquire the know-how built up in other countries.
   In this sense, contributions from this network to the Virtual Campus hosted under the
    Horizon Europe NCP Portal is more that welcomed to achieve such objective.
   The consortium should have a good representation of experienced and less experienced
    NCPs.
   Submission of a single proposal is encouraged and it should cover the whole duration of
    Horizon Europe.
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Other Actions not subject to calls for proposals
Indirectly managed actions
1. EIB Innovation Finance Advisory to support the implementation of EU Missions
Expected Outcomes:
The action is expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes, tailored to the specific
needs and activities of each of the missions that enter the full implementation phase:
     Increased investor engagement;
     Development of new/better financing ecosystems;
Expected Impact:
Proposals should set out a credible pathway to contributing to several of the following
impacts:
     Financial viability of missions: Long term financial viability of a mission through the
      European Multiannual Financial Framework and the mobilising of other sources of
      funding which will together enable the missions to achieve their ambitious objectives
      and societal impact. This will be enabled through effective use of appropriate financing
      tools, instruments and models.
     Sound financing of large projects: Sound financing of large, complex demonstration or
      flagship projects, which are expected to play an important part in achieving the missions’
      objectives.
     Missions implemented through a portfolio of different activities planned over time and
      building on each other.
Scope:
This action supports initial Innovation Finance Advisory services for the first year of the
implementation of the missions under an advisory agreement with the EIB Group for the
implementation of the InvestEU Advisory Hub, or any other contractual/legal agreement that
is deemed appropriate by the implementing partners. The scope and budget of the activity will
be aligned to reflect the Commission’s decision making with regard to the full implementation
phase of missions and the cooperation between the European Commission and the EIB651.
EU missions, rooted in research and innovation, aim to deliver public goods and societal
impact. In order to reach their ambitious objectives, significant financing needs are expected
651
         The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
         budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
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along the entire value chain, including basic research, high risk innovation, demonstration,
deployment and market penetration.
Part of this financing will be come from funding instruments under the European Multiannual
Financial Framework. However, these will not be sufficient and other sources of funding will
need to be mobilised.
Taking into account other relevant actions in particular those being supported by Horizon
Europe, the Innovation Finance Advisory services will support the identification of
investment sources and outreach and engagement with potential investors or other types of
funding models and mechanisms including through social innovation. This will contribute to
the development of a pool of public and private actors and a variety of approaches that
contribute to achieving a mission’s objectives. Special attention will be given to identify
investment sources in those Member States or Associated Countries that are lagging behind in
terms of such investments. Relevant existing and new financial advisory activities will be
taken into consideration.
The foreseen advisory services will contribute to the understanding and use of appropriate
financing tools and models and instruments of actions, including the development of blended
instruments under InvestEU, ensuring effective financing to reach mission objectives. For
each of the missions (and their implementation teams) that enter the full implementation
phase, based on their specific needs and activities, the scope of the advice and assistance will
be:
    identification of investment sources and outreach and engagement with potential
      investors or other types of funding models and mechanisms including through social
      innovation to contribute to the development of a pool of public and private actors and a
      variety of approaches that contribute to achieving a mission’s objectives;
    mobilising of the EU Multiannual Financial Framework and other sources of funding
      including Venture Capital, Corporate Venture Capital, National Promotional Banks,
      Private Equity, commercial banks and strategic investors;
    Identification and dissemination of knowledge on the use and development of financial /
      blended instruments, investor interest to catalyse private and public capital and
      investment gaps;
    Making recommendations on financing models which specifically target the delivery of
      public goods;
    Providing upstream financial structuring advice for mission demonstration/pilot projects
      and other funding intensive mission activities;
    Acting as financial advisory to individual (complex) flagship projects and other
      investment of mission activities.
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The use of an indirectly managed action on the basis that the beneficiary, the EIB Innovation
Finance Advisory, is uniquely placed to deliver this wide range of financing advisory
services, which will be of high added value to deliver the missions’ objectives, has proven
capacity to make the required expertise available, building on the track record developed
under the joint EC-EIB InnovFin Advisory programme.
Legal entities:
EIB Innovation Finance Advisory, 98-100, boulevard Konrad Adenauer L-2950 Luxembourg
Form of Funding: Indirectly managed actions
Type of Action: Indirectly managed action
Indicative timetable: 2nd quarter of 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 2.00 million from the 2021 budget652
Procurement actions
1. Informing citizens and stakeholders about EU Missions and engaging them in the
implementation of EU Missions
Description:
The success of missions depends to a great extent on the engagement of an informed
community of stakeholders and citizens. Therefore, the objective of this action - a
continuation of the current communication and citizens’ engagement actions for missions - is
to inform and engage citizens and stakeholders to be able to effectively launch and start
implementing the missions. Actions will include:
     a Europe-wide, multilingual communication campaign to raise the awareness of missions
      among relevant audiences;
     a series of interactive offline and online events in the Member States, EEA and
      Associated countries;
     setting up of a digital platform to ensure transparency and to facilitate stakeholder and
      citizen engagement, including building of EU missions community through a
      multilingual approach.
Form of Funding: Procurement
652
         Of which EUR 0.38 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
         Environment' budget,EUR 0.58 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.29 million
         from the 'Health' budget,EUR 0.58 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget,EUR 0.07
         million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget,EUR 0.09 million from the 'Culture, creativity and
         inclusive society' budget.
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Type of Action: Public procurement
Indicative timetable: 2nd Quarter 2021 – 2nd Quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 2.00 million from the 2021 budget653
Other budget implementation instruments
1. External expertise for advice on the next phases of the design and implementation of
missions for Horizon Europe 654
Objectives and scope:
Subject to the decision to launch missions to the full implementation phase, and in line with
the Specific Programme implementing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for
Research and Innovation, the objective is to create five new expert groups (mission boards),
with up to 15 experts in each, to provide advice which will support the work of the European
Commission in the implementation phase of specific missions for Horizon Europe.
These specific missions are based on five mission areas:
     Cancer
     Adaptation to climate change
     Ocean, seas and waters
     Climate-neutral and smart cities
     Soil health and food
Missions are currently in the preparatory phase and subject to confirmation will be launched
in full by the end of 2021. The scope of work for the expert groups will be centred on the
whole of the Pillar ‘Global Challenges and Competitiveness of European Industry' under
Horizon Europe.
Type of advice:
The experts to be included in the expert groups will be required to provide advice based on
deep knowledge on fields corresponding to the implementation of mission oriented
programmes corresponding to those of the missions that are proposed above, including
knowledge in business, economic social and environmental programmes, research and
innovation and expertise in cross-sector/cross-border collaboration, governance, citizen
653
        Of which EUR 0.38 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget,EUR 0.58 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.29 million
        from the 'Health' budget,EUR 0.07 million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget,EUR 0.58
        million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget,EUR 0.09 million from the 'Culture, creativity
        and inclusive society' budget.
654
        This action was not implemented in year 2021 and it will be implemented instead in year 2022 with the
        action HORIZON-MISS-2022-EC.
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engagement etc., as well as country and regional interests. It will include advice on achieving
synergies between Horizon Europe missions and other EU programmes and policy areas, and
with similar style missions at the national level, taking into account the international research
and innovation field.
Description of the mandate/tasks
Each informal expert group will have the same set of advisory tasks, relevant to its mission. It
will advise, without having decision-making powers, the Commission upon the following:
  a. Input to the preparation of content of Work Programmes and their revision as needed for
      achieving the mission objectives, with input from stakeholders and, where relevant, the
      general public;
 b. characteristics of project portfolios for missions;
  c. adjustment actions, or termination if appropriate, based on implementation assessments
      according to the defined objectives of the mission;
 d. strategic advice on the profile of independent expert evaluators following the provisions
      of the Framework Programme, briefing of expert evaluators and evaluation criteria and
      their weighting;
  e. framework conditions which help achieve the objectives of the mission;
  f. communication, including on the performance and the achievements of the mission;
 g. policy coordination between relevant actors at different levels, in particular regarding
      synergies with other Union policies;
 h. key performance indicators.
The advisory role of the mission boards will be very closely managed in support of the
dialogue with the Member States and countries associated to Horizon Europe, and to respect
conflict of interest and confidentiality notably when pertaining to the Horizon Europe work
programme and on evaluation aspects.
The mission boards will provide high-level advice to the Commission of such a nature that
without their input the implementation of missions would not achieve the desired large scale
and breadth of impact. In light of this, and as highly qualified, specialised, independent
experts who will be selected following a public call for applications, on the basis of objective
criteria, it is justified that the members of the mission boards will be remunerated for the
services they offer pursuant Article 21 of the horizontal rules.
A special allowance of EUR 450/day for each full working day spent assisting the
Commission in terms of Article 21 of Decision C (2016)3301 will be paid to the experts
appointed in their personal capacity who act independently and in the public interest.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
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Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative timetable: 3rd Quarter of 2021 to 4th Quarter of 2022 (to be extended subject to the
confirmation of the missions in the implementation phase).
Indicative budget: EUR 1.50 million from the 2021 budget655
2. External expertise for advice on the next phases of the design and implementation of
missions for Horizon Europe
Objectives and scope:
In line with the Specific Programme implementing Horizon Europe – the Framework
Programme for Research and Innovation, the objective is to create five new expert groups
(mission boards), with up to 15 experts in each, to provide advice which will support the work
of the European Commission in the implementation phase of specific missions for Horizon
Europe.
These specific missions are:
     Adaptation to Climate Change: support at least 150 European regions and communities
      to become climate resilient by 2030;
     Cancer: working with Europe's Beating Cancer Plan to improve the lives of more than 3
      million people by 2030 through prevention, cure and solutions to live longer and better;
     Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030;
     100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030;
     A Soil Deal for Europe: 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition towards
      healthy soils by 2030.
The scope of work for the expert groups will be centred on the whole of the Pillar ‘Global
Challenges and Competitiveness of European Industry' under Horizon Europe.
Type of advice:
The experts to be included in the expert groups will be required to provide advice based on
deep knowledge on fields corresponding to the implementation of mission oriented
programmes corresponding to those of the missions above, including knowledge in business,
economic social and environmental programmes, research and innovation and expertise in
cross-sector/cross-border collaboration, governance, citizen engagement etc., as well as
country and regional interests. It will include advice on achieving synergies between Horizon
655
         Of which EUR 0.29 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
         Environment' budget,EUR 0.44 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.22 million
         from the 'Health' budget,EUR 0.44 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget,EUR 0.05
         million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget,EUR 0.07 million from the 'Culture, creativity and
         inclusive society' budget.
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Europe missions and other EU programmes and policy areas, and with similar style missions
at the national level, taking into account the international research and innovation field.
Description of the mandate/tasks
Each informal expert group will have the same set of advisory tasks, relevant to its mission. It
will advise, without having decision-making powers, the Commission upon the following:
  a. Input to the preparation of content of Work Programmes and their revision as needed for
      achieving the mission objectives, with input from stakeholders and, where relevant, the
      general public;
  b. characteristics of project portfolios for missions;
  c. adjustment actions, or termination if appropriate, based on implementation assessments
      according to the defined objectives of the mission;
  d. strategic advice on the profile of independent expert evaluators following the provisions
      of the Framework Programme, briefing of expert evaluators and evaluation criteria and
      their weighting;
  e. framework conditions which help achieve the objectives of the mission;
  f. communication, including on the performance and the achievements of the mission;
  g. policy coordination between relevant actors at different levels, in particular regarding
      synergies with other Union policies;
  h. key performance indicators.
The advisory role of the mission boards will be very closely managed in support of the
dialogue with the Member States and countries associated to Horizon Europe, and to respect
conflict of interest and confidentiality notably when pertaining to the Horizon Europe work
programme and on evaluation aspects.
The mission boards will provide high-level advice to the Commission of such a nature that
without their input the implementation of missions would not achieve the desired large scale
and breadth of impact. In light of this, and as highly qualified, specialised, independent
experts who will be selected following a public call for applications, on the basis of objective
criteria, it is justified that the members of the mission boards will be remunerated for the
services they offer pursuant Article 21 of the horizontal rules.
A special allowance of EUR 450/day for each full working day spent assisting the
Commission in terms of Article 21 of Decision C (2016)3301 will be paid to the mission
board experts and their chairs appointed in their personal capacity who act independently and
in the public interest.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
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Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative timetable: 1st Quarter 2022 – 2nd Quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 1.50 million from the 2022 budget656
3. Experts assisting the monitoring of actions
This action will support the use of appointed independent experts for the monitoring of
running actions (grant agreement, grant decision, public procurement actions, financial
instruments) funded under Horizon Europe and previous Framework Programmes for
Research and Innovation, and where appropriate include ethics checks.
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative timetable: 2nd-3rd quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.40 million from the 2022 budget657
4. Expert group for advice on the monitoring of EU Missions
The experts will support the development of a monitoring framework for EU Missions in
order to provide evidence base for the strategic discussions and input to the review foreseen in
2023 by Article 11 of the Horizon Europe regulation. The group will focus, for example, on
supporting the identification of gaps and emerging opportunities in the missions’ landscape
and supporting the preparedness of Member States and Associated Countries' participation in
the process. Their work will also contribute to the implementation of the future revised policy
approach for EU Missions. The activities carried out by the group will be essential to the
development and monitoring of the Union policy on Research, technological development and
demonstration. The specialist skills required and the demanding nature of the work
necessitates highly qualified experts, which will be selected on the basis of objective criteria
following a call for applications published in accordance with Article 10 of Decision
C(2016)3301. Therefore, a special allowance of EUR 450/day for each full working day spent
assisting the Commission will be paid to the experts appointed in their personal capacity who
act independently and in the public interest in terms of Article 21 of Decision C(2016)3301.
This amount is considered to be proportionate to the specific tasks to be assigned to the
experts, including the number of meetings to be attended and possible preparatory work.
656
        Of which EUR 0.29 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget,EUR 0.44 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.22 million
        from the 'Health' budget,EUR 0.44 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget,EUR 0.05
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget,EUR 0.07 million from the 'Culture, creativity and
        inclusive society' budget.
657
        Of which EUR 0.10 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget,EUR 0.05 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.07 million
        from the 'Health' budget,EUR 0.01 million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget,EUR 0.17
        million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget,EUR 0.01 million from the 'Culture, creativity
        and inclusive society' budget.
                                           Part 12 - Page 352 of 367
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                                                     Missions
Form of Funding: Other budget implementation instruments
Type of Action: Expert contract action
Indicative timetable: 3rd quarter 2022- 4th quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.30 million from the 2022 budget658
Scientific and technical services by the Joint Research Centre
1. Scientific and technical services to the Mission on ‘Climate-neutral and smart
cities’659
The purpose of this action is to provide scientific and technical support towards achieving
climate-neutrality at urban level, in line with the European Green Deal 660 objectives and the
proposed mission on climate-neutral and smart cities. The activities will provide extended
data, methodologies and analysis for accelerating the transition towards climate-neutrality
throughout European cities.
This activity will focus on mapping and supporting European cities’ needs and ambitions to
achieve climate-neutrality, through a mission-oriented approach. It will increase cities’
awareness and preparedness, aiming at widening participation and tackling entry-level
barriers. It will also increase knowledge on European cities wide challenges and support the
definition of incentive schemes for a wide range of cities. This activity will capitalise on
existing proved R&I solutions and packages of measures assessed against existing or new
‘climate-neutrality’ indicators, and will ensure conditions for their transferability between
different urban contexts. It should therefore propose a set of indicators to assess impact of
solutions, especially to prevent rebound effects and support positive spill-over and it will
identify pathways for achieving climate neutrality. Such criteria should also include
reflections on climate adaptation spill-over positive and negative effects, contributing to the
upcoming New EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change.661
This activity will be implemented in close coordination with the Commission’s mission
owners group.
The activity will be structured around three main outputs:
658
        Of which EUR 0.07 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget,EUR 0.04 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.05 million
        from the 'Health' budget,EUR 0.01 million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget,EUR 0.13
        million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget,EUR 0.00 million from the 'Culture, creativity
        and inclusive society' budget.
659
        This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
        R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from the delegation to
        Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
660
        COM(2019)        640     final:   The     European     Green    Deal_      https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
        content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52019DC0640&from=EN
661
        https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12381-EU-Strategy-on-
                                            Part 12 - Page 353 of 367
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                                                     Missions
     Development of a ‘Self-assessment toolkit for cities’ climate-neutrality pathway’;
     Mapping of European cities’ preparedness level and ambition;
     Mapping of proved R&I solutions and conditions enabling their transferability.
The listed activities should ensure the uptake and capitalisation of the existing European
urban initiatives and policies, while also considering the necessary interaction with the one-
stop-shop to be established under the Horizon 2020 topic LC-GD-1-2-2020 on ‘Towards
Climate-Neutral and Socially Innovative Cities’ 662. The action should last indicatively one
year, starting with the mapping of European cities preparedness level and ambition as an
intermediate milestone.
Form of Funding: Direct action grants
Type of Action: Provision of technical/scientific services by the Joint Research Centre
Indicative timetable: 2nd Quarter of 2021
Indicative budget: EUR 1.00 million from the 2021 budget663
Grant to identified beneficiaries
1. OECD Benchmarking Study on Missions Implementation 664
Expected outcomes:
The action would be expected to provide:
     Principles and measures of performance built into design of missions’ governance,
      notably between national and regional and local actions;
     Adopted process and procedure for portfolio implementation, including selection
      criteria;
     Diffusion and extension of pathways for inter-connecting missions at national, regional
      and local level.
Expected impact:
     European eco-system for sustained mission performance.
Scope:
OECD to provide a benchmarking of practices in relevant countries.
662
         https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/lc-gd-1-
         2-2020
663
         Of which EUR 1.00 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget.
664
         This activity directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for
         R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from the delegation to
         Executive Agencies and will be implemented by the Commission services.
                                             Part 12 - Page 354 of 367
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                                                    Missions
This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195 (e) of the
Financial Regulation and Article 20 of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and Rules
for Participation to the legal entity identified below as the OECD has unique access to
countries where missions have been developed and expertise in the study of mission oriented
innovation policies, and the proposed action would build on the recently completed study.
• The governance of the implementation of missions (allowing in practice to manage/steer a
portfolio of activities/instruments);
• The processes related to the implementation of a portfolio approach (what selection criteria,
what mode of portfolio management);
• The connections/interlinkages between EU missions and EU Member States, EEA and
Associated countries related activities (e.g. joint governance, international cooperation etc.).
Legal entities:
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2 Rue André Pascal, 75016 Paris,
France
Form of Funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals
Type of Action: Grant to identified beneficiary according to Financial Regulation Article
195(e) - Coordination and support action
The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award
criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and
operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in parts A to G of the General
Annexes.
Indicative timetable: 3rd Quarter 2021 – 3rd Quarter 2022
Indicative budget: EUR 0.15 million from the 2021 budget665
665
         Of which EUR 0.03 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
         Environment' budget,EUR 0.04 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget,EUR 0.02 million
         from the 'Health' budget,EUR 0.04 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget,EUR 0.01
         million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget,EUR 0.01 million from the 'Culture, creativity and
         inclusive society' budget.
                                            Part 12 - Page 355 of 367
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                                                   Missions
Budget666
                                                       Budget               2021              2022
                                                       line(s)       Budget (EUR        Budget (EUR
                                                                          million)          million)
Calls
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-01                                                        5.00
                                                    from                          1.00
                                                    01.020240
                                                    from                          2.50
                                                    01.020250
                                                    from                          1.50
                                                    01.020260
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CLIMA-02                                                      110.00
                                                    from                          1.33
                                                    01.020220
                                                    from                          2.60
                                                    01.020230
                                                    from                         10.78
                                                    01.020240
                                                    from                         63.59
                                                    01.020250
                                                    from                         31.70
                                                    01.020260
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01                                                                        115.32
                                                    from                                             2.40
                                                    01.020220
                                                    from                                             2.30
                                                    01.020230
                                                    from                                            14.62
666
      The budget figures given in this table are rounded to two decimal places.
      The budget amounts are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general
      budget of the Union for years 2021 and 2022.
                                          Part 12 - Page 356 of 367
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                                     Missions
                                       01.020240
                                       from                          68.64
                                       01.020250
                                       from                          27.36
                                       01.020260
HORIZON-MISS-2021-UNCAN-01                                     3.00
                                       from                    3.00
                                       01.020210
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CANCER-02                                  125.65
                                       from                   92.35
                                       01.020210
                                       from                    1.48
                                       01.020220
                                       from                   31.81
                                       01.020240
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CANCER-01                                         126.00
                                       from                         100.44
                                       01.020210
                                       from                           2.56
                                       01.020220
                                       from                          23.00
                                       01.020240
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-01                                     5.00
                                       from                    2.50
                                       01.020250
                                       from                    2.50
                                       01.020260
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-02                                    57.00
                                       from                    0.74
                                       01.020220
                                       from                    1.44
                                       01.020230
                             Part 12 - Page 357 of 367
 ---pagebreak---                    Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                     Missions
                                       from                   5.98
                                       01.020240
                                       from                  35.27
                                       01.020250
                                       from                  13.57
                                       01.020260
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-03                                   19.00
                                       from                   0.25
                                       01.020220
                                       from                   0.48
                                       01.020230
                                       from                   1.99
                                       01.020240
                                       from                  11.76
                                       01.020250
                                       from                   4.52
                                       01.020260
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-04                                   19.00
                                       from                   0.25
                                       01.020220
                                       from                   0.48
                                       01.020230
                                       from                   1.99
                                       01.020240
                                       from                  11.76
                                       01.020250
                                       from                   4.52
                                       01.020260
HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-05                                    9.00
                                       from                   0.12
                                       01.020220
                                       from                   0.23
                                       01.020230
                             Part 12 - Page 358 of 367
 ---pagebreak---                     Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                      Missions
                                        from                    0.94
                                        01.020240
                                        from                    5.57
                                        01.020250
                                        from                    2.14
                                        01.020260
HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01                                           106.00
                                        from                           2.36
                                        01.020220
                                        from                           2.26
                                        01.020230
                                        from                          14.38
                                        01.020240
                                        from                          67.54
                                        01.020250
                                        from                          19.46
                                        01.020260
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-01                                        4.00
                                        from                    4.00
                                        01.020250
HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02                                      117.00
                                        from                    1.46
                                        01.020220
                                        from                    2.83
                                        01.020230
                                        from                   11.75
                                        01.020240
                                        from                   69.35
                                        01.020250
                                        from                   31.61
                                        01.020260
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CIT-01                                              42.00
                              Part 12 - Page 359 of 367
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                                      Missions
                                        from                         0.86
                                        01.020220
                                        from                         0.84
                                        01.020230
                                        from                         5.72
                                        01.020240
                                        from                        25.32
                                        01.020250
                                        from                         9.25
                                        01.020260
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-01                                      5.00
                                        from                   5.00
                                        01.020260
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02                                     62.00
                                        from                   1.37
                                        01.020220
                                        from                   2.67
                                        01.020230
                                        from                  11.10
                                        01.020240
                                        from                  46.86
                                        01.020260
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOIL-01                                           95.00
                                        from                         2.63
                                        01.020220
                                        from                         2.51
                                        01.020230
                                        from                        16.00
                                        01.020240
                                        from                        73.86
                                        01.020260
HORIZON-MISS-2022-                                                  20.00
                              Part 12 - Page 360 of 367
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                                     Missions
OCEANCLIMA-01                          from                         0.43
                                       01.020220
                                       from                         0.41
                                       01.020230
                                       from                         2.62
                                       01.020240
                                       from                        12.32
                                       01.020250
                                       from                         4.21
                                       01.020260
HORIZON-MISS-2021-COOR-01                                     2.00
                                       from                   0.29
                                       01.020210
                                       from                   0.09
                                       01.020220
                                       from                   0.07
                                       01.020230
                                       from                   0.58
                                       01.020240
                                       from                   0.58
                                       01.020250
                                       from                   0.38
                                       01.020260
HORIZON-MISS-2021-NEB-01                                     25.00
                                       from                   3.67
                                       01.020210
                                       from                   1.16
                                       01.020220
                                       from                   0.85
                                       01.020230
                                       from                   7.28
                                       01.020240
                                       from                   7.28
                             Part 12 - Page 361 of 367
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                                      Missions
                                        01.020250
                                        from                  4.77
                                        01.020260
HORIZON-MISS-2022-SOCIALCAT-                                       30.00
01
                                        from                        5.44
                                        01.020210
                                        from                        0.38
                                        01.020220
                                        from                        0.51
                                        01.020230
                                        from                        3.42
                                        01.020240
                                        from                       12.72
                                        01.020250
                                        from                        7.53
                                        01.020260
HORIZON-MISS-2022-NCP-01                                            1.50
                                        from                        0.27
                                        01.020210
                                        from                        0.02
                                        01.020220
                                        from                        0.03
                                        01.020230
                                        from                        0.18
                                        01.020240
                                        from                        0.63
                                        01.020250
                                        from                        0.37
                                        01.020260
Other actions
                              Part 12 - Page 362 of 367
 ---pagebreak---                                Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                                    Missions
Public procurement                                                      See footnote667      See footnote668
                                                     from                            2.29                 2.04
                                                     01.020210
                                                     from                            0.35                 0.09
                                                     01.020220
                                                     from                            0.58                 0.04
                                                     01.020230
                                                     from                            2.69                 0.71
                                                     01.020240
                                                     from                            9.84                 1.13
                                                     01.020250
                                                     from                            6.89                 0.33
                                                     01.020260
Service Level Agreement                                                 See footnote669      See footnote670
                                                     from                            0.03                 0.02
                                                     01.020220
                                                     from                            0.05                 0.02
                                                     01.020230
                                                     from                            0.20                 0.11
                                                     01.020240
667
       To which EUR 6.89 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 2.69 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 2.29
       million from the 'Health' budget and EUR 0.58 million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and
       EUR 9.84 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.35 million from the
       'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget will be added making a total of EUR 22.64 million for
       these actions.
668
       To which EUR 0.33 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 0.71 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 2.04
       million from the 'Health' budget and EUR 0.04 million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and
       EUR 1.13 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.09 million from the
       'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget will be added making a total of EUR 4.33 million for
       these actions.
669
       To which EUR 0.60 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 0.20 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 1.20
       million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.05 million from the 'Civil Security
       for Society' budget and EUR 0.03 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget will
       be added making a total of EUR 2.08 million for these actions.
670
       To which EUR 0.21 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 0.11 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.52
       million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.02 million from the 'Civil Security
       for Society' budget and EUR 0.02 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget will
       be added making a total of EUR 0.88 million for these actions.
                                           Part 12 - Page 363 of 367
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                                                    Missions
                                                     from                           1.20                  0.52
                                                     01.020250
                                                     from                           0.60                  0.21
                                                     01.020260
Grant to identified beneficiary according                               See footnote671      See footnote672
to Financial Regulation Article 195(e)
                                                     from                           0.02                  0.80
                                                     01.020210
                                                     from                           0.01                  0.02
                                                     01.020220
                                                     from                           0.01
                                                     01.020230
                                                     from                           0.04                  0.18
                                                     01.020240
                                                     from                           0.04
                                                     01.020250
                                                     from                           0.03
                                                     01.020260
Grant awarded without a call for                                        See footnote673
proposals according to Financial
                                                     from                           0.07
Regulation Article 195
                                                     01.020220
                                                     from                           0.14
                                                     01.020230
                                                     from                           0.56
                                                     01.020240
671
       To which EUR 0.03 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 0.04 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.02
       million from the 'Health' budget and EUR 0.04 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget
       and EUR 0.01 million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.01 million from the
       'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget will be added making a total of EUR 0.15 million for
       these actions.
672
       To which EUR 0.18 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.80 million from
       the 'Health' budget and EUR 0.02 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget will
       be added making a total of EUR 1.00 million for these actions.
673
       To which EUR 1.29 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 0.56 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 3.31
       million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.14 million from the 'Civil Security
       for Society' budget and EUR 0.07 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget will
       be added making a total of EUR 5.37 million for these actions.
                                           Part 12 - Page 364 of 367
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                                                    Missions
                                                     from                           3.31
                                                     01.020250
                                                     from                           1.29
                                                     01.020260
Expert contract action                                                  See footnote674     See footnote675
                                                     from                           0.22                 0.35
                                                     01.020210
                                                     from                           0.07                 0.08
                                                     01.020220
                                                     from                           0.05                 0.07
                                                     01.020230
                                                     from                           0.44                 0.54
                                                     01.020240
                                                     from                           0.44                 0.81
                                                     01.020250
                                                     from                           0.29                 0.48
                                                     01.020260
Specific grant agreement                                                                    See footnote676
                                                     from                                                1.79
                                                     01.020220
                                                     from                                                1.75
                                                     01.020230
674
       To which EUR 0.29 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 0.44 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.22
       million from the 'Health' budget and EUR 0.44 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget
       and EUR 0.05 million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.07 million from the
       'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget will be added making a total of EUR 1.50 million for
       these actions.
675
       To which EUR 0.48 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 0.54 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.35
       million from the 'Health' budget and EUR 0.07 million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and
       EUR 0.81 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.08 million from the
       'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget will be added making a total of EUR 2.32 million for
       these actions.
676
       To which EUR 19.21 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
       Environment' budget and EUR 11.88 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR
       52.60 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget and EUR 1.75 million from the 'Civil
       Security for Society' budget and EUR 1.79 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society'
       budget will be added making a total of EUR 87.24 million for these actions.
                                           Part 12 - Page 365 of 367
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                                                     Missions
                                                      from                                              11.88
                                                      01.020240
                                                      from                                              52.60
                                                      01.020250
                                                      from                                              19.21
                                                      01.020260
Provision of technical/scientific services                               See footnote677
by the Joint Research Centre
                                                      from                           0.07
                                                      01.020220
                                                      from                           0.13
                                                      01.020230
                                                      from                           0.56
                                                      01.020240
                                                      from                           2.19
                                                      01.020250
                                                      from                           2.05
                                                      01.020260
Indirectly managed action                                                See footnote678
                                                      from                           0.29
                                                      01.020210
                                                      from                           0.09
                                                      01.020220
                                                      from                           0.07
                                                      01.020230
                                                      from                           0.58
                                                      01.020240
677
        To which EUR 2.05 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.56 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.13
        million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 2.19 million from the 'Climate, Energy
        and Mobility' budget and EUR 0.07 million from the 'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget
        will be added making a total of EUR 5.00 million for these actions.
678
        To which EUR 0.38 million from the 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and
        Environment' budget and EUR 0.58 million from the 'Digital, Industry and Space' budget and EUR 0.29
        million from the 'Health' budget and EUR 0.58 million from the 'Climate, Energy and Mobility' budget
        and EUR 0.07 million from the 'Civil Security for Society' budget and EUR 0.09 million from the
        'Culture, creativity and inclusive society' budget will be added making a total of EUR 2.00 million for
        these actions.
                                            Part 12 - Page 366 of 367
 ---pagebreak---                        Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                         Missions
                                           from                    0.58
                                           01.020250
                                           from                    0.38
                                           01.020260
Estimated total budget                                           606.39 631.60
                                 Part 12 - Page 367 of 367
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      ANNEX XIII
       “Annex XIII
     Horizon Europe
Work Programme 2021-2022
   13. General Annexes
            ”
 ---pagebreak---                                   Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                                      General Annexes
Table of contents
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 3
GENERAL CONDITIONS ........................................................................................................ 4
A — Admissibility ..................................................................................................................... 4
B — Eligibility ........................................................................................................................... 5
C — Financial and operational capacity and exclusion ........................................................... 15
D — Award criteria .................................................................................................................. 18
E — Documents ....................................................................................................................... 22
F — Procedure ......................................................................................................................... 23
G — Legal and financial set-up of the grant agreements ......................................................... 26
SPECIFIC CONDITIONS FOR ACTIONS WITH PCP/PPI .................................................. 33
H — Specific conditions for actions implementing pre-commercial procurement or
procurement of innovative solutions ........................................................................................ 33
                                                    Part 13 - Page 2 of 41
 ---pagebreak---                             Horizon Europe - Work Programme 2021-2022
                                          General Annexes
INTRODUCTION
These General Annexes set out the general conditions applicable to calls and topics for grants
and other forms of funding under the Horizon Europe main work programme. They also
describe the evaluation and award procedures and other criteria for Horizon Europe funding.
If a topic deviates from the general conditions or includes additional conditions, this is
explicitly stated under the specific conditions for the topic.
Applicants are invited to read the call documentation on the topic page of the Funding &
Tenders Portal (‘Portal’) carefully, and particularly these General Annexes, the Horizon
Europe Programme Guide, the EU Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual and the EU
Grants AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement. These documents provide clarifications and
answers to questions on preparing the application.
        The General Annexes outline the:
            o admissibility and eligibility conditions, and the criteria for financial and
                operational capacity and exclusion (Annexes A-C);
            o award criteria, mandatory documents and evaluation procedure (Annexes D-F);
            o legal and financial set-up of the grant agreements (Annex G);
            o specific conditions applying to actions which include pre-commercial
                procurement or procurement of innovative solutions (Annex H).
        The Programme Guide outlines the:
            o detailed guidance on the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon
                Europe.
        The Online Manual outlines the:
            o procedures to register and submit applications online via the EU Funding &
                Tenders Portal and recommendations on preparing the application.
        The AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement contains:
            o detailed annotations on all the provisions in the grant agreement that must be
                signed to obtain the grant.
   Please note that calls launched by the European Research Council (ERC), the European
Innovation Council (EIC), the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), the
Institutionalised European Partnerships based on Articles 185 and 187 of the Treaty on the
Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), calls under the Euratom Research and Training
Programme and the activities of the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) are
subject to separate work programmes and thus not covered by these General Annexes.
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GENERAL CONDITIONS
A — Admissibility
Admissibility
Applications must be submitted before the call deadline.
Applications must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal electronic
submission system (accessible via the topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section).
Paper submissions are NOT possible.
Applications must be submitted using the forms provided inside the electronic submission
system (not the templates available on the topic page, which are only for information). The
structure and presentation must correspond to the instructions given in the forms.
Applications must be complete and contain all parts and mandatory Annexes and supporting
documents (see Annex E).
Applications must be readable, accessible and printable.
Applications must include a plan for the exploitation and dissemination of results
including communication activities, unless provided otherwise in the specific call
conditions. The plan is not required for applications at the first stage of two-stage procedures.
If the expected exploitation of the results entails developing, creating, manufacturing and
marketing a product or process, or in creating and providing a service, the plan must include a
strategy for such exploitation. If the plan provides for exploitation of the results primarily in
non-associated third countries, the legal entities must explain how that exploitation is still to
be considered in the EU’s interest.
Applicants submitting a proposal under the blind evaluation pilot (see Annex F) must not
disclose their identity (e.g. organisation names, acronyms, logos, names of personnel) in Part
B of their first-stage application (see Annex E).
Page limits
In addition to the above admissibility conditions, page limits will apply to parts of
applications. The page limits, and sections subject to limits, will be clearly shown in the
application templates in the Funding & Tenders Portal electronic submission system.
Unless provided otherwise in the specific call conditions, the limit for a full application is
45 pages (except for ‘Coordination and support’ actions, where the limit is 30 pages, and for
‘Programme co-fund’ actions, where the limit is 70 pages).
The limit for a first-stage application is 10 pages.
If an application exceeds the limits, there will be an automatic warning and invitation to re-
submit a version that conforms to these limits. After the call deadline, excess pages will be
automatically made invisible, and will not be taken into consideration by the evaluators.
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                                               General Annexes
B — Eligibility
Entities eligible to participate
Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from non-
associated third countries or international organisations (including international European
research organisations1) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not),
provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met,
along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call topic.
A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under
national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting
in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal
personality2.
Beneficiaries and affiliated entities must register in the Participant Register before submitting
their application, in order to get a participant identification code (PIC) and be validated by the
Central Validation Service (REA Validation) before signing the grant agreement. For the
validation, they will be asked to upload the necessary documents showing their legal status
and origin during the grant preparation stage. A validated PIC is not a prerequisite for
submitting an application.
Specific cases:
Affiliated entities — Affiliated entities (i.e. entities linked to a beneficiary3 which participate
in the action with similar rights and obligations to the beneficiaries, but which do not sign the
grant agreement and therefore do not become beneficiaries themselves) are allowed, if they
fulfil the eligibility conditions.
Associated partners — Associated partners (i.e. entities which participate in the action
without signing the grant agreement, but without the right to charge costs or claim
contributions) are allowed.
Entities without legal personality — Entities which do not have legal personality under their
national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives have the
capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offer guarantees to protect the
EU’s financial interests equivalent to those offered by legal persons4.
EU bodies — Legal entities created under EU law including decentralised agencies may be
part of the consortium, unless provided for otherwise in their basic act.
1
  ‘International European research organisation’ means an international organisation, the majority of whose
members are Member States or Associated Countries, and whose principal objective is to promote scientific and
technological cooperation in Europe.
2
  See Article 197(2)(c) EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046.
3
  See Article 187 EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046.
4
  See Article 197(2)(c) EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046.
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Joint Research Centre — Where provided for in the specific call conditions, applicants may
include in their proposals the possible contribution of the JRC but the JRC will not participate
in the preparation and submission of the proposal. Applicants will indicate the contribution
that the JRC could bring to the project based on the scope of the topic text. After the
evaluation process, the JRC and the consortium selected for funding may come to an
agreement on the specific terms of the participation of the JRC. If an agreement is found, the
JRC would accede to the grant agreement as beneficiary requesting zero funding and would
accede to the consortium as a member.
Associations and interest groupings — Entities composed of members (e.g. European
research infrastructure consortia (ERICs)) may participate as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or
‘beneficiaries without legal personality’5. However, if the action is in practice implemented
by the individual members, those members should also participate (either as beneficiaries or
as affiliated entities, otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible).
Restrictions on participation or control — For actions related to EU strategic assets,
interests, autonomy or security, the specific topic conditions may limit participation to legal
entities established only in EU Member States or in EU Member States and specific
associated or non-associated third countries. In addition, for duly justified and exceptional
reasons, to guarantee protection of the strategic interests of the EU and its Member States, the
specific call conditions may also exclude the participation of legal entities directly or
indirectly controlled from non-associated third countries (or make their participation subject
to specific conditions). In this case, the eligible countries will be identified in the specific call
conditions.
EU restrictive measures — Special rules apply for entities from certain countries (e.g. when
entities are subject to EU restrictive measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European
Union (TEU) and Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)6). Such
entities are not eligible to participate in any capacity, including as beneficiaries, affiliated
entities, associated partners, third parties giving in-kind contributions, subcontractors or
recipients of financial support to third parties (if any). Given the illegal invasion of Ukraine
by Russia and the involvement of Belarus, there is currently no appropriate context allowing
the implementation of the actions foreseen in this programme with legal entities established in
Russia, Belarus, or in non-government controlled territories of Ukraine. Therefore, such legal
entities are not eligible to participate in any capacity. Exceptions may be granted on a case-
by-case basis for justified reasons. This criterion also applies in cases where the action
involves financial support given by grant beneficiaries to third parties established in Russia,
Belarus or in non-government controlled territories of Ukraine. (in accordance with Article
204 of the Financial Regulation No 2018/1046).
5
  See Articles 187(2) and 197(2)(c) EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046.
6
  Please note that the EU Official Journal contains the official list and, in case of conflict, its content prevails
over that of the EU Sanctions Map.
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                                                 General Annexes
Special rules also apply to entites covered by Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/057.
     For more information, see Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and
Financial Capacity Assessment.
Entities eligible for funding
To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
      – the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions;
      – the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States8;
      – eligible non-EU countries:
               -    countries associated to Horizon Europe9;
                    At the date of the publication of the work programme, there are no countries
                    associated to Horizon Europe. Considering the Union’s interest to retain, in
                    principle, relations with the countries associated to Horizon 2020, most third
                    countries associated to Horizon 2020 are expected to be associated to Horizon
                    Europe with an intention to secure uninterrupted continuity between Horizon
                    2020 and Horizon Europe. In addition, other third countries can also become
                    associated to Horizon Europe during the programme. For the purposes of the
                    eligibility conditions, applicants established in Horizon 2020 Associated
                    Countries or in other third countries negotiating association to Horizon Europe
                    will be treated as entities established in an Associated Country, if the Horizon
                    Europe association agreement with the third country concerned applies at the
                    time of signature of the grant agreement.
               -    low- and middle-income countries10.
Legal entities which are established in countries not listed above will be eligible for funding if
provided for in the specific call conditions, or if their participation is considered essential for
implementing the action by the granting authority.
Specific cases:
Affiliated entities — Affiliated entities are eligible for funding if they are established in one
of the countries listed above.
7
   Commission guidelines No 2013/C 205/05 on the eligibility of Israeli entities and their activities in the
territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 for grants, prizes and financial instruments funded by the EU from
2014 onwards (OJEU C 205 of 19.07.2013, pp. 9-11).
8
  Entities from Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) are eligible for funding under the same conditions as
entities from the Member States to which the OCT in question is linked. See the Horizon Europe Programme
Guide for a complete list of OCTs.
9
  Please see the Horizon Europe Programme Guide on the Portal for up-to-date information on the current list
and on the position for Associated Countries.
10
   See the Horizon Europe Programme Guide on the Portal for a complete list of these countries.
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                                                General Annexes
EU bodies — Legal entities created under EU law may also be eligible to receive funding,
unless their basic act states otherwise.
International organisations — International European research organisations are eligible to
receive funding. Unless their participation is considered essential for implementing the action
by the granting authority, other international organisations are not eligible to receive funding.
International organisations with headquarters in a Member State or Associated Country are
eligible to receive funding for ‘Training and mobility’ actions and when provided for in the
specific call conditions.
Consortium composition
Unless otherwise provided for in the specific call conditions, legal entities forming a
consortium are eligible to participate in actions provided that the consortium includes:
         at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State; and
         at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member
          States or Associated Countries.
The JRC, international European research organisations and legal entities created under EU
law are deemed to be established in a Member State other than those in which the other legal
entities participating in the action are established.
Applications for ‘Training and mobility’ actions and for ‘Programme co-fund’ actions may be
submitted by one or more legal entities, provided that one of those legal entities is established
in a Member State or an Associated Country.
Applications for ‘Coordination and support’ actions may be submitted by one or more legal
entities, which may be established in a Member State, Associated Country or, in exceptional
cases and if provided for in the specific call conditions, in another third country.
Applications for ‘Pre-commercial procurement’ actions and ‘Public procurement of
innovative solutions’ actions must include as beneficiaries a ‘buyers’ group’. This group must
consist of a minimum of two independent legal entities that are public procurers 11 , each
established in a different Member State or Associated Country and with at least one of them
established in a Member State.
Eligible activities
Eligible activities are the ones described in the call conditions.
Projects must focus exclusively on civil applications and must not:
         aim at human cloning for reproductive purposes;
11
   ‘Public procurers’ are organisations that are contracting authorities or contracting entities as defined in EU
public procurement directives 2014/24/EU, 2014/25/EU, and 2009/81/E.
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        intend to modify the genetic heritage of human beings which could make such changes
         heritable (except for research relating to cancer treatment of the gonads, which may be
         financed);
        intend to create human embryos solely for the purpose of research, or for the purpose
         of stem cell procurement, including by means of somatic cell nuclear transfer.
Projects must, moreover, comply with EU policy interests and priorities (environment, social,
security, industrial policy, etc.).
The following activities are generally eligible for grants under Horizon Europe:
Research and innovation actions (RIA) — Activities that aim primarily to establish new
knowledge or to explore the feasibility of a new or improved technology, product, process,
service or solution. This may include basic and applied research, technology development and
integration, testing, demonstration and validation of a small-scale prototype in a laboratory or
simulated environment.
Innovation actions (IA) — Activities that aim directly to produce plans and arrangements or
designs for new, altered or improved products, processes or services. These activities may
include prototyping, testing, demonstrating, piloting, large-scale product validation and
market replication.
Coordination and support actions (CSA) — Activities that contribute to the objectives of
Horizon Europe. This excludes R&I activities, except those carried out under the ‘Widening
participation and spreading excellence’ component of the programme (part of ‘Widening
participation and strengthening the European Research Area’). Also eligible are bottom-up
coordination actions which promote cooperation between legal entities from Member States
and Associated Countries to strengthen the European Research Area, and which receive no
EU co-funding for research activities.
Programme co-fund actions (CoFund) — A programme of activities established or
implemented by legal entities managing or funding R&I programmes, other than EU funding
bodies. Such a programme of activities may support: networking and coordination; research;
innovation; pilot actions; innovation and market deployment; training and mobility;
awareness raising and communication; and dissemination and exploitation. It may also
provide any relevant financial support, such as grants, prizes and procurement, as well as
Horizon Europe blended finance12 or a combination thereof. The actions may be implemented
by the beneficiaries directly or by providing financial support to third parties.
Innovation and market deployment actions (IMDA) — Activities that embed an innovation
action and other activities necessary to deploy an innovation on the market. This includes the
scaling-up of companies and Horizon Europe blended finance.
12
   ‘Horizon Europe blended finance’ means financial support for innovation and market deployment activities,
consisting of a specific combination of a grant or reimbursable advance and an investment in equity or any other
repayable form of support.
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Training and mobility actions (TMA) — Activities that aim to improve the skills, knowledge
and career prospects of researchers, based on mobility between countries and, if relevant,
between sectors or disciplines.
Pre-commercial procurement actions (PCP) — Activities that aim to help a transnational
buyers’ group to strengthen the public procurement of research, development, validation and,
possibly, the first deployment of new solutions that can significantly improve quality and
efficiency in areas of public interest, while opening market opportunities for industry and
researchers active in Europe. Eligible activities include the preparation, management and
follow-up, under the coordination of a lead procurer, of one joint PCP and additional activities
to embed the PCP into a wider set of demand-side activities.
Public procurement of innovative solutions actions (PPI) — Activities that aim to
strengthen the ability of a transnational buyers’ group to deploy innovative solutions early by
overcoming the fragmentation of demand for such solutions and sharing the risks and costs of
acting as early adopters, while opening market opportunities for industry. Eligible activities
include preparing and implementing, under the coordination of a lead procurer, one joint or
several coordinated PPI by the buyers’ group and additional activities to embed the PPI into a
wider set of demand-side activities.
Technology Readiness Levels
Where the specific call conditions require a Technology Readiness Level (TRL), the
following definitions apply, unless otherwise specified:
       TRL 1 — Basic principles observed
       TRL 2 — Technology concept formulated
       TRL 3 — Experimental proof of concept
       TRL 4 — Technology validated in a lab
       TRL 5 — Technology validated in a relevant environment (industrially relevant
        environment in the case of key enabling technologies)
       TRL 6 — Technology demonstrated in a relevant environment (industrially relevant
        environment in the case of key enabling technologies)
       TRL 7 — System prototype demonstration in an operational environment
       TRL 8 — System complete and qualified
       TRL 9 — Actual system proven in an operational environment (competitive
        manufacturing in the case of key enabling technologies, or in space)
Ethics
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Projects must comply with ethical principles (including the highest standards of research
integrity) and applicable EU, international and national law.
Applicants must have completed the ethics self-assessment as part of their application.
    For more information, see How to complete your ethics self-assessment.
Projects involving ethics issues will have to undergo an ethics review to authorise funding and
may be made subject to specific ethics requirements. These requirements become part of the
grant agreement as ethics deliverables, e.g. ethics committee opinions/authorisations required
under national or EU law.
Security — EU-classified and sensitive information
Projects involving classified and/or sensitive information will have to go through the security
appraisal process to authorise funding and may be made subject to specific security rules
(detailed in the Security Section, which is annexed to the grant agreement). Specific
provisions for EU-classified information (EUCI) and sensitive information (SEN) will be
included in the grant agreement, as necessary and appropriate.
The rules for protecting EU-classified information (governed by Commission Decision (EU,
Euratom) 2015/44413 and/or national rules) provide for instance that:
         projects involving information classified as TRES SECRET UE/EU TOP SECRET (or
          equivalent) can NOT be funded;
         EU-classified information must be marked in accordance with the applicable security
          instructions in the Classification Guide appendix of the Security Aspects Letter (SAL),
          which is contained in the Security Section of the grant agreement;
         generation of, or access to, information with classification levels CONFIDENTIEL
          UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL or above (and RESTREINT UE/EU RESTRICTED, if
          required by national rules) may take place only on the premises of entities which have
          been granted a facility security clearance (FSC) issued by the competent national
          security authority (NSA);
         handling of information classified CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL or
          above (and RESTREINT UE/EU RESTRICTED, if required by national rules) may
          take place only in a secured area accredited by the competent NSA;
         access to and handling of information classified CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU
          CONFIDENTIAL or above (and RESTREINT UE/EU RESTRICTED, if required by
          national rules) may be granted only to individuals with a valid personnel security
          clearance (PSC) and an established need-to-know, who have been briefed on the
          applicable security rules;
13
   See Commission Decision 2015/544/EU, Euratom of 13 March 2015 on the security rules for protecting EU
classified information (OJ L 72, 17.3.2015, p. 53.
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       access to, and handling of, information classified RESTREINT UE/EU RESTRICTED
        may be granted only to individuals who have a need-to-know and have been briefed
        on the applicable security rules;
       at the end of the grant, the classified information must either be returned or continue to
        be protected according to the applicable rules;
       subcontracting of tasks involving EU-classified information is subject to prior written
        approval by the European Commission, which is the originator of EU-classified
        information. It is only possible to subcontract these tasks to entities established in an
        EU Member State or in a non-EU country with a security of information agreement
        with the EU (or an administrative arrangement with the Commission);
       disclosure of EU-classified information is subject to prior written approval by the
        European Commission.
Depending on the type of activity, FSCs may have to be provided before the grant is signed.
The granting authority will assess this for each case and fix the delivery date during the grant
preparation stage. It is not possible to sign any grant agreement before at least one of the
beneficiaries in the consortium has a FSC.
In certain cases, the project results might not require classification, but they might be sensitive
and require restricted disclosure or limited dissemination for security reasons, according to the
applicable instructions in the Security Section. This means that, in principle, third parties
should have no access to results subject to this type of restriction. Disclosure of this
information is subject to prior written approval by the European Commission.
Further security recommendations may be added to the grant agreement in the form of
security deliverables (e.g. establishing a security advisory board, appointing a project security
officer, limiting the level of detail, using a fake scenario, etc.).
In addition, beneficiaries must ensure that their projects are not subject to national/third-
country security requirements that could affect implementation or put into question the award
of the grants (e.g. technology restrictions, national security classification, etc.). Any potential
security issues must be notified immediately to the granting authority.
Gender equality plans and gender mainstreaming
To be eligible, legal entities from Member States and Associated Countries that are public
bodies, research organisations or higher education establishments (including private research
organisations and higher education establishments) must have a gender equality plan,
covering the following minimum process-related requirements:
     – publication: a formal document published on the institution’s website and signed by
         the top management;
     – dedicated resources: commitment of resources and expertise in gender equality to
         implement the plan;
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     – data collection and monitoring: sex/gender disaggregated data on personnel (and
         students, for the establishments concerned) and annual reporting based on indicators;
     – training: awareness raising/training on gender equality and unconscious gender biases
         for staff and decision-makers.
Content-wise, it is recommended that the gender equality plan addresses the following areas,
using concrete measures and targets:
     – work-life balance and organisational culture;
     – gender balance in leadership and decision-making;
     – gender equality in recruitment and career progression;
     – integration of the gender dimension into research and teaching content;
     – measures against gender-based violence, including sexual harassment.
A self-declaration will be requested at proposal stage. If all the above-mentioned mandatory
requirements are met through another strategic document, such as a development plan or an
inclusion or diversity strategy, it can be considered as an equivalent. This eligibility criterion
does not apply to other categories of legal entities, such as private for-profit organisations,
including SMEs, non-governmental or civil society organisations.
A transition/grace period will be implemented before full enforcement of this eligibility
criterion for calls with deadlines in 2022. Beneficiaries must also take all measures to promote
equal opportunities between men and women in implementing the action and, where
applicable, in line with their gender equality plan. They must aim to achieve, to the extent
possible, a gender balance at all levels of personnel assigned to the action, including at
supervisory and managerial level.
Financial support to third parties
Where the specific call conditions allow for financial support to third parties, the applicants
must clearly describe the objectives and the expected results, including the elements listed in
the application template. The following conditions must also be fulfilled:
    -   projects must publish their open calls widely and adhere to EU standards of
        transparency, equal treatment, conflict of interest and confidentiality;
    -   all calls for third parties and all calls that are implemented by third parties must be
        published on the Funding & Tenders Portal, and on the beneficiaries’ websites;
    -   the calls must remain open for at least 2 months;
    -   if submission deadlines are changed, this must immediately be announced and
        registered applicants must be informed of the change;
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    -  projects must publish the outcome of the calls without delay, including a description of
       third-party projects, the date of the award, the duration, and the legal name and
       country;
    -  the calls must have a clear European dimension.
Further conditions may be stipulated in the specific conditions for the topic.
   For more information, see AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement, articles 6.2.D.1 and
9.4.
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                                                  General Annexes
 OTHER TYPES OF ACTIONS AND FORMS OF FUNDING
In addition to the eligible activities described in Annex B above, the following types of action and forms of funding
are used in Horizon Europe. They are usually placed in the ‘Other Actions’ section of the work programme parts
and are not all subject to calls for proposals.
     Grants to identified beneficiaries — Exceptionally, a grant may be awarded to legal entities explicitly
      named in the work programme without a prior call for proposals. The identified beneficiaries must
      nevertheless submit a proposal to benefit from funding. This proposal will be evaluated and must exceed the
      required threshold. The funding rates will correspond to the type of action indicated.
     Prizes — Inducement prizes: a prize to stimulate investment in a given area, by specifying a goal prior to the
      work being performed. Contests for inducement prizes must address technological and/or societal challenges.
      The award criteria will define a goal, but without prescribing how to achieve it. Contests for inducement
      prizes are split into awards for the contestant that first meets the specific goal defined in the rules of the
      contest, and awards for the best contestant within a given period. Recognition prizes: a prize to reward past
      achievements and outstanding work after it has been performed. Recognition prizes must help to raise public
      awareness of EU policies, create role models and support best practice exchange. The rules of the contest of a
      specific prize describe the eligibility and award criteria, the evaluation procedure, the indicative timetable and
      the reward. The rules are found on the call topic page on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
     Framework partnerships and specific grant agreements — Framework partnerships are formalised long-
      term cooperation mechanisms involving several or recurring grants. They must be based on jointly agreed
      action plans and agreements that set out the terms and conditions for receiving grants to implement the
      actions, framework partnership agreements (FPA) and specific grant agreements (SGA). The FPA will set out
      the framework conditions governing potential grants to beneficiaries on the basis of an action plan and jointly
      agreed general objectives. The SGA will set out the specific obligations and conditions to implement the
      specific action. The FPA will have no budget; the budget and rules on funding will be set out in each SGA
      and depend on the specific type of action. The establishment of an FPA must take place following a call for
      proposals. Beneficiaries will be identified from the evaluation of the proposals. In a subsequent step,
      beneficiaries may be invited to submit their proposals for the SGA. Framework partnerships do not give the
      partners (i.e. potential beneficiaries) exclusive rights to be awarded the grants covered by the FPAs. SGAs
      must only be signed if the FPA has been signed, and before the end date of the FPA.
     Operating grants — Operating grants provide financial support for the functioning of a body to enable it to
      carry out specific activities set out in the agreed work programme. Operating grants do not support the
      implementation of a specific action, but rather the annual operating budget (or part of it) for certain bodies
      whose statutory activities serve the strategic objectives of EU policies. Operating grants will always be
      mono-beneficiary grants supporting the work programme of only one organisation. Operating grants must
      follow the same rules as described in section G, but they do not differentiate between direct and indirect
      costs. Receiving an operating grant may make beneficiaries ineligible to receive indirect costs in all other EU
      action grants.
     Public procurement — In a public procurement action, the granting authority purchases works, supplies or
      services, or acquires or rents land, buildings or other immovable property. This is done by entering into a
      contract with an economic operator chosen by the granting authority. Before the granting authority enters into
      a procurement contract, a call for tender is published on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
     Expert contract actions — Expert contracts are used to appoint independent expert(s) to advise or assist us.
      Experts are used for evaluating proposals, for evaluating the programme, for ethics screenings and
      assessments, for advisory bodies, and for expertise related to the objectives of Horizon Europe.
     Subscription actions — Subscription actions are used to pay contributions to bodies in which the EU is a
      member or an observer.
     Scientific and technical services by the Joint Research Centre — Scientific and technical services cover
      research and innovation activities undertaken by the Commission through its Joint Research Centre. These
      (non-nuclear) activities are direct actions generating high-quality scientific evidence to support efficient and
      affordable public policies. Horizon Europe’s rules for participation do not apply to these actions.
     Indirectly managed actions — Indirectly managed actions refer to actions implemented by entities which
      are entrusted with implementing EU funds or budgetary guarantees through a contribution agreement.
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C — Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
Financial capacity
Applicants must have stable and sufficient resources to successfully implement the projects
and contribute their share. Organisations participating in several projects must have sufficient
capacity to implement all these projects.
The financial capacity check will be done on the basis of the documents uploaded in the
Participant Register during the grant preparation stage (e.g. profit and loss account and
balance sheet, business plan, audit report produced by an approved external auditor, certifying
the accounts for the last closed financial year, etc.). The analysis will be based on neutral
financial indicators, but will also take into account other aspects, such as dependency on EU
funding and deficit and revenue in previous years.
The check will normally be done for the coordinator if the requested grant amount is equal to
or greater than EUR 500 000, except for:
      public bodies (entities established as a public body under national law, including local,
        regional or national authorities) or international organisations; and
      cases where the individual requested grant amount is not more than EUR 60 000 (low-
        value grant).
If needed, it may also be done for the other applicants, including affiliated entities. If the
financial capacity is structurally guaranteed by another legal entity, the financial capacity of
that legal entity will be verified.
If the granting authority considers that the financial capacity is not satisfactory, they may
require:
      further information;
      an enhanced financial responsibility regime, i.e. joint and several responsibility of
        affiliated entities (see Annex G); and
      prefinancing paid in instalments;
     or
      propose no prefinancing;
      request that the applicant concerned is replaced or, if needed, reject the entire
        proposal.
    For more information, see Rules on Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and
Financial Capacity Assessment.
Operational capacity
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Applicants must have the know-how, qualifications and resources to successfully
implement their tasks in the project and contribute their share (including, when appropriate,
sufficient experience in EU/transnational projects of comparable size).
This assessment of operational capacity will be carried out during the evaluation of the award
criterion ‘Quality and efficiency of the implementation’. It will be based on the competence
and experience of the applicants and their project teams, including their operational resources
(human, technical and other) or, exceptionally, the measures proposed to obtain the necessary
competence and experience by the time the tasks are implemented.
If the evaluation of this award criterion leads to a score above the applicable threshold, then
the applicants are considered to have sufficient operational capacity.
For this assessment, applicants will be required to provide the following information in the
application form (Part B):
      general profiles (qualifications and experience) of the staff responsible for managing
         and implementing the project;
      description of the consortium participants; and
      list of EU-funded actions/projects in the last 4 years.
Additional supporting documents may be requested if they are needed to confirm the
operational capacity of any applicant.
Public bodies, Member State organisations and international organisations are exempted from
the operational capacity check.
Exclusion
Applicants that are subject to EU administrative sanctions (i.e. exclusion)14 or are in one of
the following exclusion situations 15 that bar them from receiving EU grants can NOT
participate:
      bankruptcy, winding up, affairs administered by the courts, arrangement with
         creditors, suspended business activities or other similar procedures (including
         procedures for persons with unlimited liability for the applicant’s debts);
      they are in breach of social security or tax obligations (including if done by persons
         with unlimited liability for the applicant’s debts);
      they are guilty of grave professional misconduct (including if done by persons having
         powers of representation, decision-making or control, beneficial owners or persons
         who are essential for the award/implementation of the grant);
14
   See Article 136 EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046.
15
   See Articles 136 and 141 EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046.
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      they are guilty of fraud, corruption, having links to a criminal organisation, money
         laundering, terrorism-related crimes (including terrorism financing), child labour or
         human trafficking (including if done by persons having powers of representation,
         decision-making or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for the
         award/implementation of the grant);
      they have shown significant deficiencies in complying with their main obligations
         under an EU procurement contract, grant agreement, prize, expert contract, or similar
         (including if done by persons having powers of representation, decision-making or
         control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for the award/implementation
         of the grant);
      they are guilty of irregularities within the meaning of Article 1(2) of Regulation No
         2988/95 (including if done by persons having powers of representation, decision-
         making or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for the
         award/implementation of the grant); or
      they have created under a different jurisdiction an entity with the intent to circumvent
         fiscal, social or other legal obligations in the country of origin or created another entity
         with this purpose (including if done by persons having powers of representation,
         decision-making or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for the
         award/implementation of the grant).
Applicants will also be refused if it turns out that16:
        during the award procedure they misrepresented information required as a condition
         for participating or failed to supply that information; or
        they were previously involved in the preparation of the call and this entails a distortion
         of competition that cannot be remedied otherwise (conflict of interest).
16
   See Article 141 EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046.
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D — Award criteria
Award criteria
If admissible and eligible, the proposals will be evaluated and ranked against the following
award criteria, depending on the type of action:
                            Excellence                         Impact              Quality and efficiency of
                                                                                     the implementation
                    (The following aspects will
                   be taken into account, to the
                  extent that the proposed work
                        corresponds to the
                      description in the work
                            programme)
    Research      -    Clarity and                   -   Credibility of the      -  Quality and
    and                pertinence of the                 pathways to achieve        effectiveness of the
    innovation         project’s objectives,             the expected               work plan, assessment
    actions            and the extent to                 outcomes and               of risks, and
    (RIA)              which the proposed                impacts specified in       appropriateness of the
                       work is ambitious                 the work                   effort assigned to work
    Innovation         and goes beyond the               programme, and the         packages, and the
    actions (IA)       state of the art.                 likely scale and           resources overall.
                                                         significance of the
                  -    Soundness of the                                          -  Capacity and role of
                                                         contributions from
                       proposed [for the                                            each participant, and the
                                                         the project.
                       first stage: overall]                                        extent to which the
                       methodology,                  -   Suitability and quality    consortium as a whole
                       including the                     of the measures to         brings together the
                       underlying concepts,              maximise expected          necessary expertise.
                       models, assumptions,              outcomes and impacts,
                       inter-disciplinary                as set out in the
                       approaches,                       dissemination and
                       appropriate                       exploitation plan,
                       consideration of the              including
                       gender dimension in               communication
                       research and                      activities.
                       innovation content,
                       and the quality of
                       open science practices,
                       including sharing and
                       management of
                       research outputs and
                       engagement of
                       citizens, civil society
                       and end-users where
                       appropriate.
    Coordination -     Clarity and                   -   Credibility of the      -  Quality and
    and support        pertinence of the                 pathways to achieve        effectiveness of the
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actions     project’s objectives.           the expected              work plan, assessment
(CSA)                                       outcomes and              of risks, and
          - Quality of the
                                            impacts specified in      appropriateness of the
            proposed
                                            the work                  effort assigned to work
            coordination and/or
                                            programme, and the        packages, and the
            support measures,
                                            likely scale and          resources overall.
            including soundness
                                            significance of the
            of methodology.                                         - Capacity and role of
                                            contributions from
                                                                      each participant, and the
                                            the project.
                                                                      extent to which the
                                        -   Suitability and quality   consortium as a whole
                                            of the measures to        brings together the
                                            maximise expected         necessary expertise.
                                            outcomes and impacts,
                                            as set out in the
                                            dissemination and
                                            exploitation plan,
                                            including
                                            communication
                                            activities.
Programme - Clarity and pertinence      -   Credibility of the      - Quality and
co-fund     of the project’s                pathways to achieve       effectiveness of the
actions     objectives, and the             the expected outcomes     work plan, assessment
(CoFund)    extent to which the             and impacts specified     of risks, and
            proposed work is                in the work               appropriateness of the
            ambitious, and goes             programme, and the        effort assigned to work
            beyond the state of the         likely scale and          packages, and the
            art.                            significance of the       resources overall.
                                            contributions from the
          - Soundness of the                                        - Capacity and role of
                                            project.
            proposed                                                  each participant, and the
            methodology,                -   Suitability and quality   extent to which the
            including the                   of the measures to        consortium as a whole
            underlying concepts,            maximise expected         brings together the
            models, assumptions,            outcomes and impacts,     necessary expertise.
            inter-disciplinary              as set out in the
            approaches,                     dissemination and
            appropriate                     exploitation plan,
            consideration of the            including
            gender dimension in             communication
            research and                    activities.
            innovation content,
            and the quality of
            open science
            practices, including
            sharing and
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                  management of
                  research outputs and
                  engagement of
                  citizens, civil society
                  and end-users where
                  appropriate.
Innovation    See the European Innovation Council Work Programme.
and market
deployment
actions
(IMDA)
Training and  See the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Work Programme part.
mobility
actions
(TMA)
Pre-          -   Clarity and pertinence      -     Credibility of the               - Quality and
commercial        of the objectives and             pathways to achieve                effectiveness of the
procurement       the extent to which               the expected outcomes              work plan, assessment
                  they are ambitious,               and impacts specified              of risks, and
actions
                  and go beyond the                 in the work                        appropriateness of the
(PCP)             state of the art in               programme.                         effort assigned to work
                  terms of the degree of                                               packages, and the
Public                                        -     Suitability and quality
                  innovation that is                                                   resources overall.
procurement                                         of the measures to
                  needed to satisfy the
of innovative                                       maximise expected                - Capacity and role of
                  procurement need.
                                                    outcomes and impacts,              each participant, and
solutions
              -   Soundness of the                  as set out in the                  the extent to which the
actions (PPI)     proposed                          dissemination and                  consortium as a whole
                  methodology, taking               exploitation* plan,                brings together the
                  into account the                  including                          necessary expertise.
                  underlying concepts               communication
                  and assumptions.                  activities.
                                               *
                                                 For PCP actions and PPI actions,
                                               the exploitation of results by the
                                               beneficiaries means primarily the
                                               use that is made of the innovative
                                               solutions by the procurers/end-users.
                                               The manufacturing and sale of the
                                               innovative solutions are performed
                                               by the suppliers of the solutions,
                                               which are not beneficiaries but
                                               subcontractors.
Framework     -   Clarity and pertinence      -     Credibility of the               - Capacity and role of
Partnership       of the project’s                  action plan of the FPA             each participant, and
Agreements        objectives.                       to achieve the expected            the extent to which the
                                                    outcomes and impacts               consortium as a whole
(FPA)
                                                    specified in the work              brings together the
                                                    programme.                         necessary expertise.
                                                                                     - Potential for long-term
                                                                                       cooperation among
                                                                                       participants.
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Scores and weighting
Evaluation scores will be awarded for the criteria, and not for the different aspects listed in the
table. For full applications, each criterion will be scored out of 5. The threshold for individual
criteria will be 3. The overall threshold, applying to the sum of the three individual scores,
will be 10.
To determine the ranking for ‘Innovation actions’, the score for ‘Impact’ will be given a
weight of 1.5.
Proposals that pass the individual threshold AND the overall threshold will be considered for
funding, within the limits of the available call budget. Other proposals will be rejected.
Two-stage calls
For the evaluation of first-stage applications under a two-stage submission procedure, only the
‘Excellence’ and ‘Impact’ criteria will be evaluated. Within these criteria, only the aspects in
bold will be considered.
The threshold for both individual criteria will be 4. For each indicative budget-split in the call
conditions, the overall threshold applying to the sum of the two individual scores will be set at
a level that ensures the total requested budget of proposals admitted to stage 2 is as close as
possible to three times the available budget, and not less than two and a half times the
available budget. The actual level will therefore depend on the volume of proposals received.
The threshold is expected normally to be set at 8 or 8.5.
The evaluation procedure is explained further in Annex F.
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E — Documents
Submission
All proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funders & Tenders Portal electronic
submission system (accessible via the topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section).
Paper submissions are NOT possible.
Proposals must be complete and contain all parts and mandatory annexes and supporting
documents, e.g. plan for the exploitation and dissemination of the results including
communication activities, etc.
The application form will have two parts:
    – Part A (to be filled in directly online) contains administrative information about the
        applicant organisations (future coordinator and beneficiaries and affiliated entities),
        the summarised budget for the proposal and call-specific questions;
    – Part B (to be downloaded from the Portal submission system, completed and then
        assembled and re-uploaded as a PDF in the system) contains the technical description
        of the project.
Annexes and supporting documents will be directly available in the submission system and
must be uploaded as PDF files (or other formats allowed by the system).
Proposals should be designed to stay as close as possible to the award criteria (see Annex D).
The application form will help to achieve this.
When submitting the proposal, the coordinator will have to confirm that they have the
mandate to act for all applicants. Moreover, they will have to confirm that the information in
the application is correct and complete and that all participants comply with the conditions for
receiving EU funding (especially eligibility, financial and operational capacity, exclusion,
etc.). Before signing the grant, each participant will have to confirm this again by signing a
declaration of honour. Proposals not complying with these requirements will be rejected.
For lump sum grants, when the amount of the lump sum is not fixed in advance, the estimated
budget must be described in a detailed budget table. This will be used as a basis for fixing the
lump sum amount. As the lump sum must be an approximation of the costs actually incurred,
the costs included in this detailed budget table must comply with the basic eligibility
conditions for EU actual cost grants (see AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement, article 6). This
is particularly important for purchases and subcontracting, which must ensure best value for
money (or, if appropriate, the lowest price) and be free from any conflicts of interest. If the
budget table contains ineligible costs, the grants may be reduced (even later on during
implementation of the project or after they end).
    Applicants may be asked at a later stage for further documents (for legal entity validation,
financial capacity check, bank account validation, etc.).
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F — Procedure
Evaluation procedure and ranking
Calls may be subject to either a single-stage submission procedure or a two-stage
submission procedure. The evaluation procedure may be organised in one (standard) or
several steps.
In the first stage of a two-stage submission, applicants will be requested to submit only an
outline application (which will be evaluated against only two award criteria: ‘Excellence’ and
‘Impact’). Successful applicants will be invited to submit a full application for the second
stage (which will be evaluated against the full set of award criteria).
Proposals will be checked for formal requirements (admissibility and eligibility) and then
evaluated (for each topic separately) by an evaluation committee composed of independent
external experts for operational capacity and award criteria (see Annexes C and D) and then
ranked according to their quality score.
Exceptionally, where indicated in the specific call conditions, the evaluation committee may
be composed partially or, in the case of ‘Coordination and support actions’, partially or fully
of representatives of EU institutions.
For proposals with the same score within a single budget envelope (with the exception of the
first stage of two-stage submissions) a method to establish the priority order will be
determined, taking into consideration the objectives of the specific topic. In the absence of
special arrangements in the specific call conditions, the following method will apply:
     For each group of proposals with the same score, starting with the group achieving the
     highest score and continuing in descending order:
     1) Proposals that address aspects of the call that have not otherwise been covered by
        more highly ranked proposals will be considered to have the highest priority.
     2) The proposals identified under 1), if any, will themselves be prioritised according to
        the scores they have been awarded for ‘Excellence’. When these scores are equal,
        priority will be based on scores for ‘Impact’. In the case of ‘Innovation actions’,
        priority will be given to the score for ‘Impact’, followed by that for ‘Excellence’.
     3) If necessary, the gender balance among the personnel named in the proposal who will
        be primarily responsible for carrying out the research and/or innovation activities, and
        who are included in the researchers table in the proposal, will be used as a factor for
        prioritisation.
     4) If necessary, any further prioritisation will be based on geographical diversity, defined
        as the number of Member States or Associated Countries represented in the proposal,
        not otherwise receiving funds from projects higher up the ranking list (and if equal in
        number, then by budget).
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      5) If a distinction still cannot be made, the panel may decide to further prioritise by
           considering other factors related to the objectives of the call, or to Horizon Europe in
           general. These may include, for example, enhancing the quality of the project portfolio
           through synergies between projects or, where relevant and feasible, involving SMEs.
           These factors will be documented in the panel report.
      6) The method described in 1), 2), 3) and 4) will then be applied to the remaining equally
           ranked proposals in the group.
At the end of the evaluation, all applicants will be informed of the result (at the same time, in
an evaluation result letter). Successful proposals will be invited to the next stage, ‘grant
preparation’; the other proposals will be put on the reserve list or rejected.
     No commitment to provide funding — Invitation to the grant preparation stage does NOT
constitute a formal commitment to funding. Various legal checks are still needed before the
grant can be awarded, such as legal entity validation, financial capacity, exclusion check, etc.
     If indicated in the specific call conditions, proposals which were judged to deserve funding
but did not succeed because of budget limits will receive a Seal of Excellence17. With prior
authorisation from the applicant, the granting authority may share information concerning the
proposal and the evaluation with interested financing authorities, subject to the conclusion of
confidentiality agreements.
     Budget flexibility — The budgets set out in the calls and topics are indicative. Unless
otherwise stated, final budgets may change following evaluation. The final figures may
change by up to 20% compared to the total budget indicated in each individual part of the
work programme. Changes within these limits will not be considered substantial within the
meaning of Article 110(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2018/1046.
      Joint and coordinated calls for proposals — In cases of applications for joint or
coordinated calls with third countries (including scientific and technological organisations or
agencies from third countries), international organisations or non-profit legal entities, the joint
selection and evaluation procedures will be indicated in the specific call conditions.
     Blind evaluation pilot – If indicated in the specific call conditions, first-stage proposals of
two-stage submissions will be evaluated blindly 18 and applicants may not disclose their
identity in Part B of their proposal (see Annex A).
Evaluation review procedure
If the consortium believes that the evaluation procedure was flawed, the coordinator can
submit a complaint (following the deadlines and procedures set out in the evaluation result
letter).
17
   https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/seal-excellence_en.
18
   See Horizon Europe Programme Guide for further details.
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Only the procedural aspects of an evaluation may be the subject of a request for an evaluation
review. The evaluation of the merits of a proposal will not be the subject of an evaluation
review.
A request for an evaluation review must relate to a specific proposal and must be submitted
within 30 days after the beneficiary accesses the evaluation results. The maximum size limit
of the request is 5 000 characters. Notifications of evaluation results which have not been
opened in the Funding & Tenders Portal within 10 days after sending are considered to have
been accessed and that deadlines will be counted from the date of opening/access (see also
Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions).
An evaluation review committee will provide an opinion on the procedural aspects of the
evaluation. The evaluation review committee may recommend a re-evaluation of the proposal,
to be carried out by evaluators who were not involved in the previous evaluation, or a
confirmation of the initial evaluation.
Indicative timetable for evaluation and for signature of the grant agreement
Unless otherwise stated in the specific call conditions, the timing for evaluation and grant
preparation is as follows:
     – information on the outcome of the evaluation: around 5 months from the deadline for
         submission;
     – indicative date for the signing of grant agreements: around 8 months from the deadline
         for submission.
For two-stage calls, the timing is a bit different (for the evaluation result: 3 months for the
first stage, 5 months for the second stage, and 8 months for signature of the grant agreement
in the second stage).
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G — Legal and financial set-up of the grant agreements
During the grant preparation stage, the consortium will be asked to prepare the grant
agreement, together with the EU project officer.
This grant agreement will set out the framework for the grant and its terms and conditions,
particularly concerning deliverables, reporting and payments. The applicable model with the
complete text of the provisions is available on the topic page, together with the other call
documentation.
Starting date & project duration
The project starting date and duration will be fixed in the grant agreement (Data Sheet, point
1). Normally, the starting date will be after the grant has been signed. A starting date before
the date the grant is signed (retroactive) can be granted exceptionally for duly justified
reasons.
The project duration is provided in months (extensions will be possible only exceptionally, for
duly justified reasons and if the granting authority agrees).
Milestones and deliverables
The milestones and deliverables for each project will be managed through the grant
management system in the Portal and are reflected in Annex 1 of the grant agreement.
The standard deliverables will be set out in the specific call conditions.
Form of grant, funding rate and maximum grant amount
The grant parameters (maximum grant amount, funding rate, total eligible costs, etc.) will be
fixed in the grant agreement (Data Sheet, point 3 and article 5).
The project budget is provided in EUR. The amount of the grant awarded may be lower than
the amount requested.
For actual cost grants, the grant will be a budget-based, mixed actual cost grant. This means
that it will reimburse ONLY certain types of costs (eligible costs) and ONLY those costs
actually incurred for the project (NOT the budgeted costs).
The costs will be reimbursed at the funding rate fixed in the specific call conditions and in the
grant agreement.
Such grants may NOT produce a profit. If there is a profit (i.e. surplus of revenues + EU grant
over costs), it will be deducted from the final grant amount.
Moreover, the final grant amount may be reduced in case of non-compliance (e.g. improper
implementation, breach of obligations, etc.).
The maximum Horizon Europe funding rates are as follows:
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   – Research and innovation action: 100%
   – Innovation action: 70% (except for non-profit legal entities, where a rate of up to
        100% applies)
   – Coordination and support action: 100%
   – Programme co-fund action: between 30% and 70%
   – Innovation and market deployment: 70% (except for non-profit legal entities, where a
        rate of up to 100% applies)
   – Training and mobility action: 100%
   – Pre-commercial procurement action: 100%
   – Public procurement of innovative solutions action: 50%
Other funding rates may be set out in the specific call conditions.
For lump sum and unit grants, the funding rate is already applied as part of the
methodology for fixing the amounts and is therefore not shown in the grant agreement.
Budget categories and cost eligibility rules
The budget categories and cost eligibility rules are fixed in the grant agreement (Data Sheet,
point 3 and article 6).
Budget categories:
   – actual costs (i.e. costs which are real and not estimated or budgeted) for:
            -   personnel costs (unless declared as a unit cost; see below);
            -   subcontracting costs;
            -   purchase costs (unless declared as a unit cost; see below); and
            -   costs of providing financial support to third parties (if provided for in the
                specific call conditions);
   – units (i.e. an amount per unit) for:
            -   personnel costs of SME owners/natural persons not receiving a salary;
            -   personnel costs calculated by the beneficiaries according to their usual cost
                accounting practices (average personnel costs);
            -   costs of internally invoiced goods and services calculated by the beneficiaries
                according to their usual cost accounting practices; and
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             -   specific unit costs (if provided for in the specific call conditions; see also
                 Annex 2a of the grant agreement);
    – flat-rate (i.e. costs calculated by applying a percentage fixed in advance to other types
        of eligible costs) for:
             -   indirect costs (25% flat-rate of the total eligible direct costs, excluding eligible
                 direct costs for subcontracting, financial support to third parties and any unit
                 costs or lump sums which include indirect costs);
    – lump sum (i.e. a global amount deemed to cover all costs of the action or a specific
        category of costs, if provided for in the specific call conditions).
Within a grant, different forms of costs can be used.
Costs can also be declared under several EU Synergy grants, if provided for in the specific
call conditions and the funding under the grants does not exceed 100% of the costs and
contributions declared to them.
Reporting & payment arrangements
The reporting and payment arrangements are fixed in the grant agreement (Data Sheet, point 4
and articles 21 and 22).
After the grant has been signed, the consortium will normally receive a float to start working
on the project (normally, prefinancing of 100% of the average EU funding per reporting
period (i.e. maximum grant amount/number of periods); exceptionally, less or no
prefinancing). For actions with only one reporting period, it will be less, since 100% would
mean the totality of the grant amount.
At the moment of the prefinancing payment, an amount ranging from 5% to 8% of the
maximum grant amount will be deducted from the prefinancing payment and transferred to
the mutual insurance mechanism. This mechanism covers the risks associated with non-
recovery of sums due from the beneficiaries.
There will be one or several interim payments linked to a periodic report, depending on the
duration of the project.
At the end of the project, the consortium will be invited to submit a report on the basis of
which the final grant amount will be calculated. If the total of earlier payments is higher than
the final grant amount, the beneficiaries concerned (or the coordinator) will be asked to pay
back the difference (recovery).
Certificates
Depending on the size of the grant amount and on the type of beneficiaries, beneficiaries may
be required to submit a certificate on the financial statements. The thresholds for this
certificate are fixed in the grant agreement (Data Sheet, point 4 and article 24).
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                                          General Annexes
Liability regime for recoveries
The liability regime for recoveries is that of individual financial responsibility. Each
beneficiary is liable only for their own debt (and those of its affiliated entities, if any) (Data
Sheet point 4.4 and article 22).
Provisions concerning project implementation
   – Proper implementation of the action (article 11).
   – Conflict of interest (article 12).
   – Confidentiality and security (EU-classified information) (article 13 and Annex 5).
   – Ethics (research integrity) and values (gender mainstreaming) (article 14 and Annex
        5).
   – Data protection (article 15).
   – Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), background and results, access rights and rights of
        use (article 16 and Annex 5). In addition to the standard provisions, the following
        specific provisions in the model grant agreement will apply to all grants awarded
        under this work programme:
                If requested by the granting authority, beneficiaries must grant non-exclusive
                licences to their results – for a limited period of time specified in the request
                and on fair and reasonable conditions – to legal entities that need the results to
                address the public emergency. These legal entities must commit to rapidly and
                broadly exploiting the resulting products and services on fair and reasonable
                conditions. This provision will apply up to 4 years after the end of the action.
                Unless stated otherwise in the specific call conditions, beneficiaries must, up to
                4 years after the end of the action, inform the granting authority if the results
                could reasonably be expected to contribute to European or international
                standards.
                The granting authority may, up to 4 years after the end of the action, object to a
                transfer of ownership or to the exclusive (for Euratom actions, also non-
                exclusive) licensing of results.
   – Communication, dissemination, open science and visibility (article 17 and Annex 5).
        In addition to the standard provisions, the following specific provisions in the model
        grant agreement will apply to all grants awarded under this work programme:
                Beneficiaries must provide (digital or physical) access to data or other results
                needed to validate the conclusions of scientific publications, to the extent that
                their legitimate interests or constraints are safeguarded (and unless they
                already provided the (open) access at publication).
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                                          General Annexes
               In case of a public emergency, if requested by the granting authority,
               beneficiaries must immediately deposit any research output in a repository and
               provide open access to it under a CC BY licence, a public domain dedication
               (CC 0) or equivalent.
               As an exception, if providing open access would be against the beneficiaries’
               legitimate interests, the beneficiaries must grant non-exclusive licences, on fair
               and reasonable conditions, to legal entities that need the research output to
               address the public emergency. These legal entities must commit to rapidly and
               broadly exploiting the resulting products and services on fair and reasonable
               conditions. This exception is limited to 4 years after the end of the action.
    – Specific rules for carrying out the action (article 18 and Annex 5).
Other provisions may be set out in the specific call conditions.
Non-compliance and breach of contract
The grant agreement (Chapter 5) provides for the measures that may be taken in case of
breach of contract (and other violations of law).
   For more information, see the AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement.
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                                               General Annexes
  IMPORTANT
  Do not wait until the end — Complete the application sufficiently in advance of the deadline to avoid any
   last minute technical problems. Problems due to last-minute submissions (e.g. congestion, etc.) will be
   entirely at applicants’ own risk. Call deadlines can NOT be extended at the request of applicants.
  Consult the topic page on the Portal regularly. The granting authority will use it to publish updates and
   additional information on the call (call updates).
  Funding & Tenders Portal electronic exchange system — By submitting the application, all applicants
   accept to use the electronic exchange system in accordance with the Portal Terms & Conditions.
  Registration — Before submitting the application, all beneficiaries and affiliated entities must be
   registered in the Participant Register. The participant identification code (PIC) (one per participant) is
   mandatory for the application form. Associated partners can register later on (at the latest during the grant
   preparation stage). For validation, beneficiaries and affiliated entities will be requested to upload the
   necessary documents showing their legal status and origin during the grant preparation stage.
  Consortium roles — When setting up the consortium, applicants should think of organisations that can
   help them reach objectives and solve problems.
   The roles should be attributed according to the degree of participation of each participant in the project.
   Main participants should participate as beneficiaries or affiliated entities; other entities can participate as
   associated partners, subcontractors, or third parties giving in-kind contributions. Associated partners and
   third parties giving in-kind contributions should bear their own costs (they will not become formal
   recipients of EU funding). Subcontracting should normally constitute a limited part and must be performed
   by third parties (not by one of the beneficiaries/affiliated entities, see section G).
  Coordinator — In multi-beneficiary grants, the beneficiaries participate as a consortium (group of
   beneficiaries). They will have to choose a coordinator, who will manage and coordinate the project and
   will represent the consortium towards the granting authority. In mono-beneficiary grants, the single
   beneficiary will automatically be the coordinator.
  Affiliated entities — Applicants may participate with affiliated entities. Affiliated entities will get a part
   of the EU funding and must therefore comply with all the call conditions (just like beneficiaries). But they
   do not sign the grant agreement and do not count towards the minimum eligibility criteria for consortium
   composition (if any).
  Associated partners — Applicants may participate with associated partners. They participate without
   funding and without signing the grant agreement and therefore do not need to be validated.
  Consortium agreement — For practical and legal reasons, it is recommended to set up internal
   arrangements that allow the consortium to deal with exceptional or unforeseen circumstances (in all cases,
   even if not mandatory under the grant agreement). The consortium agreement also gives the possibility to
   redistribute the EU funding according to internal consortium principles and arrangements (for instance, one
   beneficiary can reattribute their grant share to another beneficiary). The consortium agreement thus allows
   the grant to be customised to the needs of the consortium and can also help to protect the members in case
   of disputes. Consortium agreements are not required for mono-beneficiary projects.
  Completed/ongoing projects — Applications for projects that have already been completed will be
   rejected. Applications for projects that have already started will be assessed on a case-by-case basis (in
   such cases, no costs can be reimbursed for activities that took place before the application was submitted).
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                                               General Annexes
 No-profit rule — Grants may NOT give a profit (i.e. surplus of revenues + EU grant over costs). This will
  be checked by the granting authority at the end of the project.
 No double funding — There is strict prohibition of double funding from the EU budget. Any given action
  may receive only ONE grant from the EU budget (except for EU Synergy grants) and costs may under NO
  circumstances be declared to two different EU actions.
 Combination with EU operating grants — Combination with EU operating grants is possible, if the
  project remains outside the operating grant work programme and the beneficiary makes sure that cost items
  are clearly separated in its accounting and NOT declared twice (see AGA — Annotated Model Grant
  Agreement, article 6.2.E).
 Multiple applications — Applicants may submit more than one application for different projects under the
  same call (and be awarded funding for them).
  Organisations may participate in several applications.
  BUT: if there are several applications for the same/very similar project, only one application will be
  accepted and evaluated; the applicants will be asked to withdraw one of them (or it will be rejected).
 Language — Applicants can submit their application in any official EU language. However, for reasons of
  efficiency, it is strongly advised to use English. If applicants need the call documentation in another
  official EU language, they must submit a request within 10 days after publication of the call (for the
  contact information, see topic page).
 Rejection — By submitting the application, all applicants accept the general call conditions set out in the
  General Annexes and the specific call conditions set out in the topics. Applications that do not comply with
  all the call conditions will be rejected. This applies also to applicants: all applicants need to fulfil the
  criteria; if any one of them does not, they must be replaced or the entire application will be rejected.
 Cancellation — There may be circumstances which may require the cancellation of the call. In this case,
  applicants will be informed via a call update. Cancellations are without entitlement to compensation.
 Transparency — In accordance with Article 38 of the EU Financial Regulation, information about EU
  grants awarded is published each year on the Europa website.
  This includes:
      o      beneficiaries’ names;
      o      beneficiaries’ addresses;
      o      the purpose for which the grant was awarded;
      o      the maximum amount awarded.
  Publication can exceptionally be waived (following a reasoned and duly substantiated request), if there is a
  risk that disclosure could jeopardise applicants’ rights and freedoms under the EU Charter of Fundamental
  Rights or harm its commercial interests.
 Data protection — The submission of an application under this call involves the collection, use and
  processing of personal data. This data will be processed in accordance with Regulation 2018/1725. It will
  be processed solely for the purpose of evaluating the application (and subsequent management of the grant
  and, if needed, programme monitoring, evaluation and communication). Details are explained in the
  Funding & Tenders Portal privacy statement.
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                                                   General Annexes
SPECIFIC CONDITIONS FOR ACTIONS WITH PCP/PPI
H — Specific conditions for actions implementing pre-commercial procurement or
procurement of innovative solutions
This Annex applies to all types of actions implementing pre-commercial procurement (PCP)
and procurement of innovative solutions (PPI). It applies to both PCP/PPI actions and other
types of actions which prepare and/or execute a PCP or PPI, for instance through
subcontracting activities.
Requirements for all types of actions supporting PCP or PPI
The PCP/PPI must be prepared and executed by one of the following:
     -   by one or more public procurer(s), plus possibly one or more private and/or NGO
         procurer(s) that provide similar services of public interest, that is (are) responsible for
         the acquisition and/or regulatory strategy of the relevant innovative solutions and aim
         to obtain ambitious quality and efficiency improvements in the area of the PCP/PPI; or
     -   by entities with a mandate from one or more of these procurers to act on their behalf in
         the procurement (e.g. central purchasing bodies).
Other entities (e.g. end-users) that do not have a conflict of interest with the PCP/PPI, and
whose participation in the action is well justified, may participate in ‘additional activities’ to
prepare, manage and follow-up the PCP/PPI and embed it into a wider set of demand-side
activities. This includes disseminating results, removing obstacles to introducing the solutions
onto the market (e.g. contributing to standardisation, regulation and certification), awareness
raising, experience sharing/training, and preparing further cooperation among stakeholders
and procurers for future PCP or PPI.
For PCP executed by a group of procurers, the buyers’ group must jointly prepare and
implement the pre-commercial procurement so that there is one joint call for tender, one joint
evaluation of offers, and a lead procurer 19 awarding the research and development (R&D)
service contracts in the name and on behalf of the buyers’ group. The PCP must address one
concrete procurement need identified as a common challenge20, which requires new R&D and
is described in the common specifications of the joint PCP call for tender. Each procurer in
the buyers’ group must contribute financially to the total budget necessary to jointly finance
the PCP, enabling the procurers to share the costs of procuring R&D services from a number
of providers and comparing the merits of the alternative solutions pursued by these competing
providers to address the common challenge.
19
   The ‘lead procurer’ is a public procurer and is the beneficiary appointed by the buyers’ group to coordinate
and lead the procurement activities. They can be either one of the procurers in the buyers’ group or another
beneficiary in the action who is established or designated by the procurers in the buyers’ group to act as lead
procurer.
20
   Addressing the common challenge in different countries may require, beyond the common core functionality,
the development and testing of additional local functionality or adaption of solutions by each procurer due to
differences in the local context. A PCP that addresses a challenge consisting of several facets (sub-challenges or
building blocks) is considered one joint PCP, as long as all procurers in the buyers’ group share the need for -
and are willing to co-finance - all the facets of the common challenge.
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For PPI executed by a group of procurers, the lead procurer must coordinate the preparation
and implementation of one joint or several coordinated public procurements of innovative
solutions, based on common specifications defined jointly by the buyers’ group. Each PPI
must focus on one concrete need identified as a common challenge that requires the
deployment of innovative solutions21.
Projects that aim to implement a PCP/PPI must contain a preparation and execution stage.
Preparation stage
The expected outcomes for the preparation stage, to be included as deliverables/milestones,
are:
      a prior information notice for the open market consultation: 5 days before submission
         for publication to the OJEU, i.e. a minimum of 50 days before the start of the first
         meeting;
      a report on the result of the open market consultation, prior market analysis and its
         impact on the tender documents; in addition, for PPI, feedback from activities to verify
         market readiness before deployment (e.g. conformance testing, certification, quality
         labelling);
      completed tender documents based on the Horizon Europe PCP/PPI model contract
         documents, including the contract notice: 30 days before its submission to the OJEU;
      for PCP/PPI executed by a group of procurers: the signed joint procurement agreement
         confirming the final means of cooperation, including the financial commitment of the
         buyers’ group for the PCP/PPI, and final confirmation of the lead procurer.
Execution stage
The expected outcome of the execution stage is the implementation of the procurement
procedure and of the PCP/PPI contracts. For PCP, this includes validating and comparing the
performance of the competing PCP solutions to verify if they can be converted into permanent
service. For PPI, this includes deploying the innovative solutions and evaluating the results in
real-life operating conditions, with a duration that allows for appropriate evaluation of the
potential impact of these solutions if converted into permanent service.
Deliverables/milestones to be included in the description of work for the execution stage are:
    - a copy of the contract award notice published in TED: 48 days after the award of
       contracts;
    - at the end of the tender evaluation (for PCP, also after the evaluations of each phase):
           - information on the total number of bids received, particularly the data on the
               winning tenderer(s) and abstracts of the winning tenders for publication and
               evaluation purposes;
           - final ranking list of the selected projects, final scores and qualitative assessment
               per criterion for each bid received, along with minutes of the evaluation meeting;
           - for PCP: assessing the results achieved by each tenderer in the previous phase;
21
   Addressing the common challenge in different countries may require deployment and, where applicable,
conformance testing, of local functionality or adaption of solutions for each procurer due to differences in the
local context.
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                                                  General Annexes
    - at the end of the action, give a demonstration to the granting authority:
            - for PCP: of the tested solutions resulting from the PCP;
            - for PPI: of the deployed innovative solution(s).
Where the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) does not apply, participation in
tendering procedures must be open on equal terms to bidders from EU Member States and all
countries with which the EU has an agreement in the field of public procurement under the
conditions laid down in that agreement, including all Horizon Europe Associated Countries.
Where the WTO GPA applies, tendering procedures must also be open to bidders from states
that have ratified this agreement, under the conditions laid down therein.
If the specific call conditions restrict participation or control for security reasons, participation
in the PCP/PPI procedure must also be limited to bidders meeting this restriction. If the
specific conditions for the topic impose a place of performance obligation, the place of
performance of the contract must comply with this obligation.
Specific requirements for pre-commercial procurement (PCP)
The following requirements apply to ensure that the provisions for PCP in the Horizon Europe
rules for participation, the conditions for the R&D services exemption of the EU Directives on
public procurement 22 , the EU Treaty principles 23 and the competition rules 24 are fully
respected.
Definitions
PCP must comply with the Horizon Europe definition: ‘Pre-commercial procurement’ means
procurement of R&D services involving risk-benefit sharing under market conditions and
competitive development in phases, where there is a clear separation between the procurement
of the R&D services procured from the deployment of commercial volumes of end-products25.
‘Risk-benefit sharing under market conditions’ refers to the PCP approach in which procurers
share with suppliers at market price the risks and benefits related to the intellectual property
rights (IPR) resulting from the R&D.
‘Competitive development in phases’ refers to buying the R&D from several competing R&D
providers in parallel and to comparing and identifying the best-value-for-money solutions on
the market to address the PCP challenge. To reduce the investment risk for the procurer,
reward the most competitive solutions and facilitate the participation of smaller innovative
companies, the R&D is also split into phases (solution design, prototyping, original
22
   See Article 14 of Directive 2014/24/EU, Article 32 of Directive 2014/25/EU and Article 13(f)(j) of Directive
2009/81/EC.
23
   In particular, the fundamental Treaty principles on the free movement of goods and workers, the freedom to
provide services, the freedom of establishment and the free movement of capital, as well as the principles
deriving therefrom, such as the principles of non-discrimination, transparency and equal treatment.
24
   See, in particular, Article 2.3 of the 2014 R&D&I State aid framework.
25
    See the Horizon Europe Regulation and the PCP Communication COM/2007/799 and associated
SEC(1668)2007. Note that PCPs can include the purchase of the first end-products that were developed, installed
and tested during the PCP, but not the purchase of larger commercial volumes of end-products requiring quantity
production beyond delivering the first products for the PCP.
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development and validation/testing of the first products), with the number of competing R&D
providers being reduced after each phase.
‘Separation from the deployment of commercial volumes of end-products’ refers to the
complementarity of PCP, which focuses on the R&D phase before wide commercialisation,
and PPI, which does not focus on R&D but on wide commercialisation/diffusion of solutions.
Procurers can, but are not obliged, to procure R&D results from a PCP.
Preparation and publication of the open market consultation and call for tender
To prepare the call for tender, an open market consultation26 with potential tenderers and end-
users must be held to broach the views of the market on the intended scope of the R&D. The
results of this open market consultation must be taken into account to fine-tune the tender
specifications, so that the gap between state-of-the-art industry development and the
procurement needs justifies the procuring of R&D27 services.
The PCP contract notice must be published EU-wide28 in at least English. Offers must be
accepted and communication with stakeholders must be enabled at all stages in at least
English. All offers must be evaluated according to the same objective criteria, regardless of
the geographical location, size of organisation or governance structure of the tenderers.
The prior information notice for the open market consultation and the contract notice must be
advertised widely, using in particular Horizon Europe internet sites and national contact
points. The Commission must be informed at least 5 days before the expected date of
publication of the prior information notice for the open market consultation and 30 days
before the expected date of publication of the PCP contract notice. The PCP call for tenders
must remain open for at least 60 days.
Tender documentation, procurement and implementation of the contract
The PCP contract that will be concluded with each selected tenderer must take the form of
one single framework agreement covering all PCP phases, without contract renegotiations
after the award. This framework agreement must contain information on the procedures for
implementing the different phases (through specific contracts), including the format of the
intermediate evaluations (including evaluation criteria and weightings) for each phase.
26
   The open market consultation should be organised in a way not to preclude or distort competition. In respect
of the Treaty principles, the open market consultation must be announced well in advance and widely - via a
prior information notice that is published at least 45 days before the first open market consultation meeting in the
Official Journal of the EU - and enable potential tenderers regardless of their geographic location to participate at
least in English. All information given in answers to questions from participants in the dialogue should be
documented and published.
27
   In line with WTO GPA 2014 Article XIII(1)(f), R&D can cover activities such as solution exploration and
design, prototyping, up to the original development of a limited volume of first products or services in the form
of a test series. Original development of a first product or service may include limited production or supply to
incorporate the results of field testing and demonstrate that the product or service is suitable for production or
supply in quantity to acceptable quality standards. R&D does not include quantity production or supply to
establish commercial viability or to recover R&D costs, nor commercial development activities such as
incremental adaptations or routine or periodic changes to existing products, services, production lines, processes
or other operations in progress, even if such changes may represent improvements.
28
   Through the Official Journal of the EU, using the TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) web portal.
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For PCP executed by a group of procurers, the R&D service contracts are awarded by the lead
procurer and all selected tenderers can be paid by the lead procurer, or pro rata by each
procurer in the buyers’ group according to their share in the total PCP budget.
The PCP contract notice must contain information on the intended number of R&D providers
that will be selected (minimum of three providers) to start the PCP, the number of PCP phases
and the expected duration and budget for each PCP phase. The PCP must cover the full PCP
life cycle of solution design, prototyping, and original development, including installation and
testing of a limited volume of test series products/services in the procurer’s/end-user’s
premises. Each of the three PCP phases can be split up into further phases if appropriate.
The following simplified and/or accelerated PCP procedures may be used: for PCP that
require fast deployment29, one specific contract may cover both the second and third PCP
phase; if fewer than two tenderers are capable of performing the R&D services in the EU
Member States or Associated Countries (for security contracts, this may be restricted to the
Member States), the phase 1 contracts may be awarded to a minimum of two tenderers.
Procurers must avoid the use of selection criteria based on disproportionate qualification and
financial guarantee requirements (e.g. with regard to prior customer references and minimum
turnover). Functional/performance-based specifications must be used to formulate the object
of the PCP call for tender as a problem to be solved, without prescribing a specific approach
to be followed. Evaluation of the tenders must be based on best-value-for-money criteria, not
just lowest price.
The PCP process must be organised to avoid any conflicts of interest, including in the use of
external experts. Providers cannot be beneficiaries in an action during which the PCP is
planned or undertaken.
The PCP process must require selected providers to locate the majority of the R&D activities,
including the principal researcher(s) working for the PCP contract in particular, in the
Member States or Associated Countries30.
The PCP procurers must not reserve the R&D results exclusively for their own use. The
providers generating results must own the attached IPR, and the procurers must enjoy at least
royalty-free access rights to use the R&D results for their own use. The procurers must also
enjoy the right to grant (or to require the granting of) non-exclusive licences to third parties,
to exploit the results under fair and reasonable market conditions, without any right to
sublicense. A call-back provision must ensure that, in case the providers fail to commercially
exploit the results within a given period after the PCP, or use the results to the detriment of
the public interest, including security interests, the procurers can require transfer of the
ownership of the results.
29
   Especially where a budgetary commitment for deployment is already available at the start of the PCP (fast-
track PCP).
30
   For duly justified reasons of public security, this may be limited to the EU Member States.
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                                               General Annexes
The procurers must inform tenderers of the right to publish public summaries of the results of
the PCP project, including information about key R&D results attained and lessons learnt (e.g.
on the feasibility of the solution approaches to meet the requirements and lessons learnt for
potential future deployment of solutions). Details that would be contrary to the public interest,
would harm legitimate business interests (e.g. regarding IPR-protected specificities of their
individual approaches to solutions) or could distort fair competition may not be disclosed.
To enable the procurers to establish the correct (best value for money) market price for the
R&D service, in which case the presence of State aid can in principle be excluded, the PCP
call for tender must be carried out in a competitive and transparent way in line with Treaty
principles. In addition, the distribution of rights and obligations between procurers and
providers (including the allocation of IPR) must be published in the PCP call for tender
documents, to obtain a price according to market conditions (and rule out State aid). PCP
contracts with providers must contain financial compensation according to market
conditions31, compared to the exclusive development price, for assigning IPR to the providers.
Specific requirements for public procurement of innovative solutions (PPI)
Definition
PPI must comply with the relevant Horizon Europe definitions.
‘Public procurement of innovative solutions (PPI)’ means procurement where contracting
authorities act as a launch customer for innovative goods or services which are not yet
available on a large-scale commercial basis, and may include conformity testing.
‘Launch customers’, also called early adopters, refer to the first 20% of customers on the
EU’s internal market that buy innovative solutions. The solutions have to be new to the
procurers in the project, the procurers’ market segment or new to the EU’s internal market,
and relevant to procurers in other Member States and/or Associated Countries.
‘Innovative solutions’ are new or significantly improved products, services or processes that
have already been (partially) demonstrated on a small scale, and may be nearly or already
available in small quantities on the market, but which have not been widely adopted yet.
Typically, owing to the residual risk of market uncertainty, they have not been produced at a
large enough scale to meet mass market price/quality requirements. This also includes
existing solutions that are to be utilised in a new and innovative way; PPI does not include the
procurement of R&D.
31
   The market price should reflect the benefits allocated to the R&D provider (e.g. commercialisation
opportunities opened up by the IPR) and the risks assumed by the R&D provider (e.g. the cost of maintaining the
IPR and commercialising the products).
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                                                General Annexes
Preparation and publication of the open market consultation and call for tender
Unless the PPI is undertaken as a follow-up to an FP7, Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe
PCP32, or unless the situation is a low-value PPI below national procurement thresholds, the
following obligations apply:
- To prepare the call for tenders, an open market consultation with potential tenderers and
    end-users must be held to inform the market well in advance of the upcoming PPI and
    broach the views of the market on the PPI’s intended scope. Information retrieved from
    this consultation about the gap between perceived procurement needs and on-going
    industry developments must be taken into account in the PPI tender specifications, so that
    the PPI duly focuses on ‘early adoption’ of ‘innovative’ solutions.
- The market must be informed well in advance33 of the target date for publishing the PPI
    call for tenders. Market readiness prior to deployment can be verified through the
    organisation of e.g. conformity testing, certification or quality labelling of solutions.
- The PPI contract notices must be published EU-wide in at least English, offers must be
    accepted and communication with stakeholders must be enabled at all stages in at least
    English. All offers must be evaluated according to the same objective criteria, regardless of
    the geographical location, size of organisation or governance structure of the tenderers.
- The prior information notices for the open market consultation, early announcements of the
    expected publication date of the PPI call for tender, and the PPI contract notice must be
    promoted and advertised widely, using Horizon Europe internet sites and national contact
    points in particular. The Commission must be informed at least 5 days before the expected
    date of publication of the PIN for the open market consultation and 30 days before the
    expected date of publication of the PPI contract notice. The PPI call for tenders must
    remain open for at least 60 days.
Tender documentation, procurement and implementation of the contract
Procurement procedures covered by the EU public procurement directives that do not involve
procurement of R&D can be used. Restricted procedures with shortened timeframes for the
submission of offers for reasons of urgency must not be used. Framework
contracts/agreements with lots can be used.
For PPI implemented by a group of procurers, the specific contracts for procuring specific
quantities of goods/services for each procurer can be awarded and the selected tenderers can
either all be paid by the lead procurer, or by each procurer in the buyers’ group individually,
for their quantity of goods/services procured.
32
   In the case of a PPI following a PCP that was implemented according to the conditions described in Annex I,
the negotiated procedure without publication foreseen in the EU public procurement directives can then be used
(Article 32(3)(a) of Directive 2014/24/EU, Article 50(b) of Directive 2014/25/EU and Article 13(j) of Directive
2009/81/EC). At least three offers must be requested, including from the R&D providers that successfully
completed the preceding PCP.
33
   By means of a prior information notice in the Official Journal of the EU.
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                                         General Annexes
Procurers must avoid the use of selection criteria based on disproportionate qualification and
financial guarantee requirements (e.g. with regard to prior customer references and minimum
turnover). Functional/performance-based specifications must be used to formulate the object
of the PPI call for tenders as a problem to be solved, without prescribing a specific approach
to be followed. Evaluation of the tenders must be based on best-value-for-money criteria, not
just lowest price.
Procurers must organise their procurement to avoid any conflicts of interest, including in the
use of external experts. Potential providers cannot be beneficiaries in an action during which
the PPI is planned or undertaken.
To encourage fair and wide exploitation of results, ownership of IPR rights should be
assigned to the party generating the IPR, except in duly justified cases (e.g. when that party is
not able to exploit them).
The PPI call for tender must be carried out in a competitive and transparent way in line with
Treaty principles. The distribution of rights and obligations between procurers and providers
(including the allocation of IPR) must be published in the PPI call for tender documents, to
obtain a price according to market conditions (and rule out State aid).
                                       Part 13 - Page 41 of 41