Humanitarian demining / Unexploded Ordnance Disposal (UXO) of civil areas and unexploded ordnance risk education

Grant Purpose and Target

• Core Objective: To develop and validate improved tools, methodologies, and training for humanitarian demining and Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) disposal in civilian areas. The grant aims to enhance risk education for civilians and provide evidence-based policy support, with a balanced focus on both technological solutions and societal aspects.

• Funding Organization: European Commission

• Target Recipients: The grant is open to consortia including international humanitarian demining organisations, local or regional Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) active in demining, research institutions, and companies. Participation is mandatory for at least one entity from Ukraine with relevant competencies.

• Sector Focus: SECTOR-SPECIFIC. The focus is on Civil Security, Humanitarian Aid, and post-conflict recovery. It is distinct from military demining.

• Geographic Scope: Applicants must be from EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries. Consortia must include entities from at least three different eligible countries, one of which must be Ukraine. Projects will address demining activities in heavily mine-affected countries and regions, with a specific mention of Ukraine.

• Key Filtering Criteria:

  • Action Type: Innovation Action (IA).
  • Project Scale: The expected EU contribution is approximately €6 million.
  • Technology Readiness Level (TRL): Projects are expected to reach TRL 6-7 by completion.
  • Consortium: A consortium is required with a specific composition, including practitioner organizations and a mandatory partner from Ukraine.

Financial Structure

• Funding Range: The European Commission expects to fund one project with a contribution of approximately €6,000,000. The minimum and maximum contribution per project is set at €6,000,000.

• Co-financing: The funding rate depends on the type of organization:

  • Non-profit legal entities: Up to 100% of eligible costs.
  • For-profit legal entities: Up to 70% of eligible costs. This requires for-profit partners to co-finance at least 30% of their eligible costs.

• Eligible Costs:

  • Direct Costs: Costs directly related to project implementation, such as personnel, subcontracting, and purchases (travel, equipment, other goods and services).
  • Indirect Costs: A flat rate of 25% of the total eligible direct costs is applied to cover overheads. This flat rate excludes subcontracting costs and financial support to third parties.

• Ineligible Costs: Costs that are not directly necessary for the project, costs incurred outside the project duration, and any costs that do not comply with the principles of sound financial management are ineligible.

• Payment & Reporting: Payments are structured as follows:

  • Pre-financing: An initial payment is made at the start of the project to provide cash flow. A percentage of this is retained for the Mutual Insurance Mechanism.
  • Interim Payments: Payments are made based on the eligible costs declared in periodic reports.
  • Final Payment: A final payment of the balance is made after the approval of the final project report. Total pre-financing and interim payments are capped at 90% of the maximum grant amount before the final payment.

Eligibility Requirements

• Formal Criteria: To be eligible, proposals must be submitted by a consortium that meets specific composition requirements. The consortium must include as beneficiaries:

  • At least one international humanitarian demining organisation.
  • At least two local or regional Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) active in humanitarian demining.
  • These practitioners must come from at least three different EU Member States or Associated Countries, one of which must be Ukraine.
  • The participation of at least one legal entity from Ukraine with proven competence in humanitarian demining or UXO disposal is mandatory.

• Organizational Status:

  • Participants can be public or private bodies, including NGOs, research organisations, higher education institutions, and for-profit companies.
  • Gender Equality Plan (GEP): Public bodies, research organisations, and higher education establishments from EU Member States and Associated Countries must have a Gender Equality Plan in place to be eligible.
  • An 'International Humanitarian Demining Organisation' is defined as a governmental or non-governmental, not-for-profit agency operating internationally to reduce risks from explosive ordnance.
  • A 'local or regional non-governmental organisation active in humanitarian demining' is a not-for-profit agency focused on reducing explosive ordnance risks for local or regional communities.

• Technical Expertise: The Ukrainian partner must have competencies in humanitarian demining / Unexploded Ordnance Disposal (UXO). The consortium as a whole must possess the necessary expertise to develop and validate tools, methodologies, and training curricula for demining and risk education.

• Exclusion Criteria:

  • Entities established in Russia, Belarus, or non-government controlled territories of Ukraine are not eligible to participate.
  • As this is an Innovation Action, legal entities established in China are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
  • Entities subject to EU restrictive measures (sanctions) are excluded.

Application Practical Information

• Deadlines: The deadline for submission is 12 November 2025, 17:00:00 Brussels time (CET).

• Required Documents:

  • Part A: Administrative forms completed directly in the submission system.
  • Part B: A PDF document containing the technical description of the project, following the provided template (max 45 pages for IA).
  • Annex: A specific annex, 'Information about security practitioners', must be completed using the provided template for the required demining organisations and NGOs.

• Application Process: Proposals must be submitted electronically through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The submission process is a single-stage procedure.

• Support: The grant provides direct financial support (funding) for project activities.

• Post-Award Obligations:

  • Standard periodic and final reporting on technical progress and financial expenditure.
  • A Data Management Plan (DMP) must be delivered as a deliverable within the first 6 months of the project.
  • The 'plan for dissemination and exploitation' must be regularly updated.
  • A mid-term deliverable is required, consisting of an assessment of the project’s mid-term outcomes, performed by the practitioner partners involved in the project.

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals are evaluated based on three main criteria: Excellence, Impact, and Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation. The standard threshold is 3/5 for each criterion and 10/15 for the overall score.

• Scoring Factors:

  • Excellence: Assesses the clarity of objectives, ambition beyond the state-of-the-art, and the soundness of the methodology. This includes the integration of inter-disciplinary approaches, the gender dimension in research content, and the quality of open science practices.
  • Impact: Critically, as an Innovation Action (IA), the score for the 'Impact' criterion is given a weight of 1.5. This criterion evaluates the credibility of the pathways to achieve the expected outcomes, the likely scale and significance of the project's contributions, and the quality of the dissemination, exploitation, and communication plan.
  • Quality and efficiency of the implementation: Evaluates the effectiveness of the work plan, risk assessment, appropriateness of resources, and the capacity of the participants and the consortium as a whole.

• Innovation & Impact:

  • Proposals must detail credible pathways to achieve the grant's expected outcomes, such as improved tools for demining, enhanced risk education, and better policy support.
  • A comprehensive 'plan for the dissemination and exploitation including communication activities' is mandatory and is evaluated for its quality and suitability.
  • The project should demonstrate how it will contribute to peace, security, post-conflict reconstruction, and socio-economic rehabilitation in affected areas, with a focus on Ukraine.

• Project Quality:

  • The methodology must be sound, describing the concepts, models, and assumptions. It should address both technological (demining) and societal (risk education) dimensions in a balanced way.
  • The work plan must be high-quality and effective, with a robust risk assessment and appropriate allocation of resources and person-months to work packages.
  • The consortium's capacity must be demonstrated, showing that the partners collectively possess the necessary expertise and resources.

• Strategic Fit:

  • The project must directly address the 'Scope' and 'Expected Outcomes' of the topic HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-FCT-04.
  • Proposals should build upon, and not duplicate, previous research from initiatives like FP7's TIRAMISU and DBOX projects.
  • The project should create synergies with other related initiatives in humanitarian demining and explosive ordnance risk education.

• Cross-cutting Themes: The integration of the gender dimension (sex and/or gender analysis) into the research and innovation content is a mandatory part of the methodology and will be evaluated under 'Excellence'. The quality of open science practices is also assessed as part of the methodology.

Compliance and Special Requirements

• Regulatory Compliance:

  • Projects must adhere to all applicable EU, international, and national laws, including fundamental ethical principles and data protection regulations (GDPR).
  • If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation, and/or timing data, they must use Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS services.

• IP Policy: Standard Horizon Europe rules apply. Beneficiaries own the intellectual property (IP) they generate. They must grant access rights to other consortium members for project implementation and exploitation purposes. The proposal must include a strategy for IP management and exploitation.

• Unique Aspects:

  • Security Sensitivity: Activities may involve using classified background (EUCI) or producing security-sensitive results (SEN). Projects will undergo a security appraisal and may be subject to specific security rules detailed in an annex to the grant agreement.
  • Mandatory Ukrainian Participation: The consortium must include at least one entity from Ukraine with expertise in demining.
  • Practitioner Involvement: The active involvement of specific types of practitioners (international demining organisation, local/regional NGOs) is a strict eligibility condition.
  • Balanced Approach: Proposals must address both technological and societal dimensions of the challenge in a balanced manner.

• Industry-Specific Rules: Not specified beyond the general security and ethics frameworks applicable to civil security research.