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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Primary objective: To understand perceptions of and improve communication on the biodiversity crisis and nature restoration benefits, ultimately sustaining citizen engagement and democratic governance.
Target: Organizations involved in research and innovation, including research institutions, universities, NGOs, and public bodies, through multi-actor consortia.
SECTOR-SPECIFIC: Environment, Social Sciences, Policy.
Geographic scope: Open to eligible countries as per Horizon Europe rules (typically EU Member States and Associated Countries), with specific encouragement for international cooperation, especially with Latin American and Caribbean countries.
Key filtering criteria: Projects must focus on understanding societal perceptions, improving communication strategies, fostering citizen engagement, and supporting democratic governance related to biodiversity and nature restoration. A multi-actor approach and integration of social sciences and humanities (SSH) are mandatory.
Grant frequency and program context: This is a single-stage call within the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025, specifically under Cluster 6 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment', Destination 'Biodiversity and ecosystem services'. Such calls are recurring within the Horizon Europe framework.

Financial Structure

Funding will be provided as a lump sum contribution, simplifying financial management by focusing on technical performance rather than detailed cost reporting.
The total budget for this specific topic (HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-09) is 6,000,000 EUR.
The call expects to fund 2 projects under this topic.
The minimum grant amount per project is 3,000,000 EUR.
The maximum grant amount per project is 3,000,000 EUR.
The currency for all financial amounts is EUR.
Eligible costs (covered by lump sum) include: Personnel costs (for employees, directly contracted natural persons, seconded staff, SME owners/natural person beneficiaries), Subcontracting costs, Purchase costs (travel, subsistence, equipment, other goods/works/services), and Other cost categories (e.g., financial support to third parties, internally invoiced goods/services).
Ineligible costs are those typically excluded under general Horizon Europe rules.
Indirect costs are calculated by applying a 25% flat rate to the direct cost categories that qualify, and this rate is integrated into the lump sum calculation.
Payments are tied to the completion of specific work packages, rather than actual incurred costs.
A contribution of between 5% and 8% of the total lump sum is retained for the Mutual Insurance Mechanism.
The co-financing principle applies, meaning the total estimated costs of the action must exceed the estimated Union contribution.

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Organization Types

Organizations eligible under the general Horizon Europe rules (as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes).
Public authorities with the legal competence to implement policy in biodiversity and nature restoration are expected to be involved in project pilots and advisory boards.
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a member of the consortium selected for funding.
Proposals must apply the 'multi-actor approach', which implies a consortium. The definition of this approach is in the introduction to the work programme part.

Geographic Location

Eligible countries are defined in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
International cooperation is encouraged, particularly with Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries.

Technical Expertise and Infrastructure

Required expertise includes a multi-disciplinary approach, with an effective contribution from social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines, including gender studies.
Involvement of SSH experts and institutions is mandatory.
Ability to utilize advanced digital technologies and tools such as high-performance computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Environmental Observation where relevant.

General Conditions

Proposals must comply with page limits and layout specifications detailed in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes, and Part B of the Application Form.
Applicants must demonstrate financial and operational capacity as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Application Process

The submission process is single-stage.
The application period opened on 2025-05-06.
Proposals must be submitted electronically via the Electronic Submission Service on the European Commission's Funding & Tenders Portal.
Applicants will need to confirm their choice of action type (HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions) and the lump sum grant agreement model.
Existing draft proposals can be accessed and managed through the 'My Proposals' page within the 'My Area' section of the Funding & Tenders Portal.

Application Deadline

The definitive deadline for submitting proposals is 2025-09-17 00:00:00+00:00.

Required Documentation and Materials

The application form templates specific to Research and Innovation Actions (HE RIA) are available within the Submission System.
Proposals must adhere to the page limits and layout specifications provided in Part B of the Application Form.
A detailed budget proposal, broken down per work package and per beneficiary/affiliated entity, must be provided using the relevant templates.
Applicants must formally declare that their budget estimates were prepared following their own accounting practices.

Project Implementation and Reporting

Projects are encouraged to collaborate with or build upon the work of existing R&I projects from previous calls, such as 'The climate imperative and its impact on democratic governance' (HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-05), H2020-SC6-GOVERNANCE-2020, and specific projects (PHOENIX, REAL DEAL) under the Green Deal Call and Horizon Europe Missions.
Payments are disbursed upon the successful completion of specified work packages.
While beneficiaries are not required to report actual costs to the granting authority, they must still comply with national accounting rules.

Post-Award Requirements

Post-award checks, reviews, and audits will primarily focus on the technical implementation of the action, verification of work package completion, adherence to ethical standards, research integrity, dissemination and exploitation of results, management of intellectual property, and compliance with gender equality principles.
Failure to meet work package conditions may result in non-payment of the associated lump sum contributions and potential grant reduction.

Evaluation Criteria

General Award Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on the standard Horizon Europe procedures, focusing on three core aspects:
- Excellence: Assesses the quality, soundness, and methodology of the proposed research and innovation.
- Impact: Evaluates the potential for significant societal, economic, and environmental impact, including contributions to policy and citizen empowerment.
- Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation: Examines the coherence and effectiveness of the work plan, proposed resources, and management structures.

Financial Assessment

Experts with financial knowledge will critically assess the budget estimate for each work package.
The budget will be checked against relevant benchmarks, such as market prices, statistical data, and historical data from previously funded, comparable actions.
Verification will ensure that the proposed resources and the breakdown of lump sum shares are sufficient and appropriate for achieving the outlined activities and expected outputs.
Applicants' declaration of having followed their own accounting practices for budget preparation will be verified.

Cross-cutting Themes and Specific Considerations

Interdisciplinarity and Trans-disciplinarity: Proposals should leverage interdisciplinarity, incorporating social sciences and humanities (SSH) contributions.
Gender and Social Categories: Proposals must explicitly take into account gender and other social categories (e.g., age, disability, socio-economic status, ethnic/cultural origins) and their intersections to promote democracy and a socially just transition.
Citizen and Stakeholder Engagement: Evaluation will consider the proposed engagement strategies, including the involvement of civil society and the use of 'living labs', aligning with the priority of 'Protecting our democracy, upholding our values'.
Nature-Based Solutions: Projects that utilize nature restoration and nature-based solutions to deliver multiple social, economic, and environmental co-benefits are expected to be highly regarded.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory and Ethical Compliance

Projects must comply with relevant EU environmental legislation, including the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, the European Green Deal initiatives, and the EU Nature Restoration Regulation.
Adherence to the global commitments outlined in the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework is required.
Ethical standards and research integrity, as detailed in the Horizon Europe General Annexes (Annex G), must be rigorously upheld.
Proposals must ensure due consideration of gender and other social categories, and their intersections, to actively promote democracy and a socially just transition.

Data Protection and Privacy

While not explicitly detailed for this specific topic, all projects funded under Horizon Europe must comply with applicable data protection and privacy regulations, including GDPR.

Intellectual Property Policies

Intellectual Property (IP) policies and management within the project must conform to the framework provided in Annex G of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Risk Management and Security

Although specific security requirements are not detailed, projects are expected to integrate appropriate risk management strategies, consistent with general Horizon Europe guidelines for quality and efficient implementation.

Unique Aspects and Strategic Opportunities

Multi-actor Approach: A core requirement, emphasizing collaboration across diverse stakeholder groups to ensure broader societal relevance and impact.
Strong SSH Integration: Effective contribution from Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) disciplines, including gender studies, is mandatory, with the active involvement of SSH experts and institutions.
Citizen and Public Authority Engagement: Projects are expected to pilot citizen engagement strategies and involve public authorities with policy implementation competence in both pilots and advisory boards. This fosters direct pathways to policy implementation and serves as a model for best practice.
International Collaboration: Encouraged, particularly with Latin American and Caribbean countries, to address global biodiversity challenges.
Collaboration with EU Entities: Opportunities exist for cooperation with the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity, the Science Service project BioAgora, and potential contributions from the JRC's Competence Centre on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy, including networking and capacity building.
Technology Utilization: The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is encouraged for analyses relevant to the project's scope.
Lump Sum Funding Model: A significant simplification feature that shifts the focus from detailed cost reporting to the successful technical delivery of work packages, reducing administrative burden for beneficiaries.

Grant Details