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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Single, clear objective: To enhance the preparedness, response, and recovery capabilities of critical infrastructures against large-scale disruptions caused by natural hazards, human-induced actions (including cyberattacks).
Target recipients: Organizations involved in critical infrastructure operations, resilience, civil protection, and security, forming collaborative consortia.
Designation: SECTOR-SPECIFIC (Critical Infrastructure Protection and Security).
Geographic scope: Organizations established in EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries.
Key filtering criteria: Projects must focus on developing innovative solutions for critical infrastructure resilience, involve relevant security practitioners from multiple countries, and include demonstration/validation activities. Consortium formation is mandatory.
Grant frequency: This is an open topic within the Horizon Europe 'Civil Security for Society' work programme, part of an ongoing framework, implying recurring opportunities, though specific call IDs are time-bound.

Financial Structure

Funding per project: Successful proposals can receive up to EUR 5,000,000.
Total budget for this specific topic: EUR 15,000,000 for an expected 3 grants.
Currency: EUR.
Financial support to third parties (FSTP) is a mandatory component:
Maximum amount per third party: EUR 200,000.
Percentage of EU funding allocated for FSTP: From 10% up to 30% of the EU funding requested by the main proposal.
Eligible third parties for FSTP include practitioners (critical infrastructure operators, government authorities responsible for infrastructure resilience, national authorities overseeing critical infrastructure operators, or civil protection authorities) to expand the proposed work, and/or SMEs as additional solution providers.
FSTP involvement must specifically include testing and validation activities in an operational environment.
Eligible costs: Generally follow Horizon Europe Innovation Action rules, covering research, development, innovation, and demonstration activities. Specific details are referenced in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type and Structure

Consortium required: Applicants must form a consortium.
Practitioner involvement: The consortium must include at least 3 relevant practitioners from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries.
Eligible practitioner types (must represent one or several):
Critical infrastructure operator: A private or public entity managing and operating critical infrastructure (assets, facilities, equipment, networks, or systems) that provide essential services to society.
Authority responsible for critical infrastructure resilience: Typically competent authorities designated by EU Member States or Associated Countries responsible for infrastructure resilience against threats (e.g., natural hazards, human-induced disasters, criminal activities, hybrid attacks, public health emergencies).
Civil protection authority: Typically competent authorities designated by EU Member States or Associated Countries responsible for protecting people, the environment, or property from natural and human-induced disasters, including planning, preparedness, and recovery.
Law enforcement agency (LEA) or private company delivering security for critical infrastructure: LEAs (national or regional authorities for law and order, crime prevention/investigation) or commercial entities offering security services to critical infrastructure (e.g., physical protection, cybersecurity, access control, emergency response, intelligence gathering).
Practitioner scale: The scale of operation (national, regional, or local) of the involved practitioners should align with the proposal's objectives.

Geographic Location

Organizations must be established in an EU Member State or a country associated with Horizon Europe.

Technical and Operational Qualifications

Satellite data usage: If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation, and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must utilize Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS services (other data/services may also be used).
Financial and operational capacity: Applicants must meet the financial and operational capacity criteria as detailed in Annex C of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Exclusion Criteria

Projects are subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.

Application Process

Application Timeline

Call opening date: June 12, 2025.
Application deadline: November 12, 2025, 00:00:00 (Brussels Time).

Submission Materials

Application form: Proposals must be submitted using the standard application form for Horizon Europe Innovation Actions (HE IA).
Practitioner information annex: Applicants are required to complete the Annex 'Information about security practitioners' template, available within the submission IT tool, providing all requested details for involved practitioners.

Application Process

Submission procedure: Single-stage application process.
Platform: Applications must be submitted via the electronic submission system on the Funding & Tenders Portal.

Post-Award Requirements

Financial support to third parties: Projects are required to provide financial support to third parties as outlined in the financial structure.
Mid-term assessment: A mandatory mid-term deliverable consisting of an assessment of the project's outcomes, performed by the practitioners involved in the project.
Coordination: Successful proposals are encouraged to coordinate with each other to avoid duplication, exploit complementarities, and enhance impact. Coordination with projects funded under HORIZON-CL3-2025-INFRA-01-02 is also envisaged.

Evaluation Criteria

Standard Horizon Europe Innovation Action Criteria

Excellence: Assesses the quality and pertinence of the project's objectives, the soundness of its methodology, and the high quality of its innovative aspects. It also considers the interdisciplinary approach, the gender dimension (if relevant), and the quality of the research and innovation activities.
Impact: Evaluates the project's potential to contribute significantly to the expected outcomes, the scope and credibility of the plans for uptake, dissemination, and communication of results, and the societal, economic, and environmental benefits expected.
Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation: Examines the coherence and effectiveness of the work plan, the allocation of resources, the quality and complementary nature of the consortium, and the appropriateness of the management structures and risk mitigation measures.

Specific Scoring Factors (Inferred from topic description)

Alignment with objectives: The degree to which the proposed innovative solutions contribute to increasing the resilience of critical infrastructure against various disruptions.
Novelty: Focus on addressing new challenges or developing innovative solutions not extensively covered by previous Horizon Europe calls (e.g., Resilient Infrastructure 2023 and 2024), or building effectively on prior outcomes without duplication.
Demonstration and validation: The convincing explanation and planning of demonstrations, testing, or validation activities for developed tools and solutions.
Scalability and uptake: The clarity and ambition of plans for future uptake and upscaling of solutions at regional, national, and/or EU level.
Practitioner engagement: Evidence of active involvement and planned timely feedback from relevant security practitioners, including a mid-term assessment deliverable.
Collaboration potential: The capacity for coordination with other successful proposals under this topic and HORIZON-CL3-2025-INFRA-01-02.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Horizon Europe General Annexes: Compliance with the general conditions outlined in the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes (including admissibility, eligible countries, financial and operational capacity, evaluation, and legal/financial setup).
Financial Regulation: Adherence to the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509.
Legal Entity Requirements: Compliance with Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment, and Financial Capacity Assessment.

Technical Specifications and Data Use

Satellite Data: If the project utilizes satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation, or related timing data/services, the use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS is mandatory (additional data sources may be used).

Special Considerations

Innovation Focus: Proposals should primarily address new challenges or develop innovative solutions not extensively covered by past Horizon Europe 'Resilient Infrastructure' calls (2023 and 2024). If related to 2021-2022 calls, applicants must clearly explain how they build on outcomes without duplication.
Demonstration and Validation: Projects must plan and/or carry out demonstrations, testing, or validation of developed tools and solutions in an operational environment.
Upscaling and Uptake: Proposals should outline clear plans for future uptake and upscaling of results at regional, national, and/or EU levels.
Gender Dimension: The integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content should be addressed only if relevant to the research objectives.
Risk Management: Projects are expected to address risk management as part of their implementation plan.
Practitioner Engagement: The active involvement and timely feedback from security practitioners are crucial, requiring a specific mid-term deliverable for assessment.

Grant Details

Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Financial Structure

Eligibility Requirements

Application Process

Evaluation Criteria

Compliance & Special Requirements

Grant Details