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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This grant, part of the Horizon Europe 'A Soil Deal for Europe' Mission, aims to quantify the impact of farming practices on soil health in arable lands across the EU. Its core objective is to generate robust scientific evidence and knowledge to inform policy and encourage the widespread adoption of practices that improve soil health.

Explicit identification of target recipient type and size: The grant targets a broad range of actors, including researchers, farmers, foresters, advisors, land managers, businesses (food and bioeconomy), consumer associations, local communities, educators, artists, citizens, civil society organizations (NGOs), and government representatives. No specific organizational size limits are mentioned, but SMEs are eligible.
MUST state if grant is 'SECTOR-SPECIFIC' or 'SECTOR-AGNOSTIC': SECTOR-SPECIFIC
Geographic scope and any location requirements: The grant focuses on EU arable lands and requires participation from legal entities in EU Member States and countries associated with Horizon Europe.
Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening: Projects must directly address soil health in arable lands, involve farming practices, and implement a mandatory 'multi-actor approach'. Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) are the type of projects sought.
Grant frequency and program context: This topic is part of the 2025 Work Programme for the 'A Soil Deal for Europe' Mission, which is a recurring program building on previous efforts to achieve healthy soils by 2050.

Financial Structure

Budget for this specific grant (HORIZON-MISS-2025-05-SOIL-06): EUR 6,000,000.
Minimum grant amount per project: EUR 6,000,000.
Maximum grant amount per project: EUR 6,000,000.
Currency: EUR.
Funding rate: Not explicitly stated in the provided text. Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) typically fund up to 100% of eligible costs for non-profit entities and 70% for for-profit entities, but this is not confirmed in the given document.
Financial and operational capacity requirements: Described in Annex C of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes (not provided in this document).
Legal and financial set-up of grants: Described in Annex G of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes (not provided in this document).

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type and Structure

Legal entities from EU Member States and Horizon Europe associated countries are eligible for funding.
Public bodies, research organizations, and higher education establishments from Member States and associated countries are required to have a Gender Equality Plan (GEP) in place (for calls with deadlines in 2022 onwards, which includes this 2025 call).
A multi-actor approach is mandatory, requiring the genuine and sufficient involvement of a targeted array of actors. This includes, but is not limited to: researchers, farmers, foresters, professional associations, advisors, land managers and owners, spatial planners, food and bioeconomy businesses, consumer associations, local communities, educators, artists, citizens, civil society organizations (including NGOs), and government representatives.
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a member of the consortium.

Geographic Requirements

Participation is open to legal entities established in EU Member States and countries associated to Horizon Europe.
Legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government controlled territories of Ukraine are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
International European research organizations are automatically eligible for funding.
Other international organizations may be eligible for funding only if identified in the work programme or if their participation is deemed essential.

Consortium Requirements

A consortium is mandatory due to the required 'multi-actor approach'. The consortium must be balanced in its choice of relevant key actors with complementary types of knowledge (scientific, practical, etc.).

Exclusions

Legal entities from Russia, Belarus, or non-government controlled territories of Ukraine are explicitly excluded.
Legal entities established in China are not eligible to participate in Horizon Europe Innovation Actions (IA) in any capacity. While this specific grant is a Research and Innovation Action (RIA), applicants should be aware of this policy context.

Application Process

Application Process and Submission

Application deadline: 2025-09-30 00:00:00+0000 (latest deadline).
Submission session opens: 2025-05-06.
Submission procedure: Single-stage.
Application format: Standard application form (HE RIA) available in the Submission System via the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Required documentation: Proposals must adhere to page limits and layout described in Annex A and E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes, and Part B of the Application Form.

Evaluation and Selection

Evaluation criteria, scoring, and thresholds: Described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Submission and evaluation processes: Described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: Described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Post-Award Requirements

Grant duration parameters: Not specified in the provided text.
Reporting obligations: Beneficiaries must regularly update a 'Plan for the exploitation and dissemination of results including communication activities'. A complete plan is due within six months of grant agreement signature.
Progress tracking: Beneficiaries must report on activities undertaken.
Results ownership: Beneficiaries must indicate the owner(s) of the results in the final periodic report.
Exploitation: Best efforts must be made to exploit results. If not exploited within one year post-action, the Horizon Results Platform must be used.

Application Support

General guidance is available through the Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, and the EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement.
Specific assistance can be obtained from the Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network, IT Helpdesk, and European IPR Helpdesk.
A 'Partner Search' tool is available on the Funding & Tenders Portal to help find consortium partners.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be evaluated based on their contribution to the Mission 'A Soil Deal for Europe' objectives and alignment with broader EU policies. While specific scoring thresholds are detailed in external Annexes (not provided), the grant text highlights key expectations: Expected Outcomes and Impact

Proposals must demonstrate a credible pathway to contribute to at least one of the three key strategic orientations of the Strategic Plan 2025-2027 and specific Mission Soil objectives (e.g., 'Conserve and increase soil organic matter', 'Prevent erosion', 'Improve soil structure', 'Increase soil literacy').
Contribution to the European Green Deal, EU Action Plan for Organic Production, and environmental objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is expected.
Expected outcomes include: accessible, up-to-date scientific knowledge on farming practices' impact on soil health; increased adoption of soil health-enhancing farming practices; and recognition by Member States' authorities of challenges and alignment of CAP incentives.

Project Scope and Methodology

Define and map homogeneous soil-use and pedo-climatic regions in EU arable lands, leveraging existing Earth observation datasets.
Further develop or validate coefficients linking farming practices to soil health indicators (e.g., soil biodiversity, carbon capture/storage, GHG emissions, water infiltration/retention).
Quantify the impact of farming practices on soil health across major pedo-climatic regions and arable crops in the EU, considering synergies and trade-offs.
Develop and expand an inventory of farming practices that support CAP standards and Eco-Schemes.
Select and use appropriate soil health indicators for quantifying effects.
Enhance and expand existing online databases and visualizations, integrating new data and leveraging AI for meta-analysis.
Develop a dynamic model to compare and evaluate scenarios of farming practices.
Identify and analyze limitations and produce a gap analysis for future R&I.

Multi-Actor Approach Quality

Demonstrate how proposed objectives target the needs and challenges of '(end-)users' (e.g., land managers).
The consortium's composition must reflect a balanced choice of relevant key actors with complementary knowledge, ensuring practical and ready-for-use results.
Include existing practices and 'tacit knowledge' through high-quality knowledge exchange activities, with precise and active roles for non-scientific actors.
Describe how multi-actor engagement will be facilitated using appropriate methods and expertise.
Ensure development of practical, understandable, and freely accessible knowledge, tools, or products.
Outline how results will feed into existing dissemination channels most consulted by (end-)users.

Cross-Cutting Themes and Open Science

Gender Dimension: Integration of sex and/or gender analysis in the R&I content is mandatory, unless justified as non-relevant. This improves scientific quality and societal relevance.
Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) Integration: Where relevant, proposals should include contributions from SSH disciplines and integrate SSH perspectives.
Open Science: Proposals must demonstrate a route towards open access, longevity, sustainability, and interoperability of knowledge and outputs through close collaboration with the European Union Soil Observatory (EUSO) and SoilWise. Data produced must be FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable).
Leverage existing data, expertise, and services from European research infrastructures and prior research projects (e.g., EJP Soil data repositories).
Include consultation with national agricultural organizations and private companies.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Projects must comply with all applicable security rules, especially concerning classified information protection, as per Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444 and its implementing rules.
Activities must comply with fundamental ethical principles and relevant European legislation, international conventions, national authorizations, and ethics approvals.
Data protection and privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR) must be respected.

Ethical and Integrity Standards

A mandatory 'Ethics Self-assessment' must be completed, starting with an 'Ethics Issues Table'.
Proposals will undergo an 'Ethics Review Procedure' (Screening and Assessment) by independent ethics experts. This can result in contractual ethics requirements.
Areas of ethical review include human rights, animal protection, data protection, health and safety, environmental protection, and artificial intelligence.

Environmental Compliance

Projects must adhere to the 'Do No Significant Harm (DNSH)' principle, ensuring activities do not significantly harm any of the six environmental objectives outlined in the EU Taxonomy Regulation (e.g., climate change mitigation/adaptation, water protection, circular economy, pollution prevention, biodiversity).

Intellectual Property (IP) and Data Management

A strategy for Intellectual Property (IP) management, including protection measures and how they support exploitation, must be outlined in the proposal.
Clarity on results ownership is crucial for successful exploitation and commercialization.
Open Science practices are mandatory:
- Open access to scientific publications is required.
- Research data must be managed responsibly in line with FAIR principles ('Findability', 'Accessibility', 'Interoperability', 'Reusability').
- 'Data Management Plans (DMPs)' are mandatory for projects generating or reusing data.
- Data should be 'as open as possible, as closed as necessary'.
- Information about research outputs (tools, instruments) needed to validate scientific conclusions must be provided.
- Digital or physical access to results for validation of conclusions must be provided, safeguarding legitimate interests.
- In public emergencies, immediate open access to all research outputs may be required.

Multi-Actor and Societal Engagement

The mandatory 'multi-actor approach' emphasizes genuine involvement of diverse stakeholders from inception to exploitation, fostering co-creation and knowledge exchange.
'Societal Readiness' is an approach to improve the adaptation, acceptability, and uptake of innovations by society, aligning R&I with societal needs and values.
'Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) integration' is expected where relevant, especially for interdisciplinary solutions to complex societal challenges.
Engagement with citizens, civil society, and end-users (co-design, co-creation, co-assessment activities) is encouraged.

Grant Details