Open grounds for pre-commercial procurement of innovative security technologies

Grant Purpose and Target

• Core Objective: To fund preparatory actions that will build the grounds for a future Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) of innovative security technologies. This grant, a Coordination and Support Action (CSA), aims to consolidate the needs of public buyers, analyze the market for potential solutions, and prepare all necessary documentation for a subsequent PCP tender.
• Funding Organization: European Commission
• Target Recipients: The call is open to consortia of legal entities from EU Member States and Associated Countries. A specific requirement is the participation of public procurers (such as state, regional, or local authorities and bodies governed by public law) and end-user organisations in the security domain. Other entities like universities, research organisations, and private companies (including SMEs) are encouraged to participate to provide the necessary expertise for the preparatory work.
• Sector Focus: SECTOR-SPECIFIC. While applicants can come from any sector, the project's focus is exclusively on preparing a procurement action for innovative security technologies. This includes areas like border security, fighting crime and terrorism, protecting infrastructure and public spaces, and disaster resilience.
• Geographic Scope: Applicants must be established in EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries. The consortium must include participants from at least three different EU Member States or Associated Countries.
• Key Filtering Criteria: This is a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) with a maximum project duration of 1 year. The central goal is the preparation of a Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) action. The project must be implemented by a consortium fulfilling specific composition requirements.

Financial Structure

• Funding Range: The European Commission expects to fund projects with a contribution of approximately €1,000,000. The total indicative budget for this topic is €2,000,000, with an expectation to fund 2 projects.

• Co-financing: This is a Coordination and Support Action (CSA), which is funded at a rate of 100% of eligible costs. Therefore, no co-financing from the beneficiaries is required.

• Eligible Costs: This grant will be awarded as a Lump Sum. The amount is fixed in the Grant Agreement based on a detailed estimated budget provided in the application. Eligible costs are an approximation of actual costs and must follow Horizon Europe rules. They can include:

  • Direct personnel costs
  • Subcontracting costs
  • Purchase costs (travel, equipment, other goods and services)
  • Indirect costs (calculated as a 25% flat rate of the eligible direct costs, excluding subcontracting and financial support to third parties).

• Ineligible Costs: Costs that do not comply with the conditions for EU grants are ineligible. This includes, for example, identifiable indirect taxes like VAT.

• Payment & Reporting: As a lump sum grant, payments are not based on detailed cost reporting. Instead, payments are linked to the successful completion of the work packages outlined in the grant agreement. Reporting focuses on demonstrating that the technical work and deliverables for each work package have been properly implemented. A pre-financing payment is typically made at the start of the project.

Eligibility Requirements

• Formal Criteria: Proposals must be submitted by a consortium that meets the following minimum requirements:

  • At least three independent legal entities, each established in a different EU Member State or Associated Country.
  • The consortium must include at least six end-user organisations as beneficiaries.
  • The consortium must include at least three public procurers as beneficiaries. A single beneficiary can fulfill both the end-user and public procurer role.
  • The required end-users and public procurers must come from at least three different EU Member States or Associated Countries.
  • The project must plan for open market consultations to be carried out in at least three EU Member States or Associated Countries.

• Organizational Status: Applicants must be legal entities (e.g., public bodies, private for-profit or non-profit organisations, research and technology organisations, universities) established in an eligible country. As per the formal criteria, the consortium must include public bodies and end-user organisations from the security field.

• Technical Expertise: The consortium must demonstrate the capacity and expertise to perform all preparatory tasks for a PCP. This includes:

  • Conducting market analysis and state-of-the-art reviews.
  • Aggregating needs and defining common requirements for a group of public buyers.
  • Preparing draft tendering documents in compliance with EU procurement rules for PCP.
  • Assessing the legal, ethical, and societal aspects of future technology developments.

• Exclusion Criteria: Standard Horizon Europe exclusion criteria apply. This includes entities subject to EU sanctions or established in Russia, Belarus, or non-government controlled territories of Ukraine. Legal entities established in China are not eligible to participate in Innovation Actions, which is not this type of action, but indicates a sensitive context. However, for this CSA, the general eligibility rules apply.

Application Practical Information

• Deadlines:

  • Call Opening: 12 June 2025
  • Submission Deadline: 12 November 2025, 17:00:00 Brussels Time (CET, UTC+1)

• Required Documents: The application consists of:

  • Part A: Administrative forms completed directly in the submission system.
  • Part B: A narrative description of the project (technical annex) uploaded as a PDF. Page limit is 33 pages for a CSA with lump sum funding.
  • Annexes:
    • A detailed budget table for the lump sum calculation is required.
    • Applicants must complete the specific 'Information about security practitioners' template for the required public procurers and end-users.

• Application Process: Proposals must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal using a single-stage submission process. The proposal initiator must be the contact person for the coordinating organisation.

• Support: The grant provides financial support in the form of a lump sum to cover 100% of the project's eligible costs. The project itself is a support action, aimed at building capacity and providing networking opportunities for public procurers.

• Post-Award Obligations: The project must be completed within a maximum duration of 1 year. Beneficiaries are obligated to complete the work packages as described in the grant agreement and submit deliverables that provide the required evidence for a future PCP action (e.g., market analysis, draft tender documents, consolidated buyer group commitment).

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on the standard criteria for Coordination and Support Actions (CSA): Excellence, Impact, and Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation. Each criterion is scored out of 5, with a minimum threshold of 3 for each and an overall threshold of 10.

1. Excellence

• Objectives and Ambition: Clarity and relevance of the project's objectives in preparing a successful future PCP action.
• Methodology: Soundness of the proposed methodology to achieve the project's goals. This includes the quality of the plan for:
  • Identifying and consolidating a group of public buyers.
  • Conducting open market consultations and mapping the state-of-the-art.
  • Defining common needs and preparing draft PCP tender documents.
  • The quality of open science practices is also assessed.

2. Impact

• Pathway to Impact: Credibility of the proposed plan to achieve the expected outcomes. The proposal must convincingly demonstrate how the project will lead to:
  • A consolidated demand for innovative security technologies.
  • Better-informed investment decisions by public buyers.
  • Increased innovation capacity of EU public procurers.
• Measures for Dissemination and Exploitation: Suitability and quality of the measures to maximise project outcomes. This includes a clear plan for communication, dissemination, and exploitation of the preparatory work to attract participants for the future PCP.

3. Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation

• Work Plan and Resources: Quality and effectiveness of the work plan, including a realistic assessment of risks. The appropriateness of the allocated effort and resources for each work package is critical, especially given the 1-year project duration.
• Consortium Capacity: The capacity and role of each participant must be clearly defined. The evaluation will assess the extent to which the consortium as a whole brings together the necessary complementary expertise (e.g., in public procurement, security domain knowledge, market analysis, and project management).

Cross-cutting Themes

• Gender Dimension: The proposal should address the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) if it is relevant to the objectives of the research effort. A justification must be provided if it is not considered relevant.

Compliance and Special Requirements

• Regulatory Compliance: The preparatory work must ensure that any future technology development envisioned in the follow-up PCP complies with European societal values, fundamental rights, and applicable legislation. This includes specific attention to privacy, personal data protection (GDPR), and the legal framework for the free movement of persons.

• IP Policy: The proposal must lay the groundwork for a Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) action. The planning must adhere to the specific IPR rules for PCP as outlined in Horizon Europe General Annex H. Typically in a PCP, the IPR ownership of results remains with the R&D providers, while the public procurers receive royalty-free rights for their own use and the right to license to third parties under fair and reasonable conditions. The CSA must prepare for this framework.

• Unique Aspects:

  • Preparatory Action: This CSA is not a standalone project but a preparatory phase for a subsequent, larger Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) grant. The success and deliverables of this CSA directly determine the feasibility of the follow-up action.
  • Lump Sum Funding: Financial management is simplified as payments are tied to work package completion rather than detailed cost reporting. However, the initial budget estimation must be detailed and accurate.
  • Short Duration: The project has a maximum duration of only one year, requiring a highly efficient and focused work plan.

• Industry-Specific Rules: As the focus is on the security sector, the project must consider relevant legal and compliance frameworks for security technologies. The preparatory work for the PCP must ensure that proposed challenges and future solutions can navigate the complex regulatory landscape of the European security market.