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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Single, clear statement: This grant aims to develop, prototype, and test digital twin technologies to enhance sustainability and resilience in agriculture, forestry, and broader rural development, empowering rural communities with innovative, data-driven solutions.
Target recipient type and size: Consortia involving a balanced mix of relevant rural actors (e.g., farmers, foresters, rural businesses), universities, and research and technology organizations. The grant does not specify organizational size limits but is designed for projects requiring substantial capacity.
MUST state if grant is 'SECTOR-SPECIFIC' or 'SECTOR-AGNOSTIC': SECTOR-SPECIFIC (agriculture, forestry, rural development).
Geographic scope and any location requirements: Projects must cover various biogeographical regions across Europe, specifically those eligible under Horizon Europe (EU Member States and Associated Countries). Balanced representation of pedo-climatic zones and different village types is required.
Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening: Focus on digital twins for rural sustainability, mandatory multi-actor consortium, European scope, emphasis on research and innovation.
Grant frequency and program context: This is a single-stage call within the Horizon Europe Cluster 6 Work Programme 2025, which features recurring calls annually.

Financial Structure

Total budget for this topic: 12,000,000.0 EUR.
Maximum grant amount per project: 6,000,000.0 EUR.
Minimum grant amount per project: 6,000,000.0 EUR.
Currency: EUR.
Funding type: This grant uses a lump sum contribution model, meaning payments are based on the proper implementation and completion of defined work packages, not on actual incurred costs.
Eligible cost categories (for lump sum calculation): These may include personnel costs (employees, direct contractors, seconded staff, SME owners), subcontracting costs, purchase costs (travel, equipment, other goods, works, and services), and other specific cost categories such as financial support to third parties, internally invoiced goods/services, and access to research infrastructures.
Indirect costs: Calculated at a 25% flat rate applied to direct costs.
Financial support to third parties: Permitted, limited to a maximum of 30% of the total EU funding for the project, and with a maximum amount of 60,000 EUR per each third party supported (provided in the form of grants).
Co-financing principle: The total estimated costs of the action must be greater than the estimated Union contributions, ensuring adherence to co-financing principles.
Financial guarantee: Between 5% and 8% of the total lump sum is retained as a contribution to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type

Open to multi-actor consortia that include a balanced mix of relevant actors with complementary knowledge. Examples include: relevant rural actors (e.g., farmers, foresters, rural businesses), universities, and research and technology organizations.
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a member of the consortium.

Geographic Location

Organizations must be from Eligible Countries as defined in Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. This typically includes EU Member States and countries associated with Horizon Europe.
Projects must ensure coverage of various biogeographical regions within Europe, reflecting diverse pedo-climatic zones and different types of villages (e.g., varying size, remoteness, digital maturity, economic reliance, climate vulnerability).

Consortium Requirements

Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor approach' (MAA), ensuring diverse expertise and collaboration.

Technical and Infrastructure Requirements

If projects use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation, or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must utilize Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS.

Application Process

Application Deadline

Submission deadline: 2025-09-24 00:00:00+00.
The submission session officially opened on 2025-05-06.

Submission Process

Application procedure: This call follows a single-stage submission process.
Submission platform: Applications must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal's Electronic Submission Service.
Authentication: An EU Login account is recommended for accessing the submission system.

Required Documentation

Proposal application form (Part B): Applicants must complete the specific application form for this call, available in the Submission System.
Detailed budget table: A breakdown of the proposed lump sum contribution is required, showing the share per work package and, within each work package, the share assigned to each beneficiary and affiliated entity. This must be based on estimated direct and indirect costs.
Accounting declaration: Applicants must declare that they followed their own accounting practices when preparing the estimated budget.

Implementation & Reporting

Grant type: This is a HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) grant.
Payment mechanism: Lump sum contributions are paid out when the corresponding work packages of the action have been properly implemented and their conditions met.
Reporting: Financial reporting is simplified due to the lump sum model; the focus of checks and audits will be on the technical implementation of the action and verification that work package conditions for payment have been met.
Dissemination: Projects are expected to develop diverse practice-oriented dissemination materials (e.g., audiovisuals, brochures) to present developed digital twins and solutions to potential end-users.

Support for Applicants

General guidance: Comprehensive information is available through the Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, and the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ section.
Direct assistance: Support services include the Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), IT Helpdesk for technical issues, European IPR Helpdesk for intellectual property, and specific helpdesks for standardisation (CEN-CENELEC and ETSI).
Partner search: A partner search tool is available on the Funding & Tenders Portal to help find suitable consortium members.

Evaluation Criteria

Standard Horizon Europe Criteria

Excellence: Assesses the quality of the research and innovation activities, methodology, and scientific soundness.
Impact: Evaluates the potential for significant scientific, societal, economic, and environmental benefits, and the effectiveness of the dissemination, exploitation, and communication plans.
Quality and Efficiency of Implementation: Reviews the work plan's quality and effectiveness, the appropriateness of resources, and the management capacity of the consortium.

Specific Scoring Factors

Digital Twin Application: The quality of the design, prototyping, and testing of digital twins for improving the sustainability and resilience of rural areas, agriculture, and forestry.
3D Village Mapping: Development of detailed, freely accessible 3D maps of villages using digital and data technologies, focusing on green areas and climate resilience.
Public Web-Based Platform: Creation of a user-friendly platform for remote visits to 3D village models, including cultural/historical/natural heritage information and a mechanism for resident feedback.
Collaborative Governance Potential: Assessment of how digital technologies can promote collaborative, open, and citizen-centric governance.
Cost-Benefit Analysis: Comprehensive measurement and assessment of implementation costs and benefits, including analysis of enablers, barriers, funding opportunities, and new business models.
Policy and Business Recommendations: The clarity and applicability of research, business, and policy recommendations for successful digital twin deployment.
Training and Capacity Building: Plans for supporting local administrations and rural actors through training, best practice sharing, and fostering a rural innovation ecosystem.
Multi-Actor Approach Quality: The effectiveness of the consortium's composition, ensuring a balanced mix of relevant actors (e.g., end-users, universities, research organizations).
Gender Dimension Integration: The extent to which gender-specific needs are addressed in design, testing, data analysis, training, and communication materials.
Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) Integration: The effective contribution of SSH expertise to enhance societal impact, deliver locally-based solutions, and encourage behavioral changes.
Synergy and Complementarity: Demonstrating how the proposal builds on and complements results from other relevant EU-funded initiatives (e.g., Horizon 2020/Europe projects, EU Missions, European Partnership of Agriculture of Data).
Geographical and Contextual Balance: Coverage of various biogeographical regions and different types of villages (e.g., size, remoteness, digital maturity, reliance on economic sectors, climate vulnerability).

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

General conditions: Admissibility conditions for proposals are described in Annex A and E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Financial rules: Projects must comply with the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509.
Legal framework: Compliance with the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and the Euratom Programme is required.

Data Protection & Security

Data handling: While not explicitly detailed, the focus on digital technologies implies adherence to relevant data protection and privacy regulations, ensuring secure and compliant data management.

Ethical & Social Standards

Gender dimension: Proposals must integrate the gender dimension into all activities, including design, testing, data analysis, and the development of training and communication materials.
Ethical standards: Adherence to the general ethical principles and requirements of the Horizon Europe programme is mandatory.
Inclusion: The 'smart villages concept' should be oriented towards relatively underdeveloped and remotely located rural areas and communities, promoting inclusive development.

Risk Management

Project oversight: Checks, reviews, and audits will primarily focus on the technical implementation of the project and verifying that the conditions for releasing lump sum contributions per work package have been met.
Recovery: In cases where conditions for payment of a lump sum contribution per work package are not met, the granting authority is entitled to recover undue payments.

Unique Aspects & Strategic Opportunities

Lump Sum Funding Model: This grant operates on a simplified lump sum basis, which aims to reduce the administrative burden for beneficiaries and the granting authority by focusing on outputs rather than detailed cost reporting. This increases the focus on scientific and technical performance.
Multi-Actor Approach (MAA): The mandatory MAA ensures diverse perspectives and expertise are integrated into project consortia, fostering strong collaboration between various stakeholders, including end-users.
Financial Support to Third Parties: Projects have the flexibility to provide financial support (grants) to third parties, such as relevant rural actors (farmers, foresters, businesses), academic researchers, hi-tech start-ups, and SMEs, to facilitate the development, testing, or validation of digital twins.
Synergies with Other Initiatives: Proposals are encouraged to build on results and ensure strong complementarity with other relevant EU-funded initiatives and projects (e.g., EU Missions, the European Partnership of Agriculture of Data).
Integration of SSH Disciplines: The effective contribution of social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines is required to ensure meaningful results, enhance societal impact, deliver locally-based solutions, and encourage behavioral changes.
JRC Collaboration: The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate in project consortia, potentially offering support in monitoring and modelling activities related to rural areas, agriculture, and forestry.

Grant Details