Living labs to enhance soil health in Continental, Black Sea, Pannonian and Steppic biogeographical regions

Overview

Funding for consortia to establish 4–5 living labs in the Continental, Black Sea, Pannonian, or Steppic biogeographical regions to co-create and implement soil health solutions. Targets researchers, land managers, SMEs, public authorities, and civil society to improve soil health monitoring, data availability, and adoption of sustainable practices.

Who Can Apply

Consortia of legal entities (e.g., research institutions, universities, SMEs, public bodies, NGOs) from at least three eligible countries. Must apply the multi-actor approach, involving diverse stakeholders such as farmers, forest managers, urban planners, and industry representatives.

Funding Details

• Maximum grant: €12,000,000 per project.
• Financial support to third parties (e.g., land managers, SMEs) allowed up to €60,000 per third party.
• Co-funding requirements: Not specified.

What Is Funded

• Establishment of 4–5 living labs per project, each comprising 10–20 sites (e.g., farms, forests, urban green spaces, industrial areas).
• Co-design and implementation of soil health solutions tailored to local/regional challenges (e.g., erosion, pollution, organic carbon loss).
• Soil health monitoring, baseline assessments, and validation of solutions using standardized indicators.
• Development of lighthouses (exemplary sites for demonstration and training).
• Strategies for long-term sustainability of living labs, including business models and public/private funding.
• Collaboration with the EU Soil Observatory (EUSO), SoilWise, and other Horizon Europe projects.

Technology / Maturity Requirements

• Technology Readiness Level (TRL): 7–9 (system prototype demonstration in operational environment to actual system proven in operational environment).

Key Dates

• Open date: 2027-02-03
• Deadline: 2027-04-07

Application Process (High-Level)

• Two-stage evaluation process.
• Submission via the Funding & Tenders Portal.

Post-Award Obligations

• Collaboration with the SOILL structure for monitoring, capacity building, and networking.
• Ensuring FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data principles for project outputs.
• Engagement in Mission Soil clustering activities and knowledge-sharing with other projects.

Geographic Scope & Language

• Eligible countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, United Kingdom, Switzerland.
• Application language: English.

Notes

• Proposals must focus on either the Continental biogeographical region or one/more of the Black Sea, Pannonian, or Steppic regions.
• Excludes projects solely addressing eutrophication in river catchments (covered by a separate topic).
• Living labs must address common soil health challenges and demonstrate scalability/transferability of solutions.
• Preference for projects building on existing knowledge (e.g., national soil monitoring data, LUCAS, previous Horizon projects).