Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
Horizon Europe is the European Union (EU) funding programme for the period 2021 – 2027, which targets the sectors of research and innovation. The programme’s budget is around € 95.5 billion, of which € 5.4 billion is from NextGenerationEU to stimulate recovery and strengthen the EU’s resilience in the future, and € 4.5 billion is additional aid.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
Building on the whole-of-society and whole-of-government approach, this topic should contribute to enhancing risk awareness and disaster preparedness through the development of innovative tools, methodologies, and frameworks.
A key focus should be on integrating diverse societal and resilience perspectives considering people in a vulnerable situation, ensuring inclusive participation in risk communication strategies, and leveraging accessible advanced technologies and processes to improve public understanding of hazards and vulnerabilities (such as gender, disabilities and others social factors. and capabilities.
Efforts should aim at designing and validating novel approaches to risk perception, communication, including digital platforms, immersive technologies, and participatory tools that foster citizen engagement and behavioural change, as well as wildlife protection.
Behavioural insights should inform the projects on effective methods in population’s preparedness including the risk communication. Special attention should be given to marginalized or vulnerable groups in a vulnerable situation ensure equitable access to risk information and preparedness resources.
Detailed Call Description
To strengthen disaster preparedness and response capabilities across Europe, there is a clear need for an innovative, interoperable solution that enables the development of new strategies for risk awareness and disaster management. Such a solution should facilitate seamless collaboration between public authorities, civil society, local communities, and the private sector. It must support the co-creation of comprehensive preparedness plans that ensure a coordinated, robust, resilient, and effective response to a wide range of disaster scenarios. Central to this approach should be the integration of a command-and-control system that allows for centralized information management, efficient coordination among all stakeholders, and rapid, data-driven decision-making in emergency situations. For example, efforts to guarantee early action from early warning should be taken into account.
Furthermore, proposals should work towards the creation of comprehensive, multi-stakeholder preparedness plans that involve all levels of governance, civil society, the private sector, and local communities. These plans should establish mechanisms for cross-sectoral coordination, efficient resource allocation, and effective decision-making in crisis situations and the development of solutions and tools to ensure a greater culture of safety and societal resilience in the communities. Research should also explore innovative governance models that enhance interoperability and cooperation between different entities. To strengthen disaster resilience, proposals should develop and test adaptive response frameworks that enhance collaboration between public authorities, civil society, communities, and businesses. These frameworks should incorporate near real-time risk assessment tools, digital simulations, and scenario-based exercises to improve the capacity to anticipate, respond to, and recover from disasters. The integration of AI-driven decision-support systems, taking into account existing biases, digital twin technologies (including Destination Earth), and predictive analytics could further contribute to a more effective, evidence-based crisis response.
Projects are expected to contribute to the overall enhancement of societal resilience by fostering a culture of preparedness, strengthening community-driven disaster risk reduction initiatives, proactive engagement in prevention- and mitigation of disaster’s effects, and ensuring that all actors within society have the necessary tools and knowledge to respond effectively to future crises.
Where relevant, projects may take into account the assets, but also particular challenges faced by the European outermost regions and may include entities from these regions in the consortium’s composition.
Projects should conduct a stakeholder or market analysis and a roadmap or plan for uptake of the developed methodologies, findings, and technologies to the industry, the research and innovation community, and/or the relevant authorities.
International cooperation in this topic is strongly recommended. Proposals should also take into account lessons learned from past disasters and align with existing EU policies, frameworks, and international commitments in the field of disaster risk reduction and crisis management. Especially the population preparedness chapter of the Preparedness Union Strategy, such as the preparEU initiative, should be considered. Finding synergies with projects from operational grants, such as the Knowledge for Action in Prevention & Preparedness (KAPP), is recommended.
Technology Readiness Level – Technology readiness level expected from completed projects
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
100%
Expected EU contribution per project: €3.00 million
Thematic Categories
- Information and Communication Technologies
- Information Technology
- Justice - Security
- Migration and Citizenship
- Shipping - Marine Transports
Eligibility for Participation
- Businesses
- Central Government
- Large Enterprises
- Legal Entities
- Local Authorities
- NGOs
- Other Beneficiaries
- Private Bodies
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- Services Providers
- State-owned Enterprises
Eligibility For Participation Notes
Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.
Due to the scope of this topic, relevant international organisations with headquarters in a Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country are exceptionally eligible for funding.
The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3 organisations from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries as follows: (i) at least one civil society organisation (CSO); (ii) at least one authority in charge of disaster risk[[Authorities in charge of disaster risk entail public bodies operating at the national level that hold legally defined responsibilities in the area of disaster risk management. This includes national civil protection authorities as well as other institutions that can demonstrate, through appropriate legal or administrative acts, a formal mandate to design, coordinate, or implement national disaster risk prevention, preparedness or response measures.]] (iii) at least one organisation representing local or regional authorities. For these participants, applicants must fill in the table “Information about security practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information, following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Research and Innovation Foundation
29a Andrea Michalakopoulou, 1075 Nicosia,
P.B. 23422, 1683 Nicosia
Telephone: +357 22205000
Fax: +357 22205001
Email: support@research.org.cy
Website: https://www.research.org.cy/en/
Contact Person:
Christakis Theocharous
Scientific Officer A’
Telephone: +357 22 20 50 29
Email: ctheocharous@research.org.cy