Humanitarian demining / Unexploded Ordnance Disposal (UXO) of civil areas and unexploded ordnance risk education
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
In post-conflict areas, lives of civilians are in danger and the return of economic activity is hindered because the land is contaminated by anti-personnel mines and other unexploded ordnance. The EU provides a continuous support to humanitarian demining activities in heavily mine-affected countries and regions all over the world, thus promoting peace, security, post-conflict reconstruction, as well as social and economic rehabilitation. In Ukraine, mine action is a critical aspect of the humanitarian emergency response, the goal of which is to support the return of the civilian population and the rebuilding of crucial civilian infrastructure. As part of their mine action operations, EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries, such as Croatia, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Armenia also strive to make their land completely free of anti-personnel mines and other explosive ordnance.
Detailed Call Description
Humanitarian demining is not to be confused with military demining, which is the process undertaken by soldiers to clear a safe path so they can advance during conflict.
Various humanitarian demining initiatives have been developed, which often incur high costs and are typically slow because no mistakes are allowed. In addition, due to a large diversity of contaminated areas, types of anti-personnel mines and of their deployment methods, as well as a more complex contamination that includes unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices, there is no single solution to the problem. Finally, new anti-personnel mines are being developed and new mine deployment techniques being used. Therefore, new, improved, innovative or disruptive solutions, accompanied by related training curricula, are needed to enhance humanitarian demining activities in civil areas. Since the aim of humanitarian demining is to restore peace and security, it has to be complemented by an adequate risk education, raising awareness of civilians of the risks from anti-personnel mines and other unexploded ordnance, which will help them act in such a way that will reduce the risk to people and the environment. A range of risk education initiatives exist, but they usually lack, among others, collaboration with related Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), sustainability, and a comprehensive needs assessment aiming to improve their effectiveness. Within this topic, improved, modern and validated tools, skills, methodologies and innovative training curricula for practitioners are expected, which are adapted to regional and cross-border contexts.
Proposals should also explain how they will plan and/or carry out demonstration, testing or validation of developed tools and solutions. Furthermore, proposals should outline the plans to develop possible future uptake and upscaling at national and EU and international level for possible next steps once the project is finalised. Proposals should also consider, build on if appropriate and not duplicate previous research, including but not limited to research by other Framework Programmes’ projects. Proposals are also expected to connect and create synergies and explore complementarities with other related initiatives in humanitarian demining and in explosive ordnance risk education.
Activities proposed within this topic should address both technological (humanitarian demining) and societal (explosive ordnance risk education) dimensions in a balanced way.
To ensure the active involvement of and timely feedback from relevant security practitioners, proposals should plan a mid-term deliverable consisting in the assessment, performed by the practitioners involved in the project, of the project’s mid-term outcomes.
Within this topic, the European Commission encourages all potential participants to create, where possible, opportunities for the affected persons and entities, in particular Ukrainian national mine action authorities, researchers and innovators, demining agencies or companies as well as NGOs.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
70%
Expected EU contribution per project: €6.00 million
Thematic Categories
- Education and training
- Justice - Security
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
- Social Affairs & Human Rights
Eligibility for Participation
- Central Government
- International Organisations
- Large Enterprises
- Legal Entities
- Local Authorities
- NGOs
- Non Profit Organisations
- Other Beneficiaries
- Private Bodies
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- Semi-governmental organisations
- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
- State-owned Enterprises
Eligibility For Participation Notes
The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least one international humanitarian demining organisation and two local or regional Non-Governmental Organisations active in humanitarian demining from at least three different EU Member States or Associated Countries, including Ukraine. 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.
The participation of at least one entity from Ukraine in the consortium is mandatory with competences in humanitarian demining / Unexploded Ordnance Disposal (UXO).
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).
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 Persons:
Christakis Theocharous
Scientific Officer A’
Telephone: +357 22 20 50 29
Email: ctheocharous@research.org.cy