Targeted innovative capabilities for the resilience of critical entities to natural and human-induced disasters, including hybrid scenarios
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
Recent compound and cascading disasters have demonstrated the urgent need to reinforce the resilience of critical entities against a wide spectrum of hazards, including both human-induced incidents, natural events such as floods, wildfires, earthquakes, and storms, and natural hazard triggered technological (NaTech) accidents, including hybrid scenarios.
The vulnerability of key infrastructures is exacerbated by their growing interdependencies and the systemic propagation of risks across sectors and borders. In this context, ensuring the monitoring, protection and continuity of essential services has become fundamental to preserving and enhancing societal resilience.
Detailed Call Description
This topic aims to support the development and demonstration of targeted high-tech capabilities that address specific preparedness, operational, and recovery gaps in the resilience of critical entities under multi-hazard and NaTech conditions. It calls for moving beyond generic resilience frameworks toward sector-specific, interoperable, and modular technological and governance solutions that can be deployed and tested in realistic operational settings.
Proposals should be grounded in existing risk assessments and draw on lessons learned from recent disruptive events. They are expected to deliver measurable improvements in both technological and organisational resilience through the identification and prioritisation of critical capability gaps, especially where cascading and cross-sectoral risks are likely to arise. In parallel, adaptive continuity planning and decision-making tools should be designed to enhance situational awareness, support dynamic response coordination, and maintain service continuity in fast-evolving crisis scenarios.
Proposals should also demonstrate cross-border, multi-actor coordination mechanisms through simulations or testing in real operational environments, involving public authorities, emergency responders, and critical service operators or representative environments where critical infrastructure is particularly exposed to multi-hazard risks.
International cooperation is encouraged, particularly in regions with cross-border infrastructure or shared vulnerabilities. Actions should take due account of the relevant EU legal and policy frameworks and are expected to address all applicable considerations expressed in the Introductions of the Resilient Infrastructure and Disaster-Resilient Society for Europe Destinations.
Coordination among the successful proposals from this topic and projects funded under HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-INFRA-01: Open topic for improved preparedness for, response to and recovery from large-scale disruptions of critical infrastructures and HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-INFRA-02: Open topic for role of the human factor for resilience of European critical entities, and HORIZON-CL3-2024-DRS-01-04: Hi-tech capacities for crisis response and recovery after a natural-technological (NaTech) disaster should be envisaged in order to avoid duplication, share resources and exploit complementarities and opportunities for increased impact.
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
70%
Expected EU contribution per project: €4.50 million
Thematic Categories
- Energy
- Environment and Climate Change
- Information and Communication Technologies
- Information Technology
- Justice - Security
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
- Transport
Eligibility for Participation
- Businesses
- Central Government
- Large Enterprises
- Legal Entities
- Local Authorities
- Other Beneficiaries
- Private Bodies
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- Services Providers
- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
- State-owned Enterprises
Eligibility For Participation Notes
In line with the “restriction on control in innovation actions in critical technology areas” delineated in General Annex B of the General Annexes, entities established in an eligible country but which are directly or indirectly controlled by China or by a legal entity established in China are not eligible to participate in the action.
This topic requires involvement as beneficiaries of at least 3 relevant practitioners from EU Member States or Associated Countries. Depending on the specific proposal submitted, these practitioners should represent one or several of the following portfolios:
- critical infrastructure operator,
- authority responsible for critical infrastructure resilience,
- civil protection authority,
- first responders’ organisations or agencies,
- authority in charge of managing NaTech (Natural Hazard Triggered Technological) events,
- law enforcement or private companies providing security for critical infrastructure.
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