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Call key data
Broadening the living labs approach for soil health in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)
Funding Program
Horizon Europe: Missions
Call number
HORIZON-MISS-2025-05-SOIL-02-two-stage
deadlines
Opening
06.05.2025
Deadline
04.09.2025 17:00
Funding rate
100%
Call budget
€ 12,000,000.00
Estimated EU contribution per project
€ 6,000,000.00
Link to the call
Link to the submission
Call content
short description
Activities under this topic contribute to the eight specific objectives of the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’. Activities will also contribute to the EU-Africa Partnership on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA), African Union strategies, the ‘Declaration of the EU-CELAC Summit 2023’, the LAC Communication, as well as other initiatives and action plans relevant for soil health and the support of global commitments such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular in the areas of sustainable agriculture, food and nutrition security, biodiversity, and climate.
Call objectives
Living labs have the potential to empower the transition towards healthy soils by closing the gap between science and practice. Three components are recognizable within the now well-established living labs research concept: (a) co-creation of solutions with a large set of stakeholders, (b) carried out in real-life settings and (c) involving the end-users. Living labs are thus collaborations between multiple actors that operate and undertake experiments on individual sites such as farms, forest stands, urban green or industrial areas, enterprises and other locations, where the work is carried out and monitored under real-life conditions.
Soil health gains require adapted, site-specific practices. However, providing millions of (small) land managers with access to regional or field-specific solutions and tailored advisory, remains challenging and requires new approaches. In particular, as the lack of feedback loops between land managers and researchers may lead to the development or implementation of inappropriate solutions or hinder the adaptation of solutions to local contexts.
Building on the abovementioned living labs principles, this topic aims to support the development of human-centred initiatives for research, development, education, extension and support sustainable soil management, with the final goal of accelerating and expanding the adoption of context-specific solutions for soil health protection and restoration in Africa and LAC. The Mission Soil living labs concept (see topic HORIZON-MISS-2025-05-SOIL-01: Co-creating solutions for soil health in Living Labs) is not expected to be replicated as such, but rather to inspire the exploration of new models and participatory initiatives that, based on the same principles, emerge from African and LAC soil-related communities as drivers of change in soil management.
Proposals should:
- Support the set-up of at least 12 participatory initiatives in real-life sites in at least 5 to 6 countries in each region (Africa or LAC). The participatory initiatives should co-design, co-develop and co-implement with all relevant actors, locally adapted solutions and holistic approaches to key soil health challenge(s) related with one or more of the Mission Soil specific objectives. The initiatives should cover a diversity of environmental, socio-economic and cultural contexts across the regions (Africa or LAC) and the proposed solutions should be adapted to these contexts. The initiatives should integrate knowledge and expertise from SSH disciplines.
- Support the participatory initiatives to monitor and assess the progress on soil health and socio-economic resilience derived from the implementation of the solutions. For this, adequate indicators (new or existing) should be used, and a baseline established.
- Support land managers, land users, advisers as well as any relevant actors involved in the participatory initiatives, to co-implement the solutions, by providing training, capacity building, knowledge exchange, etc. (e.g. sharing best practices, organising demonstration activities or cross-visits). Actors involved in the participatory initiatives should not be partners of the successful proposals funded under this topic.
- Identify initiatives that are exemplary in their performance on soil health improvement and can act as places for demonstration of solutions (similar to the Mission Soil lighthouse concept) to efficiently disseminate knowledge and accelerate the adoption, scale up and transferability of solutions and increase the impact on the ground.
- Develop an inclusive exchange mechanism among the established initiatives to enable a rapid peer-to-peer learning and a toolbox to support the adaptation and replication of these initiatives in other contexts by others. The exchange mechanism should operate as an incubator of new initiatives in at least 5 to 6 countries in each region (Africa or LAC) and be designed to allow geographical expansion and sustainability.
- Ensure long-term ambition, continuity, and sustainability of the established mechanism beyond the Horizon Europe funding, including through attracting other funding and identifying possible business models and actions involving local authorities, social economy entities and social enterprises business communities, SMEs, investors, entrepreneurs and philanthropic organisations.
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Expected effects and impacts
Proposals should include expertise in human centred design, capacity to operate at regional level and deep understanding of the different environmental, socio-economic and cultural contexts as well as existing soil health needs and management practices in Africa or LAC. An effective contribution of social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines is essential to implement strong participatory initiatives, foster social innovation and enhance social, cultural and behavioural change.
Proposals must provide financial support to third parties to set up participatory initiatives addressing soil health in real-life sites in Africa or LAC. The recipients of the financial support must be the group of actors involved in the participatory activities in each initiative and include, for example, research organisations, land-managers, start-ups, SMEs, civil society organisations and/or other interdisciplinary actors. Recipients of financial support within one participatory initiative cannot be recipients of financial support in another participatory initiative under this same topic.
Proposals should define a transparent selection criterion for the FSTP calls. These criteria should consider: the recipients’ ability to advise on or contribute to innovative, inclusive, agile research and implementation approaches; their expertise in human centred design; their capacity to operate at regional level; and their deep understanding of the context and existing soil health needs as well as soil health management practices in Africa or LAC.
Proposals should include a dedicated task, appropriate resources and a plan on how they will build on the results of and/or collaborate with related projects funded by philanthropic entities and other relevant actions under Horizon Europe (e.g. Soils4Africa and projects to be financed under topic ‘HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-19: Developing agroecology living labs and lighthouses for climate action under the Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) partnership’, or ‘HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01-09: Assessment of Soil Health in Africa’).
Proposals should demonstrate a route towards open access, longevity, sustainability and interoperability of knowledge and outputs through close collaboration with the European Union Soil Observatory (EUSO) and the project SoilWise. In particular, proposals should ensure that the data produced in the context of this topic is FAIR and that relevant data, maps and information can potentially be available publicly through the EUSO.
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Expected results
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
- Soil degradation is minimized or reversed, and soil health is enhanced in rural, urban and peri-urban areas of Africa or Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
- Local communities and small land managers and land users in Africa or LAC have increased access to scalable practice-oriented tools and learning mechanisms for soil health, including monitoring, based on participatory research.
- Establishment of a recognised mechanism for exchange of soil health knowledge, of learning experiences and tools that can be replicated and that can attract additional finance to support human-centred design and testing of solutions for soil health.
- Policy makers can put in place an effective framework to support continuous generation and adoption of knowledge-based, context-specific solutions for soil health and sustainable land management in Africa or LAC.
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Eligibility Criteria
Regions / countries for funding
Moldova (Moldova), Albania (Shqipëria), Armenia (Հայաստան), Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina / Босна и Херцеговина), Canada, Faeroes (Føroyar / Færøerne), Georgia (საქართველო), Iceland (Ísland), Israel (ישראל / إِسْرَائِيل), Kosovo (Kosova/Kosovë / Косово), Montenegro (Црна Гора), Morocco (المغرب), New Zealand (Aotearoa), North Macedonia (Северна Македонија), Norway (Norge), Serbia (Srbija/Сpбија), Tunisia (تونس /Tūnis), Türkiye, Ukraine (Україна), United Kingdom
eligible entities
EU Body, Education and training institution, International organization, Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) / Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Other, Private institution, incl. private company (private for profit), Public Body (national, regional and local; incl. EGTCs), Research Institution incl. University, Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)
Mandatory partnership
Yes
Project Partnership
To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
- the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions
- the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States
- countries associated to Horizon Europe - see list of particpating countries
Only legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in actions provided that the consortium includes, as beneficiaries, three legal entities independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:
- at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State; and
- at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries.
Due to the scope of this topic, all legal entities established in: (i) all African Union member states (including countries whose membership has been temporarily suspended); or (ii) in all member states of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) are exceptionally eligible for Union funding (i.e., even if they are not established in a low-middle income country, following the ‘List of Participating Countries in Horizon Europe’, which are directly eligible for funding).
In addition, international organisations with headquarters in an EU Member State, an Associated Country, an African Union member state or a CELAC member state are exceptionally eligible for funding.
Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from non-associated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call topic.
A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality.
other eligibility criteria
Specific cases:
- Affiliated entities (i.e. entities with a legal or capital link to a beneficiary which participate in the action with similar rights and obligations to the beneficiaries, but which do not sign the grant agreement and therefore do not become beneficiaries themselves) are allowed, if they are eligible for participation and funding.
- Associated partners (i.e. entities which participate in the action without signing the grant agreement, and without the right to charge costs or claim contributions) are allowed, subject to any conditions regarding associated partners set out in the specific call conditions.
- Entities which do not have legal personality under their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offer guarantees to protect the EU’s financial interests equivalent to those offered by legal persons.
- Legal entities created under EU law (EU bodies) including decentralised agencies may be part of the consortium, unless provided for otherwise in their basic act.
- International European research organisations are eligible to receive funding. International organisations with headquarters in a Member State or Associated Country are eligible to receive funding for ‘Training and mobility’ actions or when provided for in the specific call/topic conditions. Other international organisations are not eligible to receive funding, unless provided for in the specific call/topic conditions, or if their participation is considered essential for implementing the action by the granting authority.
- Joint Research Centre (JRC)— Where provided for in the specific call conditions, applicants may include in their proposals the possible contribution of the JRC but the JRC will not participate in the preparation and submission of the proposal. Applicants will indicate the contribution that the JRC could bring to the project based on the scope of the topic text. After the evaluation process, the JRC and the consortium selected for funding may come to an agreement on the specific terms of the participation of the JRC. If an agreement is found, the JRC may accede to the grant agreement as beneficiary requesting zero funding or participate as an associated partner, and would accede to the consortium as a member.
- Associations and interest groupings — Entities composed of members (e.g. European research infrastructure consortia (ERICs)) may participate as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality’. However, if the action is in practice implemented by the individual members, those members should also participate (either as beneficiaries or as affiliated entities, otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible.
- EU restrictive measures — Entities subject to EU restrictive measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) as well as Article 75 TFEU, are not eligible to participate in any capacity, including as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, third parties giving in-kind contributions, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties (if any).
- Legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government controlled territories of Ukraine — Given the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the involvement of Belarus, there is currently no appropriate context allowing the implementation of the actions foreseen in this programme with legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government controlled territories of Ukraine. Therefore, even where such entities are not subject to EU restrictive measures, such legal entities are not eligible to participate in any capacity. This includes participation as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, third parties giving in-kind contributions, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties (if any). Exceptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis for justified reasons.
With specific regard to measures addressed to Russia, following the adoption of the Council Regulation (EU) 2024/1745 of 24 June 2024 (amending Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 of 31 July 2014) concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine, legal entities established outside Russia but whose proprietary rights are directly or indirectly owned for more than 50% by a legal person, entity or body established in Russia are also not eligible to participate in any capacity. - Measures for the protection of the Union budget against breaches of the principles of the rule of law in Hungary — Following the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506, as of 16 December 2022, no legal commitments can be entered into with Hungarian public interest trusts established under the Hungarian Act IX of 2021 or any entity they maintain. Affected entities may continue to apply to calls for proposals and can participate without receiving EU funding, as associated partners, if allowed by the call conditions. However, as long as the Council measures are not lifted, such entities are not eligible to participate in any funded role (beneficiaries, affiliated entities, subcontractors, recipients of financial support to third parties, etc.).In case of multi-beneficiary grant calls, applicants will be invited to remove or replace that entity in any funded role and/or to change its status into associated partner. Tasks and budget may be redistributed accordingly.
Additional information
Topics
Relevance for EU Macro-Region
EUSAIR - EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region, EUSALP - EU Strategy for the Alpine Space, EUSBSR - EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, EUSDR - EU Strategy for the Danube Region
UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs)
Additional Information
Applications must be submitted electronically via the Funders & Tenders Portal electronic submission system (accessible via the topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section). Paper submissions are NOT possible.
Applications must be submitted using the forms provided inside the electronic submission system (not the templates available on the topic page, which are only for information). The structure and presentation must correspond to the instructions given in the forms.
Applications must be complete and contain all parts and mandatory annexes and supporting documents.
The application form will have two parts:
- Part A (to be filled in directly online) contains administrative information about the applicant organisations (future coordinator and beneficiaries and affiliated entities), the summarised budget for the proposal and call-specific questions;
- Part B (to be downloaded from the Portal submission system, completed and then assembled and re-uploaded as a PDF in the system) contains the technical description of the project.
Annexes and supporting documents will be directly available in the submission system and must be uploaded as PDF files (or other formats allowed by the system).
The page limit for the Part B for the first stage of the 2-stage call is 10 pages.
To ensure that both regions (Africa and LAC) are covered, grants will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but at least also to one project focusing on Africa that is the highest ranked, and one project highest ranked within LAC, provided that the applications attain all thresholds. Proposals must clearly indicate the region (Africa or LAC) they are applying to.
Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 300 000. At least 60% of the total requested EU contribution must be allocated to this purpose. EUR 300 000 is considered necessary to meet the requirements of the topic, cover costs to set up participatory initiatives in real-life sites, engage with and consult extensively stakeholders, and demonstrate solutions to soil health challenges.
Call documents
Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025 - MissionsHorizon Europe Work Programme 2025 - Missions(1773kB)
Contact
RTD-HORIZON-EUROPE-MISSIONS@ec.europa.eu
Website
National Contact Points for Horizon Europe
Website
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