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  1. An institution, body, office or agency established by or based on the Treaty on European Union and the Treaties establishing the European Communities.

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Call key data

Systemic approaches to accelerate transformative change for biodiversity

Funding Program

Horizon Europe

Call number

HORIZON-NATURE-2027-01-03

deadlines

Opening
13.10.2026

Deadline
14.01.2027 17:00

Funding rate

100%

Call budget

€ 12,000,000.00

Estimated EU contribution per project

€ 4,000,000.00

Link to the call

ec.europa.eu

Link to the submission

ec.europa.eu

Call content

short description

As highlighted by IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services), halting biodiversity loss requires transformative change across mindsets, practices and the rules of the system, in ways that address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss and nature’s decline. In this context, systems thinking and behavioural science are not optional add-ons but essential bridges between ambition and impact, enabling policies and interventions to better translate intentions and actions into behavioural and structural change across all relevant actor groups.

Call objectives

Proposals should:

  • identify and analyse implementation gaps in transformative change for biodiversity through a systems approach, including behavioural sciences, SSH, culture and the arts, building on existing knowledge across different types, including Indigenous and local. Where relevant, systemic analyses should be supported by empirical biodiversity data, including ecosystem functioning indicators, to ensure that behavioural and governance interventions are grounded in measurable ecological outcomes;
  • analyse and map cross-actor and cross-sector relationships, different worldviews and knowledge systems - including Indigenous and local knowledge - power dynamics, gender roles, governance and influence pathways, including how knowledge is produced, validated and mobilised across actor groups, to identify how interactions between them drive or hinder transformative change for biodiversity;
  • anticipate and analyse how indirect drivers of biodiversity loss interact with societal, economic and cultural values, affect intrinsic biodiversity values, access to and perceptions of nature and behavioural change, in order to identify key leverage points for interventions and inform strategies for transformative, nature-positive change. Proposals should address biodiversity loss, climate change and pollution as interconnected crises requiring coherent and mutually reinforcing solutions;
  • design, pilot and evaluate approaches to shift governance arrangements, organisational and community routines and decision-making processes (e.g. compliance and enforcement, investment and finance decisions, cost-benefit analysis, land and sea management practices, and nature-based solutions, and communication strategies grounded in cultural and landscape values) for the benefit of communities as well as the private sector;
  • develop guidance, building on existing networks, data sets, digital platforms and tools (including for monitoring), to support the adaptation, replication and scaling of the proposed approaches across sectors and regions. Where relevant, this may include the use, development and/or synthesis of indicators, models, data and tools to better capture nature restoration’s contribution to systemic risks reduction, across ecosystems;
  • optimise data usage, including standardised data formats widely adopted across sectors, for integrating biodiversity objectives with socio-economic outcomes, increase consistency and ease data interpretation and exchange among sectors and their integration into sectoral (digital) decision-support and management tools. Where relevant, support tools like natural capital accounting and nature credit frameworks with clear metrics for additionality and permanence, or information collected from different stakeholders and participatory processes should be incorporated;
  • support stakeholders (e.g. in agriculture, fisheries and forestry, among others) in aligning their land/sea management practices, business models and broader operations and trade interactions with pathways to transformative change by addressing the challenges they face (e.g. meeting EU biodiversity targets and objectives, including corporate sustainability and due diligence reporting) and develop case studies. These should provide solutions that prioritise biodiversity and ecological objectives while considering socio-economic realities, promoting sustainable management, policy compliance, economic viability, community resilience and enhancing Europe’s long-term competitiveness. Participatory and co-design approaches that actively involve stakeholders in identifying challenges, designing solutions, and validating outcomes should be included.

Proposals should build on and contribute to the findings of IPBES.

Projects should build on clustering activities with Horizon Europe projects and other initiatives working in this field, through the dedication of appropriate resources. Funded projects should cover one or more ecosystems, including marine, coastal, freshwater and/or terrestrial. Proposals must apply a multi-actor approach and are encouraged to integrate international cooperation and/or participation of outermost regions. This topic requires the effective contribution from the SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities. Proposals may include financial support to third parties (FSTP) to facilitate active and supportive involvement of actors, experts and institutions. A maximum of 15% of the EU proposed budget should be allocated to this purpose.

In order to increase synergies and the impact of the projects, all proposals selected for funding should form a cluster and are expected to participate in common networking and joint activities, including with projects from other calls where deemed appropriate. These activities should be included in a dedicated work package, having sufficient budget allocated to it. These activities may include:

  • a common dissemination and communication strategy;
  • common Data Management Strategy and Common Policy Strategy (including joint policy briefs);
  • thematic workshops/trainings/working groups on issues of common interest (e.g. data management and exchange);
  • close cooperation with the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity (KCBD) and its Science Service, including participating in answering science to policy requests.

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Expected results

Proposals are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

  • policy and decision makers at relevant levels are better equipped to incorporate educational, cultural, societal and behavioural insights related to biodiversity – such as business dependencies, vulnerabilities and systemic risks – into future policy development, including through participatory and co-designed approaches;
  • institutional, business, financial and economic actors have better awareness on the systemic effects of their interactions and interdependencies with ecosystems, including international trade, across value chains; the understanding and mapping of cross-actor and cross-sectoral relationships and their associated knowledge production and decision-making pathways are improved;
  • transdisciplinary research communities from natural and social sciences and humanities (SSH), as well as cultural and creative sectors, among others, collaborate to improve understanding on the indirect drivers behind biodiversity-harming practices, identify leverage points and test evidence-based interventions – including in relation to governance, incentives, narratives, norms and power asymmetries – with public and private sector actors to incentivise and strengthen collaborative, nature-positive practices that enable transformative change for biodiversity.

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Eligibility Criteria

Regions / countries for funding

Candidate Countries, EEA - European Economic Area, EU Member States, Eastern Partnership, Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT)
Faeroes (Føroyar / Færøerne), Israel (ישראל / إِسْرَائِيل), Kosovo (Kosova/Kosovë / Косово), Morocco (المغرب), Switzerland (Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera), Tunisia (تونس /Tūnis), United Kingdom

eligible entities

EU Body, Education and training institution, 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; Albania, Arab Republic of Egypt, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Republic of Korea, Serbia, Switzerland, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom;
  • the following low- and middle-income countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic), Congo (Republic), Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt (Arab Republic), El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic), Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea (Democratic People's Republic), Kyrgyz Republic, Lao (People’s Democratic Republic), Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia (Federated States), Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic), Vietnam, Yemen Republic, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Legal entities which are established in countries not listed above will be eligible for funding if provided for in the specific call/topic conditions, or if their participation is considered essential for implementing the action by the granting authority.

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.

Unless otherwise provided for in the specific call/topic conditions, 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.

As affiliated entities do not sign the grant agreement, they do not count towards the minimum eligibility criteria for consortium composition (if any).

Specific cases

Affiliated entities — 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 — 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 specific call/topic conditions.

Entities without legal personality — 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.

EU bodies — Legal entities created under EU law including decentralised agencies may be part of the consortium, unless provided for otherwise in their basic act.

International organisations — 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/topic 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 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 the 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

Administration & Governance, Institutional Capacity & Cooperation, 
Agriculture & Forestry, Fishery, Food, Soil quality, 
Air Quality, Biodiversity & Environment, Climate & Climate Change, Water quality & management

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.

Applications must include a plan for the exploitation and dissemination of results including communication activities, unless provided otherwise in the specific call/topic conditions. The plan is not required for applications at the first stage of two-stage procedures. If the expected exploitation of the results entails developing, creating, manufacturing and marketing a product or process, or in creating and providing a service, the plan must include a strategy for such exploitation. If the plan provides for exploitation of the results primarily in non-associated third countries, the applicants must explain how that exploitation is to be considered in the EU’s interest.

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 proposals must apply the multi-actor approach. See definition of the multi-actor approach in this work programme part.

The limit for a full application (Part B) is 45 pages.

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 60 000.

Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025).

Call documents

Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027 Horizontal ActivitiesHorizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027 Horizontal Activities(1262kB)

Contact

National Contact Points for Horizon Europe
Website

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