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Call key data

Addressing biodiversity decline and promoting Nature-based Solutions in higher education

Funding ProgramHorizon Europe - Cluster 6 - Destination 1: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
Call numberHORIZON-CL6-2023-BIODIV-01-8
deadlinesOpening
22.12.2022		Deadline
28.03.2023 17:00
Funding rate100%
Call budget € 3,000,000.00
Estimated EU contribution per project€ 3,000,000.00
Link to the callec.europa.eu
Link to the submissionec.europa.eu

Call content

short description

Drawing on state-of-the-art science, including the results of EU-funded R&I projects on biodiversity and NBS (nature-based solutions), the selected project will develop and disseminate concrete guidance for higher education institutions. It will target vocational training, universities and technical schools, for greater involvement with citizens and professional organisations, to mainstream biodiversity and NBS into their learning, teaching and capacity building programmes.

Call objectives

The European Green Deal communication puts forward a specific action for the Commission to prepare a European competence framework to help develop and assess knowledge, skills and attitudes on climate change and sustainable development. This competence framework should serve as a reference tool for the development and assessment of competences on environmental sustainability. Following the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, the Commission proposed in 2022 a Council Recommendation on encouraging cooperation in learning for environmental sustainability, including biodiversity learning and teaching, which was accompanied by a competence framework.

Education plays indeed an essential role in addressing environmental sustainability by raising awareness and instilling the key competences needed for changing personal behaviours and empowering people to act in their respective communities, especially in the current context of economic recovery, biodiversity crisis and climate change.

Transdisciplinary collaboration is a fundamental prerequisite for mutual understanding of people working in different sectors when co-creating and co-implementing NBS. There is a need to go beyond tackling challenges individually and perceive the systemic complexity of challenges to be addressed by NBS, by working together across silos, sectors and epistemologies. This paradigm shift in education and skills development will contribute to the necessary transdisciplinary work for tackling both biodiversity and climate crises at different decision-making scales.

The successful proposals should:

  • Develop networking and collaboration schemes on higher education curricula and programmes on NBS, as well as researcher mobility initiatives.
  • Support and promote the teaching of NBS co-design and co-creation (considering biodiversity and ecosystem services as their fundamental building blocks) as part of high education degrees and further education qualifications. Explore ways of raising awareness and teaching the importance of biodiversity, including genetic, functional and taxonomic diversity, and ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, climate resilience and pollution reduction, especially in those academic fields where this is still greatly lacking (e.g., economics, engineering, etc).
  • Encourage holistic approaches centred on biodiversity and the interlinks with climate change; and assess and propose university curricula for NBS-related disciplines, as well as for universities of technology, engineering and other non-biodiversity focused studies that are relevant for NBS design, implementation, monitoring and maintenance.
  • Develop collaboration, guidance, benchmarking and exchange of best practices on how the higher education sector can address its impacts on biodiversity when addressing climate change (e.g., in built infrastructure, consumption and other processes), including through NBS.
  • Explore innovative ways of involving higher education institutions, their students and staff in tackling the biodiversity crisis, together with the climate crisis (e.g., through documentaries, awards, art interventions, campus improvements).
  • Develop NBS capacity building and skills development programmes, in different EU official languages and knowledge transfer mechanisms, in coordination with the relevant professional organisations and building on the work developed on NBS standards and protocols, e.g. by the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe NBS project portfolio, or by the IUCN, so that new technical solutions and standards are used in the NBS supply market.
  • In view of a just ecological transition, provide specific NBS vocational training and skills development programmes for the youth, long term unemployed or other social groups in need (including in most deprived regions), co-developed with the relevant professional training and social inclusion institutions.
  • Explore innovative ways of ensuring a transdisciplinary dialogue on biodiversity, drivers of biodiversity change, climate and NBS among communities of practice and professional organisations, as well as in universities. In this respect, develop approaches to ensure the quality of transdisciplinary programmes and provide an innovative dialogue space ensuring transdisciplinarity and welcoming the pluralities of values and knowledge, in view of transformative change to tackle both climate and biodiversity crises.
  • Outreach and cooperation activities between higher education institutions and citizens, the local and regional communities, businesses, research centres, or museums, supporting challenge-based and experiential learning with real-life applications, promoting nature-based thinking, public debate and a change of behaviour.
  • Organise academic residences or summer schools with the relevant partners in Member States, where students can join interdisciplinary and multicultural discussions and witness, in person, the co-creation, co-implementation and co-monitoring of NBS, also in view of emancipatory action for transformative change.

Proposals should address all of the above points.

This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines (Social Sciences and Humanities) 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. In particular, SSH should be involved in view of ensuring the understanding and inclusion of different values and perceptions of nature, biodiversity and NBS, as well as issues of knowledge creation, identity and culture shaping NBS co-creation and co-implementation.

Proposals should include specific tasks and allocate sufficient resources to collaborate with other projects selected in any other relevant topic, by participating in joint activities, workshops, as well as common communication and dissemination. In particular, the project should build on the existing outputs and create synergies with the relevant projects in Erasmus+, the Horizon Europe Missions (notably “Restore Our Ocean and Waters by 2030” and "Adaptation to climate Change”), as well as the Horizon 2020 NBS project portfolio and its task forces. The project should also foresee synergies with HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-01-03: Network for nature: multi-stakeholder dialogue platform to promote nature-based solutions; with the HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-06: Inside and outside: educational innovation with nature-based solutions; and HORIZON-CL5-2023-D1-01-10: Improving the evidence base regarding the impact of sustainability and climate change education and related learning outcomes. Applicants should plan the necessary budget to cover these activities without the prerequisite to define concrete common actions at this stage.

Proposals should ensure that all evidence, information and project outputs are accessible through the Oppla portal (the EU repository for NBS).

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Expected results

This topic aims to contribute to education, skills development and awareness raising about biodiversity loss, and how this can be addressed, notably with Nature-based Solutions (NBS), in the higher education sector. This is fundamental to further implement and upscale NBS and to mainstreaming biodiversity, ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, climate resilience and pollution reduction, and natural capital in the society and economy. Through education and NBS, the topic contributes to the transformative change necessary to tackle societal challenges, notably addressing the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 and the EU climate adaptation strategy.

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

  • Improved and more coordinated education programmes and increased awareness about biodiversity loss and how this can be addressed together with climate change notably through NBS, in universities and technical schools.
  • Increased awareness and development of skills among young people, teachers, professional organisations, on biodiversity, climate change and NBS.
  • A transdisciplinary dialogue on inclusive NBS contributing to nature-based thinking and a nature-positive economy, drawing on inclusiveness, the pluralities of values and of knowledge.
  • A sustainable recovery of society and the necessary transformative change through biodiversity-friendly actions, professional, collective and personal attitudes.

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Regions / countries for fundingEU Member States, Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT)
Moldova (Moldova), Albania (Shqipëria), Armenia (Հայաստան), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina / Босна и Херцеговина), Faeroes (Føroyar / Færøerne), Georgia (საქართველო), Island (Ísland), Israel (ישראל / إِسْرَائِيل), Kosovo (Kosova/Kosovë / Косово), Montenegro (Црна Гора), Morocco (المغرب), North Macedonia (Северна Македонија), Norway (Norge), Serbia (Srbija/Сpбија), Tunisia (تونس /Tūnis), Türkiye, Ukraine (Україна), United Kingdom
eligible entitiesEU Body, Education and training institution, International organization, Natural Person, 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 partnershipNo
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
  • third countries associated to Horizon Europe - see list of particpating countries

Applications may be submitted by one or more legal entities, which may be established in a Member State, Associated Country or, in exceptional cases and if provided for in the specific call conditions, in another third country. 

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.

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 conditions regarding associated partners set out in the specific call 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.
  • 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.

Additional information

Topics
Administration & Governance, Institutional Capacity & Cooperation, 
Agriculture & Forestry, Fishery, Food, Soil quality, 
Air Quality, Biodiversity & Environment, Climate & Climate Change, Water quality & management, 
Disaster Prevention, Resilience, Risk Management, 
Education & Training, Children & Youth, Media
Relevance for EU Macro-RegionEUSAIR - 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

All proposals 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.

Proposals must be complete and contain all parts and mandatory annexes and supporting documents, e.g. plan for the exploitation and dissemination of the results including communication activities, etc.

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 limit for a full application (Part B) is 33 pages.

Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum. 

Call documents HE-Work Programme 2023-2024, Cluster 6, Destination 1 (kB)
ContactNational Contact Points for Horizon Europe
Website

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