Addressing homelessness through housing-led approaches aligned with the New European Bauhaus

The Horizon Europe call for proposals, titled "HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-PARTICIPATION-01," focuses on addressing homelessness through housing-led approaches aligned with the New European Bauhaus initiative. The goal is to promote social and affordable housing in the EU, countering existing green transition policies that inadequately address the housing crisis. This call seeks to support projects that develop and demonstrate innovative housing solutions, ensuring not just permanent homes for the homeless but also integrating principles of sustainability and social inclusion.

Eligible applicants include research institutions, universities, social enterprises, local authorities, and various stakeholders within the housing sector, reflecting a wide range of capacities essential for a collaborative approach. Emphasis is placed on a transdisciplinary method, requiring consortia to include different actors across sectors, particularly those with expertise in social sciences and humanities.

The funding mechanism is notable for its lump sum grant structure, which simplifies financial administration. Each project can receive approximately €6.3 million, with a total anticipated funding pool of €12.6 million to support two major projects. The application process is one-stage, with the opening date set for May 5, 2026, and a submission deadline of December 1, 2026.

Projects should focus on refining and demonstrating housing-led strategies in at least three neighborhoods across various Member States or Associated Countries. This includes the adaptation of these approaches to meet local needs, provision of permanent housing, and the involvement of homeless populations in the design process. Proposals must also include methodologies for monitoring effectiveness in reducing homelessness.

The call encourages or suggests exploring additional co-funding opportunities, though it is not mandatory. Successful projects are expected to engage with a knowledge-sharing platform linked to the New European Bauhaus to disseminate findings and contribute to broader policy frameworks that address homelessness and housing needs across Europe. The overarching aim is to bridge gaps in research and practice related to homelessness through innovative, community-focused solutions.

This is a Horizon Europe call for proposals focusing on addressing homelessness through housing-led approaches aligned with the New European Bauhaus (NEB) initiative. The call falls under the "Beautiful, inclusive and sustainable neighbourhoods for communities" theme (HORIZON-NEB-2026-01). It aims to advance social and affordable housing in the EU, acknowledging that current green transition policies are not adequately addressing the housing crisis and that homelessness remains a significant challenge.

The call seeks project results that contribute to making housing-led approaches aligned with NEB values available to stakeholders involved in tackling homelessness. It also aims to generate robust evidence on NEB-aligned housing-led approaches to inform the development and updating of policies and services for prevention and early intervention in the context of the green transition in neighbourhoods.

The scope of the call includes addressing research and innovation gaps in tackling homelessness, ranging from data collection to integrating housing-led approaches with resilience strategies for homeless populations in a climate-changing world. Housing-led approaches are defined as diverse policy responses that provide immediate and permanent access to housing, targeted prevention, and needs-based, person-centred support services.

Proposals should focus on developing and/or updating housing-led approaches that apply NEB values and principles, covering measures from upstream prevention to access to green, low-carbon, climate-resilient, health-promoting, and socially inclusive housing. These approaches should ensure a quality experience for homeless populations across various areas (urban, peri-urban, and rural).

Key requirements for proposals include:

Refining and demonstrating at least three housing-led approaches in different neighbourhoods across Member States and/or Associated Countries. These approaches must be adapted to local characteristics, provide permanent housing complemented by reintegration services, integrate green transition plans, be co-created with targeted homeless populations, address institutional barriers to housing access, and present high potential for replication.

Developing and implementing a methodology to monitor, analyse, and document the effectiveness of the selected approaches in reducing homelessness, ensuring comparability of data and results across neighbourhoods.

Following a participatory and transdisciplinary approach, integrating different actors and disciplines.

Effectively contributing social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines, involving SSH experts and institutions to enhance the societal impact of research activities.

Exploring synergies with successful proposals from the topic ‘HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-BUSINESS-01: Structurally addressing homelessness through coordinated social infrastructure and services in neighbourhoods’.

Allocating at least 0.8% of the budget for engaging with the Horizon Europe-funded 'New European Bauhaus hub for results and impact' to share results and contribute to impact assessment.

The call specifies several general conditions related to admissibility, eligible countries, financial and operational capacity, evaluation and award processes, and legal and financial setup, referencing various annexes and guides within the Horizon Europe framework. Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.

Application forms, evaluation templates, model grant agreements, and additional guidance documents are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal. Partner search tools and support services are also provided to assist applicants.

The call includes several specific topics with varying budgets and indicative numbers of grants:

HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-BUSINESS-01: HORIZON Innovation Actions, Budget: 10,500,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: 3

HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-BUSINESS-02: HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions, Budget: 7,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: 2

HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-BUSINESS-03: HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions, Budget: 9,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: 2

HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-PARTICIPATION-01: HORIZON Innovation Actions, Budget: 12,600,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: 2

HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-PARTICIPATION-02: HORIZON Innovation Actions, Budget: 10,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: 2

HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-PARTICIPATION-03: HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions, Budget: 15,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: 3

HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-REGEN-01: HORIZON Innovation Actions, Budget: 12,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: 3

HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-REGEN-02: HORIZON Innovation Actions, Budget: 10,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: 2

HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-REGEN-03: HORIZON Innovation Actions, Budget: 15,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants: 3

The opening date for submissions is planned for 05 May 2026, and the deadline for submissions is 01 December 2026, 17:00:00 Brussels time.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to foster innovative and sustainable solutions to address homelessness by developing and implementing housing-led approaches that align with the New European Bauhaus values. It encourages participatory and transdisciplinary projects that integrate social sciences and humanities, promote green transition, and contribute to the development of effective policies and services for preventing and reducing homelessness across the EU and associated countries. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and successful projects are expected to engage with the New European Bauhaus hub to share their findings and contribute to impact assessment.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated but can be inferred to include entities capable of conducting research and innovation actions, and innovation actions. This likely encompasses a range of organizations such as universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, NGOs, and other relevant entities, as the Horizon Europe program typically supports a diverse array of participants. The call emphasizes the need for a transdisciplinary approach, suggesting that consortia should include a mix of actors from different sectors and disciplines, including social sciences and humanities.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, as indicated by the "Type of MGA" being "HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS]". The calls are for HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA) and HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA).

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium of multiple applicants. The call specifies that proposals are expected to refine and demonstrate housing-led approaches in at least three neighborhoods located in different Member States and/or Associated Countries. This implies that multiple entities from different geographic locations must collaborate to meet the requirements of the call. Furthermore, the emphasis on a participatory and transdisciplinary approach suggests the need for a diverse consortium with various expertise.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and Associated Countries. The call specifies that the housing-led approaches should be demonstrated in neighborhoods located in different Member States and/or Associated Countries. 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. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Target Sector: The program targets the following sectors: social and affordable housing, urban and regional development, climate action, social inclusion, and research and innovation related to homelessness. The call focuses on developing and updating housing-led approaches that align with the New European Bauhaus (NEB) values and principles, emphasizing green transition, climate resilience, and social inclusion. It also targets the integration of social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines to enhance the societal impact of the research activities.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity is open to EU Member States and Associated Countries. No specific countries are mentioned, but the requirement to demonstrate approaches in different Member States implies a broad geographic scope within the EU and associated regions.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project is at the demonstration and validation stage, with a focus on refining and demonstrating housing-led approaches in real-world settings. The call is for Innovation Actions (IA) and Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), which typically involve activities closer to deployment and market application than basic research.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call. The indicative budget and number of grants for each topic are as follows:
HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-BUSINESS-01: EUR 10,500,000 (approximately EUR 3,500,000 per grant, 3 grants)
HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-BUSINESS-02: EUR 7,000,000 (approximately EUR 3,500,000 per grant, 2 grants)
HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-BUSINESS-03: EUR 9,000,000 (approximately EUR 4,500,000 per grant, 2 grants)
HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-PARTICIPATION-01: EUR 12,600,000 (approximately EUR 6,300,000 per grant, 2 grants)
HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-PARTICIPATION-02: EUR 10,000,000 (approximately EUR 5,000,000 per grant, 2 grants)
HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-PARTICIPATION-03: EUR 15,000,000 (approximately EUR 5,000,000 per grant, 3 grants)
HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-REGEN-01: EUR 12,000,000 (approximately EUR 4,000,000 per grant, 3 grants)
HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-REGEN-02: EUR 10,000,000 (approximately EUR 5,000,000 per grant, 2 grants)
HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-REGEN-03: EUR 15,000,000 (approximately EUR 5,000,000 per grant, 3 grants)
The funding range is variable, but generally falls between EUR 3.5 million and EUR 6.3 million per grant.

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process. The planned opening date is 05 May 2026, and the deadline for submission is 01 December 2026.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant. The 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.

Application Stages: The application process is a single-stage process.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly stated, but the indicative number of grants for each topic provides some insight. For example, HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-PARTICIPATION-01 aims to award around 2 grants with a budget of EUR 12,600,000. The actual success rate will depend on the number and quality of proposals received.

Co-funding Requirement: The need for co-funding is not explicitly mentioned. However, Horizon Europe grants often require beneficiaries to cover a portion of the project costs, although this is not specified in the provided text.

This Horizon Europe call, part of the "Beautiful, inclusive and sustainable neighbourhoods for communities" initiative, aims to address homelessness by promoting and implementing housing-led approaches aligned with the New European Bauhaus (NEB) values. The core idea is to develop and demonstrate innovative housing solutions that not only provide permanent housing for the homeless but also integrate green transition plans, climate resilience, and social inclusion. The projects should be co-created with the homeless populations and adapted to the specific characteristics of different neighborhoods across EU Member States and Associated Countries.

The call seeks to bridge research and innovation gaps in tackling homelessness, focusing on data collection, resilience strategies, and the integration of social sciences and humanities. Successful projects are expected to refine and demonstrate housing-led approaches in at least three neighborhoods, monitor their effectiveness, and contribute to the development of policies and services for prevention and early intervention.

The funding is provided as a lump sum grant, and the call encourages synergies with other related projects. By fostering participatory and transdisciplinary collaborations, this initiative aims to advance social and affordable housing, promote green and sustainable living conditions, and ultimately reduce homelessness across Europe.