Assessing and modelling socio-economic impacts of nature restoration

The EU funding opportunity titled "Assessing and modelling socio-economic impacts of nature restoration" falls under Horizon Europe, specifically within Cluster 6. This initiative, identified as HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-06, is aimed at Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and offers a lump sum grant. The open submission session closes on September 17, 2025.

The primary objective is to develop tools to evaluate the socio-economic impacts, benefits, and costs associated with restoring degraded ecosystems. This encompasses ensuring the provision of ecosystem services while addressing challenges related to climate change. Successful projects are expected to yield an improved understanding of the socio-economic impacts of nature restoration, create science-based tools for policymakers, integrate impacts into business plans, and enhance traceability of socio-economic benefits linked to specific interventions.

The funding aligns with the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, emphasizing the restoration of ecosystems, prevention of habitat deterioration, and integration of climate adaptation into various policies. Research activities should involve sector-specific assessments that gauge both financial effects and non-market benefits, like climate mitigation and health. A multidisciplinary approach is required, blending various expertise areas, including economics and ecology.

Eligible applicants include research institutions, universities, and non-governmental organizations from EU member states and associated countries. While the consortium requirement isn't explicitly stated, collaboration is encouraged, particularly with selected projects under the same topic.

Funding amounts for projects are estimated to range from €1 million to €5 million, with the application process designed as a single-stage submission. Co-funding is not mandated due to the lump sum structure, and estimated success rates are between 10% and 39%.

The call emphasizes incorporating social sciences and humanities perspectives, engaging gender expertise, and ensuring data accessibility and usability. Collaboration with other projects, including those pertaining to the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity, is also vital.

Application evaluations will follow specified conditions and guidelines detailed in the Work Programme's general annexes, with a focus on admissibility and eligibility criteria. Overall, this funding opportunity seeks to bolster research that aids in quantifying the benefits of nature restoration, thereby supporting effective policy-making and stakeholder actions towards environmental sustainability.

This EU funding opportunity focuses on assessing and modeling the socio-economic impacts of nature restoration. It falls under the Horizon Europe Programme, specifically Cluster 6, and is a single-stage call. The call, identified as HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-06, is for HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and offers a lump sum grant. The submission session is open, with a deadline of September 17, 2025, at 17:00 Brussels time.

The primary goal is to develop tools for evaluating the socio-economic impacts, benefits, and costs associated with restoring degraded ecosystems. This includes ensuring the provision of ecosystem services and addressing climate change adaptation and mitigation.

The expected outcomes of successful projects include:

Improved understanding of the short, medium, and long-term socio-economic impacts of nature restoration, including their distribution across different social groups and territories.
Science-based tools for policymakers to predict the impacts, benefits, and costs of nature restoration policies.
Tools for stakeholders to integrate the impacts of nature restoration into their business plans.
Improved traceability of socio-economic benefits and costs to specific interventions or stressors.

The scope of the funding opportunity aligns with the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the EU Nature Restoration Regulation, and the European Climate Law. These initiatives emphasize the restoration of degraded ecosystems, the prevention of habitat and species deterioration, and the integration of climate change adaptation into various policy areas.

Research and Innovation (R&I) activities should include:

Sector-specific assessments to measure the economic and social impacts of nature restoration, including employment and the distribution of benefits. These assessments should encompass both financial effects and non-market benefits, such as climate mitigation, health, and cultural services.
A multidisciplinary approach that combines expertise in economics, ecology, social sciences, geography, sustainability, environmental science, and systems science.
Development and validation of modeling approaches that build on existing environmental and socio-economic models to analyze the impacts of nature restoration, integrating biodiversity, ecosystem services, and nature’s contribution to quality of life.
Understanding of the incremental progress in nature restoration between 2030 and 2050, to guide stakeholders through quantification of socio-economic benefits and impacts.
Improvement in the understanding of the possibilities and limitations of tools for socio-economic assessments of nature restoration, particularly with regard to the non-market benefits.

Proposals should leverage results from past and ongoing projects, as well as knowledge from assessment reports by the Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

The call emphasizes the importance of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) disciplines, including economics, socio-economics, geography, and sociology, and the involvement of SSH experts and institutions. It also highlights the need to incorporate relevant gender expertise.

Projects should ensure that data is Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable (FAIR), particularly in the context of real-time data feeds, and explore workflows that can provide “FAIR-by-design” data.

Collaboration with other selected projects under this topic is expected, specifically with projects selected under HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-05 and HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-10. Cooperation with the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity and the Science Service project BioAgora is also required.

The general conditions for this funding opportunity include:

Admissibility conditions related to proposal page limits and layout, as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form.
Eligibility criteria for countries, as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific provisions may apply to non-EU/non-Associated Countries.
Other eligibility conditions, such as the mandatory use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS for projects using satellite-based data.
Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria, as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Evaluation and award criteria, scoring, and thresholds, as described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Submission and evaluation processes, as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement, as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Legal and financial setup of the grants, with eligible costs taking the form of a lump sum, as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021.

Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application and evaluation forms, as well as the model grant agreement (MGA), are available in the Submission System. Additional guidance and documents are provided, including the HE Programme Guide, Lump Sum MGA, call-specific instructions, and various Horizon Europe work programmes, regulations, and manuals.

The budget overview lists several funding opportunities under the Horizon Europe Programme, Cluster 6, Call 01, with a single-stage submission process and a deadline of September 17, 2025. These opportunities cover a range of topics related to biodiversity, circular bioeconomy, and zero pollution, with varying budgets and indicative numbers of grants.

The funding opportunity encourages partner searches and provides links to relevant support services, such as the Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points, Enterprise Europe Network, IT Helpdesk, European IPR Helpdesk, and CEN-CENELEC/ETSI Research Helpdesks.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to fund research and innovation projects that develop tools and models for assessing the socio-economic impacts of nature restoration. It emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach, collaboration among projects, and the involvement of SSH disciplines. The ultimate goal is to support policymakers and stakeholders in making informed decisions about nature restoration and its contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and the submission deadline is September 17, 2025.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, based on the nature of Horizon Europe calls, eligible applicants can include universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, and other legal entities carrying out research and innovation activities. The explicit mention of SSH experts and institutions suggests that social science and humanities organizations are particularly encouraged to apply. The mention of LEAR appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment suggests that any legal entity that can be validated and demonstrate financial capacity can apply.

Funding Type: The funding type is primarily a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, as indicated by the type of MGA (Model Grant Agreement) being HORIZON-AG-LS. There are also HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA), HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA) and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) and HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions (HORIZON-COFUND).

Consortium Requirement: The text does not explicitly state whether a consortium is required. However, the call encourages collaboration with other selected projects and cooperation with specific entities like the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity and the Science Service project BioAgora. The partner search announcements also suggest that consortia are welcome.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The primary geographic eligibility is for EU member states and associated countries, as this is a Horizon Europe program. The text mentions that "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," indicating some possibility for third-country participation.

Target Sector: The primary target sector is environment, specifically biodiversity and ecosystem restoration. It also touches upon climate change, agriculture, and food security. The call emphasizes the importance of social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines, indicating a target for interdisciplinary projects. The zero pollution call indicates a target sector of pollution reduction. The circular bioeconomy call indicates a target sector of bioeconomy.

Mentioned Countries: The text mentions "EU member states" and "non-EU/non-Associated Countries ('third-countries')." Therefore, the regions explicitly mentioned are the EU and non-EU associated countries.

Project Stage: The project stage appears to be focused on research, development, and validation, with an emphasis on developing and validating modelling approaches. The presence of Innovation Actions suggests that projects closer to demonstration and commercialization are also relevant.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call, ranging from €2,000,000 for Coordination and Support Actions to €30,000,000 for Programme Cofund Actions. Research and Innovation Actions have funding ranging from €6,000,000 to €24,000,000, while Innovation Actions range from €8,000,000 to €18,000,000. Some topics specify an "around" amount, while others provide a range (e.g., 5000000 to 6000000).

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.

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

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the "Indicative number of grants" provides some insight. For example, a topic with €16,000,000 budget indicates 3 grants will be awarded with 5000000 to 6000000 each.

Co-funding Requirement: Co-funding may be required for the HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions.

Summary: This Horizon Europe Cluster 6 call focuses on biodiversity, circular bioeconomy and zero pollution, and aims to fund research and innovation projects that contribute to restoring degraded ecosystems, assessing socio-economic impacts of nature restoration, promoting sustainable farming systems, and reducing pollution. The call is structured around several specific topics, each with its own budget and expected outcomes. Projects should develop tools and models for assessing the benefits and costs of nature restoration, integrating biodiversity and ecosystem services, and supporting policy-makers and stakeholders in implementing nature restoration measures. The call encourages interdisciplinary approaches, collaboration with other projects and relevant knowledge centers, and the use of FAIR data principles. Eligible applicants include a wide range of research and innovation actors from EU member states, associated countries, and potentially some third countries. Funding is provided as lump sum grants, and the application process involves a single-stage submission.