Effective environmental observing systems and associated governance

The European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation is launching a funding opportunity under the Horizon Europe Programme, specifically within Cluster 6, identified as Call HORIZON-CL6. This call focuses on enhancing environmental observing systems and associated governance to support EU and international climate initiatives. The submission process is a single-stage open call, with applications opening on May 6, 2025, and a deadline set for September 24, 2025, at 17:00 Brussels time. Eligible applicant types encompass a broad range of entities, including research institutions, universities, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), public authorities, and international organizations. The call encourages international cooperation and outlines the necessity for multidisciplinary collaborations involving various stakeholders including modelling communities and environmental monitoring entities. The primary funding mechanism is a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant under the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions framework. Proposals should focus on the development of cost-effective and user-friendly observing systems that necessitate the exploitation of digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, and data assimilation techniques. The expected financial support ranges between €1 million to €5 million per project, designed to cover 100% of eligible costs under a lump-sum model, with no requirement for co-funding. The targeted sectors include environmental monitoring and climate action, with specific use cases centered on monitoring greenhouse gases in support of the Paris Agreement and tracking ozone-depleting substances according to the Montreal Protocol. Proposals must also address various barriers to the usability of these systems and promote innovative governance models through enhanced decision-making processes. The call features 14 distinct topics with varying budgets and anticipated grants, emphasizing flexibility and scalability across different observational systems, including satellite constellations and drones. Successful applicants are expected to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the data requirements for effective policy implementation. In summary, this Horizon Europe call is a strategic initiative aimed at improving environmental observation frameworks through innovation, international collaboration, and advanced governance structures, encouraging projects that align with EU and global environmental objectives.

The European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation is offering funding opportunities under the Horizon Europe Programme, specifically within Cluster 6, Call 03, focusing on "Effective environmental observing systems and associated governance." The call, identified as HORIZON-CL6-2025-03, is structured as a single-stage submission process. The opening date for submissions is May 6, 2025, and the deadline for submissions is September 24, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The funding is provided as a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, and the call encompasses various types of actions, including Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), Innovation Actions (IA), and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA).

The expected outcome of successful proposals is to enhance the accessibility and interoperability of environmental observations. This includes developing more cost-effective and user-friendly environmental observing systems that cater to the needs of scientists, policymakers, and decision-makers. The projects should also aim to improve international cooperation in support of EU and global climate and environmental monitoring policies and reporting obligations, and foster more sustainable and resilient environmental observing systems through advanced governance models and informed decision-making.

The scope of the call encourages proposals to exploit the latest digital technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, digital twins, and IoT, alongside scientific methods like data assimilation, analysis, and modeling. The goal is to develop innovative tools that optimize both orbital and non-orbital observing systems. This includes baseline and small satellite constellations, autonomous systems, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), and citizen science networks. The call also emphasizes the identification and mitigation of technical, socio-economic, cultural, and geo-political barriers that hinder the usability, accessibility, effectiveness, interoperability, and exploitation of environmental observing systems. The inclusion of social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines is encouraged to address these barriers.

Innovative decision-making approaches should be investigated to support and facilitate international governance and negotiations at European and global level, as well as national actors on sustainable and resilient environmental observations matters, regarding investments, operations, accessibility, gaps and innovation. Inter-operability with European data spaces and other existing data infrastructures should be considered.

The approaches should be demonstrated in the context of one of the following specific use case areas (and proposals should identify which use case area they are addressing):

Proposals are expected to demonstrate a good understanding of data requirements for policy implementation. The optimisation of the observing systems should identify and address in an iterative process the needs of well identified user groups, like for example modelling communities, Copernicus, Destination Earth, international organisations, and regional or national authorities.

Tools and approach should be flexible enough to be applied to other observing systems and examples. The project is expected to benefit from and leverage underlying work of ESA, EUMETSAT, Copernicus, or European Research Infrastructures (ICOS, ACTRIS, etc.).

International cooperation is encouraged.

The call includes specific conditions related to admissibility, eligible countries, and other eligibility criteria, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used). Financial and operational capacity will be evaluated as per Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. The award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D, with a focus on ensuring a balanced portfolio across different use cases (Areas A and B).

The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is outlined in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes. Eligible costs will be reimbursed as a lump sum, as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021.

Applicants are directed to the Funding & Tenders Portal for application forms, evaluation templates, and guidance documents, including the Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Model Grant Agreements, and call-specific instructions. Additional documents such as the HE Main Work Programme 2023–2025 and EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 are also provided for reference.

The call includes 14 distinct topics with varying budgets and indicative numbers of grants:

The Funding & Tenders Portal provides access to the Electronic Submission Service, partner search announcements, and a helpdesk for technical and procedural questions. National Contact Points (NCPs) and the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) are available to provide guidance and support to applicants.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to improve environmental observation systems through the use of digital technologies, scientific methods, and international cooperation. It seeks to address barriers to usability and promote sustainable governance models, with a focus on supporting the Paris Agreement and the Montreal Protocol. The call offers various funding instruments to support research, innovation, coordination, and support actions, with a total budget distributed across 14 distinct topics. Applicants are encouraged to consult the provided resources and seek support from relevant networks to prepare competitive proposals.

Summary:

This Horizon Europe call, under Cluster 6, focuses on "Effective environmental observing systems and associated governance." It aims to improve the accessibility, interoperability, and sustainability of environmental observation systems to support scientific research, policymaking, and international cooperation. The call invites proposals that exploit digital technologies and innovative approaches to optimize observing systems, identify and overcome barriers to their usability, and enhance decision-making processes. The call is structured around several topics, each with a specific budget and expected number of grants, covering Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), Innovation Actions (IA), and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA). Eligible applicants include a wide range of entities from the EU, associated countries, and potentially non-EU countries with specific funding arrangements. The funding is provided as a lump sum grant, and the application process involves a single-stage submission. The call encourages international cooperation and aims to contribute to global initiatives such as the Paris Agreement and the Montreal Protocol. The overall goal is to create more cost-effective, user-friendly, and resilient environmental observing systems that serve the needs of various stakeholders and support informed decision-making at all levels.