Generic correlative and process-based models for climate suitability analysis for plant pests and diseases

The EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-05-02-Lot2 call for proposals invites eligible organizations to develop generic models for climate suitability analysis of plant pests and diseases, with a total budget of €750,000. This funding opportunity is aimed at competent organizations designated by EU Member States under specific regulations. The call focuses on the agriculture and food sector, emphasizing research on pest management and climate-related modeling.

The opening date for submissions is November 26, 2025, and applications must be submitted by April 22, 2026. The project targets the development and validation of modeling tools, specifically process-based and Species Distribution Models (SDMs), to assess environmental conditions favorable for pest establishment. Eligible applicants must be pre-registered competent organizations, which include national authorities and research institutes focused on plant health.

The application process is single-stage, meaning proposals must be comprehensive upon submission without a preliminary review phase. Funding is provided as direct grants, and there are no indications of co-funding requirements. The call aims to strengthen EU plant health surveillance and risk assessment capabilities in relation to climate change, supporting the creation of flexible models that can apply broadly across various contexts. However, information on success rates or specific eligibility details beyond designation status is not available in the call documents.

The call documents, including the Call for Proposals and relevant agreements, are accessible through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Interested organizations must verify their eligibility status and ensure their proposals align with the objectives outlined in the call documentation.

This is a call for proposals under the EU Bodies and Agencies (EUBA) program, specifically targeting generic simulation models for climate suitability analysis of new and emerging plant pests, identified as EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-05. The call is structured into two lots: EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-05-02-Lot2 and EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-05-01-Lot1. The type of action is EUBA EUBA Type of Action, and the type of Model Grant Agreement (MGA) is EUBA Type of MGA [EUBA].

The call adopts a single-stage submission model. The opening date for submissions is November 27, 2025, and the deadline for submissions is April 22, 2026, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The objective of this call is restricted to competent organizations designated by Member States.

The scope of the call focuses on process-based models, which are defined as simplified mechanistic models that estimate the environmental suitability for the growth, development, and persistence of plant pests and diseases. These models do not explicitly simulate or quantify population abundance but assess how favorable environmental conditions are for species establishment. These models use climate-based thresholds or continuous response functions to represent the effects of temperature, moisture, or other abiotic factors on species-specific processes, including development rates, survival during adverse conditions (e.g., overwintering), and phenological development. The outputs combine multiple suitability components to indicate the overall potential for pest or pathogen presence or activity under given climatic conditions. The call also includes the development and testing of solutions for running Species Distribution Models (SDMs) informed by process-based models and/or by indices derived from the organism’s physiology.

The admissibility conditions include proposal page limits and layout, with eligibility criteria detailed in section 2.2 of the call for proposals document. Eligible countries are also defined by the criteria in section 2.2 of the call for proposals document. To be eligible, applicants must be on the list of competent organizations designated by Member States according to Article 36 of Regulation (EC) 178/2002 and Commission Regulation (EC) 2230/2004. This list is updated by the EFSA Management Board and is available at https://efsa.my.site.com/competentorganisations/s/competentorganisation/CompetentOrganisation__c/00B1v000009LqfIEAS. Other eligibility conditions are described in section 2.2 of the call for proposals document.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are detailed in section 2.4 of the call for proposals document. The evaluation and award process, including submission modalities, are described in sections 2 and 2.5, and section 3 of the call for proposals document. The award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are also described in sections 2 and 2.5 of the call for proposals document. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described on page 2 of the call for proposals document, under the section 'Indicative procedure timetable'. The legal and financial setup of the grants is described in section 1.5 of the call for proposals document and in the Draft Grant Agreement.

The call documents and annexes include the Call for Proposals and a Draft Direct Agreement. Additional documents include the EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

The budget for this topic is 750,000 EUR for the year 2026.

LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics on the Funding & Tenders Portal, as can any user with an active public Person profile.

To access the Electronic Submission Service, applicants should click the submission button next to the relevant type of action and model grant agreement. To access existing draft proposals, applicants should log in to the Funding & Tenders Portal and select the My Proposals page in the My Area section.

For help related to this call, applicants can contact efsaprocurement@efsa.europa.eu. Additional resources include the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, the IT Helpdesk for technical issues, and the Online Manual for a step-by-step guide.

In summary, this EUBA call focuses on developing and testing models to predict the climate suitability for plant pests and diseases. It seeks to fund competent organizations from EU Member States to create process-based and species distribution models that can help assess the risk of new and emerging plant pests. The funding available is 750,000 EUR, and the deadline for submissions is April 22, 2026. The call emphasizes the use of mechanistic models incorporating environmental factors and physiological indices to understand and predict the spread and impact of plant pests and pathogens.

Eligible Applicant Types: Only competent organisations, based on designations by Member States, are eligible to apply. To be eligible, applicants must be on the list of competent organisations designated by the Member States in accordance with Article 36 of Regulation (EC) 178/2002 and Commission Regulation (EC) 2230/2004. This list is regularly updated by EFSA Management Board and is available for consultation using the provided link.

Funding Type: Grant, as indicated by the "Draft Grant agreement" document and the general context of a "Call for Proposals."

Consortium Requirement: The information does not explicitly state whether a consortium is required or if single applicants are allowed. However, the partner search announcements suggest that collaboration is possible, but not necessarily mandatory. Further details would be needed from the call documents.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The call is open to competent organizations designated by Member States, implying that the geographic eligibility is within the EU Member States.

Target Sector: The program targets the agriculture/food sector, specifically focusing on plant health, plant pest and diseases, climate suitability analysis, and the development and testing of Species Distribution Models (SDMs). It also involves the use of process-based models and mechanistic models.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the eligibility is limited to competent organizations designated by EU Member States, implying all EU countries are potentially included.

Project Stage: The project stage involves development and testing of solutions, indicating a stage of development and validation. The call also refers to process-based models and Species Distribution Models (SDMs), suggesting a research and development phase.

Funding Amount: The budget for the topic EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-05-02-Lot2 and EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-05-01-Lot1 is EUR 750,000.

Application Type: Open call, as indicated by "Call for Proposals" and "Open For Submission."

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money, as it is a grant.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.

Summary:

This is a call for proposals under the EU Bodies and Agencies (EUBA) program, specifically targeting the development of generic simulation models for climate suitability analysis of new and emerging plant pests. The call, titled EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-05, is divided into at least two lots, with a budget of EUR 750,000 allocated to EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-05-02-Lot2 and EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-05-01-Lot1. The objective is to support competent organizations designated by EU Member States in creating and testing process-based models and Species Distribution Models (SDMs) to estimate the environmental suitability for plant pest and diseases. These models use climate-based thresholds and continuous response functions to assess factors like temperature and moisture on pest development and survival. Eligible applicants must be on the list of competent organizations designated by their respective Member States, as per specific EU regulations. The application process is single-stage, with the submission deadline on April 22, 2026. The call aims to improve the understanding and prediction of plant pest and disease distribution under changing climatic conditions, contributing to better plant health management and biosecurity in the EU. The call documents, including the Call for Proposals, Draft Direct Agreement, and additional documents related to EU financial regulations and application procedures, are available for further details. The submission session is now available for both EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-05-02-Lot2 and EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-05-01-Lot1.