Impact of access to nature-positive environments in promoting social cohesion and reducing inequalities in urban and peri-urban settings
Overview
The Horizon Europe funding opportunity titled "HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-01: Impact of access to nature-positive environments in promoting social cohesion and reducing inequalities in urban and peri-urban settings" focuses on the environmental, social, and economic transformations related to nature access. This grant falls under the Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society cluster with a total budget of €12 million.
Eligible applicants include universities, research institutions, non-profit organizations, local businesses, civil society organizations, and public authorities from EU Member States and associated countries. The application process will be a single-stage open call, opening on May 13, 2027, and closing on September 23, 2027.
Funding will be provided as lump sum grants, with individual project contributions expected to range from €3 million to €4 million for approximately three projects. The focus is on Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), necessitating collaborative efforts through consortia to tackle the social and environmental justice challenges associated with access to nature, particularly for vulnerable populations.
The call seeks to generate robust evidence and develop strategies aimed at enhancing social cohesion and addressing inequalities exacerbated by limited access to green and blue spaces. Interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged, integrating fields such as sociology, anthropology, and environmental sciences to provide comprehensive insights into the community-level impacts of natural spaces.
Key expected outcomes include creating strategic solutions that account for distributional aspects of access to nature in urban planning and developing community-based initiatives that enhance social capital and wellbeing. The involvement of civil society organizations and local authorities committed to sustainability is highly encouraged, and proposals should emphasize intersectional and gender-sensitive analysis to understand and mitigate disparities in nature access.
The evaluation process will be conducted post-submission, with a projected grant agreement signature expected by mid-May 2028 and project initiation in summer 2028. Overall, this opportunity aims to foster community resilience, social inclusion, and climate adaptation through innovative engagement with natural environments across diverse urban contexts.
Eligible applicants include universities, research institutions, non-profit organizations, local businesses, civil society organizations, and public authorities from EU Member States and associated countries. The application process will be a single-stage open call, opening on May 13, 2027, and closing on September 23, 2027.
Funding will be provided as lump sum grants, with individual project contributions expected to range from €3 million to €4 million for approximately three projects. The focus is on Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), necessitating collaborative efforts through consortia to tackle the social and environmental justice challenges associated with access to nature, particularly for vulnerable populations.
The call seeks to generate robust evidence and develop strategies aimed at enhancing social cohesion and addressing inequalities exacerbated by limited access to green and blue spaces. Interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged, integrating fields such as sociology, anthropology, and environmental sciences to provide comprehensive insights into the community-level impacts of natural spaces.
Key expected outcomes include creating strategic solutions that account for distributional aspects of access to nature in urban planning and developing community-based initiatives that enhance social capital and wellbeing. The involvement of civil society organizations and local authorities committed to sustainability is highly encouraged, and proposals should emphasize intersectional and gender-sensitive analysis to understand and mitigate disparities in nature access.
The evaluation process will be conducted post-submission, with a projected grant agreement signature expected by mid-May 2028 and project initiation in summer 2028. Overall, this opportunity aims to foster community resilience, social inclusion, and climate adaptation through innovative engagement with natural environments across diverse urban contexts.
Detail
This EU funding opportunity focuses on the impact of access to nature-positive environments in promoting social cohesion and reducing inequalities in urban and peri-urban settings. It falls under the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) program, specifically the Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society call for 2027 (HORIZON-CL2-2027-01). The type of action is HORIZON-RIA, which stands for HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions. The Model Grant Agreement (MGA) type is HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS]. The deadline model is single-stage, with a planned opening date of May 13, 2027, and a deadline of September 23, 2027, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.
The expected outcomes of the projects funded under this opportunity are:
1. Robust evidence for policymakers and civil society organizations on whether inclusive management of (peri-)urban environmental commons fosters climate and societal resilience, social inclusion, wellbeing, and community participation. Also, evidence on whether lack of access to biodiverse green and/or blue spaces exacerbates existing social inequalities (e.g., poverty, marginalization, and low community wellbeing among vulnerable groups) and people’s sense of inequality and insecurity.
2. Development of strategies and innovative solutions to quantify and integrate the distributional aspects of access to quality green and/or blue spaces into integrated spatial planning. This includes accounting for non-market values when making decisions about long-term land use and (peri-)urban development, with the aim of supporting nature restoration/preservation in the face of competing pressures and on-going change both in Europe and outside, while achieving a fair and equitable relationship between social groups and the environment.
The scope of the proposals should focus on:
* Exploring and better understanding the relationships between access to quality green and/or blue spaces in the pursuit of social and environmental justice, community cohesion, and overall social fabric.
* Supporting fair transitions to climate-resilient communities from a climate adaptation and biodiversity perspective, ensuring a link to cohesion and social resilience.
* Taking into account targets, notably for urban ecosystem restoration, under the EU Nature Restoration Regulation.
* Considering synergies with the EU Urban Agenda.
The proposals may explore the following aspects:
* The community-level impacts of initiatives aiming to introduce green and/or blue spaces and an understanding of how intentional design and planning can help improve societal outcomes throughout the community, with special attention to how socially vulnerable groups may be impacted, which types of natural spaces are used for which activities and what distance constitutes 'accessible' or sufficient to promote social contact.
* Barriers to access nature, such as the state of desolation of public green and/or blue spaces, privatization, as well as cultural, social, and economic barriers.
* Knowledge gaps around the long-term impacts of lack of access to quality green and/or blue spaces, and how this amplifies existing socioeconomic inequalities, in particular the intersection with other determining factors of sociopsychological and mental wellbeing such as age, education, employment, housing, health, mobility and socioeconomic status, including aspects around ease of access, affordability and capacity to empower communities, particularly among vulnerable groups (such as marginalized urban communities, including migrants and informal settlements).
* The role that community-based projects – for example those aimed at social participation and inclusion, environmental preservation, circular economy and food security, and preserving natural heritage (e.g., urban gardening, traditional ecological knowledge practices, rewilding, nature conservation, nature-based solutions and citizen science) – play in strengthening community agency, identity, place attachment, and sociopsychological, mental and material well-being and social capital.
* The role of green and/or blue spaces in the mitigation of inequalities in pollution exposure, a source of concern in many disadvantaged communities.
* The potential contributions of local businesses and social economy actors to the implementation of green and/or blue spaces, as well as the meaningful participation of individuals, representing different economic/labour sectors and collective identities within the community.
* The contribution of nature to place-making and the ways in which approaches from the arts and humanities can contribute to how we understand place, and shape future places, in concert with local communities.
Proposals are expected to adopt a gender-sensitive and intersectional approach to analyse differential access to nature-positive environments across population groups. Particular attention should be paid to identifying the structural and systemic drivers of these disparities, as well as assessing the social, economic and health-related impacts of unequal access on individuals and communities.
Interdisciplinary approaches (including from SSH disciplines), combining insights from sociology, anthropology, law, environmental philosophy and systems science, are encouraged. Clustering and cooperation with other selected projects under this and past calls are strongly encouraged, in particular topic HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-06: ‘Assessing and modelling socio-economic impacts of nature restoration’, topic HORIZON-CL6-2023-COMMUNITIES-01-1: ‘Enhancing social inclusion in rural areas: focus on people in a vulnerable situation and social economy’ and topics under the New European Bauhaus (topic HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-PARTICIPATION-03: Understanding inhabitant’s experiences of neighbourhoods to support their health and well-being, and topic HORIZON-MISS-2027-07-CLIMA-CIT-NEB-01: Urban nature: supporting restoration of urban ecosystems, along urban transport networks and in the built environment). Participation by entities from cities that are signatories of the Green City Accord is encouraged. Proposals should engage civil society organisations in the development of their actions.
The general conditions for this funding opportunity include:
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit 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.
2. Eligible Countries as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific provisions may apply to non-EU/non-Associated Countries.
3. Other Eligible Conditions as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds as described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
6. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
7. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
8. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: The granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or to the exclusive licensing of results up to 4 years after the end of the action. Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021.
The application and evaluation forms, model grant agreement (MGA), and additional documents are available in the Submission System and include:
* Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
* Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
* HE Programme Guide
* Lump Sum MGA
* Detailed budget table (HE LS)
* Guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?"
* HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
* HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 5. Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society
* HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes
* HE Programme Guide
* HE Framework Programme 2021/695
* HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
* EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
* Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme
* Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
* EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
* Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
* Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions
* Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement
The budget overview for this topic in 2027 is as follows:
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-DEMOCRACY-01 - HORIZON-CSA: Budget 3,500,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 1
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-DEMOCRACY-02 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,500,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-DEMOCRACY-03 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,500,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-DEMOCRACY-04 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 20,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,500,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 5
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-DEMOCRACY-05 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,500,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-DEMOCRACY-06 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,500,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-DEMOCRACY-07 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 8,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,500,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 2
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-DEMOCRACY-08 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,500,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-HERITAGE-01 - HORIZON-CSA: Budget 5,000,000 EUR, Contribution 4,500,000 to 5,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 1
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-HERITAGE-02 - HORIZON-CSA: Budget 5,000,000 EUR, Contribution 4,500,000 to 5,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 1
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-HERITAGE-03 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 10,500,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-HERITAGE-04 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 16,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 4
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-HERITAGE-05 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 10,500,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-HERITAGE-06 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 14,500,000 EUR, Contribution 4,000,000 to 4,800,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-HERITAGE-07 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 15,000,000 EUR, Contribution 2,500,000 to 3,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 5
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-HERITAGE-08 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-01 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-02 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 10,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 3,300,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-03 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-04 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-05 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-06 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-07 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-08 - HORIZON-IA: Budget 15,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 3,750,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 4
This funding opportunity aims to support research and innovation actions that explore the relationship between access to green and blue spaces and social justice, community cohesion, and climate resilience. It seeks to address knowledge gaps about the societal benefits of nature, particularly in disadvantaged communities, and to develop strategies for integrating these benefits into spatial planning. The call encourages interdisciplinary approaches and collaboration with civil society organizations and cities committed to environmental sustainability. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and the submission deadline is September 23, 2027.
The expected outcomes of the projects funded under this opportunity are:
1. Robust evidence for policymakers and civil society organizations on whether inclusive management of (peri-)urban environmental commons fosters climate and societal resilience, social inclusion, wellbeing, and community participation. Also, evidence on whether lack of access to biodiverse green and/or blue spaces exacerbates existing social inequalities (e.g., poverty, marginalization, and low community wellbeing among vulnerable groups) and people’s sense of inequality and insecurity.
2. Development of strategies and innovative solutions to quantify and integrate the distributional aspects of access to quality green and/or blue spaces into integrated spatial planning. This includes accounting for non-market values when making decisions about long-term land use and (peri-)urban development, with the aim of supporting nature restoration/preservation in the face of competing pressures and on-going change both in Europe and outside, while achieving a fair and equitable relationship between social groups and the environment.
The scope of the proposals should focus on:
* Exploring and better understanding the relationships between access to quality green and/or blue spaces in the pursuit of social and environmental justice, community cohesion, and overall social fabric.
* Supporting fair transitions to climate-resilient communities from a climate adaptation and biodiversity perspective, ensuring a link to cohesion and social resilience.
* Taking into account targets, notably for urban ecosystem restoration, under the EU Nature Restoration Regulation.
* Considering synergies with the EU Urban Agenda.
The proposals may explore the following aspects:
* The community-level impacts of initiatives aiming to introduce green and/or blue spaces and an understanding of how intentional design and planning can help improve societal outcomes throughout the community, with special attention to how socially vulnerable groups may be impacted, which types of natural spaces are used for which activities and what distance constitutes 'accessible' or sufficient to promote social contact.
* Barriers to access nature, such as the state of desolation of public green and/or blue spaces, privatization, as well as cultural, social, and economic barriers.
* Knowledge gaps around the long-term impacts of lack of access to quality green and/or blue spaces, and how this amplifies existing socioeconomic inequalities, in particular the intersection with other determining factors of sociopsychological and mental wellbeing such as age, education, employment, housing, health, mobility and socioeconomic status, including aspects around ease of access, affordability and capacity to empower communities, particularly among vulnerable groups (such as marginalized urban communities, including migrants and informal settlements).
* The role that community-based projects – for example those aimed at social participation and inclusion, environmental preservation, circular economy and food security, and preserving natural heritage (e.g., urban gardening, traditional ecological knowledge practices, rewilding, nature conservation, nature-based solutions and citizen science) – play in strengthening community agency, identity, place attachment, and sociopsychological, mental and material well-being and social capital.
* The role of green and/or blue spaces in the mitigation of inequalities in pollution exposure, a source of concern in many disadvantaged communities.
* The potential contributions of local businesses and social economy actors to the implementation of green and/or blue spaces, as well as the meaningful participation of individuals, representing different economic/labour sectors and collective identities within the community.
* The contribution of nature to place-making and the ways in which approaches from the arts and humanities can contribute to how we understand place, and shape future places, in concert with local communities.
Proposals are expected to adopt a gender-sensitive and intersectional approach to analyse differential access to nature-positive environments across population groups. Particular attention should be paid to identifying the structural and systemic drivers of these disparities, as well as assessing the social, economic and health-related impacts of unequal access on individuals and communities.
Interdisciplinary approaches (including from SSH disciplines), combining insights from sociology, anthropology, law, environmental philosophy and systems science, are encouraged. Clustering and cooperation with other selected projects under this and past calls are strongly encouraged, in particular topic HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-06: ‘Assessing and modelling socio-economic impacts of nature restoration’, topic HORIZON-CL6-2023-COMMUNITIES-01-1: ‘Enhancing social inclusion in rural areas: focus on people in a vulnerable situation and social economy’ and topics under the New European Bauhaus (topic HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-PARTICIPATION-03: Understanding inhabitant’s experiences of neighbourhoods to support their health and well-being, and topic HORIZON-MISS-2027-07-CLIMA-CIT-NEB-01: Urban nature: supporting restoration of urban ecosystems, along urban transport networks and in the built environment). Participation by entities from cities that are signatories of the Green City Accord is encouraged. Proposals should engage civil society organisations in the development of their actions.
The general conditions for this funding opportunity include:
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit 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.
2. Eligible Countries as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific provisions may apply to non-EU/non-Associated Countries.
3. Other Eligible Conditions as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds as described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
6. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
7. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
8. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: The granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or to the exclusive licensing of results up to 4 years after the end of the action. Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021.
The application and evaluation forms, model grant agreement (MGA), and additional documents are available in the Submission System and include:
* Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
* Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
* HE Programme Guide
* Lump Sum MGA
* Detailed budget table (HE LS)
* Guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?"
* HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
* HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 5. Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society
* HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes
* HE Programme Guide
* HE Framework Programme 2021/695
* HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
* EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
* Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme
* Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
* EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
* Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
* Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions
* Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement
The budget overview for this topic in 2027 is as follows:
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-DEMOCRACY-01 - HORIZON-CSA: Budget 3,500,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 1
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-DEMOCRACY-02 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,500,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-DEMOCRACY-03 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,500,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-DEMOCRACY-04 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 20,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,500,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 5
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-DEMOCRACY-05 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,500,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-DEMOCRACY-06 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,500,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-DEMOCRACY-07 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 8,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,500,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 2
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-DEMOCRACY-08 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,500,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-HERITAGE-01 - HORIZON-CSA: Budget 5,000,000 EUR, Contribution 4,500,000 to 5,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 1
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-HERITAGE-02 - HORIZON-CSA: Budget 5,000,000 EUR, Contribution 4,500,000 to 5,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 1
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-HERITAGE-03 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 10,500,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-HERITAGE-04 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 16,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 4
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-HERITAGE-05 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 10,500,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-HERITAGE-06 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 14,500,000 EUR, Contribution 4,000,000 to 4,800,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-HERITAGE-07 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 15,000,000 EUR, Contribution 2,500,000 to 3,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 5
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-HERITAGE-08 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-01 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-02 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 10,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 3,300,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-03 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-04 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-05 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-06 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-07 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget 12,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 3
* HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-TRANSFO-08 - HORIZON-IA: Budget 15,000,000 EUR, Contribution 3,000,000 to 3,750,000 EUR, Indicative number of grants 4
This funding opportunity aims to support research and innovation actions that explore the relationship between access to green and blue spaces and social justice, community cohesion, and climate resilience. It seeks to address knowledge gaps about the societal benefits of nature, particularly in disadvantaged communities, and to develop strategies for integrating these benefits into spatial planning. The call encourages interdisciplinary approaches and collaboration with civil society organizations and cities committed to environmental sustainability. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and the submission deadline is September 23, 2027.
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Breakdown
Eligible Applicant Types: The call is open to a variety of entities including policymakers, civil society organisations, research organisations, entities from cities that are signatories of the Green City Accord, local businesses, and social economy actors. The call encourages the participation of civil society organisations and entities representing different economic/labor sectors and collective identities within the community.
Funding Type: The funding type is primarily a grant, specifically HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) under the Horizon Europe Programme. The Model Grant Agreement (MGA) used is the HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS]. There is also HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA).
Consortium Requirement: The opportunity appears to be geared towards collaborative projects, suggesting a consortium is preferred, although the specific requirements for consortium composition are not explicitly detailed in the provided text. Partner search announcements are available, implying that multiple partners are expected.
Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU member states, associated countries, and potentially non-EU/non-associated countries, as specific provisions may allow funding for participants from these countries. The call focuses on urban and peri-urban settings both in Europe and outside.
Target Sector: The program targets multiple sectors including environment (specifically green and blue spaces), social and environmental justice, climate adaptation, biodiversity, urban development, social inclusion, community wellbeing, cultural heritage, circular economy, food security, nature-based solutions, citizen science, spatial planning, arts, and humanities. It also touches on health, pollution mitigation, and economic development.
Mentioned Countries: The opportunity details mention Europe and non-EU/non-Associated Countries. No specific countries are named, but the Green City Accord is mentioned, which includes 119 signatory cities as of May 2025.
Project Stage: The project stage targets research and innovation actions, as well as coordination and support actions. This suggests projects should be in the research, development, validation, or demonstration stages, with a focus on generating robust evidence and developing strategies and innovative solutions.
Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic and action type. For the TRANSFO-01 topic, the budget is EUR 12,000,000, with individual contributions ranging from EUR 3,000,000 to EUR 4,000,000, and an indicative number of 3 grants. Other topics have different budget allocations and contribution ranges.
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 involves a single stage.
Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants for each topic provides some insight into the potential success rate. For example, a topic with a budget of EUR 12,000,000 and an indicative number of 3 grants suggests a more competitive environment than a topic with a higher number of grants.
Co-funding Requirement: The information does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required. However, as a Horizon Europe action, co-funding might be implicitly expected, but this needs to be verified in the detailed call documents.
Summary: This Horizon Europe call, part of the Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society pillar, focuses on the impact of access to nature-positive environments in promoting social cohesion and reducing inequalities in urban and peri-urban settings. The call aims to fund projects that explore the relationships between green and blue spaces, social and environmental justice, and community resilience. It seeks to address knowledge gaps regarding the societal-level effects of nature, particularly in disadvantaged communities, and to develop strategies for integrating the distributional aspects of access to nature into spatial planning. The call encourages interdisciplinary approaches and collaboration with various stakeholders, including policymakers, civil society organisations, local businesses, and cities participating in the Green City Accord. Funding is provided as lump sum grants, with varying budget allocations and contribution ranges depending on the specific topic and action type, and a single-stage application process. The overall goal is to generate robust evidence and innovative solutions that foster climate and societal resilience, social inclusion, wellbeing, and community participation through the inclusive management of urban environmental commons.
Funding Type: The funding type is primarily a grant, specifically HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) under the Horizon Europe Programme. The Model Grant Agreement (MGA) used is the HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS]. There is also HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA).
Consortium Requirement: The opportunity appears to be geared towards collaborative projects, suggesting a consortium is preferred, although the specific requirements for consortium composition are not explicitly detailed in the provided text. Partner search announcements are available, implying that multiple partners are expected.
Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU member states, associated countries, and potentially non-EU/non-associated countries, as specific provisions may allow funding for participants from these countries. The call focuses on urban and peri-urban settings both in Europe and outside.
Target Sector: The program targets multiple sectors including environment (specifically green and blue spaces), social and environmental justice, climate adaptation, biodiversity, urban development, social inclusion, community wellbeing, cultural heritage, circular economy, food security, nature-based solutions, citizen science, spatial planning, arts, and humanities. It also touches on health, pollution mitigation, and economic development.
Mentioned Countries: The opportunity details mention Europe and non-EU/non-Associated Countries. No specific countries are named, but the Green City Accord is mentioned, which includes 119 signatory cities as of May 2025.
Project Stage: The project stage targets research and innovation actions, as well as coordination and support actions. This suggests projects should be in the research, development, validation, or demonstration stages, with a focus on generating robust evidence and developing strategies and innovative solutions.
Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic and action type. For the TRANSFO-01 topic, the budget is EUR 12,000,000, with individual contributions ranging from EUR 3,000,000 to EUR 4,000,000, and an indicative number of 3 grants. Other topics have different budget allocations and contribution ranges.
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 involves a single stage.
Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants for each topic provides some insight into the potential success rate. For example, a topic with a budget of EUR 12,000,000 and an indicative number of 3 grants suggests a more competitive environment than a topic with a higher number of grants.
Co-funding Requirement: The information does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required. However, as a Horizon Europe action, co-funding might be implicitly expected, but this needs to be verified in the detailed call documents.
Summary: This Horizon Europe call, part of the Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society pillar, focuses on the impact of access to nature-positive environments in promoting social cohesion and reducing inequalities in urban and peri-urban settings. The call aims to fund projects that explore the relationships between green and blue spaces, social and environmental justice, and community resilience. It seeks to address knowledge gaps regarding the societal-level effects of nature, particularly in disadvantaged communities, and to develop strategies for integrating the distributional aspects of access to nature into spatial planning. The call encourages interdisciplinary approaches and collaboration with various stakeholders, including policymakers, civil society organisations, local businesses, and cities participating in the Green City Accord. Funding is provided as lump sum grants, with varying budget allocations and contribution ranges depending on the specific topic and action type, and a single-stage application process. The overall goal is to generate robust evidence and innovative solutions that foster climate and societal resilience, social inclusion, wellbeing, and community participation through the inclusive management of urban environmental commons.
Short Summary
Impact The funding aims to explore the impact of access to nature-positive environments on promoting social cohesion and reducing inequalities in urban and peri-urban settings. | Impact | The funding aims to explore the impact of access to nature-positive environments on promoting social cohesion and reducing inequalities in urban and peri-urban settings. |
Applicant Applicants should possess interdisciplinary expertise in social sciences, humanities, environmental sciences, and systems thinking, with a focus on community engagement and social justice. | Applicant | Applicants should possess interdisciplinary expertise in social sciences, humanities, environmental sciences, and systems thinking, with a focus on community engagement and social justice. |
Developments The funding will support research and innovation actions that investigate the relationships between access to green and blue spaces and social and environmental justice, community resilience, and wellbeing. | Developments | The funding will support research and innovation actions that investigate the relationships between access to green and blue spaces and social and environmental justice, community resilience, and wellbeing. |
Applicant Type This funding is designed for a diverse range of applicants including universities, research institutions, non-profit organizations, local businesses, and civil society organizations. | Applicant Type | This funding is designed for a diverse range of applicants including universities, research institutions, non-profit organizations, local businesses, and civil society organizations. |
Consortium The funding requires a consortium of multiple applicants, emphasizing collaborative research projects. | Consortium | The funding requires a consortium of multiple applicants, emphasizing collaborative research projects. |
Funding Amount The total budget for this funding opportunity is €12,000,000, with individual project grants ranging from €3,000,000 to €4,000,000. | Funding Amount | The total budget for this funding opportunity is €12,000,000, with individual project grants ranging from €3,000,000 to €4,000,000. |
Countries The funding is available to all EU Member States and Associated Countries, with a focus on urban and peri-urban settings across Europe. | Countries | The funding is available to all EU Member States and Associated Countries, with a focus on urban and peri-urban settings across Europe. |
Industry This funding targets the Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society sector under Horizon Europe. | Industry | This funding targets the Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society sector under Horizon Europe. |
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