Large-scale in situ biodiversity observations for better understanding of biodiversity state, drivers of its decline and impacts of policies

The EU funding opportunity HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-04 is a grant initiative under Horizon Europe designed to enhance large-scale in situ biodiversity observations. Its primary goal is to improve understanding of biodiversity decline and evaluate the impacts of relevant policies. This initiative aligns with the European Green Deal, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, and the EU Nature Restoration Regulation. The call opens on May 6, 2025, and closes on September 17, 2025, with a total budget of 22 million EUR allocated for this topic, anticipating the granting of two grants.

Eligible applicants include consortia comprising research institutions, universities, NGOs, public-private partnerships, and other entities capable of carrying out research and innovation activities. The grant is categorized as a non-repayable funding source under Horizon Europe, specifically classified as a Research and Innovation Action (RIA). The consortium is essential, requiring proposals from partnerships involving at least three EU member states or associated countries. Geographically, eligibility extends to EU member states and associated countries, with the potential inclusion of certain third nations.

Projects funded through this grant are expected to carry out large-scale systematic in situ observations to record species occupancy, richness, abundance, and habitat characteristics, producing high-quality data on biodiversity trends. Proposals should employ standardized methodologies ensuring data quality and public accessibility while adhering to FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data principles.

Further, the projects must encourage the use of artificial intelligence for data analysis and may allocate up to 30% of funding to provide financial support to third parties, capped at 60,000 EUR per entity. The application process is structured as a single-stage submission, and it is anticipated that the success rate will vary widely, typical for competitive Horizon Europe calls. The grant covers 100% of eligible costs, with no co-funding requirement for the proposals.

This initiative aims to address critical knowledge gaps about biodiversity in Europe, offering tools and data for policymakers and researchers to effectively monitor and evaluate biodiversity initiatives and assess the effectiveness of associated policies. By fostering collaboration among stakeholders, the program supports overarching biodiversity and ecosystem restoration goals, contributing to the broader commitments of the European Union.

The EU funding opportunity HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-04, titled "Large-scale in situ biodiversity observations for better understanding of biodiversity state, drivers of its decline and impacts of policies," is a Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action (RIA) aiming to improve the understanding of the biodiversity crisis and support the implementation of the European Green Deal, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the EU Nature Restoration Regulation, and the European Climate Law. The call opens on May 6, 2025, and closes on September 17, 2025, at 17:00 Brussels time. The total budget allocated to this topic for 2025 is 22,000,000 EUR, with an indicative number of 2 grants to be awarded.

The expected outcomes of successful proposals include:

*  Competent authorities having access to high-quality data and information from in situ biodiversity observations to understand biodiversity state and trends in the EU and Associated Countries.

*  Availability of high-quality data and information from in situ biodiversity observations to evaluate the effectiveness of policies and business activities and for applied research and innovation.

The scope of the research and innovation activities should include:

*  Preparing harmonized or standardized frameworks for biodiversity observations, applying state-of-the-art sampling techniques, and ensuring data quality, interoperability, and public access, with a focus on comprehensive and robust metadata and coverage of EU Member States.

*  Undertaking systematic large-scale in situ observations of biodiversity to record occupancy, richness, and abundance of species and populations; map species, populations, and habitats; and survey habitat composition and structure, generating data with adequate spatial and temporal granularity across multiple geographical scales and diverse ecosystems.

*  Defining methodologies for specific data quality checks.

*  Ensuring collected data is relevant for future projections and fit for modeling.

*  Assessing the state, geographical distribution, phenology, and trends of observed species populations.

*  Assessing the quality, structure, functions, and geographical distribution of observed habitats.

*  Filling species and habitat data gaps in terms of geographical and taxonomic coverage in the EU and Associated Countries.

The call encourages the use of AI for data analysis and emphasizes the importance of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable) data principles, exploring workflows that can provide “FAIR-by-design” data. It suggests utilizing the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and relevant European research infrastructures like the Catalogue of Life (COL), DiSSCo, LifeWatch ERIC, EMBRC, eLTER, and MIRRI-ERIC for data storage and access.

Proposals may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) for in-situ observation, with a maximum of 30% of the EU funding allocated for this purpose and a maximum of EUR 60,000 to be granted to each third party. Consortia need to define the selection process of organisations, for which financial support may be granted. Cooperation with the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity and the Science Service project BioAgora is expected, along with providing timely information for consideration by the Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Cooperation with projects selected under topic HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-05 is also required.

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, with specific provisions for 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 as described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Additional documents and guidance include the HE Programme Guide, Model Grant Agreements (MGA), call-specific instructions, information on financial support to third parties, the HE Main Work Programme 2025, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, and Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions.

This funding opportunity aims to address the critical knowledge gaps regarding biodiversity status and trends in the EU by supporting large-scale, standardized in situ observations. The goal is to provide policymakers and businesses with the data needed to effectively implement and evaluate biodiversity policies and restoration efforts, contributing to the broader objectives of the European Green Deal and global biodiversity commitments. The emphasis on FAIR data principles and collaboration with key research infrastructures ensures that the data generated will be accessible, interoperable, and reusable for future research and policy development. The call encourages the use of AI for data analysis and provides financial support to third parties to enhance the scope and impact of the observations.

Eligible Applicant Types: The opportunity is open to various types of legal entities that are eligible under Horizon Europe. While the specific types are not explicitly listed in the provided text, it can be inferred that eligible applicants include universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, and other organizations capable of conducting research and innovation activities. The text mentions "consortia," implying that collaborative projects are encouraged, and financial support to third parties is also possible. Eligibility is further defined in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Funding Type: The primary funding type is a grant, specifically HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) and HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA) and HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) and HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions (HORIZON-COFUND). The Model Grant Agreement is a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG]. Beneficiaries may also provide financial support to third parties in the form of grants, up to EUR 60,000 per third party.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium. The text mentions "Consortia need to define the selection process of organisations, for which financial support may be granted." This indicates that multiple applicants forming a consortium are required.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and Associated Countries. The text also 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," suggesting that some third countries may also be eligible.

Target Sector: The program targets the biodiversity and climate sectors, specifically focusing on the European Green Deal, the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, the EU Nature Restoration Regulation, and the European Climate Law. It also touches on areas related to AI, data management (FAIR data), and ecosystem services.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions EU Member States and Associated Countries. It also alludes to "non-EU/non-Associated Countries" that may have specific provisions for funding.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project for this opportunity spans from research to innovation. The call includes both Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Innovation Actions (IA), suggesting that projects can range from early-stage research to more mature projects focused on deployment and scaling up innovations.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call. The indicative funding ranges are: under €5M, €5M–€20M, over €20M, variable, or other.
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-01: around 60000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-02: around 4000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-03: around 12000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-04: around 11000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-05: around 6000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-06: 5000000 to 6000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-07: around 6000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-08: around 7000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-09: around 3000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-BIODIV-10: 5000000 to 6000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-01: around 5000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-02: around 4000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-03: around 4000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-04: around 5000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-05: around 6000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-06: around 4000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-07: around 9000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-08: around 5500000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-09: around 5000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-10: around 2000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-11: around 5500000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-12: around 2000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-13: around 4000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-14: around 6000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-15: around 70000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-ZEROPOLLUTION-01: around 10000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-ZEROPOLLUTION-02: around 2000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-ZEROPOLLUTION-03: around 4000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-ZEROPOLLUTION-04: around 6000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-ZEROPOLLUTION-05: around 6000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-ZEROPOLLUTION-06: around 8000000 EUR
HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-ZEROPOLLUTION-07: around 6000000 EUR

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

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of grants. Additionally, they may provide financial support to third parties, also in the form of grants, up to EUR 60,000 per third party.

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

Success Rates: The success rates vary depending on the specific topic within the call.

Co-funding Requirement: The need for co-funding is not explicitly mentioned in the provided text for all actions. However, HORIZON-COFUND actions imply a co-funding element, where funding is provided to a program that also receives funding from other sources.

Summary: This Horizon Europe Cluster 6 call focuses on addressing the biodiversity crisis and promoting the goals of the European Green Deal, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the EU Nature Restoration Regulation, and the European Climate Law. The call aims to improve the understanding of biodiversity state and trends by generating high-quality data and information through large-scale in situ observations. It encourages the use of AI and FAIR data principles. The call is structured around several topics, including biodiversity, circular bioeconomy, and zero pollution, each with its specific objectives and funding ranges. Eligible applicants are expected to form consortia and may provide financial support to third parties for specific tasks. The application process is a single-stage open call, and the funding is provided in the form of grants. The projects are expected to cooperate with other relevant initiatives and contribute to policy development and implementation in the areas of biodiversity and ecosystem restoration.