Living labs co-creating solutions for the restoration of ecosystems addressing implementation bottlenecks and improving resilience to risks

Who can apply:Consortia of legal entities eligible to participate in Horizon Europe RIA actions (research organisations, public authorities, NGOs, industry, SMEs, practitioners and other stakeholders). Projects must involve competent public authorities and apply a multi-actor approach.

Funding and financial rules:Lump sum funding under Horizon Europe RIA rules; financial support to third parties allowed in the form of grants (max €60,000 per third party). Up to 30% of project budget may be allocated to cascading grants 1.

Deadline:14 January 2027, single-stage submission. Planned opening of submission system: 13 October 2026. Type of action: HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) using lump sum funding modalities under Horizon Europe. Expected number of grants: Around 6. Expected EU contribution per project: Around €10 000 000. Total indicative budget for this topic: €60 000 000 for 2027. Applicants must follow the Horizon Europe application templates and procedures (Part A and Part B in the Submission System) and the lump sum decision applicable to Horizon Europe.

Expected outcomes:Proposals are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes: stakeholders empowered to co-create, deploy and replicate viable ecosystem restoration measures addressing implementation bottlenecks and financing; competent authorities implementing the EU Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR) can design and reuse effective deployment frameworks informed by living lab evidence; social, economic and environmental co-benefits, risks and trade-offs (including One Health aspects where relevant) are demonstrated and made explicit to support decision-making and scaling.

Scope summary:The topic supports the set-up of three new living labs, each with 8 to 15 experimental sites across different ecosystems and contexts. Projects must adopt a strong place-based, multi-actor co-creation approach involving researchers, land and water managers (including farmers and foresters), owners, policy-makers, economic actors, civil society, social partners, municipalities and regions ensuring adequate representation of primary-sector actors. Living labs must: operate in real-life settings; involve stakeholders at all development stages; cover at least three different EU Member States and/or Associated Countries (including outermost regions where relevant); address gender dimensions; deliver basin- and site-level baselines and monitoring; establish harmonised KPIs and MRV protocols compatible with NRR and European Water Resilience Strategy; act as policy experimentation environments with active competent public authorities; identify and address implementation bottlenecks (financing, permitting, land tenure, governance, skills, behavioural drivers etc.); demonstrate feasibility, replicability and long-term maintenance pathways; develop sustainability, governance and business models to continue beyond project life; dedicate resources to networking with other living labs and to coordinate with a CSA funded under HORIZON-NATURE-2027-02-03; and ensure data are FAIR and, where feasible, integrated with EOSC. Financial support to third parties (FSTP) is allowed up to a maximum of 30% of the project budget to actively involve small actors. Proposals must explicitly indicate whether they address Area A (building risk-resilience with restoration) or Area B (developing effective and viable restoration practices in agriculture and forestry).

Eligible Applicant Types:Eligible applicants include research-performing organisations and implementers able to form transnational consortia: universities and higher education establishments, public research organisations and research institutes, nonprofits and NGOs, SMEs and larger enterprises (including primary sector businesses such as farming, forestry, water managers), public authorities (ministries, agencies, regional and local administrations), social partners, municipalities and regions, and other relevant stakeholders. Multi-actor consortia that include competent public authorities and practitioner-led organisations are required. Individual applicants are not appropriate; legal entities capable of entering Horizon Europe grants must apply.

Funding Type:Primary financial mechanism: grant under Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions (RIA). Funding is implemented under lump sum contribution rules for eligible costs as defined by the Horizon Europe lump sum decision. The action allows Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) in the form of grants (maximum amount per third party €60 000) and permits allocating up to 30% of the project budget to FSTP to facilitate involvement of small actors.

Consortium Requirement:Consortium required: proposals must support the set-up of three living labs across different ecosystems and therefore require a multi-partner consortium. The topic requires participation across at least three different EU Member States and/or Associated Countries. The submission procedure is single-stage and proposals will be evaluated as consortium proposals.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):Geographic eligibility: entities established in EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries are eligible for funding. Proposals must include sites in at least three different Member States and/or Associated Countries and may include sites in outermost regions. The Work Programme notes additional rules for certain non-associated third countries; check the Horizon Europe Programme Guide for country-specific funding eligibility.

Target Sector(s):Sectors targeted: environment, biodiversity conservation, agriculture, forestry, water resources and freshwater management, nature-based solutions, ecosystem restoration, climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, One Health interfaces (biodiversity and public health), soil, coastal and marine ecosystems as relevant. Cross-cutting inclusion of social sciences and humanities (SSH) is mandatory to address behavioural change, social acceptance, participatory governance and conflict mediation.

Mentioned Countries:The topic text does not list specific countries; it requires participation across at least three EU Member States and/or Associated Countries and acceptance of sites in outermost regions. Therefore the explicit region is EU and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. Projects must ensure cooperation with the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity (KCBD) and related EU initiatives.

Project Stage / Expected Maturity:Expected project maturity: deployment, demonstration and validation in real-life settings. Projects must establish and test operational restoration approaches (implementation, scaling and replication), monitoring and MRV compatible with legislation. This topic is aimed at applied, real-world demonstration and policy experimentation rather than early-stage basic research.

Funding Amount:Indicative EU contribution per project: around €10 000 000 (the Work Programme indicates around 6 grants at €10 million each). Total topic budget: €60 000 000 for 2027. Projects use lump sum funding modalities consistent with Horizon Europe's lump sum decision.

Application Type and Submission Procedure:Application: open call via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal using the single-stage submission procedure. Use the application form available in the Submission System (Part A and Part B). Applicants must follow page limits and layout rules described in Part B of the Application Form and relevant General Annexes, noting the lump sum and FSTP specifications.

Nature of Support:Beneficiaries receive monetary support (grant lump sums) for project activities and may distribute grants to third parties under FSTP. Non-monetary support: access to networks, coordination with the KCBD, participation in CSA-led networking activities, training, peer-to-peer learning and lighthouse demonstration site visibility are expected non-financial benefits.

Application Stages:Number of evaluation stages: 1 stage (single-stage call). Evaluation uses standard Horizon Europe evaluation procedures and forms adapted for RIA lump sum actions. Projects will be ranked and selected subject to threshold scores and portfolio-balancing rules requiring at least two highest-ranked proposals in each research field A and B for balance.

Success Rates:Estimated success rate: not provided explicitly. Topic expects around 6 grants from the pool of eligible proposals. Historical success rates for Horizon Europe RIA topics vary widely; applicants should expect competitive evaluation and plan consortia accordingly.

Co-funding Requirement:Co-funding: Horizon Europe grants require beneficiaries to carry out the action and bear any costs above the lump sum. There is no mandatory co-funding percentage specified in the topic beyond the conceptual expectation that the consortium demonstrates leveraged private and/or public investment pathways (business plans, market-readiness strategies, and plans to mobilise financing). Proposals should present credible plans for mobilisation of additional resources and business models for continuation beyond project lifetime.

Templates and Application Structure:Use the standard Horizon Europe application form available in the Submission System. Part B includes: 1) Excellence (objectives, relation to work programme, methodology, interdisciplinary approach incl. SSH), 2) Impact (expected outcomes and outputs, dissemination, exploitation, communication, business models and market-readiness where relevant), 3) Implementation (work plan, work packages, deliverables, milestones, consortium description, risk management, allocation of lump sums and FSTP mechanisms). Applicants must attach Information on Financial Support to Third Parties template if FSTP is used. Evaluation form templates and guidance (HE Programme Guide, Model Grant Agreement Lump Sum MGA, Decision authorising lump sums) are available in reference documents. The page limit rules and layout are as described in Part B of the Submission System; follow them exactly. The topic calls for a clear indication of whether the proposal addresses Area A or Area B.

Mandatory cross-cutting requirements and good practices:include SSH expertise across all living lab phases; ensure gender dimension and gender balance assessment; ensure data are FAIR and consider EOSC for storage and sharing; adopt citizen science where appropriate; coordinate with existing EU initiatives (Agroecology Partnership, Forest Partnership, Missions, CRCF, KCBD) to avoid duplication and ensure complementarity; proactively identify and address potential One Health trade-offs with public health authorities; provide harmonised KPIs and MRV protocols compatible with NRR and Water Resilience Strategy; include explicit plans for networking with other living labs and with the CSA HORIZON-NATURE-2027-02-03.

Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) specifics:FSTP can be implemented in the form of grants to small actors (land managers, SMEs, civil society) to facilitate active involvement. Maximum allocation to FSTP is 30% of the project budget. Maximum amount per third party is €60 000, unless otherwise specified in the call (this topic follows the standard €60 000 cap). Projects must include a dedicated annex 'Information on Financial Support to Third Parties' describing objectives, eligibility, amounts, calculation criteria, closed list of eligible activities, recipients, selection criteria and conflicts of interest mitigation measures.

Monitoring, KPIs and MRV:Proposals must establish harmonised Key Performance Indicators and MRV (measurement, reporting, verification) protocols compatible with the Nature Restoration Regulation and the European Water Resilience Strategy. Proposals must develop integrated impact assessment frameworks capturing environmental, social, economic and governance dimensions and where relevant One Health indicators, and must demonstrate how monitoring will track progress and long-term maintenance of restoration results.

Compliance and evaluation notes:proposals must meet Horizon Europe eligibility, exclusion and operational capacity criteria described in General Annexes. The topic includes portfolio-balancing rules: grants will be awarded not only by ranking but also ensuring at least two highest-ranked proposals within research field A and two within research field B, provided thresholds are met. Use the Submission System application form; follow page limits in Part B. Projects will be funded by lump sum contributions and must comply with Lump Sum MGA provisions and the Decision authorising lump sums under Horizon Europe.

Links to relevant policy and reference materials:Applicants should align proposals with: Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR), EU Climate Adaptation Strategy, European Water Resilience Strategy, Water Framework Directive, EU Soil Strategy for 2030, EU Forest Strategy for 2030, Vision for Agriculture and Food, EU Bioeconomy Strategy, European Ocean Pact, Communication on Integrated Wildfire Risk Management, CRCF Regulation (Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming) and emerging nature credit roadmaps. Proposals must ensure cooperation with the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity (KCBD) and consider EOSC for data. See the Funding & Tenders Portal for official call text and reference documents Topic page KCBD Roadmap towards nature credits. 1

How to prepare a competitive proposal:build a balanced multi-actor consortium with strong policy and practitioner partners; ensure geographic and ecosystem diversity across at least three Member States/Associated Countries; include demonstrated capacity to implement field restoration measures and long-term monitoring; embed SSH expertise for social acceptance, behavioural and governance analysis; design harmonised MRV protocols aligned with NRR and Water Resilience Strategy; provide detailed work plan and management structures; prepare the Information on FSTP annex if intending to allocate up to 30% of budget to third parties; ensure data management plans that commit to FAIR principles and consider EOSC integration; secure letters of commitment from public authorities and site owners/managers; and include concrete plans for sustainability, business models and financing pathways including interaction with CRCF and nature credit mechanisms.

Further guidance and support resources:consult the Horizon Europe Programme Guide, the Work Programme general annexes (Annex A–G), Online Manual on the Funding & Tenders Portal, the Lump Sum Decision and Lump Sum Model Grant Agreement, templates for Information on Financial Support to Third Parties, and contact National Contact Points, Research Enquiry Service or Partner Search tools on the Funding & Tenders Portal for consortium building and national guidance.