Living labs driving transformative change via knowledge integration and inclusive governance

HORIZON-CL6-2027-01-BIODIV-06 is a forthcoming European Union funding opportunity under the Horizon Europe framework, specifically categorized as a Research and Innovation Action (RIA). This call emphasizes establishing living labs that facilitate transformative change through knowledge integration and inclusive governance. The application process is a single-stage submission, with the call set to open on April 20, 2027, and closing on September 22, 2027.

The total budget for this opportunity is €14 million, with two substantial grants anticipated, each providing a minimum and maximum contribution of €7 million. The funding mechanism employed is a Lump Sum Grant model, allowing for a streamlined financial management process that encourages efficiency in resource allocation without the need for actual expenditures documentation.

Eligible applicants for this grant include a diverse range of stakeholders such as research organizations, universities, private enterprises, SMEs, local authorities, NGOs, and community groups. A consortium involving multiple applicants is required to ensure a collaborative, multi-actor approach, which is central to this call's objectives.

The geographic eligibility encompasses EU member states and associated countries, aligning with the broader environmental goals set forth by the European Green Deal and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. While specific countries are not mentioned, the focus is inherently European, including potential participation under specific arrangements for non-EU entities.

The call targets sectors such as biodiversity, environmental sustainability, climate action, circular economy, and governance, intending to address the interconnected challenges faced by ecosystems and human communities. Projects under this grant are expected to establish living labs as real-world testing environments for innovative governance and socio-economic models, with an emphasis on co-creation and stakeholder engagement.

Proposals should integrate interdisciplinary approaches and construct engagement strategies that facilitate stakeholder participation, thus addressing barriers to governance inclusivity. Specific actions proposed in applications should include policy analysis related to biodiversity loss, the testing of governance instruments, and the establishment of digital decision-support systems.

While historical success rates for this grant call are not provided, a competitive selection process is anticipated due to the limited number of grants available compared to the expected volume of applications. Co-funding from participants is not explicitly required but recommended to enhance the project's sustainability beyond funding periods.

This call reflects the EU's commitment to innovative solutions for biodiversity conservation and the alignment with international agreements aimed at fostering a nature-positive economy. It seeks thorough proposals that can effectively contribute to the sustainable governance of natural resources, leveraging synergies among different stakeholders and ecosystems.

This is a Horizon Europe (HORIZON) call for proposals focusing on "Living labs driving transformative change via knowledge integration and inclusive governance." The call, identified as HORIZON-CL6-2027-01-BIODIV-06, falls under the HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA) funding scheme and utilizes the HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] Model Grant Agreement (MGA). The call is a single-stage process with a planned opening date of April 20, 2027, and a deadline of September 22, 2027, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes of projects funded under this call are: enhanced governance frameworks that integrate knowledge across ecosystems (terrestrial, freshwater, and marine) and/or societal challenges, helping overcome institutional barriers, power asymmetries, and policy fragmentation to accelerate transformative change towards a nature positive economy and support EU climate goals; and practitioners and public authorities co-creating and having access to living labs as innovation hubs for testing and scaling both governance and socio-economic models that integrate diverse knowledge systems, actively engage stakeholders, and support bottom-up and participatory approaches.

The scope of the call emphasizes the importance of governance frameworks in supporting large-scale, coordinated implementation of nature-positive actions. It highlights the potential of living labs to empower a green transition and transformative change by developing solutions in a co-creative manner and involving actors in real-life settings. Proposals should align with key policies such as the European Green Deal, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the Paris Agreement, the European Climate Law, and the One Health approach.

Proposals should establish living labs as real-world testing environments to experiment with policy solutions, stakeholder engagement, and new economic models, while strengthening collective capacities and well-being, and identifying and overcoming barriers that limit participation in living labs. They should also develop inclusive, intersectional, and adaptive governance strategies that foster systemic transformative change, based on both biodiversity and socio-economic metrics and emphasizing equity and sustainability.

Specific actions expected include: conducting a comprehensive review and analysis of policies related to direct and indirect drivers of biodiversity loss; analyzing legal, financial, and institutional barriers to inclusive governance in Europe and developing proposals to pilot and test innovative policy instruments; developing multi-level governance models and policy proposals to integrate nature-positive actions into relevant EU policies and strategies; identifying relevant existing EU-funded communities of practices and grouping them per ecosystem or societal challenge; setting up living labs to co-develop enabling pathways for transformative change and test them to ensure positive impacts; and developing digital tools to synthesize and visualize diverse knowledge sources and create decision-support systems for inclusive governance.

Proposals should address either Area A: living labs per ecosystem (marine, freshwater, terrestrial (including agriculture, forestry, cities)) or Area B: living labs per societal challenge (climate change, water, food, health, pollution, spatial planning). The area (A or B) should be clearly indicated on the application.

Collaboration with other projects selected under this topic is essential, as is offering training for policymakers, community leaders, and researchers on co-governance and knowledge integration. Interdisciplinary approaches are required, and solutions should be adapted to the environmental, socio-economic, and cultural contexts of each living lab. The multi-actor approach must be implemented, involving a range of stakeholders.

Proposals should address knowledge gaps identified by IPBES assessments and ensure complementarity with other relevant EU-funded projects. Effective contribution of SSH (Social Sciences and Humanities) disciplines is required to collect and validate both technical and socio-economic data.

General conditions for admissibility, eligible countries, financial and operational capacity, exclusion, evaluation and award, and legal and financial setup are described in the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.

Application form templates are available in the Submission System, and standard evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations. Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027, the HE Programme Guide, the HE Framework Programme 2021/695, the HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, and various guidance documents and rules related to legal entity validation, LEAR appointment, financial capacity assessment, and grant agreements.

The budget overview indicates that the HORIZON-CL6-2027-01-BIODIV-06 topic has a budget of 14,000,000 EUR for the year 2027, and it is expected that around 2 grants will be awarded, with contributions of around 7,000,000 EUR each.

This funding opportunity aims to foster transformative change towards a nature-positive economy by establishing and supporting living labs that integrate knowledge, engage stakeholders, and experiment with innovative policy solutions and economic models. It seeks to enhance governance frameworks, address barriers to participation, and promote collaboration across ecosystems and societal challenges, aligning with key EU policies and international agreements. The call encourages interdisciplinary approaches and the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders to ensure impactful and sustainable results.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated, but based on the call's focus on multi-actor approaches and the involvement of various stakeholders, it can be inferred that eligible applicants could include a range of entities such as research institutes, universities, NGOs, local authorities, business leaders, farmers, foresters, land managers, fishing and aquaculture communities, spatial planners, landscape architects, tourism actors, water governance bodies, energy producers, and youth organizations. The call emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary approaches and co-creation, suggesting a broad eligibility to foster diverse partnerships.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, under the Horizon Europe Programme. The call includes different types of actions: Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), and Innovation Actions (IA).

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium, as it emphasizes the implementation of the multi-actor approach and the involvement of a range of stakeholders. The call explicitly states that proposals must implement the multi-actor approach, which necessitates a consortium of various actors.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is broad, encompassing EU member states, associated countries, and potentially non-EU/non-associated countries, as the call 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." Further details can be found in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Target Sector: The program targets multiple sectors, including but not limited to environment, climate, agriculture/food, innovation, and research. Specifically, it focuses on biodiversity, circular bioeconomy, and zero pollution. The call emphasizes the integration of knowledge across ecosystems (terrestrial, freshwater, and marine) and societal challenges (climate change, water, food, health, pollution, spatial planning).

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity does not explicitly mention specific countries, but it refers to EU member states, associated countries, and potentially non-EU/non-associated countries. The call also mentions specific characteristics of the outermost regions, implying that these regions are included in the geographic scope.

Project Stage: The project stage varies depending on the type of action. Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) suggest projects in the research, development, and validation stages. Innovation Actions (IA) imply projects in the demonstration, commercialization, and scale-up stages. Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) focus on networking, coordination, and dissemination activities. The call also mentions establishing living labs, which suggests a focus on demonstration and validation in real-world settings.

Funding Amount: The funding range varies depending on the specific topic and type of action. The budget overview provides the following ranges:
HORIZON-RIA: €6 million to €24 million, with contributions ranging from around €4 million to around €8 million per grant.
HORIZON-CSA: €3 million to €7 million, with contributions ranging from around €3 million to around €7 million per grant.
HORIZON-IA: €10 million to €14 million, with contributions ranging from around €5 million to around €7 million per grant.
Some topics have specific contribution ranges, such as €4 million to €5 million for certain CIRCBIO RIAs.

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process. The call specifies a planned opening date and a deadline date, indicating a structured application window.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant. The call specifies that "Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme."

Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage, as indicated by the "single-stage" deadline model.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly stated, but the "Indicative number of grants" provides some insight. For example, a topic with a budget of €10 million might have an indicative number of 2 grants, suggesting a relatively competitive process.

Co-funding Requirement: The information provided does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required. However, Horizon Europe grants typically fund a significant portion of the project costs, implying that co-funding may not be mandatory but could strengthen a proposal.

This Horizon Europe call focuses on "Living labs driving transformative change via knowledge integration and inclusive governance." It aims to foster a green transition and nature-positive society by establishing living labs that experiment with policy solutions, stakeholder engagement, and new economic models. The call encourages proposals that align with the European Green Deal, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, and other key environmental policies. It seeks to enhance governance frameworks by integrating knowledge across ecosystems and societal challenges, overcoming institutional barriers, and promoting participatory approaches. The call is structured around Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), Innovation Actions (IA), and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), each with varying funding levels and objectives. Applicants are expected to form consortia that include a diverse range of stakeholders, such as researchers, policymakers, business leaders, and community representatives. The projects should address either living labs per ecosystem or living labs per societal challenge, with a clear indication of the chosen area in the application. The funding will be provided as a lump sum, and the application process involves a single stage with a deadline in September 2027. Overall, this call is about creating collaborative, real-world environments where innovative solutions for biodiversity and sustainability can be tested and scaled, contributing to a more resilient and nature-positive future.