Multi-hazard approach and cumulative / cascading impacts

The Horizon Europe grant opportunity HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-DRS-02 focuses on advancing multi-hazard risk assessment and disaster resilience. The call is aimed at integrating single-hazard models into predictive systems that can analyze the cascading effects of various natural and technological hazards. It highlights the need for early and anticipatory actions to understand how these hazards impact societies, economies, and critical infrastructure.

Eligible applicants for this grant include a wide range of stakeholders such as research organizations, universities, government authorities, private sector entities, and international organizations based in EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries. Specific consortium requirements mandate at least two authorities responsible for disaster risk or crisis communication and two representatives from local or regional authorities from a minimum of three different EU Member States or Associated Countries.

The primary funding mechanism is a lump sum grant with a total budget of €8,000,000 allocated across two expected projects, providing an expected EU contribution of approximately €4,000,000 per project. The application process is a single-stage submission model, previously opening on May 6, 2026, and closing on November 5, 2026.

The targeted sectors include civil security, disaster risk management, hazard forecasting, and emergency response. Projects should aim to develop integrated risk and resilience metrics and enhance prediction capabilities through advanced methods such as AI-driven analytics, stress testing of critical infrastructure, and scenario-based modeling. There is an emphasis on collaboration and effective data sharing among diverse systems to improve global forecasting and risk governance.

While the exact success rates are not specified, the typical range for similar proposals is around 10% to 39%. No explicit co-funding is required, but leveraging existing partnerships and operational grants is encouraged. Overall, this initiative targets a comprehensive approach to disaster resilience, encouraging innovative solutions that can be applied at various levels to enhance Europe’s ability to manage and respond to multi-hazard scenarios.

This EU funding opportunity focuses on advancing multi-hazard risk assessment and disaster resilience within the Horizon Europe Programme, specifically under the Civil Security for Society call in 2026. The primary goal is to integrate single-hazard models into next-generation predictive systems to analyze cascading and cumulative effects of various hazards, including meteorological, geophysical, and technological events. The emphasis is on early and anticipatory action to improve understanding of hazard interactions and their impacts on societies, economies, and critical infrastructure.

The funding aims to develop and validate integrated forecasting models that enhance the prediction and management of multi-hazard scenarios. These models should be flexible, extensible, and capable of coordinating responses by incorporating real-time data, AI-driven analytics, and remote sensing technologies. A key aspect is addressing challenges in platform interoperability and data exchange to ensure effective communication and synergy among diverse hazard monitoring systems at local, national, and global levels.

Research should explore the interoperability of regional and national hazard warning systems to improve global forecasting capabilities for hazards like landslides and cumulative earthquake damage. Addressing gaps in loss estimation models is crucial, considering the cascading and long-term impacts of disasters on infrastructure, the built environment, supply chains, and community needs. The development of advanced tools and methodologies is encouraged to assess the combined effects of multiple hazards on critical infrastructure, ensuring disaster risk management strategies account for interdependencies across sectors. This includes scenario-based stress testing, digital twins for risk modelling, and AI-powered decision-support systems, while addressing existing biases, to enhance resilience planning for essential services like energy, water, transport, and telecommunications.

A holistic, systemic, and cross-cutting approach to disaster risk management is required, considering climate change trends, environmental degradation, and vulnerabilities related to gender, age, disabilities, and other social factors. The initiative should lead to the creation of comprehensive Risk and Resilience Metrics, integrating physical, economic, and social dimensions to support decision-makers in designing effective prevention and adaptation strategies. Leveraging existing systems like the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS), Destination Earth Platform, and Risk Data Hub is encouraged.

Projects should conduct stakeholder or market analysis and develop a roadmap for the uptake of methodologies, findings, and technologies by industry, the research and innovation community, and relevant authorities. Consideration should be given to the assets and challenges faced by European outermost regions, with the inclusion of entities from these regions in consortium compositions.

The funding seeks to strengthen risk governance at multiple levels by fostering collaboration between scientific communities, policymakers, emergency responders, and infrastructure operators. Efforts should leverage citizen-generated content from social media and decentralized digital platforms for early warning and situational awareness. Alignment with EU policies, international risk reduction frameworks, and best practices in resilience planning is essential. Synergies with projects from operational grants, such as the Knowledge for Action in Prevention & Preparedness (KAPP), are recommended.

Proposals should leverage data and services available through European Research Infrastructures federated under the European Open Science Cloud and relevant Data Spaces. Data produced should adhere to FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable).

The call specifies several eligibility conditions, including proposal page limits, eligible countries (as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Horizon Europe Programme Guide), and other conditions related to the protection of European communication networks. Relevant international organizations with headquarters in a Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country are exceptionally eligible.

Additional eligibility criteria include the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2 authorities in charge of disaster risk or crisis communication and 2 representatives of local or regional authorities in charge of disaster response from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries. Applicants must provide information about security practitioners in the application form. Projects using satellite-based earth observation data must utilize Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are detailed in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. Evaluation and award processes, criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D and Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is also described in Annex F.

Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum, as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021. The granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or exclusive licensing of results up to 4 years after the action's end, as set out in Annex 5.

Application forms and evaluation templates are available in the Submission System, with guidance provided in the HE Programme Guide and Model Grant Agreements (MGA). Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027, EIC Work Programme 2026, ERC Work Programme 2026, HE Framework Programme 2021/695, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, and various guidance documents and FAQs.

The call includes several specific topics with varying budgets and indicative numbers of grants, all with a single-stage deadline of 05 November 2026. Examples include:

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-BM-01: HORIZON Innovation Actions, budget of EUR 12,000,000, indicative number of grants 2.
HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-DRS-02: HORIZON Innovation Actions, budget of EUR 8,000,000, indicative number of grants 2.
HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-SSRI-02: HORIZON Pre-commercial Procurement, budget of EUR 5,830,000, indicative number of grants 1.

This funding opportunity aims to foster innovation and research in disaster resilience, encouraging collaboration among diverse stakeholders to develop advanced, interoperable, and AI-driven systems for predicting, managing, and mitigating the impacts of multi-hazard events across Europe, with a focus on inclusivity, sustainability, and effective risk governance.

In simpler terms, this grant is about making Europe safer and more resilient to disasters. It encourages researchers, emergency responders, and policymakers to work together to build better forecasting systems that can predict and manage multiple hazards at once, like floods, heatwaves, and earthquakes. The goal is to use the latest technology, like AI and satellite data, to create tools that can help communities prepare for and respond to disasters more effectively, protecting infrastructure, economies, and vulnerable populations. The EU wants to see new ideas put into practice, so projects should have a clear plan for how their research will be used by industry and governments to improve disaster preparedness and response.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types include authorities in charge of disaster risk or crisis communication, local or regional authorities in charge of disaster response, international organisations with headquarters in a Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country, and other entities. The authorities in charge of disaster risk or crisis communication entail public bodies operating at the national level that hold legally defined responsibilities in the area of disaster risk management. This includes national civil protection authorities as well as other institutions that can demonstrate, through appropriate legal or administrative acts, a formal mandate to design, coordinate, or implement national disaster risk prevention, preparedness, response, or crisis communication measures.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant. Other funding types mentioned include HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA), HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA), HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA), HORIZON Pre-commercial Procurement (HORIZON-PCP), and HORIZON Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions (HORIZON-PPI).

Consortium Requirement: A consortium of multiple applicants is required. Specifically, the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2 authorities in charge of disaster risk or crisis communication and 2 representatives of local or regional authorities in charge of disaster response from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries is required.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. Non-EU/non-Associated Countries may also be eligible if they have made specific provisions for funding their participants in Horizon Europe projects. Projects may take into account the assets but also particular challenges faced by the European outermost regions and may include entities from these regions in the consortium’s composition.

Target Sector: The program targets the civil security sector, specifically focusing on disaster risk management, disaster resilience, multi-hazard risk assessment, predictive systems, forecasting models, platform interoperability, data exchange, AI-driven analytics, remote sensing technologies, hazard warning systems, loss estimation models, critical infrastructure resilience, climate change adaptation, and risk governance.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. It also refers to non-EU/non-Associated Countries that have made specific provisions for funding their participants in Horizon Europe projects.

Project Stage: The project stage is primarily focused on development and validation, with an emphasis on developing and validating integrated forecasting models, enhancing prediction and management of multi-hazard scenarios, and developing advanced tools and methodologies.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call, ranging from €1,330,000 for Coordination and Support Actions to €12,000,000 for Innovation Actions. The indicative number of grants per topic also varies, with some topics expected to fund one project and others expected to fund two.

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 a lump sum grant.

Application Stages: The application process involves a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly stated, but the indicative number of grants per topic provides some insight into the potential success rate. For example, topics with an indicative number of 2 grants suggest a higher success rate than topics with only 1 grant.

Co-funding Requirement: The information provided does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call focuses on Civil Security for Society, specifically addressing the critical need for advancing multi-hazard risk assessment and disaster resilience. The call aims to fund projects that develop and validate integrated forecasting models, enhance hazard forecasting and response capabilities, and strengthen risk governance at multiple levels. Eligible applicants include authorities in charge of disaster risk or crisis communication, local and regional authorities, international organizations, and other entities from EU Member States and Associated Countries. The funding mechanism is primarily lump sum grants, with varying amounts depending on the type of action (Innovation Actions, Research and Innovation Actions, Coordination and Support Actions, Pre-commercial Procurement, and Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions). The application process is a single-stage submission, and successful projects are expected to contribute to outcomes such as integrated hazard systems, enhanced forecasting and response, holistic risk and resilience metrics, and improved disaster risk management. The call emphasizes the importance of collaboration, data sharing, and alignment with EU policies and international frameworks to maximize the applicability and impact of the developed solutions.