Open grounds for future pre-commercial procurement of innovative security technologies

The funding opportunity titled HORIZON-CL3-2027-01-SSRI-02 is part of the Horizon Europe program, specifically targeting the civil security sector. Its goal is to prepare the groundwork for future pre-commercial procurement (PCP) initiatives involving innovative security technologies. This call is designed to foster collaboration among public procurers and end-user organizations across EU Member States and Associated Countries.

The eligible applicants for this opportunity are end-user organizations and public procurers with a requirement that the consortium must include at least six end-user organizations and three public procurers, representing at least three different EU Member States or Associated Countries. This emphasis ensures a diverse and inclusive approach to public procurement challenges in the security domain.

Funding is in the form of grants, with a total budget of €2,000,000 allocated for the call, allowing for two grants of €1,000,000 each. The funding mechanism utilizes a lump sum contribution model, aiming to simplify accounting and administrative processes. The project duration is capped at one year, which reflects its preparatory nature.

Applications will be accepted through a single-stage process, without preliminary expressions of interest, allowing for a streamlined proposal submission. The call opens on May 5, 2027, and closes on November 4, 2027, thus providing a six-month window for preparation.

The initiative seeks to address specific objectives, including consolidating a group of potential buyers motivated to engage in joint procurement, justifying the need for a PCP action based on technological maturity, conducting open market consultations to explore various alternatives, and documenting the readiness for future procurement actions that align with EU values and legal parameters.

Overall, this opportunity aims to strengthen the connection between procurement needs and technological innovation, ensuring that public buyers can effectively deploy cutting-edge solutions to address pressing security challenges across Europe.

This EU funding opportunity, HORIZON-CL3-2027-01-SSRI-02, is a call for proposals under the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) program, specifically within the Civil Security for Society 2027 call (HORIZON-CL3-2027-01). It aims to establish open grounds for future pre-commercial procurement of innovative security technologies.

The action type is a HORIZON Coordination and Support Action (HORIZON-CSA), with a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] model grant agreement. The deadline model is single-stage, with a planned opening date of 05 May 2027 and a deadline date of 04 November 2027 at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes of this funding opportunity are to:

Establish a consolidated group of potential buyers with shared needs and requirements, committed to carrying out a pre-commercial procurement (PCP) action for future joint procurement of innovative solutions.

Provide clear evidence justifying the necessity of a PCP action to complete the maturation cycle of certain technologies and compare different alternatives.

Increase the capacity of EU public procurers to align requirements with industry and future products and to attract innovation and innovators from security and other sectors through common validation strategies, rapid innovation, experimentation, and pre-commercial procurement.

The scope of this call invites end-users and public procurers from several countries to submit proposals for a preparatory action that should build the grounds for a future pre-commercial procurement (PCP) action. Both this preparatory action and the future PCP action are open to proposals oriented to the acquisition of research and development (R&D) services for the development of innovative technologies, systems, tools, or techniques under the priorities laid down in the Work Programme.

In preparing the grounds for a possible future PCP action, the outputs of this Coordination and Support Action (CSA) should take into consideration:

The policy priorities described in this Work Programme Part for the security areas mentioned above.

The EU Directive for public procurement and in particular with the provisions related to PCP.

The specific provisions and funding rates of PCP actions and the specific requirements for innovation procurement (PCP/PPI) supported by Horizon Europe grants, as stated in the General Annex H of the Horizon Europe Work Programme.

The guidance for attracting innovators and innovation, as explained in the European Commission Guidance on Innovation Procurement C(2021) 4320, in particular those measures oriented to reduce the barriers to high-tech start-ups and innovative SMEs.

During the course of the project, the applicants are expected to deliver clear evidence on a number of aspects in order to justify and de-risk a possible follow-up PCP action, including:

That the challenge is pertinent and that indeed a PCP action is required to complete the maturation cycle of certain technologies and to compare different alternatives.

That there is a consolidated group of potential buyers with common needs and requirements which are committed to carry out a PCP action in order to be able to take an informed decision on a future joint procurement of innovative solutions.

That there is a quantifiable and identifiable community of potential buyers (including and beyond those proposed as beneficiaries in the proposal) who would share to a wide extent the common needs and requirements defined and who could be interested in exploring further joint-uptake of solutions similar to those developed under the PCP, should these prove to be technologically mature and operationally relevant by the end of the project.

That the state of the art and the market (including research) has been explored and mapped, and that there are different technical alternatives to address the proposed challenge.

That a future PCP tendering process is clear, that a draft planning has been proposed and that the supporting documentation and administrative procedures will be ready on due time in order to launch the call for the acquisition of R&D services according to the PCP rules.

That the technology developments to be conducted in the future PCP can be done in compliance with European societal values, fundamental rights and applicable legislation, including in the area of free movement of persons, privacy and protection of personal data.

That in developing technology solutions, societal and gender aspects (e.g., perception of security, possible side effects of technological solutions, societal resilience) are taken into account in a comprehensive and thorough manner.

If the applicants intend to submit a proposal for a follow-up PCP in a future Horizon Europe Cluster 3 Work Programme, they should ensure that the above evidence is consolidated in the project deliverables of this CSA before the submission of the PCP proposal.

The project should have a maximum estimated duration of 1 year.

Finally, proposals are expected to address all applicable considerations expressed in the Introduction of the Strengthened Security Research and Innovation Destination.

The general conditions for this call include:

Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout, described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form.

Eligible Countries: As described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific provisions may apply to non-EU/non-Associated Countries, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Other Eligible Conditions: Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks. Additional eligibility conditions include the participation, as beneficiaries, of at least 6 end-user organizations and at least 3 public procurers from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries. Open market consultations must also take place in at least 3 EU Member States or Associated Countries.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: As described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Legal and financial set-up of the grants: Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021. This is further described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA) information is available in the Submission System, including standard application forms for various action types (HE RIA, IA, CSA, RI, PCP, PPI, COFUND, FPA, MSCA, ERC, EIC) and evaluation form templates.

Additional documents include: HE Main Work Programmes (2025 and 2023-2025), EIC Work Programme 2025, ERC Work Programme 2026, 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, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

The budget overview for the 2027 call includes various topics with their respective budget allocations, stages, opening and deadline dates, contributions, and indicative number of grants.

Partner search announcements can be viewed and edited by LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants after logging into the portal.

The submission system is planned to be opened on the date stated on the topic header.

This funding opportunity aims to prepare the groundwork for future pre-commercial procurement of innovative security technologies. It invites end-users and public procurers to collaborate on research and development projects, focusing on innovative technologies, systems, tools, and techniques within the security domain. The goal is to establish a strong foundation for future joint procurement of innovative solutions, increase the capacity of EU public procurers, and attract innovation from various sectors. The projects should deliver clear evidence to justify and de-risk a possible follow-up PCP action, ensuring compliance with European values and legislation. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and the project duration is estimated to be a maximum of 1 year.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types include end-user organizations and public procurers. The call requires the participation of at least 6 end-user organizations and at least 3 public procurers as beneficiaries.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Coordination and Support Action (CSA) with a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant. There are also HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), HORIZON Innovation Actions (IA) and HORIZON Pre-commercial Procurement (PCP) funding types mentioned in the budget overview.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium of multiple applicants. Specifically, it mandates the participation of at least 6 end-user organizations and 3 public procurers as beneficiaries, originating from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and Associated Countries. Open market consultations must take place in at least 3 EU Member States or Associated Countries. 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.

Target Sector: The target sector is civil security for society, with a focus on innovative security technologies, systems, tools, or techniques. The call aims to prepare the grounds for future pre-commercial procurement (PCP) actions in the security domain.

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

Project Stage: The project stage is preparatory, focusing on building the grounds for a future pre-commercial procurement (PCP) action. It involves activities such as establishing a consolidated group of potential buyers, providing evidence for future PCP actions, and increasing the capacity of public procurers.

Funding Amount: The budget overview lists multiple topics with varying funding amounts. For the specific topic HORIZON-CL3-2027-01-SSRI-02 (HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions), the budget is EUR 2,000,000, with an indicative number of 2 grants. Other topics listed have budgets ranging from EUR 4,500,000 to EUR 14,000,000.

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage call, as indicated by the "Deadline model: single-stage" in the general information.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant to support their coordination and support actions.

Application Stages: The application process involves a single stage, as indicated in the "Deadline model: single-stage" section.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the "Indicative number of grants" provides some insight. For the HORIZON-CL3-2027-01-SSRI-02 topic, the indicative number of grants is 2, suggesting a potentially competitive selection process.

Co-funding Requirement: The document does not explicitly state a co-funding requirement. However, it refers to the specific provisions and funding rates of PCP actions as stated in the General Annex H of the Horizon Europe Work Programme, which may contain information on co-funding.

Summary:

This Horizon Europe call, specifically HORIZON-CL3-2027-01-SSRI-02, focuses on "Open grounds for future pre-commercial procurement of innovative security technologies." It is a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) initiative aimed at preparing the groundwork for future pre-commercial procurement (PCP) actions within the civil security domain. The call invites end-users and public procurers from EU Member States and Associated Countries to submit proposals for preparatory actions.

The primary goal is to establish a consolidated group of potential buyers with shared needs, committed to joint procurement of innovative security solutions. Projects should provide evidence justifying the need for PCP actions, explore different technological alternatives, and increase the capacity of EU public procurers to attract innovation.

Eligible applicants must form a consortium including at least 6 end-user organizations and 3 public procurers from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries. The projects are expected to have a maximum duration of 1 year and will be funded through lump sum grants. The call emphasizes compliance with European societal values, fundamental rights, and applicable legislation, including data protection and gender considerations. The total budget for the HORIZON-CL3-2027-01-SSRI-02 topic is EUR 2,000,000, with an expected 2 grants to be awarded. The call opens on May 5, 2027, and closes on November 4, 2027.