Open topic on driving innovation uptake of disaster risk solutions

The Horizon Europe grant opportunity identified as HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-DRS-04 is part of the Civil Security for Society initiative, targeting innovation uptake in disaster risk solutions. This funding call has a total budget of €6 million, with two expected grants of €3 million each. Its main focus is to foster a disaster-resilient society across Europe by enhancing the adoption and integration of high-Technology Readiness Level (TRL) disaster risk solutions (DRS) into various sectors.

Eligible applicants include public and private organizations, research institutions, technology developers, and civil security practitioners, with a mandatory requirement for participation from at least three first responders or disaster risk authorities from at least three different EU member states or associated countries. The call emphasizes collaboration and aims to address barriers to innovation adoption by improving accessibility and scaling proven solutions in disaster prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery.

Projects must be submitted through a single-stage process, with the application opening date set for May 6, 2026, and a deadline of November 5, 2026. The funding provided will be structured as lump sum grants, enabling beneficiaries to manage project finances with less administrative burden by employing predetermined and fixed costs.

The call encourages projects that focus on practical deployment and validation of high-TRL solutions through pilot demonstrations, integration of new technologies like AI, IoT, and digital tools into existing frameworks, and the development of governance models and interoperability standards. Key expected outcomes include enhanced decision-making through evidence-based insights, effective integration of advanced DRS technologies, and improved public-private cooperation in disaster management.

Stakeholders can find relevant guidelines, proposal templates, and legal information through the Horizon Europe Funding and Tenders Portal. The emphasis on collaboration across multiple countries and sectors, along with a strong focus on innovative disaster management strategies, positions this opportunity as a significant step towards improving societal resilience to a range of hazards, particularly those exacerbated by climate change.

This is a Horizon Europe call for proposals under the Civil Security for Society program, specifically targeting the widespread adoption and integration of high Technology Readiness Level (TRL) disaster risk solutions (DRS) across various sectors to enhance societal resilience to hazards, including those related to climate change. The call, identified as HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-DRS-04, is for HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA) and offers a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS]. The planned opening date is May 6, 2026, with a deadline of November 5, 2026, at 17:00 Brussels time. The total budget for this specific topic is 6,000,000 EUR, and it is anticipated that approximately two grants will be awarded.

The expected outcomes of funded projects include: accelerated adoption of high-TRL disaster risk solutions across diverse sectors, facilitated integration of innovative technologies into existing disaster prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery frameworks, promoted collaboration among stakeholders to scale proven solutions and enhance resilience, addressed barriers to deployment, ensuring accessibility and usability of advanced DRS technologies, strengthened evidence-based decision-making through demonstration and validation of high-TRL solutions in real-world scenarios, and promoted visibility of civil security research results.

The scope of the call emphasizes overcoming deployment barriers, ensuring accessibility, and strengthening collaboration among stakeholders to drive innovation uptake. Projects should promote the adoption of high-TRL solutions by public and private sector organizations involved in disaster risk management, developing strategies for scaling and commercializing innovative DRS technologies to ensure they reach end-users efficiently. They should also demonstrate how these technologies can complement or replace existing disaster preparedness, response, and recovery frameworks by developing integrated governance and coordination models across sectors and levels for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery in multi-hazard and cascading risk scenario interoperability standards, and guidelines for integrating new solutions into national and European civil protection systems. Projects should especially liaise and support other disaster resilience projects in driving their uptake as well as examine how to build synergy pathways with other preparedness grants, such as Knowledge for Action in Prevention & Preparedness (KAPP) funding call of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM).

Addressing deployment barriers is crucial, including identifying and mitigating technical, regulatory, financial, and social obstacles hindering the uptake of advanced solutions, while ensuring accessibility and usability for diverse stakeholders such as first responders, local authorities, and communities and individuals in a vulnerable situation. Projects should also demonstrate the real-world effectiveness of high-TRL solutions through large-scale pilot projects and demonstrations, generating robust evidence to support data-driven decision-making and optimize disaster risk reduction strategies. Initiatives should consider the capacity gaps of the UCPM, align with EU disaster resilience objectives and build on existing programs, ensuring synergies with relevant policies, funding mechanisms, and technological ecosystems. The private-public cooperation chapter of the Preparedness Union Strategy should especially be a guiding document. Proposals are encouraged to incorporate digital tools, AI-driven analytics, digital twins such as Destination Earth, IoT applications, and other emerging technologies to enhance disaster preparedness and response.

Proposals should include a strategy to promote the visibility of the project and its results to the broader public, showcasing the potential of European civil security research. This could involve participation in forums like the European Civil Protection Forum and utilizing platforms such as the European Commission Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre. The integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content should be addressed if relevant to the objectives of the research effort.

Admissibility conditions require adherence to proposal page limits and layout guidelines as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. Eligible countries are those described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific provisions may exist for non-EU/non-Associated Countries, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Other eligibility conditions include restrictions on entities controlled by China and restrictions for the protection of European communication networks. Additionally, the call requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3 first responders or authorities in charge of disaster risk from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries. Applicants must provide information about these security practitioners in the application form. If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. Evaluation and award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are detailed in Annex D, while 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 also described in Annex F.

Legal and financial aspects of the grants include provisions for the granting authority to object to a transfer of ownership or exclusive licensing of results for up to 4 years after the action's end. Eligible costs will be in the form of a lump sum, as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021. General information on legal and financial set-up is described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application form templates specific to this call are available in the Submission System, including standard application forms for HE RIA, IA, CSA, RI, PCP, PPI, COFUND, FPA, MSCA PF, MSCA DN, MSCA SE, MSCA COFUND, MSCA COFUND CE, ERC STG, ERC COG, ERC ADG, ERC POC, ERC SYG, EIC PATHFINDER CHALLENGES, EIC PATHFINDER OPEN, EIC TRANSITION, EIC STEP, and EIC Accelerator (stage 1 and 2). Evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations.

Guidance documents include the HE Programme Guide, Model Grant Agreements (HE MGA, HE Unit MGA, Lump Sum MGA, Operating Grants MGA, Framework Partnership Agreement FPA), call-specific instructions, a detailed budget table (HE LS), information on financial support to third parties (HE), information on clinical studies (HE), and guidance on lump sums.

Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 (General Introduction, MSCA, Research Infrastructures, Health, Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society, Civil Security for Society, Digital, Industry and Space, Climate, Energy and Mobility, Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment, European Innovation Ecosystems, Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area, Missions, New European Bauhaus Facility, Horizontal Activities, General Annexes), EIC Work Programme 2026, ERC Work Programme 2026, HE Programme Guide, HE Framework Programme 2021/695, HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, the Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

This funding opportunity aims to significantly improve the adoption of advanced disaster risk management technologies across Europe. It seeks to bridge the gap between research and practical application by supporting projects that can demonstrate the real-world value of high-TRL solutions. By encouraging collaboration between researchers, businesses, and public sector organizations, the EU hopes to build more resilient communities capable of effectively preparing for, responding to, and recovering from a wide range of disasters. The emphasis on digital tools and emerging technologies like AI and IoT highlights the importance of innovation in addressing the growing challenges posed by climate change and other hazards. The lump sum funding model aims to simplify the financial management of projects, allowing participants to focus on achieving impactful results.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are public and private sector organizations involved in disaster risk management, first responders, local authorities, communities and individuals in a vulnerable situation, and other institutions that can demonstrate a formal mandate to design, coordinate, or implement disaster risk prevention, preparedness, or response measures. The call specifies that at least 3 first responders or authorities in charge of disaster risk from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries must be actively involved as beneficiaries. Entities established in an eligible country but directly or indirectly controlled by China or a legal entity established in China are not eligible.

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

Consortium Requirement: A consortium of multiple applicants is required. The call mandates the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3 first responders or authorities in charge of disaster risk 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. 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 sectors are civil security, disaster risk management, climate resilience, and related technologies. This includes sectors involved in disaster prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. The program targets the adoption and integration of high-TRL disaster risk solutions (DRS) across multiple sectors.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions EU Member States and Associated Countries as being eligible. China is mentioned as a country whose entities, if controlling an applicant, would render that applicant ineligible.

Project Stage: The project stage is focused on the adoption and integration of high-TRL (Technology Readiness Level) disaster risk solutions (DRS). The projects should demonstrate the real-world effectiveness of these solutions through large-scale pilot projects and demonstrations.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call, ranging from €1,330,000 to €12,000,000. The indicative number of grants per topic also varies, typically between 1 and 2.

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 is a single-stage process.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly stated, but the indicative number of grants and the budget per topic provide an indication of the potential number of successful projects.

Co-funding Requirement: The need for co-funding is not explicitly mentioned.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call, Civil Security for Society 2026, aims to enhance societal resilience to disasters, including those related to climate change, by promoting the widespread adoption and integration of high-TRL disaster risk solutions (DRS). The call seeks to overcome barriers to deployment, ensure accessibility, and strengthen collaboration among stakeholders. It encourages projects that demonstrate the effectiveness of innovative technologies in disaster prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. The call is structured around several topics, each with a specific focus and budget, ranging from innovation actions to research and innovation actions, coordination and support actions, pre-commercial procurement, and public procurement of innovative solutions. Eligible applicants include public and private sector organizations involved in disaster risk management, with a requirement for the active involvement of first responders and relevant authorities from multiple EU Member States or Associated Countries. The funding is provided as a lump sum grant, and the application process involves a single-stage submission. The call encourages the use of digital tools, AI, IoT, and other emerging technologies to improve disaster management capabilities.