Open topic on modern information and forensic evidence analysis and on frontline policing

The Horizon Europe call for proposals, designated HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-FCT-01, focuses on enhancing civil security in the EU by addressing modern information and forensic evidence analysis, as well as frontline policing. This funding opportunity encourages research and innovation actions (RIA) with a budget based on action grants. The application process will open on June 12, 2025, and the deadline for submissions is November 12, 2025.

Eligible applicants must include at least two Police Authorities from different EU Member States or Associated Countries as mandatory participants. Other potential participants encompass research institutions, universities, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and organizations capable of contributing to the call's objectives.

The funding type encompasses various actions such as research and innovation actions (HORIZON-RIA), innovation actions (HORIZON-IA), coordination and support actions (HORIZON-CSA), and pre-commercial procurement (HORIZON-PCP). Each action has differing stages from research to implementation, and the available funding per project can range from approximately €1 million to €5 million, aligning with an expected total budget of €18 million for the call.

Proposals must identify specific challenges related to crime and terrorism, while aiming to develop or enhance tools and methodologies for law enforcement practitioners. Projects should adequately demonstrate their solutions and detail how they will facilitate cross-border information exchange while adhering to legal standards and respecting fundamental rights.

The applications will undergo a single-stage submission process, and while the exact success rates are not disclosed, they typically fall within the competitive range of 10-39% for similar calls. Co-funding is generally not mandated for RIA projects, making the funding opportunity particularly accessible.

The call emphasizes the importance of collaborative efforts between police authorities and advanced research institutions, encouraging proposals that provide innovative, validated, and practical solutions tailored for real-world applications in security practices. This initiative aims to bolster the capabilities of law enforcement throughout Europe and foster a safer environment for its citizens.

The EU Funding and Tenders Portal presents a Horizon Europe call for proposals focusing on Civil Security for Society, specifically addressing the open topic of modern information and forensic evidence analysis and frontline policing. The call, designated as HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-FCT-01, seeks research and innovation actions (RIA) with a budget-based action grant. The planned opening date is June 12, 2025, with a deadline of November 12, 2025, at 17:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes of funded projects include modern, uniform, and validated tools, skills, methodologies, and innovative training curricula for European security practitioners (police and forensic institutes). These aim to prevent, detect, and investigate criminal and terrorist offenses, including lawful and court-proof evidence collection. Improved mechanisms for cross-border information exchange, respecting applicable legislation and fundamental rights, are also anticipated. Furthermore, the call aims to provide evidence-based support to policymakers for shaping regulations related to modern information analysis, forensic evidence analysis, and frontline policing.

The scope of the call invites proposals addressing new, upcoming, or unforeseen challenges and creative solutions for enhancing modern information and forensic evidence analysis or frontline policing. These proposals should not be covered by Horizon Europe Calls Fighting Crime and Terrorism 2023-2024. If proposals relate to topics from the 2021-2022 calls, they must build upon and not duplicate previous efforts.

Proposals should address one of the following options: tackling advanced technology challenges, modern forensics analysis using new and emerging technologies, or modernization of frontline policing. Projects should convincingly demonstrate, test, or validate developed tools and solutions, and outline plans for future uptake and upscaling at national and EU levels. Proposals should consider and build upon previous research, avoiding duplication.

Coordination among successful proposals is encouraged to avoid redundancy and exploit complementarities. For the modern forensics analysis option, active involvement of forensic institutes from EU Member States or Associated Countries as beneficiaries is recommended. Projects addressing issues within Europol's mandate are expected to engage with the Europol Innovation Lab, while those concerning drug-related issues should engage with the EU Drugs Agency.

To ensure project impact and practitioner involvement, a mid-term deliverable assessing project outcomes by involved practitioners (Police Authorities and/or forensic institutes) is required. The integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content should be addressed if relevant to the research objectives.

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. Eligible countries are listed in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, with specific provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Additional eligibility criteria include the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least two Police Authorities from different EU Member States or Associated Countries. Applicants must provide information about these security practitioners in the application form. Projects utilizing satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation, and timing data must use Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are detailed in Annex D, with grants awarded to ensure a balanced portfolio across the three options (a, b, and c). Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F and the Online Manual, while the indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is also in Annex F. Legal and financial setup of grants are described in Annex G.

Application and evaluation forms, as well as the model grant agreement (MGA), are available in the Submission System. Specific instructions and a template for information on security practitioners are provided. Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2025 sections 1, 6, and 14, the HE Programme Guide, HE Framework Programme 2021/695, HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, decisions on lump sum contributions, rules for legal entity validation, and guidance on EU Grants AGA, the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Terms and Conditions, and Privacy Statement.

The budget overview lists various topics under the Civil Security for Society call, including HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-BM-01, BM-02, BM-03, DRS-01, DRS-02, DRS-03, DRS-04, FCT-01, FCT-02, FCT-03, FCT-04, INFRA-01, INFRA-02, SSRI-01, SSRI-02, SSRI-03, SSRI-04, SSRI-05 and SSRI-06. Each topic specifies the type of action (HORIZON-IA, HORIZON-RIA, HORIZON-CSA, HORIZON-PCP), the budget in EUR, the stage (single-stage), the opening and deadline dates (June 12, 2025 and November 12, 2025, respectively), and the indicative number of grants.

Partner search announcements are available, and the submission system will open on the date stated in the topic header. General FAQs and support resources are provided, including links to the Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points, Enterprise Europe Network, IT Helpdesk, European IPR Helpdesk, CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk, ETSI Research Helpdesk, the European Charter for Researchers, and a partner search tool.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call invites proposals for research and innovation actions aimed at enhancing civil security in Europe. It focuses on modernizing information and forensic evidence analysis, as well as frontline policing, by addressing technological challenges, incorporating emerging technologies, and improving training and cross-border collaboration. The call emphasizes the need for practical solutions, validation, and the involvement of relevant security practitioners to ensure the uptake and upscaling of project results. The call is structured to promote a balanced portfolio of projects addressing different aspects of civil security and encourages coordination among projects to maximize impact.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types include, but are not limited to, Police Authorities, forensic institutes, entities legally mandated by the competent national authority for the prevention, detection, and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, research organizations, universities, SMEs, and other organizations capable of contributing to the scope of the call. The active involvement of at least 2 Police Authorities from at least 2 different EU Member States or Associated Countries is mandatory.

Funding Type: The funding type includes HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA), HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA), HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA), and HORIZON Pre-commercial Procurement (HORIZON-PCP). The specific funding type depends on the topic within the call.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium. Specifically, the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2 Police Authorities from at least 2 different EU Member States or Associated Countries is mandatory. This implies a consortium of at least two entities, including the required police authorities.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and Associated Countries to Horizon Europe. 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, specifically focusing on fighting crime and terrorism. The thematic areas include advanced technology challenges, modern forensics analysis using new and emerging technologies, and modernisation of frontline policing.

Mentioned Countries: EU Member States, Associated Countries to Horizon Europe, and non-EU/non-Associated Countries that have made specific provisions for funding.

Project Stage: The project stage varies depending on the specific action type. HORIZON-RIA actions typically support activities from research to demonstration, excluding commercial deployment. HORIZON-IA actions aim to pilot, demonstrate and deploy new solutions. HORIZON-CSA actions support coordination and networking. HORIZON-PCP actions support pre-commercial procurement. Therefore, the project stage can range from research, development, validation, demonstration, to pre-commercial procurement.

Funding Amount: The funding amount varies depending on the specific topic and action type. The indicative budget for each topic is provided in the budget overview, ranging from EUR 2,000,000 to EUR 18,000,000. The indicative number of grants for each topic is also specified.

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of grants to support research, innovation, coordination, support actions, and pre-commercial procurement.

Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants for each topic is provided, which can be used to estimate the potential success rate based on the expected number of applications.

Co-funding Requirement: The co-funding requirement is not explicitly mentioned, but Horizon Europe grants typically fund a significant portion of the project costs, implying that co-funding may be required from the applicant or other parties.

This Horizon Europe call, under the Civil Security for Society program, aims to fund projects that address new and emerging challenges in modern information and forensic evidence analysis, as well as frontline policing. The call is structured as an open topic, encouraging proposals that offer creative and disruptive solutions not already covered by existing Horizon Europe calls. Applicants can focus on tackling advanced technology challenges, modernizing forensics analysis with new technologies, or modernizing frontline policing. A key requirement is the active involvement of at least two Police Authorities from different EU Member States or Associated Countries, ensuring that the projects are relevant and impactful for practitioners. The call utilizes various funding mechanisms, including Research and Innovation Actions, Innovation Actions, Coordination and Support Actions, and Pre-commercial Procurement, each tailored to support different stages of project maturity, from research to deployment. The geographic scope is primarily EU Member States and Associated Countries, with potential eligibility for certain non-EU countries. The funding amounts vary significantly depending on the topic and action type, ranging from smaller coordination efforts to large-scale innovation deployments. The application process is a single-stage submission, and while the success rates are not explicitly stated, the call aims to ensure a balanced portfolio by awarding grants across the different thematic options. Overall, this call seeks to foster innovation and collaboration in the civil security sector, enhancing the capabilities of law enforcement and forensic institutions across Europe.