Targeted innovative capabilities for the resilience of critical entities to natural and human-induced disasters, including hybrid scenarios

The HORIZON-CL3 grant opportunity, titled "Targeted innovative capabilities for the resilience of critical entities to natural and human-induced disasters, including hybrid scenarios," is part of the Horizon Europe program aiming to enhance the resilience of critical infrastructure against various hazards. This call focuses on developing and demonstrating high-tech capabilities that can effectively address preparedness, operational, and recovery gaps in critical infrastructure amidst natural disasters, human-induced incidents, and technological accidents. This grant will open on May 6, 2026, with an application deadline of November 5, 2026. The total budget for the call is €9 million, which includes an expectation of funding two grants of €4.5 million each. The application process requires a single-stage submission of comprehensive proposals that must involve at least three practitioners from EU Member States or Associated Countries. Eligible participants include a range of organizations such as critical infrastructure operators in sectors like energy, transport, water, healthcare, and also public authorities and civil protection agencies. The geographical eligibility spans EU Member States and Associated Countries, encouraging international cooperation, particularly for cross-border infrastructure. The program aims to develop sector-specific, interoperable, and modular solutions that can be realistically tested in operational environments, thereby improving both technological and organizational resilience. Proposals must rely on existing risk assessments and demonstrate measurable improvements in resilience. The funding is structured as a lump-sum grant, facilitating easier financial management for recipients. The competitive nature of the call, along with the relatively high funding amount, suggests a low success rate, likely influenced by the extensive application pool. Overall, this opportunity seeks innovative projects that enhance European infrastructure's ability to withstand and recover from complex crisis scenarios, focusing on collaboration among key stakeholders to foster systemic resilience.

This EU funding opportunity, under the Horizon Europe program, aims to bolster the resilience of critical entities against a wide array of hazards, including natural disasters, human-induced incidents, and technological accidents triggered by natural events (NaTech). The call, titled "Targeted innovative capabilities for the resilience of critical entities to natural and human-induced disasters, including hybrid scenarios," seeks to move beyond generic resilience frameworks by supporting the development and demonstration of high-tech capabilities tailored to specific sectors.

The program emphasizes sector-specific, interoperable, and modular technological and governance solutions that can be realistically deployed and tested. Proposals should be rooted in existing risk assessments and lessons learned from past disruptive events. They should also demonstrate measurable improvements in both technological and organizational resilience by identifying and prioritizing critical capability gaps, especially those that could lead to cascading and cross-sectoral risks.

Adaptive continuity planning and decision-making tools are also a key focus, designed to enhance situational awareness, support dynamic response coordination, and maintain service continuity during rapidly evolving crisis scenarios. The program encourages proposals to demonstrate cross-border, multi-actor coordination mechanisms through simulations or real-world testing, involving public authorities, emergency responders, and critical service operators.

International cooperation is highly encouraged, especially in regions with cross-border infrastructure or shared vulnerabilities. Actions should align with relevant EU legal and policy frameworks and address considerations outlined in the Introductions of the Resilient Infrastructure and Disaster-Resilient Society for Europe Destinations.

The call specifically seeks the involvement of at least three relevant practitioners from EU Member States or Associated Countries as beneficiaries. These practitioners should represent portfolios such as critical infrastructure operators, authorities responsible for critical infrastructure resilience, civil protection authorities, first responders’ organizations, authorities managing NaTech events, law enforcement, or private companies providing security for critical infrastructure.

Projects utilizing satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation, and timing data and services must leverage Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS.

Eligible costs will be reimbursed as a lump sum, as defined by the European Commission decision authorizing the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme.

The indicative budget and number of grants vary across different topics within this call, all under the Civil Security for Society 2026 call, with a single-stage deadline model and a planned opening date of May 6, 2026, and a deadline of November 5, 2026.

The specific topics and their corresponding budgets and indicative number of grants are:

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-BM-01:HORIZON Innovation Actions, budget €12,000,000, indicative number of grants 2.

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-BM-02:HORIZON Innovation Actions, budget €8,000,000, indicative number of grants 2.

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-BM-03:HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions, budget €1,330,000, indicative number of grants 1.

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-DRS-01:HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions, budget €6,000,000, indicative number of grants 2.

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-DRS-02:HORIZON Innovation Actions, budget €8,000,000, indicative number of grants 2.

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-DRS-03:HORIZON Innovation Actions, budget €8,000,000, indicative number of grants 2.

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-DRS-04:HORIZON Innovation Actions, budget €6,000,000, indicative number of grants 2.

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-DRS-05:HORIZON Innovation Actions, budget €4,500,000, indicative number of grants 1.

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-FCT-01:HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions, budget €8,000,000, indicative number of grants 2.

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-FCT-02:HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions, budget €9,000,000, indicative number of grants 2.

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-FCT-03:HORIZON Innovation Actions, budget €5,000,000, indicative number of grants 1.

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-FCT-04:HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions, budget €6,000,000, indicative number of grants 2.

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-FCT-05:HORIZON Innovation Actions, budget €9,670,000, indicative number of grants 2.

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-FCT-06:HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions, budget €3,000,000, indicative number of grants 1.

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-INFRA-01:HORIZON Innovation Actions, budget €9,670,000, indicative number of grants 2.

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-INFRA-02:HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions, budget €4,000,000, indicative number of grants 1.

HORIZON-CL3:HORIZON Innovation Actions, budget €9,000,000, indicative number of grants 2.

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-SSRI-01:HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions, budget €3,000,000, indicative number of grants 2.

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-SSRI-02:HORIZON Pre-commercial Procurement, budget €5,830,000, indicative number of grants 1.

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-SSRI-03:HORIZON Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions, budget €2,000,000, indicative number of grants 1.

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-SSRI-04:HORIZON Innovation Actions, budget €3,000,000, indicative number of grants 1.

This Horizon Europe call emphasizes the critical need to enhance the resilience of European infrastructure and essential services against a complex landscape of threats, ranging from natural disasters and technological accidents to malicious human actions. It seeks to fund projects that develop and demonstrate innovative, high-tech solutions for preparedness, response, and recovery, with a strong focus on cross-border collaboration and the involvement of key stakeholders like public authorities, first responders, and infrastructure operators. The call aims to foster a shift from generic resilience strategies to tailored, interoperable solutions that can be effectively deployed and tested in real-world scenarios, ultimately strengthening the ability of European critical entities to withstand and recover from multi-faceted crises.

Eligible Applicant Types:The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated, but the call targets public authorities, emergency responders, critical service operators, critical infrastructure operators, authorities responsible for critical infrastructure resilience, civil protection authorities, first responders’ organizations or agencies, authorities in charge of managing NaTech events, law enforcement, and private companies providing security for critical infrastructure. This suggests eligibility extends to government entities, research institutions, private companies, and other organizations involved in civil security and infrastructure resilience.

Funding Type:The funding type is primarily grant-based, specifically 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) under the Horizon Europe Programme. The Model Grant Agreement (MGA) is a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant.

Consortium Requirement:The opportunity requires a consortium of multiple applicants. The topic specifically requires the involvement as beneficiaries of at least 3 relevant practitioners from 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 program targets the civil security sector, with a focus on resilient infrastructure and disaster-resilient societies. It addresses areas such as critical infrastructure protection, disaster preparedness, crisis response, and recovery from natural and human-induced disasters, including technological accidents (NaTech) and hybrid scenarios.

Mentioned Countries:EU Member States, Associated Countries, and China (with restrictions).

Project Stage:The project stage targets development and demonstration, validation, and operational settings. The call aims to support the development and demonstration of targeted high-tech capabilities, moving beyond generic frameworks to sector-specific solutions that can be deployed and tested in realistic operational settings.

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

Application Type:The application type is a single-stage call, with a planned opening date of 06 May 2026 and a deadline of 05 November 2026.

Nature of Support:Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant.

Application Stages:The application process appears to be a single-stage process.

Success Rates:The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants for each topic provides some insight. For example, topics with an indicative number of grants of "around 2" suggest a higher success rate compared to topics with "around 1".

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

Summary:

This Horizon Europe call, under the Civil Security for Society program, aims to enhance the resilience of critical entities against a wide range of disasters, including natural, human-induced, and technological accidents. It seeks to fund projects that develop and demonstrate high-tech capabilities to address preparedness, operational, and recovery gaps in critical infrastructure. The call encourages international cooperation and cross-border, multi-actor coordination. Eligible applicants include public authorities, emergency responders, critical infrastructure operators, and private companies providing security for critical infrastructure, primarily from EU Member States and Associated Countries. Funding is provided as lump sum grants, with amounts varying by topic, and the application process is a single-stage submission. The call emphasizes the importance of moving beyond generic resilience frameworks to develop sector-specific, interoperable, and modular solutions that can be tested in realistic operational environments.