Tools and technologies to support health adaptation to climate change

HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01-ENVHLTH-MISSCLIMA-03 is a Horizon Europe call focused on tools and technologies to support health adaptation to climate change. This initiative falls under the Health Cluster for the 2026-2027 work program and is a Pre-commercial Procurement (PCP) action. The call will open on February 10, 2027, and the deadline for submissions is April 13, 2027, at 17:00 Brussels time. The total budget allocated for this initiative is EUR 20,000,000, with individual projects expected to receive between EUR 4,000,000 and EUR 5,000,000, anticipating a total of approximately four grants.

The opportunity targets consortia of public sector procurers, which include public authorities, local authorities, healthcare organizations, and civil protection entities, aiming to collectively procure the development of innovative solutions to enhance resilience to climate change impacts. Notably, while public sector procurers are the primary applicants, private developers and research organizations are encouraged to respond to tenders issued by the successful consortia.

The applications must focus on early-stage solutions needing further development and testing related to health adaptation amidst climate change. This includes areas like geospatial technologies, risk surveillance tools, and climate-resilient healthcare systems. Subsidiary solutions should aim to improve health risk management, monitoring tools, and provide effective preparedness against climatic and environmental health risks.

Per the guidelines, procurement must happen within the EU and associated countries, and significant emphasis is placed on promoting tender calls across these areas. The proposal should consider integrating services and expertise from European research infrastructures to leverage existing capabilities.

The application process is a single-stage open call, and while direct co-funding may not be mandated, applicants must demonstrate a commitment to procuring at least one solution resulting from the PCP efforts. Successful projects will deliver tangible climate adaptation solutions, ultimately contributing to the larger goal of enhancing health system resilience across Europe in line with the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change.

This funding opportunity serves a critical role in addressing the urgent need for technological innovations that bolster healthcare systems against the evolving challenges posed by climate change, ensuring a collaborative approach between public and private sectors to achieve these goals.

This is a Horizon Europe call, specifically HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01-ENVHLTH-MISSCLIMA-03, focused on "Tools and technologies to support health adaptation to climate change". It falls under Cluster 1 - Health (Single stage - 2027/1) and is a HORIZON Pre-commercial Procurement (PCP) action. The planned opening date is 10 February 2027, and the deadline is 13 April 2027, 17:00:00 Brussels time. The total budget is 20,000,000 EUR, with individual contributions ranging from 4,000,000 to 5,000,000 EUR, and an indicative number of 4 grants.

The expected outcomes are:

Populations, public authorities and healthcare systems benefit from innovative solutions and technologies to increase surveillance and prevention and reduce climatic and environmental health risks.
Policymakers and public authorities develop and implement environment, climate change and health policies and interventions supported by nearly fit-for-use solutions that can be further upscaled and deployed.

The scope of this topic is to enhance the adaptive capacity and resilience of healthcare systems and communities to mitigate the health impacts of climate change. It addresses the gap in urgently needed technologies, tools, systems, and solutions that are still in early developmental stages. The call leverages EU Research and Innovation (R&I) funding and Pre-commercial Procurement (PCP) projects to drive innovation and accelerate the development of technologies for health adaptation to climate change. The focus is on supporting the research and development of solutions that increase the resilience and preparedness of healthcare systems, communities, and individuals against climate change. By focusing on early-stage solutions, PCP fosters collaboration between public sector buyers (e.g., public authorities, local authorities, health organizations) and private developers to create climate adaptation technologies, systems, and solutions in the context of human health, accelerating the transition to more climate-resilient healthcare systems and societies.

PCP actions are designed for consortia of procurers with similar needs who want to jointly procure the development of innovative solutions for adaptation. It's important to note that this topic does not directly fund developers, industry, or research organizations for Research and Development (R&D). Instead, these entities can respond to calls for tenders launched by the procurer consortia funded under this topic.

Proposals should support the development of innovative solutions, tools, and models to enhance surveillance, prediction, prevention, risk management, and diagnosis (e.g., testing), thereby supporting the adaptation, resilience, and preparedness of healthcare systems and populations to climatic and climate-related environmental health risks.

Specific areas of focus include:

Geospatial technologies and decision-support frameworks: These tools should assist local authorities and healthcare providers in tracking and managing direct and indirect health risks related to climate change at "high resolution."
Real-time risk surveillance and early-warning technologies and monitoring tools: These technologies should provide critical information for timely decision-making and responses related to the health risks of climate change.
Technologies and solutions for climate-resilient healthcare facilities and services: This area focuses on facilitating the transition to healthcare facilities and services that can withstand climate-related challenges. Note that activities targeting the general infrastructure (e.g., ventilation, construction, or refurbishment) are out of scope.
Technologies, tools, procedures, and solutions for health risk management, prevention, and resilience: These should enhance strategies and interventions for health adaptation to climate change in communities and occupational settings.
Innovative tools reducing risk and exposure to climate-related environmental factors: These tools should aim to mitigate factors that exacerbate health risks.

The call emphasizes a comprehensive approach, considering tools and technologies that can be developed and tested to support adaptation at both the community and healthcare system levels. This approach aims to address the needs of health authorities, local authorities, and public organizations involved in risk management. Consortium composition should include diverse stakeholders such as hospitals, primary healthcare providers, domestic care services, municipalities, civil protection entities, and government agencies. The focus can extend beyond climate variables to include other related environmental and ecological factors (for example air pollution) that interact with climate change and impact public health.

Proposals are encouraged to consider, where relevant, the data, expertise, and services offered by European research infrastructures in the environment, climate, and health domain.

Continuous dialogue between demand and supply side is required for the success of PCPs, therefore the effective involvement of end users should be considered in the proposal.

Involvement of procurement decision makers is needed to ensure that end solution(s) are adopted by healthcare systems and/or local authorities and public organisations increasing the societal impact of the related research activities. Therefore, procurers should declare in the proposal their interest to purchase at least one solution resulting from the PCP in case the PCP delivers successful solutions and indicate whether they will i) procure the solution(s) as part of the PCP or ii) in a separate follow-up procurement after the PCP. In the first case, procurers can implement the project as a fast-track PCP (see section H of the General Annexes of this Work Programme for further details) and foresee the budget to purchase at least one solution during the PCP. In the second case, the procurers should include in the proposal a deliverable that prepares the follow-up procurement to purchase successful solution(s) after the PCP.

This topic is co-financed by the EU Mission on Adaptation to climate change and supports the follow up to the 2023 Communication on the Missions. Projects are encouraged to channel their activities through the Mission Implementation Platform and the Mission’s Community of Practice.

For digital technologies concerned, appropriate measures for the security of the communications between the intended parties should be considered, in particular based on the use of post-quantum cryptography.

Admissibility conditions are described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Proposal page limits and layout are described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. 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. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide. In recognition of the opening of the US National Institutes of Health’s programmes to European researchers, any legal entity established in the United States of America is eligible to receive Union funding. 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 (other data and services may additionally be used). The specific conditions for actions with PCP/PPI procurements in section H of the General Annexes apply to grants funded under this topic. Other eligibility conditions are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. 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. Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Beneficiaries must ensure that the subcontracted work is performed in the EU and Associated Countries - unless otherwise approved by the granting authority. Grants award under this topic will have to submit the following deliverable: To stimulate dialogue with the supply side, procurers are required to organise an open market consultation before launching the procurement and deliver a report on the outcomes of this consultation. Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional dissemination obligations: Procurers are required to promote the call for tenders widely across the EU and Associated Countries to potentially interested suppliers. Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties to ensure the deployment and impact of the project outcomes. The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000. The specific conditions are described in General Annex H. PCP procurement costs are eligible. The granting authority may, up to 4 years after the end of the action, object to a transfer of ownership or to the exclusive licensing of results, as set out in the specific provision of Annex 5. Legal and financial set-up of the grants are 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 form templates include the Standard application form (HE PCP) and the Standard evaluation form (HE PCP PPI). Guidance documents include the HE Programme Guide and the Model Grant Agreement (MGA). Call-specific instructions and information on financial support to third parties are also available. Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 (General Introduction, Health, and General Annexes), the HE Framework Programme 2021/695, the HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, the 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, the EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement, the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, the Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and the Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

This funding opportunity seeks to improve the resilience of healthcare systems and communities in the face of climate change. It aims to develop and deploy innovative technologies, tools, and models that enhance surveillance, prediction, prevention, risk management, and diagnosis related to climate-related health risks. The EU is looking for consortia of public sector buyers to drive innovation by procuring the development of these solutions from private developers. The focus is on pre-commercial procurement, meaning the EU is not directly funding R&D but rather supporting the procurement process that will lead to the creation of new climate adaptation technologies in healthcare. The goal is to accelerate the transition to climate-resilient healthcare systems and societies by fostering collaboration between public and private sectors and ensuring that the resulting solutions are adopted and implemented by healthcare systems and local authorities across Europe.

Eligible Applicant Types: This opportunity is specifically targeted towards consortia of procurers. These procurers should have similar needs and want to jointly procure the development of innovative solutions for supporting adaptation efforts. Eligible procurers include public sector buyers such as public authorities, local authorities, and health organizations. While the procurers are the applicants for this funding, the opportunity ultimately aims to involve private developers, industry, and research organizations who can respond to the call for tenders launched by the procurer consortia. The composition of the consortium could include diverse stakeholders such as hospitals, primary healthcare providers, domestic care services, municipalities, civil protection entities and government agencies. A legal entity established in the United States of America is also eligible to receive Union funding.

Funding Type: This opportunity utilizes a Pre-commercial Procurement (PCP) mechanism. This means the funding is provided to consortia of procurers to procure research and development services from private companies for innovative solutions. It is structured as a Horizon Action Grant Budget-Based.

Consortium Requirement: A consortium of multiple applicants (procurers) is required. The PCP actions target consortia of procurers with similar needs that want to jointly procure the development of innovative solutions.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States and Associated Countries. Subcontracted work must be performed in the EU and Associated Countries. Procurers are required to promote the call for tenders widely across the EU and Associated Countries to potentially interested suppliers.

Target Sector: This program targets the health sector, with a specific focus on climate change adaptation and related environmental health risks. It also involves geospatial technologies, risk surveillance, early-warning technologies, monitoring tools, and climate-resilient healthcare facilities and services. The program aims to support the development of innovative solutions, tools, and models to enhance surveillance, prediction, prevention, risk management, and diagnosis related to climatic and climate-related environmental health risks.

Mentioned Countries: United States of America, EU Member States, Associated Countries.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the projects is early-stage solutions that require further support for development and testing. The focus is on research and development of solutions to increase the resilience and preparedness of healthcare systems, communities, and individuals against climate change.

Funding Amount: The budget allocated to the topic HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01-ENVHLTH-MISSCLIMA-03 is EUR 20,000,000. The contributions are expected to be in the range of EUR 4,000,000 to EUR 5,000,000 per grant, with an indicative number of 4 grants. Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties to ensure the deployment and impact of the project outcomes. The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000.

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

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries (consortia of procurers) will receive money in the form of a grant to fund the pre-commercial procurement of research and development services. The private developers, industry, or research organizations responding to the procurers' call for tenders will receive service contracts for performing R&D.

Application Stages: The application process involves a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are other. The indicative number of grants is 4 for the topic, but the number of applications is not specified.

Co-funding Requirement: The co-funding requirement is other. While the exact co-funding requirements are not detailed in the provided text, Horizon Europe grants typically involve a certain percentage of co-funding from the beneficiaries.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call, HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01-ENVHLTH-MISSCLIMA-03, focuses on "Tools and technologies to support health adaptation to climate change." It aims to enhance the resilience of healthcare systems and communities by funding consortia of public procurers to conduct pre-commercial procurements (PCP). These PCPs will drive the development of innovative technologies, tools, and solutions for adapting to climate change and mitigating its health impacts. The call encourages collaboration between public sector buyers (health authorities, local authorities, etc.) and private developers. The procurer consortia will launch calls for tenders, and the selected private entities will perform the necessary research and development. The call targets early-stage solutions in areas like geospatial technologies, real-time risk surveillance, climate-resilient healthcare facilities, and health risk management. The EU provides grant funding to the procurer consortia, who in turn use these funds to procure R&D services from private companies. The goal is to develop and deploy innovative solutions that improve the preparedness of healthcare systems and populations to climate-related environmental health risks, ultimately leading to more climate-resilient healthcare systems and societies. The call is co-financed by the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change.