Water4All 2025 Joint Transnational Call “Water and health”

The Water4All 2025 Joint Transnational Call on "Water and Health" is a significant funding opportunity managed by the European Union, targeting the intersection of water security and human health. The initiative has a total budget of approximately 23.8 million euros for funding research and innovation projects focusing on mitigating waterborne contaminants and health risks, as well as promoting sustainable water treatment technologies. The call opened on September 12, 2025, with deadlines for the submission of pre-proposals on November 13, 2025, and full proposals by April 13, 2026.

Eligible applicants include research organizations, universities, and other independent legal entities from EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries. Notably, there is a specific modality for Early Career Researchers (ECR), enabling emerging scientists to lead projects. Each project consortium must consist of at least three eligible partners from different participating countries, including at least two independent legal entities, and can have a maximum of seven partners. This transnational collaboration supports diverse initiatives across a broad geographic scope involving 31 countries.

The funding type consists of grants aimed at collaborative projects that address challenges in water quality and health. The projects are expected to demonstrate innovative tools and technologies while adhering to the One Health approach, which emphasizes the interconnection among human, environmental, and animal health. The expected project maturity ranges from research and development to demonstration and validation stages.

Applicants must navigate a two-step evaluation process. In the first stage, pre-proposals are assessed based on criteria of excellence and impact, with only the top proposals invited to submit full proposals, which are evaluated based on more detailed criteria including implementation quality. Co-funding may be required depending on the regulations set by funding partner organizations.

This call represents a strategic effort to align European research with significant policy frameworks such as the European Green Deal, aiming for long-term water security through systematic transformations in the research and innovation landscape. The application process is designed to be rigorous, with an emphasis on high-quality, impactful projects that can significantly contribute to the area of water and health.

The Water4All 2025 Joint Transnational Call (JTC) "Water and health" is an EU funding opportunity with the project acronym Water4All and the full name Water4All Water Security for the Planet. The grant agreement number is 101060874. The topic is HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-02 European Partnership Water Security for the Planet (Water4All).

The call opened on 12 September 2025 and follows a multiple cut-off deadline model. The deadline dates are 13 November 2025 at 02:00 (Brussels time) and 13 April 2026 at 02:00 (Brussels time). The call is currently open for submission. The total funding available is 35,642,584.00 EUR.

The submission and evaluation procedures are detailed in the Call Announcement available on the Water4All Partnership website. A two-step application procedure applies equally for the Joint Transnational Call (JTC) and its modalities (the Regular and the Early Career Researcher (ECR)). Pre-proposals and full proposals must be submitted electronically via the Electronic Proposal Submission System, using the templates provided and in line with the Guidelines for Proposal Submission. Applicants should submit their proposals well in advance of the deadline to avoid technical problems. Requests for extensions of the deadline due to last-minute technical problems will not be considered.

The evaluation procedure also consists of two steps: one for pre-proposals (step 1) and one for full proposals (step 2). The evaluation procedure is common for all proposals submitted under the JTC and Early Career Researcher (ECR) modality. The Call Secretariat (CS) will check for conflicts of interest. All proposals, whether submitted under the Regular or the ECR modality, will be evaluated by the same Evaluation Panel (EP) and in accordance with the same evaluation criteria defined in chapter 5 of the Call Announcement, and ranked in the same ranking list. An independent observer will be invited as external observer to the EP meetings to assess the conformity of the general procedure with the EU regulation.

Step 1 (Pre-proposal stage): The Call Secretariat will check pre-proposals for eligibility against criteria defined in chapter 4 of the Call Announcement and by the Funding Partner Organisations (FPOs) according to their national/regional criteria. Eligible pre-proposals will be subject to a scientific evaluation by three EP members, based on ‘Excellence’ and ‘Impact’. One of the evaluators will act as the rapporteur during the EP meeting. The EP will discuss the pre-proposals and agree on the final scores for each criterion. All applicants will receive a consensus report from the EP. A ranking list of pre-proposals will be produced, including only those pre-proposals that meet the minimum threshold, i.e., 3 out of 5 in each criterion. The final score will be agreed by the EP for each criterion, and afterwards, the two criteria will be summed up to produce the final score. The objective of this first step is to identify the best proposals to proceed to Step 2 and to ensure balance between requested and available funds at the national/regional level. The ranked eligible pre-proposals will be sent to the Call Steering Committee (CSC) and divided in 3 groups, according to their scores: Group A (highest evaluation scores), Group B (medium evaluation scores) and Group C (low evaluation scores). All pre-proposals in Group A, will be invited to Step 2. Among the pre-proposals in Group B, proposals will be selected to Step 2, taking into account the ranking list, the representativeness of all FPOs, the participation in the ECR modality and the funding ratio limits. Pre-proposals in Group C will be dismissed for their low classification. Consortium Coordinators will be informed of the outcomes by the CS and, if appropriate, invited to submit a full proposal.

Step 2 (Full proposal stage): Full proposals will be checked to ensure that they meet the formal call criteria and have not changed substantially from the respective pre-proposals. Full proposals not meeting the formal conditions will be rejected without further review. Each full proposal will be reviewed by three members of the EP based on ‘Excellence’, ‘Impact’ and ‘Quality and Efficiency of Implementation’. The EP members will assess the full proposals in advance of the EP meeting and prepare individual evaluation reports. In case of a missing expertise in the EP for some full proposals, the CS will identify and mobilize external experts to obtain three individual evaluation reports. The evaluation results for each full proposal will then be presented by the rapporteur during an EP meeting and discussed by the EP members. The EP meeting will complete the evaluation procedure by agreeing on the final individual score for each criterion, and the overall score for each proposal. Due to the large number of proposals evaluated, the EP could decide to focus on those proposals that report divergent scores from the evaluators. Any proposal where there is a consensus between the evaluators on any of the three criteria being below the threshold (i.e., 3 out of 5 in each criterion) may not be discussed and ranked by the EP (regardless if there is divergence or not in other scores). The overall threshold on the final score is 10/15: no project with a lower score will be funded. The decisions of the EP should be taken collectively, preferably by consensus or by simple majority of the panel members, in case consensus cannot be reached. The rapporteur will produce a common consensus report on behalf of the EP for each full proposal, which will be transmitted to the applicants. Final ranking list(s) of proposals (per topic or per modality) will be produced based on the final scores, following the same methodology as in Step 1. The final ranking list(s) will be forwarded to the CSC, which will meet to decide on the projects to be recommended for funding by FPOs. For this decision, the CSC will strictly follow the order of the ranking list(s) from the EP until the available funding is exhausted. The applicants will be informed about the final outcome of the call.

Applicants should refer to the details of the Call Announcement, which can be downloaded from the 2025 JTC webpage on the Water4All Partnership website. The Call Announcement highlights the aim, expected approach and topics of the call. It also details the countries participating in funding the call, the eligibility criteria, submission, evaluation and selection procedures, and modalities for projects funding and reporting. Specific funding regulations apply depending on the FPOs: each partner applying to the call must ensure that its contribution to the overall project conforms to these regulations, as reported in the document “National/regional regulations” available for download from the Water4All Partnership website.

In summary, this is a call for proposals under the Water4All partnership focusing on "Water and health". It involves a two-step submission and evaluation process, with pre-proposals and full proposals. The evaluation criteria include excellence, impact, and quality and efficiency of implementation. The call aims to fund projects that contribute to water security for the planet, and applicants should carefully consult the Call Announcement and national/regional regulations for detailed information. The total funding available is approximately 35.6 million EUR. The call is open to both regular researchers and Early Career Researchers (ECR).

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, the mention of "Funding Partner Organisations (FPOs)" and the need for partners to conform to national/regional regulations suggest that research institutes, universities, and other organizations eligible for national/regional funding related to water research could be eligible. The call also has a specific modality for Early Career Researchers (ECR), indicating that individual researchers are also eligible, potentially within the framework of a larger project or consortium. Further details on eligible applicant types would be available in the Call Announcement on the Water4All Partnership website.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant. The text refers to "projects to be recommended for funding" and "modalities for projects funding and reporting," indicating that successful applicants will receive funding to carry out their proposed projects. The term "cascade funding" is also mentioned, which is a mechanism for distributing funds from a grant recipient to other parties.

Consortium Requirement: While not explicitly stated, the repeated references to "Funding Partner Organisations (FPOs)" and the two modalities (Regular and Early Career Researcher) suggest that a consortium is likely required, especially for the Regular modality. The Early Career Researcher modality might allow for single applicants, but this needs to be confirmed in the Call Announcement. The mention of "Consortium Coordinators" also implies that projects are expected to be carried out by multiple organizations working together.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is not explicitly defined in the provided text. However, the mention of "national/regional criteria" for Funding Partner Organisations (FPOs) suggests that the eligibility is tied to the countries or regions participating in the Water4All Partnership. The call is transnational, implying that applicants from multiple countries are encouraged to form consortia. Further details on eligible countries would be available in the Call Announcement. Given the context of an EU-funded project, it is likely that EU member states and associated countries are eligible.

Target Sector: The target sector is water security and health, specifically addressing the intersection of "Water and health." The call is part of the "European Partnership Water Security for the Planet (Water4All)" and falls under the Horizon Europe Cluster 6, which focuses on climate, energy, and mobility.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned in the provided text. However, the reference to "national/regional regulations" and "Funding Partner Organisations (FPOs)" implies that the participating countries are those that have organizations funding the call. The Call Announcement on the Water4All Partnership website would list the participating countries. The call is transnational, so it involves multiple countries, likely within the EU and associated countries.

Project Stage: The project stage is not explicitly defined, but the call appears to target projects that are in the research, development, validation, or demonstration stages. The emphasis on scientific evaluation, excellence, impact, and quality of implementation suggests that the projects should be beyond the initial idea stage and ready for implementation and validation. The inclusion of an Early Career Researcher (ECR) modality might also support projects in earlier stages of development.

Funding Amount: The total funding available for the call is 35,642,584.00 €. The funding range for individual projects is not specified in the provided text. This information would be available in the Call Announcement on the Water4All Partnership website. The funding amount per project will likely vary depending on the scope and nature of the project.

Application Type: The application type is an open call, specifically a "Joint Transnational Call (JTC)." The call follows a two-step application procedure, with pre-proposals and full proposals. The call has multiple cut-off dates. The deadline dates are 13 November 2025 and 13 April 2026.

Nature of Support: The nature of support is primarily monetary, in the form of grants. The call provides funding for research and innovation projects related to water security and health.

Application Stages: There are two application stages: Step 1 (Pre-proposal stage) and Step 2 (Full proposal stage).

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned in the provided text. However, the two-step evaluation procedure and the grouping of pre-proposals into Group A, Group B, and Group C suggest that the success rate is likely to be competitive. Only pre-proposals in Group A are guaranteed to be invited to Step 2, while those in Group B are selected based on various criteria, and those in Group C are dismissed.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required. However, the mention of "Specific funding regulations apply depending on the FPOs: each partner applying to the call must ensure that its contribution to the overall project conforms to these regulations" suggests that co-funding or in-kind contributions might be required by some Funding Partner Organisations (FPOs). This would need to be confirmed in the Call Announcement and the "National/regional regulations" document.

Summary:

This opportunity is a Joint Transnational Call (JTC) under the Water4All Partnership, focusing on "Water and health." It aims to fund research and innovation projects that address water security challenges with a focus on health aspects. The call is structured around a two-step application process: a pre-proposal stage and a full proposal stage. The total funding available is approximately 35.6 million euros. The call is open to consortia of researchers and organizations from countries participating in the Water4All Partnership. There is also a specific modality for Early Career Researchers (ECR). The evaluation process involves assessment by an Evaluation Panel (EP) based on criteria such as excellence, impact, and quality of implementation. The call aims to identify and fund the best projects that contribute to water security for the planet. Applicants must submit their proposals electronically through the Electronic Proposal Submission System. The first deadline is November 13, 2025, and the second deadline is April 13, 2026. Applicants should consult the Call Announcement and the "National/regional regulations" document on the Water4All Partnership website for detailed information on eligibility criteria, funding regulations, and application procedures. The call falls under the Horizon Europe program, specifically addressing climate-related challenges within the water sector.