Frequently Asked Questions

Here you will find answers to some of the most common questions regarding the application process. Whether you're a first-time applicant or a seasoned veteran, we're here to help you every step of the way. Read on to find helpful tips and guidance to ensure a successful application.

EU Mission Soil

What are the aims and objectives of the Mission Soil?

The Mission Soil main goal is to set up an effective network of 100 Living Labs (LLs) and Lighthouses (LHs) as testing grounds for major innovations in soil health, in order to lead the transition towards healthy soils by 2030.  

This goal is substantiated by eight Specific Objectives (SO) that address the most pressing soil challenges:  

  • SO1: Reduce land degradation relating to desertification
  • SO2: Conserve and increase soil organic carbon stocks
  • SO3: No net soil sealing and increase the reuse of urban soils 
  • SO4: Reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration 
  • SO5: Prevent erosion 
  • SO6: Improve soil structure to enhance habitat quality for soil biota and crops 
  • SO7: Reduce the EU global footprint on soils 
  • SO8: Increase soil literacy in society across Member States 

Four transversal, operational objectives (OO), also called Building Blocks, reflect the mechanisms to address the eight interconnected specific objectives: 

  • The R&I programme 
  • LLs and LHs 
  • Soil monitoring 
  • Soil literacy  

For more information on the Mission Soil objectives, targets, baseline and indicators, please see the Mission Soil Platform website: The Mission Soil | Mission Soil Platform (europa.eu).  The Mission Soil Platform also answers questions via their contact form: https://mission-soil-platform.ec.europa.eu/about/contact-us, and they also have a FAQ: https://mission-soil-platform.ec.europa.eu/about/faq. 

How is soil health defined?

Soil health is defined in the Soil Mission Implementation Plan as “the continued capacity of soils to support ecosystem services”, and in the proposed Soil Monitoring Law as “the physical, chemical and biological condition of the soil determining its capacity to function as a vital living system and to provide ecosystem services”..

Open call topics

Which call topics do the NATI00NS Helpdesk support?

The NATI00NS Helpdesk is providing support to applicants regarding two topics for the set-up of Living Labs under the Mission’s Work Programme 2023-2025. Find the direct links to the EU Funding & Tenders Portal below:

Does my application for topic HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01-01 need to cover all or various Mission Soil’s specific objectives?

Proposals for the topic HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01-01 are not expected to focus on all Mission Soil’s specific objectives, but they should address a realistic combination of a limited selection of specific objectives and soil health challenge(s). For example, by enhancing soil biodiversity, there will also be co-benefits for soil carbon content or soil structure. However, if urban soil is the main focus of research in a proposal, applicants should apply to topic HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01-02 instead.

Can an application contain Living Labs dealing with different land use types?

Yes, each project (comprising 4-5 or more Living Labs) should focus on one or several soil health challenge(s). By doing so, they can work across different lands uses. 

What kind of experimental sites are expected to be integrated in a LL?

Experimental sites in LL are characterized by being individual, real-life physical places where co-creation processes take place to improve soil health. They are the real places where soil is managed, including testing of new or improved solutions with all relevant actors. The sites and their characteristics can vary according to the land type: a plot of a field/farm, an urban garden, a city park, an old refinery, a hectare of forest, a natural park. 

The sites of a LL should focus on themes of shared interest to the proposed LL, allowing for replication, validation, and knowledge exchange at regional level, extendable to similar settings beyond the project scope.

What are the characteristics of the Living Lab under the soil mission?

The concept of Living Lab under the Soil Mission implies that Soil Health Living Labs projects address the following criteria: 

  • AIMS (improving soil health and ecosystem services targeting the Mission’s objectives through co-development; innovation),  
  • ACTIVITIES (co-creation, evaluation, networking, demonstration in the case of LH) 
  • PARTICIPANTS (public-private; multistakeholder including real land managers) 
  • CONTEXT (transdisciplinary, multi-method, real-life, long-term setups with governance models) 

The detailed list of criteria can be found in section 8.D of the Soil Mission Implementation Plan. 

Open calls criteria

Additionally, the project PREPSOIL (Preparing for the "Soil Deal for Europe" Mission) has published a taxonomy to support the identification and classification of initiatives aligning to the LLs and LHs principles that are working towards soil health in alignment to the Mission Soil Implementation Plan and criteria. The user guide to this taxonomy can be found here: https://zenodo.org/records/13255032. 

How are Living Lab projects evaluated? 

As for any other proposals under Horizon Europe, proposals to topics HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01-01 and HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01-02 for co-creation of LLs will be evaluated against three main criteria (Excellence, Impact and Quality/Efficiency of the Implementation). For more information on these evaluation criteria, please see Section D-Award Criteria- in the general annexes to Horizon Europe Work programme (2023-24) at the following link: wp-13-general-annexes_horizon-2023-2024_en.pdf (europa.eu). 

The European Commission's European Research Executive Agency (REA) has released a comprehensive Guidelines for living labs proposals “Leading the transition towards healthy soils”, which offers crucial support for developing proposals aimed at establishing soil health LLs. The document is based on experiences from the 2023 proposals and is a key resource of information and recommendations for applicants to the Work Programme 2024 topics on LLs. Additionally, the Mission Soil Board has prepared a guidance document summarizing their reflections concerning the LLs concept and calls for proposals for soil health LLs under the Mission Soil. The document is included in the evaluation briefing material: Mission Soil Board’s view on Soil Health Living Labs under Horizon Europe.

Is it necessary that all LLs from a proposal are established before the project starts, or is it acceptable to establish them after the project has started? 

The LLs included in your proposal need to be planned, but do not need to be established before the project starts.

Is it advisable to have demonstration sites and farms as beneficiaries? What about main actors as citizen groups, industry, public sector? 

Yes, it is advisable that the organisations managing the demonstration sites or farms participate as beneficiaries. However, if they come with their own funding, they can be associated partners or, in some cases, participants can be supported as third parties. For instance, as third parties giving in-kind contributions, as recipients of financial support to third parties or as subcontractors (receiving payment for services provided to LL). The key aspect is that these organisations should be truly involved in the co-creation process with clear benefits to their activities, such as among others being given access to useful technical information, receiving tailored support and training, using available machinery, testing new products, etc. The topic encourages applicants to explore different ways of involvement of the relevant actors in the LLs, so that the best solution is found, case by case. Within a project there might be different solutions for different LLs, sometimes linked to national legislation or regional aspects.

How can I plan my project cooperation with the Soil Health Living Lab Support Structure - SOILL-Startup? 

The SOILL-Startup project (https://soill2030.eu/) aims to co-design and launch a one-stop structure for coordination, support, enlargement, and promotion of the network of 100 soil health LLs and LHs in participatory collaboration with the first waves of soil health LLs and LHs and key stakeholders and initiatives. SOILL-Startup offers training, guidance, capacity building, visibility, matchmaking, and collaboration opportunities to upcoming LLs and LHs both online and in person. This said, adequate resources and time should be allocated at proposal level to collaborate with SOILL, to benefit of such services. Additionally, the Support Structure will periodically report on the LLs and LHs progress. Adequate time should be allocated to fulfil these obligations. More information about SOILL-Startup is available in this presentation: https://zenodo.org/records/10893978.

How can I find potential partners to build a Living Lab or consortium to apply for the funding?
  • NATI00NS is offering a Matchmaking platform for interested stakeholders, potential call applicants, and upcoming Living Labs at national or regional level to reach out and meet potential project partners for the creation of cross-regional or trans-national clusters of Living Labs for the calls. Please visit and register to the Matchmaking platform here: https://nati00ns-soil-living-lab-matching.b2match.io/
  • Further chances for matchmaking and networking are given directly at the Funding and Tenders Portal, under the section ‘Partner Search Announcements’ (Funding & tenders (europa.eu)) where the different organizations and parties interested in a particular topic are listed.
  • Additionally, the National Contact Point (NCP) can be of help in the search or match of partners for a project consortium.
What is the expected duration of the project?? 

Normally the project duration is stated in the text, eg. 3 or 5 years. For this call, the European Commission prefers that you design the project with the duration which fits the development of the LLs and the structure around them the best. Please notice that it is expected that the LLs will be self-sustained after the project period.

Soil Health Living Labs & Lighthouses    

What are Soil Health Living Labs and Lighthouses? 
  • Living Labs are open innovation ecosystems in real-life environments using iterative feedback processes throughout a lifecycle approach of an innovation to create sustainable impact.
  • “Soil Health Living Labs” are defined according to the Soil Mission Implementation Plan as “user-centred, place-based and transdisciplinary research and innovation ecosystems, which involve land managers, scientists and other relevant partners in systemic research and codesign, testing, monitoring and evaluation of solutions, in real-life settings, to improve their effectiveness for soil health and accelerate adoption.” Living labs are collaborations between multiple partners that operate at regional or sub-regional level and coordinate experiments on several sites within a regional or sub-regional area (or working landscapes); 
  • “Lighthouses” are defined in the Mission Implementation Plan as “places for demonstration of solutions, training and communication that are exemplary in their performance in terms of soil health improvement”. They are local sites (one farm, one forest exploitation, one industrial site, one urban city green area, etc.) that can be included in a living lab area or be situated outside a living lab area." 
Who are the main stakeholders involved in a Living Lab?

An essential characteristic of the Living Lab methodology is the user-centric approach, with involvement of all relevant actors and end-users. The specific actors will vary depending on the focus, objective, and context of the Living Lab. These can be stakeholders and representatives from all sectors of society: 

  • ACADEMIA: for example universities or research & development centres. 
  • PUBLIC SECTOR: government and regional development agencies and policy makers, as well as public sector in general   
  • INDUSTRY: businesses of all size and business clusters and associations, eg. farmers and other land users/owners 
  • CITIZEN AND CIVIL SOCIETY: includes all end-users such as consumers and their associations  

These together form what we call Public Private People Partnership (PPPP) or its extension which is known as the Quadruple Helix Model, that enables real co-creation and impact.

Can a LL have sites based in different countries?

Yes. No administrative or geographical borders need to be defined by a LL. Regardless the countries covered, a LL should operate at regional or sub-regional level and the soil health challenges tackled as well as the Mission Soil objectives addressed, must be described and justified within the chosen context. Overall, it is key to take into consideration the common aspects that bring together the LLs within a project.

LLs need to respond to local soil health needs and consider the local context (including stakeholders) to address specific soil challenges and specific Mission Soil objectives. But soil challenges can be shared among several regions or even countries. Therefore, when LL areas cut across regional or national borders, it is essential to explain in detail how the LL set up is the most suitable to address such soil health needs in the specific local context, how it will be managed, for the co-creation components to be ensured.

Is there a minimum number of LHs?

There is no limitation on the number of LHs you propose per LL or in your project as a whole. Recall that the LHs do not need to be within a LL. It can be located also in other areas outside the LLs. All experimentation sites within a LL seek to reach the performance of LHs and become demonstrators of the solutions being achieved.

Financial questions, directly related to building Living Labs for these call topics 

Other financial questions have to be directed to the Research Enquiry Service

What is covered when engaging in a Living Lab project?

To explore the full range of options including what type of costs and activities are eligible to be funded under Horizon Europe, applicants should refer to the AGA – Annotated Model Grant Agreement https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/common/guidance/aga_en.pdf 

Can farmers and other stakeholders be supported financially for their invested time and contribution to the Living Labs project, once funded?  

Yes, farmers and other stakeholders can be remunerated when involved in activities within a LL. As explained in the text for topics HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01-01: Co-creating solutions for soil health in Living Labs and HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01-02: Living Labs in urban areas for healthy soils, to encourage and facilitate the involvement of different types of actors in the LL, applicants can use different types of participation possible under HE: 

  • Beneficiaries (or their linked affiliated entities)
  • Associated partners (those not requesting funding)
  • Third parties:
    • with in-kind contributions
    • subcontractors
    • recipients of Financial Support to Third Parties, with or without call for proposals

Financial Support for Third Parties are cascade fundings that the beneficiaries can provide to third parties in the form of grants in order to implement key activities to achieve the objectives of the project. It is expected that the Financial Support for Third Parties option will bring to the consortia more farmers / land users / SME / other small actors who can be remunerated for their work and time over several years. As some farmers (or other small actors) can have difficulties to enter in a competitive call for their association in a Living Lab, the option of Financial Support for Third Parties without calls is added, to help the participation of those parties identified by the consortia without the need to go through an open call, if duly justified.

As further explained in Article 6.2.D.X > Financial support to third parties of the AGA (pages 95-96 of AGA version from 1st April 2023), the costs of financial support to third parties must be declared as actual cost and must comply with a list of eligibility conditions describer on the AGA Art. 6.1 (a) (pages 26 of AGA version from 1 April 2023). The FSTP Annex should also: 

  • Clearly justify the maximum amount of funds per third party necessary to achieve the action objectives. 
  • Provide a clear and exhaustive list of the type of activities that qualify for Financial Support for Third Parties (closed list). 
  • Define the type of persons (natural or legal persons) or categories of persons that will be able to receive the Financial Support for Third Parties (e.g., farmers) and briefly describe the procedure for selecting the recipients. 
  • Define any other conditions required from the recipient for giving Financial Support for Third Parties (e.g., physical characteristics of the agricultural plots, which make them suitable for the purpose of the action).

Applicants should note that there is no specific calculation criteria for the exact amount of Financial Support for Third Parties that is provided. The costs must correspond to the eligible costs actually incurred. 

Further information about the FSTP is available under the FAQ section of the Topic texts in the Funding & tenders (europa.eu) portal of the European Commission. Scroll down to “Topic Q&As” on each topic:

General questions 

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How is the NATI00NS project supporting those applicants addressing the Soil Health Living Labs topics? 

Beside the Helpdesk, NATI00NS is providing the following support: 

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