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 Soil Mission

What are the objectives of the EU Soil Mission?

The Soil Mission main goal is to set up an effective network of 100 living labs and lighthouses 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 such as:  

  • 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 
  • Living las and lighthouses 
  • Soil monitoring 
  • Soil literacy  

For more information on the EU Soil Mission objectives, targets, baseline and indicators, please see the Soil Mission website and the Soil Mission Implementation Plan. 

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”. The concept of soil health is quite novel and will be further specified in the context of the upcoming Soil Health law.

Open call topics

Which call topics does 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:

  • HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01-01: Co-creating solutions for soil health in Living Labs
  • HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01-02: Living Labs in urban areas for healthy soils 

For more information on these call topics, please see the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-25 – EU Missions. For applying to these funding opportunities, visit the Funding and Tenders portal: Search Funding & Tenders (europa.eu).

Which soil challenges and/or Soil Mission objectives should be covered in an application submitted under the topic HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01-01: Co-creating solutions for soil health in Living Labs?

Topic HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01-01 is bottom-up and should address a/various well-defined soil health challenge/s, in particular linked to the Mission’s specific objectives. The problem described can address one or more soil health challenges or one or more specific Mission objectives. 

However, applications for Living Labs in urban areas are excluded from the 01-01-topic, since they are the focus of the HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01-02-topic within the same Work Programme.

Does my application for topic 01-01 need to cover all or various EU Soil Mission objectives?

Proposals for topic HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01-01 do not need to focus on all EU Mission Specific Objectives, but they are likely to address multiple though the activities to be undertaken in the different sites of the Living Labs addressing the selected 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 areas are the focus of research in a Living Lab, 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 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
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 Living Labs 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 (2023-25) at the following link: wp-13-general-annexes_horizon-2023-2024_en.pdf (europa.eu). 

The European Commission's European Research Executive Agency has released a Comprehensive Factsheet which offers crucial guidelines for developing proposals aimed at establishing Soil Health Living Labs under the 2024 topics. The Factsheet is a key resource for applicants to the Soil Health Living Labs topics.

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

The SOILL-Startup project (https://soill2030.eu/) offers training and collaboration opportunities to the Soil Health Living Labs and Lighthouses, both online and in person, so adequate travel and time resources should be allocated to benefit of such services. Additionally, the Support Structure will report on the Living Labs and Lighthouses progresses and contribution to the Mission Secretariat each six months adequate time should be allocated to fulfil these obligations. Besides the SOILL-Startup website, more information about SOILL-Startup is available on this presentation.

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.

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.

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.

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

Yes, it is possible to allocate lump sums for use for e.g. farmers active participation. Different actors can have a different way of participating in the Living Labs (e.g. beneficiaries, associated partners, third parties receiving financial contribution...).  

There is a paragraph in the call referring to this (copied below for easiness):  

“To encourage and facilitate the involvement of different types of actors in the living labs, applicants are reminded of the different types of participation possible under Horizon Europe: This includes not only beneficiaries (or their affiliated entities) but also associated partners, third parties giving in-kind contributions, subcontractors and recipients of financial support to third parties. Proposals may provide financial support to third parties by launching cascading grant call(s) or by identifying third parties without an open call for proposals to implement one or more of the living lab activities described in this topic. Applicants are reminded to consult the standard conditions for “financial support to third parties” set out in Annex B of the General Annexes”

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 Living Lab. As explained in the text for topics 01-01 and 01-02 Funding & tenders (europa.eu), to encourage and facilitate the involvement of different types of actors in the Living Lab, 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. 

This information is also publicly available under the FAQ section of the Funding & tenders (europa.eu) portal of the European Commission.  

General questions 

How can I stay up-to-date on NATI00NS activities?

Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media to receive news about upcoming events and activities. LinkedIn - Twitter - YouTube

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

Beside the Helpdesk, NATI00NS is providing the following support: 

  • 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/
  • National engagement events in all countries relevant for the Open call. You can find coming and past events (many with recordings) here: https://www.nati00ns.eu/events.
    • Webinars: NATI00NS organised a series of webinars in 2023, specifically dedicated to the concept of Living Labs, watch the first series of webinars. At the same webpage, you will find information on the 2024 series of webinars providing applicants with tailored advice on specific topics:
      • 29 May 2024: Living labs for forest soils: connecting the pieces;
      • 18 June 2024: Mission Soil funding opportunities for Soil Health Living Labs;
      • 25 June 2024: Co-creation methodologies for urban and post-industrial LLs;
      • 1 July 2024: Forestry & (semi)natural lands focusing on the Balkans & neighboring countries.

        The webinars are recorded and made available on the website. To register, keep an eye on the webinars page: https://nati00ns.eu/living-labs-webinars.
         
    • Coaching by national mentors: Mentors trained by NATI00NS offer coaching of applicants at national level. Potential living labs applicants can contact the mentor in their country and ask for individual confidential coaching sessions to discuss their ideas. The list of mentors and contact details are available here: https://www.nati00ns.eu/mentors. Not all countries have a mentor. 
    • Factsheets are also soon available to provide key information on Mission objectives, LL criteria and specificities for different land use types: agriculture, urban, industry, forestry.
    • Thematic events were held between December 2023 and February 2024, recordings are accessible online.

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