NATI00NS project supports regional stakeholders to apply for soil health Living Labs Open Calls funded by the EU Mission Soil 

22 March 2023

NATI00NS project supports regional stakeholders to apply for soil health Living Labs Open Calls funded by the EU Mission Soil 

The Mission 'A Soil Deal for Europe'  will support the transition towards healthy soils by 2030 by putting in place an effective network of 100 Living Labs and Lighthouses across all land uses: agriculture, urban, forestry, and (post) industrial. 

Life on Earth depends on healthy soils. Soils are not only the foundation of our food systems. They also provide clean water and habitats for biodiversity while contributing to climate resilience. Although we take soils for granted, they are a scarce, threatened resource. It is estimated that between 60 and 70% of EU soils are unhealthy. 

NATI00NS project is supporting the Mission by mobilising and building capacities of stakeholders in 43 Member States and Associated Countries to apply for regional soil health LLs Open Calls for 2023 HORIZON-MISS-2023-SOIL-01-08: Co-creating solutions for soil health in Living Labs and HORIZON-MISS-2023-SOIL-01-09: Carbon farming in Living Labs, and in 2024 for the expected additional soil health Living Lab calls. NATI00NS will provide support to potential applicants through a series of activities at national and trans-European level:

  1. National Engagement Events that will raise awareness of the Mission in all HE eligible countries and inform and spur discussions with national stakeholders on: 
  • soil health challenges and resilience strategies in EU Member States & Associated Countries,
  • Living Labs establishment, and
  • LL proposal development in line with the Mission criteria.

Events are organised by various NATI00NS partners and co-organisers in all countries in March and April 2023 and materials used remain available for all interested actors. Check out the upcoming events here or contact us to request available material or recordings of the event in your language! 

  1. Matchmaking platform: The Soil Living Labs Online Matchmaking Platform is offering 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. Visit and register to the Matchmaking platform here: https://nati00ns-soil-living-lab-matching.b2match.io/
  2. National mentors: Mentors trained by NATI00NS offer coaching of applicants at national level. Potential living labs applicants will be invited to join individual coaching sessions, led by experts specialised in specific land uses and associated management issues, and skilled in the conditions that apply in the HE Soil Health Living Lab call. The list of mentors and contact details will be available on the project web site.
  3. Capacity Building webinars and e-learning materials: Four webinars will be hosted this Spring-early Summer to present information on Living Labs methodology, Mission criteria, best practices and recommendations, as well as on application process. Factsheets are also being developed to provide key information on Mission objectives, LL criteria and specificities for different land use types: agriculture, urban, industry, forestry. Keep an eye on our website for the release of the factsheets and subscribe to our Newsletter to be informed about the launching of the Capacity Building webinars.
  4. Thematic Events addressing cutting-edge topics related to the Mission and directed to domain-specific communities which will be held online. These online events are transnational and participants will be able to dig deeper in the topics of soil health, agri-food innovators, business care, industrial land stewardship, urban and forest environments for all land types, but also to meet and connect with organisations from other countries who might be potential partners for developing project proposals. To be informed about the launching of Thematic Events and receiving all important information on time, feel free to subscribe to our Newsletter list.
  5. Online Helpdesk: A digital platform with a Q&A section and personalised questions providing on-demand support to applicants involved in developing proposals. Helpdesk will be available on NATI00NS website and it will offer answers to all applicants’ questions in a timely manner, delivered by Consortium experts. 

NATI00NS is a highly dynamic project, find us on Social Media to be up-to-date with all upcoming activities and published Capacity Building materials:

Nati00ns Living Labs