European UnionDeadline PassedNon-profit, Private Business, Research Institution, Public Institution, Other
Broadening the living labs approach for soil health in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)
Horizon Europe Mission "A Soil Deal for Europe"
Funding Amount
Up to €6.0M
Deadline
04/09/2025
Eligible Organization Types
Non-profit, Private Business, Research Institution, Public Institution, Other
Trusted by
What is the Broadening the living labs approach for soil health in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Call?
Grant Description
Support for new human-centred living labs to co-create, co-develop and implement context-specific soil health solutions in real-life sites across Africa or Latin America and the Caribbean. Addresses soil degradation by establishing participatory initiatives, monitoring tools and a mechanism for peer-to-peer learning and knowledge exchange. Aims to enhance soil health, build capacity, attract additional funding and inform policy frameworks, ensuring sustainability beyond Horizon Europe funding.
Required Results for Successful Funding
Expected Outcomes
1. Soil degradation is minimized or reversed, and soil health is enhanced in rural, urban and peri-urban areas of Africa or Latin America and the Caribbean.
2. Local communities and small land managers/users in Africa or LAC gain increased access to scalable, practice-oriented tools and learning mechanisms for soil health monitoring, based on participatory research.
3. A recognised mechanism for exchange of soil-health knowledge, learning experiences and tools is established, enabling replication and attracting additional finance for human-centred design and testing of soil-health solutions.
4. Policymakers are equipped to implement an effective framework supporting continuous generation and adoption of knowledge-based, context-specific soil-health and sustainable land-management solutions in Africa or LAC.
2. Local communities and small land managers/users in Africa or LAC gain increased access to scalable, practice-oriented tools and learning mechanisms for soil health monitoring, based on participatory research.
3. A recognised mechanism for exchange of soil-health knowledge, learning experiences and tools is established, enabling replication and attracting additional finance for human-centred design and testing of soil-health solutions.
4. Policymakers are equipped to implement an effective framework supporting continuous generation and adoption of knowledge-based, context-specific soil-health and sustainable land-management solutions in Africa or LAC.
Funded areas
Scope Requirements
– Adopt the living-lab research concept: co-creation with diverse stakeholders, real-life settings, end-user involvement.
– Establish a minimum of 12 participatory initiatives in real-life sites in at least 5–6 countries per region (Africa or LAC), covering diverse environmental, socio-economic and cultural contexts.
– Integrate social sciences and humanities expertise to drive participatory design, social innovation, behavioural change.
– Monitor and assess soil health and socio-economic resilience progress with appropriate indicators and baselines.
– Exclude project partners from third-party funding; allocate at least 60% of the EU contribution to third-party grants, maximum €300 000 per grant.
– Define and apply transparent selection criteria for third parties based on innovation capacity, human-centred design expertise, regional operation capacity, and contextual soil-health knowledge.
– Include expertise in human-centred design, regional operational capacity, and deep understanding of local contexts and practices.
– Build on and collaborate with relevant Horizon Europe and philanthropic projects; dedicate tasks and resources for these interactions.
– Ensure data and outputs are FAIR, open access, interoperable via the European Union Soil Observatory and Soil Wise.
– Establish a minimum of 12 participatory initiatives in real-life sites in at least 5–6 countries per region (Africa or LAC), covering diverse environmental, socio-economic and cultural contexts.
– Integrate social sciences and humanities expertise to drive participatory design, social innovation, behavioural change.
– Monitor and assess soil health and socio-economic resilience progress with appropriate indicators and baselines.
– Exclude project partners from third-party funding; allocate at least 60% of the EU contribution to third-party grants, maximum €300 000 per grant.
– Define and apply transparent selection criteria for third parties based on innovation capacity, human-centred design expertise, regional operation capacity, and contextual soil-health knowledge.
– Include expertise in human-centred design, regional operational capacity, and deep understanding of local contexts and practices.
– Build on and collaborate with relevant Horizon Europe and philanthropic projects; dedicate tasks and resources for these interactions.
– Ensure data and outputs are FAIR, open access, interoperable via the European Union Soil Observatory and Soil Wise.
Additional Conditions for Applicants
Special Conditions
– Two-stage submission: Stage 1 deadline 04 Sep 2025, Stage 2 deadline 18 Feb 2026 (17:00 Brussels time).
– Eligible for funding: legal entities in all African Union or CELAC member states and international organisations headquartered in those or EU Member/Associated states.
– Proposals must implement the multi-actor approach across all phases.
– Third-party grants: maximum €300 000 each; at least 60% of total requested EU contribution; no recipient may receive support in more than one initiative.
– Evaluation: overall threshold score 12, minimum Excellence score 4; to ensure regional coverage, at least one high-ranked project per region provided thresholds are met.
– Must comply with Horizon Europe MGA, annexes, admissibility and eligibility conditions, financial and operational capacity rules.
– Outputs for CAP-related areas must include EIP-AGRI practice abstracts; for other areas, comparable dissemination to innovation groups is required.
– Proposals should outline sustainable business models, long-term funding strategies, and engagement with local authorities, social economy and private actors for continuity beyond EU funding.
– Data produced must be FAIR and publicly available via EUSO; proposals must collaborate closely with EUSO and Soil Wise.
– Eligible for funding: legal entities in all African Union or CELAC member states and international organisations headquartered in those or EU Member/Associated states.
– Proposals must implement the multi-actor approach across all phases.
– Third-party grants: maximum €300 000 each; at least 60% of total requested EU contribution; no recipient may receive support in more than one initiative.
– Evaluation: overall threshold score 12, minimum Excellence score 4; to ensure regional coverage, at least one high-ranked project per region provided thresholds are met.
– Must comply with Horizon Europe MGA, annexes, admissibility and eligibility conditions, financial and operational capacity rules.
– Outputs for CAP-related areas must include EIP-AGRI practice abstracts; for other areas, comparable dissemination to innovation groups is required.
– Proposals should outline sustainable business models, long-term funding strategies, and engagement with local authorities, social economy and private actors for continuity beyond EU funding.
– Data produced must be FAIR and publicly available via EUSO; proposals must collaborate closely with EUSO and Soil Wise.
Important dates
Open from: 06/05/2025
Deadline:04/09/2025
Application period has ended
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