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Missing persons: prevention and investigation

Horizon Europe · Grant topic

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-FCT-03

Summary

A Polish company can use this call for R&D.

Funds innovative missing-person prevention and investigation tools, forensic methods and training, requiring police and civil society partners.

Who can apply
Companies can lead: SME, large company, startup, research org, university, NGO, public body.
Amount
€5M per projectTotal budget €5,000,000
Deadline
05 Nov 2026 01:00 CETin 12 days
Status
Openopened 6 May 2026
Open on the portalRegister to keep this call

Machine-classified from the call text; check eligibility at the source.

Description

Expected Outcome:

Project results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following expected outcomes:

• Improved skills, tools and training curricula for Police Authorities in Europe and Civil Society Organisations (or Non-Governmental Organisations) to work with at-risk groups to prevent persons from going missing. Those improved skills, tools and training curricula are to take into account European multicultural dimension, as well as legal and ethical rules of operation;

• Enhanced investigation tools and methodologies for Police Authorities in Europe to tackle cold cases in the context of missing persons, based on modern (forensic) technologies and criminology;

• Modern training curricula for Police Authorities, their improved cross-border cooperation and enhanced tools and methodologies to tackle new cases of missing persons;

• Enriched European common approaches applied by Police Authorities in Europe to fight the issue of missing persons relying on the synergy of technology, the latest socio-psychological knowledge learned from cases, as well as field experience of Police Authorities and entities dealing with victims, while fully respecting fundamental rights such as privacy, protection of personal data and anonymity of victims.

Scope:

The issue of missing persons is a multifaceted challenge that encompasses diverse categories and is influenced by various factors. People may go missing under a variety of circumstances, such as voluntary disappearances, abductions, cases related to mental health crises, or because of conflict, migration, geopolitical instability, natural disasters. Groups in a vulnerable situation - notably children, victims of trafficking and exploitation, persons with disabilities and persons suffering from cognitive impairments - face an even greater risk of going missing, often under distressing and dangerous conditions. Tackling this issue requires a coordinated response from multiple stakeholders, from Police Authorities via Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) or Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to the involvement of the overall society.

In an era of rapid technological advancement and societal developments, there is a pressing need to improve current European approaches to fight the issue of missing persons (prevention and/or investigation of cold and new cases) using innovative societal and technological solutions. To this end, modernised skills, training curricula and methodologies for Police Authorities, CSOs and NGOs to work with people in a vulnerable situation and children are needed, such as effective awareness raising campaigns, which should be accessible to persons with disabilities, that take into account European multicultural dimension. When it comes to investigation, Police Authorities need efficient tools that benefit from new and emerging technologies to solve cold cases while combining modern forensic science (including biometrics and digital forensics) and criminology, e.g., modern tools for using an old DNA, or accurate facial ageing, among others. When multiple practitioners are involved in exchanging sensitive data, data sharing tools in a privacy-preserving manner should be considered. Furthermore, for new cases of missing persons, apart from an improved cross-border cooperation, Police Authorities also need, on the one hand, a modernised training to face such situations more efficiently, improving the dialogues and interactions with families, taking into account a gender sensitive and intersectional approach when relevant, and on the other hand, modern technologies and forensic tools for, for example, fast and reliable cross-matching of DNA samples between new and cold cases.

If a proposal concerns forensics, its consortium should involve forensic institutes as well. Coordination among the successful proposals from this topic should be envisaged to avoid duplication and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased impact. Proposals funded under this topic are expected to provide ideas on how they would engage with the Europol Innovation Lab during the lifetime of the project, including validating the outcomes, with the aim of facilitating future uptake of innovations for the law enforcement community. For aspects of training of Police Authorities, cooperation of successful proposals with CEPOL is expected, provided that the Agency opts out from applying for funding. To ensure the active involvement of and timely feedback from relevant security practitioners, proposals should plan a mid-term deliverable consisting in the assessment of the project’s mid-term outcomes, performed by the practitioners involved in the project. Finally, proposals are expected to address all applicable considerations expressed in the Introduction of the Fighting Crime and Terrorism Destination.

Technology Readiness Level - Technology readiness level expected from completed projects

Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.

Who can apply, in detail
Applicant types
SME, Large company, Startup, Research org, University, NGO, Public body
Purpose
Research and innovation
R&D relevance
3 of 3
Poland eligible
Yes
Country limit
—
Region
Any
Consortium
Required
Readiness level (TRL)
6-8
Topics
  • Missing persons
  • Forensic technologies
  • Investigation tools
  • Prevention methods

Machine-classified from the call text; check eligibility at the source. 23 Oct 2026

Conditions6

Typed facts extracted from the source documents by Scindu's grant-data review. Each value keeps its own conditions. Unknown means unstated, not zero or unlimited.

Applicant type
The topic refers applicants to General Annex B. Unless a specific topic condition provides otherwise, a consortium must include three independent legal-entity beneficiaries established in different countries: at least one in an EU Member State and two others in different EU Member States or Associated Countries. Affiliated entities do not count toward that minimum. This is the general default; topic-specific exceptions and full applicant eligibility remain to be checked.
Eligible project scope
Type of Action: Innovation Actions.
Other condition
The General Annexes state that for lump-sum and unit grants, the funding rate is already applied in the methodology used to fix the amounts and is not shown in the grant agreement. The action-type maximum rate below is therefore a general Horizon Europe ceiling, not an additional calculation to apply to this topic’s fixed lump-sum amount.
Partner requirement
This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3 Police Authorities and at least 2 Civil Society Organisations (or Non-Governmental Organisations) from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries.
Technology readiness level at end, maximum
8 TRL

Expected technology readiness level by project end; this describes project outcomes, not applicant eligibility or a hiring condition.

Technology readiness level at end, minimum
6 TRL

Expected technology readiness level by project end; this describes project outcomes, not applicant eligibility or a hiring condition.

Amounts and costs8
Indicative budget
€5,000,000

Topic budget as stated in the portal's budget table. Lump-sum and per-project limits are in the call conditions.

Eligible cost
The topic specifically adopts a Horizon Europe lump-sum grant. The applicable Lump Sum MGA treats the grant as a contribution for completion of work packages; eligibility depends on the amounts in Annex 2 and proper completion/implementation (or results achieved) during the action period. This is not reimbursement of each beneficiary’s actual payroll or service invoices, and does not establish a salary entitlement.
Eligible cost
For project-based Horizon Europe lump sums, the 2026 Commission guidance requires realistic estimates per cost category, beneficiary/affiliated entity and work package. Personnel-cost estimates are permitted only for cost items that would qualify under the corresponding actual-cost eligibility rules, and must follow normal practice, be reasonable, and be necessary and in line with proposed activities. These are inputs for the fixed lump-sum estimate; actual payroll is not separately reimbursed or reported as a claim under the lump-sum grant.
Eligible cost
For the applicable lump-sum model, the contribution is set out in the grant agreement Annex 2 and broken down by participant and work package; payment eligibility is tied to work-package completion and proper implementation or achieved results during the action period, as stated in the agreement. Actual underlying payroll or subcontract cost is not reimbursed invoice-by-invoice under this form.
Funding intensity, maximumnon-profit legal entity beneficiary
100 percent of eligible costs per beneficiary

General Annex allows a rate of up to 100% for non-profit legal entities in Innovation Actions. The rate is fixed in the grant agreement and for this topic’s lump-sum form is already applied in the amount methodology; this does not add a second payment rate.

Funding intensity, maximumfor-profit legal entity beneficiary
70 percent of eligible costs per beneficiary

General Annex maximum for Innovation Actions is 70% for beneficiaries other than non-profit legal entities. The rate is fixed in the grant agreement and for this topic’s lump-sum form is already applied in the amount methodology; this does not add a second payment rate.

Expected project funding, up to
€5,000,000

Indicative expected EU contribution per project stated as around EUR 5 million; this is an estimate, not a minimum, maximum, or binding per-project cap. Applicants may request a different amount.

Expected project funding, from
€5,000,000

Indicative expected EU contribution per project stated as around EUR 5 million; this is an estimate, not a minimum, maximum, or binding per-project cap. Applicants may request a different amount.

Topic allocation
€5,000,000

Indicative total topic allocation stated as an amount in EUR million in the call overview; it is distinct from the expected EU contribution per project. Allocation scope: per topic.

Personnel and services4

  • Other role

    Staff cost the grant can fund

    Natural persons working under a direct contract other than an employment contract may be included as personnel cost estimates only when assigned to the action, working under conditions similar to an employee, and the result belongs to the beneficiary (unless otherwise agreed). The estimate follows actual-cost eligibility; no role or pay rate is specified.

  • Other role

    Staff cost the grant can fund

    Costs for employees under an employment contract or equivalent appointing act and assigned to the action; any estimated amount is only a budget input subject to the call’s lump-sum methodology and applicable actual-cost eligibility rules. This is not a prescribed job, required hire, headcount or salary rate.

  • Other role

    Staff cost the grant can fund

    Seconded-person personnel cost estimates are conditional on assignment to the action, employee-like working conditions and ownership of the work result by the beneficiary (unless otherwise agreed), and must correspond to actual costs and not differ significantly from comparable employee tasks. This cost category does not prescribe a job or salary.

  • Other role

    Staff cost the grant can fund

    The work of an SME owner or natural person beneficiary who receives no salary may be declared as personnel costs only if general eligibility conditions are met and the amount is calculated as a unit cost under Annex 2a. No hourly/monthly amount is asserted here.

Source documents5
Call facts
Opens
6 May 2026
Deadline model
Single-stage
Programme
Horizon Europe · 2021 - 2027
Call
HORIZON-CL3-2026-01 · Civil Security for Society 2026
Types of action
HORIZON Innovation Actions
Keywords
  • Civil Society Organisations
  • Missing persons
  • Non-Governmental Organisations
  • crime
  • criminology
  • cross-border cooperation
  • forensic
  • investigation
  • personal data
  • police
  • prevention
  • privacy
  • protection
  • raining curricula
  • skills
  • victims
Source
ec.europa.eu
Checked
24 Oct 2026
Portal updated
23 Oct 2026
Review status
Partial review
Reviewed
23 Oct 2026

This is a summary of the source page, not the official text. Eligibility, conditions and the submission system are at the source.