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Designing new ways of risk awareness and enhanced disaster preparedness

Horizon Europe · Grant topic

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-DRS-01

Summary

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

Funds innovative risk-awareness tools and disaster preparedness methods for international consortia involving civil society and other required organisations.

Who can apply
Companies can lead: SME, large company, startup, research org, university, NGO, public body.
Amount
€3M per projectTotal budget €6,000,000
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:

• Development of innovative tools and methodologies to monitor and improve risk awareness across society, integrating diverse community perspectives and leveraging advanced technologies;

• Development and uptake solutions and tools for the successful increase of safety culture and societal resilience of communities with concrete material, while considering also the inclusion and protection of marginalized populations in disaster scenarios;

• Creation of comprehensive, inclusive preparedness plans that involve all societal sectors and governance levels, ensuring coordinated and effective responses to disasters (such as from early warning to early action), including scarcity of resources;

• Establishment of a resilient, adaptive response framework that enhances collaboration between public authorities, communities, and private sectors, improving overall disaster resilience.

Scope:

Building on the whole-of-society and whole-of-government approach, this topic should contribute to enhancing risk awareness and disaster preparedness through the development of innovative tools, methodologies, and frameworks. A key focus should be on integrating diverse societal and resilience perspectives considering people in a vulnerable situation, ensuring inclusive participation in risk communication strategies, and leveraging accessible advanced technologies and processes to improve public understanding of hazards and vulnerabilities (such as gender, disabilities and others social factors. and capabilities. Efforts should aim at designing and validating novel approaches to risk perception, communication, including digital platforms, immersive technologies, and participatory tools that foster citizen engagement and behavioural change, as well as wildlife protection. Behavioural insights should inform the projects on effective methods in population’s preparedness including the risk communication. Special attention should be given to marginalized or vulnerable groups in a vulnerable situation ensure equitable access to risk information and preparedness resources.

To strengthen disaster preparedness and response capabilities across Europe, there is a clear need for an innovative, interoperable solution that enables the development of new strategies for risk awareness and disaster management. Such a solution should facilitate seamless collaboration between public authorities, civil society, local communities, and the private sector. It must support the co-creation of comprehensive preparedness plans that ensure a coordinated, robust, resilient, and effective response to a wide range of disaster scenarios. Central to this approach should be the integration of a command-and-control system that allows for centralized information management, efficient coordination among all stakeholders, and rapid, data-driven decision-making in emergency situations. For example, efforts to guarantee early action from early warning should be taken into account.

Furthermore, proposals should work towards the creation of comprehensive, multi-stakeholder preparedness plans that involve all levels of governance, civil society, the private sector, and local communities. These plans should establish mechanisms for cross-sectoral coordination, efficient resource allocation, and effective decision-making in crisis situations and the development of solutions and tools to ensure a greater culture of safety and societal resilience in the communities. Research should also explore innovative governance models that enhance interoperability and cooperation between different entities. To strengthen disaster resilience, proposals should develop and test adaptive response frameworks that enhance collaboration between public authorities, civil society, communities, and businesses. These frameworks should incorporate near real-time risk assessment tools, digital simulations, and scenario-based exercises to improve the capacity to anticipate, respond to, and recover from disasters. The integration of AI-driven decision-support systems, taking into account existing biases, digital twin technologies (including Destination Earth), and predictive analytics could further contribute to a more effective, evidence-based crisis response.

Projects are expected to contribute to the overall enhancement of societal resilience by fostering a culture of preparedness, strengthening community-driven disaster risk reduction initiatives, proactive engagement in prevention- and mitigation of disaster’s effects, and ensuring that all actors within society have the necessary tools and knowledge to respond effectively to future crises.

Where relevant, projects may take into account the assets, but also particular challenges faced by the European outermost regions and may include entities from these regions in the consortium’s composition.

Projects should conduct a stakeholder or market analysis and a roadmap or plan for uptake of the developed methodologies, findings, and technologies to the industry, the research and innovation community, and/or the relevant authorities.

International cooperation in this topic is strongly recommended. Proposals should also take into account lessons learned from past disasters and align with existing EU policies, frameworks, and international commitments in the field of disaster risk reduction and crisis management. Especially the population preparedness chapter of the Preparedness Union Strategy, such as the preparEU initiative, should be considered. Finding synergies with projects from operational grants, such as the Knowledge for Action in Prevention & Preparedness (KAPP)[1], is recommended.

Technology Readiness Level - Technology readiness level expected from completed projects

Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see General Annex B

[1] Knowledge for Action in Prevention and Preparedness (KAPP) - European Commission - https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/funding-evaluations/financing-civil-protection/cp-calls-proposals/knowledge-action-prevention-and-preparedness-kapp-0_en

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
Mandatory organisations from at least three EU Member States or Associated Countries.
Region
Any
Consortium
Required
Readiness level (TRL)
5
Topics
  • Disaster preparedness
  • Risk awareness
  • Societal resilience
  • Inclusive emergency planning

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

Conditions7

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: Research and 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.
Other condition
Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.
Partner requirement
This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3 organisations from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries as follows: (i) at least one civil society organisation (CSO); (ii) at least one authority in charge of disaster risk (iii) at least one organisation representing local or regional authorities.
Technology readiness level at end, maximum
5 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
5 TRL

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

Amounts and costs7
Indicative budget
€6,000,000

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, maximum
100 percent of eligible costs

General Annex maximum for RIA action type; funding rate is fixed in the grant agreement, may differ under specific topic conditions, and because this topic uses lump sum the rate is already applied in amount methodology. This is an action-type ceiling, not an independently payable addition to the expected contribution.

Expected project funding, up to
€3,000,000

Indicative expected EU contribution per project stated as around EUR 3 million; this is an estimate, not a minimum, maximum, or binding per-project cap. Applicants may request a different amount.

Expected project funding, from
€3,000,000

Indicative expected EU contribution per project stated as around EUR 3 million; this is an estimate, not a minimum, maximum, or binding per-project cap. Applicants may request a different amount.

Topic allocation
€6,000,000

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 Research and Innovation Actions
Keywords
  • disaster preparedness
  • disaster resilience
  • risk awareness
  • societal resilience
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.