Adaptation to Climate Change: Effectiveness and Limits
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Adaptation to Climate Change: Effectiveness and Limits – Funding Description
1. What the Grant Funds
* Purpose: Advance the scientific understanding, measurement and practical application of *adaptation effectiveness* and *adaptation limits* across Europe, delivering a standardised yet flexible methodology and at least six real-world case studies.
* Eligible Activities:
* Fundamental and applied research (observational & modelling) on drivers of adaptation effectiveness/limits.
* Co-design and joint development of a common core methodology (mandatory joint deliverable ≤ M24).
* Deployment of minimum 6 test cases across diverse EU/Associated Country regions & sectors, ideally linked to the EU Mission on Adaptation.
* Development of new metrics, indicators and assessment tools (quantitative & qualitative, incl. SSH insights).
* Knowledge synthesis and dissemination via existing platforms (e.g. Climate-ADAPT), FAIR data management, stakeholder engagement and clustering with other Horizon Europe projects.
* Policy guidance, practitioner toolkits, updates to 1994 IPCC Technical Guidelines.
2. Funding Envelope & Cost Coverage
* Maximum EU contribution per project: €18 million (requested amount may be lower; no minimum).
* Action type: HORIZON-RIA (Research & Innovation Action) – EU funds up to 100 % of eligible direct costs + 25 % flat-rate indirect costs.
* Indicative number of projects: 2–4 (subject to EC budget split). Strong competition expected.
* Ring-fenced collaboration budget: 15–25 % of total eligible costs must be earmarked for joint activities with other funded projects (methodology co-development, common deliverables, clustering).
* Typical project length: 48–60 months.
3. Eligibility Snapshot
* Consortium: Minimum *three* independent legal entities from *three* different EU Member States or Horizon-Europe Associated Countries (Article 20 HE Rules).
* Who can apply: Universities, RTOs, SMEs, large companies, NGOs, public bodies, international organisations, etc.
* Mandatory expertise:
* Climate science & modelling
* Social Sciences & Humanities (SSH)
* Sectorial specialists (e.g. agriculture, coastal, health, biodiversity)
* Data management / FAIR experts
* Stakeholder engagement & communication professionals
* Exclusions/Ineligibility: Entities under EU restricted country list or subject to restrictive measures; costs ineligible under the HE MGA (e.g., VAT where non-recoverable, in-kind contributions not meeting rules).
4. Call Logistics
* Call identifier: HORIZON-CL5-2025-05-Two-Stage-D1-05
* Opening date: 06 May 2025
* Stage-1 deadline: 04 Sep 2025 – 17:00 CET (10-page outline, Excellence & Impact only)
* Stage-2 deadline: 31 Mar 2026 – 17:00 CET (full proposal incl. Implementation)
* Evaluation criteria weights: Excellence (1st), Impact (2nd), Quality & efficiency of Implementation (3rd) – all equally weighted at stage-2 (threshold 10/15; ≥3 per criterion).
5. Compliance & Policy Alignment
* Open Science/FAIR: All research outputs must follow FAIR principles; mandatory Data Management Plan (DMP) within first 6 months.
* Gender, age & intersectionality: Must be systematically integrated in methodology, analysis & consortium staffing (Gender Equality Plan required for public bodies & higher-education applicants > €10 M turnover).
* Climate mainstreaming: Projects must quantify mitigation co-benefits, nature-based solutions, and equity/justice dimensions.
* Ethics & Security: Self-assessment plus possible ethics review; security scrutiny if sensitive data involved.
6. Payment Schedule & Reporting
1. Advance pre-financing (~45–60 % of EU contribution) after Grant Agreement signature.
2. Interim payments based on accepted periodic reports (technical & financial) – typically every 18 months.
3. Balance payment after final report and EC audit clearance.
7. Intellectual Property & Exploitation
* Consortium Agreement (CA) required before GA signature.
* Background & foreground IPR must be detailed; open access to publications mandatory (Gold/Green), open data by default unless justified.
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Key Take-aways
• €18 M ceiling, 100 % funding, RIA rules.
• Two-stage competition: concise concept first, full proposal later.
• Reserve 15–25 % budget for joint methodology work.
• At least 6 diverse European case studies; collaboration with Mission Adaptation expected.
• Strong SSH, stakeholder, FAIR & gender integration are deal-breakers.
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🇪🇺 Strategic Advantages
EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities for the Horizon Europe Topic
HORIZON-CL5-2025-05-Two-Stage-D1-05
“Adaptation to Climate Change: Effectiveness and Limits” (HORIZON-RIA)
1. Single Market Access
• Pan-European Uptake of Adaptation Methodology: A standardised yet flexible framework, co-created by all funded projects, will be immediately deployable across the EU’s 450 + million consumers and its public authorities.
• Unified Data Infrastructure: Leveraging Copernicus, Climate-ADAPT and EUCRA ensures that academic, public and private actors across 27 Member States and associated countries can access and reuse data without national fragmentation, accelerating commercial and public-good applications (e.g., insurance modelling, smart-city planning tools, climate-ready construction materials).
• Public Procurement Gateway: EU Green Public Procurement and forthcoming taxonomy criteria favour solutions that demonstrate ex-ante and ex-post effectiveness indicators—exactly the evidence this topic produces—opening a €2 trillion annual public-procurement market.
2. Cross-Border Collaboration
• Mandatory Joint Core Methodology (15–25 % budget pooling): Creates a built-in network of at least 6 multinational test-beds, enabling partners to validate tools in diverse bioclimatic zones (Nordic, Mediterranean, Alpine, Atlantic, Continental, and Outermost Regions).
• Mission Adaptation Community of Practice: Direct access to 300 + regions & communities already registered, fostering peer learning and fast replication of successful pilots.
• SSH Integration: Social-sciences partners can compare governance barriers and equity aspects across jurisdictions, enriching policy relevance and increasing Horizon’s ‘impact pathway’ scores.
3. Alignment with EU Policy Priorities
• European Green Deal & EU Climate Law: Outputs feed the forthcoming 2028 EU Adaptation Strategy revision and the 2040 climate target, reinforcing policy coherence.
• Fit for 55 & Nature Restoration Law: Metrics on nature-based solutions (NBS) support dual climate-biodiversity benefits, a core requirement of both dossiers.
• Digital Europe & Data Spaces: FAIR-compliant indicators can plug into the Common European Green Deal Data Space, unlocking additional DEP funding for large-scale pilots.
4. Regulatory Harmonisation & Standards
• IPCC Guideline Update: Contributing to the first update since 1994 positions EU actors as de-facto global standard-setters, reducing future conformity costs for European businesses exporting adaptation tech/services.
• Taxonomy & CSRD Alignment: Consistent metrics on climate-risk reduction support corporate sustainability disclosures, giving early-adopter firms a compliance edge.
5. Access to Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem
• Synergies with KICs & EOSC: The topic’s data outputs are primed for integration into EIT Climate-KIC demonstrators and the European Open Science Cloud, broadening R&I visibility.
• Talent Pipeline: Mobility schemes (MSCA, Erasmus+) can staff case studies with top researchers, while SMEs tap into Enterprise Europe Network for commercialization support.
6. Funding Synergies
• Cascade Funding Opportunities: Results can feed into LIFE, Interreg, CEF2 and InvestEU projects targeting adaptation infrastructure and nature-based solutions, multiplying TRL advancement.
• Regional Smart-Specialisation (S3): Cohesion Policy (2021-27) earmarks >€100 bn for green objectives; the harmonised methodology can become an eligible cost item under ERDF/CF programmes.
• Blending & De-Risking: Robust effectiveness evidence meets EIB’s Climate Bank Roadmap criteria, easing access to EIB loans or blended finance for scale-up.
7. Scale, Replicability & Long-Term Impact
• 6 + Test Cases as Launchpads: Diverse pilots ensure the methodology is stress-tested under multiple governance and climatic regimes, easing EU-wide replication.
• Compound-Risk Focus: By integrating cascading and socio-economic dimensions, solutions remain relevant for future Climate Risk Assessments mandated for all Member States, ensuring policy longevity.
• Open-Source & FAIR: Ensures perpetual reusability, enabling private innovators to build premium services (e.g., AI risk dashboards) without starting from scratch.
8. Strategic Recommendations for Applicants
1. Map consortium partners to cover all major biogeographical regions and at least three high-risk sectors (agriculture, urban infrastructure, coastal zones).
2. Allocate 15–25 % of budget to a Joint Methodology Task Force; propose governance tools (e.g., Git-based open protocol) to earn excellence marks.
3. Embed links to other EU instruments early (e.g., commit to exploit results via a forthcoming LIFE Integrated Project).
4. Co-design indicators with standards bodies (CEN/CENELEC) to accelerate regulatory uptake.
5. Plan a data management strategy aligned with the Green Deal Data Space and EOSC for bonus evaluation points under ‘Quality of Implementation’.
Bottom Line: Operating at EU scale converts methodological research into market-ready, regulation-aligned solutions faster, offers unparalleled cross-border test environments and unlocks layered funding—advantages impossible to secure through isolated national projects.
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See in 5 min if you're eligible for Adaptation to Climate Change: Effectiveness and Limits offering max €18.0M funding