💰 Funding Details

Funding Opportunity: HORIZON-HLTH-2025-03-ENVHLTH-01-two-stage

Overview

* Topic title: *The impact of pollution on the development and progression of brain diseases and disorders*

* Programme: Horizon Europe – Cluster 1 “Health” – Destination *Living and working in a health-promoting environment*

* Type of Action: HORIZON-RIA (Research & Innovation Action) implemented through a lump-sum Model Grant Agreement

* Maximum EU contribution per grant: €50 000 000 (100 % reimbursement rate for direct costs)

* Call modality: Two-stage with blind evaluation at Stage 1

* Stage 1 deadline: 16 September 2025 – 17:00 (Brussels)

* Stage 2 deadline: 16 April 2026 – 17:00 (Brussels)

* Expected project start: Q1 2027 (after Grant Agreement preparation)

Strategic Fit

The topic directly supports EU Green Deal, Zero-Pollution Action Plan, Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and the WHO Brain Health agenda. It seeks robust *causal* evidence linking lifelong pollutant exposure to neurological, neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental outcomes, with strong emphasis on:

1. Exposome & neuroexposome methodologies

2. Vulnerable/sensitive populations (children, ageing adults, workers)

3. FAIR, openly shared human bio-monitoring and chemical monitoring data via IPCHEM/ECHA platforms

4. Social Sciences & Humanities (SSH) integration to maximise behaviour change and policy impact

Financial Particularities

* Lump-sum budgeting: the consortium proposes a single global amount covering all eligible costs; no cost reporting of real expenses is required.

* Mandatory 2 % of the lump sum must be ring-fenced for cluster networking & joint activities with other funded projects.

* Sub-contracts & financial support to third parties are allowed but must be justified ex-ante in the proposal.

Geographic Eligibility

Standard Horizon Europe eligibility applies. In addition:

* Entities from your country and all Associated Countries are automatically eligible.

* US entities may receive EU funding on a reciprocity basis.

Complementary EU Initiatives to Reference

PARC, EFSA Environmental Neurotoxicants work, JRC IPCHEM, EEA air-quality dashboards, Copernicus atmospheric data, and Horizon Europe environment-health project clusters should be explicitly cited.

📊 Evaluation Criteria

How Your Proposal Will Be Judged

Stage 1 (Blind)

| Criterion | Weight | Threshold |

|-----------|--------|-----------|

| Excellence | 50 % | 4/5 |

| Impact | 50 % | 4/5 |

Only proposals whose combined requested budgets ≈ 3.5–4× the call budget will pass to Stage 2.

Stage 2

| Criterion | Weight | Threshold |

|-----------|--------|-----------|

| Excellence | 1 | 4/5 |

| Impact | 1 | 4/5 |

| Quality & Efficiency of Implementation | 1 | 4/5 |

Evaluators Will Specifically Look For

* Causality strength: longitudinal or mechanistic evidence rather than correlations.

* Exposure realism: doses, mixtures, windows of susceptibility.

* Interoperable data: adherence to FAIR, use of EU research infrastructures.

* SSH integration: concrete tasks, budget and KPIs.

* Risk mitigation & lump-sum justification: credible milestones, contingency plans.

📝 Application Strategy

Application Strategy

1. Build a Multidisciplinary, Exposure-Centric Consortium

* Combine neurologists, toxicologists, epidemiologists, exposome scientists, *and* SSH experts (behavioural economists, ethicists).

* Include at least one large longitudinal cohort owner and one high-throughput omics/imaging infrastructure.

* Engage a policy-implementing body (e.g. regional health authority) and a patient organisation for co-creation.

2. Design for Blind Evaluation Success (Stage 1)

* Remove all traces of identity: replace partner names with neutral labels (e.g. "Partner A").

* Focus the 10-page Stage 1 narrative on Excellence and Impact only (threshold 4/5 each).

* Provide a crisp *graphical abstract* demonstrating pollutant→mechanism→brain outcome.

3. Address Implementation Details Early for Stage 2

* Pre-agree lump-sum internal budget split and payment schedule.

* Draft a Data Management Plan fully aligned with FAIR principles and IPCHEM/ECHA ingestion formats.

* Reserve ≥2 % of total budget in a dedicated WP for cluster activities (joint portal, common workshops, policy briefs).

4. Integrate Social & Behavioural Dimensions

* Embed qualitative studies on public risk perception.

* Co-design prevention guidelines with citizen panels in your country and at least two other EU regions.

5. Plot a Clear Policy Translation Pathway

* Map current EU directives (Ambient Air Quality, Industrial Emissions, REACH) to the project’s expected evidence.

* Commit to policy‐ready indicators and at least two legislative briefings by Y3.

💡 Success Factors

Access to Established Neuro-Cohorts

Leveraging **existing EU-wide cohorts** (>10 000 participants) with archived biospecimens accelerates causal analyses and impresses evaluators.

Multi-Scale Exposure Assessment

Combine **personal wearable sensors**, remote sensing (Copernicus) and biomonitoring to capture micro- and macro-level pollutant data.

Robust Lump-Sum Milestone Structure

Define ≤8 clear milestones (e.g. biobank ready, imaging completed) linked to **objective deliverables** to de-risk payments.

Early Regulator Engagement

Set up an **Advisory Board** including ECHA, JRC and your country’s health ministry to co-draft policy briefs and ensure uptake.

Integrated Omics–Imaging Pipeline

Synchronise multi-omics data with high-resolution MRI/ PET to generate **predictive biomarkers** for early diagnosis.

Citizen Science & Behaviour Change

Involve local communities in your country to **self-monitor air quality** and co-create mitigation actions, boosting societal relevance.

❌ Common Mistakes to Avoid

Revealing Partner Identities in Stage 1

Using logos, institution names or even distinctive regional maps breaks the **blind evaluation rules** and leads to in-eligibility.

Ignoring 2 % Cluster Budget Requirement

Proposals that forget to allocate a **dedicated WP and ~2 % of the lump sum** for joint networking will receive implementation penalties.

Weak Link Between Exposure and Disease Mechanisms

Submitting purely epidemiological correlations without mechanistic validation (omics, imaging, in-vitro) undermines the *Excellence* score.

Data Management Plan Afterthought

Missing concrete plans for **IPCHEM upload, metadata standards, and GDPR compliance** contradicts the FAIR mandate.

Superficial SSH Involvement

Listing an SSH partner without allocated tasks, methods or indicators signals tokenism and lowers *Impact*.

No Gender/Intersectional Analysis

Failing to stratify data by sex, gender, age or socioeconomic status conflicts with the topic’s explicit requirements.

The impact of pollution on the development and progression of brain diseases and disorders

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