Towards climate resilient, prepared and carbon neutral populations and healthcare systems

There are no mandatory requirements for the proposals in this regard. However, the objective of this call is not for proposals to be overly broad and encompass many activities. Instead, it is preferred that they build robust submissions that excellently address particular aspects within the scope.

In any case, proposals are required to include at least two of the activities outlined within the scope. As long as this minimum threshold of two activities is met, the proposal will be considered within scope and valid.

International collaboration is encouraged under this topic. In this regard, collaboration with eligible non-EU countries and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is not only possible but also encouraged if it brings added value to the proposal.

Depending on the focus of the proposal, incorporating partners from diverse international backgrounds could enhance the proposal's impact and provide broader perspectives, potentially strengthening its overall contribution to the call's objectives.

Yes, this is a Lump Sum topic, as stipulated in the specific conditions of the topic. To define and justify the Lump Sum, you need to provide a detailed budget table with cost estimations (downloadable as an Excel file form the online submission system). The estimations must be an approximation of your actual costs and meet the eligibility criteria of Horizon Europe.

In order to facilitate the evaluation of your proposal, you are encouraged to use the comments part of the detailed budget table and provide any details / explanations that are needed to better understand the specificities of your proposal. You are also advised to systematically justify any deviations in personnel costs.

Moreover, if your lump sum budget contains any cost items in cost category C and/or D, please make sure to justify these items in the comments part of the detailed budget table, as the proposal template has been simplified by removing this information from Part B and bringing it closer to the relevant budget items. Specifically, you must include justifications in the comments part of the detailed budget table if you are in any of the following situations:

• If the sum of the costs for ’travel and subsistence’, ‘equipment’, and ‘other goods, works and services’ (i.e. the purchase costs) exceeds 15% of the personnel costs for a participant. If this is the case, justify the most expensive cost item(s) up to the level that the remaining costs are below 15% of personnel costs.
• If other cost categories (e.g. internally invoiced goods and services) are used.
• If in-kind contributions are used (non-financial resources made available free of charge by third parties, which must be included as direct costs in the corresponding cost category, e.g. personnel costs or purchase costs for equipment).

Please note that the definition of clinical studies, together with additional useful information can be found in the introduction of Health Cluster Work Programme part for 2026-2027.

Additionally, we would like to bring to your attention the fact that the World Health Organization (WHO) has published a “Guidance for best practices for clinical trials”. You are not required not follow this guidance, however we encourage you to do so.

Finally, we would also like to encourage you to consider the latest innovations and advances in the clinical trial design and research methods in order to evaluate promising interventions allowing shorter development timings.

Proposals do not have to address both adaptation and mitigation simultaneously.

Some activities within the scope are focused on adaptation, while others are centred around mitigation. A proposal may choose to concentrate on two or more of the suggested activities within a single area, either adaptation or mitigation or also on a mix of both depending on the focus of the proposal.

No, it simply means that proposals should cover a majority of the expected outcomes of this topic, i.e. three or more outcomes out of the five outcomes enumerated in the topic.

Scoring during evaluations or funding opportunities are not dependent on the total number of outcomes covered by a specific proposal, as long as most of them are covered as required in this topic.

Indeed, topic 04 focuses on mitigating the healthcare sector's impact on climate change and/or on reducing the effects of climate change on healthcare systems, populations, and communities. In fact, some activities within the scope are adaptation-focused, while others are mitigation-focused.

A proposal can choose to concentrate on two or more of the suggested activities within either adaptation or mitigation and still be considered valid.

In summary, it is not necessary to address both aspects (adaptation and mitigation), as long as the proposal includes at least two of the activities outlined in the scope.

The study of mitigation-related co-benefits can take place in sectors other than the health sector, provided that proposals can substantiate why mitigation in these other sectors could lead to significant health co-benefit impacts.

"frameworks" in the context of this call means the development of guidelines, methodologies and approaches devised for assessing, measuring, and making decisions related to greening, decarbonising, or adapting to climate change.

The requirement for evaluations will largely depend on the specific activities selected by each proposal.

Yes, some form of evaluation of potential interventions will be necessary to assess their effectiveness, accessibility, and impact. However, there is no specified minimum number of interventions or case studies required.

The Health Cluster Work Programme part for 2026-2027 includes a “right to object” condition for nearly all topics, giving the granting authority the right to object to a transfer of ownership or to the exclusive licensing of results, up to 4 years after the end of the action.

For applicants and beneficiaries, little is expected to change, as in previous years this condition had been part of the General Annexes, having legal force across all parts of Horizon Europe (including the Health Cluster topics). In practise, the granting authority may invoke the “right to object” under specific conditions, which so far has happened in very rare occasions over the many years of Horizon Europe.

More details below from Annex 5 of the General Model Grant Agreement:

Where the call conditions in Horizon Europe actions provide for the right to object to transfers or licensing, the granting authority may — up to four years after the end of the action — object to a transfer of ownership or the exclusive licensing of results, if:

the beneficiaries which generated the results have received funding under the grant

it is to a legal entity established in a non-EU country not associated with Horizon Europe, and

the granting authority considers that the transfer or licence is not in line with EU interests.

Beneficiaries that intend to transfer ownership or grant an exclusive licence must formally notify the granting authority before the intended transfer or licensing takes place and:

identify the specific results concerned

describe in detail the new owner or licensee and the planned or potential exploitation of the results, and

include a reasoned assessment of the likely impact of the transfer or licence on EU interests, in particular regarding competitiveness as well as consistency with ethical principles and security considerations.

The granting authority may request additional information.

If the granting authority decides to object to a transfer or exclusive licence, it must formally notify the beneficiary concerned within 60 days of receiving notification (or any additional information it has requested).

No transfer or licensing may take place in the following cases:

pending the granting authority decision, within the period set out above

if the granting authority objects

until the conditions are complied with, if the granting authority objection comes with conditions.

A beneficiary may formally notify a request to waive the right to object regarding intended transfers or grants to a specifically identified third party, if measures safeguarding EU interests are in place. If the granting authority agrees, it will formally notify the beneficiary concerned within 60 days of receiving notification (or any additional information requested).