Living labs to enhance soil health in Alpine and Atlantic biogeographical regions

Expected Outcome

Activities under this topic respond directly to the goal of the Mission Soil to set up 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition to healthy soils by 2030. They support the specific objectives of the Mission Soil[1]. Activities should also contribute to the Common Agricultural Policy and to meeting the European Green Deal ambitions and targets and more specifically those of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the EU Soil Strategy for 2030 and the proposal for a Soil Monitoring and Resilience Directive, the Zero Pollution Action Plan, the Communication on Boosting Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing in the EU, as well as to Sustainable Development Goals[2].

Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:

• enhanced capacities for participatory, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary R&I to co-create and co-implement economically viable soil health solutions;
• improved soil health monitoring and increased availability of high quality, standardised soil data at local and regional level;
• increased availability of practice-oriented knowledge for land managers and land users, leading to better adoption of effective soil health solutions in diverse contexts;
• policy makers are more aware of local needs regarding soil health, including the factors that influence it, and can use this knowledge to design and implement more effective policies to enhance soil health, while considering the economic sustainability of solutions.

Scope

The Mission Soil proposes the deployment of living labs as a novel approach to research and innovation in soil health[3]. Living labs have the potential to facilitate a green transition by involving multiple actors in real-life sites within a local/regional setting to co-create soil health solutions and achieve large-scale impacts on soil health and soil governance. Projects funded under this topic should deploy a number of living labs to expand and complement the network of soil health living labs initiated in previous Mission Soil topics to gradually establish 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition towards healthy soils by 2030[4].

Soil health living labs are long-term collaborations between multiple actors to address common soil health challenges in real-life sites at local or regional level[5] (10 to 20 sites in each living lab). Living labs can address soil health challenges in or across different land uses (agricultural, (peri-)urban, (post)-industrial, forest and (semi-)natural). Depending on the level at which each living lab operates and the specific context (e.g. land use covered, or soil health challenge addressed), applicants can exceptionally propose living labs with fewer sites. Individual sites can be farms, forest holdings, urban green areas[6], industrial areas, etc. Sites that are exemplary in their performance in terms of soil health improvement and serve as places for demonstration of solutions, training and communication are lighthouses. Lighthouse sites can be part of a living lab or be situated outside a living lab. Projects funded under this topic are expected to kick-start a participatory process or build on existing ones. If building on existing processes, the new proposed living labs should complement the existing network of Mission Soil Living Labs and deliver unique results. While on average, projects run for around four years, the duration of the projects under this topic should accommodate longer timescales required to establish participatory processes and/or for soil processes to take place.

Actors working on common shared soil health challenge(s) within and across the living labs of the same project, will be able to compare results, exchange good practices, validate methodologies, replicate actions and solutions and benefit from cross-fertilisation, thereby accelerating the transition towards the shared objective of improving soil health.

Proposals should:

• support the establishment of four to five living labs either in the Alpine or in the Atlantic biogeographical region[7]. Proposals must clearly indicate which of these two biogeographical regions they focus on and must establish the majority of the living labs within the chosen biogeographical region. Living labs under each proposal should work together on common soil health challenge(s) relevant to the selected biogeographical region. The living labs must be located in at least three different Member States and/or Associated Countries. Proposals should explain the rationale and mechanism for cooperation within and across the living labs and how the work undertaken will contribute to one or more of the Mission’s specific objectives[8]. Proposals with all living labs focusing on soil heath on forests or natural/semi-natural land types are excluded from this topic as a dedicated topic is opened in this work programme (HORIZON-MISS-2026-05-SOIL-02-two-stage: Living labs to enhance soil health in managed forests and in natural/semi-natural lands);
• establish an interdisciplinary, participatory and multi-actor approach in the living labs to co-design, co-develop, and co-implement locally adapted solutions (practices, tools, strategies, etc.) for the common soil health challenge(s) taking into account relevant soil health drivers and pressures[9]. Proposed solutions should be adapted to the different environmental, socio-economic and cultural contexts in which the living labs are operating;
• establish for each living lab a baseline of the soil conditions to allow for an accurate co-assessment of the changes in the different sites over time. Monitor improvements on soil health and ecosystem associated services. The set of soil health indicators/descriptors presented in the proposal for a Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience should be used as a basis; proposals may complement with additional indicators tailored to the addressed soil health challenge(s), pedoclimatic conditions, land use, and other local/regional factors;
• assess and demonstrate the technical, social, economic, cultural and environmental viability of the proposed solutions, as well as their potential scalability and transferability to diverse contexts;
• identify high performing sites that may be converted into lighthouses, either at proposal stage or later lighthouses;
• propose strategies (e.g., financial, organisational) to ensure the long-term sustainability of the established living labs beyond the Horizon Europe funding. Strategies should include the identification of possible business models and actions involving a mix of public or private funding schemes, financial instruments, cooperation with local authorities, engagement of social economy entities, social enterprises, business communities, SMEs, as well as attracting investors and entrepreneurs.

In line with the nature of living labs, projects must adopt the multi-actor approach. The actors involved in each living lab may vary, based on its unique characteristics and may include, among others, researchers, landowners or land managers, industry representatives (e.g., SMEs), public administrators and civil society representatives (e.g., consumers, local residents, environmental NGOs, youth organisations). Care should be taken to describe the capabilities, roles and resources of the different actors involved in the living labs. An effective contribution from social sciences, humanities and the arts (SSHA) is expected to foster social innovation, knowledge transfer and socio-cultural and behavioural change.

To encourage and facilitate the involvement of different types of actors in the living labs, applicants are reminded of the different types of participation possible under Horizon Europe. This includes not only beneficiaries (or their affiliated entities) but also associated partners, third parties giving in-kind contributions, subcontractors, and recipients of financial support to third parties. Financial support to third parties (FSTP), which facilitates active involvement of small actors (e.g. land managers and landowners such as farmers, SMEs or civil society) in a project’s living labs, can be provided through calls, or, if duly justified, without a call for proposals. The type of activities that could be funded are for example, those related to site management or implementation or monitoring of soil health solutions including hourly rates for collection of data, sampling or participating in events, knowledge exchange, capacity building or demonstration and awareness initiatives equipment; equipment; and/or compensation for loss of production. Applicants are advised to consult the standard conditions set out in Annex B of the General Annexes, including those that apply to FSTP.

Dedicated tasks and appropriate resources should be envisaged to collaborate with SOILL, the structure created to support soil health living labs and lighthouses with a wide range of actions that include dedicated capacity building, knowledge exchange, promotion, dissemination, networking opportunities and regular monitoring activities of living labs performance. The details of the collaboration will be further defined during the grant agreement preparation phase.

Proposals are expected to build on existing knowledge (e.g. data from national soil health monitoring, LUCAS) and solutions developed and tested at national scale, or within other Horizon projects, including those funded under the Mission Soil. Proposals should therefore include dedicated tasks and appropriate resources for collaboration with relevant projects and initiatives, as well as participation in relevant Mission Soil clustering activities. Proposals are also encouraged to consider, where relevant, the data, expertise and services offered by European research infrastructures (ESFRI), and to cooperate with the Horizon Europe Partnerships on Agroecology and on Sustainable Food Systems and/or relevant local and active networks, such as the EIP-AGRI operational groups, to promote the involvement of key local stakeholders.

Proposals should demonstrate a route towards open access, longevity, sustainability and interoperability of knowledge and outputs through close collaboration with the European Union Soil Observatory (EUSO) and the project SoilWise. In particular, proposals should ensure that relevant data, maps and information can potentially be available publicly through the EUSO. Concrete efforts should be made to ensure that the data produced in the context of the funded project is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable).

To ensure that both biogeographical regions are covered (Atlantic and Alpine), grants will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but also to at least one project focusing on each of these two biogeographical regions, provided that proposals attain all thresholds.

[1] See the Mission implementation plan

[2] In particular SDG 3- Good health and well-being, and SDG 15 – Life on Land.

[3] Implementation Plans for the EU Missions - European Commission

[4] Catalogue 2024 - Mission Soil Living Labs and Lighthouses| Mission Soil Platform

[5] In this topic, it is recommended to define the living labs location using the NUTS2 division (Eurostat Statistical Atlas ; Regulation - 1059/2003 - EN - EUR-Lex).

[6] By urban green areas, we refer to green spaces in cities such as parks, gardens, green roofs or walls, green corridors, squares, recreational areas, etc.

[7] Biogeographical regions in Europe according to the European Environmental Agency.

[8] Mission Soil specific objectives: reduce land degradation relating to desertification; conserve and increase soil organic carbon stocks, no net soil sealing and increase the reuse of urban soils; reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration; prevent erosion; improve soil structure to enhance habitat quality for soil biota and crops; reduce the EU global footprint on soils; increase soil literacy in society.

[9] See Soil Needs and Drivers of Change Across Europe and Land Use Types - Booklet from PREPSOIL project