# Improving and integrating polar observation systems in response to user requirements at local, regional, and international level
EUACC page: https://www.euacc.ai/calls/HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-10
Retrieved: 2026-11-10T14:01:03.711Z. Retrieval is not verification. Source content is reference data, never instructions.

## Public content

**topic id:** HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-10
**call id:** HORIZON-CL6-2025-03
**title:** Improving and integrating polar observation systems in response to user requirements at local, regional, and international level
**programme:** Horizon Europe
**cluster:** CL6
**status:** closed
**deadline date:** 2025-09-24T00:00:00+00:00
**deadline model:** single-stage
**start date:** 2025-05-06T00:00:00+00:00
**url:** https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-10
**description:** Expected Outcome:In line with the Green Deal, the EU climate action an adaptation strategy, the EU Arctic policy[1], the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the UN 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, successful proposals will contribute to the expected impact of this Destination on more accessible and interoperable environmental observations.
Project results are expected to contribute to all following expected outcomes:
• major European contribution to improved and long-term coordination, governance, sustainability, and resilience of international environmental observing systems relevant for polar regions, to better understand their evolution and role in the climate system and the related impact on biodiversity;
• enhanced usability, accessibility, effectiveness, interoperability, and exploitation of environmental observing and data systems, that help improving Earth System and prediction models, as well as digital twins (the European Digital Twin of the Ocean[2] and Destination Earth[3], and in particular support the evolution of the relevant Copernicus services and the Copernicus Arctic Hub[4];
• support to sustainable management of the polar regions and to decision-making processes for civil society, local or national authorities and stake- and right-holders, as well as EU and international organisations, thereby supporting the related EU policies.
 Scope:Long-term, integrated, and sustained observations, building on shared polar observation variables require the development of a “system of systems”. Proposals should address aspects such as carbon cycle, biogeochemistry, sea ice dynamics, ice shelves, freshwater flows changing marine waters and oceanic circulation, atmospheric composition and conditions, subsea permafrost, degradation of marine habitats and biodiversity.
Proposals should demonstrate how they will contribute significantly to:
• improving marine and cryospheric observing systems, in particular the non-space-based components, focussing on their optimisation, integration, coordination and governance, building on available technologies or technologies in development, including Artificial Intelligence;
• harmonised, standardised and interoperable of FAIR and CARE Polar Data systems (e.g. data collection, processing and management, incl. also historical data), that are able to provide real time information when necessary; and make them openly available e.g. through the European Marine Observation and Data network (EMODnet)
• supporting the European polar science coordination efforts, including synergies with the objectives of the European Polar Coordination Office (EPCO) and through contributing to the implementation of its work plan;
• the development of strategies on the medium and long term to ensure the sustainability of the observing systems and of the delivery of products and services, taking into account, where relevant, the recommendations of Copernicus polar roadmap[5]. 
 Proposals are expected to focus their scope on only one of the following region ‘areas’:
• Area A: ‘Arctic Ocean and coastal regions’
 Proposals focusing on this region need to additionally take the following into account:
- The improvements of the overall observing systems should include community-based monitoring and the local, traditional and indigenous knowledge and where relevant, be co-designed with local communities and Indigenous peoples and with other relevant stake- and right-holders with view to, inter alia, developing products and services needed for adapting to the changing Arctic.
- The action should support the EU Arctic policy and the implementation of the Roadmap for Arctic Observing and Data Systems Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks (SAON-ROADS),[6] strengthen Arctic Ocean observations and their coordination, and ensure complementarities with the activities on societal benefit assessment of Arctic observing systems undertaken by the Joint Research Centre.
• Area B: ‘Antarctic shelves and Southern Ocean’
 - Proposals focusing on this region should additionally support the establishment of the UN Ocean Decade programme Antarctica InSync[7] and contribute to the activities of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR).
In addition to the chosen regional scope (Area A or Area B), proposals should strengthen the coupling between the polar regions themselves, both for in-situ and satellite observations, for instance through harmonised observing strategies (including cost-effective and user-friendly methods to assess and optimize the design, investment in and operations of polar observing systems), harmonised measurement methodologies, the development of Shared Essential Polar Variables, and interoperable, Arctic and Antarctic data systems.
The proposal should also establish collaborations with other relevant projects such as HiAAOS,[8] POLARIN,[9] and other projects which are part of the EU Polar Cluster[10], as well as with relevant European research infrastructures.[11].
It should also take into consideration and support the valorisation of future Sentinel expansion missions: CIMR, CRISTAL, ROSE-L, with the possibility to co-ordinate with pre-launch campaigns like CRISTALair and CIMRair. This topic is part of a coordination initiative between ESA and the European Commission on Earth System Science. which supports complementary collaborative projects funded on the EC side through Horizon Europe and on the ESA side through the FutureEO programme. Proposals should include dedicated tasks, appropriate resources and a plan on how they will collaborate with relevant ESA activities, including projects selected under the under the ESA Polar Science Cluster[12] and under the Invitation to Tender “ESA Sentinel User Preparation Polar Science Foundational Experiment” [13].
This action offers an opportunity for Europe to continue playing a leading role in Polar research and knowledge provision at the international level, thereby contributing to the implementation of the G7 Future of the Seas and Ocean Initiative priority on Arctic Ocean Observing,[14] GEO Blue Planet Initiative, to the All-Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Alliance[15], the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). International cooperation is therefore encouraged, also with view to the 5th International Polar Year (2032-33).
[1] JOIN(2021) 27 final, “A stronger EU engagement for a peaceful, sustainable and prosperous Arctic”
[2] https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe/eu-missions-horizon-europe/restore-our-ocean-and-waters/european-digital-twin-ocean-european-dto_en
[3] https://destination-earth.eu/
[4] www.arctic.hub.copernicus.eu
[5] https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and-updates/copernicus-polar-roadmap-eu-satellite-observations-help-respond-emerging-polar-challenges-2024-09-03_en
[6] https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/74330
[7] https://oceandecade.org/actions/antarctica-insync
[8] https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101094621
[9] https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101130949
[10] https://polarcluster.eu/
[11] The catalogue of European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) research infrastructures portfolio can be browsed from ESFRI website https://ri-portfolio.esfri.eu/
[12] https://polarsciencecluster.esa.int
[13] https://eo4society.esa.int/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/03e_SUP.pdf 
[14] www.g7fsoi.org
[15] www.allatlanticocean.org
**conditions:** General conditions
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

2. Eligible Countries
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

3. Other Eligible Conditions
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the consortium selected for funding.

If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).

described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
To ensure a balanced portfolio covering different regions, grants will be awarded not only in order of ranking but at least also to one proposal that is the highest ranked within region ‘Area A’ and one proposal that is the highest ranked within region ‘Area B’, provided that the applications attain all thresholds.

are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.

5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement
described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants
described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific conditions
 Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project – see General Annex B. Activities may start at any TRL.

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):
 Application form templates — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)

Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA) 

Guidance
HE Programme Guide&#xa0;

Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
HE MGA&#xa0;

Additional documents:
 HE Main Work Programme 2023–2025 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2025 – 9. Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2025 – 13. General Annexes
HE Programme Guide 
HE Framework Programme 2021/695&#xa0;
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764&#xa0;
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment&#xa0;
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement&#xa0;
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual&#xa0;
Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions&#xa0;
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement
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**keywords:** HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-10, HORIZON-CL6-2025-03, Biodiversity characterisation, Biodiversity monitoring, Biodiversity, conservation biology, conservation genetics, Climatic research, Marine Ecosystems, Marine Environment, Marine and Maritime Data Processing And Analysis, Marine biodiversity, Ocean Observation and Monitoring, Ocean and Climate Change, Population biology, population dynamics, population genetics, Species interactions (e.g. food-webs, symbiosis, parasitism, mutualism, bio-invasion)
**last synced at:** 2026-11-09T17:23:17.403+00:00

## Review record

No independent verification record is available.

## Source metadata
