Horizon Europe European Union
Neutral-Atom Platform Technologies
This action aims to establish European leadership in neutral-atom quantum simulation and digital quantum computing by delivering: • Fully programmable industry-ready quan…
Horizon Europe · European Union
Participatory research on the health of communities in contact with polluted soils
Opens 4 Feb 2027
The EU's Horizon Europe programme expects to make 2 awards of €5.5 million each, from a total budget of €11 million. Applications close on 8 Apr 2027 (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time). Organisations in EU member states and Horizon Europe associated countries such as Türkiye can usually take part; the topic conditions control.
- Deadline
- 8 Apr 2027 (in 144 days)
- Opens
- 4 Feb 2027
- Grant amount
- €5.5 million per project
- Total budget
- €11 million
- Funding rate
- 100% of eligible costs Standard rule for this programme; the call can differ.
- Total budget
- €11 million
- Expected awards
- 2
- Type of action
- HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions · HORIZON Lump Sum Grant
- Likely applicant types
- Companies, SMEs / start-ups, Non-profits, Universities & research, Public bodies From source categories or programme rules; the call decides.
- Funder
- Horizon Europe (HORIZON)
- Reference
- HORIZON-MISS-2027-05-SOIL-04-two-stage
- Call
- HORIZON-MISS-2027-05-two-stage
- Last checked
- 14 Nov 2026
Expected outcome
Activities under this topic will help progress towards the objectives and targets of the Mission Soil and should contribute to meeting the relevant targets of the EU Soil Strategy for 2030 and the Zero Pollution Action Plan, as well as to the Sustainable Development Goals [1] .
Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
• improved citizen awareness on the connection between soil pollution and human health and how to manage, adapt to, and mitigate risks;
• increased public access to FAIR [2] data and knowledge on soil pollution and the emergence of human diseases and other health outcomes;
• policymakers enforce the implementation of long-term, sustainable solutions that enhance soil health, restore the environment, and protect public health.
Scope
Across the European Union, an estimated 2.8 million land sites are potentially contaminated. Exposure to soil pollution poses serious health risks and is estimated to contribute to around 500,000 premature deaths worldwide each year [3] . People can be exposed directly, through skin contact or inhalation of dust from polluted soils, or indirectly, by consuming contaminated food or drinking water.
Despite numerous studies clearly demonstrating the harmful effects of soil pollution on human health [4] , public awareness of the risks associated with contaminated sites remains limited, as does the due diligence of polluting entities, and the response of public authorities.
Community-based participatory research [5] , which directly involves populations living and/or working in polluted or potentially [6] polluted sites, will help, to identify and map human diseases and health outcomes driven by soil pollution, and increase public awareness of the environmental and health the risks related to soil pollution.
Read the full text
Proposals should:
• implement community-based participatory research activities to engage with populations living or working in close contact with polluted (or potentially polluted [7] ) sites to identify and map human diseases and other health outcomes and their incidence in these areas;
• consider and explore direct (e.g., skin contact with soils) and indirect (e.g., consumption of contaminated food, psychological impact of living near contaminated sites) soil-related drivers of human disease and ill-health as relevant;
• engage private entities with industrial operations in polluted sites and which work with potential pollutants (including substances of concern), involving them as stakeholders in the research to jointly devise mitigation and remediation strategies and demonstrate corporate responsibility;
• propose locally relevant interventions that foster community resilience against soil pollution, encourage polluters due diligence, and deliver recommendations to policymakers at relevant level of governance to regulate decontamination, promote reuse of land when possible, and protect public health.
Proposals should prioritise the conditions with significant unmet medical need and the populations most vulnerable to the detrimental effects of soil pollution. Proposed approaches should incorporate both qualitative and quantitative research and leverage lived experiences data where possible.
This topic requires an interdisciplinary approach involving experts on land and soil contamination, epidemiology and in social-science and humanities (SSH) disciplines in particular sociology and anthropology.
Proposals should include dedicated tasks and appropriate resources for coordination measures and joint activities with other relevant Horizon Europe projects (e.g. the sister projects funded under this topic, the projects resulting from the topic HORIZON-MISS-2027-06-SOIL-CANCER: Living labs to monitor and mitigate carcinogenic substances in and…
Who can apply
Consortium of at least 3 independent legal entities from 3 different EU Member States or associated countries, at least one in a Member State (Horizon Europe standard rule).
Applicant categories are a starting point. The official call decides eligibility.
Topics
Health sciences Social Sciences and Humanities Social issues Soil pollution (FN/I3) Soil protection Soil remediation Soil science Community health Health of communities Participatory research Polluted soils Soil health Soil management
Timing
Two-stage call. Next deadline 2027-04-08; later stage/cut-off 2027-09-14. The portal states the exact cut-off time (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).
How to apply
- Read the full topic on the Funding & Tenders Portal: expected outcome, scope, type of action and the topic conditions, including any country restrictions.
- Register each participating organisation in the Funding & Tenders Portal to get a PIC.
- Consortium of at least 3 independent legal entities from 3 different EU Member States or associated countries (Horizon Europe standard rule; Türkiye is associated). Confirm in the topic conditions.
- Prepare Part A (administrative forms and budget, completed in the portal) and Part B (the technical description on the official template for this type of action).
- Submit in the portal before the cut-off time on the deadline day. Late submissions are not accepted.
From the call text
- Who can apply
- Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
- Company stage
- Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
- Single applicant or consortium
- Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.
- Where applicants must be based
- Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.
- Where to apply
- Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.
Where these facts come from
| Fact | Value | How we know | Taken from the source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadline | 8 April 2027 “Two-stage call. Next deadline 2027-04-08; later stage/cut-off 2027-09-14. The portal states the exact cut-off time (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).” | official data field | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Amount per applicant | Unknown — not stated in the source we hold | unknown | — |
| Total budget | €11 million | official data field | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Funding rate | 100% of eligible costs | programme standard rule | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Who can apply | Consortium of at least 3 independent legal entities from 3 different EU Member States or associated countries, at least one in a Member State (Horizon Europe standard rule). | programme standard rule | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Where to apply | Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route. | read from the official text | 15 Nov 2026 |
Official sources
Facts on this page come from the funder’s official data, taken on 14 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.
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