Deadline: 05-Nov-2026
The European Commission Innovation Action under Horizon Europe aims to enhance the resilience of critical entities across Europe by supporting advanced technological solutions and operational systems. It addresses increasing risks from cascading disasters and hybrid threats affecting interconnected infrastructure systems.
The programme promotes real-world demonstration of technologies that improve disaster preparedness, emergency response, and recovery coordination.
Programme Objectives
The initiative aims to:
- Strengthen resilience of critical infrastructure across Europe
- Improve understanding of systemic vulnerabilities across sectors
- Enhance preparedness for natural, human-induced, and hybrid disasters
- Support advanced disaster response and recovery technologies
- Enable cross-border coordination and cooperation
- Improve continuity planning for essential services
- Reduce cascading and systemic risk impacts
Key Focus Areas
The programme supports innovation in:
- Multi-hazard risk assessment and management systems
- Digital and physical infrastructure resilience
- Cross-sector vulnerability analysis
- Emergency response coordination platforms
- Decision-support tools for crisis management
- Interoperable systems for authorities and infrastructure operators
- Adaptive continuity planning frameworks
- Simulation and operational testing environments
Disaster Risk Context
The programme addresses increasing exposure to:
- Floods and extreme weather events
- Wildfires and storms
- Earthquakes and geological hazards
- Technological and industrial accidents
- Hybrid and systemic threats
- Cascading cross-sector disruptions
It recognizes that modern infrastructure systems are highly interdependent, increasing the risk of widespread systemic failures during crises.
Expected Project Activities
Projects are expected to:
- Build on existing risk assessments and lessons learned
- Identify gaps in resilience and emergency response capabilities
- Develop adaptive decision-making tools for crisis management
- Test solutions in realistic operational environments
- Conduct simulations involving multiple stakeholders
- Demonstrate interoperability across sectors and countries
- Improve situational awareness systems for responders
Demonstration Requirements
Projects must:
- Demonstrate technologies in real or realistic operational conditions
- Involve public authorities and emergency responders
- Include infrastructure operators and relevant stakeholders
- Test cross-sector and cross-border coordination mechanisms
- Show practical implementation of resilience solutions
Funding Details
- Total programme budget: €9 million
- Approximate funding per project: €4.5 million
- Funding type: Horizon Europe Innovation Actions
- Focus: Large-scale demonstration and deployment
Eligible Applicants
The programme is open to:
- Any legal entity, regardless of country of establishment
- Organisations from EU member states and non-associated third countries
- International organisations
- Affiliated entities and associated partners
- Entities without legal personality (in exceptional cases)
All participants must comply with Horizon Europe participation rules.
Eligibility Requirements
Applicants must:
- Align with EU legal and policy frameworks
- Demonstrate technical and operational feasibility
- Include cross-border cooperation where relevant
- Address systemic and cascading risk challenges
- Engage relevant public and private stakeholders
Priority Themes
The programme prioritizes:
- Critical infrastructure protection
- Disaster resilience and risk mitigation
- Cross-sector emergency coordination
- Digital transformation of crisis management
- Interoperable resilience systems
- Multi-level governance cooperation
- Operational continuity of essential services
Evaluation Criteria
Applications are assessed based on:
- Innovation and technological advancement
- Contribution to infrastructure resilience
- Quality of demonstration and testing approach
- Cross-sector and cross-border relevance
- Practical applicability and scalability
- Alignment with EU resilience strategies
- Stakeholder engagement and cooperation model
Ineligible Approaches (Implied Limitations)
Projects are generally not suitable if they:
- Lack real-world demonstration components
- Focus only on theoretical research without application
- Do not address cross-sector or systemic risks
- Fail to engage relevant operational stakeholders
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Applicants should avoid:
- Overly narrow single-sector solutions
- Lack of interoperability between systems
- Insufficient crisis simulation or testing design
- Weak engagement with authorities or operators
- Ignoring cascading risk scenarios
- Poor alignment with EU resilience frameworks
Tips for a Strong Application
To improve success chances:
- Focus on real-world disaster simulation and testing
- Design interoperable, scalable systems
- Address cascading and multi-sector risks explicitly
- Include strong cross-border collaboration elements
- Demonstrate operational readiness and deployment potential
- Engage emergency responders and infrastructure operators early
- Build solutions based on recent disaster lessons learned
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the goal of this programme?
- To strengthen resilience of critical infrastructure in Europe
- To improve disaster preparedness and response systems
- To support advanced technological solutions for crisis management
- What types of disasters are included?
- Natural disasters like floods, storms, and earthquakes
- Human-induced disasters such as industrial accidents
- Hybrid and cascading cross-sector threats
- How much funding is available?
- €9 million total programme budget
- Around €4.5 million per project
- Who can apply?
- Any legal entity globally
- Including international organisations and non-EU entities
- Must comply with Horizon Europe rules
- What types of projects are expected?
- Demonstration of advanced technologies
- Crisis simulation and decision-support systems
- Cross-border coordination platforms
- Is theoretical research sufficient?
- No
- Projects must include operational demonstration and real-world testing
Conclusion
The European Commission Innovation Action under Horizon Europe supports large-scale, applied innovation projects that strengthen Europe’s resilience against complex and cascading disasters. By funding advanced technologies and real-world demonstrations, it aims to improve crisis preparedness, cross-border coordination, and the long-term stability of critical infrastructure systems.
For more information, visit European Commission.