Call for Applications: Advanced Real-Time Data Analysis used for Infrastructure Resilience

Deadline: 20-Nov-24

The European Commission (EC) is soliciting applications to advance real-time data analysis used for infrastructure resilience.

Scope

• Today’s society is more interconnected than ever before. Telecommunication networks, transport networks, aviation, energy, water grids, finance are the backbone of today’s society. Due to their exceptional complexity and size, infrastructure networks pose a specific challenge when it comes to identifying different risks, either cyber or physical. Especially in the cyber-domain, many intrusions or attacks remain unnoticed or are detected relatively late. Technological developments in areas like machine learning for analytics, user interfaces as well as storage applications have the potential to improve related capabilities.
• Modern urban environments and interconnected infrastructures create constantly big amounts of data. In addition, other sources can be exploited to support the identification and analysis of risks to infrastructures. Therefore, research on enhanced risk anticipation through real-time data analysis has the potential to lead to useful tools to enhance preparedness (contingency plans, scenario-based exercises, allocation of resources, etc.).
• Resilience of smart cities is marked by a set of specific requirements taking into account most notably aspects from the integration considering user centred approaches as well as social and ethical aspects of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), AI/ Machine Learning approaches for real-time data analytics, ensuring transparency, sufficient knowledge and their operational challenges in this area.
• While the availability of larger amounts of data from different sources offers potential to improve the identification of possible risks to infrastructures, it also increases the demand for fast and resilient analytical tools. There is a need to filter information to identify data that is relevant as an indicator for risks and – given the large number of different forms of cyber-attacks or intrusions – also a need to prioritise and decide according to the degree of danger they present. This implies the need for matching data in the appropriate context and verifying the source with a view of ensuring that only relevant data is analysed, thus avoiding false results. Faster identification and localisation of hazardous agents and contaminants inside the infrastructure networks is a key to allow for quick response, inform and involve citizens and residents as well as avoid large-scale damage of any incident. Such identification capabilities can be deployed as part of the infrastructure and integrate with the systems public authorities use to make sure information is available as soon as possible. Furthermore, it is crucial to develop methods for better cooperation between different actors to ensure a common understanding and interpretation of data and to provide interactive tools for exchange and visualisation for decision support. Cooperation between different public and private actors is essential in this regard.
• This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related innovation activities.

Funding Information

• The check will normally be done for the coordinator if the requested grant amount is equal to or greater than EUR 500 000, except for:
  • public bodies (entities established as a public body under national law, including local, regional or national authorities) or international organisations; and
  • cases where the individual requested grant amount is not more than EUR 60 000 (low-value grant).

Expected Outcomes

• Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following outcomes:
  • Improved capabilities for risk and faulty events identification in infrastructure networks and smart cities through real-time analysis (including big data) by public and private actors via secured and trusted platforms and interconnected systems where the collaboration follows clear legal and political frameworks;
  • Tools and processes for facilitating stakeholders efforts to identify, analyse, assess and continuously monitor risks and boost adaptive capacity to unexpected events risks in advance by allowing for the analysis of various data sources (e.g. audio, video, social media, web-content, spatial information, sensor or machine generated data);
  • Fast and continuous real-time identification, classification and tracking of hazardous agents, contaminants or anomalies in infrastructure networks and supply-chains;
  • Interoperable interfaces and improved collaboration between infrastructure operation detection and response systems, national/EU risk management/coordination centres and first responder equipment in order to allow for remote on-scene operations considering citizen knowledge;
  • Increased cyber-resilience of industrial xG networks and cloud data covering specific infrastructure domains
  • Improved ability to map in real-time the source(s) of risk factors that could endanger the networked infrastructure supported by Earth Observation and geolocation data. If the analysis includes processing of personal data, it should consider including a risk assessment or privacy impact of individuals and society.

Eligible Activities

• Projects must focus exclusively on civil applications and must not:
  • aim at human cloning for reproductive purposes;
  • intend to modify the genetic heritage of human beings which could make such changes heritable (except for research relating to cancer treatment of the gonads, which may be financed);
  • intend to create human embryos solely for the purpose of research, or for the purpose of stem cell procurement, including by means of somatic cell nuclear transfer.
• Projects must, moreover, comply with EU policy interests and priorities (environment, social, security, industrial policy, etc.).
• The following activities are generally eligible for grants under Horizon Europe:
  • Research and innovation actions (RIA) — Activities that aim primarily to establish new knowledge or to explore the feasibility of a new or improved technology, product, process, service or solution. This may include basic and applied research, technology development and integration, testing, demonstration and validation of a small-scale prototype in a laboratory or simulated environment.
  • Innovation actions (IA) — Activities that aim directly to produce plans and arrangements or designs for new, altered or improved products, processes or services. These activities may include prototyping, testing, demonstrating, piloting, large-scale product validation and market replication.
  • Coordination and support actions (CSA) — Activities that contribute to the objectives of Horizon Europe. This excludes research and innovation (R&I) activities, except those carried out under the ‘Widening participation and spreading excellence’ component of the programme (part of ‘Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area’). Also eligible are bottom-up coordination actions which promote cooperation between legal entities from Member States and Associated Countries to strengthen the European Research Area, and which receive no EU co-funding for research activities.
  • Programme co-fund actions (CoFund) — A programme of activities established or implemented by legal entities managing or funding R&I programmes, other than EU funding bodies. Such a programme of activities may support: networking and coordination; research; innovation; pilot actions; innovation and market deployment; training and mobility; awareness raising and communication; and dissemination and exploitation. It may also provide any relevant financial support, such as grants, prizes and procurement, as well as Horizon Europe blended finance or a combination thereof. The actions may be implemented by the beneficiaries directly or by providing financial support to third parties.
  • Innovation and market deployment actions (IMDA) — Activities that embed an innovation action and other activities necessary to deploy an innovation on the market. This includes the scaling-up of companies and Horizon Europe blended finance.
  • Training and mobility actions (TMA) — Activities that aim to improve the skills, knowledge and career prospects of researchers, based on mobility between countries and, if relevant, between sectors or disciplines.
  • Pre-commercial procurement actions (PCP) — Activities that aim to help a transnational buyers’ group to strengthen the public procurement of research, development, validation and, possibly, the first deployment of new solutions that can significantly improve quality and efficiency in areas of public interest, while opening market opportunities for industry and researchers active in Europe. Eligible activities include the preparation, management and follow-up, under the coordination of a lead procurer, of one joint PCP and additional activities to embed the PCP into a wider set of demand-side activities.
  • Public procurement of innovative solutions actions (PPI) — Activities that aim to strengthen the ability of a transnational buyers’ group to deploy innovative solutions early by overcoming the fragmentation of demand for such solutions and sharing the risks and costs of acting as early adopters, while opening market opportunities for industry. Eligible activities include preparing and implementing, under the coordination of a lead procurer, one joint or several coordinated PPI by the buyers’ group and additional activities to embed the PPI into a wider set of demand-side activities.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
  • the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
  • the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States: Aruba (NL), Bonaire (NL), Curação (NL), French Polynesia (FR), French Southern and Antarctic Territories (FR), Greenland (DK), New Caledonia (FR), Saba (NL), Saint Barthélemy (FR), Sint Eustatius (NL), Sint Maarten (NL), St. Pierre and Miquelon (FR), Wallis and Futuna Islands (FR).
  • countries associated to Horizon Europe: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom.
• Specific cases: 
  • Affiliated entities — Affiliated entities are eligible for funding if they are established in one of the countries listed above, or in a country identified in the specific call/topic conditions.
  • Associated partners — Entities not eligible for funding (and therefore not able to participate as beneficiaries) may participate as associated partners, unless specified otherwise in the specific call/topic conditions.
  • Coordination and Support Actions – To be eligible to participate as beneficiaries (or affiliated entities) in ‘Coordination and support’ actions, legal entities must be established in a Member State or Associated Country, unless the specific call/topic conditions provide otherwise (in which case the general rules for eligibility for funding apply). Legal entities established in a non-associated third country may, however, participate in ‘Coordination and support’ actions as associated partners, unless this is explicitly excluded by the specific call/topic conditions.
  • EU bodies — Legal entities created under EU law may also be eligible to receive funding, unless their basic act states otherwise.
  • International organisations — International European research organisations are eligible to receive funding. International organisations with headquarters in a Member State or Associated Country are eligible to receive funding for ‘Training and mobility’ actions or when provided for in the specific call/topic conditions. Other international organisations are not eligible to receive funding, unless provided for in the specific call/topic conditions, or if their participation is considered essential for implementing the action by the granting authority.

For more information, visit EC.