Deadline: 29-Apr-25
The European Commission (EC) is seeking proposals for the Prevention and Preparedness Projects Program.
Themes and Priorities
- Applicants can select one or several of the following topic priorities.
- Priority 1: Improving risk assessment, anticipation, and disaster risk management planning
- DRM strategies will only entirely address the risks a country faces with an assessment that takes into account climate change, cross-border risks emerging risks, cascading effects, high impact low probability risks, and exposed or vulnerable areas and groups, including persons with disabilities. This priority aims at enhancing the eligible entities’ capability to identify and assess relevant disaster risks with potential transboundary/trans-European and cross-sectoral impacts and use that information to reinforce disaster prevention and preparedness activities.
- Priority 2: Increasing risk awareness and preparedness of the population
- Population plays an important role in disaster prevention and preparedness and citizens are usually the first responders to disasters. National, sub-national and local authorities should cooperate, together with the private sector and civil society organisations, to
- increase disaster risk awareness and understanding of the population,
- fostering a culture of risk prevention and preparedness to risks,
- create favourable conditions for individuals to actively engage in DRR/DRM activities. Evidence-based risk information and communication, as well as education activities, targeted to the public –including vulnerable groups and persons with disabilities– are effective tools to raise risk awareness, preparedness and contribute to response measures.
- Population plays an important role in disaster prevention and preparedness and citizens are usually the first responders to disasters. National, sub-national and local authorities should cooperate, together with the private sector and civil society organisations, to
- Priority 3: Enhancing early warning
- Early warning systems are key elements for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. In the wake of the Covid-19 crisis and with the recent extreme weather events and cascading impacts across sectors, the importance of advanced multi-hazard and risk warnings has never been more widely acknowledged. Although in Europe there is considerable experience with early warning systems, especially for weather and climate-related hazards, recent disasters have shown that more effort and collaboration is necessary. This would include the use of new technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, in order to be able to process large volumes of data in a timely fashion, appropriate for emergency management.
- Priority 4: Ensuring a robust civil protection system by strengthening institutional preparedness and individual capacity
- Ensuring a robust civil protection system plays a crucial part in efficiently meeting the demands placed on civil protection and DRM authorities, in particular during and after a disaster, when society needs them most. Increasing complexities during disasters, changing parameters as a result of climate change and the ever-growing risk of concurrent disasters or prolonged emergencies.
- Priority 1: Improving risk assessment, anticipation, and disaster risk management planning
Funding Information
- The estimated available call budget is EUR 14 000 000.
- Indicative allocation of funds by topic:
- Prevention and Preparedness topic: EUR 10 000 000.
Duration
- The initial duration of the project cannot exceed 24 months. Extensions will be possible only exceptionally, for duly justified reasons and through an amendment.
Expected Impact
- Priority 1. Improving risk assessment, anticipation, and disaster risk management planning
- Project activities and outputs should lead to the achievement of at least one of the following outcomes:
- Improved understanding and knowledge of current and future disaster risks and of risk drivers.
- Harmonised multi-country risk assessments for identified shared risks are developed and/or improved along with the recommendations on the follow-up steps.
- Improved sharing of risk data and risk analysis.
- Enhanced quantification and sharing of disaster loss and damage data, using internationally agreed indicators (e.g., the targets of the Sendai framework for Disaster Risk Reduction).
- Project activities and outputs should lead to the achievement of at least one of the following outcomes:
- Priority 2. Increasing risk awareness and preparedness of the population
- Project activities and outputs should lead to the achievement of at least one of the following outcomes:
- Enhanced personal and household preparedness for disasters across the EU.
- Enhanced evidence-based knowledge, understanding and awareness of disaster risks.
- Improved sharing of risk information and development of a culture of risk prevention and preparedness.
- Strengthened participation of volunteers and civil society in DRM, including youth, vulnerable groups, and persons with disabilities.
- Enhanced availability of tools and guidelines on increasing risk awareness.
- Project activities and outputs should lead to the achievement of at least one of the following outcomes:
- Priority 3. Enhancing early warning
- Project activities and outputs should lead to the achievement of at least one of the following outcomes:
- Improved multi-country early warning and information systems and linkage with the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) and the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS).
- Strengthened integration of early warning systems in decision making at various levels, including at individual and organisational levels.
- Increased understanding of early warning messages among the general public or specific groups, including vulnerable groups and persons with disabilities.
- Enhanced availability of tools and guidelines on improved risk communication.
- Project activities and outputs should lead to the achievement of at least one of the following outcomes:
- Priority 4. Ensuring a robust civil protection system by strengthening institutional preparedness and individual capacity
- Project activities and outputs should lead to the achievement of at least one of the following outcomes:
- Development of solutions to integrate lessons learnt, at organisational and/or individual level, into existing structures and processes.
- Integration of a broader range of stakeholders such as science and research, political and technical decision makers or the general public into preparedness and capacity strengthening activities.
- Strengthened relationships between stakeholders already being part of the DRM community while broadening the communities’ reach into other sectors.
- Facilitated transfer of research and innovation outcomes into civil protection and DRM planning and operations through agile learning and feedback mechanisms.
- Project activities and outputs should lead to the achievement of at least one of the following outcomes:
Eligibility Criteria
- In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
- be legal entities (public or private bodies)
- be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
- EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
- UCPM Participating States
- Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine
- Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA) beneficiary countries not participating in the UCPM: Kosovo
- European Neighbourhood Policy countries not participating in the UCPM: East (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia) and South (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia).
For more information, visit EC.