Missing persons: prevention and investigation
Innovation Action to improve prevention and investigation of missing persons cases with advanced tools, training, and cross-border cooperation.
This call funds projects to develop better skills, tools, and training for police and NGOs to prevent and investigate missing persons cases. It focuses on vulnerable groups and uses modern forensic and technological solutions. Projects should enhance cross-border cooperation and respect privacy and fundamental rights.
Likely relevant for
- Police Authorities
- Civil Society Organisations
- Non-Governmental Organisations
- Forensic Institutes
- Research organisations in criminology and forensic science
- Technology developers in forensic and data sharing tools
Project signals
What it funds
- Development of improved skills, tools, and training curricula for Police Authorities and NGOs to prevent missing persons cases
- Innovative forensic and criminology tools to investigate cold and new missing persons cases
- Modern training and cross-border cooperation methods for Police Authorities
- Privacy-preserving data sharing tools among practitioners
- Awareness raising campaigns accessible to vulnerable groups including persons with disabilities
Expected outcomes
- Enhanced prevention capabilities for Police Authorities and NGOs
- Improved investigation tools for cold and new cases
- Modernised training curricula and cross-border cooperation
- Common European approaches combining technology and socio-psychological knowledge
- Respect for fundamental rights including privacy and data protection
Who can apply / participate
- Police Authorities legally mandated for crime prevention and investigation
- Civil Society Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations
- Forensic Institutes (if forensics involved)
- Research and innovation entities collaborating with police and NGOs
- Consortium must include at least 3 Police Authorities and 2 CSOs/NGOs from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries
- Forensic institutes must be involved if forensic activities are part of the proposal
- Participants must be from eligible EU Member States or Associated Countries
- Specific provisions apply for non-EU/non-Associated countries
- Police Authorities defined as public authorities legally mandated for crime prevention/detection/investigation
- Police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities, border and customs authorities excluded as Police Authorities
- Use of Copernicus and/or Galileo data mandatory if satellite data involved
- Entities controlled by China are not eligible
- Exact list of eligible countries must be checked in Annex B
- Details on lump sum funding application and limits
Must check before shortlisting
- Eligibility of Police Authorities as defined by national law
- Consortium composition meeting minimum Police Authorities and CSO/NGO requirements
- Use of Copernicus/Galileo data if satellite data involved
- Compliance with lump sum funding and security provisions
Money
Estimated maximum EU contribution is around 5 million EUR for this Innovation Action. Funding is provided as lump sums under Horizon Europe rules.
- Maximum EU contribution — 5000000EURLump sum grant under Horizon Europe
Application notes
- Single-stage submission model. Proposal page limits and layout as per Horizon Europe General Annexes and Application Form guidelines.
- Proposal page limits and layout described in Annex A and Annex E of Horizon Europe General Annexes
- Eligibility criteria detailed in Annex B of Horizon Europe General Annexes
- Financial and operational capacity requirements in Annex C
- Evaluation criteria and process in Annex D and Annex F
- Security provisions for classified and sensitive information as per General Annexes
- Prepare proposal with required consortium composition (3 Police Authorities, 2 CSOs/NGOs)
- Fill in 'Information about security practitioners' table in application form
- Ensure compliance with lump sum funding rules
- Plan mid-term deliverable with practitioner assessment
- Engage with Europol Innovation Lab and CEPOL if applicable
- Consortium must meet strict eligibility criteria for Police Authorities and CSOs/NGOs
- Use of satellite data requires Copernicus/Galileo
- Security sensitive results may require handling classified information
- Coordination among funded projects is expected to avoid duplication
Derived from official EU Funding portal source · updated 2 Jul 2026, 09:17 UTC. Use this as a shortlisting aid; the official call text remains authoritative.
Related calls
These funding calls are closely related and may be worth considering as part of the same funding landscape.
Official source text
Fine print from the EU source record. Expand when you need the original wording.
Topic description
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following expected outcomes: Improved skills, tools and training curricula for Police Authorities in Europe and Civil Society Organisations (or Non-Governmental Organisations) to work with at-risk groups to prevent persons from going missing. Those improved skills, tools and training curricula are to take into account European multicultural dimension, as well as legal and ethical rules of operation; Enhanced investigation tools and methodologies for Police Authorities in Europe to tackle cold cases in the context of missing persons, based on modern (forensic) technologies and criminology; Modern training curricula for Police Authorities, their improved cross-border cooperation and enhanced tools and methodologies to tackle new cases of missing persons; Enriched European common approaches applied by Police Authorities in Europe to fight the issue of missing persons relying on the synergy of technology, the latest socio-psychological knowledge learned from cases, as well as field experience of Police Authorities and entities dealing with victims, while fully respecting fundamental rights such as privacy, protection of personal data and anonymity of victims. Scope: The issue of missing persons is a multifaceted challenge that encompasses diverse categories and is influenced by various factors. People may go missing under a variety of circumstances, such as voluntary disappearances, abductions, cases related to mental health crises, or because of conflict, migration, geopolitical instability, natural disasters. Groups in a vulnerable situation - notably children, victims of trafficking and exploitation, persons with disabilities and persons suffering from cognitive impairments - face an even greater risk of going missing, often under distressing and dangerous conditions. Tackling this issue requires a coordinated response from multiple stakeholders, from Police Authorities via Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) or Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to the involvement of the overall society. In an era of rapid technological advancement and societal developments, there is a pressing need to improve current European approaches to fight the issue of missing persons (prevention and/or investigation of cold and new cases) using innovative societal and technological solutions. To this end, modernised skills, training curricula and methodologies for Police Authorities, CSOs and NGOs to work with people in a vulnerable situation and children are needed, such as effective awareness raising campaigns, which should be accessible to persons with disabilities, that take into account European multicultural dimension. When it comes to investigation, Police Authorities need efficient tools that benefit from new and emerging technologies to solve cold cases while combining modern forensic science (including biometrics and digital forensics) and criminology, e.g., modern tools for using an old DNA, or accurate facial ageing, among others. When multiple practitioners are involved in exchanging sensitive data, data sharing tools in a privacy-preserving manner should be considered. Furthermore, for new cases of missing persons, apart from an improved cross-border cooperation, Police Authorities also need, on the one hand, a modernised training to face such situations more efficiently, improving the dialogues and interactions with families, taking into account a gender sensitive and intersectional approach when relevant, and on the other hand, modern technologies and forensic tools for, for example, fast and reliable cross-matching of DNA samples between new and cold cases. If a proposal concerns forensics, its consortium should involve forensic institutes as well. Coordination among the successful proposals from this topic should be envisaged to avoid duplication and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased impact. Proposals funded under this topic are expected to provide ideas on how they would engage with the Europol Innovation Lab during the lifetime of the project, including validating the outcomes, with the aim of facilitating future uptake of innovations for the law enforcement community. For aspects of training of Police Authorities, cooperation of successful proposals with CEPOL is expected, provided that the Agency opts out from applying for funding. To ensure the active involvement of and timely feedback from relevant security practitioners, proposals should plan a mid-term deliverable consisting in the assessment of the project’s mid-term outcomes, performed by the practitioners involved in the project. Finally, proposals are expected to address all applicable considerations expressed in the Introduction of the Fighting Crime and Terrorism Destination. Technology Readiness Level - Technology readiness level expected from completed projects Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Conditions and documents
General conditions
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
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
In line with the “restriction on control in innovation actions in critical technology areas” delineated in General Annex B of the General Annexes, entities established in an eligible country but which are directly or indirectly controlled by China or by a legal entity established in China are not eligible to participate in the action.
The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3 Police Authorities[[In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention, detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.]] and at least 2 Civil Society Organisations (or Non-Governmental Organisations) from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries. For these participants, applicants must fill in the table “Information about security practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information, following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
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
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
The granting authority may, up to 4 years after the end of the action, object to a transfer of ownership or to the exclusive licensing of results, as set out in the specific provision of Annex 5.
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025) [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf]].
described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Specific conditions
described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]
Some activities resulting from this topic may involve using classified background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
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)
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
Call-specific instructions
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 6. Civil Security for Society
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Support information
Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant. Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe. Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management. Research Enquiry Service – ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular. National Contact Points (NCPs) – get guidance, practical information and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe. There are also NCPs in many non-EU and non-associated countries (‘third-countries’). Enterprise Europe Network – contact your EEN national contact for advice to businesses with special focus on SMEs. The support includes guidance on the EU research funding. IT Helpdesk – contact the Funding & Tenders Portal IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc. European IPR Helpdesk assists you on intellectual property issues. CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk – the European Standards Organisations advise you how to tackle standardisation in your project proposal. The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment – consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers. Partner Search help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.
Raw budget overview
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