Enhancing preparedness for large-scale cross-border disasters
Develop VR/AR training simulations to enhance preparedness for large-scale cross-border disasters and improve emergency response coordination.
This call funds projects that create advanced virtual and augmented reality training tools for disaster responders. The goal is to improve readiness for large-scale, cross-border emergencies like floods and wildfires. Projects should also promote knowledge sharing and collaboration across EU countries.
Likely relevant for
- Disaster management authorities
- Emergency response training providers
- VR/AR technology developers
- Crisis communication agencies
- Public safety organizations
- Research institutions in disaster resilience
Project signals
What it funds
- Development and validation of VR/AR-based crisis simulation models for large-scale, cross-border disasters
- Incorporation of near real-time data, AI-driven scenario adaptation, and multi-user interaction
- Interoperability of training platforms for joint exercises across regions and countries
- Gender-sensitive approaches in crisis simulations
- Enhancement of situational awareness, decision-making, and coordination through digital training
- Integration of gamification, AI coaching, and real-time performance assessment
- Strengthening transnational knowledge-sharing and training frameworks aligned with UCPM Training Programme
- Stakeholder and market analysis with uptake roadmap
- Addressing ethical, legal, social, and security aspects of immersive training technologies
- Leveraging European Research Infrastructures and ensuring FAIR data principles
Expected outcomes
- Improved disaster management readiness and response capabilities via VR/AR training
- Immersive, practical training experiences for emergency personnel and decision makers
- Strengthened ability to manage large-scale, cross-border disaster scenarios
- Enhanced knowledge and experience sharing among EU countries
- Development of transnational training frameworks and crisis management protocols
- Increased public trust and compliance with data protection in training tools
- Achieving TRL 8 by project end
Who can apply / participate
- National civil protection authorities
- Public bodies with legal mandate in disaster risk management
- Research and innovation organizations
- Technology developers in VR/AR and AI
- International organizations headquartered in EU or Associated countries
- At least 3 authorities in charge of disaster risk or crisis communication from 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries must be beneficiaries
- Participants must fill in security practitioner information as per application form template
- Eligible entities must be established in EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries
- Entities controlled by China or Chinese legal entities are not eligible
- International organizations with headquarters in eligible countries are exceptionally eligible
- Use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS data mandatory if satellite-based earth observation is used
- Compliance with Horizon Europe General Annexes and specific topic conditions
- Some activities may involve classified or security sensitive information
- Specific budget allocation per participant type
- Exact funding rates and maximum grant amounts
Must check before shortlisting
- Eligibility of participant countries and entities
- Requirement for at least 3 national disaster authorities from different EU/Associated countries
- Compliance with data protection and security regulations
- Use of Copernicus and Galileo/EGNOS data if applicable
- Alignment with EU disaster risk reduction policies
Money
Total budget around €8 million for 2 expected grants under Horizon Innovation Actions in 2027.
- Minimum contribution per grant — €4,000,000EURFor 2 expected grants in 2027
- Total budget for this call — €8,000,000EURAllocated for Horizon Innovation Actions
Application notes
- Single-stage submission model with proposal page limits and layout as per Horizon Europe General Annexes and Application Form guidelines.
- Proposal must comply with admissibility conditions in Annex A and E of Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes
- Eligible countries as per Annex B of Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes
- Restriction on control by Chinese entities applies
- Specific eligibility criteria require involvement of at least 3 national disaster authorities from different EU/Associated countries
- Use of Copernicus and Galileo/EGNOS data mandatory if satellite data used
- Some activities may involve classified or security sensitive information requiring compliance with EU classified information provisions
- Prepare proposal following the Application Form templates and page limits
- Ensure consortium includes required authorities and meets eligibility criteria
- Complete security practitioner information table in application
- Submit proposal by deadline 4 November 2027
- Follow evaluation and award criteria in Annex D and F of Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes
- Entities controlled by China or Chinese legal entities are not eligible
- Compliance with data protection and security regulations is mandatory
- Projects should align with EU disaster risk reduction policies and Preparedness Union Strategy
- Ethical, legal, and social aspects must be addressed in proposals
Derived from official EU Funding portal source · updated 22 Jun 2026, 15:03 UTC. Use this as a shortlisting aid; the official call text remains authoritative.
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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: Utilization of virtual and augmented reality training to simulate large-scale and transboundary disasters, improving disaster management’s readiness and response capabilities; Development of diverse crisis scenarios using VR/AR technology, providing immersive, practical training experiences for emergency personnel, responders and decision makers; Strengthened ability of responders and decision-makers to manage large-scale, cross-border disaster scenarios through advanced, technology-driven training programs; Improved knowledge/experience-sharing from past emergencies to cope with future emergencies, also strengthening trans-national knowledge and data exchange among EU countries as well as from early warning to early action. Scope: The scope of this topic is on enhancing preparedness for large-scale, cross-border disasters by leveraging advanced training methodologies, including virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) simulations and Digital Twins. The objective is to improve the readiness and response capabilities of disaster responders and emergency management personnel by providing immersive, technology-driven training experiences that replicate complex disaster scenarios. Proposals should develop and validate innovative VR/AR-based crisis simulation models that can accurately depict diverse large-scale disaster situations, including transboundary hazards such as wildfires, floods, earthquakes, and industrial accidents. These simulations should incorporate near real-time data, AI-driven scenario adaptation, and multi-user interaction capabilities to ensure realistic, high-impact training exercises. Special attention should be given to the interoperability of these training platforms, allowing emergency services from different regions and countries to collaborate in joint preparedness exercises. Recommendations taken into account a gender-sensitive approaches should also improve crisis simulations by considering diverse needs and experiences. Research should also explore how digital training environments can enhance situational awareness, decision-making, and coordination among disaster management and relevant authorities. The integration of gamification techniques, AI-driven coaching systems, and real-time performance assessment should be considered to maximize learning outcomes and adaptation to evolving crisis scenarios linking to previous themes (e.g. biometrics and long-lasting disturbance, or whole of the society security, multi-hazard theme etc.). Furthermore, proposals should focus on strengthening knowledge and experience-sharing mechanisms across EU member states by developing transnational training frameworks and crisis management protocols, in coordination with the UCPM Training Programme [1] . This should include the establishment of digital platforms and collaborative networks to facilitate the exchange of lessons learned from past emergencies, fostering continuous improvement in disaster response strategies. Projects should conduct a stakeholder or market analysis and a roadmap or plan for uptake of the developed methodologies, findings, and technologies to the industry, the research and innovation community, and/or the relevant authorities. Ethical, legal, and social aspects related to the use of immersive training technologies should also be addressed, ensuring compliance with data protection regulations and maximizing public trust in the adoption of these tools. Trust should also refer to the security of the tools, that should include appropriate measures for resilience against emerging cryptographic threats. Projects should align with existing EU disaster risk reduction policies and international best practices to ensure the practical applicability and scalability of the developed solutions. The Preparedness Union Strategy is a key document in this regard. Its key action on “Develop an EU catalogue for training and a platform for lessons learned” and existing platforms should be taken into account in the proposal. Analysing capacity gaps of the UCPM [2] and finding synergies with projects from operational grants, such as the Knowledge for Action in Prevention & Preparedness (KAPP) [3] , is recommended. Where applicable, proposals should leverage the data and services available through European Research Infrastructures federated under the European Open Science Cloud, Copernicus, Destination Earth as well as data from relevant Data Spaces. Particular efforts should be made to ensure that the data produced in the context of this topic is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable). null Activities are expected to achieve TRL 8 by the end of the project – see General Annex B. [1] https://civil-protection-knowledge-network.europa.eu/UCPM-training-programme [2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52025DC0286 [3] Knowledge for Action in Prevention and Preparedness (KAPP) - European Commission - https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/funding-evaluations/financing-civil-protection/cp-calls-proposals/knowledge-action-prevention-and-preparedness-kapp-0_en
Conditions and documents
General conditions
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
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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.
Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.
Due to the scope of this topic, relevant international organisations with headquarters in a Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country are exceptionally eligible for funding.
The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3 authorities in charge of disaster risk or crisis communication[[Authorities in charge of disaster risk or crisis communication entail public bodies operating at the national level that hold legally defined responsibilities in the area of disaster risk management. This includes national civil protection authorities as well as other institutions that can demonstrate, through appropriate legal or administrative acts, a formal mandate to design, coordinate, or implement disaster risk prevention, preparedness, response or crisis communication measures.]], 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)
Standard application form (HE RIA IA Stage 1)
Standard application form (HE RIA IA Stage 1 BLIND)
Standard application form (HE CSA)
Standard application form (HE CSA Stage 1)
Standard application form (HE CSA Stage 1 BLIND)
Standard application form (HE RI)
Standard application form (HE PCP)
Standard application form (HE PPI)
Standard application form (HE COFUND)
Standard application form (HE FPA)
Standard application form (HE MSCA PF)
Standard application form (HE MSCA DN)
Standard application form (HE MSCA SE)
Standard application form (HE MSCA COFUND)
Standard application form (HE MSCA COFUND CE)
Standard application form (HE ERC STG)
Standard application form (HE ERC COG)
Standard application form (HE ERC ADG)
Standard application form (HE ERC POC)
Standard application form (HE ERC SYG)
Standard application form (HE EIC PATHFINDER CHALLENGES)
Standard application form (HE EIC PATHFINDER OPEN)
Standard application form (HE EIC TRANSITION)
Standard application form (HE EIC STEP)
Standard application form (HE EIC Accelerator stage 2 - full proposal)
Standard application form (HE EIC Accelerator stage 1 - short proposal)
Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
Standard evaluation form (HE CSA)
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA and CSA Stage 1)
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA and CSA Stage 1 BLIND)
Standard evaluation form (HE PCP PPI)
Standard evaluation form (HE COFUND)
Standard evaluation form (HE FPA)
Standard evaluation form (HE MSCA)
Standard evaluation form (HE EIC PATHFINDER CHALLENGES)
Standard evaluation form (HE EIC PATHFINDER OPEN)
Standard evaluation form (HE EIC TRANSITION)
Standard evaluation form (HE EIC Accelerator stage 1 - short proposal)
Standard evaluation form (HE EIC Accelerator stage 2 - full proposal)
Guidance
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
Framework Partnership Agreement FPA
Call-specific instructions
Information on financial support to third parties (HE)
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2025 – 2. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 3. Research Infrastructures
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 4. Health
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 5. Culture, creativity and inclusive society
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 6. Civil Security for Society
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 7. Digital, Industry and Space
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 8. Climate, Energy and Mobility
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 9. Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 10. European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE)
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 12. Missions
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 13. New European Bauhaus Facility (NEB)
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 14. General Annexes
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2025 – 13. 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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