HORIZON-CL6-2026-04-GOVERNANCE-01

Additional activities for the European Partnership of Agriculture of Data

Status
open for submission
Programme
Horizon Europe (HORIZON)
Action type
HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions
Opens
25 Aug 2026
Deadline
26 Nov 2026
Fetched
5 Sep 2026, 00:32 UTC
Plain-language summary

Continuation and expansion of the European Partnership of Agriculture of Data with additional activities and partners, budget €60M for 2026-2027.

This call funds the continuation of the European Partnership of Agriculture of Data, supporting ongoing and new activities. The original consortium must coordinate the proposal, but new partners can join. The partnership aims to develop tools and innovations for agriculture using data and digital technologies.

Likely relevant for

  • Consortiums funded under HORIZON-CL6-2024-GOVERNANCE-02-01
  • Agricultural data and digital innovation projects
  • Research organizations in agriculture and data science

Project signals

Continuation of existing partnership activitiesFocus on agriculture data and digital innovationInclusion of additional partners from Member States and Associated Countries

What it funds

  • Continuation and expansion of the European Partnership of Agriculture of Data
  • Funding additional activities and partners aligned with the partnership's strategic research and innovation agenda
  • Support for financial support to third parties via grants
  • Promotion of uptake of tools and innovations by farmers, advisors, policymakers
  • Linking and assessing R&I initiatives to create synergies and defragment data landscape
  • International collaboration activities

Expected outcomes

  • Delivery of ready-to-use tools, solutions, and innovations for agriculture
  • Science-based policy advisory activities
  • Enhanced collaboration and critical mass across national research programmes
  • Support for sustainable and competitive farming and food systems

Who can apply / participate

  • Coordinator of the consortium funded under HORIZON-CL6-2024-GOVERNANCE-02-01
  • Additional partners may be included beyond the original consortium
  • Focus on Member States and Associated Countries, especially those not yet in the consortium
  • Proposal must be submitted by coordinator of previous consortium
  • Other consortia cannot submit to continue the partnership
  • Specific eligibility of new partners beyond coordinator must be checked

Must check before shortlisting

  • Eligibility limited to coordinator of previous consortium
  • Funding rate and financial support to third parties conditions
  • Requirement to amend existing grant agreement

Money

Total indicative budget of €60 million for 2026-2027 (€23M in 2026, €37M in 2027). Funding rate is 30% of eligible costs for additional activities. Financial support to third parties (FSTP) is a core activity with a maximum grant of €10 million per third party.

  • 2026 Budget — 23000000EUR
    Indicative budget for 2026
  • 2027 Budget — 37000000EUR
    Indicative budget for 2027

Application notes

  • Single-stage submission. Proposal must be submitted by coordinator of previous consortium. The action will be implemented as an amendment to the existing grant agreement.
  • Proposal page limits and layout as per Horizon Europe General Annexes.
  • Eligible countries as per Horizon Europe General Annexes.
  • Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria apply.
  • Evaluation criteria and award process as per Horizon Europe General Annexes.
  • Submit proposal via the Funding & Tenders Portal by 26 November 2026.
  • Proposal must present additional activities and partners for grant agreement amendment.
  • Justify any retroactive starting date for grants awarded under this topic.
  • Only the coordinator of the previous consortium can submit the proposal.
  • Financial support to third parties is a core activity; usual thresholds do not apply.
  • Maximum amount of financial support to third parties is €10 million per third party, with possible exceptions.
  • Use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS data is required if satellite-based earth observation is used.

Derived from official EU Funding portal source · updated 1 Sep 2026, 11:42 UTC. Use this as a shortlisting aid; the official call text remains authoritative.

Official source text

Fine print from the EU source record. Expand when you need the original wording.

Topic description

Expected Outcome: The successful proposal is expected to further contribute to the expected outcomes specified in topic HORIZON-CL6-2024-GOVERNANCE-02-01: European Partnership of Agriculture of Data, for continuation of the activities in line with already agreed outcomes. Scope: The objective of this action is to continue to provide support to the European partnership of Agriculture of Data identified in the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2021-2024 and first implemented under the topic HORIZON-CL6-2024-GOVERNANCE-02-01: European Partnership of Agriculture of Data, and in particular to fund additional activities (which may also be undertaken by additional partners) in view of its intended scope and duration, and in accordance with Article 24(2) of the Horizon Europe Regulation. The consortium which applied to and received funding under HORIZON-CL6-2024-GOVERNANCE-02-01: European Partnership of Agriculture of Data is uniquely placed to submit a proposal to continue the envisioned partnership. Not only did this consortium submit the proposal leading to the identification of the partnership in the Horizon Europe strategic planning 2021-2024, it has also been implementing the partnership through a co-funded call launched in year 2024 and a number of internal activities, including research projects, based on this planning and further to topic HORIZON-CL6-2024-GOVERNANCE-02-01. In this context, the current consortium has unique expertise in relation to the objectives of the partnership, the activities to be implemented in particular through financial support to third parties and internal activities clearly required/envisioned pursuant to the initial proposal/partnership. In practice, another consortium could not continue the activities of the partnership underway without significant disruption to the ongoing activities, if at all. The partnership should seek to include additional partners, in particular from Member States and Associated countries not yet in the consortium funded under HORIZON-CL6-2024-GOVERNANCE-02-01. While the award of a grant to continue the Partnership in accordance with this call should be based on a proposal submitted by the coordinator of the consortium funded under HORIZON-CL6-2024-GOVERNANCE-02-01 and the additional activities (which may include additional partners) to be funded by the grant should be subject to an evaluation, this evaluation should take into account the existing context and the scope of the initial evaluation as relevant, and related obligations enshrined in the grant agreement. Taking into account that the present action is a continuation of the existing topic and foresees an amendment to an existing grant agreement, the proposal should present additional activities (including additional partners) to be covered by the award primarily in terms of grant agreement revisions. The proposal submitted to this call should align with the partnership’s co-created strategic research and innovation agenda. Through its activities, the partnership should deliver and give rise to ready-to-use tools, solutions and innovations, seek uptake of results by farmers/agricultural producers, advisors, policy-makers, public administrations and all relevant stakeholders, and provide science-based policy advisory activities. The proposal should focus on additional priority activities and when duly justified, on continuation of on-going activities. The partnership should create an “umbrella effect” through taking stock, linking and, assessing Research and Innovation (R&I) initiatives and use cases. It should leverage on nationally funded research activities to create critical mass and synergies across borders and also support defragmentation of the European data landscape. It should also pool the necessary financial resources from the participating national (or regional) research programmes with a view to organising and implementing joint calls for transnational proposals resulting in grants to third parties, for which it should factor ample time to run and report on the co-funded projects. Proposals are encouraged to consider, where relevant, the data, expertise and services offered by European research infrastructures [1] in the environment, food and digital domains. Specific additional activities to enhance the partnership’s collaborations at international level, should also be described. null The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 60 million committed in annual instalments over years 2026-2027 (EUR 23 million from the 2026 budget and EUR 37 million from the 2027 budget). The total indicative budget for the duration of the partnership is EUR 90 million. [1] The catalogue of European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) research infrastructures portfolio can be browsed from ESFRI website https://ri-portfolio.esfri.eu/ .

Destination

This destination will support the EU Commission priorities ‘Sustaining our quality of life: food security, water and nature’ and ‘A new plan for Europe’s sustainable prosperity and competitiveness’, which require innovative and agile governance models and tools to support transformative change within planetary boundaries. R&I supporting decision-making is a key enabler for the Vision for Agriculture and Food that aims to secure the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of the EU's farming and food systems within the boundaries of our planet, as well as to meet the objectives set out in the Common Agricultural Policy. Besides, the R&I supporting the bioeconomy, with a focus on bio-based solutions and the role of biotechnology, needs to be further strengthened, in line with the new EU Bioeconomy Strategy, the Communication on Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing and the Life Sciences Strategy. There is also a need to unlock the potential of applied digital and data technologies to support sectors covered by this cluster in becoming more competitive, sustainable, resilient and inclusive in line with the evolving EU policies on cyber, data and data technologies and digital services, notably the European Data Strategy, the Europe’s Digital Decade Policy Programme, the AI Continent Action Plan and the upcoming EU digital strategy for agriculture. This destination will contribute to the development, support and take up of digital and data-based solutions to implement the European Green Deal, while fostering innovation and supporting start-ups, thereby supporting the EU Competitiveness Compass. The destination supports the European Ocean Pact, aiming at bringing coherence across all EU policy areas linked to the ocean, supporting a resilient and healthy ocean and coastal areas and promoting the sustainable blue economy. In particular, land-sea connection areas are crucial for addressing the effects of climate change, such as sea level rise, coastal erosion, extreme events, and hydrological crises. When relevant, actions are encouraged to align with the EU Mission ‘Restore our Ocean and Waters’, leveraging its digital infrastructures (such as the Digital Twin Ocean), stakeholder networks, and knowledge systems to enhance governance, environmental observation, and policy-support tools across terrestrial and aquatic systems. This destination implements research actions to address water challenges in the EU and support the European Water Resilience Strategy by advancing the capacity for proper management of water sources. In line with the global approach on R&I, this destination will foster and support regional and international initiatives, encourage international cooperation, contribute substantially to the implementation of key international treaties and to the work of various international bodies, assessments and other initiatives, and help achieve international commitments, notably under the Paris Agreement, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), and the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement. Knowledge and advice are key to improving competitiveness, sustainability and resilience. R&I actions under this destination will support effective Agriculture Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) that are at the heart of the 2023-2027 CAP’s cross-cutting objective as a key mean to bridge the gap between science and practice. Synergies with the EU-CAP Network, and particularly the EIP-AGRI Operational Groups supported by the CAP, will be further exploited. The European Research Area is further integrated, and the global efforts are well-coordinated for impact-oriented science on food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture-forestry, aquaculture and fisheries, and environment. The Destination supports unlocking the unique assets for research and innovation of the EU outermost regions, in line with the EU strategy for outermost regions [1] . Expected Impact: Proposals for topics under this destination should set out credible pathways to "developing innovative governance models and tools enabling sustainability and resilience ", and more specifically to one or several of the following expected impacts : improved evidence-based knowledge, tools and science-society-policy interfaces support effective policy mixes and multi-level governance that are capable of anticipating a changing world, enabling a just sustainable transition for all, engaging society at large and balancing economic, social and environmental goals; competitiveness, sustainability and resilience of the economy are supported by more accessible and interoperable environmental observations and improved Earth Intelligence; productivity is boosted and transformative changes required by the European Green Deal are facilitated, leaving no one behind, thanks to enhanced digital and data technologies, flows of existing and new knowledge, solutions and skills among actors and communities, as well as maximised synergies between initiatives. [1] COM(2022) Putting people first, securing sustainable and inclusive growth, unlocking the potential of the EU’s outermost regions.

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.

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

The following additional eligibility criteria apply: The proposal must be submitted by the coordinator of the consortium funded under HORIZON-CL6-2024-GOVERNANCE-02-01: European Partnership of Agriculture of Data. This eligibility condition is without prejudice to the possibility to include additional partners.

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

The evaluation committee may be composed partially by representatives of EU institutions. If the proposal is successful, the next stage of the procedure will be the grant agreement amendment preparations. If the outcome of amendment preparations is an award decision, the coordinator of the consortium funded under HORIZON-CL6-2024-GOVERNANCE-02-01: European Partnership of Agriculture of Data will be invited to submit an amendment to the grant agreement, on behalf of the beneficiaries.

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

This action is intended to be implemented in the form of an amendment of the grant agreement concluded pursuant to topic HORIZON-CL6-2024-GOVERNANCE-02-01.

For the additional activities covered by this action the funding rate is 30% of the eligible costs.

Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP). The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. As a co-funded European Partnership, providing financial support to third parties (FSTP) is a core activity of this action in order to achieve its objectives. Consequently, the EUR 60 000 threshold laid down in Article 207 of Financial Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 does not apply. The maximum amount of FSTP that may be awarded to any single third party is set at EUR 10 million[[However, if the objectives of the action would otherwise be impossible or overly difficult (and duly justified in the proposal) the maximum amount may be higher.

The starting date of grants awarded under this topic may be as of the submission date of the application. Applicants must justify the need for a retroactive starting date in their application. Costs incurred from the starting date of the action may be considered eligible (and will be reflected in the entry into force date of the amendment to the grant agreement).]]. This ceiling is justified by the fact that FSTP is a primary activity of this action, by its expected duration of 7–10 years (exceeding a standard project lifespan), and by the extensive experience gained under predecessor partnerships.

described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific conditions

described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]

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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