Operability and standardisation in response to biological toxin incidents
HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-CL3-2023-DRS-01-03
- Programme
- Disaster-Resilient Society 2023
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- June 28, 2023
- Deadline
- November 22, 2023
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €4,000,000
- Min Grant Amount
- €4,000,000
- Max Grant Amount
- €4,000,000
- Expected Number of Grants
- 1
- Keywords
- HORIZON-CL3-2023-DRS-01-03HORIZON-CL3-2023-DRS-01Biohazards, biological containment, biosafety, biosecurityBiological threat detectionChemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) detectionDisaster resilience and crisis managementSecurityStandardisation
Description
Projects’ results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following outcomes:
- Improved European crisis management in case of an incident with biological toxins through the development of a pan-European task force of security practitioners, taking into consideration existing intersectoral actions on bioterrorism;
- New and existing portable devices, technologies and methods for responders to perform on-site detection of biological toxins are brought to the market;
- Recommendations of effective decontamination measures for personnel, equipment and facilities exposed to biological toxins are provided based on solid experimental testing;
- Development of an operational European response network of specialised and forensic laboratories, taking into account existing initiatives such as e.g. the HERA Laboratory Network and harmonised procedures/guidelines for forensic analysis of biological toxins applicable to a range of relevant technologies and toxins;
- The risks for responders from exposure to biological toxins in the hot-zone are assessed and recommendations of protective equipment for working with biological toxins in the hot-zone are developed;
- Building on existing initiatives and networks, a consolidated platform is established providing support for standardisation efforts in the analysis of biological toxins.
Recent incidents in Europe and worldwide have highlighted the current threat posed by several biological toxins falling under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Convention. The incidents demonstrated the urgency for countries individually and collectively to improve crisis management capabilities, to advance standardisation efforts and to interconnect security practitioners such as first responders (including health emergency services), law enforcement agencies, specialists from public health (e.g. epidemiologists, environmental health experts), as well as specialised and forensic laboratories across Europe. In order to ensure cross border interoperability, existing and new national procedures need to be developed and implemented in an operational and coherent European crisis response network capable of addressing the threats posed by biological toxins.
To properly manage and minimise the effects of an attack with biological toxins, fast and reliable detection and identification of the used agent is critical. Portable devices, technologies and methods for responders to perform on-site detection of a panel of biological toxins remain to be developed. There is a need for evaluation, training and advancement of on-site detection methods for responders, as well as the integration of emerging detection technologies into marketable solutions.
The safety of responders relies on correct risk assessment and the use of appropriate protective equipment. The risks from exposure to biological toxins in the hot zone are largely unknown. In order to recommend appropriate protective equipment for first responders and to guide the use of effective decontamination measures, the risks from exposure need to be assessed, taking into account sex susceptibility to toxins exposure. The Commission stockpiles personal protective equipment, and links should be sought with this joint DG ECHO-HERA action to make proposals as useful as possible.
Following an attack, exposed personnel, equipment and facilities needs to be decontaminated and declared safe as quickly as possible, in order limit the effects on society. Most decontamination procedures are developed for chemical or biological (i.e. organisms and viruses) agents, but based on their characteristics, biological toxins are at the interface of classical biological and chemical agents. Therefore, the efficiency of existing decontamination procedures should be evaluated for the decontamination of biological toxins.
Previous initiatives have initiated standardisation efforts for lab-based detection and identification of biological toxins. Analytical tools and reference materials are available and comprehensive training and proficiency-testing programs were organised, however, the need for further technical and operational improvement was demonstrated. Building on existing initiatives and networks, a consolidated platform should be established providing analytical tools (including Certified Reference Materials), training and intercomparisons among laboratories. Following the initial detection of the used biological toxin, a more detailed analysis is needed in order to link the agent to confiscated materials. In support of criminal investigations, new procedures and guidelines for comprehensive forensic analysis of biological toxins are needed. The developed methods and procedures should be shared among specialised and forensic laboratories. This action is also expected to engage with the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA).
In this context it is important to remind that standardisation should support operations and policymaking to supplement it but should by no means substitute it. While standardisation of technology may be more straightforward, the right balance does especially have to be sought for processes. The action should ensure close synergies with standardisation activities on European (e.g. CEN/TC 391) and international level (e.g. ISO/TC 292).
Destination & Scope
Proposals involving earth observation are encouraged to primarily make use of Copernicus data, services and technologies.
Proposals are encouraged also to coordinate with ESA relevant activities, especially those undertaken under the Science for Society element of the FutureEO programme (https://eo4society.esa.int). Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the following expected impact of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2021-2024:
“Losses from natural, accidental and human-made disasters are reduced through enhanced disaster risk reduction based on preventive actions, better societal preparedness and resilience and improved disaster risk management in a systemic way.”
More specifically, proposals should contribute to the achievement of one or more of the following impacts:
- Enhanced exploitation of the latest scientific results (e.g., from research programmes and institutions) and integrated technologies (e.g. Earth observation, in situ data collection, advanced modelling, AI) into enhanced understanding of high-impact hazards and complex compound and cascade events and improved prevention, preparedness to mitigation, response, and recovery tools;
- Enhanced understanding and improved knowledge and situational awareness of disaster-related risks by citizens, empowered to act and involved in relevant research initiatives (including citizen volunteers) and consider innovative solutions, thus raising the resilience of European society;
- More efficient cross-sectoral, cross-disciplines (including SSH), cross-border coordination of the disaster risk management cycle and governance (from scientific research to prevention, preparedness to mitigation, response, and recovery, including knowledge transfer and awareness of innovative solutions) from international to local levels;
- Enhanced collaboration, interactions and cross-discipline dialogue and networking between the scientific community, research institutions and programmes (e.g., HE, ESA scientific activities, national science programmes, FutureEarth RIS-KAN) and first and second responders through dedicated networking and collaboration actions fostering a faster transfer of results from science into practice;
- Support of harmonised and/or standardised and interoperability of guidelines / protocols / tools / technologies in the area of crisis management, natural disasters and CBRN-E;
- Strengthened capacities of first responders in all operational phases related to any kind of natural and human-made disasters so that they can better prepare their operations, have access to enhanced situational awareness, have means to respond to events in a faster, safer and more efficient way, and may more effectively proceed with victim identification, triage and care;
- Improved impact forecasting capability and scenario building for enhanced stress testing of critical entities and adaption of protection and resilience-enhancing activity accordingly;
- Improve the capacity of institutions and professionals to respond to natural hazards, whose frequency and severity for human activities have increased and are partly resulting from climate change;
- Improved ability to rescue and manage the first phases of emergencies that take into account extreme climatic events and/or geological hazards that may threaten urban areas (e.g. interface fires, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruption etc.).
All proposals of projects under this Destination should aim to be complementary and avoid overlaps with relevant actions funded by other EU instruments, including the European Defence Fund and its precursors (the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) and the Preparatory Action on Defence research (PADR)), based on the information publicly available[1] and while maintaining a focus on civilian applications only.
Investments in this Destination contribute substantially to the European Union’s objectives in terms of climate change adaptation and resilience to climate change. The funded projects are aimed at developing new technologies and solutions that can be used to understand the long-term effects of climate change, as well as to improve capacities of first responders and institutions for climate mitigation and prevention of natural disasters. Improved understanding of hazards and strengthened knowledge of the risks that these entail for human communities and their activities are cornerstones for more a resilient economy and society.
Where possible and relevant, synergy-building and clustering initiatives with successful proposals in the same area should be considered, including the organisation of international conferences in close coordination with the Community for European Research and Innovation for Security (CERIS) activities and/or other international events.
[1] See for instance:
- relevant work programmes of the EDF (https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eu-defence-industry/european-defence-fund-edf_en) and of the DEP (https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/activities/work-programmes-digital)
And information on ongoing projects of:
- the EDF (https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/programmes/edf)
- the DEP (https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/programmes/digital);
Visit the following links for more information on past projects of the:
Eligibility & Conditions
General conditions
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.
The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2 National standardisation organisations.
3. Other eligibility conditions: 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
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Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes
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Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual
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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: described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes
Specific conditions
7. Specific conditions: described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]
Documents
Call documents:
Standard application form — call-specific application form is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
Standard evaluation form — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
MGA
Call-specific instructions:
Template for Security & eligibility conditions in Horizon Europe
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 6. Civil Security for Society
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 13. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme and Rules for Participation Regulation 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
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