Living Labs for soil remediation and green redevelopment of brownfields

Activities under this topic respond directly to the goal of the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe' of setting up 100 living labs and lighthouses by 2027 to lead the transition to healthy soils by 2030. They support the specific objectives of the Mission Soil dealing with urgent soil health challenges (see in particular specific objectives 3, 4, 6 and 8 in the Mission implementation plan).

Activities should also contribute to meeting the European Green Deal ambitions and targets and more specifically those of the EU soil strategy for 2030 and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Zero Pollution Action Plan, the Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe, the proposal for a Soil Monitoring and Resilience Directive, the Communication on Boosting Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing in the EU as well as to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15 on Life on land and SDG 3 on Good health and well-being.

Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

• Increased capacities for participatory, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary R&I to co-create, and co-implement economically viable solutions for soil remediation and green redevelopment of brownfields.
• Practice-oriented knowledge and tools are more easily available to land managers and land users resulting in an enhanced consideration and uptake of effective solutions for soil remediation and green redevelopment of brownfields.
• Policymakers are more aware of local needs regarding soil remediation and green redevelopment of brownfields, including the economic sustainability of solutions and use this knowledge to design and implement more effective policies.

De-industrialisation and abandonment of areas previously developed for industrial or commercial purposes have produced many brownfields^[1] all over Europe, representing a major concern at different levels with adverse effects on the economy the environment, human health, social well-being and quality of life in their surroundings. However, many brownfields are located within urban boundaries and as such represent an opportunity for sustainable urban regeneration initiatives and offer competitive alternatives to greenfield developments (in line with the New European Bauhaus initiative).

Projects under this topic are intended to expand and complement the network of Mission Soil living labs and lighthouses initiated with projects funded under Work Programmes 2023 and 2024 of the Mission Soil, with the aim of gradually establishing 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition towards healthy soils by 2030.

The Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ proposes a novel approach to research and innovation in the area of soil health, including the implementation of living labs. Living labs have the potential to facilitate a green and fair transition by involving multiple actors in real-life sites within a local/regional setting to co-create soil health solutions and achieve large-scale impacts on soil health and soil governance.

Living labs are long-term collaborations between multiple actors to address common soil health challenges in real-life sites at local or regional level (10 to 20 sites in each living lab). Depending on the level at which each living lab operates and the specific context (e.g. land use covered or soil health challenge addressed), applicants can exceptionally propose living labs with fewer sites. Individual sites could be e.g. abandoned commercial and industrial sites, former mining areas or zones with former or current military activities. Sites that are exemplary in their performance in terms of soil health improvement and serve as places for demonstration of solutions, training and communication are lighthouses. Lighthouse sites can be part of a living lab or be situated outside a living lab.

Living labs can address soil health challenges in or across different land uses (agricultural, (peri-)urban, (post)-industrial, forest and (semi-)natural). Projects funded under this topic are expected to kick-start participatory process or build on existing ones. While normally projects run for four years, the duration of the projects should accommodate longer timescales required to establish participatory processes and/or for soils processes to take place. Actors working on common shared soil health challenges within and across the living labs of the same project, will be able to compare results, exchange good practices, validate methodologies, replicate actions and solutions and benefit from cross-fertilisation, thereby accelerating the transition towards the shared objective of improving soil health.

More specifically, the proposals should:

• Support the setup of four to five living labs to work together on soil remediation solutions (practices, tools, strategies, etc.) and green redevelopment of brownfields. The living labs should be located in at least three different Member States and/or Associated Countries. Proposals should explain the rationale and mechanisms for cooperation across the living labs and explain how the work undertaken will contribute to one or more of the Mission’s specific objectives^[2]. Proposals should present a realistic combination of a limited selection of variables which should be clearly described (e.g., number of soil health challenges addressed, pedo-climatic conditions, land uses, Mission objectives addressed).
• Establish an interdisciplinary, participatory, and multi-actor approach in the living labs to co-design, co-develop and co-implement locally adapted solutions for the common soil health challenge(s), taking into account relevant drivers and pressures. Proposed solutions should be adapted to the different environmental, socio-economic and cultural contexts in which the living labs are operating.
• Establish for each living lab a baseline for the relevant soil descriptors/indicators adequate for brownfields, to allow for an accurate co-assessment of the changes in different sites over time. The set of soil health indicators/descriptors presented in the proposal for a Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience should be used a basis; proposals may complement with additional indicators depending on the soil health challenge(s) addressed, pedoclimatic conditions, land use, etc.
• Propose and assess innovative solutions for soil remediation and potential green redevelopment plans for the sites (brownfields) involved in the living labs that would enhance soil health and related ecosystem services. This should include a demonstration of the viability (technical, social, economic, cultural and environmental) of the solutions.
• Identify sites that demonstrate high performance in terms of their actions and results on soil remediation and green redevelopment of brownfields, and that may be converted into lighthouses. This can be performed both at proposal stage or later on, during the living lab operation.
• Propose strategies (e.g., financial, organisational) to ensure the long-term sustainability of the established living labs beyond the Horizon Europe funding. Strategies should include the identification of possible business models and actions, involving a mix of public or private funding schemes, financial instruments, cooperation with local authorities, engagement of social economy entities, social enterprises, business communities, SMEs, as well as attracting investors and entrepreneurs.

In line with the nature of living labs, projects must adopt the multi-actor approach. The actors involved in each living lab may vary based on its unique characteristics, and may include, among others, researchers, landowners or land managers, industry representatives (e.g. SMEs), public administrators and civil society (e.g. consumers, local residents, environmental NGOs, youth organisations). Care should be taken to describe the capabilities, roles and resources of the different actors involved in the living labs. An effective contribution of social sciences and humanities and the arts (SSHA) is expected to foster social innovation, knowledge transfer and socio-cultural and behavioural change.

To encourage and facilitate the involvement of different types of actors in the living labs, applicants are reminded of the different types of participation possible in a project under Horizon Europe. This includes not only beneficiaries (or their affiliated entities) but also associated partners, third parties giving in-kind contributions, subcontractors and recipients of financial support to third parties^[3]. Financial support to third parties (FSTP) to facilitate active involvement of small actors (e.g. land managers, landowners, SMEs or civil society) in one or more of the living labs of a project, can be provided through calls or, if duly justified, without a call for proposals. Applicants are advised to consult the standard conditions set out in Annex B of the General Annexes including those that apply to FSTP.

Dedicated tasks and appropriate resources should be envisioned to collaborate with SOILL, the structure created to support soil health living labs and lighthouses which offers significant capacity building opportunities for the living labs actors. Applicants can benefit from the services of SOILL already during the proposal preparation stage. During implementation, collaboration will include, among others, regular reporting of living labs performance. The details of the collaboration will be further defined during the grant agreement preparation phase.

Proposals are expected to build on existing knowledge (e.g. data from national soil health monitoring, LUCAS) and solutions developed and tested at national scale or in the frame of other Horizon projects including those funded under the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’. Proposals should therefore include dedicated tasks and appropriate resources for collaboration with relevant projects and initiatives and engage in relevant Mission Soil clustering activities. Proposals are also encouraged to consider, where relevant, the data, expertise and services offered by European research infrastructures (ESFRI) and if relevant to cooperate with the Horizon Europe Partnerships on Agroecology and on Sustainable Food Systems and/or relevant networks active at local level, such as the EIP-AGRI operational groups to promote the involvement of key local stakeholders.

Proposals should demonstrate a route towards open access, longevity, sustainability and interoperability of knowledge and outputs through close collaboration with the EU Soil Observatory (EUSO) and the project SoilWise. In particular, proposals should ensure that relevant data, maps and information can potentially be available publicly through the EUSO maps and information can potentially be available publicly through the EUSO. Concrete efforts should be made to ensure that the data produced in the context of the funded project is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable).

[1] According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, brownfields are properties that contain or may contain a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant, complicating efforts to expand, redevelop or reuse them.

[2] See the Mission implementation plan

[3] To explore the full range of options including what type of costs and activities are eligible to be funded under Horizon Europe, applicants should refer to the AGA – Annotated Model Grant Agreement https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/common/guidance/aga_en.pdf