Loading…
Strategic Analysis
A winning proposal must bridge micro-level agricultural economics with macro-level policy design by integrating multi-dimensional competitiveness drivers (environmental, social, economic) across diverse value chains, explicitly including organic farming. Consortiums should operationalize the Multi-Actor Approach from day one, linking farm-level accounting data (e.g., FSDN/FADN) with advanced sectoral modelling and earth observation to deliver concrete, replicable decision-support metrics and anti-leakage policy recommendations.
Everything the call asks for, seen from the call's point of view. Each line shows what answers it, and which partner carries it.
This matrix lists everything the call asks for: outcomes, impacts, scope, the requirements buried in the call text, and policy alignment. Sign up free and GrantForge tracks each line against the concept you build.
| Requirement | Covered by | Carried | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope activities | |||
| SC1address analytical gaps on competitiveness to better account for their various drivers, inputs (including land, labour, capital), components (e.g., costs, price, innovation capacity, investment capacity, market share, market position, resilience, knowledge, skills, productivity, product quality, differentiation) and impacts (economic, environmental and social). Consider various value chains and farming systems in different regions, one of which should be organic farming. This activity should integrate knowledge from different disciplines (e.g., economics, management, agronomy, environmental sciences); | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC2improve the capacity to analyse agriculture-related policies supporting and recognising sustainable practices (such as supporting climate, biodiversity, and SDGs ) across the value chain (e.g., due diligence, deforestation-free products) and in trade agreements, in particular their capacity to support competitiveness and resilience objectives, and to mitigate leakage effects; | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC3provide evidence on the social, economic and environmental drivers of competitiveness, synergies and trade-offs between the sustainability dimensions, at and between different stages of the value chain (including farm-level, producer organisations, upstream and downstream operators etc.) as well as spatial (local to global) and time scales (short to long term). Proposals are encouraged to consider different lengths of value chains (e.g., short, mid-tier, global), business strategies (e.g., economies of scale, specialisation and agglomeration vs economies of scope) and marketing strategies (e.g., quality differentiation); | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC4identify, improve and/or develop adequate indicators and metrics, and collect the necessary data, to improve the measurement of performance, sustainability, resilience, productivity and competitiveness in analytical tools. This work should take into account the practical needs of decision-makers and the context of their operations (e.g., international versus local strategy). Particular attention should be paid to prioritising relevant robust indicators that could be replicated in different countries; | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC5provide recommendations and propose levers to anticipate trade-offs and conciliate competitiveness, resilience and sustainability objectives in business strategies and policies and support the long-term prosperity of the agricultural sector. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| Expected outcomes | |||
| EO1farmers and other decision makers of the agri-food supply chains have a better understanding of the determinants of competitiveness, and the interactions with the sustainability dimensions (economic, social, environmental, including biodiversity protection and climate change mitigation and adaptation); | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EO2farmers, policy makers and other decision makers of the agri-food supply chains benefit from improved collection and access to data and analytical tools, enabling better-informed decisions conciliating competitiveness, sustainability and resilience objectives; | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EO3policy makers are better equipped to develop evidence-based policies. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| Other requirements | |||
| REQ1Implementation of the Multi-Actor ApproachProposals must implement the multi-actor approach, forming a consortium based on a balanced mix of actors with complementary knowledge, including farmers, researchers, businesses, and other relevant actors from agri-food supply chains. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| REQ2Effective contribution of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH)This topic should involve the effective contribution of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) disciplines. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| REQ3Integration of knowledge from multiple disciplinesActivities should integrate knowledge across disciplines, including economics, management, agronomy, and environmental sciences. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| REQ4International cooperation encouraged, particularly with Mediterranean countriesInternational cooperation is encouraged, with a particular emphasis on collaboration with Mediterranean countries. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| REQ5Capitalisation on existing EU projects and relevant initiativesProposals should capitalise on existing relevant research findings and tools, ensuring complementarities with other EU-funded projects and synergies with initiatives and processes such as the competitiveness check. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| REQ6Potential Joint Research Centre (JRC) participation and iMAP platformThe Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate in the consortium (e.g. contributing to scenario assessment via the iMAP modelling platform, information sharing, and dissemination). | · | · | Sign up to track |
| REQ7Synergies with EU-CAP Network and EIP-AGRI Operational GroupsActions under this destination should support effective Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) and exploit synergies with the EU-CAP Network, particularly EIP-AGRI Operational Groups. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| REQ8Alignment with EU Mission 'Restore our Ocean and Waters'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. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| REQ9Engagement with EU Outermost RegionsThe destination supports unlocking the unique assets for research and innovation of the EU outermost regions, in line with the EU strategy for outermost regions. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| Expected impacts | |||
| EI1improved 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; | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EI2competitiveness, sustainability and resilience of the economy are supported by more accessible and interoperable environmental observations and improved Earth Intelligence; | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EI3productivity 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. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| Underlying policies | |||
| POL1eu vision for agriculture and foodThe EU Vision for Agriculture and Food represents the strategic roadmap derived from the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture, aiming to reconcile competitive agri-food production with environmental sustainability and fair living standards for farmers. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| POL2common agricultural policyThe Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is one of the EU's longest-standing policies, designed to support farmers and ensure Europe's food security. It has evolved significantly, with the current iteration (2023-2027) placing a stronger emphasis on environmental protection, climate action, and sustainable farming practices through eco-schemes and conditionality. | · | · | Sign up to track |
The binding rules of this call. Items marked auto are verified by GrantForge from the call and the template. The others are yours to confirm.
LMIC entities auto-eligible
Low/middle-income country entities are automatically eligible for funding.
EU space data infrastructures
If the project uses satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation or timing data/services, beneficiaries must use Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS. Other sources may be added but not substitute EU infrastructures.
Civil applications only
Horizon Europe funds exclusively civil applications. Research with exclusive military or dual-use application is excluded.
Gender Equality Plan
Having a Gender Equality Plan (GEP) is an eligibility criterion for public bodies, research organisations, and higher education institutions from Member States and Associated Countries.
Open Science
Mandatory open access to peer-reviewed scientific publications and responsible management of research data (FAIR principles, DMP required).
Multi-actor approach required
The proposals must apply the multi-actor approach.
JRC participation status
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the consortium selected for funding as a beneficiary with zero funding, or as an associated partner, but will not participate in the preparation and submission of the proposal.
5 key insights you must internalise before writing. Each is grounded in the call text and tells you what evaluators will actually look for. Share these with your consortium before drafting.
A proposal will fail the eligibility check if it does not formally implement the Multi-Actor Approach. Beyond mere compliance, evaluators are explicitly instructed to penalize consortia that treat farmers and supply chain actors as passive survey subjects rather than active co-creators in developing analytical tools.
Source: Evaluation_pre_award
Consortia must explicitly model organic farming alongside conventional systems to meet the core scope requirements. Furthermore, evaluators will scrutinize the geographic balance of the selected value chain archetypes, specifically looking for the inclusion of Mediterranean contexts to validate the replicability of indicators.
Source: Evaluation_pre_award
Analytical frameworks cannot solely focus on domestic farm economics; they must actively address cross-border trade dynamics. Evaluators will specifically look for clear, actionable pathways to mitigate carbon and environmental leakage within the context of EU due diligence policies and international trade agreements.
Source: Evaluation_pre_award
Because this is a lump-sum grant, the financial structure dictates the project's payment cadence. Evaluators will strictly assess whether the budget allocation aligns with well-defined work package deliverables, meaning the timing and definition of these milestones are critical to scoring well while adhering to the strict 45-page limit.
Source: Evaluation_pre_award
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is explicitly mentioned as a potential partner for scenario assessment using the iMAP platform. However, they must be included as a beneficiary with zero funding or as an associated partner, and they cannot participate in the preparation or submission of the proposal.
Source: Eligibility rules
Specific requirements
EU space data infrastructures
If the project uses satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation or timing data/services, beneficiaries must use Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS. Other sources may be added but not substitute EU infrastructures.
Civil applications only
Horizon Europe funds exclusively civil applications. Research with exclusive military or dual-use application is excluded.
Gender Equality Plan
Having a Gender Equality Plan (GEP) is an eligibility criterion for public bodies, research organisations, and higher education institutions from Member States and Associated Countries.
Open Science
Mandatory open access to peer-reviewed scientific publications and responsible management of research data (FAIR principles, DMP required).
Multi-actor approach required
The proposals must apply the multi-actor approach.
JRC participation status
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the consortium selected for funding as a beneficiary with zero funding, or as an associated partner, but will not participate in the preparation and submission of the proposal.
">
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.
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: the proposals must apply the multi-actor approach. See definition of the multi-actor approach in this work programme part.
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the consortium selected for funding as a beneficiary with zero funding, or as an associated partner. The JRC will not participate in the preparation and submission of the proposal - see General Annex B.
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
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.
described in the specific topic of the Work Programme
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)
Guidance
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
Call-specific instructions
Guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?"
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
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
Evaluators will strictly evaluate compliance with the Multi-Actor Approach, penalizing proposals that treat farmers and supply chain actors merely as survey subjects rather than co-creators. They will scrutinize whether analytical frameworks conciliate economic competitiveness with EU Green Deal and CAP sustainability targets without oversimplification, paying special attention to:
TRL 2 → 6
Based on programme defaults
address analytical gaps on competitiveness to better account for their various drivers, inputs (including land, labour, capital), components (e.g., costs, price, innovation capacity, investment capacity, market share, market position, resilience, knowledge, skills, productivity, product quality, differentiation) and impacts (economic, environmental and social). Consider various value chains and farming systems in different regions, one of which should be organic farming. This activity should integrate knowledge from different disciplines (e.g., economics, management, agronomy, environmental sciences);
improve the capacity to analyse agriculture-related policies supporting and recognising sustainable practices (such as supporting climate, biodiversity, and SDGs ) across the value chain (e.g., due diligence, deforestation-free products) and in trade agreements, in particular their capacity to support competitiveness and resilience objectives, and to mitigate leakage effects;
provide evidence on the social, economic and environmental drivers of competitiveness, synergies and trade-offs between the sustainability dimensions, at and between different stages of the value chain (including farm-level, producer organisations, upstream and downstream operators etc.) as well as spatial (local to global) and time scales (short to long term). Proposals are encouraged to consider different lengths of value chains (e.g., short, mid-tier, global), business strategies (e.g., economies of scale, specialisation and agglomeration vs economies of scope) and marketing strategies (e.g., quality differentiation);
identify, improve and/or develop adequate indicators and metrics, and collect the necessary data, to improve the measurement of performance, sustainability, resilience, productivity and competitiveness in analytical tools. This work should take into account the practical needs of decision-makers and the context of their operations (e.g., international versus local strategy). Particular attention should be paid to prioritising relevant robust indicators that could be replicated in different countries;
provide recommendations and propose levers to anticipate trade-offs and conciliate competitiveness, resilience and sustainability objectives in business strategies and policies and support the long-term prosperity of the agricultural sector.
farmers and other decision makers of the agri-food supply chains have a better understanding of the determinants of competitiveness, and the interactions with the sustainability dimensions (economic, social, environmental, including biodiversity protection and climate change mitigation and adaptation);
farmers, policy makers and other decision makers of the agri-food supply chains benefit from improved collection and access to data and analytical tools, enabling better-informed decisions conciliating competitiveness, sustainability and resilience objectives;
policy makers are better equipped to develop evidence-based policies.
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.
EU Vision for Agriculture and Food
highThe EU Vision for Agriculture and Food represents the strategic roadmap derived from the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture, aiming to reconcile competitive agri-food production with environmental sustainability and fair living standards for farmers.
Evaluators expect proposals to align analytical models and capacity-building activities with the long-term economic viability, sustainability transitions, and societal demands outlined in the strategic vision for the sector.
Common Agricultural Policy
highThe Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is one of the EU's longest-standing policies, designed to support farmers and ensure Europe's food security. It has evolved significantly, with the current iteration (2023-2027) placing a stronger emphasis on environmental protection, climate action, and sustainable farming practices through eco-schemes and conditionality.
Evaluators expect proposals to deliver analytical tools, indicators, and evidence that directly inform CAP evaluations and post-2027 policy formulation, particularly regarding farm economics, market dynamics, and environmental performance.
Competitiveness Compass
mediumThe Competitiveness Compass is a framework or initiative, often associated with specific EU institutions or presidencies, aimed at guiding policy actions to enhance the EU's overall competitiveness. It typically identifies key areas for improvement, such as innovation, digital transformation, skills, and a well-functioning single market.
Proposals should demonstrate how they contribute to the strategic objectives outlined in the Competitiveness Compass, for example, by fostering innovation, strengthening the digital economy, addressing skill gaps, or improving the business environment in Europe to boost overall competitiveness.
European Green Deal
mediumThe EU Green Deal aims to transform the EU into a fair, healthy, and environmentally sustainable society, with a focus on sustainable food systems. This call aligns with the Green Deal’s goals by addressing the health impacts of diets and promoting resilient, inclusive food systems that support mental well-being.
Evaluators will look for proposals that demonstrate how improved analytical capacity helps balance agricultural competitiveness with Green Deal environmental objectives, such as emission reductions, biodiversity preservation, and reduced input dependency.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
mediumThe United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a global call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure peace and prosperity by 2030, strongly embedded into the European Union's policy agenda.
Evaluators expect proposals to highlight tangible contributions to key SDGs—especially SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production)—through evidence-based agricultural data analysis.
Nothing to show for this call yet.