SoilTribes | Open Call to Support Initiatives Led by Multi-Actor Teams

Description

ABOUT SOILTRIBES The SoilTribes project aims to increase soil literacy and promote its preservation through a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach. It addresses soil degradation by promoting innovative communication campaigns, creative activities, and citizen engagement in sustainable practices. The project provides financial support for collaborative initiatives involving science, art, and society, aiming to transform behaviors regarding soil protection and restoration. SoilTribes is rooted in the European Union mission "A Soil Deal for Europe" and aligns with its goals to restore soil health, engage communities, and increase soil literacy. The SoilTribes project addresses the pressing issue of soil degradation by fostering soil literacy and promoting sustainable soil management through a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach. The project is driven by a diverse consortium of 25 partners from 11 different countries, including scientific institutions, artists, and civil society groups. Together, they work across borders to raise awareness and encourage action for soil preservation, empowering local communities to engage in soil protection and restoration efforts through creative and innovative solutions.

Beneficiary & submission

SoilTribes invites applications for lump sum grants aimed at supporting innovative, multi-actor initiatives that foster soil literacy, raise public awareness, and engage diverse communities in the protection and restoration of soil. These grants are designed to trigger behavioral change and galvanize innovation at the intersection of science, arts, and society. By embracing a multi-actor and multidisciplinary approach, these grants aim to mobilize teams composed of cultural and creative actors, soil scientists and technologists, public authorities, educators, citizen groups, and other stakeholders. Projects supported through this call will contribute to the European Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe” by promoting disruptive, place-basedcollaborations that translate soil science into meaningful, engaging, and actionable initiatives. The call is structured around two lots, reflecting the maturity and development stage of the proposed initiatives: Lot 1 – Development of new ideas: Support for new and experimental initiatives that are in early stages of development. Lot 2 – Improvement and scale-up of existing ideas/solutions: Support for initiatives that build on prior experience and are ready to improve, replicate, or scale. Applicants must clearly indicate in their application the lot under which they are applying, as well as the strand that best fits their proposed action: Communication campaigns: Projects aimed at raising awareness and improving soil literacy through strategic messaging and outreach. Creative soil-related activities and events: Initiatives that engage communities through artistic and cultural practices with a focus on soil. Citizens’ engagement: Participatory processes and co-creation activities that empower citizens and communities to take action on soil-related issues. All applications must address the core topic of soil literacy and tackle at least one additional priority from the European Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”. These priorities are: Land degradation relating to desertification; Conservation and increasing of soil organic carbon stocks; No net soil sealing and increase the reuse of urban soils; Reduction of soil pollution and enhance restoration; Soil erosion prevention; Improvement of soil structure to enhance habitat quality for soil biota and crops; Reduction of EU global footprint on soils. In addition, each applicant must define the grant size they are applying for, based on the scope, ambition, and implementation needs of their project. EVALUATION & SELECTION The evaluation and selection of the applications will go through the following steps: Admissibility and Eligibility Check: The Admissibility & Eligibility Check will be completed by the SoilTribes Project Team. Only those applications that meet all requirements outlined above in Step A and Step B will pass to 1st Phase Assessment. Evaluation: All admissible and eligible applications will be evaluated by a panel of nine independent jury members, selected through an open Expression of Interest process. These jurors are experienced professionals with demonstrated expertise in soil science, sustainability, and interdisciplinary collaboration, as well as a sound understanding of the EU Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe.” The panel is composed to reflect diverse professional backgrounds across research, policy, practice, and community engagement, ensuring a well-rounded and informed evaluation of submitted proposals. Each application will be assessed by two jury members following a two-stage process, first reviewing the abstract and presentation video, and then the full application dossier. To uphold the integrity of the evaluation, all jurors are required to sign a declaration of confidentiality and absence of conflict of interest, and must adhere to strict standards of impartiality, transparency, and fairness throughout the process. Any juror with a direct or indirect interest in an application will be excluded from evaluating that proposal. The evaluation will be based on a two-phase approach: 1st Phase Assessment | Summary & Presentation Video: A pool of jurors will be convened. Each proposal will be evaluated by two jurors who will score on a scale from 0 to 5, considering the abstract and presentation video, based on their alignment with the objectives of SoilTribes. Proposals with an average score of between 3-5 points will proceed to the 2nd Stage Assessment: In-Depth Full Application Evaluation: 2nd Phase Assessment | In-Depth Full Application Evaluation: Proposals advancing to this stage will be evaluated by two jurors drawn from the same pool. These jurors will review the Full Applications. The Evaluation will be based on a 100-point score considering the following criteria and weighting as per the table presented in the Guidelines. Ranking: A Ranking Meeting will be held between the SoilTribes Project Team and the jury panel. During this meeting, the numerical rankings will be presented, based on the outcomes of the 2nd Stage Assessment: In-Depth Full Application.Three separate rankings will be established, one for each grant size category. The top 10 highest-scoring applications in each category will be selected for funding. In the event of a tie in the final scores, the following criteria will be applied sequentially to determine the final ranking: Final score in the Relevancy criterion Final score in the 1.5 Cross-Cutting Issues sub-criterion Final score in the Impact and Sustainability criterion In addition to score-based ranking, the final selection will incorporate the following representation measure: Geographic balance: A maximum of three selected applicants per country per grant size SUBMISSION The Application form, which is made up of one single document, is to be completed and submitted by each applicant. In this form you must include administrative information about the applicant/consortium, the description of the proposed project/action (aligned with the evaluation criteria), upload a short presentation video, and submit the formal declarations and projected budget. It is important to note when submitting your application, it must: be complete and contain all requested information and supporting document. This includes a short (5 minute) presentation video (mandatory for all applicants) and, if you are applying under the main activity of “development and prototyping of innovative artistic-driven proposals, as well as pilots for testing and upscaling artistic-driven innovative solutions”, an artistic portfolio include the Ethics Self-Assessment be submitted by October 10, 2025, at 17:00 CET be submitted electronically – paper or emails submissions are not accepted – through EU Survey be submitted in English respect the number of characters, as indicated in each section of the Application form be submitted by an eligible applicant (review section 1.3 of this document).

Further information

ARE YOU ELIGIBLE? To apply, you must represent a legal entity—either public or private—such as: organizations from creative and cultural industries and sectors, including legal artistic entities non-profit organisation (private or public); public authorities (national, regional, local); international organisations; non-governmental organisations; universities; educational institutions; think tanks; research centres; startups and SMEs; In addition, your organisation(s) must be established in one of the Member States of the European Union and its Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) or Associated Countries to Horizon Europe, that, on the date of the publication of the call, participate in the Horizon Programme. Note: Other entities may participate in other consortium roles, such as associated partners, subcontractors, third parties giving in-kind contributions, etc. Depending on the grant size, proposals can be submitted by a single applicant or consortium, as follows. For small projects, applications by single applicants are allowed (single beneficiaries), as well as proposals submitted by a consortium of at least 2 applicants (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities). For medium and large projects, proposals must be submitted by a consortium composed of at least three entities (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities). Both mono-beneficiary and consortium application must ensure at least a leading or partner organization is from cultural and creative industries and sectors. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES Applications must fall within the scope of at least one of the following categories of eligible activities: Awareness-raising/communication activities (including production and distribution of print, multimedia or audiovisual material, web and social media outreach activities, media events, conferences, seminars, workshops) Capacity-building actions (education, training, mentoring, conferences, seminars, workshops) Campaigning and advocacy activities Participatory processes aimed to engage with different groups of people Development and prototyping of innovative artistic-driven proposals, as well as pilots for testing and upscaling artistic-driven innovative proposals All supported actions must demonstrate a strong creative and artistic component, reflect the values of the New European Bauhaus (sustainability, inclusion, aesthetics), and foster collaboration across disciplines and sectors. Supported actions must also demonstrate the nexus between science, technology, the arts, and society. BUDGET The SoilTribes project has allocated a total budget of €1.750.000 to support the support initiatives led by multi-actor teams, to be distributed through the single open call. The call for proposals defines a fixed lump sum and the budget requested by applicants in the proposal must be equal to this amount. To justify the grant amount for which you are applying, you must provide cost estimations for your action. These estimations will be entered directly within the application form, where a table is provided. You must include the estimated total budget per category, reflecting the resources needed to implement your proposed activities. The budget categories are as follows: Personnel costs: Estimated expenses for staff working on the project, based on expected effort and standard salary levels Subcontracting: Costs for external providers contracted to perform specific tasks that cannot be carried out by the project beneficiary(ies) Purchase costs Travel and accommodation-related expenses: Costs related to travel required for project implementation, including transportation, accommodation, and per diems. Travel must be directly linked to project activities Equipment: Costs for purchasing or using equipment essential for carrying out the project activities Other goods, works and services: Expenses for other items or services directly linked to the project (e.g. consumables, dissemination materials, printing, translations). Consult the complete Guidelines and Information regarding the Open Call to Support Initiatives Led by Multi-Actor Teams. Contact for Questions and Support: For any questions related to the application process, eligibility, or technical support, you can reach out to the SoilTribes team at hello@soiltribes.eu