Horizon Europe missions were developed as part of the larger Horizon Europe programme. They were first launched at the beginning of the Horizon Europe programme, in 2021. These Horizon Europe missions are ambitious, high-profile initiatives that use science and technology to bring concrete solutions to challenges facing European citizens and society. Missions aim to achieve a measurable goal, within a set timeframe, which could not be achieved through individual actions.
The mission topics are part of the regular work programmes, and participation and engagement rules for Canadians are the same as for the rest of Pillar 2. This means that Canadians can access funds directly from the European Union (EU) for these calls.
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About Horizon Europe missions
Horizon Europe missions are targeted initiatives designed to tackle some of the most pressing societal challenges faced by the EU. Each mission aims for ambitious, measurable goals that are likely to have a significant impact by 2030.
These missions were created to address several key needs and challenges within the EU and beyond:
- Urgent societal challenges: Missions were developed to respond to pressing global issues, such as climate change, health crises, and sustainable food systems. By focusing on specific challenges, they aim to catalyze action and solutions that have a real impact
- Enhancing impact: Missions were designed to create a more integrated approach, encouraging collaboration across disciplines, sectors, and stakeholders to achieve significant, measurable outcomes
- Fostering innovation: Missions aim to drive innovation by setting clear, ambitious goals. This creates a sense of urgency and encourages researchers and innovators to develop solutions that can lead to breakthroughs in their fields
- Engaging citizens: Missions aim to raise awareness about societal challenges and create a sense of ownership among citizens by involving the public and fostering engagement. This participatory approach is essential for the successful implementation of solutions
In essence, Horizon Europe missions were created to provide a focused, coordinated, and strategic framework for addressing major societal challenges, enhancing the impact of research and innovation efforts across the world.
Overall, Horizon Europe missions represent a strategic effort to drive transformative change in key areas, aligning research and innovation with the EU's broader policy goals. In 2021 the European Commission (EC) created five missions as a way focus efforts on specific societal challenges that may have otherwise taken up a large portion of the calls in the main work programme under Pilar 2. By creating these missions, the calls in the main work programme under Pillar 2 could focus on other areas. Each mission involves funding programs, policies, regulations, and other activities.
What are the differences between Horizon Europe missions and calls in the main work programme under Pillar 2?
While Canadians can receive funding for both Horizon Europe missions and the calls in the main work programme under Pillar 2, each type of call serves a different purpose within the EU's research and innovation framework programme.
Horizon Europe missions:
Focus
Providing a challenge-driven initiative with a clear ambitious goal aimed at making significant impacts by 2030 by addressing specific societal challenges, such as climate change, health, or sustainable food systems. . While these topics are also addressed in the Pillar 2 calls of the main work programme, the missions are different in their approach. They are more comprehensive and time-bound, creating a portfolio of actions—including research projects, policy measures, and citizen engagement—all working together toward a single, defined objective. This mission-oriented approach moves beyond a single research call to create a unified effort with a longer time horizon, aiming for a complete solution rather than incremental progress on one aspect of a problem.
Approach
Involving a coordinated approach across multiple disciplines and sectors, engaging various stakeholders including public, private, and civil society.
Funding
Providing funding for integrated actions that can include research, innovation, and deployment of solutions. It is also funded from different parts of Horizon Europe, not just a single work programme. They also emphasize citizen and stakeholder engagement.
Horizon Europe Pillar 2 calls:
- Focus: broader funding opportunities which can be diverse, ranging from advanced manufacturing to space technologies.
- Approach: focusing on specific research and innovation projects without the overarching mission-driven approach.
- Funding: supporting projects that align with strategic research agendas, often encouraging collaboration across various fields. It is a more traditional system of calls for proposals and grant agreements for individual projects.
In summary, missions are designed to tackle a limited number of grand societal challenges with a clear, measurable, and time-bound target. Their purpose is to deliver concrete results with a tangible impact on citizens' lives by 2030 (e.g. "100 climate-neutral and smart cities"). The calls under the Pillar 2 work programme are broader, funding research across a wide range of thematic clusters (e.g. health, climate, digital) to advance general knowledge and technology.
The five EU missions are:
1. EU Mission: Cancer
Overview
The Cancer mission provides funding to research to facilitate a better understanding of cancer, allow for earlier diagnosis and optimisation of treatment, and improve the quality of life of cancer patients during and after treatment. The Cancer mission's main goal is to improve the lives of more than 3 million people by 2030 through prevention, cures, and a better quality of life.
Objectives
The mission activities are built around four key objectives:
- Understanding cancer and its risk factors
- Prevention and early detection
- Optimising diagnostics and treatments
- Supporting the quality of life of people living with and after cancer, while ensuring equitable access for all
How to get involved
Social engagement is at heart of EU Mission: Cancer. Actions within this mission are focused on joining efforts across the world among citizens and stakeholders to make the fight and the cancer prevention more efficient and inclusive. In addition, social engagement is a key factor in raising awareness across the whole society. For more information on the social engagement and collaboration initiatives carried out by the EU Mission: Cancer, visit the Working together page.
2. EU Mission: Adaptation to Climate Change
Overview
The EU Mission: Adaptation to Climate Change deals with the support of cities and local authorities to build resilience against the impacts of climate change. It does so through the following ways:
- Creating a better understanding the climate risks
- Developing their own strategies to face with climate changes
- Testing and deploying on the ground innovative solutions apt to build the resilience to climate change
Objectives
The mission's main objective to support at least 150 regions and communities to become climate resilient by 2030.
How to get involved
For more information on this mission, visit the EU Mission on Adaptation to climate change page, which provides the latest information and provides ways you can get involved.
3. EU Mission: Restore our Oceans and Waters
Overview
The EU Mission: Restore our Oceans and Waters is designed to contribute to the targets concerning the protection and restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity, zero pollution, decarbonisation and reduction of net greenhouse gas emissions from the world's oceans, seas and waters.
Objectives
This mission is structured into three interconnected objectives:
- Protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity
- Prevent and eliminate pollution of our ocean, seas and waters
- Make the sustainable blue economy circular and carbon-neutral
How to get involved
Mission charter
Non-legally binding document open to all interested parties, public or private. This serves as a reference document aimed at establishing a simple framework to improve cooperation between the various stakeholders (civil society, governments, research institutes), mobilize resources and develop activities to achieve the objectives of the mission. More information can be found on the Mission charter page.
Lighthouses
These are hubs and platforms that support the development and sharing of innovative solutions that can contribute to the Mission's objectives and a major impact on society in river and sea basins. The lighthouses provide access to the solutions, services and advice developed not only in their basin, but also to all interested actors from other basins and areas. At present four lighthouses have been established, addressing different sea and river basins. More information can be found on the Lighthouses Mission page.
Mission ocean and waters forum
This is an annual event that fosters mission community, promotes matchmaking and showcases best practices. Further information on the next meeting can be found on the Mission Ocean and Waters Forum page.
4. EU Mission: Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities
Overview
The EU Mission: Climate Neutral and Smart Cities aims to support cities in accelerating their green and digital transformation.
Objectives
The mission activities are designed to support the achievement of two key objectives:
- Deliver 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030
- Ensure that these cities act as experimentation and innovation hubs to enable other cities to follow suit by 2050
How to get involved
In line with the objectives of the mission, a distinction must be made between activities and measures for the 100 selected cities and all cities in the world that want to learn from their example.
IIn general, Horizon Europe supports the EU Mission: Climate Neutral and Smart Cities through its mission work programme and both EU Mission: Climate Neutral and Smart Cities and all other cities can participate in projects. As far as EU Mission: Climate Neutral and Smart Cities are concerned, these have been selected on the basis of their plans to achieve climate neutrality and now want to deepen these plans through a Cities Mission Climate City Contract (CCC).
The CCC is a non-legally binding document through which each of the 112 selected cities commits to the commission, regional authorities and citizens to actions and investments to become climate neutral by 2030. The CCC are based on a co-creation process with local stakeholders and citizens. In the contract's finalization, cities are supported by the Mission Platform, which provides them with tailor-made technical, financial and regulatory advice.
In addition, the Mission Platform also supports the management of pilot city programmes and twinning activities. For more information on the CCC, visit the Net Zero Cities: Pilot cities page.
5. EU Mission: A Soil Deal for Europe
Overview
EU Mission: A Soil Deal for Europe is aimed primarily at accelerating the transition towards healthy soils and promoting sustainable management practices in urban and rural areas through the establishment of at least 100 living labs and lighthouses by 2030. This goes hand in hand with activities focusing on raising awareness to ensure the long-term health and productivity of soils on all types of land.
Objectives
In addition to the main objective, there are eight other specific objectives guide the activities of EU Mission: A Soil Deal for Europe:
- Reduce land degradation relating to desertification
- Conserve and increase soil organic carbon stocks
- No net soil sealing and increase reuse of urban soils
- Reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration
- Prevent erosion
- Improve soil structure to enhance soil habitat quality for soil biota and crops
- Reduce the global footprint on soils
- Increase soil literacy in society
How to get involved
Living labs
Groups of rural and urban areas where various actors coming from different sectors and expertise work together in a co-design perspective to design, test and validate solutions aiming at improving soils health. Living Labs are established at local and regional level. For more information, visit the Living Labs page.
Lighthouses
These are hubs and platforms that support the development and sharing of innovative solutions that can contribute to the Mission's objectives. For more information, visit the Lighthouses page.
Mission Soil Manifesto
This is a non-legally binding document where a wide range of stakeholders can sign the Mission Soil Manifesto and become part of the community by contributing to the protection and the restoration of soil. For more information, visit the Mission Soil Manifesto page.
Access to missions for Canadian entities
Canadian entities can apply to EU missions as part of an associate country under Pillar 2 of Horizon Europe. Mission topics are included in the work programmes for Horizon Europe. Participation and engagement rules for Canadians are the same as for the rest of Pillar 2. For more information, visit Horizon Europe: How to apply.