Tools and processes to support stress tests of critical infrastructure
European Commission · Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON)
Posted 6 May 2026 · 36 days left
In plain terms
The European Commission funds consortia of at least three practitioners (operators, authorities, civil protection or security providers) from EU or associated countries to develop tools and processes for stress-testing critical infrastructure. Grants range from 1.33 to 6 million euros, with applications in English due by 5 November 2026.
A generated summary of the donor's text; the original wording is below.
Summary
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following outcomes:
Critical infrastructure operators and authorities have access to efficient, adaptable, resilient and reliable tools and processes enabling or improving virtual and physical stress tests of their respective assets/ and operations;
Critical entities have broader and deeper understanding of their technical and operational vulnerabilities and adaptive capabilities, improving the scenario building and stress tests exercises;
Systems allowing notification and collaboration under stress conditions are available for relevant stakeholders;
Critical entities are better equipped for post-incident investigations, including data collection, analysis and improved learning, management and sharing in a secure manner;
Improved operational procedures including incidents management and training curricula are developed.
Scope:
The resilience of critical entities is of paramount importance as disruptions to these systems can have significant consequences for the whole economy, public health, security or safety. These systems, responsible for providing essential services for modern society, are…
Excerpt from the donor's page. The full text, annexes and forms are on the original call.
Eligible regions
- eu_only
Who can apply
- ngo_cso
- academia_research
- private_company
- government
- consortium_required
Eligibility and conditions
Show the eligibility text from the source
">General conditions
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
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.
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.
3. Other Eligible Conditions
In line with the “restriction on control in innovation actions in critical technology areas” delineated in General Annex B of the General Annexes, entities established in an eligible country but which are directly or indirectly controlled by China or by a legal entity established in China are not eligible to participate in the action.
Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.
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.
The following additional eligibility conditions apply:
This topic requires involvement as beneficiaries of at least 3 relevant practitioners from EU Member States or Associated Countries. Depending on the specific proposal submitted, these practitioners should represent one or several of the following portfolios:
critical infrastructure operator,
authority responsible for critical infrastructure resilience,
civil protection authority,
law enforcement or private companies providing security for critical infrastructure.
For these participants, applicants must fill in the table “Information about security practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information, following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).
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.
5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
5c. Evaluation and award: 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
The granting authority may, up to 4 years after the end of the action, object to a transfer of ownership or to the exclusive licensing of results, as set out in the specific provision of Annex 5.
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.
Specific conditions
described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]
Some activities resulting from this topic may involve using classified background and/or…