European Partnership for research in radiation protection and detection of ionising radiation

Scope: The Commission invites proposals for the establishment of the European Partnership for research in radiation protection and detection of ionising radiation. Proposed Partnerships should fulfil requirements set out in this topic as well as meet criteria for the selection and implementation of European Partnerships, their monitoring, evaluation, phase-out or renewal as set in Horizon Europe Regulation^[1].

Radiation protection research funded under this Partnership should provide solutions and recommendations for protecting people and the environment from the potentially harmful effects of ionising radiation, as required by the Basic Safety Standards Directive. A reinforced multidisciplinary approach to research, innovation and citizen involvement is needed to develop the knowledge base further and enable implementation of innovations regarding risks from different exposures to radiation, thereby enabling the application of that knowledge to direct gains in radiation protection culture and practice. The influence of individual’s characteristics, such as sex and age, and the interaction with other risk factors will have to be addressed as part of research on individual sensitivity, susceptibility, and degenerative fragility. This is of a significant concern in medical applications, which are to be justified and optimised, based on sound evidence and scientific outcomes.

Implementation of this Partnership would require the cooperation of the entire European research community to exploit synergies between different scientific disciplines. This implies the potential involvement of all research institutions and universities, encompassing both fundamental and applied research, as well as the human and social sciences. The Partnership would need to take account of the present state of knowledge and priorities identified in the Strategic Research Agenda of MELODI (low dose radiation), ALLIANCE (radioecology), European Metrology Network for Radiation Protection (EMN RP), EURADOS (dosimetry), NERIS (nuclear emergency preparedness) and EURAMED (medical exposures), SHARE (social sciences and humanities) and SNETP (sustainable nuclear energy technology platform).

Furthermore, citizens should continue to be involved by supporting open and participatory approaches to research and innovation in the field of radiation protection. Good decisions require consideration of societal issues and citizen involvement in the options and assessment of risks associated with radiation exposure.

To deliver expected outcomes, the Partnership will build on and further develop its Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA). The Partnership would also need to consider the Euratom Scientific and Technical Committee’s opinion on the research roadmap, the SAMIRA initiative and the Roadmap[[Roadmap for medical applications of ionising radiation for better patients’ lives. The roadmap is a result of the European Commission’s Strategic Agenda for Medical Ionising Radiation Applications (SAMIRA), established as a contribution to Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.]] for medical applications of ionising radiation, developed in the EURAMED rocc-n-roll[[EURAMED Rocc-N-Roll – European Medical Application and Radiation Protection Concept, https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/899995]] project funded under Euratom.

The Partnership will address the identified research and innovation priorities through at least one open call. Call priorities will be determined in close connection with stakeholders. The governance structure within the Partnership should ensure independent, open calls, project proposal evaluation and selection.

Links with other partnerships and international cooperation beyond Euratom, particularly with international organisations are encouraged. Other synergies across programmes, such as Horizon Europe Health cluster and the proposed mission cancer will continue to be explored through dedicated working groups. Collaboration with industry for technological developments and bringing scientific and technological breakthroughs a step closer to the market for the benefit of citizens and society is also recommended.

The Partnership will ensure the availability of and facilitate access to state-of-the-art research infrastructures required to implement the SRIA. This will be done coherently with action HORIZON-EURATOM-2026-01-04 (European Facility in Nuclear Research).

Finally, the Partnership will develop competences in radiological protection with a special focus on radiological protection culture. Solutions should be proposed to address the challenge of communicating results in radiological protection to, and engaging with, non-specialist audiences, such as policy decision-makers and the wider public.

Financial commitments and in-kind contributions are expected from the consortium partners to support the governance structure, joint calls, and other dedicated implementation actions and efforts for national coordination.

Proposals could pool the necessary financial resources from participating national (or regional) research programmes with a view to implementing joint calls for transnational proposals, resulting in grants to third parties.

The Commission also invites consortia to propose innovative solutions and research approaches beyond those listed above in order to achieve the expected outcomes.

Where appropriate, the Commission recommends that consortia make use of the services of the JRC. The JRC may participate in the preparation and submission of the proposal. The JRC would bear the operational costs for its own staff and research infrastructure operational costs. The JRC facilities and expertise are listed in General Annex H of this Work Programme.

The consortium that won the grant under topic HORIZON-EURATOM-2021-NRT-01-09 is uniquely placed to submit a proposal to continue the envisioned partnership. With regard to the various activities already undertaken in previous years, no other consortium can continue the activities of the Partnership underway without a significant disruption of the ongoing activities.

While the grant under this topic should be attributed to a proposal submitted by the coordinator of the consortium funded under topic HORIZON-EURATOM-2021-NRT-01-09, the consortium applying to the present topic may include additional partners and new activities, to be funded by the grant subject to an evaluation, which will take into account the existing context and the scope of the initial evaluation (as relevant), and related obligations enshrined in the grant agreement.

Total indicative budget for the duration of the partnership and co-financing rate: the table below provides an overview of the 2026-2027 appropriations that will be committed for the co-fund grant to support the European partnership. EUR 15 million will be committed in instalments over the 2 years (2026-2027).