National engagement activities to support the launch of the Mission 'A Soil Deal for Europe’ 100 Living Labs and Lighthouses

Project Information

NATI00NS

Grant agreement ID: 101090738

DOI

10.3030/101090738

Project closed

EC signature date 14 November 2022

Start date 1 November 2022

End date 31 October 2024

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 2 999 084,25

EU contribution

€ 2 999 084,25

Coordinated by

AARHUS UNIVERSITET
Denmark

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - NATI00NS (National engagement activities to support the launch of the Mission 'A Soil Deal for Europe’ 100 Living Labs and Lighthouses)

Reporting period: 2023-11-01 to 2024-10-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The EU Mission "A Soil Deal for Europe" aims at establishing 100 regional Living Labs and Lighthouses as innovation and knowledge beacons for co-creating and testing land management practices and solutions within the overall aim to lever systemic change in land use and improve soil health. On this background the overall objective of NATI00NS is reaching out to and preparing potential applicants across Europe to apply for and implement soil health Living Labs, facilitating the deployment of the Mission within all relevant land use types. Thus, NATI00NS designed an overall approach to define, survey and reach out to a variety of stakeholders potentially interested in LLs within Agriculture, Forestry, Urban, Industrial/Post-industrial and Nature land use types. A suite of complementary activities was planned to inform, engage and support potential applicants in up to 44 countries (all EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries) in two annual cycles adjusted to the relevant Horizon Europe Mission call deadlines. This included national engagement events in all countries, training of national mentors, capacity building activities, a helpdesk and a matchmaking platform to prepare stakeholders to apply for and implement soil health Living Labs.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The main activities conducted in Year 1 of NATI00NS were a series of linked engagement, training and capacity building activities: National engagement events, engaging potential applicants before the deadline for the first call for Living Lab topics, were organised in 42 countries and joint materials were produced all in national languages. Five factsheets on the concept and their specific role of Living Labs and Lighthouses were produced and presented. Three webinars were held to support for stakeholders engaging in a Living Lab, focusing on setting up, governance and core elements of Living Labs. Matchmaking Portal was created to facilitate consortium building, providing support for matchmaking of likeminded Living Labs in preparation. The Helpdesk was set up online to address questions from applicants, providing support until the closure of the 2023 Living Lab topics. Additionally, NATI00NS Mentors in 18 EU or Associated countries were trained to assist applicants at the national level.

In year 2 of NATI00NS, six thematic events were carried out, addressing topics related to the Mission and directed to transnational domain-specific communities. The second round of National engagement events were organised in 44 EU Member States and Associated Countries, and two dedicated events were held to better engage potential applicants from Northern European and Baltic countries. A final event organised on 25th September 2024 provided last-minute support to applicants by involving representatives from funded LL projects. The five factsheets produced in year 1 were updated to promote the 2024 call for Living Lab topics. Two webinars training the Mentors were implemented, and following the three webinars in year 1, another four webinars were developed as part of the capacity building program. Two matchmaking events were organised facilitating consortia creation. The helpdesk continued to support applicants.

Overall, the main achievements and outcomes of these activities are that NATI00NS has spurred major awareness across Europe as regards knowledge of the Mission Soil, the soil health Living Lab concept, and the criteria for applying for the soil health Living Lab topics. The high number of applications (44 in 2023 and 72 in 2024) submitted for the topics for Living Labs was partly due to NATI00NS activities, from NEEs to training to matchmaking support, which also led to a varied range of proposals representing differences in geography, soil type, actors, and soil health challenges. Five projects were funded responding to the 2023 Living Lab call topics and the first 25 Mission Soil Living Labs are unveiled. If a number of proposals meet the criteria and are selected for funding after the 2024 call, the outcome of high-quality, collaborative, multi-actor, transnational consortia selected can again be confirmed.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

NATI00NS raised awareness among national and regional stakeholders through National engagement events, project branding and a dedicated website. It built the capacity of potential applicants and steered discussion on first national LLs using National engagement events, capacity building e-learning materials & webinars, trained national Mentors for coaching sessions and Helpdesk service. Matchmaking at national level was facilitated through National engagement events, at the regional level through events in specific areas, and across Europe via the Matchmaking Portal and dedicated matchmaking events, while knowledge generated during the project was successfully exploited via knowledge capitalisation from events and activities.