On May 13 2024, the Italian National Event on the EU Soil Mission "100 Living Labs and Lighthouses for Soil Health: 2024 Funding Opportunities" took place in Rome and online. Trust-IT Services has organised the event along with the Politecnico di Milano, in collaboration with RE SOIL Foundation. This event aimed to promote the 2024 call for proposals under the EU Mission "A Soil Deal for Europe" at national and regional levels in the framework of the NATI00NS project.
The Horizon Europe NATI00NS project's national events are designed to raise awareness of the EU Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe” by providing high-quality materials and information, stimulating discussions on the best configurations of Living Labs (LLs) to address specific soil needs in various local contexts, and facilitating matchmaking for interregional LL clusters. The goal is to support regional and national entities and organisations in applying for Horizon Europe topics on “Soil Health Living Labs.”
The sessions were geared towards engaging participants from all sectors related to soil management and highlighting the benefits of participating in the Mission's activities. The ultimate objective was to help entities and organisations submit strong proposals in response to the Mission Soil topics. The event also provided valuable insights from the previous round of calls and dedicated specific sessions to networking and pitching, enabling the formation of consortia among participants.
Interested participants were invited to register on the online matchmaking platform, where they could meet potential partners to build Living Labs and consortia.
NATI00NS and Its Role in the EU Soil Mission
NATI00NS is a 24-month project aimed at raising awareness about funding opportunities under the Horizon Europe Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe.” The primary goal of the Mission is to establish 100 Living Labs and Lighthouses to drive the transition to healthy soils by 2030.
Since 2021, the EU Soil Mission has funded projects focused on sustainable soil and land management to enhance soil functions and ecosystem services, including food supply, water purification, nutrient cycling, carbon storage, and biodiversity support. The Mission promotes a transition to healthy soils through an ambitious research and innovation program with a strong social science component, aiming to create an effective network of 100 Living Labs and Lighthouses to co-create knowledge, test solutions, and demonstrate their value in real conditions.
NATI00NS supports this mission by mobilising and building the capacities of stakeholders in 44 EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries to apply for regional soil health Living Labs calls. Through national and trans-European activities, including 44 national engagement events, NATI00NS informs and stimulates discussions on soil health challenges and resilience strategies, creation of Living Labs, and proposal development in line with the Mission's criteria.
NATI00NS will conclude in October 2024, overlapping briefly with its successor, SOILL-Startup, which began in early 2024 and is expected to continue the legacy of both NATI00NS and PREPSOIL.