Please note: This text was translated by AI and has not been reviewed. In case of any uncertainties, the Swedish version applies.
The European Biodiversity Partnership under Horizon Europe - Biodiversa plus - will soon open a call for international three-year projects focusing on the restoration of ecosystem function, integrity and connectivity.
This call is focused on fostering innovative research to be integrated into nature restoration practices for interconnected and well-functioning ecosystems and habitats, with special consideration for long-term sustainability and future-proofing of restoration efforts, at scales from local to regional to cross-border and global, including their evaluation.
The call covers restoration efforts for biodiversity in all types of ecosystems and habitats, in all regions of the world, supporting high-quality research and innovation projects on biodiversity and ecosystem restoration with holistic, systemic, and integrated approaches.
Projects that will be proposed under this call can focus on a wide range of aspects, e.g.: different categories of indicators; multiple scales for restoration upscaling; ecological, socio-economic, and socio-cultural dimensions; and/or varying levels of environmental regulations and policies needing alignment.
Information webinar
An international webinar about the call in English was held on September 11. The webinar can be viewed afterwards on Biodiversa's website. There you can also download ppt images from the webinar.
Direct link to the webinar: https://youtu.be/es8AGkJXYEo External link.
A digital information meeting aimed at Swedish applicants was held on September 18: Recording of information meeting
National eligibility rules for applying to the call
Swedish applicants must have completed a doctoral degree and be employed by an organization that is approved by Formas as an administrating organisation for all types of calls. All Swedish colleges and universities, most research institutes and a number of authorities with research assignments are generally approved. Read more here or contact Formas if you are unsure whether your organization is eligible to apply. Who can apply for funding? - Formas External link.
You can apply for funding for both direct costs, such as salaries, equipment and travel, and indirect costs (overhead costs). Universities and colleges may add on indirect costs according to the full cost principle they apply, but research institutes and authorities with research assignments can apply for indirect costs up to an amount corresponding to a maximum of 45% of their eligible personnel costs. Read more here: Project costs that qualify for funding - Formas External link.
VAT should not be included in the budget.
Briefly about the application process
In this call, three Swedish funding bodies collaborate, where funding from Formas and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency is available for the entire thematic scope of the call, while funding from the Swedish National Space Board is earmarked for projects that include relevant aspects of the use or analysis of Earth observation data. Therefore, make sure to clearly state in the application whether this aspect is included in the project.
In an application where participants active in Sweden are included, a maximum of EUR 260,000 can be applied for in total for the Swedish participants. If the application has a Swedish project leader, a maximum of EUR 340,000 can be applied for in total for the Swedish participants.
The call is implemented in two stages
In the first stage, applicants submit a pre-proposal in the electronic application system used by Biodiversa+. The application must be registered in the system by November 7, 2025.
After a first round of evaluation, a number of consortia will be invited to submit a full proposal in April 2026. Swedish applicants participating in a consortium invited to submit a full proposal will be contacted by Formas for more information about the administrative process and how to register their application in Prisma.
Contact information
Hannah Östergård Roswall, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
Telephone: 010-698 16 81
Ernesto Gutiérrez, Swedish National Space Agency
Phone: 08-409 077 077 66
Email: ernesto.gutierrez@snsa.se