Networking to scale up living labs for nature restoration solutions and to address bottlenecks to implementation

What is this call about?

The topic funds a coordination network that connects nature restoration living labs across Europe, shares methods and links them with policy and with buyers of certified carbon farming credits. Proposals must apply the multi-actor approach, and the network should involve relevant stakeholders such as land managers, authorities, researchers and financiers.

What does this call fund?

Scope

The topic funds one action that organises a European network of living labs and lighthouses dedicated to nature restoration, so that validated deployment frameworks are developed coherently and taken up widely under the EU Nature Restoration Regulation.

Activities

• Develop common methodologies, standards, impact frameworks and capacity building for living labs, with national and regional living lab networks and cross-border collaboration, covering as many Member States and Associated Countries as possible.
• Inform living labs about relevant legislation, experience from the LIFE programme and Biodiversa+ knowledge hubs, and financing opportunities such as the nature credits roadmap and the carbon farming certification framework.
• Promote existing carbon farming and nature credit methods for agriculture, agroforestry, peatland restoration and afforestation for testing in living labs.
• Turn living lab results into policy and implementation outputs and support authorities in setting operational priorities.
• Map current and emerging restoration living labs and lighthouses and provide practical recommendations for new ones.
• Facilitate alliances between living lab actors and coalitions of buyers of certified carbon farming credits with biodiversity benefits.
• Promote knowledge sharing and communication on restoration, including to counter misinformation.

Network membership

The network should include coordinators of the living lab projects funded under the related 2027 topic on living labs for ecosystem restoration and be open to other living labs whose main objective is ecosystem restoration, including those under the Soil Mission, the Agroecology partnership, the Ocean and Waters Mission and national or regional programmes.

Expected outcomes

Better connected living labs, stronger cooperation between research, practice and policy, and shared deployment and governance frameworks for scaling up restoration.

What are proposals expected to do?

• The network should ensure balanced involvement of Member States and Associated Countries and gender balance.
• The selected project should cooperate closely with the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity.

When is the deadline?

14 January 2027 (69 days)