Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
The general objective of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (‘Mechanism’ or ‘UCPM’) is to strengthen the cooperation between the Union and the Member States and to facilitate coordination in the field of civil protection in order to improve the effectiveness of systems for preventing, preparing for and responding to natural and man-made disasters.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
The overall objective of the UCPM is to strengthen the cooperation among Member States in the field of civil protection to improve the effectiveness of systems for preventing, preparing for, and responding to natural and human-induced disasters. The UCPM aims to achieve a high level of protection against disasters by preventing or reducing their potential effects, and to enhance preparedness at Member State and Union level to respond to disasters.
The action provides national disaster risk management authorities of eligible countries with financial support for the development of strategic disaster risk management actions. National disaster risk management authorities are best placed to identify priorities and gaps that the UCPM and other programmes (national, EU, international) can help address in their countries.
Detailed Call Description
General Objectives of Track 1 (according to the Financing Decision):
- To support Member States’ actions in implementing the Union disaster resilience goals.
- To support Member States’ efforts of enhancing their institutional and technical capacity for preparing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating and improving strategic disaster risk management activities. This shall take into account climate adaptation and resilience building.
- To sustain Member States’ efforts to anticipate future systemic shocks, by fostering a culture of prevention and by improving cooperation between the civil protection, disaster risk management, and other relevant services.
- To support the preparation and the implementation of prevention and preparedness investments, strategies and reforms.
- To support the new and future Participating States in fulfilling their responsibilities under the Mechanism.
- To further develop plans, procedures and/or arrangements aimed at ensuring effective cross-sectoral and cross-border crisis prevention, preparedness and response, while ensuring the integration with the overall UCPM efforts.
- To support civil protection organisations and disaster risk management actors in integrating climate adaptation and resilience in their risk assessments, strategies and plans, investments, and overall activities.
- To support the greening of civil protection and disaster risk management activities.
Specific Objectives of the 2025 Track 1 call:
- To facilitate access to financing for investments in disaster risk management, including for the green transition;
- To contribute to new policies, strategies and investment plans for anticipating and managing current and future risks;
- To support the implementation of the EU Wildfire Prevention Action Plan;
- To support the implementation of the Disaster Resilience Goals (four out of the five Goals are supported through this call, disaster resilience goal no. 4 is covered by response capacities in the European Civil Protection Pool and rescEU);
- To enhance risk awareness and preparedness of the population and to facilitate public access to disaster risk information;
- To generate evidence and knowledge for improved policy and practice in disaster risk management, and climate resilience;
- To support the green transition of disaster risk management authorities.
Applicants must choose only one of the following priorities:
- Priority 1 – Strategic frameworks for disaster risk management
- Priority 2 – Investments for disaster risk management
- Priority 3 – Investments to improve crisis management capabilities
Under Priority 1 – Strategic frameworks for disaster risk management – outputs could include:
- New or improved multi-risk or risk-specific disaster risk management plans or strategies;
- Improved risk assessment analyses, methodologies or tools;
- Compilation of good practices and knowledge in the field of disaster risk management;
- Development and implementation of strategies and measures aimed at increasing risk awareness and preparedness of the population.
- Digital awareness raising products, such as media campaigns, including social media, open-source platforms, other visuals;
- Development of training and educational modules, methodologies, workshops, for the general public or specific groups, including vulnerable groups and persons with disabilities;
- New or improved action plans for disaster risk prevention;
- New or improved guidelines on disaster risk recovery, taking into account “buildback better” principles;
- Studies and analyses aimed at developing/upgrading policies, legislation, governance arrangements, and / or implementing the relevant Union disaster resilience goals;
- Green transition plans and/or tools for disaster risk management authorities;
- Establishment of stakeholder’ consultation platforms on disaster risk management;
- Relevant databases and/or IT applications;
- New or improved national multi-hazard disaster loss databases and procedures.
Under Priority 2 – Investments for disaster risk management – outputs could include:
- Studies for the preparation or upgrade of investments for disaster risk management and climate resilience (e.g. feasibility assessment, economic analyses, impact assessment, design options, etc.).
- Proposals for investment projects addressing disaster risk management and climate resilience that would be submitted for funding under the national budget or other funding instruments (including EU), including technical specifications/terms of reference;
- Studies, analyses, guidelines, or procedures aimed at implementing the relevant Union disaster resilience goal.
Under Priority 3 – Investments to improve crisis management capabilities – outputs could include:
- Plans and standard operating procedures;
- Development of training modules and corresponding training materials to build relevant skills in DRM;
- Guidance material for translating lessons learnt into existing learning initiatives;
- Scenario frameworks, manuals, guidelines and planning tools, action plans, evaluation reports and trainings on their use and adaptation;
- Improved methodologies and applications for impact-based forecasting, detection and monitoring;
- Tools for public warning, taking into account specific needs of the population (for instance, multi-lingual communities, vulnerable groups and persons with disabilities, etc.).
- Studies, analyses, guidelines, or procedures aimed at implementing the relevant Union Disaster Resilience Goal(s).
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
95%
Project budget (maximum grant amount) per project: €750.000
The grant awarded may be lower than the amount requested.
Thematic Categories
- Environment and Climate Change
- Public Administration
- Social Affairs & Human Rights
- Urban Development
Eligibility for Participation
- Central Government
- Investment Funds
- Legal Entities
- Local Authorities
- NGOs
- Non Profit Organisations
- Other Beneficiaries
- Private Bodies
- State-owned Enterprises
Eligibility For Participation Notes
In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
- be legal entities (public bodies);
- be national authorities;
- be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
- UCPM Participating Countries:
- EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs);
- UCPM Participating States: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, Ukraine (list of participating countries);
- Other countries: Georgia and Kosovo, in view of their ongoing efforts to join the UCPM.
- UCPM Participating Countries:
While there are no strict requirements on the applicants as regards their main areas of competence, based on the priorities of this call, it is understood that applicants will have competences in the disaster risk and crisis management areas. Whenever the applicant is not a national civil protection authority, it is recommended that the application includes references to the relevant legal basis showing the responsibilities of the applicant in the disaster risk management area. This will allow a better understanding of the proposal during the evaluation process.
Consortium composition
This call is targeting both single and multiple beneficiaries.
If a consortium is established, this consortium needs to be led by a national authority fulfilling the requirements above for the applicants. Also in a consortium setup, the focus of the project should be national capacity development in Disaster Risk Management.
Due to the technical nature of the activities and the administrative structure in case of decentralised administrations, a legal entity having a legal or capital link with the main applicant, which is neither limited to the action nor established for the sole purpose of its implementation, may take part in the action as an Affiliated Entity.
Affiliated entities may declare eligible costs. It is therefore important that applicants correctly identify the Affiliated Entity(-ies) in the application form.
Where an action, due to its nature, should require sub-contracting (e.g. to make available a specific/technical expertise), the eligible applicant will still need to keep the “steering” of the action and ownership of its outputs. Under this call for proposals, the entire action may be sub contracted, except for the tasks of reporting and submitting of the deliverables to the Commission.
In all cases, the eligible applicant takes the responsibility for the oversight and execution of the activities and for the final deliverables to the Commission.
Applicants may participate with associated partners (i.e. partner organisations which participate in the action but without the right to get grant money). They participate without funding and therefore do not need to be validated.
Eligible activities: are the ones set out in section 2 above.
Projects must comply with EU policy interests and priorities (such as environment, social, security, industrial and trade policy, etc). Projects must also respect EU values and European Commission policy regarding reputational matters (e.g. activities involving capacity building, policy support, awareness raising, communication, dissemination, etc).
The following activities are not considered as eligible for funding under this call:
- Purchase of equipment;
- Works;
- Activities on Prevention and Preparedness in the field of Disaster
Risk Management being funded by other EU funds, including funds made available to implement Decision No 1313/2013/EU.
Financial support to third parties is not allowed.
Geographic location (target countries): Proposals must relate to activities taking place in the eligible countries (see above).
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Civil Defence
Ministry of Interior Affairs
Kyriakos Hadjigeorgiou
Senior Civil Defence Officer
Telephone: +357 22 403448
Email: khadjigeorgiou@cd.moi.gov.cy
EU Contact Point
For help related to this call, please contact ECHO-CP-P&P@ec.europa.eu