HORIZON-CL6-2027-01-CIRCBIO-04: Capacity building for extending product lifecycles through repair… — expected outcomes, evaluation and traps

Topic	HORIZON-CL6-2027-01-CIRCBIO-04
Status	Forthcoming
Call	HORIZON-CL6-2027-01 — Call 01 - single stage (2027)
Destination	Circular economy and biobased sectors (2026-27)
Type of action	Research and Innovation Actions · lump sum
Opening	20 April 2027
Deadline	22 September 2027
Budget	EUR 4 million to EUR 5 million per project · 2 projects expected · EUR 9 million in total
Part B page limit	45 pages (standard application form; check your call)
Template	Work Programme 2026–2027 application form

Expected outcomes

Projects should contribute to all of the expected outcomes. The topic says: “Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:”

EO1 professionals, consumers and educators adopt innovative repair and refurbishment practices in specific product value chains (electronics, furniture, textiles and footwear), enabling significant reductions in waste, environmental impacts and biodiversity loss, while driving cost savings and job creation in the repair and refurbishment sector.
EO2 professionals, consumers, local partners, social economy actors and educators have access to high-quality training programs that provide them with technical, business and social skills to repair and refurbish products, thus promoting sustainable consumption and production patterns, climate change adaptation and mitigation, reduction of waste and emissions and enhancing resilience of product value chains.

Expected impacts named in the destination

The wider, long-term effects the destination seeks. Your outcomes feed them; they are not project deliverables.

EI1 Improved climate change adaptation and mitigation through the transition to a more sustainable and circular economy and bioeconomy, underpinned by biotechnologies and sustainable industrial solutions, such as carbon capture and utilisation and recovery of materials, water and energy.
EI2 Industrial competitiveness, sustainability and strategic autonomy are improved through the development of safe, sustainable, circular and/or bio-based value chains. This is done by promoting the efficient and circular use of secondary materials and water, fostering the multi-functionality of forests, and ensuring the sustainable supply of critical resources from land and sea.
EI3 Living conditions for individuals and communities are improved through innovative, affordable and sustainable safe and sustainable by design products and services based on circular and/or bio-based solutions while demonstrating a reduction of environmental and climate pressures.
EI4 Advanced societal transformation based on a systemic approach, as well as people’s involvement and integration of social sciences and humanities for fair, safe, sustainable and circular value chains, sustainable consumption patterns, environmental justice, gender equality and social inclusion.

What evaluators will look for in this topic

Expected outcomes

Projects should contribute to all of the expected outcomes.
For each outcome (EO1 to EO2), name who will use or adopt your results (a specific group, not “industry” or “society”), how they get them, and the indicator that shows the change, with baseline, target and date.
Use the topic's own words for each outcome, so the evaluator can tick it off.

What the scope asks for

Evaluators check the proposal against these sentences of the scope. Answer each one visibly, in the call's own words.

“Proposals should:. develop and test innovative, modular and scalable training programs for professionals, consumers, local partners, social economy actors and educators, focusing on the repair and refurbishment of one or more of the following product categories: electronics (including household appliances), furniture, textiles and footwear.”
“These training programs should create engaging, accessible and effective learning experiences that support the development of repair and refurbishment skills;. develop and test new services for repair and refurbishment, as well as strategies for their uptake, considering the potential to reduce biodiversity impacts, support climate change adaptation and mitigation, and promote sustainable consumption patterns.”
“The focus should be on making them accessible and affordable to all consumers, including those with disabilities or with limited access, financial resources or technical expertise.”
“To achieve this, the strategies should investigate various approaches, such as affordable, accessible and convenient repair services, community-based repair initiatives, and knowledge and expertise sharing mechanisms and digital platforms;. evaluate the feasibility, effectiveness and impact of these new services and strategies using robust evaluation methods (including lifecycle assessments such as Product Environmental Footprint, where…”
“This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities.”

Conditions that shape the proposal

Part B, sections 1–3: 45 pages (standard application form). Text beyond the limit is not read; tables and figures count.
Lump sum: the budget is fixed per work package and paid when each work package is completed. Every work package needs activities and deliverables an evaluator can verify, and the effort must match the money.

Impact pathway and traps

The topic asks for social sciences and humanities (SSH) expertise. Evaluators look for SSH partners with a real role in the methodology, not a token task.
Policy or regulation is in scope. Name the policy owners you will reach and what you will give them.
Keep outputs, outcomes and impacts apart: what you deliver, what changes when others use it, and the long-term effect.
For each destination impact you claim, show which of your outcomes feeds it. Destination impacts are long-term effects, not project deliverables.
Name the barriers outside the project (regulation, markets, user behaviour) that could block uptake, and what you will do if they do.
Section 2.3 (the summary canvas) is optional on this call; the old split into scientific, economic and societal impact is no longer required.

The scope, as published

As the EU strives to reduce waste and promote sustainable consumption, as outlined in the European Green Deal, the Clean Industrial Deal and the upcoming Circular Economy Act, extending product lifecycles through repair and refurbishment practices has become a key approach for achieving a circular economy and extending products’ lifecycles. To support this transition, there is a growing need for innovative capacity-building initiatives that equip professionals, consumers, local authorities and educators with the skills and knowledge required to repair and refurbish products. These practices can contribute to the extension of product lifecycles, thus reducing environmental and climate impacts and contributing for the development of a single market for sustainable products. Proposals should: develop and test innovative, modular and scalable training programs for professionals, consumers, local partners, social economy actors and educators, focusing on the repair and refurbishment of one or more of the following product categories: electronics (including household appliances), furniture, textiles and footwear. These training programs should create engaging, accessible and effective learning experiences that support the development of repair and refurbishment skills; develop and test new services for repair and refurbishment, as well as strategies for their uptake, considering the potential to reduce biodiversity impacts, support climate change adaptation and mitigation, and promote sustainable consumption patterns. The focus should be on making them accessible and affordable to all consumers, including those with disabilities or with limited access, financial resources or technical expertise. To achieve this, the strategies should investigate various approaches, such as affordable, accessible and convenient repair services, community-based repair initiatives, and knowledge and expertise sharing mechanisms and digital platforms; evaluate the feasibility, effectiveness and impact of these new services and strategies using robust evaluation methods (including lifecycle assessments such as Product Environmental Footprint, where relevant) and present data and evidence about the economic, environmental and social costs and benefits of the developed strategies. The topic supports EU policies, particularly the European Green Deal, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, the upcoming Circular Economy Act and Europe’s efforts to develop a single market for sustainable products. This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities.

Source and attribution

Topic text from the official topic page on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, retrieved 19 October 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU (CC BY 4.0). Changes: the expected outcomes and impacts are split into numbered statements, long passages are shortened, and the evaluator checklist is GrantWise's own commentary. Your call and the Work Programme always win; check them before you submit. GrantWise is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the European Commission.

Capacity building for extending product lifecycles through repair and refurbishment

Expected outcomes

Expected impacts named in the destination

What evaluators will look for in this topic

Expected outcomes

What the scope asks for

Conditions that shape the proposal

Impact pathway and traps

Other topics in HORIZON-CL6-2027-01

Source and attribution