HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-PARTICIPATION-02: Innovative approaches for the spatial design of neighbourhoods — expected outcomes, evaluation and traps

Topic	HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-PARTICIPATION-02
Status	Open
Call	HORIZON-NEB-2026-01 — Beautiful, inclusive and sustainable neighbourhoods for communities
Destination	Connecting the green transformation, social inclusion and local democracy (2026-27)
Type of action	Innovation Actions · lump sum
Opening	5 May 2026
Deadline	1 December 2026
Budget	around EUR 5 million per project · 2 projects expected · EUR 10 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 Demonstrated approaches aligned with NEB allow architects, designers, spatial planners and neighbourhood decision makers to ensure an efficient and effective integration of user perspectives in the spatial design and/or transformation of public spaces.
EO2 The demonstrated approaches deliver positive climate, environmental, social and cultural impact (such as addressing inequalities and enhancing social cohesion, community resilience, civic engagement and a sense of security, ownership and belonging).

Expected impacts named in the destination

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

EI1 Supporting people, strengthening our societies and our social model.
EI2 Protecting our democracy, upholding our values.
EI3 A new plan for Europe’s sustainable prosperity and competitiveness.
EI4 Better understand the impacts of neighbourhoods on inhabitants’ experiences, health and well-being, to inform the development of more beautiful, inclusive and sustainable neighbourhoods.
EI5 Develop innovative design, planning, and management strategies for neighbourhoods to prioritise adaptability, quality of experience, accessibility and inclusion – especially of groups in a vulnerable situation – while enhancing health, well-being and community cohesion.
EI6 Enhance the green transition, including renewable energy supply and efficiency aspects, through inclusive and transdisciplinary approaches to innovation that leverage arts, culture, cultural heritage, history, design, architecture, digital technologies, social innovation, (citizen-)science, and informal and local forms of knowledge systems.
EI7 Encourage co-governance approaches to enhance transparency, multi-level engagement, and community resilience, to give nature a voice, and to support adaptive and inclusive decision-making for the long-term social, environmental, cultural and economic sustainability of neighbourhoods.
EI8 Explore evidence-based mechanisms to foster ownership, balance public and private interest, and enhance acceptability and democratic participation by neighbourhood actors towards a fair green transition at the neighbourhood level as well as to tailor policy-making and public service design for neighbourhoods.
EI9 Stakeholders involved in the green transition in neighbourhoods adopt a holistic approach which takes into consideration the complex interplay between local and cultural specificities; the social, cultural, economic and environmental dimensions of neighbourhoods; climate; inhabitant’s experiences; health and well-being; inequalities; and democratic, participatory and deliberative practices and governance approaches in neighbourhoods.
EI10 Inclusive, healthy, and active communities with sustainable ways of living and consumption develop a sense of belonging and ownership of change that supports a fair green transition in neighbourhoods.
EI11 Better embedding history, arts, culture, cultural heritage, cultural and creative industries, cultural and linguistic diversity, cultural participation, placemaking and digital technologies in innovation, transformation, social inclusion and civic engagement processes for a fair green transition in neighbourhoods.

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.

“Integrating new methods (such as research-by-design, security-by-design, or life-centric design) in the architectural design and spatial planning of public space can help reflect on the values, practices and stakeholder relations that underpin the design of public spaces; rethink how public spaces are understood; overcome the potential conflict between the need to accelerate planning and the time needed for participatory, inclusive and…”
“Proposals are expected to address all of the following:.”
“These innovative methods are expected to: Analyse the values, practices and stakeholder relations that underpin the design of public space in neighbourhoods.”
“Proposals are expected to follow a participatory and transdisciplinary approach through the integration of different actors and disciplines.”
“This topic requires the effective contribution of social sciences and humanities (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.”
“Proposals are expected to allocate at least 0.8% of their budget for engaging with the Horizon Europe-funded 'New European Bauhaus hub for results and impact' to share their intermediate and final results, findings and learning, as well as to contribute to impact assessment.”

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.
Innovation action: evaluators expect a plausible path to commercialisation and named first users or customers.

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.
Users or citizens are part of the scope. Show how they take part in the design and testing, not only that they are informed.
The scope expects pilots or demonstration. Name the sites, the partners who run them and what is measured there.
Open science or data practices are named. Make the data management plan concrete: which data, which repository, when.
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

The design of neighbourhood public spaces defines their functionality, but also other aspects such as power dynamics and sense of belonging. A fair green transition calls for neighbourhood public spaces to be designed and managed for diverse users. Integrating new methods (such as research-by-design, security-by-design, or life-centric design) in the architectural design and spatial planning of public space can help reflect on the values, practices and stakeholder relations that underpin the design of public spaces; rethink how public spaces are understood; overcome the potential conflict between the need to accelerate planning and the time needed for participatory, inclusive and deliberative processes; and speed up their green transition while actively includin g their inhabitants’ diverse perspectives. Proposals are expected to address all of the following: Assess how spatial design determines gendered, age-appropriate and identity-related patterns of use (e.g. in terms of mobility, safety, sense of security and access to public and private spaces) and how inclusive approaches and accessibility can address diverse needs and experiences of users and the community. Develop one approach to designing and planning public space that uses innovative methods. These innovative methods are expected to: Analyse the values, practices and stakeholder relations that underpin the design of public space in neighbourhoods. Be adapted to the sociocultural factors of the neighbourhoods and use co-creation to incorporate inhabitants’ diverse perspectives and to exploit the potential of cultural, creative, and educational (academic) sectors. Address climate-resilience, water resilience, civil security, and biodiversity of public space and the safety, well-being and security of its users. Assess the multisensory perception of public spaces, including their beauty and aesthetics, by users and the community. Be adaptable, replicable and scalable to local specificities. Demonstrate the approach in at least three neighbourhoods (in urban, peri-urban and rural areas) located in different Member States and/or Associated Countries. Develop plans and recommendations for the take up of the demonstrated approach. This includes assessing its potential application to other areas of the green transition of neighbourhoods (e.g. water resilient design planning, public service design, procurement, etc.) as well as identifying skills needs and gaps. Proposals are expected to follow a participatory and transdisciplinary approach through the integration of different actors and disciplines. This topic requires the effective contribution of social sciences and humanities (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. Proposals are expected to allocate at least 0.8% of their budget for engaging with the Horizon Europe-funded 'New European Bauhaus hub for results and impact' to share their intermediate and final results, findings and learning, as well as to contribute to impact assessment. See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP26-27. See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP26-27. See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP26-27. LARCHER, M., KARLOS, V., SCHUMACHER, R., STREZOVA, D., CAVERZAN, A. et al., ’Security by Design: Protection of public spaces from terrorist attacks‘, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2760/654492 See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP26-27. See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP26-27. See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP26-27. See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP26-27. See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP26-27. See definition in the Glossary section of the NEB part of the HE WP26-27.

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.

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-NEB-2026-01

Source and attribution