By Irini Polidorou
This is the first call for proposals under the NEB Facility, as part of the newly adopted Horizon Europe work programme, the latter with a total budget of €7.3 billion for 2025, from the amount of €93.5 billion for the period 2021-2027.
The NEB Facility runs from 2025 to 2027, as the first-ever multiannual funding tool for NEB projects. It aims at providing a targeted and coherent policy response towards revitalizing European neighbourhoods through design for sustainability and inclusion, transforming the built environment and people's relationship with it through research, innovation, and deployment of solutions.
Applications to the calls are expected to foresee bottom-up approaches, integrating local actors, engaging local communities and fostering public participation allowing for tailoring each NEB solution to the characteristics of each neighbourhood.
Proposals are also expected to integrate expertise by the social sciences and humanity (SSH) disciplines, such as psychology or sociology, aiming at enhancing the societal impact of the relevant projects, a request derived from consultation with National Authorities.
The overarching idea of the newly launched NEB Facility entails going beyond the Green Deal transition, supporting social cohesion and well-being and strengthening trust in democracy, as experienced at the local level.
The new programme is structured over two strands, the Research and Innovation (R&I) Component and the Roll-out Component. The first strand focuses on the development of novel, including digital, solutions aligned with NEB values and has an approximate budget of around EUR 120 million per year, earmarked in the Horizon Europe Work Programmes for 2025-2027. The second strand is estimated to leverage a similar level of investment, at least around EUR 120 million per year from EU programmes, with additional support from national and private funding. It focuses on implementing and scaling up NEB initiatives, such as innovative solutions for affordable housing, inclusive cultural heritage, strengthened local democracy, or the use of culture as a language of change.
The programme has three main objectives:
- transforming places with communities, enhancing social acceptance of the clean transition and democratic processes at local level;
- supporting innovation, providing circular and regenerative solutions for the clean transition;
- enabling change, exploring new business and funding models, and developing skills.
The updated edition of the programme was shaped from the experience gathered since the launch of the NEB in 2021, as well as from structured public consultation. During 2021 - 2025, more than €500 million have been invested in NEB projects, across more than 40 countries. Their diversity showcased in NEB awards, NEB projects included applications from blue community gardens of Gothenburg to the revival of riverbanks in Sofia and Lisbon. Additionally, since 2021, more than 1,700 organisations have been engaged in the NEB’s vibrand community all over Europe.
Growing from this experience, the Commission shifts the focus beyond the built environment, setting people at the heart of the new programme. This shift comes after redefining the programme’s priorities as a result of analysing public consultations that the European Commission conducted during 2024 with the Member States, Countries Associated to Horizon Europe and NEB stakeholders, the latter representing the 93% of the 323 participants. Their contributions were taken under consideration in shaping the Roadmap for the New European Bauhaus Facility 2025 - 2027.
The calls that opened on the 15th of May and their respective budgets include:
€16 million for Innovative approaches for sustainable, inclusive and beautiful social and affordable housing
€9 million for Fostering and maintaining the social fabric for the green transition in neighbourhoods
€2.50 million for Network of neighbourhoods for innovative policies on gentrification
€16 million for Applying regenerative design to the built environment in neighbourhoods
€10.40 million for Beautiful, sustainable and inclusive street furniture for the transformation of neighbourhoods
€12 million for Renovating the built environment through design for adaptability and disassembly
€10 million for Bio-fabricated materials for sustainable and beautiful construction
€10.50 million for The impact of common space on neighbourhood communities
€12 million for Bottom-up social entrepreneurship for the co-creation of neighbourhoods in line with the New European Bauhaus
€8 million for Sufficiency measures in the built environment
€12 million for Reverse local construction supply chains for the beautiful re-assembly of reclaimed construction products
Interested applicants may refer to the annex of the updated work programme of the Horizon Europe for details on admissibility, eligibility, and award criteria.
Follow info day on the NEB Facility organised by the European Commission, on 4 of June 2025, 9:30 to 13:00 (CET).
Follow the online matchmaking event organised by the NEB4ALL project, on 5 of June 13:30 to 17:00 (CET).
Find here Open NEB Calls
Find more on the New European Bauhaus Facility here
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Photo NEB Showcase Terrario Arquitectura, 2024
