A free service by Scientific Network Management s-n-m.eu ↗
Funding Radar

Approaches to reuse vacant, obsolete or underutilised spaces

eu HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-BUSINESS-03 · Horizon Europe (HORIZON)

Statusopen
Opens05 May 2026
Deadline01 Dec 2026 — 79 days
ActionHORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
Official pagehttps://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunit…
Fetched2026-09-13 04:00:37+00:00

You are reading one call. 1,385 are open right now.

A search matches words. It cannot know what your institution works on. Give the name and every open call is ranked against it — this one included.

Free · no account · nothing stored that identifies you

Scope

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: An increased number of local authorities systematically identify and quantify vacant, obsolete or underutilised spaces for reuse in neighbourhoods [1] in a context-sensitive way to address local community [1] challenges and needs. Increase in renovated, renatured, or converted spaces that address local community challenges and needs. Scope: Europe’s housing needs, inefficient use of the existing building stock, environmental commitments, and the EU’s goal of “no net land take” by 2050 make a compelling case for reusing the significant number of existing spaces, including buildings and infrastructure, that are vacant, obsolete or underutilised. In Europe, there are, for instance, an estimated 19,000 km² of underutilised brownfield land and 300 km² of vacant or underutilised office space [3] . The reuse of vacant, obsolete or underutilised spaces, following circularity [1] and sufficiency principles, can help address community challenges and needs thanks to their typical proximity and connection to essential infrastructure and services. While vacant, obsolete or underutilised spaces are already being renovated, renatured or converted, this happens typically at individual scale or for temporary reuse. A systematic and context-sensitive approach is required that maps vacant, obsolete or underutilised spaces with potential for reuse and involves local stakeholders in the reuse process to address local community challenges and needs in the long term. It is also important to understand common reasons for the vacancy, obsolescence or underutilisation of spaces and challenges to their reuse, and to recognise that not all types of spaces are suitable for reuse. Factors can include, for example, building or infrastructure condition, location, and spatial or structural limitations; zoning regulations; legal barriers; lack of data; or lack of resources, funds, or incentives for property owners and public authorities to renovate spaces. In addition, certain vacant spaces might already fulfil important ecological or social functions by providing refuge to natural species as well as non-typical community lifestyles. Proposals are expected to address all of the following: Develop a systematic and context-sensitive approach for vacant, obsolete or underutilised spaces, including buildings or infrastructures. The approach must cover at least the following: Analysis of common drivers of the vacancy, obsolescence or underutilisation of spaces. Identification and prioritisa…

What consortia for this call have looked like

3 projects have been funded under this line (HORIZON-NEB-BUSINESS-03) in Horizon Europe and H2020. This is what they were made of — not a recommendation, just what the Commission signed.

11partners, typically
range 9–20
8countries per consortium
16 seen across all of them
40organisations in total
across those projects

The mix of organisations

20 companies
10 universities
4 research organisations
4 public bodies
2 other organisations

Who coordinated them

Coordinating an EU project is a demanding, specific job. These organisations have done it on this topic line before.

Accademia Europea Di Bolzano · IT Sintef As · NO The Queen's University Of Belfast · UK

This is the shape, not the consortium. It says how many partners these projects had and what kinds of organisation were in them. It does not know whether your idea needs the same mix, who is available, who is already committed elsewhere, or how the work and the budget should be divided. Those are judgement calls on a specific proposal, and no amount of public data answers them.

Building the actual consortium — finding the partners, agreeing the roles, and writing it so it survives an evaluation — is what Scientific Network Management does. Free either way; the radar does not change if you never ask.

Found one worth pursuing?

Finding the call is the easy half. Scientific Network Management is the grant-writing practice behind this radar — 13 years of writing and managing EU-funded research projects, including two EuropeAid technical assistance contracts building biotechnology centres in Türkiye as Team Leader.

Proposal writingHorizon Europe, EU4Health, EuropeAid. Concept to submission, or a review of a draft you already have.
Consortium buildingFinding and approaching the partners a call requires, and holding the consortium together through drafting.
Project managementRunning the project after the award — reporting, deliverables, coordination, audits.

Talk to us What SNM does No obligation, and nothing here is conditional on using us — the radar stays free and complete either way.