SOLO was featured as one of the first projects that is up and running under Work Programme 2021 in the first newsletter of Mission 'A Soil Deal for Europe' (Mission Soil) that is now available.

The Mission Soil, backed by the European Union through the Research and Innovation Framework Programme Horizon Europe, is a project with the goal of establishing 100 living labs and lighthouses. These living labs serve as spaces for conducting on-the-ground experiments, while the lighthouses are designated sites to showcase exemplary practices. The ultimate aim of this initiative is to spearhead the transition towards healthier soils by the year 2030. At present, approximately 60% of soils in the EU are classified as unhealthy, as indicated by the Dashboard of the European Soil Observatory.

In relation to this, SOLO aims to address and support the Mission Soil objectives by establishing Think Tanks which will directly tackle the issues of each objective. Furthermore, SOLO will:

• Engage users at regional, national and European level to support the co-design of comprehensive research and innovation roadmaps for the Soil Mission;

• Identify knowledge gaps and novel avenues for European soil research and innovation in the context of the Soil Mission objectives;

• Identify, describe and assess the drivers and barriers to soil health in Europe;

• Develop dynamic roadmaps as effective research and innovation agendas for the Soil Mission with a particular focus on the integration and synthesis across sectors, Soil Mission objectives, and European regions;

• Implement an operational framework based on the timeline provided by the roadmaps and Key Performance Indicators to track the fulfilment of the Soil Mission’s research and innovation portfolio.

Stay up to date with SOLO’s progress and results by following our social media accounts on Twitter and LinkedIn!