Strengthening Our Institutions and Localities for Soil Transformation, Inclusion, and Civic Engagement

Healthy soils are essential for climate resilience, biodiversity, food security, and community wellbeing, yet governance remains fragmented and soil literacy low at local and regional levels. The SOILSTICE project responds by making Territorial Management Agreements (TMAs) the cornerstone of participatory soil stewardship in Europe. TMAs are contractual frameworks co-created by municipalities, land managers, and citizens, embedding measurable soil health indicators and ensuring continuity beyond political cycles.Over 36 months, SOILSTICE will co-create and implement 40 TMAs across 11 countries, each integrating at least three soil health indicators and uploaded to the open-access TMA Studio. The project will mobilise 10,000 citizens through civic education, storytelling, and Erasmus+ pilots, and train 200+ facilitators, municipal staff, and civic actors in participatory soil governance. Toolkits on co-design, legal frameworks, and inclusive engagement will be validated in pilot sites and made interoperable with the EU Soil Observatory and SoilWise. A robust Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) framework will link local practice with EU indicators, while policy briefs and roundtables ensure alignment with the forthcoming Soil Monitoring Law, CAP, and biodiversity strategies.Financial sustainability is secured through brokerage services and proposal clinics, enabling municipalities and Local Action Groups to mobilise €100m+ from CAP/LEADER and other funds by 2040. By scaling to 500+ TMAs across ~20 million hectares, SOILSTICE contributes directly to Mission Soil’s target of 75% healthy soils by 2030, while embedding soil care in education, governance, and cultural practice.