JPI HEALTHY AND PRODUCTIVE SEAS AND OCEANS

/dans /par

JPI Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans


The ongoing joint transnational call for research and innovation projects on risks posed to human health and the environment by pollutants and pathogens present in the water resources has been announced by the three Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs) on Water, Oceans and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).

The call will support research and innovation projects that establish integrated and cross-sectoral approaches for risk-management combining the research areas of contaminants of emerging concerns (CECs), pathogens and antimicrobial resistance. The whole water cycle, from the source through the river basins and eventually to the estuaries and oceans, has to be considered. This Joint Transnational Call (JTC) aims to make the research communities in the freshwater, marine and the health sectors work together and create synergies for joint approaches.

Call themes:

1) Measuring – Environmental behaviour of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), pathogens and antimicrobial resistant bacteria in aquatic ecosystems

2) Evaluating – Risk assessment and management of CECs, pathogens and antimicrobial resistant bacteria from aquatic ecosystems (inland and marine) to human health and environment

3) Taking Actions – Strategies to reduce CECs, pathogens and antimicrobial resistant bacteria fromn aquatic ecosystems (inland coastal and marine)


Open calls


Aquatic Pollutants – Joint Transnational Call (JTC) | 18 May 2020


General information
The ongoing joint transnational call for research and innovation projects on risks posed to human health and the environment by pollutants and pathogens present in the water resources has been announced by the three Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs) on Water, Oceans and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).

The call will support research and innovation projects that establish integrated and cross-sectoral approaches for risk-management combining the research areas of contaminants of emerging concerns (CECs), pathogens and antimicrobial resistance. The whole water cycle, from the source through the river basins and eventually to the estuaries and oceans, has to be considered. This Joint Transnational Call (JTC) aims to make the research communities in the freshwater, marine and the health sectors work together and create synergies for joint approaches.

Call themes:

1) Measuring – Environmental behaviour of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), pathogens and antimicrobial resistant bacteria in aquatic ecosystems

2) Evaluating – Risk assessment and management of CECs, pathogens and antimicrobial resistant bacteria from aquatic ecosystems (inland and marine) to human health and environment

3) Taking Actions – Strategies to reduce CECs, pathogens and antimicrobial resistant bacteria fromn aquatic ecosystems (inland coastal and marine)

LINK: http://jpi-oceans.eu/calls/proposals/aquaticpollutants-joint-transnational-call-2020

Deadline
The provisal timeline is:

·           Call opening: 17 February 2020

·           Deadline pre-proposals: May 18th 2020:

·           Invitation to submit full proposals: June 2020

·           Deadline full proposals: 14 August 2020

·           Funding decision announced: October 2020

Project duration
Start / end of projects: December 2020 – March 2021/2024

Project duration must be a maximum of 36 months. Funded consortia will be asked to agree on a common starting date. The last possible end date for the projects is the 30th of June 2024.

Financial allocation
26 countries are pooling resources of about 22,6 M€ to implement the joint transnational call for research and innovation projects. Partners applying in a consortium cannot request more than their relevant FPO stated in the national/regional regulations

Partnership
Participating countries and organisations are listed below:

Belgium: BELSPO / FNRS / FWO; Brazil: CONFAP; Cyprus: RIF; Czech Republic: TAČR; Denmark : IFD;

Egypt: ASRT; Estonia: ETAg; Finland: AKA; France: ANR; Germany: BMBF; Greece: GSRT; Ireland: EPA; Israel: CSO-MOH; Italy: A.R.P.A. Sicilia / MIUR; Moldova: NARD; Norway: RCN; Poland: NCBR; Portugal: FCT; Romania: UEFISCDI; South Africa: WRC; Spain: AEI; Sweden: FORMAS / SRC; Taiwan: MoST; Tunesia / MHESR; Turkey: TUBITAK; Scotland (United Kingdom) : Scottish Enterprise

Further information:
Title: “Risks posed to human health and the environment by pollutants and pathogens present in water resources”

The main research and innovation objectives of the AquaticPollutants 2020 Joint Transnational Call are:

• to establish integrated and cross-sectoral approaches for risk management combining the research areas of emerging pollutants, pathogens and antimicrobial resistance under the overall topic “from the source to the mouth“;

• to analyse the spread of CECs and pathogens related to antimicrobial resistance from the different sources (e.g. urban areas) that leads to impacts and risks on the aquatic ecosystem, environment and human health;

• to describe the transformation of such CECs and pathogens and their effects when entering the different aquatic systems and accumulating in the food chain;

• to improve strategies and develop/ evaluate technologies (incl. digital technologies) for reducing CECs and pathogens at the sources, on their pathways and end-of-pipe; and

• to develop/ integrate innovative methodologies and tools to allow policy-makers to develop more effective policies and efficient regulations.

Ø Emerging pollutants, pathogens and materials linked to antimicrobial resistance, their risks for human health and aquatic ecosystems, and the transfer between inland and marine environments will be the main topic of the call.

Ø It is not mandatory to address emerging pollutants, pathogens and antimicrobial resistant bacteria simultaneously in one proposal.

Ø Micro-plastics will not be subject to the call.

Applicants should note that, in some countries, several funding organisations participate in the call with different organisational rules and priorities. Applicants must pay attention to the national regulations and if questions arise, it is highly recommended to contact the NCPs before submitting a pre-proposal and full proposal.

Eligibility:

Ø    Each consortium must be composed of eligible independent entities requesting funding to FPOs from a minimum of three different EU Member States or H2020 Associated countries (listed in Table 1 in grey). FPOs listed in the categoy of ”third countries and other countries” are not included in the minimum requirements for consortia composition.

Ø    In each proposal, one of the entities must act as the Consortium Coordinator who has the responsibility for submitting the proposal. The Consortium Coordinator must be eligible to be funded by one of the EU member States or H2020 Associated countries (listed in Table 1 in grey).

Ø    A Consortium Coordinator can only participate in one proposal (i.e. if the principal investigator is the Consortium Coordinator of a proposal, he/she cannot participate in any other proposal, neither as a Consortium Coordinator nor as a partner).

Ø    The workload distribution within a consortium must be balanced, and no partner should have more than 50% of person months.

Ø    There is the upper limit of 8 eligible project partners per consortium (including self funded partners). The maximum number of partners from the same country within the consortium must comply with national/regional regulations.

Ø    No more than one self-funded project partner per consortium is allowed.

Ø    Project partners who are not eligible for funding may participate at their own expense or if they have their own separate source of funding. The applicants have to prove (letter of intent/commitment) the willingness to self-fund their own activities or the willingness of other partners to fund their own activities. They have to follow the rules given in this Call Announcement and have to be part of the consortium agreement. However, they cannot coordinate a project. They are not considered in the minimum requirement of eligible partners and countries in the AquaticPollutants eligibility criteria

 

Scope

Ø    Proposals should go beyond the state of the art by providing high quality R&I and, when appropriate, make use of innovative technologies, approaches and concepts to do so;

Ø    Proposals should consider on-going research activities funded by other instruments, programmes or projects. Cooperation with these activities is of high importance;

Ø    Proposals should consider and incorporate as approporiate cross-cutting issues, such as socio-economic and/or capacity development.

Ø    Collaboration with the parallel running Transfer Project during execution is encouraged, but not compulsory.

More information here


^Back to top

MarTERA joint call on marine and maritime technologies | 4 September 2020


General information
The focus of development in MarTERA is given to technologies (instead of sectors) due to their potentially large impact to a wide range of application fields. Sectors with a high potential for sustainable blue economy like waterborne transport, shipbuilding & ship repair, offshore and sub-sea activities, monitoring and observations, can support sustainable growth in the marine and maritime sectors as a whole and use the potential of Europe’s oceans, seas and coasts for jobs, value and sustainability.

Technology developments in the following priority areas are supported:

  • Priority Area 1: Environmentally friendly maritime technologies
  • Priority Area 2: Innovative concepts for ships and offshore structures
  • Priority Area 3: Automation, sensors, monitoring and observations
  • Priority Area 4: Advanced manufacturing and production
  • Priority Area 5: Safety and security

Call announcement link: https://www.martera.eu/joint-calls

Deadline
The provisal timeline is:

·         January 7th 2020: Call opening (1st Step)

·         April 24th 2020: Deadline pre-proposals

·         June 2nd 2020: Communication of the outcomes to the research project coordinator

·         September 4th 2020: Submission of full proposals (Second step)

The provisional project starting date is expected for early 2021

Financial allocation
The transnational call has a budget of about 13 Mio € for collaborative research and innovation projects in the following areas:

Partnership
This call is initiated by ministries/funding organisations from 11 countries: Belarus, Belgium, France, Germany, Malta, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, South Africa and Turkey. Applicants from these countries are eligible for funding and applicants from other countries are eligible in case they finance their involvement from other sources.

Further information:
Title: “Maritime and Marine Technologies for a new Era”

The need for highly-specialised marine equipment, more efficient and greener waterborne transport systems, clean energy, increased seafood production, technologies for reliable ocean observations, and safe marine and maritime operations etc. calls for substantial innovations with respect to the whole spectrum of marine and maritime technologies.

Scope:

– The proposed research and innovation project must be consistent with the scope and objectives of this call and with the national/regional thematic priorities of the countries/regions involved in the project (see Priority Areas matrix). National/regional priorities are described in the National Regulations and/or can be communicated by the National Programme Managers (NPMs).

– The proposed project must relate to (at least) one of the sub-themes listed in the Priority Area Matrix of this call.

– The proposal should be novel and not correspond with on-going or completed projects funded by other instruments, programmes or projects.

Eligibility:

Ø Project consortia consisting of at least two independent eligible legal entities from at least two different European Member States or associated countries listed in chapter 3.2 can apply for funding. Legal entities/consortia from Belarus and South Africa are eligible for funding as well but they must have in their consortia at least two independent eligible legal entities from at least two different EU MS or associated countries

Ø The project proposals must involve industry. As national funding rules are applied, some topics or partners may not be eligible in all participating funding organisations (e.g. some programmes fund only academic but no industrial partners and others request industry involvement). The eligibility of a partner can be assessed by checking the Matrix of Priority Areas or by contacting the National Programme Managers (NPMs).

More information here


^Back to top

COSME

/dans /par

COSME


The COSME programme addresses four main objectives:

  • Ease access to finance for SMEs by providing loan guarantees and risk capital (access to finance)
  • Help companies access new markets, within and outside the EU (access to markets)
  • Create a business-friendly environment by reducing the administrative burden on SMEs (improving conditions for businesses)
  • Encourage an entrepreneurial culture (encouraging entrepreneurship)

The European Commission designs policies and is responsible for the programming. It delegates parts of the implementation of EU programmes, such as COSME, to executive agencies. The Executive Agency for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (EASME) manages the parts of the COSME work programme addressing access to markets, improving conditions for businesses and encouraging entrepreneurship on behalf of the European Commission. Financial instruments under access to finance are managed by the European Investment Fund (EIF).

The COSME programme disposes of a EUR 2.3 billion budget from 2014 to 2020.


No relevant ongoing calls currently (24/03/2020).

LIFE

/dans /par

LIFE Programme

The LIFE programme is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action. LIFE contributes to the implementation, updating and development of EU environmental and climate policy and laws by co-financing projects with European added value. Since its creation in 1992, LIFE has been through different funding periods.

The LIFE Programme is structured in two sub-programmes: the sub-programme for environment and the sub-programme for climate action.

The sub-programme for environment covers three priority areas:

  1. LIFE Environment and Resource Efficiency
  2. LIFE Nature and Biodiversity
  3. LIFE Environmental Governance and Information

The sub-programme for climate action covers three priority areas:

  1. LIFE Climate Change Mitigation
  2. LIFE Climate Change Adaptation
  3. LIFE Climate Governance and Information

The current funding period 2014-2020 has a budget of €3.4 billion, 75% of which is allocated to the sub-programme for environment (EUR 2.592.491,250) and 25% of which is allocated to the sub-programme for climate action (EUR 864,163,750). During the 2014-2020 period, the Contracting Authority will launch one call for LIFE project proposals per year. The second LIFE Multiannual Work Programme (MAWP) covering the period 2018-2020 foresees a budget of EUR 1.243,81 million for the sub-programme for environment and EUR 413,25 million for the sub-programme for climate action.

Open calls


Traditional projects – Environment sub-programme | 14/16 July 2020


General information
Three calls for traditional projects under environment sub-programs were opened the 4th of April 2020 and are focusing on:

i) Nature and biodiversity – The environment sub-programme funds nature conservation projects in particular in the areas of biodiversity, habitats and species. It provides action grants for best practice, pilot and demonstration projects that contribute to the implementation of the EU’s directives on birds and habitats, the EU’s biodiversity strategy to 2020, and the development, implementation and management of the Natura 2000 network. Projects receive a co-funding of up to 60%. The co-financing rate can be up to 75% if at least half of the total estimated project costs are used for actions to improve the conservation status of priority habitats or species listed in the EU’s birds and habitats directives.

LINK: https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/section/life/2020-life-call-proposals-traditional-projects-nature-and-biodiversity

ii) Environment and resource efficiency– LIFE co-finances projects in the environmental sector in particular in the areas of air, chemicals, green and circular economy, industrial accidents, marine and coastal management, noise, soil, waste, water, and the urban environment.The programme provides action grants for pilot and demonstration projects to develop, test and demonstrate policy or management approaches. It also covers the development and demonstration of innovative technologies, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of EU environmental policy and law, as well as best practices and solutions. The European Commission is particularly looking for technologies and solutions that are ready to be implemented in close-to-market conditions, at industrial or commercial scale, during the project duration. Projects receive a co-funding of up to 55%.

LINK: https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/section/life/2020-life-call-proposals-traditional-projects-environment-and-resource-efficiency

iii) Environmental governance and information– The programme supports projects in the areas of awareness raising, environmental training and capacity building, legislative compliance and enforcement, knowledge development and public and stakeholder participation.It co-finances action grants for information, awareness and dissemination projects that aim to promote awareness raising on environmental matters. This includes cooperation platforms and knowledge sharing on sustainable environmental solutions and practice. Projects receive a co-funding of up to 55%.

LINK: https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/section/life/2020-life-call-proposals-traditional-projects-environmental-governance-information

Details on priorities are provided under “Further information” (see below)

Deadline
Deadlines for submitting CONCEPT NOTES are:

– the 16th of July 2020, 16:00 CET, for Nature and biodiversity and Environmental governance and information

– the 14th of July 2020 for Environment and resource efficiency.

FULL proposals: February 2021 for Nature and Biodiversity, Environment and resource efficiency and Environmental governance and information

Project duration
There is no pre-determined project duration for a LIFE project. On average projects last for 3–5 years. It is suggested they start after the Grant Agreement signature, expected in June 2020 for these calls.

Financial allocation
The maximum EU co-financing rate for « traditional » LIFE projects is 55% of the total eligible project costs. An exception is made the priority area “Nature and Biodiversity” for which the EU co-funding rate can go up to 60%, or 75% in specific cases. The coordinating beneficiary must bear part of the project costs.

There is no fixed minimum size for project budgets (e.g. small projects €500.000; large projects over €5mil).

LIFE projects shall take place in the territory of the European Union Member States, but LIFE Programme may also finance activities outside the EU and in overseas countries and territories (OCTs), in specific situations.

At least 25% of the total eligible budget of a LIFE Nature and Biodiversity projects must concern « concrete conservation » actions.

Partnership
Entities participating in the proposal may fall into three types of beneficiaries: (1) public bodies, (2) private commercial organisations and (3) private non-commercial organisations (including NGOs).

There is no pre-defined number of associated beneficiaries to be involved in a LIFE proposal. A proposal that is submitted without any participant other than the coordinating beneficiary itself is eligible.

The coordinating beneficiary must show its legal status, confirming legal registration in the EU. In addition to the coordinating beneficiary, a LIFE proposal may also involve one or more associated beneficiaries and/or one or more project co-financiers. The associated beneficiary/ies must always contribute technically and financially to the Proposal. A project co-financier only contributes to the project with financial resources, has no technical responsibilities, and cannot benefit from the EU financial contribution.

Exceptionally an associated beneficiary may be legally registered outside the European Union if the actions outside the EU it is responsible for are (the coordinating beneficiary of the project in any case be based in the EU) necessary to achieve EU environmental objectives and to ensure the effectiveness of interventions carried out in the Member State territories to which the Treaties apply.

For private beneficiaries, the Contracting Authority may accept that affiliated entities to a beneficiary participate in a project, as long as all conditions listed in the Model Grant Agreement and its Annex X (Financial and Administrative Guidelines) are fulfilled.

Further information:
Thematic priorities and project topics

i.           Nature and biodiversity – project sectors:

·       Nature (activities for the implementation of the Birds and/or Habitats Directives);

·       Biodiversity (activities for the implementation of the Union Biodiversity Strategy to 2020).

Further details on the priorities and project topics could be find in pp. 23-27 of the “LIFE 2020 Nature and Biodiversity application guide”.

ii.         Environment and resource efficiency – project sectors:

·       Water, including the marine environment;

·       Waste;

·       Resource Efficiency, including soil and forests, and green and circular economy;

·       Environment and Health, including chemicals and noise;

·       Air quality and emissions, including urban environment.

Details on the priorities and project topics could be find in pp. 22-33 of the “LIFE 2020 Environment and Resources Efficiency application guide”.

iii.        Environmental governance and information- project sectors:

·       Information, communication and awareness raising campaigns;

·       Activities in support of effective control process as well as measures to promote compliance.

Details on the priorities and project topics could be find in pp. 22-28 of the “LIFE 2020 GIE Application guide”.

More information here


^Back to top

Traditional projects – Climate action sub-programme | 6 October


General information
Three calls for traditional projects under Climate sub-programs were opened the 2nd of April 2020. The climate action sub-programme supports projects in the areas of renewable energies, energy efficiency, farming, land use, and peatland management.

It provides action grants for best practice, pilot and demonstration projects that contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the implementation and development of EU policy and law, best practices and solutions. The European Commission is particularly looking for technologies and solutions that are ready to be implemented in close-to-market conditions, at industrial or commercial scale, during the project duration.

The sub-programme also promotes knowledge sharing and integrated approaches, such as for climate change mitigation strategies and action plans at local, regional or national level.

1. Climate change mitigation – The climate action sub-programme supports projects in the areas of renewable energies, energy efficiency, farming, land use, and peatland management.

It provides action grants for best practice, pilot and demonstration projects that contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the implementation and development of EU policy and law, best practices and solutions. The European Commission is particularly looking for technologies and solutions that are ready to be implemented in close-to-market conditions, at industrial or commercial scale, during the project duration.

The sub-programme also promotes knowledge sharing and integrated approaches, such as for climate change mitigation strategies and action plans at local, regional or national level.

2. Climate change adaptation – The LIFE programme co-finances projects in the areas of resilience to water scarcity, droughts, forest fires or floods, adaptive technologies for economic sectors, and safeguarding natural resources.

It provides action grants for best practice, pilot and demonstration projects that contribute to increased resilience to climate change. The European Commission is particularly looking for technologies and solutions that are ready to be implemented in close-to-market conditions, at industrial or commercial scale, during the project duration.

The climate sub-programme also promotes the development and implementation of EU policy on climate change adaptation, best practices and solutions for climate change adaptation, including ecosystem-based approaches and knowledge sharing;

3. Climate governance and information – The programme funds projects in the areas of awareness raising, training and capacity building, law compliance and enforcement, knowledge development and stakeholder participation. LIFE provides action grants for information, awareness and dissemination projects on climate matters. This includes public and stakeholder support for EU policy-making, supporting communication, management and dissemination of information to facilitate knowledge sharing and cooperation platforms, promoting and contributing to more effective compliance with and enforcement of EU climate law, providing training and fostering the development and dissemination of best practices and policy approaches.

LINK: https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/section/life/2020-life-call-proposals-traditional-projects-climate-action

Deadline
Deadline for submitting FULL PROPOSALS is the 6th of October 2020

Project duration
There is no pre-determined project duration for a LIFE project. On average projects last for 2–5 years.

Financial allocation
The maximum EU co-financing rate for « traditional » LIFE projects is 55% of the total eligible project costs. There is no fixed minimum size for project budgets (e.g. small projects €500.000; large projects over €5mil).

LIFE projects shall take place in the territory of the European Union Member States, but LIFE Programme may also finance activities outside the EU and in overseas countries and territories (OCTs), in specific situations.

Partnership
Entities participating in the proposal may fall into three types of beneficiaries: (1) public bodies, (2) private commercial organisations and (3) private non-commercial organisations (including NGOs).

There is no pre-defined number of associated beneficiaries to be involved in a LIFE proposal. A proposal that is submitted without any participant other than the coordinating beneficiary itself is eligible.

The coordinating beneficiary must show its legal status, confirming legal registration in the EU. In addition to the coordinating beneficiary, a LIFE proposal may also involve one or more associated beneficiaries and/or one or more project co-financiers. The associated beneficiary/ies must always contribute technically and financially to the Proposal. A project co-financier only contributes to the project with financial resources, has no technical responsibilities, and cannot benefit from the EU financial contribution.

Exceptionally an associated beneficiary may be legally registered outside the European Union if the actions outside the EU it is responsible for are (the coordinating beneficiary of the project in any case be based in the EU) necessary to achieve EU environmental objectives and to ensure the effectiveness of interventions carried out in the Member State territories to which the Treaties apply.

For private beneficiaries, the Contracting Authority may accept that affiliated entities to a beneficiary participate in a project, as long as all conditions listed in the Model Grant Agreement and its Annex X (Financial and Administrative Guidelines) are fulfilled.

Further information:
Detailed information on thematic priorities and project topics could be found in pp. 25-42 of the “LIFE 2020 Climate Action Application Guide”.

More information here


^Back to top

Integrated Projects (IPs) – Environment and Climate Action sub-programme | 6 October 2020


General information
Integrated projects are strategic projects supporting EU Member States to achieve full implementation of Strategies or Action Plans required by the EU environmental and climate legislation. They are implemented at national or regional scales, involving relevant authorities and very significant budgets from several EU and national sources, lasting for 6-10 years on average.

Under the sub-programme for environment, these large-scale projects implement plans, strategies or roadmaps in the areas of nature (including Natura 2000 network management), water, waste, and air.
For more information please read this presentation and check examples of ongoing projects in this leaflet and in our project database (choose as strand “Integrated Projects for Environment”).

IPs are designed toimplement certain plans and strategies at a large territorial scale with full engagement of all the concerned stkeholders to aim at mobilizing significant additional sources of funding to further support the implementation of the EU environmental/climate policy framework.

IPs should target the full implementation of the following strategic:

– environmental plans/strategies

–  climate plans/strategies

LINK: https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/section/life/2020-call-proposals-integrated-projects

Deadline
A two-stage proposal. Deadline for submitting a concept note: 6 October 2020. Deadline for 2nd stage of full proposals March 2021

Project duration
There is no pre-determined project duration for a LIFE project. On average projects last for 6 years or more.

Financial allocation
·   Projects receive a co-funding of up to 60%, with an average of €10 million LIFE grant per project.

·   The applicant is required to mobilise at least one complementary fund at the time of full proposal submission.

·   The amount of complementary funds (those going beyond the 40% cofinancing) as well as their likelihood and functional link to the plan shows the project maturity.

·   Complementary funds and actions should target the areas of the plan or strategy that the IP is not able to address

Partnership
Applicants may fall into three types of beneficiaries: (1) public bodies, (2) private commercial organisations and (3) private non-commercial organisations (including NGOs).

In contrast to other funding programmes LIFE projects are very flexible in terms of how they are set up. You can decide if you want to run a project on your own, or if you prefer to join forces with partners from your own or another country. However, in the case of integrated projects, the applicants should include in the partnership the authority in charge of the implementation of the plan or strategy targeted by the project, preferably as project leader.

If you apply without any partners or are the project leader among several partners, you will be referred to as coordinating beneficiary. Other partners who contribute but do not lead a project are associated beneficiaries. Associated beneficiaries must be responsible for one or more project actions and must contribute financially to the project.

If you are based outside the EU, you can contribute to a project as associated beneficiary by undertaking actions that are necessary for achieving the environmental or climate goals of the EU. UK applicants and beneficiaries remain eligible to receive LIFE funds for the entire duration of grants under the 2014-2020 LIFE programme, including after the end of the transition period. This applies to existing grants, ongoing procedures and calls for proposals published in 2020 even if the grant is signed after 31 December 2020.

Further information:
EASME staff can help participants to develop a good IP proposal & solve doubts by:

·       Provide feedback on the ideas for IPs (all year round)

·       Respond to general questions on IPs (all year round)

·       Respond to specific questions related to IP Application and Evaluation Guides, application forms, concerned provisions of the Multiannual Work Programme (during open calls, typically between April – September and November – February)

·       Facilitate networking with successful running IPs (all year round)

·       Schedule meetings with us in person in Brussels, respond by e-mail, phone or

videoconference

Differencies between the LIFE Traditional Projects and IPs can be found in the following presentation: https://ec.europa.eu/easme/sites/easme-site/files/life_ip_presentation_final.pdf

More information here


^Back to top

Technical Assistance | 16 July 2020


General information
4 calls for proposals for action grants to finance « technical assistance projects » under the LIFE sub-programmes for environment and climate action opened the 9th of April 2020.

Area

Call ID

Scope
Environment LIFE-TA-01-2020 Provides financial support for the preparation of a proposal for an Integrated Project in order to implement a River Basin Management Plan (RBMP), a Waste Management Plan (WMP) or an Air Quality Plan.
Nature LIFE-TA-02-2020 Provides financial support for the preparation of a proposal for an Integrated Project in order to implement a Priority Action Framework (PAF).
Adaptation LIFE-TA-03-2020 Provides financial support for the preparation of a proposal for an Integrated Project in order to implement specific set of strategic climate plans or strategies:

– Climate change adaptation IPs: should aim at the implementation of national, regional or local specific adaptation strategy or action plan;

– Urban climate change adaptation IPs: should aim at the implementation of urban or community-based action plan pioneering the transition to a climate resilient society.
Mitigation LIFE-TA-04-2020 Provides financial support for the preparation of a proposal for an Integrated Project in order to implement specific set of strategic climate plans or strategies:

– Climate change mitigation IPs: national, regional or industry-/sector-specific greenhouse gas mitigation strategy or low carbon economy roadmap.

– Urban climate change mitigation IPs: should aim at the implementation of urban or community-based action plan pioneering the transition to a low carbon society.

LINK: The calls information and documents are now accessible under the following link: https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/section/life/2020-call-proposals-technical-assistance-projects

Deadline
16th of July 2020 17:00:00 Brussels time

Project duration
In general, the project duration will be either 7–8 months or 19– 20 months, however should not exceed two years. Extensions will be possible only exceptionally, for duly justified reasons and with our agreement.

Financial allocation
The available total call budget is EUR 1.280.000 and the budget per topic is split as in the the table below. Project budget: No limit; maximum requested EU contribution: EUR 100.000 per proposal. The grant awarded may be lower than the amount requested.

Area

Call ID

Topic EU Budget
Environment LIFE-TA-01-2020 400.000
Nature LIFE-TA-02-2020 580.000
Adaptation LIFE-TA-03-2020 130.000
Mitigation LIFE-TA-04-2020 130.000

Partnership
The participants must be:

– legal persons;

– belong to one of the following categories: private entities, public entities, or international organisation;

– be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the project with the other applicants (i.e. not acting as an intermediary);

– be established in one of the eligible countries (i.e.: EU Member State – including overseas countries and territories (OCTs) or eligible non-EU countries).

As coordinators, only applicants from EU member states are eligible for Technical Assistance projects.

It is expected that the applicant of a Technical Assistance project is the intended applicant of the future Integrated Project.

Natural persons are NOT eligible.

Member State entities which receive financing for a Capacity Building project, which covers at least a part of the period to be covered, by the Technical Assistance project are not eligible. EU bodies (with the exception of the European Commission Joint Research Centre) can NOT be part of the consortium. However, the European Commission Joint Research Centre can participate in a LIFE project only at zero cost.

Further information:
For further details on eligibilities, please consult the call document “ Call for proposals Technical Assistance LIFE-TA-2020”[1].

[1] https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-search;freeTextSearchKeyword=;typeCodes=1;statusCodes=-,31094501,31094502;programCode=LIFE;programDivisionCode=null;focusAreaCode=null;crossCuttingPriorityCode=null;callCode=Default;sortQuery=openingDate;orderBy=asc;onlyTenders=false;topicListKey=topicSearchTablePageState


More information here


^Back to top

Call for Proposals Blue Carbon Project Development | 30 April

/dans /par

This call was originally published at https://bluenaturalcapital.org/submit-your-project/blue-carbon/

The Blue Natural Capital Financing Facility (BNCFF) supports the development of sound, investable projects that support coastal habitats and have clear ecosystem service benefits. BNCFF aims, in particular, at demonstrating the feasibility of tapping into the wealth of coastal ecosystems – ‘blue natural capital’ – to create appropriate risk-return profiles for funding providers and to protect and enhance the underlying habitat at the same time.

A key ecosystem service provided by coastal wetlands concerns the removal and long-term storage of CO2, a reason why these ecosystems – namely mangroves, seagrasses and marshlands – are also referred to as “blue carbon” ecosystems. Blue carbon project development presents the opportunity to avoid, reduce or remove CO2 from the atmosphere by conserving and restoring coastal wetlands, while generating income for local communities from the sale of carbon credits.

As terrestrial forest carbon projects have been developed for decades, investable blue carbon projects remain rare. This is despite the fact that blue carbon interventions – such as conservation of threatened mangrove habitats, rewetting of tidal peatlands and restoration of seagrass beds – generate a multitude of additional benefits to climate change mitigation. The protection of freshwater resources, the provision of nursery grounds for fish, and shoreline protection against storms and flooding are important ecosystem services that healthy coastal wetlands provide.

In order to kickstart blue carbon project initiatives to generate tradeable carbon credits or use other results-based finance schemes, BNCFF offers seed funding to pay for feasibility assessments or early project development*. Funding per project may not exceed 70,000 EUR and can be used for various pre-feasibility and feasibility studies to determine the blue carbon potentials, prepare blue carbon project design documents, set up monitoring and verification procedures and tools, non-permanence and leakage risk assessment, among others. The call targets projects in developing countries only. NGOs, SMEs, academia as well as government entities are eligible.

*Project developers requiring support for later stage project development can apply for funding from BNCFF year round by handing in this submission form.

Through this call for proposals the BNCFF aims to support about four promising blue carbon projects over the coming year.
Projects will be selected according to the following criteria:

  • Blue carbon generation potential and the ability to monetize the blue carbon;
  •  Habitat conservation and/or restoration value across ecosystem services;
  •  Clear and inclusive land tenure and participation arrangements;
  •  Environmental, social and governance attributes (including gender aspects);
  • Experience of the applicant;
  • Role of the blue carbon income stream in the expected finance structure; and
  • Opportunities for developing additional income streams (beyond carbon).

There are no thresholds in terms of area size for this call. However, projects must demonstrate that they will likely generate sufficient cashflows to attract financing and maintaining operations for a longer time period (~10 years) based on a sustainable business model.

Download Project Submission Form

Deadline for submission is April 30th.
Responses to applicants by May 30th.
Only projects that respect the word counts will be considered for pre-selection. Pre-selected proposals will be vetted in dialogue with the applicants.
The BNCFF Facility Manager may request targeted follow-up information from any applicant.
The release of funding is subject to the BNCFF’s know-your-customer check.
All funding decisions are final.

MarTERA Call 2020 | 24 April 2020

/dans /par

MarTERA launched a joint call for transnational research and innovation projects in 2020. This call is initiated by ministries/funding organisations from 11 countries: Belarus, Belgium, France, Germany, Malta, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, South Africa and Turkey.  The transnational call has a budget of about 13 Mio € for collaborative research and innovation projects in the following areas:

  • Priority Area 1: Environmentally friendly maritime technologies
  • Priority Area 2: Innovative concepts for ships and offshore structures
  • Priority Area 3: Automation, sensors, monitoring and observations
  • Priority Area 4: Advanced manufacturing and production
  • Priority Area 5: Safety and security

Applicants from the above mentioned countries are eligible for funding and applicants from other countries are eligible in case they finance their involvement from other sources. For further detailed information please download the MarTERA Call 2020 Announcement (see Call 2020 Documents box). The MarTERA Call 2020 is implemented as a two-step procedure (a pre-proposal and a full-proposal step). Step 1 deadline for the submission of pre-proposals is 24th April, 2020.

For preparation and submission of pre-proposals for the MarTERA Call 2020, an online submission tool is used. Please read carefully the Guidelines for Pre-Proposal Submission (see Call 2020 Documents box), which are decribing the process and required content of a pre-proposal.

We Value nature: Call for case studies | 3 April 2020

/dans /par

The call was published first by We Value Nature on its website (link removed/ page inactive).

 

 

Integration of natural capital in public and private sector decision making for climate resilience and biodiversity in collaboration with the We Value Nature campaign

We Value Nature is an EU Horizon 2020 three-year campaign that seeks to boost uptake of the use of natural thinking, natural capital accounting, nature-based solutions and green infrastructure by businesses across Europe to make valuing nature the new normal. These approaches can contribute substantially to a sustainable and resilient economy, which is crucial in the context of the current ecological and climate crisis where environmental risks continue to dominate the global business and economic agenda.

We Value Nature is currently carrying out together with Ecoacsa a pilot project to identify opportunities to strengthen collaboration between the public and private sector through assessing the options, benefits and best practices of protecting nature, enhancing the functions of ecosystems and restoring degraded land in a specific nature area in the Mediterranean area, Cabo de Gata-Níjar (Andalusia, Spain), by reinforcing the integration of natural capital in decision-making processes.

To identify different natural capital approaches that benefit local stakeholders from public and private sectors and society In order to achieve this, we are searching for case studies that demonstrate successful actions for valuation of natural capital, ecosystem restoration, nature conservation and the effective integration of ecosystem services approaches in decision-making. The case studies will be assessed and the most successful ones in terms of demonstrated leadership and results will be compiled into a publication of best practices to support interested public and private sector stakeholders to learn and replicate these actions. Case studies that could be eligible should come from ecotourism sector, eco-agriculture, and agroforestry.

Please submit your case study by email to jesuscarraco@ecoacsa.com by the 3rd of April 2020

Successful case studies to be profiled by We Value Nature will be notified before end of April 2020

The entire call is available here (link removed/ page inactive).

The Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) / FET Open – EIC Pathfinder – FET-Open Challenging Current Thinking

/dans /par

Early-stage, science and technology research by interdisciplinary consortia exploring visionary ideas for radically new future technologies that challenge current paradigms and venture into the unknown. Open to research into any area of technology, it aims to attract new, high-potential research and innovation players.

Scope

Proposals are sought for cutting-edge high-risk / high-impact interdisciplinary research with all of the following essential characteristics (« FET gatekeepers »):

Radical vision: the project must address a clear and radical vision, enabled by a new technology concept that challenges current paradigms. In particular, research to advance on the roadmap of a well-established technological paradigm, even if highrisk, will not be funded.

Breakthrough technological target: the project must target a novel and ambitious science-to-technology breakthrough as a first proof of concept for its vision. In particular, blue-sky exploratory research without a clear technological objective will not be funded.

Ambitious interdisciplinary research for achieving the technological breakthrough and that opens up new areas of investigation. In particular, projects with only low-risk incremental research, even if interdisciplinary, will not be funded.

More information here.

Project duration

Up to 4 years

Deadline

13 May 2020

Financial allocation

The total indicative budget for the FET-Open topic FETOPEN-01-2018-2019-2020 is EUR
641.20 million. For cut-off date 13/05/2020 196.20 million

Partnership

EU Member States, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania (Annex A of Horizon 2020 Work Programme)

Specific Challenge

To lay the foundations for radically new future technologies of any kind from visionary interdisciplinary collaborations that dissolve the traditional boundaries between sciences and disciplines, including the social sciences and humanities. This topic also encourages the driving role of new actors in research and innovation, including excellent young researchers, ambitious high-tech SMEs and first-time participants to FET under Horizon 2020 from across Europe.

Expected impact

  • Scientific and technological contributions to the foundation of a new future technology
  • Potential for future social or economic impact or market creation
  • Building leading research and innovation capacity across Europe by involvement of key actors that can make a difference in the future, for example excellent young researchers, ambitious high-tech SMEs or first-time participants to FET under Horizon 2020

The Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) Innovation LaunchPad | 9 October 2019 | 14 October 2020

/dans /par

The Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) Innovation LaunchPad aims to turn results from FET funded projects into societal or economic innovations.

The FET Innovation LaunchPad topic encourages activities such as defining a commercialisation process, market and competitiveness analysis, technology assessment, verification of innovation potential, consolidation of intellectual property rights, business case development. Proposals can include activities with, for instance, partners for technology transfer, license-takers, investors and other sources of financing, societal organisations or potential end-users.

One of the expected impacts of the Innovation LaunchPad topic is to bring about improved competitiveness of the European industry, and economy overall, by seeding future growth and the creation of jobs from EIC Pathfinder FET research results. And indeed, experience from earlier calls shows that some projects have managed to launch a spin-off! Other projects have been able to receive funding from VC funds or signed first sales with customers. Some even have recruited staff of more than 20 high-profile physicists and engineers.

Its a single-stage proposal opened the 9 October 2019.

More information here and here.

Deadline

14 October 2020

Project duration

The Commission considers that proposals for actions no longer than 18 month

Financial allocation

Up to EUR 100.000 is available to support short actions focused on the non-scientific aspects and the early stages of turning a FET result into a genuine innovation with socio-economic impacts

Partnership

EU Member States, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania ( Annex A  of Horizon 2020 Work Programme)

Expected Impact

• Increased value creation from FET projects by picking up innovation opportunities.
• Improved societal and market acceptance of concrete high-potential innovations from FET projects.
• Stimulating, supporting and rewarding an open and proactive mind-set towards exploitation beyond the research world.
• Contributing to the competitiveness of European industry/economy by seeding future growth and the creation of jobs from FET research.

Proposals must build on results from an ongoing or recently finished project, funded as a result of call in any FET topic under FP7 or Horizon 2020 and clearly identified in the proposal. For a project to be considered « recently finished » in the context of this call topic its actual end date must be at most one year before the deadline for proposal submission to this topic. For a project to be considered « ongoing » in the context of this call topic the deadline for proposal submission to this topic must be within the period limited by the contractual start date and end date of the project.

Under water noise mitigation and environmental (RIA) | 3 December 2019 | 21 April 2020

/dans /par

The call opened the 3 December 2019 and it is classified as a “ RIA –  Research and Innovation Action ” and the focus area is: Smart, green and integrated transport.

Underwater noise from shipping and boats affects the behaviour and health of water organisms in rivers and at sea, including marine mammals. However, despite previous research, the environmental impacts from effects and the propagation of underwater noise at different amplitudes and frequencies remain poorly understood and largely unquantified.

All following aspects should be addressed:

  1. Develop standardised methods to measure and assess the impacts from underwater noise generated by shipping and boats. Consideration should be given to the acute and cumulative effects on different water species in rivers and at sea including marine mammals.
  2. Establish a stakeholder group to support methodology and standards development and its dissemination. The group should include researchers within the domain of underwater noise assessment and mitigation and other relevant actors , such as for example NGO’s, marine and waterway authorities, industry, ship owners, naval industry etc.
  3. Identify, quantify and validate any negative impacts from different types and amplitudes of underwater noise from shipping and boats.
  4. Propose the most effective feasible solutions to mitigate the effects of underwater noise and to establish appropriate limits.

Expected impacts include:

To enable appropriate mitigation measures, increase understanding of the short and long term environmental impacts of underwater noise from shipping and boats. Identification of the most harmful underwater noise characteristics and the acute and longer term impacts on different organisms including marine mammals. Establishment of standards which can be widely adopted for underwater noise measurement to increase the comparability of data between research programs. Develop cost effective solutions to measure underwater radiated noise from shipping. Identification and assessment of solutions to reduce harm from underwater noise. Develop innovative solutions to reduce the most harmful radiated shipping noise. Provide a foundation for policy. Support implementation of the marine strategy framework directive.

More information here.

Deadline

The deadline is 21 April 2020 17:00:00 Brussels time (single stage).

Project duration

The signature of grant agreement is expected maximum 8 months from the deadline for submission (Evaluation results: maximum 5 months from the deadline for submission). No maximum project duration indicated.

Financial allocation

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of €8million would allow this challenge to be addressed appropriately. The total budget expected for this call is €8million. The funding rate is equal to 100% of eligible costs of eligible costs.

Partnership

The list of eligible countries for funding can be found in Annex A. However, some non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon 2020 projects.
Eligibility conditions for participation in RIA : At least three legal entities. Each of the three must be established in a different EU Member State or Horizon 2020 associated country. All three legal entities must be independent of each other.
Sole participants formed by several legal entities (e.g. European Research Infrastructure Consortia, European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation, central purchasing bodies) are eligible if the above-mentioned minimum conditions are satisfied by the legal entities forming together the sole participant.

Further information

Further details on the scope and expected impact of of the call can be found in the “Work Programme 2018-2020 – 11. Smart, green and integrated transport”pp. 114-115.

Further info on eligibilities could be found in Annex B and Annex C.

Improved Production and Maintenance Processes in Shipyards (IA) | 3 December 2019 | 21 April 2020

/dans /par

The call opened the 3 December 2019 and it is classified as a “ IA –  Innovation Action ” and the focus area is: Smart, green and integrated transport.

European Ship building, repair, modification and maintenance has been founded upon a technology based competitive advantage which has enabled it to build, improve and maintain the world’s most advanced ships. However, competitors are also becoming more advanced and seeking to enter European high technology markets. Europe is still a global leader for very high technology ships such as large passenger vessels, but this is a niche and competitors have a strategy to also enter these markets.

The market is particularly challenging for smaller shipyards across Europe who can be agile to develop and maintain niche products or to be integrated within smart supply chains yet do not have significant resources to undertake research and innovation. Consequently, continuous innovation is needed for the sector to remain competitive.

Scope

  1. The development of innovative technologies and systems to enhance the competitiveness of production and maintenance processes within European shipbuilders and ship yards, particularly those with potential to reduce CO2 and/or other polluting emissions.
  2. To identify and adress the necessary related skills development needs and strategies in order to maximise the value from innovative production technologies and practices.
  3. Testing and physical demonstration of the developed technologies to at least TRL 5
  4. Development of business plans and roll out strategies.
  5. IPR and or other measures to reduce leakage of the developed innovations outside of Europe.

Whilst not excluding very large shipyards, an emphasis on the competitive needs of smaller and medium size shipyards across Europe would be welcome in cases where the incremental benefits from Research and Innovation maybe higher.

More information here.

Deadline

The deadline is  21 April 2020 17:00:00 Brussels time (single stage)

Project duration

The signature of grant agreement is usually expected maximum 8 months from the deadline for submission. Maximum project duration not yet indicated.

Financial allocation

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to between EUR 4 and 6 million would allow the specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. The total budget expected for this call is €15million. The funding rate is equal to 70%. Exception: the eligible costs of non-profit beneficiaries may be reimbursed at 100%.

Partnership

The list of eligible countries for funding can be found in Annex A. However, some non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon 2020 projects.

Eligibility conditions for participation in IA : At least three legal entities. Each of the three must be established in a different EU Member State or Horizon 2020 associated country. All three legal entities must be independent of each other.

Sole participants formed by several legal entities (e.g. European Research Infrastructure Consortia, European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation, central purchasing bodies) are eligible if the above-mentioned minimum conditions are satisfied by the legal entities forming together the sole participant.

Further information

Further details on the scope and expected impact of of the call can be found in the “Work Programme 2018-2020 – 11. Smart, green and integrated transport” pp. 88-89.

Further info on eligibilities could be found in Annex B and Annex C.