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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This grant, part of the LIFE Programme, offers financial support to organizations to prepare proposals for large-scale Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPs). These SIPs aim to implement national or regional environmental plans related to Circular Economy, Waste, Water, and Air. The core objective is to facilitate the development of high-quality proposals for significant environmental projects that operate at a large territorial scale, involve all relevant stakeholders, and include coordination mechanisms for complementary funding. This grant is SECTOR-SPECIFIC, focusing exclusively on the environment, particularly within the domains of circular economy, waste management, water management, and air quality. The geographic scope is implicitly the European Union member states, as it falls under an EU funding program. Key filtering criteria for this technical assistance grant involve the applicant's intent to develop a comprehensive proposal for a Strategic Integrated Project that addresses specific environmental challenges, aligns with national/regional plans, and demonstrates a multi-stakeholder, large-scale approach. This is a one-time call for 2025 as indicated by 'LIFE-2025-TA-PP-ENV-SIP', implying it's part of the LIFE Work Programme 2025-2027.

Financial Structure

This grant provides financial support specifically for the preparation phase of a Strategic Integrated Project (SIP) proposal.

Total Budget for the Call: The total budget allocated for the 'Technical Assistance preparation of ENV SIPs' topic in 2025 is 300,000 EUR.
Minimum/Maximum Grant Amount: The materials do not specify minimum or maximum funding amounts per individual grant application. The 300,000 EUR is the total available for this specific topic.
Eligible Costs: While not explicitly detailed, costs related to proposal preparation, such as personnel time, expert fees, studies, stakeholder consultations, and administrative costs necessary for developing a comprehensive SIP proposal, are generally eligible. A 'Detailed budget table (LIFE)' is a mandatory annex for the application, suggesting applicants must clearly itemize their requested costs.
Co-financing: A 'Cofinancing declaration' is listed as an optional annex, which implies that co-financing requirements or possibilities may exist, but the specific percentages or conditions are not provided in this document. Applicants should consult the full call document (Section 10) for definite information.
Financial Reporting: The 'Legal and financial set-up of the grants' is described in Section 10 of the call document, which would include information on financial reporting and audit requirements.

Eligibility Requirements

The grant materials indicate that detailed eligibility criteria are described in sections of the official call document, which was not provided. Therefore, specific definitions for organization types, certifications, or capacity requirements are not available. However, based on the nature of the LIFE programme and the grant's purpose (preparing proposals for Strategic Integrated Projects), general eligibility points are:

Organization Type: While not explicitly defined, this grant is likely open to a broad range of legal entities involved in environmental planning and implementation, such as public bodies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), enterprises (including SMEs), and research institutions/universities. It is intended for organizations capable of coordinating large-scale projects.
Geographic Location: Eligible countries are described in Section 6 of the call document. Given this is an EU LIFE programme, applicants are typically from EU Member States. For the full list, please refer to the official call document.
Financial & Operational Capacity: Requirements regarding financial and operational capacity, as well as exclusion criteria, are described in Section 7 of the call document.
Project Focus: Applicants must be preparing a proposal for a Strategic Integrated Project (SIP) under the LIFE sub-programme 'Circular Economy and Quality of Life', specifically addressing themes of circular economy, waste, water, and air, with the aim of implementing national or regional plans (e.g., Waste Management Plans, River Basin Management Plans, Air Quality Plans, Noise Action Plans).
Scale: The future SIP proposal must be designed for large territorial scale with the involvement of all concerned stakeholders and include a coordination mechanism for supporting complementary measures.

Application Process

The application process for this technical assistance grant is a single-stage submission.

Application Deadline: The strict deadline for submitting proposals is 23 September 2025 at 00:00:00 UTC+00.
Application Procedure: Proposals must be submitted electronically through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal's Electronic Submission Service. You will need to select the correct type of action ('LIFE Project Grants') and model grant agreement.
Required Documentation:
- Standard Application Form: A writeable application form is available directly in the Submission System.
- Mandatory Annexes: A 'Detailed budget table (LIFE)' is a mandatory attachment to your application form.
Optional Supporting Materials:
- Letters of support
- Cofinancing declaration
- Other Annexes as deemed relevant.
Application Support: The following resources are available to assist applicants:
- FAQs on the LIFE website.
- National Contact Points (NCPs): It is highly recommended to engage with your NCP for support and guidance. You can add your NCP's data as a 'Contact person' under the 'Participants' step in the application.
- IT Helpdesk: For technical issues related to the submission system (e.g., passwords, access rights, technical submission aspects).
- Online Manual: A step-by-step guide for proposal preparation and Portal processes.
Project Implementation Timeline: This grant is for the preparation of a SIP proposal. The duration for this preparatory work is not explicitly stated but would be defined within the grant agreement. The larger SIP would have its own, longer implementation timeline.
Reporting Obligations: Post-award requirements and compliance obligations are typically detailed in the grant agreement and relevant sections of the call document.

Evaluation Criteria

The grant materials state that the award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Section 9 of the call document. As this document was not provided, specific details on how proposals will be evaluated, scored, or ranked are not available within the provided information. General aspects that are typically considered in such calls, and are implied by the grant's scope, may include:

Quality of the planned Strategic Integrated Project (SIP): How well does the proposed SIP address the stated environmental challenges (Circular Economy, Waste, Water, Air)?
Relevance to Plans: The alignment of the proposed SIP with existing national or regional plans (e.g., Waste Management Plans, River Basin Management Plans, Air Quality Plans, Noise Action Plans).
Stakeholder Involvement: The comprehensiveness and effectiveness of the proposed stakeholder involvement plan for the future SIP.
Coordination Mechanism: The robustness of the proposed coordination mechanism for complementary funding for the future SIP.
Feasibility and Capacity: The applicant's capacity to successfully prepare a high-quality SIP proposal and, by extension, implement the SIP.
Impact: The potential positive social, economic, or environmental impact of the future SIP.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Applicants must adhere to several compliance requirements, which are generally outlined in the call document and relevant EU regulations.

Regulatory Compliance: The grant operations and the future Strategic Integrated Project (SIP) must comply with the EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046 and the LIFE Regulation 2021/783. Further regulatory requirements and authorizations will be detailed in the call document (e.g., section 6).
Ethical Standards: Although not explicitly stated for this preparatory grant, all EU-funded projects are expected to adhere to high ethical standards, particularly when involving data, human subjects, or environmental impacts.
Project Alignment: The core special requirement is that the proposal being prepared must aim to implement national or regional Circular Economy Action Plans, Waste Management Plans, River Basin Management Plans, Air Quality Plans, or Noise Action Plans. This implies a strong need for alignment with existing governmental and environmental strategies.
Territorial Scale and Stakeholder Involvement: The proposed SIP must be at a large territorial scale and involve all concerned stakeholders, highlighting the importance of comprehensive partnerships and broad engagement.
Coordination Mechanism: The future SIP proposal must include a coordination mechanism for funding supporting complementary measures, indicating a need for strategic financial planning beyond the immediate LIFE funding.
Missing Information: Crucial details like specific permits, data protection rules, environmental compliance specifics, or intellectual property policies for this preparatory grant are described in the full call document, which was not provided.
Strategic Opportunity: This grant offers a strategic opportunity for organizations to secure funding to professionalize and strengthen their application for a much larger, impactful Strategic Integrated Project under the LIFE Programme, increasing their chances of success for significant environmental funding.

Grant Details