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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

- - Core Objective: To continue and expand the European Partnership on accelerating farming systems transition, focusing on agroecology living labs and research infrastructures, through additional activities and potential new partners. - Target Recipient: The consortium that previously received funding under the Horizon Europe topic 'HORIZON-CL6-2023-FARM2FORK-01-1'. Additional partners, including SMEs, are encouraged to join this consortium. - Sector: SECTOR-SPECIFIC focusing on Agriculture, Food Systems, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, and Environment. - Geographic Scope: Primarily the European Union and Associated Countries, with a strong emphasis on establishing an EU-wide network. International cooperation, particularly with Africa, is also encouraged. - Key Filtering Criteria: Must be the established consortium from the specified previous grant. The project must focus on advancing agroecology and sustainable farming systems. - Grant Frequency: This is a continuation grant for an ongoing, strategic partnership, implying a recurring nature for sustained support to this specific initiative.

Financial Structure

Total Grant Amount: The expected total grant contribution for this specific topic ('HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-01') is EUR 90,000,000.
Minimum/Maximum Funding: The minimum and maximum contribution per project for this topic is EUR 90,000,000.
Funding Rate: The grant provides 50% of the eligible costs. This means the consortium is expected to provide 50% co-financing through pooled in-kind contributions and in-house activities.
Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP):
- Providing financial support to third parties is a primary activity of this action.
- Support can only be provided in the form of grants.
- The standard EUR 60,000 threshold for FSTP, as per Financial Regulation No 2024/2509, does not apply.
- The maximum amount of FSTP to be granted to an individual third party is EUR 10,000,000 for the whole duration of Horizon Europe. This amount may be higher if duly justified in the proposal, and if the action's objectives would otherwise be impossible or overly difficult.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type & Legal Status

Mandatory Applicant: The proposal must be submitted by the coordinator of the consortium that previously received funding under the topic 'HORIZON-CL6-2023-FARM2FORK-01-1: European partnership on accelerating farming systems transition – agroecology living labs and research infrastructures'.
Consortium Structure: A consortium is mandatory. While the existing consortium forms the core, additional partners can be included.
Eligible Entities: The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate. Participation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) is particularly promoted.

Geographic Location

Eligible Countries: Countries described in Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. This typically includes EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. The partnership should seek to include additional partners from Member States and Associated Countries not yet in the consortium.

Previous Funding Relationship

Required Prior Award: Applicants must be the consortium previously funded under 'HORIZON-CL6-2023-FARM2FORK-01-1'. This is an amendment to an existing grant agreement.

Technical & Operational Capacity

Demonstrated Expertise: The existing consortium is considered uniquely placed due to its particular expertise related to the partnership's objectives, the activities to be implemented (including financial support to third parties), and internal activities envisioned in the initial proposal.

Exclusions

Financial & Operational Capacity: Exclusion criteria and requirements related to financial and operational capacity are described in Annex C of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Application Process

Application Submission

Submission Deadline: The final deadline for proposal submission is 2025-09-16 00:00:00+00.
Submission Platform: Applications must be submitted via the Funding & Tenders Portal 'Submission System'.
Applicant Eligibility: The proposal must be submitted by the coordinator of the consortium that previously received funding under 'HORIZON-CL6-2023-FARM2FORK-01-1'.
Application Form: The specific application form for this call is the standard application form (HE COFUND TOP-UP).
Required Documentation: In addition to the main proposal, a separate document must be submitted outlining the additional activities and any additional partners to be covered by the award, detailing how these would be reflected in the grant agreement.
Submission Model: This is a single-stage submission.

Project Implementation

Grant Duration: The budget allocation spans 2025, 2026, and 2027, indicating a multi-year project duration.
Project Start Date: The starting date of the grant may be as of the submission date of the application. Applicants must provide justification for any requested retroactive starting date.
Co-funded Projects: The partnership is expected to allocate ample time to organize and implement joint calls for transnational proposals that result in grants to third parties.

Support and Guidance

Available Resources: Comprehensive guidance is available through the Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), IT Helpdesk, European IPR Helpdesk, CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk, and ETSI Research Helpdesk.
Partner Search: A partner search facility is available to assist in finding suitable collaborative organizations.

Evaluation Criteria

Alignment and Coherence

Strategic Alignment: The proposal must align with the partnership’s co-created strategic research and innovation agenda.
Continuation & Complementarity: The proposed additional activities and any new partners should effectively strengthen the existing partnership and ensure complementarities with related Horizon Europe Missions (e.g., 'A Soil Deal for Europe', 'Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030') and other European Partnerships (e.g., Animal Health, Sustainable Blue Economy, PRIMA, EIP-AGRI).

Impact and Outcomes

Tangible Deliverables: Expected to deliver and support the upscaling of concrete, ready-to-use tools, solutions, and innovations for farmers across various pedo-climatic conditions and contexts.
Widespread Uptake: Commitment to ensuring a wide-spread uptake of the partnership’s results by farmers and all relevant stakeholders.
Policy Support: Contribution to evidence-based policy-making at EU, national, and regional levels.
Systemic Transformation: Contribution to making agri-food systems environmentally friendly, regenerative, climate-neutral, inclusive, competitive, and resilient, aligning with EU Green Deal goals.
Societal Benefits: Anticipated benefits include healthy and sustainable diets, reduced pollution, restored biodiversity, improved animal health and welfare, and positive economic and social impacts.

Quality of Implementation

Activity Balance: The proposal should demonstrate a balanced proportion of financial support to third parties (FSTP) and internal activities, including calls for research projects, network setup, and indicator development.
Network Building: Plans for establishing an EU-wide network of agroecology living labs and research infrastructures, ensuring balanced representation of diverse European pedo-climatic conditions and bio-geographical regions.
Multi-actor & Social Innovation: Integration of multi-actor and socially innovative approaches involving diverse stakeholders (researchers, policymakers, industry, farmers, civil society, etc.) and considering gender and other socio-demographic groups.
International Collaboration: Efforts to promote agroecological farming in countries where understanding and uptake are limited, and to enhance collaborations at an international level, particularly with the EU-Africa Partnership on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA).
Technical Readiness Levels (TRLs): The proposed activities should demonstrate a balance between high and low TRLs.

Evaluation Context

Prior Context Consideration: The evaluation will explicitly take into account the existing context and the scope of the initial evaluation of 'HORIZON-CL6-2023-FARM2FORK-01-1' and related obligations enshrined in that grant agreement.

Cross-Cutting Themes

Social Sciences & Humanities (SSH): Integration of SSH is required to apply a human-centred approach and support social innovation.
One Health Approach: Integration of the One Health approach is encouraged where relevant.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Horizon Europe General Annexes: Compliance with admissibility conditions (Annex A), eligible countries (Annex B), financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria (Annex C), award criteria (Annex D), proposal page limits and layout (Annex E), submission and evaluation processes (Annex F), and legal and financial set-up of grants (Annex G) of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes is mandatory.
EU Financial Regulation: Adherence to the Financial Regulation No 2024/2509 is required.

Specific Conditions

Continuation Grant: This action is specifically intended to be implemented as an amendment to the existing grant agreement concluded under topic 'HORIZON-CL6-2023-FARM2FORK-01-1'.
Satellite Data Usage: If projects involve satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation, or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must utilize Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS.

Unique Aspects & Strategic Considerations

Established Partnership Advantage: This grant is uniquely designed for the existing consortium funded under the previous topic, recognizing its established expertise and the potential for significant disruption if a different entity were to take over.
High FSTP Threshold: The allowance for significant financial support to individual third parties (up to EUR 10 million, with potential for higher) highlights the grant's strategic intent to cascade funding and broaden impact through sub-grantees.
Retroactive Eligibility: The possibility of considering costs incurred from the submission date (or even earlier with justification) allows for seamless continuation of activities.
Market Transition & SME Focus: The destination encourages actions that effectively transition innovations to market, with particular promotion of SME participation.
Systemic & Inclusive Approach: Strong emphasis on adopting a multi-actor, socially innovative approach that integrates Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) and considers diverse socio-demographic groups, including gender, to co-create solutions.
Global Reach: Encouragement for international cooperation, notably with the EU-Africa Partnership on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA), to promote sustainable agri-food systems globally.

Grant Details