Grants8 | The most comprehensive grants search on the web

Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Consumption patterns and environmental awareness as enablers of transition to circular economy. - Single, clear statement of grant's core objective: To understand and influence consumption patterns and environmental awareness to enable a comprehensive transition to a circular economy, reducing environmental pressure and greenhouse gas emissions. - Explicit identification of target recipient type and size: Organizations involved in research and innovation, including industry, public entities, NGOs, and civil society, with a focus on collaborative consortiums. Size is not explicitly limited. - MUST state if grant is 'SECTOR-SPECIFIC' or 'SECTOR-AGNOSTIC': SECTOR-SPECIFIC (Circular Economy, Bioeconomy, Social and Behavioural Science). - Geographic scope and any location requirements: Primarily EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. - Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening: Projects must demonstrate clear pathways to behavioural change in consumption patterns, integrate social innovation, and have strong Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) components. - Grant frequency and program context: This is a single-stage call within the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025, specifically under Cluster 6 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment', Destination 'Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors'.

Financial Structure

Funding Amounts:
- Min contribution: 6,000,000.0 EUR per grant.
- Max contribution: 6,000,000.0 EUR per grant.
- Expected grants: 2.
- Total budget for this topic: 12,000,000.0 EUR.
Currency: EUR.
Funding Rate: None specified in the topic description. For Horizon Europe Innovation Actions (IA), the typical funding rate is 70% of eligible costs for for-profit entities and 100% for non-profit entities.
Eligible and Ineligible Costs: Details regarding eligible and ineligible costs, as well as the legal and financial set-up of the grants, are described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Financial Capacity: Applicants must demonstrate sufficient financial and operational capacity, as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Payment Schedule: The payment schedule and mechanisms are detailed in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Eligibility Requirements

Organization Type

Legal entities are eligible.
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a member of the consortium selected for funding.

Geographic Location

Organizations from EU Member States are eligible.
Organizations from Horizon Europe Associated Countries are eligible.
Organizations from non-EU/non-Associated Countries are eligible if specific provisions are made for funding their participation (refer to the Horizon Europe Programme Guide).

Capacity Requirements

Applicants must demonstrate financial and operational capacity, as described in Annex C of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Consortium Requirements

Proposals for this Innovation Action (IA) typically require a consortium, implying collaboration among multiple entities.

Exclusion Criteria

Standard Horizon Europe exclusion criteria apply, as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Application Process

Submission Timeline

Planned Opening Date for submission: 2025-05-06.
Submission Deadline: 2025-09-17 00:00:00+0000.
Submission Procedure: Single-stage.

Required Documentation

The application form specific to this call is available in the Electronic Submission System.
Proposal page limit and layout are described in Part B of the Application Form, and in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Submission Process

Applications must be submitted online through the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Access the Electronic Submission Service by clicking the submission-button corresponding to the action type (HORIZON Innovation Actions).

Evaluation Timeline

The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement signature is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Support Available

Online Manual: Provides guidance on procedures from proposal submission to grant management.
Horizon Europe Programme Guide: Offers detailed guidance on the structure, budget, and political priorities of Horizon Europe.
Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ: Answers to frequently asked questions on proposal submission, evaluation, and grant management.
Research Enquiry Service: For general questions about European research and EU Research Framework Programmes.
National Contact Points (NCPs): Provide guidance, practical information, and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe, available in EU, Associated, and many non-EU/non-associated countries.
Enterprise Europe Network (EEN): Offers advice to businesses, particularly SMEs, including guidance on EU research funding.
IT Helpdesk: For technical questions related to the Funding & Tenders Portal, such as forgotten passwords, access rights, and submission technicalities.
European IPR Helpdesk: Assists with intellectual property issues.
CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk: European Standards Organisations providing advice on standardisation in project proposals.
The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment: General principles for researchers, employers, and funders.
Partner Search: A tool available on the portal to find partner organisations for proposals.

Evaluation Criteria

Award Criteria

The award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. These annexes define how proposals are assessed for excellence, impact, and quality and efficiency of implementation.

Project Scope Alignment

Contribution to the expected outcomes: increased consumer awareness of sustainable and circular choices, availability of guidance for public authorities and civil society organizations, and strengthened circularity-related knowledge and skills of economic operators.
Addressing gaps in public awareness regarding environmental impacts of consumption patterns and between consumer knowledge/awareness and actual behavior.
Analysis and identification of economic, social, behavioral, psychological, technical, and legal barriers and levers for the uptake of circular and sustainable products, solutions, and services.
Consideration of relevant aspects of fairness, equality, diversity, inclusion, and gender in the analysis.
Drawing and evaluating possible pathways to behavioral change for various economic actors (municipalities, companies, end-users) to enable transition to a circular and sustainable economy.
Exploration of the impact and potential of Ecodesign, Ecolabel, green claims, digital infrastructures, and Digital Product Passports in changing consumer behavior.
Development of convincing narratives, framing strategies, and storytelling tactics to improve knowledge of selling points for sustainable products/services.
Exploration of territorial and geographical dimensions of consumption patterns, aiming for synergies with the New European Bauhaus (NEB) and the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI).

Innovation and Impact

Proposals should demonstrate new and more sustainable approaches for managing waste materials and by-products.
The project should promote new forms of cooperation among diverse economic and societal actors across sectors and territories.
Expected benefits for industry and consumers from new opportunities through sustainable novel products and novel circular business models that mitigate resource use and greenhouse gas emissions.
Advancing innovative business and governance models to foster safe and sustainable product design.

Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) Integration

Effective contribution of SSH disciplines and involvement of SSH experts is required, ensuring inclusion of relevant SSH expertise to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing societal impact.

Citizen and Civil Society Engagement

Engagement of citizens and civil society in the project activities is central to achieving the targeted outcomes.
Consideration for the participation of disadvantaged groups based on gender and other social categories is expected.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Projects must align with and contribute to the implementation of the European Green Deal.
Compliance with specific EU initiatives and regulations is essential, including: the 2020 circular economy action plan (CEAP), Waste Framework Directive, Green Claims Directive, EU Ecolabel, Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), EU bioeconomy strategy, forest strategy for 2030, Common Agriculture Policy, industrial strategy, chemicals strategy for sustainability, European Climate Law, SME strategy, safe and sustainable by design framework, sustainable blue economy, EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, EU Nature Restoration Regulation, EU forest monitoring regulation, and the directive on EU soil monitoring and resilience.

Ethical and Quality Standards

Proposals must adhere to general ethical standards applicable to Horizon Europe projects.
Quality standards and expectations are integrated into the evaluation process, as outlined in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Cross-Cutting Themes

The topic explicitly encourages the application of Social Innovation (SocInnov), principles of the New European Bauhaus (NEB), and a strong integration of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH).
A Multi-Actor Approach (MAA) is encouraged, fostering collaboration between various stakeholders.
Digital Agenda considerations, including the exploration of digital infrastructures and Digital Product Passports, are relevant.
The analysis should address relevant aspects of fairness, equality, diversity, inclusion, and gender.

Knowledge Sharing and Collaboration

Proposals are strongly encouraged to organise joint activities, ensure synergies, and undertake clustering activities with Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) projects and the CCRI Coordination and Support Office (CSO).
International cooperation is encouraged to maximize the impact of research and innovation.
Synergies should be sought with European research infrastructures, such as ESS ERIC, and other relevant research infrastructures.
Coordination with the JRC (Joint Research Centre) is possible, which may provide expertise in circular economy policy and foster coordination with ongoing related activities.

Risk Management

Risk management expectations are generally part of the project planning requirements under Horizon Europe, though not detailed in this specific topic description.

Grant Details