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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

GRANT PURPOSE AND TARGET: - The core objective of this grant is to facilitate access to European spaceports and increase their attractiveness for European launch systems by fostering common regulatory practices and guidelines. - Target recipients are legal entities involved in spaceport operations, regulatory development, and technology solutions within the eligible countries. - This grant is SECTOR-SPECIFIC, focusing on the space sector, particularly spaceports, launch operations, and related regulatory frameworks. - Geographic scope: EU Member States, Norway, Iceland, and other Associated Countries. - Key filtering criteria for initial screening include a focus on activities related to developing common practices for European spaceports, and involvement with regulatory or technical aspects of launch operations. - This is a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) within the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025, indicating it is part of a recurring program context for strategic European space initiatives.

Financial Structure

FINANCIAL STRUCTURE: - The grant provides funding in the form of a lump sum contribution. - The total grant amount per project for this specific topic is €1,000,000.0. - Payments are tied directly to the proper implementation and completion of corresponding work packages, rather than being based on actual incurred costs. - Eligible costs for lump sum calculation include: - Personnel costs (employees, direct contractors, seconded persons, SME owners, natural person beneficiaries). - Subcontracting costs. - Purchase costs (travel, subsistence, equipment, other goods/services). - Other cost categories (e.g., financial support to third parties, internally invoiced goods/services, access to research infrastructure, procurement costs). - Indirect costs are calculated at a 25% flat rate on the qualifying direct cost categories. - While not an explicit 'matching fund' requirement, the 'co-financing principle' is applied; the total estimated costs of the action must exceed the estimated Union contribution. - A portion of the total lump sum, specifically between 5% and 8%, is retained as a contribution to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism. - The final lump sum amount is established during the grant preparation phase, potentially adjusted based on evaluation findings.

Eligibility Requirements

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS: Organizational Type & Legal Status

Legal entities established in Member States (EU), Norway, Iceland, and other Associated Countries are eligible.
No specific definitions for 'startup', 'SME', or 'enterprise' are provided, implying broad eligibility for all legal entity types from the specified countries.

Geographic Location

Organizations must be established in one of the following: EU Member States, Norway, Iceland, or an Associated Country.
Proposals that include legal entities from countries outside this defined scope will be deemed ineligible.

Technical & Operational Capacity

Beneficiaries whose projects involve satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation, or related timing data and services must utilise Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS data/services.
Applicants must demonstrate sufficient financial and operational capacity, as further detailed in Annex C of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Application Process

APPLICATION PRACTICAL INFORMATION: Application Submission

The submission deadline for proposals is 2025-09-25 00:00:00+0000.
The application process is single-stage, meaning you submit a full proposal in one go.
Application forms specific to this call are available within the official online Submission System.
Submission of proposals requires authentication via the EU Login account or a recognized third-party Sign-in Service.

Required Documentation & Content

Proposals must adhere to strict page limits and layout guidelines specified in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes, as well as Part B of the Application Form.
A detailed budget breakdown is required, clearly showing the estimated costs per work package and, if applicable, per beneficiary and affiliated entity.
Beneficiaries must include a declaration stating that they have used their own accounting practices for preparing the estimated budget.
The proposal should describe in detail the activities covered by each work package and all related resources.

Evaluation and Selection

An indicative timeline for the evaluation process and grant agreement preparation is outlined in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Only one project is expected to be funded under this specific topic.
Proposals will be evaluated by external independent experts based on predefined award criteria, scoring, and thresholds.

Evaluation Criteria

EVALUATION CRITERIA: Standard Horizon Europe Criteria

Excellence: Evaluates the quality, novelty, and scientific/technical soundness of the proposed activities and methodology. This includes the clarity of objectives, the relevance of the concept, and the ambition of the project.
Impact: Assesses the extent to which the project is expected to contribute to the grant's stated outcomes, such as increased awareness of practices/regulations, a comprehensive overview of technical challenges, assessment of paths for European spaceport regulations, and identification of benefits for the European space market and sovereignty. This also covers the potential for dissemination, exploitation, and communication of results.
Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation: Examines the coherence and effectiveness of the work plan, the appropriateness of resources allocated, the competence and complementarity of the project team, and the proposed management structures and procedures.

Specific to Lump Sum Funding Evaluation

Budget Assessment: Financial experts will rigorously check the proposed lump sum budget estimate. This involves benchmarking against relevant cost data (e.g., market prices, statistical data, historical project costs).
Resource Appropriateness: Evaluation will verify that the proposed resources and the breakdown of the lump sum per work package are appropriate and sufficient for achieving the described activities and expected outputs.
Accounting Practices: Proposals must include a declaration from beneficiaries confirming that they have followed their own accounting practices when preparing the estimated budget.

Compliance & Special Requirements

COMPLIANCE AND SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: Strategic Autonomy and Security

To safeguard the Union's strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security, participation is limited. The goal is to avoid technological dependency on non-EU sources.

Data and Infrastructure Usage

If your project plans to use satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation, or related timing data/services, it is mandatory to use Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS data/services.

Ethical and Cross-Cutting Considerations

The integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in the research and innovation content should only be addressed if it is clearly relevant to the objectives of your proposed research or activities.
Projects must adhere to ethical standards and research integrity guidelines, which are fundamental obligations under the grant agreement.

Financial and Legal Compliance

All financial aspects must comply with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2018/1046 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union.
Although payments are lump-sum based on work package completion, beneficiaries remain subject to the accounting rules under their applicable national law.
The legal framework also covers rules for legal entity validation, LEAR (Legal Entity Appointed Representative) appointment, and financial capacity assessment.

Intellectual Property

The management of intellectual property (IP) is a key obligation and consideration within the grant agreement.

Monitoring and Control

Checks, reviews, and audits will primarily focus on the technical implementation of the action and the fulfillment of the conditions for releasing lump sum contributions per work package. These controls also cover other aspects like ethics, research integrity, dissemination, exploitation of results, and gender equality.

Grant Details