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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Grant Purpose and Target

Objective: Empower citizens to make informed decisions about alternative proteins derived from biotechnology and increase awareness of their sustainability and health impacts, while strengthening education and access to information.
Target Recipient Type & Size: Open to a wide range of organizations, including public bodies, civil society organizations, research institutions, private companies (SMEs and larger enterprises), and educational entities. No specific size limitations, but SMEs are particularly promoted.
SECTOR-SPECIFIC: Focuses on the Food, Agriculture, and Biotechnology sectors, with an emphasis on citizen awareness and education within these areas.
Geographic Scope: Primarily EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries for funding eligibility. International cooperation, especially with partners in the United States, is encouraged for project activities.
Key Filtering Criteria: Proposals must focus on biotechnology-derived alternative proteins, citizen awareness, education, and communication. The project must implement a multi-actor approach and integrate Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) disciplines.
Grant Frequency & Program Context: This is a specific call (HORIZON-CL6-2025-02) within the Horizon Europe Cluster 6 Work Programme 2025, under the destination 'Fair, healthy and environment-friendly food systems from primary production to consumption'. It is a single-stage call with a fixed deadline.

Financial Structure

Funding is provided as a lump sum contribution, meaning payments are linked to the completion of agreed-upon work packages, not to actual incurred costs.
The total budget for this specific topic is 2,000,000.0 EUR.
The minimum grant amount per project is 2,000,000.0 EUR.
The maximum grant amount per project is 2,000,000.0 EUR.
Indirect costs are implicitly covered within the lump sum calculation, often based on a 25.0% flat rate on direct eligible costs.
Applicants must propose the lump sum amount based on their estimated direct and indirect costs, providing a detailed breakdown per work package and per beneficiary/affiliated entity.
No explicit matching fund requirements are stated, as the grant operates on a lump sum basis.
A portion (5% to 8%) of the total lump sum is retained as a contribution to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Eligibility

Eligible organization types: All legal entities, including civil society organizations (NGO), public authorities and institutes (PUBLIC), universities and research organizations (UNIVERSITY), small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), and larger private enterprises (ENTERPRISE) (as 'value chain actors' or 'private institutes').
Organizational structure preferences: Must implement the 'multi-actor approach', ensuring active involvement of diverse stakeholders, including citizens, civil society organizations, authorities, public and private institutes/institutions, and value chain actors.

Geographic Location Requirements

Geographic eligibility: Organizations established in EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries are eligible for funding.
International collaboration: Collaboration with international partners, particularly from the United States, is encouraged for project implementation, though specific funding eligibility for non-EU/Associated countries is not detailed in the provided documents.

Technical & Operational Qualifications

Technical expertise: Proposals must demonstrate effective contribution of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) disciplines.
Infrastructure requirements: Collaboration with European research infrastructures in biotechnology (e.g., EU-IBISBA) is encouraged.
Data management: Data produced within the project must be FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable).

Application Process

Application Deadlines and Submission

Application deadline: 2025-09-16 00:00:00+00.
The submission session for this call opened on 2025-05-06.
Submission procedure: Single-stage.

Required Documentation and Materials

Application form: Use the 'Standard application form (HE CSA)' specific to this call, available in the Submission System.
Proposal format: Adhere to proposal page limits and layout described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes, and in Part B of the Application Form.
Budget: Prepare a detailed budget using the 'Detailed budget table (HE LS)', consistent with lump sum requirements.

Application Process Steps

Access the Electronic Submission Service via the Funding & Tenders Portal by selecting the appropriate type of action ('HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions') and model grant agreement ('HORIZON Lump Sum Grant').
Confirm your choice in the system, as it cannot be changed later.
Complete the application form, ensuring it addresses all expected outcomes and scope activities.
Submit the proposal by the deadline.

Support and Guidance Available

Guidance documents: HE Programme Guide, Model Grant Agreements (Lump Sum MGA), call-specific instructions, and the 'Lump sums - what do I need to know?' guide.
Reference documents: HE Main Work Programme 2025 (General Introduction, Cluster 6 Part, General Annexes), EU Financial Regulation.
Support services: Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, FAQ, Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network, IT Helpdesk, European IPR Helpdesk, CEN-CENELEC/ETSI Research Helpdesk.

Post-Award Requirements

Payments: Lump sum contributions per work package are paid upon confirmation of proper implementation of the corresponding work package, as per Annex 1 of the grant agreement.
Monitoring and reporting: Checks, reviews, and audits will focus primarily on the technical implementation of the action, including the fulfillment of conditions for releasing lump sum contributions per work package, ethics, research integrity, dissemination and exploitation of results, management of intellectual property, and gender equality. Detailed financial cost reporting is not required.

Evaluation Criteria

General Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on: excellence, expected impact, and quality and efficiency of the implementation. These are consistent with the general Horizon Europe Work Programme Annexes (Annex D).

Financial Aspects and Budget Assessment

Budget estimation: Experts with financial expertise will check the proposed lump sum budget. This check is based on relevant benchmarks such as market prices, statistical data, or historical data from comparable actions.
Resource assessment: Evaluators will assess whether the proposed resources and the breakdown of lump sum shares are sufficient and appropriate to achieve the described activities and expected outputs.
Accounting practices: Beneficiaries must declare that they have followed their own accounting practices for preparing the estimated budget.

Expected Outcomes and Scope Alignment

Contribution to scientific knowledge: Proposals should contribute to improving scientific knowledge at national, regional, and local levels regarding the use of biotechnology applications for food and food ingredients.
Communication and understanding: Improved communication and public understanding of the social, economic, and environmental impacts of alternative protein sources derived from biotechnology.
Citizen awareness: Enhanced citizen awareness of characteristics of alternative proteins (e.g., from precision fermentation) through diverse communication tools at various levels.
Policy and regulatory identification: Identification of policy inconsistencies or regulatory issues that limit market uptake with negative public impact.
Completeness of activities: Proposals are expected to address all specified activities, including establishing a collaborative science-based information program (with a survey), improving scientific knowledge transfer, producing evidence-based technical and dissemination materials, recommending educational curriculum updates, and utilizing diverse communication media.

Cross-Cutting Themes and Methodologies

Multi-actor approach: The active participation and engagement of diverse stakeholders (citizens, civil society organizations, authorities, public/private institutes, value chain actors) is crucial and will be assessed for its effectiveness in ensuring acceptability, awareness, and deployment.
Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH): The effective contribution of SSH disciplines is a required element.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory and General Compliance

Admissibility Conditions: Proposals must comply with specific page limits and layout rules as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Eligible Countries: Participation is restricted to organizations from eligible countries as specified in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Financial and Operational Capacity: Applicants must meet the financial and operational capacity requirements outlined in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Legal Entity Validation: Compliance with rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment, and Financial Capacity Assessment is required.
EU Financial Regulations: Adherence to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2018/1046 (EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509) is mandatory.

Technical Standards and Data Management

Data Quality: A particular effort must be made to ensure that all data produced within the project is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable).

Ethical and Societal Considerations

Ethical Standards: Compliance with ethical standards and requirements is expected for all project activities.
Multi-Actor Approach: Mandatory implementation of a 'multi-actor approach' to ensure effective involvement of all relevant stakeholders, including citizens, civil society organizations, authorities, public and private institutes/institutions, and value chain actors.
Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH): The proposal must involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines to ensure a human-centred approach and support social innovation.

International Collaboration and Strategic Alignment

International Cooperation: Collaboration with international partners, especially those in the United States, is explicitly encouraged to maximize the impact of research and innovation.
Strategic Alignment: The project is expected to align with the Food 2030 R&I initiative and the Commission's communication on 'Building the future with nature: Boosting Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing in the EU'.

Grant Details