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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This grant aims to develop and test simple, meaningful indicators for monitoring progress towards a circular economy. These indicators are intended for use by individual economic agents (companies, households, investors) and for supporting decision-making by public administration and financial institutions in their circularity transition efforts. - Target recipient types: Companies, households, investors, local public authorities, social economy entities, financial institutions. - Organizational roles: Research institutions, businesses, public bodies, and non-profits involved in circular economy transitions or developing related indicators. - SECTOR-SPECIFIC: This grant is highly focused on the circular economy and bioeconomy sectors. - Geographic scope: Primarily EU Member States and Associated Countries, as this is an EU-funded initiative supporting EU Green Deal objectives. - Key filtering criteria: Focus on developing measurable circularity indicators, applicability across various economic agents, and potential for public/private use.

Financial Structure

Funding Mechanism: Grants are provided in the form of lump sum contributions.
Total Budget for Topic HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-06: 8,000,000.0 EUR.
Grant Amount per Project: Minimum 4,000,000.0 EUR and maximum 4,000,000.0 EUR.
Number of Expected Grants: 2 projects are expected to be funded under this topic.
Eligible Costs for Lump Sum Calculation: Must approximate beneficiaries' actual costs. Categories include personnel, subcontracting, purchase costs (travel, equipment, goods, services), and other cost categories (e.g., financial support to third parties, internally invoiced goods and services).
Ineligible Costs: Any costs typically ineligible under Horizon Europe rules.
Indirect Costs: A flat rate of 25.0% of direct costs (that qualify for indirect costs calculation under Horizon Europe rules) is included in the lump sum calculation.
Payment Mechanism: Payments do not depend on actual costs incurred. Lump sum contributions per work package are paid upon proper implementation of the corresponding work packages and compliance with grant agreement obligations.
Retention: Between 5% and 8% of the total lump sum is retained as a contribution to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism.
Financial Reporting: No reporting of actual costs is required. Focus is on technical implementation and achievement of work package conditions.
Audit: Normally no financial checks, reviews, or audits on incurred costs. Controls focus on technical implementation and fulfillment of work package conditions.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type & Structure

Eligible organization types are broad, including research organizations, companies (SMEs, enterprises), public bodies (e.g., Joint Research Centre - JRC), and social economy entities. Participation of the JRC as a consortium member is possible.
Projects are expected to be collaborative, implying a consortium-based application.

Geographic Requirements

Applicants must be established in eligible countries as defined in Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. This typically includes EU Member States and countries associated with Horizon Europe.

Technical & Capacity Requirements

Proposals should demonstrate capability to develop and test a set of indicators for monitoring circular economy progress.
Expertise in lifecycle perspective and environmental footprint methods is relevant.
Projects should include a detailed breakdown of activities and resources per work package, demonstrating financial and operational capacity.

Exclusion Criteria

Costs that are ineligible under standard Horizon Europe rules must be excluded from the lump sum calculation.
Standard Horizon Europe exclusion criteria for financial and operational capacity apply, as detailed in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Application Process

Submission Model: Single-stage submission.
Submission Platform: Applications must be submitted through the dedicated submission system on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Application Forms: Specific application forms for this call are available in the Submission System. Standard forms (HE RIA, IA) are used with adaptations.
Required Documentation: Proposals must adhere to page limits and layout described in Annex A and E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes, and Part B of the Application Form.
Budget Proposal: Applicants must propose the lump sum amount based on estimated direct and indirect project costs, providing a breakdown per work package and per beneficiary/affiliated entity.

Timelines

Call Opening Date: May 6, 2025
Application Deadline: 2025-09-17 00:00:00+00:00
Evaluation & Grant Agreement Timeline: Indicative timelines are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Post-Award Requirements & Reporting

Technical Implementation: Projects are monitored for proper technical implementation of work packages.
Reporting: Progress reporting focuses on the fulfillment of work package conditions, as payments are tied to these.
Compliance: Ongoing compliance with grant agreement aspects such as ethics, research integrity, dissemination, exploitation of results, IP management, and gender equality is checked.

Application Assistance

Online Manual: Provides guidance on procedures from proposal submission to grant management.
Horizon Europe Programme Guide: Offers detailed guidance on the overall program.
Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ: Answers common questions.
National Contact Points (NCPs): Provide guidance and assistance.
Enterprise Europe Network (EEN): Offers advice to businesses, especially SMEs.
IT Helpdesk: For technical issues with the portal.
European IPR Helpdesk: For intellectual property issues.
CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk: For standardization guidance.

Evaluation Criteria

General Evaluation Principles

Proposals will be evaluated by independent experts based on three main criteria, consistent with standard Horizon Europe procedures:
- Excellence: Quality of the proposed research, methodology, and innovation.
- Impact: Potential contribution to expected outcomes and broader societal, economic, and environmental benefits.
- Quality and efficiency of the implementation: Coherence and effectiveness of the work plan, appropriateness of resources, and management structure.

Financial Evaluation (for Lump Sum)

Experts with financial expertise will check the budget estimate for each work package based on benchmarks (market prices, statistical data, historical data).
The evaluation will assess whether proposed resources and lump sum shares are sufficient to achieve the activities and expected outputs.
Proposals must include a declaration that beneficiaries followed their own accounting practices for budget preparation.

Expected Outcomes & Impact

Proposals should clearly contribute to:
- Increased knowledge of suitable indicators for measuring circularity and associated impacts (e.g., GHG emissions, using Environmental Footprint methods).
- Development of recommendations for further indicator development and data collection.
- Provision of guidance and recommendations to local public authorities, social economy entities, and financial institutions on using these indicators.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory & Legal Compliance

General Conditions: Compliance with general conditions described in the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes is required.
Financial Regulations: Adherence to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2018/1046 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union.
Data Protection & Privacy: General EU data protection regulations apply.
Labor Standards: Compliance with labor standards is expected.

Ethical & Quality Standards

Ethical Standards: Projects must comply with ethical standards and research integrity guidelines.
Quality Standards: Work packages must be properly implemented to meet conditions for lump sum payments.

Intellectual Property (IP) Policies

Management of intellectual property is a key aspect of the grant agreement that will be monitored.

Risk Management & Security

The lump sum approach shifts the focus from financial reporting to technical implementation, meaning risks related to achieving project outcomes (technical risks) are paramount.

Special Considerations

Lump Sum Funding: This grant uses a lump sum financing model, which simplifies financial management by removing detailed cost reporting and ex-post financial audits. Payments are based on the successful completion of predefined work packages.
Synergies & Coordination: Projects are strongly encouraged to organize joint activities, ensure synergies, and undertake clustering activities with the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) projects and the CCRI Coordination and Support Office (CSO).
International Cooperation: International cooperation is encouraged to maximize the impact of research and innovation under this destination.
Cross-Cutting Themes: The R&I activities will take into account the participation of disadvantaged groups based on gender and other social categories.
Sustainable by Design: Expected outcomes align with EU initiatives like the Circular Economy Action Plan and Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, emphasizing durability, reparability, and recyclability.
JRC Expertise: The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may provide expertise and foster coordination with ongoing activities, and can potentially participate in projects' Scientific Advisory Boards.

Grant Details