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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Core Objective: To evolve the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) by developing new and innovative ocean data assimilation techniques, aiming to improve ocean monitoring and predictions.
Target Recipient Type and Size: Open to a wide range of legal entities including research organisations, universities, companies (SMEs and large enterprises), and public bodies. No specific size limitations are mentioned, but projects typically involve collaborative consortia.
SECTOR-SPECIFIC: This grant is SECTOR-SPECIFIC, focusing on space, marine, and environmental technology sectors.
Geographic Scope: Open to entities from EU Member States and countries associated with Horizon Europe. Participants from non-EU/non-associated countries may also be eligible if specific funding provisions exist.
Key Filtering Criteria: Applicants must propose research and innovation (R&I) focusing on advanced ocean data assimilation, utilizing satellite-based observations (especially Copernicus/Galileo), and contributing to operational marine services.
Grant Frequency and Program Context: This is a specific topic under the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025, suggesting that similar calls may occur in future work programmes, but this exact topic is for the 2025 call.

Financial Structure

Total Funding Available for this Topic: 5,000,000 EUR.
Grant Amount per Project: The grant will be a lump sum of 5,000,000 EUR for one expected project.
Currency: Euro (EUR).
Funding Type: Lump sum contribution. Payments are based on the proper implementation of defined work packages, rather than actual incurred costs.
Eligible Costs (for lump sum calculation): Applicants must propose a lump sum based on estimated direct and indirect costs, which would be eligible under standard Horizon Europe rules. Categories include:
- Personnel costs (employees, direct contractors, seconded persons, SME owners, natural person beneficiaries).
- Subcontracting costs.
- Purchase costs (travel, equipment, other goods and services).
- Other cost categories (financial support to third parties, internally invoiced goods/services, transnational/virtual access to research infrastructure, PCP/PPI procurement, Euratom Cofund staff mobility, ERC additional funding).
Ineligible Costs: Any costs typically ineligible under standard Horizon Europe rules must be excluded from the lump sum calculation.
Indirect Cost Policy: Indirect costs are included in the lump sum calculation at a flat rate of 25% of eligible direct costs (where applicable).
Co-financing Requirements: The total estimated costs of the action must exceed the estimated Union contribution, implying that beneficiaries are expected to co-finance a portion of the total project cost.
Payment Mechanism: Lump sum contributions are paid per work package upon confirmation that the conditions for that work package have been met. Payments are made to the coordinator. If work package conditions are not met, payment may be deferred or the grant reduced.
Financial Guarantees: Between 5% and 8% of the total lump sum is retained as a contribution to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism.
Financial Reporting: There is no obligation to document actual incurred costs for financial reporting purposes, as payments are based on lump sums. Financial checks focus on the technical implementation and fulfilment of work package conditions.

Eligibility Requirements

Organization Type

Any legal entity established in an eligible country that can participate in Horizon Europe. This typically includes universities, research organisations, companies (both SMEs and large enterprises), and public bodies.
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a member of the consortium.

Geographic Location

Organisations must be established in an EU Member State or a country associated with Horizon Europe.
Certain non-EU/non-associated countries may also be eligible for funding if specific provisions have been made (refer to Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, not provided here, for detailed list).

Technical Qualifications

Projects must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS data and services if they involve satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation, or related timing data and services. Other data and services may be used additionally.

Financial and Operational Capacity

Applicants must demonstrate sufficient financial and operational capacity as described in Annex C of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes (details not provided). This is a standard requirement for all Horizon Europe grants.

Consortium Requirements

While not explicitly stated as mandatory, Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs) under Horizon Europe are typically collaborative, strongly implying a consortium is expected. The explicit mention of JRC potentially joining a consortium reinforces this.

Application Process

Application Deadlines and Submission

Submission Deadline: 2025-09-25 00:00:00 UTC.
Submission Window: The submission session is available from 2025-05-22.
Submission Procedure: Single-stage application process.
Submission Platform: Applications must be submitted through the Funding & Tenders Portal. An EU Login account or a compatible third-party sign-in is required to access the submission service. SMS authentication for EU Login is no longer available.

Required Documentation and Materials

Application Form: Applicants must use the standard application form (HE RIA, IA) available in the Submission System.
Proposal Content: Proposals must adhere to page limits and layout described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes, and specifically Part B of the Application Form.
Detailed Budget Table: A 'Detailed budget table (HE LS)' must be submitted, outlining the estimated direct and indirect costs per work package, per beneficiary, and for any affiliated entities. This forms the basis for the lump sum calculation.
Accounting Declaration: Beneficiaries must declare that they have followed their own accounting practices when preparing the estimated budget.

Evaluation and Selection Process

Evaluation: Proposals are evaluated by external independent experts. The assessment covers 'excellence', 'expected impact', and 'quality and efficiency of the implementation'.
Budget Review: Financial experts will review the budget estimate using benchmarks like market prices or historical data to ensure its reasonableness and alignment with planned activities.
Grant Agreement: Successful proposals will enter into a Lump Sum Grant Agreement (Lump Sum MGA). Indicative timelines for evaluation and grant agreement preparation are outlined in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes (not provided).

Applicant Support and Resources

Guidance: Comprehensive guidance is available through the Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, and Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ.
Direct Assistance: Applicants can seek support from the Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network (especially for SMEs), and the IT Helpdesk for technical issues.
Intellectual Property: The European IPR Helpdesk offers assistance on intellectual property matters.
Partner Search: The Funding & Tenders Portal provides a partner search tool to help identify potential consortium members.

Evaluation Criteria

The evaluation criteria are based on standard Horizon Europe procedures, assessed by external independent experts focusing on the following: Quality of the Proposal

Excellence: Scientific and technological quality of the proposed R&I, including methodology, innovative nature, and interdisciplinary aspects. This includes the novelty and innovation of proposed ocean data assimilation techniques, such as coupled data assimilation, multi-scale methods, AI integration, and methods for assessing uncertainties.
Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation: Coherence and effectiveness of the work plan, appropriateness of resources, competence of the consortium, and risk management.

Impact

Expected Impact: The potential contribution of the project results to the expected outcomes outlined in the call, including improving ocean monitoring and predictions, strengthening data assimilation development, and facilitating scientific community contributions.
Dissemination and Exploitation: Quality of measures for communication, dissemination, and exploitation of results, including plans for demonstration of downstream applications and readiness for operational deployment within CMEMS.
Strategic Alignment: Contributions to initiatives like the European Digital Twin Ocean and GEO Blue Planet.

Financial Assessment

Budget Estimate: Financial experts will check the proposed lump sum budget based on relevant benchmarks, market prices, statistical data, or historical data on comparable actions. They will assess if the proposed resources align with the activities and expected outputs.

Cross-Cutting Themes

International Cooperation: Encouraged and may contribute positively to the evaluation.
Gender Dimension: Integration of sex and gender analysis in the research and innovation content should be addressed only if relevant to the research objectives. Its relevance will be assessed during evaluation if applicable.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

General Horizon Europe Rules: Adherence to the general conditions, rules for participation, and dissemination set out in Horizon Europe documents (e.g., Annex A, B, C, D, E, F, G of the Work Programme General Annexes).
Financial Regulations: Compliance with the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509.

Data Usage and Technical Compliance

Copernicus/Galileo Use: Projects using satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation, or related timing data/services must utilize Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS. Other data and services can be used in addition.
Software Licensing: Any software developed as part of the project should be open licensed.

Intellectual Property (IP) Policies

Results Exploitation: Conditions for making available, re-using, and exploiting project results (including intellectual property rights) by relevant Entrusted Entities of the Copernicus services must be clearly addressed during project implementation.

Ethical and Social Standards

Ethics and Research Integrity: Projects are subject to checks on ethics and research integrity compliance.
Gender Dimension: The integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in the research and innovation content should only be addressed if it is relevant to the objectives of the research effort.

Collaboration and Dissemination Expectations

International Cooperation: Encouraged to enhance the project's impact and reach.
Synergies with Past Projects: Actions are encouraged to build on or cooperate with previous or ongoing Horizon-funded projects related to the global ocean observing value chain (e.g., LandSeaLot, EPOC, EERIE, ObsSea4Clim).
Operational Readiness: Active attention should be given to the transfer of research results to operations to strengthen readiness for future operational deployment.
Initiative Contributions: Potential contributions to the European Digital Twin Ocean and the GEO Blue Planet initiative should be considered.

Risk Management

Focus of Controls: With lump sum funding, financial checks and ex-post audits on incurred costs are minimized. Controls focus primarily on the technical implementation of the action, fulfillment of work package conditions, and compliance with other grant agreement obligations like ethics, IPR, dissemination, exploitation, and gender equality.

Grant Details