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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This grant, a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) under Horizon Europe, aims to reduce environmental impacts, specifically pollution, from the agricultural production of crops used in bio-based industrial systems. It focuses on gathering data, analyzing impacts (including indirect land use change), and sharing best practices to promote sustainable production methods. It is a SECTOR-SPECIFIC grant targeting bio-based industries, agricultural stakeholders, public authorities, and advisors involved in the supply chain of primary biological resources. The geographical scope is the EU and Associated Countries, with encouragement for international cooperation, particularly with Latin-America and the Caribbean. The grant is part of the recurring Horizon Europe program, specifically the 2025 Work Programme for 'Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment', contributing to the 'Clean environment and zero pollution' destination.

Financial Structure

This grant utilizes a lump sum funding model, meaning payments are linked to the completion of predefined work packages rather than detailed reporting of actual costs incurred. This aims to simplify financial management and reduce administrative burden.

Funding Amount: The grant offers a fixed amount of EUR 2,000,000 per successful proposal.
Eligible Costs: The lump sum covers categories that would typically be eligible in an actual costs grant, including:
- Personnel costs (employees, contractors, seconded persons, SME owners, natural person beneficiaries)
- Subcontracting costs
- Purchase costs (travel, equipment, other goods/works/services)
- Other cost categories (e.g., financial support to third parties, internally invoiced goods/services).
- Indirect costs are included in the lump sum calculation at a 25% flat rate on direct costs (where applicable).
Ineligible Costs: Any costs that would be ineligible under standard Horizon Europe rules must be excluded from the proposed lump sum.
Co-financing: The grant anticipates that the total estimated costs of the action will be greater than the EU contribution, implying a co-financing principle. While no specific percentage is stated, the lump sum calculation will reflect relevant reimbursement rates.
Payment Schedule: Payments are made to the coordinator upon the proper implementation and completion of specific work packages as defined in the grant agreement. If a work package's conditions are not met, its associated lump sum is not paid but can be deferred to a subsequent reporting period if completed then.
Financial Guarantees: Between 5% and 8% of the total lump sum is retained as a contribution to the Mutual Insurance Mechanism.
Financial Reporting: Beneficiaries are generally not required to report actual costs. Checks and audits will focus on the technical implementation of work packages rather than financial accounting.

Eligibility Requirements

The grant is open to a wide range of organizations, though specific types like 'SME' or 'University' are not exclusively defined as eligible. Given the nature of a Coordination and Support Action and the 'multi-actor approach' encouraged, typical applicants would include research organizations, universities, industry associations, public authorities, and businesses (including SMEs) engaged in agriculture and bio-based industries. The grant's previous pilot experience suggests a positive attitude towards small to mid-sized entities, but this is not a strict requirement. Geographic Eligibility Organizations must be established in EU Member States or Associated Countries. While a full list of Associated Countries is not provided in the supplied documents, all 27 EU member states are eligible: * Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden. International cooperation, especially with Latin-American and Caribbean partners, is encouraged. Partnership Requirements A consortium approach is strongly implied and effectively required. The grant encourages a 'multi-actor approach' and 'international cooperation'. Furthermore, the 'Coordination and Support Actions' (CSA) type typically involves multiple beneficiaries working together to coordinate research, networking, and dissemination.

Application Process

Application Procedure Applications must be submitted electronically through the Funding & Tenders Portal using the 'submission-button' for the specific topic. This is a single-stage submission process. Required Documentation and Materials

Application Form: A specific application form for this call is available in the Submission System. Proposals must adhere to page limits and layout described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Detailed Budget Table: Applicants must propose the lump sum amount based on estimated direct and indirect costs, providing a detailed breakdown per work package and per beneficiary/affiliated entity using the provided templates.
Declarations: Beneficiaries must declare that their budget estimation followed their own accounting practices.
Additional Annexes: Information regarding eligible countries, other eligible conditions (Annex B), financial and operational capacity, exclusion criteria (Annex C), evaluation/award criteria (Annex D), submission/evaluation processes, indicative timeline (Annex F), and legal/financial setup (Annex G) are all detailed in the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.

Submission Deadline The deadline for submitting proposals is 2025-09-17 00:00:00+0000 (UTC). Types of Support Offered Beyond the direct funding in the form of a lump sum, the grant implicitly supports: * Research & Development-like activities: Through the analysis, assessment, and identification of best practices. * Capacity Building: Via knowledge sharing and dissemination of findings. * Networking: Through the 'multi-actor approach' and encouragement of international cooperation. * Resources: Providing funding to cover personnel, subcontracting, and purchase costs related to the project. Project Implementation and Reporting

Implementation is structured around work packages, and payments are linked to their proper completion.
Reporting: While there is no requirement to report actual costs, beneficiaries are subject to technical checks, reviews, and audits focusing on the technical implementation of the action and fulfilment of work package conditions. Compliance with ethics, research integrity, dissemination, exploitation of results, intellectual property management, and gender equality are also subject to checks.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be evaluated using standard Horizon Europe procedures by external independent experts. The main scoring factors typically revolve around:

Excellence: This refers to the quality of the proposed science and methodology, including the sound implementation of Environmental Footprint methods, the quantitative assessment approach, and the proposed tasks for data collection and analysis.
Impact: How well the project is expected to contribute to the specified outcomes, such as improving knowledge of environmental impacts, providing best practices for sustainable crop production, and ultimately contributing to the zero pollution objectives. This includes contributing to cleaner air, healthier oceans/waters/soils, developing safe and sustainable bio-based solutions, remediating polluted environments, and empowering farmers. Alignment with the EU Green Deal and other key EU strategies is crucial.
Quality and Efficiency of Implementation: This assesses the project's coherence, the proposed work packages, the allocation of resources, and the management plan. For lump sum grants, experts with financial know-how will also check the budget estimate against relevant benchmarks to ensure it approximates actual eligible costs and that the proposed resources enable the activities and expected outputs.

Cross-Cutting Themes Impacting Scoring

Multi-actor approach: Collaboration across different types of stakeholders (e.g., bio-based industries, farmers, public authorities).
International cooperation: Encouragement for cooperation, particularly with Latin-America and the Caribbean.
AI and Digital Agenda: Potential for use of AI in environmental observation and modelling systems.
Gender equality: While not explicitly detailed as a scoring criterion, it is mentioned as an aspect subject to checks and is a general principle in Horizon Europe.
Innovation: Development of innovative solutions, clean technologies, and innovative biotechnology/biomanufacturing techniques is expected.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory and Ethical Compliance

Financial Regulation: Compliance with EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 is required.
Ethical Standards: Projects are subject to checks on ethics and research integrity.
Data Protection & Privacy: Compliance with data protection and privacy regulations is an implicit requirement.
Environmental Compliance: Given the grant's objective, adherence to environmental regulations and standards, particularly those related to pollution reduction and sustainable practices, is paramount.
Labor Standards: While not explicitly detailed, adherence to relevant labor standards is generally expected.
Accessibility & Inclusion: Gender equality is an aspect subject to checks, indicating an inclusive approach is expected.

Intellectual Property (IP) Policies Management of intellectual property is a key area for checks and audits, implying beneficiaries must have clear IP policies in place for project outcomes. Risk Management While not explicitly detailed, the lump sum model itself is a risk management tool for the funder by simplifying financial control. For beneficiaries, the risk lies in clearly defining work packages and ensuring their completion to receive payments. Unique Aspects and Strategic Opportunities

Lump Sum Funding: This grant operates on a lump sum basis, which significantly simplifies financial reporting as actual costs are not reported. Payments are tied to the completion of agreed work packages, focusing attention on scientific and technical delivery.
Strategic Alignment: The grant strongly aligns with the EU's ambitious Green Deal, zero pollution targets, and strategies for bioeconomy, circular economy, and climate action, offering a strategic opportunity for organizations contributing to these broad objectives.
Innovation Focus: There's an expectation for the development and use of innovative solutions, clean technologies, biotechnology, and biomanufacturing techniques.
International Collaboration: Specific encouragement for cooperation with Latin-America and the Caribbean offers opportunities for expanding networks and impact globally.
Knowledge Sharing: Projects are expected to actively share methodologies and findings with similar ongoing initiatives (e.g., MIDAS, MarginUp), fostering a collaborative research environment.

Cross-Cutting Considerations The grant explicitly highlights cross-cutting priorities such as the Multi-Actor Approach, International Cooperation (Latin-America and the Caribbean), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the Digital Agenda, indicating that proposals integrating these elements may be viewed favorably.

Grant Details