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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Single, clear statement of grant's core objective: This grant aims to support islands and their public authorities in demonstrating and accelerating the transitions needed to restore ocean and waters, prevent pollution, and foster a carbon-neutral blue economy by 2030.
Explicit identification of target recipient type and size: The primary target recipients are legal entities forming a consortium, with strong encouragement for relevant island managing authorities as full partners. The grant does not specify organizational size limits but welcomes small islands as 'models and living labs'.
MUST state if grant is 'SECTOR-SPECIFIC' or 'SECTOR-AGNOSTIC': This is a SECTOR-SPECIFIC grant.
Geographic scope and any location requirements: Activities must take place on at least six islands, with a minimum of two in each of the Atlantic and Arctic Sea basin, Mediterranean Sea basin, and Baltic and North Sea basin. The grant applies to territories within the European Union and Associated Countries. Cooperation with EU Outermost Regions is encouraged.
Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening: Focus on island-based restoration, innovation actions, consortium requirement, and location within specified sea basins.
Grant frequency and program context: This topic is part of the Horizon Europe Mission 'Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030', falling under the 2025 Work Programme. It is part of a recurring program within the mission's timeframe (2022-2030).

Financial Structure

Funding amounts: The grant provides funding of EUR 13,500,000 for this specific topic.
Minimum grant amount: EUR 13,500,000
Maximum grant amount: EUR 13,500,000
Currency: EUR
Funding Rate: For Innovation Actions, up to 70% of total eligible costs may be reimbursed. For non-profit legal entities, up to 100% of total eligible costs may be reimbursed.
Co-financing requirements: Co-financing is generally required for Innovation Actions (unless for non-profit entities). Projects are strongly encouraged to leverage additional funds from other R&I-relevant EU, national, regional programs (e.g., EMFF/EMFAF, LIFE, ERDF, ESF+, JTF, CEF, InvestEU) as well as private funds.
Eligible costs: Personnel costs (project-based remuneration), costs of resources made available by third parties (in-kind contributions) up to direct eligible costs of the third party, and costs related to open access and data management plans are eligible.
Ineligible costs: Generally, costs incurred prior to the submission date of the grant application are not eligible, except in duly justified exceptional cases.
Indirect cost policies: Indirect eligible costs are fixed at 25% of the total direct eligible costs (excluding subcontracting, financial support to third parties, and unit/lump sums which already include indirect costs).
Payment schedule: The grant agreement may establish milestones and related pre-financing instalments.
Financial reporting requirements: A certificate on financial statements is mandatory at payment of the balance if the amount claimed as actual costs and unit costs is equal to or greater than EUR 325,000.
Financial guarantees: Beneficiaries must contribute 5% of the EU funding to a mutual insurance mechanism, offset against the initial pre-financing. No additional guarantees are required.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type and Structure

Any legal entity is eligible to participate, regardless of its place of establishment. This includes individuals, universities, research organizations, companies (SMEs, including start-ups, and, exceptionally, small mid-caps).
Consortia are required.
A consortium must include at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State.
A consortium must include at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or associated countries.
Relevant island managing authorities are strongly encouraged to participate as full partners.

Geographic and Location Requirements

Legal entities must be established in a Member State or an associated country to be eligible for funding.
Legal entities established in non-associated third countries may participate but must bear their own costs, unless specified in the work programme or deemed essential for the action.
Project activities must be demonstrated on at least six islands, with at least two islands from each of the following: Atlantic and Arctic Sea basin, Mediterranean Sea basin, and Baltic and North Sea basin.
Collaboration with EU Outermost Regions is encouraged.

Technical Expertise and Capacity

Projects are Innovation Actions (IA), indicating a focus on higher Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), typically 6-8, involving prototyping, testing, demonstration, piloting, and market replication.
Expertise related to marine and freshwater ecosystems, biodiversity, pollution prevention, and sustainable blue economy is implicitly required to address the project's scope.

Exclusion Criteria

Activities aiming at human cloning for reproductive purposes are not eligible.
Activities intended to modify the genetic heritage of human beings in a heritable way are not eligible.
Activities intended to create human embryos solely for research or stem cell procurement are not eligible.
Research activities prohibited in any Member State will not be funded within that Member State, and activities prohibited in all Member States will not be funded anywhere.

Application Process

Application Process Timeline

Submission session opens: 2025-05-07
Application deadline: 2025-09-24 00:00:00+00
Time to inform applicants of evaluation outcome: Maximum 5 months from the submission deadline.
Time to sign grant agreements: Maximum 8 months from the submission deadline.

Submission Materials and Procedure

Application Form: Proposals must use the standard application form specific to this call, available in the Submission System (Part B).
Submission Format: Proposals must be submitted via the Electronic Submission Service on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
Single-stage submission: This call uses a single-stage submission procedure.
Required Documentation:
- An ethics self-assessment identifying foreseeable ethics issues and confirming compliance.
- A confirmation that activities comply with the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity and no excluded activities will be conducted.
- For activities outside the EU, confirmation that the same activities would be allowed in a Member State.
- For activities using human embryonic stem cells, details of licensing, control measures, and ethics approvals.
- A security self-assessment if the proposal raises security issues.

Types of Support Offered

Funding: Financial support for Innovation Actions.
Mentorship/Networking: Support from National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), and Partner Search facilities are available. Collaboration with Lighthouse CSAs and the Mission Implementation Platform is expected.
Resources: Access to information and guidance via the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, FAQ, Programme Guide, and Research Enquiry Service.

Project Implementation Timeline

Projects are expected to align with the Mission phases: results by 2025 for the 'development and piloting' phase or by 2030 for the 'deployment and upscaling' phase.
Project plans should include a clear timeline for testing and demonstrating solutions.

Post-Award Requirements

Reporting: Beneficiaries are obligated to comply with financial and technical reporting requirements outlined in the grant agreement.
Monitoring and Evaluation: Monitor the effectiveness of proposed solutions in relation to Mission objectives and contribute to tracking progress towards the Mission's goals.
Data Sharing: Share and disseminate results according to FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) principles.
Sustainability: Projects should aim for the sustainability of solutions beyond the grant duration, including identifying opportunities for scaling up and broad deployment.
Collaboration: Establish operational links and collaboration with Lighthouse CSAs and the Mission Implementation Platform.

Evaluation Criteria

Award Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on three main criteria:
- Excellence
- Impact
- Quality and Efficiency of Implementation
The work programme will provide further details on the application of these criteria, including any weighting, thresholds, and rules for dealing with equally ranked proposals.

Specific Scoring Factors

Impact: Proposals should demonstrate measurable, quantifiable, verifiable, and ambitious progress towards Mission objectives (protecting/restoring ecosystems, preventing pollution, making blue economy carbon-neutral/circular).
Innovation Requirements: The project must test and demonstrate effective innovative solutions for restoring islands, including assessing socio-economic impacts and citizen acceptance.
Social and Environmental Impact: Expected outcomes include increased readiness of islands to test, deploy, and upscale systemic innovative solutions, increased resilience of island communities to climate events, and leveraged public/private investment for ecosystem protection/restoration.
Competitive Advantage Factors: Projects that facilitate replication of solutions across other islands, systematically assess barriers to implementation, and propose ways to overcome them will be viewed favorably. Emphasis on nature-based solutions, land-sea interactions, and transboundary actions.
Quality Thresholds: Proposals must pass applicable thresholds set by the evaluation committee.
Cross-cutting Themes:
- Gender: The program aims to eliminate gender bias and inequalities, integrate the gender dimension in R&I content, and ensure gender balance in evaluation panels.
- Inclusion: Emphasis on place-based and people-centred approaches, encouraging citizen and stakeholder involvement (e.g., via living labs and citizen science initiatives).
- Sustainability: Solutions should align with and support long-term environmental management plans (e.g., River Basin Management Plans, Marine Strategy Framework Directive Programmes of Measures, Nature Restoration Plans) and contribute to a sustainable blue economy.
Portfolio Approach: For missions, the evaluation committee may consider the proposal's contribution to the achievement of specific policy objectives and the constitution of a consistent portfolio of projects.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance Requirements

Adherence to all relevant Union, national, and international laws, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
Projects must align with specific EU policy documents such as the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030, the Nature Restoration Law, the EU Action Plan Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil, the European Climate Law, and the Sustainable Blue Economy Strategy.
Proposed solutions should support existing frameworks like the River Basin Management Plans under the Water Framework Directive and the Programme of Measures under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and future national Nature Restoration Plans.

Data Protection and Ethical Standards

Compliance with ethical principles is mandatory. Proposals undergo ethics screening and assessment.
Activities involving human embryonic stem cells or human embryos are subject to specific ethics assessments and require licensing and control measures from competent authorities.
Protection of personal data must be ensured.
FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) must be followed for research data management.

Intellectual Property Policies

Generally, beneficiaries own the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) attached to results.
Provisions for exploitation and dissemination of results are laid down to ensure appropriate protection, use, and access.

Risk Management and Security Requirements

Projects must identify and address potential barriers to implementation.
Compliance with applicable security rules, especially concerning classified information. A security self-assessment may be required.

Unique Aspects and Strategic Opportunities

Island Focus: The grant specifically targets islands, recognizing their unique vulnerabilities (limited resources, remoteness, natural disaster susceptibility, fragile environments) and their potential to serve as models and living labs for transitions.
Public Authority Engagement: Strong emphasis on the involvement of island managing authorities as full partners.
Synergies and Funding Leveraging: Projects are expected to actively seek and demonstrate complementarities with, and further funding from, other EU, national, or regional programs (e.g., ERDF, LIFE, EMFAF) and private funds. The pooling and enhancement of synergies by island authorities is encouraged.
Replicability: Proposals should identify other suitable islands where solutions and approaches could be replicated, enhancing the transferability of knowledge.
Cross-cutting considerations: Beyond evaluation criteria, the program explicitly aims to eliminate gender bias and promote gender mainstreaming, ensure diversity and inclusiveness by involving all societal actors including citizens and civil society organizations in co-designing and co-creating, and prioritize climate action and biodiversity objectives.
Collaboration: Encouragement to build on existing solutions from previous EU and national programs and to establish links with related Horizon Europe calls and European research infrastructures.

Grant Details