Prevent and eliminate litter, plastics and microplastics: Innovative solutions for waste-free European rivers

Résumé

This call provides lump-sum grants of up to €70,000 to regional and local public authorities outside UPSTREAM beneficiary countries to implement solutions for monitoring, prevention, removal and valorisation of plastic litter and microplastics in rivers and connected waters. Up to 2 regions will be funded across the call, with an 8-month project duration. Applicants must be public authorities in eligible EU Member States or Associated Countries and provide evidence of task completion and deliverables for audit.

This call is focused on preventing and eliminating plastic litter and microplastics in European rivers, targeting public authorities in regions outside UPSTREAM consortium countries. Acme Corporation, a semiconductor and AI company, is ineligible as the call explicitly restricts applicants to local and regional public authorities—not private enterprises—and the environmental waste management topic is entirely outside the client's domain of semiconductors, AI, and deep tech.

Scores détaillés

Pas d'analyse approfondie — ce score ≤ 6,0 n'a pas déclenché l'analyse détaillée. Voir l'analyse d'adéquation ci-dessus.

Description

Programme overview Aim. Provide targeted financial support and technical assistance to associated regions to replicate, scale and localise UPSTREAM solutions for monitoring, prevention, removal and valorisation of plastic litter and microplastics in rivers and connected waters. Instruments. Competitive open call awarding lump‑sum grants to public authorities in associated regions, complemented by mentoring from UPSTREAM partners. Budget envelope. OC2 total budget €140,000; up to €70,000 per selected public, local or regional authorities (average/ceiling per programme design). As stated in GA section 5. Number of awards. Up to 2 regions across the call. A region may be funded once only during the project. A region will not be funded if it is receiving FSTP funding from a project that is funded under the same competition topic call ( HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-01-04) . Duration per project. 8 months , consisting of design, deployment and assessment phases. Primary geographies. Eligible associated regions in EU Member States/Associated Countries not covered by the UPSTREAM consortium [1] , with indicative priority to regions with high leakage to rivers/sea (e.g., selected Balkans/Mediterranean/ North African basins). See list of eligible and non-eligible countries using this link: ( list-3rd-country-participation_horizon-euratom_en.pdf ). See other limitation in the submission section. [1] Countries covered by the UPSTREAM Consortium Partners: Spain, Belgium, Slovenia, Portugal, Serbia, Greece, Germany, The Netherlands, France, Italy, UK Legal basis & compliance (plain‑language) Recipient type: Local and/or regional public authorities (or bodies directly representing them) in associated regions outside UPSTREAM beneficiary countries. Form of support:Grants (lump‑sum) . Max per recipient €70,000 (legal cap). Programme‑level design sets €70,000 per award. Publication & transparency: Calls must be widely publicised; open ≥ 2 months ; outcomes published (project synopsis, award date, duration, legal name & country); conflict‑of‑interest, equal treatment, confidentiality ensured. Obligations flow‑down: Recipients must comply with conflict of interest, confidentiality/security, ethics, visibility, implementation rules, information & record‑keeping; subject to audits/reviews by EU bodies. Restrictive measures: Applicants subject to EU restrictive measures are ineligible. See restricted link: http://www.sanctionsmap.eu/ Personal data: Process in line with GDPR; provide privacy notice at call launch. Funding model & payments Lump‑sum grant fixed at award; paid against milestones/deliverables set by awarded applicants. Indicative tranches: 40% at Grant Agreement signature; 40% after mid‑term deliverables; 20% at final acceptance. Cost basis: No cost statements; beneficiaries keep evidence of task completion and outputs (deliverables, logs, datasets, photos, beneficiary reports) for audit. Subcontracting: Allowed where justified (specialised tasks). Recommend ≤30% of project budget; higher shares must be duly justified in application. Governance & roles Evaluation Board: 3 internal consortium experts per proposal + internal consensus panel (UPSTREAM Coordinator, Scientific Coordinator and consortium experts) for ranking and award decision. Mentors: Assigned from UPSTREAM partners per project domain (monitoring, prevention, valorisation, NBS, citizen engagement, business planning). Award Committee Safeguard: Invite a representative from another Mission Ocean FSTP project to the award meeting to cross‑check “one‑time funding per region”. Eligibility & admissibility Admissibility: Application complete; submitted via official portal before deadline; in English; all mandatory annexes provided. Eligibility (all must hold): - Applicant is a regional/local public authority or body directly representing it; legal status proof attached; - Located in an eligible associated region (EU MS/AC) that is outside UPSTREAM beneficiary countries, UPSTREAM FSTP OC1 regions and INSPIRE FSTP regions (see chapter 1 and 7.1); - Proposal aligns with Call objectives and eligible activities list; - No double funding (self‑declaration); activities not started before grant; - EU restrictive measures do not apply to applicant or key subcontractors. Geographical diversity rule: One award per region across the whole programme. Resubmissions: Allowed across calls if not yet funded. Budget: €140 000