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Call key data
Monitoring the multi-functionality of European forests
Call number
HORIZON-CL6-2023-CircBio-01-14
deadlines
Opening
22.12.2022
Deadline
28.03.2023 17:00
Deadline - 2nd stage
Opening
25.01.2023
Funding rate
100%
Call budget
€ 4,000,000.00
Estimated EU contribution per project
€ 4,000,000.00
Link to the call
Link to the submission
Call content
short description
This topic addresses the design of a comprehensive forest information system that aligns information on forest state, ecosystem services (including biomass) provision and socio-economic ecosystem services demand.
Call objectives
In the context of climate change impacts, accelerated biodiversity loss and the need to adjust our socio-economic system to a more sustainable alternative, forests play increasingly a double role as victim and part of the solution. While their resilience and potential are under threat, they help to mitigate climate change (e.g., through carbon sequestration), and contribute to climate change adaptation (buffering thermal variations or variations in water flows), harbour large parts of terrestrial biodiversity and provide feasible solutions to support the transition to a bioeconomy.
To adequately manage forests and the services they provide, reliable, up-to-date, and coherent European forest information is more important. However, one of the challenges remain how to integrate information from different sources on the many functions that forests fulfil and the benefits they provide to society. Currently, data are scattered and often focusing on a limited set of indicators, which do not adequately represent the multi-functionality of forests.
Proposals will:
- Develop a list of parameters relevant for monitoring of a range of ecosystems services provided by forests.
- Consider the latest scientific knowledge and technology (e.g., through the use of AI, IoT/sensors, robotics and blockchain) for the development, combination, and utilization of reliable data from multiple sources (e.g., national forest inventories, remote sensing, environmental monitoring, large scale societal surveys, national or smaller-scale economic data etc.)
- Assess and propose suitable solutions to make these data available, also by considering issues related to the governance and funding of a fully harmonised monitoring system at EU-level.
- Engage in a structured dialogue with institutions and stakeholders, including the European Commission, national competent authorities, representatives of the forest-sector, as well as data providers to align the needs and possibilities of data collection, provision, and use.
The project must implement the multi-actor approach and ensure an adequate involvement of the primary production sector and the wider forest-based value chain.
Proposals may involve financial support to third parties e.g. to primary producers, academic researchers, start-ups, SMEs, data providers, national administrations, and other multidisciplinary actors, to, for instance, develop, test or validate developed applications. A maximum of € 60 000 per third party might be granted. Conditions for third parties support are set out in Part B of the General Annexes. Consortia need to define the selection process of organisations, for which financial support may be granted. Maximum 20% of the EU funding can be allocated to this purpose. The financial support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
Proposals should build on past or ongoing research projects and collaborate with relevant initiatives, including the Forest Information System for Europe (FISE).
Cross-articulation with the other data spaces, and notably with the European Open Science Cloud should be foreseen, exploiting synergies and complementarities of the different approaches. Efforts should be made to increase the data availability in the appropriate data-infrastructures for further uses.
JRC is available for sharing and taking up results and findings on the monitoring of the forest ecosystem multifunctionality in the EU Observatory for Deforestation, Forest Degradation and Associated Drivers and JRC Big Data Analytics Platform.
In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
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Expected effects and impacts
This topic supports the implementation of the new EU forest strategy for 2030 by addressing the design of a comprehensive forest information system that align information on forest and soil state, the provision of ecosystem services (including biomass, biodiversity and carbon removals) and socio-economic demands on ecosystem services.
Expected results
- Development of a comprehensive information base for all stakeholders involved in forest matters, from policy making, through forest restoration and conservation planning and funding of such activities, to practical forest management.
- Successful implementation of forest-related policy objectives under the European Green Deal, including the building of a forest-based bioeconomy, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the increase of carbon removals, the contribution to climate change adaptation, the provision of ecosystem services and the conservation and restoration of forest biodiversity.
- Better understanding of the quantity and quality of European forests, their multifunctional role and resilience needs under climate change and contribution to halting the loss of biodiversity.
- Efficient implementation of possible certification schemes in relation to forest multifunctionality (e.g., closer-to-nature forest management practices, carbon farming).
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Eligibility Criteria
Regions / countries for funding
Moldova (Moldova), Albania (Shqipëria), Armenia (Հայաստան), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina / Босна и Херцеговина), Faeroes (Føroyar / Færøerne), Georgia (საქართველო), Iceland (Ísland), Israel (ישראל / إِسْرَائِيل), Kosovo (Kosova/Kosovë / Косово), Montenegro (Црна Гора), Morocco (المغرب), North Macedonia (Северна Македонија), Norway (Norge), Serbia (Srbija/Сpбија), Tunisia (تونس /Tūnis), Türkiye, Ukraine (Україна), United Kingdom
eligible entities
EU Body, Education and training institution, International organization, Natural Person, Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) / Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Other, Private institution, incl. private company (private for profit), Public Body (national, regional and local; incl. EGTCs), Research Institution incl. University, Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)
Mandatory partnership
Yes
Project Partnership
To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
- the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions
- the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States
- third countries associated to Horizon Europe - see list of particpating countries
Only legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in actions provided that the consortium includes, as beneficiaries, three legal entities independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:
- at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State; and
- at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries.
Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from non-associated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call topic.
A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality.
Specific cases:
- Affiliated entities — Affiliated entities (i.e. entities with a legal or capital link to a beneficiary which participate in the action with similar rights and obligations to the beneficiaries, but which do not sign the grant agreement and therefore do not become beneficiaries themselves) are allowed, if they are eligible for participation and funding.
- Associated partners — Associated partners (i.e. entities which participate in the action without signing the grant agreement, and without the right to charge costs or claim contributions) are allowed, subject to any conditions regarding associated partners set out in the specific call conditions.
- Entities without legal personality — Entities which do not have legal personality under their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offer guarantees to protect the EU’s financial interests equivalent to those offered by legal persons.
- EU bodies — Legal entities created under EU law including decentralised agencies may be part of the consortium, unless provided for otherwise in their basic act.
- Joint Research Centre (‘JRC’)— Where provided for in the specific call conditions, applicants may include in their proposals the possible contribution of the JRC but the JRC will not participate in the preparation and submission of the proposal. Applicants will indicate the contribution that the JRC could bring to the project based on the scope of the topic text. After the evaluation process, the JRC and the consortium selected for funding may come to an agreement on the specific terms of the participation of the JRC. If an agreement is found, the JRC may accede to the grant agreement as beneficiary requesting zero funding or participate as an associated partner, and would accede to the consortium as a member.
- Associations and interest groupings — Entities composed of members (e.g. European research infrastructure consortia (ERICs)) may participate as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality’. However, if the action is in practice implemented by the individual members, those members should also participate (either as beneficiaries or as affiliated entities, otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible.
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the consortium selected for funding.
other eligibility criteria
Proposals must apply the multi-actor approach. See definition of the multi-actor approach on pages 21-23 of the work programme.
Additional information
Topics
Relevance for EU Macro-Region
EUSAIR - EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region, EUSALP - EU Strategy for the Alpine Space, EUSBSR - EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, EUSDR - EU Strategy for the Danube Region
UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs)
Additional Information
All proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funders & Tenders Portal electronic submission system (accessible via the topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section). Paper submissions are NOT possible.
Proposals must be complete and contain all parts and mandatory annexes and supporting documents, e.g. plan for the exploitation and dissemination of the results including communication activities, etc.
The application form will have two parts:
- Part A (to be filled in directly online) contains administrative information about the applicant organisations (future coordinator and beneficiaries and affiliated entities), the summarised budget for the proposal and call-specific questions;
- Part B (to be downloaded from the Portal submission system, completed and then assembled and re-uploaded as a PDF in the system) contains the technical description of the project.
Annexes and supporting documents will be directly available in the submission system and must be uploaded as PDF files (or other formats allowed by the system).
The limit for a full application (Part B) is 45 pages.
Proposals may involve financial support to third parties e.g. to primary producers, academic researchers, start-ups, SMEs, data providers, national administrations, and other multidisciplinary actors, to, for instance, develop, test or validate developed applications. A maximum of € 60 000 per third party might be granted. Conditions for third parties support are set out in Part B of the General Annexes. Consortia need to define the selection process of organisations, for which financial support may be granted. Maximum 20% of the EU funding can be allocated to this purpose. The financial support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants.
Call documents
HE-Work Programme 2023-2024, Cluster 6, Destination 3HE-Work Programme 2023-2024, Cluster 6, Destination 3(463kB)
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