SUNDANSE Call for Associated Regions:
OPENING WINTER 2025/2026
Apply for up to €100,000 in funding to enhance
the river sedimentation in your country
The SUNDANSE initiative is launching an Open Call designed to establish productive and long-term partnerships with
carefully selected Local and/or Regional authorities within at least 3 Associated Regions*.
The ultimate Open Call goal is to offer selected Associated Regions an ongoing scientific and technical assistance in adopting
SUNDANSE’s established sedimentation methodologies within their own distinct geographical and operational contexts.
Benefits
Get grants up to € 100.000**
per Associated Region
Get guidance of the SUNDANSE team of experts
Get access to SUNDANSE sustainable sediment solutions
OPEN CALL 1
* Associated regions are understood as “areas with similar ecosystems (e.g., neighbouring regions and/or regions in a different river basin and/or less-developed regions, to build capacity to implement the innovative solutions) and abiotic, biotic and socio-economic conditions to at least one demonstrator site of SUNDANSE.”
** Only actual costs incurred by the recipients when implementing the supported activities will be reimbursed. This includes Personnel Costs, Purchase Costs (Travel and Substistence, Equipment, Other goods, works and services) as well as Indirect Costs.
Topic
1.
Flow monitoring
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2.
Sediment quantity monitoring
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3.
Sediment quality assessment and identification of pollution sources of the river(s)
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4.
Actions to improve awareness raising on sediment flow alterations
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Timeline
Open Call Launch
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First Info-Webinar
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Second Info-Webinar
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Open Call Closure
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Evaluation and Selection
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Results Announcement
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Project Implementation
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Project end
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Eligibility
Criteria
This open call targets eligible beneficiaries, specifically Local and/or Regional authorities residing within EU Member States1 and countries associated with the Horizon Europe Programme2.
Additionally:
- Applicants should have a good command of English;
- Applicants must be eligible for participation in the EC Horizon Europe Framework Programme and must ensure the following obligations of the Grant Agreement, namely Articles 12 (conflict of interest), 13 (confidentiality and security), 14 (ethics), 17.2 (visibility), 18 (specific rules for carrying out action), 19 (information) and 20 (record-keeping)3.
- Member States: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/programme-guide_horizon_en.pdf
- Associated Countries: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/common/guidance/list-3rd-country-participation_horizon-euratom_en.pdf
- For more details refer to: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/common/agr-contr/general-mga_horizon-euratom_en.pdf
- IMPORTANT NOTE: Countries that are part of the SUNDANSE consortium (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Ireland, Israel, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine) can not participate.
Project Implementation
- Interact with local stakeholders, in an ecosystem-based management approach, to identify restoration needs in the replication area
- Contribute to one workshop to be held in their region on planning (pre-restoration) tools, specific application of planning tools (setting goals, identifying obstacles and opportunities, discussion of restoration options, and execution plans) and the co-development of roadmaps based on a common replication framework (February-July 2025)
- Develop a roadmap by January 2026 of restoration actions for their region to support the replication of Restore4Life solutions and tools. The development of this roadmap will be technically assisted by Restore4Life partners via capacity building, trainings and guidance on structure and content.
- Participation in one workshop with stakeholders from all Associated Regions for (cross-)regional validation of the tools developed by the SUNDANSE project
- Active participation in at least one SUNDANSE meeting/event
Assessment Process
The assessment panel will rate all of the eligible proposals for good practices against a scorecard linked to the following criteria:
Excellence
Relevance to Restore4Life: How much does the proposal relate to the Restore4Life project objectives and fit to one or more demonstration sites?
Impact
What will be the estimated impact for Restore4Life of the project to join the Restore4Life project? How big is the benefit for the OCEAN MISSION in the associated country?
Implementation
Does the planned activities for co-creation and restoration seem to be feasible? Is there already some existing knowledge (experts, previous projects), ambition or resources (data, staff, work already done)? How strong is the local network of the organisation behind this proposal?
The selection of associated regions will be made by an evaluation board consisting of the Steering Committee, and an external Advisory Committee. The outcome of the evaluation will be a ranked list of all proposals, based on the scores obtained by each proposal. In case multiple proposals are ranked with the same score, a consensus meeting will be convened in order to select the ones for funding. After the evaluation of the proposals, proposals proposed for funding will be contacted.
Please note:
- Partners from the Associated Regions have to organise workshops held with local stakeholders
- In all cases, partners will need to stay within the €100,000 allocated
FAQs
1. Where do I find more information about the Application for the Open Call?
You can download all relevant documents and access the Application form in the “Documentation” section above this FAQ.
2. Is it possible for a local authority to apply as a consortium together with NGOs or research institutes that support the authority?
No, the application must be submitted via local authorities. You can apply as single entity or as a consortium of two or three entities, but in case of a consortium, all applying beneficiaries should be local/regional authorities. But it is possible that the authorities decide to subcontract the work (e.g. to an NGO).
3. How can subcontracting work in practice?
Is it possible that applying local/regional authorities subcontract work, that they can’t execute by themselves, to other institutions (e.g. universities or NGOs). The topics of subcontracting can be e.g. monitoring, executing workshops, developing a roadmap. The Authority/authorities will act as representative of the Associated Region and will receive the grant. In the end they will need to put the invoices of those tasks into their Financing Report.
4. Should the contact person representing the applicant be from an authority or could e.g. a NGO submit the application for the authority?
The contact details you are providing in the application form need to be from the applying authority. Of course, it is possible that universities or NGOs support the authority with the application form. But if the contact details contain information from an (supporting) entity, which is not eligible, the application is rejected! In addition, the contract preparation and signature phase can not be supported by external members apart the applying authority (or authorities).
5. Can you give an example of a local or regional authority?
The meaning of local authorities is an organization that is in charge of the public services for a community. So normally those are governmental institutions. But each country has other regulations about the definition of regional and local authorities. In such cases we would need a proof from the legislation that your (educational) entity is defined as such an authority within your country. Otherwise the institution is not eligible.
6. Can a National Park be considered as local authority?
This is depending on your country’s rules. In Germany for example National Parks are defined as regional authorities and would therefore be eligible. In other countries it may be handled as national authorities and would not be eligible. You would need to find out how the legislation is for your country and if necessary, send us an official proof that it is defined as local or regional authority to be eligible.
7. Is there any restriction regarding the size/magnitude of influence of authorities?
No, any kind of regional and/or local governmental authorities (also small public administrations) are eligible.
8. Where do I find out if my country is eligible?
You can find the map for eligible countries here on our webpage. All countries listed there are eligible to apply. For France and Portugal this also includes the Outermost regions like the Azores!
9. Is Morocco also eligible for this call as it has transitional arrangements for Horizon Europe or already signed a contract? What’s about ‘other third countries’ (like e.g. Azerbaijan) mentioned in the document of Associated countries to Horizon Europe?
Unfortunately, the SUNDANSE Open Call is restricted to EU member states and countries (already) associated to Horizon Europe. Third countries are not eligible. But other Open Calls within Horizon Europe may be suitable for you. For more information about the Associating countries in Horizon Europe (apart from the EU member states) look here: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/common/guidance/list-3rd-country-participation_horizon-euratom_en.pdf
10. What’s about Ukraine and Israel regarding a potential security risk?
As long as you can’t find any restrictions in the document of Associating countries in Horizon Europe (https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/common/guidance/list-3rd-country-participation_horizon-euratom_en.pdf), both countries are allowed to apply!
11. What is the percentage of co-financing of the project needed from other sources? How high is the support rate of the call?
Co-financing is not an obligation, but the beneficiaries may decide on using additional funds (own or from another entity). This is up to you.
12. How should the personnel costs be calculated within the application? Should this include only the applying authority personnel or the subcontractors as well?
The personnel costs are just for the official staff within the applying authority (in case of consortium all applying entities). The subcontracting costs need to be calculated within the section “Purchase costs – Services”.
13. Would it have a negative impact on the rating in the selection process if the subcontracting costs calculated in the application form exceed 50% of the total budget?
There are no rules in how you want to split up the fund (just the indirect costs can be up to 25 % of the direct costs). Cofinancing, in addition, is also possible and it is up to you if you want to use it. How you split up the fund along the cost categories will not be a criterium of the selection process.
14. What can indirect costs be spent on?
Indirect costs are costs for the applying authority/authorities that are not directly attributable to the project, but necessary for its realisation (e.g. electricity, office rent, general equipment). You can treat them as lump-sums. They need to be justified with your work plan and fit to it.
15. Can the flat-rate of indirect costs be less than 25%?
Yes, the indirect costs can be up to 25% and you can decide individually which amount you want to use in your cost calculations.
16. Are there any details on budget allocation within the years or can this be decided individually?
There are no timely restrictions for allocating the fund as long as you spend the money during the project duration (until February 2027).
17. Concerning the Implementation, do you prefer a) projects that have already been implemented (and are monitored post-hoc) or b) ongoing or c) planned projects?
As our goal is to create roadmaps for new restoration activities and to speed up the planning process, we are looking for regions where it is planned to implement a new project within the next years. But of course, it is possible to do this in regions where former measures have already been implemented and it should be adapted on this (but not only with monitoring). For the similarity to one of our Implementation Sites it is relevant to take the preconditions for the planned project you are applying with.
18. Do we need to implement the planned restoration activities within the duration of the SUNDANSE project?
No, the roadmap we will set up together means to have a plan for the restoration; if you get all permissions in time, implementation of the restoration activities is possible within the project duration, but this is not an obligation.
19. What is the minimum/maximum duration of the projects?
The activities we are doing together with you as Associated Region (workshops, roadmaps) will be carried out until February 2027, therefore the money of the grant needs to be spent within this period as well. The implementation of the actions planned in the roadmap can of course be done after the project duration. There is no limit from our side.
20. Are there any requirements regarding the size of River Basin our potential wetland is situated? Is it possible that the river connected to the wetland is smaller than the Danube?
No, there are no requirements belonging the size and other features of the wetlands you will applicate with. Just the country it is situated in and the planned restoration measures need to be eligible and it should show some similarities to one of our Implementation sites.
If you think you need further help, why don’t you get in touch? If we haven’t answered all your questions so far, or you think you need to address some specific topic, please contact us via email: opencall1@sundanseproject.eu.
Privacy
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