2019 LIFE call for proposals for traditional projects – environmental governance & information

Deadline: Jun 19, 2019  
CALL EXPIRED

1.1 What is LIFE?

LIFE is the European Programme for the Environment and Climate Action, for the period from 1 January 2014 until 31 December 2020. The legal basis for LIFE is Regulation (EU) No 1293/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 20131 (hereinafter "the LIFE Regulation").

The LIFE Programme is structured in two sub-programmes: the sub-programme for environment and the sub-programme for climate action.

The sub-programme for environment covers three priority areas:

•   LIFE Environment and Resource Efficiency

•   LIFE Nature and Biodiversity

•   LIFE Environmental Governance and Information

The thematic priorities for each priority area are further described in Annex III to the LIFE Regulation.

The sub-programme for climate action covers three priority areas:

•   LIFE Climate Change Mitigation

•   LIFE Climate Change Adaptation

•   LIFE Climate Governance and Information

The overall financial envelope for the implementation of the LIFE Programme is EUR 3.457 Billion, 75% of which is allocated to the sub-programme for environment (EUR 2,592,491,250).

According to Article 17(4) of the LIFE Regulation, at least 81% of the total budget shall be allocated to projects supported by way of action grants or, where appropriate, financial instruments. The second LIFE Multiannual Work Programme covering the period 2018-2020 foresees a budget of EUR 1,243.81 Million for the sub-programme for environment2.

During the period 2014-2020, the Contracting Authority will publish one call for LIFE project proposals per year under the LIFE Regulation.

 

1.2 "Traditional" Projects

Article 2 of the LIFE Regulation defines the various types of projects which may be supported by the LIFE 2014-2020 programme.

These "traditional" types of projects are:

•   "pilot projects" means projects that apply a technique or method that has not been applied or tested before, or elsewhere, and that offer potential environmental or climate advantages compared to current best practice and that can subsequently be applied on a larger scale to similar situations;

•   “demonstration projects” means projects that put into practice, test, evaluate and disseminate actions, methodologies or approaches that are new or unknown in the specific context of the project, such as the geographical, ecological, socio-economic context, and that could be applied elsewhere in similar circumstances;

•   “best practice projects” means projects that apply appropriate, cost-effective, state-of- the-art techniques, methods and approaches taking into account the specific context of the project;

•   "information, awareness and dissemination projects" means projects aimed at supporting communication, dissemination of information and awareness raising in the fields of the sub-programmes for Environment and Climate Action.

In order for a project to be considered pilot/demonstrative, the overall character of its core actions must be pilot/demonstrative. Although some best practice actions might be included in the project proposal, the overall approach must clearly have a pilot/demonstrative character and this should be justified in detail in the proposal.

The following table shows which type of project may be submitted to which priority area:

 

Sub-Programme
Priority Area
Types of Traditional Projects Eligible

Environment
Environment and Resource Efficiency
Demonstration and pilot projects

Environment
Nature and Biodiversity
Best practice, demonstration, and pilot projects

Environment
Environmental Governance and Information
Information, awareness and dissemination projects

Climate Action
Climate Change Mitigation
Best practice, demonstration, and pilot projects

Climate Action
Climate Change Adaptation
Best practice, demonstration, and pilot projects

Climate Action
Climate Governance and Information
Information, awareness and dissemination projects

 

The amount available for co-financing action grants for all types of "traditional" projects under the Environment sub-programme is indicatively set at EUR 224 960 000

Projects financed by the LIFE Programme under one priority area shall avoid undermining environmental or climate objectives in another priority area and, where possible, promote synergies between different objectives as well as the use of green procurement.

1.3 Role of project topics

The LIFE multiannual work programme for 2018-2020 defines project topics implementing the thematic priorities for the sub-programme for environment listed in Annex III to the LIFE Regulation for pilot, demonstration, best practice and information, awareness and dissemination projects ("traditional" projects). They reflect the priorities on which projects should focus during the relevant period. Eligible proposals that reach or pass the minimum pass scores (see section 5.1.1 of the LIFE multiannual work programme for 2018-2020) and target a relevant project topic will be given priority over projects of comparable quality that do not fall under one of the project topics. See also the Guide for the evaluation of LIFE project proposals 2019 for further details on scoring of proposals.

1.4 How, where and when to submit a proposal?

Project submission procedure will be organised in two stages:

•   Stage 1: Concept note

•   Stage 2: Full proposal

Stage 1: Concept Note

Concept notes should be submitted through the online tool eProposal, available via the LIFE web page. The application tool contains all administrative (A), technical (B) and financial (F) forms required to submit a Concept Note.

For complete details regarding the application forms relevant at Stage 1, please refer to section 3 of this document. For complete details regarding the use of the eProposal tool, please refer to Annex 3 of this document.

The concept note can be modified, validated and (re)submitted as many times as needed until the deadline. You are recommended to submit your draft(s) regularly during the entire submission period to avoid last minutes issues with your internet connection of other IT related failures. Each subsequent submission overwrites the previously submitted version (earlier versions are not archived and are therefore not available anymore).

Applicants must submit their concept notes to the Contracting Authority via eProposal before

17/06/2019, 16:00 Brussels local time.

 

Stage 2: Full proposal

The applicants with the best ranked concept notes will be invited (in 10/ 2019) to submit a full proposal using the web tool eProposal available via the LIFE web page.

The application tool contains all administrative (A), technical (B and C) and financial (F) forms required, and functionalities to attach relevant documents (maps, photos, diagrams, graphs, mandatory administrative and financial annexes). For complete details regarding the application forms, please refer to section 3 of this document. For complete details regarding the use of the eProposal tool, please refer to Annex 3 of this document.

The proposal can be modified, validated and (re)submitted as many times as needed until the Stage 2 submission deadline. You are recommended to submit your draft(s) regularly during the entire submission period to avoid last minutes issues with your internet connection of other IT related failures. Each subsequent submission overwrites the previously submitted version (earlier versions are not archived and are therefore not available anymore).

For the proposals covered by these guidelines the Contracting Authority is the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME).

When preparing the proposal, the applicants may wish to consult the relevant LIFE National Contact Point; the complete list of the names and contact addresses of the national/regional authorities for LIFE in the Member States can be found on the LIFE website at

https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/section/life/life-national-contact-points

1.5 How will LIFE projects be selected?

The technical methodology for the project selection procedure and the selection and award criteria are described in section 5 of the LIFE multiannual work programme for 2018-2020. For a detailed description of how this procedure will be implemented, please refer to the 'Guide for the evaluation of LIFE project proposals 2019'.

Very important: Please note that the e-mail address specified by the applicant as the contact person's e-mail address in form A2 will be used by the Contracting Authority as the single contact point for all correspondence with the applicant during the evaluation procedure. It should therefore correspond to an e-mail account which is valid, active and checked on a daily basis throughout the duration of the evaluation procedure.

The earliest possible starting date of projects is defined in Annex 1.

Applicants invited to submit their full proposals to the Contracting Authority via eProposal will have to do it by the deadline communicated in Stage 2 invitation letter.

1.6 General Guidance to Applicants

The current chapter replies to some frequently asked questions on how to conceive a LIFE project proposal. For specific guidelines, see section 2; for recommendation on how to fill in the technical and financial forms, please refer to section 3 of this document.

1.6.1 In which language may the concept note/full proposal be submitted?

The concept note must be submitted in English.

As for the full proposal, the Contracting Authority strongly recommends that applicants fill in the technical part and especially the financial part of the proposal in clear English only, although they may also be submitted in any of the official EU languages, except Irish.

Note that the grant agreement, project management, formal reporting, key deliverables and all communication with the Contracting Authority will have to be in English.

The title of the proposal and form B1 ("Summary description of the project") must always be submitted in English. Form B1 may in addition also be submitted in the language of the proposal.

1.6.2 Who may submit a proposal?

A proposal may be submitted by any legal person registered in the European Union.

Entities participating in the proposal may fall into three types of beneficiaries: (1) public bodies, (2) private commercial organisations and (3) private non-commercial organisations (including NGOs).

The term "public bodies" is defined as referring to national public authorities, regardless of their form of organisation – central, regional or local structure – or the various bodies under their control, provided these operate on behalf of and under the responsibility of the national public authority concerned. In the case of entities registered as private law bodies wishing to be considered for the purpose of this call as equivalent to "public law bodies", they should provide evidence proving that they comply with all criteria applicable to bodies governed by public law and in the event the organisation stops its activities, its rights and obligations, liability and debts will be transferred to a public body. For a complete definition, please refer to the annex "Public body declaration", which must be completed by all beneficiaries which wish to be considered and treated as a 'public body'. The only exception concerns those central (e.g.: Ministry) and local administrations (e.g.: Provinces, Municipalities, Regions etc.) whose nature of 'public body' is clear.

Please note that so called 'Sole traders' (i.e. entities owned and run by one individual and where there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business) are considered natural persons and are therefore not eligible to participate as beneficiary or affiliate in this call.

Please refer to the 'Guide for the evaluation of LIFE project proposals 2019 of Environment Sub-programme' for full details regarding the compulsory administrative documents which are required with the proposal depending on the legal status of the coordinating beneficiary.

Once a proposal has been accepted for co-funding, the applicant will become the coordinating beneficiary who is responsible for ensuring the implementation of the project. The coordinating beneficiary will be the single point of contact for the Contracting Authority and will be the only beneficiary to report directly to the Contracting Authority on the project's technical and financial progress.

The coordinating beneficiary receives the EU financial contribution from the Contracting Authority and ensures its distribution as specified in the partnership agreements established with the associated beneficiaries (if there are any – see below). The coordinating beneficiary must be directly involved in the technical implementation of the project and in the dissemination of the project results.

The coordinating beneficiary must bear part of the project costs and must thus contribute financially to the project budget. It cannot therefore be reimbursed for 100% of the costs that it incurs.

The coordinating beneficiary must show its legal status (by completing application form A2) confirming legal registration in the EU.

In addition to the coordinating beneficiary, a LIFE proposal may also involve one or more associated beneficiaries and/or one or more project co-financiers.

The associated beneficiary must always contribute technically and financially to the proposal and hence be responsible for the implementation of one or several project actions. Furthermore, it must provide the coordinator beneficiary with all the necessary documents required for the fulfilment of its reporting obligations to the Contracting Authority.

There is no pre-defined number of associated beneficiaries to be involved in a LIFE proposal. A proposal that is submitted without any participant other than the coordinating beneficiary itself is eligible. On the other hand, a beneficiary should not hesitate to associate other beneficiaries, if this would bring an added value to the project, such as when the partnership strengthens the feasibility or the demonstration character of the proposal, its European added value, its impact and/or the transfer of its results and lessons learnt.

Public undertakings whose capital is publicly owned and which are considered an instrument or a technical service of a public administration, and which are subject to the public administration's control, but are in effect separate legal entities, must become beneficiaries if a public administration intends to entrust the implementation of certain project actions to these undertakings3.

Exceptionally an associated beneficiary may be legally registered outside the European Union if the actions outside the EU it is responsible for are (the coordinating beneficiary of the project in any case be based in the EU) necessary to achieve EU environmental objectives and to ensure the effectiveness of interventions carried out in the Member State territories to which the Treaties apply. In other words, the participation of an entity established outside the EU that will only contribute with the know-how or will collaborate to implement actions in the EU will not be considered as sufficient.

 

 

All associated beneficiaries must show their legal status (by completing application form A5), and provide full information on the Member State or third country in which they are registered. In addition all beneficiaries whether registered or not in the EU must declare that they are not in any of the situations foreseen under art. 136(1), 136(4) and 141 of the EU Financial Regulation4 (by signing the application form A3 or A4 – see instructions in section 3 of this document).

For private beneficiaries, the Contracting Authority may accept that affiliated entities to a beneficiary participate in a project as long as all conditions listed in the Model Grant Agreement and its Annex X (Financial and Administrative Guidelines) are fulfilled. However, the association of entities as affiliates may complicate the project structure and thus have a negative impact on the technical and financial coherence of the project. It is therefore entirely in the Contracting Authority's administrative discretion to accept affiliates, and in no case will affiliated entities be accepted for public beneficiaries or entities that do not comply with the description of affiliated entities hereafter.

Affiliated entities need to comply with the eligibility and -exclusion criteria applying to applicants and should have a structural link with the beneficiary concerned (i.e. a legal or capital link) that is neither limited to the project nor established for the sole purpose of the project implementation (so the link would exist independently of the award of the grant; it should exist before the call for proposals and remain valid after the end of the project).

As affiliated entities could be accepted those directly controlled by the beneficiary (i.e. daughter companies or first-tier subsidiaries), entities controlling the beneficiary (mother company) OR in case of Memberships, the beneficiary has to be legally defined as a network, federation, association in which the proposed affiliated entities participate. However, if several beneficiaries want to work with the same 'affiliate', the 'affiliate' should be proposed as 'beneficiary' instead.

If you consider using young volunteers for specific actions, please consider applying for the European Solidarity Corps calls. The European Solidarity Corps (ESC) is conceived to offer young people between 18 and 30 in Europe the chance to support a non-governmental organisation (NGO), local authority or private company active in addressing challenging situations across the European Union. In 2019 additional emphasis is placed inter alia on response to environmental and climate challenges, including disaster prevention, preparedness and recovery (excluding immediate disaster response). For further information: https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity/organisation_info_en

A project co-financier only contributes to the project with financial resources, has no technical responsibilities, and cannot benefit from the EU financial contribution. Furthermore, it cannot act, in the context of the project, as a sub-contractor to any of the project's beneficiaries.

For specific tasks of a fixed duration, a proposal may foresee the use of sub-contractors. Sub-contractors provide external services to the project beneficiaries who fully pay for the services provided. Beneficiaries (including their affiliated entities) may not act as sub- contractors. Sub-contractors should normally not be identified by name in the proposal; if they are, the General Conditions of the Model LIFE Grant Agreement must still be respected.

For a more detailed description of the respective rules related to the coordinating beneficiary, associated beneficiaries, affiliates, co-financiers and sub-contractors, please refer to the General Conditions of the Model LIFE Grant Agreement.

For British applicants: Please be aware that eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant. If the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU during the grant period without concluding an agreement with the EU ensuring in particular that British applicants continue to be eligible, you will cease to receive EU funding (while continuing, where possible, to participate) or be required to leave the project on the basis of Article II.17.3 of the Grant Agreement.

1.6.3 What is the optimal budget for a LIFE project?

There is no fixed minimum size for project budgets. While large ambitious projects (i.e. over 5,000,000 Euro total costs) have been financed several times in the past, small projects (i.e. below 500,000 Euro total costs) have seldom succeeded due to the limited output and consequently the low added value.

1.6.4 What is the maximum rate of EU co-financing under LIFE?

For the duration of the second LIFE multiannual work programme for 2018-2020, the maximum EU co-financing rate for "traditional" LIFE projects is 55% of the total eligible project costs. An exception is made for "traditional" LIFE projects in the priority area Nature and Biodiversity under the sub-programme Environment for which the EU co-funding rate can go up to 60%, or 75% in specific cases.5

5 This higher co-financing rate of 75% will only be applied to projects allocating 50% or more of the total estimated cost for concrete conservation actions to activities directly benefitting priority habitats or species of the Birds and Habitats Directives, when actions in the project are necessary to achieve the conservation objective.

1.6.5 How much should project beneficiaries contribute to the project budget?

The coordinating beneficiary and any associated beneficiaries are expected to provide a reasonable financial contribution to the project budget. A beneficiary's financial contribution is considered as a proof of its commitment to the implementation of the project objectives – a very low financial contribution may therefore be considered as an absence or lack of commitment.

A proposal cannot be submitted if the financial contribution of any of the beneficiaries to the proposal budget is EUR 0.

Moreover, where public bodies are involved as coordinating and/or associated beneficiaries in a project, the sum of their financial contributions to the project budget must exceed (by at least 2%) the sum of the salary costs charged to the project for personnel who are not considered 'additional'. For details, please refer to section 3.4 of this document.

1.6.6 What is the optimal starting date and duration for a project?

When preparing the project's time planning, beneficiaries should be aware of the expected date of the signature of the grant agreements for the LIFE 2019 projects as indicated in Annex 1.. The earliest possible starting date is also defined in Annex 1. Any costs incurred before the project's starting date will not be considered eligible and cannot be included in the project budget. There is no pre-determined project duration for a LIFE project. Generally speaking, the project duration must correspond to what is necessary to complete all of the project's actions and to reach all its objectives. On average projects last for 3–5 years.

Only under exceptional circumstances, the Contracting Authority may decide to grant an extension of the project duration. The experience of the previous LIFE Programmes has shown that many projects had difficulties completing all actions within the proposed project duration, mostly due to unforeseen delays and difficulties encountered during the project. Beneficiaries are therefore strongly advised to build an appropriate safety margin (e.g. 6 months) into the timetable of their proposal.

Beneficiaries should also be aware that a project that has completed all of its actions prior to the expected end date can submit its final report ahead of schedule and receive its final payment before the official project end date mentioned in the grant agreement.

 

 

1.6.7 Where can a LIFE project take place?

LIFE projects shall take place in the territory of the European Union Member States. The LIFE Programme may also finance activities outside the EU and in overseas countries and territories6 (OCTs), provided that the coordinating beneficiary is based in the EU and strong evidence is provided that the activities to be carried out outside the EU are necessary to achieve EU environmental objectives and to ensure the effectiveness of interventions carried out in the Member State territories to which the Treaties apply (e.g. actions aimed at the conservation of migratory birds in wintering areas or actions implemented on a trans boundary river). Please note that this is clearly an exception as normally actions should be carried out in the EU. However, when the problem at stake cannot be addressed successfully or efficiently unless actions are carried out also in non-EU countries, this will be possible. Qualitative and quantitative evidence to justify the need for those actions outside the EU must be given in the description of each of these actions in the relevant forms.

1.6.8 Who should manage a LIFE project?

It is expected that the project management is carried out by the staff of the coordinating beneficiary. However, on the basis of an appropriate justification it may be carried out by an associated beneficiary or by sub-contractor under the coordinating beneficiary's direct control. Very often a proper project management implies the involvement of a full-time project manager for a smooth coordination and implementation of the project.

The proposal should clearly describe who will be in charge of the project management, how much personnel and time will be devoted to this task and how and by whom decisions on the project will be made during the project period (i.e. how and by whom the project management will be controlled).

1.6.9 Outsourcing of project activities

The beneficiaries should have the technical and financial capacity and competency to carry out the proposed project activities. It is therefore expected that the share of the project budget allocated to external assistance should remain below 35%. Higher shares may only be accepted if an adequate justification for this is provided in the project proposal.

The General Conditions of the Model LIFE Grant Agreement must be respected for any external assistance.

In line with Article 19(3) of the Regulation, beneficiaries (public and private) are strongly advised to use "green" procurement. The European Commission has established a toolkit for this purpose. More information can be found at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/toolkit_en.htm

1.6.10 Under which conditions does LIFE favour transnational projects?

The LIFE Regulation indicates that, while selecting the projects to be co-funded, the Contracting Authority shall have special regard to transnational projects, when transnational cooperation is essential to guarantee environmental or nature protection. On the basis of award criterion 6, additional points will be given to a proposal if there is sufficient evidence for an added value of the transnational approach. If such evidence can be provided, the proposal will be considered for a higher scoring in the project selection process and will therefore have a higher chance of being selected for co-funding.

N.B. The meaning of "transnational" as foreseen in the LIFE Regulation only covers cooperation among Member States as well as cooperation among Member States and third countries participating in the LIFE Programme under article 5 of the LIFE Regulation. Activities outside the Union or in overseas countries and territories, while possible as foreseen under article 6 of the LIFE Regulation, will not entail additional points under award criterion 6.

1.6.11 How voluminous should a LIFE proposal be?

A proposal should be as concise and clear as possible. Applicants should avoid voluminous proposals and should not provide excessively detailed descriptions of project areas, environmental technologies, lists of species, etc.

Clear and detailed descriptions should, however, be provided for all project actions. Maps should be annexed wherever this would be useful to clarify the location of the proposed actions (note that they are obligatory in some cases).

Brochures, CVs and similar documents should not be submitted and will be ignored if provided.

1.6.12 Ongoing activities

Actions already ongoing before the start of the project are not eligible.

Where actions to be undertaken in the project are significantly different from previous or ongoing activities in terms of frequency or intensity they are not considered ongoing. The applicant must provide adequate information in the proposal that allows to assess this aspect.

Exceptionally, in case of actions that were undertaken and completed in the past and that are proposed to be repeated at a similar frequency or intensity during the project, the applicant must provide evidence that such actions would not have been carried out in the absence of the LIFE project.

1.6.13 Sustainability of the project and its actions

LIFE projects represent a considerable investment, and the European Union attaches great importance to the long term sustainability of these investments. The sustainability of the project results in the medium and long term is understood as the capacity to maintain them after project implementation, be it by continuation, by replication or by transfer. It is obligatory that throughout the duration of the project, the beneficiaries consider how these investments will be secured, maintained, developed and made use of or replicated/transferred during or after the end of the project. Successful continuation, replication and/or transfer require a strategy including tasks to multiply the impacts of the projects' solutions and mobilise a wider uptake, reaching a critical mass during the project and/or in a short and medium term perspective after the end of the LIFE project. This goes beyond transfer of knowledge and networking, and involves putting the solutions developed and/or applied in the project into practice beyond the project period, elsewhere or for a different purpose.

1.6.14 Research activities and large infrastructure

Whereas EU funding for research activities is provided under Horizon 2020 – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014–2020)7, limited research aimed to improve and enhance the knowledge data underpinning the project may be carried out within a LIFE project. Research must be strictly limited and intrinsically related to the project's objectives and the applicant shall explain in detail how the proper implementation of the project relies on these research activities, showing that the existing scientific basis is insufficient, and how the additional knowledge will be used to implement the project actions. In such a case, scientific publications are considered important deliverables of the project.

Projects dedicated to the construction of large infrastructure do not fall within the scope of the LIFE Programme and are therefore not eligible. A project is considered to be dedicated to the construction of large infrastructure if the actual cost8 of a "single item of infrastructure" exceeds € 500,000. A "single item of infrastructure" means all elements as described in form F4a that are physically bound to ensure the functionality of the infrastructural investment (e.g. for an eco-duct the bridge, barriers, signposting, etc.). Such amount may be exceptionally exceeded if full technical justification is provided in the proposal demonstrating the necessity of the infrastructure for ensuring an effective contribution to the objectives of Articles 10, 11 or 12 of the LIFE Regulation.

1.6.15 Complementarity with other EU funding programmes

According to Article 8 of the LIFE Regulation, activities supported from the LIFE Programme must ensure consistency and synergies, and avoid overlap with other funding programmes of the Union. In particular, the Contracting Authority and the Member States must ensure coordination with the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and Horizon 2020.

It is thus essential that, prior to submitting their proposal to the Contracting Authority, beneficiaries check thoroughly whether the actions proposed under their project in practice could be, or are, funded through other EU funds.

The beneficiaries must inform the Contracting Authority about any related funding they have received from the EU budget, as well as any related ongoing applications for funding from the EU budget. The beneficiaries must also check that they are not receiving on-going operating grants from LIFE (or other EU programmes) that could lead to double financing.

 

Failure to signal this in the appropriate form A7 might lead to rejection of the proposal.

Please note that this is an area of growing concern, evidence shows that an increasing number of similar or same proposals are submitted to various programmes. Increasingly severe checks and cross-checks are carried out by the contracting authority. Failure to declare that the same or a similar proposal has been submitted to another programme (or worst, already even partly financed) may have serious consequences.

In addition, at the project revision stage, the national authority may also be required to indicate the steps taken to ensure the coordination and complementarity of LIFE funding with other EU funding programmes.

On the contrary, projects that show synergies with EU policies different than those covered by the LIFE programme and with other EU funding mechanisms, will receive bonus points in the evaluation phase (Award criterion 6) depending on the extent and quality of such synergies. An example of such synergies could be a project aimed at improving waste management that simultaneously increases social integration.

1.6.16 Proposals following or based on previous LIFE projects

If the applicant is proposing a continuation of a previous LIFE project, he should clearly describe in form A7 why a further project phase is needed and how this will complement the results achieved with the previous project. The applicant should also explain when discussing sustainability (form B6), how a further continuation would be ensured with resources other than the LIFE programme. Last, but not least, in the description of every key action (C-forms) the applicant should provide precise information on how this action builds upon and complements the similar action carried out in the previous project phase.

Applicants should also show that they have taken into consideration other LIFE projects financed that addressed a similar issue. They will need to explain how their proposal builds upon or differs from the others and how it will coordinate with them if those projects are still on-going.

During the evaluation process these aspects will be carefully checked. Failure to provide full details on these aspects will have a negative impact on the final score.

1.6.17 Quantification of environmental benefits

The improved performances/advantages introduced by the proposed solution must be quantified in terms of the expected environmental benefits. They must be concrete, realistic and quantified as far as possible and must be presented in a life-cycle reasoning where relevant. This must be done by clearly comparing them to the state-of-play estimated or measured at the outset of the project. In this regard as far as the full proposal is concerned, consistency shall be ensured between environmental benefits described in the relevant forms and values reported in the table on LIFE Key project level indicators .

1.6.18 Coordination requirements for multiple proposals aimed at the same/similar issue

Evidence shows that an increasing number of proposals aimed at the same or at a similar issue are submitted, often in the same Member State without a clear rational and coordination mechanism. This happens more frequently in the Nature and Biodiversity priority area.

To avoid such situations applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with National Contact Points ( https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/section/life/life-national-contact-points) to check whether the topic they are addressing is being addressed also by other applicants. If this is the case, applicants are encouraged to seek cooperation to avoid possible overlaps and increase synergies.

1.7 Personal Data Protection

The personal data supplied with your proposal, notably the name, address and other contact information of the beneficiaries and co-financiers, will be placed in a database named ESAP that will be made available to the EU Institutions and agencies, as well as to a team of external evaluators who are bound by a confidentiality agreement. ESAP is used exclusively to manage the evaluation of LIFE proposals.

The same personal data of successful projects will be transferred to another database called BUTLER, which will be made available to the EU Institutions and agencies and to an external monitoring team who are bound by a confidentiality agreement. BUTLER is used exclusively to manage LIFE projects.

A summary of each project, including the name and contact information of the coordinating beneficiary, will be placed on the LIFE website and made available to the general public. At a certain point the coordinating beneficiary will be invited to check the accuracy of this summary.

The list of successful beneficiaries and the relative amounts awarded to the projects selected will also be published in a public database called the Financial Transparency System9.

The Contracting Authority, or its contractors, may also use the personal data of unsuccessful applicants for follow up actions in connection with future applications.

Throughout this process, data will be processed pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 2018/1725 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies. Unless indicated otherwise, the questions and any personal data requested that are required to evaluate the application in accordance with the specifications of the call for proposal will be processed solely for that purpose by the Head of Unit Eco-innovation and LIFE of EASME.

 

Details concerning the processing of personal data are available on the privacy statement at: https://ec.europa.eu/easme/sites/easme-site/files/privacy-statement-calls-easme.pdf

Personal data may be registered in the Early Detection and Exclusion System by the EASME, should the beneficiary be in one of the situations mentioned in Articles 136 and 141 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046[1] For more information see the Privacy Statement on: https://ec.europa.eu/info/data-protection-public-procurement-procedures_en

Submission of a proposal implies that you accept that the personal data contained in your proposal is made available as described above. It will not be used in any other way or for any other purposes than those described above.

 

2. LIFE Environmental Governance and Information

2.1 What is LIFE Environmental Governance and Information?

LIFE Environmental Governance and Information

LIFE Environmental Governance and Information aims specifically at contributing to the development and implementation of EU environmental policy and legislation. Projects financed must have a European added value and be complementary to actions that can be financed under other EU funds during the period 2014-2020.

Note: the geographical scope of awareness information, communication and awareness- raising campaigns will be taken into account in the assessment of the European added value of proposed projects.

The specific objectives of the priority area LIFE Environmental Governance and Information are:

• -  to promote awareness raising on environmental matters, including generating public and stakeholder support of Union policy-making in the field of the environment, and to promote knowledge on sustainable development and new patterns for sustainable consumption;

• -  to support communication, management, and dissemination of information in the field of the environment, and to facilitate knowledge sharing on successful environmental solutions and practice, including by developing cooperation platforms among stakeholders and training;

• -  to promote and contribute to more effective compliance with and enforcement of Union environmental legislation, in particular by promoting the development and dissemination of best practices and policy approaches;

• -  to promote better environmental governance by broadening stakeholder involvement, including NGOs, in consultation on and implementation of policy.

  Annex III of the LIFE Regulation describes the thematic priorities for LIFE Environmental Governance and Information as follows:

1. a)  information, communication and awareness raising campaigns in line with the priorities of the 7th Environment Action Programme;

2. b)  activities in support of effective control process as well as measures to promote compliance in relation to Union environmental legislation, and in support of information systems and information tools on the implementation of Union environmental legislation.

 

2.2 Thematic priorities and project topics for LIFE Environmental Governance and Information

In this section applicants will find the project thematic priorities and topics to which priority will be given. This does not exclude the possibility of submitting proposals for project topics and thematic priorities that are not listed here, in accordance with Annex III of the LIFE Regulation. Applicants should clearly explain whether and how their proposal falls under one or more of these project topics. In this regard, In this regard, please note that points under award criterion 3 'Contribution to the project topics' will be awarded only to proposals that clearly and fully comply with the project topics listed below (for further details on criterion 3, please see the Guide for the evaluation of LIFE project proposals 2019). Applicants must choose maximum two project topics in eProposal and must clearly explain whether and why their proposal falls under the selected project topics. Only compliance with topics indicated by the applicant will be examined. By not choosing a project topic, the applicant declares that the proposal does not fulfil any of the project topics and acknowledges that no points can be awarded to the project under criterion 3.

The thematic priorities for LIFE Environmental Governance and Information are implemented through the project topics defined in the LIFE multiannual work programme for 2018-2020 (MAWP), which are the following:

2.2.1 Thematic priority for Information, communication and awareness raising campaigns

LIFE Regulation, Annex III, section C, point (a):

The geographical scope of awareness information, communication and awareness-raising campaigns will be taken into account in the assessment of the European added value of proposed projects.

Raising awareness on environmental problems, EU environmental policies, tools and/or legislation among the relevant target audiences, aiming to change their perceptions and fostering the adoption of environmentally friendly behaviours and practices and/or direct citizen's engagement. Applicants need to provide substantial evidence that a change of awareness levels9 in the field(s) addressed by the project is a crucial factor supporting correct implementation and/or future development of EU environmental policies tools and/or legislation. The awareness-raising activities should have the widest coverage relevant for the specific issue targeted10. The environmental problems, EU environmental policies, tools and/or legislation targeted should be directly linked to one or more of the themes listed below the following three priorities11:

Green growth:

— sustainable consumption with a focus on waste prevention, in particular plastic waste, food waste and marine litter,

— transition to circular economy, in particular implementation of sustainable business models, sustainable production, products and services12.

Connecting with citizens:
— Natura 2000 and the benefits of the implementation of the European nature legislation, in

line with the action plan on nature, people and the economy13, — invasive alien species,

— safe use of chemicals,

— benefits of nature including green infrastructure and related ecosystem services.

Making it happen:

— air quality in urban areas and its health effects, and/or — benefits of the implementation of water legislation.

2.2.2 Thematic priority for Activities in support of effective control process as well as measures to promote compliance

LIFE Regulation, Annex III, section C, point (b):

Information systems, quality of public administration and voluntary approaches

1. Improving environmental information systems operated by public authorities for electronically collecting, processing, storing and sharing environmental information, by developing and providing new or, where available, enhancing existing systems. Projects should improve the implementation of EU environmental policy and be in line with EU reporting obligations14.

Explanatory note:

Improvements can take the form of reduced administrative burden, improved information- sharing within and between authorities, enhanced end-uses of environmental information, including reporting, and better service to end-users, including the public.

As regards chemical monitoring data, projects should improve data availability and accessibility of chemical monitoring data for the regulatory processes via the use of the Information Platform for Chemical Monitoring (IPCHEM), by linking and correlating the chemical monitoring data with human and environmental health data.

2. Improving the capacity and quality of public administration in relation to plans, programmes, analyses, reviews and assessments and/or to permits, derogations, and other decisions on specific activities, where appropriate also in partnership with private entities, with a view to reducing administrative burden while optimising environmental outcomes and integrating, where appropriate, nature conservation.

One or more of the following shall be targeted:

Plans, programmes, analyses, reviews and assessments

— air quality plans15,

— national air pollution control programmes16,

— river basin management plans17 and associated programmes of measures, analyses and reviews,

— marine spatial plans, and associated programmes of measures, and marine strategies with a view to ensuring synergies with Natura 2000 and river basin management plans,

— flood risk management plans18, — nitrate action plans19,

— waste management plans20,
— Natura 2000 management plans21,

— forest management plans required under the Rural Development Regulation, in order to secure more biodiverse forests,

— land use plans and other plans requiring strategic environmental assessment22 with a view to improving the account taken of ecosystems23 and their services24,

— assessments of ecosystem services and related work25, and/or decisions related to:
— industrial emissions,

— waste management,
— water pollution and water abstraction26, — nature protection27.

Explanatory note:

For the plans or programmes or other measures targeted, improving the capacity and quality of public administration could relate to one or more of the following: engaging and supporting stakeholders; consulting the public; optimising the content of documents; monitoring implementation of and compliance with the targeted measure; sharing best practices; employing effective methods for the preparation, revision, and environmental assessment of the targeted measures. Increased monitoring capacity through e.g. highly dispersed and real- time monitoring techniques established coherently in multiple localities, increases the opportunities and information-base not only for the assessment of plans but also for creating new, dynamic plans.

As regards Natura 2000 management plans and nature protection related decisions, the recommendations from the Natura 2000 biogeographic seminars should be taken into account. As regards decisions related to nature protection, this regards permitting requirements pursuant to Article 6(3) and Article 6(4) of the Habitats Directive and species protection rules pursuant to Articles 12 and 16 of the Habitats Directive and Articles 5 and 9 of the Birds Directive.

Assessment includes measuring and modelling, as well as the establishment and/or improvement of emission inventories. Decisions are decisions of the competent authorities for the purpose of respecting relevant EU environmental legislation.

Decisions are decisions of the competent authorities for the purpose of respecting relevant EU environmental legislation.

3. Development, promotion, implementation and/or harmonisation of one or more of the following voluntary approaches and their use by entities aiming at reducing impact on the environment of their activities, products and services:

— third-party verification of the performance of innovative technologies when they are ready for the market such as Environmental Technology Verification (ETV)28,

— environmental footprint category rules (PEFCR) and/or organisation environmental footprint sectoral rules (OEFSR) at European level for products and sectors not yet covered by the existing PEFCRs/OEFSRs and related high- quality databases, based on the European environmental footprint methodology29 and the latest available guidance30,

— actions, services, networks and new business models for fostering the use of remanufactured, repaired, refurbished and/or reused products also linked to product durability and planned obsolescence, and/or for fostering the use of officially recognised ecolabels such as the EU Ecolabel,

— common tender specifications and/or uptake monitoring tools for public authorities with similar purchasing needs in order to foster the uptake of Green and Circular Public Procurement,

— linking regulatory, financial or reputational incentives to environmental performance by using EMAS,

— assessment of the environmental performance of buildings using the building framework with core indicators31.

Environmental compliance assurance and access to justice

1. Supporting environmental compliance assurance32 by developing and implementing or implementing existing cross-border, national or regional risk-based strategies to promote, check and enforce compliance through use of a mix of administrative law, criminal law and environmental liability regarding one or more of the following:

— waste crime and offending,
— wildlife trafficking,
— wildlife and nature crime and offending, including illegal logging,

— diffuse and/or point-source water pollution and/or illegal water abstraction, — point and mobile sources of air pollution.

Explanatory note: ‘

Risk-based’ refers to an assessment of, first, how likely certain categories of person are to commit offences and, second, how serious the impact is expected to be on the environment and human health. The greater the likelihood of offending and the greater the expected impact, the more pressing the need to intervene. The choice of intervention should reflect the nature of the risks and be aimed at mitigating them as far as possible.

 

2. Supporting environmental compliance assurance by establishing new or, where in place, enhancing existing cross-border, national or regional networks of environmental compliance assurance practitioners or experts and/or establishing or, where in place, improving professional qualifications and training33 to improve compliance with binding EU environmental instruments, through promoting, checking and enforcing compliance using a mix of administrative law, criminal law and environmental liability.

Explanatory note:

Environmental compliance assurance practitioners can include those working for authorities and bodies with compliance assurance responsibilities such as local, regional, police and customs authorities, environment agencies and inspectorates, supreme public audit bodies and the judiciary. They can also include non-governmental organisations and academics and researchers specialised in one or more aspects of compliance assurance. With regard to professional qualifications and training, projects should ensure academic credentials and maximise the potential of information technology through means such as webinars and massive open online courses (MOOCs) to allow distance learning to reach as many practitioners as cost-effectively as possible.

3. Development and use of innovative tools and actions to promote, monitor and enforce compliance through the establishment and use of new or, where in place, enhancement of existing tools and actions belonging to one or more of the following categories:

— risk-based compliance promotion systems and techniques,

— risk-based systems and techniques for effective monitoring of compliance with binding EU environmental instruments and obtaining evidence of and analysis of compliance problems on which follow-up action can be reliably based,

— risk-based systems and techniques for effective follow-up and enforcement in response to non-compliance with or liabilities related to binding EU environmental instruments and covering use of administrative law, criminal law and environmental liability.

Explanatory note

Risk-based systems and techniques aim at understanding how well landowners, industry, SMEs, public utilities or others (‘duty-holders’) are to comply with their obligations under binding EU environmental instruments and what the impacts of non-compliance will be on the environmental and human health. Based on this understanding, such systems and techniques seek to encourage compliance and discourage non-compliance through promotion, monitoring and enforcement.

Promotion systems and techniques could involve the use of guidance, advisory services, awareness-raising campaigns, partnership agreements, or self-monitoring systems that assist duty-holders to comply. Monitoring systems and techniques could relate to site inspections, surveillance (including through use of satellites and drones), spot checks, intelligence-gathering, industry analysis, police investigation, data analysis and environmental audits. Follow-up and enforcement techniques can have a similarly wide coverage.

4. Improving the handling by public authorities of environmental complaints and submissions from the public34, where appropriate also in partnership with private entities, through the development and provision of new or, where available, enhancement of existing systems and techniques for managing complaints and submissions from the public with a view to optimising the reliability of the information provided, facilitating inter-action between authorities and the public, minimising administrative burden, and contributing to the successful implementation of binding EU environmental instruments.

Explanatory note:

Systems and techniques for managing complaints and submissions can include electronic complaint-handling systems, hot lines, citizen observatories and other citizen science platforms. Citizen science platforms may, amongst other things, allow competent national, regional and local authorities to engage citizens in state-of-the-environment and other forms of monitoring, while also generating more harmonised and useable data.

5. Promoting access to justice in environmental matters and/or mediation amongst the public, NGOs, lawyers, the judiciary, public administrations or other stakeholders with a view to improving knowledge, understanding and application of these means of dealing with environmental disputes, with a particular focus on:

— protecting people's health and well-being via the requirements of EU air, water and waste instruments covered by LIFE thematic priorities,

— protecting nature, biodiversity and water quality via the nature, biodiversity and water instruments covered by LIFE thematic priorities,

— effective application of the Environmental Liability Directive35.

Projects should draw on existing modules and know-how in the area of environmental law training developed by the Commission36.

2.3 How to prepare a LIFE Environmental Governance and Information project proposal?

2.3.1 Logical steps to conceive a project proposal

1. Identify the problem or challenge the proposal aims to address and describe the current situation. Applicants must demonstrate a solid understanding of the problem targeted by describing it and quantifying it in a complete and convincing way in the project proposal (to the extent that this is reasonably possible, depending also on the nature and subject of the project). The description of the problem or challenge should include information on the root causes of the problem or challenge, the severity and extent of the problem/challenge.

Once identified the problem/challenge, applicants should check whether the problem/challenge targeted is clearly related to EU environmental legislation and policy, in particular the project topics defined in the Multiannual Work Programme and in Chapter 2.2 of this Guidelines. Furthermore, information, communication and awareness-raising campaign proposals must be in line with the priorities of the 7th Environment Action Programme.

If the proposal fully responds to the LIFE requirements, it is advisable to check in the database on the LIFE website to see whether similar projects have been undertaken in the same field. Applicants could identify potential links, build up on existing knowledge and use lessons learnt or solutions from past or/and ongoing project i.e. thematic database or platform of knowledge may have already been developed through LIFE projects, therefore the applicants may use/build up on them instead of creating new ones.

A clear and complete analysis of the current situation (the baseline) in terms of environmental and social, legal or institutional challenges should be presented in the project proposal. The description of the situation before the project intervention serves to indicate the starting point of the project. This is the starting point of the project and a crucial step in determining the best actions that could solve/address the identified problems/challenges. The baseline helps to demonstrate the logical links between the identified problems/challenges, their causes, the activities and expected results.

The baseline is also instrumental to assess expected impacts and to monitor the project's progress. In this regard, the baseline description should include quantitative and qualitative data indicating the situation before the project intervention i.e. number of with incomplete inventories of dangerous substances; results of a survey indicating the level of awareness of environmental managers of Nature 2000 best practices; number of hospitals adopting green public procurement practices, etc. Where appropriate, the baseline should describe the governance structure (laws and entities involved in governing certain policy areas targeted in the proposal – i.e describe the management structures for collection and recovery of waste of electrical and electronic equipment WEE) at national, regional or local level.

The baseline should include clear and specific information of past and ongoing projects in the same field led or not by the applicants. In particular, the proposal should indicate what has been achieved by past and/or ongoing interventions and what the added value of the proposal is compared to existing or/and past projects.

In case some information is not available or it's outdated, the applicants can use preparatory actions to complete or/and update the baseline. However, key data – at least qualitative data – should be provided to demonstrate the need and rationale of the project. The source of all baseline data should be provided.

2. Examples of problems/challenges to be addressed by projects:

   1. 1)  Insufficient plastic waste reduction.

   2. 2)  High mortality rate of the brown bear due to illegal killings.

   3. 3)  Natura 2000 is either not known at all and/or frequently considered as hindering potential economic development. Lack of citizen awareness contributes to this situation.

   4. 4)  Poor presentation on the web of what environmental authorities are doing to protect the environment, reflecting weak management and communication of information, leaving concerned citizens ill-informed and unable to contribute effectively

   5. 5)  Moving from paper-based handling of applications for environmental decisions to electronic handling in order to reduce administrative burdens

   6. 6)  Insufficient cooperation between environmental inspection bodies and other compliance assurance bodies such as prosecutors, which reduces effectiveness.

   7. 7)  Insufficient understanding of the potential of access to justice to address environmental grievances.

Define what is to be achieved as a result of the project in terms of progress towards tackling the problem/challenge targeted. Objectives to be achieved need to be clear, specific and measurable. The simple implementation of, e.g., a communication campaign without achieving anything specific and measurable in relation to the identified problem cannot be considered to constitute a project objective and a positive result of a project. For awareness raising, measurable achievements take the form of a measurable impact on attitudes and behaviours and as much as possible on the state of the environment. For other governance and information projects, measurable achievements could include improvements such as higher satisfaction ratings for consultation of web-sites; reduced time for businesses and administrations to process environmental decisions; active participation in new administrative structures such as national networks of professionals working on compliance assurance.

Examples of objectives to be achieved by projects:

1. Plastic waste generation reduction by 10% after 3 years, as a result of a measurable change of attitude and behaviour regarding plastic waste generation by the target audience.

2. Reduction of illegal killings of the brown bear by 30% after 3 years through awareness-raising activities that have a measurable impact on attitudes among the target audience.

3. Increased citizen awareness of Natura 2000 sites and network, their value, status etc.

4. Improved effectiveness of environmental inspections through increased cooperation between environmental inspection bodies.

Define who will be targeted by the project. Applicants have to reflect carefully on the choice of target audience(s)/addressees with respect to the project objectives. The relevance of the target audience(s)/addressees for addressing the problem or challenge identified as well as the size of this audience are crucial aspects in the design of the strategy and need to be clearly explained. Projects focused only at local level risk obtaining a low score for this aspect unless they can prove that they represent high EU added value.

Examples of target audiences/addressees for projects:

1. The general public, shops, packaging companies and distributors in the target area.

2. Livestock herders active in the brown bear habitats.

3. The general public and other relevant stakeholders in the target area.

4. Environmental inspection bodies from X Member States.

5. Public administrations and/or businesses in a target geographical or subject- area.

6. Public administrations, private legal practitioners and NGOs who inter-act on a particular subject, e.g. access to justice.

Define the actions that will enable the objectives to be achieved. All actions must be necessary and appropriate to address the problem or challenge and must be adapted to the target audience/addressees identified. Design a clear strategy linking the individual actions in order to achieve the defined objectives. In this sense, applicants have to demonstrate a solid understanding of the logical links between problem/challenge targeted, objectives, actions and results. Applicants should provide a description of activities, identifying what will be done, who will do it, when it will be done (beginning, duration, completion), where it will be done and who will benefit from the activity.

Include a 'put into practice' component in the project. Project should not only be limited to developing tools and methodologies but they should also include a realistic strategy with concrete activities enabling uptake and effective use of these tools by the relevant actors during the duration of the project and possibly after the project ends.

Involve relevant stakeholders in the design and implementation of the project to facilitate synergies, multiplying effects and uptake of project results. This may include national or local authorities in charge of the implementation of relevant issues, i.e.

Ministry of Environment department in charge of Green public procurement, managers of Natura 2000 sites etc.

For projects designed to increase awareness or understanding among the target audience, applicants have to demonstrate a satisfactory knowledge and understanding of current communication techniques and explain the choice and pertinence of the communication mix retained for the project. The elaboration of a detailed communication strategy/plan as a preparatory action for such projects is also considered to be a necessity, and the key elements of such a strategy should already be presented in the project proposal.

6. Define indicators for monitoring the impacts/benefits of the project. These indicators should be closely linked to the objectives of the project. They should provide relevant information of what is expected to be achieved by the project in terms of change of the situation identified as problematic before the project start. They should inform on the impacts on the attitude and practices of the target audiences as well as the impacts on the state of environment, whenever possible. Even if the contribution of the project to the achievement of these impacts is only indirect or partial, such indicators provide an indication of the level of ambition and capacity of the project to contribute to a remedy of the identified problem.

The project impact is normally measured in comparison with the baseline situation identified before the start of the project. In this regard as far as the full proposal is concerned, consistency shall be ensured between impacts/benefits described in the relevant forms and values reported in the table on LIFE Key project level indicators.

Example of impact indicators:

1. 1)  % change in level of awareness compared to baseline measured by surveys

2. 2)  % change in level of behavioural change compared to baseline (e.g. market shares of environmental friendlier products, increase of separate collection of waste, rates of environmental products purchased by public bodies etc.)

3. 3)  change in governance performance/practices compared to baseline (quantitative and qualitative) (e.g. environmental friendly regulations/solutions/protocols adopted, prosecutions for environmental crimes brought forward, reinforced cooperation of institutional actors etc.)

4. 4)  change in environmental status (e.g. quality of air/water/soil, halt of biodiversity loss, decrease of marine litter in a given area, etc.)

Indicators measuring progress of the project (completion of tasks/outputs) are not sufficient to assess the impacts of project. In the proposal, applicants have to explain the appropriateness of the impact monitoring indicators selected and the impact monitoring regime (e.g. frequency) retained.

 

Each project will have to report on the outputs and impact of the project taking into account the LIFE Key project level Indicators (see further instructions under section 3.2.4). These indicators will contribute to evaluating the impact of the LIFE project.

Such information will have to be included under Form B.3;

7. Define a clear and realistic strategy to assure that project results will be maintained or improved and actions will continue beyond the project duration. Public authorities or bodies involved in the usage of proposed solution must clearly declare and demonstrate their commitment in keeping them active after the end of the project. Such information will have to be included under Form B.6. Project activities should show such commitment and already prepare for project continuation during the project timeframe. Some examples of typical activities that would have to be included in light of such continuation during the project are:

i. Clear definition of the technical and human resources needed. In case of public authorities, definition of the necessary administrative and legislative acts;

ii. Clear definition of the necessary financial resources and identification of the relevant financial sources;

iii. Building up of a comprehensive exploitation plan, which could include the previous points and would basically detail and present the planned activities, resources (technical and financial) through which the project results will be maintained and exploited (compulsory and to be included as part of the After- LIFE Plan);

iv. Analysis/studies/activities on the full scale up of the proposed solution to the targeted "real scale" and of its economic feasibility (e.g.: from a substantial part of a city to the entire city, from a substantial part of the public transport fleet to the entire public transport fleet, etc.)

Such type of activities will have to be translated into actions or sub-actions in C Forms.

8. Include substantive actions to replicate the approach/results of the projects in similar contexts in other sectors, entities, regions or countries. This means going further than simply committing to project continuation, dissemination of results and networking, but entails a clear and sound plan supported by project activities. .

Examples of typical activities that would have to be included to support a credible replication and transfer strategy are:

i. Analysis aimed at identifying strategic partners required for replication and transfer of the proposed solution to another context and activities linked to directly involving the concerned stakeholders;

ii. Activities aimed at validating the possible extension of the proposed solution to other applications/sectors/regions;

iii. Studies/activities regarding the access to financing sources as well as the physical identification of sites/areas for replication and transfer;

iv. Negotiating and planning for transfer of the proposed solution into other contexts;

v. Development of a credible replication and transfer plan (compulsory), including assessment of possible adaptations needed and funding opportunities.

Such type of activities will have to be translated into actions or sub-actions in C Forms.

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