To be eligible for this call, project proposals must meet several key criteria:

• Consortium Composition: The project must be a transnational project involving eligible Partners from at least three different countries participating in the call and requesting support from at least three different Funding Organisations. This must include eligible Partners from at least two different EU Member States or Associated Countries participating in the call.
• Project Partner Coordinator (PPC): The PPC must be eligible to be funded by one of the participating countries and employed by an eligible organisation. A PPC can only participate as coordinator in one proposal in this call. No change of PPC is allowed between pre-proposal and full proposal stages, except in cases of force majeure.
• Partner Eligibility: All Partners must be eligible according to their respective Funding Organisation's rules, including research entities and private sector (for- or non-profit) organisations. Each Partner must carefully read and comply with their Funding Organisation's rules. If one Partner is not eligible, the whole proposal will be considered ineligible, unless the issue can be fixed without changing the substance of the proposal.
• Self-financed Partners: These partners can be from countries participating or not in the call, but they must provide an official letter of commitment from their organisation confirming they will cover their full costs.
• Proposal Language and Format: Proposals must be written in English, submitted electronically via the EPSS, and adhere to specified page limits and attachment types.
• Submission Stages: Submission of a pre-proposal is compulsory; applicants cannot enter the procedure at a later stage. Pre- and full proposals must be received before the set deadlines.
• Changes between Stages: The scientific content (research questions and objectives) provided in pre-proposals is binding, and no changes are allowed by the CSC. Minor changes to improve the proposal are permitted if objectives remain unchanged. A maximum of three changes of Partners (addition or removal, including self-financed) are allowed, provided approval by concerned Funding Organisations and ensuring minimum consortium requirements are still met. Changes to the PPC are generally not allowed.

The selection process for the BiodivConnect call is organised in two mandatory steps: a pre-proposal stage (Step 1) and a full proposal stage (Step 2). Both steps involve an eligibility check by the Call Secretariat and Funding Organisation Contact Points (FCPs), followed by an evaluation by an independent Evaluation Committee (EvC). At Step 2, external reviewer(s) may also be involved. The Call Steering Committee (CSC) makes the final decisions on invitations to Step 2 and funding recommendations.

Applicants invited to Step 2 will receive general feedback from the EvC, while those not invited will receive individual feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of their pre-proposals. For full proposals, both selected and non-selected applicants will receive feedback from the EvC, but no scores or ranks will be communicated at either stage.

Deadlines and Time Schedule

The evaluation process is structured in two steps, each with specific criteria, scoring, and thresholds.

Criteria for Step 1 (Pre-proposals)

Pre-proposals are subject to an eligibility check and then evaluated by the Evaluation Committee (EvC) against the following criteria:

• Fit to the scope of the call (yes/no): Assesses the relevance of the proposed research against the call's scope and objectives. Projects not fitting the scope will not be recommended for funding.
• Novelty of the research (1-5; threshold: 3): Evaluates the novelty and originality of research objectives, how the activity advances knowledge beyond the state-of-the-art, and the clarity of the theoretical framework, research questions, and hypotheses.
• Impact (1-5; threshold: 3): Assesses the potential contribution of the proposed research to society (including policy) and the expected transnational added value from a societal/policy perspective.

Scoring System at Step 1: 'Novelty of the research' and 'Impact' are scored on a scale of 1-5 (with half scores possible), each with a threshold of 3. Proposals failing the 'Fit to the scope' criterion or scoring below 3 for 'Novelty' or 'Impact' will not be ranked or invited to Step 2. The final score is an aggregation of 'Novelty' and 'Impact' scores (equal weight), resulting in an overall score out of 10 points. Proposals are categorised as 'A' (very favourable), 'B' (could be invited), or 'C' (not favourable).

Criteria for Step 2 (Full proposals)

Full proposals undergo an eligibility check and are then evaluated by the EvC, potentially with external reviewers, against these criteria:

Scoring System at Step 2: Each criterion is scored on a scale of 1-5 (with half scores possible). Proposals failing the 'Fit to the scope' criterion or scoring below 3.5 for 'Excellence' or below 3 for 'Quality and efficiency' or 'Impact' will not be ranked or considered for funding. A weighting system is applied: Excellence (7), Quality/efficiency (3), and Impact (6). The final score is an aggregation of these weighted scores, transformed into a score out of 15 points. The EvC establishes a final ranking list, which the CSC strictly follows for funding recommendations.

The call has a total indicative budget of over 40 M€, which includes approximately 35 M€ provisionally reserved by the participating Funding Organisations and an additional contribution from the European Commission. The European Commission's funding will be distributed through EC-eligible Funding Organisations.

The aim is to fund medium-sized projects, with a total budget typically ranging from 1.2 to 1.5 M€ on average, though this is an indication rather than a formal limit. The requested funding must be justified and relevant to the planned work.

Each participant in a funded project will be preferentially funded by their respective Funding Organisation(s) participating in the call. Eligible costs and maximum allowed requested budget per project and/or per Partner are governed by the specific rules of each Funding Organisation. Applicants are strongly advised to consult these rules and contact their Funding Organisation Contact Point for detailed information. In cases of significant financial pressure on a Funding Organisation due to high demand, applicants may be asked to adjust their budget downwards.

List of Funding Organisations and their Funding Commitments (as of document date)

Funding Organisations marked with '#' may have defined maximum allowed budget per project and/or per Partner, and applicants should consult their specific rules.

Projects are encouraged to foster collaborations and synergies by building on the results of previous initiatives and utilising existing infrastructures. Specifically, applicants are encouraged to build on the results of the BiodivRestore projects and outcomes of the BiodivRestore Knowledge Hub. Engagement with other relevant initiatives and projects, such as Horizon Europe R&I projects, LIFE projects, EU Business@Biodiversity Platform, or Biodiversity Finance Initiative BIOFIN, is also encouraged.

Furthermore, projects should aim to utilise scientific research infrastructures and Earth observation programmes supported by the European Union, including LifeWatch, AnaEE, eLTER, Copernicus, Galileo, and EGNOS, as well as global research infrastructures like GBIF, ILTER, GEOSS/GEOBON, and GERI. The programme structure includes the possibility of organising clustering workshops alongside other joint activities to facilitate collaboration and knowledge exchange among funded projects.

Funded projects are expected to have a duration of 3 years. They are considered part of an international research programme, requiring participation in several joint activities. These include a kick-off meeting at the beginning of the funding period, a mid-term meeting to discuss reports, and a final meeting to present and discuss final reports and disseminate results. At least the Project Partner Coordinator of each funded consortium should attend these events, and costs for attendance to two physical meetings should be included in the project budget (at least one event will be remote).

Projects will be required to submit a mid-term report and a final report on research and activity progress via the Project Partner Coordinator. Some Funding Organisations may request additional specific reports. Applicants are also requested to produce and regularly update data management plans, with a strong encouragement to make new databases publicly available. Resources should be planned to ensure data open access and compliance with Funding Organisation requirements.

Conflict of interest, confidentiality and non-disclosure policy (Document 7)

This policy applies to the independent observer, the Evaluation Committee (EvC), and external reviewers.

Conflict of Interest

Impartiality is critical, and measures must be taken to prevent situations where objective work is compromised by economic interest, political/national affinity, family/emotional ties, or other shared interests. The following situations are automatically considered a conflict of interest:

• Involvement in the preparation of any pre- and/or full proposal.
• Having submitted a proposal as a principal investigator or team member under the call.
• Being a director, trustee, Partner, or involved in the management of an applicant.
• Being employed or contracted by one of the applicants.
• Close professional proximity (e.g., same scientific institution with hierarchical/department relation, or impending change of reviewer/EvC member to applicant's institution).
• Close family ties or other close personal relationship with applicants.
• Close scientific collaboration (e.g., co-author on a publication) with an applicant within the last five years.
• Relationship of scientific rivalry or professional hostility with an applicant.
• Mentor/mentee relationship with the principal investigator of the proposal.
• Current or prior (past five years) activity in advisory bodies of the applicant's institution.
• Direct or indirect benefit if any proposal is accepted or rejected.
• Personal economic interests in the funding decision.

Other situations preventing impartial participation should be reported. Biodiversa+ Partners and funding organisations part of the CSC cannot be part of research proposals; their participation makes a proposal non-eligible.

Rules for the prevention of conflict of interest

Independent observers, EvC members, and external reviewers must sign an online conflict of interest, confidentiality, and non-disclosure declaration. For each proposal, they must declare online that they do not have a conflict of interest. If a conflict arises, they must immediately inform the Call Secretariat and stop working. They must work independently and in a personal capacity. EvC members and the independent observer must leave the room during discussion of a conflicted proposal. Applicants (including team members) may not serve as EvC members or external reviewers, nor may independent observers, external reviewers, or EvC members apply for a project in the call.

Confidentiality and non-disclosure policy

All submitted proposals, correspondence, reviews, and the identity of EvC members/external reviewers must be treated as strictly confidential and not revealed to third parties. Responsibilities cannot be delegated. The scientific content of proposals may not be exploited for personal or other scientific purposes. Reviewers should not identify themselves to applicants or third parties. Obligations do not extend to information required to be disclosed by national law or court order.

Code of conduct for independent observers, Evaluation Committee (EvC) members and external reviewers

• Performing the task (EvC members and external reviewers only): Work independently, evaluate confidentially and fairly, apply highest ethical standards, follow instructions, and do not delegate work. Immediately inform the Call Secretariat if approached by a person/entity involved in a proposal. Do not become involved in actions resulting from evaluated proposals.
• Impartiality and Conflicts of Interests (for all): Perform work impartially, prevent conflicts of interest (as defined above). Report any conflicts to the Call Secretariat.
• No Use of 'Insider' Information (for all): Do not use or make available confidential information for personal benefit.
• Confidentiality of Proposals and Applicants (for all): Keep all call-related data, documents, and material confidential. Do not disclose confidential information, discuss proposals with non-involved persons, or disclose evaluation details, position/advice, or names of other experts. Do not communicate with applicants during or after evaluation.
• Confidentiality of the Review Process and Reviewer Names (for all): External reviewer names will not be made public. EvC member names will be public after awards, but which members assessed which proposals will remain confidential.

By signing in on the EPSS, individuals confirm reading and accepting this Code of Conduct.

Full Proposal Application Form (Document 3)

5. Ethics self-assessment and do no significant harm principle

Applicants must complete a table in the EPSS to indicate whether their proposal involves specific ethics issues and detail how they plan to address them. This includes:

• 1. Human Embryonic Stem Cells and Human Embryos: Use of hESCs (direct derivation, established lines, European registry), use of human embryos (destruction).
• 2. Humans: Involvement of human participants (volunteers, healthy, patients, vulnerable, children/minors, unable to give informed consent), physical interventions (invasive techniques, biological sample collection, clinical trials).
• 3. Human Cells / Tissues: Use of human cells/tissues (embryonic/foetal, commercially available, obtained within project, from other sources/biobanks).
• 4. Personal Data: Processing of personal data (special categories, profiling/systematic monitoring/large scale/intrusive methods), further processing of previously collected data, import of personal data from non-EU countries.
• 5. Animals: Involvement of animals (vertebrates, non-human primates, genetically modified, cloned farm animals, endangered species).
• 6. Non-EU Countries: Activities in non-EU countries (specify countries, potential ethics issues, use of local resources, import/export of material), involvement of low/lower-middle income countries (detail benefit-sharing), risk to individuals.
• 7. Environment, Health and Safety: Processes causing harm to humans, environment, animals, or plants; dealing with endangered fauna/flora.
• 8. Artificial Intelligence: Development, deployment, or use of AI (detail ethical concerns related to human rights and values).
• 9. Other Ethics Issues: Any other ethics issues (specify, max 1,000 characters).
• 10. Do no significant harm principle: Confirmation of compliance with the principle (specify if not, max 1,000 characters).

For more information, applicants should consult the Horizon Europe Programme Guidelines 'How to complete your ethics self-assessment'.

Pre-proposal Application Form (Document 2)

10. Do no significant harm principle

Applicants must confirm compliance with the 'Do no significant harm principle' and specify if not (max 1,000 characters).

11. Confirmation of submission & use of data

Personal data provided in the pre-proposal form will be used for communication, eligibility checks, assessment, funding awards, applicant pool analysis, and feedback collection. Anonymity and confidentiality are maintained for statistics. Data will be accessible to participating Funding Organisations, including those in non-EU/non-EEA countries, with protection and compliance with GDPR ensured. Retention of personal data follows EPSS General Data Protection Policy and Biodiversa+ Privacy and Data Policy.

Open Science and Fair Data Policy (Document 5)

This document serves as an annex to guide applicants on data management, data sharing, and open science.

Open Science

Biodiversa+ projects must comply with full and immediate Open Access for scientific publications. This means publishing in Open Access journals/platforms or via a trusted Open Access Repository. When using a repository, electronic copies of articles must be machine-readable and openly licensed, including bibliographic metadata. Information about scholarly objects, tools, and instruments needed to validate conclusions must be provided.

Biodiversa+ and the Belmont Forum offer a guide on data management, open data, and Data Management Plans (DMPs).

Why Data Management Plans (DMPs) are required

Biodiversa+ emphasizes open sharing of research data and digital outputs to stimulate new approaches, increase transparency, and ensure robustness of results. However, legitimate reasons to constrain access (e.g., individual privacy) are recognized.

For this call, DMPs are essential to enable data sharing. Research data and digital outputs include, but are not limited to:

• Quantitative and qualitative digital information (experiments, analyses, surveys, observations, video, audio, simulations).
• All metadata describing data, acquisition, and use/reuse.
• Secondary data, associated code, software, workflows, and provenance information.
• Stakeholder-oriented digital outputs (maps, tools, tutorials, videos, policy memos).
• Descriptions of, and metadata relating to, physical samples.

Each awarded project must develop and implement a Data and Digital Outputs Management Plan to ensure ethical approaches and compliance with the FAIR Data Principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable).

• Projects should adhere to relevant standards and community best practices.
• DMPs must comply with public access policies and applicable national/regional laws.
• Data and digital outputs should be open by default and publicly accessible, possibly after a short exclusivity period, unless access constraints are legitimate.
• Outputs must be discoverable through machine-readable catalogues and search engines.
• Sufficient metadata must be provided and openly accessible to enable reuse.
• Data and digital outputs must be curated using internationally or community agreed standards and protocols.
• Data and digital outputs must be preserved in sustainable and trustworthy repositories.
• Resulting publications must list where/how to locate underlying data and materials, including persistent identifiers.
• Researchers should ensure metadata allows reasonable understanding and trust for long-term reuse.
• Projects developing data infrastructures should leverage existing resources, platforms, standards, and work with relevant international networks and organisations (e.g., re3data.org, CoreTrustSeal, FAIRsharing.org).

Project leaders are encouraged to consult domain repositories, librarians, and information specialists for DMP assistance.

Applicants are strongly recommended to follow these guidelines when developing their DMP at both pre-proposal and full proposal phases. Funded projects will receive support from Biodiversa+ to further develop their DMPs, including a data management workshop at the project start. At least the Project Partner Coordinator and the project's data manager (if applicable) are expected to participate.

Data Management Planning Process

• Pre-proposals - Preliminary Data Management Information: Refer to Document 2 'Pre-proposal application form' - section 'Preliminary Data Management Information'.
• Full proposals - Proposed Data Management Plan Approach: Refer to Document 3 'Full proposal application form' - section 'Description of the project' (5.F).
• Awarded Projects - Full Data Management Plan: Awarded projects must provide a full DMP at the beginning of their project and report on updates in mid-term and final reports. Funding Organisations may have specific requirements.

A full DMP for an awarded project is a living, actively updated document. It should elaborate on the full proposal information and include:

1. Agreed standards for data and metadata format and content.
2. Policies for broad access and sharing, including protection of privacy, confidentiality, security, intellectual property, or other rights.
3. Policies and provisions for mining, reuse, and production of derivatives.
4. Contact information for the person(s) responsible for updating the DMP.
5. A list of anticipated trustworthy, long-term repositories or data centres.

Applicants are advised to include the full costs of implementing the data management plan in their proposed project budget.

The BiodivConnect call places strong emphasis on collaborative and integrated research approaches:

• Interdisciplinarity: Projects are expected to be interdisciplinary, involving multiple academic disciplines. Research teams should span all relevant disciplines, including natural, social, and technical sciences, humanities, and/or arts. Proposals must demonstrate an equitable and appropriate combination and integration of these diverse approaches and skills.
• Transdisciplinarity: Proposals are strongly encouraged to be transdisciplinary, meaning they should include non-academic stakeholders working together with researchers from multiple scientific disciplines to co-produce new knowledge relevant for society. Stakeholders should be involved at different stages of the project, from defining objectives to implementation and dissemination, adding clear value to the project.
• Multi-actor Engagement: Projects are expected to directly engage with and include stakeholders and citizens at various stages, from project design to impact monitoring. This includes encouraging engagement with businesses and industries as partners to encompass a complete innovation ecosystem. The call also welcomes research in partnership with, and for, potentially under-represented and/or vulnerable groups of actors (e.g., traditional knowledge holders, indigenous and local communities, marginalised demographic groups).
• Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH): The call explicitly welcomes proposals from natural sciences, technical sciences, and social sciences and humanities, highlighting the need for contributions from diverse scientific communities, including business and finance sectors.

Full Proposal Application Form (Document 3)

1.A. Administrative details - Changes in the consortium composition

Changes in the consortium composition are allowed (maximum three changes of Partners), provided approval by the concerned Funding Organisations. This includes addition or removal of a Partner (incl. self-financed Partners). If a Partner is removed, consortia must ensure they still include the minimum number of requested Partners, otherwise the project will be declared ineligible. All new Partners must comply with their respective Funding Organisation's rules; if a new Partner is ineligible, the whole consortium will be declared ineligible. The eligibility of new Partners should be confirmed by the concerned Funding Organisation(s) at least one week before the full proposal submission deadline. Changes must be declared on the EPSS in the 'disclosure of changes' box.

1.A. Administrative details - Access and Benefit Sharing

If the project plans to use genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, applicants must ascertain that these have been accessed in accordance with applicable access and benefit-sharing legislation or regulatory requirements (e.g., Nagoya Protocol) and that benefits are fairly and equitably shared. Users in EU Member States must comply with the general due diligence obligation under Art. 4 of Regulation (EU) No 511/2014 and file due diligence declarations under Art. 7.

7. Confirmation of submission

Each Partner must carefully read the call documents and contact their Funding Organisation Contact Point (FCP) regarding any original official paperwork required. Funding will not be provided without the fulfilment of these requirements.

'Self-financed' Partners must provide evidence that their organisations will support their activities by providing a letter of commitment. This letter should be a maximum of 1 page per self-financed Partner, written in English. The Project Partner Coordinator is responsible for compiling all such letters into a single PDF document and uploading it to the EPSS. Other letters of support will not be considered for evaluation.

10. Do no significant harm principle

Applicants must confirm that their project complies with the 'Do no significant harm principle', which ensures that research and innovation activities do not significantly harm any of the six environmental objectives of the EU Taxonomy Regulation (climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, sustainable use & protection of water & marine resources, pollution prevention & control, transition to a circular economy, and protection and restoration of biodiversity & ecosystems).

Pre-proposal Application Form (Document 2)

1. Administrative details - Changes in the consortium composition

Similar rules apply for changes in consortium composition at the pre-proposal stage, with a maximum of three Partner changes allowed with Funding Organisation approval. No change of Project Partner Coordinator is allowed except in cases of force majeure. Certain changes (e.g., institution change for a non-Coordinator PI within the same country/funding organisation) are not counted towards the three-change limit.

2. Declaration of parallel submissions of this proposal (whole or parts) to other funding programmes or to the same programme and currently under evaluation

Applicants must provide details of any related proposals submitted to other funding opportunities. Duplication of funding is not allowed for the same (whole or part) research project. Applicants must comply with their Funding Organisations' specific rules on applying to different proposals.

10. Do no significant harm principle

Applicants must confirm compliance with the 'Do no significant harm principle' at the pre-proposal stage.

11. Confirmation of submission & use of data

The data provided in the pre-proposal application form will be used for communication, eligibility checks, assessment, funding awards, applicant pool analysis, and feedback collection. Anonymity and confidentiality are maintained for statistics. Data will be accessible to participating Funding Organisations, including those in non-EU or non-EEA countries, with protection and compliance with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679) (GDPR) ensured. Retention of personal data follows the EPSS General Data Protection Policy and Biodiversa+ Privacy and Data Policy.

Full Proposal Application Form (Document 3)

The full proposal application form is submitted online via the electronic proposal submission system (EPSS). The template provided is an indicative model, and the online format will be adapted to the EPSS.

General Guidance

• The proposal must be written in English.
• Any documents other than those requested will not be forwarded to evaluators.
• Letters of support are not expected, except for 'Self-financed' Partners who must provide a letter of commitment.

Project Description (Section 5)

This part must be submitted as a single PDF in the EPSS. The project acronym must be indicated at the top.

• Page Limit: The short project description should not be longer than 16 pages. All tables, figures, references, and other elements are included in this limit. Excess pages will be automatically made invisible and not considered by evaluators.
• Self-contained Document: Links and hyperlinks are not allowed unless specifically requested. Evaluators will ignore information designed to circumvent the page limit.
• Formatting Conditions:
  • Font: Arial, minimum 11 points.
  • Line Spacing: Minimum single line spacing.
  • Page Size: A4.
  • Margins: At least 1.27 cm (top, bottom, left, right).
  • Proposals may be declared ineligible if formatting conditions are not followed.

Structure of the Project Description

• 5.A. Detailed description of the research area and research plan and approach to stakeholder engagement and expected societal impact, including policy impact: This section should include the hypothesis/research questions, novelty, scientific objectives, detailed methodology, interrelationship between tasks, added-value, transnational added value, and approach to stakeholder engagement and societal/policy impact.
• 5.B. Communication and outreach plan (max. 1 page): Describe transfer, dissemination, publication, and protection of results, target audiences, and planned outputs.
• 5.C. Description of project coordination and management (max. 1.5 pages): Outline overall coordination, monitoring, control, management processes, task distribution, information flow, and risk management.
• 5.D. Interconnection to national and transnational research projects and programmes (max. 0.5 page): Describe existing involvement and planned cooperation.
• 5.E. Time schedule and working programme (max. 1 page): Use a Gantt chart or equivalent.
• 5.F. Proposed Data Management Approach (max. 1 page): Address questions on data types, FAIR principles, responsibilities, in-project and post-project management, restrictions, security, privacy, IP, supporting documentation, and costs.

CVs for Principal Investigators (Section 1)

CVs for the principal investigator of each Partner (including self-financed Partners and subcontractors) must be filled directly in the EPSS using a provided template. The template includes sections for participation status, name, nationality, institution, email, website, professional status, education, positions, awards/responsibilities, general expertise (including capacity to involve stakeholders), and up to 5 most important publications relevant to the proposal (past 5 years).

Pre-proposal Application Form (Document 2)

The pre-proposal application form is also submitted online via the EPSS. The template is an indicative model.

Project Description (Section 4)

This part must be uploaded as a single PDF on the EPSS. The project acronym must be indicated at the top.

• Page Limit: The short project description should not be longer than 5 pages. All tables, figures, references, and other elements are included in this limit. Excess pages will be automatically made invisible.
• Self-contained Document: Links and hyperlinks are not allowed unless specifically requested.
• Formatting Conditions: Similar to the full proposal, including Arial 11pt font, single line spacing, A4 page size, and 1.27 cm margins.

Content of the Project Description

• Fit to the scope and objectives of the call.
• Scientific objectives and main research questions, novelty.
• Relevance for society, including policy, and approach to stakeholder/end-user engagement.
• Preliminary identification of stakeholder types.
• Transnational added value from a societal/policy impact perspective.

Full Proposal Application Form (Document 3)

Project Title and Acronym

The Project Title (max 255 characters) and Acronym (max 20 characters, letters, numbers, space only) must be the same as in the pre-proposal. This section will be pre-filled.

Keywords

Minimum 1, maximum 10 keywords. This section will be pre-filled.

1.A. Administrative details

This part must be filled directly in the EPSS and will be pre-filled with pre-proposal information. It includes information on the Project Partner Coordinator and Participants (Partners, self-financed Partners, subcontractors), time dedicated per Partner, and declaration of parallel submissions.

• Partner Definition: Can be a researcher, institution, laboratory, department, or private (for-profit or non-profit) organisation. Applicants must respect eligibility rules of the call and funding organisations.
• Changes between Pre-proposal and Full Proposal:
  • Budget changes: Allowed by the relevant Funding Organisation (FCP decides on justification). No need to inform the Call Secretariat.
  • Consortium composition changes: Maximum three changes of Partners (addition or removal, including self-financed Partners) are allowed with approval from concerned Funding Organisations. Changes to 'team members' or 'subcontractors' do not count towards this limit.
  • Project Partner Coordinator change: Not allowed, except in case of force majeure, requiring a request to the Call Secretariat one week before the deadline.
  • Removal of Partner: Consortia must ensure they still meet the minimum number of Partners; otherwise, the project becomes ineligible.
  • New Partner eligibility: Must be confirmed by the Funding Organisation(s) at least one week before the full proposal submission deadline. If a new Partner is ineligible, the whole consortium becomes ineligible.
  • Cases not considered as changes: Changes explicitly requested by a Funding Organisation after Step 1 eligibility, or changes in institution (within the same country) or researcher in charge (within the same institution) for non-Coordinator Partners.
• Access and Benefit Sharing: If genetic resources and traditional knowledge are used, applicants must ensure compliance with applicable access and benefit-sharing legislation (e.g., Nagoya Protocol, Regulation (EU) No 511/2014).

Participant Information Tables

Detailed tables are provided for the Project Partner Coordinator (Partner 1), Partners 2...N, Subcontractors (Sa, Sb...Sx), and Self-financed Partners (A, B...X). These tables require information such as:

• Researcher in charge: Family name, First name, Title, Gender, Phone, E-mail, Career Stage (A-D), Nationality, ORCID ID.
• Organisation details: Legal full name, Short name (acronym), Participant Identification Code (PIC), Status (Private/Public), SME status (Yes/No), NACE code, Division/Department/Unit, Address (Street, PO Box, Postal code, Cedex, Town, Country).
• Employment status: Permanent or fixed-term position (with start/end dates).
• Funding details: Funding body, whether PI salary is covered by call funding.
• Team members: List of other team members (Family name, First name, gender, job title, main discipline(s), email, ORCID id, time dedicated in person-months).
• Subcontractors: Must indicate by which Partner(s) they will be subcontracted.
• Total time dedicated to the project in person-months.

1.B. Declaration of parallel submissions of this proposal (whole or parts) to other funding programmes or to the same programme and currently under evaluation

Applicants must provide details of any related proposals submitted elsewhere, including title, funding source, overlap, and expected decision date. Duplication of funding is not allowed. Some Funding Organisations have specific rules on applying to multiple proposals.

2. Summary of the project

A summary (min 500, max 3,000 characters) must be filled directly in the EPSS. This section will be pre-filled and may be published online if funded.

3. Topic(s), environment(s) and/or socio-economic sector(s) targeted if relevant, scientific discipline(s) involved, and study site(s)/country(ies) covered in the project

This section, pre-filled from the pre-proposal, requires indicating percentages for topics, environments, and interdisciplinarity (Natural, Social & Humanities, Technical sciences, Other). It also requires selecting socio-economic sectors, indicating the number of stakeholders, listing scientific disciplines, and describing study sites/countries. Applicants must state if the research is 'non-profit'.

4. Work packages, deliverables and milestones

This section is filled directly in the EPSS, requiring titles for Work Packages (WP), responsible Partners, estimated working time (in person-months) per WP and Partner, and tables for Deliverables and Milestones (No., Title, Delivery/Date, Related No. of WPs).

3. Exclusion of potential reviewers (optional)

Applicants can list potential reviewers to be excluded due to direct competition, partiality, or conflicts of interest, providing their name, organisation, country, email, and rationale.

4. Suggestion of potential evaluators (optional)

Applicants can suggest up to 4 experts, including their name, organisation, country, email, website link, and field of expertise. Conflict of interest rules apply to these suggestions.

5. Ethics self-assessment and do no significant harm principle

Applicants must complete a table indicating 'Yes' or 'No' for various ethics issues (Human Embryonic Stem Cells, Humans, Human Cells/Tissues, Personal Data, Animals, Non-EU Countries, Harm to humans/environment/animals/plants, Artificial Intelligence, Other ethics issues) and provide details if 'Yes'. They must also confirm compliance with the 'Do no significant harm principle'.

6. Declaration of changes between pre-proposals and full proposals

Applicants must declare any changes made to the total budget or consortium composition (excluding team members/subcontractors) between the pre-proposal and full proposal stages, providing details, rationales, and approval status from Funding Organisations/Call Secretariat.

Pre-proposal Application Form (Document 2)

Project Title and Acronym

The Project Title (max 255 characters) and Acronym (max 20 characters, letters, numbers, space only) should be considered definitive. The acronym, title, and keywords of selected pre-proposals may be published.

Keywords

Minimum 1, maximum 10 keywords.

1. Administrative details

This part is filled directly in the EPSS, covering information on the Project Partner Coordinator and Partners, as well as the requested budget per Partner. It includes similar participant information tables as the full proposal for Partners, Subcontractors, and Self-financed Partners.

2. Declaration of parallel submissions of this proposal (whole or parts) to other funding programmes or to the same programme and currently under evaluation

Similar to the full proposal, applicants must declare parallel submissions, noting that duplication of funding is not allowed.

3. Summary of the project

A summary (min 500, max 3,000 characters) must be filled directly in the EPSS.

4. Topics(s), environment(s) and/or socio-economic sector(s) targeted if relevant, scientific discipline(s) involved, and study site(s)/country(ies) covered in the project

Similar to the full proposal, applicants indicate percentages for topics, environments, and interdisciplinarity, select socio-economic sectors, list scientific disciplines, and describe study sites/countries. They must also state if the research is 'non-profit'.

5. Preliminary Data Management Information

Applicants must detail their envisaged data management approach (max 2,500 characters), including types of datasets, how FAIR principles will be met, and possible restrictions.

6. Brief CVs for the principal investigator of each Partner involved in the project

CVs for the principal investigator of each Partner (including self-financed and subcontractors) must be filled directly in the EPSS using a provided template, similar to the full proposal.

7. Exclusion of potential reviewers (optional)

Applicants can list potential reviewers to be excluded, similar to the full proposal.

8. Suggestion of potential evaluators (optional)

Applicants can suggest up to 4 experts, similar to the full proposal.

10. Do no significant harm principle

Applicants must confirm compliance with the 'Do no significant harm principle'.

Full Proposal Application Form (Document 3)

Budget Instructions

• Each Partner will be funded by their own Funding Organisation.
• Applicants must comply with Funding Organisations' rules (e.g., subcontracts, overheads, VAT inclusion).
• Mandatory Costs: Projects must include costs for attendance at two joint activities (kick-off, mid-term, final meetings). A total of approximately 3,000 euros is recommended for these two meetings.
• Partners Ineligible for Funding:
  • Can be associated as NON-FUNDED PARTNERS (Self-financed Partners A, B…) if they have secured their own budget.
  • CANNOT REQUEST FUNDING. Indicating 0€ in the 'Funding request' column for ineligible countries is mandatory; otherwise, the proposal will be ineligible.
  • Participants may be subcontracted by eligible Partners, subject to Funding Organisation rules. Subcontracting is for minor tasks that Partners cannot execute.

Budget Tables

Applicants must provide clear evidence of how funds will be used and justify that requested funds are sufficient.

• Total costs/expenses (column 'Total costs') include all project costs, regardless of national/regional funding rules (e.g., personnel costs of permanent staff not eligible).
• Requested funding budget (column 'Funding request') includes costs for personnel (including permanent salaries depending on rules), travel, consumables, overheads (if fundable), subcontracts, etc., based on each Partner's Funding Organisation rules.
• Some Funding Organisations may not provide 100% of eligible costs.

Table 1: Total costs per Partner (in Euro, incl. VAT depending on national / regional rules)

Table 2: Costs per Partner and requested funding budget

This table will be partly generated automatically based on Table 1.

Explanation and/or remarks concerning the proposed budget

Applicants must provide explanations for their budget and indicate other sources of funding (co-funding, self-funding) that cover costs not requested from the call.

Pre-proposal Application Form (Document 2)

Budget Instructions

Applicants must indicate an indicative repartition between cost categories, the total budget/costs, and the budget requested to their Funding Organisation. Compliance with Funding Organisations' rules is mandatory.

• Mandatory Costs: Similar to the full proposal, projects must include costs for attendance at two joint activities (kick-off, mid-term, final meetings). A total of approximately 3,000 euros is recommended.
• The indicated requested budget per Partner should be considered definitive, unless adjustment is requested by Funding Organisations.

A table similar to Table 1 of the full proposal is provided for pre-proposals, requiring total costs and funding requests per Partner and cost category, including specific entries for mandatory joint activities and 0€ funding requests for self-financed Partners and subcontractors.

Self-financed Partners must briefly indicate how their participation will be funded.