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Strategic Analysis
A winning proposal must demonstrate an operational, multi-scale digital monitoring framework that seamlessly integrates real-time sensor networks, Earth Observation, and AI-driven Digital Twins to detect diffuse urban runoff, combined sewer overflows (CSOs), and contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) such as microplastics and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The project should be anchored by diverse, real-world urban and river basin demonstrators with direct co-creation alongside municipal water authorities to enable proactive, risk-based catchment management. Success hinges on delivering an open, harmonised data architecture that supports the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD) recast and directly operationalises the EU Zero Pollution Action Plan.
TRL 4 → 8
Based on programme defaults
No expected impacts identified for this destination.
No EU policy alignment identified for this call.
Evaluators will prioritize holistic system integration over isolated sensor development, checking whether the monitoring framework addresses both point-source and diffuse pollution across the urban-to-catchment continuum. They will closely examine the direct engagement of municipal water utilities and river basin authorities, ensuring that digital twins and predictive models lead to actionable operational workflows rather than theoretical proofs-of-concept. Proposals demonstrating high interoperability, cost-effectiveness, and robust validation of emerging pollutant detection (including AMR and microplastics) at TRL 7-8 will stand out.
Everything the call asks for, seen from the call's point of view. Each line shows what answers it, and which partner carries it.
This matrix lists everything the call asks for: outcomes, impacts, scope, the requirements buried in the call text, and policy alignment. Sign up free and GrantForge tracks each line against the concept you build.
| Requirement | Covered by | Carried | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope activities | |||
| No scope activities in this call. | |||
| Expected outcomes | |||
| No expected outcomes in this call. | |||
| Other requirements | |||
| REQ1Co-creation and engagement with municipal water authoritiesDirect co-creation and engagement alongside municipal water authorities and river basin authorities is expected to ensure predictive models and digital twins lead to actionable operational workflows. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| REQ2Open, harmonised data architectureThe project requires delivering an open, harmonised data architecture that supports the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive recast and operationalises the EU Zero Pollution Action Plan. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| Expected impacts | |||
| No expected impacts in this call. | |||
| Underlying policies | |||
| No underlying policies in this call. | |||
The binding rules of this call. Items marked auto are verified by GrantForge from the call and the template. The others are yours to confirm.
4 key insights you must internalise before writing. Each is grounded in the call text and tells you what evaluators will actually look for. Share these with your consortium before drafting.
Because this is a two-stage submission, the scientific objectives and core consortium architecture established in Stage 1 are binding. Do not treat the pre-proposal as a placeholder; any major pivot in the monitoring framework or target pollutants between Stage 1 and Stage 2 will jeopardize the final evaluation.
Source: Stages
A proposal that treats municipal water utilities and river basin authorities merely as external stakeholders will fail. Evaluators are explicitly instructed to check for their direct engagement to ensure digital twins and predictive models translate into actionable operational workflows rather than theoretical proofs-of-concept.
Source: Evaluation criteria (pre-award)
Avoid pitching a project centered solely on developing novel sensors. The evaluation will heavily penalize isolated sensor development, prioritizing instead the holistic system integration of real-time networks, Earth Observation, and AI to address both point-source and diffuse pollution.
Source: Evaluation criteria (pre-award)
The proposal must push the detection of contaminants of emerging concern—specifically antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and microplastics—to TRL 7-8. Evaluators will look for robust validation of these specific pollutants in real-world urban and river basin demonstrators, not just conventional water quality parameters.
Source: Evaluation criteria (pre-award)
Talk to the Grant Coach to build your concept. There is no set order: start wherever your project starts. The sections below mirror what the conversation produces, and your coverage tracks the progress. You can refine everything once your project workspace is created.
The problems this call frames, and who they affect. Your concept and plan address them.
Current urban monitoring relies predominantly on manual grab sampling and isolated point measurements, resulting in blind spots regarding transient combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and dynamic diffuse urban runoff surges.
Conventional water analytics lack scalable, real-time sensing capacities for contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), microplastics, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) markers, impeding proactive risk management.
Siloed data systems between urban drainage managers and river basin authorities hinder early-warning predictive capabilities, preventing coordinated mitigation before pollutants discharge into receiving ecosystems.
Public and private operators responsible for urban wastewater networks, stormwater retention, and treatment plant operations requiring real-time actionable contamination data.
Local governments and regional catchment regulators responsible for environmental compliance, urban spatial planning, and civil protection against waterborne hazards.
Commercial providers of water quality sensors, IoT platforms, and environmental AI analytics seeking field-validation and market uptake.
Academic institutions and research bodies focusing on hydrology, environmental toxicogenomics, AMR propagation, and sensor technology.
Civil society, recreational water users, and vulnerable communities benefiting from depolluted water bodies and transparent environmental risk communication.
The long-term impacts your project should drive, and the policies they serve.
Substantial mitigation of chemical and microbiological pollution discharged into receiving surface waters and downstream ecosystems via dynamic management of overflows and stormwater runoff.
Enhanced operational resilience and optimized retention capacity of sewer infrastructure, significantly curtailing untreated urban wastewater flows during intense precipitation events.
Mitigation of public health exposure to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), toxic chemical spikes, and recreational waterborne illnesses through accurate early-warning digital systems.
Commercial validation and cross-sector deployment of smart environmental IoT architectures, remote sensing integrations, and open predictive water models.