Restoring Ocean and Waters in waterfront Cities and their Ports

The main goal of this opportunity is to help waterfront cities and their ports lead the way in restoring and protecting ocean and freshwater environments. It aims to support actions that protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems, prevent pollution, and promote a sustainable blue economy that is both carbon-neutral and circular. The focus is on creative, local, and people-centered solutions that get citizens and stakeholders involved. Projects should show clear progress toward these goals and work together with other funding programs. The opportunity targets cities and ports in the Atlantic and Arctic, Mediterranean, Baltic and North Sea, and Danube River (including Black Sea) regions, with specific population requirements for participating cities.

• Proposals must follow the required page limits and layout.
• Participants must be from eligible countries.
• If using satellite-based data, projects must use Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS services.
• Projects must meet evaluation and award criteria.
• Proposals must align with the topic's specific objectives and involve public bodies and port authorities.
• Projects should collaborate with other programs and foster citizen and stakeholder involvement.
• Demonstration activities must take place in at least 8 waterfront cities or ports, covering all four major sea and river basins.
• Projects must support restoring ecosystems, eliminating pollution, and advancing a circular blue economy.

Example projects:

• A city-led project that installs floating wetlands in its harbor to restore biodiversity and engage local schools in monitoring water quality.
• A partnership between several ports across the Baltic Sea to pilot zero-emission cargo handling equipment and share results with citizens at public events.
• A group of Mediterranean cities working together to reduce plastic pollution by launching citizen science clean-up campaigns and testing new waste collection technologies.

Personnel costs
Subcontracting
Travel and subsistence
Equipment (depreciation or rental)
Consumables and materials
Dissemination and communication
Access to research infrastructure
IPR and certification
Audit costs
Indirect costs (25% flat rate)
Internally invoiced services

• Budget for this Call: 15,000,000€
• Number of Grants attributed: 1
• Maximum value per project: 15,000,000€
• Minimum value per project: 15,000,000€

• Proposals must follow the required page limits and layout.
• Applicants must be from eligible countries, including EU and some non-EU countries.
• Projects using satellite-based data must use Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS services.
• Applicants must demonstrate financial and operational capacity.
• Grants must follow the legal and financial arrangements set out by the program.