New forms of cooperation in agriculture and the forest-based sector

Scope of the Open Call

Through this "Call for Travel Vouchers", BIOECONOMY GIANTS aims to select 40 Primary Producers and related actors (see the full list of eligible profiles in Section 4.1) to participate in the BIOECONOMY BOOTCAMP. The voucher is designed to facilitate their real implication in the bio-based community, allowing them to form strong, long-term collaborations with bio-based industries and access innovative solutions tailored to their needs.

Selected applicants will receive a Voucher to support their travel and attendance at the project's flagship event:

1. Event Name: BIOECONOMY BOOTCAMP
2. Date: 30^th November 1^st and 2^nd December 2026
3. Location: 30^th November and 1^st December at Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel; 2^nd December at BBEPP (Rodenhuizekaai 1, 9042 Gent, Belgium)
4. Description: The Bioeconomy Bootcamp will be organized in conjunction with the “Pitch Perfect and Boost the European Bioeconomy 2026”. The event will feature a comprehensive program of capacity-building and networking, designed to connect primary producers with industry leaders, technology providers, investors, and policymakers.
5. Monday 30 November 2026 @ Sheraton Brussels featuring​: practical training on developing competitive proposals, training session on COMPY Tool, Funding Opportunities & intro Pitch Perfect and Boost the European Bioeconomy 2026
6. Tuesday 1 December 2026 @ Sheraton Brussels​ featuring pitch sessions in parallel and matchmaking, Express Counselling sessions.
7. Wednesday 2 December BBEPP Ghent​ featuring study visit & scale up training at Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, training session on IMPACT Tool, innovator & investor networking.
8. Full programme of the Bioeconomy Bootcamp is available on the BIOECONOMY GIANT project’s website and on the Open Call page, under the “Background Documents” section displayed on the right-hand side of the screen.

Expected outcomes

1. Business models developed in C4B are validated by means of specific business cases.
2. Business models developed in C4B are tailored to specific needs of the Open Call participants.
3. Insights are provided for C4B which will be used in outlining policy recommendations on:
4. drivers and barriers in applying, scaling up and replicating business models
5. how sustainable fair models can be scaled up.

Who can participate

This call is dedicated to Primary Producers and related actors. Only applicants falling into one of the following categories are eligible:

1. Individual Farmers and Farms.
2. Large and small companies that produce and market their agri-food and forestry products.
3. Companies vertically integrated with full control over the contracted farms and forests.
4. Seed, Nursery Plant, and Forestry Seedling Specialists.
5. Farmers’ cooperatives involved in primary products processing.
6. Forestry cooperatives.
7. Cooperatives of farmers owned by farmers and foresters (second-degree cooperatives).
8. Producers' Organizations aiming to commercialize agricultural, agri-food, and forestry products.
9. Farmers’ and Foresters' Organizations at Regional Level

Note: to ensure full budget absorption and maximize the call impact, applications from agro-industrial entities may also be considered, particularly if the initial target of primary producers is not met.

Successful applicants are expected to be able to participate and follow discussions in English.

Applicants must be established in:

1. EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories).
2. Horizon Europe Associated Countries.

Given that the BIOECONOMΥ BOOTCAMP will be held in Brussels, priority shall be accorded to applicants whose registered office and/or principal place of activity is located at a distance greater than 300 km from Brussels. Applicants located within this threshold shall remain eligible; however, preference will be given to those travelling longer distances. The distance will be calculated using the official Erasmus+ Distance Calculator.

Application Procedure

We have designed a simplified application process to minimize the administrative burden for producers. Proposals must be submitted online via the official application webpage.

Applicants are asked to provide:

1. Profile & Category: Indication of which category of "Primary Producer" they belong to (see list in Section 4.1) and a brief presentation of their profile (1000 characters maximum).
2. Short Motivation Statement: A brief text (2000 characters maximum) explaining:
3. Why participating in the Bioeconomy Bootcamp is important for their business.
4. Their interest in circular bio-based business models.
5. Counselling Session (OPTIONAL): indication of their interest in scheduling a one-to-one counselling session with experts (lasting approximately 15 minutes) during the BIOECONOMY BOOTCAMP programme. Applicants must select one preferred topic from the list available in the application form to allow for an appropriate matching with the experts.
6. Note: the request for a counselling session is entirely optional and does not represent an evaluation criterion and will have no impact, positive or negative, on the selection score of the application.

How to apply

1. Go to: https://bioeconomygiants.com/open-call-1/
2. Download and carefully read the Open Call document, which contains all the information about the call conditions, eligibility criteria and evaluation process.
3. Click on “Apply for a Travel Voucher” to access the online application system (EU survey platform).
4. Fill in the online Application Form, including the required administrative information.
5. Review all the information provided and click on “Submit” to send the application.

Evaluation process

All applicants passing the eligibility check will move on to the next evaluation step, where the expert evaluator board will score and comment on the following evaluation criteria:

1. Applicant Profile (Threshold 3; score 1-5): feedstock, application, replicability potential and the region or pedo-climatic zone will be considered.
2. Motivation (Threshold 3; score 1-5): Applicants should explain their motivation for joining the Bioeconomy Bootcamp.

For each criterion a maximum of 5 points can be given:

1 = Poor (the criterion is inadequately addressed, or there are serious inherent weaknesses)

2 = Fair (the criterion is broadly addressed, but there are significant weaknesses)

3 = Good (the criterion is addressed well, but a number of shortcomings are present)

4 = Very good (the criterion is addressed very well, but a small number of shortcomings are present)

5 = Excellent (the criterion is successfully addressed. Any shortcomings are minor

The evaluation process will be composed of subsequent activities, as follows:

1. Eligibility Check: Verification of administrative requirements. This is the only step run by BIOECONOMY GIANTS consortium members (namely APRE, FOOD+i and CIRCE), and only applications passing this check will proceed to the next step.
2. Experts’ Evaluation: each application found eligible in step 1 will be evaluated by 2 independent experts from the working group on primary producers, formed under the ROOTLINKS project
3. Consensus & Final score

The final score for each application is determined as follows:

1. Consistent Scores: If the total scores assigned by the two independent experts are consistent (both above threshold), the final total score will be the average of the two.
2. Consensus Meeting: If one of the two scores assigned by the two independent experts is below threshold, a consensus meeting will be organized to agree on the final score.
3. Below Threshold: If both experts score the proposal below the threshold, no consensus is required, and the final score will be the average.

Each proposal will receive the full score along with an evaluation summary report from the evaluation process.

Overall Threshold: applicants must reach a minimum score awarded (6/10).

Knock-out Rule: If an application receives a score below the threshold in ANY of the two criteria (e.g., scoring 2/5 in Motivation, but the maximum in Applicant Profile), it will be automatically rejected, regardless of the total score.

Ranking and shortlisting

At the end of the evaluation phase a ranking list will be established by aggregating the final scores assigned to each eligible application. Proposals will be ordered from the highest to the lowest score. The top 40 ranked applicants will be officially contacted and receive their Voucher Certificate.

A reserve list (shortlist) will be established to ensure full capacity of the event. In the event of:

1. Official withdrawal by a selected applicant;
2. Technical or administrative non-compliance identified during the contracting phase;
3. Failure to respond to the formal invitation within the specified deadline;

The BIOECONOMY GIANTS consortium will proceed to invite applicants from the reserve list, following the established ranking order.

Financial Support

1. Total budget: € 20.000
2. Maximum grant amount per participant: € 500
3. Maximum number of participants granted: 40
4. Funding rate: 100% of eligible costs
5. Form of funding: Lump Sum

Useful Links

1. BIOECONOMY GIANTS Open Call 1 website page: here it is possible to find all necessary documents and information as well as a FAQ section where you can submit any question you might have.
2. Application Form

Contact details

Requests for information or clarification may be submitted to the following email address: [email protected]