Prevent and eliminate litter, plastics and microplastics: Innovative solutions for waste-free European rivers

Submission

Objective. Enable regions to design and trial circular/zero‑waste measures that prevent plastic leakage to rivers and seas; replicate UPSTREAM prevention solutions.

Funding. Lump‑sum grants up to €70,000 per application; 8 months implementation; 2 projects expected (OC2 total budget €140,000).

Who can apply Regional/local public authorities (or directly‑representing bodies) from associated regions (EU MS/AC) excluding:

a)UPSTREAM beneficiary countries,

b)INSPIRE project funded regions[1] in the FSTP Open Calls: 1) Cork City Council, Ireland; 2) Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 3) İstanbul Boğazı Belediyeler Birliği, 4) Khotyn City Council, Ukraine and 5) Opština Jezero, Bosnia and Herzegovina

c)UPSTREAM funded regions in FSTP Open Call 1. A region cannot receive funding twice across Call 1 & 2. Regions funded in OC1 1) Turkey, West Marmara, Tekirdağ Sub-region; 2) Turkey, Mediterranean Region, Antalya Sub-region; 3) Cyprus, Nicosia District

Activities sought. Substitution & procurement pilots; zero‑waste supply chain measures; behaviour‑change and producer responsibility pilots; enabling policies; monitoring impacts.

How to apply. Submit online Application Form + Declaration of Honour + Legal status proof to [email protected]with the subject: name of the call. Format: pdf. Language: English. One application per authority.

Link to Guidelines for filling the Application form and Templates: https://upstream-project.eu/open-call-2-prevention-zero-waste/

Evaluation. External experts score per criteria; internal consensus ranks; awards by the Call Owner. All eligible applicants receive an Evaluation Summary Report (ESR).

[1] https://inspire-europe.org/news/five-fstp-projects-launched-as-replication-cases-in-inspire/

Evaluation methodology & scoring

Process. (1) Admissibility & eligibility screening; (2) Remote evaluation by three internal consortium experts; (3) Internal consensus meeting for final ranking and funding cut‑off; (4) Ethics/risk checks; (5) Awards & grant prep.

Criteria & weights (100 pts total; minimum quality thresholds apply): 1. Concept & innovation – 25 pts: clarity, credibility, interoperability, novelty (tech/strategic/implementation/practice). 2. Team capacity & excellence – 25 pts: skills, roles, governance, delivery track‑record; access to required permits/sites. 3. Alignment & work plan – 25 pts: logic, milestones, deliverables, verification means; budget realism; subcontracting justification. 4. Impact & European dimension – 25 pts: fit with Mission Ocean goals; scalability/replicability; cross‑border relevance; KPIs.

Thresholds. Min 60/100 overall and≥12/25 in each criterion. Ties broken by higher Impact score, then Concept score, then geographic balance.

Outputs to applicants. ESR with strengths/weaknesses & scores; ineligible applicants receive reasoned notice and appeal route.

Appeals & complaints

Applicants may lodge an appeal within 7 calendar days of notification where they believe a procedural error occurred. Appeals are reviewed by an internal panel uninvolved in the original decision. Appeals cannot re‑evaluate scientific/technical merit unless a manifest error is evidenced. Applicants will receive an appeal response within 14 days of confirmed receipt of the appeal.

Programme overview

Aim. Provide targeted financial support and technical assistance to associated regions to replicate, scale and localise UPSTREAM solutions for monitoring, prevention, removal and valorisation of plastic litter and microplastics in rivers and connected waters.

Instruments. Competitive open call awarding lump‑sum grants to public authorities in associated regions, complemented by mentoring from UPSTREAM partners.

Budget envelope. OC2 total budget €140,000; up to €70,000 per selected public, local or regional authorities (average/ceiling per programme design). As stated in GA section 5.

Number of awards. Up to 2 regions across the call. A region may be funded once only during the project. A region will not be funded if it is receiving FSTP funding from a project that is funded under the same competition topic call (HORIZON-MISS-2021-OCEAN-01-04).

Duration per project. 8 months, consisting of design, deployment and assessment phases.

Primary geographies. Eligible associated regions in EU Member States/Associated Countries not covered by the UPSTREAM consortium[1], with indicative priority to regions with high leakage to rivers/sea (e.g., selected Balkans/Mediterranean/ North African basins). See list of eligible and non-eligible countries using this link: (list-3rd-country-participation_horizon-euratom_en.pdf). See other limitation in the submission section.

[1] Countries covered by the UPSTREAM Consortium Partners: Spain, Belgium, Slovenia, Portugal, Serbia, Greece, Germany, The Netherlands, France, Italy, UK

Legal basis & compliance (plain‑language)

Recipient type: Local and/or regional public authorities (or bodies directly representing them) in associated regions outside UPSTREAM beneficiary countries.

Form of support:Grants (lump‑sum). Max per recipient €70,000 (legal cap). Programme‑level design sets €70,000 per award.

Publication & transparency: Calls must be widely publicised; open ≥ 2 months; outcomes published (project synopsis, award date, duration, legal name & country); conflict‑of‑interest, equal treatment, confidentiality ensured.

Obligations flow‑down: Recipients must comply with conflict of interest, confidentiality/security, ethics, visibility, implementation rules, information & record‑keeping; subject to audits/reviews by EU bodies.

Restrictive measures: Applicants subject to EU restrictive measures are ineligible. See restricted link: http://www.sanctionsmap.eu/

Personal data: Process in line with GDPR; provide privacy notice at call launch.

Funding model & payments

Lump‑sum grant fixed at award; paid against milestones/deliverables set by awarded applicants.

Indicative tranches: 40% at Grant Agreement signature; 40% after mid‑term deliverables; 20% at final acceptance.

Cost basis: No cost statements; beneficiaries keep evidence of task completion and outputs (deliverables, logs, datasets, photos, beneficiary reports) for audit.

Subcontracting: Allowed where justified (specialised tasks). Recommend ≤30% of project budget; higher shares must be duly justified in application.

Governance & roles

Evaluation Board: 3 internal consortium experts per proposal + internal consensus panel (UPSTREAM Coordinator, Scientific Coordinator and consortium experts) for ranking and award decision.

Mentors: Assigned from UPSTREAM partners per project domain (monitoring, prevention, valorisation, NBS, citizen engagement, business planning).

Award Committee Safeguard: Invite a representative from another Mission Ocean FSTP project to the award meeting to cross‑check “one‑time funding per region”.

Eligibility & admissibility

Admissibility: Application complete; submitted via official portal before deadline; in English; all mandatory annexes provided.

Eligibility (all must hold): - Applicant is a regional/local public authority or body directly representing it; legal status proof attached; - Located in an eligible associated region (EU MS/AC) that is outside UPSTREAM beneficiary countries, UPSTREAM FSTP OC1 regions and INSPIRE FSTP regions (see chapter 1 and 7.1); - Proposal aligns with Call objectives and eligible activities list; - No double funding (self‑declaration); activities not started before grant; - EU restrictive measures do not apply to applicant or key subcontractors.

Geographical diversity rule: One award per region across the whole programme.

Resubmissions: Allowed across calls if not yet funded.