Second Lump Sum Micro-Grants for Members of the SoilTribes Community of Practice

SUBMISSION

The Application Form, via the EU Survey Platform is made up of one single document which is to be completed and submitted by each applicant. The application form will request:

1. Your contact information
2. A brief description of the proposed activity (max, 2500 characters)
3. A short statement on how the activity aligns with SOILTRIBES goals and supports your work (max, 2000 characters)
4. Estimated costs for the activity with brief explanation of the costs
5. A timeline for activity completion
6. Declarations

It is important to note when submitting your application, you must ensure it meets the admissibility criteria. Your application must:

1. be submitted by March 9, 2026 at 15:00 CET
2. be submitted electronically – paper or emails submissions are not accepted – through the EU Survey Link (hyperlink embedded)
3. be submitted in English
4. respect the number of characters, as indicated in each section of the Application form
5. have a budget equal to the fixed lump sum amount of €750 (VAT included)
6. be submitted by an eligible applicant (review section 2.1 of this document).

Note: Multiple applications are permitted, provided that each proposal relates to a distinct and clearly different activity.

Before you begin writing your submission, you can review the blank application form here.

EVALUATION & SELECTION

All submitted applications will be assessed through a clear, fair, and transparent evaluation process, based on predefined criteria aligned with the objectives of the SoilTribes project. The evaluation and selection process will adhere to EU standards of transparency, equal treatment, conflict of interest and confidentiality.

All applications will go through the following steps:

Step A: Administrative & Eligibility Check

The Administrative & Eligibility Check will be completed by the SoilTribes Consortium. Only those applications that meet all requirements outlined above in section 2.1 and section 4 will pass to Step B.

Step B: Evaluation of Applications

Jurors will review the Full Applications. The evaluation of applications will follow a one-stage process. The Evaluation will be based on a 100-point score considering the following criteria and weighting as per the table presented in the Guidelines. To be considered for funding, applications must meet the following conditions:

1. Score at least 50% on each individual evaluation criterion, and
2. Achieve an overall score of at least 50 out of 100 points.

Each application will be evaluated by two jurors, who are internal members of the consortium serving as Pillar Leaders. Jurors will be assigned in pairs according to their expertise and familiarity with the SoilTribes thematic pillars. Jurors will assess proposals independently using a shared evaluation package and scoring template. To ensure the integrity of the process, all jurors are required to declare any potential conflict of interest and to adhere to principles of unbiased assessment, transparency, and impartiality throughout the evaluation. After a dedicated kick-off meeting, the evaluation materials will be distributed, and jurors will begin individual review. Once all assessments are submitted, the project team will compile the results, calculate average scores, and identify significant discrepancies between reviewers. When necessary (when discrepancies in the total score are of 15 or more points), jurors will engage in consolidation meetings to agree on a final, harmonized score. A final ranking list will then be produced.

Step C: Selection

A Ranking Meeting between the SoilTribes Consortium and Jurors will be scheduled. During this meeting, the numerical ranking will be presented which takes into account the results of Step B. In addition to score-based ranking, the final selection will incorporate the following representation measures:

1. Geographic balance: A maximum of two selected applicants per country (per call)
2. Gender representation: Ensure a balanced and diverse selection of applicants based on gender.
3. Sectoral diversity: As much as possible, the final selection should reflect a range of profiles across the quintuple helix sectors and CoP pillars.
4. No ethics issues: The funded project has no ethical issues, or if, they are addressed and safeguards are implemented.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

If you're an active member of the SoilTribes CoP and ready to contribute to the mission of strengthening soil literacy across Europe—yes, you can apply!

To be eligible, you must meet the following criteria:

1. Be natural persons;
2. Be established in one of the Member States of the European Union and its Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) or Associated Countries to Horizon Europe, that, on the date of the publication of the call, participate in the Horizon Programme; and,
3. Be registered in the SoilTribes CoP

All CoP members are encouraged to sign the Soil Manifesto, a voluntary commitment by individuals and organisations who pledge to support the transition toward healthy soils by 2030.

ELIGIBILITY ACTIVITIES

Proposed activities must comply with EU policy interests and priorities. They must ensure the highest ethical standards and compliance with the applicable EU, international and national law.

Applications shall address the topic priority of soil literacy and at least one more of the following Soil Deal for Europe mission topic priorities:

1. Land degradation relating to desertification;
2. Conservation and increasing of soil organic carbon stocks;
3. No net soil sealing and increase the reuse of urban soils;
4. Reduction of soil pollution and enhance restoration;
5. Soil erosion prevention;
6. Improvement of soil structure to enhance habitat quality for soil biota and crops;
7. Reduction of EU global footprint on soils.

Activities proposed in the applications should contribute to the benefit of the Community, demonstrate relevance to one or more pillars of the SoilTribes CoP (Academy, Business, Government, Society, or Environment), and be related to:

1. Participation in conferences, seminars or other events as speaker or equivalent
2. Short-training course or equivalent to improve communication skills and/or learn more about soil literacy
3. Acquisition of advisory services by experts on soil science and especially on literacy
4. Other communication, education or engagement activities necessary for or justified by the activities of the CoP, namely the Meetups and Design Thinking Bootcamps.

AVAILABLE BUDGET

The SoilTribes project has allocated a total budget of €24,000 to support the Lump Sum Micro Grants scheme for members of the CoP.

A total of 32 micro-grants will be awarded during the project. These will be distributed across four calls, with approximately 8 grants per call. The call for proposals defines a fixed lump sum of €750 (VAT included) and the budget requested by applicants in the proposal must be equal to this fixed lump sum. The proposal must describe the resources mobilised for this amount, categorized by the following budget headings:

1. Travel | Costs related to transportation, accommodation, and subsistence (meals, local transport, etc.)
2. Equipment | Basic items or tools needed to carry out your proposed activity, such as: audio-visual equipment for recording or presenting your work; educational or creative tools for workshops; and/or materials for soil demonstrations (e.g., sensors, display kits)
3. Other goods, works and services | All other eligible costs related to implementing your activity, including for example, fees for external advisory services or mentoring

Each CoP member may receive a maximum of €1,500 (VAT included) in micro-grants over the course of the SoilTribes project. Since each grant is capped at €750 (VAT included) per call, this means a CoP member can be awarded no more than two micro-grants in total and only one grant per call.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA PROTECTION

GDPR compliance: The General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679/EU) guarantees that the processing of data is carried out in compliance with the fundamental rights and freedoms, as well as the dignity of the data subject with particular reference to confidentiality, personal identity and the right to data protection. By applying, the applicant agrees to the storage and use of their personal data for the execution of the SOILTRIBES objectives and work plan. The personal data collected includes the applicants name, gender, address, contact details (such as E-Mail address) and their institution. It will only be used to facilitate the call process and will be deleted at the end of the project. The SOILTRIBES Consortium commits to handling personal data confidentiality except for the call results, which will contain the following information:

1. Information about successful SOILTRIBES funding support applications that will be made publicly available before the end of the project

The processing of personal data that SOILTRIBES Consortium intends to carry out will be based on lawfulness and correctness in the full protection of its rights and its confidentiality pursuant to the general principles of the GDPR and its art.24. Therefore, the applicants are informed that their (personal) data will be used solely for the purposes of the specific procedure to which their application refers. The applicants can exercise their rights towards the data controller, pursuant to article 12 - 22 of the GDPR. For any inquiries regarding the processing of your personal data, please read more about the privacy policy of SOILTRIBES at the following link: Privacy Policy - SoilTribes or contact us at: [email protected]

WHAT SHOULD I KNOW FURTHER?

Before applying, we encourage you to consult the following resources and support channels to ensure a smooth application process:

1. Contact for Questions and Support: For any questions related to the application process, eligibility, or technical support, you can reach out to the SOILTRIBES team at [email protected]
2. SoilTribes Community of Practice Guide: We strongly recommend reviewing the SoilTribes Community of Practice Guide, which provides key information about your role as a CoP member and how the micro-grants support your activities.
3. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): You can also visit the SoilTribes website for details about eligible activities, selection, reporting, and contractual matters