The call has direct relevance for CCRI activities and the implementation of circular systemic solutions on local and regional scales.

Successful proposals will support the delivery of solutions to implement the European Green Deal, the circular economy action plan and the bioeconomy strategy. The call will support the transition towards a sustainable, regenerative, inclusive and just circular economy on local and regional scales in Europe.

Projects’ results are expected to contribute to the delivery of a series of sustainable circular economy projects and the roll-out of innovative, local or regional-scale financing solutions or schemes across Europe.

The CCRI-PDA service targets public and private project promoters such as local and regional authorities (or groupings of them), public/private infrastructure operators and bodies, utilities and services, and industry, including small and medium-sized enterprises.

Proposals funded under this topic, and their circular systemic solutions, must form part of the demonstration projects for the implementation of the CCRI. This means that proposals must cooperate with the CCRI and the CCRI-CSO by sharing knowledge and experiences developed during the implementation of the project. They must also participate in the CCRI’s events. Applicants must explicitly integrate these obligations into their proposal’s work plan.

For more information, please see the work programme, text of the call and the call documents.

Successful proposals are expected to contribute to the Horizon Europe Destination ‘Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors (2023/24)’. This destination and its topics target climate-neutrality, zero pollution, and fair and just circular and bioeconomy transitions.

The CCRI-PDA should provide support for activities necessary to prepare and mobilise finance for investment projects, such as feasibility studies, stakeholder and community mobilisation, business plans and preparation for tendering procedures, or setup of a specific financing scheme/financial engineering.

The CCRI-PDA should focus on activities aimed at increasing circularity in product value chains that are relevant for the transition towards a sustainable circular economy on a local and/or regional scale. The economic sectors and investment proposals involved in each CCRI-PDA service should be clearly specified and selected according to local and/or regional circular economy needs, resources and potential. This selection should be clearly justified and explained.

The total indicative budget for the topic is €6 million. The indicative number of grants is three.

1. The European Commission publishes the call for proposals on the Funding and Tenders Portal.
2. The call is open for a typical period of around five months, during which applicants can submit their proposal.
3. Horizon Europe calls can be single or two-stage application processes. In this case, the call is a single-stage process. This requires a structured proposal of max. 45 pages to be filled in, including objectives and innovation approach (excellence), tangible impacts that can be achieved through the project (impact) and the project planning and tasks (quality). These documents are to be uploaded to the portal in pdf format alongside administrative information on the beneficiaries, affiliated entities or others, to be filled in on the portal. All participants need to possess a Participant Identification Code (PIC number, a 9-digit number registered on ECAS). For more information, please see the work programme and the call documents.
4. Proposals submitted within the deadline will be evaluated by experts against evaluation criteria.
5. Winning proposals will be invited to sign a grant agreement with the Commission.

Planned opening date: 17 October 2023

Deadline date: 22 February 2024, 17.00 Brussels time