ECO-Ready

1) Could you please clarify if consortium partners must all come from the same country, or if multiple countries (within the same bioclimatic areas) are allowed? If multiple countries are indeed allowed, could you clarify how this affects the ranking procedure, and to which “country” the consortium is allocated? Would this be based on the country of the coordinator?

The Living Labs must work on a national level in order to be able to correspond to the specific award criteria that are set in the ECO_READY_Open_Call_Applicants_Guide and especially under paragraph 3.5.2 Remote Evaluation. 

However, in case knowledge exchange is needed or one partner carries specific expertise that will favour the implementation of the sub-project, the origin of the partners in the consortium can differ (partners can be legally established in different - eligible - countries) provided that all sub-project activities will be performed in one distinct country that should be clearly indicated in the proposal.

2) When are payments made? At the beginning of the project, every year...?

According to the ECO_READY_Open_Call_Applicants_Guide and specifically chapter 4.1 “Implementation timeline and activities”, the implementation of sub-projects performed by the selected Living Labs will last for 24 months and will be divided into 3 phases. The funding of the sub-projects will follow the submission of the respective deliverables as presented in Figure 7 “Implementation and activities”. 

In this respect the payment timeline is as follows:1), a payment of the 30% of the funding will be made after the submission and approval of the first deliverable ‘’Activity Plan’’ on month 6; 2) a payment of 40% of the funding will be made after the submission and approval of the second deliverable ‘’Demonstration results/ outcomes’’ on month 17 and 3) a payment of 30% of the funding will be made after the submission and approval of the third deliverable ‘’Final report with Sustainability plan’’ on month 24. Please have in mind that there is no pre financing.

3) Could you please clarify if affiliated entities (as described in HORIZON EUROPE) are allowed to participate in the Eco-Ready call? If yes, do they also count against the 2-5 partners that will compose the Living Lab? And consequently: if a partner includes one or more affiliated entities, can the budget of this principal partner exceed the 200.000 euro?

In regards to your question, please provide us with a clarification about the kind of affiliated entities that you are referring to. According to the Guide for Applicants and the relevant Eligibility Criteria under paragraph 3.2 ‘’Existing consortium members of ECO-READY project as well as their affiliated entities are not eligible for the Open Call of ECO-READY’’. However, in case the affiliation refers to the consortium partners of the applying LL (e.g. two partners of the Living Lab are affiliated), there is no restriction. In terms of financing, each Living Lab may ask for up to 400.000,00 € and each partner will have a budget between 60.000 - 200.000 €. This budget limit cannot be exceeded. 

4) Dear Team, Could you please confirm how we should proceed with the following matter: 1 of the LL’s partners is a company (the applicant enterprise (A) as per the terms of the guide) that belongs to a bigger company (B) which also belongs to a bigger group (C). We believe it falls under the “linked enterprise” category of the Annex 3 as per the holdings distribution? We are then required to complete the information of “Box B 1” but do not understand if the information to be provided is for entity A, B or C ? we have the same interrogation for the “Identification of their enterprises included through consolidation” table, which information is expected ? and also “Calculation for linked type of enterprise” could you please confirm the expected information ? Many thanks in advance!

Thank you for your interest in the ECO-READY Open Call. 

With regards to your questions please find our answers below: 

Regarding the linked enterprises, if holdings with other enterprises exceed the 50% threshold, these enterprises are considered linked enterprises. Box B(1) is to be filled in by an enterprise that draws up consolidated accounts or is included by consolidation in the consolidated accounts of another enterprise. Therefore, the numbers required here are the ones from the consolidated accounts. The table ‘’Identification of the enterprises included through consolidation’’ is to be filled for the companies that are linked to the applicant company. In your case and if the applicant is considered a linked company based on the above, both entities B and C should be mentioned. 

Should you need further clarifications, don't hesitate to contact us.

The ECO-READY Open Call team

5) Dear Team, Could you please confirm how we should proceed with the following matter: 1 of the LL’s partners is a company (the applicant enterprise (A) as per the terms of the guide) that belongs to a bigger company (B) which also belongs to a bigger group (C). We believe it falls under the “linked enterprise” category of the Annex 3 as per the holdings distribution? We are then required to complete the information of “Box B 1” but do not understand if the information to be provided is for entity A, B or C ? we have the same interrogation for the “Identification of their enterprises included through consolidation” table, which information is expected ? and also “Calculation for linked type of enterprise” could you please confirm the expected information ? Many thanks in advance!

No answer provided yet.

6) We are interested in submitting a proposal for the Living Labs open call, but have a question regarding the consortium composition. The target areas for the call are defined in terms of the Bioclimatic areas (e.g., North-Western Europe), which cover several countries. Our idea was to form a consortium with multiple countries from the same Bioclimatic region, in order to achieve a better coverage of the needs within this region. In section 3.5.2 of the GfA, it is written “the aim is within each bioclimatic cluster to have LLs representing distinct countries,” which also apparently influences the ranking and selection of the proposals. However, I could not find anywhere else in the GfA any information regarding the composition of the consortium in terms of countries. Could you please clarify if consortium partners must all come from the same country, or if multiple countries (within the same bioclimatic areas) are allowed? If multiple countries are indeed allowed, could you clarify how this affects the ranking procedure, and to which “country” the consortium is allocated? Would this be based on the country of the coordinator?

The Living Labs must work on a national level in order to be able to correspond to the specific award criteria that are set in the ECO_READY_Open_Call_Applicants_Guide and especially under paragraph 3.5.2 Remote Evaluation. 

However, in case knowledge exchange is needed or one partner carries specific expertise that will favour the implementation of the sub-project, the origin of the partners in the consortium can differ (partners can be legally established in different - eligible - countries) provided that all sub-project activities will be performed in one distinct country that should be clearly indicated in the proposal.

7) By reading the guideline of the Open Call, I do see that annexes are mandatory to be filled in by all living lab partners, but we are wondering how public organization or research organization can fulfill the Declaration of Conducting Business as it seems to be adressed for private companies?

According to the Guide for Applicants, the Declaration of conducting business, declares that the applicants are SMEs according to EC standards. In case of Research Institutes (RI), a confirmation from a responsible authority/registry (e.g., Commercial court or similar) should be submitted. Public organisations do not need to submit the respective document.  

8) We are wondering if is possible to present the bank account information signed by our Economic Representative but without the stamp, we will add the official bank statement document that we use to submit to European proposals.

According to the Guide for Applicants and paragraph 3. Proposal Submission and Selection, Annex 4- Bank account information is submitted by the selected LLs during the contracting phase. The respective document is not submitted during the submission of application. 

9) After carefully reviewing the geographical distribution, we have noticed that Serbia falls within the Mediterranean and South-West cluster. However, upon further consideration of the products and scenarios we intend to test, specifically from the product type specific sub-group B, we believe they align more closely with the Central and Eastern Europe cluster. We would like to inquire if it is possible to apply to an alternative regional cluster instead, or if the clustering is rigid and not open to flexibility.

The products of regional importance have been selected based on the priorities of the bioclimatic zones as described in the Open Call, while the division of EU countries in the four bioclimatic zones has been made according to the EU definition. In your case, although your organisation is located in Serbia (Mediterranean and South-West region), you can focus on another region (Central and Eastern Europe region) provided that the following conditions are met: 

• The consortium includes partner/s that are located and active in the Central and Eastern Europe region. 
• The lead partner of the consortium is located and operates in the Central and Eastern Europe region. 
• Thorough justification is provided ensuring that the selected products of regional importance will be also investigated in the facilities of the partner/s located in the Central and Eastern Europe region. 

10) We’re considering participating in your open call. We have a few questions: Page 9 of the Applicants’ guide reads: “The Living Labs will (…) test the scenarios relevant to climate-related challenges, such as: exposure to climate shocks, management of water and land resources etc. (…)”. Could you please elaborate on your expectations concerning the scenarios testing? What types of activities are anticipated? Do they include physical experimentation, e.g. field trials, lab-scale tests, etc.? On page 8 of the proposal template, in CEE region, red clover, sugar beets and rapeseed are mentioned. On page 13 of the applicants’ guide, in CEE region, red clover, sugar beets and sunflower are mentioned. Could you please let us know which version is binding? Section 4.3 of the Sub-grant Agreement template reads: “All payments to the LLs will be related to the acceptance of certain deliverables spread over the three phases, which will be evaluated by the MC”. How much time will the evaluation of deliverables take?

With regards to your questions, please find the respective answers below: 

Regarding your first question, it is expected from LLs to describe potential scenarios to address the climate change impact on food security and biodiversity at regional level, as this is reflected on the five products that will be selected. These scenarios can be in the form of climate adaptation/mitigation measures and solutions and may include field and/or lab experiments and testing. After being selected, the LL will be expected to provide a detailed action plan within the first six months. The scenarios (adaptation and mitigation solutions) will be finalised through the co-creation process in collaboration with the relevant partners from our project; these partners will also provide training on a portfolio of tools to all LLs, in order to model, collect data, and monitor the scenarios. These tools will include the Magnet model, LCA and social LCA, e-DNA, and GIS systems.

Regarding your second question and the products of regional products specifically for the CEE region, the Applicants Guide is the predominant document. The proposal template will be revised accordingly. 

Finally regarding your third question, the deliverables will be evaluated within one month from the date of submission. However, if the evaluation foresees any need for changes/ additions to the deliverables, the time of the final acceptance of the deliverables will depend on the reaction of the selected Living Lab to correspond and adjust the deliverable accordingly. 

11) a) in terms of universities, how does this clause apply? Partners cannot participate in more than one consortium applying for the call by means of exclusion. If an applicant participates in more than one proposal, then all proposals will be considered as ineligible. Is this in terms of the specific professor not being part of another project team? or department or school? b) is it possible to include a 6th partner not altering the financial allowances for each member? c) regarding the (optional) 6th product type to be included in the model-based scenarios of a certain LL, do we need to justify the inclusion of 6th and not the opposite (why we did not include a 6th crop), correct?

With regards to your questions, please find the respective answers below: 

1. According to paragraph 3.2.1 Overall eligibility criteria of the Applicant’s Guide, each partner participating in the consortium needs to have a valid VAT number. Departments don't have a separate VAT number. The applicant in this case will be the University. The eligibility check is made on a partner level. 
2. According to paragraph 3.2.1 Overall eligibility criteria of the Applicant’s Guide, LL’s must establish a consortium of at least 2 and maximum 5 partners as described in the Consortium Declaration.
3. According to paragraph 2.2.3 of the Applicant’s Guide, the choice of a 6th product is optional, however if an applicant decides to opt for a 6th product, a justification of this choice should be clearly demonstrated in the proposal. In case, you decide not to include a 6th product, no justification is required. 

12) Guidelines state that Declaration of Conducting Business need to be filled in and signed by all LL partners. This document declares that the applicants are SMEs according to EC standards. In case of Research Institutes (RI), a confirmation from a responsible authority/registry (e.g., Commercial court or similar) should be submitted. In this regard, which type of document is expected to be submitted or is considered as a “confirmation” for a RI? Can you provide some examples or a more detailed definition? Thank you Also in this line, are communities of users, such as farmers’ cooperatives, expected to submit a “confirmation document”? If so, which kind of document should be submitted? Regarding the transfer of funds, as we understand, the corresponding payments will be made after the submission of each phase deliverable directly to each partner. Can you confirm this, and the reimbursement rate applied?

With regards to your questions, please find the respective answers below:

According to the Guide for Applicants, the Declaration of conducting business, declares that the applicants are SMEs according to EC standards. In case of Research Institutes (RI), a confirmation from a responsible authority/registry (e.g., Commercial court or similar) should be submitted. Any official document from the respective registration authority is acceptable. However, we can not be more specific as differences may apply between countries as well as with regards to the legal type of the applicant (public or private). Concerning communities of users, any official document as a proof of their legal existence at the moment of application is acceptable. 

With regards to payments, according to the Guide for Applicants and paragraph 3 Proposal Submission and Selection, all partners in the selected LLs will need to submit bank account information, as payments will be done separately to each partner directly from the ECO-READY consortium coordinator/treasurer. The funding distribution is described In paragraph 4.1 Implementation timeline and activities. Specifically, the payment timeline is as follows:1), a payment of the 30% of the funding will be made after the submission and approval of the first deliverable ‘’Activity Plan’’ on month 6; 2) a payment of 40% of the funding will be made after the submission and approval of the second deliverable ‘’Demonstration results/ outcomes’’ on month 17 and 3) a payment of 30% of the funding will be made after the submission and approval of the third deliverable ‘’Final report with Sustainability plan’’ on month 24. Please have in mind that there is no pre financing.

13) What is the funding rate of the LL? Is the same for all partners involved in the LL? Could I have a LL span over 4 countries? Do you provide help for the filing of the declaration of conducting business?

Thank you for your interest in the ECO-READY Open Call. Please find our answers to your questions below: 

1. The funding distribution is described in the Applicants Guide, paragraph 4.1 Implementation timeline and activities. Specifically, the payment timeline is as follows:1), a payment of the 30% of the funding will be made after the submission and approval of the first deliverable ‘’Activity Plan’’ on month 6; 2) a payment of 40% of the funding will be made after the submission and approval of the second deliverable ‘’Demonstration results/ outcomes’’ on month 17 and 3) a payment of 30% of the funding will be made after the submission and approval of the third deliverable ‘’Final report with Sustainability plan’’ on month 24. Please have in mind that there is no pre financing.
2. The allocation of funding is directly linked to the 3 phases and deliverables as described above. The allocation of budget is described by the partners in their application. In section 4.2 Budget and cost justification, the proposed budget per partner of the consortium needs to be split in the respective categories of expenses. 
3. An LL can include partners from 4 different countries. However, each applying Living Lab will have to focus on only one of the four bio-climatic regions as presented in paragraph 2.2.2 Geographical distribution of the LLs network of the Applicants Guide. Furthermore, if there is one or more partners in your consortium that is located outside the bio-climatic zone that you target, please be aware that your application fulfils the following: 

• The consortium includes partner/s that are located and active in the selected bio-climatic zone. 
• The lead partner of the consortium is located and operates in the selected bio-climatic zone. 
• Thorough justification is provided ensuring that the selected products of regional importance will be also investigated in the facilities of the partner/s located in the in the selected bio-climatic zone. 

1. If you have any specific questions about the declaration of conducting business, please send us an email specifying your questions.  

14) We understood that each Living Lab will co-create 5 model-based scenarios. Are these 5 scenarios necessarily linked to the 5 products selected (i.e., one per product)? Do we need to create cross-product scenarios? What kind of models (i.e., business, social, environmental models, biophysical etc.) will be the base for the five scenarios? Do the models need to be similar for the different products selected? Will the models be provided by the ECO-READY project, to be tested in the Living Lab or should be developed by the Living Lab partners? What can be an example of a model-based scenario? What kind of data is the Living Lab expected to collect? Do you expect quantitative data coming from experimental trials or qualitative/quantitative data obtained by survey to the Living lab participants?

Thank you for your interest in the ECO-READY Open Call. Please find our answers to your questions below: 

1. According το the Applicants Guide and paragraph 2.2.3 Product Selection by each LL, each LL is requested to investigate at least 5 product types and each LL needs to choose at least 3 product types from group A (products of importance for all zones and clusters), and at least 2 product types from the specific sub-group B (products of regional importance) which corresponds to each regional cluster. It is expected to investigate the impact of climate change on food security and biodiversity, through scenarios linked to the 5 products selected according to the criteria given in the call. Cross-product scenarios are not pre-requisite by the call. However, if you plan to investigate the possible interactions between the selected products within the same scenario, this can be described in the proposal.  
2. You can propose various models that can be utilised in the scenarios you decide to develop. That depends on the nature of the scenario. In addition, the ECO-READY partners will provide the selected LLs with training on specific models and tools, such as MAGNET, LCA, social LCA, and e-DNA.
3. The models will be finalised following the co-creation concept approach, during the first stages of the LLs work.
4. We expect applicants to develop their scenarios, based on the instructions given in the Open Call kit and the Applicants Guide, the information about the project given in the ECO-READY website, and the relevant literature on the impact of climate change on food security.
5. We expect both types of data.

15) According to the eligibility criteria the call for LLs is open to all legal applicants eligible for HORIZON EUROPE funding. In the applicants guide it is clear that the call aims to attract public sector ministries and agencies and that all applicants must submit i) Consortium Declaration, ii) Declaration of Honour and iii) Declaration of Conducting Business. Will a ministry or a non profit public agency (network of municipalities and regions) fill the Declaration of Conducting Business as an autonomous enterprise?

According to the Guide for Applicants, the Declaration of conducting business, declares that the applicants are SMEs according to EC standards. In case of Research Institutes (RI), a confirmation from a responsible authority/registry (e.g., Commercial court or similar) should be submitted. Public organisations do not need to submit the respective document.  

For the case of an NGO, any official document from the respective registration authority or any official document as a proof of their legal existence at the moment of application is acceptable. 

16) In the proposal template document, introductory text on page 3 you state: The total length of the entire proposal, including the tables on Costs justification and funding (paragraph 6), must not be more than 25 pages. Are you referring to the section/paragraph 4 of the document and not the 6th, correct? Also, can we delete the ToC, page 2?

As explained in the proposal template, the total length of the entire proposal, including the tables on Costs justification and funding (this is indeed paragraph 4), must not be more than 25 pages. Removing explanatory text in the proposal template, located below the paragraph sub-titles is allowed. External evaluators are instructed to dismiss the pages after the 25th page from the evaluation. ToC should remain facilitating the evaluators in their work. 

17) We are applying to the ECO-READY call and wanted to make sure we are providing the correct administrative data for our consortium: - Cluster (community of users) +Signed page of the consortium declaration (Annex 1) +Signed Declaration of Honour (Annex 2) - Scientific institute +Signed page of the consortium declaration (Annex 1) +Signed Declaration of Honour (Annex 2) -farmers representative (community of users) +Signed page of the consortium declaration (Annex 1) +Signed Declaration of Honour (Annex 2) -technical institute +Signed page of the consortium declaration (Annex 1) +Signed Declaration of Honour (Annex 2) -linked enterprise +Signed page of the consortium declaration (Annex 1) +Signed Declaration of Honour (Annex 2) +Declaration of Conducting Business (Annex 3) including Annex B (table B1) Should there be more documents? On the application portal, it is said that Annex 3 should be signed but there is no requirement on the annex itself (as opposed to the other Annexes) should this be also signed?

With regards to your question please find our answer below: 

According to the Applicants Guide and specifically paragraph 3. Proposal Submission and Selection, At the time of application, all applicants must submit the following: Annex 1- Consortium Declaration, Annex 2- Declaration of Honour and Annex 3- Declaration of Conducting Business. Certain documents such as the Consortium Declaration, the Declaration of Honour and the Declaration of Conducting Business need to be filled in and signed by all LL partners, but will be uploaded during the proposal submission as one single pdf file. Declaration of conducting business, declares that the applicants are SMEs according to EC standards. In case of Research Institutes (RI), a confirmation from a responsible authority/registry (e.g., Commercial court or similar) should be submitted. Public organisations do not need to submit the respective document. For the case of NGOs, clusters or any other private entities, any official document from the respective registration authority or any official document as a proof of their legal existence at the moment of application is acceptable. Declaration of Conducting Business (Annex 3) requires the signature of the person being authorised to represent the enterprise. Please pay attention to the paragraph 3.4.2 Application preparation of the Applicants Guide. 

18) We are working in preparing one (or more) proposals and have various doubts, could you please help us? In slide 4 it says to focus on 1 out of the 4 specific EU bio-climatic zones so we thought to build consortia with members from the same zone, but then in slide 8 you have the example with LLs in Greece and Italy but also from Sweden so covering 2 zones. We saw that the deadline has been extended to end of September, right? Should the living labs be directly connected to the production of the products or they can be from another domain but linked to the ones producing them?

With regards to your questions please find our answers below: 

• Slide 8 of the presentation presents 3 different examples of 3 distinct LLs (one in Greece, one in Italy and one in Sweden). Each applying LL should focus on one bio-climatic zone as stated in slide 4. 
• The submission of applications for the Open Call is being extended until September 30th, 2023 (17:00 CET).
• The Living Labs will investigate product types (food products & crops) and create model-based scenarios based on the selection of products described in paragraph 2.2.3 Product Selection by each LL of the Applicants Guide. Additionally, the proposals that satisfy the eligibility criteria, will be evaluated based on a set of award criteria. In particular, partners in the LLs should be specialized in one or more of the following themes: food security, biodiversity, climate change and demonstrate excellence in the above themes. Demonstration of impact on the ECO-READY ecosystem is also among the award criteria. Applicants must also provide credible evidence that the project delivery team has the necessary skills such as proven experience with stakeholder participatory approach for food security, biodiversity and climate foresight scenarios, demonstrated openness to implementing food production or farm economics in the context of experimentation and paradigm shifting approaches. Please read carefully the full award criteria list as set in paragraph 3.5.2 Remote Evaluation of the Applicants Guide. 

19) WORKSHOPS: The 5 workshops we should attend, are during the development phase of the LL or through the whole duration of the project (2 years)? Should the living labs organise these workshops? SCENARIOS: Who is going to build the scenarios? Are the 5 indicative model-based scenarios provided by the partners of the LL (e.g. one per product) or by the ECO-READY project? Should we choose among 50 scenarios proposed by the ECO READY project the 5 to be tested in the LL? If we pick a 6th product, will we have 6 model-scenarios to pick from? MODELS: Who is going to build the models? Are they based on the products we choose in the LLs? CONTINGENCY PLAN/POLICY RECOMMENDATION: Who is going to build policy recommendations /contingency plans? Do LL contribute to it or will LL only test what is provided by the ECO-READY partners? RESILIENCE STRATEGIES Do the LL contribute to the resilience strategies? FUNDING: What is the percentage of funding? Is it a 100% of the eligible costs? Do all partners (universities, SMEs) receive the same percentage of the eligible costs? IT TOOLS: Will the LL use the IT tools provided by ECO READY?

WORKSHOPS:

As mentioned in the Applicants Guide, throughout the course of the project, participants will participate in a total of 5 workshops to solidify connections, exchange knowledge, and showcase the exploitation pathways associated with the observatory. These workshops will be organised by the ECO-READY partners. Apart from that, a minimum 7% of the LLs’ funding will be allocated to the deployment of activities such as organization of info days, workshops and informal events to promote the ECO READY results.

SCENARIOS:

Each LL needs to define 5 products from the 8 total product categories (3 out of 5 Europe wide and 2 out of 3 regions specific). For each product, the LL applicant needs to justify why this is important for regional food security, and how climate change affects this product, always in relation to the parameters that affect food security. The applicant needs to describe scenarios in the form of climate adaptation/mitigation solutions that they are planning to investigate, at least one for each of the 5 selected products, that makes 5 scenarios in total, corresponding to 5 selected products. The applicant also needs to describe in a comprehensive manner the approach they plan to follow, including tools that may apply. Please keep in mind that the awarded LLs will receive support from the partner experts on scenario modelling tools, such as eDNA, LCA, etc. 

Since each selected LL will describe 5 scenarios on their 5 products selected respectively, the total network of 10 LLs will produce in the end 50 scenarios demonstrating how we can mitigate/adapt on the impact of climate change on the food security and biodiversity, in the context of the various products that will be selected by the LLs.

MODELS: 

The Living Labs will Investigate product types (food products & crops) and create model-based scenarios based on the selected products. 

The ECO-READY experts will provide support on specific tools that are useful for the quantification and modelling of the scenarios that will be developed by the LLs, such as LCA, e-DNA, etc. However, we expect the LL applicant to propose a specific approach on quantifying and modelling the scenarios (mitigation/adaptation) that will be included in their application. Once the applicant is selected, the scenarios and their modelling will be finalised through the co-creation process, in collaboration with the ECO-READY partners.

CONTINGENCY PLANS/ POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS:

The Living Labs will contribute to the development of contingency plans for selected food products for ensuring food supply & security. The Living Labs will also provide input to data-driven policy recommendations.

RESILIENCE STRATEGIES:

The Living Labs will contribute to the co-creation of resilient strategies. 

FUNDING: 

The funding rate of the eligible costs is 100% and concerns all consortium partners. ECO-READY projects follow the guidelines of the European Commission in terms of cost eligibility for financing within its open call. 

IT TOOLS:

The network of Living Labs will be connected to the ECO-READY Observatory by facilitating data collection and engaging a broad range of stakeholders in the domains of food insecurity and climate change.

20) 1. Could a LL be thematic, e.g., focused on organic products or regenerative agriculture (and of course, investigate the required 3+2 products)? 2. Could you please be more specific with regards to the type of data, particularly quantitative data, you ask the living labs to gather? 3. The Applicants’ Guide (Implementation section) mentions environmental and social LCA. What data would you need data for this purpose? Findings to support the definition of boundaries, quantitative data related to agricultural production, or? 4. On the Eco-ready website, it is mentioned that LLs should investigate products and crops and, create model-based scenarios?Please, any information about what kind of data you would need from a LL would be most appreciated. 5. The LL should support the Observatory during the project and afterwards.I presume this particularly refers to gathering (real-time) data for the Observatory? 6. Will your project develop an infrastructure for data gathering, so LL participants in the future will type their data into your system/Observatory? Or, are the LLs more required to organize a network of stakeholders who could provide the necessary data in the future? 7. LLs should contribute to the development of quantified models (scenarios). Are you asking the LL to develop this model? Or, is the model/scenario developed by an Eco-Ready partner based on findings from the LL? 8. The 3 plus 2 workshops you mention (Applicants Guide, section 4.1) for a LL, that refers to participation by 1-2 living lab stakeholders joining meetings organized by Eco-Ready? This should be included in the budget for a LL?

1. A LL can be focused on organic or regenerative agriculture, as long as it addresses the expectations of the call (impact of climate change on food security for regional production). The product selection must be made according to paragraph 2.2.3 of the Applicants Guide.
2. ECO-READY expects both quantitative data coming from experimental trials and qualitative/quantitative data obtained by surveys that will be organised and conducted by the Living lab stakeholders.
3. ECO-READY partners will provide training on a portfolio of tools to all LLs, in order to model, collect data, and monitor the scenarios. These tools will include the Magnet model, LCA and social LCA, e-DNA, and GIS systems.
4. Each LL needs to define 5 products from the 8 total product categories (3 out of 5 Europe wide and 2 out of 3 regions specific). For each product, the LL applicant needs to justify why this is important for regional food security, and how climate change affects this product, always in relation to the parameters that affect food security. The applicant needs to describe scenarios in the form of climate adaptation/mitigation solutions that they are planning to investigate, at least one for each of the 5 selected products, that makes 5 scenarios in total, corresponding to 5 selected products. The applicant also needs to describe in a comprehensive manner the approach they plan to follow, including tools that may apply. As mentioned above, the awarded LLs will receive support from the partner experts on scenario modelling tools, such as eDNA, LCA, etc. Since each selected LL will describe 5 scenarios on their 5 products selected respectively, the total network of 10 LLs will produce in the end 50 scenarios demonstrating how we can mitigate/adapt on the impact of climate change on the food security and biodiversity, in the context of the various products that will be selected by the LLs.
5. The Living Labs will be connected to the ECO-READY Observatory by facilitating data collection and engaging a broad range of stakeholders in the domains of food insecurity and climate change. 
6. Answer above. 
7. The Living Labs will Investigate product types (food products & crops) and create model-based scenarios based on the selected products. The ECO-READY experts will provide support on specific tools that are useful for the quantification and modelling of the scenarios that will be developed by the LLs. However, we expect the LL applicant to propose a specific approach on quantifying and modelling the scenarios (mitigation/adaptation) that will be included in their application. Once the applicant is selected, the scenarios and their modelling will be finalised through the co-creation process, in collaboration with the ECO-READY partners.
8. As mentioned in the Applicants Guide, throughout the course of the project, participants will participate in a total of 5 workshops to solidify connections, exchange knowledge, and showcase the exploitation pathways associated with the observatory. These workshops will be organised by the ECO-READY partners. Apart from that, a minimum 7% of the LLs’ funding will be allocated to the deployment of activities such as organization of info days, workshops and informal events to promote the ECO READY results.

21) The question is that do we provide one Living Lab application for each product or do we prepare 2 separate application for each product

According to the Applicants Guide and specifically paragraph 2.2.3 Product Selection by each LL, each LL will have to choose at least 3 product types from group A (products of importance for all zones and clusters), and at least 2 product types from the specific sub-group B (products of regional importance) which corresponds to each regional cluster. The above product selection must be presented in one application. Each partner can participate in only one consortium by submitting only one application. If an applicant participates in more than one proposal, then all proposals will be considered as ineligible (see 3.2.1 Overall eligibility criteria).

22) Regarding the payment procedure, should we submit invoices for the expenses, or will the funding be made after the submission and approval of the deliverables, as mentioned earlier?

Thank you for your interest in the ECO-READY Open Call. Please find our answers to your questions below: 

The payment timeline is as follows:1), a payment of the 30% of the funding will be made after the submission and approval of the first deliverable ‘’Activity Plan’’ on month 6; 2) a payment of 40% of the funding will be made after the submission and approval of the second deliverable ‘’Demonstration results/ outcomes’’ on month 17 and 3) a payment of 30% of the funding will be made after the submission and approval of the third deliverable ‘’Final report with Sustainability plan’’ on month 24. Please have in mind that there is no pre financing.

23) We are a public research institute and i would like to ask if we have to submit the Declaration of conducting business

Thank you for your interest in the ECO-READY Open Call. Please find our answers to your questions below: 

According to the Guide for Applicants, the Declaration of conducting business, declares that the applicants are SMEs according to EC standards. Public organisations do not need to submit the respective document.

24) Do we need to implement a website of the LL for communication or the web page will be available under the eco-ready project webpage?

There is no requirement for the LLs to develop a website according to the ECO-READY Open Call. However, applicants may decide to do so, if it is required by their approach. 

25) We understand that ECO-READY will provide a framework with tools, models and schemes for us to generate results and report outcomes, as the mission of the ECO-READY project is to harmonize all 10 living labs. Is that correct? We are also curious if we can innovate while tailoring the ECO-READY framework to our own methods, processes, and approaches or whether we just must apply the ECO-Ready schemes. Regarding the selected crops, shall we select a single product per section, or can we tackle different products on a cultivation system such as perennial trees? We believe is more powerful the second.

1. Selected LLs will implement the activities as outlined in paragraph 2. ECO-READY Open Call - Establishing a Living Lab Network of the Applicants Guide in cooperation with the ECO-READY consortium. Harmonisation of the LLs will be made by the ECO-READY consortium facilitating horizontal and vertical comparative studies. 
2. Selected LLs will have to follow the methodology as outlined in the Applicant's Guide. There is no requirement for the LLs to apply any other innovative practices according to the ECO-READY Open Call. However, applicants may decide to do so, if it is required by their approach. Any approach will have to be described in the application form and will be subject to evaluation by ECO-READY OC external evaluators.  
3. Products’ selection will have to be made according to paragraph 2.2.3 Product Selection by each LL. 

26) All partners of the LL should participate in the workshop or only the coordinator of each LL will participate? How much is the money we have to set aside to participate in these workshops?

The selected LLs will have to participate in the ECO-READY workshops with representatives of the consortium's partners.

The applicants should define in their proposal an estimated amount to be allocated for travel costs necessary for the execution of the sub-project including their participation in workshops. 

27) We have several LoIs and Letters of Support from partner organisations in our region regarding our project, what would be the best way to include them in our application? On the submission platform, there is no space to submit additional documentation. Will it be possible to include them as an annex beyond the 25 pages of the proposal? Regarding the documents to be filled in (consortium declaration, DoH etc.), is a digital signature sufficient?

According to the ECO-READY Open Call, there is no requirement for letters of support. However, you can name their existence in your proposal. 

An official digital signature by the legal representative of the consortium partners can be included. 

28) Is it allowed to remove rows concerning regions other than the focus region of the given Living Lab in section 2.1 of the proposal, 2nd table (concerning second group of product categories)? Is it allowed to use font size smaller than 11 in texts included in footnotes and tables, e.g., Gantt chart? Is it allowed to remove footnotes with instructions on budget categories in section 4.2? Does an electronic extract from the online database of the National Official Business Register, containing name and VAT number of the given partner, constitute an acceptable confirmation of institution’s registration? Is it allowed to submit this document in an official language of the EU or do we need to attach an additional translation into English?

Thank you for your interest in applying for the ECO-READY Open Call. Please find our answer to your question below:

1. You can remove the rows concerning regions other than the one that you focus in your application. 
2. Font size is 11 points for all included texts/ charts in the application. 
3. You can remove the footnotes with the instructions on budget categories in section 4.2. 
4. In case the applicant is not an SME, any official document as a proof of its legal existence should be submitted. Any official document from the respective registration authority or any official document as a proof of the legal existence at the moment of application is acceptable. 
5. English is the official language for ECO-READY Open Call and applications submitted in any other language will not be evaluated. However, in case of official documents as a proof of the legal existence of the applicant, they can be submitted in its original language.  

29) Can a public university participate in this call as "Lead Partner" (University Legal entity as project coordinator)?

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for your interest in the ECO-READY OC.

With regards to your question, there is no restriction on the legal identity of the partner acting as the consortium leader.

30) The Applicants Guide reports that "the Consortium Declaration (Annex I), the "Declaration of Honour" (Annex 2), the "Declaration of Conducting Business" need to be filled in and signed by all LL partners. However: - "Declaration of Honour": this document reports only "Applying business entity Legal Representative signature". Does this document have also to be signed by the other LL partners? - "Declaration of conducting business" - each partner Declaration also be signed by the other LL partners or each partner signs its own Declaration?

According to paragraph 3. Proposal Submission and Selection of the Applicants Guide, all documents that are listed need to be filled in and signed by all LL partners of the consortium, but will be uploaded during the proposal submission as one single pdf file. Declaration of Honour and Declaration of Conducting Business are filled in, signed and stamped by each of the consortium partners separately.

31) Is suitable for the signature of submission documents the utilization of Pades or Cades e-signature?

PadES and CadES are acceptable e-signature formats for the ECO-READY OC. 

32) There will be a place in the web platform of ECO-READY to host information, events, fact sheet and other materials, for each LL that we can manage or we need to set-up a AKIS web platform ourselves?

There is no requirement from the ECO-READY OC to set up any platform. The Living Labs will be connected to the ECO-READY Observatory by facilitating data collection and engaging a broad range of stakeholders in the domains of food insecurity and climate change.

33) 1. Are the indirect costs calculated as flat rate (up to 25% of the direct costs) or on a real cost basis? 2. What will be the financial monitoring mechanism of the action? 3. Will the consortium be required to provide full financial justification (timesheets, invoices for other goods/services, etc)? 4. Is the financial contribution to be granted to each partner going to be as a lump sum or on a real cost basis?

The indirect costs are calculated as flat rate (up to 25% of the direct costs).

With regards to your questions 2,3 and 4, each selected applicant under the OC will receive funding on a lump sum basis, in compliance with the EC’s Guidelines about lump sum grants in Horizon Europe. A prudent pay-as-you-go grant delivery system has been selected as the optimal method, with a payments calendar tied to milestones and deliverables as described in the Applicants Guide. No financial justification is required by the project, however the Subgrantee shall keep the originals or, in exceptional cases, duly authenticated copies – including electronic copies – of all documents relating to the Contract until 2031. These shall be made available to the EC when requested during any audit under the Grant Agreement. For further details, please refer to the Article 10 – Financial audit and controls of the ECO_READY_Open_Call_Model_Sub_Agreement.

34) Dear Team How can I attach the Bank Account Information file during the submission process?

Dear applicant,

Thank you for your interest in the ECO-READY OC.

With regards to the Bank Account information document, this is submitted during the contracting phase. It is not requested during the submission of applications phase.

Should you need further clarification, please let us know.

The ECO-READY OC team

35) By reading the guideline of the Open Call, I do see that annexes are mandatory to be filled in by all living lab partners, but what must be done in the case that one of the partners is a public organization?

Dear applicant,

Thank you for your interest in the ECO-READY OC.

According to the Applicants Guide and paragraph 3. Proposal Submission and Selection, tt the time of application, all applicants must submit the following:

Annex 1- Consortium Declaration,

Annex 2- Declaration of Honour,

Annex 3- Declaration of Conducting Business.

With regards to the Declaration of Conducting Business, in case of Research Institutes (RI), a confirmation from a responsible authority/registry (e.g., Commercial court or similar) should be submitted. Public organisations do not need to submit the respective document.

Should you need further clarification, please let us know.

The ECO-READY OC team

36) What admin papers (Annexes) an NGO needs to submit?

According to the Applicants Guide and paragraph 3. Proposal Submission and Selection, tt the time of application, all applicants must submit the following:

Annex 1- Consortium Declaration,

Annex 2- Declaration of Honour,

Annex 3- Declaration of Conducting Business.

With regards to the Declaration of Conducting Business, for NGOs any official document as a proof of their legal existence at the moment of application is acceptable.

37) What admin papers (Annexes) an NGO needs to submit?

No answer provided yet.

38) Considering your Open Call about Living Labs network our team wants to clarify information from ECO_READY_Open_Call_Model_Sub_Agreement.pdf. Do we understand correctly that this Call does not have the prefinancing option, and the first payment is scheduled only after acceptance of the deliverable “Activity plan” which means after completion of Phase 1?

According to the ECO_READY_Open_Call_Applicants_Guide and specifically chapter 4.1 “Implementation timeline and activities”, the implementation of sub-projects performed by the selected Living Labs will last for 24 months and will be divided into 3 phases. The funding of the sub-projects will follow the submission of the respective deliverables as presented in Figure 7 “Implementation and activities”.

In this respect the payment timeline is as follows:1), a payment of the 30% of the funding will be made after the submission and approval of the first deliverable ‘’Activity Plan’’ on month 6; 2) a payment of 40% of the funding will be made after the submission and approval of the second deliverable ‘’Demonstration results/ outcomes’’ on month 17 and 3) a payment of 30% of the funding will be made after the submission and approval of the third deliverable ‘’Final report with Sustainability plan’’ on month 24. Please have in mind that there is no pre financing.

39) Primary data would come from some new demonstrations occurring within the life of the project (which is not big thus the results may not be complete) while secondary data would come from adaptation actions and results brought in as in-kind contributions from other projects/ resources that the LL has access to. Can you confirm that both methods are eligible and valid to follow? Is there a preferred ratio for balancing this work?

ECO-READY expects both quantitative data coming from experimental trials and qualitative/quantitative data obtained by surveys that will be organised and conducted by the Living lab stakeholders.

40) How can I attach the Bank Account Information file during the submission process?

With regards to the Bank Account information document, this is submitted during the contracting phase. It is not requested during the submission of applications phase.

41) By reading the guideline of the Open Call, I do see that annexes are mandatory to be filled in by all living lab partners, but what must be done in the case that one of the partners is a public organization?

According to the Applicants Guide and paragraph 3. Proposal Submission and Selection, during the time of application, all applicants must submit the following:

Annex 1- Consortium Declaration,

Annex 2- Declaration of Honour,

Annex 3- Declaration of Conducting Business.

With regards to the Declaration of Conducting Business, in case of Research Institutes (RI), a confirmation from a responsible authority/registry (e.g., Commercial court or similar) should be submitted. Public organisations do not need to submit the respective document.

42) I would like to ask if the maximum length of 25 pages for the proposal that is marked in the conditions is including the cover page and index?

As indicated in the Application template, the total length of the entire proposal, including the tables on Costs justification and funding (paragraph 6), must not be more than 25 pages. Removing explanatory text in the proposal template, located below the paragraph sub-titles is allowed. Cover page and Index are included within the 25 pages.

43) Please confirm: there is no own financial contribution to this project?

Each selected applicant under the OC will receive funding on a lump sum basis, in compliance with the EC’s Guidelines about lump sum grants in Horizon Europe. A prudent pay-as-you-go grant delivery system has been selected as the optimal method, with a payments calendar tied to milestones and deliverables as described in the Applicants Guide. No financial contribution is asked by the selected LLs.

44) 1. Declaration of Honour - should it be prepared separately by all partners involved in the Living Lab project? Do you have a preferred form of how it should be signed? Can it be signed by physical signature and then scanned and attached to the proposal or does it have to be just one, electronically signed document by all partners? ( I have to say the second option not possible for us at this late stage) 2. None of the partners is an SME. The leader is a University, the other partners are an NGO and a community group. Do I understand correctly that none of the partners has to attach the Declaration of Conducting Business?

Certain documents such as the Consortium Declaration, the Declaration of Honour and the Declaration of Conducting Business need to be filled in and signed by all LL partners, but will be uploaded during the proposal submission as one single pdf file. For the Declaration of Honour, for example, it can be signed by all partners either electronically or physically and scanned and merged with the other documents. 

According to the Guide for Applicants, the Declaration of conducting business, declares that the applicants are SMEs according to EC standards. In case of Research Institutes (RI), a confirmation from a responsible authority/registry (e.g., Commercial court or similar) should be submitted. Public organisations do not need to submit the respective document.  

For the case of an NGO or other private entity, any official document from the respective registration authority or any official document as a proof of their legal existence at the moment of application is acceptable.