The stakes for water stress and scarcity are high. We have seen from this summer’s dry period in Europe that water scarcity not only affects the southern Mediterranean but also the north of Europe known for its water abundance. The Rhine and Danube experienced unprecedented low water levels hampering ship navigation, water supply for domestic, agricultural and even industrial uses. It is more pressing than ever for organisations to adopt better water saving techniques as agriculture, livelihood and industry become vulnerable due to persistent summer droughts.
Water4All call
Co-funded by Horizon Europe, the Joint Transnational Call “Management of water resources: resilience, adaptation and mitigation to hydroclimatic extreme events and management tools” was launched on September 1st 2022 by the Water4All partnership. This partnership gathers 78 partners from 31 countries in Europe and beyond. The call aims to support research, development and innovation projects focussing on solutions for hydroclimatic extreme events. Those projects should contribute methodologies, tools, models, knowledge and other approaches to understand and respond to emerging water management issues, and to improve water security.
Available budget
The participating Funding Partner Organisations (FPOs) have a total budget envelope of ca. € 34 million to invest. Companies and institutions performing research, development and innovation activities complying with the funding rules and legal framework of their respective FPOs can apply for funding.
For Belgium, there are three participating FPOs, each with a preliminary allocated budget. An overview is presented in the table below.
Key topics of the call
Proposals should address at least one of the following topics:
- Resilience, adaptation and mitigation to hydroclimatic extreme events
Knowledge contributing to the understanding of hydroclimatic extreme events, developing innovative adaptation and mitigation approaches to cope with such events, or improving the resilience of water infrastructure.
- Tools for water management in the context of hydroclimatic extreme events
Developing new tools, models, and methodologies for design and implementation of strategies for adaptation and mitigation to hydro-climatic extreme events and assessment of water resources; use of innovative digitalization.
- Improved water governance in the context of hydroclimatic extreme events and international contexts
Robust water governance models for management of water resources and reducing vulnerability to extreme events and encouraging international cooperation.
Eligibility criteria
- Proposals should address at least one of the above-mentioned topics.
- An international consortium should consist of min. 3 partners and max. 7 partners from at least 3 different countries. At least 2 partners should be independent legal entities from 2 different EU member states or Horizon Europe associated countries. Each partner should apply to their respective Funding Partner Organisation (FPO). One self-funded partner per consortium is allowed.
- One of the entities (except the self-funded partner) should act as the Consortium Coordinator responsible for submitting the proposal.
- Workload distribution within the consortium must be balanced. A partner (or different partners from the same country) should not have more than 50% of person months.
- The maximum duration of the projects is 36 months.
Timing of the application process
Applications should be submitted via the Water4All submission platform (https://water4all2022-submission.mur.gov.it/) and consists of two steps: pre-proposals are to be submitted by 31 October 2022 at 15:00 (CET) and full proposals by 20 March 2023 at 15:00 (CET). The projects should start between the last quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.
To find out more on this opportunity and on how we can assist you, please reach out to Tom Wallyn or Bart Wyns of the PwC Incentives Hub.
