EIT Food Call for Proposals 2022

Deadline: 14-Jan-22

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Food is calling for consortia of organisations to submit proposals for collaborative activities which will bring innovative technology solutions to the market in the agri-food sector. These activities shall embody principles of Knowledge Triangle Integration in their delivery, outcomes, and impact, producing KPIs to drive the achievement of EIT Food’s Impact Goals.

Goals

EIT Food’s portfolio of activities targets the following Impact Goals:

Improvement in conditions for enhanced public trust in the food system
Reduction in relative risk of obesity & Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) prevalence in target populations due to known dietary factors
Improved environmental impact of Agri-Food systems
Enabling transistion to a circular and sustainable economy

Focus Areas

Alternative Proteins: Protein diversification requires shifting away from an over-reliance on resource-intensive animal proteins and moving towards lower-impact protein ingredients and a greater variety of products.
Sustainable Agriculture: There is a need to increase the sustainability of farming practices and promote regenerative and circular farming approaches to reduce the impact of agriculture.
Targeted Nutrition: Transforming the food system to fight non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by improving diets and lifestyles is urgently needed to promote healthy eating habits and keeping people healthy, while enhancing consumer awareness about the relationship between food and health.
Sustainable Aquaculture: Aquaculture is expected to provide an ever-increasing portion of global fish consumption in the coming decade. As seafood consumption increases, sustainable aquaculture must keep up with demand while providing many other economic, social, and environmental benefits.
Digital Traceability: Digitalisation of traceability can improve the safety, efficiency and sustainability of food and increase consumer trust. Moreover, it is one of the steppingstones in the digital transformation of food systems.
Circular Food Systems: They must shift from the current linear model (make, use, dispose) to a circular food system. This implies the reuse of resources, reduction and (re)-utilisation of side and waste streams to prevent food loss and waste and to allow nutrient recycling and reduction in GHG emissions as well as water and land use. Consumers and value chain stakeholders are key enablers of this shift.

Funding Information

Indicative maximum EIT grant amount (a reimbursement amount of eligible costs, excluding co-funding):

up to €400,000 for 2022;
up to a maximum €1.400.000 during 2022-2024.

Eligible Countries

EU Member States: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain.
Horizon Europe Associated Countries: Montenegro, Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine.

Eligibility Criteria

A proposal will be deemed ineligible if any organisation in the consortium is:
- bankrupt, subject to insolvency or winding-up procedures, where its assets are being administered by a liquidator or by a court, where it is in an arrangement with creditors, where its business activities are suspended, or where it is in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for under national laws or regulations;
- it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative decision that the organisation is in breach of its obligations relating to the payment of taxes or social security contributions in accordance with the applicable law;
- it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative decision that the organisation is guilty of grave professional misconduct by having violated applicable laws or regulations or ethical standards of the profession to which the organisation belongs, or by having engaged in any wrongful conduct which has an impact on its professional credibility where such conduct denotes a wrongful intent or gross negligence;
- is found to be attempting to influence the decision-making process of the call during the process;
- attempting to obtain confidential information that may confer upon it undue advantages in the call process;
- it has been established by a final judgment that the organisation is guilty of fraud, corruption or money laundering.
Additionally, all organisations must meet the following criteria:
- Be a legally incorporated entity in the EU or Horizon Europe eligible country, which has been incorporated for a minimum of 2 years.
- Have at least 1 year’s published accounts showing business activity.
- Have at least two statutory officers such as registered directors.