Deadline: 31-Jul-25
Applications are now open for the PoliRuralPlus Project Develop Call.
Within the framework of the PoliRuralPlus project the Develop Call is designed to attract and fund innovative proposals that align with the project’s overarching aims.
The primary objective of this calls is to extend the impact of the PoliRuralPlus initiative, exploring new methodologies, technologies, and strategies for rural-urban development.
Aims
- The calls aim to:
- Encourage innovative approaches to rural development that can be replicated or scaled across different regions.
- Promote collaboration among stakeholders from various sectors, including technology, agriculture, and regional planning, to address rural challenges in a holistic manner.
- Generate insights and solutions that can inform policy and practice, contributing to the broader objectives of balanced rural-urban development.
Objectives of the Call
- To fund applied, small-scale innovation projects that address specific rural-urban challenges in PoliRuralPlus pilot regions while contributing to the technical advancement of the project. Funded projects must:
- Develop and deploy practical, place-based digital applications aligned with PoliRuralPlus pilot-specific objectives.
- Translate promising concepts into action, moving from ideation to implementation by funding pilot activities that apply advanced technologies such as AI, machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), geographic information systems (GIS), or data-driven decision tools.
- Be designed to be compatible with the PoliRuralPlus digital tools (Chapter 4 of the Guidelines for Applicants) and technical frameworks, allowing for smooth integration if required, including licensing and communication compatibility.
- Demonstrate replicability and scalability, showing how proposed solutions could be adapted and applied across other regions or contexts in the EU.
- Support the principles and values of the New European Bauhaus (NEB) by promoting sustainability, inclusion, and aesthetics in the development of rural-urban solutions.
- Ensure that all data collected during implementation is incorporated into PoliRuralPlus tools, including the JackDaw platform and related AI components, to enhance decision-making capabilities and generate stronger project-wide results.
Funding Information
- Budget: €30,000 – 100,000 per project
Duration
- Estimated implementation period: October 2025 – June 2026
Expected Results
- Projects funded under the Develop Call are expected to deliver the following results:
- Operational digital applications tailored to pilot-specific rural-urban challenges, deployed and tested in real or near-real conditions within one or more PoliRuralPlus pilot regions.
- Demonstrated integration of advanced technologies (e.g. AI, ML, GIS, IoT, or data analytics) that provide tangible added value to rural-urban development processes.
- Interoperability with PoliRuralPlus digital tools (as described in Chapter 4), including successful data integration with the Jackdaw GeoAI Chatbot.
- Transferable methodologies or documentation outlining how the application can be replicated or scaled in other contexts or regions, ideally in the form of user guides, APIs, or open standards.
- Structured contribution of collected data into the PoliRuralPlus data ecosystem, enhancing the AI components and decision-support functionalities of the project.
- Evidence of stakeholder engagement, showing how end users (e.g. local authorities, SMEs, NGOs) contributed to and benefited from the application’s development and deployment.
- Visible alignment with New European Bauhaus (NEB) values, illustrated through design, accessibility, and inclusive stakeholder involvement
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants: A single legal entity or a consortium of up to three entities may apply.
- Single applicants or consortia of up to three entities are eligible to apply. In the case of consortia, one partner must act as the lead applicant (hereinafter referred to as the coordinator). The contract for provisioning of financing will be concluded only with the coordinator, who will be responsible for making internal arrangements within the consortium (e.g. a consortium agreement), distributing the funds, and coordinating reporting. All members of the consortium must be eligible under the same conditions listed here.
- Applicants must be legally established in an EU Member State or an Associated Country as outlined by the Horizon Europe rules.
- Other eligibility criteria
- Third parties: The proposal should not include any subcontracting or transfer of financial contribution to third parties.
- One proposal per applicant: Only one proposal will be accepted for funding per applicant (including consortium members). In the case of multiple submissions, only the last one received (timestamp of the system) will enter into the evaluation process, the rest being declared as non-eligible.
- Declaration of honour: Applicants must declare their eligibility and no conflict of interest in the online application.
For more information, visit PoliRuralPlus.
