Deadline: 6-Feb-24
Aiming for social impact and systemic change across industry? EU-funded project SoTecIn Factory launched the second Open Call for Social Innovators and their EUR 3.3M programme to support mission-driven, social innovation ventures (individuals or organisations) in food, water & nutrients, textiles and plastics & packaging value chains in transforming industry into low-carbon via their tech-driven solutions based on higher R circular economy strategies.
The call will provide selected innovators direct support and guidance towards the development and implementation of their solution and access to specialized and qualified resources within various disciplines and technologies aiming to create economic and social ecological impacts.
Challenges
- Developing a tool that contributes to the sustainability analysis of the urban food systems via food streams monitoring.
- Building digitized and scalable midstream infrastructure for small-chain fresh food supply.
- Developing tools to improve and increase farmers online visibility to potential customers.
- Designing and encouraging the adoption of novel meat free alternatives.
- Developing data-driven approaches to enable circular product strategies.
- Developing sustainable finishing processes for high-performing fabrics and/ or analytical techniques to enable fabric traceability.
- Developing a verification tool for environmentally friendly claims made by textile suppliers.
- Retaining product performance and longevity in the move towards less complex, biobased, and biodegradable materials.
- Communicating the comprehensive sustainability impacts of recycled products to customers.
- Reducing plastic consumption in packaging materials (shrink wrap, trays/multi-packs, etc.) via environmentally friendly solutions.
- Developing efficient technology and materials which can replace polyurethane foam.
Funding Information
The financial support to third parties within the So will be in the form of a grant awarded (lump sum). During the programme, each selected third-party will have access to the following funds to deploy their projects.
- Phase 1: up to €15.000 against deliverables approved by the consortium partners and achieved milestones; start (5,000 Eur), mid (5,000 Eur) and end of 7-months (5,000 Eur);
- Phase 2: if selected to advance to Phase 2, the beneficiary will be funded with up to €85.000 against deliverables approved by the consortium partners and achieved milestones; being 50% paid at the end of the 1st month and 50% at the end of the demonstration project. This phase will last 5 months.
Expected Project
Expected Project outcomes are:
- Innovations that combine technological and social innovation and support industry in their transition and the achievement of EU’s priorities.
- A new generation of technologically savvy social entrepreneurs.
- New business models capitalising on new partnerships between industry and society.
- Support for 25 social entrepreneurs with funding and light capacity building regarding business models, fund-raising and exploitation 15 mission-oriented pre-market demonstration projects.
- Long-term impact for increased autonomy in key strategic value chains for a resilient industry.
Eligible Countries
Only applicants legally established/resident in any of the following countries are eligible:
- the Member States (MS) of the European Union (EU), including their outermost regions
- other Countries linked to the Member States
- Horizon Europe associated countries according to the updated list published by the EC
Target Applicants
- Applicants can be individuals and organizations.
- Individuals should be part of a legal entity with a valid VAT at the time of the contracting phase.
- Organizations should have a valid VAT or company registration number at the time of the contracting phase.
- Consortium (Individual/Single organisation + Challenge (owner)) are eligible for this call.
- Single organizations are eligible for this call.
- Non incorporated companies can apply but will need to be incorporated by the contracting phase.
Eligibility Criteria
- Only one proposal per organisation/individual will be accepted.
- Applicants must not be directly or indirectly involved in different consortia.
- The legal entity is not under liquidation or is not an enterprise under difficulty accordingly to the Commission Regulation No 651/2014, art. 2.18.
- Its project is based on the original works and going forward, any foreseen developments are free from third-party rights, or they are clearly stated.
- It is not excluded from the possibility of obtaining EU funding under the provisions of both national and EU law or by a decision of both national and EU authority.
- People and organisations related to the SoTecIn Factory project (members of the consortium, Mission Councils) are not eligible to participate open call 2 for social innovators.
- Tech-savvy innovator participating in several proposals within the same call will make all the proposals they are in, not eligible.
For more information, visit SoTecIn Factory.