Funding opportunities under the Biodiversa+ and Water4All Partnerships
The EPA represents Ireland in two Horizon Europe co-funded Partnerships, Biodiversa+ and Water4All, where we provide co-funding to support the Irish research community to participate in collaborative projects through joint transnational funding calls. Horizon Europe Partnerships are concerted research and innovation initiatives that bring together private and public partners to address some of Europe’s most pressing challenges and to contribute to achieving the EU’s political priorities.
The Biodiversa+ Partnership supports excellent research on biodiversity with an impact for policy and society and will run from 2021 to 2028. It currently comprises 80 partners from 40 countries and has an estimated budget of more than €800m over its lifetime. As well as research and innovation actions, Biodiversa+ also brings together public and private actors to advance biodiversity monitoring across Europe and to promote nature-based solutions across sectors.
A series of joint transnational calls is planned during the lifetime of Biodiversa+. Applications to the second call, which is focused on improved biodiversity monitoring, are currently under evaluation. A third call on nature-based solutions is planned to launch in September 2023 (EPA participation is subject to confirmation). In previous calls, the EPA has provided funding to researchers based in Ireland who were part of a number of successful transnational consortia (co-funding was also provided by the National Parks and Wildlife Services and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Marine).
The Water4All Partnership (Water Security for the Planet) aims to tackle water challenges as a means to face climate change, help to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and boost the EU’s competitiveness and growth. Water4All brings together a wide and cohesive group of 81 partners from 31 countries and has an estimated budget of more than €400m over its lifetime from 2022 to 2029.
Water4All’s main actions will focus on research and innovation, but also include cross-sectoral activities in areas such as demonstration of innovative technologies, improved sharing of water-related knowledge and data, and promoting more participatory approaches to innovation in the sector.
A series of joint transnational calls is planned during the term of Water4All, with the first call focused on hydroclimatic extremes currently in the evaluation stage. A second call on ecosystem services is planned to launch in September 2023 (EPA participation is subject to confirmation).
Joint Transnational Calls are an additional funding opportunity for researchers to engage in collaborative projects with partners across Europe. They support research in areas that complement other funding available under the Horizon Europe work programme and afford researchers in Ireland the opportunity to participate in international consortia on innovative projects.
The EPA has also recently become a member of the Parc Partnership on the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals and Pianoforte Partnership on Radiation Protection Research.
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