PRIMA Call for Transnational Research and Innovation Projects

Objectives

• The PRIMA Foundation has launched annual joint Euro-Mediterranean transnational calls for collaborative R&I projects, with the aim of creating a framework for collaboration that promotes stability and prosperity in the Mediterranean.

Topics

• The thematic areas foreseen in the PRIMA competition – section 2 for projects, 2025, framed in the three pillars of the PRIMA Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), are:
  • Water management (Improving policy development through impact-oriented water footprint and virtual water concepts in the Mediterranean region),
  • Agrarian systems (Improving agroecological practices on farms in the Mediterranean region),
  • Agri-food chain (Towards a transition to alternative plant-based protein products in the Mediterranean region),
• with the integration of the approach in the water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus .
• Depending on the research questions addressed, projects may produce tangible results and enhance technological and social innovation. Projects may address issues such as Artificial Intelligence , Smart Digital Technologies , spatial data and big data analytics .

Funding Information

• FCT financial commitment for the competition: €1,200,000
  • Maximum FCT funding for a consortium with Portuguese coordination: €250,000
  • Maximum FCT funding for a consortium with Portuguese participation: €120,000

Beneficiaries

• According to paragraph 1 of article 3 of the Project Regulation, the following are beneficiaries, individually or in co-promotion:
  • Non-business entities of the R&I system, namely:
    • Higher education institutions, their institutes and R&D units;
    • State laboratories, associated or international laboratories based in Portugal;
    • Private non-profit institutions whose main objective is R&D activities, including Collaborative Laboratories (CoLab) and Technology and Innovation Centers (CTI);
    • Other public and private, non-profit institutions that develop or participate in scientific research activities.
  • Companies of any nature and under any legal form.
•  Eligible Countries:
  • Legal entities established in the following PRIMA Participating States will, in general, be eligible to receive funding through PRIMA grants:
    • The following Member States (MS) of the European Union (EU):
      • Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, including the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) linked to these Member States.
    • The following Third Countries associated with Horizon Europe (AC):
      • Israel, Tunisia, and Türkiye.
    • The following Third Countries not associated with Horizon Europe (TC):
      • Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco.

Assessment

• In this competition, there will be only one evaluation phase . Applications will be evaluated by an evaluation panel, formed by independent international experts, according to the evaluation criteria described in the Competition Text in the Competition Documents area, according to the following criteria :
  • Excellence
  • Impact
  • Quality and efficiency of implementation
• It is up to the participating national/regional funding agencies to jointly decide which applications to recommend for funding.

For more information, visit FCT.