Sustainable Blue Economy partnership (SBEP)

FWO participation and funding under this call cover both the Fundamental Research (FO) and Strategic Basic Research (SBO) funding channels, which means that projects may be funded under either FWO channel. It should be strongly emphasised that the choice of funding channel depends on the type of research project to be carried out (i.e. fundamental/exploratory in nature versus having strong potential for economic and/or societal utilisation in a Flemish context). Failure to comply with the specific requirements of the selected funding channel may result in the application being declared ineligible. 

Please note that this is assessed on an individual basis: European and/or international partners within the same consortium are free to choose the type of research they conduct. From the FWO’s perspective, only the ‘nature’ of the subproject of the Flemish partner applying for FWO funding is relevant. 

For the Fundamental Research funding channel, the relevant regulations apply. For the SBO funding channel, the SBO regulations must be taken into account. The latter concern projects with a primarily economic and/or societal objective, for which utilisation is an essential and mandatory component.

Research proposals must be submitted to the SBEP Call Secretariat by consortia of European and international researchers via the submission platform, in accordance with the applicable procedures and eligibility criteria set out in the aforementioned call documents. A partner search tool is also available to identify relevant consortium partners. Templates for the pre-proposal and full proposal are also available on the call page, together with other relevant documents.

Where several Flemish institutions applying for FWO funding collaborate within the same consortium, only one joint form must be submitted, containing all information on the Flemish parties involved, in line with the arrangements for regular projects. This must always be done by the PI/supervisor using their personal e-portal. 

The submission deadline is the same as the call deadline for pre-proposals. Applicants are strongly advised to contact the FWO administration no later than one week before submission so that eligibility can be verified.

Within international consortia, the FWO can support at least two Flemish projects. A maximum of €350,000 per project, including overhead, may be requested for a duration of 36 months. The FWO budgetary rules are also explained in the ‘National Contact Points and National/Regional Regulations’ document (ANNEX B; see from p. 9 onwards). 

The co-funded partnerships under the Horizon Europe Framework Programme combine national and regional resources with co-funding from the European Commission. Following the international peer review and final ranking, this co-funding may provide additional support, enabling further projects to be funded, including in Flanders.

Key points and deviations from the regular FWO participation framework to be taken into account:

• Participation in European co-funded partnerships does not count towards the maximum number of regular FWO projects that may be applied for or held concurrently. However, for each call, a researcher may participate in no more than two different projects or consortia, provided that they address different topics. Under this SBEP call, a researcher may also act as consortium coordinator in only one project proposal.

• Different overhead arrangements apply to the Fundamental Research and SBO funding channels. These are explained in the ‘National Contact Points and National/Regional Regulations’ document (ANNEX B; see from p. 9 onwards).

• SBO projects aimed at developing a spin-off are not eligible in this context. This option may therefore not be described in the FWO pre-registration.

• A user committee or advisory committee is not mandatory for an SBO project in this context.

• Projects have a maximum duration of 36 months and must be budgeted accordingly. Automatic extensions are not permitted under this participation framework. Consequently, Article 28 of the regulations governing FWO research projects and Article 14 of the regulations governing SBO projects are explicitly excluded.

• Researchers must hold an eligible appointment covering the full project duration. For FO projects, and more specifically with regard to the emeritus provision (Article 10, §7), this provision does not apply in this context.

• Research teams applying to the FWO for funding may, if desired, involve stakeholders (e.g. urban/municipal authorities and public and/or private organisations focusing on the blue economy in the broadest sense) in a research project, including for non-routine tasks. The state aid rules must nevertheless be respected. Contact the FWO for further information.

Researchers are strongly advised to contact the FWO regarding the eligibility criteria before submission. This is to avoid the individual Flemish researcher(s), and consequently the consortium as a whole, being declared ineligible.