Database on alternatives to pesticides (emergency authorisations)

EFSA call EUBA-EFSA seeks a competent organisation designated by a Member State to develop, review and publish an operational searchable database of alternatives to pesticides relevant to Article 53 emergency authorisations; the topic was published 6 October 2026 with a submission deadline of 8 December 2026. The action covers systematic evidence collection, evaluation of effectiveness and applicability for a defined set of pest species, correction of an existing repository and delivery of interim updates and a final consolidated database within a maximum 24-month project period. The call is restricted to Article 36 competent organisations, core tasks (search and evaluation) must be performed by the beneficiary and subcontracting is allowed only for non-core tasks. Indicative maximum EFSA contribution is €500,000 with reimbursement of eligible costs up to 90% and standard EFSA grant rules, templates and evaluation criteria apply via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal topic page.

Call summary

Essential facts

Footnotes

1. 1Check the official EFSA list of competent organisations before applying: EFSA competent organisations.

Call identity and context

High-level scope and activities

This restricted call is aimed at creating an expanded, reviewed and searchable database of alternatives to chemical pesticides used in emergency authorisations. Tasks required by the call include: design and execute a comprehensive literature and information search across scientific publications, reports, institutional websites, patents, IPM and organic farming guidance; evaluate the effectiveness and applicability of identified measures against EFSA emergency authorisation evaluation criteria (including combinations of measures); review and correct the existing repository (Zenodo record cited in the call); compile an inventory of research projects on alternatives; deliver interim updates and a final consolidated update; publish the database and make it accessible. Core tasks (search and evaluation) must be performed by the beneficiary and are not subcontractable (subcontracting allowed only for non-core ancillary tasks).

Eligibility and applicant requirements

This call is restricted. Only organisations designated by Member States as Article 36 competent organisations may apply. Applicants must be on EFSA’s authorised list of competent organisations established under Article 36 of Regulation (EC) 178/2002 and Commission Regulation (EC) 2230/2004. Check the Art.36 list prior to submission. Projects may be submitted by a single eligible organisation or by a consortium of eligible organisations; in consortia one partner must be identified as the consortium leader. The applicant and, where applicable, partners must participate financially and operationally in the project. Subcontracting is permitted only for non-core tasks; core tasks (Task 1: comprehensive search and Task 2: evaluation) must be carried out by the beneficiary(ies) themselves. Affiliated entities, associated partners and subcontractors are addressed in the draft grant agreement.

Applicant capacity, documentation and checks

Applicants must demonstrate financial and operational capacity in line with the selection criteria described in the call document. Required submission and supporting templates include Administrative Declaration, Declaration on Honour on Exclusion Criteria, Declaration on Honour on Selection Criteria, Selection Criteria template, Award Criteria template and Estimated Budget template. Where applicable, a Simplified Financial Statement is required for private bodies when EFSA grant requested exceeds €60,000. If a public body contributes financially, a Letter of Commitment from the contributing public body is required. The legal entity validation, LEAR appointment and financial capacity assessment are done in the EU Participant Register/Validation Services as described by the EU Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment.

Evaluation, award and contract conditions

Proposals that pass thresholds will be placed in rank order and EFSA intends to fund one proposal but reserves the right not to award any grant if proposals are unsatisfactory. EFSA may invite the top-ranked applicant to adapt the proposal based on evaluators' comments before taking an award decision (Art.203(5) EU Financial Regulation). Evaluation feedback including evaluation summary reports will be provided and the reserve list will be valid for six months from the feedback letter.

Budget, funding type and co-financing

Project implementation, deliverables, meetings and payments

The project must start no later than the kick-off meeting within three weeks of grant signature. The grant is expected to run for up to 24 months from the kick-off meeting. Deliverables include the workplan, initial operational database, corrected repository, interim updates at months 12 and 18, and final consolidated update at month 24. EFSA may require minutes and documents for meetings and may publish deliverables in the Knowledge Junction/Zenodo at its discretion. Publication and open-access rules apply and deliverables must be in English. EFSA project management may involve periodic teleconferences (kick-off, quarterly interim meetings and final meeting).

Legal, ethical and data requirements

The call and the grant are governed by EFSA founding regulation, Commission Regulation (EC) 2230/2004 and the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, and the draft Direct Grant Agreement published with the call. Applicants must comply with public procurement rules for purchases where they act as contracting authorities and ensure transparency, confidentiality and data protection (EUDPR and GDPR as applicable). If the project involves processing personal data, beneficiaries must comply with Article 15 of the draft grant agreement. Use of AI systems must be declared in the proposal and any planned use during implementation must meet the AI Act, GDPR and EFSA guidance; applicants must describe purpose, stages, added value, risk mitigation and human oversight measures for any AI use. Ethics and security scrutiny procedures apply where relevant; ethics self-assessment is required in proposals where applicable and EFSA will publish outputs through the Knowledge Junction subject to rules.

Selection and evaluation procedural details

Risks, subcontracting and procurement

Subcontracting is allowed only for non-core tasks and must be justified, limited, and procured according to best value for money; core tasks (Tasks 1 and 2) must not be subcontracted. Implementation contracts purchases must follow best value for money and avoid conflicts of interest; contracting authorities must respect national public procurement rules. Any change to subcontracting not foreseen in the proposal requires prior written authorisation by EFSA. Beneficiaries remain fully responsible for implementation and must keep procurement documentation available for audits.

Key risks and mitigation expected in proposals

Proposals must include a risk management plan covering data quality, search completeness, evaluation reproducibility, technical feasibility of publication/search functions, intellectual property and confidentiality concerns, human oversight for any AI used, and continuity of the expert team. EFSA expects quality assurance measures and contingency plans for staff turnover and data validation.

Administrative practicalities and help

All proposals must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal Submission Service; hard copy submissions are not accepted. Draft proposals are accessible in the Portal My Area; applicants are advised to submit early and retain copies of uploaded Part B and annexes with timestamps. For IT problems contact the Portal IT Helpdesk. For help related to this EFSA call contact EFSAProcurement@efsa.europa.eu. For LEAR, PIC validation and financial capacity queries consult the Funding & Tenders Portal guidance and the Central Validation Service procedures.

Templates and application form structure

Application stages and success rates

Post-award obligations and compliance

Once signed, the Grant Agreement will include detailed obligations covering reporting, record keeping (ten years after final payment as standard), audits and checks, public access to documents, open access publication of results, protection of personal data, anti-fraud obligations and EFSA Anti-Fraud Module training prior to start of implementation. Grant implementation must comply with non-profit, non-retroactivity, non-cumulative and co-financing principles. Beneficiaries must respect no-profit rules (limited application to low-value grants) and co-financing requirements (applicants must contribute at least the remaining 10% of eligible costs; any public co-financing must be public body funded and declared).

Co-funding and in-kind contributions

Contact, support and useful links

For questions on this call contact EFSAProcurement@efsa.europa.eu. For technical assistance with the portal use the EU Funding & Tenders Portal IT Helpdesk and FAQs. Guidance documents and templates are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal under this topic. The applicant should consult the draft Direct Grant Agreement published with the call and the EFSA Call for Proposals and Guide for Applicants for complete provisions and templates 1.

Full classification answers (structured extraction)

The following structured fields answer the categorisation and extraction questions based strictly on the published call information and related guidance referenced above.

Concluding summary

Footnotes

1. 1Primary call documents and draft grant agreement are published with the topic on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and on EFSA’s website. See the call for proposals and draft grant agreement available via the topic page on the Funding & Tenders Portal Portal Topic and EFSA call document EFSA call document.

Opportunity overview

The call EUBA-EFSA is an EFSA grants opportunity focused on building a database on alternatives to pesticides in the context of emergency authorisations. The official EFSA grants listing shows it was published on 6 October 2026 and has a deadline of 8 December 2026, with the call marked ongoing.1

What the funding is about

The opportunity is linked to the EU system for emergency authorisations of plant protection products under Article 53 of Regulation EC No 1107 2009. Under the Commission guidance page, Member States may authorise a product for up to 120 days in special circumstances when a danger cannot be contained by other reasonable means, and the EU Pesticides Database records these emergency authorisations.23

In practical terms, the project appears intended to support evidence collection and database development around alternatives to pesticide use where emergency authorisations are granted, so that decision makers and applicants can identify non chemical or lower risk alternatives and related evidence more systematically.23

Who can apply

Eligibility is very restricted. The opportunity metadata states that only competent organisations, based on designations by Member States, are eligible to apply, which means access is limited to officially designated public or otherwise recognised bodies rather than the general market.1

Applicants should therefore expect to demonstrate that they are the competent organisation designated by a Member State for the relevant scope and that they have the institutional authority, technical capacity and data handling capability to deliver a database related assignment of this type.12

Key conditions and applicant considerations

The most important procedural condition visible in the available material is the designation requirement for eligibility. In addition, the subject matter is tied to the Member State emergency authorisation system, so applicants should expect the work to involve structured data collection, documentation of authorisations, and alignment with the EU Pesticides Database environment.13

The Commission states that emergency authorisation information in the database is the responsibility of Member States, and that questions on specific authorisations should be addressed to the relevant competent authority. That means applicants should anticipate close coordination with national authorities and careful treatment of source data quality and responsibility boundaries.23

Funding amount, rate and duration

The retrieved official snippets do not disclose the grant amount, funding rate, project duration or cost model. Those financial terms should therefore be treated as not yet verified from the material available here.1

The broader EFSA and Commission pages confirm the policy and database context, but they do not provide the award value or reimbursement percentage in the retrieved excerpts. Applicants should consult the full call dossier on the official portal for the binding budget, eligible costs, payment schedule and implementation period.123

What applicants will likely want to know

Based on the official context, the most relevant practical points for applicants are the narrow eligibility rule, the link to Article 53 emergency authorisations, the need to work with authoritative Member State data, and the expectation that the end product will support a searchable database of alternatives relevant to pesticide emergency use decisions.123

The Commission also explains that emergency authorisations may only be granted for limited and controlled use for up to 120 days, which frames the policy background and shows why an alternatives database would be useful for necessity assessments and future decision making.2

Applicant readiness checklist

1. Confirm formal designation as the competent organisation for the relevant Member State scope.1

2. Review the full portal notice and call documents for the budget, duration, deliverables and legal conditions that are not visible in the retrieved snippets.1

3. Prepare evidence of database and data management capacity, especially for structured information on emergency authorisations and alternatives.23

4. Establish a workflow with national authorities because the underlying emergency authorisation records are the responsibility of Member States.23

5. Ensure the proposed output can integrate with or complement the EU Pesticides Database context and standard office compatible formats if requested in the full call documents.3

Source notes

The official EFSA grants page confirms the call title, reference, publication date and deadline.1

The European Commission pesticide authorisation page provides the legal basis for emergency authorisations, their 120 day limit and the Member State responsibility framework.2

The EU Pesticides Database page confirms that emergency authorisations granted by Member States are recorded in the database and that data entered by Member States is available for search and use.3