Experimental protocols for estimation of pest survey parameters

The grant opportunity titled EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-02 focuses on developing experimental protocols for pest survey parameters to enhance food safety in the EU. It targets competent organizations designated by EU Member States under specific regulations. The funding is structured as a grant with a total budget of €500,000 available for the year 2025. This grant aims to support projects that prepare methodologies for estimating essential survey parameters such as Method Sensitivity, Relative Risk, and Design Prevalence, which are vital for designing delimiting surveys for EU priority pests.

Eligible applicants for this grant must be listed as competent organizations by their respective Member States in accordance with Article 36 of Regulation (EC) 178/2002 and Commission Regulation (EC) 2230/2004. This typically includes government agencies and research institutions specializing in food safety or agriculture. The application process is a single-stage open call, with submissions due by September 24, 2025, and proposals must be submitted electronically through the Funding & Tenders Portal.

The call does not specify a consortium requirement, suggesting that single applicants are sufficient. There is no co-funding requirement indicated. The focus of the project is on research and development within the agriculture/food sector, particularly in pest management and plant health.

While the individual grant allocations are not defined, previous projects funded by similar grants have ranged from €55,000 to €200,000, which may give some indication of potential funding amounts. The grant follows a streamlined evaluation process assessing the admissibility, eligibility, and financial capacity of applicants, as detailed in the call for proposals document.

Key documents necessary for understanding the application environment include the Call for Proposals, Draft Grant Agreement, and various regulatory guidelines that govern the grant process. For assistance, applicants can contact EFSA directly or utilize the technical support available through the portal. Overall, this grant serves to strengthen the EU's approach to detecting and managing plant pests, ultimately safeguarding agricultural systems and food security across Member States.

The EU Bodies and Agencies (EUBA) Call, specifically topic EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-02, focuses on "Experimental protocols for estimation of pest survey parameters." This is a EUBA EUBA Type of Action grant. The call aims to fund projects that will prepare experimental and statistical protocols to quantify key survey parameters, including Method Sensitivity, Relative Risk, and Design Prevalence. These parameters are crucial for designing delimiting surveys for EU priority pests.

The call opened for submissions on May 22, 2025, and the deadline for submissions is September 24, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The total budget allocated to this topic is 500,000 EUR for the year 2025. It is a single-stage submission model.

Eligibility criteria are detailed in section 2.2 of the call for proposals document. To be eligible, applicants must be on the list of competent organizations designated by the Member States, in accordance with Article 36 of Regulation (EC) 178/2002 and Commission Regulation (EC) 2230/2004. The EFSA Management Board regularly updates this list, which can be found at https://efsa.force.com/competentorganisations/s/. Other eligibility conditions are also described in section 2.2 of the call for proposals document.

Applicants must demonstrate financial and operational capacity, as detailed in section 2.4 of the call for proposals document.

The evaluation and award process, including submission modalities, are described in sections 2 and 2.5, and section 3 of the call for proposals document. The award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are also described in sections 2 and 2.5 of the call for proposals document. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described on page 2 of the call for proposals document under the section 'Indicative procedure timetable'.

The legal and financial setup of the grants is described in section 1.5 of the call for proposals document and in the Draft Grant Agreement.

Key documents for this call include: The Call for Proposals, Annex 1 Draft Grant Agreement, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA Annotated Model Grant Agreement, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and the Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics on the Funding & Tenders Portal.

To submit a proposal, applicants must use the Electronic Submission Service, accessible via the submission button on the Funding & Tenders Portal. Existing draft proposals can be accessed by logging into the portal and selecting the "My Proposals" page.

For help related to this call, applicants can contact EFSAProcurement@efsa.europa.eu. Technical support is available through the IT Helpdesk for issues such as forgotten passwords or technical aspects of proposal submission. The Online Manual provides a step-by-step guide through the Portal processes.

In summary, this EUBA call seeks proposals from competent organizations within EU Member States to develop standardized experimental and statistical protocols. These protocols will be used to accurately estimate key parameters necessary for designing effective delimiting surveys for priority plant pests within the EU. The ultimate goal is to improve the EU's ability to detect, monitor, and control plant pests, thereby protecting agriculture and the environment. The call provides detailed guidelines on eligibility, proposal preparation, evaluation criteria, and submission procedures, all of which are essential for potential applicants to understand and adhere to.

Eligible Applicant Types: Only competent organisations, based on designations by Member States, are eligible to apply. To be eligible, applicants must be on the list of competent organisations designated by the Member States in accordance with Article 36 of Regulation (EC) 178/2002 and Commission Regulation (EC) 2230/2004. This list is regularly updated by EFSA Management Board and is available for consultation using the provided link.

Funding Type: Grant, as indicated by the mention of a Draft Grant Agreement and the EU Grants AGA Annotated Model Grant Agreement.

Consortium Requirement: It is not explicitly stated whether a consortium is required or if a single applicant is sufficient. However, the partner search announcements suggest that collaboration is possible and perhaps encouraged.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): EU Member States, as the competent organizations must be designated by Member States.

Target Sector: Agriculture/Food, specifically related to plant health and pest management. The call focuses on preparing experimental and statistical protocols to quantify key survey parameters for designing delimiting surveys for EU priority pests.

Mentioned Countries: EU Member States are implicitly mentioned as the designating authorities for competent organizations.

Project Stage: Research, as the call aims to prepare experimental and statistical protocols.

Funding Amount: €500,000.

Application Type: Open call, as indicated by the "Open For Submission" status and the availability of a "Call for proposals" document.

Nature of Support: Money, as the opportunity involves a grant agreement.

Application Stages: 1, single-stage.

Success Rates: Not specified in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: Not specified in the provided text.

Summary:

This opportunity is a call for proposals under the EU Bodies and Agencies (EUBA) program, specifically targeting the preparation of experimental and statistical protocols for estimating pest survey parameters related to EU priority pests. The call, titled "Experimental protocols for estimation of pest survey parameters (EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-02)," is managed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The objective is to fund projects that will develop protocols to quantify key survey parameters such as Method Sensitivity, Relative Risk, and Design Prevalence, which are crucial for designing effective delimiting surveys.

The call is open to competent organizations designated by EU Member States, as listed according to Article 36 of Regulation (EC) 178/2002 and Commission Regulation (EC) 2230/2004. The funding is provided as a grant, with a total budget of €500,000 allocated for the call. The application process is single-stage, with the submission deadline on September 24, 2025.

Applicants are required to submit their proposals electronically through the Funding & Tenders Portal. The evaluation process will consider admissibility conditions, eligibility criteria, financial and operational capacity, and exclusion criteria. The legal and financial setup of the grants is detailed in the call documents and the draft grant agreement.

The call aims to support research activities that will contribute to the development of robust methodologies for pest management and plant health in the EU. Additional documents, including the EU Financial Regulation, rules for legal entity validation, and the Annotated Model Grant Agreement, are available to guide applicants through the process. The call also encourages partner searches, allowing organizations to collaborate on proposals. For any queries, applicants can contact EFSAProcurement@efsa.europa.eu or consult the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ and IT Helpdesk.