Open Call 2: Freshwater Ecosystems

SUNDANSE Open Call 2 provides cascade lump-sum grants of up to €100,000 per associated region for nine-month third-party replication projects to deploy, test and engage sustainable sediment management solutions in new regional freshwater ecosystems. Eligible applicants are local or regional authorities in EU Member States or Associated countries outside the original SUNDANSE consortium and projects must follow a mandatory three-phase workplan (project definition, implementation, evaluation) including baseline assessment, targeted monitoring, stakeholder engagement and delivery of a Regional Strategic Action Plan with an implementation roadmap. Selected projects receive technical mentoring (up to eight hours per month), optional access to in-kind advanced monitoring technology, and staged lump-sum payments tied to approved deliverables. Applications are single-stage via the F6S/EU portal and the submission deadline is 30 September 2026, 17:00 UTC.

What it funds

Scope and activities

Nine-month third-party replication grants to deploy, test and engage sustainable sediment-management solutions in a new regional freshwater ecosystem (lotic, lentic, transitional/coastal, or anthropogenic). Projects must follow three mandatory phases: project definition, implementation and evaluation, and deliver baseline assessments, targeted monitoring, stakeholder engagement and a Regional Strategic Action Plan.

Who can apply:Associated regional applicants (third-party replication projects) representing a regional freshwater basin or local implementation body able to run a 9-month pilot and coordinate with project mentors and the SUNDANSE consortium.

1. 1Develop localized baseline assessment, basin characterisation and stakeholder mapping
2. 2Implement targeted regional monitoring (flow, sediment quantity, rapid ecotoxicological sediment quality)
3. 3Deliver community engagement, multi-actor feedback and awareness activities
4. 4Produce a Regional Strategic Action Plan with budgets and timelines for upscaling

Technical mentoring support is provided throughout (up to 8 hours per month per funded project) to co-define specifications, monitor implementation and harmonise data across the consortium.

Funding and duration:Typical award covers a 9-month project duration. Indicative total call budget listed as €200 000; individual award amounts are defined during onboarding and budgeting with assigned mentors ¹.

Single-stage submission. Selection includes admissibility checks, scope screening, remote expert evaluation (Excellence, Impact, Implementation) and ranking with a country diversification cap. Deadline for proposals: 30 September 2026, 17:00 UTC. Apply via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal EU Funding & Tenders Portal. ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Budget figure originates from the opportunity metadata (field Budget: 200). Confirm award sizes and contracting details on the official call page.

Opportunity Snapshot

Key facts

Call title:Open Call 2: Freshwater Ecosystems (SUNDANSE replication projects). Deadline: 2026-09-30 17:00 UTC. Programme period: Horizon 2021-2027. Project duration: 9 months (mandatory phases: Project Definition Months 1–2, Project Implementation Months 3–6, Project Evaluation Months 7–9). Budget field in source: 200. Start date indicated for framework project: 2026-07-08. Application model: single-stage. Application portal: EU Funding & Tenders Portal SUNDANSE Call Page.

Primary objective:Deploy, test, and engage developed sustainable sediment management solutions in a new regional freshwater ecosystem type (lotic, lentic, transitional/coastal, or anthropogenic) via a nine-month, third-party replication project that follows a mandatory three-phase work plan.

Detailed Scope and Mandatory Activities

Every selected replication project must execute a mandatory work plan divided into three programmatic phases with specific tasks and deliverables. Projects must cover all core tasks across phases and will receive dedicated mentoring and technical support throughout the nine months.

1. 1Phase 1 Project Definition (Months 1–2): Produce localised baseline assessment, regional water basin characterisation, and a local stakeholder mapping database; co-definition of project specifications and indicator/budget alignment with assigned mentors.
2. 2Phase 2 Project Implementation (Months 3–6): Execute targeted regional monitoring activities from the designated monitoring catalogue (focus areas: flow monitoring, sediment quantity monitoring, rapid ecotoxicological sediment quality assessments), carry out active community stakeholder engagement, multi-actor feedback sessions, and environmental awareness campaigns to co-design protocols for future measures.
3. 3Phase 3 Project Evaluation (Months 7–9): Compile and submit evaluation outputs, integrate mentor feedback via milestone reviews, finalise a Regional Strategic Action Plan and Implementation Roadmap including indicative budgets and local timelines for upscaling and replication across other EU basins, and ensure datasets and reporting adhere to FAIR standards and are shared via the SUNDANSE Data Network repository.

Applicants may optionally opt into advanced, real-time sediment and water toxicity monitoring using the Whole-Cell Fibre-Optic Biosensor technology provided by the academic partner (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) at no additional budget cost.

Technical Mentoring, Monitoring and Evaluation

Selected projects receive dedicated direct technical mentoring throughout the nine-month period. Support includes up to eight hours of individual technical mentoring per month per funded project. Mentors assist with onboarding, co-definition of specifications, budget and indicator set-up, monitoring implementation progress, cross-border data harmonisation, and final milestone reviews.

1. 1Mentoring allocation: up to 8 hours/month/project of individual mentoring.
2. 2Performance evaluation matrix: Deliverable Quality 30%, Technical Performance Indicators 60%, Deadline Compliance 10%.
3. 3Performance threshold: 7 points; failing projects receive a five working day correction window to remedy deficiencies prior to exclusion or payment withholding.
4. 4Data policy: all research publications, datasets, and reporting outputs must follow FAIR standards and be shared via the SUNDANSE Data Network repository.

Evaluation and Selection Process

Proposals undergo a rigorous multi-stage evaluation to ensure transparency and fair treatment. Selection is designed to ensure geographic diversification across European freshwater systems and enforces a strict country diversity cap (no two selected applications from the same country).

1. 1Admissibility and eligibility check: administrative compliance validated by F6S (deadline, applicant type, established region eligibility).
2. 2Internal In/Out Scope screening: SUNDANSE Selection Committee reviews Section 1 (Project Description) and Section 5 (Permits) for framework alignment and presence of multiple replication activities; out-of-scope proposals are bypassed to the Initial Acceptance List.
3. 3Remote expert evaluation: each proposal on the Initial Acceptance List is independently scored by at least two external experts using a 0–5 scale across three criteria: Excellence, Impact, Implementation. Thresholds: individual criterion >= 3, overall >= 10.
4. 4Ranking and final selection: proposals meeting thresholds are ranked by average score; country diversity cap enforced and lower-scoring duplicates from the same country are bypassed in favor of proposals from unrepresented eligible countries. Selected finalists announced in late November 2026 and invited to contracting.

Evaluation is described as a three-phase selection process in the call documents:admissibility & eligibility, internal scope screening, and remote expert evaluation, followed by ranking and final selection. The deadline model is single-stage. ¹

Eligibility and Applicant Requirements

The call targets third-party replication projects submitted by associated regions. The selection logic and country diversity cap indicate one funded application per country maximum. F6S validates applicant administrative eligibility. Section references in the intake indicate that applicants must supply a clear Project Description (Section 1) and Permits information (Section 5).

1. 1Eligible applicant types: regional public bodies and authorities, local government entities, research organisations, universities, non-profits/NGOs, SMEs, or consortia acting on behalf of an associated region (call text describes third-party replication projects for associated regions).
2. 2Consortium requirement: single associated-region project expected; the call framework treats each application as a single replication project representing a region rather than requiring a multi-partner consortium. However, local partnerships and stakeholder engagement across multiple local actors are mandatory within project activities.
3. 3Geographic eligibility: European freshwater basins within the EU (call enforces country diversification across EU member states and associated regions).
4. 4Required documentation: Project Description (Section 1), Permits (Section 5), workplan covering the three phases with milestones and deliverables, monitoring plan aligned to the provided monitoring catalogue, stakeholder engagement plan, and a Regional Strategic Action Plan and Implementation Roadmap.

Funding, Financials and Administrative Details

Funding type:grant (third-party replication funding distributed to selected regional projects). The call metadata includes a Budget field value of 200 in the scraped record; the call text does not explicitly state the unit or per-project award amount in the scraped content. Co-funding requirements are not specified in the provided text; no explicit co-funding or matching requirement is mentioned in the scraped material.

1. 1Funding type: grant.
2. 2Budget (source field): 200 (original scraped record shows numeric 200; no currency or unit specified in the raw content).
3. 3Funding amount per project: not specified in the provided excerpt; applicants should consult the official call documentation for per-project award values and detailed budget rules.
4. 4Co-funding: not specified in the scraped text; likely detailed in the official call guidance—applicants should check the full call text and F6S portal for cost eligibility and co-financing rules.

Project Stage Targeting

Target maturity:demonstration, validation and deployment in real-world regional freshwater contexts. Projects are expected to implement and test developed sustainable sediment solutions (applied pilots) and produce strategic action plans for upscaling; thus the call is aimed at projects beyond ideation and focused on field demonstration and validation toward replication and scale-up.

Application Process, Templates and Structure

Application is single-stage and managed via F6S/EU portal intake. The call references application sections by number (Section 1 Project Description; Section 5 Permits), and requires a structured workplan across the three mandatory phases, monitoring selection from a designated catalogue, stakeholder mapping and engagement plan, and a Regional Strategic Action Plan with indicative budgets and timelines.

1. 1Suggested application structure (based on referenced sections and mandatory tasks):
2. 21. Administrative forms and eligibility declarations (deadline, applicant identity, region).
3. 32. Section 1 Project Description: objectives, ecosystem type targeted (lotic, lentic, transitional/coastal, or anthropogenic), proposed activities per month, expected outputs, contribution to SUNDANSE objectives.
4. 43. Workplan and Gantt: breakdown across Months 1–9 with milestones and deliverables mapped to the mentor evaluation matrix.
5. 54. Monitoring plan: selection of monitoring activities from the designated catalogue (flow monitoring, sediment quantity monitoring, rapid ecotoxicological sediment quality assessments), data collection methods, equipment and personnel.
6. 65. Section 5 Permits: permits, approvals and regulatory compliance relevant to sediment interventions and monitoring in the target basin.
7. 76. Stakeholder engagement plan: local stakeholder mapping, community engagement events, multi-actor feedback sessions and communication/awareness campaign plans.
8. 87. Budget and indicators: detailed budget for the replication project, proposed technical performance indicators, and a strategy for cross-border data harmonisation.
9. 98. Risk assessment and mitigation plan.
10. 109. Commitment to FAIR data management and data sharing via SUNDANSE Data Network.

Applicants should expect to define deliverables and milestones that will be assessed by mentors using the specified weighting (Deliverable Quality 30%, Technical Performance Indicators 60%, Deadline Compliance 10%).

Selection Probability and Stages

Application progression involves multiple checks and evaluations. The call text does not publish explicit numerical success rates for applicants from submission to funding; success rates are therefore not provided in the scraped content and should be considered unknown or dependent on the number and quality of applicants. The selection includes at least four practical stages: admissibility & eligibility check, internal in/out scope screening, remote expert evaluation, and ranking & final selection.

Geographic and Thematic Targeting

Thematically the call targets freshwater ecosystems and sustainable sediment management in the Danube river-Black Sea system context and across EU freshwater basin types (lotic, lentic, transitional/coastal, anthropogenic). Geographically the call enforces a country diversity cap across European freshwater systems, implying EU or associated country eligibility. The call originates from the Danube river basin lighthouse project context (Innovative sediment management framework for a SUstainNable DANube black SEa system).

1. 1Target sectors: environment, water resources management, sediment management, monitoring technologies, community engagement and environmental governance.
2. 2Mentioned region / project context: Danube river basin and Black Sea system; EU freshwater basins.
3. 3Explicit countries: none listed by name in the scraped text; selection enforces country-level diversity across eligible European countries.

Nature of Support and Deliverables

Nature of support:financial grant funding for third-party replication projects plus non-monetary technical mentoring and optional access to specific monitoring technology (Whole-Cell Fibre-Optic Biosensor) provided in-kind at no additional budget cost. Projects will deliver monitoring datasets, stakeholder engagement outputs, a Regional Strategic Action Plan and Implementation Roadmap, and FAIR-compliant open datasets.

Risks, Constraints and Special Conditions

Key constraints include strict adherence to the mandatory three-phase structure, requirement to use monitoring methods from the designated catalogue, obligations to share FAIR data, and the potential for exclusion or payment withholding if performance thresholds are not met. The country diversity cap may exclude a higher-scoring application if a selected application from the same country already occupies a funded slot; lower-scoring duplicates will be bypassed to ensure geographic spread.

Application deadlines and timeline:Call published in the EU Funding & Tenders Portal with deadline 2026-09-30 17:00 UTC. Finalist announcements expected in late November 2026, with contracting to follow. The overall project duration per funded replication is 9 months. ¹

Categorisation Answers (detailed)

1. 1Eligible Applicant Types: regional public bodies/authorities, local governments, research organisations and universities, non-profits/NGOs, SMEs, and local partnerships acting as a single associated-region replication project. The call context references third-party replication projects representing an associated region—applications should be regionally anchored and demonstrate local stakeholder engagement.
2. 2Funding Type: Grant (third-party replication grants).
3. 3Consortium Requirement: Single associated-region project application is expected (not explicitly requiring multi-organisation consortium); local multi-actor engagement within the project is mandatory. The intake references single-stage applications where Section 1 and Section 5 documentation are key screening items.
4. 4Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): EU and eligible associated European freshwater basins; the call enforces country-level diversification and appears targeted at European (EU/associated) countries. The call originates from the Danube basin lighthouse context and aims to replicate across other EU basins.
5. 5Target Sector: Environment and water resource management, specifically sustainable sediment management in freshwater ecosystems (lotic, lentic, transitional/coastal, anthropogenic). Cross-cutting themes include monitoring technologies, ecotoxicology, community engagement, and data management.
6. 6Mentioned Countries: No explicit individual countries are named in the scraped text. The context references the Danube river basin and Black Sea system and broader EU basins. Therefore the relevant region is EU/European freshwater basins.
7. 7Project Stage: Demonstration and validation phase (field deployment and testing of sediment solutions, followed by evaluation and upscaling roadmap).
8. 8Funding Amount: Source metadata shows Budget = 200 (unit not specified in scraped content); per-project award amounts are not indicated in the provided excerpt and must be confirmed in the official call documentation.
9. 9Application Type: Single-stage open call via F6S/EU portal (applicants submit full proposals in one round).
10. 10Nature of Support: Monetary grants to selected projects plus non-monetary services (technical mentorship up to 8 hours/month and optional monitoring tech provided in-kind).
11. 11Application Stages: Applicants must pass multiple stages: 1) admissibility & eligibility check, 2) internal in/out scope screening, 3) remote expert evaluation, and 4) ranking & final selection (four principal stages).
12. 12Success Rates: Not provided in the scraped text; no numerical success rates or expected number of funded projects are given. Success probability is therefore unknown and depends on submissions and scoring.
13. 13Co-funding Requirement: Not specified in provided content. The scraped call text does not explicitly require co-funding; applicants should consult the full call documentation for eligibility of costs and co-financing rules.

How to Prepare a Competitive Application

Prepare a clear nine-month workplan mapped to the three mandatory phases and the mentor evaluation matrix. Include a robust baseline assessment and basin characterisation, a monitoring plan using catalogue options, an explicit stakeholder engagement strategy with evidence of local partnerships, permit declarations (Section 5), and a detailed Regional Strategic Action Plan with indicative budgets and timelines for upscaling. Ensure data management plans comply with FAIR principles and allocate time for mentor-led milestone reviews and rapid correction cycles.

Applicants should confirm funding amounts, co-funding rules, and detailed administrative templates on the official call page and F6S intake system prior to submission. Check the call-specific guidance for permitted costs, reporting schedule, and contracting steps.

Summary

This open call solicits nine-month third-party replication projects to deploy, test, and engage sustainable sediment management solutions in new regional freshwater ecosystem types across European basins. Each funded project must follow a mandatory three-phase workplan (definition, implementation, evaluation), perform baseline and monitoring activities drawn from the project's monitoring catalogue, run community and stakeholder engagement, and deliver a Regional Strategic Action Plan and Implementation Roadmap for upscaling. Selected projects receive grant funding plus up to eight hours/month of individual technical mentoring and optional access to a real-time Whole-Cell Fibre-Optic Biosensor at no budget cost. Applications are single-stage and will pass a multi-step selection process including admissibility checks, scope screening, remote expert evaluation against Excellence/Impact/Implementation criteria, and ranking with a country diversity cap to ensure geographic spread. Core administrative and technical sections to prepare include Project Description (Section 1), Permits (Section 5), monitoring and stakeholder plans, budget and performance indicators, and a FAIR-compliant data management plan. Applicants must consult the official call documentation and portal for final financial details, templates, and submission forms before applying.

Footnotes

1. 1Full call details and application portal are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal SUNDANSE call page: ec.europa.eu

What This Funding Is About

This cascade funding opportunity supports the deployment, testing, and engagement of sustainable sediment management solutions in new regional freshwater ecosystems (lotic, lentic, transitional/coastal, or anthropogenic) across the EU ¹. Selected projects must execute a mandatory 9-month work plan covering baseline assessment, targeted monitoring (flow, sediment quantity, ecotoxicology), stakeholder engagement, and the creation of a Regional Strategic Action Plan with an implementation roadmap ².

Who Can Apply

Eligible applicants are exclusively local and regional authorities from associated regions located in EU Member States or Associated countries ³. These regions must be outside the countries where the main SUNDANSE project consortium partners are based, ensuring replication in new geographic areas ⁴.

Key Eligibility Requirements

1. 1Applicant must be a local or regional authority
2. 2Region must be in an EU Member State or Associated country
3. 3Region must not be part of the original SUNDANSE consortium countries
4. 4Project must address at least one core thematic area: flow monitoring, sediment quantity monitoring, sediment quality assessment, or awareness raising on sediment flow alterations
5. 5Project must implement mandatory activities: stakeholder engagement (at least one workshop), strategic action plan, and replication of at least one SUNDANSE solution

Funding Amount and Conditions

Maximum Grant per Project:Up to €100,000 per associated region, provided as a lump sum grant for the entire 9-month duration ⁵.

Funding Distribution by Phase:Stage 1 (Project Definition, 2 months): Up to €17,000 (17%) after Report #1 approval. Stage 2 (Project Implementation, 4 months): Up to €58,000 (58%) after Report #2 approval. Stage 3 (Project Evaluation, 3 months): Up to €25,000 (25%) after Report #3 approval ⁶.

• Funding is disbursed as lump sums at the end of each stage, pending successful deliverable review
• Subcontracting is eligible up to 4.5% of the total grant
• Direct costs are capped at 75% of the total grant amount
• All outputs must adhere to FAIR data standards and be shared via the SUNDANSE Data Network repository

Technical Mentoring and Support

Selected regions receive dedicated technical mentoring throughout the 9-month project, including up to 8 hours of individual technical mentoring per month per funded project ⁷. Mentors co-define project specifications, establish budget and indicators, monitor pilot implementation, and facilitate cross-border data harmonisation with the wider consortium ⁸.

Optional Advanced Monitoring:Grantees may optionally opt into real-time sediment and water toxicity monitoring using the Whole-Cell Fibre-Optic Biosensor technology developed by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, provided at no additional cost to the applicant budget ⁹.

Timeline and Deadlines

Evaluation and Selection Process

Proposals undergo a three-phase selection process:Admissibility & Eligibility Check, Internal In/Out Scope Screening, and Remote Expert Evaluation by at least two external experts ¹⁰. Proposals are scored on Excellence, Impact, and Implementation (0–5 scale), with a threshold of 3 per criterion and 10 overall ¹¹. A strict country diversity cap applies: no two selected applications can originate from the same country ¹².

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted via the F6S platform at SUNDANSE Open Call 2 Application ¹³. Mandatory documents include proof of legal existence and tax activity, Declaration of Honour, and Bank Account Information ¹⁴. Electronic digital signatures are required for all signed documents ¹⁵.

Contact and Further Information

For additional help or specific questions, contact the SUNDANSE project team at info@sundanseproject.eu ¹⁶. Official guidelines and annexes are available at SUNDANSE Open Call 2 Guidelines ¹⁷.

Footnotes

1. 1SUNDANSE Project Description – Open Call 2: Freshwater Ecosystems, EU Funding & Tenders Portal [[ec.europa.eu
2. 2SUNDANSE Open Call 2 Core Tasks and Work Plan Structure [[sundanseproject.eu
3. 3SUNDANSE Open Call 1 Eligibility Criteria – Local/Regional Authorities Only [[sundanseproject.eu
4. 4SUNDANSE Open Call 1 Geographic Eligibility – Countries Outside Consortium [[sundanseproject.eu
5. 5SUNDANSE Open Call 1 Funding Amount – €100,000 Lump Sum Grant [[sundanseproject.eu
6. 6SUNDANSE Open Call 1 Funding Distribution by Stage – 17%, 58%, 25% [[sundanseproject.eu
7. 7SUNDANSE Technical Mentoring Support – 8 Hours per Month [[ec.europa.eu
8. 8SUNDANSE Mentor Roles and Responsibilities – Co-definition, Budget, Indicators, Data Harmonisation [[ec.europa.eu
9. 9SUNDANSE Optional Advanced Monitoring – Whole-Cell Fibre-Optic Biosensor Technology [[ec.europa.eu
10. 10SUNDANSE Evaluation Process – Three-Phase Selection [[ec.europa.eu
11. 11SUNDANSE Expert Evaluation Criteria – Excellence, Impact, Implementation with Thresholds [[ec.europa.eu
12. 12SUNDANSE Country Diversity Cap – No Two Applications from Same Country [[ec.europa.eu
13. 13SUNDANSE Open Call 2 Application Platform – F6S [[f6s.com
14. 14SUNDANSE Open Call 1 Mandatory Documents – Legal Existence, Declaration of Honour, Bank Info [[sundanseproject.eu
15. 15SUNDANSE Open Call 1 Digital Signature Requirement – Electronic Signatures Mandatory [[sundanseproject.eu
16. 16SUNDANSE Contact Point – info@sundanseproject.eu [[sundanseproject.eu
17. 17SUNDANSE Open Call 2 Official Page – Guidelines and Annexes [[sundanseproject.eu