SoS2LearnDBS 1st Open Call for Transition Agendas (OC-TAg1-SoS2LearnDBS-2026)

SoS2LearnDBS 1st Open Call for Transition Agendas offers cascade grants to local consortia of 2–4 legal entities to co-design regional Transition Agendas for aquatic ecosystem restoration and climate resilience in the Danube River basin and Black Sea region. The call total budget is €1,125,000 with awards of up to €100,000 per project for activities lasting 4 to 12 months. Applications must be submitted via the SoS2LearnDBS Open Calls platform in a single-stage process and will be evaluated on planning, feasibility, commitment to implementation, societal impact, Climate Pact commitment and scaling potential. Opening date is 9 October 2026 and the submission deadline on the EU Funding and Tenders Portal is 11 December 2026 at 16:00 Brussels time.

What it funds

Purpose

Grants to co-design regional Transition Agendas (TAg) for aquatic ecosystem restoration and climate resilience across the Danube River basin and Black Sea region (Upper, Middle, Lower Danube, Danube Delta, Black Sea). Funded activities are strategic co-creation and planning to produce a Transition Agenda for a local region.

Call documents and application portal are available on the SoS2LearnDBS Open Call page and applicants are encouraged to follow SoS2LearnDBS channels for updates. Two info sessions are planned in October 2026; questions can be sent to sosdbs@inova.business.

Footnotes

1. 1Call reference HORIZON-MISS. Official call page: EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

Overview

What the funding supports

The grant supports co-design and strategic co-creation activities that will produce a Transition Agenda (TAg) for aquatic ecosystem restoration and climate resilience in a specified sub-region of the Danube basin and Black Sea region. Activities are expected to be community-led and involve stakeholder engagement, local knowledge integration, planning, dissemination and preparatory work for implementation of locally relevant restoration and resilience measures.

Eligibility and applicant requirements

Eligible applicants must form a local consortium of 2 to 4 legal entities. The call targets local consortia that can operate within one of the covered sub-regions of the Danube basin and Black Sea region.

Funding type, nature of support and co-funding

Project maturity and expected activities

Evaluation and selection

Application practicalities and support

Success rates and selection numbers

Templates and application structure

Target sectors and thematic focus

Additional notes and recommendations

Footnotes

1. 1Full call text, deadlines and templates available at the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and the SoS2LearnDBS Open Calls page linked above. Contact email for support: sosdbs@inova.business.

Funding Opportunity Summary

The SoS2LearnDBS 1st Open Call for Transition Agendas provides cascade funding for local consortia to co-design regional Transition Agendas for aquatic ecosystem restoration and climate resilience in the Danube River basin and Black Sea region. The call is implemented under the Horizon Europe project Source to Sea: Leveraging community knowledge and action for restoring the Danube River basin and the Black Sea region, project grant agreement 101217667. 1

The funded projects are expected to organise strategic, inclusive and practical co-creation activities that result in a Transition Agenda for one of the identified regional areas. The agendas should help translate local knowledge, stakeholder priorities and restoration needs into coordinated actions for healthier aquatic ecosystems and improved climate resilience.

Key facts

Geographical and thematic scope

Applications must address aquatic ecosystem restoration and climate resilience in the Danube River basin or Black Sea region. The call identifies five possible territorial areas: Upper Danube, Middle Danube, Lower Danube, Danube Delta and Black Sea.

A strong application should define a clear territorial focus, explain the relevant aquatic ecosystem and climate challenges, identify the affected communities and stakeholders, and demonstrate how the proposed co-creation process will produce a usable Transition Agenda rather than only a study or general strategy.

Who can apply

The stated applicant model is a local consortium composed of 2 to 4 legal entities. The available call information does not specify the complete list of eligible legal forms, countries, public or private organisation categories, or whether entities must be established in particular Danube or Black Sea countries. These conditions must be verified in the official call documents before submission.

Potential consortium participants may include local or regional authorities, civil society organisations, research and knowledge institutions, environmental organisations, community organisations, water and resource management bodies, businesses and other entities able to contribute to a locally grounded transition process. This is an analytical indication of relevant participant profiles, not a confirmation that every category is formally eligible.

The consortium should be genuinely local and collectively capable of engaging the communities, institutions and knowledge holders relevant to the selected territory. The proposal should explain the role, expertise, resources and implementation commitment of each legal entity.

Activities and expected results

Funded projects should undertake structured co-creation activities leading to a regional Transition Agenda. The work is expected to connect community knowledge, stakeholder participation, restoration priorities, climate resilience needs and practical implementation pathways.

Likely core activities include stakeholder mapping, participatory consultations, workshops, community knowledge collection, problem definition, prioritisation of restoration and resilience measures, identification of responsible actors, development of an implementation roadmap and validation of the resulting Transition Agenda. The final call documents should be used to confirm mandatory activities and deliverables.

Expected results should be specific, usable and locally owned. They should identify priority actions, responsible stakeholders, implementation conditions, potential financing or policy links, time horizons, monitoring indicators and opportunities for continuation or replication.

Funding and financial conditions

The call offers up to €100,000 per selected project and has a total available budget of €1,125,000. The budget could theoretically support up to eleven projects at the maximum amount, but the official information does not confirm the number of awards because the final number will depend on requested amounts, evaluation results and portfolio decisions.

The available information does not state a standard funding rate, required co-financing percentage, eligible cost categories, lump sum structure, payment schedule, pre-financing arrangements, reporting rules, audit requirements, treatment of indirect costs or VAT conditions. Applicants must not assume that the €100,000 is automatically available as a fixed lump sum or that all proposed costs will be reimbursed.

Applicants should establish a realistic budget directly linked to the work plan. The budget should distinguish personnel, travel, stakeholder engagement, event and workshop costs, communication, external expertise, equipment or other resources only where permitted by the call documents. Costs should be proportionate to the scale of the local process and justified by measurable outputs.

The call is a cascade funding opportunity rather than a standard direct Horizon Europe collaborative project call. Consequently, the grant agreement, reporting and payment relationship will be with the SoS2LearnDBS project or its designated call manager, subject to the specific open call rules.

Duration and implementation planning

Each selected project must be planned for a duration of 4 to 12 months. The proposal should select a duration that is long enough for meaningful participation, analysis, drafting and validation, while remaining achievable within the available period.

The work plan should include milestones, responsibilities, dependencies, decision points and risk controls. Particular attention should be given to stakeholder availability, cross-border or multi-level governance issues, seasonal constraints affecting aquatic activities and the time required to obtain meaningful community participation.

Evaluation criteria

Eligible proposals will be evaluated against the following published criteria:

The criteria indicate that evaluators will look beyond the description of environmental problems. The proposal should demonstrate a complete and deliverable participation model, practical implementation capacity, novelty or advancement compared with existing approaches, strong communication, societal value and a credible route to continuation after the funded period.

The Climate Pact criterion means that applicants should explain how the consortium and participating stakeholders will demonstrate an active commitment to climate action. The exact form and timing of any pledge should be confirmed in the call documents.

Recommended proposal content

Identify the selected area, its aquatic systems, relevant communities, administrative context and connection with the Danube River basin or Black Sea region.

Challenge and baseline

Provide evidence of the restoration, pollution, biodiversity, water management or climate resilience challenges that justify the Transition Agenda.

Consortium capability

Describe the contribution of every legal entity, relevant experience, decision-making arrangements and access to local stakeholders.

Co-creation methodology

Explain how local knowledge, scientific evidence, community priorities and institutional perspectives will be combined and how participation will be inclusive.

Outputs and outcomes

Define the Transition Agenda and supporting outputs, including action priorities, responsible actors, indicative resources, milestones and monitoring indicators.

Implementation commitment

Show which partners and stakeholders will continue or support the actions after the funded project ends.

Communication and exploitation

Explain how findings, tools, data and the Transition Agenda will reach communities, decision makers, practitioners and other regions.

Sustainability and scaling

Identify how the approach can be embedded in policies, investment plans, local strategies or future funding proposals and replicated in comparable territories.

Application process

Applications must be submitted through the SoS2LearnDBS Open Calls platform. The published process comprises an eligibility check followed by evaluation of eligible proposals against the stated criteria.

The available material does not provide the detailed application form, page limits, required annexes, signature requirements, consortium declaration templates, financial capacity checks, conflict of interest rules, appeal arrangements or indicative notification and grant signature dates. These requirements should be checked in the call documentation before finalising the application.

The dedicated open call page is SoS2LearnDBS Open Calls. The European Commission opportunity record is EU Funding and Tenders Portal opportunity.

Applicant support and information sessions

Two information sessions are announced for 22 October 2026 at 10:30 CET and 28 October 2026 at 10:30 CET. Applicants should verify the access details and any subsequent changes on the SoS2LearnDBS open call page or its official communication channels.

Questions may be sent to the SoS2LearnDBS support team at sosdbs@inova.business. Applicants are also encouraged to monitor the project social media channels for updates, clarifications and event information.

Key compliance and risk points

Overall assessment

This opportunity is best suited to established local partnerships that can mobilise communities and decision makers around a defined aquatic ecosystem challenge. It is less suited to a stand-alone research proposal, a purely technical development project or a consortium without practical access to the selected territory.

The strongest applications are likely to combine credible environmental evidence with an inclusive engagement process and a practical route from co-design to implementation. The central value proposition should be a locally owned Transition Agenda that is actionable, measurable, sustainable and capable of influencing future investment or policy decisions.

Before submission, applicants should obtain and review the complete TAg Open Call documents because the available opportunity summary does not disclose several material conditions, including detailed eligibility rules, funding rates, cost eligibility, payment arrangements, application templates and contractual obligations.

Sources

The official European Commission opportunity record and the SoS2LearnDBS open call page should be treated as the primary sources for the final application requirements and any amendments. 1 2