The 2020 LIFE Call for project proposals has been launched and published on the LIFE Website. Deadlines have been extended due to the Coronavirus measures:
- 14th July for deadline for applicants to submit concept notes
- October: Notification of applicants if their concept note has been pre-selected: shortlisted applicants are invited to submit full proposals for February 2021.
The European Commission is organizing an online LIFE20 EU Information Day and Networking event on 30 April 2020. The event is open to potential applicants presenting project proposals on green technology, nature protection and climate action.
Close-to-market environmental projects
These are projects which
- propose a new, demonstrative solution able to bring clear environmental and/or climate benefits e.g. in the fields of waste management, circular economy, resource efficiency, climate change mitigation, and water and
- have a level of technical and business readiness allowing them to implement their solution in close-to-market conditions (i.e. at industrial or commercial scale) during the project duration
The LIFE programme can provide up to 55% co-financing to such projects.
How voluminous should a project proposal be?
A concept note should have no more than 10 pages.
For full project proposals there are no fixed specifications on the volume. A proposal should be as concise and clear as possible. Applicants should avoid voluminous proposals and should not provide excessively detailed descriptions of project areas, environmental technologies, lists of species, etc. You should, however, describe all project actions in a clear and detailed way.
What is the optimal budget for a LIFE project?
The project budget depends on the project type. Please carefully read the application guide of the call for proposals you apply for.
For traditional LIFE projects there are no specifications for project budgets. LIFE has co-funded large ambitious projects with total costs of more than EUR 5 million several times in the past. However, proposals for small projects with total costs below EUR 500,000 have rarely been selected in the evaluation due to the limited output and consequently a low added value.
For more information about the LIFE programme please contact:
- The LIFE Belgian National Contact Point : Stéfanie Hugelier – stefanie.hugelier@milieu.belgie.be or Wim Smits – wim.smits@vlaanderen.be
- For Brussels-based SMEs only: additional support can be provided by Enterprise Europe Brussels, please contact Jean-Philippe Mergen.
