We are pleased to announce the results of our Second Open Call, which aimed to support European SMEs (EU27) on their journey towards a circular economy through financial support.
The call attracted a total of 434 applications from SMEs in 25 EU member states. After verification of eligibility, 280 applications were forwarded for external evaluation. At this stage, external evaluators assessed the proposals based on three key criteria: Concept, Feasibility and Impact.
As previously communicated, the number of proposals that could be externally evaluated in the second call was limited due to budget constraints. A maximum of 100 small-scale proposals and 180 large-scale proposals could be evaluated. Consequently, applications were evaluated on a first-come, first-served basis. As a result, 45 applications exceeded the threshold and could not be passed for external evaluation.
We thank all applicants for their interest and high level of participation.
For those whose projects were not selected in this call, we encourage you to explore other cascade funding opportunities and upcoming calls with focus on circular innovation like EUREKA call for circular value creation.
We also invite all applicants to stay informed about our future activities and to check our events calendar for initiatives related to the circular economy.