Open Calls

Open Call 1 (OC1) aims to strengthen and expand the Nemesis Living Labs by integrating at least one additional experimental site per Living Lab. Selected applicants will contribute to co-creation, testing and demonstration activities addressing desertification and land degradation in the Mediterranean.

The total available budget for OC1 is EUR 500,000. Each selected third party may receive up to EUR 100,000 as lump-sum funding. At least one third party will be selected per Living Lab.

Applications must be submitted by single legal entities established in an eligible country or region corresponding to the relevant Living Lab. Eligible profiles may include, for example, farmers and landowners, cooperatives, NGOs, public authorities, research institutes and SMEs, provided they meet the general and Living Lab-specific requirements.

Yes. Proof of access to the experimental site is a mandatory eligibility condition. Applicants must demonstrate secure access to the proposed site for the implementation period of the sub-project. Proposals without acceptable proof of site access will be declared ineligible and will not be evaluated further.

The deadline for submission is 1st August at 17:00 CEST. Late submissions will not be considered.

Applications must be submitted exclusively through the Nemesis online submission portal. Applications sent by email or through any other channel will not be accepted. An application is admissible only if all mandatory fields and documents have been completed and uploaded by the deadline.

Applications must be submitted in English. Supporting documents, such as the Guidelines for applicants, may also be available in additional Living Lab languages.

Eligible activities may include, for example, the operation of an additional experimental site, participation in Living Lab activities, stakeholder engagement, co-creation and testing of solutions, baseline and monitoring-related work, implementation of management practices, communication and dissemination activities, and support to SOILL-related actions where relevant.

An applicant may submit only one proposal per Living Lab under OC1. The same legal entity may not receive more than one sub-grant under OC1. If several applications from the same legal entity are submitted to the same Living Lab, only the latest complete version received before the deadline will be considered.

Applicants must submit the documentation specified in the application package. This includes at least the completed proposal template, proof of legal entity status, and proof of access to the experimental site.

All proposals first undergo an admissibility and eligibility check. Eligible proposals are then evaluated remotely by three independent experts: one internal evaluator from the Nemesis consortium and two external evaluators. Proposals will be assessed against three evaluation criteria: 1. Alignment and excellence 2. Capacity and implementation 3. Expected contribution / impact The maximum total score is 20 points: • Alignment and excellence: 0–5 points • Capacity and implementation: 0–10 points • Expected contribution / impact: 0–5 points A minimum threshold of 3/5 applies to Alignment and excellence. Proposals scoring below this threshold will be rejected and will not be evaluated further against the remaining criteria. Funding decisions will be based on the final ranking of proposals, the available budget allocation and the objective of selecting at least one third party per Living Lab.

If you need further clarification, please contact the Nemesis Open Call team via opencalls@nemesis-soil.eu. Applicants are also encouraged to consult the full Guidelines for applicants before preparing their proposal.

When considering the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools for the preparation of the proposal, it is imperative to exercise caution and careful consideration. The AI-generated content should be thoroughly reviewed and validated by the applicants to ensure its appropriateness and accuracy, as well as its compliance with intellectual property regulations. Applicants are fully responsible for the content of the proposal (even those parts produced by the AI tool) and must be transparent in disclosing which AI tools were used and how they were utilized. Specifically, applicants are required to: Verify the accuracy, validity, and appropriateness of the content and any citations generated by the AI tool and correct any errors or inconsistencies; Provide a list of sources used to generate content and citations, including those generated by the AI tool. Double-check citations to ensure they are accurate and properly referenced; Be conscious of the potential for plagiarism where the AI tool may have reproduced substantial text from other sources. Check the original sources to be sure you are not plagiarizing someone else’s work; Acknowledge the limitations of the AI tool in the proposal preparation, including the potential for bias, errors, and gaps in knowledge.

The translated documents are translation of the official English document entitled “Open Call 1: Guidelines for Applicants” of the Nemesis project. The translation is provided solely for the convenience and information of interested applicants. In the event of any inconsistency, discrepancy, ambiguity, or difference in interpretation between the translated version and the English version, the official English version shall prevail.