Supporting the preparation and implementation of the NEB Facility with the support of Horizon Europe and New European Bauhaus National Contact Points

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:

1. Enhanced collaboration and coordination on the NEB Facility between the Horizon Europe National Contact Points for the R&I component of the NEB Facility and New European Bauhaus National Contact Point networks.
2. Enhanced capacity of Horizon Europe National Contact Points for the R&I component of the NEB Facility and New European Bauhaus National Contact Points to contribute to the implementation of the NEB Facility.
3. Enhanced visibility of the NEB Facility at European and national levels, better informed prospective applicants as well as higher quality and quantity of applications.
4. Coordinated feedback from the Horizon Europe National Contact Points for the R&I component of the NEB Facility and New European Bauhaus National Contact Points to the European Commission on the implementation of the NEB Facility.

Expected Impact:

Proposals should set out a credible pathway to contributing to all of the following impacts:

1. New European Bauhaus efforts and activities at the national and European levels are better coordinated to leverage synergies between the R&I and roll-out components of the NEB Facility.
2. New European Bauhaus efforts and activities at the national and European levels are better coordinated to leverage synergies between the NEB Facility and the broader New European Bauhaus initiative.

Scope:

The New European Bauhaus (NEB) is a transversal initiative, supported since its launch by nine EU programmes[[Horizon Europe, European Regional Development Fund, LIFE, Digital Europe, Single Market Programme, COSME, Erasmus+, Creative Europe, European Solidarity Corps.]]. Although this approach provided good results during the initial stages of the New European Bauhaus, the success and increased size that the initiative has reached in three years demand to adapt the approach to its implementation.

As the NEB Facility will be supported by Horizon Europe and other EU programmes, the resulting constellation of calls may be difficult to communicate to interested stakeholders.

NEB National Contact Points act as contact points for the EU Institutions, other Member States and national stakeholders. NEB National Contact Points promote the NEB agenda and coordinate efforts to implement the NEB initiative at the national level. Their mandate thus goes beyond promoting and supporting the NEB Facility and the various other tools used by the NEB. The National Contact Points of Horizon Europe are support structures established by Member States and Associated Countries in order to help participants to access to Horizon Europe, in alignment with the Council Decision establishing the Specific Programme implementing Horizon Europe [[Council Decision (EU) 2021/764]]. They can play a role in contributing to an effective communication of the Horizon Europe calls of the NEB Facility.

These two networks of National Contact Points will thus be key in the preparation and implementation of the NEB Facility, as follows: Horizon Europe National Contact Points for the R&I component of the NEB Facility will cover the Horizon Europe calls of the NEB Facility while NEB National Contact Points will cover the roll-out component of the NEB Facility. Together, they will promote the calls of the NEB Facility among interested stakeholders and support them at application stage while also supporting the Commission in ensuring the synergies and coherence of all the NEB activities at European and national level.

Moreover, the New European Bauhaus is based on co-creation to best answer the needs of citizens. The design, setting up and implementation of the NEB Facility has to be done in collaboration with all relevant representatives of the Member States and Associated Countries as well as relevant stakeholders, including the members of the NEB Community. Therefore, under the guidance of the Commission, NEB National Contact Points are also expected to consult interested stakeholders from their respective Member State to identify emerging needs and gaps related to the implementation of the NEB Facility.

The proposal is expected to address all the following aspects:

1. Horizon Europe National Contact Points for the R&I component of the NEB Facility and New European Bauhaus National Contact Points raise awareness at national level about the New European Bauhaus and the NEB Facility through events, workshops and other communication activities.
2. Horizon Europe National Contact Points for the R&I component of the NEB Facility and New European Bauhaus National Contact Points cooperate, exchange, share experiences and best practices to better promote the NEB Facility, support its implementation and ensure the coherence between its R&I and roll-out components.
3. Horizon Europe National Contact Points for the R&I component of the NEB Facility enhance their capacity to promote the Horizon Europe’s calls related to the NEB Facility, to support prospective applicants and/or to direct them towards NEB National Contact Points for NEB-related funding opportunities in other EU programmes supporting the NEB Facility.
4. New European Bauhaus National Contact Points organise activities to consult the relevant stakeholders within their respective country to identify emerging needs and gaps related to the implementation of the NEB Facility.

The proposal for this topic is encouraged to include as many Horizon Europe and NEB National Contact Points as possible and foresee mechanisms to adapt to emerging needs (e.g. association of additional third countries to Horizon Europe, appointment of new NEB National Contact Points).

The proposal is also encouraged to foresee that NCPs that are not part of the consortium are nevertheless invited and encouraged to participate in the project transnational activities (e.g. workshops).The costs incurred by the consortium for such participation (e.g. travel costs paid by the consortium) may be included in the estimated budget and be eligible for funding by the Commission.

This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals according to Article 195 (f) of the Financial Regulation as this topic concerns National Contact Points for Horizon Europe and the NEB, both of which are linked to specific legal entities nominated to the Commission by the Member States. Horizon Europe National Contact Points are more specialised in European level research and innovation funding. New European Bauhaus National Contact Points promote the New European Bauhaus agenda and coordinate efforts to implement the initiative at the national level.

Legal entities: Horizon Europe National Contact Points legal entities designated to be responsible in respect of the R&I component of the NEB Facility and NEB National Contact Points legal entities.

Form of funding: Grants not subject to calls for proposals

Type of Action: Grant awarded without call for proposals according to Financial Regulation Article 195 (f)

The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award criteria, evaluation and award procedure, legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and operational capacity and exclusion, and procedure are provided in part A to G of the General Annexes.

Specific conditions:

Eligibility: Only NCP legal entities established in Member States or Horizon Europe associated countries are eligible to participate.

Legal and financial set-up of the Grant Agreement: Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025).”[[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf]](opens in new window)

Procedure: The evaluation committee will be composed fully by representatives of EU institutions.

Indicative timetable: Second quarter of 2024

Indicative budget: EUR 1.80 million from the 2024 budget