The National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences (INCDSB), partner in the European project H2020 - ARSINOE, announces the opening of the selection of innovative solutions that can be used to increase resilience to water pollution in the Danube Delta region (Case study 6 - Romania, CS6-RO).

What is ARSINOE and the selection procedure for innovations

ARSINOE is an EU-funded project aimed at creating climate resilient regions through systemic solutions and innovation. In 2023, the project launched two selection procedures to take stock of innovative climate change adaptation solutions across Europe. The aim is to identify promising or mature innovations that can help the regions studied become more resilient to climate change. Applications will be evaluated and those selected may receive up to €50,000 for demonstration activities in the 12 case studies participating in the project. For the 12 case studies, additional materials and specific requirements can be found on the project website (https://arsinoe-project.eu/open-calls-2/).

General eligibility conditions for potential innovation partners

• The applicant (innovator) is a legal entity established in one of the eligible countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Iceland, Norway, Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom.
• Applicants can be small or medium-sized enterprises, large enterprises, start-ups, spin-offs, universities or research and technological development institutes, multinationals or subsidiaries, NGOs and foundations.
• Procurement of innovation is only possible in accordance with the legal requirements to which the contracting party is subject (e.g. those associated with national public procurement legislation).
• The online application is submitted before the deadline via the ARSINOE project website.
• The online application form has answers to all your questions. Only complete applications will be considered eligible for further technical evaluation.
• The selected innovations are available and the innovators can carry out any testing, implementation and co-development activities, including reporting on the results, during the period April 2024 - March 2025. Exact dates and timing will be agreed during the contracting phase.
• The proposed innovation is relevant to the Danube Delta case study, i.e. it is considered capable of contributing to addressing the challenge of the case study and achieving its objectives as stated in the supplementary materials published with the call.

Deadline for proposals: 8 January 2024

Requested DGs for the Danube Delta Case Study:

The key challenge for innovations dedicated to the Danube Delta case study is to provide local communities, local authorities and other stakeholders in the region with access to scientific evidence on the impacts of climate change on water quality and ecosystem health and functioning. This evidence can come in the form of measured data, explanatory models and simulations, and should allow scenario building and forecasting of the consequences of climate change on the adaptation of the biofiltration capacity of specific microbiota.

Specific requirements for innovation proposals:

- Innovations to close data gaps:

• Development, commissioning and operation of a Physical Data Logger platform with at least 6 parameters: salinity, temperature, turbidity, oxygen concentration and oxygen saturation, chlorophyll-a, sound velocity. The deployment of the Data Logger at the different monitoring points will be done with the support of the INCDSB team. Operation and maintenance service will be provided by the selected partner.
• Selection of satellite data from existing databases (Copernicus) for ocean observations
• Accessing historical weather data records
• Other similar data relevant for the area Murighiol from Bratul Sf. Gheorghe

- Innovations for data processing, modelling and simulations using a selected specific climate and socio-economic scenario and to generate data-driven scientific results

• Data processing for dynamic system models
• Data interoperability with available models to be developed by CS6-RO partners

- Innovations for using knowledge-based results for communication, awareness raising, co-creation and co-design of solutions to strengthen the resilience of local communities

• Accessing and viewing results using virtual environments such as Metaverse and similar
• Online interaction and communication
• Data interoperability with different applications

The validation of innovative solutions will be based on the implementation of joint activities and the evaluation of results according to the CS6-RO implementation plan.

The selection procedure involves compliance with the following rules:

For the evaluation, an Evaluation Committee is formed with members of the ARSINOE consortium - with regional case study leaders and co-leaders to represent stakeholder interests, and independent partners to ensure transparency and neutrality of the process.

The committee evaluates applications against seven predefined criteria, which include:

• three types of maturity (technical, social, market)
• four qualitative criteria (feasibility for testing, vision of the innovator, potential of the innovation for the requested field and contribution to social transformation and governance).

Any questions regarding the selection of innovations for CS6-RO can be sent to Maria PARASCHIV, maria.paraschiv@incdsb.ro.

Registration for the competition is on the ARSINOE project website (https://arsinoe-project.eu/open-calls-2/The successful applicant will then have to open an account on the public procurement platform SICAP so that the service contract can be signed in accordance with national regulations.