Open call FAQ

If you are interested in applying to the open call, you can find all useful information including the open call text, guidance for applicant and application form on this site.

We have also prepared the most frequently asked questions collected in the last couple of months:

Q: Can a small SME participate and lead a proposal for the open call?

Yes, SMEs can apply for the open call and lead an application. You may need to evidence your capacity to collaborate with other relevant stakeholders associated with the proposed challenge.

Q: Would it be advisable to attach letters of support from the stakeholder mentioned in section 2.2?

It is advised to attach some letters of support from key stakeholders (e.g. local authorities) to reinforce your capacity to work with those stakeholders during the lab implementation. Another option is to mention previous projects in which you have collaborated with these stakeholders. It is not needed for all the stakeholders listed, just for key players in your proposal.

 Q: Considering the need to provide the turnover statement of the last 2 years, should the applicant company have be established at least 2 years ago?

For applicants established during the last two years, if selected, we may request some additional documents to check the financial capacity of the organisation.

Q: Do we need to develop anything related to the validation phase?

You need to calculate the travel costs as indicated in the cost breakdown guidance; the design of the validation phase is done by the consortium.

Q: Can applications include a topic not listed in the list provided in the call text?

Yes, you can present new topics and justify your selection. It is important to describe the interrelation of the challenge with concrete type of crises (e.g. how mobility is impacted by floods, how labour market is impacted by migration or financial crisis, etc.)

Q: Is the sole target group of the expected solutions policymakers in the public sector? The engagement with policymakers is foreseen at “Implementation” and “Reframing” phases? Or should we include them at all stages of the project?

You can decide target groups and level of involvement according to your challenges. Some challenges or type of applicants may want to involve policymakers since the beginning, others during the implementation and reframing stages.

Q: Should the proposals have an expected TRL level?

Proposals don’t need a TRL to apply. However, during the last part of the labs we will work on solutions that are tested in society (Societal Readiness Level 4 at least)

Q: Should a technological solution be experimented or at least co-created with the relevant stakeholders?

There will be two types of solutions: some of them should be taken from the (under construction) knowledge base of existing and already tested solutions, that could be tailored to the specific characteristics of your challenges; other solutions could be designed and experimented in “co-creation” with relevant stakeholders.