

Project Management and Coordination will provide effective management through a dynamic and flexible approach to ensure robust administration and governance of BlueActionAA and its cascade funded projects. Effective leadership, coordination, and management of BlueActionAA project will be achieved through seamless communication, timely execution, and high-quality outputs [SO1].

The community-led pilot actions cascade grant process including Pre-launch, Call Period, Assessment & Award, and Implementation & Evaluation will ensure achievement of [SO2] to design, develop, and manage community-led projects, whilst establishing a call process to ensure the impact of community-led pilot projects and their concrete contribution to achieving Mission Ocean objectives can be assessed [SO5] [SO6].
Clear funding call processes, eligibility and selection criteria and transparent assessment processes are fundamental to WP2 PILOT – Delivery of Community-led pilot cascade grant funding [SO2]

Delivery of Transition agenda cascade funding is targeting smaller scale projects focussed on providing transition roadmaps grant funding to ensure achievement of [SO3].

Empowering needs-driven technical assistance will develop a tailored, needs-based approach to ensure bespoke technical assistance for awardees. The tailored technical assistance will enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of projects funded by BlueActionAA.

Ensuring an enduring impact has a dual focus; 1) Grant monitoring and evaluation to ensure projects remain aligned with their goals, timelines, and budgets; and 2) Impact assessments at both grant and BlueActionAA level.

Project clustering and networking BlueActionAA will ensure and effectively establish collaboration and knowledge exchange to accelerate the impact, exposure and impact of BlueActionAA funded projects.

Dissemination, Exploitation and Communication aims to enhance the project’ impacts to maximise the impact of BlueActionAA and its funded projects [SO7]. The focus is primarily on sharing BlueActionAA funded project’s goals, activities, and success stories the collective impact of BlueActionAA and trans-lighthouse collaboration will be promoted.
AWARDING AT LEAST 5 GRANTS
1. Cascading Grants for Community-Led Pilot Actions: Awarding at least 5 grants ranging from EUR 200,000 to EUR 2 million each to innovative projects addressing local ecological and socio-economic challenges. These projects contribute to advanced knowledge of marine and freshwater ecosystems and interactions, ideally recognising the need for a holistic mountains to seas perspective, and potential solutions to protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity; to prevent and eliminate pollution of our oceans, seas and waters; and to ensure a sustainable, carbon-neutral and circular blue economy.
FUNDING AT LEAST 20 STRATEGIC ROADMAPS
2. Support for Transition Agendas: Funding at least 20 strategic roadmaps, each up to EUR 100,000, to guide communities in achieving the Mission’s objectives and ensuring long-term sustainability. These projects will contribute to the transition from the first phase of the Mission Implementation plan ‘development and piloting’ to the second phase ‘deployment and upscaling’.
PROVIDING TAILORED SUPPORT
3. Technical Assistance: Providing tailored support, including business plan development, impact assessments, and capacity-building programs, to enhance local stakeholders’ ability to implement and scale innovative solutions. This assistance will be provided to both community-led pilots projects and transition agenda projects



