Community-Led Action Call
BlueActionAA Community-Led Pilot Action Call (BAAC-01) is focussed on community-led actions. Community-led actions are defined as regional and local communities, engaged in collective collaboration for innovation and uptake, acting as agents of change and long-term impact.
BAAC-01 aims to mobilise and engage communities across the Atlantic and Arctic regions in ambitious efforts to restore and protect marine and freshwater ecosystems. By fostering community-led initiatives, the project seeks to make significant progress toward all of the objectives of the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030” (Mission Ocean and Waters)2. The EU Mission Ocean and Waters provides a systemic approach to restoring the health of the ocean, seas, and inland waters by 2030. The scope of the Mission is designed to:
1
Protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity, in line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030.
2
Prevent and eliminate pollution of our ocean, seas and waters, in line with the EU Action Plan Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil.
3
Make the sustainable blue economy carbon-neutral and circular, in line with the proposed European Climate Law and the comprehensive vision outlined in the Sustainable Blue Economy Strategy.
BAAC-01 is focusing on initiatives that pilot or implement innovative solutions aimed at achieving one or more interconnected Mission objectives within the targeted Atlantic and Arctic basins. BlueActionAA will provide financial aid through cascading grants to organisations and consortia, as well as technical assistance and capacity-building resources to ensure effective and sustainable ecosystem restoration actions.
The project aims to award at least 5 grants ranging from EUR 200,000 to EUR 2 million each to innovative projects addressing local ecological & socio-economic challenges.
Key practical information:
COMMUNITY-LED ACTION CALL: KEY DATES
Publication date of the community-led cascade funding call
28/11/2025
Closing of the community-led cascade funding call
29/05/2026, 14:00h CET
Evaluation period
01/06/2026 – 29/09/2026
Announcement of the results
30/09/2026
Sub-grant agreement signature
01/10/2026 – 30/10/2026*
Starting date of the projects
From November 2026
Expected winning projects Inception / Kick-off meeting
From November 2026
Eligible countries
• The Member States (MS) of the European Union (EU): Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden; including their outermost regions;
• The Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) linked to the Member States;
• Horizon Europe associated countries at the time the BlueActionAA grant entered into force (01/09/2025). While no restriction applies, lead applicants (project coordinators) are particularly encouraged from the following Atlantic/Arctic Basin countries and territories: France, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Faroe Islands, and Canada.
Type of eligible entities
Regional and local public authorities; NGOs, foundations (public and private), professional associations, civil society and citizen associations. Such entities should be engaged in local development and nature conservation activities; SMEs and Large Enterprises ; Cultural and Educational organisations; Relevant EU Research Infrastructure, research organisations and academia.
Financial support and other information
- Total Call’s budget: 7M (lump sum);
- Expected budget per project: 200k to 2M;
- Number of projects to be selected: +5;
- Maximum amount of funding allowed to a single organization (small consortium are also allowed): 500k;
- Type of eligible costs: personnel, purchase, travel, subcontracting,
- Expected duration of the funded projects: between 6 and 24 months.
Call for External Expertise
A call for independent evaluators will open end of March 2026 to assess applications for the BlueActionAA Open Calls. Interested candidates will be invited to submit their applications by May 25th 2026 (14:00 CET).
Evaluators will receive the applications to assess on June 22nd 2026 and will have until August 21st 2026 to submit their review. A panel meeting to decide for the final ranking of applications will be organized early September.
Full details of the call, including guidelines, rules and conditions, the selection process, timeline, and more, will be available at the opening of the call end of March.
Technical Assistance
Apply here
For a first connection, click https://esf.smartsimple.ie/s_signup.jsp?token=XVtQC1oGYV5ZSxtZXxJXR1JWYUl1H3Rt
This link is to create an applicant profile on ESF’s platform, which is compulsory to be able to submit and application
For subsequent connections, click https://esf.smartsimple.ie
Once you have your profile created, to connect on ESF’s platform. There, they will have access to all the Open Calls currently open on ESF’s platform, and applicants will have to click on “apply” next to the BAAA call
Expression of Interest
- Non-binding Expression of Interest (EOI) form.
- What is for?
- Why complete it?
- How the information is used?
The EOI aims to gather preliminary interest from potential applicants for the upcoming call, which will support community-led pilot projects. This information will be used to develop information days during the call period (November 2025 – May 2026).
Publication of the Expression of Interest (EOI): 28/11/2025;
- Map the thematic interests of potential applicants
- Identify local challenges and needs
- Prepare for the launch of BlueActionAA call for Cascade Grant
By participating in the Expression of Interest for community-led pilot projects, you will show your interest in participating in the call for community-led pilot projects. The community-led pilot projects will benefit of:
- Access to EU cascade funding
- Tailored technical assistance, including feasibility, impact and scaling strategies
- Training, Mentoring and peer-to-peer learning
- Access to resources, tools and research infrastructures
- Guidance for long-term sustainability and financing
- Networking, clustering and transnational collaboration opportunities
- Communication and visibility support to maximise outreach and impact
With the information collected, we expect to pave the way for:
- Innovative proposals aligned with Mission Ocean objectives
- Strong community involvement and sustainable practices
- Focus on long-term impact and measurable progress
- Participation in mandatory meetings and events
- Engagement in capacity building activities, webinars, and mentoring programmes offered by BlueActionAA
- Commitment to reporting and transparent monitoring
- Active contribution to dissemination and long-term impact
We also welcome cross-cutting innovation such as nature-based, technological, social, cultural, governance and financial innovation.
Results will guide the BlueActionAA cascade grant calls. Interested organisations will be invited to mobilisation webinars & networking events
Please contact info@blueactionaa.eu for any questions you might have related to topic specific questions.
In case of technical questions concerning the submission platform SmartSimple (operated by ESF) and/or the cascade call grant process please reach out to: technical.support@blueactionaa.eu