TRANSITION AGENDA CALL 1 |

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TRANSITION AGENDA CALL 1

BlueActionAA Transition Agenda Call 1 (BAAT-01) is focused on guiding in the development of transition agendas, including strategic roadmaps, policy recommendation and regulatory innovation.

BlueActionAA Transition Agenda Call 1 (BAAT-01) aims to mobilise and engage national, regional and local actors across the Arctic and Atlantic basins and help them take steps for long term sustainability and scaling of solutions in support of the Mission Ocean objectives. The EU Mission Ocean and Waters aims to restore the health of the ocean, seas, and inland waters by 2030 through a coordinated and integrated approach. The Mission focuses on the following objectives:

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.

The project aims to award at least 10 grants,
funded up to 100,000 EUR each

Key practical information:

TRANSITION AGENDA CALL 1 : KEY DATES

Publication date of the transition agenda call 1 cascade funding call

30/01/26

Closing of the transition agenda call 1 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 – 03/11/2026

Starting date of the projects

04/11/2026

Expected winning projects Inception / Kick-off meeting

04/11/2026

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), which are: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, the Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Republic of Korea, Serbia, Switzerland, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

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: 1M (lump sum);
Expected budget per project: up to 100k€
Number of projects to be selected: 10+;
Type of eligible costs: personnel, purchase, travel, subcontracting,
Expected duration of the funded projects: between 6 and 18 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 25^th 2026 (14:00 CET).

Evaluators will receive the applications to assess on June 22^nd 2026 and will have until August 21^st 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

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. The clearly stated needs for technical assistance will allow BlueActionAA to outline tailored assistance programs for each successful project to be formally agreed upon in a dialogue meeting alongside the grant contract.

The technical assistance may also include pairing mentoring opportunities. Practical guidance will be offered to community-led action towards producing effective knowledge sharing, collaborative problem-solving and empowering participants to drive meaningful environmental and research outcomes, while also fostering innovation, networking, leadership and capacity-building within the Mission Ocean community.

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

The EOI aims to gather preliminary interest from potential applicants for the upcoming call, which will support transition projects. This information will be used to develop information days during the call period.

Publication of the Expression of Interest (EOI): 30/01/2026;

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 transition agenda projects, you will show your interest in participating in the 1st call for Transition Agenda projects (BAAT-01). The transition agenda 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

APPLY TO THE EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

DOCUMENTS TO APPLY

DOWNLOAD

HELP DESK

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