PRIMA – Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area is the most ambitious joint programme to be undertaken in the frame of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation.
The overall objective of the PRIMA programme is to build research and innovation capacities and to develop knowledge and common innovative solutions for agro-food systems, to make them sustainable, and for integrated water provision and management in the Mediterranean area, to make those systems and that provision and management more climate resilient, efficient, cost-effective and environmentally and socially sustainable, and to contribute to solving water scarcity, food security, nutrition, health, well-being and migration problems upstream.
The call for proposals aims at creating a PRIMA portfolio of demonstration cases at specific sites in the Mediterranean region to operationalise the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus concept and translate conceptual considerations first into practical solutions and then into specific policy-making processes. To this end, technologies, processes and management models, including decision support system tools, digital solutions, data infrastructure, should be implemented and validated in demonstration areas under a practical approach. This action should identify and implement solutions for gaining efficiency and saving of water-energy-food resources.
Proposals should address the interdependency of food, water and energy securities by analysing trade-offs and synergies between sectors and potential impact on social stability due to resource shortages and climate change. Activities should analyse good practices for resource allocation and assess the economic, environmental and social implications of various choices.
For the proposed cases, Nexus interventions should be identified and prioritised, also considering ecosystems and natural infrastructure, in a participatory dialogue with water right holders and stakeholders accounting for the specific social and economic circumstances. Starting from existing governance frameworks, demonstration cases should also analyse the potential for upscaling and replication of the Nexus solutions in other geographic or thematic contexts in the Mediterranean region and identify impacts on the Sustainable Development Goals. Extensive involvement of stakeholders and right holders is necessary to make projects also social innovative experiments.
The project proponents should make use of lessons learned from the Nexus projects funded by H2020 and PRIMA in 2019 and 2020 calls through the development of a close partnership during the implementation of respective projects. Successful consortia are also asked to cooperate with the EC Knowledge Hub on Water and Agriculture to facilitate the uptake of project outputs by policymakers after project completion.
The proposal should indicate linkages to relevant SDGs, EU policies and objectives in the context of the EU Green Deal and relevant Horizon Europe Missions and Partnerships.
PRIMA considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU in the range of 4 000 000 EUR and with a duration of 36 months, would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately.
70% / 100% (for non-profit entities)
Research and Innovation Foundation
George Prokopiou
Email: gprokopiou@research.org.cy
Τel: +357 22 205 068
PRIME MED
Ali Rhouma “Project Officer” (Nexus Thematic Area) – ali.rhouma@prima-med.org