GSS EU Science Funding Gateway

The Single Market Programme (SMP) covers the single market, competitiveness of enterprises, including small and medium-sized enterprises, the area of plants, animals, food and feed, and European statistics. Specifically, the programme brings together aspects in order to streamline, exploit synergies and provide a better flexible, transparent, simplified and agile framework to finance activities aiming at a well-functioning sustainable internal market.

The costs will be reimbursed at the funding rates fixed in the Grant Agreement (100% for the costs for providing financial support to third parties and 90% for all other costs categories).

Project budgets (maximum grant amount) are expected to be up to of €1 000 000 per project.

In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:

• be legal entities (public or private bodies)
• be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
  • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs)
  • non-EU countries:
    • listed EEA countries and countries associated to the Single Market Programme or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature (list of participating countries)
• Ukraine, as stipulated in the Eligibility criteria section of the SMP Work Programme 2023, Annex 219.
• be or represent an agri-food cluster organisation; industry support organisation or agri-food technology centre.

Primary agricultural producers and the retail part of the agri-food valuechain are not eligible.

Non-SME agri-food companies in the geographical areas of the partnerships can participate in the project to share their sustainability expertise or participate in common procurement activities, but at their own costs expense. The commitment of non-SME agri-food companies which are officially members of the cluster organisations to supporting the project is encouraged.

Proposals must be submitted by a consortium of applicants (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities), which complies with the following conditions:

• minimum 4 legal entities from 3 different eligible countries;
• the coordinator of the consortium must be an agri-food cluster organisation (dynamic group of agri-food companies and related economic entities active in a specific geographical area);
• in addition to the coordinator at least 2 other agri-food clusters or industry support organisations (business or technical support organisation with the operational capacity to directly support a large number of agri-food companies in their geographical area);
• at least one agri-food technology centre (technical or technology centres, agronomical institutes, environmental agencies, Digital Innovation Hubs, polytechnic universities or vocational universities).