The second Eranetmed joint call was published on 21 March 2016. Italy is participating through the MIUR, which will fund the call with a total budget of 2 million euros, consisting of €1 million in grants and €1 million in soft loans.

The objective of the call is to propose sustainable solutions for the environmental challenges faced by "Euro-Mediterranean vulnerable communities", namely those communities living in coastal or inland areas where local resources, such as biodiversity, land, water, energy or food, are threatened by environmental and socio-economic factors.

The MIUR will fund Collaborative Research projects for one of the following topics (Research Questions):

• "Land & water/food" and Environment
• "Energy" and Environment
• "Climate/demographic change" and Environment
• "Societies/Ecosystems" and Environment

Eligible beneficiaries include:

• Research organisations
• Large enterprises
• SMEs
• Start-ups

The deadline for submitting proposals is 31 May 2016. The call is a single-stage process, which requires the direct submission of a full proposal.

For further details, please consult the ERANETMED website.

Funding levels, as well as other eligibility criteria applicable to Italian applicants, are set out in the national Annex to the Guide for Applicants.

MIUR contacts:

Aldo Covello: aldo.covello@miur.it Tel. 06 9772 6465 - 338 9364371

Chiara Gliozzi: chiara.gliozzi@miur.it Tel. 06 9772 7288