European Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare – Call 2024

FCT is a partner in the European Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare (EUP AH&W) which aims to provide society with guarantees on the control of infectious animal diseases with appropriate means, where antimicrobials are used with caution, and on the respect and improvement of animal welfare, thus contributing to sustainable animal husbandry and the protection of animals, public health, and the environment. This Partnership brings together 86 organizations from 24 countries, including FCT and the National Institute of Agricultural and Veterinary Research (INIAV).

EUP AH&W's first call aims to improve animal health and welfare by supporting innovative research to develop new and improved technologies and addressing fundamental scientific and socio-economic questions related to the prevention, detection, assessment and management of health and welfare issues animal.

This call is open to proposals that address one of the following research topics, as described below, focusing on livestock, aquatic animals, bee health or, additionally, wildlife where relevant (e.g. disease transmission with consequences for livestock or zoonotic diseases).

Topic 1: New Technologies For Prevention, Detection, Assessment and Management of Animal Health and Welfare

This topic includes research projects that focus on creating and advancing innovative technologies to improve animal health and welfare. Focusing on health, these technologies could range from genomic surveillance and improved diagnostic methods to new vaccine platforms.

The development of new technologies aimed at improving animal welfare could include, for example, the creation of state-of-the-art sensors, the application of sophisticated data analysis techniques and the use of artificial intelligence in decision support tools, or new animal husbandry techniques.

Topic 2: Fundamental Research for Animal Health and Welfare

This topic involves research to advance our scientific knowledge and understanding of the biological, immunological and physiological mechanisms that influence animal health and welfare.

Examples include increasing knowledge of priority pathogens, interactions with the host microbiome, diagnosis, immunology and basic indicators of well-being such as normal behavior, positive emotional state, thermal comfort, ease of movement, absence of illness, etc.

Topic 3: Animal Health and Welfare and Society

This topic covers social, economic or ethical studies that examine how pathogens or new technologies may impact farmers, consumers or the production chain. It would also cover studies focusing on human behavior with regard to biosafety.

Collaborative research between academic and private sectors, such as industry, can benefit animal health and welfare. Therefore, this call encourages applications that may include private sector partners where appropriate.

Exclusions:

Research funded through this call aims to improve animal health and welfare. The focus of each research proposal must, therefore, be the health/disease and welfare of animals. Research that focuses primarily on the following is not within the scope of the call:

• Improve human health
• Companion animals
• Foodborne pathogens
• AMR in the context of public/human health
• Socioeconomic projects that do not integrate animal health
• Development of new antimicrobials

The following are individual or co-promotion beneficiaries:

a) Non-entrepreneurial entities of the R&I system, namely:

1. Higher education institutions, their institutes and R&D units;
2. State, Associated or International Laboratories based in Portugal;
3. Private non-profit institutions whose main purpose is R&D activities, including Collaborative Laboratories (CoLab) and Technology and Innovation Centres (TIC);
4. Other non-profit public and private institutions developing or participating in scientific research activities.

b) Companies of any nature and in any legal form.

The information contained in this section does not dispense with consulting Article 3 of the "Regulations for projects financed exclusively by national funds" (Regulation no. 5/2024, which amends and republishes the Regulation no. 999/2016, of 31 October).

The EUP AH&W 2024 call consists of the pre-proposal (1st phase) and full proposal (2nd phase) submission phases.

Only pre-proposals submitted in the first phase and selected by the Call Steering Committee, made up of the participating funding agencies (PFA), based on the ranking lists drawn up by the external evaluators, will be invited to submit full proposals in the 2nd phase.

The call will fund projects submitted by transnational consortia. Applicants may only apply for funding to their respective PFA, which will only fund projects submitted by applicants from their countries/regions that are part of the transnational consortia. The transnational eligibility rules and national/regional eligibility rules relating to each PFA, are detailed in the call documentation.

To prepare your application you should:

1. Consult the ’Call Documents‘ area.
2. Consult FCT rules and those of the NFA that fund the other applicants participating in the transnational consortium, available in the national annexes. Applicants that are considered ineligible may lead to the rejection of the entire consortium.
3. Submit, by the transnational consortium coordinator, the pre-proposal template duly filled in the application submission platform (see “Important links”) until 08/06/2024 at 2:00pm of Continental Portugal time.
4. Submit, within 10 working days after the deadline for submitting the application, a Statement of Commitment (SoC) duly filled and signed by the Portuguese Proposing Institution (PI) and by the Portuguese Researcher in Charge (RC), whether coordinator and/or participant in the transnational consortium. The SoC should be sent to the email address indicated in ‘Contacts’.

Please note:

• Failure to submit the SoC by the deadline mentioned in 4., submission of the SoC after that deadline or submission of an incomplete SoC without one of the two parts – PI or RC – that make it up, will result in the ineligibility of the application and exclusion from the call.
• If two or more Portuguese candidates from the same transnational consortium apply for funding from FCT, each PI and their respective RC must send a completed and signed SoC to FCT.
• If the same Portuguese applicant submits applications to FCT for different transnational consortia, he/she will have to fill in and send a SoC for each application submitted.
• Portuguese partners that do not apply for funding from FCT do not need to submit the SoC.
• The stamp or white seal of the Portuguese PI will not be required on a digitally signed SoC if signed with professional attributes that identify the functions performed by the signatory.

The information contained on this page summarises the call information and does not exempt applicants from reading the documents available on this page and on the call website (see ’Important links’).

Eligibility

The eligibility check of applications is carried out in one single stage: The eligibility check of proposals is carried out at both stages of the call (pre-proposal submission stage and full proposal submission stage):

• National/Regional Funding Agencies check national eligibility of applications, ensuring compliance with the formal requirements in the applicable national/regional regulations and other applicable documents (see ’FCT Regulation’, ’Normas de Execução Financeira’ and national annexes in the ’Call Documents’ area).
• Transnational eligibility check of applications will be performed by the Call Secretariat, according to the transnational eligibility criteria presented in the ’Call Text’ in the ’Call Documents’ area.

Please note:

• For a proposal to be declared eligible it must fulfil both the national and transnational criteria.

Evaluation

The call includes two evaluation phases:

• Pre-proposal evaluation stage.
• Full proposal evaluation stage.

Proposals will be evaluated according to the evaluation criteria described in the ’Call Text’ in the ‘Call Documents’ area.

The Call Steering Committee (CSC), formed by national/regional funding agencies, will decide, according to the stage the call is at, which 1) pre-proposals to invite to submit a full proposal and which 2) proposals to recommend for funding.

• FCT financial commitment for the call: 500.000€
• Maximum requested funding for a consortium with Portuguese coordination: 200.000€
• Maximum requested funding for a consortium with Portuguese participation: 100.000€

Please mind:

• Portuguese applicants funding must follow FCT’s ’Regulation on projects funded solely by national funds’”, Regulation of projects financed exclusively by national funds, Regulation no. 5/2024, of 3 January, which amends and republishes Regulation no. 999/2016, of 31 October (see ‘FCT Regulation’ and ‘Normas de Execução Financeira’, both available in the ’Call Documents’ area, and the applicable national and European legislation).
• If more than one Portuguese applicant from the same transnational consortium applies for funding from FCT, the combined budget requested from FCT by the Portuguese applicants may not exceed the maximum funding limit for a consortium with Portuguese coordination (200.000€) or with Portuguese participation (100.000€). The Portuguese applicants of the same transnational consortium will have to share the funding that will be granted by FCT.
• The dedication (FTE) in transnational projects is not considered for the 100% (FTE) dedication to national projects.
• Under the terms of number 2 of Article 7 of the Regulation on projects funded solely by national funds, payments made directly or indirectly to companies through the Proposing Institution cannot exceed 50% of the total cost of the company’s participation.

• Call website
• Matchmaking platform
• Application submission platform 
• Info Webinar (on the 14th May 2024 at 9am Continental Portugal time. Webinar number: 2783 554 0161. Webinar password: EUPAHW_2024!w)
• Partnership website

Marta Abrantes

marta.abrantes@fct.pt

+351 21391 1596

Alexandre Maurício

alexandre.mauricio@fct.pt

+351 213 917 648